Saturday, July 22, 2023

Subseasonal transition of sea-ice anomalies in the Barents–Kara Sea in winter modulated by the “warm Arctic–cold Eurasia” pattern


Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

The Arctic warming and sea ice melting 

IMAGE: THE ARCTIC WARMING AND SEA ICE MELTING view more 

CREDIT: JEAN-CHRISTOPHE ANDRE



The “warm Arcticcold Eurasia” is one of the most significant patterns of winter climate system changes in the mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. In winter 2020/21, this large-scale pattern underwent a significant and intense subseasonal reversal between the early and late winter. At the same time, the sea-ice anomalies in the Barents–Kara Sea changed from being significantly negative in early winter to positive in late winter. For the slow-varying process of winter sea ice, the rapid freezing or melting of sea ice in winter is worthy of attention.

 

New findings from the team of Professor Zhicong Yin at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology reveal the close relationship between, and key mechanism of, the subseasonal variation of Barents–Kara sea-ice anomalies in winter and the “warm Arctic–cold Eurasia” pattern. Furthermore, a more comprehensive schematic of the subseasonal reversal of the air–ice system in the Arctic–Eurasia region was depicted, which together contribute to a better understanding and predictability of extreme climate at mid-low latitudes.

 

WACE [the “warm Arctic–cold Eurasia” pattern] is a phenomenon whereby the large-scale temperature gradient weakens, which can lead to an adjustment of atmospheric baroclinicity. Driven by such remarkable high-latitude atmospheric pattern reversals, an associated subseasonal transition of the sea-ice anomaly also occurs in the BKS [Barents–Kara Sea]. Under a warm Arctic and enhanced Ural high, abnormal downward turbulent heat flux and increased downward infrared radiation in the BKS are conducive to sea ice melting. The surface southerly wind drives the sea ice to drift from the thin to perennial ice area and further enlarges the open ocean surface. The opposite mechanism occurs in the opposite phase of WACE, causing positive BKS sea-ice anomalies. When WACE reverses on the subseasonal scale, the above mechanisms occur in early and late winter, respectively, resulting in a significant subseasonal transition of BKS sea-ice anomalies.

 

More importantly, in the last decade, with a more frequent reversal of WACE, the subseasonal transition between early winter and late winter in BKS sea ice has enhanced. WACE and the BKS sea ice show consistent trend changes and correspond to the intensity of subseasonal variation. In the context of global warming, the trend changes of “Arctic warming–Eurasian cooling” and Arctic sea ice are still uncertain, whose prediction faces huge challenges. Whether subseasonal variation in BKS sea ice will continue to be as strong as that shown in the last decade under different warming scenarios in the future is worthy of further investigation, thus revealing the role of global warming in extreme events.

The Privatization of Water Is a Scam
07.22.2023

British water companies have loaded up with debt while pumping sewage into waterways, raising bills and delivering huge profits to shareholders. This can only end by the government taking water back from these corporations.

An aerial view shows the Thames Water Long Reach water treatment facility on the banks of the Thames estuary in Dartford, east of London, on March 3, 2023. (Ben Stansall / AFP via Getty Images)

The neoliberal obsession with privatizing essential industries and services is haunting the UK. Profiteering by gas, oil, railways, mail, and other entities is the root cause of the current high inflation and misery for millions. The water industry has been hoisted by its own profiteering, and Thames Water, England’s largest water and sewage business, is teetering on the edge.

The seeds of destruction were sown by the 1989 privatization. The government sold water entities in England and Wales for a meagre £6.1 billion. In the absence of parallel water and sewage pipes, competition isn’t possible, and companies have captive customers.

The industry has adopted the classic private equity business model. Its key elements are high prices, low investment, and financial engineering to extract high returns. Instead of shareholders making long-term investment through equity, the business model uses debt because interest payments qualify for tax relief — effectively a public subsidy. This reduces the cost of capital and increases returns to shareholders, but also increases vulnerability to interest rate hikes.
Minimum Investment, Maximum Profits

Since 1989, water charges have increased by 40 percent in real terms. Companies seem to have a profit margin of 38 percent, a very high percentage for a no-competition, low-risk business whose raw material virtually falls out of thin air.

Some 2.4 billion liters of water are lost every day to leaks due to poor infrastructure. Despite the population growing by nearly ten million, no new reservoirs have been built. Water companies are required to provide clean water but have actually increased contamination by dumping sewage into rivers. Unplugged leaks and sewage dumping increase profits, dividends, and performance-related executive pay.

A report from the House of Lords estimated that the industry needs between £240 billion and £260 billion of new investment by 2050, compared to £56 billion suggested by the government. However, the industry has been focused on cash extraction. It has paid out £72 billion in dividends since privatization and is expected to pay another £15 billion by 2030. It has debts of around £60 billion. Of each £1 paid to the industry, 38p is earmarked as profit. Out of this 20p services debt, 15p is taken by dividends and 3p for things such as tax.

The focus on investment and efficiency has been low. The industry assumed that it could carry on borrowing at low cost forever. Household bills are inflated to cover the cost of borrowing, which would not be necessary if the regulator, the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat), had insisted on prudent practices.

There is the usual story of regulatory capture or at least cognitive alignment. Around two-thirds of England’s biggest water companies employ key executives who previously worked at Ofwat. Six of England’s nine water and sewerage companies have hired directors of corporate strategy or heads of regulation who previously worked at Ofwat.

For years, red flags have been publicly raised about financial engineering at water companies. In 2018, Ofwat suggested that “gearing” or the debt ratio at water companies should not exceed 60 percent (there is a complex calculation), but companies have resisted that.

Years of regulatory indulgence have been given visibility by the crisis at Thames Water. Thames loses around 630 million liters of water a day in leaks and routinely dumps tons of raw sewage in rivers. Since 2010, it has been sanctioned ninety-two times for failures and has been fined £163 million. Over the last three years, the salary of its recently resigned chief executive doubled.

Since privatization, it has paid £7.2 billion in dividends and has debts of £14.3 billion secured against £17.9 billion of regulated operating assets. In common with other water companies, it has used index-linked bonds for its borrowing, meaning that interest payments rise as general rates of interest increase.

Thames is partly owned by state entities from China and Abu Dhabi, and Ofwat seems to have had no success in securing prudent conduct from its foreign shareholders. Thames Water has a debt ratio of around 80 percent, against the Ofwat recommendation of 60 percent. Auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers routinely gave the company a clean bill of health even though it lacked financial resilience. As the Bank of England increased interest rates, Thames found that it could not make the minimalist required investment and service its debt.

The distress at Thames Water is due to the failure of privatization, profiteering, financial engineering, and customer exploitation. Auditors have been silent. The City of London didn’t care much, and Ofwat has done little to check predatory practices. Interestingly, Cathryn Ross, the current joint chief executive of Thames, is a former head of Ofwat. Its director of regulatory policy and investigations and director of regulatory strategy and innovation are also former Ofwat executives.
Ending the Scandal

There is public clamor for the renationalization of water. However, the Conservative government is unlikely to do that. In 2020, during his campaign to become leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer promised to bring the water industry into public ownership but has since reneged. Leaked emails suggest that Labour leadership and water companies have secretly been discussing the possibility of forming “social purpose” companies that would stay in private hands but give greater weight to the needs of customers, staff, and the environment.

Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 requires company directors to have regard for the interests of “employees,” ‘‘customers,” and “the community and the environment” in making decisions. Water company directors have shown little regard for that duty. The woolly concept of “social purpose” is unlikely to curb rapacious practices.

The toxic influence of shareholders and the dash for maximum returns needs to be checked by public ownership and customer empowerment. Water company shares would be practically worthless if environmental and customer protection standards were to be rigorously enforced. In the event of default, secured creditors are unlikely to get much, and the government can buy the assets cheaply. The cost can be funded by issuing public bonds to local people with the inducement that in addition to interest payments, bondholders will get discounts on their water bills. In addition, customers should be empowered to vote on executive pay. That will ensure that executives face public scrutiny and will not be rewarded for abusive practices.


CONTRIBUTOR
Prem Sikka is an emeritus professor of accounting at the University of Essex and the University of Sheffield, a Labour member of the House of Lords, and a contributing editor at Left Food Forward.


P3 PUBLIC PENSIONS FUND PRIVATIZATION
OMERS THE ONTARIO MUNICIPAL EMPOYEES PENSION FUND OWNS 30% OF THAMES WATER 
The surge of labor strikes as workers demand fairness and change

Why we're seeing a rise in labor strikes and worker solidarity.


Photo by: Brynn Anderson / AP

By: Lauren Magarino, Rodney Young
Jul 22, 2023

From entertainment to service industries to unhappy graduate-student workers, U.S. employees across various professions and skill sets are walking off the job in 2023.

Their demands are unique to their respective jobs, but economists say they share a common goal.

"Wages have not improved, at least not substantially. So, in a sense, this is long overdue," said Dr. Anthony Carnevale.

Carnevale is a research professor and director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.

He says there’s a reason for the hopefully temporary employee exodus: A movement now being dubbed "Hot Labor Summer," where people in various professions are pushing for better pay amid rising costs and record profits for many businesses.

"Employers have held the upper hand for a long time; the way economists say it, which is what my training is, capital is becoming more and more power labor less and less powerful," said Carnevale.

Potentially next to join the growing chorus of unhappy U.S. workers are hundreds of thousands of UPS workers.

UPS and its unionized drivers have until July 31st to reach a new labor agreement and avert a strike.

A strike that could deal a devastating blow to not only the company but the U.S. economy.

SEE MORE: Job market continues to add jobs but shows signs of cooling

One major U.S. consulting firm is putting the cost of a 10-day UPS strike on the U.S. economy at a whopping $7 billion.

"All of a sudden, you're talking about sectors like national defense and aerospace production being very affected. You are talking about companies; you know, farmers are gonna be getting around to go into, you know, harvest season. Well, guess how a lot of these parts get shipped from central distribution centers to, you know, forward dealers that fix farm equipment? They get shipped by parcel," said Jason Miller of Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business.

According to Dr. Carnevale, a significant factor contributing to labor strikes across the workforce is the waning influence of unions.

"They lost their power largely because of globalization, technology, and the decline of manufacturing," said Carnevale.

With film and TV production currently at a standstill and the threat of a global supply chain crisis that could rival that of the COVID pandemic, Will fed-up workers come out on top and have their demands met?

"I think in most cases they're going to get most of what they want. American employers can't afford the shift in wealth between workers and management," said Carnevale.
‘We’ve legalized, strategized, now it’s time to pulverize,’ says Teamsters union president ahead of looming UPS strike

By Isabel Rosales, Jaide Timm-Garcia and Raja Razek, CNN
Published : Sat July 22, 2023

Teamsters president Sean O'Brien speaking at a rally with UPS workers before their national contract negotiations on April 2, 2023, in Charlestown, Massachusetts.Matthew J. Lee/Boston Globe/Getty Images
New YorkCNN —

Ahead of a looming UPS nationwide strike, Teamsters union President Sean O’Brien said during a rally speech in Atlanta Saturday, “We’ve legalized, strategized, now it’s time to pulverize.”


UPS pilots vow to not cross strike picket lines


Speaking with CNN’s Isabel Rosales, O’Brien said 95% of the contract has been negotiated, and “now we’re down to economics, and UPS knows they need to pay our members, especially the part-timers.”

A UPS spokesperson has said part-timers receive the same benefits as full-time workers. However, they do make less than full-time employees who make, on average, $95,000 a year, as CNN previously reported. Part-timers start by earning $16.20 an hour and are eligible for a higher hourly rate after 30 days. On average, part-time workers make $20 an hour, according to the spokesperson.




UPS workers hold placards at a rally held by the Teamsters Union on July 19, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

When asked what happens if a deal is not reached by July 31, O’Brien said they would withhold their labor on August 1 at 12:01 a.m.

“UPS represents our members that deliver goods and services that deliver 7% of gross national product,” O’Brien added. “So, the [UPS] supply chain solutions will take a huge hit.”

According to O’Brien, a strike would be felt both domestically and internationally. He claims “because the pilots union that represents the pilots for UPS have committed to us that they will not turn a wheel if the teamsters go on strike.”

Part-time package handler Elizabeth Laster told CNN Saturday she’s willing to go without pay if the strike takes place. After working at UPS for seven years she said she feels like the company is making millions of dollars while she struggles to survive and provide for her three sons.


UPS and Teamsters to meet next week ahead of looming strike


“The packages don’t move unless we move them … we’re the ones that are making all that money and we don’t see it. How is that fair?”

Laster said the company has “already gotten our blood, our sweat and our tears … just give us what we’ve worked for.”

Fixing Social Security in two easy steps

Social Security has a modest funding shortfall. If nothing is done, benefits will have to be cut by a quarter in 2033 or thereabouts.

Several Republican candidates for president think this is just fine as long as we cut only the benefits of young people. That's kind of cynical, but politics ain't beanbag. If young people have to be thrown under the bus, well, that's why God gave us buses.

But I'd like to remind you that Social Security can be fixed for everyone for all time with only two small changes:

  • Increase the payroll tax cap so that 90% of income is taxed, as intended by the 1977 reform act. In practice, this would raise the cap from its current $160,000 to include income up to about $300,000.
  • Increase the payroll tax from 6.2% to 7.4%.

That's it. That's all it takes to fix Social Security forever and meet the promises we've made to workers of every generation. It's not hard and not painful.

Spain Pioneered Laws Against Gender-Based Violence. A New Government Could Upend That

The deputy spokesman of Vox, José María Llanos (second from right), in Valencia, Spain, on May 6, 2023.
Jorge Gil—Europa Press/AP

BY ASTHA RAJVANSHI / VALENCIA, SPAIN
JULY 22, 2023 

Veronica remembers feeling enraged when she heard José María Llanos, a leader from Spain’s far right Vox party from Valencia, openly declare last month that “gender-based violence against women doesn’t exist.”

The 42-year-old has spent the past decade embroiled in a tense legal battle against her ex-husband, whom she divorced in 2014 after he subjected her to years of abuse and violence, she tells TIME. Even after she separated from him, she says he once punched her in public and threatened to “destroy her life,” according to court documents seen by TIME.

Veronica, who wanted to conceal her identity because her case is ongoing, now lives with her 12-year-old son in the city of Elche, known for a vast palm grove near the Mediterranean coast in Valencia. “I’ve already faced so much blame and doubt in the past,” she says. “My previous lawyers even told me to drop my case because it was about gender-based violence.”

Veronica is now represented by a progressive law firm that advocates for women and the LGBTQ community. Her lawyer, Isaac Guijarro, along with his colleague Rocío Moya, has since managed to get her case heard in a dedicated gender-based violence court in the capital, Madrid, which she says has been life-changing. “I finally felt like someone was listening,” she adds.

These courts were created after Spain passed a world-first gender-based violence law in 2004 that made the survivor’s gender an aggravating factor in assault cases. They have dealt with nearly 2 million complaints and convicted at least 700,000 people—72% of whom were men—according to a 2021 study by the Institute of Labor Economics.

But Veronica now worries about what Spain’s general election on Sunday could mean for women like her. Polls suggest the conservative People’s Party (PP) will beat the current socialist government and come to power—but only with the support of Vox. The far right party wants to repeal gender-based violence laws, block abortion access, shut down the Ministry of Equality, and revoke the solo sí es sí (“only yes means yes”) law.

Read More: She Spearheaded Feminist Laws in Spain. Now the Government Is in Crisis

Valencia, a region home to 800,000 people and Spain’s third-largest city of the same name, has already offered clues as to what a PP-Vox alliance could mean for one of the most feminist countries in Europe.

When the two parties took the reins in Valencia following local elections across Spain in May, they signed a controversial agreement that promises to “preserve the quality of education by removing ideology from the classroom”; abolish gender equality officers in several cities; and replace the phrase “gender-based violence” with Vox’s preferred term, “intra-family violence.” (Vox’s local office in Valencia declined an interview request, citing the busy election campaign.)

“If you don’t name something, then it doesn’t exist,” says 46-year-old Beatriu Cardona i Prats, a member of Valencia’s Feminist Coordinator, a national organization of feminist activists. “This is why it’s important that we identify the problem as ‘gender-based’.”

As part of the power-sharing agreement in Valencia, Vox now controls the justice department, which administers gender-based violence courts; the education department, which has overseen gender-affirming school curricula; and the culture department. These developments—and the fact that Vox’s leader in Valencia, Carlos Flores, was previously convicted of gender-based violence—are alarming to many Valencians at a time when registered complaints of gender-based violence have sharply risen. In the first three months of 2023, the number of registered gender-based violence complaints in Valencia was 17% higher than at the same time last year.

“It’s a very worrying situation for us,” says Chelo Álvarez Sanchís, the president of Alanna, an association that works with survivors across Valencia. TIME sits down with Sanchís at Alanna’s office inside a big yellow house in Empalme, a suburb on the edge of the city. Sanchís estimates that two to three women come here each day to seek assistance or sometimes “just to talk to someone.” She says that Alanna’s funding comes from existing government contracts that are now at risk of not being renewed next year.

While Valencia offers a blueprint for what a PP-Vox government could look like across Spain, it also serves as a model for how many women are pushing back against the far right’s policies toward women.

On Thursday, Álvarez and Cardona i Prats were among the people who gathered in Valencia’s Plaça de l’Ajuntament, or town hall square, to protest against the PP-Vox government. More than 350 groups gathered in solidarity to promote feminism, gender, and LGBTQ rights, not to mention a range of other progressive causes related to the environment, migrants, public services, and unions. As the sun was setting, they convened under the slogan, “For our rights, not one step back.”


Thousands of protestors gather in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento in Valencia, Spain, on July 20, 2023.
Jorge Gil—Europa Press/Getty Images

The mood was somber, sometimes angry, about the new PP-Vox government in Valencia following 8 years of a progressive one under the left coalition Compromís. For 28-year-old Claudia Gonzalez Morono, the PP-Vox government represents a brake on years of improvements. “Employment got better, people started to have their basic needs covered, women were being heard,” she says.


“But now we’re back to how things were during the Franco regime. It feels like politics is just a cycle,” Morono adds, referring to Gen. Francisco Franco, Spain’s former dictator, who ruled the country from 1939 to 1975. If the PP forms an alliance with Vox at the national level following Sunday’s vote, it will be the first time a far right party enters government since the Franco years.

Read More: What to Know About Spain’s Most Important Election in Decades

Within an hour, the protestors at Plaça de l’Ajuntament had swelled to thousands, and shortly after the batucada, a musical ensemble, arrived with drums and flutes to liven the mood. The demonstrators marched across the square and through the city streets with vim, before landing at the Plaza de la Virgen, where Cándida Barroso, one of the organizers, read out a manifesto defending public services, social rights, and the fight against gender-based violence. “On July 23 you have to go out and vote for these rights,” she urges the crowd, adding that the threat was not in the future but “already here.”

In several municipalities in Valencia and elsewhere, the PP-Vox government has restricted feminist and LGBTQ-friendly flags, plays, movies, and books. That compelled a group of artists under the “Free Arts Platform” to issue a statement in May that denounced Vox for “attacking freedom of expression.”


The censorship has also riled up Lola Sanhermelando Julian, a 39-year-old psychologist at the demonstration. She runs a weekly support group for survivors and says she was attending the protest for them. “They have fought to get even a little bit of anything in this life,” she adds, “and now, [Vox] wants to tell them what to do with their lives.”

Vox’s extreme positions have proved uncomfortable for the PP. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the PP leader who polls suggest will be Spain’s next Prime Minister, has had to distance himself from the rhetoric of some Vox leaders. Shortly after Llanos, the local Vox politician in Valencia, denied the existence of gender-based violence, Feijóo tweeted that “gender violence exists and our society is profoundly shaken every time a woman is murdered. The PP will never take a step backward in the fight against this scourge. We will not abandon our principles, whatever the cost.”

But on other matters, observers say that Feijóo and his party have adopted some of Vox’s talking points and tapped into a sentiment in Spain that the government has gone too far in promoting a feminist agenda. Earlier this month, when Feijóo suggested he would eliminate the equality ministry, he told reporters, “We aren’t here for that.”


The Minister of Equality, Irene Montero (center), and the Secretary of State for Equality and against Gender Violence, Angela Rodriguez Pam (right), in the Congress of Deputies in Madrid, on Dec. 15, 2022.

Jesus Hellin—Europa Press/Getty Images

What worries many voters is how much ground the PP will cede to Vox if it needs it to form a government, as most polls suggest it will.

Pablo Simon, a political scientist at Carlos III University of Madrid, says that if the PP and Vox come into power nationally after Sunday’s vote, it’s likely that Vox will push for having portfolios that impact gender-based rights. “They will try to change laws, or at the very least in a more noisy and symbolic way, the government’s position concerning gender equality,” he says.

Álvarez, the president of Alanna, says that prospect only makes her more determined to keep doing her work. “There’s clearly a problem when it comes to gender-based violence, you can see it in the statistics,” she says. “Every day, I see more and more cases of violence, rape, and sexual abuse.”

“We hope to work with PP and Vox,” she continues, “but we existed for a long time even without government funding, and we will find a way to reach the women that need our help.”

As Veronica continues to fight her case against her ex-husband, she says that she hopes a new government won’t usher in an end to laws that have protected her so far. But she, like many Spaniards, will not forget what Vox has said. “Gender-based violence does exist,” she says, “and all the suffering I’ve been through is real.”
CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Booz Allen to pay over $377 million to settle allegations of False Claims Act violations

The Department of Justice seal is seen before a news conference to announce an international ransomware enforcement action at the Department of Justice in Washington, Jan. 26, 2023. On Friday, July 21, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online

By Brad Matthews - The Washington Times - Saturday, July 22, 2023

Consulting firm Booz Allen is paying $377,453,150 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act with improper billing, the Justice Department announced Friday.

The McLean, Virginia, company provides consulting, managerial and engineering services to commercial and government clients. Under government contracting rules, costs charged to a contract by a firm such as Booz Allen must be related to the final aim of the contract. Conversely, firms are not allowed to charge unrelated costs to the government.


The U.S. government purported that from 2011 to 2021, Booz Allen allocated costs associated with its commercial and international work to its government contracts. Some of these allocations were entirely unrelated to the government work, while other allocations were for more money than was appropriate, according to the Justice Department.

Booz Allen was also accused of not disclosing its methodology for calculating the costs of its commercial and international work to the government.

“This settlement, which is one of the largest procurement fraud settlements in history, demonstrates that the United States will pursue even the largest companies and the most complex matters where taxpayer funds are alleged to have been pilfered,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves said in a statement.

The whistleblower and former Booz Allen employee that reported the alleged violations, Sarah Feinberg, will receive $69,828,832 of the settlement money under the provisions of the False Claims Act.

Ms. Feinberg said that “I hope this case will inspire more whistleblowers to hold corrupt individuals and corporations accountable,” in a statement released via the KaiserDillon law firm that represented her.

Booz Allen, meanwhile, contends it acted legally, but wanted to avoid a protracted legal fight.

“The company did not want to engage in what likely would have been a yearslong court fight with its largest client, the U.S. government, on an immensely complex matter,” a Booz Allen spokesperson explained.

Booz Allen has not been found legally liable, nor does the settlement constitute an admission of guilt. A parallel criminal investigation against the firm was dropped in 2021 with no charges, while a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the matter is ongoing, according to the New York Times.

Ted Cruz, Joe Manchin team up to ban oil being sold from strategic reserves to China

The amendment was passed in the upper chamber 85-12 vote on July 20.



By Charlotte Hazard
Updated: July 22, 2023 -

An amendment added to the annual defense bill this week that bans oil exports to China from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was led in a bipartisan effort by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) and Joe Manchin (D-Wv.)

The amendment was passed in the upper chamber 85-12 vote on Thursday.

“We know China has been amassing the largest stockpile of crude in the world. Nevertheless, last year, the United States sold off part of our reserves to China,” Cruz wrote in a statement. “I have been working with Senator Manchin to prohibit such inexplicably reckless moves in a bipartisan way.”

“We should not be selling our emergency oil reserves to our adversaries,” he continued.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is currently at a low of 336 million barrels, according to recent data.

President Joe Biden has been accused by lawmakers of drawing the SPR down irresponsibly, even though he has promised to refill the reserve.

“China, on the other hand, stockpiled oil and held back refinery production, and while China was stockpiling, one of its state-owned companies purchased over 1.4 million barrels from the United States of America, the people of our great country, from our own stock of reserves,” Manchin said in a statement. “That’s what we’re trying to stop.”
ONE OF A NESTING PAIR
Colts safety's father identified as man who allegedly killed bald eagle with rifle

Rodney Thomas, 50, turned himself into police


By Ryan Morik | Fox News

Roughly two weeks after a man surrendered to police for allegedly killing a bald eagle, the identity of the suspect has been released.

The alleged poacher is 50-year-old Rodney Thomas, whose son, Rodney Thomas II, is a safety for the Indianapolis Colts.

The alleged shooting happened May 12 outside Pittsburgh when residents found one of two local mature bald eagles dead in a field.


"We're devastated that this would happen, and we don’t understand why somebody would do this," resident Linda Carnevali told Fox News Digital earlier this month.


Indianapolis Colt Rodney Thomas II warms up before a game against the Tennessee Titans Oct. 2, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
 (Jenna Watson/IndyStar/USA Today Network)

The eagle pair had been in the area nearly two decades, she said, almost always together except when they were protecting their clutches or newly hatched eaglets. Two eaglets recently hatched in the nest, residents said.

Within days of the poaching, the Pennsylvania Game Commission said in a statement tips had led investigators to the suspect, who "admitted to all aspects of the crime."

"We believe that the suspect will face any appropriate state and/or federal charges in due course upon the conclusion of the ongoing investigations," Mount Pleasant Township Police Chief Matthew Tharp said.




Two mature bald eagles in their nest in Mount Pleasant Township, Pa. One of them was allegedly killed by a poacher in May, shortly after two eaglets hatched. (Shannon Kuzio)

Bald eagles are considered one of the country's greatest wildlife preservation success stories, and populations have rebounded across the U.S. after they were first placed on the endangered species list.

When they were upgraded from endangered to protected, the state penalty for killing an eagle in Pennsylvania was downgraded to a summary violation fine of up to $200.

The Pennsylvania state Senate recently passed a bill to raise the fine to $2,000 in an effort to discourage poaching.

The federal penalty for poaching a bald eagle can include a fine of up to $100,000 and up to one year in prison for a first offense, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.


Indianapolis Colts safety Rodney Thomas II intercepts a pass against the Minnesota Vikings during the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. (Matt Krohn/USA Today Sports)

Thomas was a seventh-round pick out of Yale last year to Indianapolis. He appeared in all 17 games last year, playing 63% of defensive snaps and intercepting four passes.
RIP
How Tony Bennett survived a near fatal drug overdose to create an 80-year career that knitted together the old and new Americas

BYJOSE VALENTINO RUIZ AND THE CONVERSATION
July 22, 2023

Tony Bennett.
JO HALE/GETTY IMAGES

In the history of American popular music, there have been few luminaries as enduring and innovative as Tony Bennett.


With a career that spanned almost 80 years, Bennett’s smooth tones, unique phrasing and visionary musical collaborations left an indelible mark on vocal jazz and the recording industry as a whole.

That his death at the age of 96 on July 21, 2023, was mourned by artists as varied as Keith Urban, Ozzy Osbourne and Harry Connick Jr. should come as no surprise. Yes, Bennett was a jazz crooner. But if his voice was always a constant – even late into his 80s, way past an age when most other singers have seen their vocal abilities diminish – then his embrace of the contemporary was every bit a facet of Bennett’s appeal.

Vocal innovator


Bennett’s journey is a testament to the power of daring innovation.

From the early days of his career in the 1950s to his final recordings in the early 2020s, he fearlessly explored new musical territories, revolutionizing vocal jazz and captivating audiences across generations.

His vocal style and phrasing were distinctive and set him apart from other artists of his time. He utilized a delayed or “laid-back” approach to falling on the note, a technique known as “rubato.” This created a sense of anticipation in his phrasing, adding an element of surprise to his performances. Through Bennett’s skilled use of rubato, he was able to play with the tempo and rhythm of a song, bending and stretching musical phrases to evoke a range of emotions. This subtle manipulation of timing gave his songs a natural and conversational quality, making listeners feel as though he was intimately sharing his stories with them.

Armed with this silky, playful voice, Bennett found fame fairly early on in his career, delivering jazz standards alongside the likes of Mel Tormé and Nat King Cole. By the mid-1960s, he was being touted by Frank Sinatra as “the best singer in the business.”

But his musical style fell out of fashion in the 1970s – a lean period during which Bennett almost succumbed to a drug overdose. Then, in the 1990s, Bennett found a new audience and set off a series of collaborations with contemporary musical stars that would become the standard for his later career.

No genre of artistry was deemed off-limits for Bennett. “Duets: An American Classic,” released to coincide with his 80th birthday in 2006, saw collaborations with country stars such as k.d. lang and the Dixie Chicks – now known as the Chicks – and soul legend Stevie Wonder, alongside kindred jazz spirits such as Diana Krall. “Duets II,” a 2011 follow-up, saw further explorations with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Queen Latifah, Willie Nelson and Amy Winehouse, in what would become the British singer’s last recording.

But his cross-generational, cross-genre and cross-cultural appeal is perhaps best exemplified by his collaborations with Lady Gaga, first on the 2014 Grammy-winning album “Cheek to Cheek.” The recording brought together two artists from different generations, genres and backgrounds, uniting them in a harmonious celebration of jazz classics. The collaboration not only showcased each one’s vocal prowess, but also sent a powerful message about the unifying nature of music.

Lady Gaga, a pop artist with avant-garde leanings, might have seemed an unlikely partner for Bennett, the quintessential jazz crooner. Yet their musical chemistry and mutual admiration resulted in an album that mesmerized audiences worldwide. “Cheek to Cheek” effortlessly transcended musical boundaries, while the duo’s magnetic stage presence and undeniable talent enchanted listeners.

The successful fusion of jazz and pop encouraged artists to experiment beyond traditional boundaries, leading to more cross-genre projects across the industry – proving that such projects could go beyond one-off novelties, and be profitable at that.

Timeless artistry

Bennett’s embrace of contemporary artists did not mean that he abandoned his own musical self. By blending traditional jazz with contemporary elements, he managed to captivate audiences across generations, appealing to both longtime fans and new listeners.

One key aspect of Bennett’s success was his ability to embody the sentiment of old America, reminiscent of artists like Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong, while infusing contemporary nuances that resonated with the human condition of a more modern era. His approach to music captured both the essence and struggle of America, giving his songs a timeless and universal appeal. Moreover, his voice conveyed familiarity and comfort, akin to listening to a beloved uncle.

Bennett’s albums stood out not only for his soulful voice and impeccable delivery but also for the way he drew others from varied musical backgrounds into his world of jazz sensibilities. As a producer, he recognized the importance of nurturing creativity and bringing out the best in artists.

Meanwhile, Bennett’s approach to evolving his own sound while preserving its essence sets him apart as an artist. Fearless in his pursuit of innovation, he delved into contemporary musical elements and collaborated with producers to infuse new sonic dimensions into his later albums. The result drew listeners into an intimate and immersive, concert-like acoustic journey.

Depth of emotion

The greats in music have an ability to speak to the human experience. And either in collaboration with others or on his own, Bennett was able to achieve this time and time again.

His albums were successful not only due to their technical brilliance and musicality but also because Bennett’s voice conveyed a depth of emotion that transcended barriers of time and culture, touching the hearts of listeners from various backgrounds. There was a universality in his music that made him a beloved and revered artist across the globe.

Bennett’s life spanned decades of societal upheavals in the United States. But in his music, listeners could always find beauty in challenging times. And as the 20th- and 21st-century American music industry went through its own revolutions, Bennett’s artistic evolution mirrored the changes, cementing his place as a music icon who defies the boundaries of time and trends.

Jose Valentino Ruiz is Program Director of Music Business & Entrepreneurship, University of Florida.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.