KRAZY CHRISTIANS 

Trump Allies Warn of 'Demonic Territory,' 'Satanic Portal' Over Biden WH

BY JASON LEMON ON 5/14/22 AT 5:06 PM EDT

Prominent allies of former President Donald Trump warned of a "demonic territory" over the country and a "Satanic portal" over the White House as they spoke at a weekend conference.

The ReAwaken America Tour held what it described as a "sold out" event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Friday and Saturday. Speakers at the far-right event included Pastor Mark Burns, right-wing strategist Roger Stone, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, the former president's son Eric Trump and retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn.

Burns, a staunch Trump supporter and GOP House candidate for South Carolina's 4th district, took aim at the LGBTQ community, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and leading Democrats in Congress as he spoke on Saturday. Notably, despite his unwavering support of the former president, Trump recently endorsed his incumbent opponent, Representative William Timmons, in South Carolina's GOP primary.


"The Bible say that 'we fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against rulers in high places.' Satan is bigger than Lindsey Graham," Burns said, drawing audible agreement from the audience. Graham represents South Carolina.



"You wanna get rid of Lindsey Graham?" the pastor asked. "Then get rid of the demonic territory that's over the land. Y'all not talking back to me. I can't get no help in here," he added, drawing applause and some cheers from the large crowd.

Graham was widely viewed as a Trump ally during the former president's tenure in the White House. However, the GOP senator has received some backlash from Trump since he left office.

"I mean, Lindsey's a nice guy, but he's a RINO," Trump told Newsmax in February. RINO is an acronym signifying "Republican in name only."

Speaking on Friday night, Stone, who received a pardon from Trump in December 2020, talked about Satan as well.

"There is a Satanic portal above the White House, you can see it day and night," the Trump ally claimed. "It exists. It is real. And it must be closed. And it will be closed by prayer," he added, drawing claps and cheers. Stone went on to claim that this "portal" first appeared after President Joe Biden "became president, and it will be closed before he leaves."


Flynn described the U.S. as having a "biblical destiny" at the event. The retired general referenced the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible, explaining that the author talked about a "city on a hill." He then referenced former President Ronald Reagan, saying "he said it's a shining city on a hill." Flynn contended that the U.S. was built on "a set of Judeo-Christian principles."

Burns, who Flynn previously endorsed, also proudly declared in his remarks that he calls LGBTQ people "queer" and asserted that gay marriage is "illegal," citing the Bible. He also said that he would go to Congress and "declare the word of God right to Nancy Pelosi's face, right to AOC's face." AOC is an acronym for the name of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive New York Democrat.

Pastor Mark Burns and right-wing strategist Roger Stone spoke about Satan at the ReAwaken America Tour event in South Carolina this week. Above, Burns and Stone participate in a rally supporting former President Donald Trump on January 5, 2021 in Washington, DC.SAMUEL CORUM/GETTY IMAGES

ReAwaken America has held regular events across the country in recent months. Since mid-April, the tour featuring Trump allies, right-wing commentators and GOP candidates has visited Oklahoma, Florida, California, Michigan, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, Ohio and Oregon. It also has upcoming events scheduled in Virginia and New York. The events combine conservative Christian religious ideals with generally pro-Trump and anti-Biden rhetoric, rallying attendees to fight back against Democrat control in the nation's Capitol.

Burns regularly combines religious themes with his political remarks. At a February ReAwaken America event in Ohio, he said that God would "raise up armies" to help conservatives "shut down" Democratic-led America.

"Are you ready to fight with me? Shout yeah!" the pastor yelled during his remarks. "Are you ready to stand with me? Shout yeah!"

Clarence Thomas Remarks on Roe v. Wade Leak Renew Focus on Jan. 6 Ties

BY ANDREW STANTON 

ON 5/14/22 

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' remarks about the court's leaked draft opinion regarding Roe v. Wade on Friday has renewed focus on his ties on the efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Thomas, speaking at a conservative conference in Dallas, condemned the leaked opinion that would ultimately overturn the court's ruling on the landmark decision that has guaranteed abortion-rights to women across the country since 1973.

Should the Supreme Court overturn its decision, it would immediately upend abortion-rights for millions by allowing states to make their own laws regarding reproductive rights. Several Republican-led states already have laws in place that would ban abortion almost immediately if the decision is overturned.

Thomas, who warned that the leak represents a breach of trust in the nation's highest court, joined justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett in the majority opinion.

"When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that I'm in, it changes the institution fundamentally. You begin to look over your shoulder. It's like kind of an infidelity that you can explain it, but you can't undo it," he said, the Associated Press reported.

Politicians and pundits, however, quickly hit back against his remarks, pointing out how the ties he and his wife Ginni Thomas have to the U.S. Capitol riot that occurred last year have also eroded trust in the Supreme Court.

Earlier reports uncovered that Ginni Thomas showed support for overturning the results of 2020 election in text messages to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows—an effort pushed by former President Donald Trump and his allies, alleging widespread voter fraud that is yet to be proven. She allegedly encouraged him to "Help This Great President stand firm Mark!!!"

In light of the text messages, the justice faced criticism for being the only one to vote in favor of Trump in a case he aimed to block investigators from getting access to documents related to these efforts.

"Justice Thomas's wife participated in an insurrection to overthrow the government and he's lecturing others about institutional distrust?" tweeted Congressman Bill Pascrell, a New Jersey Democrat.



"Justice Thomas's wife helping promote the Big Lie and incite an insurrection against Democracy has done irreparable damage to the Supreme Court, and it has destroyed the trust of the American people," wrote political commentator Ana Navarro-Cárdenas

"Nobody has destroyed the "trust" in the Supreme Court more than Clarence Thomas, who refused to refuse in a case involving his own wife. The shadow docket is a close second," attorney Daniel Goldman, who served as lead counsel in Trump's first impeachment, wrote.

"Clarence Thomas doesn't have to look over his shoulder. He can just look at Ginni and see how compromised the institution has become," wrote MSNBC host Katie Phang.

Missouri Bill Bars Pharmacists From Questioning Ivermectin Prescriptions

BY THOMAS KIKA ON 5/14/22 

A bill coming out of the Missouri state legislature would bar pharmacists from questioning and potentially preventing ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine prescriptions.

The measure that would put this rule into effect was included in HB 2149, a bill that broadly concerns professional licensing. The bill passed the Missouri state House by an overwhelming majority on Thursday, 130-4, according to The Kansas City Star. It will now be sent to the desk of Republican Governor Mike Parson to potentially be signed into law.

As worded, the bill would bar pharmacists in the state from contacting patients or doctors "to dispute the efficacy of ivermectin tablets or hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets for human use." The measure also prevents doctors who "lawfully" prescribe either of the drugs from being stripped of their professional licenses or otherwise punished.

Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine rose to prominence during the pandemic as potential treatments for COVID-19 and gained significant popularity among anti-vaccination advocates. Neither drug has been approved by the FDA to treat COVID and several accredited studies have indicated that the drugs can be harmful to patients in certain cases. A recent study also found that ivermectin in particular is no more effective against the virus than a placebo.

Above, a representational image of a vial of ivermectin.

LUIS ROBAYO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The measure was added to HB 2149 by Senator Rick Brattin, a Republican state lawmaker from Harrisonville, Missouri. Brattin, who admitted to buying ivermectin for himself in the past, said he had heard concerns from numerous doctors about the potential for losing their licenses over prescribing the drugs.


"Unfortunately, because of the politicization of those two drugs, [doctors are] being targeted," Brattin explained to The Kansas City Star. "I wanted to protect them from that."

The measure has also drawn heavy criticism, especially from Democrats.

"...The Missouri legislature has chosen to 'own the libs' by issuing a gag order against every pharmacist in this state from offering their medical opinion on taking either one of those medications—even if it could kill their patient," Lindsey Simmons, a former U.S. House candidate and Democrat, tweeted Thursday. "Pharmacists can be disciplined for informing the patient of the medication's risks, but not for simply handing it over. And for an authoritarian government that purports to be 'pro life' and for 'free speech,' they've put forward a law that prohibits one + could end the other.

Representative Patty Lewis, a Democratic state lawmaker and member of the committee that crafted the bill, explained to the Star that the measure was added in order to appease far-right elements in the state's Senate.

Ivermectin is traditionally prescribed as anti-parasitic for patients dealing with things like worms, and can also be useful against head lice and for skin conditions like rosacea. Hydroxychloroquine is typically used to treat malaria, and has also found use against conditions like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Newsweek reached out to the office of Governor Parson for comment.

Major US baby formula producer agrees with regulators on restarting production

AFP
May 16, 2022

Abbott warned that it will take six to eight weeks to get baby formula back on the shelves even afer it resumes production at its facility in Sturgis, Michigan

Abbott warned that it will take six to eight weeks to get baby formula back on the shelves even afer it resumes production at its facility in Sturgis, Michigan

Washington (AFP) - Amid a US shortage of baby formula, officials announced Monday a previously closed manufacturer would re-open and encouraged foreign companies to apply to import their products -- although it will take weeks to see more stock back on store shelves.

A "consent decree" agreement between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and major formula manufacturer Abbott outlines steps needed to restart production at the company's plant in Michigan, which was shut down due to a recall, Abbott said in a statement.

"Once the FDA confirms the initial requirements for start-up have been met, Abbott could restart the site within two weeks," the statement said.

However, the company cautioned that "from the time Abbott restarts the site, it will take six to eight weeks before product is available on shelves."

Abbott, which produces the popular Similac brand used by millions of American families, announced a voluntary recall on February 17 after the death of two babies.

In a separate move, the FDA also said Monday it plans to accept applications from international baby formula manufacturers "who don't normally distribute their infant formula products in the US," FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement.

Currently, the United States produces about 98 percent of the formula it consumes.
Import applications

The FDA plans to work to quickly review such applications, especially ones that come from "countries that have health and safety inspection systems similar" to the United States, according to a senior White House official.

The process would also prioritize applications showing "clear quality and safety and nutritional adequacy," a different senior administration official added.

According to Califf, foreign-made baby formula could appear on US shelves within "weeks."

The Biden administration was also reaching out to US manufacturers to offer help with logistical challenges, such as shipping, the officials said.

US families have grown increasingly desperate for formula amid a perfect storm of supply chain issues and the massive recall.

The average out-of-stock rate for baby formula hit 43 percent earlier this month, according to Datasembly, which collected information from more than 11,000 retailers.

Abbott's agreement with the FDA to restart production at the plant in Sturgis, Michigan also needs to be reviewed by a federal court after the Justice Department filed a complaint on Monday.

The complaint says the facility "failed to comply with regulations designed to ensure the quality and safety of infant formula, including protection against the risk of contamination from bacteria."

"The actions we are announcing today will help to safely increase the supply of baby formula for families," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Robert Ford, chairman and chief executive officer of Abbott said he regretted the situation and that the company already had begun "working to implement improvements and take corrective action."

"We know millions of parents and caregivers depend on us and we're deeply sorry that our voluntary recall worsened the nationwide formula shortage," he said in the statement.

The FDA and White House officials reiterated Monday that parents who are concerned about running out of baby formula should talk to their child's doctor, and that it is not safe to water down existing formula or to make your own at home.

The scarcity is the latest crisis to confound President Joe Biden's push to get the US economy on sound footing amid the highest inflation in four decades and the ongoing global supply chain bottlenecks.

Power outage: Could a solar storm switch off the world's technology?

DPA
May 16, 2022

The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, at Selfoss in southern Iceland. Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind, the stream of particles and plasma emanating from the sun. Owen Humphreys/PA Wire/dpa

The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, at Selfoss in southern Iceland. Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind, the stream of particles and plasma emanating from the sun. Owen Humphreys/PA Wire/dpa

Solar storms make for wonderful light shows as auroras zipping through the heavens but they can also bring about a state of emergency.

The phenomenon doesn't present any danger to the Earth as a planet, but could well harm humans who are increasingly dependent on technology.

During a solar storm, or disturbance on the sun, high-energy particles and a massive plasma cloud can emanate outwards across the heliosphere towards the planets, potentially massively disrupting infrastructure on and around Earth.

Space company SpaceX felt the painful effects of such space weather recently, when a solar storm knocked out 40 of its satellites.

Solar storms mostly occur from giant explosions of plasma known as coronal mass ejections, and solar flares from active regions - and we are likely to see more of them in the coming years. The sun has a roughly 11-year cycle and its activity has been increasing again since 2019, with forecasts suggesting a peak in 2024 to 2026.

The violent particle and radiation bursts during phases of high activity are likely to have increasingly severe consequences on Earth, given our growing reliance on technology.

Solar storms hurl high-energy particles and billions of tons of plasma into space, which can swiftly come rocketing towards the Earth, some 150 million kilometres away.

Although the Earth is protected by its magnetic field and atmosphere, such storms can cause massive damage, wrecking satellites and power grids and causing the collapse of communication and navigation systems.

"It is possible at any time for a very extreme solar storm to occur, and it could have far-reaching consequences," says European Space Agency (ESA)'s space weather mission coordinator in Germany, Melanie Heil.

Space travellers use the site's satellite control centre to monitor solar storms. While Heil says it isn't "super likely" that all of the satellites will break down, some could be affected.

What's needed on Earth is a timely warning, in order to protect the power grids. Turning down capacities in generators and transformers might protect them from damage. However, a major event could be tough to predict. "The latest calculations say we can expect about a 10% probability of an extreme space weather event in the next 10 years," says Heil.

Any warning time is likely to be brief as solar particles shoot through the vastness of the solar system at a speed that is hard to imagine. "If we weren't able to observe something like this, we would be vulnerable at any time," Heil says. Certain observation points already provide data but work is still under way to expand capacities to create more reliable predictions.

Scientists hope that ESA's Vigil probe will allow them a much better look at solar storms. "Because of its location in space, the Vigil mission will be able to take a sharp look at potentially dangerous solar activity," says ESA mission chief Giuseppe Mandorlo. The mission is scheduled to launch in 2027 and, unlike in the past, is able to take a sideways look at the sun and track the storms, says Heil.

ESA was surprised at the damage suffered by billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX. "It wasn't actually a particularly strong solar storm, which is why no official warning was sent out," says Heil.

The SpaceX satellites were in the wrong place at the wrong time, she says. When it hit, the storm compressed the atmosphere so much that the orbiters were unable to reach their target point 300 kilometres higher up and burned up in the atmosphere.

SpaceX wants to use satellites to set up its Starlink system to provide high-speed internet connections.

The private space company is doing a "good job" with Starlink, says the US space agency NASA. Both NASA and US weather agency NOAA are currently working with SpaceX to further improve Starlink operations.

NASA is also working to better understand weather events in space, as everyone is wondering how severe the current solar cycle will be.

It is a question with no answer so far. Solar Cycle Prediction Panel (SCPP) suggested its maximum would be pretty muted, similar to the previous cycle, in a 2020 forecast. However, that prediction was countered by a team led by Scott McIntosh of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. His researchers say the maximum is likely to be strong, with many solar storms.

How Archaeologists Recreated a Lost Norwegian Village

2022/5/14
© InsideHook


By Tobias Carroll

Countless human settlements all over the world are lost to time and the elements. That can be a challenge for the archaeologists tasked with exploring the ways people lived in the past in these locations; it’s much easier to visualize how a specific place worked when one can walk around what remains of it, after all. All of this helps to explain why a new initiative around the town of Borgund, Norway is so exciting — and holds so much promise.

The Borgund Kaupang Project, begun in 2019, focuses on learning more about one of a handful of Norwegian towns to exist in medieval times. As the Project’s website notes, there have been a number of excavations of the town over the years, but “little research has been carried out on the extensive datasets available.” At least, not until now.

An article at Atlas Obscura documents the processes taken by the archaeologists involved in revisiting Borgund. As Gitten Hansen, one of the archaeologists working on the project, told Atlas Obscura, excavations began in 1953. “We’re talking about the largest excavation of a medieval site in Norway outside of the still existing towns,” Hansen said — all of which suggests there’s a lot for scientists and historians to revisit.

The excavations continued for decades, with most of what was found left in the care of the University Museum of Bergen. Using these items, archaeologists have done everything from restoring textiles found in the digs to speculating about the role of shipbuilding in the town. It’s both an interesting way to recall the past and a wide-ranging exploration of what can be gleaned from the most modest of objects and records.

Val Demings slams Rubio, anti-abortion rhetoric at pro-choice conference – Orlando Sentinel

May 14, 2022

The Black Chronicle News Service

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In a speech in Orlando on Saturday, U.S. Senate hopeful Val Demings touted her pro-choice stance and attacked Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s position on abortion as “radical.”

Rubio, who’s seeking a third term, has long supported bans on abortion with no exceptions, most recently saying a failed Senate bill to codify Roe v. Wade would legalize ”the killing of unborn children right up to the day of delivery.” The 1973 Supreme Court ruling is on the cusp of being overturned, according to a draft opinion obtained by Politico.

His campaign described his likely opponent in November as “a radical who supports abortion up until the moment of birth,” in what is likely to become a wedge issue in the race, Florida Politics reported.

Demings called the claim “foolishness,” voicing her support for abortions “up until the point of viability or when it threatens the health of the mother.” She also pointed to Rubio’s past support for a 2001 “scarlet letter” law signed and later deemed unconstitutional, which required unwed mothers in Florida who wished to put their children up for adoption to publish details about their sex lives in newspapers.

“Desperate people say desperate things,” Demings said in response. “… I know they are searching for something to draw the attention away from his extreme view about the constitutional right that people have in this country.”

She added, “The nerve of him to say there should be no restrictions, even including incest, rape and abuse — now I think that’s extreme.”

Speaking at the She’s The Change conference hosted at the Rosen Plaza Hotel by pro-choice group Ruth’s List, Demings also called Roe v. Wade “established law.” The Women’s Health Protection Act, the Senate bill that would have codified the ruling and invalidated state abortion bans, failed to overcome the Republican filibuster, with a 51-49 vote against moving the legislation forward.

“When I decided to raise my family, I didn’t ask my congressman, I didn’t ask my governor and I’m dang sure I didn’t ask my senator,” Demings said. “Women have a right to choose her own destiny. We’re not going back, we’re not shutting up, we’re not sitting down, we are going to fight and fight and fight some more.”

The leaked draft opinion penned by Justice Samuel Alito sparked outrage throughout the U.S., with mass protests taking place around the country while doctors and abortion providers speak out as others, including religious conservatives, praise the possible decision.

It also comes as Republican state legislatures pass restrictive abortion bans in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s official ruling, expected to come down later this year. Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, except if the fetus is found to have a “fatal fetal abnormality.”

Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book claps at the end of Congresswoman Val Demings speech at the Ruth’s List Florida’s, She’s the Change leadership conference in Orlando, Fla., Saturday, May 14, 2022. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel) (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)

The law, which many fear could be expanded next year after the Supreme Court’s ruling, does not include exceptions for rape or incest. A statewide poll by the University of North Florida found nearly 60% of Floridians are opposed to the newly-signed ban.

“We are here today to protect life,” DeSantis said at a signing ceremony in Kissimmee. “We are here today to defend those who can’t defend themselves.”

Florida Democrats have scrambled to mobilize their base ahead of November’s elections, where Rubio’s Senate seat and the governorship are at stake, as the party nationally has embraced abortion as a key issue in this year’s midterms. A Pew Research Center poll in March found 61% of voters support legal abortion in all or most circumstances.

What killed the whales? Two found dead off the Florida Keys, and one towed to a marina

2022/5/11 1
 Miami Herald

Gwen Filosa/flkeysnews.com

Two sperm whales died within seven days of each other in the Florida Keys, according to state and federal officials.

One was a juvenile whale that died May 4 off Key Largo. The other, a large adult that died after beaching itself near Mud Key, about 15 miles northeast of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, was found on Tuesday, according to state wildlife officials.

The adult whale, a male, was towed to Robbie’s Marina on Stock Island, just east of Key West.

Kelly Richmond, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the whale is 47 feet long.

“We just started a necropsy on the animal now,” Richmond said Wednesday morning. “It will likely take the better part of a day, and even then, we might not have all the results.”

Casey Taylor, manager of Robbie’s Marina, said he was called at about 4 p.m. Tuesday about the whale.

He said it arrived at the marina via TowboatUS, a sea towing business, around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. The marina workers used a travel lift to remove it from the water so it would not be damaged by other fish. Taylor said the mammal weighs 40 tons.

The other whale was a newborn female calf that still had an open umbilical cord when it was found on a small barrier island off John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, said Blair Mase, southeast regional marine mammal stranding coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Fisheries Service.

“It looks like it just separated from mom, and that was likely the cause of death,” Mase said, although the official cause of death is still pending necropsy results.
How did the whales die?

After someone reported the young mammal swimming alone, rescuers from Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder, a federally authorized whale and dolphin rescue nonprofit, followed it for about a half a mile as it swam to shore, said Allison Garrett, a NOAA Fisheries spokeswoman.

At least one tiger shark was trailing the 9 1/2-foot-long whale, but Mase said it did not die from bites inflicted by the fish.

“It died naturally on its own,” Mase said.

Given that the adult whale that died in the Gulf of Mexico was a male, there is likely no connection between his death and that of the calf that died last week, Mase said. But, it is unusual to have two sperm whale strandings in the same region within such a short time period, she added.

“There were two in a week, so this is something we are keeping a close eye on, and we’re trying to find as much information as possible to see what’s going on and see why (the adult whale) possibly died,” Mase said.
About sperm whales

Among the common human causes of deaths of sperm whales and other marine mammals are boat and ship strikes and entanglements in fishing gear, Mase said. As part of the analysis, toxicology samples will be examined to see if any environmental factors contributed to the deaths.

Sperm whales are the largest of the toothed whales, according to NOAA Fisheries. They are named for the waxy substance found in their heads that allows them to focus on sound. It is this substance that made them a target of whaling when it was legal between the early 1800s and 1987. The substance was used as lamp oil, lubricants and candles, according to NOAA.

Females reach physical maturity around 30 years old, according to NOAA, and can grow to about 35 feet long. Males reach physical maturity around 50 years old, and grow about 52 feet.

Sperm whales live in oceans throughout the world, but are found mostly in deep water, and can dive to depths of more than 10,000 feet and stay under for up to over an hour, federal scientists say.

With whaling outlawed, their populations are recovering and they are still listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act and “depleted” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Anyone who sees an injured or dead whale should call 877-942-5343 (877-WHALE HELP), said Garrett, the NOAA Fisheries spokeswoman.

She said people should keep a safe distance from the animals and not touch them.

“Please don’t intervene,” Garrett said. “If you can safely get a photo or video, that’s great, but do not go near them for your safety and the safety of the animal.”

The body of a 47- foot male sperm whale lies on the dock of Robbie's Marina in Stock Island Wednesday, May 11, 2022. - Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission/Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission/TNS

Fla. scientist probes flesh-eating bacteria for clues to next pandemic

2022/5/16
 Orlando Sentinel


ORLANDO, Fla. -- A bout with flesh-eating bacteria can start out with a day at the beach, a hardly worrisome cut and then, in less than 24 hours, a raging infection fought with heavy antibiotics and gruesome scalpel work.

It would be reassuring to know where and when Florida’s coastal waters are ripe with “one of the fastest growing organisms on earth,” said a University of Central Florida scientist.

Salvador Almagro-Moreno, a native of southern Spain, graduate student in Ireland and researcher at Dartmouth College, arrived at UCF in 2017, where he is now an assistant professor of medicine. He’s diving into the mysterious world of flesh-eating bacteria, which is nasty stuff for sure, but there’s a bigger target on his to-do list.

His main school of thought, from where he orchestrates research, instructs students and hopes to bring a difference, is from a concept called One Health, which the COVID-19 pandemic has ushered into prime time.

One Health acknowledges intricate, if often poorly known ties between people, animals, plants and their ecosystems in an interwoven fabric of life.

One Health expects that assaults from climate change, population growth and environmental destruction could fray that fabric or shred it disastrously, resulting in diseases such as cholera outbreaks, Ebola epidemics and, as suspected, the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19 pandemic and its 6 million global deaths, and still others nobody has heard of yet.

Almagro-Moreno wrote the cover story, “The Rise of New Pathogens,” for the current May-June edition of the American Scientist magazine.

“The emergence of novel human pathogens is without a doubt one of the most pressing problems that we face,” he said in the story. “I have been working for almost two decades trying to understand what the biological rules and evolutionary forces are that make a microorganism transition to causing disease in humans.”

Almagro-Moreno is pursuing simple but daunting questions: what are the warning signs for looming disease calamities, and how can they be interpreted and best communicated?

Each day, for example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issues predictions at airnow.gov for several days of air quality.

The ozone smog forecast for Orlando was for moderate concern on Wednesday, meaning that people who are “unusually sensitive” to the lung-damaging pollutant should consider shortening activities outdoors.

Otherwise, forecasts for Thursday through Sunday called for good, or low levels of ozone smog.

That’s something of the approach that Almagro-Moreno hopes to achieve.

But trying to predict the behavior of a potentially lethal organism as it ricochets among environmental fluctuations, interactions with animals and potential infections of humans – that’s way harder than forecasting the health risk of ozone smog, he said.

In no small part it’s harder because One Health science is in its infancy. In a sense, Almagro-Moreno is just beginning to develop momentum at laboratory.

“We know very little about the rules of pathogen emergence,” Almagro-Moreno said.

Florida struggles now with a pair of troublemakers that -- incubated in natural environments, exacerbated by pollution and affecting people -- speak to the One Health concept.

One is the occurrence along the state’s southwest coast of red tides, which are composed of single-cell organisms producing neurotoxins. They have caused massive die-offs of marine life and driven away tourists with lung-irrigating fumes.

Another is blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria producing toxins in fresh waters, including many Orlando lakes, and including Lake Ivanhoe, which is popular for aquatic sports but now is posted as hazardous because of cyanobacteria.

Almagro-Moreno lives nearby in the Mills 50 district and met at Lake Ivanhoe to discuss his research.

To understand the effects of chemicals or environmental exposures, or to unravel genetic traits, scientists often turn to four creatures, the fruit fly, zebra fish, roundworm and mouse, for experiments.

Those four, all well documented, are called model organisms.

For his One Health investigations, and more specifically to probe the behaviors of waterborne pathogens, Almagro-Moreno also chose model organisms, but of a different nature.

The first is cholera, a disease recorded in thousands of years of history. He and students are collaborating with Asian and Latin American countries to probe the evolution and outbreaks of cholera.

The second is a native of Florida, one that can be contracted through the prick of fish spine, nick from a seashell or, as well, from eating raw oysters.

It is flesh-eating bacteria. “This is their home – they have been here far longer than we have,” Almagro-Moreno said. The microorganism, he said in a TEDx talk a few years ago, “a very proud Florida native.”

To understand its behaviors, whether in a chill mode or on a rampage, his students have gone to the Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County for sampling of bacteria, environmental conditions and other factors.

“I thought it was really suitable,” he said of flesh-eating bacteria, “for understanding what do you need to become a pathogen, what do you need to colonize humans, what do you need to kill humans and how does the environment affect those traits?”

His ultimate goal is to develop a standardized approach for assessing and predicting emerging pathogens, an approach that can then have applicability for assessing other threatening organisms.

“But, to be honest … the beauty of it is that I live in Florida,” he said. “So this work matters to me as a Floridan. It’s a win-win.”

Terrible outbreaks of disease are not new, Almagro-Moreno said.

“Unfortunately for those of us trying to forecast them, they do not typically occur in a slow and predictable fashion,” Almagro-Moreno wrote in his American Scientist story.

“Harmless organisms can undergo quantum leaps in evolution to become deadly and then spread like wildfire.”

MEANING MORE U$D FOR CUBA

Reversing Trump measures, US will expand flights to Cuba and resume family reunifications

2022/5/16
Miami Herald


The Biden administration is restoring flights to Cuban cities other than Havana and reestablishing a family reunification program suspended for years, following recommendations of a long-anticipated review of U.S. policy toward Cuba, senior administration officials told McClatchy and the Miami Herald on Monday.

The administration will also allow group travel for educational or professional exchanges and lift caps on money sent to families on the island.

The policy changes come after a months-long review that began in earnest after a series of protests roiled the island nation on July 11, prompting a new round of U.S. sanctions on Cuban officials.

Cuba is facing the worst economic crisis since the Soviet Union collapsed, with widespread shortages of food and medicines, and thousands of Cubans trying to reach the United States.

One senior administration official said the new policy measures allow the administration to continue supporting the Cuban people and guarding U.S. national security interests.

“Our policy continues to center on human rights, empowering the Cuban people to determine their own future and these are practical measures intended to address the humanitarian situation and the migration flows,” the official said, adding that labor rights will also be at the center of any talks with the Cuban government.

As promised in his campaign for the White House, President Joe Biden will reverse several of the measures taken by his predecessor, including by allowing commercial and charter flights to destinations outside the Cuban capital. Currently, American airline companies can only fly to Havana, leaving Cuban Americans with few options to visit their families in other provinces.

The Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program, which has not taken new cases since 2016 and left 22,000 pending applications in limbo, will also be reinstated, the officials said, following bipartisan calls to address the issue.

An administration official said the United States intends to uphold migration accords with Cuba from the 1990s, under which the United States committed to issuing 20,000 immigration visas to Cubans annually, a request made by a Cuban government delegation that recently traveled to Washington to discuss an ongoing wave of Cubans trying to reach the U.S. mainland by land and sea.

One senior administration official also said the State Department will increase visa processing in the embassy in Havana, which resumed this month.

Other measures include lifting the cap on family remittances, currently $1,000 per quarter per person, with an eye on supporting the emerging private sector.

The officials said the administration will encourage more electronic payment companies to work in Cuba to facilitate remittances. Official remittance channels were shut down after the Trump administration sanctioned Fincimex, the financial firm run by the Cuban military, and the Cuban government refused to pass the business to a non-military entity.

Fincimex will not be removed from the Cuba sanction list, one senior official said, but the administration “has engaged” in talks with the Cuban government about finding a non-military entity to process remittances.

The administration will also expand travel to Cuba by once again allowing group travel under the “people-to-people” educational travel category, which was created under former President Barack Obama to allow Americans to visit the island on organized tours to promote exchanges between the two countries. The Trump administration later restricted most non-family travel to Cuba and eliminated the category in 2019.

The U.S. officials said there will be more regulatory changes to allow certain travel related to professional meetings and professional research, but individual people-to-people travel will remain prohibited.

Other measures aim at supporting independent Cuban entrepreneurs by authorizing access to expanded cloud technology, application programming interfaces and e-commerce platforms. The officials said the administration will “explore” options to facilitate electronic payments and expand Cuban entrepreneurs’ access to microfinancing.

Last week, the Treasury Department for the first time authorized an American company to offer a microloan and investment to a small Cuban private business.

The changes will be announced later on Monday but will be implemented in the coming weeks.

The Biden administration has fielded criticism for so far keeping in placer most measures taken by President Trump, who vowed a “maximum pressure” campaign against the communist government over its role in Venezuela. But some Cuban exiles, Cuban American Republican politicians and activists on the island have expressed concern about any easing of sanctions at a time the government has cracked down on protesters and handed down harsh sentences to July 11 demonstrators.

A senior administration official said the administration consulted the policy options with members of Congress and Cuban Americans.

Relations between Washington and Havana soured over the islandwide anti-government demonstration last July. President Biden ordered sanctions against the military, police and security forces involved in the crackdown. And Havana responded by saying the demonstrations were financed by the United States.

The more recent spat involves the invitations to attend the Summit of the Americas, a meeting of leaders from nations in the hemisphere to be held in Los Angeles in June. The U.S. government has said Cuba will likely not receive one. A senior administration said the invitations have not been issued yet.

But the current wave of Cuban migrants reaching the U.S. southern border got the two governments to sit down for the first time since president Biden took office. The Cuban diplomat leading the talks, Carlos Fernández de Cossio, said he left with the sense that the talks could be the first step to improving relations.

A senior administration official said the U.S. delegation did not address policy topics beyond migration.