RETURN OF THE COMPANY TOWN

Elon Musk plans to build hundreds of homes for workers in Texas on streets including Boring Boulevard

Story by stabahriti@insider.com (Sam Tabahriti) • Yesterday 

Elon Musk controls Tesla, SpaceX and The Boring Company. Adrees Latif/Reuters© Adrees Latif/Reuters
The Boring Company is working with a construction company to build housing near Austin, Texas.
"Project Amazing" will have street names including Boring Boulevard and Waterjet Way.
An initial 110 homes are planned for the development, documents show.

Elon Musk is planning to build hundreds of homes in Texas for workers at his companies.

The development in Austin's Bastrop County, which was first reported by the Austin Business Journal, is close to facilities for The Boring Company and is known as "Project Amazing."

Mel Hamner, the Bastrop County commissioner, told a meeting last month that Florida-based house builder Lennar was partnering with Musk's tunnel construction firm to build an initial 110 homes near its headquarters, the publication reported.

County documents show the subdivision has streets named Boring Boulevard, Cutterhead Crossing, Waterjet Way, and Porpoise Place. It is unclear when construction would begin.

The land is owned by Gappes Bass LLC, a company affiliated with The Boring Company, according to online records. Adam Pashaian, a corporate controller for the Boring Company, is also registered as an agent for Gapped Bass.

Austin is also home to a Tesla gigafactory that could eventually employ up to 20,000 workers, Musk said in late 2021. SpaceX is also expected to build a factory in the area.

Hamner said there was a housing affordability crisis in the area, therealdeal.com reported earlier this month.

"That's part of why The Boring Company is building housing for their workers, so they can afford to be living somewhere close to their facilities," he said, per the outlet.

Matt Holm, a real estate agent in Austin and president of the city's Tesla Owners' Club, told Insider that many more homes would be needed for workers at Musk's companies.

Lennar advertises 3D-printed homes on its website, and Holm said it could use the technique for the Austin development.

The Boring Company, Lennar, and Bastrop County didn't respond to requests for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_company_towns_in_the_United_States

List of company towns in the United States - Wikipedia 

Betteravia, California, built by Union Sugar Company · Chester, California, associated with The Collins Companies · Cowell, California, built by Cowell Portland ...

https://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/company-towns

Company Towns | Themes | Slavery by Another Name - PBS 

In remote locations such as railroad construction sites, lumber camps, turpentine camps, or coal mines, jobs often existed far from established towns.

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/modern-company-town

The Modern Company Town - Center for American Progress 

Sep 10, 2019 ... Company towns are often the result of intentional business decisions aimed to take advantage of lower labor costs and local inducements, rather ...

HAMILTON
Can a new pipeline help the climate? ArcelorMittal Dofasco says it needs more gas to leave coal behind

Story by Saira Peesker • CBC

If Hamilton city council agrees to build a new natural gas pipeline to ArcelorMittal Dofasco, it should also commit to reducing gas use and emissions in other parts of the city as a counter-measure, says Environment Hamilton's interim executive director Ian Borsuk.


New technology at ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton is expected to cut 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the local atmosphere annually.© John Rieti/CBC

The comments come after representatives from ArcelorMittal Dofasco and Enbridge Gas made a recent presentation to city councillors, explaining that plans to stop using coal in the steelmaking process will require double the amount of natural gas the facility currently uses. They say a new pipeline is required to make it happen.

"We are so locked into fossil fuels that literally building out fossil-fuel infrastructure is seen as a win for the environment by a lot of people," Borsuk told CBC Hamilton. "To me, and to a lot of other environmentalists, I see it as extremely damning to the situation that we're in."

The new technology at ArcelorMittal Dofasco is expected to cut 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, in addition to several other chemicals, from the local atmosphere annually. Councillors lauded that goal, even as several noted it puts them in the position of having to approve new fossil-fuel infrastructure that could potentially be used for more than just the steel plant in the future, inadvertently increasing carbon emissions over the long term.

The International Energy Agency is among several organizations that have warned governments against investing in new fossil fuel projects if their intention is to limit warming to safe levels and meet international targets.

"In a lot of ways, council's hands are tied because you don't want to be seen as obstructing this and perpetuating the use of coal," Borsuk said.

"That type of example is the tragedy of modern society in a lot of ways. We know there's an ongoing problem and we have the means to address it, but the economics don't support the science, and unfortunately the economics trump the science in pretty much every case.

"If this is going to go forward, then in my mind, I think the onus is on the City of Hamilton to find ways to reduce emissions in other ways and in other sectors."

Steel plant forecasts gas use of more than a billion cubic metres annually

The gas would be used to power the plant's direct reduced iron facility, which will go online in 2026 and fully replace coal-powered steelmaking by 2028, said Tony Valeri, part of ArcelorMittal Dofasco's decarbonization investment project team. He told Hamilton council's general issues committee meeting on Feb. 1 that the plant's gas usage will rise from about 500 million cubic metres annually to more than a billion.

"The project is a first phase for our pathway to net zero," he said, noting the company has committed to net zero emissions by 2050, and is investigating numerous other emissions-reduction projects such as bio-carbon, coming from waste lumber, and hydrogen, which could eventually replace the plant's natural gas.

Enbridge's preferred route for the natural gas pipeline would start south of Rymal Road, near Upper Centennial Parkway, north to Barton Street, and west to Kenilworth Street, where it would enter the steel plant's property.

Its second choice route would start in Flamborough, go down the escarpment to York Boulevard, and through downtown Hamilton to the plant; while the third option would see the pipeline run through King's Forest golf course and a wetland on its way to the plant, said Murray Costello, Enbridge Gas' director of southeast region operations.

"There would be a portion of [King's Forest] which would have to be excavated," he told councillors at the meeting.

The company's preferred route along Centennial Parkway would see the pipeline built alongside city roadways, said Costello.

Costello shared the following construction timeline proposal with councillors:
Fall 2023: Ontario Energy Board (OEB) application for the project;
Aug. 2024: OEB decision projected;
Spring 2025: Construction starts; and
End of 2025: Pipeline in service.

He also noted that Enbridge is conducting public consultation on the proposal, which will form part of the OEB submission. Sessions are set for March 2 at the Stoney Creek Lions Club from 5 to 8 p.m. and March 8 at the Mount Hamilton Legion from 5 to 8 p.m. Residents can also provide input online, by visiting hamiltonreinforcement.com between Feb. 27 and March 12.

'How many households… would have to turn off the gas?'

Dundas councillor Alex Wilson was among several on council who indicated they'd like to see more research on the alternatives to a new gas pipeline.

"Why does the demand increase need a system capacity increase?" Wilson asked. "I'm trying to understand, for example, if reductions in natural gas use in other parts of the city have an impact on this. How many households… would have to turn off the gas?"

Costello said he believed Enbridge's submission to the OEB would contain those answers. In addition to OEB approval, the project would also require City of Hamilton and conservation authority permits, he said.

Council delegate Don McLean, a member of environmental group Hamilton 350, suggested moving households from gas furnaces to electric heat pumps could help free up some capacity for the steel project without requiring additional capacity.

"I'm concerned generally about this project because it makes worse the crisis," he said. "Most of the natural gas – I would call it fossil gas – used in Ontario… is fracked gas. It is probably as bad as coal for its implications on global climate."

Borsuk told CBC Hamilton that he has a hard time imagining Enbridge agreeing to reduce gas sales voluntarily.

"They are going to want to sell their product for as long as they can," he said. "That's just the reality of the situation."

When contacted for an interview on the subject, Costello responded with the following emailed comments:

"Enbridge Gas reviews pipeline alternatives, through our Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) framework (which has been approved by our regulator, the Ontario Energy Board). This process considers safety, timelines, customer-specific build and cost.

"However, the volume of natural gas and delivery pressures required for this project indicate that a full non-pipeline alternative cannot address the project's needs, which is a customer-specific build."

Demand for cosmetic surgeries is changing conversations around it

Story by Candice Lipski • 

Ashley Quick broke her nose twice as a child, leaving it wider and more crooked than it might have been.

For years the Saskatoon sports nutrition consultant went back and forth between trying to embrace it and contemplating surgery to adjust it.

She finally decided to have a rhinoplasty about two years ago. Now she wonders what took her so long.

"If I would have known how it would impact my life now, I would have done it 10 years ago," she said.

For decades, a lot of the public conversation about cosmetic procedures, such as Botox or dermal fillers, was driven by pop culture. For example, characters in TV shows and movies would make fun of someone who couldn't move their face after receiving Botox.

Now some of the shame associated with these procedures may be dissipating, thanks to more people accessing them and more willingness to talk openly about them.

Holly Decker has become quite familiar with cosmetic procedures over the past few decades.

The professional makeup artist from Saskatoon has been in the business for around 20 years. Over that time she has worked on countless faces. She said she's seen an increase in cosmetic treatments, especially Botox and dermal fillers.

"I think more so in the last 10 years, and then very much so – and I'd say a lot more of it – in the last five."

In the past, she said, people who got a treatment like Botox would pretend they weren't.

"What I'm loving now is that people are more open to talking about things that they're doing and sharing information," she said. "I think that education on this is the most important component."

While there isn't recent reliable Canadian data available, there is evidence from the U.S. about the new popularity of these treatments.

Data from a survey by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) sent out in June 2022 to doctors with cosmetic practices tracked trends in the industry following the height of the pandemic in the U.S.

The survey found that more than three-quarters of respondents reported increased demand for cosmetic procedures compared to pre-pandemic levels, with some practices reporting that business had doubled.

The top surgical procedure reported was liposuction, and the most common minimally invasive procedure was Botox, followed by soft tissue fillers.

Some of the reasons behind the demand included patients not traveling as much during the pandemic and using travel budgets for procedures, people seeing themselves constantly on zoom, and the desire to feel good and more confident following the pandemic, according to the survey results.

Related video: Physician's assistant offers look into new cosmetic procedure surgery (News 12)
Duration 2:03  View on Watch

Utah Cosmetic Surgery
3:29

Cosmetic surgeon warns of new face slimming trend
1:48

How cosmetic procedure transforming natural facial structures
3:08


Societal pressure still an issue

The reasons why so many people, especially women, are seeking out cosmetic procedures are as relevant as ever. Many point to ageism and the pressure to appear youthful, like Madonna did after being described as "unrecognizable" after a recent appearance at the Grammys.

"I think the pressure on women for aging and the anti-aging market that is out there is insane," said Decker, the makeup artist.

"I do think it can be a problem if people get to a point that they're doing this for the wrong reasons, for other people and not for themselves."

Social media might also play a role, according to a psychology professor at Dalhousie University who studies the impact of cosmetic procedures.

Simon Sherry said that we constantly compare ourselves to others. Sometimes we compare ourselves to people who are less fortunate, but often we look up to people who are better off.


Simon Sherry is a clinical psychologist and professor at Dalhousie University. He says he thinks social media is very relevant to the popularization of cosmetic procedures.© CBC

On social media, people compare themselves unrealistically to younger people, to models, and to airbrushed or digitally altered images.

Sherry said there's a reason we yearn to be attractive.

"It may be distasteful, but you could argue that humans form rank orders based on certain characteristics, and one of those characteristics can be the degree to which you are attractive," he said.

Some people "drink in" those ideals to a degree that becomes toxic, he said, while others are more critical and less likely to internalize them.

Sherry said people who are perfectionist and narcissistic may not be good candidates for cosmetic procedures, as they are often incredibly self-critical and may spiral out of control.

People with body dysmorphic disorder — an imagined or subjective sense of ugliness — also are unlikely to benefit from procedures, according to Sherry.

Potential upside to cosmetic procedures

While not everyone is a good candidate for cosmetic procedures, Sherry said his research has revealed there can be clear benefits.

People who undergo cosmetic surgery often feel increased self esteem, he said.

"Beyond that, and this is noteworthy, other people often feel more positive about a person after they've received a cosmetic surgical procedure."

The more positively people perceive you, the more positive opportunities could arise for you, he said.

Dr. Donna Jubin considers those positive changes the most important thing about her job. She's the owner, founder and medical director of Bella Sante Cosmetic and Laser Clinic in Saskatoon.

"Your face is something that you wear every day. Everybody sees that," Jubin said. "When you feel confident with your skin when you look in the mirror — whether it's your face or your body — it builds confidence."

Jubin said the clinic will turn people away if they are taking procedures too far, but at the same time she thinks it's time to do away with the shame sometimes associated with cosmetic procedures.

"I don't think any of us should judge another human being for what it is that creates insecurities for them," she id. "You never know where that person's come from."

One thing most people agree on is that you should do your homework before making changes, big or small.

"Just make sure that you make smart choices," said sports nutritionist Ashley Quick.

"Ask the right questions, and put yourself in the best hands."

UK firms plan biggest pay rises since 2012 to fill staff gaps

Story by By Suban Abdulla • 


People walk across Millennium Bridge with the City of London financial district seen behind, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in London

LONDON (Reuters) - British employers expect to raise wages for their staff by the most in at least 11 years but the 5% pay deals for workers would still fall well below expected inflation, a survey published on Monday showed.

With the Bank of England fearing the surge in inflation could be harder to tame if pay deals keep rising, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) said 55% of recruiters planned to lift base or variable pay this year as they struggle to hire and retain staff in Britain's tight labour market.

Expected median annual pay awards in 2023 rose to 5% - the highest since CIPD records began in 2012 - from 4% in the previous three months.

More than half of respondents reported having problems filling vacancies, and nearly one in three expected similar issues in the next six months.

Related video: Business Look ahead: the truth about inflation (Reuters)

Duration 1:38   View on Watch

"Skills and labour remain scarce in the face of a labour market which continues to be surprisingly buoyant given the economic backdrop of rising inflation and the associated cost-of-living crisis," Jon Boys, senior labour market economist at the CIPD, said.

The survey also showed the gap between public and private employers' wage expectations widened. Planned pay settlements in the public sector fell to 2% from 3% in the quarter before, compared to 5% in the private sector, the CIPD said.

The results highlighted the squeeze on living standards as key workers including nurses, teachers and public transport staff stage a series of strikes over pay and work conditions.

BoE Governor Andrew Bailey last week expressed concerns about wage-setting, despite signs that the surge in inflation has turned a corner.

Annual inflation fell to 10.5% in December after hitting a 41-year high of 11.1% in October. Bailey signalled inflationary pressures were still a worry despite the BoE raising interest rates to the highest since 2008 this month.

The quarterly survey showed recruiters were more willing to hire people returning to the workforce, including older workers and those with health conditions.

The CIPD surveyed 2,012 employers between Jan. 3 and Jan. 25.

(Reporting by Suban Abdulla in London; Editing by William Schomberg)

Memorial march to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and gender diverse people

THE TRAIL OF TEARS 

Story by The Canadian Press • By Alexandra Mehl

Vancouver, BC – Feb. 14 marks a day of remembering, grieving, healing, and honoring the Indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse peoples who are missing or murdered.

The annual women’s memorial walk started decades ago at a time when there was little response or awareness towards MMIWG2S+, said Sarah Hunt, Kwagu’l of Kwakwaka’wakw, an assistant professor at the University of Victoria and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Political Ecology. There was a “lack of systemic response,” she continued.

The first memorial walk was held in 1992 in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, where many Indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse people over the years have gone missing or murdered. The memorial was a response to honoring the loss of a woman murdered on Powell Street in Vancouver, and the many others who were lost.

“[It's] a really significant way that community members, loved ones, families and relatives of missing and murdered women, girls and gender diverse people have come together to create a space for remembering and honoring their loved ones, and also for really speaking about justice on their own terms,” said Hunt.

Since 1992 the memorial march has grown to be held in other cities, small communities and on reserves, explained Hunt.

Canada’s colonial systems enacts violence

The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls identifies four social pillars that allow systemic violence to continue. These include intergenerational trauma, social and economic marginalization, maintenance of institutional status quo, and ignoring the expertise of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

Lisa Robinson is the executive director of Kackaamin Family Development Center and a Nuu-chah-nulth member originally from Hesquiaht and married in Ahousaht.

When Robinson thinks of colonial violence, she thinks of systemic racism.

“Everything was built around us while our people were in residential schools,” said Robinson. “We didn't have the opportunity to participate.”

“They pulled our families apart [and] took children away from the love source they had,” she added. “For generations, there's going to be repercussions.”

Oftentimes the losses of MMIWG2S+ are stigmatized, such as with addiction, explained Robinson.

However, Robinson noted that with Nuu-chah-nulth customs if people experience loss, there is an acknowledgement of the strength it takes to be present.

Colonialism is rooted in racism and sexism, said Hunt. These ideas lead to mistreatment of Indigenous people as though they are “less important and less valuable.”


Hunt explains that this is evident in the lack of action in the justice systems, even with the gathered evidence through reports, such as the National Inquiry and the provincial inquiry in British Columbia.

“The day-to-day experiences that our family members have, and that we have, [it] really hasn't changed very much, despite the growing awareness,” said Hunt.

Being seen and valued makes safe spaces for healing

Robinson explains there needs to be an acknowledgement of the past to build safe spaces for healing in the present.

For Robinson, one element of cultural safety means to be free of racism, judgement and criticism in places of healing.

“Anybody in the helping field, anybody in healthcare, they need to have that space to acknowledge and make it safe in different ways to welcome people in,” said Robinson. “To have culturally safe spaces everywhere, including hospitals [and] counseling, they have to understand deeply what it [is] like to be in our shoes.”

“Cultural safety is important to me, and also, all forms of safety, because it's really about… expressing our self determination as Indigenous people at the intimate level,” said Hunt.

Hunt explains that cultural safety is localized and will vary from territory to territory.

“I think that cultural safety is an expression of our cultural… norms and values, our systems of governance, and the role that we take up in them,” said Hunt. “Being able to be seen and valued and treated within our own cultural systems is really, you know, core to those broader expressions of, again, our nationhood.”

Correcting is to connect

Robinson explains that it is important to identify the systemic disruptions that disconnected Indigenous people from one another and their culture.

“The correction to it is to connect back up and heal from what has disconnected us,” said Robinson.

“The answer is within us… to recognize that this extreme violence happened for generations,” she continued. “We can rebuild it - and wake up those values and Indigenous way of knowing.”

Hunt said that Indigenous ways of being are rooted in the strength and the health of relationships.

“The more we have shared language [and] shared understanding of what safety is, how we can be there for each other, how we can help to keep each other safe, and treat each other respectfully and consensually,” explained Hunt. “It's not only helping to hopefully lessen the violence that happens, but it's also in my view, it's like a way to express our own Indigenous forms of justice.”

Those who have missing or murdered family members often feel the brunt of isolation in their grief and continued challenges in the justice system, said Hunt.

“It's really about showing up and being present and being able to respond to the needs of people,” said Hunt.

Robinson notes that the memorial walk plays an important role in recognizing the losses and honouring the sacredness of every life.

“They are our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, [and] granddaughters,” said Robinson.

-30-

Alexandra Mehl, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa

CRIMINAL  CAPITALI$M
'Day of pain': Wirecard boss denies charges in massive fraud trial

Story by By Jörn Poltz • 

Former Wirecard CEO Braun attends trial in Munich© Thomson Reuters

MUNICH (Reuters) - The former boss of Wirecard on Monday expressed his "deepest regret" over the collapse of the defunct payments company but denied all allegations as he took to the stand in Germany's biggest post-war fraud trial.

Dressed in his trademark black turtleneck and rimless spectacles, the one-time chief executive Markus Braun said he had no knowledge of any forgery or embezzlement and believed he was running a legitimate and healthy business.

Austrian-born Braun, 53, and two other ex-Wirecard managers Oliver Bellenhaus and Stephan von Erffa are on trial on charges including market manipulation and fraud and face up to 15 years each in prison if convicted.

Braun has been in custody since the 2020 collapse of Wirecard, which shook Germany's business establishment, putting politicians who backed it and regulators who took years to investigate allegations against the firm under intense scrutiny.

Related video: Wirecard ex-CEO denies embezzlement charges (Reuters)

Germany's biggest post war fraud trial resumed Monday. Weikart's

Duration 1:12 'View on Watch

"I had no knowledge of counterfeiting or embezzlement," Braun told a court in Munich, describing the discovery of 1.9 billion euro ($2 billion) hole in Wirecard's balance sheet as a "day of pain" for shareholders and employees.

In the opening exchanges of the trial last year, Bellenhaus, who became a key witness after turning himself in to the authorities, painted Braun as an "absolutist CEO" calling the shots at the heart of a vast swindle.

Braun, who has spoken only briefly before at the trial to confirm his personal details, pushed back against that characterisation, saying he had relied on what he believed to be proper accounting and auditing.

At the start of a testimony that is expected to go on for several days, Braun retold his early years at Wirecard, describing a struggling startup where he and other managers pulled all-nighters and worked with a sense of mission.

"There was in reality no life outside the company," he said, speaking throughout in a calm and concentrated voice.

At the start of the trial in December, prosecutors accused the defendants of being part of a gang that invented vast sums of phantom revenue through bogus transactions with partner companies to mislead creditors and investors.

Braun's lawyers have alleged that Bellenhaus was the main perpetrator of the fraud at Wirecard, which began processing payments for pornography and online gambling and rose to be a blue chip DAX company worth $28 billion.

(Reporting by Jörn Poltz and Alexander Hübner; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Mark Potter)

Study hints healthier school lunch can reduce obesity

Story by The Canadian Press • 

A2010 federal law that boosted nutrition standards for school meals may have begun to help slow the rise in obesity among America’s children — even teenagers who can buy their own snacks, a new study showed.


Study hints healthier school lunch can reduce obesity© Provided by The Canadian Press

The national study found a small but significant decline in the average body mass index of more than 14,000 schoolkids ages 5 to 18 whose heights and weights were tracked before and after implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

The study is new evidence that improving the quality of school meals through legislation might be one way to help shift the trajectory of childhood obesity, which has been rising for decades and now affects about 1 in 5 U.S. kids. Whether the program has begun to turn the tide for the whole country, and not just the groups of kids studied, is still unclear. About 30 million children in the U.S. receive school lunches each day.

“You have the potential to really impact their excess weight gain over the course of their entire childhood,” said Dr. Aruna Chandran, a social epidemiologist with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She led the study published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, championed by former first lady Michelle Obama, was the first national legislation to improve school meals in more than 20 years. It increased the quantity of fruits, vegetables and whole grains required in school meals.

The new study analyzed nationwide data from 50 cohorts of schoolchildren from January 2005 to August 2016, before the law took effect, and data from September 2016 to March 2020, after it was fully implemented. Researchers calculated kids' body-mass index, a weight-to-height ratio.

It found that a body mass index for children, adjusted for age and gender, fell by 0.041 units per year, compared to before the law took effect. That amounts to about a quarter of one BMI unit per year, Chandran said. There was a slight decline in kids who were overweight or obese, too, the study showed.

One way to think of the change is that for a 10-year-old boy with an elevated body-mass index, the decline would amount to a 1-pound weight loss, noted Dr. Lauren Fiechtner, director of nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study.

“This is important as even BMI flattening over time is likely important,” she said. Holding kids' weight steady as they grow can help keep obesity in check.

Previous studies have shown weight-related effects of the federal law among children from low-income families. The new study is the first to find lower BMI in kids across all income levels.

At the same time, significant decreases in BMI measures were seen not only in kids ages 5 to 11, but also in those age 12 to 18.

“That’s an incredible shift,” Chandran said. “These are kids who potentially have their own autonomy to buy their own snacks.”

The new results come within days of the release of updated standards for school meals, including the first limits on added sugars, decreased sodium and increased flexibility for whole grains. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the study shows that healthy school meals are “critical for tackling diet-related conditions like obesity.”

But some researchers cautioned against interpreting the study’s findings too broadly. Some of the children included in the study might not have been enrolled in school meals programs, or their district may not have fully implemented the nutrition requirements, said Kendrin Sonneville, associate professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Significantly, measures like BMI, even when adjusted for children, “should not be used as a proxy for health,” she added.

A slight reduction in those measures, she said, “doesn’t tell us whether the health, well-being, concerns related to food security of children participating in the school breakfast or lunch program improved."

—-

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press

Meteor Filmed Exploding Above France As Super Bowl Ends

Story by Robyn White • 

A compilation shows three times the meteorite was spotted falling to Earth. It was visible from Northern France, the Netherlands, Belgium and the south of England.

© Thomas Petit @MegaLuigi / Chris @teh_c

A small meteorite was filmed exploding in the sky above France as the Super Bowl was about to end.

The object—a small meteorite estimated to be about three feet in length and dubbed Sar2667—struck the earth safely in Northern France at 9:59 pm ET on February 12, the International Meteor Organization reported

Meteor Filmed Exploding Above France As Super Bowl Ends
Duration 0:21   View on Watch

Meteor Filmed Exploding Above France During Super Bowl Intermission
0:21

Meteor lights up skies in southern England
0:32

Reuters  Meteor illuminates sky over English Channel
0:20

The fireball was seen in the sky just as the Super Bowl was about to end.

This was only the seventh time in history that astronomers detected a meteorite before it breached the Earth's atmosphere.

Small meteorites like Sar2667 are not a danger to people due to their size. In fact, small meteorites hit the Earth's atmosphere frequently—but astronomers do not always detect them beforehand.

This early detection was a "sign of the rapid advancements in global asteroid detection capabilities," the European Space Agency said in a tweet.

The meteorite fell to earth a decade after the Chelyabinsk meteor hit Russia on February 15, 2013. Unlike this most recent event, the Chelyabinsk meteor was large, at 59 feet long. It caused damage upon impact and injured nearly 1,500 people. Nobody was killed as a result.

Hadrien Devillepoix, a research associate at the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University in Perth, Australia, told Newsweek: "Meteorites occasionally hurt people or damage property but, from a planetary defense point of view, today's event was harmless.

"Most of the energy from the impact was released into the atmosphere, and it didn't pack enough of a punch to create a dangerous pressure wave. We get about 30-50 of these impacting the Earth every year.

"The Chelyabinsk impact in Russia exactly 10 years ago, was another story. It was about 17 meters across (compared to about 1 meter), but also roughly 5,000 times more massive.

"The shock wave from Chelyabinsk luckily didn't kill anyone, but injured many because of broken windows due to the shock wave."

The Sar2667 meteorite was visible from many places in Europe. Footage posted to Twitter—of the bright object falling to Earth in the night sky—was captured from the south coast of England near Brighton.

"Nice intermission for the Super Bowl," the Twitter user said in a caption.

It was also visible from Belgium, the Netherlands, as well as Northern France. The darkness of the night sky meant that the fireball effect of the meteor was pronounced.

The last time astronomers detected a meteorite before it hit the Earth was in 2022, when a small asteroid hit Toronto in Canada, on November 19. It was discovered about four hours before it made contact with the Earth.

Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about space? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.

Related Articles

Green Comet in Pictures and Videos

Green Comet ZTF Develops Strange 'Anti-tail' Pointing in Wrong Direction

Eric Miller: Make no mistake, U.S. debt default would be economic earthquake for us all

Story by Special to Financial Post • 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attends a news conference in Washington, criticizing Republicans for what he called brinksmanship and irresponsibility over the debt ceiling. Politics is driving the U.S. to the cliff’s edge., writes Eric Miller.© Provided by Financial Post

We live in an age when the unthinkable becomes thinkable. In the field of public finance, another “unprecedented event” is on the horizon.

If Congress does not raise America’s statutory borrowing limit – known as the debt ceiling – the United States will default on its obligations, including to bondholders. The U.S. is the world’s largest economy, and the dollar is the global reserve currency, meaning that the consequences of a default would be seismic.

At present, the U.S. debt ceiling stands at US$31.4 trillion. On Jan. 19, 2023, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen s ent a note to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy informing him that United States had reached its borrowing limit. Her department is currently using “extraordinary measures” to temporarily cover expenses, but this spare cash will be exhausted by June 5, 2023, after which the U.S. Government would default.

Despite battles in 2011 and 2013, Congress has typically raised the debt limit without incident. After all, borrowing pays for expenses already accrued.

Yet, this time, the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives is refusing to raise the debt ceiling without major cuts in government spending.

The last time the U.S. had a balanced budget was 2000. Since that time, four Presidents – two from each party – have added US$25 trillion in new debt. Under the simplest measure – on whose watch the spending occurred – responsibility is split evenly between the parties.

There is no doubt that the long-term debt picture for the U.S. is not good, but it has not reached a crisis point. If Congress raised the debt ceiling tomorrow, Treasury would have no difficulty in selling its bonds.

Rather, it is politics driving the U.S. to the cliff’s edge.

Republicans took control of the House in January with very slim margins. This empowered the Party’s hardened populist wing.

Their first exertion of power was over the selection of the House Speaker – the top position in the Chamber. Normally, this is a simple process. This time, the populists put Kevin McCarthy – the Republican leader – through 15 rounds of voting before giving him the nod.

With each round, Mr. McCarthy offered yet more concessions, including the dilution of his own power to drive consensus on difficult issues. One of the key concessions was a commitment not to raise the debt ceiling without major spending cuts, even if this means defaulting.

To date, Republicans have not agreed on nor tabled a specific list of cuts sought. They also will not raise taxes. Math and politics make balancing the budget really hard.

Nevertheless, many analysts think the whole point of the debt ceiling fight is to excite the Republican base about “government overreach,” as exemplified in laws such as the Inflation Reduction Act.

Regardless of political posturing, the fact remains that the debt ceiling must be raised.

Yet, this imperative is being met with a troubling tendency to downplay the risks that default would pose to the U.S. and global economies.

At present, the U.S. benefits from the market belief that there is a 100 per cent chance that it will pay its debts on time and in full. If that belief is invalidated, interest rates will spike dramatically.

In 2021, Moody’s Analytics modelled a U.S. debt ceiling default. They found it would cost 3 million jobs and wipe out $15 trillion in household wealth. In other words, it would create a repeat of the Great Recession.

Many advocates of brinkmanship are also postulating a difference between a debt default and a “default on obligations.” The idea is to “prioritize” payments to bondholders over other obligees, including pensioners, soldiers, and contractors, thus formally avoiding default. For its part, Treasury says this “prioritization” is unfeasible.

In the end, solving this looming crisis will take leadership. Given his political weakness and specific commitment to “go to the edge” on the debt ceiling, there are real questions about whether Speaker McCarthy could even deliver his caucus on a deal to avoid default.

In the coming months, Canada and others around the world will watch the economic consequences of political polarization play out in real time. If the U.S. does default, we are likely to see an economic earthquake, including the end of the dollar’s hegemony and the system it underpins. While we should all hope this does not happen, it is time for investors and governments to start planning for the worst.

Eric Miller is President of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group and a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

THE 51st STATE
Progressives and fiscal hawks may cut future funding for Israel

Opinion by Eric R. Mandel, Opinion Contributor • 5h ago

Every 10 years, Republican and Democratic administrations, with the support of Congress, sign a memorandum of understanding to assist Israel’s ability to defend itself and, at the same time, they financially strengthen the American defense industry by requiring that all money spent stays in the United States. Even President Obama’s animosity toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not stop him from offering Israel “the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in U.S. history.‎”



As just one of many examples of how Israel and America help one another, today they are working together to build a hypersonic anti-missile defense system to thwart the threat of Chinese, North Korean and Iranian hypersonic missiles. Israel is allocating more than $200 million in 2023 to develop the Glide Phase Hypersonic Missile Interceptor. That Israel’s military technology benefits American national security is often ignored by those who claim American aid is a one-way street. Last month, Israel struck an advanced missile research site in Isfahan, Iran. Danny Yatom, former head of the Mossad, told Army Radio that the attack “targeted a facility developing hypersonic missiles.”

Yet the future of American foreign aid is anything but certain. A combination of factors will make the seemingly automatic renewal of financial support for Israel a more challenging proposition for any future administration. The current memorandum expires in 2028, just two years before the mothballed Iran nuclear agreement’s sunset provisions expire. The timing is important, since the Biden administration is still trying to convince the Iranians to rejoin the deal (despite claims to the contrary). According to Iran International, the State Department has not denied that the administration’s point man for this, Robert Malley, “met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York, at least three times in the last two months.”

There is recent history of Congress challenging U.S. aid to Israel. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) voted with anti-Israel progressives against Iron Dome funding, saying, “My position of no foreign aid might sound extreme to some, but I think it’s extreme to bankrupt our country and put future generations of Americans in hock to our creditors.” Another harbinger of growing Republican isolationism may be the increasing number of Republicans resisting additional aid to Ukraine — which, like Israel, has not asked for American soldiers, only for arms to defend itself.

Meanwhile, the rise of the anti-Israel progressive Democrats means they’ll likely challenge any future funding for the Jewish state. And many mainstream Democrats are fearful that public support of Israel will make them a target for a progressive primary challenge in the next election.

In 2021, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) introduced legislation to condition aid to Israel, one of several recent bills aimed at curbing Israel’s policies toward Palestinians. But some progressives, such as Reps. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), condemned the withholding of funding for Iron Dome that same year. Said Torres, “A missile defense system (Iron Dome) defends civilians from missiles — hence, the name. Only in a morally inverted universe would this be considered a ‘controversy.’” His courage in speaking against those who are harshly critical of Israel should be applauded.

As Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said, “It is no secret that the future of the [U.S.-Israel] relationship is increasingly dependent on the next generations and it is where we have an immense challenge.”

Israel could live without American military aid but it would strain Israel’s economy. And it would hurt America’s military preparedness, which has come to rely somewhat on Israeli innovations to protect our soldiers and give us tactical advantages.

Foreign aid, in general, doesn’t play well with the American people. According to Brookings Institution, “Opinion polls consistently report that Americans believe foreign aid is in the range of 25 percent of the federal budget. When asked how much it should be, they say about 10 percent. In fact, at $39.2 billion for 2019, foreign assistance is less than 1 percent of the federal budget.” While it is the “world’s largest provider of foreign assistance in terms of dollars, America falls near the bottom of the OECD countries when spending is compared to its gross national income.”

Many Americans don’t appreciate that, with Israel, we get disproportionate security leverage for a relatively small amount of foreign funding, including intelligence vital to our security, especially since we have chosen to withdraw our emphasis from the Middle East to confront China in the Pacific theater.

In the Middle East, America has had longstanding financial commitments to Israel and Egypt because the 1979 peace agreement has worked remarkably well. The stability of both U.S. allies is vital in keeping the region from coming under the sway of Iran’s Islamist regime or the rise of the jihadist Sunni organizations. This is foreign aid at its best.

Long-range Israeli planners should consider the possibility of decreased American aid in the future. Some believe the relationship would be healthier, stronger and on more equal footing if American financial assistance wound down, thereby decreasing U.S. influence on Israeli policy. Long-term Israeli planners are looking east for relationships with India, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, to rely on more than just the goodwill of the United States.

But it may not be a choice for Israel, if isolationist and fiscally conservative Republicans, along with anti-Israel Democrats, continue to grow in power in Congress — and especially if one of them becomes president.

Dr. Eric R. Mandel is the director of MEPIN, the Middle East Political Information Network. He regularly briefs members of Congress and their foreign policy aides. He is the senior security editor for the Jerusalem Report. Follow him on Twitter @MepinOrg.

The Hill.

\