Virgin Orbit to bring small staff back to work on Thursday


An updated image of a Virgin Orbit's Launcher One rocket. Virgin Orbit said it will bring back a small group of workers on Thursday after furloughing its entire staff earlier this month. 

File Photo courtesy of Greg Robinson/Virgin Orbit

March 22 (UPI) -- Virgin Orbit, Richard Branson's satellite launcher service, is expected to return a small staff work on Thursday after suspending operations last week and putting its employees on unpaid furlough.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, Virgin Orbit Holdings said it would begin an "incremental resumption of its operations" that would include working on its next launch.

"Our first step will begin Thursday this week, when we plan to return a subset of our team to focus on critical areas of our next mission," CEO Dan Hart said. "We are looking forward to getting back to our mission and returning to orbit.

Hart added, however, that the company would extend its unpaid furlough and continue to pause operations for most of its 750 employees "through at least Monday," according to an email to employees reported by CNBC.

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Hart said there was still a need "to conserve cash" as the company continues to work on moving forward.

"We've made some important progress this week, but there is still work to be done," Hart wrote.

The company has been reeling since its failure to deliver into orbit the first-ever satellite launched from British soil on Jan. 9.

The failed launch from Spaceport Cornwall based at Newquay Airport spoiled hopes that the country could become a global competitor in the lucrative satellite launch industry, which is currently dominated by private U.S. space companies.

"Any viable path for our operations will require us to successfully launch," Hart said.

The return appeared to be good news for its stocks, with Virgin Orbit shares jumping as much as 155% in premarket trading on Wednesday. The stock had lost 76% in 2023 so far, closing at 44 cents on Tuesday.

White supremacist group leader arrested for threatening journalist



March 21 (UPI) -- The leader of a white supremacist group was arrested Tuesday for allegedly threatening a journalist in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Nicholas Welker was arrested in San Jose, Calif., on federal charges, according to the Justice Department.

The journalist was not named in the complaint.

Welker, 31, is accused of sending threatening images and messages, including one picture of a gun aimed at the journalist's head with the caption "Race Traitor."

His threats alerted his followers that the journalist in question "Works as a Reporter" and is "Responsible for Stalking our Boys for Information," according to the Justice Department.

Welker, who also goes by the name "King ov [sic] Wrath,'' was at one time the leader of the racially motivated extremist group Feuerkrieg Division or FKD.

After Welker's posts were published in an online forum, two of his underage followers also threatened the journalist, tweeting directly at them. Their hope was the threats would stop the journalist from reporting about the group.

The two minors also were part of the same FKD extremist group, officials said.

"As alleged, Nicholas Welker used threats of violence in an effort to stop a journalist from reporting on the white supremacist hate group that he led. He sought to quell freedom of expression and to intimidate and instill fear in a journalist and the journalist's employer -- a well-known news media organization," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.

"We will not hesitate to prosecute those who threaten the core values on which our society was founded, including freedom of the press," Peace said.

The FKD group has members both in the United States and abroad, encouraging attacks on racial minorities, the Jewish community, members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as journalists covering the news, according to the Justice Department.

"As alleged, Mr. Welker and those he encouraged attempted to silence a journalist with threats of violence. Freedom of both speech and the press are integral to our nation, and we will not allow it to be restricted through violence or intimidation," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll said in a statement.

Japan's JERA to pay $1.6B to buy Belgium's offshore wind leader Parkwind

Japanese energy company JERA said Wednesday it entered into an agreement to buy Parkwind, the largest offshore wind energy developer in Belgium.

File photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

March 22 (UPI) -- Japanese energy company JERA said Wednesday it reached a definitive agreement in Belgium to acquire wind energy developer Parkwind, the nation's largest offshore wind energy developer.

JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings and Chubu Electric Power, reached an agreement with Belgium's Virya Energy to buy the wind energy company for roughly $1.6 billion. Viyra had steered Parkwind to the top of Belgium's offshore wind energy portfolio, with four projects combining for 771 megawatts.

Construction is already underway for a 257 MW facility in Germany and there are further plans for a total of 4.5 gigawatts in the broader European economy.

"Parkwind is highly complementary with JERA's offshore wind strategy and ambitions, and we look to empower Parkwind to deliver on our vision and strategy," Nathalie Oosterlinck, an offshore wind executive at JERA, said. "JERA has the ambition to significantly advance the expansion of renewable and low carbon energy on a global scale."

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Japan is building up its wind energy footprint. Its Nikkei news agency reported last week that it's learned that U.S-based General Electric is looking to bring its largest offshore wind turbines to the Japanese market. At around 18 megawatts per installation, one turbine is enough to meet the energy demand of around 24,000 average households.


JERA played a roll in the development of the 128 MW Formosa project, the first ever commercial-scale offshore wind farm in Taiwan.

Belgium, for its part, is in the top 10 globally in terms of installed offshore wind energy capacity, the International Energy Agency estimates. But it's not yet fully moved away from fossil fuels. The total share of renewables on its grid more than doubled over the last decade, but that share represented only 13% of total energy demand as of 2020, the agency said.

Italy's Eni announces plans for three new offshore wind farms

Italian energy company Eni announced plans to build three new offshore wind farms. The regional wind power capacity could support the needs of millions of average homes. 

Photo by Pat Benic/UPI |

March 22 (UPI) -- New agreements for offshore wind in Italy could add to a growing capacity that could meet the energy demands of more than a million homes, Italian energy company Eni said Wednesday.

GreenIT, Eni's joint venture with Italy's CDP Equity and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, signed an agreement to build three floating wind farms off the coast of Italy that would boast an overall capacity of approximately two gigawatts of energy.

Two are slated for offshore Sardinia and another is tapped for Latium, near the country's midwestern coast. All told, the partners said total offshore wind capacity could be enough to satisfy the demands of 2.5 million average homes.

"This new agreement represents an additional strategic step and a firm commitment to strengthening the floating offshore wind industry in Italy, providing a significant contribution towards a low-carbon future as well as encouraging the development of the local supply chain," Eni said.

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Eni reported adjusted net profit for 2022 of $14.1 billion, its best performance in more than a decade. The company said natural gas was among its primary objectives, with the total share of natural gas in its production portfolio on pace to increase to 60% by 2030. It's been making strides, however, in some of the components necessary to lessen the global footprint of fossil fuels.

The company last month announced a prototype development called the Inertial Sea Wave Energy Converter was connected to the grid on the Italian island of Pantelleria, the first such connection of its kind.

It said later that it made preliminary arrangements with an offshoot of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to accelerate the rollout of industrial-scale fusion, a near-limitless form of energy.

Moderna CEO faces Senate panel as price of COVID-19 vaccine set to quadruple

In February, Moderna announced it would continue to offer its COVID-19 vaccines for free, even after the U.S. government officially ends its public health emergency in May. File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo

March 22 (UPI) -- Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel is facing a Senate panel Wednesday over the drugmaker's plan to quadruple the cost of its COVID-19 vaccine.

Bancel stands before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who will press the executive on the company's decision to raise the price ahead of the vaccine reaching the commercial market this fall.

In January, Sanders sent a letter to Bancel urging him to call off the price hike, saying "the purpose of the recent taxpayer investment in Moderna was to protect the health and lives of the American people, not to turn a handful of corporate executives and investors into multi-billionaires."

In February, Sanders' committee released a scathing report on the lucrative compensation packages that have been paid to pharmaceutical executives throughout the pandemic.

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Also last month, Moderna announced a new patient assistance program to provide free vaccines to all Americans, even after the U.S. government officially ends its public health emergency in May.

"As the public health emergency ends, the United States government will no longer be providing vaccines at no cost. Moderna remains committed to ensuring that people in the United States will have access to our COVID-19 vaccines regardless of ability to pay," the drug company said.

Before Bancel's appearance, Sanders' office issued a statement claiming the executive "became a billionaire during the pandemic after U.S. taxpayers gave his company billions of dollars to research, develop, and distribute its COVID-19 vaccine."

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The federal government purchased millions of vaccine doses from Moderna, which have been provided to the public for free to curtail the spread of the virus, with Moderna sharing in $102 billion in total revenue from the purchases in 2021 -- 137% above the previous year.

In recent interviews, Moderna president Stephen Hoge has brushed off criticism about the imminent price hike, noting that moving a government-funded product into the commercial market was a risky and unprecedented business proposition for the company.

"This has literally never happened before. And so what we are trying to do, as one of the many manufacturers in the space, is to pick a price we think reflects the value of the vaccine ... but also reflects the complexity of moving from this pandemic market to a commercial market," Hoge told Yahoo News.

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has also indicated a plan to sell its vaccine for as much as $130 per dose on the open market.

Previously, Sanders called on Moderna not to raise the price of the vaccine -- which he said costs the corporate giant $2.85 to make, but would be unaffordable to everyday consumers at a cost of $130.

Other expert witnesses are also expected to testify at Wednesday's hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building about the impact of pricing, including several legal and medical professors from some of the nation's foremost universities.

Ex-Florida GOP lawmaker pleads guilty to COVID-19 relief fraud

March 22 (UPI) -- A former Florida state Republican lawmaker known for sponsoring the so-called Don't Say Gay bill has pleaded guilty to defrauding the federal government of tens of thousands of COVID-19 relief funds.

Joseph Harding, the 35-year-old former state House representative for Florida's District 24, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count each of wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements, the Justice Department said.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for 11 a.m. on July 25 when Harding faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for the wire fraud charge, 10 years for the money laundering count and five years for making false statements.

Harding's attorney, Peg O'Connor, told CNN in a statement that her client "made the best decision available to him under the circumstances to protect his family and his future."

Harding resigned in December after being indicted by a federal grand jury on six counts stemming from a scheme he conducted to defraud the Small Business Administration.

Prosecutors said the scheme involved him using his dormant businesses to file false documents to the SBA's COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster program, which was created to help small businesses survive the pandemic.

Court documents state that through this action, he obtained $150,000.

After receiving the funds, prosecutors said he transferred the money to a joint bank account and to a third-party business as well as used it to pay his credit car, prosecutors said, adding that each transaction was for more than $10,000.

Harding gained national attention early last year after sponsoring House Bill 1557, The Parental Rights In Education Act, which restricted what LGBTQ information teachers could discuss with their students in school.

Ancient Roman mosaic discovered under supermarket construction site

An ancient mosaic, which archaeologists say was part of a Roman villa and bathhouse, has been unearthed in southeast Britain as workers prepared the site for the construction of a supermarket. Photo courtesy of Oxford Archaeology

March 21 (UPI) -- An ancient mosaic, which archaeologists say was part of a Roman villa and bathhouse, has been unearthed in southeast Britain as workers prepared the site for the construction of a supermarket.

Archaeologists surveyed the site in the town of Olney, in Buckinghamshire, before construction was to start on the new Aldi supermarket and discovered the ancient mosaic brickwork.

"We can now share a pretty exciting find," Oxford Archaeology tweeted. "A Roman mosaic, probably belonging to the Durobrivan group from the East Midlands, that we uncovered during excavations at Olney, Buckinghamshire on behalf of Angle Property."

"There is a previously known Roman settlement at Olney #buckinghamshire so when work started, we knew there was the possibility to find some pretty cool structures and finds but ... a mosaic! Wow!" Oxford Archaeology said.

The dig was commissioned by the property's developer, Angle Property, due to the site's proximity to the existing Roman Site at Olney.

"Due to the site location we anticipated some notable Roman remains, but the discovery of this fantastic mosaic far exceeded those expectations," said John Boothroyd of Oxford Archaeology. "To be able to preserve remains of this quality and importance is a brilliant outcome."

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Archaeologists, who examined the mosaic, said it features "vibrant colors and intricate decorative patterns" made up of red, white and blue tiles, according to Oxford Archaeology, which has deemed the mosaic "archaeological remains of high significance."

The tiles, which extend under a nearby road preventing further investigation, are believed to have been part of a Roman villa and bathhouse.

Workers have covered the mosaic and are preserving the site to allow construction to continue without causing damage.

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The discovery of the mosaic comes after archaeologists in northern Britain revealed last week that they had unearthed a 1,600-year-old cemetery, along with the skeletal remains of a late-Roman aristocratic woman, in the city of Leeds.

Oxford Archaeology shares the "pretty exciting find," after surveying the site before construction of a supermarket in the town of Olney in Buckinghamshire. 

Photo courtesy of Oxford Archaeology

BEFORE RUSSIA & PUTIN THREATENED THE ICC
International court says it’s ‘undeterred’ by US threats

By KATHY GANNON

September 11, 2018


In this Monday, Sept. 10, 2018 file photo, National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks at a Federalist Society luncheon at the Mayflower Hotel, in Washington. Afghan rights workers are warning that Bolton's blistering attack on the International Criminal Court investigating war crimes allegations will strengthen a climate of impunity in Afghanistan, prolong the war and embolden those carrying out acts of violence. In a speech Monday, Bolton said Washington would not cooperate with The Hague-based court and threatened it with sanctions, saying it put U.S. sovereignty and national security at risk

. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)


ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghan rights workers warned Tuesday that a blistering U.S. attack on the International Criminal Court investigating war crimes allegations will strengthen a climate of impunity in Afghanistan, prolong the war and embolden those committing acts of violence.

In a speech Monday, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said Washington would not cooperate with The Hague-based court and threatened it with sanctions, saying it put U.S. sovereignty and national security at risk.

The CIA and U.S. forces have been accused of committing war crimes in Afghanistan.

“It’s very unfortunate because delivering justice to victims will help to facilitate the peace process in Afghanistan,” said Sima Samar, head of Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission. “Justice is not a luxury. It is a basic human right.”

In The Hague, the ICC said it will continue to do its work “undeterred,” despite Bolton’s condemnation.

The court said in a statement that it was established by a treaty supported by 123 countries. It says it prosecuted cases only when those countries failed to do so or did not do so “genuinely.” Afghanistan is a signatory.

During a three-month period that ended in January, the court received a staggering 1.7 million allegations of war crimes from Afghanistan, although some of those accusations involved entire villages.

Still, thousands of individual statements as well as those filed on behalf of multiple victims were received by the ICC in The Hague. The statements were collected by organizations based in Europe and Afghanistan.

Bolton’s speech came as an ICC judge was expected to announce a decision soon on a request from prosecutors to formally open an investigation into allegations of war crimes committed by Afghan national security forces, Taliban and Haqqani network militants as well as U.S. forces and intelligence officials in Afghanistan since May 2003.

While the Bolton speech “was shocking in many parts,” Washington was not expected to embrace the investigation, said Amal Nasser, permanent representative of the International Federation of Human Rights to the ICC.

Still, “the ICC prosecutor has not hesitated before in demonstrating that it will prosecute major powers,” Nasser said.

“I think what the U.S. is promoting is a sense of the ‘righteousness’ and being above the law,” she said in an email interview, noting the ICC has yet to decide whether there will be an investigation or its scope.

The 181-page prosecution request, dated November 2017, said “information available provides a reasonable basis to believe that members of United States of America armed forces and members of the Central Intelligence Agency committed acts of torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and sexual violence against conflict-related detainees in Afghanistan and other locations, principally in the 2003-2004 period.”

Washington’s unequivocal rejection of the court seems likely to embolden Afghanistan’s U.S.-backed government, which refused Tuesday to respond directly to Bolton’s outburst, but similarly dismissed war crimes allegations against Afghan National Security Forces as well as its intelligence agency.

President Ashraf Ghani’s deputy spokesman, Shahussain Murtazawi, said the Taliban, the Islamic State group affiliate and as many as 21 other anti-government groups have committed war crimes. He dismissed allegations against Afghan security forces, saying “government forces are always trying to save the people. It is the insurgents who are the killers of civilians.”

The prosecutor’s request says there is “a reasonable basis to believe that members of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), in particular members of the National Directorate for Security (NDS) and the Afghan National Police (ANP), have engaged in systemic patterns of torture and cruel treatment of conflict-related detainees in Afghan detention facilities, including acts of sexual violence.”

For human rights activists in Afghanistan, Bolton’s assault dealt a punishing blow to their efforts to end a culture of impunity that has hampered efforts to bring those who committed crimes to justice.

“The solution to put an end to war is by making everyone accountable, whether it is the Taliban or the Haqqani network or whether it is the Americans or the Afghan army or Afghan government,” said Ehsan Qaane, of the Kabul-based Transitional Justice Coordination Group, which represents 26 organizations working in Afghanistan.

The coordination group helped many who wanted to file a claim with the international court.

Victims need to see justice done if they are to begin to heal, Qaane said. He added that some insurgents turned to the Taliban after being detained, tortured and released. Their fight is more about revenge than ideology, he said.

“These people will perhaps stop fighting if they feel they have justice,” Qaane said.

Samar said rights groups cannot dispense justice.

“There is a difference between a human rights defender and a judge,” thus the need for the ICC, she said in a telephone interview. “My concern is that to deny justice is to deny a basic human right and human dignity.”

___

Associated Press writers Amir Shah in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Michael Corder in The Hague contributed.

US Supreme Court rules for deaf student in education case

By JESSICA GRESKO

People leave the Supreme Court after oral arguments in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, Jan. 18, 2023, in Washington. The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously for a a deaf student who sued his public school system for providing an inadequate education, a case that's significant for other disabled students. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday for a deaf student who sued his public school system for providing an inadequate education. The case is significant for other disabled students who allege they were failed by school officials.

The case the justices ruled in involves Miguel Luna Perez, who attended public school in Sturgis, Michigan. Perez’s lawyers told the court that for 12 years the school system neglected the boy and lied to his parents about the progress he was making, permanently stunting his ability to communicate.

The justices ruled that after Perez and his family settled a complaint against the school system — with officials agreeing to pay for additional schooling and sign language instruction — they could pursue money damages under a different federal law. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a eight-page opinion for the court that the case “holds consequences not just for Mr. Perez but for a great many children with disabilities and their parents.”

It remains difficult for Perez, who emigrated to the United States from Mexico at age 9, to make himself understood. Perez’s lawyers say the school system failed him by providing an aide who was not trained to work with deaf students, did not know sign language and in later years left him alone for hours at a time. After over a decade, Perez did not know any formal sign language and communicated through invented signs that anyone unfamiliar with his unique signing did not understand, his lawyers have said.

Meanwhile, the school awarded him inflated grades and his parents believed he was on track to earn his high school diploma. Just before graduation, however, his family was told he qualified only for a “certificate of completion.”

His family responded by pursuing claims under two laws: the broad Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against disabled people, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The latter guarantees children with disabilities a free public education that is tailored to their specific needs.

Perez’s family and the school district ultimately settled the IDEA claims. The district agreed to pay for extra schooling and sign language instruction for Perez and his family, among other things, and he graduated from the Michigan School for the deaf in 2020. After the settlement, the family went to federal court and, under the ADA, sought monetary damages, which are not available under the IDEA.

Lower courts said Perez was barred from pursuing his ADA claims because of language in the IDEA, but the Supreme Court disagreed. Gorsuch wrote: “We clarify that nothing” in the IDEA “bars his way.”

Perez’s lawyer Roman Martinez said in an emailed statement: “We are thrilled with today’s decision. The Court’s ruling vindicates the rights of students with disabilities to obtain full relief when they suffer discrimination. Miguel and his family look forward to pursuing their legal claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

The superintendent of Sturgis Public Schools, Arthur Ebert, who joined the district after the settlement, said in an email that he was “not in a position to comment on the details or the outcome of the case.” But he said that he believes “that every experience provides us with an opportunity to learn and grow.”

“Through this too,” he said, “we will gain knowledge, insight, and understanding that will help us maximize every student’s true potential.”

The Biden administration had also urged the court to side with Perez. The case is Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 21-887.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court

US Supreme Court seems split in Navajo Nation water rights case

By JESSICA GRESKO

March 20, 2023

The Colorado River in the upper River Basin is pictured in Lees Ferry, Ariz., on May 29, 2021. The Supreme Court appears to be split in a dispute between the federal government and the Navajo Nation over water from the drought-stricken Colorado River. The high court heard arguments Monday, March 20, 2023, in a case that states argue could upend how water is shared in the Western U.S. if the court sides with the tribe. 

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seemed split Monday as it weighed a dispute involving the federal government and the Navajo Nation’s quest for water from the drought-stricken Colorado River.

States that draw water from the river — Arizona, Nevada and Colorado — and water districts in California that are also involved in the case urged the justices to rule against the tribe. Colorado says siding with the Navajo Nation will undermine existing agreements and disrupt the management of the river.

But, arguing on behalf of the Navajo Nation, attorney Shay Dvoretzky told the justices that the tribe’s current water request is modest. The “relief that we are seeking here is an assessment of the nation’s needs and a plan to meet them,” he said.

Arguing on behalf of the Biden administration, attorney Frederick Liu said that if the court were to side with the Navajo Nation, the federal government could face lawsuits from many other tribes.

Four of the court’s justices, including its three liberals, seemed sympathetic to the tribe’s case. But other conservatives including Justice Samuel Alito were skeptical during nearly two hours of arguments at the high court.

Alito asked about “some of the real world impacts” of the decision and suggested he’d seen figures indicating that “per capita water on the Navajo Nation is greatly in excess of per capita water for residents of Arizona.” He pointed out that the Navajo Nation’s original reservation was hundreds of miles away from the section of the Colorado River it now seeks water from.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh also asked about the potential consequences of siding with the Navajo Nation, pointing to a brief that said more water for the tribe would necessarily mean less water for Arizona, striking “at the heart of the social and economic livelihood” of the state “with dire consequences.”

The facts of the case go back to two treaties the tribe and the federal government signed in 1849 and 1868. The second established the reservation as the tribe’s “permanent home” — a promise the Navajo Nation says includes a sufficient supply of water. In 2003 the tribe sued the federal government, arguing that it had failed to consider or protect the Navajo Nation’s water rights to the lower portion of the Colorado River.

 A sign marks Navajo Drive, as Sentinel Mesa, homes and other structures in Oljato-Monument Valley, Utah, on the Navajo Reservation, stand in the distance, on April 30, 2020. The Supreme Court appears to be split in a dispute between the federal government and the Navajo Nation over water from the drought-stricken Colorado River. The high court heard arguments Monday, March 20, 2023, in a case that states argue could upend how water is shared in the Western U.S. if the court sides with the tribe. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

A federal trial court initially dismissed the lawsuit, but an appeals court allowed it to go forward.

“Is it possible to have a permanent home, farm and raise animals without water?” Justice Neil Gorsuch asked at one point during arguments, suggesting sympathy for the tribe’s case.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, participating in the case via telephone because she wasn’t feeling well, said the government was making the argument that the Navajo Nation can’t do anything to force the government to protect its water rights, something she suggested would have been an “odd agreement” for the tribe to make.

The Colorado River flows along what is now the northwestern border of the tribe’s reservation, which extends into New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. Two of the river’s tributaries, the San Juan River and the Little Colorado River, also pass alongside and through the reservation. Still, a third of the some 175,000 people who live on the reservation, the largest in the country, don’t have running water in their homes.

The federal government says it has helped the tribe secure water from the Colorado River’s tributaries and provided money for infrastructure including pipelines, pumping plants and water treatment facilities. But it says no law or treaty requires the government to assess and address the tribe’s general water needs. The states involved in the case, meanwhile, argue the Navajo Nation is attempting to make an end run around a Supreme Court decree that divvied up water in the Colorado River’s Lower Basin.

A decision in the case is expected by the end of June when the Supreme Court typically breaks for its summer recess.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the court seems split on the dispute, not that the court appeared to be leaning toward the government argument.

GOOD LUCK WITH THAT

Macron wants French pension plan implemented by end of year

By SYLVIE CORBET

 French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech during the National Roundtable on Diplomacy at the foreign ministry in Paris, Thursday, March 16, 2023. President Macron will explain how he will seek to overcome tensions prompted by his plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Macron will appear on national television on Wednesday, March 23, 3034 for the first time since his government forced through the bill age amid mass protests. 

(AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that the pension bill that he pushed through without a vote in parliament needs to be implemented by the “end of the year.”

Macron, who made the comments in an interview broadcast on national television, said the bill that raises the retirement age from 62 to 64 will “continue its democratic path.”

The Constitutional Council needs to review the bill in the coming weeks, and it can only be turned into law after the body gives its approval.

It was the first time that Macron had spoken publicly since his government forced the pension bill through parliament last week, prompting scattered protests in Paris and across the country, some degenerating into violence. His government survived two no-confidence votes at the lower chamber of parliament on Monday.

The 45-year-old French president repeatedly said that he was convinced that the retirement system needed to be modified to keep it financed.

“That reform is not a luxury, it is not fun, it’s a necessity for the country,” he said.

Macron “condemned” violence after his decision last week prompted daily, scattered protests in cities around France, some degenerating into scuffles with police, including in Paris.

He insisted that he “respects” unions and protests organized by opponents to show that they disagree with the pension plan.

Dock workers in Marseille on Wednesday blocked access to the city’s commercial port — France’s biggest — preventing trucks and cars from entering amid a heavy police presence.

Garbage was still piling up on some Paris streets as sanitation workers entered their 17th day of the strike. Authorities issued an order in recent days requiring some garbage employees to ensure a “minimum service” for health reasons.

Oil shipments in the country were partially disrupted amid strikes at several refineries in western and southern France. Gas stations in the country’s southeast region are currently the most affected by shortages.

Unions have called for new nationwide protests and strikes on Thursday to demand that the government simply withdraw the retirement bill. High-speed and regional trains, Paris metro and other public transportation in major cities were expected to be disrupted.

Dock workers stand in front of a burning barricade next the port of Marseille southern France, Wednesday, March 22, 2023.The bill pushed through by President Emmanuel Macron without lawmakers' approval still faces a review by the Constitutional Council before it can be signed into law. Meanwhile, oil shipments in the country were disrupted amid strikes at several refineries in western and southern France. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)