Germany: Over 4,000-year-old skeleton discovered

In a "rare and exciting find," archaeologists in Brandenburg uncovered the skeleton of a woman who died thousands of years ago. Researchers want to know how she died and why she was buried in an unusual position.

    

The skeleton was discovered during excavation work for a wind turbine in the district of Uckermark, located around 102 kilometers outside of Berlin. 

The woman is believed to have been buried between 2,200 and 2,500 B.C., Christof Krauskopf from Brandenburg's state office for monument preservation told German news agency epd. 

He added that the unusual way that the woman was buried makes the makes the find of "a high scientific significance."

'Never made a find like this before'

Archaeologists Philipp Roskoschinski and Christoph Rzegotta, who made the discovery, said that the skeleton was found posed in a crouched position in a pit near a settlement, not in a cemetery.

Roskoschinski told epd that the discovery was a "rare and exciting find." The woman was laid to rest on her right side with her legs and arms pulled in, with her head positioned to the east with her gaze pointing north. 

Read more: Who lived near Pömmelte, the 'German Stonehenge'?

"I've never made a find like this before," Roskoschinski, who owns the archaeological firm Archaeros, told the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

He and his colleague believe that this indicates the woman was purposefully positioned this way and was not simply put in the grave.

Researchers are now carrying out tests to get a better idea of how old the skeleton is as well as how the woman died. 

"Unfortunately, there were no other finds in the grave that could tell us more about the woman's life," Roskoschinski told Tagesspiegel newspaper. "But the site was lovingly surrounded by fieldstones."

Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.

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How volunteers near Berlin help excavate World War II mass graves

World War II ended 74 years ago. But volunteers are still searching parts of Germany for the remains of the war dead. Nina Werkhäuser reports from the village of Klessin, near Berlin. (09.05.2019)  

German archaeologists unearth massive mammoth tusk

Archaeologists in Bavaria had been out to find remains from medieval settlements when they stumbled across a much older and very rare find. "A complete stroke of luck," one expert said of the mammoth discovery. (28.03.2020)  

'Lovers of Modena' skeletons were both men

The famed "Lovers of Modena," skeletons discovered hand-in-hand, have been revealed to be two men after an analysis of the remains. The pair could have been fellow soldiers, siblings or cousins, said researchers. (13.09.2019)  

Archaeologists uncover biggest known child sacrifice in history

Some 227 skeletons have been found in the coastal Peruvian town of Huanchaco. Researchers believe the children were sacrified to bring an end to the El Nino weather phenomenon. (28.08.2019)  

• Date 21.05.2020
• Author Rebecca Staudenmaier
• Related Subjects Archaeology, Brandenburg
• Keywords Brandenburg, Uckermark, skeleton, archaeology
• Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3cZyM

Dozens of mammoth skeletons found under future Mexico City airport

A team of archaeologists have found the remains of more than 60 mammoths at the site of a new airport being built to serve Mexico City. Excavators have also found animal and human bones in the area.

    

A team of archaeologists working near Mexico City has discovered the remains of more than 60 mammoths at the city's future airport.

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said the bones, found at the construction site of the planned Felipe Angeles International Airport, date back some 15,000 years.

The remains were uncovered close to the spot where the airport's future control tower is to be built. INAH excavators have been working at the site – some 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) north of the capital – since April last year, seeking animal remains from the Pleistocene era.

The team reported in December that that it had found the bones of a far smaller number of animals at the old Santa Lucia Air Base, a military airport being converted for civilian use.

Read more: Furry head of ice age wolf found in Siberian permafrost

The area was formerly submerged under the Xaltocan Lake, part of the Mexican Basin and a focal point of the country's pre-Colombian civilization. Traps for the hunting of mammoths, thought to have been dug soon after the lake dried up, were found at the site last year.

Almost all of the giant skeletons are thought to belong to the Colombian mammoth species.

Other types of fauna, including bison, camels and horses were also found, as well as bones of humans buried in the pre-Hispanic era and various artefacts.

"The main challenge is that the richness of fauna and relics is greater than we had considered," Pedro Francisco Sánchez Nava, INAH's national anthropology coordinator told Mexico's Excelsiornewspaper.

INAH says the discoveries are not intended to put a brake on the building of the airport, and that they had little impact on the building work.

"It would be a lie to say that we have not had an influence on the work being carried out, but we are working in coordination with those responsible," said Sanchez Nava. "We are able to continue at our own pace without having too much influence on the times of the work."

• Keywords mammoth, Mexico, paleontology, archaeology, Felipe Angeles International Airport
• Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3cau6

German archaeologists unearth massive mammoth tusk

Archaeologists in Bavaria had been out to find remains from medieval settlements when they stumbled across a much older and very rare find. "A complete stroke of luck," one expert said of the mammoth discovery.


Bavarian authorities announced Friday evening that archeologists had found an unusually large, ice-age mammoth tusk during an excavation.

The tusk, measuring nearly 2.5 meters (8 feet) in length, was found southeast of the city of Regensburg as archeologists were looking for remains of a 15th-century town, Bavaria's Regional Office for Cultural and Historic Preservation said in a press release.

"With its 2.45-meter length, including tip tooth, this tusk is an extraordinarily complete find. An absolute stroke of luck," said Gertrud Rössner, the head of the state's geological and paleontological mammal collection.

Read more: Stone-Age 'chewing gum' reveals human DNA

Mammoths lived in Bavaria, Germany's most southwest state, until 20,000 years ago. It is not usual for mammoth remains to be unearthed in Bavaria, but finding such a long and complete tusk is extremely rare, the office said.

Testing will need to be done to conclude the precise origin of the tusk. Experts believe it may have belonged to a full-grown bull.

Another piece of a bone was found nearby, though it was unclear whether it came from the same animal.

Read more: Sensational archaeological find is likely Germany's oldest library

Preserved in water?

Bavarian archeologist Christoph Steinmann theorized that both bones had been immersed in water a long time ago. This would explain why the outer layers of the tooth remained intact, even though the inside substance had cracked over time. Had the outside been exposed to the air, it would have crumbled immediately, Steinmann added.

The excavation, which is now completed, also turned up a fountain, waste remains, an oven and shards of pottery dating to the Middle Ages.
Date 28.03.2020
Author Cristina Burack
Keywords archeology, Regensburg, ice age, mammoth

Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3aABl

This Woman Made A Huge Sparkly
Sculpture Of A Clitoris Called "The Glitoris"
And It's Really Something
“Maybe some day we’ll have as many clits graffitied on toilet walls as penises. That will be a good day.”


by Brad Esposito
BuzzFeed News Reporter, Australia
18 Jan 2017

Alli Sebastian Wolf is an artist from Sydney, Australia. Here she is with her latest artwork:

Alli Sebastian Wolf

Named "The Glitoris", Alli's latest sculpture is a 100:1 scale model of a clitoris, painted gold and covered in glitter and sequinned "nerves".

Alli Sebastian Wolf

Wolf says "The Glitoris" was made to educate people on a part of the body that is still greatly misunderstood.

"It's political and feminist, but also a celebration," she said.

"It's a hell of a lot of playful fun. Under the surface it's so much more. It's a glorious spaceship-looking creature with 8,000 nerves that can swell to three times its size in moments."

Wolf's "Glitoris" is set to be exhibited in Sydney bar and art space The Bearded Tit. The exhibition will also feature performances by a group of "Clitorati", described by Wolf as "bejewelled priestesses of the clit".

Alli Sebastian Wolf

The world will be a happier, healthier place when this shape is as familiar as the old John Thomas,” Wolf said.

Alli Sebastian Wolf

“Maybe some day we’ll have as many clits graffitied on toilet walls as penises. That will be a good day.”

A White House Butler Who Worked For 11 US Presidents Died Of The Coronavirus"His service to others—his willingness to go above and beyond for the country he loved and all those whose lives he touched—is a legacy worthy of his generous spirit," former first lady Michelle Obama said.

Posted on May 21, 2020

National Archives Catalog / Via catalog.archives.gov



Wilson Roosevelt Jerman

People around the world are remembering family and friends who have died during the coronavirus pandemic. BuzzFeed News is proud to bring you some of their stories. To support our coverage, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today.


Wilson Roosevelt Jerman — who worked in the White House as a cleaner, butler, and maître d' for 11 US presidents over more than half a century — died Saturday from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, his family said.

Jerman was 91, his granddaughter Shanta Taylor Gay said in a Facebook post.

"My grandfather is a family-loving, genuine man," Jamila Garrett, another granddaughter, told Fox 5 in DC. "He was always about service, service to others. It doesn't matter who you were or what you did or what you needed."

Jerman last worked in the White House for President Barack Obama and his family, who honored him with a plaque and 11 coins, each representing every US president he worked with.

"With his kindness and care, Wilson Jerman helped make the White House a home for decades for First Families, including ours," former first lady Michelle Obama said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. "His service to others—his willingness to go above and beyond for the country he loved and all those whose lives he touched—is a legacy worthy of his generous spirit. We were lucky to have known him. Barack and I send our sincerest love and prayers to his family."

Shanta Taylor Gay

on Tuesday

✨ ✨ Turn in tonight at 10pm on fox 5 new! My Grandfather (Wilson Jerman) story will be shared. On May 16 my grandfather passed 🕊💔due to Covid-19. He was the oldest Butler/Matri D for the WHITE HOUSE alive since Former President Eisenhower administration, he retired in 2012 with Former President Obama. Fox5 News was his favorite station. His legacy will live on!! RIP GRANDAD

-0:38

Facebook: shanta.taylorgay

Jerman began working at the White House in 1957 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower as a cleaner, then was promoted to butler under President John F. Kennedy.


Garrett told Fox 5 her grandfather was promoted in part thanks to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

According to the White House Historical Association, Jerman worked full-time in the White House from 1957 to 1993.

He worked part-time beginning in 2003 and left the White House in 2012 under President Barack Obama.

Director Lee Daniels made a 2013 film, The Butler, about Eugene Allen, who also began working in the White House in 1952 and served under multiple presidents.

During his career, Garrett said he fostered relationships with the families of past presidents, particularly the Kennedys, the Bushes (during the administrations of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush), and the Obamas.

A 2009 photo of the Obamas inside an elevator being operated by Jerman was included in Michelle Obama's book, Becoming.

Samantha Appleton/White House via Getty Images

His granddaughter Shanta Taylor Gay told CNN her grandfather had a stroke in 2011, and the Obamas looked after his well-being and sent flowers.

Garrett said despite working for US presidents, her grandfather's focus was service for others.

"I want the world to remember my grandfather as someone who was really authentic, always being yourself," Garrett said. "That's what he taught our family."

Salvador Hernandez is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Los Angeles.
Contact Salvador Hernandez at salvador.hernandez@buzzfeed.com.

Wilson Jerman: Ex-White House butler dies of coronavirus

SAMANTHA APPLETON

Wilson Roosevelt Jerman with Michelle and Barack Obama

A former White House butler, who worked for 11 presidents in a career that spanned five decades, has died of coronavirus aged 91.

It was Jackie Kennedy who noticed Wilson Roosevelt Jerman while he was working as a cleaner in the White House.

The then First Lady had him promoted, and from then on he worked as a butler.

"She was instrumental in ensuring that that happened," his granddaughter, Jamila Garrett, told Fox 5.

Decades later Mr Jerman was commemorated by another First Lady, appearing in a photo in Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming.

Paying tribute after his death, Mrs Obama said her family were "lucky to have known him".

"With his kindness and care, Wilson Jerman helped make the White House a home for decades of First Families, including ours," she said in a statement to NBC News.

"His service to others - his willingness to go above and beyond for the country he loved and all those whose lives he touched - is a legacy worthy of his generous spirit."

He died with coronavirus last weekend.

COURTESY OF FAMILY

Wilson Roosevelt Jerman began working at the White House in 1957

Mr Jerman's family members say he stood out not just to the Kennedys, who were in the White House during 1961-63, and the Obamas, who lived there from 2009 to 2017, but others he met in his roles.

Mr Jerman's career began in 1957 during the Eisenhower administration. In his last position, he served as a maître d' in the Obama White House.

He left his position in 2012, and President Obama honoured him with a series of plaques, one that represented each of the presidents he had served, Mr Jerman's granddaughter Shanta Taylor Gay told CNN.

He remains an important figure for those who study the history of African Americans and their role in political life.

Like other African-American men of his generation, he showed dignity while serving in one of the few positions that was available to him at the time, said Ohio State University's Koritha Mitchell, author of From Slave Cabins to the White House.

She said he must have found it satisfying to end his career in the way that he did.

He was working for Mr Obama, "a dignified president who was also African American", she said, adding: "That must have felt like a victory."

These Are The Fake Experts Pushing Pseudoscience And Conspiracy Theories About The Coronavirus Pandemic

A guide to the spin doctors and conspiracy theorists clogging up your social media feed.

May 21, 2020

Ben Kothe / Getty Images, AP

Many of those who spread hoaxes and pseudoscience about the coronavirus pandemic can be hard to distinguish from medical authorities recognized by their peers as legitimate.

To help you cut through the misinformation, we're keeping a running list of the most prominent people who have pushed what scientists and professional fact-checkers have found to be demonstrably false claims about the outbreak — and who they really are. We’re also highlighting real experts whose words were taken out of context and deliberately distorted.
The Spin Doctors


David Calvert / AP

Name: Judy Mikovits

Who she is: Mikovits holds a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from George Washington University. She was formerly the research director at the Whittemore Peterson Institute. In 2012, Mikovits coauthored a controversial paper on chronic fatigue syndrome. Following its publication, the academic journal Science retracted it when the work of Mikovits and her colleagues could not be replicated. Before the retraction, Mikovits’ employer fired her, saying it was unrelated to the controversy around the research. In a 2014 book Mikovits coauthored, she claimed that Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had personally barred her from the NIH premises. In 2018, Fauci categorically denied that claim to the fact-checking site Snopes, saying, “I have no idea what she is talking about.” Since 2014, she has been making appearances at a conference dedicated to denying vaccine science and saying that autism and vaccinations are connected, which is false, according to the CDC.

What she has said about the coronavirus: In the video titled “Plandemic,” she paints herself as a whistleblower, claiming the coronavirus pandemic was planned by shadowy global figures. Mikovits found an audience — it was shared, liked, and commented on over 20 million times on Facebook. In the video, Mikovits goes against scientific advice and claims that wearing a mask could make someone sick, that sand and water from the beach can help cure the coronavirus, and that yet-uninvented vaccines for it could be dangerous. Mikovits also misrepresents her research and arrest, not mentioning that her study was retracted and claiming she was held in jail without charges.

What authorities have said: In 2011, Mikovits was fired from the Whittemore Peterson Institute. Subsequently, the paper she coauthored was retracted, after it was found that samples were contaminated and other scientists, including those in her own lab, could not replicate the results. After her firing, Mikovits faced a lawsuit from her former employer for allegedly stealing lab equipment and data. She spent five days in jail in California being held as a fugitive, after which the charges were dropped in 2012. Mikovits filed a countersuit against her former employer that was dismissed in 2016 in part because she did not provide the necessary documentation.


Getty Images



Name: Shiva Ayyadurai

Who he is: A candidate for the GOP nomination for Senate in Massachusetts, who dubiously claimed to have invented email. He also dated, and reportedly married, actor Fran Drescher. In 2018, during a previous Senate bid, the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, ordered him to remove a sign from his campaign bus that read "Only a REAL INDIAN Can Defeat the Fake Indian," referencing Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Ayyadurai sued, and the city backed down.

What he has said about the coronavirus: Ayyadurai accused Fauci of ties to Big Pharma without evidence, according to Politico, and called for him to be fired. He defined COVID-19 as “an overactive dysfunctional immune system that overreacts and that's what causes damage to the body," which is not accurate, according to medical experts. Ayyadurai has also claimed that vitamin C could be used to treat the disease, which is not true, according to the World Health Organization.

What authorities have said: Ayyadurai claims to have created an email program while in high school in the ‘70s and labeled himself “the inventor of email,” but that claim has been disputed by experts. Technology historian Thomas Haigh wrote that Ayyadurai "did not invent email. [...] The details of Ayyadurai’s program were never published, it was never commercialized, and it had no apparent influence on any further work in the field." In 2017, a judge dismissed a libel suit Ayyadurai brought over a Techdirt story that stated he did not invent email. Ayyadurai appealed that dismissal, and in 2019 Techdirt agreed to settle the case that meant that the news organization had to link to Ayyadurai’s claim of him inventing email on its stories about him.


Youtube/Dr Eric Nepute / Via youtu.be


Name: Eric Nepute

Who he is: A chiropractor with a degree from Logan University and accredited by the state of Missouri.

What he has said about the coronavirus: In a Facebook Live video viewed 2.1 million times, Nepute urged people to drink quinine and eat zinc to fight COVID-19. He also filmed a video with Sherri Tenpenny, who speaks against vaccine science, claiming the development of a COVID-19 vaccine was a plot to encourage mandatory vaccinations.

What authorities have said: As Snopes pointed out, he made pseudoscientific claims, including about the health benefits of tonic water: "You would need to drink more than 12 liters of Schweppes tonic water every eight hours to maintain those therapeutic levels of quinine (usually provided in pill form) from tonic water." In addition, Nepute claimed that quinine worked "similar-ish" to chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, the compounds under study as potential treatments for COVID-19, a claim which Snopes reported was inaccurate. The year before the pandemic, the Better Business Bureau challenged an advertising claim on Nepute's website, which stated, “Our ideal circumstance is what we call Preconception Care. This is when parents come to us at least 2 years before conceiving a child to first correct unidentified health issues with them in order to prevent those genes from being passed down.” According to the BBB, Nepute’s office initially replied but “did not respond to BBB’s request for substantiation/documentation.”


Getty Images


Name: Rashid Buttar

Who he is: An osteopath who earned his degree from Des Moines University. In 2009, Buttar claimed to have treated a young woman who said she got dystonia and was unable to speak after receiving a flu vaccine. News reports at the time challenged the story, according to ABC News. Buttar has been a proponent of chelation therapy as a treatment for various illnesses and disorders, including autism, which involves administering IV or pills that bind to metals in a patient's blood. Other than as a treatment for lead or mercury poisoning, the Mayo Clinic does not recommend chelation therapy. Buttar has long spoken against vaccines and previously participated in a conference in which speakers linked autism to vaccinations, a claim for which the CDC has said there is no scientific evidence.

What he has said about the coronavirus: Buttar has made claims disputed by fact-checkers regarding the coronavirus, including that receiving a flu shot was tied to testing positive. Buttar also claimed that the coronavirus was a biological weapon. (A paper in the scientific journal Nature said the virus was “not a laboratory construct.”) Buttar called for Dr. Fauci to be jailed over a series of grants that were awarded after the 2003 SARS outbreak.

What authorities have said: In 2010, the North Carolina medical board reprimanded him for, among other complaints, treating three cancer patients with therapies that had “no known value for the treatment of cancer,” documents from the case said. According to a WCNC report at the time, “Buttar has spent years selling skin drops at $150 a bottle as a treatment for diseases ranging from autism to cancer.” In 2013, the FDA sent Buttar a warning letter for promoting and distributing unapproved medical products on his websites and YouTube videos. "The medical board and FDA have a responsibility to make sure doctors don't push too close to the edge," Buttar previously said in an emailed statement to BuzzFeed News. "The regulatory bodies serve an important function and are needed to safeguard the public."



Name: Dr. Artin Massihi

Who he is: The co-owner of Accelerated Urgent Care, a private clinic in Bakersfield, California.

What he has said about the coronavirus: Massihi and his partner, Dr. Dan Erickson, called a press conference on April 22 to share data they claimed showed that the lockdowns should end, that COVID-19 was less deadly than commonly thought, and that physicians were being pressured to list COVID-19 as the cause of death for patients who had not tested positive. Public health authorities and a wide range of experts in the relevant fields condemned their data and conclusions as deeply flawed, the Mercury News reported.

What authorities have said: Massihi’s comments about COVID-19 were condemned in a joint statement by the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine as “reckless and untested musings” that were “inconsistent with current science and epidemiology regarding COVID-19.”


Name: Dr. Dan Erickson

Who he is: A former emergency room physician who co-owns Accelerated Urgent Care, a private clinic in Bakersfield, California.

What he has said about the coronavirus: At the press conference Erickson made a statistical error when he said, “California is 12% positive. We have 39.5 million people. If we just take a basic calculation and just extrapolate that out, that equates to about 4.7 million cases throughout the state of California.” In fact, 12% of Californians who’d been tested were positive — a difference that undercuts his claim, according to public health professor Andrew Noymer.

What authorities have said: Kern Public Health, the local health authority, also said Erickson was wrong when he claimed its top doctor agreed with him about the need to end the lockdowns.



The 5G Conspiracy Theorists


AP



Name: David Icke

Who he is: Formerly a soccer player, sports broadcaster, and spokesperson for the UK Green Party, Icke is known for conspiracy theories that the Center for Countering Digital Hate has called anti-Semitic. He has suggested that interdimensional reptilian beings secretly control the world, that the moon is a spacecraft, and that the 9/11 attacks were not carried out by al-Qaeda, but by Israel. He also claimed to be the "son of God."
What he has said about the coronavirus: Icke has inaccurately claimed that Jews were behind the coronavirus, according to the BBC, and has promoted the conspiracy theory that 5G technology causes COVID-19. Following these claims, Facebook and YouTube suspended Icke’s pages. Spotify removed a podcast episode featuring an interview with Icke in which he doubted the existence of the virus.

What authorities have said: In 2017, the nonprofit Political Research Associates described Icke’s work as “a mishmash of most of the dominant themes of contemporary neofascism, mixed in with a smattering of topics culled from the U.S. militia movement.” In 2018, Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, said of Icke, “There is no fair reading of Icke’s work that could be seen as not anti-Semitic.” UK media regulator Ofcom ruled last month that a London Live TV segment with Icke “posed threat to public health.” The Center for Countering Digital Hate has called on all major social media companies to deplatform Icke. After Facebook removed his official page, Icke tweeted, "Fascist Facebook deletes David Icke - the elite are TERRIFIED."


Facebook



Name: Mark Steele

Who he is: Steele claims in videos and at conferences that he is a weapons expert. According to Vice, he works at Reevu, a UK-based firm that designs motorcycle helmets. Since 2018, Steele has harassed the town council of Gateshead, England, about 5G technology, according to Chronicle Live. The council published a Facebook post in 2018 denying it used 5G technology and rebuffing his other claims, like that street lights in town caused cancer.

What he has said about the coronavirus: Steele claimed that 5G cellular technology causes COVID-19, calling the disease a “genocide" carried by “the deep state.” An electrical engineer and a virologist told USA Today that 5G and the coronavirus are not linked. Steele also gave a speech about 5G at a 2018 conference for the Democrats and Veterans Party, an offshoot of the British far-right political party UKIP, that was featured prominently in a now-deleted viral video.

What authorities have said: In 2018, a British court convicted him for threatening two councilors in Gateshead. Steele is currently under an injunction to prevent him from harassing or threatening the town's councilors or staff but was allowed by the judge to continue speaking against 5G. According to Chronicle Live, Steele denied that he was harassing council members, saying he "acted proportionally."
The Misquoted


flickr/minnesotasenaterepublicans



Name: Sen. Scott Jensen

Who he is: Jensen is a longtime family physician in Minnesota and a Republican member of the Minnesota Senate, who was elected in 2016. He is not seeking reelection in 2020 and is rumored to be interested in a run for governor.

What he has said about the virus: On April 7, he gave a North Dakota TV interview in which he suggested that hospitals and physicians were being told by the CDC to list COVID-19 as the cause of death in cases where it might not be warranted. His comment that “Fear is a great way to control people” was picked up by InfoWars and QAnon supporters. He later appeared on Fox News and said hospitals get paid more if a patient is listed as having COVID-19 and is on a ventilator, which is true. He did not directly say hospitals are doing this for the money, just that it’s a concern. His TV appearances were used in the “Plandemic” video, but he disavows virus conspiracies. "I think that things are being taken out of context,” he told the Star Tribune.

What authorities have said: Jensen is a physician in good standing.


Youtube/Medscape / Via youtu.be



Name: Dr. Cameron Kyle-Sidell

Who he is: Kyle-Sidell is an emergency and critical care physician at Maimonides hospital in Brooklyn. In March and April, he worked in an intensive care unit dedicated to COVID-19 patients. He received his medical degree from Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.

What he has said about the coronavirus: In a March 31 YouTube video, he questioned whether putting COVID-19 patients on ventilators was the right protocol and worried that this “misguided treatment will lead to a tremendous amount of harm to a great number of people in a very short time.” Since he raised the issue, other physicians have shared similar views. But his opinion has been misstated by conspiracy theorists to imply that the virus is not what the medical establishment says it is. On May 10, he tweeted that he had not consented to being included in “Plandemic,” saying, “I do not believe the narrative underlying the origin or spread of this terrible disease is one of human ill intent. We are fighting a virus not each other.”

What authorities have said: Kyle-Sidell is a doctor in good standing and his inclusion in “Plandemic” and other fringe narratives is the result of people misinterpreting or exaggerating his comments.


Jane Lytvynenko is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Toronto, Canada. PGP fingerprint: A088 89E6 2500 AD3C 8081 BAFB 23BA 21F3 81E0 101C.
Contact Jane Lytvynenko at jane.lytvynenko@buzzfeed.com

Ryan Broderick is a senior reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York City.
Contact Ryan Broderick at ryan@buzzfeed.com.

Craig Silverman is a media editor for BuzzFeed News and is based in Toronto.
Contact Craig Silverman at craig.silverman@buzzfeed.com.

Democrats grill EPA chief on regulatory rollbacks during coronavirus outbreak
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic senators on Wednesday grilled Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler on the agency’s recent moves to roll back rules and halt enforcement actions and monitoring requirements during the coronavirus outbreak, saying they would especially harm minorities.

Andrew Wheeler, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), speaks during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S., May 20, 2020. Al Drago/Pool via REUTERS

Senators pressed Wheeler on the agency’s half dozen regulatory rollbacks since the coronavirus outbreak hit the United States, including for vehicle fuel efficiency standards and mercury limits from power plants.

They also criticized him for implementing a temporary policy on March 26 to enable companies to delay complying with air and water quality reporting and monitoring requirements during the health crisis.

“Your decisions make this pandemic worse,” said Senator Ed Markey, participating by video. He demanded that Wheeler apologize to minority communities for “harming the health of the most vulnerable people in our country right now as their lungs are being attacked by coronavirus.”


Wheeler testified before a nearly empty Senate environment and public works panel - attended by a handful of senators in person and the rest by video. He said the agency had approved disinfectants for use against the virus and worked to ensure drinking and wastewater services are operational during the health crisis.

He also denied that the EPA has relaxed enforcement during the pandemic.

He testified that since March, the EPA had opened 52 criminal enforcement cases, charged 10 defendants and secured $21.5 million in Superfund response commitments.

The panel’s top Democrat, Senator Tom Carper, said that early research, including a recent report by Harvard University, has shown that people exposed to more air pollution may have greater risk of coronavirus infection.


Carper asked whether the EPA would further study those links, and if Wheeler would stop writing rules “that make things actually worse, not better.”

Wheeler did not commit to the research and responded, “All of our rules make things better, sir.”

FORMER COAL LOBBYIST
EPA chief defends lifting of regulations during pandemic
TRUMPS DECONSTRUCTION OF GOVERNMENT

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler adjusts his mask at an oversight hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
May 20 (UPI) -- Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler testified to Congress on Wednesday about the regulations his agency has lifted in recent weeks to give companies greater freedoms during the coronavirus pandemic.

He touted the agency's approval of hundreds of disinfectants since early March and a change to the Clean Water Act that lifts protections for streams and wetlands. Wheeler said the latter benefits American farmers and businesses currently experiencing economic hardship because of the pandemic.

He made the comments during an EPA oversight hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., praised the EPA's "good work" protecting the country's natural resources and providing the public with information about safe cleaning products during the COVID-19 crisis.

"In addition to its work on the virus, the agency has pursued policies to protect the environment, while supporting the economy," he said in his opening remarks.

"EPA has replaced punishing regulations that harmed the coal industry, farmers and ranchers, and many small businesses in my home state of Wyoming and across the country."

Wheeler's appearance before the committee came one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to review hundreds of regulations that have been suspended in response to the pandemic. He wants his administration to make those suspensions permanent where possible.

"With millions of Americans forced out of work by the virus, it's more important than ever to remove burdens that destroy American jobs," Trump said.

Wheeler said the EPA lifted 18 regulations last year and is working on lifting another 45.

Democrats on the Senate committee criticized the EPA for lifting environmental protections they say could exacerbate the effects of COVID-19.

"We are in the middle of a health crisis attacking people's lungs," Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said. "The EPA is supposed to be an air quality fire department. Instead, you're throwing gasoline on a burning building, knowing that breathing bad air can make the impacts of coronavirus worse."

"Preliminary studies are showing a higher rate of mortality from COVID-19 among people with chronic diseases that are linked to long-term exposure to poor air quality," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., added. "It's not hard to connect the dots ... this should be a major wake-up call."