SAY WHAT

Biden administration pulls out of talks to compensate families separated at border
By Jake Thomas


Young and old activists join demonstrators across the country as they converged on the offices of congressional leaders to demand that detention camps holding immigrant children and their families be closed and voicing outrage over reports of inhumane conditions in Los Angeles in 2019. On Thursday, lawyers and civil rights groups said the Biden administration pulled out of talks to compensate separated families. File photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The Biden administration has abandoned negotiations to provide cash payments to thousands of migrant families as compensation for a Trump-era policy that separated parents from their children at the Mexican border.

Lawyers and civil rights groups expressed outrage, pointing to how President Joe biden and top officials had earlier condemned the policy as cruel and promised to make amends.



"This is outrageous behavior by the Biden administration, and every decent American should be shocked," Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Projects, said in a video posted to Twitter.

He said that children as young as six months were taken from their families upon arriving at the U.S.'s southern border with Mexico. Parents didn't know the location of their children, who suffered irreparable trauma, he Gelernt. While the Trump administration devised the policy, "it's now on the Biden administration," he said.

Gelernt told NBC News that the Biden administration should expect legal action that will seek to hold "individual federal officials responsible for family separation."

"While the parties have been unable to reach a global settlement agreement at this time, we remain committed to engaging with the plaintiffs and to bringing justice to the victims of this abhorrent policy," the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.



Biden called the policy "criminal" during the first presidential debate with Trump last year. Human rights groups similarly condemned the hard-line policy meant to deter asylum seekers that separated more than 5,000 children The American Academy of Pediatrics called the policy "government-sanctioned child abuse," and a study found separated children continued to suffer from psychological trauma even after being reunited.


After taking office earlier this year, Biden formed a task force seeking to reunite families. Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in March the administration was "working around the clock to replace the cruelty of the past administration with an orderly, humane and safe immigration process."

Lawyers representing the families told The New York Times that negotiations stalled after a leak in October suggested payments could be as high as $450,000. Conservatives and Republicans responded with withering criticism to the high payments, with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell saying Biden wanted to "literally make millionaires out of people who have violated federal law." Biden dismissed reports of the high payments.

Lawyers for the families told the paper they would seek compensation in court after being surprised by the Biden administration's sudden reversal.

Audi to invest $20 billion in developing 20 all-electric cars by 2025
By UPI Staff

The Audi e-tron S line black edition. Photo courtesy of Audi

Dec. 16 (UPI) -- German car manufacturer Audi on Thursday announced a plan to invest $20 billion into developing electric cars over the next five years.

The company goals include delivering 3 million cars per year, developing 20 fully electric models by 2025, and phasing out internal combustion engine cars by 2033.

From 2033 and on, the company plans to be fully electric.

Audi will also open charging hubs and offer charging options at home. It currently has 26,000 charging hubs in 26 European countries.

Ionity -- a high-power charging network -- will also increase its capacity from 1,500 to 7,000 by 2025, according to the car company.

With 60,000 employees in Germany, the VW subsidiary decided to cut 9,500 jobs at its plants in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm in 2019.

Audi joins Nissan, Subaru, Hyundai, Dodge, and Volvo in the race to develop all-electric cars and contribute to meeting COP26 goals.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Joe Biden set a goal for half of all new vehicles to be electric by 2030.

Full 'Cold Moon' to illuminate weekend before Christmas

By Brian Lada, AccuWeather, Accuweather.com

The nights surrounding the December solstice are the longest of the year across the Northern Hemisphere, and this year, the nights leading up to the beginning of astronomical winter will be a bit brighter than normal.

Just three nights before the winter solstice, which occurs on Dec. 21 at 10:59 a.m. EST, the full moon will illuminate the sky.

December's full moon has been given several nicknames over the years, many of which revolve around the chilly weather that starts to settle across North America at the onset of winter.

One of the most popular nicknames is the Full Cold Moon, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

"This is the month when the winter cold fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark," the Old Farmer's Almanac explained on its website.

Other nicknames for December's full moon include the Little Spirit Moon, the Long Night Moon, the Winter Maker Moon and the Hoar Frost Moon.

A full moon rises over a snow-covered landscape. (Frank Cone)

Saturday night's full moon will be just one of several celestial objects to spot in the sky this weekend.

Venus, Saturn and Jupiter continue to shine in a line across the southwestern sky after sunset, offering more opportunities to enjoy views of the planets with or without a telescope.

A few stray shooting stars could also be seen this weekend following the Geminid meteor shower, which peaked on Dec. 13, and ahead of the approaching Ursid meteor shower, which peaks on Dec. 21.

The next full moon is set to rise on Jan. 17, 2022, and this moon also has several weather-themed nicknames, including the Freeze Moon and Frost Exploding Moon.

'Christmas comet' to zip through sky, won't be back for 80,000 years
By Brian Lada, Accuweather.com

Comet Leonard seen with the help of a telescope on November 28. Photo courtesy of University of Hertfordshire Observatory

The 2020 holiday season featured a "Christmas star" when Jupiter and Saturn appeared extremely close and shined together, and this year, stargazers are in for another gift as the brightest comet of 2021 races through the evening sky.

Comet C/2021 A1, more commonly referred to as comet Leonard, was discovered earlier this year and made its closest approach to the Earth on Sunday. Before its approach, it was visible only in the early morning sky, but its journey has now made it more prominent in the evening sky, making it a target for backyard stargazers.

The "Christmas comet" will appear in the evening sky throughout the rest of the year, but folks should look for it sooner rather than later as it will become dimmer and dimmer heading into the final days of December.

Comet Leonard is not expected to be a repeat of comet NEOWISE, which impressed stargazers last year on its journey through the inner solar system.

"Based on how bright comet Leonard has been appearing recently, it looks like it will not be as bright as last year's comet NEOWISE," said Gordon Johnston, a program executive at NASA headquarters.

"This comet should be visible with a backyard telescope or binoculars and may be visible to the naked eye under very clear and dark observing conditions," Johnston said.

Even with the help of a telescope or binoculars, it will look like a fuzzy green star with a small tail.

The green track shows where Comet Leonard will appear in the sky through Dec. 25, 2021. Image courtesy of NASA

Friday will be a good opportunity to spot the comet as it will appear directly below Venus after sunset.

The fuzzy green comet will continue to glow below and to the left of Venus through the weekend before eventually shifting directly to the left of Venus by Christmas.

"Viewers will need a clear view of the horizon, as the comet will only be a few degrees above the horizon as evening twilight ends," Johnston said

The coming nights will be the only chance to see comet Leonard as it will not swing past the Earth again for another 80,000 years.

After comet Leonard fades into the depths of the solar system, it is difficult to say for sure when another comet will emerge from the darkness and become bright enough to see with the naked eye.

The University of Hawai'i discovered comet C/2021 O3 (PANSTARRS) earlier this year and predicts that it could be bright enough to see without the help of a telescope or binoculars in late April or early May of 2022, but it is difficult to say for certain.

"Comets are notoriously difficult to predict in terms of brightness and visibility," NASA explained. "With comets, you really never know."

Isolated cases of deadly 'black fungus' spotted in U.S. COVID-19 patients
By Ernie Mundell, HealthDay News

Some patients in India earlier this year contracted "black fungus" during recovery from COVID-19, with officials reporting that isolated cases of the infection have now been found in the United States. File Photo by Adi Weda/EPA-EFE

It's a phenomenon first identified in India earlier this year: Patients who have or are recovering from COVID-19 who then contract a sometimes deadly fungal infection known as mucormycosis -- also known as "black fungus."

Now, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said isolated cases of the disease are hitting COVID-19 patients in the United States.

"During Sept. 17-24, 2021, three clinicians independently notified the Arkansas Department of Health [ADH] of multiple patients with mucormycosis after a recent diagnosis of COVID-19," CDC researchers reported.

The condition is caused by a variety of naturally occurring fungi that are typically harmless, but can trigger illness in folks whose immune systems have been depleted by illness, including COVID-19.

In a statement issued by the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in May, experts there explained that "people catch mucormycosis by coming in contact with the fungal spores in the environment [soil or decomposing leaves]. It can also develop on the skin after the fungus enters the skin through a cut, scrape, burn or other type of skin trauma."

"Mucormycosis begins to manifest as skin infection in the air pockets located behind our forehead, nose, cheekbones, and in between the eyes and teeth," the Indian agency added.

"It then spreads to eyes, lungs and can even spread to the brain. It leads to blackening or discoloration over the nose, blurred or double vision, chest pain, breathing difficulties and coughing of blood," the agency said.

Once established, "black fungus" disease is tough to treat.

As the Indian experts explained, "treatment involves surgically removing all dead and infected tissue. In some patients, this may result in loss of upper jaw or sometimes even the eye. Cure may also involve a 4-6-week course of intravenous antifungal therapy. Since it affects various parts of the body, treatment requires a team of microbiologists, internal medicine specialists, intensivist neurologists, ENT specialists, ophthalmologists, dentists, surgeons and others."

Reporting in Friday's issue of the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers led by CDC epidemiologist Dr. Jeremy Gold said they identified 10 lab-confirmed cases of black fungus illness in patients treated at six Arkansas hospitals between July 12 and Sept. 28, 2021.

Nine of the 10 patients lived in the state, all were white, seven were men and the average patient age was 57.

All had tested positive for COVID-19 within the previous two months, and eight of the 10 patients also had diabetes -- another noted risk factor for contracting mucormycosis, the researchers noted.

Many cases were severe -- four patients showed disease that had spread to the nose and mouth, with three of those patients also having the brain affected.

In two cases, the illness attacked the lungs, and in one case the gastrointestinal system was affected, Gold's team said.

None of the patients had been vaccinated against the new coronavirus.

Besides battling mucormycosis, eight of the patients suffered such severe cases of COVID-19 that they required either supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation to breathe, the researchers said.

Most patients did not survive their ordeal: "Five patients received surgical treatment to excise mucormycosis-affected tissue," the CDC researchers said, and "six of the 10 patients died during hospitalization or within one week of discharge."

The team noted that the outbreak in black fungus cases in Arkansas coincided with a midsummer statewide surge in COVID-19 cases, driven by the emergence and spread of the Delta variant.

In the absence of COVID-19, mucormycosis is exceedingly rare in Arkansas or other states. However, based on the summer outbreak, the Arkansas Department of Health "coordinated a statewide call on Oct. 11, 2021 to infection preventionists for COVID-19-associated mucormycosis cases," the researchers said.

Dr. Amesh Adalja is senior scholar at the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. He wasn't involved in the new report, but said "it is not surprising that mucormycosis is also able to 'super-infect' COVID-19 patients who have severe immune dysregulation."

As they battle COVID-19, some of these patients may also be receiving medications that suppress their immune systems, such as dexamethasone or tocilizumab, and many will have already suffered lung damage, Adalja pointed out. That leaves them even more vulnerable to fungal infections such as mucormycosis.

Of course, many of the tragedies outlined in the Arkansas report could have been easily avoided, he added.

"The best prevention is to not have a case of severe COVID-19 in the first place, by being vaccinated," Adalja said.

More information

Find out more about mycormycosis and its link to COVID-19 at the American Society for Microbiology.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

HEY DR HINSHAW; WHAT'S UP DOC

Double masking, snug fit key to limiting COVID-19 spread, study finds

"Double-masking" is among the most effective ways to ensure face coverings stop the spread of COVID-19, according to a new study. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Layering a three-ply cloth mask over a medical mask or securing a medical mask with an elastic brace provides the best protection against respiratory droplets, like those that spread COVID-19, a study published Thursday found.

Medical masks such as N95 coverings alone blocked about 56% of droplets released by coughs and about 42% of those discharged when breathing out, the data showed.

However, placing a cloth mask over a medical mask, or double masking, blocked at least 85% of droplets from coughs and at least 91% of those exhaled, the researchers said, in an article published Wednesday by the American Journal of Infection Control.

In addition, adding a brace, or elastic straps designed to ensure a tight fit, over a medical mask created a covering that blocked at least 95% of cough droplets and at least 99% of exhaled droplets.

RELATED Study shows double-masking -- medical mask under cloth -- cuts COVID-19 spread

"There has been considerable confusion about the most effective use of face masks, especially among the general public, to reduce the spread of infection," Ann Marie Pettis, president of Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, said in a press release.

"[These] findings are important and timely because they identify specific, practical combinations of face masks and mask modifications that ... measurably reduce the expulsion of infectious aerosols into the environment," said Pettis, who was not part of the study.

The findings come at a time when many state and local governments are reinstituting mask mandates as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 spreads across the country.

Respiratory viruses, such as COVID-19, spread when an uninfected person is exposed to droplets released from the nose or mouth of an infected person.

Face coverings are used to reduce the spread of infectious viruses that are transmitted by respiratory aerosols and droplets produced during actions such as talking, breathing and coughing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency recommends face coverings that are multi-layered, cover the nose and mouth and form a tight seal against the face.

At the height of the pandemic, the CDC advocated double masking, or wearing a cloth mask over a medical mask. This approach is seen as the best way to ensure that the wearer does not spread infectious droplets, and it may limit their exposure to droplets from others as well.

For this study, the researchers used both human subjects and simulator manikins to evaluate the performance of multiple mask types, combinations and modifications.

They conducted a variety of experiments that simulated coughs and exhalations, and then measured the efficiency of the masks at blocking respiratory aerosols.

Using earloop toggles, or an earloop strap, or knotting and tucking the mask also increased its performance compared to medical masks without modification, the researchers said.

Two other mask-fit modifications, crossing the earloops or placing a bracket under the mask, did not increase performance.

The most efficient face mask combinations and fit modifications -- double masking and masks with braces -- should be used by healthcare workers, patients and the public to improve mask fit and limit infection spread, the researchers said.

"The performance of face masks as devices that control infection spread depends [on] the ability of the mask material to filter aerosols," study co-author Francoise M. Blachere said in a press release.

It also depends "on how well the mask fits the wearer," said Blachere, a research biologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

USA

AP-NORC poll: Omicron raises COVID worry but not precautions
By KATHLEEN FOODYDecember 13, 2021

 Maya Goode, a COVID-19 technician, performs a test on Jessica Sanchez outside Asthenis Pharmacy in Providence, R.I., Dec. 7, 2021. As the omicron variant sparks worldwide fears of renewed virus outbreaks, Americans’ worries about infection are again on the rise. But fewer say that they are regularly wearing masks or isolating compared with the beginning of the year. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

CHICAGO (AP) — As the omicron variant sparks worldwide fears of renewed COVID-19 outbreaks, Americans’ worries about infection are again on the rise, but fewer say they are regularly wearing masks or isolating compared with the beginning of the year.

A new poll conducted by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that 36% of Americans now say they are very or extremely worried that they or a family member will be infected with the virus, up from 25% who said the same in late October. Another 31% now say they’re somewhat worried.

The percentage saying they are highly worried is slightly lower now than it was in August, as the delta variant was taking hold, and still below the level of concern Americans expressed through much of 2020 as deaths and case counts varied widely across regions and seasons.

Hugh Gordon said he and his wife, Lillian, have continued to avoid people as much as possible and wear masks when they do go out to visit a doctor or retrieve groceries ordered online. But the 81-year-old retiree from Dalton, Georgia, said getting vaccinated made him feel comfortable seeing the couple’s children and 10 grandchildren — even attending the oldest granddaughter’s wedding this fall.

The Gordons hope to host 10 or 12 family members for Christmas at their house this month, a far cry from last year’s holiday when they just “worked the phones,” he said.

Although most of those who are vaccinated still say they’re at least somewhat worried about infections, 55% of those who are unvaccinated say they have little or no worry. Roughly 8 in 10 Democrats say they’re at least somewhat worried, compared with about half of Republicans.

The poll also shows that 57% of Americans now say they’re wearing masks always or often when around other people outside their homes, a slight increase from 51% in August. But that’s well below the 82% who said the same in an AP-NORC poll conducted in February and March, before many Americans had a chance to get vaccines.

Dr. Tara Kirk Sell, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said people become less likely to alter their lives as a threat becomes familiar to them.

“We’ve been dealing with COVID for a long time, and we’re going to be dealing with it for a long time,” she said. “People are going to want to do things, so the focus should be on how can we help people think through those risks ... rather than saying don’t do ‘X’ or focusing on getting to zero risk.”

Those calculations differ from one person to another, Sell said. For instance, parents of children younger than 5 who are not yet approved for COVID-19 vaccines or people living with elderly relatives may have a lower tolerance for risking infection.

John O’Dell, a 25-year-old from Nashville, said getting his initial vaccination and a booster shot made him more comfortable getting together with friends, eating at restaurants and attending NFL and NHL games along with large crowds this year. But he also said looser rules on mask wearing in Tennessee has influenced his own relaxation on wearing masks or avoiding people.

This week, O’Dell and his father spent several hours browsing a Nashville mall for Christmas gifts and he’s looking forward to visiting movie theaters to see several films set for release this month.

“It’s a total, complete flip,” he said, comparing those outings to his approach of masking and staying home a year ago.

Gordon, who has diabetes, said emerging variants of COVID-19 will likely keep him cautious about avoiding crowds and wearing masks in public.

“I just don’t want to take chances, and I feel like I’m doing everything that I can,” he said. “But if they come out with another shot, I’d be in line to get it. I want to stay around a little longer.”

Americans as a whole remain much less likely than they were in the spring to report that they’re always or often avoiding nonessential travel, staying away from large groups or avoiding other people as much as possible. But the poll shows that those who are vaccinated are far more likely than the unvaccinated to say they are still practicing those behaviors.

David Cotton, a vice president of Public Health Research and Evaluation at NORC who did not personally work on the poll, said those results suggest a large portion of Americans remain willing to take precautions more than a year into the pandemic.

“In some ways I find that encouraging, that there are so many people who continue to persist and follow the science and take care of one another,” Cotton said.

Not everyone has returned to the activities that they did regularly before the pandemic, especially things like seeing movies and going to the gym. Among those who say they did so at least monthly prior to the pandemic, 84% say they will visit friends and family in the next few weeks, 80% will shop in person for nonessential items, 73% say they will attend religious services, and 73% say they will go to a bar or restaurant.

The poll shows 58% of those who frequently traveled pre-pandemic will do so in the next few weeks, and 56% of those who used public transportation will do so.

Even fewer -- 49% -- say they will exercise at a gym or studio or go out to a concert, movie or the theater, among those who did so regularly before the pandemic.

The poll shows that about two-thirds of Americans say they find it easy to find factual information about COVID-19 vaccines and when people can get booster shots. Somewhat fewer -- 58% -- say they think it’s easy to find information about COVID-19 vaccines for children, with the numbers similar among both parents and non-parents.

Still, only about a third of the unvaccinated say they find it easy to find information about vaccines, vaccine booster or vaccines for children, with similar shares saying it is difficult and the remainder saying it’s neither easy nor difficult.

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,089 adults was conducted Dec. 2-7 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

Dogs are unsung heroes of COVID-19 pandemic for many, experts say

By Cara Murez, HealthDay News

Experts say that dogs -- some that were already part of human families, and others newly adopted -- are the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic because of the mental health benefits these canine companions offer just by being there. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Coping with the isolation, fear and sadness of the pandemic may have been a little easier if you had a trusting and loving dog by your side.

But you don't need to tell that to Francois Martin, a researcher who studies the bonds between animals and humans.

His two Great Danes helped him through the last two years, and he just completed a study that shows living with a dog gave folks a stronger sense of social support and eased some of the negative psychological effects of the pandemic.

"When you ask people, 'Why is your dog important to you? What does your dog bring to you?' People will say that it's companionship. It's the feeling of belonging to a group that includes your family dog. It keeps people busy," said Martin, who is section leader for the Behavior and Welfare Group at Nestle Purina in St. Joseph, Mo.

"If you have a dog, you have to walk the dog, you have to exercise the dog. It gives you a sense of purpose," Martin said.

It's "just plain fun," Martin added. "I don't know anybody who is as happy as my dogs to see me every day."

His team saw the pandemic as a unique time to better understand how dogs provide social support to their owners.

To do that, they surveyed more than 1,500 participants who had dogs or wanted dogs that were not designated support animals.

The survey, which was conducted on November 2020 and spring 2021, did not include owners of other types of pets because there is some evidence that different species may provide different types of support, Martin noted.

Experts say that dogs -- some that were already part of human families, and others newly adopted -- are the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic because of the mental health benefits these canine companions offer just by being there. 

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

The researchers found that the depression scores were significantly lower for dog owners compared to the potential dog owners. The owners also had a significantly more positive attitude toward and commitment to pets.

The two groups did not have any difference in anxiety scores or happiness scores.

"In terms of trying to measure the effect of dog ownership on depression, for example, and anxiety, we saw that people that had low social support and that were affected a lot by COVID-19, you could see that the importance of their dog was stronger," Martin said.

"If you're already doing well and you're not affected too much by the COVID-19 situation, having a dog is not likely to help you be less depressed because you are already not very depressed, but we saw that people who were at the other end ... you could measure the effect more precisely," he noted.

In his particular situation, Martin already had a support system, so though he certainly enjoyed having his dogs around, that didn't change his mood.

Yet, it could for someone who might have been more personally impacted by the pandemic.

The study was published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One.

Experts say that dogs -- some that were already part of human families, and others newly adopted -- are the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic because of the mental health benefits these canine companions offer just by being there. 

File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

Pets can provide affection, companionship and entertainment, said Teri Wright, a mental health therapist in private practice in Santa Ana, Calif. However, it may not be the right choice for everyone.

"People ask me the question, 'Do you think that animals, pets, dogs are good for depression, loneliness and psychiatric reasons?' And I say it depends because they can also create a whole lot of stress. And so it depends on the person," Wright said.

While Wright does have a dog at home, in her office she has a rabbit named Dusty who helps in her therapy practice. He serves as an ice breaker and helps people relax, she said.

Stanley Coren has written a lot about dogs and spent time during the pandemic with his two, a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever named Ranger and a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Ripley.

Coren, a professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, was not affiliated with this study.

He said differences between anxiety and depression may be the reason why dogs had an impact on one but not the other for the participants in this study.

It may be possible, Coren said, that a person petting their dog had a momentary reduction in stress or anxiety, rather than a long-term reduction.

Experts say that dogs -- some that were already part of human families, and others newly adopted -- are the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic because of the mental health benefits these canine companions offer just by being there. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

"During COVID-19, there are just so many anxieties. The dog will relieve the social anxieties, but not the medical anxiety or the financial anxiety," Coren suggested.

Dogs may help reduce depression because they provide a person with unconditional positive regard, Coren said. This can be especially helpful in times like the pandemic, particularly for someone without other social supports.

"If you live by yourself or you have minimal social supports, I think that a dog is a good adjunct to your mental health," Coren said.

More work is needed to better understand the relationship between pet ownership, social support and how it affects owner well-being, according to the researchers.

"I think that if you are a dog lover and you're in a position where you could acquire a dog and take care of him or her, I think it shows that you should, that dogs actually contribute to the overall well-being of people," Martin said.

More information

The American Psychological Association has more on the human-animal bond.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

A rush to mine lithium in Nevada is pitting climate advocates and environmental groups against each other


By Ella Nilsen and Rene Marsh, CNN
Fri December 17, 2021

Nevada's extinct supervolcano may hold largest lithium deposit in the world

(CNN )In an ancient and now extinct supervolcano sitting in northern Nevada lies a treasure that its seekers call "white gold."

This metal isn't to trade or to make jewelry out of -- it's lithium, and its value lies in its role in potentially slashing the world's carbon emissions.

President Joe Biden's plan to transform the US to clean, low-carbon economy energy depends on switching to electric vehicles, and that means replacing gas with batteries, which are made from critical minerals like lithium.

But in the US, doing so is not without controversy.

Lithium is a key ingredient for the big, rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles and store energy generated by solar panels and wind turbines -- keeping that energy in use even when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing.

Obtaining these minerals, which some call the new "white gold," is part of the latest worldwide rush to produce clean energy. Earlier this year, the Biden administration released a strategic plan from several federal agencies detailing how it planned to improve the entire supply chain for critical minerals like lithium -- from extracting it from US mines to putting it in batteries, to recycling and reusing these batteries.

"America has a clear opportunity to build back our domestic supply chain and manufacturing sectors, so we can capture the full benefits of an emerging $23 trillion global clean energy economy," US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in June.

In the US, the major lithium prospect is a large deposit in Thacker Pass, Nevada, and another lithium deposit sits in North Carolina. The Thacker Pass lithium deposit is one of the world's largest, sitting in an ancient, and now-extinct, supervolcano.

A proposal to start mining lithium by Lithium Nevada Corporation -- a subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp. -- was approved by the US Bureau of Land Management in January.

"It's the largest-known lithium deposit in North America, so given where we're going globally and as a country, it's a unique opportunity," Jonathan Evans, president and CEO at Lithium Americas Corp., told CNN.

Evans told CNN that currently, the bulk of lithium chemicals used in the US are imported from other countries. Lithium-rich countries including Chile and Bolivia are heavy exporters. Evans said that with lithium deposits in the US and Canada, "it's not lost on state governments and the federal that everyone wants to play in that and we have the resources to do it."

Lithium and cobalt mining for electric cars has been controversial globally for years, in part because of its environmental destruction, the short lifespan of batteries and in some countries, because child labor has been used in the process.

And as a "white gold" rush comes to the US, not everyone is thrilled about the rush to mine it.

Not everyone is on board

Lithium Americas hopes to break ground on its mining project in early 2022. CNN traveled to Nevada and found the rush to procure critical minerals in the United States has pitted environmental advocates against each other.

Some climate advocates say the rush to mine lithium is critical for a larger transition away from fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. Other local environmental groups and tribal nations oppose the project, concerned about disturbing sacred tribal burial grounds as well as potential environmental impacts. Three tribal groups tried to stop it through lawsuits -- which were dismissed by a judge in September.

"A lot of us understand blowing up a mountain for coal mining is wrong; I think blowing up a mountain for lithium mining is just as wrong," said Max Wilbert, an environmental organizer who is camping out at Thacker Pass to protest the mine's development.

Wilbert cited several reasons he is against the lithium mine: environmental impacts to sage grouse and antelope, potential water pollution for surrounding communities and cultural issues for the local indigenous community, which considers the land on and around Thacker Pass sacred burial grounds.

Wilbert is currently camping out in frigid Nevada desert winter conditions in a tribal ceremonial camp, and he and other advocates say they're willing to stand in front of mining machinery to try to stop the project from going forward.

"Our laws haven't caught up to the reality of what's happening to our planet, and so people might have to break the law in order to change what's happening," he said. "Electric cars won't actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions that much; they will reduce emissions but not by a sizable amount."

Driving gas-powered vehicles in the US comes at a cost to the climate. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation account for nearly 30% of total US emissions; more than any other sector, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Glenn Miller, a retired professor of environmental science at the University of Nevada Reno, disagreed -- telling CNN the Thacker Pass project is a "relatively benign mine for its size."

Miller said he thinks the clean energy benefits of mining lithium in Nevada outweigh environmental concerns -- especially when it comes to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions worsening global climate change.

"Those who say it isn't going to make any difference, they're simply wrong," Miller said. "Radical environmentalists are going to argue that the only way to solve the climate change problem is to drive a whole lot less and to not burn gasoline or coal. Well, that's not going to happen -- the demands of society are set so we're going to have to have an active transportation industry."

Miller told CNN that lithium is the key ingredient that will power the transition to electric vehicles.

"There's no other metal that can work as well as lithium," Miller said. "We're going to need a lot of batteries to run the cars that we're going to have on the road. It's going to be a very positive contribution to mitigating climate change."

Evans told CNN his company is engaging community stakeholders, and local and state governments about the mine's plans.

"It's very important that this transition is done as sustainable as possible," Evans said, stressing his company is committed to mitigating the environmental impacts of mining as much as it can, by conserving water use and trying to lessen carbon emissions as it extracts the mineral.

"It's not the cheapest, but it's essential as we move to this phase to ensure we do things as responsibly as possible."

Revealed: How ‘abortion pill reversal’ originating in the US has spread to Russia


openDemocracy’s work prompts Russian health ministry to discuss the dangers of unproven treatment backed by US Christian conservatives


Tatev HovhannisyanLiza Velyaminova
17 December 2021, 10.37am

Illustration: Inge Snip. All rights reserved

Russia’s health ministry has agreed for the first time to consider the dangers of a controversial ‘abortion reversal’ treatment, after openDemocracy revealed that it had spread into the country from the US.

The commitment came after we went undercover to show how easily the ‘treatment’ known as ‘abortion pill reversal’ (APR), developed and promoted by conservative Christian groups in the West, could be obtained in Russia – despite international health warnings against the procedure.

Russian women’s rights campaigners hope that “urgent concrete actions” will follow the response of the health ministry. Although Russia has one of the world’s most liberal abortion laws, last year President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to step up efforts to prevent abortion. “However, the ministry's reaction means that there are still officials among them who think about women’s health,” Alena Popova, human rights activist and founder of the Ethics and Technology think tank, told openDemocracy.

APR was first developed by a controversial Californian GP who now works as an adviser for the religious anti-abortion US charity Heartbeat International. It is an unproven procedure that supposedly halts and reverses the effect of a medical (rather than a surgical) abortion. It involves taking huge doses of the hormone progesterone, after having taken the first (mifepristone) of two pills used in a medical abortion.

But the only trial into APR, in the US in 2019, was halted after some participants ended up in hospital with severe bleeding.

What’s more, experts also doubt APR’s efficacy, explaining that most medical abortions do not work if the second abortion pill (misoprostol) is not taken. Anti-abortion doctors administer APR after the first abortion pill only – meaning that its supposed effects may be non-existent.

Undercover investigation

openDemocracy went undercover to investigate how ‘abortion pill reversal’ has spread to Russia. We contacted a 24-hour APR hotline run out of the US by Heartbeat International, who gave us information about Agari, a so-called “maternity home” in Russia.

We spoke to an American volunteer at Agari, who described it as a “shelter for immigrant women of Central Asia experiencing unplanned pregnancies”. She then directed us to their Russian “partner medical centre”, Agape, and also offered to cover the costs of APR treatment.

An online consultant at Agape said they would provide our reporter with an “abortion reversal” service.

The Heartbeat International hotline also gave us details of the Russian APR network, Peredumala.ru (Russian for ‘change my mind’), where a gynaecologist encouraged our reporter to take the “treatment” and claimed: “There is absolutely no harm from progesterone.”

When shown our evidence, the health ministry conceded the treatment was “controversial” and said it was being “discussed” internally.

Meanwhile, Russian politicians, doctors and human rights activists condemned the promotion of APR in Russia as “inhumane” and “very dangerous”.

“A doctor can’t guarantee that the pregnancy will proceed normally if a woman ‘reverses’ her abortion,” said Russian gynaecologist Olga Pustotina. For Russian women’s rights activist Zalina Marshenkulova, APR is “inhumane”.

Russia is using the most aggressive technologies of Western conservatives and anti-abortion fighters

“It can harm women and put their lives at risk,” Oxana Pushkina, a former Russian MP, told openDemocracy. She added: “Russia is using the most aggressive technologies of Western conservatives and anti-abortion fighters as a carbon copy.”

Popova from Ethics and Technology said that the spread of APR in Russia was connected to pressure “from pro-life organisations”: “They believe that the birth rate is more important than women’s health and the health of their children.”

In response to questions from openDemocracy, Heartbeat International said “the protocol used in the abortion pill reversal process is nothing new. [...] Progesterone has been used routinely and safely with pregnancy since the 1950s.”

“More than 2,500 lives have been saved thanks to the abortion pill reversal protocol,” the group claimed.

Growing APR network in Russia

Abortions are legal in Russia as an elective procedure, free of charge, up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and later under special circumstances. The country had the highest number of abortions per capita (37.4 per 1,000 women aged 15–44), according to data published in 2013 by the UN.

Now, almost 100 years after Soviet Russia became the first country in the world to legalise abortion, anti-abortion narratives are back.

President Putin is a well-known defender of “traditional values”. In October, Moscow joined the anti-abortion Geneva Consensus Declaration, initiated by the Donald Trump administration. On the same day, Republicans in the US Congress introduced resolutions insisting that there should be no international right to abortion.

According to articles on the websites of Pregnancy Help News (“powered by Heartbeat International”) and the National Catholic Register, Russia’s “growing” APR network is overseen by Dr. Alexey Fokin from St Petersburg, who promotes the method through Peredumala.ru, which he founded.

Fokin has been helping “reverse chemical abortions” for five years with the help of “three physicians and several registered nurses in multiple regions of Russia,” Pregnancy Help News claims.

Peredumala.ru encourages women to buy progesterone from a pharmacy, suggesting that they can avoid the need for a prescription by saying they were “told to buy it in the hospital”.

In 2017, Fokin founded Dve Poloski (Russian for ‘two lines’, in reference to a pregnancy test), a “regional public organisation […] to protect children, pregnant women and traditional family values.”

He is also linked to the website Postabort.ru, which provides references to books, articles, research and stories that describe the alleged negative psychological effects of abortion on women’s mental health.

Fokin described our findings as “absolutely stupid,” “mistakes” and “lies”, but did not comment more specifically.

The phone number for the APR hotline on Peredumala.ru is identical to the hotline listed on the website of the anti-abortion programme Spasi Zhizn (‘save a life’), where priests are listed as responders alongside doctors and lawyers. The programme was launched in 2017 by Za Zhizn! (‘for life’), a national ‘crisis pregnancy centre’ that is supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Za Zhizn! claims to “ensure the protection of children from conception to birth, approve traditional family values” and “solve demographic problems”. Its leader Sergey Chesnokov has called abortion “murder”. In 2017, he was told by President Putin: “What you are doing in terms of supporting pregnant women – to decide whether to leave a child or not – is absolutely right. […] I am ready to do everything in order to support you in this part of your work.”

MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

The Eternal Recurrence of Defense Contractor Price-Gouging

For the second time in three years, TransDigm has been caught ripping off the Pentagon for millions of dollars. Will there finally be some accountability?


BY DAVID DAYEN
DECEMBER 17, 2021

STAFF SGT. FRANK ROHRIG/U.S. AIR FORCE
U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons fly in formation behind a KC-135 Stratotanker after aerial refueling, December 8, 2021.


Two years ago, the Defense Department’s inspector general released a report showing that TransDigm, a contractor that makes spare aviation and maritime parts, relentlessly ripped off the U.S. government in contracting negotiations. The IG found $16.1 million in overcharges on a sample of $29.7 million in contracts. After a contentious congressional hearing, TransDigm returned the money to the government.

That brings us to this week. The Pentagon IG released another report, looking at another sample of TransDigm contracts. This time, out of the $38.3 million in contracts, TransDigm received “excess profit” (defined as a profit margin above 15 percent) of $20.8 million. The IG again recommended that TransDigm return the money. TransDigm spokesperson Jaimie Stemen said the company is “reviewing” the audit report.

The future of military auditing, then, seems to be one of endless reports of endless TransDigm contracts showing endless rip-offs. “It’s pretty remarkable; we just scratched the surface with the initial $16 million,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who chaired the 2019 hearing on TransDigm in the House Oversight Committee and has been a leading critic of the company’s practices. “There’s nothing that angers the American public more than people making money on the backs of our military men and women who risk their lives in service. Arthur Miller wrote a whole play about it, All My Sons. Harry Truman ascended to the presidency because of his investigations into war profiteering.”

Khanna’s citations, going back 75 years, make clear that defense contractor swindling is an enduring feature of American life. In fact, this week’s IG report notes that it has issued nine other reports over the past 23 years that pinpoint the exact problem at issue in the TransDigm case, which allows them to mark up prices without government knowledge.

A majority of TransDigm’s net sales are derived from sole-source parts, where they are the only provider.

At a time of constant chatter about inflation, this is the enduring inflation story buried beneath the surface: consistent, outrageous charges on military equipment, inching up costs in the largest single line item in the U.S. budget. But in the report, the Pentagon reveals a novel solution to the TransDigm problem, which would involve taking them out of the supply chain entirely. Will the government finally exact some accountability for what they have painstakingly demonstrated as repeated fleecing?

TransDigm is a private equity–style firm with a business model of acquiring companies to corner the market on various spare parts. A majority of TransDigm’s net sales are derived from sole-source parts, where they are the only provider. Of the 107 TransDigm parts the IG studied, 94 of them were sole-source.

Sole-sourcing creates a sense of urgency among procurement officials. These spare parts keep planes in the air; they have to purchase them to continue operations. But TransDigm is the only supplier, and corporate-friendly contracting rules give the procurement officers no leverage to make a decent deal.

For contracts below a $2 million threshold (recently increased from $750,000 by the Truth in Negotiations Act, or TINA), contractors are not obligated to provide cost data (i.e., how much it actually costs to produce the parts) that officials can analyze to determine a fair and reasonable price. Procurement officials can ask contractors for cost data, but contractors are under no obligation to supply it. In the contracts studied, officials asked for cost data on 27 contracts; TransDigm provided that data for just two. In the vast majority of those other cases, TransDigm’s excess profit was well over 100 percent.

Without cost data, procurement officials are flying blind. They can use historical price comparisons, but if a company has been jacking up the price for years, those comparisons are ineffective; you’d just be comparing price-gouging to price-gouging. For example, the IG report looked at 46 TransDigm acquisitions of companies making spare parts. In 44 out of 46 cases, TransDigm immediately increased the price, as much as 247 percent in one case.

After the fact, the IG was able to obtain the cost data it needed from TransDigm, enabling the IG to see how much profit TransDigm was earning above a “reasonable” 15 percent level. Excess profits were found on 106 of the 107 spare parts studied. A contract for a check valve yielded a 1269.9 percent excess profit; a quick-disconnect coupling half earned 1697.7 percent. The highest markup was an astronomical 3850.6 percent.

“DoD will continue to pay higher prices on spare parts if contractors use market-based pricing in a sole-source environment when contract values are low and uncertified cost data is not provided,” the IG report states.

These spare parts will never add up to the cost of an F-35. More than 95 percent of TransDigm contracts in the time frame studied were under that TINA threshold, and the company works to keep it that way. In numerous cases, DOD had to buy the same parts from TransDigm over and over again. But while the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) attempted to award multiyear or multipart contracts that would rise above the TINA threshold, TransDigm didn’t agree to the terms, preferring to fly below the radar.

TransDigm has taken issue with the report’s analysis. “TransDigm acted consistent with all laws and regulations, and in many other areas, the report contains flawed analysis and misleading conclusions,” spokesperson Jaimie Stemen told the Prospect.

Of course, this is what TransDigm said about the 2019 IG report, which it then tacitly acknowledged as accurate by repaying the $16.1 million. “Are they saying the men and women who serve in the Pentagon are biased?” Khanna asked. “There’s one institution in America that has public support, not Congress, not the White House or journalists. It’s the military. If you want to argue against the only institution with a 90 percent approval rating in America, go ahead.”

Khanna, who first became interested in TransDigm’s activities in 2017, told the Prospect that he is working with his staff on holding another Oversight Committee hearing about the company. He believes TransDigm should refund the additional $20.8 million in excess profits, issue an apology, and submit a plan to reform its practices.

But how many chances should TransDigm be given? How many reports need to come out about excess profits before the government says enough? Khanna said that “everything is on the table,” including removing TransDigm as a contractor, though he didn’t want to prejudge before a congressional inquiry.

The Defense Department submitted two legislative proposals last year mandating that procurement officials obtain cost data before negotiating a contract. Neither of them made it into the National Defense Authorization Act last year, or this year. Despite the Defense Department being relatively unquestioned on Capitol Hill, in this case the military is screaming for help from being continuously overcharged, and Congress gave them the brush-off.

Khanna chalked up the failure to the dearth of members who make procurement a high priority, though he promised to raise his colleagues’ awareness before next year’s NDAA comes before them. But the military is not inclined to wait. The IG revealed that the Defense Logistics Agency is working on two initiatives, both of which would be groundbreaking.

The first, a Reverse Engineering Initiative, would identify sole-source parts that the military can reverse engineer and make themselves, rather than relying on TransDigm and other price-gougers. Already, 394 aviation parts have been approved as candidates for reverse engineering. In a separate Strategic Supplier Alliance Initiative, DLA is encouraging 14 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to cancel their licensing agreements with TransDigm, and instead begin to manufacture the parts themselves.

It’s not every day in Washington that an agency announces a plan to engage in its own manufacturing. But it seems like the best way to deal with a monopoly, by encouraging competition, and the best way to deal with a rogue contractor, by cutting them out of the process. “It’s a drastic thing for DOD to call for; I haven’t seen it before,” Khanna said. “It should show that what TransDigm is doing is particularly egregious.”

Whether through legislation or the military just taking over production, there should be some urgency to avoid the need for another report in 2023, showing that TransDigm once again snookered the Defense Department for millions of dollars in markups. And another in 2025. And so on.


DAVID DAYEN
David Dayen is the Prospect’s executive editor. His work has appeared in The Intercept, The New Republic, HuffPost, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and more. His most recent book is ‘Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power.’

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