Sanders eyeing Yemen war powers resolution vote ‘hopefully next week’

Story by Brad Dress • 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he could introduce a war powers resolution soon that would block U.S. support for the war in Yemen led by Saudi Arabia.


Sanders eyeing Yemen war powers resolution vote ‘hopefully next week’© Provided by The Hill

In an interview with The Intercept published Tuesday, Sanders said he could bring the resolution to the floor “hopefully” by next week and that he believes he has the votes for the measure.

The war powers resolution is considered privileged and can be brought to the floor without approval from Senate leadership after a certain amount of time has passed. Sanders told The Intercept the time has already elapsed for the resolution.

The Vermont senator previously sponsored a war powers resolution to end U.S. involvement in Yemen in 2019, which was vetoed by former President Trump. He introduced another resolution to block support over the summer along with a companion resolution from House lawmakers.

“This war has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis today and it is past time to end U.S. complicity in those horrors,” Sanders said in a July statement.

Yemen’s civil war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions more starving and suffering from disease, resumed in October after a six-month cease-fire.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have been fighting with the Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia, since 2014.

The Friends Committee on National Legislation, which advocates for global peace, led 100 other groups this week in urging Congress to pass a resolution ending U.S. support in the war.

“We call on all members of Congress to say ‘no’ to Saudi Arabia’s war of aggression by fully ending all U.S. support for a conflict that has caused such immense bloodshed and human suffering,” the organizations wrote in a Wednesday letter to Congress.

If introduced next week, the war powers resolution would come to the floor amid fracturing relations between Saudi Arabia and the U.S.

The Biden administration courted Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of oil producing alliance OPEC+, for months this year amid soaring gas prices in the U.S., only to see OPEC slash production by 2 million barrels beginning in November.

Reportedly irate administration officials and Democrats on Capitol Hill have floated the idea of a response to Saudi Arabia for the oil production cuts. But a U.S. federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after the Biden administration granted the Saudi leader immunity.

In his first month in office, Biden ended U.S. support for Saudi-led offensives in Yemen, but critics point out the U.S. continues to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and share intelligence.

The war powers resolution introduced over the summer by Sanders in the Senate and a bipartisan coalition of House lawmakers would end U.S. intelligence sharing, logistical support and American direct military personnel support for Saudi-led forces.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is also holding a public briefing on the Yemen war next week.

The Hill.

Flu Deaths Have Dropped Dramatically, Thanks to COVID-19 Prevention Efforts

Story by Korin Miller •

The flu is back this winter, along with other illnesses

Flu season, which runs from October through May, usually results in millions of infections and thousands of deaths.

Doctors explain how COVID-19 prevention efforts have diminished flu-related deaths in the past.

RSV and COVID-19 are dominating headlines right now, but there’s another potentially serious illness simmering in the background: the flu. People have written off the flu in the past, but doctors say that’s a mistake. “Prior to COVID-19, the flu was the most deadly respiratory virus we saw each year in the U.S.,” says Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York. “Now, COVID is an estimated five times more lethal.”


Flu activity remains low for the 2022-2023 season due to COVID-19 prevention efforts. But how many people die from the flu each year? Doctors explain.© Helin Loik-Tomson - Getty Images

But with all of the warnings about the flu being deadly, how many people die from the flu each year? Caveat: It’s hard to come by exact numbers, but there are estimates. Here’s the deal.

How many people die from the flu each year?

The answer is slightly complicated: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) doesn’t have an exact count of the number of people who die from influenza each year. Instead, the federal agency develops estimates based on rates of confirmed hospitalizations from the flu.

For that reason, it’s difficult to compare flu deaths with those of COVID-19, which are actual documented deaths, says Dr. Russo. “COVID deaths have been very specific—you have to have a positive COVID test for it to be attributable to COVID,” he says.

According to preliminary estimates from the CDC, 25,000 people died from flu in the 2019-2020 flu season. There were no estimates for the 2020-2021 season due to “minimal influenza activity,” the CDC says, and it’s estimated that 5,000 people died from the flu last year.

The number of flu deaths varies by season, though. In the 2018-2019 season, an estimated 52,000 people died of the flu, per CDC data.

And, of course, COVID-19 has screwed things up a bit. Flu death estimates traditionally incorporated pneumonia cases and “COVID has made that challenging” given that people can also die of pneumonia caused by COVID-19, says infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “Many times in the past, death certificates would simply say ‘pneumonia’” if someone died from pneumonia caused by the flu, Dr. Adalja says.

“The CDC knows that they need to make adjustments to the way influenza deaths are tracked now—they just haven’t figured out what that should be,” Dr. Adalja says.

Why can the flu be so deadly?

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness that’s caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs, the CDC explains. There are two main types—influenza A and B—that regularly circulate each year. While plenty of people get the flu, have a miserable period of illness, and then recover, others can actually die of the virus.

“Influenza is a respiratory virus that has the ability to kill at a very high rate, even in the modern era,” Dr. Adalja says. “In severe cases, it causes pneumonia that can be complicated with a secondary bacterial infection.”

Other possible serious complications triggered by the flu, per the CDC, can include:
inflammation of the heart (myocarditis)
inflammation of the brain (encephalitis)
inflammation of the muscle tissues (myositis, rhabdomyolysis)
multi-organ failure (like respiratory and kidney failure)
Sepsis, a life-threatening response to an infection

Who is most at risk of dying from the flu?

The CDC has a list of people who are at a higher-than-average risk of getting seriously ill with the flu and even dying of it:
Adults 65 and up
Pregnant people
Young children
Young children with neurological disease

Certain health conditions can also put people at a higher risk of severe flu, the CDC says, including:
Asthma
Heart disease and stroke
Diabetes
HIV/AIDS
Cancer
Chronic kidney disease

“The flu tends to kill people at the extremes of age: very young and very old,” Dr. Adalja says. “The very young and the old may have very low physiological reserve when it comes to fighting influenza off.”

How many total flu-related deaths are expected for the 2022-2023 season?

The CDC releases estimates on flu cases and deaths each year. Right now, the agency estimates that between 730 and 2,100 people have died of the flu from Oct. 1 through Oct. 29—and the season has just started.

Still, the same disease-prevention practices we’ve mastered to slow the spread of COVID-19 can also impact impacted flu transmission, says David Cennimo, M.D., assistant professor of medicine-pediatrics infectious disease at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. While flu rates are higher than last year’s low numbers, they’re still lower than your average flu season. That’s “a byproduct” of efforts like masking, hand-washing, and social distancing, Dr. Cennimo says.

How to protect yourself from the flu

If you haven’t already gotten your flu shot, William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, recommends doing it ASAP, as it takes time to build immunity. Flu season continues through May, after all. “It’s still not too late to get vaccinated,” he says.

Since there’s no hard and fast data on how many people die from the flu each year, it can be tricky to calculate how much getting the flu shot protects you from death, Dr. Russo says. “We do know that dying from the flu is much less likely if you’ve been vaccinated than if you don’t get the vaccine,” he says. “Certainly, the more vulnerable you are, the greater benefit the vaccine in decreasing the likelihood of a bad outcome.”

The following precautions can also protect you from the flu, per the CDC:

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

If soap and water aren’t available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces and objects.

Methods that help prevent the spread of COVID-19, like wearing a mask in crowded indoor spaces when flu cases are high in your area can also help you prevent a cold, flu, RSV, and other respiratory illnesses, Dr. Russo says.

If you suspect you may have the flu, Dr. Adalja recommends contacting your doctor ASAP or visiting your local urgent care clinic. “Have a low threshold to be tested and prescribed an antiviral,” he says. Medications like oseltamivir (Tamiflu) work best when they’re taken soon after you develop symptoms, he points out, so timing is important.

An extinction-level asteroid that could someday hit Earth was found hiding near Venus

Story by Matthew Rozsa • SALON


Those who have driven a car are surely familiar with the idea of blind spots — the areas around you where you can't easily see, and thus, are uniquely vulnerable to threats. That principle applies to asteroid hunting just as easily. As telescope technology continues to advance, astronomers have used their scopes to peer into those nearby areas of our solar system that are normally difficult to observe.


Meteorite from outer space, falling toward planet EarthGetty Images/dottedhippo© Provided by Salon


"This study shows that we still have a ways to go discovering and tracking asteroids that could hit the Earth."

This brings us to the recent telescopic observations at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. As the scientists there published in September in The Astronomical Journal, there are three near-Earth asteroids (or NEAs) hiding within the glare of the sun, and which apparently had not been previously noticed. These particular asteroids are lurking between the orbits of Earth and its closest neighbor in the direction of the Sun, Venus. One of them is the largest potentially hazardous NEA spotted in eight years.

The finding is particularly alarming because they suggest that there are some uncatalogued potentially dangerous asteroids that humanity has missed in its quest to catalogue and identify possible civilization-destroying asteroids or comets. In particular, the newly-discovered asteroid dubbed 2022 AP7 orbits the Sun in such a manner that it might someday intersect and strike Earth.


Related
Can humanity make peace with its death?

The B612 Foundation, a nonprofit focused on protecting the planet from impacts by dangerous space objects, is focused on stopping humanity from suffering the same fate as the dinosaurs. "This study shows that we still have a ways to go discovering and tracking asteroids that could hit the Earth," said Dr. Ed Lu, three-time NASA astronaut and the Executive Director of the B612 Foundation's Asteroid Institute. "We have the technology to deflect asteroids, but this technology is only useful if we can discover and track asteroids first."


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The good news, as Lu told Salon, is that "the great majority (but not quite all) asteroids large enough to wipe out human civilization have already been tracked." Yet there are many untracked asteroids that are smaller and, while not big enough to constitute an extinction event, could still wipe out millions of lives; these include asteroids of the size that could wipe out a city. Lu noted that these kinds of space rocks "are thousands of times more numerous," and yet we only know about a "small percentage" of them.

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Policy makers have on occasion tried to make up for this lack of knowledge. When they do so, however, they only wind up learning more about just the urgency of humanity's need for more information about all manner of Near Earth Objects.

"In 2005, the US Congress tasked NASA to find 90% of all Near Earth Objects (NEOs) larger than 140 meters, the size of a football stadium," Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb wrote to Salon. "As of now, no known asteroid larger than 140 meters in size has a significant chance to hit Earth for the next century. However, less than half of the estimated 25,000 NEOs that are 140 meters and larger in size have been found to date."

"Less than half of the estimated 25,000 [Near Earth Asteroids] that are 140 meters and larger in size have been found to date."

According to Lu, more efforts are being undertaken to continue spotting asteroids like those three NEAs recently detected between the orbits of Venus and Earth. Thanks to the construction of new observatories like the Vera Rubin Observatory (also in Chile) and the development of new computational techniques such as those produced by the Asteroid Institute, "within a few years we expect to greatly increase our ability to track asteroids and provide many decades of warning of potential impacts," Lu told Salon.

If nothing else, the discovery of the asteroid 2021 PH27 — roughly a kilometer in size and, as Loeb noted, "which has the closest approach to the Sun, 13% of the Earth-Sun separation, and the largest precession as a result of Einstein's theory of General Relativity, known for any body in the solar system" — justifies the use of this new technology.

"Accelerating the rate of asteroid discovery requires funding, whether it's for an organization like B612 or NASA," B612 Foundation President Danica Remy wrote to Salon. "We, collectively, need to both fund and advocate for the development of advanced computational tools and new observational capabilities."

Biden signs #MeToo law curbing confidentiality agreements


President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed legislation curbing the use of confidentiality agreements that block victims of sexual harassment from speaking publicly about misconduct in the workplace.


Biden signs #MeToo law curbing confidentiality agreements© Provided by The Canadian Press

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden had acted on the bipartisan Speak Out Act, which bars the use of nondisclosure agreements that employees or contractors are required to sign, often as a condition of employment.

The new law, among the workplace changes pushed in the wake of the #MeToo movement, applies to any nondisclosure agreements, also known as NDAs, signed before a dispute has occurred.

“Instead of protecting trade secrets as it was initially intended, abusive use of NDAs silence employees and covers up serious and systemic misconduct,” said New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat who introduced the measure.

The law would make existing nondisclosure agreements unenforceable. It also would apply to any agreements between providers of goods and services and their customers.

Gillibrand cited massage parlors and assisted living facilities as examples of places where mandatory NDAs have been used.

Any agreements signed after a dispute or regarding any other allegations, such as discrimination based on race or religion, would not be affected by the law.

Employers and consumers sometimes unknowingly sign away their rights with the agreements and that allows harassment to continue by silencing victims and shielding perpetrators, a group of Democratic and Republican lawmakers said in a statement last month after the House passed the measure on a 315-109 vote.

“Today, 1 in 3 workers is subjected to NDAs that hide sexual misconduct in order to protect a business’s reputation,” the lawmakers said. “We’re taking the gag off of survivors and pushing businesses to create safer work environments.”

The Senate approved the measure unanimously.

Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, who accused the now-deceased network CEO Roger Ailes of making unwanted advances and harming her career when she rejected him, pushed for the change and has spoken about how the NDA she signed has barred her from telling her story.

The law would not apply to Carlson’s NDA, which was signed as part of a reported $20 million settlement with Fox News.

The law follows another bipartisan change Biden approved in March that gave workplace victims of sexual assault or harassment the right to seek resource in the courts rather than being forced to settle cases through arbitration. The process often benefits employers and keeps allegations from becoming public.

Both measures, coming five years after the #MeToo movement sparked a global reckoning against sexual misconduct, received rare, broad bipartisan support in Congress.

Gillibrand said she is working with South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who partnered with her on the bills, to pass similar laws related to age discrimination in the workplace.

Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press

Biden to require new federal buildings to slash greenhouse gas emissions

Story by Emma Newburger • 


The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled a new building performance standard that would require federal agencies to slash energy use and electrify equipment and appliances in 30% of their building space by 2030.

The move is the latest push by the White House to curb fossil fuel use in residential and commercial buildings, which comprise about 12% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The standard for federal buildings comes as a growing number of cities have voted to curb gas consumption in buildings.


A view of sunset in the evening hours in the United States Capitol, Washington D.C., on December 02, 2022.© Provided by CNBC

The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled a new building performance standard that would require federal agencies to slash energy use and electrify equipment and appliances in 30% of their building space by the end of the decade.

The move is the latest push by the White House to curb fossil fuel use in residential and commercial buildings, which comprise about 12% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Energy used in federal buildings for space heating, water heating, cooking and other needs comprise more than 25% of federal emissions, the White House said.

The agency estimates that the reductions requirements would save $8 million each year in upfront equipment costs and would reduce carbon emissions from federal buildings by 1.86 million metric tons and methane emissions by 22.8 thousand tons over the next 30 years — roughly equivalent to the emissions generated by nearly 300,000 homes in one year.

Officials said the standard would move forward President Joe Biden's plan to decarbonize the economy by 2050 and achieve a 100% clean electricity grid by 2035.

The standard for federal buildings comes as a growing number of cities have voted to curb gas consumption in buildings.

For instance, a few dozen cities, including San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose in California; Cambridge, Mass.; and Seattle, have moved to ban natural gas hook ups in some new buildings to combat climate-warming emissions.

"There is a growing and expanding supply chain for the very products that help our buildings become more efficient and more sustainable," White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi told reporters on Wednesday.

The Department of Energy also highlighted its proposed rulemaking to electrify new federal buildings and buildings undergoing major renovations. The agency's goal is to require all new buildings to lower on-site emissions by 90% compared to 2003 levels by 2025 and fully decarbonize those buildings in 2030.

"We would be setting a gold standard for new construction across America," U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said during the Wednesday briefing.

Study finds that Canadian girls and their parents want a better, safer sport system

Participation rates of girls in Canadian sport have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to a recent study, despite fears that one in four would not return post-COVID.

That's the good news.

The bad news is those numbers were bleak to begin with, specifically in the teenage years when participation drops off, and among girls with intersecting identities such as Black, LGBTQ, Indigenous and those from lower income homes.

"The fact that participation rates have effectively returned to the pre-pandemic levels is really a positive story," said Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, the CEO of Canadian Women and Sports. "And we don't always have lots to celebrate when looking at the big national data on women in sport. I think this has to be seen as a victory … it also just shows that girls and their parents value sport, and girls want to play.

"Of course, we're not satisfied with the status quo."

What has changed, based on The Rally Report's national survey findings from 4,500 Canadian girls and women and more than 350 sport leaders, is that Canadian girls want a better sport system than the pre-pandemic one.

"It was so interesting to hear parents say that quality is a barrier," said Sandmeyer-Graves. "Almost half of them said that. And 75 per cent of girls want sport leaders to have more training in sport. They're like, 'Please, please, we need more from you to meet our needs and interests.'"

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The study indicated that after losing access to sport during the pandemic's public health restrictions, girls and their parents are more aware of the benefits of sport, with more than 90 per cent of Canadian girls surveyed saying they believe that sport benefits their physical and mental health.

But participation rates continue to fall in adolescence. Half of Canadian girls aged 13 to18 in Canada are not participating in sport.

The current sport system is flawed, Sandmeyer-Graves said.

One in three Canadian girls report that coaches and organizations aren't addressing important safety issues. Almost half — 46 per cent — of parents report low-quality programming as a barrier to the ongoing participation in sport of their daughters aged six to 12. And less than half of coaches receive training on topics related to keeping girls in sport, including gender equity, body image, and mental health.

Racialized girls report facing every barrier about 10 per cent more than their white peers; girls 13 to 18 from lower income homes report barriers such as access and cost about 10 to 15 per cent higher than girls from higher income homes; and girls who identified as LGBTQ reported body dissatisfaction as a barrier 10 per cent higher than girls not identifying as LGBTQ.

Sandmeyer-Graves noted that Canadian Women and Sport was mindful in acknowledging that good work being done.

"We absolutely see the many, many, many people in the sport system across Canada who are working so hard to make it better for girls. And I would not want them to feel discouraged by this report," she said. "And so really wanting to let them know that, as an organization, we see them, we see the effort that they're putting in, we know that they're making a difference.

"Let's get more people on board with putting in the effort and making the commitments that are really going to create a support system that is truly equitable, truly safe, truly inclusive."

The Rally Report, the third of is kind, was conducted by Leger Marketing on behalf of Canadian Women and Sport and in partnership with Canadian Tire jump-start Charities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022.

Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press

CANADA
Federal government honours 5 NHL players for overcoming racial barriers

Story by Arun Srinivasan • 

TORONTO — During a ceremony at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday, the Government of Canada honoured five players who overcame racial barriers during their journeys to the NHL. It was a specific recognition from the federal government, which they titled Breaking Racial Barriers in the National Hockey League, a small but important step in reconciling our national disgrace of subjecting Black, Indigenous and other minorities to embedded, systemic racism.


Larry Kwong was one of five former NHLers honoured at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday. (Photo by New York Rangers/NHLI via Getty Images)

Paul Jacobs, Henry “Elmer” Maracle, Larry Kwong, Fred Sasakamoose and Willie O’Ree were all honoured for their contributions to hockey but more pointedly, recognized for the racism and prejudice they all faced during their professional careers. Family members for each player took turns at the lectern — with the exception of Jacobs, who broke into the NHL for the Toronto Arenas as a defenseman during the 1918-19 season — and were visibly moved by the distinction.

The ceremony culminated in the unveiling of a plaque from the federal government, with the families of the five players honoured taking photos with various government officials. The plaque reads as follows:

Since the establishment of the National Hockey League in 1917, non-white athletes faced racial barriers, preventing them from playing in the league. In the early decades of the NHL, men such as Paul Jacobs, Henry “Elmer” Maracle, Larry Kwong, Fred Sasakamoose, and Willie O’Ree confronted widespread racism and prejudice on and off the ice. These players broke through racial barriers at each stage of their careers, ultimately reaching hockey’s premier league. Representing greater diversity and inclusion in professional hockey, these trailblazers were recognized for both their skill and perseverance, inspiring future generations of players.

Kwong broke the NHL’s colour barrier but this distinction is often a sore subject for his family. He played just one shift for the New York Rangers during the third period of a March 13, 1948 game against the Montreal Canadiens. Wednesday’s ceremony was a proper recognition of the racism he endured throughout his career and his family contended strongly that his career would’ve certainly played out differently if he were white.

Dale Lee Kwong is a writer and poet from Calgary. She is Kwong’s niece and proudly wore his Rangers jersey to the Hall of Fame.

“This is sort of just redemption, this event,” Kwong told Yahoo Sports. “We all knew in our family that he was a hero. Our culture is very humble, you don't boast about things like that.

"I did find it frustrating that people don't know the story of my uncle and the amazing things he did. Breaking the colour barrier and that he wasn't given a fair shot in the NHL, it was kind of like a publicity stunt. And they only played him for one shift late in the third period — I mean, if you play hockey, you know you're sitting on the bench just getting colder and colder and that's no way to make an impact on the game.

“He always regretted that he wasn't given a fair chance and this is acknowledgment that he was correct. He was right in leaving the NHL because he went on to have a good career elsewhere, without the NHL.”

During her speech at the podium, Dale Lee Kwong revealed that her uncle rarely spoke about the racism he endured during his career, trying to uphold gentlemanly values while spending time with his various nephews, nieces and grandchildren. I asked her about if there’s anything she wants hockey historians to uncover about her uncle’s legacy that hasn’t been previously told. Kwong told me her uncle had been discriminated against by his own teammates, and encountered issues at the Canada-U.S. border while travelling with his team.

“I don't think people realize how bad things were for people of colour in the sport of hockey," she said. "The stories we heard today just barely scratches the surface. Those players, they just sucked it up. They didn't dwell on it, they didn't talk about it.”

-—-

In full candor, I was deeply skeptical of the federal government’s motive and timing of the event. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s opening remarks at the 2022 Montreal Biodiversity Conference were interrupted by Indigenous land back supporters, who labeled him as a colonizer. Trudeau didn’t attend Wednesday’s event in Toronto as he was still at the conference.

The federal government is also responsible for overseeing national sport governing bodies such as Hockey Canada, whose public trust has eroded entirely due to the concurrent sexual assault scandals that occurred under its watch. The national hockey governing body also was scrutinized this summer due to the arrogant testimonies of disgraced CEO Scott Smith and interim board chair Andrea Skinner, the latter arguing to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that arenas across the country could shut down without the existing leadership board intact.

Adam van Koeverden is a decorated former Olympian, who won gold, silver and bronze medals in the K-1 500 and K-1 1000-metre distances spanning three Olympiads from 2004-12. The 40-year-old has seamlessly transitioned into a career in politics, where he is a Member of Parliament for Milton, Ont., and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Minister of Sports for the Liberal Party of Canada.

As a result of his unique experience as an elite athlete who is acutely aware of the role of national sport organizations, I asked him what he thought of the federal government’s oversight of Hockey Canada, particularly as it has committed various indiscretions and rarely cared about addressing systemic racism under its umbrella.

“I have an obligation as an athlete and somebody who cares about the future of our country and the situation for current and future athletes to ensure that those environments and that system is a safe one,” van Koeverden told Yahoo Sports. “That requires us to, and has required us to stand up to the Office of the Sport and Integrity Commissioner and make sure they have all the power and resources that they need in order to provide services to sport organizations but also to athletes who are reaching out and need a little bit of help.

We've been working really closely with the Canadian Olympic Committee and various other national sport organizations, primarily to make sure that the Office of the Sport and Integrity Commissioner is a mandatory mechanism that is used by all national sport organizations.

Beyond that, it's really about the culture of sport in Canada. How inclusive it is, how welcoming it is, how safe it is. This has to be a priority of every leader in sport, whether you're coaching at the peewee level at a town or city in Canada, taking your team to the Canada Games for your province or territory or supporting a team as they go to the Olympics or the World Championships.

We need a mutual obligation — an acknowledgment, I should say — that we still have a lot of work to do, standing up for athletes, particularly in the light of the many stories we've heard today. Yes, there has been racism in sport for over 100 years, but we have to acknowledge that it's not over today, there's still work to be done. Sport is not a safe place or a welcoming place for absolutely every person, and that is a work that is ongoing."

There are often times where doing anti-racism, inclusion and diversity work feels like an insurmountable battle, or more pointedly, that the tasks remain undefined while operating in a country where systemic racism is embedded but rarely publicly discussed. But there are tangible measures to keep the government and other actors accountable, too. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report submitted 94 calls to action in its June 2015 report, intended to address the horrors of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.

I asked van Koeverden about his assessment of where the federal government stands on honouring these commitments outlined, with five calls to action (87-91) specifically addressing sport.

“The calls to action, 87-91, I believe, are all focused on sport. I'm really grateful for the leadership of people like Mary Wilson or Chief Littlechild, who is right here and Murray Sinclair,” van Koeverden told Yahoo Sports. “When I was on the Indigenous Northern Affairs Committee, we asked them quite pointedly how we could do a better job of making sure all the calls to actions are upheld and adhered to. The ones on sport in particular, specific to the North American Indigenous Games and specific strategy to ensure that sport, physical activity and recreation are all available to all people in Canada.

“There's a couple of other things there. There's a lot of progress that's been made on all the calls to actions but they're really not about the destination. The calls to action are a journey. It is a mutual obligation to all Canadians to read those calls to action, identify ways we can all be better and keep working towards a more inclusive sports system that's more inviting, safer and offers everybody all of those vital lessons, the health and the physical health and the mental health that sport, physical activity and recreation provide. Those are rights in my view. I think play at a young age and developing physical literacy throughout your young years is a right. It needs to be treated as such and we need to make sure it's universal for all kids in Canada.”

—

If you can’t reconcile the past, it may lead to a murky future, and the future of hockey is always a primary consideration at anti-racism in hockey events. Wednesday was no different. Representatives from various youth programs under the Greater Toronto Hockey League’s umbrella, along with players from the Little Native Hockey League and Hockey 4 Youth, a program run by Moezine Hasham to make hockey affordable for anyone, were all proudly on hand at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

It’s a small step in the right direction. It’s somewhat dangerous to give the federal government, a body across party lines that has rarely been interested in addressing racism on any level, too much credit. But if acknowledgment is the first step, the government in conjunction with the Hall of Fame inched towards genuine progress. Representation and reconciliation are steps, not end goals. But there’s also no point in breaking the spirits of the delighted kids on hand at the event. Maybe there is a better future for the kids, after all.

10-year-old Uvalde shooting survivor advocates for assault weapons ban

Ten-year-old Caitlyne Gonzales' day began early when she and her family boarded a plane bound for Washington D.C, a flight that was crowded with people affected by the May shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Caitlyne, a survivor of the massacre, family members of some of the victims and local leaders traveled to the nation's capital on Tuesday to speak with members of Congress during a lame-duck session in an effort to ban the sale and possession of assault-style rifles before Republicans take control of the House of Representatives this January. The group's itinerary includes multiple meetings with U.S. senators, a vigil, and a silent protest outside the Capitol Building.

"It brings me comfort that we can all be together as one," said Caitlyne.


Caitlyne Gonzales walks by a mural of her best friend, Jackie Cazares, Sept. 4, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas.© The Washington Post via Getty Images

The group is pushing for the passage of Senate Bill 736, which would ban semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity magazines like the ones used by the shooters to gun down students at Robb Elementary, parade-goers in Highland Park, Illinois, and LGBTQ nightclub patrons in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The bill would have barred the Uvalde shooter from purchasing a rifle as he did a week before the May 24 shooting. The passing of the ban is highly unlikely before the end of the legislative session, but President Joe Biden reiterated his support for the bill last month.

The U.S. Senate has until the end of the year to pass the bill or else the voting process starts over.

"I’m going to try. I’m going to try to get rid of assault weapons," Biden said.

Caitlyne has been an advocate for gun reform since the tragedy occurred. On May 24, she hid in her classroom as she listened to shots ring out down the hall. Her best friend, 9-year-old Jackie Cazares, was one of the 19 students killed during the massacre. She says she misses her friend's laughter and hugs.

Since the shooting, Caitlyne has been in the local and national spotlight. She called for police accountability at school board meetings in Uvalde, for gun control at rallies in Austin, Texas, and for a national ban on assault weapons in Washington D.C.

"Turn in your badge and step down. You don't deserve to wear one," the 10-year-old said at a packed August school board meeting, addressing the school district's police chief, Pete Arredondo, who was fired a few hours after her confrontation for his alleged role in the flawed police response to the shooting.



Wearing a shirt with her best friend Jackie Cazares, Caitlyne Gonzales prepares her backpack for the start of the new school year, Sept. 5, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas.© The Washington Post via Getty Images

"It feels good that I'm able to make a change," said Caitlyne a few months after that speech.

Arredondo contested his firing and requested his job back, including back pay, on the grounds that the school district violated his constitutional rights.

Caitlyne, publicly outspoken and composed, says in private she's had trouble sleeping and is sensitive to loud noises since the shooting.

This is not her first trip to Washington, D.C., in an attempt to effect change. She has campaigned for Democratic candidates, met with U.S. Senators, and delivered speeches in front of hundreds of people.

When she speaks, she represents younger voices in a growing chorus of Uvaldeans demanding more gun control and stronger school safety measures in the wake of the tragedy that rocked their town of 15,000. More than two dozen of them will be in D.C. this week.

"I decided to be a voice for my friends who can't use their voice no more," said Caitlyne.

Caitlyne has found other ways to remember her friends who died. She posts TikToks of their photos together, ran in a 5K race for 10-year-old victim Lexi Rubio and delivered pancakes (her favorite food) to Jackie Cazares' grave site on Día de Los Muertos.

Over the past few months, Caitlyne has joined an ever-expanding group of young people spurred to action amid grief following their experience of a school shooting.



A general view of the memorial outside Robb Elementary, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in the U.S. school shooting, in Uvalde, Texas, Nov. 27, 2022.© Marco Bello/Reuters

Recently, she spent a drizzly Saturday in Uvalde with survivors of the 2021 high school shooting in Oxford, Michigan. She helped set up an activity day for Robb survivors, including herself and many of her classmates. The Oxford students flew in from Michigan to spend time with the kids at the town's community center.

Caitlyne's trip this week is being sponsored by March Fourth, a grassroots, mom-led advocacy group formed after the parade shooting in Highland Park. The organization has hosted other Uvalde families in D.C. previously, and has organized many rallies and marches they have participated in. Their objective is to ban assault-style rifles nationwide.

In addition to the silent protest the Uvaldeans led Tuesday evening with the organization, they will attend some 30 meetings with senators that March Fourth says they have arranged. Dozens of other organizations will also be in D.C. this week for the Newtown Action Alliance's 10th annual gun violence vigil, which Caitlyne also plans to attend.

Caitlyne and other families will be joined by approximately 60 physicians from across 25 states, who are rallying behind the assault weapons ban this week on Capitol Hill. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for kids in teens in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The American Medical Association has declared gun violence a "public health crisis."

March Fourth's founder, Kitty Brandtner, told ABC News she hopes the physicians' support, compelled by "non-emotional, evidence-based data," will nudge senators over the edge to vote to pass the ban.

As for Caitlyne, she wants senators to know that her friend Jackie was "very kind and loving," and didn't deserve to lose her life that day. She hopes, with the passage of the ban, she can get back to being a kid.

"I hope in the future I'll actually feel safer and be able to do normal kid things," she said.

ABC News' Nicco Quiñones contributed to this report.

Sandy Hook Survivor, 17, Tells Her Story For First Time Since Tragedy 10 Years Ago: 'I Thought I Was Going To Die'

Story by KC Baker • People

Nicole Melchionno survived the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and doesn't want any other child to have to endure the nightmare she did.


Sasha Arutyunova Nicole Melchionno

"Kids shouldn't have to worry when they go to school," says Nicole, now 17 and a gun violence prevention advocate who spoke to PEOPLE ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Dec. 14, 2012 shooting.

Ten years ago, Nicole was only 7 and in second grade when a 20-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, two semi-automatic handguns and an endless supply of ammunition blasted his way into the cozy school through the plate-glass window next to the locked front door.

Once inside, he turned left instead of right, where Nicole's classroom was located, and opened fire, killing 20 terrified first graders and 6 educators in the nation's first mass shooting at an elementary school — and one of the worst in U.S. history.

Trembling in fear, Nicole huddled with her teacher and classmates next to their jackets and hats in their coat cubbies as the crack of gunfire echoed through the halls. "The intercom was left on, so everything was amplified," she says.


Shannon Hicks/Newtown Bee/ZUM

 The scene outside Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012

© Provided by People

Sitting toward the front of the room, she worried that if the gunman came into her classroom, that she would be one of the first to be shot.

RELATED: Remembering the Sandy Hook Shooting Victims 5 Years Later

"I thought I was never going to see my family again," she says. "I was scared that I was going to die."

When law enforcement arrived, Nicole and her classmates and teacher ran to a nearby firehouse, where she was later reunited with her family.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Like others who lived through the unspeakable horrors of that day, she remains scarred from the trauma she endured. After the shooting, she had terrible nightmares and trouble going to sleep. Like so many others who survived the shooting, she was also plagued with anxiety.



Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/Shutterstock 

March Fourth to end gun violence at the US Capitol© Provided by People

She has learned to manage her anxiety, which has lessened over the years. But being in big crowds and "not knowing if someone has a gun can re-trigger me at times," she says.

RELATED: 'Choose Love' to Stop Violence, Sandy Hook Mom Says on Eve of Shooting's 7th Anniversary

Related video: Father Of Uvalde School Shooting Victim Describes The Moment He Learned His Child Had Been Shot (Dr. Phil)
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As Nicole kept hearing about the increasing number of school shootings that kept taking place after Sandy Hook, she decided to turn tragedy into triumph by fighting to end gun violence. In 2018, when she was in eighth grade, she started to become involved in gun violence prevention. "It's just so painfully common in this country," she says.

She took part in March for Our Lives, a student-led mass demonstration in March 2018 in Washington, D.C., to push for gun control legislation.

"It was empowering," she says.

For more on Nicole Melchionno and the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up this week's issue, on newsstands Friday.

In 2020, when she was a sophomore, she joined the Junior Newtown Action Alliance, which is part of the local gun violence prevention group Newtown Action Alliance, and became its legislative coordinator the following year.

But it was the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May — which killed 19 students and two children — that moved her to take action.

"It sparked something in me," she says. "I felt that I needed to do more."

RELATED: Sandy Hook Dad Responds to Texas School Shooting: 'Sadly, I Know the Unspeakable Pain'

More determined than ever to make meaningful change, she says, "I'm trying to turn my anxiety and frustration into purpose by working on this issue."

Since then, she has spoken publicly at news conferences in Connecticut and at rallies in D.C. She's also traveled several times to the nation's capital, including in July to celebrate the historic June 24 signing of the Bipartisan Gun Bill on the White House lawn.

In the fall, she worked with March for Our Lives lobbying senators on Capitol Hill about an assault weapons ban.


Courtesy of NICOLE MELCHIONNO 

Nicole with Chloe, a survivor of the Uvalde shooting

They were "trying to get the Democratic caucus to show urgency on the assault weapons ban being brought up for a vote before the end of the lame duck session," she says, referring to the last chance for Democrats to push through their legislative priorities before Republicans take control of the House of Representatives in January.

She is returning this month with other teens to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting at the Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence.

In between her activism, she is a regular teenager, spending time with her friends, going to the movies and hitting the local Starbucks.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society named her one of its students of the year in March for raising money and awareness for the disease.

She's applying to college now, with plans to study public policy and maybe business.

As a member of Gen Z, she says, "gun violence is one of our top priorities because we really are the only generation that's had to grow up through this.

"I am hopeful for the future," she says.

"But more needs to be done."

Taiwan seeks to reassure on TSMC commitment to island despite U.S. investment

Story by Reuters • Yesterday .





TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's economy minister said on Wednesday that the island remains chipmaker TSMC's most important production base after the company announced it would more than triple its planned investment at its new Arizona plant to $40 billion.

TSMC's Arizona factory has sparked concerns in Taiwan, where semiconductor manufacturing is the backbone of the economy, about a "goodbye to Taiwan" trend among chip firms. TSMC, which makes most its chips in Taiwan, is also building a factory in Japan.

The first Arizona chip fabrication facility, or fab, will be operational by 2024 while the second facility nearby will make the most advanced chips currently in production, called "3 nanometre," by 2026.

Speaking on the sidelines of parliament, Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said the island's position as a major semiconductor producer and maker of the most advanced chips was secure.

"TSMC's research and development centre is in Taiwan, the complete supply chain is here," she said. "Taiwan has a complete supply chain, a complete system, and the backing of the government. It is definitely TSMC's most important production base."

The production of 3nm chips is already happening in Taiwan, and the even more advanced 2nm and 1nm development and production in Taiwan are also on track, Wang added.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, as it is formally called, has repeatedly said that the bulk of its manufacturing will remain in Taiwan.

TSMC's Taipei-listed shares were up 1.5% on Wednesday morning, outperforming the broader index.

The company is the world's largest contract chip maker and a major supplier to global tech firms including Apple Inc.

U.S. President Joe Biden has sought to boost semiconductor production at home after the COVID-19 pandemic caused supply chain problems that led to shortages of chips for vehicles and many other items.

Taiwan has been keen to show the United States, its most important international supporter and arms seller in the face of mounting Chinese military pressure, that as a "like-minded democracy" it is a reliable semiconductor partner and supplier and has supported the Arizona plans.

But the government is also rolling out more support for the chip industry at home, including proposing larger tax breaks for technology companies' research and development to retain its competitive edge.

It is also encouraging more foreign tech firms in the chip supply chain to invest in Taiwan.

Premier Su Tseng-chang said late on Tuesday that his deputy Shen Jong-chin was leading a task force to promote such investments.

(Reporting by Jeanny Kao and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)