Bipartisan lawmakers announce compromise on Violence Against Women Act


A group of bipartisan lawmakers announced an agreement on legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act on Wednesday, which does not include a provision to close the so-called "boyfriend loophole." 

Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE

Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Wednesday announced an agreement on legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act that removes a key provision related to gun ownership.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Lisa Murkowski, R-Ala., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, announced the legislation that will "reauthorize and strengthen" the law for the first time in nearly a decade.

Feinstein said the bill "preserves the good work of the last reauthorization bill in 2013" and will strengthen "existing programs to support survivors and to prevent and to respond to domestic violence, and that's dating violence and sexual assault and stalking."

Further, she said the legislation will seek to expand services for domestic abuse survivors including "survivors in rural communities, LGBT survivors," as well as survivors with disabilities and strengthen the criminal justice response to domestic violence.

However, the bill does not include a provision that advocates say would close the so-called "boyfriend loophole" by extending restrictions barring individuals convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence that currently only includes spouses or formerly married partners to dating partners.

"Now, this isn't a perfect bill, I regret the boyfriend loophole is not addressed," Feinstein said. "Many of us have tried very hard to get there. But it's a good bill. And we need to finally get a Violence Against Women Act reauthorization to the president."

The provision, however, drew criticism from guns rights activists who panned it as an unnecessary restriction on gun ownership.

"The boyfriend loophole is a play straight from the Biden gun control agenda. It's just gun control," Aidan Johnson, director of federal affairs at Gun Owners of America said.

Actress Angelina Jolie, who has lobbied for the bill to be reauthorized, lamented that there are "many people for whom this legislation comes too late."

"The women who have suffered through this system with little or no support who still carry the pain and trauma of their abuse," said Jolie. "The young adults who have survived abuse and emerged stronger not because of the child protective system, but despise it. And the women and children who have died, who could have been saved."

President Joe Biden, who wrote the original bill, applauded the senators for reaching a compromise.

"In the nearly three decades since its passage, the law has been reauthorized three times with broad bipartisan support," Biden said. "Each time, I have helped work to strengthen its protections -- expanding access to safety and resources for all survivors, particularly those from marginalized communities."

THIRD WORLD USA
AHA News: Low-income WHITE Americans at higher risk for clogged neck arteries

By HealthDay News

Study participants making less than $35,000 a year had 15% greater odds of carotid artery stenosis than those with a higher income, new research showed. 

Photo by Vector8DIY/Pixabay

People making less than $35,000 a year may be more likely to have carotid artery stenosis, a leading cause of stroke, a new study found.

Carotid artery stenosis is a narrowing of the large arteries on either side of the neck that carry blood to the brain. The narrowing is often a buildup of sticky plaques. Known risk factors include high levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes.

Previous research shows Black and Hispanic people have a lower risk of carotid artery stenosis compared to White people, and Native Americans have a higher risk. But prevalence according to factors other than race and ethnicity is less clear.

To identify possible patterns, researchers evaluated electronic health records of a diverse pool of 203,813 participants in the National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program. Half of participants were White, 20% were Black, 20% were Hispanic, 3% were Asian and the rest identified as other races or ethnicities. One in 10 had less than a high school degree and 36% had a household income of less than $35,000 per year.

Overall, 2.7% of participants had been diagnosed with carotid artery stenosis. Among them, 7.3% had undergone revascularization, a surgical procedure to restore normal blood flow to the brain.

Those making less than $35,000 a year had 15% greater odds of carotid artery stenosis than those with a higher income. Lower income also was associated with 38% higher odds for carotid revascularization.

The findings, published in the journal Stroke, will be presented Thursday at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference.

"Having a lower income may affect people's food choices," said Dr. Helmi Lutsep, professor and interim chair of the department of neurology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. She was not involved in the study. "They may not be able to buy healthy fruits and vegetables. And the more we learn about this, the more we can intervene and potentially change the pattern."

Lutsep said the study offers further evidence that doctors should be considering health disparities and using what they learn about their patients to guide preventive care.

When race and ethnicity were considered, Black and Hispanic participants had lower odds of carotid artery stenosis, echoing previous research. Black participants with the condition also were less likely to receive revascularization therapy.

"That could be due to less severe presentations," said lead author Dr. Daniela Renedo, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.

So-called volunteer bias, which leads to more healthy people enrolled, might explain the lower rates of carotid artery stenosis in certain groups, the researchers said.

Even so, Lutsep commended the diversity of the study population, especially that 61% were women, because men are overrepresented in many stroke-related trials. But she also noted the potential for bias toward participants with access to computers in the All of Us Research Program, since enrollment appeared to be done mainly through its website.

Plenty of questions remain, Renedo said. But researchers will soon have access to the All of Us participants' genetic information, and "we will use these data to better understand the interaction between social determinants of health and biological factors that ultimately lead to carotid stenosis and its consequences."

The takeaway message for now, she said, "is that more attention should be given to the present healthcare disparities in this condition."

American Heart Association News covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. If you have questions or comments about this story, please email editor@heart.org.

By Kat Long
Copyright © 2021 HealthDay.

 All rights reserved.

'Bored' security guard vandalizes 90-year-old painting at Russian exhibit

By UPI Staff

Officials said the unidentified security guard drew a pair of eyes onto two human figures in the painting, which is valued at more than $1 million.

 File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- A Russian security guard has been fired for defacing a valuable painting worth $1.3 million that was hanging in an art gallery -- apparently because he said he was "bored."

Authorities said the guard defiled the artwork by Russian painter Anna Leporskaya, titled "Three Figures" -- which depicts three faceless human figures with no facial detail.

Officials said the guard drew eyes on two of the figures with a ballpoint pen.

"His motives are still unknown but the administration believes it was some kind of a lapse in sanity," curator Anna Reshetkina said, according to The Guardian.

"Fortunately, the vandal drew with a pen without strong pressure, and therefore the relief of the strokes as a whole was not disturbed," Ivan Petrov wrote in the Art Newspaper. "The left figure also had a small crumble of the paint layer up to the underlying layer on the face."

The painting was created in the 1930s and was on display at the gallery as part of an abstract art exhibition. After the vandalism was found, it was returned to the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow about 850 miles away.

Experts said it would cost a few thousand dollars to restore the painting to its original form.

Authorities opened an investigation into the incident and the guard faces up to three months in jail and a fine.

MARCEL DUCHAMP 1919 LHQQQ

Sen. Chuck Schumer says he will back marijuana legalization bill


Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., answers reporters' questions during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on February 1. Schumer said Thursday he will back new marijuana legalization legislation 

Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday he is supporting an effort by Democrats to bring a marijuana initiative to the floor that would legalize it and set banking rules for its sale for the first time.

The Democrats are pushing to introduce legislation by April that could be considered for votes during the mid-term elections.

"As majority leader, I can set priorities," Schumer, D-N.Y., said, according to Bloomberg Law. "This is a priority for me."

A letter sent to Democratic colleagues signed by Schumer, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said 18 states have already taken the step to legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use and 37 states have given it medical approval.

"Hundreds of millions of Americans live in states that have legalized cannabis in some form while it remains illegal at the federal level," the letter said. "This discrepancy leads to confusion and uncertainty and raises significant questions around criminal justice reform, economic development and small business growth, and public health and safety, all of which we believe require some type of federal answer."

A Pew Research Center study released in April 2021 revealed that 91% of U.S. adults favored medical marijuana use and 60% agreed it should be legalized for recreational use

The letter asked Democrats to get involved in the legislative process so the bill can be finalized. Politics, though, could get in the way. The Senate is evenly split 50-50 and Democrats will need 10 Republicans to get any marijuana legislation to a vote in the Senate.

New Zealand police arrest 120 anti-COVID-19 mandate protesters



Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Police and anti-COVID-19 mandate protesters clashed outside of New Zealand's Parliament on Thursday, resulting in some 120 people arrested, authorities said.

The arrests were conducted as protesters refused to leave the parliament grounds, which were closed to the public earlier in the day.

Those arrested have been charge with trespass and obstruction, the New Zealand Police said in a statement.

The authorities said despite the grounds' closure some protesters refused to leave and attempted to breach the police cordon, and officers twice deployed pepper spray after protesters tried to pull them into the crowd.

"They were not seriously injured, however such behavior is unacceptable," New Zealand Police said. "Anyone threatening the safety of police staff or the public should expect to face enforcement action."

More than 100 additional police were called into the district on Thursday as protests at the Parliament have stretched into their third day.

Inspired by Canada's so-called Freedom Convoy of truckers who have been protesting against COVID-19 mandates in the northern North American nation, the Convoy 2022 NZ began Sunday for Wellington, where they convened on Tuesday and encamped themselves in demand for the end of mandates and against media censorship.

Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell told police that the removal of protesters could take days.

"This is unprecedented for New Zealand," Parnell said, according to 1News. "We've never had an occupation of this scale and certainly with tents on Parliament grounds, so some degree uncharted waters."

Police said parking wardens have begun to issue infringement notices to vehicles unlawfully blocking streets around Parliament and will be seeking to have them towed shortly.

"Police will continue to have a presence at Parliament into the night and as long as necessary to ensure public safety," New Zealand Police said.

USA

Lethal combos of opioids, cocaine, meth hit Black communities hardest

By HealthDay News

Between 2007 and 2019, there was a 575% increase in the rate of Black Americans dying from opioid and cocaine overdoses, compared to a 184% increase among White Americans, according to the study. Photo by stevepb/Pixabay

Combined use of opioids and stimulant drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine can be deadly, and in the United States Black communities have been hit especially hard by this lethal combo, new research indicates.

Over a 12-year period, Black Americans have had much larger increases in overdose deaths from opioids and stimulant drugs than other racial groups, an analysis of federal government data found.

Driving this alarming trend is the growing contamination of non-opioid drugs by fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid, New York University researchers said.

Between 2007 and 2019, there was a 575% increase in the rate of Black Americans dying from opioid and cocaine overdoses, compared to a 184% increase among White Americans, according to the study.

RELATED Report: 1.2M more opioid overdose deaths expected in North America by 2029

In 2019, overdose death rates from methamphetamines and other stimulants (MOS) were lower than from cocaine/opioids. But in recent years, researchers saw that MOS/opioid overdose death rates rose 16,200% among Black people, compared with 3,200% among White people.

"While all racial and ethnic groups we examined are dying in greater numbers from opioids combined with stimulants, we are alarmed to see these trends worsening so much faster in marginalized communities that have historically been less affected by the current epidemic," said study lead author Tarlise Townsend. She is a postdoctoral researcher in population health at NYU Langone, in New York City.

"We need to be targeting harm reduction and treatment strategies to those who are being hardest hit," Townsend said in an NYU news release.

The analysis found that overdose deaths from opioids and stimulants rose in all racial groups and across the country, but increased more than three times faster among Black Americans than among White Americans, particularly in eastern states.

The researchers also found a significant increase in opioid and stimulant overdose deaths among Hispanic and Asian Americans versus White Americans.

"Our findings bolster the argument that overdose prevention efforts should target not only people who use opioids, but also those who primarily use cocaine, methamphetamine, and other stimulants," said study co-author Magdalena Cerdá, professor and director of the hospital's Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy.

"Because of structural and systemic racism, adequate access to harm reduction and evidence-based substance use disorder treatment services is lacking in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. More state and federal funding for these programs are needed," according to Cerdá.

When the research team looked at state by state data, the largest Black/White disparity was in MOS/opioid deaths in the Midwest, according to the study.

By 2019, rates of cocaine/opioid deaths among Black Americans were considerably higher in 47 states than among White Americans. In the South, deaths from cocaine and opioids rose 26% a year in Black people, 27% a year in Hispanic people and 12% a year in White people.

Among Black Americans, death rates from opioids plus meth or other stimulants increased 66% per year in the Northeast, 72% per year in the Midwest, and 57% per year in the South, the researchers reported.

The findings were published online recently in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

More information

For more on overdose death rates, go to the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M; DUOPOLY
Treasury report: two brewers dominate U.S. beer, wine and spirits markets
By Doug Cunningham


Missouri Governor Jay Nixon inspects a Bud Light beer bottle at opening ceremonies of the new Anheuser-Busch expanded aluminum manufacturing plant in Arnold, Mo., on April 8, 2016. A Feb. 2022 Treasury Department report says U.S. alcohol markets are dominated by Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors.

 Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo


Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Two brewers dominate the U.S. alcohol industry, according to a U.S. Treasury Department report required by an Executive Order from President Biden.

The report found that Anheuser-Busch Inbev and Molson Coors have dominated the U.S. markets since 2008, accounting for about 65% of the beer market nationwide, as measured by revenue.

The report encouraged the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to "continue their antitrust scrutiny of the alcohol markets."

The report noted two major trends in the last several decades in the beer, wine and spirits industry.

The first is significant growth of small and "craft" makers of beer, wine and spirits. More than 6,400 breweries, 6,600 wineries and 1,900 distilleries are operating in the United States.

The report said the second major alcohol industry trend is consolidation.

"In many states," the report said, "there has been significant consolidation in distribution."

The Treasury Department said studies have shown direct links between major brewery mergers and an ability to raise prices in the markets in which they compete.

The department's report encouraged states to explore changes to eliminate anticompetitive effects and to bolster competition in the alcohol industry.

Study: Fossilized bones suggest dinosaurs had respiratory infections, too

By HealthDay News

CT scans of infected vertebra from Dolly, a fossilized sauropod, show externally visibly abnormal bone growth and other internal irregularities -- which researchers say suggests a unique respiratory condition in dinosaur.

 Photo by Woodruff, et al./Ohio University/Nature


The fossilized bones of a young dinosaur show evidence of a respiratory infection that may have caused familiar flu-like symptoms -- fever, coughing and trouble breathing.

Dolly, as she's been dubbed by researchers, was an immature diplodocid -- a large, long-necked plant-eating sauropod. Her remains were found in southwest Montana and date back about 150 million years to the late Jurassic period.

Close examination of three of Dolly's neck bones revealed never-before-seen protrusions with an unusual shape and texture.

The abnormal growths were in an area that would have been penetrated by air-filled sacs connected to Dolly's lungs.

RELATED Malignant bone cancer found in ancient dinosaur fossil

CT imaging revealed the protrusions were made of abnormal bone that most likely formed in response to a respiratory infection.

"Given the likely symptoms this animal suffered from, holding these infected bones in your hands, you can't help but feel sorry for Dolly," said Cary Woodruff, director of paleontology at the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum in Malta, Montana.

"We've all experienced these same symptoms -- coughing, trouble breathing, a fever, etc. -- and here's a 150-million-year-old dinosaur that likely felt as miserable as we all do when we're sick," Woodruff said in a news release from Ohio University.

RELATED Bone analysis shows small T. rexes were kids, not distinct genus

The discovery, possibly the first evidence of a unique respiratory infection in a dinosaur, adds to understanding of the illnesses that occurred in dinosaurs, according to the authors of the study, which was published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.

The researchers speculate that Dolly's illness could have been caused by a fungal infection similar to aspergillosis. It's a common respiratory disease that affects modern-day birds and reptiles. It can cause bone infections.

If untreated, aspergillosis can be fatal in birds, so it's possible that a similar infection in Dolly could have ultimately caused her death, Woodruff and his colleagues suggested.

Aspergillosis can also affect humans.

"This fossil infection in Dolly not only helps us trace the evolutionary history of respiratory-related diseases back in time, but gives us a better understanding of what kinds of diseases dinosaurs were susceptible to," Woodruff explained.

More information

There's more on aspergillosis at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Fewer than 30% of U.S. workers have paid sick leave protected by state law, study finds


Fewer than 30% of workers in the United States have paid sick leave protected by state law, according to a new study.

 File photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo


Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Fewer than 30% of workers in the United States have paid sick leave protected by state law, an analysis published Thursday by American Journal of Preventive Medicine found.

Some workers who have that benefit got it because 12 states nationally had passed laws requiring employers to provide it as of 2020, the researchers said.

Others may have it through their employers, though the benefit is not protected by law, according to the study.

In addition, 18 states without paid sick leave laws prohibit local governments from creating their own sick-leave regulations, limiting access to the benefit and exacerbating income inequality, they said.

RELATED California Gov. Newsom, lawmakers announce deal for paid sick leave


"The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical need for access to paid sick leave for workers, their families, and employers," study co-author Jennifer Pomeranz said in a press release.

"We need a federal policy solution that gives all workers access to paid sick leave benefits, especially low-wage workers who have no choice but to work when sick," said Pomeranz, an assistant professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health in New York City.

Providing sick employees paid time off allows them flexibility to seek medical care, as needed, and to recover from illness more quickly, according to Pomeranz and her colleagues.

RELATED With federal COVID-19 sick leave gone, workers feel pressure to go to work

In addition, sick leave availability has been linked with a lower risk for death among employees, the researchers said.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, paid sick leave has also benefited employers, as allowing people to stay home when sick limits the spread of the virus and other infectious diseases in the workplace, according to the researchers.

Workplace outbreaks can lead to widespread absenteeism and lost productivity, they said.

RELATED Survey: U.S. support for government safety nets increased amid COVID-19 pandemic

However, the United States is among the few high-income countries without a national law guaranteeing paid sick leave, funded by either employers or the government, Pomeranz and her colleagues said.

As a result, fewer than 60% of workers in service industries are offered paid sick leave, and fields such as such as food production, hospitality and retail rarely offer the benefit, leaving many employees vulnerable to lost wages and forcing them to work while sick, they said.

To fill this gap, some local and state governments have passed laws that require paid sick leave, the researchers said.

San Francisco was the first city to do so, in 2007, while Connecticut became the first state to enact a paid sick-leave mandate, in 2011, according to FamilyValues@Work.org.

Surveys have found that many workers in the United States felt pressure to remain on the job, even amid safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Others indicate that most workers support government safety nets such as paid sick-leave because of the concerns raised during the pandemic.

In this study, the researchers examined state paid sick leave laws and state laws pre-empting paid sick leave across the United States from 2009 to 2020.

At the time of the study, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont had enacted laws that require paid sick leave in some form, according to the researchers.

Colorado, Maine and New Mexico enacted laws in 2021-22, the Society for Human Resource Management reported.

Based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. census, 28% of all jobs nationally are covered by state-required paid sick leave laws as of 2019, the data showed.

However, as of 2020, 18 states without laws requiring employers to provide paid leave passed legislation to pre-empt local governments from passing their own paid sick policies, up from only one state pre-emption law in 2009, the researchers said.

Even in states requiring paid sick leave, the laws vary. with some exempting small or public employers and/or excluding certain occupations, they said.

"Excluding low-wage workers ... from paid sick leave protections only further exacerbates health disparities," study co-author José Pagán said in a press release.

"Many of [them] work in jobs that increase their risk for illnesses like COVID-19 and lack access to employer-based coverage," said Pagán, chair and professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health.

VIRTUAL CRIME

Russian boy sent to prison for plot to blow up spy building on 'Minecraft'

By UPI Staff

The Federal Security Service building is seen in Moscow, Russia. Prosecutors said that a 16-year-old boy who was sent to jail on Thursday plotted terrorist activities with two others -- including blowing up a different FSB office they'd built in the game "Minecraft."

 File Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- A Russian teenager was sent to prison on Thursday for supposedly "training" for terrorist activities and other charges that included blowing up a virtual government intelligence building on the video game Minecraft.

A military court in Siberia sentenced the boy, 16-year-old Nikita Uvarov, to five years for the charges -- which stemmed from anti-government leaflets he'd handed out and videos on cellphones belonging to Uvarov and at least two others.

Authorities also said they'd uncovered a plot by the teens to blow up a virtual building belonging to the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, that they'd built in the block-building game Minecraft.

The FSB is the top intelligence and security service in Russia and the successor to the Soviet-era KGB.

The two other teenagers were given suspended sentences on Thursday because they cooperated with prosecutors in the case against Uvarov.

The case against Uvarov follows a number of other controversial anti-terrorist prosecutions in Russia. In 2020, several young activists were jailed for supposedly planning a coup and other terror-related charges. Some of them claimed that Russian authorities effectively beat confessions out of them -- a claim similar to what Uvarov said in court on Thursday.

"I am not a terrorist, I am not guilty," he said, according to The Moscow Times. "I would just like to finish my studies, get an education and go somewhere far away from here, somewhere I don't irritate anyone from the special services."

Uvarov also told the court that he never planned to blow anything up.