#METOO #BELEIVESURVIVORS

Paris Hilton leads protest and calls for closure of Utah school

Associated Press,TODAY•October 10, 2020

Paris Hilton has been speaking out about abuse she said she suffered at a boarding school in Utah, and on Friday she took her push nearly to the school’s front doors.

Hilton organized a protest in a park near Provo Canyon School, along with several hundreds of others who share stories of abuse they say they suffered there or at similar schools for troubled youth. She is calling for the closure of the school.

Hilton, a socialite who became a reality TV star, and many others wore black T-shirts with red letters on the back that said, “survivor” and on the front read, “breaking code silence,” a reference to Hilton’s new campaign to compel others to shed light on what she believes is a corrupt industry that manipulates parents and traumatizes youth. It was Hilton’s first time back to the area since she was there as a teen, when she says she was verbally, emotionally and physically abused in what she described as “torture.”

Image: Paris Hilton (Rick Bowmer / AP)

Since a documentary titled “This is Paris” was released on YouTube last month, other celebrities have also spoken out about their experiences at that school or others like it, including Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris Jackson and tattoo artist Kat Von D.

“It’s something so traumatic that you don’t even want to think it’s real,” Hilton said in a speech to the crowd. “It’s something I blocked from my memory for forever.”

Related: Jackson shared her story in solidarity with Hilton.

The institution is now under new ownership and the administration has said it can’t comment on anything that came before, including Hilton’s time there. Owners of the school declined comment Friday, pointing to a statement on the school website that said the previous owners sold the school in 2000. The school aims to help youth who have struggled in typical home and school environments, some of whom are dealing with drug addiction or acting out violently, according to the website.

“We are committed to providing high-quality care to youth with special, and often complex, emotional, behavioral and psychiatric needs,” the statement read.

In the documentary, Hilton says she got into the nightlife scene in New York as a teenager and would sneak out and go to clubs while her family lived at the Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Image: Paris Hilton (Rick Bowmer / AP)

Her exasperated parents sent her away to various programs to straighten out. When she was 17, Hilton was finally sent to what she describes as “the worst of the worst”: Provo Canyon School in Utah.

She stayed at Provo for 11 months and says while there, she was abused mentally and physically, claiming staff would beat her, force her to take unknown pills, watch her shower and send her to solitary confinement without clothes as punishment.

The 39-year-old says the treatment was so “traumatizing” that she suffered nightmares and insomnia for years.

After she went home, she was determined to protect herself and eventually constructed the persona that she embodied when she became famous on the reality show “The Simple Life” in the early 2000s, the documentary revealed.

Image: Paris Hilton (Rick Bowmer / AP)

Hilton and others at the protest vowed to push forward until all schools that mistreat youth are shut down. After she and others spoke at the park, she led the group in a protest walk until they arrived at the front gates of the school, where she stopped to pose in front of a school sign holding her own poster that said, “Shut down Provo.”

“There is thousands of these schools all around. Provo Canyon is just the first one that I want to go down,” Hilton said. “From there, it will be a domino effect.”

Paris Hilton leads abuse survivors in Utah protest of Provo Canyon School: 'This is just the first step'

Elise Solé, Yahoo Celebrity•October 10, 2020

Paris Hilton lead an Oct. 9 protest demanding the closure of Provo Canyon School in Springville, Utah, where she claims she was abused as a student. (Photo: Tibrina Hobson/WireImage)

Paris Hilton advanced her campaign to close the Utah boarding school where she alleges she was abused, with a Friday protest.

In her Sept. 14 YouTube documentary This Is Paris, the reality television star revealed that she was abused by administrators at Provo Canyon School in Springville, Utah at the age of 17. Frustrated by her rebellious behavior, Hilton’s parents sent her to the residential treatment center, where Hilton says she was kept in solitary confinement, hit and intimidated.

A disclaimer on school’s website reads, “We are aware of media referencing Provo Canyon School. Please note that PCS was sold by its previous ownership in August 2000. We therefore cannot comment on the operations or patient experience prior to that time. We are committed to providing high-quality care to youth with special, and often complex, emotional, behavioral and psychiatric needs.”

For the documentary, Hilton met with other survivors of the school and this month, tattoo artist Kat Von D recalled her time there as “the most traumatic six months of my life.”- 

On Friday, hundreds of people joined Hilton at a park near the school. Wearing a black T-shirt that read “Survivor” and “Breaking code silence,” Hilton held a sign with the lettering, “The kids you abuse today will be the ones that will take you down tomorrow.”

“They want us to be ashamed and we’re not the ones who should be ashamed,” @ParisHilton said at the rally in Provo. “The people who should be ashamed are the ones who work at these places.”https://t.co/eE4c8ds4G6
— The Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) October 9, 2020

Yesterday was one of the most empowering moments of my life! Returning to the place that has haunted my nightmares since I was a teen. Being there surrounded by hundreds of other survivors who have all endured the same pain & abuses that I have. pic.twitter.com/IdtRf2xtuS
— Paris Hilton (@ParisHilton) October 10, 2020

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Hilton told protestors, “Today, I’m not here as Paris Hilton. I’m here as just another survivor who was abused, who has lived with that since the day I left. And I am dedicated to shutting down Provo Canyon School, which will cause a chain reaction among this entire industry.”

The star also told Fox 13, “This has been one of the most empowering moments of my life and this is just the first step.”

Hilton, who subsequently developed post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, said her experience at the school led to multiple abusive relationships and her 2003 sex tape with ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon who sold the footage titled 1 Night in Paris.

"That would never have happened if I hadn't gone to that school," Hilton told CBS Sunday Morning. "When I got out of that school, I was so lost. And then I ended up meeting the person who did that.”

On Friday morning, Hilton told Good Morning America that boyfriend Carter Reum has re-established her trust in men. “It’s the first time I’ve really opened my heart and he is so incredible, I finally feel safe...he makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world...”

The star’s Change.org petition to close the school has more than 130,000 signatures.

Hillary Clinton Takes Shot at F-35 Program, Urges Retirement of Old Air Force Planes

Oriana Pawlyk, Military.com•October 10, 2020

In its quest to retire old weapons and aircraft, the U.S. Air Force has an unexpected advocate: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In a piece published in Foreign Affairs magazine Friday, Clinton, a former U.S. senator from New York and Obama administration official, proposed that the Air Force, and the military as a whole, hasten plans to "retire aging weapons systems or close bases that have outlived their usefulness" in an effort to free up resources to spend on future technologies.

"Among the highest priorities must be to modernize the United States' defense capabilities. In particular, moving away from costly legacy weapons systems built for a world that no longer exists," Clinton said in the piece, "A National Security Reckoning: How Washington Should Think About Power."

"Deep savings -- potentially hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade -- can and should be found by retiring legacy weapons systems," she said. "New technologies such as artificial intelligence are rendering old systems obsolete and creating opportunities that no country has yet mastered but many are seeking."

She cited China as the primary competitor to the U.S. in this field.

Clinton took a shot at the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, which has been projected to cost more than $1 trillion over its 50-year service lifetime, and said the Air Force should look to buy fewer F-35s in favor of the B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) program. The Air Force is the largest customer for the stealth fighter aircraft, with hopes to procure 1,763 of the F-35's A-variant.

The Pentagon "sank so much time and money into the project that turning back became unthinkable, especially since the F-35 is the only fifth-generation aircraft currently being manufactured in the United States," she said. "And because the plane directly and indirectly supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across hundreds of congressional districts in nearly every state, it has legions of defenders in Congress."

"The U.S. Air Force will have to focus less on short-range tactical fighter planes and more on long-range capabilities," she continued. "That means it won't need nearly as many F-35s as planned, but it should welcome the arrival of the B-21 Raider, a long-range bomber under development that is designed to thwart advanced air defenses."

In its 2021 budget request, the Air Force proposed retiring multiple aircraft, including a number of KC-10 Extenders, KC-135 Stratotankers and B-1B Lancer bombers, that need repeated structural work; officials have recommended divesting portions of these fleets early in order to avoid upkeep costs for old planes.

The Air Force plans to have 165 to 175 bombers in its inventory once the B-21 comes online. That future inventory is expected to be solely made up of the new LRSB and the B-52 Stratofortress. But some officials maintain that more are needed.

Gen. Tim Ray, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, has often proposed a bomber force of more than 200 aircraft.

"We've said publicly that we think we need 220 bombers overall -- 75 B-52s and the rest B-21s, longterm," Ray told Air Force Magazine earlier this year. The service plans on retiring its B-1s and B-2 Spirits in the early-to-mid 2030s.

"The size of the bomber force is driven by the conventional requirement, and then we manage the nuclear piece inside of that, based on treaty and policy. In the context of the National Defense Strategy and great power competition, 220 is where we think we need to go," he told the magazine in May.

A number of lawmakers have backed the call for additional B-21s, such as Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas. Cotton in the past has even suggested the B-21s replace the B-52 fleet, despite the Air Force's plan to keep the plane flying into the 2050s.

Congress, however, has been skeptical of letting the service retire weapons systems early until there are capabilities to backfill their role.

For example, the Air Force has tried numerous times over the last decade to retire its A-10 Warthog close-air support aircraft.

The once seemingly logical proposal, however, launched a firestorm in 2014 when lawmakers -- led by former Air Force colonel turned Republican congresswoman Martha McSally, who joined forces with the late Sen. John McCain of Arizona -- rushed to save the beloved plane from mothballs. Years later, the fleet is being refurbished with new wings instead of being sent to the boneyard.

"There are some circumstances [under which] only the A-10 is going to keep Americans alive," said McSally, who was appointed to the Senate in December 2018 as a replacement for McCain.

"So why would we want to get rid of that until we have a suitable alternative?" McSally told Military.com in an interview earlier this year. "It's got the ability to fly well into the 2040s, and we're going to keep fighting to make sure it does."

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related: Congress Wants a 'Manhattan Project' for Military Artificial Intelligence

REVERSE DISCRIMINATION TROPE

The DOJ is suing Yale, accusing it of discriminating against Asian American and white applicants. Their claims are 'leveraging the model minority myth' to pit racial groups against each other, scholars say.

Inyoung Choi, INSIDER•October 9, 2020

Yale university in New Haven, CT. Associated Press/Beth J. Harpaz

On Thursday, the Justice Department sued Yale University, accusing it of race-based discrimination on "most Asian and White applicants" after alleging in August that Yale discriminated against Asian American and white applicants based on a two-year federal investigation.

Scholars of the Asian American and Pacific Islanders community are criticizing the DOJ's accusation, saying it's part of a larger attempt to pit racial minorities against each other.

The DOJ is "leveraging the model minority myth to undermine the opportunity to build a multiracial coalition in this country to dismantle racism," a former board member of the Korean American Association told Insider in August.

Meanwhile, students and faculty have criticized legacy status as a factor of admissions that favors white applicants

The Department of Justice sued Yale University on Thursday, accusing it of discriminating against Asian and white applicants.

The lawsuit comes months after the DOJ in August accused Yale of imposing undue and unlawful penalties on racially-disfavored applicants, including Asian American and white applicants in particular. Their notice followed a two-year investigation following complaints about admissions at Ivy League colleges. Yale President Peter Salovey denounced the allegation at the time as "baseless."

In a statement issued Thursday, Salovey doubled down on the university's belief that the DOJ's "allegation is based on inaccurate statistics and unfounded conclusions."

"I want to be clear: Yale does not discriminate against applicants of any race or ethnicity. Our admissions practices are completely fair and lawful," he said. "Yale's admissions policies will not change as a result of the filing of this baseless lawsuit. We look forward to defending these policies in court."

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong also criticized the DOJ's allegations and said: "this lawsuit is as baseless as it is offensive, and every aspect of it demonstrates complete and utter overreach. My office is exploring all legal avenues to support Yale University and its students. The Department of Justice action deviates starkly from decades of well-established legal precedent and threatens to disrupt admissions practices at hundreds of universities nationwide."

The DOJ's claim is messaging stoking 'white resentment,' scholars say

Scholars of the Asian American and Pacific Islanders community criticized the Justice Department's accusation in August that Yale discriminates against Asian American and white applicants, pointing out the move just pits racial minorities against each other while ignoring the larger problem of legacy admissions.

"It's leveraging the model minority myth to undermine the opportunity to build a multiracial coalition in this country to dismantle racism," Dona Kim Murphey, a former board member of the Korean American Association, told Insider in August.

According to Michael Li, senior counsel at The Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan public policy center that focuses on equal representation in government, the DOJ's accusation is ultimately "messaging for white people."

"It's like 'Hey if you're stuck at a job or not moving up the economic ladder, your income hasn't increased for decades — you can blame people of color and elites for keeping you out of schools like Yale,'" Li told Insider in August. "That's just political messaging for November."

Li added that this messaging was in line with the Trump campaign stoking "white resentment for people taking jobs and spots in schools." He said that, in addition to targeting white working-class resentment, the campaign seeks to promote white suburbanite resentment by talking about "what schools children of white suburbanites get to go to."

"The message that this sends to the AAPI community is that the DOJ is very interested in dismantling policies that create diversity and increase access to those who have been excluded to places like Yale," Janelle Wong, a professor of American Studies and Asian American Studies at the University of Maryland, told Insider in August. Wong received her doctorate at Yale.

Last year, a federal judge rejected Students for Fair Admissions' lawsuit that claimed Harvard discriminated against Asian-Americans. Brooks Kraft/Corbis via Getty Images

Many selective private colleges use a holistic admissions process that accounts for each applicant's background, including their race. They also take into consideration a number of other factors, like legacy status.

At Yale, only 5.8% of the entire student population identifies as Black. Fewer than 10% are Hispanic, and under 15% are Asian. Nearly 43% of the student body is white.

The Justice Department's action against Yale resembles a recent case against Harvard University that also took aim at affirmative action policies. Last year, a federal judge ruled against plaintiffs in a lawsuit that claimed Harvard discriminated against Asian-Americans. The lawsuit was filed by Students for Fair Admissions, which is led by Edward Blum, a white politically conservative legal strategist. In February, the Justice Department threw its support behind the lawsuit when it was sent to an appeals court.

"There's been a movement to dismantle affirmative action policies for decades at this point," Kim Murphey, a Harvard alumna, told Insider in August. "It's very misguided and the fact that they're drawing Asian Americans into that is exceedingly problematic."

Yale University. Michelle McLoughlin/Reuters

Jennifer Lee, a professor of sociology at Columbia University, told Insider by email in August that the DOJ's accusation is another example of "a full-throttle attack on affirmative action, fueled by the false equivalency of race and minoritized status."

She said that, in reality, "affirmative action is not negative action against Asian Americans" — and most voters recognize that. A 2016 AAPI data survey of Asian American attitudes shows that nearly two-thirds of Asian Americans support affirmative action.

"There's so much evidence that these policies create the learning environment these students thrive in," Wong said, adding that affirmative actions do not harm but benefit the AAPI community.

The Department of Justice did not respond to Insider's request to comment in August.
Meanwhile, students and faculty call the end of legacy status

Admissions processes have been known to favor applicants with legacy status, meaning they're members of families who attended or donated to the respective university.

In a 2005 article published in Yale's student newspaper, the dean of undergraduate admissions, Richard Shaw, said legacy "gives a slight edge, and we have no qualms about that."

But there is little data or investigation into how tangibly the status affects applicant status. According to The New York Times, Harvard places children whose parents attended the college — who often donate money as alumni — on a "Z-list," where they are admitted after a gap year.

A survey conducted by the Harvard student newspaper showed that over a third of the Harvard Class of 2022 were legacy admits. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research published in 2019 showed that over 43% of white admitted students were "recruited athletes, legacies, those on the dean's interest list, and children of faculty and staff." Fewer than 16% of African American, Asian American, and Hispanic admitted students, respectively, fit that category.

Collin Binkley/AP Photo

But data on legacy admissions released from the university are largely unavailable. A spokesperson for Harvard told Insider in an August statement that "we do not publicly release this type of data, as it is not part of the IPEDS data set, required by the federal government." Yale publicly disclosed that 12% of the Class of 2023 had a legacy affiliation.

Earlier this year, Ronald J. Daniels, the president of Johns Hopkins University, wrote an essay in The Atlantic explaining why the university chose to end legacy admissions, citing that ending "hereditary privilege in American higher education" would be a step towards accessible, equitable education. In July, students and faculty at Georgetown started signing a petition calling for the same.

"I never became reconciled to the prevalence of this form of hereditary privilege in American higher education," Daniels wrote. "Particularly given this country's deeply ingrained commitment to the ideals of merit and equal opportunity."

Climate change concerns Latinos in Florida
Associated Press Videos•October 9, 2020



The Associated Press spoke with three Latino voters in Florida – an independent, a Democrat and a Republican – about key issues in the battleground state, including climate change, for the interview series “AP Newsmakers.” (Oct. 9)
Video Transcript

SHARIKA MITHA-OCHOA: We have a major problem in Biscayne Bay. And I know we have a problem globally, what's going on out in the West Coast is terrifying, lack of oxygen in the air for humans, but we have a problem here and we're surrounded by water and we need to take care of our waterways. And it just doesn't seem like we're doing enough.

RUBEN VICENTE: I think that we need to discuss more what things we have in common, what goals we share, what differences we have, and where we can reach middle ground. Because trust me, I'll be out there with you with my big old, I'm an old Republican shirt, I'm already old. And I'll be picking up the litter off of the side of Biscayne Bay.

GISELLE MAMMANA DIAZ: So I have seen it, I have personally experienced it. I haven't been able to take my twin boys sometimes to the beach, because there's too much seaweed and bacteria on the shore. So I do see it, I just wonder what moves the conversation for people to actually act and make a change.

Italian teenage computer whiz beatified by Catholic Church

GREGORIO BORGIA and COLLEEN BARRY,
Associated Press•October 10, 2020



1 / 10
Italy Teen Beatification
An image of 15-year-old Carlo Acutis, an Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia, is unveiled during his beatification ceremony celebrated by Cardinal Agostino Vallini in the St. Francis Basilica, in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

ASSISI, Italy (AP) — A 15-year-old Italian computer whiz who died of leukemia in 2006 moved a step closer to possible sainthood Saturday with his beatification in the town of Assisi, where he is buried.

Carlo Acutis is the youngest contemporary person to be beatified, a path taken by two Portuguese shepherd children living in the early 1900s who were proclaimed Catholic saints in 2017.

At the beatification ceremony in Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, a portrait of Acutis was slowly unveiled, revealing a smiling teen in a red polo shirt, his curly dark hair illuminated by a halo of light. Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the papal legate for the Assisi basilicas, kissed each of the boy’s mask-wearing parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, after reading the proclamation decreed by Pope Francis.

Already touted as the “patron saint of the internet,” Acutis created a website to catalog miracles and took care of websites for some local Catholic organizations. While still in elementary school, Acutis taught himself to code using a university computer science textbook, and then learned how to edit videos and create animation.

“Carlo used the internet in service of the Gospel, to reach as many people as possible,’’ the cardinal said during his homily, adding that the teen saw the web “as a place to use with responsibility, without becoming enslaved.”

Acutis was born in London on May 3, 1991, to Italian parents and moved to Milan as a child. Already as a small child, he showed a strong religious devotion that surprised his non-practicing parents. His mother told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that from age 3 he would ask to visit churches they passed in Milan, and by age 7 had asked to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, winning an exception to the customary age requirement.

’’There was in him a natural predisposition for the sacred,” his mother said.

His curiosity prompted her to study theology in order to answer his questions, renewing her own faith.

“Carlo saved me. I was an illiterate of faith. I came back thanks to Father Ilio Carrai, the Padre Pio of Bologna, otherwise I would have felt discredited in my parental authority. It is a path that continues. I hope to at least wind up in purgatory,” she told the Milan daily.

Acutis died of acute leukemia on Oct. 12, 2006.

He was put on the road to sainthood after Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to Acutis: The healing of a 7-year-old Brazilian boy from a rare pancreatic disorder after coming into contact with an Acutis relic, a piece of one of his T-shirts.

“I was sure he was already a saint while alive. He healed a woman from cancer, praying to the Madonna of Pompeii,” his mother told Corriere.

Another verified miracle is necessary for sainthood, although Pope Francis has waived that on rare occasions.

Acutis was buried in Assisi at his own requests, having become an admirer of St. Francis of Assisi for his dedication to the poor. The Umbrian town was one of his favorite travel destinations. His body, clad in a tracksuit and sneakers, has been on display for veneration in a sanctuary in the town, and his heart will be displayed in a reliquary in the St. Francis Basilica.

Acutis told his mother that he would give her many signs of his presence after death.

“Before he left us, I told him: If in heaven you find our four-legged friends, look for Billy, my childhood dog that he never knew,” the mother said. One day she got a call from an aunt who was unaware of the mother-son pact, saying “I saw Carlo in a dream tonight. He was holding Billy in his arms.”

CANADIAN 1%
Who is Clare Bronfman, the Seagram’s heiress who financed Nxivm?
Adam Gabbatt in New York, The Guardian•October 10, 2020
Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Clare Bronfman, daughter of a billionaire Canadian father and a British mother, was making a name for herself as a showjumper in Europe in 2002.

Riding a 12-year-old gelding called Charlton, Bronfman – the heir to the Seagram’s liquor fortune – won the Rome Grand Prix equestrian tournament, and later placed second in a show in Bremen.

Related: 'This is about abuses of power': the shocking true story of the Nxivm cult

Away from the arena, however, the English-boarding-school-educated American was being drawn into a secretive society in New York state, an involvement which this week saw Bronfman sentenced to almost seven years in prison for her role in what would become a sex cult.

Bronfman, 41, was the first to be sentenced in connection with a federal investigation in Nxivm, whose leader, Keith Raniere, was convicted in 2019 of racketeering, forced labour, sex trafficking and child abuse images charges.

Victims were groomed by Raniere and his lieutenants to become sex slaves, imprisoned and branded with Raniere’s initials. Among Raniere’s facilitators was the actor Allison Mack, who pleaded guilty to charges she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for the Nxvim leader in 2019.

Behind the scenes Bronfman financed Raniere as women, and a 15-year-old girl, were lured into his cult. Bronfman spent more than $100m on Raniere and Nxvim, prosecutors said, buying property in New York and LA, as well as a 22-seat private jet.

But Bronfman’s fortune would also be spent on silencing Raniere’s victims.

Clare Bronfman arrives at court in Brooklyn, New York, on 9 January 2019. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

She used her vast resources to dispatch armies of lawyers at Raniere’s former members and Nxvim members. During the sentencing hearing victims described Bronfman as “a predator” and a “dangerous megalomaniac”, and described how Bronfman had sued them relentlessly, leaving lives ruined.

After pleading guilty in 2019 to conspiring to conceal and harbor an undocumented immigrant for financial gain, and fraudulent use of identification, Bronfman was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison on Wednesday, a judge telling the court she had “used her incredible wealth as a means of intimidation, threat and exacting revenge on individuals who challenged [Nxvim’s] dogmas”.

Bronfman’s lawyers had asked for leniency in her sentencing, arguing that she had no direct involvement in Raniere’s and Nxivm’s DOS subgroup, which was involved in the most disturbing sexual accusations.

Federal judge Nicholas G Garaufis accepted that there was no evidence Bronfman had been aware of DOS, but agreed with prosecutors who said Raniere could not have funded his sexual crimes without her largesse.

“I am troubled by evidence suggesting that Ms Bronfman repeatedly and consistently leveraged her wealth and social status as a means of intimidating, controlling, and punishing” opponents of Nxvim, Garaufis told the court in New York as he sentenced Bronfman.

“She used her incredible wealth as a means of intimidation, threat and exacting revenge on individuals who challenged its dogmas.”

Bronfman’s years-long association with Raniere began when she was introduced to Nxvim by her sister, Sara Bronfman, in 2002.

In a letter to Garaufis this summer Bronfman said she was suffering from anxiety and “patterns of self-loathing, insecurities, shame and fears” when she discovered Nxvim, which claimed to offer personal and professional development through a series of seminars.

Then 23, Bronfman had spent her childhood attending boarding school in England and visiting their Essex-born mother, Rita Webb, in Kenya. Webb, who is also known as Georgiana, married the actor Nigel Havers in 2007.

Clare Bronfman competes in the 2004 Olympic selection trials in San Juan Capistrano, California, on 23 May 2004. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

During her trial in New York Bronfman spoke in an English accent, although she left the UK in her mid-teens to reunite with her father, Edgar Bronfman Sr, who had a net worth of $2.5bn before he died in 2013.

Bronfman Sr was involved himself with Nxvim, reportedly taking a five-day course at the program in early 2003. According to Forbes magazine Bronfman Sr briefly became a Nxvim devotee, writing a glowing testimonial for the course before turning on the enterprise and branding it a “cult”.

Clare Bronfman never soured on Nxvim, or Raniere.

“Many people, including most of my own family, believe I should disavow Keith and Nxivm, and that I have not is hard for them to understand or accept,” Bronfman wrote in her letter to Garaufis.

“However, for me, NXIVM and Keith greatly changed my life for the better.”

Bronfman was ordered to forfeit $6m from her personal fortune of $200m as part of her sentence, and pay a $500,000 fine. Her lawyer called the prison sentence an “abomination” after the hearing, and said they planned to appeal.

In the meantime, as Bronfman begins her sentence, Raniere is being held at the Metropolitan detention center in Brooklyn, New York, while he awaits his fate.

Prosecutors have asked that he be sentenced to life in prison, but like Bronfman, many of his acolytes have stood by his side.

Over the summer members of Nxvim spent weeks dancing outside the detention center – where Ghislaine Maxwell is also currently detained – in an apparent show of support for Raniere.

Reportedly their only impact was to have Raniere moved to a different cell where he could not view their performances.

Snowboarders accused of starting avalanche should pay $168,000, Colorado official says

Brooke Wolford,Miami Herald•October 9, 2020


“Dude, we just buried the road.”

That was snowboarder Tyler DeWitt’s comment after he and Evan Hannibal allegedly triggered an avalanche in Summit County, Colorado.

GoPro footage from the two backcountry snowboarders is being used as evidence against them in a case of reckless endangerment, KDVR reported.

Prosecutors want them to pay Colorado $168,000 for the damage caused by the avalanche, according to the Vail Daily.

DeWitt, 38, and Hannibal, 26, were snowboarding on March 25 in the White River National Forest above the Eisenhower Tunnel, the Daily reported. They are accused of causing a large slab of snow to shift and cascade down the mountain, burying the road below, according to KDVR.

The avalanche was “large enough to bury and destroy a car, damage a truck, destroy a wood frame house or break a few trees,” the Colorado Avalanche Information Center reported.

“The avalanche damaged a remote avalanche control unit ... and covered over 400 feet of the roadway with debris up to 20 feet deep,” the agency said.

The avalanche control unit called an O’Bellx — a piece of equipment that costs $120,000 — is used to trigger small avalanches to decrease the risk of larger ones, according to the Daily.

“If the system is designed to prevent large avalanches, it certainly hadn’t in that case,” Hannibal told the Daily.

There were no vehicles on the service road, which is mostly used by state transportation workers, at the time and no one was injured, KDVR reported.

Fifth Judicial District Attorney Bruce Brown chose to charge the two snowboarders with one count of reckless endangerment each because of the potential disaster that could have occurred, according to the TV station.

“They recognized that there was a risk but they went down that chute anyway,” said Brown, according to KDVR. “With an interstate that has 100,000 cars going across it every week, it could’ve been a disaster.”

The misdemeanor charge would usually only result in a $750 fine and up to six months in the county jail, the TV station reported. But since the state had to pay so much money to clear the road and replace the avalanche equipment, Brown is seeking $168,000 in restitution from them.

“The pair was clearly worried about avalanche conditions but proceeded down the path anyway,” Brian Metzger, a Summit County Sheriff’s Office special operations technician who responded after the snowboarders called in the incident, told the Vail Daily.

“Clearly we made a mistake,” Hannibal told the newspaper. “But this is not the only area in Colorado where people have snowboarded with a road nearby that has the potential to be buried should a slide occur, and I’ve never heard of anyone receiving a criminal penalty for making a mistake like this.”

The snowboarders both pleaded not guilty at their first court appearance on Sept. 28, according to KDVR. A judge is expected to set their trial date on Oct. 27.

Rare 1794 silver dollar goes unsold at auction in Las Vegas

Associated Press•October 9, 2020

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 1794 silver dollar believed to be among the first ever minted in the U.S., and the most valuable, went unsold during a public auction in Las Vegas.

Legend Auctions chief executive Matthew Bell said offers for the coin dubbed the Flowing Hair Silver Dollar didn’t reach a minimum bid and Las Vegas resident Bruce Morelan retained ownership.

Morelan sold 12 rare coins during the Thursday event at the Bellagio resort, reaping almost $4 million.

Coin collecting experts had thought the Flowing Hair coin could sell for more than the $10 million Morelan spent to buy it in 2013.


The coin features images of Lady Liberty ringed with stars on the front and an eagle on the back. A different Lady Liberty image was adopted for silver dollars beginning in 1795.

Experts say the coin is one of perhaps 300 original silver dollars that still exist among 1,758 struck in one day at the first U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.

It has been certified as authentic and its previous sale eclipsed the $7.59 million that a collector paid in 2002 for a 1933 $20 U.S. gold double-eagle coin

Polish GM ends world chess champion Carlsen's record undefeated run

Issued on: 11/10/2020 - 

Carlsen has been world champion since 2013 Claus Bech Ritzau Scanpix/AFP

Oslo (AFP)

World chess champion Magnus Carlsen has suffered his first defeat in more than two years and a record 125 games, while playing a tournament in his native Norway.

The world number one resigned after when he was a bishop down in the endgame against Polish grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who is ranked a relatively humble number 15 in the world.

But on Saturday evening, 22-year-old Duda managed to do what no one -- including the world's top 10 players -- had managed to do since July 2018.

It was Duda's only win of the tournament in Stavanger so far and, as he told Chess 24 afterwards, "I didn't expect to win this game."

But he was, he said "extremely happy, obviously".

Carlsen, who is often tough on himself in post-game analysis, offered no excuses. "Extremely disappointing", he said: "Completely unforgivable".

Carlsen's undefeated run stretches all the way back to July 31, 2018, when Azerbaijani grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov defeated him. During that time, Carlsen scored 44 wins and 81 draws against his opponents.

© 2020 AFP

Supreme Court denies request to lift injunction on FDA abortion pill rule


The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a request to lift a nationwide injunction on Food and Drug Administration rule requiring patients to see a medical provider before receiving a pill used in medical abortions. File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI | License Photo


Oct. 8 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to lift a nationwide injunction preventing the Trump administration from regulating a pill commonly used for medication abortions.

In its first action on reproductive rights since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the shorthanded court rejected the bid to remove the emergency stay against restoring regulations that require patients to see a medical provider before receiving Mifeprex.

"A more comprehensive record would aid this Court's review," the majority wrote Thursday.

The Supreme Court did not indicate its merits on the issue, but gave the judge who imposed the ban the opportunity to modify it to make it less restrictive.

Medical and advocacy groups challenged Food and Drug Administration rules requiring patients to obtain the medication -- prescribed for abortions in early pregnancy -- in-person despite the fact that it can be taken at home, citing increased risks associated with visits to medical offices and clinics amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In July, federal District Court Judge Theodore Chuang of Maryland supported the challenge, stating keeping the FDA rule amid the pandemic would "place a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a medication abortion and thus may necessitate a more invasive procedure."

Chuang said the pills could be sent by mail and issued the order stopping enforcement of the FDA rule nationwide.

The Justice Department, however, challenged the injunction, stating that suspending the requirements could worsen health risks associated with Mifeprex, "which can increase if the patient delays taking the drug or fails to receive proper counseling about possible complications."

The government also said the rules did not amount to an undue burden on rights to abortion access, citing the availability of surgical abortions, stating the FDA rule did not present a substantial obstacle "even if the COVID-19 pandemic has made obtaining any method of abortion in person somewhat riskier."

Justices Clarance Thomes and Samuel Alito dissented, saying the court should have lifted the injunction.

"Changes in the severity of the problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic ... does not justify the Court's refusal to rule," the wrote.

Facebook removes hundreds of fake accounts linked to young conservatives group

Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Facebook announced Thursday that it removed hundreds of fake accounts linked to an organization for young conservatives.

The social media company said Rally Force, a marketing company, worked with Turning Point USA, a non-profit for conservative students, to create some 200 fake accounts and 55 fake pages on Facebook, and 76 fake accounts on Instagram.

Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of security policy, said Rally Force then used those accounts and pages to post criticisms of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and offer support for President Donald Trump. The marketing company also used the accounts to comment on pages and posts by major U.S. news organizations.

"Many of these accounts used stock profile photos and posed as right-leaning individuals from across the U.S. In 2018, some of these accounts posed as left-leaning individuals to comment on content as well," Gleicher wrote in a blog post.

The fake accounts commented on issues including sport hunting, the 2018 midterm elections, the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turning Point USA said Rally Forge worked with a separate but affiliated legal entity called Turning Point Action.

"Turning Point Action works hard to operate within social platforms' [terms of service] on all of its projects and communications and we hope to work closely with FB to rectify any misunderstanding," Turning Point Action said in a statement to CNN.

U.S. space mining policies may trigger regulatory 'race to the bottom,' scientists warn


While the United States has set up national regulations and bilateral commercial space agreements, some experts suggest an international agreement -- akin to the Montreal Protocol that limited CFC usage -- could better guide the eventual commercialization of space and the moon. Photo by NOAA | License Phot

Oct. 8 (UPI) -- In a newly published policy paper, a pair of Canadian scientists warn that the United States is angling to establish itself as the de facto gatekeeper of the moon and other celestial bodies.

Earlier this year, NASA published a new set of rules for lunar mining and other space activities, dubbing the voluntary guidelines the "Artemis Accords."ADVERTISEMENT

Aaron Boley and Michael Byers, authors of the new Science paper, argue that the Artemis Accords are part of a concerted effort by the U.S. and NASA to set a legal precedent for space-based resource extraction.

"It's not the Artemis Accords alone that are problematic," Michael Byers, professor of global politics and international law at the University of British Columbia, told UPI in an email. "Rather, it's the ongoing and concerted U.S. diplomatic effort to promote national regulation of space mining and to proceed with resource extraction before a multilateral agreement has been negotiated."

RELATED NASA needs new funding by February for 2024 moon landing, administrator says

In 2015, Congress passed the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, which allowed U.S. citizens and companies to "engage in the commercial exploration and exploitation of space resources."

Last month, NASA said it plans to buy lunar soil from a commercial company.

"We are buying the regolith, but we're doing it really to demonstrate that it can be done, that the resources extracted from the moon are in fact owned by the people who invest their sweat, and their treasure, and their equity into that effort," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a virtual presentation in September.

RELATED NASA reveals new details of $28B Artemis lunar landing program

Byers and his co-author Boler, professor of astronomy and physics at the University of British Columbia, see the succession of legislative and policy moves by the United States as an attempt to establish national regulation of space mining.

"The current U.S. approach to space mining emphasizes national regulation and rejects space as being a 'global commons,'" Byers told UPI. "The result could be inconsistent national laws, a regulatory 'race to the bottom' and even 'flags of convenience' as nations compete to attract space mining companies."

Without international standards and an independent system of monitoring, Byers and Boler argue, bad behavior by one nation begets bad behavior by another. The paper's authors suggest bilateral agreements like the Artemis Accords could imperil efforts to forge future international space agreements.

RELATED NASA, space industry seek new ways to cope with space debris

"A better alternative would be to negotiate a multilateral agreement, and to do so now, rather than seeking to set precedents through unilateral and bilateral actions," Byers said.

Byers and Boler would like to see a multilateral approach to space resource management. The authors point to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer as a model for international cooperation.

"The key is to have solid science, open information sharing, alternative technologies, and cooperation among actors," Byers said. "An international framework will set the standards and provide the required transparency. It will also give a voice to nations that cannot operate in space now, but will in the future. Scientists, engineers, and industry can do the rest."

While the Montreal Protocol has enjoyed considerable success in shrinking the hole in the ozone layer, the fight to curb the release of ozone-depleting chemicals isn't a precise corollary for regulating space mining.

"Many in the U.S. space industry would disagree with the idea that we need an international, multi-lateral treaty to move forward with space mining," Alex Gilbert, research fellow at the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines, told UPI in an email. "There is no evidence that a multilateral or global treaty would be more effective than the approach the United States is taking."

Rather than the Montreal Protocol, Gilbert points to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea -- not as an ideal model but as an example of a multinational agreement gone wrong. The United States declined to sign the law because it requires participation in an international profit sharing mechanism.

"The administration of UNCLOS deep sea mining regime leaves much to be desired -- commercial extraction has yet to take place, the profit sharing mechanism is not clearly established, and it is unclear whether there will be sufficient levels of environmental protection," Gilbert said. "Most deep seabed mining leases have gone to China and without effective governance it is not clear that that system is more effective than alternatives."

To date, attempts to establish a multinational space mining regulatory regime have faltered, and Gilbert suggests bilateral agreements like the Artemis Accords can serve as a stepping stone to a multinational space governance regime.

"The U.S. is uniquely suited to be a leader on space mining policy and space policy more broadly," Gilbert said. "It is currently engaged with space partners around the globe and its efforts are making it a global leader in space policy. International accords are difficult to negotiate but the U.S. approach is well suited to developing an iterative, collaborative and international process."

UNPRECIDENTED 
'Dangerous,' 'astonishing': New England Journal of Medicine calls for Trump's removal


President Donald Trump stands on the Truman Balcony at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, after three days of COVID-19 treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 8 (UPI) -- The New England Journal of Medicine, in a rare and historic move, has called on Americans to vote President Donald Trump out of office for what it says has been his "tragic" mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a two-page editorial titled, "Dying in a Leadership Vacuum," the widely-respected medical journal did not mention Trump by name but strongly criticized "our current leadership" for failing the test brought on by the worldwide health crisis.

"COVID-19 has created a crisis throughout the world. This crisis has produced a test of leadership. With no good options to combat a novel pathogen, countries were forced to make hard choices about how to respond. Here in the United States, our leaders have failed that test. They have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy," the journal wrote.

"The magnitude of this failure is astonishing."

"The United States leads the world in COVID-19 cases and in deaths due to the disease, far exceeding the numbers in much larger countries, such as China," the editorial, which was signed by three dozen editors, continued. "The death rate in this country is more than double that of Canada, exceeds that of Japan, a country with a vulnerable and elderly population, by a factor of almost 50, and even dwarfs the rates in lower middle-income countries, such as Vietnam, by a factor of almost 2000."

Data by Johns Hopkins University Thursday shows that there have been more than 7.5 million cases and 212,100 COVID-19 deaths in the United States to date. More than 50,000 cases were added on Wednesday, the third time in the past week new cases have topped the mark.

Never before in its 208-year history had the New England Journal of Medicine called on American voters to remove any president from office.

"In general, not only have many democracies done better than the United States, but they have also outperformed us by orders of magnitude."

The journal's editors added that the Trump administration has "failed at almost every step" during the health crisis, despite clear and repeated warnings.

"Why has the United States handled this pandemic so badly? We have failed at almost every step," they wrote. "We had ample warning, but when the disease first arrived, we were incapable of testing effectively and couldn't provide even the most basic personal protective equipment to healthcare workers and the general public."

In the number of tests performed per case, the journal points out, the United States trails Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia -- countries, it said, that "cannot boast the biomedical infrastructure or the manufacturing capacity that we have."

"The United States came into this crisis with enormous advantages. Along with tremendous manufacturing capacity, we have a biomedical research system that is the envy of the world. We have enormous expertise in public health, health policy, and basic biology and have consistently been able to turn that expertise into new therapies and preventive measures. And much of that national expertise resides in government institutions. Yet our leaders have largely chosen to ignore and even denigrate experts.

"Anyone else who recklessly squandered lives and money in this way would be suffering legal consequences. Our leaders have largely claimed immunity for their actions. But this election gives us the power to render judgment.

"Reasonable people will certainly disagree about the many political positions taken by candidates. But truth is neither liberal nor conservative. When it comes to the response to the largest public health crisis of our time, our current political leaders have demonstrated that they are dangerously incompetent.

"We should not abet them and enable the deaths of thousands more Americans by allowing them to keep their jobs."

Central banks unveil framework, plans for hybrid digital currency

Friday's report was compiled by BIS, the Bank of England, the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of Canada, Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, Sveriges Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank. File Photo by Canada stock/Shutterstock/UPI

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- The Bank of International Settlements and seven central banks around the world published a report Friday that set a framework for a digital currency to work in conjunction with paper money.

The report highlights three key elements of the proposal -- cryptocurrency coexisting with cash in a flexible payment system, supporting wider policy objectives and promoting innovation and efficiency.

"This report is a real step forward for this group of central banks in agreeing on the common principles and identifying the key features we believe would be needed for a workable [central bank digitalcurrency] system," Jon Cunliffe, the deputy governor for the Bank of England, said in a statement.

Along with BIS and Bank of England, the report was compiled by the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of Canada, Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, Sveriges Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank.

RELATED 'Digital republic' like Estonia may be everyone's future

The institutions said the core features of the digital currencies are that they will be resilient and secure to maintain operational integrity, convenient and available at a low or no cost to end-users, underpinned by appropriate standards and a clear legal framework and have an appropriate role for the private sector.

"While technology is changing the way we pay, central banks have a duty to safeguard people's trust in our money," European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said.

"Central banks must complement their domestic efforts with close cooperation to guide the exploration of central bank digital currencies to identify reliable principles and encourage innovation."

RELATED U.S. accuses 2 Russian hackers of stealing $17M in cryptocurrency

The report follows years of growing staying power among cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Facebook's Libra.

Google honors newspaper publisher Mary Ann Shadd Cary with new Doodle


Google pays homage to newspaper publisher and abolitionist Mary Ann Shadd Cary with a new Doodle on Friday. Image courtesy of Google

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Google is celebrating American-Canadian newspaper editor and publisher, journalist, teacher, lawyer, abolitionist and suffragist Mary Ann Shadd Cary with a new Doodle on what would have been her 197th birthday.

Shadd Cary was the first Black female newspaper editor and publisher in North America and the second Black woman to earn a law degree in the United States. She is also a pioneer in the fight for abolition and women's suffrage.

Shadd Cary was born in 1823 to abolitionist parents who used their home for the Underground Railroad to assist escaped slaves. The Shadd family then moved to Canada following the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

She then launched in 1853 her newspaper titled The Provincial Freemen. The weekly Black publication was tailored to escaped slaves.

Canada named Shadd Cary a Person of National Historic Significance in 1994.

Google's homepage features artwork of Shadd Cary writing next to stacks of newspapers from Canada-based artist Michelle Theodore.

Trump donor Elliott Broidy charged in illegal lobbying case


A campaign worker promotes then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H., on August 19, 2015. Elliott Broidy, charged Thursday, was a major fundraiser for the Trump campaign four years ago. File Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Federal authorities have charged a major donor for President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign with one count of conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, officials said.

Prosecutors said Thursday that Elliott Broidy, a venture capitalist, tried to exploit his ties to the Trump administration to aid interests in China and Malaysia. He's accused of taking $6 million to lobby Trump's administration to end an investigation into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad Fund, or 1MDB.

The wealthy businessman also sought the extradition of a Chinese citizen from the United States, prosecutors said.

The accusations are part of a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. Nickie Mali Lum Davis and George Higginbotham were also named in the court document and have already entered guilty pleas.

Davis pleaded guilty in federal court in Hawaii in August and Higginbotham entered his plea in 2018.

Along with being a major fundraiser for Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, Broidy was the Republican National Committee's finance chairman from 2017 to 2018. He also donated to the House campaigns of Republican Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Darrell Issa of California and Jeff Denham of North Carolina.

IMF says COVID-19 lockdowns better for quicker economic recovery


The Fearless Girl statue, a symbol of female strength in entrepreneurship, is seen in front of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street in New York City.

 File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic may create short-term costs for global economies but they will likely lead to faster recoveries, a new report from the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.

The IMF World Economic Outlook found that economic lockdowns -- which include limiting mobility, wearing face coverings and following distancing protocols -- have "substantially" reduced the spread of the virus.

"Lockdowns must be sufficiently strict to curb infections, thus suggesting that stringent and short-lived lockdowns could be preferable to mild and prolonged measures," the group wrote in a blog post.

The report, which analyzed the economic effects in 128 countries, heavily criticized arguments that prioritize economic health over restrictions to control the virus.

"The effectiveness of lockdowns in reducing infections, coupled with the finding that infections can considerably harm economic activity because of voluntary social distancing, calls for re-considering the prevailing narrative about lockdowns involving a trade-off between saving lives and supporting the economy," the IMF wrote.

"This characterization of lives vs. livelihoods neglects that effective lockdown measures taken early during an epidemic may lead to a faster economic recovery by containing the virus and reducing voluntary social distancing."

The report said targeted policy interventions, like strengthening unemployment benefits and supporting paid leave for parents, are critical to protecting at-risk populations from greater economic inequality.

The group also called for more support for women who have been affected by the economic impact of COVID-19. It said women saw a steeper economic drop off from 30 days before restrictions began to 30 days after.

"This suggests that women carry a disproportionate burden in caring for children, which may jeopardize their employment opportunities," the IMF said.

Survey reinforces Americans' apprehension about rushed COVID-19 vaccine

Nearly 40% of Americans say they won't get a vaccine against COVID-19, a new survey finds. 

File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Nearly 40% of Americans say they won't get vaccinated against COVID-19 even if a shot becomes available, according to a survey released Friday by consulting firm Children's Health Defense.

In the survey of more than 1,000 "likely voters," just over half said they planned to receive the vaccine, while the rest remain undecided.

Just under 30% of respondents said they had concerns regarding the safety of any new vaccine against the coronavirus, with most suggesting the research and development process may have been "rushed" or that the vaccine "needs more testing," the organization said.

"The growing skepticism about the COVID vaccine is the rational response of a public now paying more attention to how this sausage is getting made," Robert F. Kennedy Jr., founder and chairman of Children's Health Defense, said in a statement.

RELATED China joins WHO's plan for global distribution of COVID-19 vaccine

Children's Health Defense, which is known for it's anti-vaccine activism, commissioned John Zogby Strategies to conduct the survey. The firm specializes in research for private companies, as well as U.S. government agencies.

Trials of several potential vaccines against COVID-19 are ongoing, and Trump administration officials have said they expect initial doses to be available before the end of the year.

However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said earlier this week that it won't approve a vaccine until sufficient safety data exists, which may impact that timeline.

RELATED FDA issues new guidance on COVID-19 vaccine approval process

The Children's Health Defense survey included 1,006 respondents, all age 18 years and older and registered voters, the organization said.

The survey was launched hours after President Donald Trump was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for COVID-19 treatment, Kennedy said.

Although 51% of respondents said they planned to get the vaccine after it's introduced, 36% said they wouldn't, while the rest were undecided, the data showed.

RELATED Amid COVID-19 pandemic, less than 60% in U.S. plan to get flu vaccine

Although Children's Health Defense is known primarily for its anti-vaccine stance, other surveys of Americans' interest in receiving inoculations against COVID-19 have had similar findings.

In August, a Gallup poll found that 35% of Americans would refuse the vaccine, with those who identify as Republicans most skeptical.

Still, more than 65% of respondents in that survey said they would obtain the vaccine, the data showed.

A separate survey conducted earlier this year by the University of Minnesota and Johns Hopkins University found that most Americans believe front-line health workers and other at-risk groups should be given priority when or if a vaccine is made available.
(0) Leave a comment

upi.com/7045827

Study: Kids' hospitalizations accompany rising unemployment rates

By HealthDay News

COVID-19 has led to widespread job loss in the United States. And now a new study reports that when unemployment rates rise, so do hospitalizations of children.

For the study, researchers analyzed 12 years of data -- 2002 to 2014 -- from 14 states. They found that for every 1% increase in unemployment, there was a 2% increase in child hospitalizations for all causes, among them diabetes and poisonings.

Specifically, every 1% bump in unemployment was associated with a 5% increase in hospitalizations for substance abuse and a 4% jump for diabetes. The researchers also found a 2% increase for poisoning and burns, and a 2% rise for children with medical complexity -- a high need for prescriptions, medical equipment or services.

For children with diabetes and other forms of medical complexity, reduced family income could mean they're less likely to receive medical services. This could raise their risk of hospitalizations, the study authors suggested.

It's also possible that poor housing conditions brought on by slimmer wallets could increase children's risk of poisonings and burns. And higher household stress due to unemployment might increase alcohol and drug use.

Further research is needed to understand how to prevent declining health in children during economic downturns, said study author Dr. Jeffrey Colvin, of Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., and his colleagues.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health-funded study was published in the October issue of the journal Health Affairs.

The study relied on data from Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more on children's health.
RELATED U.S. adds most COVID-19 cases in almost 2 months; deaths also rise



Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
(0) Leave a comment

upi.com/7045834

Poll: 72% of U.S. parents fear COVID-19 danger at schools, daycare

A masked young girl waves before entering The Island School in New York City on September 29. The school, and many others in the city, reopened that day with a combination of blended learning and home schooling. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Nearly three-quarters of parents in the United States say they're "somewhat" or "very" concerned about their children picking up COVID-19 at school or daycare centers, a Gallup survey shows.

According to the poll, part of the Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economics of Recovery Study, 45% of U.S. parents say they're "very worried" and 27% are "somewhat" concerned. Thirteen percent said they are "not too worried" and 9% said they're "not at all worried."

More than half said school cleanliness and sanitation had a major impact on their feeling, and 47% cited requirements or lack of requirements for daily health screenings for students and teachers as a major influencing factor in how they feel about sending children to schools full time. Another 44% said class size was a "major" concern.

"Most parents who have one or more children enrolled in school would prefer that their child's school have some level of in-person learning, either full time or part time, with some distance learning," Gallup wrote.

RELATED Gallup: Most trust Biden to lead U.S. healthcare through COVID-19

"However, about a third of parents would prefer that their child's school offer full-time remote learning, and that rate increases among those who are very worried their child will contract the virus."

"Full economic recovery will remain out of reach until schools can safely instruct students in person, as parents have to be able to participate fully in the economy -- as consumers and as employees," it added.

Many schools nationwide have reopened for the fall term in some form, but some parents and teachers have expressed concern about returning with rises in coronavirus cases.

RELATED Gallup: Voter engagement, enthusiasm higher in 2020

Gallup said it polled more than 5,000 U.S. adults last month for the survey.