Searching for ancient bears in an Alaskan cave led to an important human discovery

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The first people to live in the Americas migrated from Siberia across the Bering land bridge more than 20,000 years ago. Some made their way as far south as Tierra del Fuego, at the tip of South America. Others settled in areas much closer to their place of origin where their descendants still thrive today.

In “A paleogenome from a Holocene individual supports genetic continuity in Southeast Alaska,” published Friday in the journal iScience, University at Buffalo evolutionary biologist Charlotte Lindqvist and collaborators show, using ancient genetic data analyses, that some modern Alaska Natives still live almost exactly where their ancestors did some 3,000 years ago.

Lindqvist, PhD, associate professor of biological sciences in the UB College of Arts and Sciences, is senior author of the paper. In the course of her extensive studies in Alaska, she explored mammal remains that had been found in a cave in the state’s southeast coast. One bone was initially identified as coming from a bear. However, genetic analysis showed it to be the remains of a human female.

“We realized that modern Indigenous peoples in Alaska, should they have remained in the region since the earliest migrations, could be related to this prehistoric individual,” says Alber Aqil, a UB PhD student in biological sciences and the first author of the paper. This discovery led to efforts to solve this mystery, which DNA analyses are well suited to address when archeological remains are as sparse as these were.

Learning from an ancestor

The earliest peoples had already started moving south along the Pacific Northwest Coast before an inland route between ice sheets became viable. Some, including the female individual from the cave, made their home in the area that surrounds the Gulf of Alaska. That area is now home to the Tlingit Nation and three other groups: Haida, Tsimshian, and Nisga’a.

As Aqil and colleagues analyzed the genome from this 3,000-year-old individual — “research that was not possible just 20 years ago,” Lindqvist noted — they determined that she is most closely related to Alaska Natives living in the area today. This fact showed it was necessary to carefully document as clearly as possible any genetic connections of the ancient female to present-day Native Americans.

In such endeavors, it is important to collaborate closely with people living in lands where archeological remains are found. Therefore, cooperation between Alaska Native peoples and the scientific community has been a significant component of the cave explorations that have taken place in the region. The Wrangell Cooperative Association named the ancient individual analyzed in this study as “Tatóok yík yées sháawat” (Young lady in cave).

Genetic continuity in Southeast Alaska persists for thousands of years

Indeed, Aqil and Lindqvist’s research demonstrated that Tatóok yík yées sháawat is in fact closest related to present-day Tlingit peoples and those of nearby tribes along the coast. Their research therefore strengthens the idea that genetic continuity in Southeast Alaska has continued for thousands of years.

Human migration into North America, although it began some 24,000 years ago, came in waves — one of which, about 6,000 years ago — included the Paleo-Inuit, formerly known as Paleo-Eskimos. Importantly for understanding Indigenous peoples’ migrations from Asia, Tatóok yík yées sháawat’s DNA did not reveal ancestry from the second wave of settlers, the Paleo-Inuit. Indeed, the analyses performed by Aqil and Lindqvist helped shed light on the continuing discussion of migration routes, mixtures among people from these different waves, as well as modern territorial patterns of inland and coastal people of the Pacific Northwest in the pre-colonial era.

Oral history links an ancient woman to people living in Southeast Alaska today

The oral origin narratives of the Tlingit people include the story of the most recent eruption of Mount Edgecumbe, which would place them exactly in the region by 4,500 years ago. Tatóok yík yées sháawat, their relative, therefore informs not just modern-day anthropological researchers but also the Tlingit people themselves.

Out of respect for the right of the Tlingit people to control and protect their cultural heritage and their genetic resources, data from the study of Tatóok yík yées sháawat will be available only after review of its use by the Wrangell Cooperative Association Tribal Council.

“It’s very exciting to contribute to our knowledge of the prehistory of Southeast Alaska,” said Aqil.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation. In addition to Lindqvist and Aqil, authors of the new paper in iScience include Stephanie Gill, Omer Gokcumen, Ripan S. Malhi, Esther Aaltséen Reese, Jane L. Smith, and Timothy T. Heaton.

---

JOURNAL

iScience

DOI

10.1016/j.isci.2023.106581 

ARTICLE TITLE

A paleogenome from a Holocene individual supports genetic continuity in Southeast Alaska

Protecting big trees for wildlife also benefits climate

Study highlights the importance of protecting mature and old growth forest

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE

Earth Day: April 22, 2023
 David Mildrexler, Ph.D., davidm@eorlegacylands.org
Bev Law, Ph.D., bev.e.law@gmail.com
Bill Moomaw, Ph.D., William.Moomaw@tufts.edu

Large trees offer major solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis that are needed now. As
President Biden calls for protecting mature and old growth trees on Federal lands, the study
describes synergies between protecting these disproportionately valuable large trees and forest
resilience goals, providing common solutions for these urgent challenges.
An earlier analysis found that large trees protected by the “21-inch rule” account for just 3% of total
stems in the affected forests but hold 42% of the total aboveground carbon.
Rather than continuing to protect these inherited carbon and biodiversity treasures, the United States
Forest Service recently relaxed the 21-inch rule opening the door to large tree logging across
millions of acres of National Forest lands east of the Cascades Crest in Oregon and Washington.
The justification for weakening the screens- competition between large trees, is not supported by the
new analysis.

Large-scale cutting of even some of the existing big trees would eliminate these carbon stores while
releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere when we need to have greater
sequestration by natural systems to stabilize Earth’s climate.
Interest is growing in policy opportunities that align biodiversity conservation and recovery with
climate change mitigation and adaptation priorities. The authors conclude that “21-inch rule”
provides an excellent example of such a policy initiated for wildlife and habitat protection that has
also provided significant climate mitigation values across extensive forests of the PNW Region.
“These are public lands that are providing a natural climate solution and performing multiple
additional services at no cost. We suggest policy to keep existing forest carbon stores out of the
atmosphere and accumulate additional amounts while protecting habitat and biodiversity.” David
Mildrexler

“There is no action required from us but to leave these large trees standing so they can continue to
store and accumulate carbon for climate mitigation and provide critical habitat.” Bev Law

---

JOURNAL

Conservation Science and Practice

DOI

10.1111/csp2.12944 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Meta-analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Protect large trees for climate mitigation, biodiversity, and forest resilience

Joseph Bologne Could Have Been As Big As Beethoven — In Chevalier, He Finally Gets His Due

Story by Ineye Komonibo • Friday

Refinery29

In 2020, an old theory resurfaced on the internet hypothesizing that world famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven may have actually been Black, sparking controversy as well as a long overdue conversation about the well-documented whiteness of the classical music landscape. The claims about Beethoven’s race have been heavily debated by classical music scholars for centuries, but ultimately, we don’t need to spend our time trying to figure out if the German virtuoso would have been invited to the cookout. Other Black composers existed — their contributions to the genre and to culture as a whole were just disregarded and hidden in the shadows. Until now.


Joseph Bologne  Provided by Refinery29

Chevalier, a biopic that hit theaters today (April 21), follows the lost story of Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges (played by Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), a French composer and musician who rose to prominence in the 18th century during the reign of Marie Antoinette. Born in the then-colony of Guadeloupe to a white plantation owner and an enslaved Senegalese woman, Bologne was raised and professionally trained in France, flourishing in music and fencing to the point that his excellence earned him the covetous throne-appointed title of Chevalier de Saint-Georges (a position equivalent to that of a knight). Although Bologne lives and works among the elites as a chevalier, he begins to realize that in France, he will always be seen as inferior because of the color of his skin. He may not be surrounded by other Black people, but in the eyes of the world, Bologne will always be more Black — more other — than he is French.

As he becomes cognizant of his true place in French society as a Black man, we see him struggle to reconcile his Blackness with his Frenchness and his high status in society. Here, the concept of “double consciousness” comes into play. Scholar and activist W.E.B. Du Bois coined the term specifically to describe the double but often contrary minds that Black Americans have to possess while facing anti-Blackness in white space, but it’s applicable to every Black person, certainly for Bologne. He was taught to be excellent in order to make up for the fact that he was Black, but when a painful rejection from the highest musical prestige in the land solely on the basis of his race firmly illuminates his reality, Bologne quickly comes to understand that within a white supremacist framework, being ten times better will just never be enough. In his crisis, the sudden reappearance of Bologne’s mother Nanon (Ronke Adekoluejo) provides him with the stability and connection to his roots that he’s always needed but was denied. Patiently but with a firm hand, Nanon reminds her son that he is Black first and foremost, and her unshakeable security in her identity as a Black woman helps Bologne find confidence in his own as a Black man.

The more comfortable he becomes with his roots, the more discontent and disgusted he becomes with France’s racist and classist hierarchy. After ignoring the class war raging outside of his swanky villa’s window, Bologne finally decides to join the efforts of the proletariat against the iron fist of the crown and her bourgeoisie. The film shows Bologne leveraging his talent and network as a composer to create the soundtrack for the revolution, but in real life, he actually stopped making music to fight as a colonel in a volunteer brigade composed of soldiers of color until his death in 1799.

“I learned about Joseph Bologne when I was 16 years old, and the thing that really stood out to me was that he was just a rockstar,” says Chevalier writer Stefani Robinson in a Zoom interview with Unbothered. “Joseph was at the forefront of a cultural movement, like a Prince or a Jimi Hendrix. When you’re a kid, history feels so far away, but that rockstar quality of his made him seem so much more than just a guy in a book. This person was special. He was singular. And that fascinated me.”

Robinson didn’t have a lot to work with while penning Chevalier years ago besides Gabriel Banat’s 1840 book, The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow. Bologne’s life wasn’t well-documented in history, and that erasure was intentional. Following the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte’s hostile takeover of the country was marked by violent nationalist and racist international policy, and as a result of government-mandated anti-Blackness, much of Bologne’s work was intentionally buried. But as she began to look deeper into what she could find about the life of the chevalier, Robinson felt a personal obligation to bring Bologne’s story to the silver screen. If he was that important to the culture, it was only right that he take center stage once more.

Though building upon the bare bones subject material of the film was a daunting task, Chevalier’s talented cast easily fills in the gaps of Bologne’s life, painting a convincing picture of what trying to navigate 18th century France might have been like for him. The ever-talented Kelvin Harrison, Jr. (Waves, Cyrano) is a perfect fit as the chevalier, balancing Bologne’s abundance of pride and swagger — some of the few aspects of the composer’s life that were well-documented in history — with the deep wound he’s nursing as a Black man fighting for his place and his acknowledgment in a white world. That constant mental toil of double consciousness is something that Harrison Jr. can deeply relate to — after all, he’s a Black actor working in Hollywood. The pressure of trying to be “more” than a Black actor is always there.

“I came into Hollywood at the right moment,” Harrison Jr. explains over Zoom, pointing out how the industry had just started to tell nuanced Black stories when he first made his acting debut in 2013. “At the same time, there have been so many roles that I’ve had to come in and help reimagine it from my perspective. I feel like I’ve often been asked to exist in a space that isn’t necessarily mine. It becomes a non-negotiable — if I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t work. There’s some choice in it, of course, and I’ve tried to keep my individuality and hold on to a sense of my culture and where I come from. But it’s definitely been a struggle at times.”

“I want to expand how we can be seen [in Hollywood], and that’s part of the negotiation as well,” he continues. “How do we expand our understanding of who we are?”



Provided by Refinery29

His co-star Ronke Adekoluejo took a similarly introspective approach to her storytelling process as well, using the lack of information about Nanon to get creative in building the character from the ground up. Joseph was able to evolve because his mother paved the path for him and as a key player in her son’s radicalization, Nanon is central to this plot. (Art imitates life — aren’t Black women always the catalyst behind change?) Ronke Adekoluejo found inspiration for the role in the journeys of other Black women in history who weren’t afraid to antagonize the system.

“I needed to understand what gave Nanon resolve, what made her so resilient, so I started to research,” says Adekoluejo. “Yaa Asantewa, Harriet Tubman, Stagecoach Mary — all of these women valiantly fought back against oppression because they wanted to create a different narrative for themselves, and I felt like it was important for Nanon to have that same righteous indignation of by any means necessary, to not fear violence as an instigator of change.”

Chevalier may be a biopic about a man who walked this earth over 200 years ago, but his story is timely because it speaks to the unfortunate phenomenon of Black erasure. Throughout history, Black people’s work and contributions to society have been downplayed, overlooked, and even appropriated because of racism. We see it in Napolean’s intentional concealment of Bologne’s work, but we can also see it today — in Black TikTok creators not being fairly compensated for the success of their content, in Beyoncé repeatedly losing Album of the Year at the Grammys, in luxury fashion brands stealing aesthetics from traditional Africans design, in conservative lawmakers fighting to rewrite history to minimize the dire circumstances that led to the necessary work of Black activists. Unfortunately, Black people from every corner of the diaspora have demonstrably not been given their due in the mainstream.

“We’re seeing it in real time, these efforts to erase our history — any sort of marginalized community’s history — in schools,” Robinson shakes her head. “It’s so insidious, but I feel like the only way to stand up against that is to keep doing what I’m doing: making the conscious effort to amplify what people are trying to hide.”

Harrison Jr. wants us to take cues from Bologne’s trajectory; he only found true peace and security in himself once he turned his gaze away from the people who othered him and towards his own community. “Joseph made art for those who wanted to recognize it, for those who wanted to appreciate it — for people who saw him,” says the Chevalier star. “That preservation only really happens in community. It’s important to branch out, but you have to sing to the choir that wants to listen. If you feed it to the wolves, the wolves are going to eat it, but not in the way you want them to.”

Chevalier is proof that we can’t be blotted out of the timeline. No matter how much they try to bury them, our stories will be told.

Chevalier is now playing in theaters.


Refinery29

Walt Disney Co to begin second wave of layoffs, cutting several thousand jobs - sources

Story by By Dawn Chmielewski • 





: A rain spout stylized with the outline of Disney character Mickey Mouse is seen on a building at The Walt Disney Co. studios in Burbank© Thomson Reuters

(Reuters) - Walt Disney Co will begin a second wave of layoffs on Monday, as it works toward eliminating 7,000 jobs to help save $5.5 billion in costs, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The company is expected to cut "several thousand" jobs in layoffs that begin Monday and continue through Thursday. With the latest round of reductions, Disney officials say the company will have culled a total of 4,000 jobs.

The cuts will occur across the company's business segments, including Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, according to the sources, but are not expected to affect the hourly frontline workers employed at the parks and resorts.

Disney announced its layoff plan in February, together with a sweeping reorganization that restructured the company and returned decision-making to Disney's creative executives. Its goal is to create a more streamlined approach to its business.

The entertainment industry has retrenched since its early euphoric embrace of video streaming, when established media companies lost billions as they launched competitors to Netflix Inc.

Media companies started to rein in spending when Netflix posted its first loss of subscribers in a decade in early 2022, and Wall Street began prioritizing profitability over subscriber growth.

On March 27, Disney began notifying employees who were affected by the workforce reductions, and said a second, larger round would occur in April. A third round is anticipated before the start of summer.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Sonali Paul)

China to test out 3D printing technology on moon to build habitats

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will explore using 3D printing technology to construct buildings on the moon, the official China Daily reported on Monday, as Beijing solidifies plans for long-term lunar habitation.


FILE PHOTO: A full moon is seen over Mexico City© Thomson Reuters

In the 2020 Chinese lunar mission, the Chang'e 5, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, an uncrewed probe took back to Earth China's first lunar soil samples. China, which made its first lunar landing in 2013, plans to land an astronaut on the moon by 2030.

Between now and then, China will launch the Chang'e 6, 7 and 8 missions, with the latter tasked to look for reusable resources on the moon for long-term human habitation.

The Chang'e 8 probe will conduct on-site investigations of the environment and mineral composition, and also determine whether technologies such as 3D printing can be deployed on the lunar surface, China Daily reported, quoting Wu Weiren, a scientist at the China National Space Administration.

Related video: Moon Samples Collected By China Show Evidence Of Water (Space)
Duration 1:28   View on Watch

"If we wish to stay on the moon for a long time, we need to set up stations by using the moon's own materials," Wu said.

China wants to start building a lunar base using soil from the moon in five years, Chinese media reported earlier this month.

A robot tasked with making "lunar soil bricks" will be launched during the Chang'e 8 mission around 2028, according to an expert from the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The race to set foot on the moon has intensified in recent years, particularly with the United States.

This month, NASA and Canada's space agency named four astronauts for the Artemis II mission planned for late 2024, in what would be the first human fly-by of the moon in decades.

(This story has been refiled to add a dropped word in paragraph 2)

(Reporting by Ryan Woo. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

UAE spacecraft takes close-up photos of Mars' little moon

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A spacecraft around Mars has sent back the most detailed photos yet of the red planet’s little moon.


UAE spacecraft takes close-up photos of Mars' little moon

The United Arab Emirates' Amal spacecraft flew within 62 miles (100 kilometers) of Deimos last month and the close-up shots were released Monday. Amal — Arabic for Hope — got a two-for-one when Mars photobombed some of the images. It was the closest a spacecraft has been to Deimos in almost a half-century.

The spacecraft also observed the little explored far side of the odd-shaped, cratered moon, just 9 miles by 7 miles by 7 miles (15 kilometers by 12 kilometers by 12 kilometers).

Mars’ other moon, Phobos, is almost double that size and better understood since it orbits much closer to Mars — just 3,700 miles (6,000 kilometers) away, the closest of any planet’s moon in our solar system.

Deimos' orbit around Mars stretches 14,000 miles (23,000 kilometers) out. That's close to the inner part of the spacecraft's orbit — “which is what made observing Deimos such a compelling idea,” said the mission's lead scientist Hessa al-Matroushi.

Related video: UAE spacecraft buzzes Mars' little moon (The Associated Press)
Duration 0:47   View on Watch

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SpaceEpic Time-Lapse Of Artemis 1's Orion Spacecraft Capturing Earth and Moon

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"Phobos has got most of the attention up until now — now it’s Deimos’ turn!" she added in an email.

Al-Matroushi and other scientists with the UAE Space Agency said these new images indicate Deimos is not an asteroid that got captured in Mars’ orbit eons ago, the leading theory until now. Instead, they say the the moon appears to be of Martian origin — perhaps from the bigger Martian moon or from Mars itself.

The findings were presented Monday at the European Geosciences Union's general assembly in Vienna.

Amal will continue to sweep past Deimos this year, but not as closely as the March 10 encounter, according to al-Matroushi.

NASA's Viking 2 came within 19 miles (30 kilometers) of Deimos in 1977. Since then, other spacecraft have photographed Deimos but from much farther away.

Amal rocketed to Mars on July 19, 2020, one day shy of the 50th anniversary of humanity’s first moon landing — Earth’s moon, that is — by Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

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

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press

SpaceX Starship explosion spread particulate matter for miles

Story by Lora Kolodny • 

Researchers are scrambling to assess health and environmental impacts of SpaceX's Starship Super Heavy test flight last week, which spread particulate matter far beyond the expected debris field.

The largest rocket ever built blew up in mid-flight, with no crew on board, leading the FAA to ground the Starship Super Heavy launch program pending a "mishap investigation."

Environmental engineers and advocates are concerned the ash- and sand-like particulate matter could hurt people's respiratory health, and could irreparably harm endangered species in the area.


SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket self-destructs after its launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on a brief uncrewed test flight near Brownsville, Texas, U.S. April 20, 2023 in a still image from video.

SpaceX launched the largest rocket ever built for the first time on Thursday from its Boca Chica, Texas, spaceport. The Starship spacecraft, designed to fly people on a Mars mission someday, lifted off the launch pad then blew up in mid-flight, with no crew on board.

Now, residents and researchers are scrambling to assess the impact of the explosion on local communities, their health, habitat and wildlife including endangered species. Of primary concern is the large amount of sand- and ash-like particulate matter and heavier debris kicked up by the launch. The particulate emissions spread far beyond the expected debris field.

As a result of the explosion, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the company's Starship Super Heavy launch program pending results of a "mishap investigation," part of standard practice, according to an email from the agency sent to CNBC after the launch. No injuries or public property damage had yet been reported to the agency as of Friday.

SpaceX did not immediately return a request for comment.

Not in the plan

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, speaking publicly on Twitter Spaces on April 16 ahead of the test flight, acknowledged that a vehicle with 33 engines is akin to "a box of grenades," and that the Starship vehicle was not likely to reach orbit but was likely to explode.

However, Musk and SpaceX did not accurately predict that their launchpad would be destroyed, nor that particulate matter would rain down on residents and habitat as far away as Port Isabel, a town about six miles from the launchpad, and South Padre Island, a few miles up the coast from the site.

Images captured during the test flight show that the SpaceX launch pad also exploded, with concrete chunks from it flying in multiple directions leaving behind a giant crater underneath. According to Dave Cortez, the Lone Star chapter director for the Sierra Club, a 501c4 environmental advocacy group, "Concrete shot out into the ocean, and risked hitting the fuel storage tanks which are these silos adjacent to the launch pad."

Jared Margolis, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said that in an environmental assessment – which SpaceX completed to obtain a launch license – the company told the FAA and other agencies that in the event of an "anomaly" they expected debris would fall within a limited, 700-acre area surrounding the launch site.

That would translate to a one-square-mile debris field, with debris emanating about three-quarters of a mile away from the site, he said, referencing SpaceX environmental site assessment documents that are public record.

In reality, following the test flight and explosion, people in Port Isabel reported broken windows in their businesses, shaking windows at their homes, and dust and particulate matter that coated their homes, schools and land unexpectedly, according to Cortez.

Port Isabel is a mainland town near the SpaceX spaceport, and across from the South Padre Island offshore, which also got a share of particulate matter, according to correspondence between researchers and residents shared with CNBC.

It's not yet known whether the ash- and sand-like particulate matter is dangerous to touch or breathe in and what effect it could have on soil health, Cortez and Margolis both noted.

One industry chronicler who reported locally on the launch, Lavie Ohana, wrote that the launch was also "one of the loudest" she had ever witnessed, "with shockwaves that just felt like getting punched over and over and over."

SpaceX's Starship rocket suffers mid-flight failure after launch Duration 0:59  

 View on Watch

Effects on endangered species

Margolis said the Center for Biological Diversity is worried about the effects of the noise, particulate and heavier debris on endangered species that make their home in the area, including the piping plover, red knot, jaguarundi, ocelot populations and sea turtles including the Kemp's Ridley, which nests on the beaches of Boca Chica and is one of the most critically endangered sea turtles in the world.

February through June is the nesting season for the Kemp's Ridley.

National Wildlife Refuge lands, which are very near the launch pad, are designated critical habitat for the piping plover, he emphasized.

Cortez added that Sierra Club members have been especially worried about human health impacts and how the aftermath of the explosion may limit people's ability to get outdoors, whether to fish for their dinner, enjoy the beach or take a hike in the many parks and protected wildlife areas close to Starbase.
Health concerns

The impacts of particulate emissions from the SpaceX launch won't be understood until samples are evaluated and the debris field measured comprehensively.

But in general, particulate emissions are regulated under the federal Clean Air Act and Texas state law.

Eric Roesch, an environmental engineer who has been tracking the impact of SpaceX facilities and launches on his blog, ESGHound, said that particulate emissions are associated with pulmonary and respiratory issues, and are considered a high priority pollutant by the EPA. Health impacts depend upon exposure time and quantity, as well as particle size, and contents of the particulate, he added.

Roesch has been warning the public for months that the FAA and SpaceX had not been careful enough in their environmental analysis to comfortably proceed with a launch of this magnitude. He said, "The possibility of a widely dispersed plume of emissions was not disclosed by the FAA or SpaceX, during the initial environmental permitting and approval process."

Margolis and Cortez both noted that roads had been damaged, with gates and cordons closed immediately following the SpaceX Starship test flight. That meant wildlife biologists and other field researchers could not immediately pass through to study the full scale of any damage that occurred in a nearby wildlife refuge area – though some were reportedly on location by Saturday April 22.

One concern is that evidence of harm to endangered species could be removed from the site before regulators have an opportunity to assess it, Margolis said.



A newly hatched piping plover chick stands next to one of its parents, Monty or Rose, at Montrose Beach on July 10, 2021.

Getting back to flight

Elon Musk wrote in a tweet on April 21, 2023, after the test flight: "3 months ago, we started building a massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount. Wasn't ready in time & we wrongly thought, based on static fire data, that Fondag would make it through 1 launch. Looks like we can be ready to launch again in 1 to 2 months."

CNBC asked the FAA what it will take for SpaceX to be authorized to conduct another test flight or launch of the Starship Super Heavy vehicle from Boca Chica, Texas.

The agency said in an email that a return to flight for the Starship Super Heavy will require the FAA to decide that "any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety."

Because they are still gathering information, the FAA and the Texas regional office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were not able to answer questions yet about any environmental impacts of the Thursday launch. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.

However, the FAA told CNBC via e-mail that the explosion activated something called an "anomaly response plan," which is part of a 2022 Programmatic Environmental Assessment completed by the company along with state and federal agencies, and that SpaceX has additional "environmental mitigations" they must complete before launching again. The plan "was triggered by debris entering adjacent properties," the FAA noted.

After completing the list of tasks in the plan and mitigations SpaceX will need to ask the FAA to amend their launch license, to gain clearance for another test flight.

The Center for Biological Diversity attorney, Jared Margolis, believes the FAA requirements will be minimal and easy for the company to fulfill, but not ultimately effective in safeguarding local residents' wellbeing and endangered species.

He explained, "We are not against space exploration or this company. But while we are looking to the stars, we should not readily sacrifice communities, habitat and species."

Why Don Lemon and Tucker Carlson Were Fired and What Their Next Moves Are

Story by Paige Gawley‍ • ET

Tucker Carlson                                        Don Lemon 

 

Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon are both out of a job. Following Monday's high-profile cable news firings, former CNN anchor Brian Stelter tells ET's Kevin Frazier why he believes the networks parted ways with their top talent and what could be next for the men.

News first broke that Carlson was out at Fox News, a decision that Stelter believes "is related to the Dominion lawsuit." According to CBS News, Fox recently agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle the defamation case Dominion brought against them for claiming on-air that they helped rig the 2020 presidential election against former President Donald Trump.

Stelter believes that Fox didn't fire Carlson as a result of the settlement, but rather because of messages that came to light amid the case.

"Some of the emails and text messages from Tucker Carlson that came out before the trial were really embarrassing, but... there were a lot of messages still being redacted for public view and I believe there's material in those private messages that was incredibly ugly," he explains. "It gave Fox a reason to remove Carlson."

The network's other reason for axing Carlson could've been due to his popularity, Stelter speculates.

"Tucker Carlson actually became bigger than Fox News, which is something Fox never likes to see happen," he says, "so in some ways they cut him back down to size today."

While it's unclear who at Fox made the official call to end its relationship with Carlson, Stelter says a breakdown between the anchor and the Murdoch family, who runs the network, is likely to have happened.

"Ultimately Rupert is the patriarch of Fox, the 92-year-old boss, so whatever he wants, goes... We don't know if it was Rupert Murdoch or if it was his son, Lachlan, that made the ultimate decision to remove Tucker, but Lachlan and Tucker are reportedly close," Stelter says. "... Tucker Carlson would brag to his buddies about how close he was with Lachlan Murdoch, so something clearly ruptured the relationship between Tucker, the biggest star on Fox, and the Murdochs, who actually control the channel."

No matter who was behind the decision, the fact that it was made at all was a shock to Carlson's colleagues, a source told ET.

"Colleagues of Tucker are shocked and many found out about the news like the rest of the world, on Twitter," the source said. "Tucker made no indication he was leaving to anyone and on Friday told everyone he'd see them Monday for a new show. People at Fox News are looking for answers as to what happened and are waiting to hear."

Also surprised on Monday was the staff at CNN, following news that Lemon had been let go from the network, sources told ET.

Lemon's firing "came as a total surprise" to staff, who "found out in real time when the news broke in the media," the source said, with another source adding that "everyone is shook" by the move.

Lemon's ousting came after he said on-air that Nikki Haley "isn't in her prime" and was the subject of a Variety exposé that claimed he'd exhibited "troubling treatment of women and unprofessional antics" for nearly two decades. Lemon apologized for the former incident and called the latter "patently false."

Stelter tells ET that he believes Lemon's firing shows that "the new management of CNN does not want Don Lemon representing the brand."

"I was not very surprised to see Don Lemon removed at CNN. In fact, what surprised me was that he was able to stay there for so long," he says. "It was pretty clear that the new management at CNN, which admittedly did remove my show, Reliable Sources, last year, was not going to be a fan of Don Lemon. He was moved from primetime to the morning show. They gave him a shot in the mornings, but it always looked like a demotion. Now clearly this is more than a demotion, it was a termination."

The world learned of Lemon's termination after he took to Twitter to say he was "stunned" by the news when he learned it from his agent, adding, "After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly."

CNN refuted that shortly thereafter, tweeting that Lemon "was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter."

"Neither side is disputing that Don Lemon found out he was fired from his agent, [but] CNN is saying, 'Well, if Don had wanted to, he could have come into the office and had a meeting with management,'" Stelter explains. "Maybe Don did not want to have that, so he decided to go public instead."

Though the men were fired from separate networks, they've enlisted the same attorney to work out their exit packages.

"I have been told that both Don Lemon and Tucker Carlson have hired the same entertainment lawyer, Brian Freedman, to negotiate their exits. I've called Freedman, I have not heard back, but I'm told both men have brought him in because he's famously aggressive," Stelter, a special correspondent at Vanity Fair, tells ET. "He's represented people like Megyn Kelly in the past, so he may be able to come in and get a better deal for both Carlson and Lemon."

After securing their deals, Stelter thinks that neither man will have trouble securing work.

"I think Tucker Carlson can write his own ticket. Yes, even running for president if he wants to, although he's not going to do that," the Hoax author speculates. "I think he has basically endless options in the right-wing media world... He'll probably take his time in choosing between them."

As for Lemon, while Stelter says he was "clearly wounded by that Nikki Haley controversy," that doesn't negate the fact that "he is a television star."

"He oozes charm," Stelter says. "I've sat across from him countless times and I know he's a really talented broadcaster, so I think he's gonna have a number of options out there."

Whatever is next for the two men, Stelter says that, when viewed from a broader lens, Monday's "earthquake in cable news is actually a testament to the relevance of cable news."

"Even in the TikTok age, people still want to watch people, that's what TV is all about. No matter what other apps and devices are invented, that's always going to be true," he says. "It might not be Don Lemon or Tucker Carlson in 10 or 20 years, but people always want to watch other people. They want to spend time with folks who they trust."

New report provides insight into the library’s evolving role in student success

Based on a Student Survey, the Technology from Sage Report Reveals Gap Between What the Student Needs and What the Library Offers

Reports and Proceedings

SAGE

A new Technology from Sage report sheds light on challenges in the librarian-patron relationship, including the need for greater digital literacy and more tailored support for students, and recommends methods to support the student experience. “The Knowledge Gap Between Librarians and Students: Contrasting Librarian and Student Perspectives on the Undergraduate Workflow” report is the second in the Librarian Futures series.

A survey of nearly 600 students in the US, UK, and Canada highlights key findings for librarians across the undergraduate workflow — specifically in discovery, scaffolding, literacy, and engagement — and uncovers a gap between student needs and library offerings:

• 35 percent of students have used the library website.

• 63 percent use Google to conduct research while 10 percent try the library first.

• Only 27 percent have entered the library building itself.

These findings suggest a need for libraries to improve their online presence and visibility on campus and build students’ digital literacy.

The report also highlights a need to increase student engagement. For example:

• Only 25 percent of students reported receiving help from librarians for accessing resources, and 16 percent said librarians had helped them find good information.

• While most students were aware of extracurricular library offerings, only 25 percent took advantage of additional training.

• Key student groups (such as first-generation and disabled students) reported lower levels of engagement with their academic libraries.

The report concludes that by considering their current provision for students and taking the opportunity to refocus their output, librarians can continue to play an important role in reaching student learning needs.

“At Technology from Sage, we believe that the librarian will be more important than ever as institutions try to keep pace in today’s digital era and that the library is well-placed to address the gaps we identified through this report,” says Matthew Hayes, managing director of Technology from Sage. “We are dedicated to supporting libraries and librarians to perform these critical functions and it is our hope that by identifying student needs, this report will help bridge that gap.”

LGBTQ RIGHTS BEING ROLLED BACK
'Gender Queer' tops library group's list of challenged books

NEW YORK (AP) — With Florida legislators barring even the mention of being gay in classrooms and similar restrictions under consideration in other states, a report released Monday says books with LGBTQ+ themes remain the most likely targets of bans or attempted bans at public schools and libraries around the country.


'Gender Queer' tops library group's list of challenged books© Provided by The Canadian Press

The American Library Association announced that Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir “Gender Queer” was the most “challenged” book of 2022, the second consecutive year it has topped the list.

The ALA defines a challenge as a “formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.”

Other books facing similar trials include George M. Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” Mike Curato’s “Flamer,” Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” Jonathan Evison’s “Lawn Boy” and Juno Dawson’s “This Book Is Gay.”

“All the challenges are openly saying that young people should not be exposed to LGBTQ materials,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

The list also includes Toni Morrison’s first novel, the 1970 release “The Bluest Eye,” which has been criticized for its references to rape and incest; Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” (sexual content, profanity) and Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Mist and Fury” (sexual content).

Related video: Passions flare as officials debate gender identity books in kid's section of Greenville library (WYFF 4 Greenville-Spartanburg)
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Fremont library board considering removing 'This Book is Gay' from its shelves
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LGTBQ book for youth moved to adult section in Fremont library
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The ALA usually compiles a Top 10 list, but this year expanded it to 13 because the books ranked 10 to 13 were in a virtual tie.

“In the past, when it was that close, we would flip a coin to see who got in the list. This year, we got rid of the coin,” Caldwell-Stone said.

The ALA last month reported there were more than 1,200 complaints in 2022 involving more than 2,500 different books, the highest totals since the association began compiling complaints 20 years ago. The number is likely much higher because the ALA relies on media reports and accounts from libraries.

In charts accompanying Monday’s announcement, the ALA reported the majority of complaints — nearly 60% — come from parents and library patrons. “Political/religious” groups such as the conservative Moms for Liberty account for just 17% of complaints, but they object to a disproportionate number of books, according to Caldwell-Stone. Moms for Liberty, which advocates for parental rights in schools, objected to more than 1,000 books in 2022.

Caldwell-Stone cited the web site booklooks.org, a popular resource for conservatives to evaluate books that defines itself as “unaffiliated” with Moms for Liberty, but does “communicate with other individuals and groups with whom there is an intersection of mission and values.”

“Many of the books on our most challenged list appear on booklooks,” Caldwell-Stone said.

The ALA list followed last week’s report from PEN America, which found a continued rise in book bans at public schools during the first half of the 2022-2023 academic year.

According to PEN, there were 1,477 individual book bans affecting 874 different titles, up from 1,149 bans in the second half of 2021-2022. “Gender Queer” and “Flamer” tied at 15 for the most times banned during the more recent period, with other frequently banned books including “The Bluest Eye," “A Court of Mist and Fury” and a graphic novel edition of Margaret Atwood's dystopian “The Handmaid's Tale.”

Hillel Italie, The Associated Press