CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

DEA’s failure to punish distributor blamed in opioid crisis raises revolving door questions

ByJim Mustianand

Joshua Goodman

AP

today

An automatic system drops pharmaceutical orders on a conveyor belt to be placed into boxes at Morris and Dickson Co., in Shreveport, Wednesday, July 13, 2016. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed one of the nation’s largest wholesale drug distributors to keep shipping opioid painkillers for nearly four years after a judge recommended in 2018 it lose its license for its “cavalier disregard” of thousands of suspicious orders fueling the opioid crisis.

 (Henrietta Wildsmith/The Shreveport Times via AP)

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed one of the nation’s largest wholesale drug distributors to keep shipping highly addictive painkillers for nearly four years after a judge recommended it be stripped of its license for its “cavalier disregard” of thousands of suspicious orders fueling the opioid crisis.

The DEA did not respond to repeated questions from The Associated Press about its handling of the case against Morris & Dickson Co. or the involvement of a high-profile consultant the company had hired to stave off punishment and who is now DEA Administrator Anne Milgram’s top deputy.

But the delay has raised concerns about how the revolving door between government and industry may be impacting the DEA’s mission to police drug companies blamed for tens of thousands of American overdose deaths.

“If the DEA had issued its order in a timely manner, one could then credibly believe that its second-in-command was not involved despite an obvious conflict of interest,” said Craig Holman, an ethics expert at the watchdog group Public Citizen in Washington. “The mere fact that its action has been delayed four years just raises red flags. It casts the entire process under grave suspicion.”

Last week, after the AP reached out to the DEA for comment, the agency broke its silence on the issue and abruptly notified Morris & Dickson that it has decided to revoke its registration to distribute controlled substances, according to two people familiar with the development who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the exchange. However, no final order has yet been published. The company has described revocation as a “virtual death sentence” and is almost certain to challenge the decision in federal court.

Louis Milione, who was named DEA’s principal deputy administrator in 2021, did not respond to requests for comment. He retired from the DEA in 2017 after a storied 21-year career that included two years leading the division that controls the sale of highly addictive narcotics. Like dozens of colleagues in the DEA’s powerful-but-little-known Office of Diversion Control, he quickly went to work as a consultant for some of the same companies he had been tasked with regulating, including Morris & Dickson.

Milione was brought in by Morris & Dickson as part of a $3 million contract to save its registration to supply painkillers after the DEA accused the company in 2018 of failing to flag thousands of suspicious, high-volume orders.

Testifying in 2019 before federal Administrative Law Judge Charles W. Dorman, Milione argued that Morris & Dickson “spared no expense” to overhaul its compliance systems, cancel suspicious orders and send daily emails to the DEA spelling out its actions.

But those efforts were too little, too late, the judge wrote in a 159-page recommendation which has not been previously reported and was recently obtained by the AP. Anything less than the most severe punishment, he said, “would communicate to DEA registrants that despite their transgressions, no matter how egregious, they will get a mere slap on the wrist and a second chance so long as they acknowledge their sins and vow to sin no more.”

“Acceptance of responsibility and evidence of remediation are not get-out-of-jail-free cards that erase the harm caused by years of cavalier disregard,” Dorman wrote. “Allowing the respondent to keep its registration would tell distributors that it is acceptable to take a relaxed approach to DEA regulations until they are caught, at which point they only need to throw millions of dollars at the problem to make the DEA go away.”

Pharmaceutical orders fall into boxes as workers make sure the orders are complete at Morris and Dickson Co., in Shreveport, July 13, 2016. 

(Henrietta Wildsmith/The Shreveport Times via AP)

Shreveport, Louisiana-based Morris & Dickson, the nation’s fourth-largest wholesale drug distributor with $4 billion a year in revenue and nearly 600 employees, has said losing its license would effectively shut it down and have a “catastrophic” effect on patients in 29 states.

In a statement to AP, the company said it has invested millions of dollars in compliance systems, executives and advisors. “If DEA attempts to revoke our license for previous actions, the company will vigorously appeal and seek a stay in federal court,” it said. “We are confident we will achieve an outcome that safeguards the supply chain for all of our healthcare partners and the communities they serve.”

Neither Milgram nor two DEA administrators who preceded her have taken any enforcement action since Dorman’s 2019 recommendation, allowing Morris & Dickson to continue operating even as it pursued a potential settlement. Former DEA officials told AP a nearly four-year wait in such a case is highly unusual, noting it rarely takes the agency more than two years to issue a final order.

Milgram’s management of DEA since the Biden nominee came into office nearly two years ago has been called into question on another front. AP reported last month that a federal watchdog is investigating whether the agency improperly awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to hire Milgram’s past associates.

As for Milione, federal ethics rules bar government employees from taking part in decisions that could benefit companies where they previously worked. DEA spokesperson Christina Pryor declined to comment, but a person familiar with Milione’s work said he recused himself from issues related to Morris & Dickson after returning to the DEA in 2021. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about DEA officials’ recusals.

Milione, a lawyer and former bit Hollywood actor, impressed fellow DEA agents for his risk taking and toughness. Among his achievements was running the overseas sting that in 2008 nabbed Russia’s notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout, aka “The Merchant of Death.”

In this image from video provided by C-SPAN, Louis Milione, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s principal deputy administrator, speaks during a hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health in Washington on Dec. 2, 2021.

But after taking over as the head of Diversion Control in 2015, he ended his predecessor’s refusal to meet with drug manufacturers and distributors and opened the DEA’s doors to the industry it was charged with regulating.

Among those Milione met with on at least two occasions was Paul Dickson Sr. — then-president of Morris & Dickson. That included a 2016 visit to the Louisiana headquarters with DEA investigators to discuss the company’s compliance program.

John Gray, the head of the Healthcare Distributors Alliance, a lobbying group that includes Morris & Dickson, recounted in a 2015 email how Milione, under orders from then-incoming DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg, wanted to “reset” relations with the drug industry. And Milione even delivered the keynote speech at the group’s annual meeting.

“Overall, he was engaging, exceedingly pleasant and seemed genuinely concerned that we had lost touch with each other,” Gray wrote. “It is a very different tone and approach than we have all seen in the past 8-10 years.”

Morris & Dickson had been punished for its mishandling of addictive drugs before. In 2019, before Dorman issued his recommendation, the company agreed to pay $22 million in civil penalties to resolve federal prosecutors’ claims that it violated the Controlled Substances Act by failing to report suspicious orders of hydrocodone and oxycodone. The company also agreed to multimillion-dollar upgrades of its compliance program to ensure it reports suspicious orders moving forward.

The case drew far less attention than the enforcement actions DEA took in recent years against Morris & Dickson’s larger competitors, a trio of pharmaceutical distributors who have agreed to pay the federal government more than $1 billion in fines and penalties for similar violations. Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen and McKesson also agreed to pay $21 billion over 18 years to resolve claims as part of a nationwide settlement.

Among the more than 12,000 suspicious orders that Dorman said Morris & Dickson should have reported to the DEA were 51 unusually large orders of opioids made by Wilkinson Family Pharmacy in suburban New Orleans.

Accompanied by local law enforcement, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents raid Wilkinson Family Pharmacy in Chalmette, La.

 (Sophia Germer/The Advocate via AP)

Wilkinson purchased more than 4.5 million pills of oxycodone and hydrocodone from Morris & Dickson between 2014 and 2017, and federal prosecutors say during that time owner Keith Wilkinson laundered more than $345,000 from illegal sales made with forged prescriptions or written by “pill mill” doctors.

In one month, as many as 42% of all prescriptions filled by Wilkinson were for painkillers and 38% of those were paid for in cash. The DEA considers a pharmacy’s sales of controlled substances suspicious whenever they surpass 15% or cash transactions exceed 9%.

Yet Morris & Dickson never suspended any shipments to the pharmacy. Over three years, it filed just three suspicious order reports to the DEA – none of which resulted in shipments being suspended.

“Anybody with half a brain could’ve seen something wasn’t right,” said Dan Schneider, a retired pharmacist near New Orleans whose fight to hold drug companies accountable for the opioid epidemic was featured in a Netflix documentary series. “They were way out of line.”

_____

Goodman reported from Miami. Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org.

Takeaways of AP report on DEA probe of drug distributor accused of fueling opioid epidemic


Jim Mustian

JimMustianJMustian@ap.org

Joshua Goodman

APJoshGoodmanjgoodman@ap.org

 

AP

yesterday

In this image from video provided by C-SPAN, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram speaks during a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science in Washington on May 10, 2023. At center left behind Milgram is Louis Milione. After temporarily leaving the DEA in 2017, like dozens of colleagues in the agency's powerful-but-little-known Office of Diversion Control, Milione immediately went to work as a consultant for some of the same companies he had been tasked with regulating, including Morris & Dickson. He was named deputy administrator in 2021. On another front, a federal watchdog is investigating whether Milgram improperly awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to hire her past associates. (C-SPAN via AP)

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed one of the nation’s largest wholesale drug distributors to keep shipping addictive painkillers for nearly four years despite a judge’s recommendation to strip its license for turning a blind eye to thousands of suspicious opioid orders.

The case has drawn attention to the involvement of a high-profile consultant the company had hired to stave off punishment and who is now DEA Administrator Anne Milgram’s top deputy.

Here are the key takeaways from AP’s investigation.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

A federal administrative law judge in August 2019 found that Morris & Dickson failed to flag thousands of suspicious, high-volume orders from pharmacies and recommended that it lose its license.

Failure to follow DEA rules by Morris & Dickson and other major distributors has been blamed for leading to more than 700,000 American overdose deaths in the past two decades..

The company said it overhauled its compliance system, canceled suspicious orders and sent daily emails to the DEA spelling out its actions. But Judge Charles W. Dorman said it was too little, too late, and issued a ruling to deter similar actions by other companies.

“Acceptance of responsibility and evidence of remediation are not get-out-of-jail-free cards that erase the harm caused by years of cavalier disregard,” Dorman wrote in a 159-page ruling obtained by The Associated Press.

But since Dorman’s 2019 recommendation, neither Milgram nor two DEA administrators who preceded her have taken any enforcement action. Former DEA officials told the AP that a nearly four-year delay is highly unusual, and that most such cases are resolved in half the time.

WHO IS MORRIS & DICKSON?

Shreveport, Louisiana-based Morris & Dickson is the U.S.′ fourth-largest drug distributor, with annual sales of more than $4 billion. But it trails a trio of pharmaceutical distributors known as the Big Three, all of whom agreed to pay the federal government more than $1 billion in fines and penalties for similar violations.

Morris & Dickson officials have repeatedly said in court filings that the loss of its license would be a “virtual death sentence.”

Among the more than 12,000 suspicious orders that Dorman said Morris & Dickson should have reported to the DEA were several placed by the Wilkinson Family Pharmacy in suburban New Orleans.

In one month, March 2014, 42% of all prescriptions filled by Wilkinson were for controlled substances such as painkillers and 38% of those were paid for in cash.

“Anybody with half a brain could’ve seen something wasn’t right,” said Dan Schneider, a retired pharmacist whose fight to hold drug companies accountable for the opioid crisis was featured in a Netflix documentary series.

WHO IS LOUIS MILIONE?

Louis Milione was named DEA’s principal deputy administrator in 2021. He had previously retired from the agency in 2017 after a storied 21-year career that included two years leading the division that controls the sale of highly addictive narcotics. Among his earlier achievements was running the overseas sting that in 2008 nabbed Russia’s notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout.

Morris & Dickson brought Milione as part of a $3 million contract after the DEA accused the company in 2018 of failing to flag thousands of suspicious, high-volume orders.

Testifying in 2019 before federal Administrative Law Judge Charles W. Dorman, Milione argued that Morris & Dickson deserved to keep its license because it “spared no expense” to overhaul its compliance systems.

WHAT DOES DEA SAY?

The DEA did not respond to repeated questions about its handling of the Morris & Dickson case or Milione’s involvement.

But a person familiar with Milione’s work said he recused himself from issues related to Morris & Dickson after returning to the DEA in 2021. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about DEA officials’ recusals.

‘Mother Nature has no mercy’: Man gets stuck waist-deep in Alaska mud flats, drowns as tide comes in

ByMark Thiessen

AP

yesterday

A channel flows through the mud flats along the Seward Highway and Turnagain Arm in Alaska on Oct. 25, 2014. Authorities said, a 20-year-old man from Illinois who was walking Sunday evening, May 21, 2023, on tidal mud flats with friends in an Alaska estuary, got stuck up to his waist in the quicksand-like silt and drowned as the tide came in before frantic rescuers could extract him. 

(Bob Hallinen/Anchorage Daily News via AP)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A man who was walking on tidal mud flats with friends in an Alaska estuary got stuck up to his waist in the quicksand-like silt and drowned as the tide came in before frantic rescuers could extract him, authorities said.

Zachary Porter, 20, of Lake Bluff, Illinois, was submerged Sunday evening as the tide came in, and his body was recovered Monday morning, Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel told The Associated Press. A member of Porter’s group called 911 when they couldn’t get him out, but it was too late, authorities said.

The accident was the latest tragedy at Turnagain Arm, a 48-mile-long (77-kilometer-long) estuary carved out long ago by glaciers that travels southeast from the Anchorage area and parallels a major highway. At low tide, the estuary is known for its dangerous mud flats made of silt created by glacier-pulverized rocks. At least three other people have gotten stuck and drowned there over the years. Many more have been rescued, including someone who was fishing there last month.

“It’s big, it’s amazing, it’s beautiful, and it’s overwhelming,” Kristy Peterson, the administrator and lead EMT for the Hope-Sunrise Volunteer Fire Department, said of Alaska. “But you have to remember that it’s Mother Nature, and she has no mercy for humanity.”

Peterson, who responded to the call, spoke with others in Porter’s party but didn’t talk to him during the desperate rescue attempt.

“When we respond, we respond with the utmost of good intentions and as mothers and fathers and uncles and brothers,” she said. “We respond with as much passion and vigor as we can.”

The volunteer members of the department will gather later in the week for a debriefing, she said.

“I have been in contact with all my members, and they’re all heartbroken,” Peterson said. “This is a hard situation.”

The accident occurred near the community of Hope, a quaint community of about 80 people. It lies across Turnagain Arm just 22 miles — but a 90-minute drive — from Anchorage.

The estuary travels southeast from the Anchorage area and parallels the Seward Highway, the only highway that goes south and delivers tourists from Anchorage to the sportsman’s paradise of the Kenai Peninsula.

At low tide, Turnagain Arm is known for its mud flats that “can suck you down,” Peterson said. “It looks like it’s solid, but it’s not.”

When the tide comes back in, the silt gets wet from the bottom, loosens up and can create a vacuum if a person walks on it.

Signs are posted warning people of hazardous waters and mud flats.

“I’ve really got to warn people against playing the mud,” Peterson said. “It’s dangerous.”

Some people attempt to walk across Turnagain Arm or walk the 9 miles (14 kilometers) from Anchorage to Fire Island during low tide, sometimes prompting rescue efforts.

There have been other deaths on the mud flats. In 1988, newlyweds Adeana and Jay Dickison were gold dredging on the eastern end of the arm when her ATV got stuck in the mud, the Anchorage Daily News reported. She then became stuck when trying to push it out and drowned with the incoming tide.

In 1978, an unnamed Air Force sergeant attempting to cross Turnagain Arm was swept away with the leading edge of the tide. His body was never found, the Anchorage newspaper reported. In 2013, Army Capt. Joseph Eros died while trying to cross from Fire Island back to Anchorage.

Earlier this month, a man was rescued from the mud flats after one leg became stuck, and he sank to his waist while fishing in Turnagain Arm.

Peterson said they got the rescue call after Porter was in serious trouble, and it takes time to mobilize. Another department — about an hour’s drive away — also responded.

Peterson urged people to call 911 as soon as possible.

“If you think that there’s an issue, if you think that there even might be an issue, call,” she said. “Because we can get resources moving, and we would rather turn around and go home then it be a disaster.”

TINA TURNER 1939-2023

Tina Turner Buddhist Scene from the move "What's love got to do with it"

Apr 17, 2012

Nichiren Buddhist chant the phase Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. This Japanese oriented Buddhist religion is a foreign culture in America. The act of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is strange. Unlike the practice in other Buddhist sect of meditation in Nichiren Buddhism the primary practice is Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and reciting the Lotus Sutra. We posted this movie scene as a "Cultural Pathway." We at the Proud Black Buddhist website emphasize the idea of "Cultural Pathways" as a mechanism to introduce Buddhism in America. Even more specific there must be "Cultural Pathways" to introduce Buddhism to the African American community. This website is like a Black radio station. We are cultural not racist. We explain Nichiren Buddhism in a cultural context. Individuals can view this movie scene and gain the courage to try Buddhism. African Americans need to view other African Americans so they will not feel not so left out. Chanting is a cultural shock. Most Black people are not going to listen to a Japanese leader. African Americas are articulate. There was Dr. Martin Luther King and we have a Black President Barack Obama Jr. Those of you who are interested in January we organized a Buddhist Sect called the "Proud Black Buddhist World Association. We include Black Buddhist history and culture in our practice. Learn more at: http://www.proudblackbuddhist.org/

Tina Turner - Nam Myoho Renge Kyo 

(2HR Buddhist Mantra) 

 

Tina Turner - Lotus Sutra / Purity of Mind 

(2HR Meditation)

 

 TINA Turner Blog - YouTube The meaning of the Lotus Sutra is 'I devote my life to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra'. It is the royal sutra of Nichiren Buddhism in Japan (1253). Coming from India to China and then to Japan, the prayer was translated from the Sanskrit word ‘Saddharma-pundarikasutra » first into classical Chinese as ‘Miao-fa Lien-hua Ching’ and then into an ancient form of Japanese as ‘Myoho Renge Kyo’. The word 'Nam' derives from the Sanskrit ‘names’ and means ‘devotion’. It is placed before the name of all deities when worshipping them. ‘Myo’ is the name given to the mystic nature of life and ‘Ho’ to its manifestation. ‘Renge’ means lotus flower. The beautiful and undefiled Lotus blooms in a muddy swamp with all the obstacles against it. It symbolizes the emergence of our Buddha nature from the everyday problems and desires of ordinary life. ‘Renge’ stands also for the simultaneity of cause and effect, because the lotus puts forth its flower and seedpod at the same time. ‘Kyo’ literally means sutra, the voice, and the teaching of the Buddha. It also means sound rhythm or vibration and therefore it might be interpreted to indicate the practice of chanting. Since everything in the universe is connected through sound waves, ‘Kyo » refers to the life activity of universal phenomena and indicates that everything is a manifestation of the Mystic Law. ‘Myoho-Renge-Kyo’ is the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra. An explanation can help you understand, but the Sutra can only be fully appreciated through chanting it. TINA: ‘However you must do it, to truly understand. When you say ‘Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo’ it will slowly remove all of the bad decisions you have ever made. The more you repeat the words the more you make your life clearer. The more you chant it the closer you get to your true nature. Your true nature is the right way of thinking and the right way of acting. The longer you go on this path, the more you avoid making wrong decisions. The Lotus Sutra helps me in my daily life. It is indeed mystical! And my life has proven this!’

  

Tina Turner - Sarvesham Svastir Bhavatu (Peace Mantra) 

4MIN

Beyond: Spiritual Message By Tina Turner BUDDHIST, CHRISTIAN PRAYERS 

7 MIN

 

Tina Turner - Queen Of Mantras - FanCut (2020) 20MIN

 

Tina Turner dies at age 83 | full coverage 

CBS NEWS  24MIN

Tina Turner, the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" best known for her hits including "Proud Mary" and "What's Love Got to Do with It," has died, her spokesperson said Wednesday. She was 83.

Simply the best: Rock queen Tina Turner dies at 83

 24/05/2023 - 

Tina Turner, seen here in 1995, was hailed as a singular presence who blazed a trail over decades in the music business © Jacques DEMARTHON / AFP

Los Angeles (AFP) – Tina Turner, the trailblazing Black rocker whose powerful voice and imposing stage presence thrilled global audiences for decades, died Wednesday at the age of 83.

Tributes poured in from around the world, with some of music's biggest names lamenting the loss of a singular and instantly recognizable performer, whose popularity spanned generations.

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger -- who, legend has it, learned his dance moves from the diva, said the world had lost "an enormously talented performer and singer."

"She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her."

Bandmate Ronnie Wood called Turner "the Queen Of Rock And Soul and a dear friend."

Fans lined up to pay tribute at the wrought iron gates of her huge compound in Kusnacht, on Switzerland's Lake Zurich, many bearing candles and flowers.

Chateau Algonquin had been the home Turner shared with her German husband Erwin Bach for almost three decades, including when she took Swiss citizenship in 2013, and relinquished her US passport.

"The world has lost an icon," Swiss President Alain Berset said.

Back in the United States, President Joe Biden paid a pointed tribute to a "once-in-a-generation talent that changed American music forever."

"Tina's personal strength was remarkable," Biden wrote. "Overcoming adversity, and even abuse, she built a career for the ages and a life and legacy that were entirely hers, " he added, calling Turner "simply the best."

Turner's Britain-based publicist Bernard Doherty said her death came after a long illness, and had robbed the world of "a music legend and a role model."

He gave no details of the illness.

'The Best'

A career that would go on to net eight Grammy Awards began in the 1960s in a partnership with husband Ike Turner.

The pair recorded a number of hits together throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and while he was credited as being the brains behind the operation, she was always clearly the more talented.

After their troubled and violent marriage collapsed -- she fled in 1976 mid-tour -- Tina Turner forged a wildly successful solo career.

The following decades gifted the world instantly recognizable hits like "What's Love Got to Do With It?", "Private Dancer" and the anthemic "The Best".

A fan places flowers on Tina Turner's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

 © Patrick T. Fallon / AFP

Her "We Don't Need Another Hero" featured on the soundtrack to "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome," the 1985 post-apocalyptic thriller starring Mel Gibson.

A decade later she oozed her way through "Goldeneye," joining the select ranks of artists who have sung on the James Bond franchise.

Reaction to Turner's death came from across the worlds of music, entertainment and sport.

Fellow singer Gloria Gaynor took to Instagram to hail Turner's mold-breaking career, and how she "paved the way for so many women in rock music, black and white."

"She did with great dignity and success what very few would even have dared to do in her time and in that genre of music.

"She will be sorely missed."

Mariah Carey called Turner the embodiment of a legendary superstar. She was "an incredible performer, musician and trailblazer.

"To me, she will always be a survivor and an inspiration to women everywhere," she wrote.

Angela Bassett, who played the singer in the 1993 biopic "What's Love Got to Do With It" opposite Laurence Fishburne as Ike, paid emotional tribute to "a woman who owned her pain and trauma and used it as a means to help change the world."

"Tina Turner showed others who lived in fear what a beautiful future filled with love, compassion and freedom should look like," Bassett said.

Basketball legend Magic Johnson posted a picture with the songstress -- "one of my favorite artists of all time."

"I've seen her many many times and hands down, she gave one of the best live shows I've ever seen," he tweeted.

Actor Forest Whitaker praised Turner's "voice, her dancing, and her spirit."

But he also hailed her ability to bounce back, in a nod to the difficulty of escaping her troubled marriage to Ike.

"As we honor her, let's also reflect on her resilience, and think about all the greatness that can follow our darkest days."

Tina Turner: the raw power of rock and roll

Issued on: 24/05/2023 -

Tina Turner electrified audiences with her explosive stage presence 

© ED OUDENAARDEN / ANP/AFP/File

Washington (AFP) – Tina Turner, the growling songstress whose explosive presence left an indelible mark on 20th-century rock, electrified fans with five decades of hit records -- first with husband Ike Turner, then as a wildly successful solo act.

The Black eight-time Grammy winner, who has died at the age of 83, lit up the stage from the 1960s, and won a new generation of fans in a stunning comeback after escaping her violent marriage -- making her popular music's ultimate survivor.

Abandoned by her parents, she emerged from Tennessee's cotton fields to become the impassioned "Queen of Rock and Roll" who, according to music lore, taught Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger how to dance.

After snowballing into a global phenomenon, the singer of "Nutbush City Limits" and "The Best" lived her final years in Switzerland with husband Erwin Bach, a former record label executive who was her romantic partner for three decades before they tied the knot in 2013.

Her early career, originally as a soul and R&B siren, was a roller coaster for Turner, who admitted attempting suicide at the height of Ike's physical and emotional abuse.

Tina fled Ike in 1976, dashing across a highway to escape during a concert tour. Her divorce was finalized in 1978, and she was left with nothing but her stage name.

Tina Turner -- seen in Paris in 1987 at the height of her solo fame -- always dreamed of being a rock star, a dream fulfilled after she left her husband Ike 

© Bertrand GUAY / AFP/File

But the rock star dream still gnawed at her.

"How can I fill stadiums?" Turner wondered, in comments played during her 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.

"I wanted it. I wanted to do what Jagger and all the other guys at the time was doing."

Those dreams were fulfilled, and then some, when she struck crossover gold with her 1984 album "Private Dancer," whose Grammy-winning smash single "What's Love Got to Do With It" propelled her to superstardom at age 44.

Four years later, she set the record for largest paying attendance of a performance by a solo artist when her Rio concert crowd topped 180,000.

As a Black woman who embraced rock over 1950s doo-wop and 1960s Motown, Turner was a double outsider. But she wrote -- and then rewrote -- the rule book for women in the genre.

"A Black woman owning the stage all by herself: that's the dream right there," singer and rapper Lizzo said of Turner.

Singer Tina Turner (R) performs with Beyonce (L) at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 10, 2008 -- Beyonce called Turner 'fearless' © ROBYN BECK / AFP/File

Turner sold more than 100 million records worldwide, according to Billboard, and paved the way for bold performers like Janet Jackson, Madonna and Beyonce.

"I never in my life saw a woman so powerful, so fearless, so fabulous," Beyonce told Turner from the Kennedy Center stage in a 2005 Tina tribute. "And those legs!"

'Pain in your heart'

Anna Mae Bullock was born on November 26, 1939, in Brownsville, Tennessee.

Tina Turner was born in the southern US state of Tennessee, in a family of modest means © Jim WATSON / AFP/File

She and her sister grew up in a family of modest means but conditions worsened when they were abandoned by their father, and then their mother.

When the grandmother who helped raise them died, Anna Mae moved in with relatives in St. Louis, Missouri at age 16.

There she met Ike Turner, a guitarist and bandleader eight years her senior who had already tasted fame, having written and recorded what was arguably the first rock and roll record, "Rocket 88," in 1951.

She convinced Ike to let her sing with him.

When he scored a 1960 hit with her lead vocals on "A Fool in Love," he gave her the stage name Tina Turner, and the pair performed as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. By 1962, they were married.

From early on, Tina was the fiery, dominant presence, stealing the limelight with a blend of thick, textured vocals, haunting howls and mesmerizing dance moves.

The Turner oeuvre reflected their personal tensions: it included "I Idolize You," "It's Gonna Work Out Fine," and their most famous number, a 1970 cover of "Proud Mary," in which Tina purrs about starting the song "nice and easy," but finishing it "nice and rough."

Even as she exuded raw sexual power as a performer, her singing was tinged with a palpable vulnerability.

US singer Tina Turner -- seen here performing in 1996 in Paris -- orchestrated one of music's greatest comebacks after leaving her abusive husband Ike 

© DANIEL MORDZINSKI / AFP/File

"You sing with those emotions because you've had pain in your heart," Turner told Rolling Stone magazine in 1986.

After leaving Ike, she toiled in Las Vegas shows, released modestly selling solo records and toured heavily in Europe.

But with the success of 1984's "Private Dancer," her metamorphosis from manipulated co-star to resurrected rock goddess was complete.

The next year, she was onstage at Live Aid in Philadelphia for a memorable encounter with Jagger, who ripped off Turner's black leather miniskirt mid-performance, revealing her in fishnet stockings and a leotard.

Turner grinned and ran fingers through her lion's mane of hair.

"I know, it's only rock and roll but I like it!" she belted out.

She starred opposite Mel Gibson in a Hollywood blockbuster, "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome;" co-wrote a best-selling autobiography, "I, Tina;" and was the subject of a feature film, "What's Love Got To Do With It" starring Angela Bassett.

'A way out'

In the revealing 2021 HBO documentary "Tina," an uncomfortable reality emerges: her past trauma had become a focus for interviewers, with the star repeatedly asked to recount her life's worst moments.

Singer Tina Turner spent her later years with husband Edwin Bach in Switzerland © Bertrand GUAY / AFP/File

Turner, who had embraced Buddhism and saw it as "a way out" of her dangerous first marriage, pointed to the faith as a catalyst for rejuvenation and stability.

She often swatted away probing questions, once saying reliving the past was like a "curse."

But personal hardships were impossible to ignore, including the violence from Ike.

"He used my nose as a punching bag so many times that I could taste blood running down my throat when I sang," she wrote in her 2018 memoir, "My Love Story."

In life after Ike, her concerts became glitzy spectacles -- and she kept the high-octane rock flowing for decades.

A Wembley Stadium concert in 2000 saw a 60-year-old Turner holding nothing back, grinding across the stage in stiletto heels and her trademark leather miniskirt.

In 2008, she embarked on her Tina! - 50th Anniversary Tour, which grossed some $130 million.

In 2013, three months after marrying Bach and taking Swiss nationality, Turner relinquished her US citizenship.

The grande dame enjoyed her later years with Bach in their Zurich home and a vacation mansion near the French Riviera.

Tragedy struck in 2018 when Turner's eldest son Craig, from her pre-Ike union with saxophonist Raymond Hill, committed suicide at 59.

Ike Turner -- who died in 2007 -- and Tina had one child together, Ronnie, who died last year at 62 of complications from colon cancer.

At Tennessee museum, fans remember Tina Turner’s talent, strength, influence

Adrian Sainz

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Sherry and Tom Raggett speak with a reporter inside the Tina Turner Museum at Flagg Grove School at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Brownsville, Tenn. Turner attended Flagg Grove school as a child in nearby Nutbush. The school was moved to the center and opened as a museum in 2014. Turner's manager says she died Tuesday, May 23, 2023, after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)

BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Standing in a Tennessee museum, near exhibits of shimmering dresses worn by Tina Turner, Lisa Lyons wiped tears from her cheeks as she remembered the impact the singer and actress had on her life.

Lyons recalled watching Turner’s performance in the film “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” as Auntie Entity, the tyrannical leader of a post-apocalyptic civilization.

“She was fierce, and she was strong, and she was powerful, and that has stayed with me,” said Lyons, who, like Turner, is Black. “As a little girl of color who didn’t have that type of role model in real life, it has stuck with me all these years.”

Turner, 83, died Tuesday, after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, according to her manager. Her Grammy-winning singing career includes the hit songs “Nutbush City Limits,” “Proud Mary,” “What’s Love Got To Do With It” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” from “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.” Her film credits also include “Tommy” and “Last Action Hero.”

Lyons, 56, said she heard about Turner’s death on Wednesday and drove to the museum in Brownsville, west of Jackson, where Lyons lives.

When it comes to her musical legacy in a region known for its blues, rock and roll, R&B and soul music, Turner was the “cream of the crop,” Lyons said.

“She is the standard. She is the goal to aspire for,” Lyons said. “She did it and she did it well, and she did it on her own terms.”

The museum opened in 2014 inside the renovated Flagg Grove School at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Memphis. Turner attended school in the one-room building as a child growing up in nearby Nutbush, one of the small, rural towns that dot the farms and fields of West Tennessee.

The building was on farmland owned by Benjamin Flagg, who saw a need for a school for the area’s black children and began building it in 1889. The school is representative of the schoolhouses for African-American children that sprang up in the rural South after the Civil War.

The school closed in the 1960s and was used as a barn before the dilapidated building was moved by tractor-trailer from Nutbush to Brownsville.

Lisa Lyons, 56, poses for a photo inside the Tina Turner Museum at the Flagg Grove School at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Brownsville, Tenn. Turner, the unstoppable singer and stage performer who teamed with husband Ike Turner for a dynamic run of hit records and live shows in the 1960s and ‘70s and triumphed in middle age with the chart-topping "What's Love Got to Do With It," has died at 83. Turner died Tuesday, after a long illness in her home in Kuesnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, according to her manager. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)

The museum contains a setup of the classroom, including the original blackboard and wooden desks used by Turner and her fellow students. It also contains photos of Turner, and the Armani, Versace and Bob Mackie dresses Turner wore on stage during the energetic performances for which she was known.

On Wednesday, Turner fans went to the museum to pay their respects. Some of them had already planned to visit before news of Turner’s death broke, while others made a special trip after they found out.

Sherry Raggett and her husband, Tom, had already planned to visit the center as the final stop of a museum tour that took them from their home in the Memphis suburb of Collierville to a few places in Kentucky and Nashville, then back to west Tennessee.

Sherry Raggett called Turner “a wonderful person” and praised her for “her strong influence on women and how they can overcome so many things.”

“I grew up listening to her, and she was a fantastic entertainer,” Tom Raggett said. “I loved every minute watching her.”

The heritage center’s director, Sonia Outlaw-Clark, said she met Turner in 2019 in New York during the opening of “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.”

“It was such an honor to be in her presence, but it was also such a feeling of ease,” Outlaw-Clark said. “Even though she was an international icon, a superstar, I still felt that she was a hometown girl. It was like meeting a neighbor.”

Outlaw-Clark said the center was hoping to honor Turner this weekend during its annual Exit 56 Blues Fest and during another event in September that takes place on the anniversary of the museum’s opening.

THEY DO NOT PROTECT WOMEN

Alabama lawmakers attempt to define ‘what is a woman’

today

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Wednesday advanced legislation that would define who is recognized as female and male under state law.

The House Health Committee voted along party lines to approve the “What is a Woman Act” and send the legislation to the full House of Representatives. The bill is similar to measures introduced in several GOP-controlled states and would base the definitions off a person’s reproductive systems.

Republican Rep. Susan Dubose, the bill’s sponsor, argued the definitions are needed to protect “women’s spaces” such as dorm rooms. She said the words male and female appear frequently in law without being defined.

“Activists have sought to redefine these words and separate sex from biology,” Dubose said when she introduced the bill last week.

The bill defines a female and woman as an “individual whose biological reproductive system is designed to produce ova” and a male and man as an “individual whose biological reproductive system is designed to fertilize the ova of a female.” The bill states that it is important to “distinguish between the sexes with respect to athletics, prisons or other detention facilities, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, locker rooms, bathrooms” and other areas.

The bill drew heavy opposition during a public hearing last week where several transgender women called the bill an attack on their assistance.

Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey, Alabama state director Human Rights Campaign, in a statement Wednesday called the bill the “LGBTQ+ Erasure Act” that “aims to strip away dozens of legal protections and rights for LGBTQ+ Alabamians.”

“LGBTQ+ people have spent decades fighting to be equal members of society, but this bill is a slap in the face to all of the progress we’ve made,” said Anderson-Harvey, who is also a trans woman.

South Korea experts say Japan carefully answered questions on plan to release radioactive water

ByMari Yamaguchi

yesterday

Yoo Guk-hee, Chairperson of South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Committee arrives at the foreign ministry in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, May 22, 2023. A South Korean team of government experts has begun a two-day tour at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Tuesday to have a first-hand look of a controversial Japanese plan to release into sea treated by slightly radioactive wastewater.

 (Kyodo News via AP)

TOKYO (AP) — The head of a South Korean team of experts said Wednesday they saw all of the facilities they had requested to visit at Japan’s tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant and Japanese officials had carefully answered their questions about a contentious plan to release treated but still slightly radioactive water into the sea, a sign of a further thawing of ties between the countries.

During their two-day visit, which was closed to the media, officials from the Japanese government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, showed the 21-member delegation facilities related to treatment, safety checks, transport and dilution of the waste water.

The plan has faced fierce protests from local fishing communities concerned about safety and reputational damage. Neighboring countries, including South Korea, China and Pacific Island nations, have also raised safety concerns.

The water release has particularly been a sensitive issue between Tokyo and Seoul, which are now repairing long-strained ties to address bigger challenges such as security threats from China and North Korea.

“We saw every necessary facility that was included in the initial plan,” said Yoo Guk-hee, the chairperson of South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission who heads the delegation. His government has studied the water release plan since August 2021 and submitted a list of facilities it wanted to see, he said.

The delegation also received data showing levels of radioactivity of the water before and after treatment which they still need to analyze and confirm, Yoo told reporters. He did not give his evaluation of the water release plan.

His team will hold talks with Japanese officials in Tokyo on Thursday before returning home Friday.

Japanese officials say the water will be treated to legally releasable levels and further diluted with large amounts of seawater. It will be gradually released into the ocean over decades through an undersea tunnel, making it harmless to people and marine life, they say.

Some scientists say the impact of long-term, low-dose exposures to radionuclides is unknown and the release should be delayed.

Historical disputes have strained ties between Tokyo and Seoul but their relationship has thawed rapidly in recent months as the two U.S. allies, under Washington’s pressure, share a sense of urgency to mend ties amid growing regional security threats.

A massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt, releasing large amounts of radiation. Water used to cool the reactor cores accumulated in about 1,000 tanks at the plant which will reach their capacity in early 2024.

Japanese officials say the water stored in the tanks needs to be removed to prevent accidental leaks in case of another disaster and to make room for the plant’s decommissioning.

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AP video journalist Yong Jun Chang in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

What makes a storm a typhoon? 

What’s a super typhoon?

ByThe Associated Press

today

This Himawari-9 infrared satellite image taken at 2 p.m. EDT and provided by NOAA shows Typhoon Mawar passing over the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, Wednesday, May 24, 2023. (NOAA via AP)

Typhoon Mawar was a Category 4 super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph) or greater when it crossed the northern tip of Guam on Wednesday night. It was the strongest typhoon to hit the U.S. Pacific territory since 2002.

A few commonly used weather terms and their definitions, which rely on material from the National Weather Service:

atmospheric river — Long and wide plumes of moisture that form over an ocean and flow through the sky over land.

blizzard — Wind speeds of 35 mph (56 kph) or more and considerable falling and/or blowing of snow with visibility of less than one-quarter mile (0.40 kilometer) for three or more hours.

cyclone — A storm in which strong winds rotate around a moving center of low atmospheric pressure. Depending on their size and location, cyclonic storms can be called tornadoes, waterspouts, typhoons or hurricanes.

derecho — A widespread and usually fast-moving straight-line windstorm. It is usually more than hundreds of miles long and more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) across.

El Nino, La Nina — El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that starts with unusually warm water in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific and then changes weather worldwide. The flip side of El Nino is La Nina. It is an occasional but natural cooling of the equatorial Pacific that also changes weather worldwide.

hurricane or typhoon — A warm-core tropical cyclone in which the minimum sustained winds are 74 mph (119 kph) or more. Hurricanes are spawned east of the international date line. Typhoons develop west of the line. They are known as cyclones in the Indian Ocean and Australia.

microburst — Occurs when a mass of cooled air rushes downward out of a thunderstorm, hits the ground and rushes outward in all directions.

polar vortex — Usually refers to the gigantic circular upper air weather pattern in the Arctic region, enveloping the North Pole (but it can apply to the South Pole, too). It is a normal pattern that is stronger in the winter and keeps some of the coldest weather bottled up near the North Pole. The jet stream usually pens the polar vortex in and keeps it north. But at times some of the vortex can break off or move south, bringing unusually cold weather south and permitting warmer weather to creep up north.

snow squall — An intense but short-lived period of moderate to heavy snowfall, with strong winds and possible lightning.

storm surge — An abnormal rise of water above the normal tide, generated by a storm.

super typhoon — A typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph) or stronger. Some places in Asia have lower wind thresholds.

tornado — A violent rotating column of air forming a pendant, usually from a cumulonimbus cloud, and touching the ground. On a local scale, it is the most destructive of all atmospheric phenomena. Tornadoes can appear from any direction, but in the U.S. most move from southwest to northeast. Measured on F-scale from EF0 to EF5, which considers 28 different types of damage to structures and trees. An EF2 or higher is considered a significant tornado.

tornado warning — National Weather Service issues to warn public of existing tornado.

tornado watch — Alerts public to possibility of tornado forming.

tropical depression — A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind is 38 mph (61 kph) or less.

tropical storm — A warm-core tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface winds range from 39 mph (63 kph) to 73 mph (117 kph).

nor’easter — The term used by the National Weather Service for storms that either exit or move north along the East Coast, producing winds blowing from the northeast.

waterspout — A tornado over water.

wind chill factor — A calculation that describes the combined effect of the wind and cold temperatures on exposed skin.

wind shear — A sudden shift in wind direction and/or speed.

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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.

Brazil builds ‘rings of carbon dioxide’ to simulate climate change in the Amazon

Fabiano Maisonnave

AP

yesterday

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In the depths of the Amazon, Brazil is building an otherworldly structure — a complex of towers arrayed in six rings, poised to spray mists of carbon dioxide into the rainforest. But the reason is utterly terrestrial: to understand how the world’s largest tropical forest responds to climate change.

Dubbed AmazonFACE, the project will probe the forest’s remarkable ability to sequester carbon dioxide — an essential piece in the puzzle of world climate change. This will help scientists understand whether the region has a tipping point that could throw it into a state of irreversible decline. Such a feared event, also known as the Amazon forest dieback, would transform the world’s most biodiverse forest into a drier savannah-like landscape.

FACE stands for Free Air CO2 Enrichment. This technology first developed by Brookhaven National Laboratory, located near New York City, has the ability to modify the surrounding environment of growing plants in a way that replicates future levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.

“Plants absorb carbon dioxide along with water and light to produce sugars and release oxygen. What happens when one increases this input? We don’t know,” David Lapola, one of the leading scientists of the project, told The Associated Press. “We have evidence from similar experiments in temperate forests, but there is no guarantee that the behavior will be the same here in the Amazon.”

Workers appear on a tower that will be part of a complex of towers arrayed in six rings to spray carbon dioxide into the rainforest north of Manaus, Brazil, on Tuesday, May 23, 2023.

 (AP Photo/Fernando Crispim)

Lapola, a professor at the State University of Campinas, argues that the tipping point of the Amazon rainforest is more likely tied to climate change rather than the rate of deforestation. Thus, it is crucial to study the impact of higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the forest to understand what lies ahead.

This perspective challenges the widely quoted study by Earth system scientist Carlos Nobre. According to Nobre, if deforestation reaches a critical threshold of 20% to 25% across the Amazon, the balance of the region’s rainfall system will be disrupted, leading to the transformation of the lush rainforest into a savannah.

“Even if we halted deforestation in the Amazon basin today, the forest would still be at risk of experiencing the consequences of a tipping point due to climate change,” Lapola said. “While stopping deforestation remains our primary responsibility, combating the climate change driven by atmospheric factors is not something that Brazil or other Amazonian countries can address alone.”

The construction of the initial two rings is underway and they are expected to be operational by early August. Each ring will consist of 16 aluminum towers as high as a 12-story building. The carbon dioxide will be supplied by three companies to avoid any shortage.

Situated 70 km (44 miles) north of Manaus, the project is led by the National Institute for Amazon Research, a federal institution, with financial support from the British government, which has pledged $9 million. It should be fully operational by mid-2024.

Luciana Gatti, an atmospheric chemist, praised the initiative and said it would be highly beneficial to replicate the project in the four quadrants of the Amazon, as the carbon absorption capacity varies significantly across the region, which is twice the size of India.

Gatti, who is not directly involved with AmazonFACE, coauthored a landmark study published in the journal Nature, which revealed that the eastern Amazon has ceased to function as a carbon sink, or absorber for the Earth and has transitioned into a carbon source.

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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.

Once a whaling port, New Bedford wants to light the world again, with wind

By Jennifer Mcdermott  

AP

today

1 of 12
The ship UHL Felicity, carrying massive parts for offshore wind turbines, arrives to dock Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in New Bedford, Mass. Once assembled by developer Vineyard Wind, the turbines at sea will stand more than 850 feet high.

(AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — New Bedford was once the city that lit the world, exporting vast quantities of whale oil for lamps in the early 1800s. Workers packed the docks, unloading casks of oil that had been extracted at sea from whale carcasses and brought in by a fleet of hundreds of whaling ships.

Nearly two centuries later New Bedford aspires to light the world again, in a different relationship with the sea, as the offshore wind industry arrives here.

On Wednesday, the vessel UHL Felicity bringing wind turbine tower sections from Portugal reached the Port of New Bedford. Once assembled out on the water this summer by developer Vineyard Wind, the turbines will stand more than 850 feet high.

“There’s this sort of poetic coming-about for New Bedford as a center of energy,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said.

It’s also a milestone for the industry. The United States does not yet have a single commercial-scale offshore wind farm. But it will soon.


New Bedford to build first US offshore wind farm
A vessel carrying wind turbine tower sections reached the Port of New Bedford on Wednesday. Once assembled out on the water this summer by developer Vineyard Wind, the turbines will become the first US commercial-scale offshore wind farm. 

(AP Video by Rodrique Ngowi. Produced by Teresa de Miguel)

THE BUILDOUT

Vineyard Wind is building a 62-turbine wind farm 15 miles (24 kilometers) off the Massachusetts coast. It’s expected to put out 800 megawatts, enough electricity to power more than 400,000 homes, beginning this year. The first U.S. offshore wind farm opened off Rhode Island’s Block Island in late 2016. But with five turbines, it’s not commercial scale.


Another project, South Fork Wind, is scheduled to start construction this summer off the coasts of New York and Rhode Island. Since it’s smaller than Vineyard Wind, it will likely be the first U.S. commercial-scale wind farm to open.
READ MORE:– Now hiring: US offshore wind ramps up, workers taught safety

The United States is decades behind Europe, where the world’s first offshore wind farm was erected in 1991. The first U.S. wind farm was supposed to be a project off the coast of Massachusetts known as Cape Wind, but it failed after years of litigation and local opposition.

The ship UHL Felicity carrying wind turbine tower sections passes the hurricane barrier, Wednesday, May 24, 2023, to dock in New Bedford, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Skoust Moeller said New Bedford is the cradle of large-scale offshore wind in the United States, and this wind farm sets the stage for the next project, and the next, and the next.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing that first turbine out there in the sunlight,” he said. “For me, that’s a moment of many things coming together.”

The Biden administration wants to build 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. That would be enough to power more than 10 million homes.

The activity is bringing jobs and opportunities for businesses across the country. Developers are investing in multi-million dollar projects to upgrade ports along the East Coast, including New Bedford, New London, Connecticut, Brooklyn, New York and Portsmouth, Virginia. They’re planning to invest in ports along the West Coast and on the Gulf Coast as wind farms are approved there.

Billions of dollars will be spent inland too, at shipyards that are building a fleet of specialized vessels to erect and maintain wind farms, according to the American Clean Power Association.

New Bedford saw it coming. Necessity had the city looking for a way forward.

The ship UHL Felicity, carrying massive parts for offshore wind turbines, arrives to dock Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in New Bedford, Mass. 

(AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)

NEW BEDFORD’S NEXT ACT

New Bedford, now a city of about 100,000, is not part of a major metropolitan area. Like similarly situated cities, Mitchell said, they had to figure out how to make their way at a time when the spoils of the American economy are going to the big, superstar cities. The town Herman Melville immortalized in “Moby-Dick” remains a top port for commercial fishing and seafood processing, but the city’s economy can’t depend on just that, he said.

Industrial cities have been burdened with the stigma of being gritty and failing and struggling, Mitchell said. “We eschew all those victimhood labels. So to become a leader in offshore wind, to compete successfully for investment and to grow, it was really an opportunity for us, for our residents, to see our city in a different way, for the rest of the world to see our city in a different way.”

So New Bedford opened the first U.S. port facility specifically designed for offshore wind, in 2015, to become a hub for the industry as it came to the United States, recognizing its promise. Today, Vineyard Wind leases that marine terminal.

Now construction is happening all around the port of New Bedford, more than at any time since the start of the whaling industry, Mitchell said.

Bristol Community College is planning to open a National Offshore Wind Institute in New Bedford late this summer to train and certify workers.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, left, and Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Skoust Moeller shake hands in front of the ship UHL Felicity, which docked in New Bedford Harbor, Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Bedford, Mass.

 (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

A NEXT ACT FOR PEOPLE, TOO

Ed Gilhouse, a 60-year-old construction safety expert, was at the terminal overseeing the preparations for the ship arrivals. He said he went to work for Vineyard Wind to try something new as his career winds down. It also keeps him close to home. He had been commuting out-of-state to work.

“This is just like a cherry on top for me, so to speak, to be able to do this, to take offshore wind to the next level,” he said. “This is the future.”

Before the turbine tower sections arrived, Moeller invited local business and community leaders to the terminal to share their plans for the weeks ahead.

The ship UHL Felicity, carrying massive parts for offshore wind turbines, is docked Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in New Bedford, Mass. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)

New Bedford native Bernadette Souza went because she wants to be able to tell local students what’s happening here. Souza is the executive director of Youth Opportunities Unlimited, which takes students on bike rides along New Bedford’s scenic South End peninsula to introduce them to their everyday surroundings. One of their favorite destinations overlooks the marine terminal.

“They’re looking over and they have so many questions,” she said. “I want to get them excited. I love my city. I want to give these kids that opportunity, to say, ‘I know about wind. That’s where I’m from.’”

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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.

Target on the defensive after removing LGBTQ+-themed products

ByDee-Ann DurbinandAnne D Innocenzio

AP

today

1 of 13
Pride month merchandise is displayed at a Target store Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers. 

THAT'S WHY THEY HAVE SECURITY

(AP Photo/George Walker IV)

NEW YORK (AP) — Target once distinguished itself as being boldly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.

Now that status is tarnished after it removed some LGBTQ+-themed products and relocated Pride Month displays to the back of stores in certain Southern locations in response to online complaints and in-store confrontations that it says threatened employees’ well-being.

RELATED STORIES– Target becomes latest company to suffer backlash for LGBTQ+ support, pulls some Pride month clothing

Target faces a second backlash from customers upset by the discount retailer’s reaction to aggressive, anti-LGBTQ+ activism, which has also been sweeping through Republican state legislatures. Civil rights groups chided the company on Wednesday for caving to anti-LGBTQ+ customers who tipped over displays and expressed outrage over gender-fluid bathing suits.

“Target should put the products back on the shelves and ensure their Pride displays are visible on the floors, not pushed into the proverbial closet,” Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said in a statement. “That’s what the bullies want.”

The uproar over Target’s Pride Month marketing — and its response to critics — is just the latest example of how companies are struggling to cater to different groups of customers at a time of extreme cultural divides, particularly around transgender rights.

Bud Light is still dealing with the fallout from its attempt to broaden its customer base by sending transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney a beer can with her face on it, which Mulvaney then displayed in an Instagram post, igniting the backlash. Bud Light’s parent company is tripling its U.S. marketing spending this summer as it tries to restore lost sales.

In Florida, Disney has been engaged in a legal battle with Gov. Ron DeSantis since expressing opposition to the state’s classroom limits on discussing gender identity and sexual orientation.

Allen Adamson, the co-founder and managing partner of the marketing firm Metaforce, said Target should have thought through the potential for backlash and taken steps to avoid it, like varying the products it sells by region.

“The country is far less homogenous than it ever was,” he said. “For any brand, it’s not ‘one size fits all’ anymore.”

Shares of Target, which is based in Minneapolis, fell nearly 3% on Wednesday.

According to a 2021 Gallup poll, 21% of people in Generation Z identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, compared with 3% of Baby Boomers. Gallup has also found that younger consumers are most likely to want brands to promote diversity and take a stand on social issues.

“Pulling back is the worst thing that they could have done,” said Jake Bjorseth, who runs trndsttrs, an agency helping brands understand and reach Gen Z customers. “Not to expect potential backlash is to not understand what (LGBTQ+) members go through on a daily basis.”

“Once they fold to the more extreme edges of the issue, then they’ve lost their footing,” Adamson added. “If you can change a big brand just by knocking over a display, then they are on the defense, and you never win on the defense.”

Target has long been seen as a trailblazer among retailers in the way it embraced LGBTQ+ rights and customers. It was among the first to showcase themed merchandise to honor Pride Month, which takes place in June, and it has been out front in developing relationships with LGBTQ+ suppliers.

It has also faced backlash. In 2016, when a national debate exploded over transgender rights, the company declared that “inclusivity is a core belief at Target” and said it supported transgender employees and customers using whichever restroom or fitting room “corresponds with their gender identity.”

But even after being threatened with boycotts by some customers, Target announced months later that more stores would make available a single-toilet bathroom with a door that could be locked.

As recently as last year, law enforcement agencies were brought in to monitor a social media threat from a young Arizona man who said he was “leading the war” against Target for its Pride Month merchandise, and he encouraged others to take action.

But the company is operating in an even more politicized environment now.

There are close to 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have gone before state legislatures since the start of this year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. At least 17 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, though judges have temporarily blocked their enforcement in some states.

Target declined on Wednesday to say which items were being pulled. But “tuck friendly” women’s swimsuits, which allow trans women who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal their private parts, were among Target’s Pride items that garnered the most attention. Designs by Abprallen, a London-based company that designs and sells occult- and satanic-themed LGBTQ+ clothing and accessories, have also created backlash.

The controversy at Target has been exacerbated by several misleading videos circulating online. In some, people falsely claimed the retailer was selling “tuck-friendly” bathing suits for kids.

”Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior,” Target said in a statement Tuesday.

The company pledged its continued support for the LGBTQ+ community and noted it is “standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year.”

Indeed, it was business as usual at many Target locations on Wednesday.

At the Target in Topeka, Kansas, the Pride display remained up front, visible as shoppers passed a corral of shopping carts right after the entrance. It included Pride-themed clothing for kids, as well as T-shirts and women’s bathing suits for adults.

“I like that our local stores here have it front and center, when you walk in,” said Shay Hibler, a Topeka self-employed small business owner who was shopping with her 13-year-old daughter and supports LGBTQ+ rights.

Megan Rusch, a Kansas City-area resident who is studying criminal justice at Washburn University in Topeka, was shopping at the same store and said while other locations might worry about their image, “This is a pretty diverse area.”

She said she believes it’s good for the stores to have the Pride displays so that LGBTQ+ customers feel included.

Her shopping companion, Blake Ferguson, a Colorado resident who is studying accounting and finance student at Ottawa University, added simply: “Love is love.”

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Durbin contributed from Detroit. AP Writer John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas contributed to this report.

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Why is Target pulling some Pride merch? The retailer’s response to hostile backlash, explained

By Associated Press

yesterday

Pride month merchandise is displayed at the front of a Target store in Hackensack, N.J., Wednesday, May 24, 2023. Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

WASHINGTON (AP) — After intense backlash from some shoppers, Target is removing certain items and making other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month.

In confirming the changes to this year’s Pride collection, which has been on sale since early May, the Minneapolis retailer cited safety concerns for employees that have been targeted by hostile customers.

“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and wellbeing while at work,” Target said Tuesday in a written statement. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans.”

The confrontations in Target stores are taking place as state legislatures introduce a record number of bills targeting LGBTQ+ individuals across the country. Some advocacy groups have criticized Target’s response — calling on the retailer to not back down to hate-filled backlash and reaffirm its support with the LGBTQ+ community.

Here are some things to know about the controversy surrounding the Target Pride collection and the company’s response.

DID TARGET PULL ITS PRIDE COLLECTION?

Target did not pull its entire Pride collection, but it has removed certain items ahead of Pride month.

The chain also made other changes to the selling of its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide, with Target confirming that it moved its Pride merchandise from the front of the stores to the back in some Southern locations after confrontations from shoppers in the region.

WHY IS TARGET PULLING PRIDE PRODUCTS? AND WHICH ONES?

Target said it’s pulling certain items from the Pride collection due to intense and threatening backlash from some customers — which has impacted employees’ sense of safety, the company said. Target said that customers knocked down Pride displays at some stores, angrily approached workers and posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores.

The retailer added that it would be “removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.” Target declined to further specify which products would be impacted.

“Tuck friendly” women’s swimsuits, which allow trans women who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal their private parts, were among Target’s Pride items that garnered the most attention. There are bogus claims on social media platforms that the swimsuits were being sold in the children’s department. Designs by Abprallen, a London-based company that designs and sells occult- and satanic-themed LGBTQ+ clothing and accessories, have also created backlash.

WHAT STARTED THE CONTROVERSY AROUND TARGET’S PRIDE COLLECTION?

The controversy gained traction online last week as conservative media attacked Target’s Pride month collection — which has also been the subject of several misleading videos in recent weeks that falsely claimed the retailer is selling “tuck-friendly” bathing suits designed for kids. The backlash also spilled over into physical stores.

Target and other retailers have been expanding their LGBTQ+ displays to celebrate Pride month in June for roughly a decade. Today’s confrontations in Target stores arrive amid a surge of legislation targeting LGBTQ+ people across the nation.

There are close to 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have gone before state legislatures since the start of this year, an unprecedented number, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Those efforts focus on health, particularly gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, and education. State legislatures are also pushing to prevent discussions in school regarding sexuality and gender identity.

WHAT HAS BEEN TARGET’S RESPONSE?

In addition to deciding to remove some of its items amid other adjustments to the selling of its Pride collection, Target said that the company’s focus is now “on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year.”

Some activists and advocacy groups, however, have criticized Target’s response — calling on the retailer to reaffirm its support with the LGBTQ+ community.

“Target should put the products back on the shelves and ensure their Pride displays are visible on the floors, not pushed into the proverbial closet. That’s what the bullies want. Target must be better,” stated Kelley Robinson, president of The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights group in the U.S.

“Extremist groups and individuals work to divide us and ultimately don’t just want rainbow products to disappear, they want us to disappear,” Robinson added. “For the past decade, the LGBTQ+ community has celebrated Pride with Target — it’s time that Target stands with us and doubles-down on their commitment to us.”