Berlin to let everyone go topless at public swimming pools


Germany Berlin Topless Bathing

A boy jumps into the water at the Olympic open air public pool in Berlin, Germany, May 21, 2014. Women in Berlin will soon be allowed to go topless at the city's public pools, the Berlin state government said Thursday. The new bathing rules to allow both men and women to go swimming without covering their upper bodies came in reaction to a woman's complaint alleging discrimination because she was not allowed to swim topless in a swimming pool in Berlin, like men. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Thu, March 9, 2023 

BERLIN (AP) — Women in Berlin will soon be allowed to go topless at the city's public swimming pools, like men, the Berlin state government said Thursday.

The new bathing rules allowing everyone to go swimming without covering their torsos followed a discrimination complaint by a woman who was not allowed to go topless in a swimming pool in the capital.

The woman, whose identity was not revealed, had turned to the senate's ombudsperson's office for equal treatment to demand that women, like men, can swim topless, the Berlin senate for justice, diversity and anti-discrimination said in a written statement.

In reaction to the complaint and the ombudsman's involvement in the case, the Berliner Baederbetriebe, which runs the city's public pools, decided to change its clothing rules, the statement said.

“The ombudsperson’s office very much welcomes the decision of the Baederbetriebe, because it establishes equal rights for all Berliners, whether male, female or non-binary, and because it also creates legal certainty for the staff at the Baederbetriebe," said Doris Liebscher, the head of the ombudsperson's office.

In the past, women who bared their breasts at Berlin pools were asked to cover themselves or to leave the pool, and were sometimes banned from returning.

“Now it is important that the regulation is applied consistently and that no more expulsions or house bans are issued,” Liebscher said.

It was not immediately clear when exactly the new bathing rules would be applied.

Almost 60 school districts in Texas have now made the switch to four-day weeks



Christopher Adams
Wed, March 8, 2023 

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) — Almost 60 school districts across Texas have now switched to four-day school weeks, often in a bid to prevent teacher turnover.

According to a KXAN analysis, at least 59 districts have made the switch. Some of those districts have recently approved the change effective for the 2023-24 school year.

At least seven other districts offer a hybrid schedule, with four-day weeks for part of the year.

Central Texas school district moves to 4-day school week

Districts in all parts of the state have made the change, with the schedule proving particularly popular in rural districts in north and east Texas.

In 2015, Texas lawmakers passed a bill that changed how classroom instruction was timed. Districts no longer had to provide 180 days of classes, but instead a minimum of 75,600 minutes. Requiring minutes instead of a set number of days gave districts more flexibility in how they scheduled classes.

Crosby ISD, in Harris County just outside Houston, recently became the largest district in the state to adopt a four-day week. The district, which serves almost 6,500 students, approved the switch in a Feb. 27 school board meeting. The new schedule will begin next school year.

“Our why is simple and straightforward,” Superintendent Paula Patterson said. “We want to find, recruit and retain the best teachers in the state in the classrooms for our students. This change immediately makes Crosby ISD a top destination for educators in Harris County.”

Districts statewide have been struggling with teacher retention, particularly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A KXAN investigation found a record number of teachers retired or resigned in the 2021-22 school year, many citing low pay and increasing workloads without additional planning time.

FULL INVESTIGATION: The Exit. Teachers Leave. Students Suffer.

District after district making the switch cited teacher retention as a big advantage of the schedule change. Alto ISD, south of Tyler, said the four-day week offered a “competitive advantage in hiring high-quality faculty and staff.”

A presentation from New Waverly ISD, north of Houston said, “We believe that the implementation of a four-day instructional week may offer NWISD a pathway to retain and attract high-quality instructors.”

And in La Vernia ISD, just east of San Antonio, a survey of staff found 82% were interested in a four-day week, with one teacher saying they would probably use the Fridays off for grading and planning.

All three districts approved changes to their schedules in February, with three-year pilot programs set to begin next school year.

A recently-published report by the Teacher Vacancy Task Force highlighted the need to “demonstrate respect and value for teacher time.” The report, by the Texas Education Agency, said teachers are responsible for so much more than just teaching, from finding and making copies of instructional materials to completing paperwork and attending meetings and professional development.

MORE: Texas governor’s taskforce takes on teacher shortage crisis in new report

Districts have touted the four-day instructional week for providing the fifth day for teachers to complete some of those additional tasks.

TEA Commissioner Mike Morath is not sold on the four-day week, though. In a March 1 hearing of the state’s Senate Committee on Education, Morath said the schedule shift is “harmful for student achievement on balance,” unless certain conditions are met.

Morath said districts would have to shift “very, very thoughtfully.” For example, any academic disruptions during the week, such as field trips, athletic competitions, extracurriculars and other reasons for students being pulled out of class, should be moved to the non-class day.

The “educational experience” on the four class days would then have to be thoughtfully organized to maximize instructional time. On the fifth day, teachers would have “built-in reflection time” and training or professional development time.

“There is a subset of districts that when they make those sets of shifts, it does not reduce student achievement,” Morath said. “I still don’t have any data that shows it increases student achievement, but if all those conditions are true, it is not openly harmful to student achievement. But if all of those conditions are not true, the data is pretty clear. It just reduces student achievement.”

Many districts are hoping a shorter school week will improve attendance, and in turn, improve achievement. A presentation by China Spring ISD, just outside Waco, said the attendance in the district is about 1.5 percentage points lower than before the pandemic. The district is currently considering making the switch.

“If the four-day week improves student attendance just to pre-COVID rates, it will increase funding by a little over $300,000,” the presentation states. Funding for school districts in Texas is directly tied to student attendance. “When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic performance.”

The Hill.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Ex-GOP Ohio speaker, lobbyist guilty in $60M bribery scheme


Former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, right, walks toward Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse with his attorneys Todd Long, left, and Karl Schneider, center, before jury selection in his federal trial, Jan. 20, 2023, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Borges and former state House Speaker Larry Householder were convicted Thursday, March 9, 2023, in a $60 million bribery scheme that federal prosecutors have called the largest corruption case in state history. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, File)

JULIE CARR SMYTH
Thu, March 9,

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former state Republican Party Chair Matt Borges were convicted Thursday in a $60 million bribery scheme that federal prosecutors have called the largest corruption case in state history.

A jury in Cincinnati found the two guilty of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving bribery and money laundering. Each faces up to 20 years in prison.

The government’s prosecution team was able to show that “Householder sold the Statehouse" and betrayed the people he was elected to serve, and that Borges was “a willing co-conspirator,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Kenneth Parker said in a statement.

“Through its verdict today, the jury reaffirmed that the illegal acts committed by both men will not be tolerated and that they should be held accountable,” Parker said.

The man who brought the case, Parker's predecessor David DeVillers, tweeted: “The line between influence peddling and bribery will now be drawn by the rule of law and not by politicians, lobbyists and corporations."

“We are incredibly disappointed in the verdict,” Householder's attorney Steven Bradley said in an email. “We will take some time to evaluate all of our legal options and will most certainly pursue an appeal. Our client is looking forward to going home to be with his wife and family during this very difficult time.”

The attorney representing Borges, 50, did not immediately respond to messages left by The Associated Press on Thursday. The verdict comes two-and-a-half years after Borges, Householder and three others were arrested.

Prosecutors alleged that Householder, 63, orchestrated a scheme secretly funded by FirstEnergy Corp. to secure his power in the Legislature, elect his allies — and then to pass and defend legislation that delivered a $1 billion nuclear power plant bailout to the Akron-based electric utility. They alleged that Borges, then a lobbyist, sought to bribe Tyler Fehrman, an operative, for inside information on the referendum to overturn the bailout law.

“Justice,” Fehrman, tweeted after the verdicts came down.

In a phone interview, Fehrman said that the outcome proved the risk he took wearing a wire for the FBI as part of the government’s investigation was worth it.

“For them to come back and find both of them guilty, and after not too long, is just such a relief,” he said. “It is a good day for Ohioans. This stuff just can’t continue to happen.”

Householder had been one of Ohio’s most powerful politicians — an historically twice-elected speaker before his indictment. After his arrest, the Republican-controlled House ousted him from his leadership post, but he refused to resign for months on grounds he was innocent until proven guilty. In a bipartisan vote, representatives ultimately ousted him from the chamber, the first such expulsion in Ohio in 150 years.

In a move that may have been pivotal in the trial's outcome, Householder took the stand in his own defense. Appearing confident and relaxed, he spent a day contradicting FBI testimony, defending his support for the bailout bill — known as House Bill 6 — and denying that he attended swanky Washington dinners where prosecutors alleged he and FirstEnergy executives hatched the scheme in 2017. But prosecutors eviscerated his claims on cross-examination the next day.

Rachael Belz, CEO of the government watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action, said she hopes that the trial and guilty verdicts turn the tide in Ohio politics.

“We don’t believe that utilities funneling millions of dollars through shell corporations to drive state policy is how our state government should work, nor do Ohio voters,” she said in a statement. Belz held the decision up as evidence that Ohioans expect and deserve better.

“After so many years of utility-controlled energy policy that favored fossil fuels, Ohio must now move toward equitable, forward-looking solutions that will protect our air and water, the health of Ohioans, and provide clean energy jobs to keep Ohio competitive in the 21st-century economy,” Belz said.

Borges did not testify at trial but has insisted that he’s innocent. His attorneys argued that he was entirely uninvolved with the pay-to-play scheme, while Householder's team portrayed his actions as nothing more than hardball politics.

“The bottom line is that Larry Householder was engaged in political activity, not criminal activity,” his attorney Steven Bradley told jurors during closing statements. He said the government's investigation was flimsy and full of holes, calling it “a nothing burger.”

But over the previous six weeks, jurors had been presented with firsthand accounts of the alleged scheme, as well as reams of financial documents, emails, texts and wire-tap audio.

The prosecution called two of the people arrested — Juan Cespedes and Jeff Longstreth — to testify about political contributions that they said are not ordinary, but bribes intended to secure passage of the bailout legislation.

Householder’s attorneys pushed back on arguments about their recollections, as well as their motivations. Both have pleaded guilty and are cooperating in hopes of a deal with the government.

Jurors also heard taped phone calls in which Householder and another co-defendant, the late Statehouse superlobbyist Neil Clark, plotted a nasty attack ad — and, in expletive-laced fashion, contemplated revenge against lawmakers who had crossed Householder.

Clark, who died by suicide in March 2021, was also heard describing to undercover FBI agents posing as developers how he was directing cash through Generation Now, a dark money group that has also pleaded guilty, to keep it secret.

Householder testified that he never retaliated against those who voted counter to his wishes or who donated to his rivals. He told jurors that the set-up advanced his interests, which were the same as Ohio's interests, because they involved good policy.

Under a deal to avoid prosecution, FirstEnergy admitted using a network of dark money groups to fund the bribery scheme and even bribing the state’s top utility regulator, Sam Randazzo.

Randazzo resigned as chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio after an FBI search of his home, but he has not been charged and denies wrongdoing. The government has asked the PUCO to delay its own internal investigation into FirstEnergy while their probe continues.

Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, former Ohio GOP leader Matt Borges found guilty

Laura A. Bischoff and Jessie Balmert, The Columbus Dispatch
Thu, March 9, 2023

A federal jury found both former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and ex-Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges guilty of racketeering conspiracy Thursday – a dramatic outcome in the biggest public corruption case in state history.

PODCAST:Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder found guilty

The guilty verdict marks the end of Householder’s long political career in which he twice held the speaker’s gavel. He’ll be in the Ohio history books as the only speaker expelled from the Legislature and then convicted in a federal corruption case.

Householder and Borges, who neither showed any emotion when the verdict was read aloud, face up to 20 years in prison. After a seven-week trial, jurors deliberated just nine hours over two days.

The case made it to federal court because of its sweeping scope: $61 million in bribe money paid by FirstEnergy Corp. via dark money groups to help Householder seize political power and in turn pass and defend a $1.3 billion bailout law known as House Bill 6.

Reaction:What Ohio politicians are saying about convictions of Larry Householder, Matt Borges

“This isn’t typical political activity, and they know it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Painter said during closing statements at the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in Cincinnati. “Mr. Householder abused that (public) trust and Mr. Borges helped him do it.”

After the verdict, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker said that the case shows that even powerful state leaders will be held accountable. "You cannot sell the public trust. It is not for sale."

"This is a big win for all Ohioans," Parker said. He declined to answer questions about whether there may be more indictments.

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is surrounded by the media outside the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in downtown Cincinnati March 9, 2023 after a jury found him and ex-Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges guilty of racketeering conspiracy .

Borges lobbied for the House Bill 6 and worked to block a referendum to put it on the ballot in 2019. He paid a $15,000 bribe to get insider information on the referendum.

More:On the witness stand, Householder spars with federal prosecutor

Borges, who had an ethics conviction expunged more than a decade ago, declined a chance to sign a guilty plea that could’ve given him no more than six months in prison. Borges said after the verdict that he did not regret that choice.

"I don't believe I would have been telling the truth (by pleading)," Borges said. Householder was never given such an offer.

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, left, heads into the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in downtown Cincinnati Thursday.

Prosecutors introduced nearly 900 exhibits into evidence and slogged through volumes of text messages, emails, bank records and more than demonstrated what the men knew and actions they took.

More:Prosecutor says Householder led pay-to-play scheme; defense calls it 'nothing burger'

Two key players, Former FirstEnergy Solutions lobbyist Juan Cespedes and Householder’s political adviser Jeff Longstreth, took plea deals and testified against them. A fifth defendant, lobbyist Neil Clark, died by suicide in March 2021 after his arrest.

Prosecutors also played secretly recorded phone calls and meetings captured by the FBI. Clark came on their radar while investigating a separate corruption case. Later, undercover agents posing as real estate developers with an interest in sports betting hired Clark as their lobbyist. Clark led them to Householder.

Investigators tapped Clark’s phone but did not do a wiretap on Householder or Borges’ phones.

Another big break came when Tyler Fehrman called the FBI in 2019 to report that Borges offered him a bribe in exchange for insider intel on the referendum campaign. Fehrman, who considered Borges a friend and mentor, wore a wire in subsequent meetings with him.

Former Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges speaks to the media outside of the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in downtown Cincinnati Thursday, March 9, 2023 after a jury found him and Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder guilty of racketeering conspiracy.

Householder took the stand in his own defense

When Householder showed up for the first day of trial, he held a press gaggle, telling statehouse reporters that the truth would come out. It was like he had never put down the speaker’s gavel.

Six weeks into the trial, he got a chance to have his say when he took the stand in his own defense.

Householder, 63, of Glenford in Perry County, said he returned to politics to try to quell divisiveness, he had no control over the dark money group Generation Now, didn’t attend key events with FirstEnergy executives and had every intention of paying back Longstreth for a “loan.”

More: Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder says he didn't trade bailout for campaign cash

The next day he endured a skilled cross examination by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Glatfelter in which she dismantled many of his claims.

Borges, 50, of Bexley in Franklin County, opted against taking the stand and did not present any defense witnesses. Instead, his legal team tried to draw jurors’ attention to times when Borges’ name didn’t appear in meetings, documents or plans.

But in the end, the jury decided it wasn’t enough for reasonable doubt.

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, left, heads into Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in downtown Cincinnati Thursday.
What's next?

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Black will sentence Householder and Borges in the coming months. Householder promised to appeal his conviction. They were not taken into custody. Black allowed both men to remain out on bond.

Timeline: Selling out in the Statehouse

"This is just step one....Stay tuned," Householder told reporters after the verdict. He said he respects the jury's decision but doesn't agree with it.

"I'm going to keep fighting," Borges said. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm not done fighting."

Borges also plans to appeal.

The U.S. Department of Justice could arrest others whose names peppered the seven-week corruption trial. In July 2021, FirstEnergy admitted it bribed Householder and top utility regulator Sam Randazzo and agreed to pay a $230 million fine.

To date, neither Randazzo nor executives from FirstEnergy or FirstEnergy Solutions, now called Energy Harbor, have been charged with any crime.

More:Political operative has 'zero doubt' ex-Ohio GOP leader Matt Borges offered him a bribe

USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau reporters Jessie Balmert and Laura Bischoff have been following the House Bill 6 scandal since the story broke. They will continue to follow developments and the trial. Follow them on Twitter at @lbischoff and @jbalmert for updates.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: House Bill 6 trial: Larry Householder, Matt Borges found guilty

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Ex-Goldman banker gets 10-year sentence in 1MDB looting plot




Malaysia-Corruption-Goldman Sachs

Roger Ng, second from left, a former Goldman Sachs banker, leaves federal court with his lawyers Marc Agnifilo, far left, and Teny Geragos, far right, after being sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in looting a Malaysian development fund, Thursday March 9, 2023, in New York. 

(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

BOBBY CAINA CALVAN
Thu, March 9, 2023 

NEW YORK (AP) — A former Goldman Sachs banker was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for his role in looting a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund of billions of dollars used to finance lavish parties, a superyacht, premium real estate and even the 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Roger Ng was convicted last April by a U.S. District Court jury in Brooklyn, but he continues to deny charges that he conspired to launder money and violated two anti-bribery laws.

Prosecutors said Ng and his co-conspirators helped the Malaysian fund, known as 1MDB, to raise $6.5 billion through bond sales — only to participate in a scheme that siphoned off more than two-thirds of the money, some of which went to pay bribes and kickbacks.

Reading from a prepared statement, Ng pleaded for mercy from U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie.

“I'm embarrassed. I'm ashamed,” he told the judge.

“I don't want to live in resentment,” he said. “I want to redeem myself.”

The judge admonished Ng: “The only explanation for your conduct is greed.”

Ng had hoped to avoid prison time and be allowed to return to Malaysia, where he faces a separate prosecution. His lawyers argued that incarceration would worsen his “serious mental health condition.”

The looting of the state-controlled development fund — and attempts to cover up the thefts — upended Malaysia's government, sent ripples through Hollywood, where some of the stolen money had gone to finance films, and touched on Washington, D.C., where people involved in the scheme funded a campaign to influence the outcome of the investigation.

The person accused of being the architect of the plot, the Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, also known as “Jho Low,” remains an international fugitive. Before he went into hiding, he was known for his business and social ties to American celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio and Kim Kardashian.

Ng’s lawyers acknowledged the 1MDB looting was “perhaps the single largest heist in the history of the world,” but said their client was the fall guy for Low and a fellow Goldman Sachs banker also charged in the $4.5 billion scheme.

Tim Leissner, Ng’s former boss at Goldman Sachs, pleaded guilty in 2018 to bribing government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. He was ordered to pay $43.7 million and became a key government witness during Ng’s two-month trial.

Ng was extradited to the United States in 2019 after spending six months in custody in Malaysia. He has been under house arrest for the past four years. Federal prosecutors had asked for a 15-year sentence.

Ng was allowed to leave the courthouse and will surrender to authorities in two months, unless the judge grants his request to remain released on bail while he appeals.

The judge declined to issue a fine, and would consider a forfeiture amount in the coming days. That amount could be anything up to $35 million.

Ng, who oversaw investment banking in Malaysia for his firm, said Leissner implicated him to gain leniency during his own sentencing. Leissner has not yet been sentenced.

In 2020, Goldman Sachs acknowledged its role in the embezzlement scheme and paid more than US$2.3 billion as part of a plea deal with the U.S. government. The firm also reached a $3.9 billion settlement with the government of Malaysia.

The U.S. government said the theft of so much money harmed the people of Malaysia.

The fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, was set up in 2009 by Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak to promote economic development.

The financial scandal helped topple his government during the country's 2018 elections. A Malaysian court would later find him guilty of abusing his power and committing other crimes connected to the massive embezzlement. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

But Najib was acquitted last week of tampering with an audit to cover up wrongdoing.

The scandal touched on several figures in the U.S.

A top fundraiser for former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, Elliott Broidy, was charged with running an illegal lobbying campaign on Jho Low's behalf to get the Justice Department to drop its investigation into 1MDB's looting. Broidy pleaded guilty, but was pardoned by Trump, so was never sentenced.

A member of the hip-hop group the Fugees, Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, was also charged with being part of a conspiracy to help Low make illegal campaign contributions. Michel says he is innocent. He is awaiting trial.

Mississippi lawmakers stop effort to take over Jackson water
 

Rep. Shanda Yates, I-Jackson, gestures as she outlines the proposed jurisdiction of the Capitol Police within the city of Jackson, during floor debate on the bill, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson

 

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, left, listens during a hearing hosted by the Jackson delegation of the Mississippi Legislature at the state Capitol in Jackson on Monday, March 6, 2023. The hearing was in opposition to a bill that would create courts with elected rather than appointed judges and expand the jurisdiction of the state-run Capitol Police department inside the city of Jackson

 

Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, speaks at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, about a bill that would set new rules for removing names from voter rolls. 

 

Clouds are reflected off the City of Jackson's O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Facility's sedimentation basins in Ridgeland, Miss., Sept. 2, 2022. As the most populous city in Mississippi attempts to improve its troubled water system, it has appointed a new interim director to lead the agency that runs local infrastructure. 

Black City White Legislature

Rep. Shanda Yates, I-Jackson, left, listens a Rep. Ed Blackmon Jr., D-Canton, argues against proposed legislation outlining the jurisdiction of the Capitol Police within the city of Jackson, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson. 

EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Thu, March 9, 2023 

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi lawmakers are giving up on an effort to create a state-dominated board to oversee the troubled water system in the state's capital city.

But, the Republican-controlled state Legislature is still considering proposals to appoint rather than elect some judges and to expand the territory of a state-run police department inside Jackson, which is governed by Democrats.

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has sharply criticized white lawmakers' attempts to assert state control in Jackson, which has the highest percentage of Black residents of any major U.S. city.

The Jackson water system has been struggling for years and nearly collapsed in August and September, leaving most people in the city of 150,000 without running water to drink, bathe, wash dishes or flush toilets. Parts of the city lost water again during a cold snap in December.

In November, the federal government appointed Ted Henifin, an experienced administrator from Virginia, to oversee Jackson's water system. The federal government also has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars for Jackson water improvements.

The Mississippi Senate voted last month to create a nine-member regional utility board to control Jackson water after Henifin finishes his work, with four members who would be appointed by the mayor and five by state officials.

Wednesday was the deadline for the Mississippi House to consider the Senate bill, and House leaders let it die without bringing it up for a vote.

“There was ‘Jackson fatigue’ among the membership," independent Rep. Shanda Yates, of Jackson, said Thursday.

Yates said House leaders want to focus instead on proposals to curb crime in Jackson, which has had more than 100 homicides for each of the past three years.

Republican Sen. David Parker of Olive Branch sponsored the bill to create a regional utility board, saying he believes Jackson's water woes are hurting the whole state.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t get any action on that bill," Parker said Thursday. “It’s a significant problem, and it’s a problem that deserves attention now.”

The Mississippi House and Senate have passed different versions of bills to expand the territory for Capitol Police. The state-run department currently patrols in and near downtown Jackson, where state government buildings are located. The city-run Jackson Police Department patrols the entire city.

Yates, who is white, said during a House debate Wednesday that she knows Jackson residents who are considering moving out of the city because they don't feel safe.

“We have a crime problem,” Yates said.

Democratic Rep. Ed Blackmon of Canton is one of several Black lawmakers opposing the expansion of Capitol Police territory. Blackmon said African Americans want to be protected from crime, but many worry the state police won't be held accountable if they treat people roughly.

“There will be no joy in the Black community when this becomes law,” Blackmon said Wednesday.

____

Associated Press/Report For America reporter Michael Goldberg contributed to this report.

(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

CRYPTOZOOLOGY

Dwarf elephants? Giant rats? Strange island creatures at high risk


A mounted skeleton of an extinct Sicilian dwarf elephant s seen at Museo Geologico "G. G. Gemmellaro" in Palermo

Will Dunham
Thu, March 9, 2023 
By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A dwarf elephant the size of a Shetland pony once roamed the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. In the West Indies, a giant rat-like rodent tipped the scales at more than 400 pounds (180 kg), rivaling an American black bear.

They were examples of the "island effect," a rule in evolutionary biology describing how large-bodied species tend to downsize on islands while small-bodied species upsize. These island dwarfs and giants - a menagerie also including pint-sized hippos, buffaloes and wolves - long have faced an elevated extinction risk that, according to a new study, is intensifying, imperiling some of Earth's most unique creatures.

Focusing on island-dwelling mammals, researchers said on Thursday they examined 1,231 existing species and 350 extinct ones spanning the past 23 million years. Extinction risk was seen highest among species that underwent more extreme body size shifts compared to mainland relatives. And the arrival of people on the islands raised extinction rates more than tenfold.

"Unfortunately, the slope of the extinction curve that began with the arrival of the first human voyagers and continued with the later waves of colonization has become even steeper in recent decades," said paleoecologist Roberto Rozzi of the Natural History Museum of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany, lead author of the study published in the journal Science.

Islands foster unique evolutionary dynamics. For large-bodied species, there is evolutionary pressure to get smaller because of limits to habitat area and food resources compared to the mainland. But small-bodied species, because there is a decreased risk from predators on islands, are emancipated from evolutionary constraints on their size.

Some endangered island species today include: the dwarf buffalo Tamaraw on the Philippine island of Mindoro, 21% the size of its closest mainland relative; the spotted deer of the Philippine Visayan islands of Panay and Negros, 26% the size of its closest mainland relative; and Jamaica's hutia, a rodent 4-1/2 times bigger than its closest mainland relative.

Indonesia's island of Flores is a remarkable laboratory for the island effect, also called "Foster's rule," based on observations by mammalogist J. Bristol Foster in the 1960s. It once was home to a dwarf elephant relative, giant rats and a giant stork, as well as a dwarf human species - Homo floresiensis, nicknamed the "Hobbit," standing just 3-1/2 feet tall (106 cm) tall. The Hobbit disappeared about 50,000 years ago, shortly after our species Homo sapiens reached Flores.

Islands are biodiversity hotspots. Although they cover less than 7% of Earth's land area, they account for up to 20% of land species.

"Because of the island rule, you get all sorts of weird and wonderful animals on islands, many of which are already extinct. Of the still-extant species, islands harbor a large proportion of the diversity of terrestrial species on the planet and about 50% of them are at risk of extinction. It's incredibly depressing," said paleoecologist and study co-author Kate Lyons of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The researchers documented an accelerating uptick in island extinctions, beginning more than 100,000 years ago.

Our species has played a leading role through hunting, habitat destruction, and introductions of diseases and invasive predators, destabilizing pristine island ecosystems. Even the earlier arrival of extinct human species like Homo erectus on islands coincided with a doubling in extinctions.

"We always need to be cautious about stating true causality, especially because there are usually many different things happening at the same time," said biologist and study co-author Jonathan Chase of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research.

"But our results show with pretty good certainty that extinction rates on those islands increased dramatically after the arrival of modern humans, which, at least historically, were often due to overhunting," Chase added. "There might have only been a few hundred dwarf elephants running around Cyprus when humans first got there, and it didn't take long for them to disappear."

WEATHER REPORT

La Nina, which worsens hurricanes and drought, is gone





 Residents of Red Lodge, Montana, are seen clearing mud, water and debris from the small city's main street on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, after flood waters courses through a residential area with hundreds of homes. After three nasty years, the La Nina weather phenomenon is gone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday, March 9, 2023.(AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

SETH BORENSTEIN
Thu, March 9, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — After three nasty years, the La Nina weather phenomenon that increases Atlantic hurricane activity and worsens western drought is gone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

That’s usually good news for the United States and other parts of the world, including drought-stricken northeast Africa, scientists said.

The globe is now in what’s considered a “neutral” condition and probably trending to an El Nino in late summer or fall, said climate scientist Michelle L’Heureux, head of NOAA’s El Nino/La Nina forecast office.

“It’s over,” said research scientist Azhar Ehsan, who heads Columbia University’s El Nino/La Nina forecasting. “Mother Nature thought to get rid of this one because it’s enough.”

La Nina is a natural and temporary cooling of parts of the Pacific Ocean that changes weather worldwide. In the United States, because La Nina is connected to more Atlantic storms and deeper droughts and wildfires in the West, La Ninas often are more damaging and expensive than their more famous flip side, El Nino, experts said and studies show.

Generally, American agriculture is more damaged by La Nina than El Nino. If the globe jumps into El Nino it means more rain for the Midwestern corn belt and grains in general and could be beneficial, said Michael Ferrari, chief scientific officer of Climate Alpha, a firm that advises investors on financial decisions based on climate.

When there’s a La Nina, there are more storms in the Atlantic during hurricane season because it removes conditions that suppress storm formation. Neutral or El Nino conditions make it harder for storms to get going, but not impossible, scientists said.

Over the last three years, the U.S. has been hit by 14 hurricanes and tropical storms that caused a billion dollars or more in damage, totalling $252 billion in costs, according to NOAA economist and meteorologist Adam Smith said. La Nina and people building in harm's way were factors, he said.

Climate change is a major factor in worsening extreme weather, alongside La Nina, scientists said and numerous studies and reports show. Human-caused warming is like an escalator going up: It makes temperatures increase and extremes worse, while La Nina and El Nino are like jumping up and down on the escalator, according to Northern Illinois University atmospheric sciences professor Victor Gensini.

La Nina has also slightly dampened global average temperatures, keeping warming from breaking annual temperature records, while El Nino slightly turbocharges those temperatures often setting records, scientists said.

La Nina tends to make Western Africa wet, but Eastern Africa, around Somalia, dry. The opposite happens in El Nino with drought-struck Somalia likely to get steady “short rains,” Ehsan said. La Nina has wetter conditions for Indonesia, parts of Australia and the Amazon, but those areas are drier in El Nino, according to NOAA.

El Nino means more heat waves for India and Pakistan and other parts of South Asia and weaker monsoons there, Ehsan said.

This particular La Nina, which started in September 2020 but is considered three years old because it affected three different winters, was unusual and one of the longest on record. It took a brief break in 2021 but came roaring back with record intensity.

“I’m sick of this La Nina,” Ehsan said. L’Heureux agreed, saying she’s ready to talk about something else.

The few other times that there’s been a triple-dip La Nina have come after strong El Ninos and there’s clear physics on why that happens. But that’s not what happened with this La Nina, L’Heureux said. This one didn’t have a strong El Nino before it.

Even though this La Nina has confounded scientists in the past, they say the signs of it leaving are clear: Water in the key part of the central Pacific warmed to a bit more than the threshold for a La Nina in February, the atmosphere showed some changes and along the eastern Pacific near Peru, there’s already El Nino-like warming brewing on the coast, L’Heureux said.

Think of a La Nina or El Nino as something that pushes the weather system from the Pacific with ripple effects worldwide, L’Heureux said. When there are neutral conditions like now, there’s less push from the Pacific. That means other climatic factors, including the long-term warming trend, have more influence in day-to-day weather, she said.

Without an El Nino or La Nina, forecasters have a harder time predicting seasonal weather trends for summer or fall because the Pacific Ocean has such a big footprint in weeks-long forecasts.

El Nino forecasts made in the spring are generally less reliable than ones made other times of year, so scientists are less sure about what will happen next, L’Heureux said. But NOAA’s forecast said there’s a 60% chance that El Nino will take charge come fall.

There’s also a 5% chance that La Nina will return for an unprecedented fourth dip. L’Heureux said she really doesn’t want that but the scientist in her would find that interesting.

 ___ Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment ___ Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears ___ 

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

US forecaster says El Nino could arrive by summer 2023


By Seher Dareen

(Reuters) - La Niña has ended and ENSO-neutral conditions are expected to continue through the Northern Hemisphere spring and early summer 2023, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday, with El Niño possibly forming during summer 2023 and persisting through the fall.

"The forecaster consensus favors ENSO-neutral through summer 2023, with elevated chances of El Niño developing afterwards," the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center said.

The La Niña weather pattern is characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

There was an over 50% chance of the El Niño weather pattern emerging by the July-August-Septmeber period, the U.S. forecaster highlighted, as some regions braced for a hit to crop production.

The El Niño phenomenon is a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific, sometimes causing crop damage, flash floods or fires.

"A weak monsoon – which has been observed in previous El Niño years - could lead to lower production of rice not only in India but across Southeast Asia," said Mark Brusberg, Chief Meteorologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In Australia, the wheat crop is likely to face risks from dry weather due to the El Niño weather pattern in the second half of the year, while India's weather office has warned that another heatwave in March is likely, especially in the key wheat-producing central and northern states.

"In contrast, an El Niño could lead to a rebound in U.S. wheat production if the drought on the southern Plains were to abate, and Argentina could return to its role as a key contributor to the world supply of wheat, corn, and soybeans," Brusberg added.

The emergence of El Nino could also strain global inventories of palm oil, as the condition usually results in below-average rainfall in main producers Indonesia and Malaysia.

Peru mining firms' logistics at risk from extended protests, Fitch says



 Protest against the suspension of the Las Bambas mine, in Lima

Thu, March 9, 2023

(Reuters) - Mining companies operating in Peru face "material risk" amid extended protests and blockades in the world's No. 2 copper-producing nation, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday, warning of possible lack of supplies and issues transporting ore to ports.

"We believe protests and blockades that extend beyond three months can pose a material risk to a mine's operations, including logistics," Fitch said in a report, highlighting uncertainty on when the conflicts will be resolved - particularly in areas with important copper deposits.

The South American nation has since December faced a political crisis driving extended protests and blockades which have left dozens dead, following the ouster of former leftist President Pedro Castillo, who had an important support base among impoverished areas of the southern Andean region.

Miners Buenaventura and Volcan, which operate only in Peru, could face especially high risk of disruption due to lack of supplies and problems transferring products to ports on the country's Pacific coast, Fitch said.


However, companies with several commodity businesses and solid liquidity should be able to carry out shipments to the coast with limited difficulty, it said.

Earlier this week, Energy and Mines Minister Oscar Vera said the country's key mining corridor was "practically unblocked," and data early this month showed key copper mines cranking up activities again despite the uncertainty.

(Reporting by Marion Giraldo; Editing by Sarah Morland and S

'Brothers in arms': war brings Ukrainians and Roma closer, for now

Thu, March 9, 2023 

In the ramshackle, predominantly Roma Radvanka district of Uzhhorod in western Ukraine, a soldier from the beleaguered minority proudly showed off a bravery award signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

With shrapnel from Russian bombs still lodged in his arm from fighting around Mariupol, 31-year-old Viktor Ilchak told AFP he "almost died four times" during an eight-month spell on the war's frontlines.

The bravery of soldiers like Ilchak and Roma groups helping Ukrainian refugees are chipping away at ingrained prejudices about the minority, say Roma in Uzhhorod.

"At the front it doesn't matter if you are Roma or not, we considered each other brothers," said the father-of-four.

"Many wondered whether Roma who can't read or write can fight for the army -- they were all surprised that Gypsies are fighting," said Ilchak, a tank mechanic with the 128th Transcarpathian Brigade.

"I told them -- if I am Ukrainian, I have to fight for Ukraine," he said outside his house in a potholed street where several passing cars carried military membership signs on their windscreens.

"They said the Roma don't serve, but they are wrong! In times of need we can be counted on!" shouted his father-in-law Janos Tokar, 58.

- 'Amazing' help -

Roma groups in Uzhhorod -- the largest city in Transcarpathia, Ukraine's westernmost region and home to its biggest concentration of Roma -- detect a shift in attitudes to them due to the war.

"A lot of people have begun saying on social media things like, 'Oh Roma people helped Ukrainians, this is amazing,'" said Anzhelika Bielova, head of the Voice of Romni group.

Its mission is to help young Roma women gain skills and stable jobs, but since the invasion it has also been organising aid for non-Roma refugees.

Groups like Bielova's estimate that there are 400,000 Roma scattered across Ukraine.

Already facing entrenched poverty, discrimination and segregation, the war brought new trauma with an estimated 170,000 Roma fleeing from Ukraine's east and south.

The flow of often undocumented Roma refugees was accompanied by reports of discrimination at border crossings into neighbouring countries and in humanitarian aid queues.

"Our organisation has helped the Ukrainian people a lot," Bielova told AFP in her office, as a queue of both Roma and non-Roma people waited outside for help.

"A lot of our team are internally displaced persons (IDPs), we know how hard it is to live in a new place," said Bielova, 27, a refugee from Zaporizhzhia herself.

- Changing minds -

In Radvanka where many makeshift houses have corrugated metal roofs and noisy goods trains thunder close by, Eleonora Kulchar runs a refugee shelter that is open to all regardless of background.

The 54-year-old initially launched the facility in March to help her "own people", who she saw not getting help at Uzhhorod train station as they fled, before receiving all comers.

"Those who have seen Roma defending Ukraine or helping Ukrainian refugees are changing their minds about us," said Kulchar, the head of a Roma education organisation called Blago.

Almost half the shelter's 70 residents are non-Roma families from Mariupol, Berdyansk, and Kherson.

Upstairs a family from Kherson told AFP they were taken in in November after failing to find a room in Uzhhorod where most hotels are fully occupied by IDPs.

"We were a bit afraid, as before we had no contact with Roma people, but then we saw that everything is ok," said Veronika Komarnitskaya, 37.

"They are just like us," said her mother Lyudmyla Chukhran, 62.

In the yard, Komarnitskaya's 10-year-old son Nikita played football with Roma children, and has even picked up a little of the Romani language.

"The war has brought us closer together, before I would never have believed that could happen," she said while bouncing a Roma child on her knee in the shelter's common room.

Still, Bielova sounded a cautious note about how long the rapprochement will last.

"After we win the war there is much work to do. We have to educate Ukrainians about human rights and dignity if we want to join the European Union," she said.

Ukraine sees bloody battle for Bakhmut as chance to wipe out Wagner's army of convicts

Erin Snodgrass
Wed, March 8, 2023 

Ukrainian servicemen fire with a 105mm howitzer towards Russian positions near the city of Bakhmut, on March 8, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images

Wagner Group is increasingly relying on its professional recruits as inmates flounder in Bakhmut.


The monthslong battle in Ukraine's east drags on as both sides face mounting losses.


Wagner soldiers have played an outsized role in the battle of Bakhmut thus far.

Wagner Group, the Russian paramilitary organization that sparked global outrage by offering convicted prisoners a chance at freedom in exchange for their fighting in Ukraine, has been forced to draw upon its professional recruits to backfill the ranks of dying inmates in the city of Bakhmut, analysts and an official said.

As Russia draws closer to capturing the former salt-mining city in eastern Ukraine, both sides are facing mounting casualties in the monthslong fight. Russia has lost up to 30,000 soldiers in Bakhmut, according to Western officials, while Ukrainian forces have suffered thousands of deaths and injuries as well amid the ruined city.

As Wagner's forces continue to fall, Russia is turning to more experienced troops to bridge the gap, according to The Institute for the Study of War, which said Monday that both Wagner and the traditional Russian military are committing to higher-quality special forces operators in an effort to conclusively take the city.

Wagner soldiers have played an outsized role in the battle of Bakhmut over the last six months, where its poorly-trained convicts are serving as "cannon fodder" amid a ruthless fight, the National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said last month.

A Ukrainian official's recent comments regarding the mercenary group suggest Ukraine sees the brutal fighting in Bakhmut as an opportunity to deplete Wagner's forces once and for all, according to The New York Times. Col. Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for Ukraine's eastern group of forces, told Radio Liberty that Bakhmut marks Wagner Group's "last stand," per the Times.

Over approximately five months of recruiting, more than 40,000 former prisoners accepted Wagner's offer to deploy in Ukraine, US officials said earlier this year. Meanwhile, US intelligence from December suggested an estimated 10,000 professional Russian soldiers, the majority of whom are veterans, were also acting as Wagner soldiers alongside the former inmates.

More than 30,000 of those fighters have since been killed or injured in the fighting, Kirby said last month.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group and a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, called for further reinforcements into Bakhmut on Monday. Unless his request for additional ammunition and bodies is answered, Prigozhin warned that a Ukrainian counteroffensive could cut off Wagner's forces entirely and spell trouble for Russia.

A mural depicting mercenaries of Russia's Wagner Group that reads: "Wagner Group - Russian knights."AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

Prigozhin previously compared the Bakhmut battle to a "meat grinder," acknowledging that his men were dying at alarming rates, but suggesting the casualties would ultimately be worth it as Ukraine struggles with significant losses simultaneously. He suggested this week, however, that Russia's entire front line would collapse if his fighters fail to secure Bakhmut.

Western military analysts and leaders have said that the battle of Bakhmut is more symbolic than strategic for both sides, especially as Ukraine appears to be on the verge of losing the city. Russia and Ukraine have both indicated that continued fighting is essential to tear down the enemy, even as both sides suffer staggering losses.

Despite speculation that Ukraine was preparing to withdraw from Bakhmut, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that he would send further reinforcements to the city. He warned this week that losing Bakhmut would give the Russians an "open road" to other Ukrainian cities.

The fighting has grown so intense in and around Bakhmut that "fistfights" have broken out between Russian and Ukrainian troops, one Ukrainian soldier told The Washington Post this month.

RETURN OF THE PANZER TANK

A German company is offering Ukraine the benefit — and burden — of being the first military to get its brand-new tank

Michael Peck
Thu, March 9, 2023 a

A Rheinmetall Panther KF51 main battle tank at the Rheinmetall plant in Lower Saxony in July.Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Images

Prominent German defense firm Rheinmetall is offering Ukraine its new Panther Kf51 tank.


The Kf51 would leapfrog the other older Western-made tanks that are being sent to Ukraine.


While the Kf51 has advanced capabilities, its newness may create more headaches for the Ukrainians.

While Ukraine waits on the older Abrams and Leopard tanks that the US and European countries have promised to deliver, it may have the opportunity to buy a cutting-edge German tank.

Acquiring the next-generation Panther Kf51 would give Ukraine the chance to leapfrog the older tanks that Western donors are sending — as well the mostly Cold War-era tanks that Ukraine already uses — but taking on an unproven vehicle could further tax Ukraine's military as it struggles to incorporate older Western tank models.

Rheinmetall, the prominent German arms firm that developed the Kf51, seems confident the idea could work. Its CEO, Armin Papperger, told German business newspaper Handelsblatt that the Panther could be delivered to Ukraine "in 15 to 18 months."

"We are talking to Kyiv about exporting the Panther," Papperger said. Interestingly, Papperger said that Ukraine had also expressed interest Rheinmetall's next-generation Lynx infantry fighting vehicle.

An illustration of Rheinmetall's Panther KF51.Rheinmetall Defence

Rheinmetall is reportedly negotiating with Ukraine to build a tank factory there, though it's not clear whether it would produce the Panther or the older Leopard 2 tank.

The Kf51 Panther is a new tank with some old features. Its hull is based on the Leopard 2, which debuted in 1979. But the turret contains Rheinmetall's next-generation Future Gun System, a 130 mm smoothbore cannon that replaces the standard 120 mm found on Western tanks such as the M1 Abrams, Leopard 2, and the Challenger 2.

The Panther also has advanced features, including launchers for HERO 120 loitering munitions that give the tank an on-board kamikaze drone capability. Sophisticated networking capabilities allow it to be integrated into detect-and-shoot kill chains and the ability to control "wingman" unmanned ground vehicles that provide capabilities "such as platoon-level air and drone defense," according to Rheinmetall, which describes the Panther as a "truly software-defined tank."

Rheinmetall presented the Panther at a Paris trade fair last summer and "touted it as the strongest battle tank in the world," according to Handelsblatt.

A German Leopard 2 tank in Munster in May 2019.Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images

Two aspects of the Kf51 stand out. One is the autoloader that replaces the crew member who loads shells into the main gun, enabling the tank to have a crew of three rather that the four usually found in Western tanks. (Russian tanks also use an autoloader for a crew of three.)

Like the next-generation Abrams tank, the Panther's turret can be unmanned, with its crew operating the vehicle behind the thicker armor of the tank's hull.

Perhaps not coincidentally, an unmanned turret and on-board drones are also a feature of Russia's next-generation T-14 Armata tank, which first appeared in 2014. Russia's army has only bought a few T-14s, possibly because of the high price as well as production and mechanical issues. The Kremlin also appears reluctant to commit T-14s to combat in Ukraine.

It's also notable that the Panther has a combat weight of just 59 tons. This is lighter than the latest Leopard 2A7, which is 67 tons, and Abrams and Challenger, which weigh 70 to 80 tons, both of which Ukraine is slated to receive. Lighter vehicles can more easily cross bridges or muddy terrain, which are key considerations on Ukrainian battlefields.

An illustration of the Panther KF51.Rheinmetall Defence

But tank design is about tradeoffs, especially when it comes to weight.

One reason the Kf51 is slimmer is because just like the Leopard 2, it is not as thickly armored as the Abrams and Challenger. Instead of bulky armor plate, the Panther relies more on active and passive protection systems, such as jammers, smokescreens, and projectiles to destroy incoming anti-tank rockets.

There is no doubt that Ukraine needs more tanks. Russia has lost almost 2,000 tanks since the war began a year ago, according to a tally by the open-source website Oryx, but Ukraine has lost almost 500 tanks.

While Ukraine has been able to replenish some losses by putting more than 500 captured Russian tanks into service, it is still going to need foreign vehicles as the Soviet-era designs it had before the war are destroyed or worn out.

Nonetheless, one consideration for Ukraine — and any foreign donors who would subsidize its purchase — is that no military has yet bought the Kf51.

Even the best new weapons have teething problems. If Ukraine becomes the first to field the Panther, then it will become the first to deal with the inevitable bugs. With all the challenges that Ukraine already faces, that's a gamble.

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Nissan to overhaul electric powertrains for EVs, hybrids in search of cost cuts

A Nissan Leaf EV car and portable battery on display at Nissan Gallery in Yokohama

Wed, March 8, 2023 

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd on Thursday said it will overhaul its approach to powertrains for all-electric and hybrid petrol-electric vehicles as it aims to bring hybrid prices in line with those of petrol-powered cars by 2026.

The Japanese automaker said it will use the same components across models to make electric powertrains - the assembly which propels a vehicle - smaller and lighter, and reduce development and production costs by 30% within three years versus 2019.

It will also use solid-state batteries with materials that are cheaper than those usually used, such as nickel and cobalt, Senior Vice President Toshihiro Hirai told reporters.

"Materials that don't use such expensive precious metals are being developed, which will be a major factor in reducing costs," Hirai said.

The effort is among many by automakers trying to make new-energy vehicles more affordable, such as by reducing the cost of electric powertrains which have yet to achieve parity with those used in traditionally powered vehicles.

Nissan will apply its streamlined approach to powertrains to different sizes of vehicles, expecting to equip such vehicles as micro "kei" and mid-sized cars from 2024 or 2025, Hirai said.

The powertrain size and weight reduction will improve vehicle performance, such as by making driving in the snow or on sand more stable, the automaker said.

Nissan became one of the first mass-market electric-vehicle makers with its Leaf model more than a decade ago. It aims to introduce 27 electrified models, including 19 all-electric vehicles, by fiscal year 2030.

Japan's Nissan slashing EV costs, cuts rare materials use




 Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida speaks during a Renault Nissan Mitsubishi press conference in London, on Feb. 6, 2023. Nissan is speeding up its shift toward electric vehicles, especially in Europe where emissions regulations are most stringent, the company said Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

YURI KAGEYAMA
Wed, March 8, 2023

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Nissan is revving up its electrification shift and slashing costs by using the same components across models and reducing use of expensive rare materials.

Nissan Motor Co. presented its “X-in-1” development strategy Thursday, in which the X stands for various powertrain parts such as an electric motor and inverter that can be used across models. The company said development and manufacturing costs will be reduced by 30% in 2026 compared to 2019 levels.

The Yokohama-based automaker was a pioneer in electric vehicles but rivals like Tesla and BYD of China have overtaken it.

As the move toward ecological models gains momentum around the world, driven by worries over climate change, Nissan has been eager to showcase its prowess.

Its senior vice president, Toshihiro Hirai, acknowledged that prices of rare earths and other materials needed to make electric vehicle batteries and other parts are expected to rise in coming years. That means automakers must have a solid strategy for obtaining raw materials if they hope to succeed in electrification.

“We make the most of our expertise and know-how from our more than a decadelong development and production of electrified technologies,” said Hirai.

Compared to the first-generation vehicle the Leaf, rare materials account for 25% of the weight of the 2019 Nissan Note EV. Nissan aims to make that 1% or less.

Nissan, which also makes the March subcompact and Infiniti luxury models, is working on solid-state battery technology for EVs, a move that if successful is expected to radically reduce costs.

By 2030, Nissan’s EV offerings will cost about the same at dealers as the equivalent regular gasoline-engine models, Hirai said.

The cheapest EVs like the Leaf now sell for under $30,000, although small internal-combustion engine cars are cheaper, at about $21,000 for the Nissan Sentra in the U.S.

A Tesla Model 3, a relatively affordable model for a Tesla, sells for about $43,000.

But EVs are usually eligible for tax credits and other incentives. High gasoline prices might make EVs a smart buy in the long run, although much depends on the owner’s driving habits.

A Consumer Reports analysis last year said that based on the gas price at that time of $4.31 a gallon, EV owners could save between $1,800 and $2,600 in operating and maintenance costs for every 15,000 miles they drive, compared to drivers of gas-powered vehicles.

That's the average distance newer vehicles are driven in a year in the U.S. Gas prices have since fallen, so the savings would be lower but still significant.

Hirai said people find driving an electric vehicle less stressful because it’s quiet and delivers a smooth ride, even over rough terrain, while maintaining the fun feel of driving. One advantage of an EV is its more precise control over each wheel, which can effectively counter bumps and jolts.

Nissan has promised 27 new electrified models, including eight e-Power “series hybrid” models, which have both a gas engine and electric motor, by fiscal 2030.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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