B.C. changes policy on dispute with U.S. on selenium contamination from coal mines

The Canadian Press
Wed, August 16, 2023 



The British Columbia government has changed its tune on a long-requested investigation into contamination from its mines flowing into U.S. waters, opening the door to progress on an issue that has drawn the attention of President Joe Biden.

The province has confirmed to The Canadian Press that it would now welcome a role in such an investigation for the International Joint Commission, a body created in 1909 to resolve water-related disputes between the two countries.

"B.C. has proposed a role for the International Joint Commission to act as a neutral third party — bringing representatives together to share progress, validate issues and facts, and gather information in a way that is respectful and inclusive of Indigenous knowledge," B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman said in an email.

"The Government of Canada is considering our proposal."

It's a significant move from the province, which has long struggled with how to mitigate selenium contamination from coal mines in the Elk Valley owned by Teck Resources. Although Teck has spent $1.4 billion on monitoring, management, research and treatment, levels of the element toxic to fish remain high in waters that flow into Lake Kookanusa, a reservoir that crosses the border between the U.S. and Canada and feeds American rivers.

Since May 2022, the commission has sought to involve both countries in an investigation into the problem. Such an investigation, called a reference, is supported by the Biden administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the states of Montana and Idaho, as well as First Nations and environmental groups on both sides of the border.

Both Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have promised that a deal would be reached by the end of the summer.

However, B.C.'s resistance to having an international body poke into its backyard has blocked progress. Until now.

"That's really great news," said Tom McDonald, chairman of the Confederated Kootenai and Salish tribes in Montana.

"We have six weeks left to meet the timeline. Immediate action in the next few weeks is critical."

Kathryn Teneese, chairwoman of the Ktunaxa Nation in B.C., also welcomed the move.

"We're very pleased they've changed their tone," she said.

Canada wouldn't say how B.C.'s change of heart might affect talks over setting up the investigation.

"Discussions among our officials and with Indigenous nations and tribes have continued on this issue," Global Affairs spokesman Jean-Pierre Godbout said in an email.

"We are committed to these ongoing efforts to work together to find an appropriate path forward to ensure the health of the watershed."

But McDonald and Teneese warn that the commission, established under a formal treaty between Canada and the U.S., has its own process that has worked for 114 years and shouldn't be watered down.

"Why don't we just let the IJC do its job?" asked Teneese. "It's critical the IJC is part of the solution.

"It is specifically designed to address these issues. Let's not try and reinvent it."

"Just follow their process," said McDonald.

Teck spokesman Chris Stannell said the company will work with a joint investigation.

"We support increased transboundary co-operation on water quality management to protect aquatic health, uphold Indigenous rights and maintain responsible mining in the Elk Valley," he said in an email.

He said the company is now removing up to 99 per cent of selenium from treated water — although much of the selenium flowing into the watershed comes from accumulated decades of waste rock.

Selenium levels in the Elk River watershed are significantly higher than B.C. health guidelines and have been for years. The same situation exists in Lake Kookanusa.

Selenium damages fish populations by reducing their reproductive success.

"Every living creature has a right to live," said McDonald.

"It's not our place to wipe out a fishery. It's our purpose, as it should be for every human being, to maintain those animals in perpetuity."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2023.

Bob Weber, The Canadian Pre

US looks to ban imports, exports of a tropical fish threatened by aquarium trade

Wed, August 16, 2023



The federal government is looking to ban importation and exportation of a species of a tropical fish that conservation groups have long said is exploited by the pet trade.

The fish is the Banggai cardinalfish, a small striped saltwater fish native to Indonesia. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration listed the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2016, saying that the main threats to the fish included harvest for ornamental aquariums.

The agency proposed on Tuesday to apply prohibitions under the Endangered Species Act that would make it unlawful to import or export the species in the United States. The proposal followed a 2021 petition from conservation groups that said the fish needs the ban to have a chance at survival.

The U.S. imports an average of 120,000 of the fish every year, members of the groups said Wednesday. The species have declined in number by as much as 90% since the 1990s because of exploitation in the aquarium trade, they said.

“Today’s proposal is the first step in eliminating the United States as a destination for Banggai cardinalfish and sending a clear signal to Indonesia that it must do more to conserve the species and its habitat," D.J. Schubert, a wildlife biologist at the Animal Welfare Institute.

The Banggai cardinalfish is among numerous species caught with the intention of adorning home aquariums and reef tanks in places such as offices and restaurants. The little fish is native only to the Banggai Archipelago in Indonesia.

Critics of the tropical fish trade at large have described it as notoriously difficult to track and regulate, and call it a major contributor to the decline of some jeopardized species. Many of the fish don't survive from capture to exportation.

NOAA officials said in its proposal to ban the Banggai cardinalfish trade that the agency's goal is “to prevent further reduction of existing wild populations of” the fish species. The agency also said the species suffers from lack of protections and regulations in international trade.

NOAA said it will solicit public comments on its proposal and might hold a public hearing before a final ruling is made.

Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press

Trudeau convenes emergency meeting to discuss N.W.T. wildfires

Thu, August 17, 2023 

Heavy smoke from nearby wildfires fills the sky in Yellowknife on Tuesday. (Angela Gzowski/The Canadian Press - image credit)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is convening a high-level emergency meeting to discuss the wildfire situation in the Northwest Territories.

On Wednesday Yellowknife residents were ordered to begin evacuating the city immediately as wildfires approached. The extraordinary evacuation order affects nearly 22,000 people.

According to his itinerary, Trudeau, who has been on vacation in Tofino, B.C., will convene the Incident Response Group, made up of high-ranking officials and cabinet ministers.

A source speaking on background said it's the most serious type of meeting the prime minister can hold.

The Incident Response Group is described as "a dedicated, emergency committee that will convene in the event of a national crisis or during incidents elsewhere that have major implications for Canada" and has previously met on how to handle the 2022 blockades in Ottawa, the shooting down of Flight PS752 in Iran and the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

A spokesperson for the Department of National Defence said Thursday they don't have details yet on what role it will play in the emergency evacuations. The Canadian Armed Forces has about 120 members deployed to the territory.

"Basically, the situation is very fluid and evolving quickly," said Jessica Lamirande.

The Royal Canadian Air Force has four aircraft that could help with evacuations and one on standby. They include:

One CC-130 J Hercules in based in Yellowknife.


One CC-138 Twin Otter in based in Yellowknife


Two CH-146 Griffon helicopters in based in Yellowknife.


One CH-146 Griffon helicopter based in Edmonton on 12 hours' notice to move.

Several CC-130J Hercules transport aircraft sit on the tarmac at CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ont., on Wednesday, May 4, 2016. The military are sending pre-operation troops to help out with wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alberta. The plane will land at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta.

A CC-130J Hercules transport aircraft sit on the tarmac at CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ont., on May 4, 2016. A similar aircraft is in Yellowknife. (Lars Hagberg/Canadian Press)

Earlier this week Defence Minister Bill Blair also authorized the Canadian Armed Forces to provide personnel and resources to help with Type 3 firefighting and evacuation, logistics, planning and co-ordination support.

The Canadian Coast Guard is also offering equipment, including water pumps.

The federal government also says it's funding response and recovery activities for eligible First Nations communities through Indigenous Services Canada's Emergency Management Assistance Program.

An entire Canadian city is being evacuated due to wildfire — here’s how you can help

Isabelle Learned
Aug 17 2023

Wildfire in Hay River, Northwest Territories 

(Ash's Dawn Scarlet/Facebook | (@birdsnorthof60/TikTok)

Yellowknife residents have been ordered to evacuate as raging wildfires approach the city.

Northwest Territories officials ordered a phased evacuation of over 20,000 residents in the province’s capital on Wednesday.

“The fire continues to advance and now burns approximately 17 kilometres outside the city,” Northwest Territories Minister of Environment and Climate Change Shane Thompson told reporters at a presser Wednesday night. “Without rain, it is possible it will reach the city outskirts by the weekend.”

The provincial government says residents should evacuate parts of Yellowknife according to risk.

“Residents living along the Ingraham Trail, in Dettah, Kam Lake, Grace Lake and Engle Business District are currently at highest risk and should evacuate as soon as possible,” reads the evacuation order. “Other residents have until noon on Friday, August 18, 2023, to evacuate.

The province advises residents to ensure they have a full tank of gas before leaving Yellowknife.

It adds that if there are smoky conditions, residents evacuating by highway will be escorted from Yellowknife through the active fire zone.

Residents who can’t leave the city by road can register for an air evacuation. This can include the immunocompromised or anyone with “a condition that puts them at higher
risk of severe outcomes.”

As for people who wish to stay in the city, the provincial government says there will be facilities in Yellowknife to shelter in place.

So, what can you do to help people in Yellowknife?

Indigenous TikToker Morgan Dawn has been raising awareness about NWT wildfires. They live in N’dilo, one of the communities ordered to evacuate.

They say that an aspect of the wildfires that complicates the situation for people that live in First Nations communities is that they don’t have mailing addresses.

“We are unable to get mail; we’re unable to insure our homes because we simply do not have an address,” they explained. “We are not able to get the same support as houses uptown would if they were to catch on fire.”

They are advising people to donate to the United Way Northwest Territories. Daily Hive hasn’t found any other official sources Canadians can contribute to, but will update this story if we do.

Local media Cabin Radio also has an incredibly detailed guide to support Yellowknife evacuees.

 

Communities spring into action to help N.W.T. wildfire evacuees




Thu, August 17, 2023 

Communities receiving Northwest Territories residents fleeing wildfires are springing into action to help, whether it's offering clothes, camping spaces or pet food.

Some 20,000 residents of the capital of Yellowknife have been ordered to leave by noon Friday. In recent days, thousands more were ordered out of communities close to the Alberta boundary.

Many people are without key belongings and looking for pit stops as they travel great distances to larger centres in Alberta.


"It's been kind of a state of chaos for the last couple of weeks with these fires," Yellowknife evacuee Kelsey Worth said over the phone as she made her way to Calgary.

Worth left Wednesday morning, earlier than most, because she didn't feel safe. She packed her important belongings and a tent and camped overnight in High Level, Alta., 740 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

The town has offered free camping and parking for RVs. It has also opened its sport complex, offering snacks, cots and showers.

"That's probably the first time I've ever evacuated that I've had a shower the first night," Worth said with a chuckle, noting she also had to flee massive flooding that hit High River and other areas in southern Alberta in 2013.

"They were very welcoming in High Level and it took a lot of stress off of us."

Other communities and Albertans have also opened their doors.

Mark Connell is allowing people to camp on his plot of land or use his RV near Manning, Alta., south of High Level.

Connell said friends from Yellowknife are on their way. He's also fielded inquiries from families.

"As of now, I've got six people coming, and whoever else shows up."

He said he has lots of friends in Yellowknife and wanted to help in any way he could.

"I'm a volunteer firefighter here, so I can kind of relate to what's going on," Connell said.

Some who've fled the N.W.T. are also in the Edmonton area, either staying with family or at nearby evacuation centres. Centres have also opened up in other communities in the province.

Melinda Laboucan with Goba Care, an Edmonton-based organization that offers supports to northerners seeking health care, said she's been busy answering phone calls and collecting donations, including food, clothing, diapers and baby formula.

Support has been overwhelming, she said.

"I just can't believe the amount of Albertans just wanting to help and support. It's just — wow, I love this," Laboucan said.

She's originally from the N. W.T. and has family there who have left, worried they will lose their homes.

"It's very heartbreaking," she said. "The N.W.T. needs rain."

In Calgary, where evacuation centres have been set up to accommodate at least 5,000 people, charity Parachutes for Pets is gathering supplies for animals.

It has also reached out to boarding kennels to see whether some can offer space.

Melissa David, who runs the charity, said some evacuees may not have taken pet supplies with them. Some shelters may have also closed their doors, she added, noting not all evacuation centres are pet-friendly.

"This is what we're here for," David said. "As soon as I started getting the messages last night that they were coming our way, I leaped into action."

In Fort McMurray, a city that was ravaged by wildfire seven years ago, residents have also offered help.

Michel Labine, who left the territory over the weekend for the northeastern Alberta city, said people have given him and others new clothes at an evacuation centre.

“They’ve all lived through (evacuation) before. They know what it’s about,” Labine said.

Meanwhile, Worth said she plans to hunker down in a trailer once she reaches her destination.

She's hoping for the best as everyone gets through the next few days.

"The fire is concerning," she said. "I'm kind of avoiding looking at anything fire-related today. I just need a break for my mental sanity after the last 48 hours."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2023.

— With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone in Saskatoon, Bill Graveland in Calgary and Jamin Mike in Edmonton

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press

Evacuation ordered for 20,000 residents of N.W.T. capital as wildfire approaches

The Canadian Press
Wed, August 16, 2023 



YELLOWKNIFE — Some 20,000 residents in the capital of the Northwest Territories have been ordered to leave by Friday as wildfire danger in the region intensifies.

The evacuation order issued Wednesday night applies to the city of Yellowknife and neighbouring First Nations communities of Ndilo and Dettah.

"I want to be clear that the city is not in immediate danger and there is a safe window for residents to leave the city by road and by air," Shane Thompson, the territory's minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, told a news conference.

He said the blaze had been advancing since it breached a firebreak over the weekend and was burning about 17 kilometres outside the city. Thompson added that, without rain, it was possible the fire would reach the city's outskirts by the weekend.

The N.W.T. government said residents living along Ingraham Trail and in Dettah, Kam Lake, Grace Lake and the Engle Business District were at highest risk and should evacuate as soon as possible.

It said other residents had until noon Friday to leave.

"You put yourself and others at risk if you choose to stay later," said Thompson.

The evacuation order said it was safe for people to start leaving by road right away.

"If there are smoky conditions, residents evacuating by highway will be escorted from Yellowknife through the active fire zone," it said.

Evacuation flights were being made available, but the government said only those who don't have the option of leaving by road should register. People who are immunocompromised or have a condition that puts them at higher risk were encouraged to sign up for the flights.

Air evacuations were set to begin Thursday afternoon.

"I can appreciate that everybody wants to be on the first flight out, but please follow the instructions so that everyone can evacuate in a timely manner," said Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty.

"We don't want to cause congestion by having people come when they're not supposed to be there."

An evacuation centre was set up at the Yellowknife Multiplex for evacuees from Dettah and the Ingraham Trail. Facilities in the city were also available for residents who wished to stay, but the government said those services would be temporary.

It added that evacuation by boat to an island or cabin was not recommended because air quality was expected to decline.

The city also posted online that it was immediately suspending its residential garbage collection, trucked water and sewer services and transit.

Residents of three western Yellowknife neighbourhoods had been on evacuation notice since Tuesday, when the territorial government declared a state of emergency, allowing it to access resources to combat what it called an unprecedented wildfire season

The N.W.T. has been grappling with more than 200 wildfires that have already burned an area four times the size of Prince Edward Island.

About 6,800 people in eight other communities, including Fort Smith, Enterprise, Jean Marie River and Hay River, have also been forced from their homes.

In St. Albert, Alta., on Edmonton’s outskirts, Tanisha Edison arrived at a fire evacuation centre after a 19-hour drive from her home in Hay River.

Edison, who is days away from giving birth, said the trek took her through the hamlet of Enterprise, home to about 100 people.

"The town was gone pretty much,” Edison said. “No buildings left. It was just metal frames melting.

“You couldn't even read the signs because … when the fire blew through there, they were all melted.

“Trees were like ashes. Everything was like ashes and on fire.”

About 80 per cent of Enterprise, including homes and businesses, was destroyed but everyone made it out alive, said Blair Porter, the community's senior administrative officer.

“Just a couple days ago, it was a thriving community … now it's all gone. It’s pretty devastating.”

There have been no reports of injuries or fatalities due to the wildfires.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with N.W.T. Premier Caroline Cochrane on Wednesday and they agreed to remain in close contact as the wildfire situation developed.

"The prime minister reaffirmed the Government of Canada’s commitment to provide ongoing assistance to the territory and affected communities," a readout from Trudeau's office said.

British Columbia Premier David Eby said in a statement that the province, under threat from its own fires, was working with all western provinces to provide support.

"Our hearts are with the people of the Northwest Territories."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Aug. 16, 2023.

— By Curtis Ng and Jamin Mike in Edmonton

The Canadian Press

‘Real threat to city’: Yellowknife in Canada evacuates as wildfire nears

20,000 residents of capital of Northwest Territories ordered to leave after forecast that wildfire 11 miles away could arrive by the weekend


Tracey Lindeman in Ottawa

THE GUARDIAN

Thu 17 Aug 2023 



Cars leave Yellowknife in Canada after a wildfire evacuation order. Photograph: Pat Kane/Reuters

An evacuation order has been issued for Yellowknife in the north-west of Canada as a wildfire comes closer, with a local minister saying: “The fire now represents a real threat to the city.”

Shane Thompson, the environment and climate change minister for the Northwest Territories, said on Wednesday night that the fire could reach the outskirts of Yellowknife by the weekend and was about 17km (11 miles) away.


Teams were also working to evacuate Hay River, a community of 3,000 on Great Slave Lake, by bus or plane on Wednesday night as the fire approached.

Residents in Yellowknife, the capital and only city in the Northwest Territories, were urged to leave as soon as possible as part of a phased evacuation, with those living along the Ingraham Trail, in Dettah, Kam Lake, Grace Lake and Engle Business District at the highest risk.

Other residents were until noon on Friday to evacuate.

Yellowknife’s mayor, Rebecca Alty, said evacuation flights would begin on Thursday at 1pm and continue until everyone was evacuated. She stressed that the order was being issued early in order to give everyone enough time for an orderly evacuation. “It’s being called now, so that we can allow people the opportunity to drive while the highway is still open. The highway is subject to closures at any time. Conditions will be smoky, and residents should drive with caution and care.

“This is an incredibly difficult time for everyone. Please look out and help one another as you can. If you’re driving, and have space, please consider bringing a friend or pets.”

On Tuesday night, local authorities had declared a territory-wide state of emergency and an evacuation order for the outskirts of Yellowknife, a city with a population of 20,000.

A wildfire burns in Hay River, Northern Territories, on 15 August. Photograph: Morgan Monkman/Reuters

“We find ourselves in a crisis situation and our government is using every tool available to assist,” said Thompson.

The town of Enterprise had been 90% destroyed, while the nearby community of Hay River was “running out of time” to evacuate, said mayor Kandis Jameson on Tuesday.

A family escaping from Hay River said their car began melting around them as they drove away after an evacuation order was issued on Sunday. “It was honestly insane. When I got out of our vehicle in Enterprise, I just cried,” a woman told CBC.

Falling ash and visible smoke were likely in Yellowknife as the 163,000-hectare (402,000-acre) fire spread.

Some people had to be airlifted to safety. One man told a CBC radio reporter that he was sent to an evacuation centre more than 600 miles from home, in northern Alberta. “They’re dispersing us all over the place,” he said.

Yellowknife is roughly 250 miles south of the edge of the Arctic Circle.

This summer alone, Northwest Territories has seen more than 2m hectares burned – a figure that is set to increase, with 236 wildfires currently active across the territory.

July saw the hottest day ever recorded in the far north of the country when Fort Good Hope – a community about 500 miles north-west of Yellowknife – hit 37.4C.

Western Canada is enduring a heatwave that saw 19 daily temperature records broken on Tuesday and is fuelling hundreds of out-of-control wildfires.

In the Pacific province of British Columbia around 80 people were forced to shelter in place in a mountain guesthouse after their only way out was cut off by a rapidly expanding blaze.

The stranded people, including lodge guests and campers from nearby campgrounds, sheltered overnight at the Cathedral Lakes Lodge near Keremeos in the south of the province before being brought down the mountain in vehicles on Wednesday afternoon.

Blazes have engulfed parts of nearly all 13 Canadian provinces and territories this year, forcing home evacuations, disrupting oil and gas production, and drawing in federal as well as international firefighting crews.

New study finds far more hurricane-related deaths in US, especially among poor and vulnerable

SETH BORENSTEIN
Wed, August 16, 2023 



 Cars are submerged on a freeway flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey near downtown Houston, Texas, on Aug. 27, 2017. Hurricanes in the U.S. over last few decades killed thousands more people than meteorologists traditionally calculate and a disproportionate number of those victims are poor, vulnerable and minorities, according to a new epidemiological study released Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. 

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Hurricanes in the U.S. the last few decades killed thousands more people than meteorologists traditionally calculate and a disproportionate number of those victims are poor, vulnerable and minorities, according to a new epidemiological study.

A team of public health and storm experts calculated that from 1988 to 2019 more than 18,000 people likely died, mostly indirectly, because of hurricanes and lesser tropical cyclones in the continental United States. That's 13 times more than the 1,385 people directly killed by storms that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration figures, but the study authors said those numbers aren't directly comparable.

Instead of just looking at people who drowned, were hit by debris or killed directly by the storm, the study in Wednesday's journal Science Advances examines changes in a storm-hit county’s overall number of deaths just before, during and after a hurricane and compared those to normal years. Researchers attributed the excess deaths to the storm, using a standard public health technique.

“It’s the difference between how many people died and how many people would have died on a normal day” with no hurricane, said study lead author Robbie Parks, an environmental epidemiologist at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

After a storm, deaths spike because of heart and lung problems, infections, injury and mental health issues, Parks said. It’s a stressful time with clean-up and rebuilding.

Parks said meteorologists do an admirable job counting people killed during the height of the storm, but so many people die indirectly and especially after the storm, he said “it does seem to be an undercount" that misses the poorest and most vulnerable Americans.

“People who have the least means suffer the most,” said study lead author Robbie Parks, an environmental epidemiologist at Mailman. “It’s a good opportunity to put a number on that.”

Using the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s social vulnerability index, Parks divided American counties into the least vulnerable third, the most vulnerable third and the middle, categories that often correlate with the richest, poorest and middle income people. In the case of the heaviest hurricane winds, the most vulnerable third had 57% of the excess deaths and least vulnerable had 6%.

“Conceptually the results of the study make sense, as tropical cyclones often leave communities vulnerable for long periods of time after impact,” National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in an email.

The hurricane center has noticed this when their experts study storm sites, so the center is trying to increase community engagement to more socially vulnerable populations and expand translation of storm warnings into other languages, Brennan said.

“It does not surprise me, but deeply saddens me that excess mortality is largest among the most vulnerable segments of our population,” said MIT hurricane scientist Kerry Emanuel, who wasn’t part of the study. “It is the poorer people with fewer places to evacuate to and fewer means to get out who take the brunt of the suffering.”

After a storm, people need to have money “to do more than just survive from day to day,” which is why the poorer, more vulnerable survive less, said former NOAA hurricane scientist Jim Kossin of the climate risk nonprofit First Street Foundation, who also was not part of the study.

Finding out how many people are really killed because of a storm is much more challenging to quantify than merely counting direct deaths reported in the media, Kossin said.

For example, the National Hurricane Center estimates that 1,200 people died in 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, but using deaths before, during and after and comparing them to 30 years of normal death rates for those places at that time of year, Parks and colleagues figured a death count of 1,491.

Parks’ team found bigger gaps between official death counts and what they calculated for 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, where the hurricane center said 147 people died. Parks put the death toll at 1,193. And the largest gap was for 2017’s Irma, where NOAA said 92 people died directly or indirectly in the United States, while Parks counted 1,202.

The National Hurricane Center's Brennan said his agency writes official reports on storms that use fatality statistics based on information from government officials, medical examiners and the media within several months of landfall. The center doesn't have access to the longer-term statistical studies used to calculate “indirect” deaths, but tries to bring them in when able, such as in the case of 2005's Katrina and 2017's Maria.

In a separate report for the American Meteorological Society, the National Hurricane Center analyzed how people died in direct hurricane deaths the last 10 years and compared them to earlier. It found that a much lower percentage of people are being killed by storm surge, but a higher percentage of Americans are dying in freshwater flooding.

From 1963 to 2012, storm surge was responsible for almost half of the hurricane deaths. NOAA has made a concerted effort to improve storm surge forecasts, warning and education of residents on the coast. Since 2013, only 11% of the hurricane deaths were storm-surge related, the hurricane center said.

But freshwater flooding deaths went from 27% of the deaths to 57% of all hurricane deaths, a figure that may be skewed by 2017's Hurricane Harvey, when there 65 freshwater flooding deaths. Rip current and surf deaths went from 6% of the hurricane deaths to 15%.

___

Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

___

Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears

False claim LGBTQ+ expert at UN told Christians to accept pedophilia | Fact check

Joedy McCreary
USA TODAY


The claim: UN chief says Christians who don’t accept pedophilia will be excluded from society

An Aug. 10 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows an apparent news story with a photo of a man speaking at the United Nations.

“UN Chief: Christians Who Don’t Accept MAPs Will Be Excluded From Society,” reads the headline. The caption explains that “MAP” stands for minor-attracted person.

It received more than 400 likes in four days. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook.

Follow us on Facebook!Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

Our rating: False

The picture in the post shows Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the U.N.’s independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity protections, but he said he never made that statement. The claim misrepresents a report he gave in June and originated on a website known to spread misinformation.
False claims part of ‘well-identified playbook’ against LBGTQ+ people, expert says

In a response to USA TODAY, Madrigal-Borloz called the claim false.

“I have never made such a statement,” Madrigal-Borloz said.

The article in the post is an Aug. 6 story by The People’s Voice. It claims the U.N. urged people to embrace the legalization of pedophilia and warned they would not be allowed to participate in society if they refuse.

Fact check: Pride flags displayed at Rockefeller Center, not United Nations

The headline of the story refers to the U.N. “chief,” but Madrigal-Borloz does not hold that title. The U.N.’s top official is Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and his name does not appear in the story.

It claims Madrigal-Borloz said freedom of religion can be tolerated only if religious people fully embrace an agenda that includes radical LGBTQ+ ideology.

But that mischaracterizes his presentation to the U.N. in June.

The U.N.’s Human Rights Council asked Madrigal-Borloz to gather evidence of violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, he said. His report explored how the rights to religious freedom can exist along with the rights to equality for LGBTQ+ people, and it outlined recommendations to help with that.

Neither the word “pedophilia” nor the acronym “MAP” appear in the 25-page report.

Pedophilia is a disorder often falsely connected to LGBTQ+ people as a way to demonize them, Madrigal-Borloz said.

"These and other false claims are part of a well-identified playbook that seeks to perpetuate discrimination and violence against LGBT persons and the impunity of perpetrators by portraying social inclusion of LGBT persons as a danger to society, prejudice that has damaged LGBT persons and those who love and respect them,” he said.

The People's Voice, previously known as NewsPunch, has repeatedly published fabricated stories, many of which USA TODAY has debunked.

USA TODAY reached out to The People’s Voice and to users who shared the post but did not immediately receive responses.

The Associated Press also debunked the story.
Our fact-check sources:Brian Griffey, Aug. 15, Email exchange with USA TODAY
United Nations, accessed Aug. 15, Victor Madrigal-Borloz
United Nations, accessed Aug. 15, Antonio Guterres
United Nations, June 21, Freedom of religion or belief not incompatible with equality for LGBT persons: UN expert
United Nations, June 7, Freedom of religion or belief, and freedom from violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identit

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook

AMERIKA'S FUTURE

Peru allows abortion for 11-year-old rape victim after UN pressure

Reuters
Wed, August 16, 2023 

LIMA (Reuters) - An 11-year-old rape victim was allowed an abortion in Peru over the weekend after being initially refused the procedure, in a case that rights groups say highlights the lack of support for minors who suffer sexual abuse.

The girl, publicly identified only as "Mila," was raped for years by her stepfather, according to a police report. Earlier this month, Mila - approaching 18 weeks pregnant - was turned away at a hospital in the Amazon region of Loreto, which refused to perform the abortion.

The case caused a furor and after the United Nations urged the Peruvian state to intervene, Mila was brought to the capital Lima and state doctors authorized the abortion.

She is now recovering well, said Susana Chavez, director of the feminist non-governmental organization PROMSEX, and will remain in state care after being discharged.

But Mila's experience highlights the state's failings to protect young sexual abuse victims, Chavez told Reuters, adding that there are likely many more rapes of minors than reported.

"We estimate that for every pregnant girl who comes to hospital, there are at least 10 ... victims of sexual abuse," Chavez said.

Official data shows live births in girls between the ages of 10 and 14 in Peru rose 14% last year to 1,625. In the first half of this year, 14,500 sexual assaults were recorded, 70% of which involved minors under 17.

Abortion is only legal in Peru if the mother's life is endangered, and Chavez said even then access is being blocked by an "ultra-conservative" backlash.

Authorities are now searching for Mila's stepfather, who was arrested in July but later released on grounds of insufficient evidence. The judge's decision to release him was widely criticized and President Dina Boluarte has demanded his "immediate capture." His whereabouts are currently unknown.

(Reporting by Carlos Valdez and Anthony Marina, Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

Biden's approval rating on the economy stagnates despite slowing inflation, AP-NORC poll shows

JOSH BOAK and EMILY SWANSON
Wed, August 16, 2023 




WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has devoted the past several weeks to promoting the positive impacts of his policies — but his efforts have yet to meaningfully register with the public.

Only 36% of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s handling of the economy, slightly lower than the 42% who approve of his overall performance, according to the new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Both figures are close to where Biden’s approval numbers have stood for about the past year and a half, including just two months ago. Signs of an improving economic outlook have done little to sway how people feel about the Democratic president as he gears up for a 2024 reelection campaign that could pit him against his predecessor and 2020 opponent, Republican Donald Trump.

Job growth has stayed solid with the unemployment rate at 3.5%, while the pace of inflation has slowed sharply over the past year to the annual rate of 3.2%.

Both Biden and Trump have weaknesses as older candidates seeking a rematch. Trump, 77, faces a series of criminal indictments that include his possession of classified material and allegations that he tried to overturn the 2020 election, which has rallied support among Republicans while leaving him with substantial vulnerabilities in a potential general election contest.

Biden, 80, has yet to fully bring Democrats to his side as the lingering aftershocks of inflation still weigh on people's minds. Along with members of his cabinet and Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden has been speaking about the $500 billion worth of new investments by private companies that he said came from incentives he signed into law.

Erica Basile, a teacher who describes herself as a “staunch Democrat,” said she feels the economy is “mediocre, but improving.”

"I do think in many ways they’re working very hard at getting the economy back on track post-COVID," said Basile, who lives in Lynnwood, Washington.

Just 65% of Democrats approve of Biden's economic leadership, while 76% approve of how he’s handling the job overall.

In follow-up interviews, some survey respondents felt torn between the desire to return to a sense of normalcy after Trump's presidency and the desire for even more sweeping policies to address climate change, health care costs and taxes.

“When Joe Biden was selected to be the nominee and eventually won, my feeling at the time was that he could be the most milquetoast and undramatic president to help the country cool down,” said Steven Peters, 41, who works in information technology in White House, Tennessee. “Unfortunately, that’s what he’s been. I’m dissatisfied because I had hoped there would be more change.”

Peters added, “He’s really middle of the road when a lot of people would like to see more dramatic action.”

For GOP supporters, such as Merritt Rahn, 74, Biden has gone too far. Rahn said he is retired but also works at Home Depot and sees higher gasoline and food costs as making it harder for families to get by financially. The Jensen Beach, Florida, resident said Biden will further hurt the U.S. by moving energy sources away from oil and gas.

“It’s a death to our society and economy," said Rahn, who added that he believes Biden “has no clue what's going on.”

The poll also found that 55% of Democrats say they don’t think Biden should run again in 2024, though a large majority — 82% — say they would definitely or probably support him if he is the nominee. Overall, only 24% of Americans say they want Biden to run again.

Among Democrats who approve of how Biden is handling the economy, 58% would like him to seek another term. Just 20% of those who disapprove of his performance on the issue want the incumbent president to run again.

Biden continues to struggle to appeal to younger Democrats, especially on the economy. Only 52% of Democrats under age 45 say they approve of his handling of the economy, compared with 77% of those older.

The president has used the term “Bidenomics” to try to encompass his ideas to lower costs for people on Medicare, shift toward electric vehicles and renewable energy, and build factories for advanced computer chips and batteries. Yet some are still struggling to understand what the term means.

Asked about the definition of Bidenomics, Cory O'Brien, 39, said: “You know what, dude, I have no idea. Biden is a free market capitalist like most moderate Democrats are."

The age gap extends to Biden’s reelection campaign: Just 34% of Democrats under 45 want him to run again, compared with 54% of those older than that. Still, about three-quarters of younger Democrats say they’ll most likely support him if he’s the nominee, though only 28% say they definitely will.

O'Brien, who works in education and lives in Massachusetts, said he expects the 2024 election to be “miserable” for voters because of the likely Biden and Trump rematch.

“I think it’s going to be a miserable election cycle,” he said. “We’re going to see a lot of the same stuff that we saw in 2020.”

Biden also faces renewed pressure related to investigations over his son Hunter’s business dealings. The poll finds that a majority of Americans — 58% — have hardly any confidence in Biden to reduce corruption in government, though that’s unchanged since January. Another 30% have some confidence and 10% have hardly any.

The poll shows that 23% of Americans say they have a great deal of confidence in Biden’s ability to effectively manage the White House, 31% have some confidence and 45% have hardly any. Despite the fact that Biden has achieved several of his major policy goals, just 16% say they have high confidence in his ability to do that, while 38% say they have some confidence and 44% hardly any.

Few Americans say they think the national economy is doing well: 34% describe it as very or somewhat good. No more than about a third of Americans have called the economy good since 2021.

___

The poll of 1,165 adults was conducted August 10-14, 2023, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Twitter 'Nickel and Dimed' Feds for Trump's Personal Data

Mack DeGeurin
Wed, August 16, 2023 at 11:26 AM MDT·5 min read

Newly unsealed court filings following a federal indictment accusing Donald Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 elections show the lengths Twitter lawyers went to try and notify the former president of the government’s inquiry and delay investigators from obtaining detailed information from the former president’s account. The fillings also show the judge’s growing frustration with Twitter’s sidestepping legal team, which was ultimately held in contempt and fined $350,000.

“I was getting nickel and dimed for the prior 20 minutes of conversation,” US government attorney Thomas Windom told the judge on February 9 when asked about his laborious communication with Twitter lawyers.

The newly unsealed court transcripts document Twitter’s repeated delays in handing over data related to Trump’s Twitter account as part of a Special Counsel warrant. That warrant was expansive and included a request for Twitter to hand over Trump DMs, both written and drafted, drafted tweets, a list of other accounts associated with him, and even his location data. US District Judge Beryl Howell grew frustrated with Twitter’s apparent hand-wringing over certain data, and repeatedly asked why the company was appearing to provide Trump special products other users didn’t have.

“Is it because the new CEO wants to cozy up with the former president?” Howell asked Twitter’s legal team in a hearing dated February 7, four months after Elon Musk took over the helm at Twitter and less than three months after the company reinstated Trump’s account at Musk’s request.

“Is this to make Donald Trump feel like he is a particularly welcomed, renewed user of Twitter?” Howell later asked. George Varghese, an attorney representing Twitter, pushed back against that question and said Twitter was simply exercising its constitutional rights. Twitter did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.

Twitter’s legal team repeatedly clashed with prosecutors over the government’s insistence that the social media company agree to a “nondisclosure” order that would forbid notifying Trump about the warrant and the data being requested. Prosecutors warned that advanced warning could impact their investigation without providing specifics. At times, Twitter expressed concerns that some of the data it was handing over about Trump could be protected under executive privilege, which both the judge and prosecutors seemed to believe was far-fetched.

Howell’s frustration with Twitter’s legal team at times reads like a comedy. During a hearing dated February 9, the judge asked Twitter lawyer Ari Holtzblatt if he understood the full scope of the information listed in the warrant only to abruptly cut him off.

“We’re just going to go through it [the warrant] line by line, something tediously—I tried to avoid at the last hearing; but it seems like that kind of supervision of Twitter is necessary here,” Howell said.

Later, Howell seems to take pleasure when one of Twitter’s other lawyers, appeared to the hearing late and was locked outside the courtroom door. When a lawyer for the government asked if he should wait to continue speaking, the judge didn’t mince words.

“Proceed,” Howell said. “In my chambers, we wait for no man.”
Advocates take issue with broad nondisclosure orders

While the court documents paint a picture of Twitter’s lawyers attempting to take “extraordinary” efforts to notify Trump of the warrant, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Director Ben Wizner told Gizmodo that “advance notice” is precisely what they and other speech organizations have advocated social media companies pursue for other users in the past. Companies like Twitter, Wizner noted, receive thousands of government requests for user data every year, making it virtually impossible for them to challenge every case. Instead, giving users notice of the request gives them the opportunity to go to court and potentially try to narrow an overly broad request.

“It’s the former president, so it’s an unusual situation, but in the ordinary course, we can’t expect Twitter to hire a fancy law firm to go in and negotiate these orders on behalf of all of its users. Wizner said. “The evidence is not going to be spoiled, it’s still held by the social media company and they will still comply with the ultimate decision of the court.”

In this case, Twitter ultimately did fail to comply with a court’s ruling, which led to its $350,00 fine, something Wizner said the ACLU does not condone. There are also some scenarios where notifying a user could harm an investigation but Wizner said it remains unclear if that was actually the case for Trump.

“The burden should be on the government to justify why that notice has to be delayed,” Wizner added. “We are not advocating that social media companies ignore the clear orders of judges, we have long advocated that they request permission to notify their users.”

Still, Twitter’s interest in pushing back against the government in the Trump case runs contrary to a larger trend to the company cow tailing to government data requests. Despite Musk pledging to make Twitter a bastion for free speech absolutism, the company has actually complied with more government data requests for user data than it did prior to his tenure. In the six months after taking over Twitter, according to Twitter data provided to the Lumen database, the company received a total of 971 requests from governments and courts and complied with 808, or around 80% of them. The company only complied with around 50% of requests prior to Musk.

More from Gizmodo

China Is About To Be The World’s Largest Car Exporter

Andy Kalmowitz
Tue, August 15, 2023 

Photo: Zhou Hong (AP)


China is reportedly on track to overtake Japan as the world’s biggest auto exporter by the end of the year, according to Moody’s Analytics. CNBC reports that China is closing the gap with Japan, and the shortfall was only about 70,000 vehicles per month during the quarter that ended in June. That’s almost a 100,000-vehicle jump from the same period last year. Japan has held the title of the world’s biggest car exporter since 2019.

This newfound Chinese dominance stems from surging demand for electric vehicles. In the first half of 2023, China’s EV export receipts reportedly doubled from the same time last year. It’s beyond levels they were seeing before the pandemic. On the other hand, overall exports from Japan and Thailand – which include both ICE vehicles and EVs – haven’t gotten back to pre-pandemic levels.

Moody’s reportedly cited the fact that China has a bit of a competitive advantage when it comes to producing lithium-ion battery cells. This – as you may have imagined – gives the country an edge when it comes to the cost of producing EVs. CNBC says that China produces over half of the world’s lithium supply. A lot of that has to do with the fact China has relatively low labor costs compared to Japan and South Korea. China also reportedly has over half of the world’s refining capacity for the metal.

Some of the world’s largest automakers – like BMW and Tesla – have set up production facilities in the country. Still, foreign brands have not passed local ones like Chery and SAIC.

It’s a good time to be in the business of EVs. CNBC says that electric vehicles made up nearly 30 percent of all passenger cars sold worldwide last year. That’s a huge jump when you consider they had less than 5 percent of the market share pre-pandemic. EV sales reportedly jumped to more than 10 million vehicles in 2022, and China accounted for about 60 percent of that market.

Jalopnik

Exclusive-US imports of auto parts face scrutiny under law on Chinese forced labor

By Nichola Groom
Thu, August 17, 2023 

(Reuters) - Electric-vehicle batteries and other car parts are the latest products under scrutiny as part of Washington's effort to stamp out U.S. links to forced labor in Chinese supply chains, according to a document seen by Reuters, agency statistics and sources.

Until now, enforcement of a year-old U.S. law that bans the import of goods made in Xinjiang, China, has focused mainly on solar panels, tomatoes and cotton apparel. But now, components that may include lithium-ion batteries, tires and major automobile raw materials aluminum and steel are increasingly subject to detentions at the border.

Increased inspection of products destined for auto assembly plants by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) could signal difficult times ahead for automakers who will need solid proof that their supply chains are free of links to a region where the U.S. believes Chinese authorities have established labor camps for Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups.

Beijing denies any abuses.

More than a year of enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) has already stymied development of solar energy projects as detained panel shipments languish in U.S. warehouses. Installations of large solar energy facilities for utilities dropped 31% last year due to constrained panel supplies, according to the U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association trade group, which has said conditions have improved somewhat this year.

Both solar energy and battery-powered electric vehicles are critical industries in the Biden administration’s push to wean the U.S. from dependence on fossil fuels and to combat climate change.

When shipments are detained, CBP provides the importer with a list of examples of products from previous reviews and the kind of documentation required to prove they are not made with forced labor, CBP told Reuters.

That document, a recent version of which was obtained by Reuters through a public records request, was updated between April and June of this year to include batteries, tires, aluminum and steel, a CBP spokesperson said. When the law was beginning to be enforced last year, the agency was primarily focused on the three commodities identified as high priorities in the UFLPA statute: cotton, tomatoes and polysilicon, the raw material used in solar panels.

"The timing of these changes does not reflect any specific changes in strategy or operations," a CBP spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the list of eight product types was "not exhaustive."

The agency did not specifically respond to questions about increased scrutiny of automotive imports. It said its focus "is where there are high risks in U.S. supply chains."

In a report to Congress last month on UFLPA enforcement, CBP listed lithium-ion batteries, tires, "and other automobile components" among the "potential risk areas" it was monitoring.

The expanded focus is reflected in CBP data, which shows 31 automotive and aerospace shipments have been detained under UFLPA since February of this year. Detentions of base metal shipments, which would include aluminum and steel, have also soared from about $1 million per month at the end of 2022 to more than $15 million a month.

CBP said it was not able to disclose additional information related to enforcement activities.

AUTOMAKER EXPOSURE

Though the automotive detentions are small compared with the more than $1 billion of solar panel imports that have stalled at the border, they have put the industry on alert, according to attorneys and supply-chain experts.

"It's a very complex supply chain and obviously a detention would be incredibly disruptive to an auto company," said Dan Solomon, an attorney with Miller & Chevalier who advises manufacturers on potential forced-labor risks.

In May, Solomon spoke about UFLPA compliance at a private event for automotive executives in Detroit.

"Without a doubt the manufacturers are focused on it," he said.

The stepped-up focus on automakers follows a study by Britain's Sheffield Hallam University published in December that said nearly every major automaker has exposure to products made with forced labor in Xinjiang.

The report prompted a probe by U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, which his spokesperson said is ongoing.

"It is appropriate for CBP to scrutinize imports in this space," Wyden said in a statement.

'REAL PERIL'

Of the 13 automakers and suppliers contacted by Reuters, four - Mercedes-Benz USA, Volkswagen, Denso and ZF Friedrichshafen AG - said they had not had products detained under UFLPA.

"Under the UFLPA, we've further increased our due diligence with global media screening, risk analysis and supplier and buyer training on sustainability and human rights," a Volkswagen spokesperson said in an email.

Ford, Bosch, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Stellantis and Magna said in written statements that they were committed to ensuring their supply chains were free of forced labor but did not respond to questions about detainments under UFLPA.

Neither Tesla nor Continental AG responded to requests for comment.

The chief executive of Exiger, a provider of supply-chain management software, said the solar detentions are an indication of where auto component enforcement may be headed.

"If you're a car manufacturer and you have not started mapping your supply chains for the critical minerals and the parts of the sub-assemblies that are going through China and where they are getting their goods from, you are running a real peril as we go into the back half of the year," Exiger CEO Brandon Daniels said in an interview.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington, Jan Schwartz in Hamburg and Daniel Leussink in Tokyo; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

World chess federation bars transgender women from competing in women's events

JAMEY KEATEN
Thu, August 17, 2023

Norwegian Magnus Carlsen of SG Alpine Warriors plays against Poland's Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Chingari Gulf Titans during Global Chess League in Dubai United Arab Emirates, on July 1, 2023. The world's top chess federation on Monday has ruled that transgender women cannot compete in its official events for women until an assessment of gender change is made by its officials. Word of the decision comes as the federation is hosting a World Cup event in Azerbaijan, where top players including No. 1-ranked Grand Master Magnus Carlsen of Norway were attending. 

(AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File) 


GENEVA (AP) — The world's top chess federation has ruled that transgender women cannot compete in its official events for females until an assessment of gender change is made by its officials.

The decision by Lausanne, Switzerland-based federation FIDE was published on Monday and has drawn criticism from advocacy groups and supporters of transgender rights.

FIDE said it and its member federations increasingly have received recognition requests from players who identify as transgender, and that the participation of transgender women would depend on an analysis of individual cases that could take up to two years.

“Change of gender is a change that has a significant impact on a player’s status and future eligibility to tournaments, therefore it can only be made if there is a relevant proof of the change provided,” the federation said.

“In the event that the gender was changed from a male to a female the player has no right to participate in official FIDE events for women until further FIDE’s decision is made,” it said.

Holders of women's titles who change their genders to male would see those titles “abolished,” the federation said, while holding out the possibility of a reinstatement “if the person changes the gender back to a woman.”

“If a player has changed the gender from a man into a woman, all the previous titles remain eligible,” the federation said.

It acknowledged that such questions regarding transgender players were an “evolving issue for chess” and that “further policy may need to be evolved in the future in line with research evidence.”

No one immediately responded to emails to top federation officials and calls to the federation’s headquarters in Switzerland seeking further comment.

Word of the decision comes as the federation is hosting a World Cup event in Azerbaijan where top players including No. 1-ranked Grand Master Magnus Carlsen of Norway are attending.

The federation has open competitions that allow all players to take part, as well as specialized categories, such as for women, young players and even computers.

Many sports involving intense physical activity — which chess does not — have been grappling with how to formulate policies toward transgender athletes in recent years.

The International Cycling Union has joined the governing bodies of track and field and swimming as top-tier Olympic sports addressing the issue of transgender athletes and fairness in women’s events.

Last month, the cycling federation ruled that female transgender athletes who transitioned after male puberty will no longer be able to compete in women’s races.