Gigantic new snake species discovered in Amazon rainforest

Story by By Amy Woodyatt, CNN •

Scientists working in the Amazon rainforest have discovered a new species of snake, rumored to be the biggest in the world.

A team from the University of Queensland traveled to the Ecuadorian Amazon to search for the previously undocumented northern green anaconda (Eunectes akayima), following an invitation from the Waorani people to observe anacondas “rumoured to be the largest in existence,” according to the scientists.

The team joined the hunters on a 10-day expedition to the Bameno region of Baihuaeri Waorani Territory, before paddling down the river system to “find several anacondas lurking in the shallows, lying in wait for prey,” Professor Bryan Fry, a biologist from the University of Queensland, who led the team, said in a statement.

Anacondas are giant, non-venomous constricting snakes found in or near water in warm parts of South America.

“The size of these magnificent creatures was incredible – one female anaconda we encountered measured an astounding 6.3 metres (20.7 feet) long,” Fry said of the team’s discovery, which was made while filming for National Geographic’s upcoming series “Pole to Pole with Will Smith.”

The team also said they had heard anecdotal evidence that snakes of 7.5 meters (24.6 feet) and 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) had been sighted in the area.

Green anacondas are the world’s heaviest snakes, according to the UK’s Natural History Museum, which noted that the heaviest individual ever recorded weighed 227 kilograms (500 pounds). It measured 8.43 meters long (27.7 feet) and 1.11 meters (3.6 feet) wide.

While another species, the reticulated python, tends to be longer – often reaching more than 6.25 meters (20.5 feet) in length – it is lighter.


The discovery was made while filming for a National Geographic series. - Professor Bryan Fry/The University of Queensland© Provided by CNN

But experts studying the creatures discovered that the newly identified northern green anaconda species diverged from the southern green anaconda almost 10 million years ago, and they differ genetically by 5.5%.

“It’s quite significant – to put it in perspective, humans differ from chimpanzees by only about 2 per cent,” Fry said. The findings are described in the journal MDPI Diversity.

The team then set out to compare the genetics of the green anaconda with other specimens elsewhere to assess them as an indicator species for the health of ecosystems, and warned that the Amazon is facing numerous threats.

“Deforestation of the Amazon basin from agricultural expansion has resulted in an estimated 20-31 per cent habitat loss, which may impact up to 40 per cent of its forests by 2050,” Fry said.

Habitat degradation, forest fires, drought and climate change threaten rare species like the anacondas, which exist in such rare ecosystems, he added.

German central bank losses soar, wiping out risk provisions

Story by Jenni Reid 

The German central bank on Friday reported an annual distributable profit of zero, after it released 19.2 billion euros ($20.8 billion) — the entirety of its provisions for general risks — and 2.4 billion euros from its reserves.

"The Bundesbank can bear the financial burdens, as its assets are significantly in excess of its obligations," Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said at a news conference.
The ECB on Thursday posted its first annual loss since 2004, of 1.3 billion euros, even as it also drew on its own risk provisions of 6.6 billion euros, as higher interest rates hit central banks' securities holdings.


Joachim Nagel, president of Deutsche Bundesbank, during the central bank's

© Provided by CNBC

Losses incurred by the German central bank rocketed into the tens of billions in 2023 due to higher interest rates, requiring it to draw on the entirety of its provisions to break even.

The Bundesbank on Friday reported an annual distributable profit of zero, after it released 19.2 billion euros ($20.8 billion) in provisions for general risks, and 2.4 billion euros from its reserves. That leaves it with just under 700 million euros in reserves, the central bank said.

Net interest income was negative for the first time in its 67-year history, declining by 17.9 billion euros year on year to -13.9 billion euros.

"We expect the burdens to be considerable again for the current year. They are likely to exceed the remaining reserves," Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said at a news conference.

The central bank will report a loss carryforward that will be offset through future profits, he said.

Bundesbank's Nagel: There is strength in the German economy

Nagel added: "The Bundesbank's balance sheet is sound. The Bundesbank can bear the financial burdens, as its assets are significantly in excess of its obligations."

The German central bank — and many of its peers — have significant securities holdings exposed to interest rate risk, which have been significantly impacted by the European Central Bank's unprecedented run of rate hikes.

The ECB on Thursday posted its first annual loss since 2004, of 1.3 billion euros, even as it also drew on its own risk provisions of 6.6 billion euros. It follows the euro zone central bank's near decade of financial stimulus, printing money and buying large amounts of government bonds to boost growth, which are now requiring hefty payouts.

The central bank of the Netherlands on Friday reported a 3.5 billion euro loss for 2023.

Central banks stress that annual profits and losses do not impact their ability to enact monetary policy and control price stability. However, they are watched as a potential threat to credibility, particularly if a bailout becomes a risk, and they impact central banks' payouts to other sources.

In the case of the Bundesbank, there have been no payments to the federal budget for several years and, it said Friday, there are unlikely to be for a "longer" period of time. The ECB, meanwhile, will not make profit distributions to euro zone national central banks for 2023.

Nagel further said Friday that raising interest rates had been the right thing to do to curb high inflation, and that the ECB's Governing Council will only be able to consider rate cuts when it is convinced inflation is back to target based on data.

On the struggling German economy, he said: "Our experts expect the German economy to gradually regain its footing during the course of the year and embark onto a growth path. First, foreign sales markets are expected to provide tail winds. Second, private consumption should benefit from an improvement in households' purchasing power."

Julia Malott: Politicizing the transgender debate does a disservice to gender dysphoric youth

Opinion by Julia Malott • 


In the wake of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s announcement of comprehensive reforms to the province’s transgender care protocols, a flurry of commentary has erupted, spanning a broad spectrum of opinions on the social and medical treatment of transgender youth.

The polarizing opinions largely align with partisan biases, offering either staunch support for, or vehement opposition to, the proposed policies. Astonishingly, there’s been scant exploration of the complexities inherent in such policies, which is a disservice to gender dysphoric children.

A nuanced understanding seems necessary, given that the irreversible nature of transitioning in childhood is matched by an equally consequential decision to forego such medical interventions until adulthood. Once sexual development has taken hold — whether through natural puberty or cross-sex hormones — irreversible changes happen to the body. The stakes are high with either outcome.

Unfortunately, a lack of nuance is starkly evident in our political discourse. Earlier this month, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre broke his silence on Alberta’s policy shift and weighed in on the use of hormone therapies and puberty blockers for minors. Yet his response was marked by contradiction and divisiveness.

He stated that, “We should protect children” and their ability to “make adult decisions when they become adults,” but also that, “We should protect the rights of parents to make their own decision with regards to their children.” Pressed further, he clarified that he is against puberty blockers for children. He then blamed the status quo on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (who has been equally divisive in his own statements)

Poilievre’s contradictory statements ignore that a decision for a child not to undergo puberty blockers is itself a decision that cannot be undone in adulthood, because it results in profound changes to the body that cannot be completely reversed. It is those changes that lead a transgender adult to stick out in public and receive much of the negative attention they are often subjected to.

He also appeared to stumble on the contradictions inherent in Smith’s recent policy changes, which respect parental rights over social transitioning and sex education, but impose restrictions on hormonal treatments, even when consensus might exist between the child, its parents and medical professionals that such a treatment might be best.

(More recently, Poilievre stated his opposition to transwomen participating in women’s sports and using female-only spaces, such as change rooms and washrooms.)

The Conservative leader’s comments underscore the broader issue of transgender health care moving away from scholarly discussion and being dragged into the arena of partisan politics. As noted by York social work professor Kinnon MacKinnon and Pablo Expósito-Campos, writing in the Conversation , the resulting polarization and spread of misinformation may pose greater risks to gender-diverse individuals than the medical treatments in question.

The direction of our discourse mirrors past debates over abortion, which quickly became mired in political ideology. The abortion discussion became framed in terms that implied stark opposition between the “pro-choice” and “pro-life” camps, as if most Canadians are not broadly in support of both choice and life as guiding principles. In social politics, solutions lie in carefully balancing virtues, not pitting them against one another as though they’re diametrically opposed.


With minds already made up on whether a transition is to be celebrated or condemned, partisan players are all too comfortable making any case that will advance their position, with little consideration for the real-life consequences.

Statements from Conservative politicians continue to overlook Canada’s troubling history of LGBTQ+ abuses, which persist to this day, and are reluctant to recognize that one of the primary benefits of medical transitions in childhood — achieving more seamless post-transition integration as one’s affirmed gender — can significantly mitigate the challenges faced by transgender individuals who are marginalized in a society that’s deeply divided by these political debates.

On the other end of the political spectrum, progressive voices have yet to acknowledge the medical risks and regrets involved in transitioning, acting as though every desire professed by a child is unquestionably flawless. These narratives from progressive quarters have painted medical transitioning as a straightforward, low-risk endeavour with negligible regret rates, framing it moreso as a journey of self-discovery.

Progressive resources have been leaned upon heavily under current policy. Juno Dawson, in her influential work, “This Book Is Gay,” which is considered a top resource for LGBTQ+ youth, addresses this topic directly. Dawson states that, “There is no such thing as ‘sex changes for kids.’ It doesn’t happen. If a young trans or non-binary person wants medical intervention (many do not) … they will have extensive counselling before possibly being prescribed a course of hormone blockers that delay the onset of puberty.

“All this means is that if that individual chooses to make permanent physical changes as a young adult, they won’t then have to counteract the bodily consequences of puberty, ie., breasts, a deeper voice, etc. It basically saves them a lot of time on a surgeons table at a later date.”

While Dawson highlights the benefits of puberty blockers for those who continue their transition into adulthood, her vacuous portrayal simplifies the medical process involved in prescribing these treatments. Contrary to the rigorous medical review one might expect, Canadian health-care providers, operating under an affirmation-first model, often face pressure to prescribe puberty blockers without extensive vetting.

This approach, aimed at avoiding crossing into conversion-therapy practices, relies on the principle that one’s professed gender identity must always be affirmed, even by medical professionals. Dawson’s reassurance that permanent changes are deferred until adulthood also overlooks the significant issue of infertility resulting from the use of puberty blockers, as they prevent the attainment of reproductive maturity.

Our conversation around transgender youth care needs to be more thoughtful and medically grounded, and politicization does not lend well to that endeavour. Several European countries have recognized potential shortcomings in the current standards of gender-affirming care and have embarked on systematic reviews of the medical literature to ensure evidence-based approaches that prioritize the well-being of gender dysphoric youth.

This is a discussion that would be better to have within the medical community, rather than the political sphere. We should follow the evidence of where gender-affirming care yields powerfully positive life-changing outcomes for gender dysphoric youth, while also taking a cautious approach in deference to the profound nature of these interventions.

Wouldn’t that service gender dysphoric youth better than the politicization of their health care?

National Post

Murray Mandryk: No integrity in candidate on Sask. rights commission

Opinion by Murray Mandryk • 

Bronwyn Eyre sees no problem with Saskatchewan Party candidates serving on the independent Human Rights Commission.© Provided by Leader Post

We once lived in simpler times when matters of controversy like the ones the Saskatchewan Party government now faces were avoided by rules roughly based on good, old-fashioned integrity.

Yes, even in the world of politics where integrity has never exactly been in overabundance, there were always some unwritten rules. It’s funny how time in government clouds one’s view of those rules and where lines of integrity are drawn.

The latest example comes from Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre, who — after replacing the previous Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC) that saw resignations over the pronoun bill — is now defending her government’s appointment of potential Saskatchewan Party candidate for Saskatoon Southeast, Mubarik Syed.

The problem isn’t Syed wanting to be an MLA. The problem is: How will the human rights commission be viewed if he doesn’t win the Sask. Party nomination or seat and returns?

Frankly, the problem is: How is the SHRC now viewed even if he doesn’t return? In what world is it OK for a known, active partisan to be part of the independent, quasi-judicial body?

Judges who may have once been politically active absolutely refrain from so much as a political conversation once they don their black robes. Shouldn’t the same apply to those appointed to quasi-judicial bodies?

According to a story by the Leader-Post’s Alec Salloum, Syed began considering a run for the Sask. Party back in November before his January appointment (which raises a separate question about the ethics of government giving one of its candidates a prestigious appointment as he embarks on a political run).

“This process was started a long time ago,” Syed said. “The timing is such that it’s been just announced now and that is not something that I can — this is not my decision, obviously.”

No, obviously, it was completely his decision to accept the human rights commission appointment. Obviously, he had complete control over that decision. But, more to the point, obviously, cabinet made the appointment.

Credit Syed for wanting to serve as a means of “expressing gratitude for how the country and province” has welcomed him. Diversity is welcomed in the Sask. Party caucus.

But it’s nonsense to suggest there is no potential conflict because, as Syed explained, “there is no material gains” for him.

This is nothing but a potential conflict and one that, unfortunately, will linger with this new commission suffering from a lack of public confidence since Eyre made wholesale new appointments last month. Really, the problem is neither he nor Eyre can see this as a problem.

In fact, it’s far more troubling than the less consequential concerns over commissioners or their companies making a donation to the Sask. Party by buying a plate for the premier’s dinner party fundraiser or even a more direct contribution.

For Eyre to say “partisan affiliation simply didn’t come into consideration” is rather unbelievable — especially coming from a justice minister. (Although, that she seems OK with the private lawyers she hired raising accusations of “judicial activism,” one supposes the sky may now be the limit.)

Ask yourself: Would she say the same thing if the situation was reversed under an NDP government? Would the Sask. Party opposition of the past be OK with this? Would any Opposition?

For Eyre to then say it’s “unfortunate to suggest” anyone who throws their hat in the ring will no longer be able to serve on commissions or boards is simply gaslighting.

Coming from a political party that does its utmost to dissuade opposing candidates from running by going over their every social medial post in hopes of finding a nugget of embarrassment, this is more than a tad hypocritical.

But, again, no one is even saying Syed can’t run. What they are saying is he can’t run and be a human rights commissioner ruling on government decisions.

It’s a matter of integrity … which used to mean something.

Murray Mandryk is the political columnist for the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

Related

Mandryk: Sask government can blame itself for fostering SHRC doubts

Former commissioner says appointment of entirely new Sask. Human Rights Commission 'very unusual'

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Judge approves Binance $4.3 billion guilty plea as US seeks to modify founder Zhao's bond

FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of Binance logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo© Thomson Reuters

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday accepted Binance's guilty plea and more than $4.3 billion penalty for violating federal anti-money laundering and sanctions laws through lapses in internal controls at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.

U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle approved the plea, which includes a $1.81 billion criminal fine and $2.51 billion of forfeiture, about an hour after the government proposed changes to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao's bond, drawing an objection from Zhao's lawyers.

Binance's plea announced in November resolved a years-long probe that found the exchange had failed to report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions involving designated terrorist groups including Hamas, al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

Prosecutors said Binance's platform also supported the sale of child sexual abuse materials and was among the largest recipients of ransomware proceeds.

In a statement on Friday, Binance said it accepted responsibility, has upgraded its anti-money laundering and "know-your-customer" protocols, and has made "significant progress" toward changes required under its plea agreement.

Zhao has been free in the United States on a $175 million bond after also pleading guilty in November to money laundering violations.

His plea included a $50 million fine and required that he step down as Binance chief executive.

In a court filing, prosecutors said the proposed bond changes were meant to reflect Jones' orders that Zhao stay in the continental United States and under court officer supervision until his April 30 sentencing.

The conditions include that Zhao provide three days notice of any travel plans, surrender his passports and maintain his current residence unless he gets approval for a change.

Pretrial services officers are recommending that Zhao also be subjected to location monitoring.

Prosecutors said they have discussed the changes with Zhao's lawyers several times, but that they "object to this motion as written."

Zhao's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The cases are U.S. v Binance Holdings Ltd, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, No. 23-cr-00178, and U.S. v. Zhao in the same court, No. 23-cr-00179.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)

Pakistani Islamist parties rally against top judge on blasphemy accusations

Story by Reuters • 

Supporters of the religious and political party Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) protest against what they say the blasphemous remarks by the chief justice of Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan February 23, 2024. 

REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro© Thomson Reuters

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Hundreds of supporters from Pakistani Islamist parties on Friday rallied to protest against what they say were blasphemous remarks by the country's chief justice.

The protest call, by various religious and political groups led by hardline Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) whose rallying cry is "death to blasphemers", said that remarks by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa in a case against a member of the minority Ahmadi community were blasphemous.


Supporters of the religious and political party Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) listen to the speech of a leader during a protest against what they say the blasphemous remarks by the chief justice of Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan February 23, 2024. 

REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro© Thomson Reuters

The court had granted bail to an Ahmadi community member earlier this week, ruling that blasphemy charges against him did not stand. The man, accused of blasphemy for distributing Islamic literature, had been in jail for 13 months.

A view of the Supreme Court of Pakistan building during sunset hours in Islamabad, Pakistan October 3, 2023. 

REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File photo© Thomson Reuters

"We (will) monitor the sermons and protests outside mosques," said police official Abrar Hussain in southern city of Karahci, warning the protesters to remain peaceful.

Hundreds of the protesters took to streets in the northwestern city of Peshawar, chanting slogans against the chief justice, said police official Mubarak Khan.

The top court on Thursday issued a statement after the Islamist parties and some political groups launched a campaign accusing the chief justice of deviating in his ruling from the constitutional definition of a Muslim, which excludes Ahmadis.

"This impression is absolutely wrong," the court statement said, deploring what it called a "vicious campaign" against Isa.

The campaign against Isa was also joined by some supporters and aides of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who think a ruling by the chief justice stripping Khan's party of its symbol on ballots cost them votes in an election on Feb. 8.

Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party's information secretary Rauf Hasan did not respond to a request for a comment.

Human rights groups say Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws are often misused to settle personal scores, and just accusing someone of such a crime could lead to mob justice.

Judges hesitate to take up such cases for fear of retribution, which leaves accused languishing in jail for years without cases being heard.

Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan. No one has been executed by the state for it, but numerous accused have been lynched by outraged mobs.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad, Ariba Shahid in Karachi and Mushtaq Ali in Peshawar; Editing by Peter Graff)

'Big brother' satellite capable of zooming in on ANYONE, anywhere from space is set to launch in 2025 - and privacy experts say 'we should definitely be worried'

Story by Nikki Main Science Reporter For Dailymail.Com • 

Experts worry a new satellite with close-up imaging will invade people's privacy

The satellite, created by Albedo, will be only 100 miles from the Earth's surface

READ MORE: Satellite sees hotspots on Earth from space

Privacy experts are sounding the alarm on a new satellite capable of spying on your every move that is set to launch in 2025.

The satellite, created by startup company Albedo, is so high quality it can zoom in on people or license plates from space, raising concerns among expert that it will create a 'big brother is always watching' scenario.

Albedo claims the satellite won't have facial recognition software but doesn't mention that it will refrain from imaging people or protecting people's privacy.

Albedo signed two separate million-dollar contracts with the U.S. Air Force and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center to help the government monitor potential threats to U.S. national security.



Albedo claims the satellite won't have facial recognition software but doesn't mention that it will refrain from imaging people or protecting people's privacy.© Provided by Daily Mail

The company raised $35 million last month to commercialize its Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) satellite, in addition to the $48 million it raised in September 2022.

Albedo co-founder, Topher Haddad, said he and his team hope to eventually have a fleet of 24 spacecraft.

'This is a giant camera in the sky for any government to use at any time without our knowledge,' Jennifer Lynch, general counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told the New York Times.

'We should definitely be worried.'

'It's taking us one step closer to a Big-Brother-is-watching kind of world,' added Jonathan C. McDowell, , a Harvard astrophysicist.

Albedo was founded in 2020 and started building its satellites the following year with its close-up technology made possible by the Trump administration's steps to relax government regulations on civil satellite resolution in 2018.

Then-President Donald Trump updated the U.S. Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices and created new guidelines for satellite design and operations.

Under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) previous regulations, it was illegal to build a satellite could see less than 30 centimeters - at that range it could only identify cars and homes, but not individual people.

But under Trump's new directive, satellites were allowed to track objects in space about the size of 10 centimeters, which would improve how the Air Force could catalogue objects.


The satellites use Nighttime Thermal Infrared Imaging to determine if an object is passive or active and if it's moving© Provided by Daily Mail

The majority of satellites are orbiting about 160 km (100 miles) to 2,000 km (1,242 miles) away from Earth, and all can currently home in on objects that are about 30 centimeters (one foot) in diameter.

From this distance, satellites can only view things like street signs and the tail numbers on aircraft, but Albedo aims to zoom in even closer.

The company's satellites will create images that are only 10 centimeters (four inches) in diameter, with telescope mirrors that are polished to the size of 1/1000 the size of a human hair.


Albedo's satellites will orbit as low as 100 miles away from Earth's surface and could be used for life-saving measures like helping authorities map disaster zones. Experts are concerned that they will instead be used to track individuals and affect people's privacy© Provided by Daily Mail

The smaller centimeter imagery means the images won't be as pixelated, allowing those using the satellite to view objects, places, and people with more accuracy.

The satellites will orbit as low as 100 miles away from Earth's surface and could be used for life-saving measures like helping authorities map disaster zones.

Albedo's satellites use an intuitive interface to monitor and track trends for its existing imagery and its cloud-centric delivery pipeline can collect information in under an hour.

Haddad addressed concerns that the satellites would destroy people's right to privacy in a public forum, writing that the company is 'acutely aware of the privacy implications and potential for abuse/misuse,' and expects it to be 'an ongoing, evolving issue over time.'

He confirmed that the satellite's 10-centimeter resolution will be able to identify people but claimed the company will only approve customers on a case-by-case basis and will build 'robust internal tools to find bad actors, as well as the obvious measures of adding punitive clauses to our terms and conditions.'

In March 2022, Albedo received a $1.25 million contract with the U.S. Air Force for the second phase of development to determine if the satellites could identify missile tubes on warships, hardware on electronics vans, and fairings on fighter jets.

The company also said its satellites can help governments 'monitor hotspots, eliminate uncertainty, and mobilize with speeds.'


Albedo's satellites will hover only 100 miles away from the Earth's surface and will capture small details like missile tubes on warships, hardware on electronics vans, and fairings on fighter jets.© Provided by Daily Mail

In April 2023, Albedo signed another $1.25 million contract with the National Air and Space Intelligence Center – which assesses foreign threats – for Nighttime Thermal Infrared Imaging that combines visible and thermal imagery to detect if an object is active or passive and if its moving or stationary.

'We're committed to accelerating the Air Force and Space Force's ability to understand its performance against our problem sets and apply our capabilities on-orbit,' said Joseph Rouge, U.S. Space Force Deputy Director of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance.

'Nighttime thermal infrared imaging can help our intelligence analysts, warfighters, decision-makers, and field operators solve complex emerging threats day and night,' he added.

Then in December, the company signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the National Reconnaissance Office to use the satellite's thermal infrared data to provide 'geospatial intelligence for climate, food security and the environment through daily surface temperature data and analytics.'

Satellite can see inside your apartment


Fact-box text

Haddad claimed the technology will help curb climate change by showing which regions are most affected, while also saying it 'can be simultaneously used to support our national defense mission and mitigate our global environmental/climate crisis.'


The latter reasoning is alarming to experts who say that while VLEO satellites can be helpful in some scenarios, the potential for overreach and human rights violations is increasingly concerning.

John Pike, the director of Global Security.org told the New York Times that Albedo is downplaying the potential effects of creating a satellite that can make out human forms.

'You're going to start seeing people,' he told the outlet. 'You're going to see more than dots.'

In the past, private satellites have proved useful for research and commercial use and helped the government with issues including 'tracking global oil stockpiles, measuring deforestation in the Amazon, and identifying boats engaged in illegal fishing,' according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

'They have also been used to illuminate human rights abuses, providing evidence of labor camps in North Korea and Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria,' it added when addressing proposed rules for licensing private satellites.

But the EFF said that aside from these positive uses, more detailed satellites could infringe on human rights, saying: 'The same technology that exposes human rights abuses can also be used to perpetuate them.'

Experts fear that this could mean privacy will become a thing of the past and government agencies will be able to view anyone, anytime, anywhere without their knowledge.

'This is a giant camera in the sky for any government to use at any time without our knowledge,' Jennifer Lynch, the EFF general counsel, told the New York Times, adding: 'We should definitely be worried.'

 

Duckworth doubts Republicans will back IVF bill after court says embryos are people

Reacting to a controversial new Alabama Supreme Court ruling that embryos should be considered people under the law, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth said on Sunday that she was "devastated" for how this could affect treatments like in vitro fertilization.

She also called out conservatives whom she suggested were being disingenuous in distancing themselves from the case.

ABC News
Republicans have put ‘rights of a fertilized egg over the rights of women’: Duckworth
Duration 5:48  View on Watch

"Let's make it clear: Republicans will say whatever they need to say to try to cover themselves on this, but they've been clear and Donald Trump has been the guy leading this effort to eliminate women's reproductive rights and reproductive choice," Duckworth, an Illinois lawmaker, told ABC News "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz. "And so this is the next step."

Referring to her Access to Family Building Act, which would guarantee access to IVF and other reproductive services, Duckworth added, "It's been crickets since the Alabama ruling ... not a single Republican has reached out to me on the bill. I've introduced a bill, multiple times, now multiple Congresses -- but frankly, let's see if they vote for it when we when we bring it to the floor."

Duckworth understands firsthand the fertility challenges many women face. After years of trying to have children, she turned to IVF, eventually having two daughters because of the procedure. She even made history in 2018 by becoming the first senator to have a child, her second daughter, while serving in the chamber.

She reflected on her experience with IVF on "This Week" in describing the potential ramifications of the Alabama ruling by the all-Republican state Supreme Court.

"The decision is very clear that a fertilized egg is a child, is a human being, which means that for example in my case, when we have five fertilized eggs and three were non-viable. When my doctor discarded those with my consent -- that would be considered potentially manslaughter or murder," Duckworth said.MORE: Physicians share concerns over IVF treatments pausing after Alabama court ruling

Alabama's attorney general has said he won't prosecute IVF providers or families who use the treatment, but some Alabama clinics have already halted their IVF services over fears the court ruling creates new legal risks for the clinics, doctors and patients.

"Republicans have put the rights of a fertilized egg over the rights of the woman. And that is not something that I think the American people agree with," Duckworth said Sunday.


Trump and other leading Republicans have come out in support of IVF since the Alabama court ruling -- "We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies not harder," Trump said last week -- but they have not said, specifically, how the law should change regarding whether embryos are people.

Some previous Republican proposals on reproductive rights also did not include exceptions for IVF.


In this March 15, 2023, file photo, Sen. Tammy Duckworth talks to reporters during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE

Duckworth on Sunday linked the latest ruling to the decadeslong push to restrict abortion, which led to the U.S. Supreme Court's reversing Roe v. Wade in 2022, after Trump named three conservative-leaning justices to the bench.

Going into the 2024 presidential campaign, Duckworth argued, "This is what we're going to be talking about."

"We're going to talk about the fact that Donald Trump is the guy and Republicans have been working literally for years to take away your reproductive choice, which includes access to IVF for people struggling to start families," she said.

In the wake of Trump's latest double-digit win in the GOP primary race, in South Carolina on Saturday, Duckworth, a co-chair of President Joe Biden's reelection campaign, said their message will be to contrast him with Trump, who is hammering at Biden over inflation, immigration and foreign policy.

"Donald Trump has been very clear about what he's doing. He's not running for president for the American people. He's not running for president to take care of working families. He's running for president for himself," Duckworth said.

She also blamed Trump for the failure of a bipartisan border package in the Senate despite "compromise" from both parties, calling it a "knife" in the back of Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford, who worked for months to broker the deal -- only to have Trump and some other conservatives dismiss it as insufficient and weak.

"When we gave Republicans what they wanted, it was Donald Trump who killed the compromise," Duckworth said.

When pressed by Raddatz on whether she would support Biden taking executive action that would make it harder for migrants to claim asylum -- something that is under consideration and likely to draw backlash from progressive Democrats -- Duckworth said she was in favor of that because of the "crisis" at the border.

She also highlighted provisions in the failed border package that would have allowed asylum-seekers to work while their cases were being adjudicated.

"There was stuff that fixed the border problems but also allowed us to let to be humane about how we take care of the migrants who are here," she said.

DEI supporters see echoes of America’s fraught racial history in attacks on diversity efforts

Story by By Athena Jones, CNN •

Dr. Franklin Tuitt has 25 years of experience as an academic and an administrator in higher education, with many of those years spent fostering diversity, equity and inclusion – commonly known as DEI.

Tuitt, now the University of Connecticut’s vice president and chief diversity officer, told CNN he sees historic parallels between the growing outrage over DEI and the backlash to previous efforts to integrate education and expand civil rights.

“Some of the tactics that are being used, whether it’s through legislation or through intimidation, are tactics that have been used previously,” Tuitt said.

But he argues this wave of attacks is more targeted than anything he has seen before.

“I think it is fair to say that we’re seeing a much more focused and intentional and strategic effort to limit the effects of diversity, equity and inclusion and it’s a very multilayered approach,” he said. “I do think that is new.”

“It’s taken on a greater level of focus than I’ve seen in my career in higher education,” he added.

As efforts to promote DEI in academia increasingly come under fire, defenders, like Tuitt, tell CNN they are trying to uphold American ideals while critics accuse them of advantaging some groups – like racial minorities – over others.



Signs reading "Say No To Critical Hate Theory" laid out during a Save Our Schools rally in Leesburg, Virginia, in September 2021.

 - Pete Marovich/The New York Times/Redux© Provided by CNN

Critics link DEI to ‘critical race theory’

Paulette Granberry Russell, president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, said she feels the criticisms of DEI have negatively impacted public opinion about what the work can accomplish in the classroom and beyond.

“I think the strategy has been somewhat successful in terms of reinforcing fears and using inflammatory language that misrepresents what this work is all about,” she said.

Tuitt said, the goal of DEI programming is to create institutional environments that allow all students to access resources and achieve at the highest level regardless of their background.

“Our students need to graduate from our institutions being set up to succeed in an increasingly diverse and global society,” he said, adding that it’s important for students to learn about America’s history of discrimination and structural inequities so they can shape a better world.

“We need leaders and change agents capable of creating systems that don’t exploit others.”

But some of the most outspoken critics of DEI initiatives and polices have argued they are unnecessary, divisive, harmful and even, in the words of billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, racist.

Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, who also opposes DEI, has led a yearslong crusade against “critical race theory,” or CRT, which recognizes racism in American society as systemic and institutional. He suggested in a December essay for the City Journal that institutions like Harvard have used DEI initiatives to indoctrinate students in CRT.

CNN contacted Rufo for comment. He did not respond by the time of publication.

Since the start of 2023, more than 70 bills targeting DEI in academia have been introduced in more than two dozen states, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Eight have become law.

In some cases, state legislatures interested in dismantling these policies get help from scholars hired by organizations like the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank that believes “the 1964 Civil Rights act, and especially its administrative and jurisprudential offspring, have warped American law and culture and traded one set of racial preferences for another.”

Ryan P. Williams, president of the institute, told CNN he believes the ideology behind DEI is “fundamentally anti-American.”

“The words that the acronym ‘DEI’ represent sound nice, but it is nothing more than affirmative action and racial preferences by a different name, a system that features racial headcounts and arbitrarily assigned roles of ‘oppressor’ and ‘oppressed’ groups in America,” Williams said in an emailed statement. “If we continue to do democracy this way, it will only end in acrimony, strife, resentment, and American collapse.”

The anti-DEI campaign has put colleges and universities under a spotlight. CNN contacted some two dozen universities that have been recognized for their commitment to DEI, but only a handful agreed to discuss the issue at all and just one agreed to a visit.


A view of the campus of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, on in October 2022.

 - Erin Schaff/The New York Times/Redux© Provided by CNN

Defining diversity

Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville has been recognized for its commitment to diversity 10 years in a row by Insight into Diversity Magazine.

Dr. Sheila Caldwell, the SIU system’s vice president for anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion, said the university defines diversity broadly, encompassing not just ethnic background, but also gender, sexual orientation, physical ability and political, religious, socioeconomic and geographic differences.

After noticing racial differences among students dropping out of school, Caldwell said SIU Edwardsville introduced an initiative that increased first to second year retention rates for Black students by 10 percent and for Hispanic students by nearly four percent. And although they were not targeted, retention rates for White students rose too, Caldwell said.

The school has also seen an increase in enrollment for Black, Hispanic and Asian students and has improved retention of diverse faculty members, Caldwell said.

To be effective, supporters say DEI initiatives must be well-defined and measurable and there must be genuine buy-in from university leadership. Dan Mahony, president of the Southern Illinois University System, agreed.

“One of the things I think that’s really important to point out is a focus on DEI anywhere in society usually helps everybody,” Mahony said. “When we do this right, everybody wins.”

Some students CNN interviewed said it was important to learn from and to learn to work with people of different backgrounds and views.

“With any type of social change, there’s always backlash,” said Brandi Spann, an SIU Edwardsville junior. “But I think the direction we’re headed in the future is this is necessary.”


Once a DEI officer in higher education, Erec Smith now says he thinks increasingly the focus of DEI has shifted to mean racial diversity only. - CNN© Provided by CNN

DEI supporter turned critic

Erec Smith said while he believes some institutions are taking the right approach to DEI, many are not, in part because these days “diversity means diversity of skin color and that’s it.”

Smith was a DEI officer at Drew University in New Jersey and chaired the diversity committee at Ursinus College outside Philadelphia, but he said he became disillusioned by what he saw as an increasing focus among DEI advocates on things like microaggressions and an us-versus-them framework.

“It is important to ask for operational definitions. When people say ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ ask ‘What do you mean by that?’” said Smith, now a research fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

“I want to see a DEI that is undergirded by classical liberal values like individuality, equality, merit, right? Free speech and forgiveness.”

Caldwell said the DEI framework at SIU is heavily inspired by the words and ideals in America’s founding documents, like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

“American principles are DEI principles,” she said. “We seek to fulfill those promises made to groups that have been historically denied.

DEI defenders argue legislation and intimidation, key tools used to maintain the status quo during the fight for equal rights throughout the 20th century, remain the primary tactics being employed by DEI critics today. These days, harsh rhetoric has mainly replaced threats of physical violence. But Tuitt said the goal is the same – to slow efforts to create a more equitable society.

“The attacks we’re seeing on DEI are not new,” Tuitt said. “These things happen in cycles.”

Tuitt likened the present fight to his own experience as a student at Connecticut College in the 1980s, when he joined demonstrations advocating for a greater focus in the curriculum on diverse voices and histories, the societal contributions of a broader range of people and for diversity training for faculty and staff.

“We were conscious about the type of environment that we were experiencing in our institutions,” he said. “And then, depending on how well institutions responded to those requests, you started to see pushback with this notion that some communities were losing ground because other communities were being provided with access to resources.”

Caldwell worries the ongoing criticism of DEI efforts could have a chilling effect that limits discussions around the roles that bigotry and inequitable access to resources play in American society.

“That’s one of the reasons why it’s being attacked, because if you remove it from higher ed, you are left with very few spaces in America where this dialogue is consistent and ongoing,” she said.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

‘Woke’ should not be used as a negative, warns C of E’s first black female bishop

Story by Harriet Sherwood • THE GUARDIAN

Right Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Her recent remarks were made to C of E’s General Synod, which voted to create racial injustice action plans. Photograph: Reuters© Provided by The Guardian

“Woke” should not be used as a negative term, the Church of England’s first black female bishop has said, in a stinging rebuke against government ministers and others “who are threatened” by the social justice movement.

Such people want others to think it was a “sin created by the left”, the Right Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the bishop of Dover, told the C of E’s ruling assembly, the General Synod.

It decided by 364-0 votes that all parishes should develop local action plans to address racial injustice and dioceses should collect relevant data on race and ethnicity.

Related: C of E urged to nurture working-class clergy amid concerns of prejudice

Hudson-Wilkin, who was appointed as a C of E bishop in 2019, said: “When it comes to the topic of racial justice, I have heard the word ‘woke’ being bandied about by many people, including government ministers, certain radio presenters and those in the media. And in every case, they’ve used it incorrectly.

“The term woke originated in the USA and it was a black terminology, speaking specifically and directly to black people regarding the need to wake up and stay alert, to be consciously aware. So it is not just a mere word, it is a movement.

“Those who are threatened by the authenticity of this movement want to scare us into thinking that being woke is a sin created by people on the left. But as the people of God, we should never be afraid or embarrassed of being called an advent people, always in the business of preparing and staying alert.

“So I want to address the elephant in the room … in case there is anybody nurturing those incorrect thoughts and mumbling under one’s breath or to your neighbour, ‘here we go again’, negatively using the term woke.

“We must remain awake to the reality that the church’s commitment to racial justice is not the church attempting to follow the world’s direction of travel regarding inclusion, equality and diversity, but instead it is a given. It comes from a deep desire to follow the lead of Christ.”

She added: “The racial justice mandate flows not from identity politics, but from our primary identity in Christ. The gospel calls us to prophetically address head-on the evils in our society, indeed in our world, which leave some parts of humanity dehumanised.”

The issue of racial justice was not an “optional extra that we can choose to address if we feel like it”, she said, adding that “lip service will not do, and neither will ticking boxes”. Rather, the “church’s feet must be held to the fire”.

A report presented to the synod meeting said progress on racial justice was “moderate at best”, and only 14 out of 42 dioceses had done extensive work on the issue. “The entire church community must actively engage in this process and see it as a long-term endeavour,” the report said. “This means consistently examining and challenging our biases, dismantling systemic barriers and fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals are valued and respected.”

The C of E has sought to address racism within the church over recent years. In 2020, Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, said the church was “still deeply institutionally racist”. He added: “I’m ashamed of our history and I’m ashamed of our failure … I’m ashamed of my lack of urgent voice to the church.”

It has encouraged more black and minority ethnic church-goers to consider ordination, and pledged to nurture and promote black and minority ethnic clergy. But a study published in 2022 found that the church remained a “hostile and unsafe place” for many non-white clergy, and a “white (specifically middle-class) English culture” must be challenged.

Last year, the C of E said it was setting up a £100m fund for communities affected by historic slavery after a report found that the church had benefited from the trade. Welby called it a “shameful past”.

The church has also reviewed thousands of monuments in parish churches and cathedrals that contained references to slavery and slavers. It has apologised for racism towards people of the Windrush generation of migrants from the Caribbean, many of whom were rejected by parish churches.