450-Million-Year-Old Fossil Named After Actor Who Played ‘Doctor Who’

David Bressan Contributor FORBES Science
I deal with the rocky road to our modern understanding of earth
Sep 24, 2020

The new trilobite fossil Gravicalymene bakeri is named after Britsih actor Tom Baker, who played one of the doctors in Doctor Who.

 SMITH & EBACH2020

Two Australian paleontologists - Dr Smith and co-author Dr Ebach - named a newly described fossil species dating back 450 million years after British actor Tom Baker, who between 1974 and 1981 played the fourth incarnation of the eponymous hero in the longest-running science-fiction television series of all time - Doctor Who.

The new trilobite, a marine arthropod resembling modern pill bugs or roly-polies but only distantly related, is named Gravicalymene bakeri.


Actor and Doctor Who star Tom Baker at the SFX Weekender 2010. (Photo by Rob Monk/SFX ... [+] FUTURE VIA GETTY IMAGES

The fossil was found already in 1997 in the Gunns Plains under curious circumstances. While driving the valley on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia, Ebach stopped at a convenient boulder to relieve himself, when he noted that the shale-rock surface was covered in trilobites.

But it wasn't until recently that the two scientists realized it was a new species. Dr Smith, 30, didn't watch the original run of Doctor Who with Baker as the fourth Doctor, but fell in love with the character while watching repeats in the early 2000s: "He was my inspiration to go into science. He used science, to help people." The adventures of the time traveling character inspired him to study real time travel. "The area of science I specialize in is bio-stratigraphy which is all about dating the age of Earth and its rocks," said Smith. Dr Ebach watched the originals in the 1970s, and said Baker's Doctor Who also inspired him to explore the natural world.
Gravicalymene belongs to a group of trilobites with worldwide distribution. Similar species have been previously found in North America and Europe. In the Ordovician, a geologic period spanning from 485 to 443 million years ago, Earth was a very alien planet. Australia and all the other modern continents formed Gondwana, a super-landmass surrounded by a global ocean. The first primitive plants were appearing on the barren land and the sea was ruled by soft-bodied creatures, squid-like orthoceratides, jellyfish and sea lilies. Fifty million years after the first trilobites crawled around the bottom of the ocean, the first fish-like animals evolved.

The Ordovician sea some 450 million years ago, a group of trilobites is crawling along a forest of ... [+] GETTY

For more than 200 million years trilobites thrived and diversified into many species, some as bizarre as the fictional monsters the Doctor battled over eons. Still, as nothing lasts forever, they went extinct during the Great Permian Extinction, the largest mass die-off in the history of Earth, some 252 million years ago.

Baker commented on the new discovery in a letter to the two scientists.

"I am delighted to be entitled at last. I hope the Who world will share my joy. Will I be allowed to tack "Fossil" on official correspondence? I hope the Who world will celebrate this fresh honour and will spread the news to those who live in remote places. Happy days to all the Who fans everywhe

For The First Time, Scientists Successfully Extract DNA From Insects Embedded In Tree Resin

David Bressan Contributor FORBESScience
I deal with the rocky road to our modern understanding of earth

Movie prop used by Sir Richard Attenborough in the film Jurassic Park on view at the Amazing Amber exhibition in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2013. GETTY IMAGES

Somewhere in South America, a miner finds a piece of amber. Inside the hardened tree resin, he notes what seems to be a mosquito. Using advanced equipment, scientists extract the last meal of the blood-sucking insect. Thanks to the genetic code perfectly preserved in the still intact blood cells, the scientists then clone a dinosaur. The novel and later successful movie franchise "Jurassic Park" popularized the idea that amber could preserve soft tissue and even DNA-molecules over millions of years. But real attempts to extract DNA from amber or similar substances were unsuccessful to this day, and resin-embedded samples were deemed unsuitable for genetic examinations.

Unlike in the movies, fossil tree resin is not a good choice to preserve DNA, a fragile molecule carrying genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms. When a viscous substance traps a small animal, the soft tissues start to decay immediately and most DNA is lost before the entire animal is even encapsulated. Even if some DNA is preserved, the resin's chemical compounds will react with it, destroying it over time.

A study published in the journal PLOS ONE attempted to determine if and how long the DNA of insects enclosed in resinous materials can be preserved. The researchers collected small ambrosia beetles that were trapped in the resin of amber trees (Hymenaea) in Madagascar. The chemical composition of this modern tree resin is very similar to fossilized amber. The samples were stored for 2 to 6 years and then processed.


Tree resin with embedded ambrosia beetles. D.PERIS

The study concluded that although it is very fragile, DNA was still preserved in the samples. First attempts using ethanol to dissolve the resin surrounding the beetles proved to be counterproductive. The alcohol reacts with the resin, destroying any DNA. This observation may explain why past attempts to extract DNA were always unsuccessful. Even after perfecting the extraction process switching chemicals, new problems emerged. The polymerase chain reaction (or PCR) is widely used to replicate small fragments of DNA, but the researchers discovered that this method is not very effective with DNA extracted from resinous materials. It is possible, so the authors, that substances found in the resin inhibit the chemicals used to copy single DNA strings. Only after carefully cleaning the samples and repeating the PCR-process various times, enough DNA was replicated to study the genomics of the embedded organism.

It is still not clear just how long the DNA can survive inside the resin. The researchers will apply the new method to other examples of resin-embedded insects, from most recent to the oldest one, to determine the decay rate of DNA. Water also seems to play an essential role in the preservation potential. The resin creates a fully waterproof barrier, keeping moisture in the tissue. This could also affect the stability of the genetic material.

Despite their optimism to add this type of analysis of fossil DNA to more common methods - like DNA recovered from skeletal material, mummified and frozen tissues - the researchers have no intention of raising dinosaurs. It seems more than unlikely that functional DNA can survive more than 1 to 2 million years in amber.

Melting Ice Reveals A Mass Grave Of Mummified Penguins

Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) looking newly dead but the animal actually had been preserved in ice S.D. EMSLIE

David Bressan Contributor FORBES

In 2015 ornithologist Steven Emslie was studying penguin colonies along the shores of Antarctica’s Ross Sea, when he heard about pebble mounds associated with guano deposits on Cape Irizar, a rocky outcrop surrounded by water and ice.

Guano forms as the corrosive poop of generations of nesting birds reacts with rocks and soil. But no active colonies have ever been recorded at the site, even by early Antarctic explorers spotting and naming the cape in 1901.

Visiting the site, Emslie came across of what seemed at first a fresh penguin carcass resting on older remains, including bones, feathers, and eggshell. Later sampling and carbon-dating put the carcass at a minimum of 800 to 1,100 years old, with some of the older remains found at the site dating back to 1,375-2,340 and 2,750- 5,145 years ago. The pebble mounds were nests, suggesting that the site was a former penguin colony.



The abandoned nesting site on Cape Irizar. S.D. EMSLIE

Bones of Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) excavated from teh pebble mounds at the site. S.D. EMSLIE 2020

The varying ages imply at least three periods of occupation and abandonment of this site, according to the paper published in the journal Geology.

The Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica supports nearly one million breeding pairs of Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) annually. There also is a well-preserved record of abandoned penguin colonies on the continent that date from before the Last Glacial Maximum some 45,000 years ago.

As penguins need pebbles for their nests, during breeding season they will visit ice-free spots. Emslie speculates that the penguins abandoned the newly discovered colony during the onset of the Little Ice Age, a period of cooling between 1300 to 1850, which covered the former ice-free area in snow and ice. With the average annual temperature of this part of the continent rising nowadays by between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius since the 1980s, the resulting snowmelt exposes the remains, and decomposition begins

David Bressan

I'm a freelance geologist working mostly in the Eastern Alps. I graduated in 2007 with a project studying how permafrost, that´s frozen soil, is reacting to the more visible recent changes of the alpine environment. Studying therefore old maps, photographs and reports, I became interested in the history of geology and how early geologists figured out how earth works, blogging about it in my spare time. Living in one of the classic areas of early geological research, I combine field trips with the historic maps, figures and research done there. But geology is more than a historic or local science, as geological forces shaped and still influence history worldwide

Australia's 'no jab, no pay' rule has little effect on anti-vaxxer parents – study


Experts say the policy prompts people happy to vaccinate their children but doesn’t work on those who oppose vaccination science


Melissa Dave Sun 4 Oct 2020

 

Australia’s ‘no jab no pay’ policy has seen a drop in first-dose measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations. Photograph: Burger/Phanie / Rex

Australia’s “no jab, no pay” policy has been associated with a drop in the number of children catching up on their first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, suggesting the policy has had little impact on those who reject vaccination science.

However, the policy was associated with more children catching up on their second dose of the vaccine and on their diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis vaccine, especially in lower socioeconomic status areas, the study published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday found.

Coalition's 'no jab, no pay' policy elicits mixed feelings in health professionals
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The no jab, no pay policy, introduced from January 2016, meant family and childcare payments would be withheld from people who claimed to be “conscientious objectors” to vaccination.

To examine the impact of the policy, researchers from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance and the University of Sydney analysed data from the Australian immunisation register for catch-up vaccinations of children aged five to under seven.
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They examined data from between January 2013 and December 2014, before the policy was introduced, to establish a baseline. They then compared that with data from the same age group during the first two years of the policy to December 2017, and examined data from children aged seven to under 10 and young people aged 10 to under 20 after the policy was introduced.

“The proportion of children aged five to less than seven years who received catch-up MMR1 [first dose measles, mumps and rubella vaccine] vaccination was 13.6% (4,719 of 34,793 unvaccinated children) during the baseline period and 12.9% (4,169 of 32,321 unvaccinated children) during the ‘no jab, no pay’ period,” the study found.

“Of 407,332 incompletely vaccinated adolescents aged 10 to less than 20 years, 71,502 (17.6%) received catch-up MMR2 [second dose measles, mumps and rubella vaccine] during the first two years of ‘no jab, no pay’. This increased overall coverage for this age group from 86.6% to 89.0%. MMR2 catch-up activity in this age group was greater in the lowest socioeconomic status areas than in the highest socioeconomic status areas (29.1% v 7.6%), and also for Indigenous than for non-Indigenous Australians (35.8% v 17.1%).”

State-specific “no jab, no play” policies, adopted by four of eight jurisdictions by January 2020 and which permit children to attend childcare only if they are fully vaccinated “should not have affected our findings as they target children under five years of age”, the study stated.

The associate director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, Dr Frank Beard, led the study and said the findings suggested that while monetary sanctions were effective in promoting catch-up vaccination, their impact varied with socioeconomic disadvantage.

He said this did not mean disadvantaged groups were vaccine refusers, given many of them had received their first dose of MMR1 and of diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis vaccine. More likely, issues such as access or language barriers might have been a more important factor in not receiving ongoing doses. Withholding family and childcare tax benefits would also affect this group more, prompting them to catch up under the policy, he said.

Previous research had found wealthier parents appeared more likely to register a vaccine objection compared with more financially disadvantaged families.

“This study found there was just no major change to that vaccine-objector group with the ‘no jab, no pay’ policy,” Beard said. “But on the positive side, a substantial number of people did catch up vaccination which led to modest increases in overall vaccine coverage. It was always thought by experts that the policy might have little impact on vaccine refusers. This study certainly provides evidence to support that.”

Prof Julie Leask, an expert on vaccination attitudes and behaviour from the University of Sydney, said the policy simply served as a prompt for people already happy to vaccinate their children – but did not work on those who actively rejected vaccines.

It's time to inject some sense into the nonsense peddled by the anti-science crowd
Melissa Davey
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“We did in-depth interviews with this group for up to two hours, and we have done a number of studies with these vaccine-refusal groups now, and what we hear from them is that when you take away choice it causes a psychological reaction and it’s an anger towards having one’s choice removed,” Leask said.

“That caused people to dig down more, and we saw that coming through in this study with parents continuing not to vaccinate despite the policy, and in fact it suggests some who were on the fence said, ‘That’s it, if they force me I won’t do it at all.’ ”

Leask was concerned that by removing the conscientious objector exemption, which required people to have a signed note from their doctor or nurse, it removed an opportunity for healthcare providers to engage with those who refused vaccinations.

“At least there was more of a chance of engagement with mainstream medical services which would continue to give parents opportunities to review their decision,” she said.

“Another aspect often ignored in thinking about no jab no pay is that it means significant financial hardship for a minority of families who are vaccine refusers and that doesn’t just impact the parents, it means the kids are missing out too.”

New Caledonia rejects full independence from France again

By Mathieu Rosemain


PARIS (Reuters) - The South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia voted against independence from France on Sunday for the second time in as many years, a provisional final count showed.

A surprise “yes” vote would have deprived Paris of a foothold in a region where China is expanding its influence, and dented the pride of a colonial power whose reach once spanned large parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The “no” vote won 53.26% of votes cast votes, a narrower margin of victory than in the 2018 poll.

The result will bring relief to President Emmanuel Macron’s government, whose attention had been focused on the coronavirus pandemic in the run-up to the referendum.

“Voters have had their say. They confirmed their wish to keep New Caledonia a part of France. As head of state, I salute this show of confidence in the Republic with a profound feeling of gratitude,” Macron said in a televised statement.

New Caledonia became a French colony in 1853. Tensions have long run deep between pro-independence indigenous Kanaks and descendants of colonial settlers who remain loyal to Paris.



Sunday’s referendum was the second of up to three permitted under the terms of the 1998 Noumea Accord, an agreement enshrined in France’s constitution and which set out a 20-year path towards decolonisation.

France stood ready to organise a further vote within two years if that was the wish of New Caledonians, at which point both sides would have to accept the result, Macron said.

“We have two years to look to the future,” the president continued.

The island chain already enjoys a large degree of autonomy but depends heavily on France for matters such as defence and education.

Turnout was high at 85.6% of eligible voters - after a stronger-than-expected independence vote in the 2018 referendum.




New Caledonia lies some 1,200 km (750 miles) east of Australia and 20,000 km (12,500 miles) from Paris.

Under French colonial rule the Kanaks were confined to reserves and excluded from much of the island’s economy. The first revolt erupted in 1878, not long after the discovery of large nickel deposits that are today exploited by French miner Eramet’s subsidiary SLN.

Today, its economy is underpinned by annual French subsidies of some 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) and nickel deposits that are estimated to represent 25% of the world’s total, and tourism.

The territory has, however, largely cut itself off from the outside world to shield itself from the coronavirus. It has registered only 27 cases of COVID-19.

For a third referendum to take place, a third of the local assembly in New Caledonia must vote in favour of one.

Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; Writing by Lidia Kelly and Richard Lough Editing by William Mallard and Angus MacSwan

New Caledonia votes on becoming independent from France

CHARLOTTE ANTOINE-PERRON, Associated Press •October 4, 2020

1 / 9
New Caledonia France Referendum
A woman casts her ballot in a voting station of Noumea, New Caledonia, Sunday, Oct.4, 2020. Voters in New Caledonia, a French archipelago in the South Pacific, were deciding Sunday whether they want independence from France in a referendum that marks a milestone in a three-decade decolonization effort. If voters choose independence, a transition period will immediately open so that the archipelago can get ready for its future status. Otherwise, New Caledonia will remain a French territory. (AP Photo/Mathurin Derel)

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (AP) — Voters in New Caledonia turned out in large numbers Sunday to decide whether the archipelago in the South Pacific should get independence from France and break ties that were first established in the mid-19th century.

Sunday's independence referendum is part of a three-decade decolonization effort aimed at settling tensions on the archipelago between native Kanaks seeking independence and residents willing to remain in France.

More than 180,000 voters were invited to answer the question: “Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?”

“Today is not a day like any other. Everyone woke up with the will to express oneself (through the vote). This is a historic day,” Robert Wayaridri, 60, told The Associated Press.

In Noumea, the capital, large lines of people waited to vote under the hot sun, sometimes for hours. Almost 80% of voters had already casted their ballots one hour before poll stations closed, according to the French ministry of the Overseas.

Across the archipelago, horns and cheers could be heard all day in the streets, and some people waved pro-independence flags in a relaxed atmosphere.

The FLNKS movement leading the independence campaign called on its supporters to stay “calm and respectful.”

Polling stations closed at 6 p.m. (9 a.m. in mainland France). Results are expected later Sunday.

If voters choose independence, a transition period will immediately begin so that the archipelago can get ready for its future status. Otherwise, New Caledonia will remain a French territory.

Corine Florentin, who was born in Noumea 52 years ago, said she voted against independence because she wants to “remain French.”

"We can live together, all races together, and design our common future,” she said.

A student at the University of New Caledonia, Guillaume Paul, 18, also voted “no” because he wants the archipelago to keep its ties with France.

“What would the country become if it was independent? There is a real danger that without the financing brought by France, the university would disappear, ” he said.

But Joachim Neimbo, 22, was in favor of independence.

“I voted yes, because that’s my people’s combat. We want the recognition of our identity, our culture. I think we are able to manage ourselves,” he said.

Taguy Wayenece, 25, also voted “yes” to independence.

“We need to return to tradition, to working in the fields, to stay with the tribe. Modern life is too complicated for us," he said.

Two years ago, 56.4% of voters who participated in a similar referendum chose to keep the region's ties with Paris.

Both referendums are the final steps of a process that started 30 years ago after years of violence that pitched pro-independence Kanak activists against those willing to remain in France.

The archipelago now counts 270,000 inhabitants, including both native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination, and descendants of European colonizers.

New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III — Napoleon’s nephew and heir — and was used for decades as a prison colony. 

1. 18th Brunaire of Louis Bonaparte - Marxists Internet Archive

   https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/18th-Bru… · PDF file

   The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte Written: December 1851-March 1852; Source: Chapters 1 & 7 are translated by Saul K. Padover from the German edition of 1869; Chapters 2 through 6 are based on the third edition, prepared by Engels (1885), as translated and published by Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1937; First Published: First issue of Die Revolution, 1852, New York; Transcription ...

   • File Size: 993KB

   • Page Count: 68

It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957.

Biden leads by 10 points as majority of Americans say Trump could have avoided coronavirus: Reuters/Ipsos poll


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democrat Joe Biden opened his widest lead in a month in the U.S. presidential race after President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and a majority of Americans think Trump could have avoided infection if he had taken the virus more seriously, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday.

The Oct. 2-3 national opinion poll gave little indication of an outpouring of support for the president beyond Trump’s core group of followers, some of whom have gathered outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where the president has been hospitalized.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed the severity of the pandemic as something that would disappear on its own, chiding Biden as recently as last week for wearing a protective mask, even as the coronavirus infected millions of people and forced businesses and schools to close.

Among those adults who are expected to cast ballots in the Nov. 3 election, the poll found that 51% were backing Biden, while 41% said they were voting for Trump. Another 4% were choosing a third-party candidate and another 4% said they were undecided.

Biden’s 10-point edge over Trump is 1 to 2 points higher than leads Biden posted over the past several weeks, though the increase is still within the poll’s precision limits of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

With about a month to go before the election, Biden has maintained an early advantage in securing the national popular vote. But to win the presidency, a candidate must prevail in enough states to win the Electoral College, and state polls show that Trump is nearly as popular as Biden in battleground states.

Trump, 74, was transferred to Walter Reed on Friday, hours after tweeting that he was diagnosed with COVID-19. The announcement set off a dizzying split-screen experience for many: as media alerts lit up cell phones and television chyrons about Trump feeling feverish and needing oxygen, several other Republican leaders who had been in close proximity with the president announced that they, too, had tested positive.

Most Americans continue to be deeply worried about the virus, and the poll found that 65%, including 9 in 10 registered Democrats and 5 in 10 registered Republicans, agreed that “if President Trump had taken coronavirus more seriously, he probably would not have been infected.”

Only 34% said they thought that Trump has been telling them the truth about the coronavirus, while 55% said that he was not and 11% were unsure.

Of those polled, 57% of Americans said they disapproved of Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic overall, up about 3 points from a poll that ran late last week.

Americans also appear to be largely supportive of curtailing the 2020 presidential race to ensure everyone’s safety.

Sixty-seven percent of Americans want to stop in-person campaign rallies and 59% think the presidential debates should be postponed until Trump recovers from the coronavirus.

It is unclear at this point how Trump’s diagnosis will impact the next presidential debate, which is scheduled for Oct. 15. The first vice presidential debate between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Mike Pence is scheduled for Thursday.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 1,005 U.S. adults, including 596 likely voters.

Only about 61% of voting-age Americans actually voted in the 2016 election.

Reporting by Chris Kahn; Editing by Dan Grebler

HONEST Canadians have returned 830,000 pandemic benefit payments

Kathleen Harris

Canadians have made more than 830,000 repayments of COVID-19 emergency aid benefits to which they were not entitled – a statistic some say reflects mass confusion over fast-tracked federal programs 

IT DOES NO SUCH THING 

IT SHOWS THE EFFICENCY AND EFFICACY OF THE PROGRAMS AND THE HONESTY OF CANADIANS WHOM CONSERVATIVES ATTACK AS LAZY AND UNWORTHY

OF UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME AS THESE PROGRAMS SHOW

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© Creative Touch Imaging Ltd/NurPhoto One of the many stores forced to close due to the financial strain of the 4-month lockdown seen during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 31, 2020. Ontario has entered 'stage 3' of the 3 stage reopening plan following a 4-month lockdown to flatten the curve of the virus. Some three million jobs were lost in Canada over March and April due to the pandemic, and 2.5 million more had their hours and earnings slashed. By last month, some 3.1 million were affected by the pandemic, including 1.4 million who weren't at work due to COVID-19. (Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The figures provided to CBC News by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) include repayments from recipients of the Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) and Canada emergency student benefit (CESB).

CRA said all of the repayments were voluntary.

"There are various reasons why voluntary repayments have been made: if applicants applied in error for a CERB payment from both Service Canada and the CRA for the same period, if an applicant later realized that they were not eligible for the benefit, or if an applicant returned to work earlier than expected," said CRA spokesperson Christopher Doody in an email.

Conservative MP and national revenue critic Philip Lawrence said he blames the high number of repayments on the federal government failing to explain the benefit programs to Canadians.

"During the pandemic, the Liberals continuously sent mixed messages to Canadians who were applying for emergency benefits. This caused confusion for many Canadians who were unclear if they were eligible for the benefits or not," Lawrence said.

"It was important for the Trudeau government to get the communication of these benefits right. Unfortunately, they failed to do so and left Canadians behind."

CRA said it could not cite a dollar sum for the repayments because the money is retained in a general account, along with other unrelated payments.

Rushed programs led to confusion

Toronto-based Labour lawyer Lluc Cerda called the number of repayments "huge" — and also blamed a lack of clarity on the federal government's part when it launched these benefits in the chaotic early days of the pandemic.

He said people often couldn't get through to busy CRA or Service Canada call centre agents — and when they did reach an agent, they were sometimes given contradictory information.

"I think with the way the plan was rushed into place – and I mean, the times called for it – there's definitely a lot of confusion and I think that's a large part of why people are paying it back," Cerda said.

Widespread uncertainty also may have led some people to apply for benefits, then "park" the money until tax time against the possibility that it would have to be repaid, he said. Cerda added that the uncertainty may have deterred some people who were actually eligible for benefits like CERB from even applying.

20,000 tips on suspected abuse

CRA also told CBC News it has received more than 20,000 confidential tips about suspected cheating related to COVID-19 emergency aid programs.

All anonymous tips are reviewed for evidence of fraud.

In June, the Liberal government proposed legislation that would have imposed fines or even jail time on people who deliberately lied on CERB applications. It backtracked after a public and political outcry.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau justified the move as a way to ensure integrity of the program, saying the government would crack down on the small minority of "deliberate fraudsters" but was not looking to penalize anyone who collected money unintentionally.

"We're not looking to punish people who made honest mistakes," he said.

At the time, the government was under pressure from the Conservatives to bring in stronger controls to weed out fraudulent claims and maintain an incentive for people to return to work where possible.

CRA said it will take steps to verify that claimants were eligible to receive payments. The agency keeps records showing who received the benefits and for how long; those records will be cross-checked with tax slips from employers and other relevant information to validate eligibility at tax filing time.

In cases where recipients are found to be ineligible, they will be contacted to make repayment arrangements, CRA said.

#BLM

Art depicting Viola Desmond displayed on building where she was arrested in 1946

NEW GLASGOW, N.S. — An art display paying tribute to Viola Desmond is nearing completion on the building where the civil rights icon took her most high-profile stand against racial inequality in Canada

.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Desmond, a Black Nova Scotian who is commemorated on Canada's $10 bill, refused to leave her seat at the Roseland Theatre on Nov. 8, 1946.

The segregated movie theatre relegated black patrons to the balcony at the time, while floor seating was reserved for whites. Desmond, who was shortsighted and could not see properly from the back, sat in the floor section and refused to leave.

The beautician and entrepreneur from north end Halifax was dragged out of the theatre by police, arrested, thrown in jail for 12 hours and fined.

It would take 63 years for Nova Scotia to issue Desmond, who died in 1965, a posthumous apology and pardon.

The art on the side of the recently renovated Roseland Theatre was chosen through a contest created by the law firm MacGillivray Injury and Insurance Law.

A news release from the firm said lawyer Jamie MacGillivray acquired the building in 2015, after it had been condemned, and he has restored and renovated it, with the art display featuring prominently on an exterior wall.

The pieces on the building, which include several that depict Desmond sitting behind bars, are among more than 400 that were submitted for consideration.

Each of the winning submissions was photographed and sent to a manufacturer in Europe, where they were digitally printed onto panels capable of withstanding exterior display.

The committee hired contractors to mount the panels over the summer and there is also a plan to install a metal film strip, which will be woven through the artwork panels.

"This building, which for many decades bore nasty scars of racial injustice and unrest, has now been transformed into an artistic showcase of hope, peace, unity, diversity, and last but not least, inclusion," said Henderson Paris, chair of the Viola Commemorative Committee, in a news release.
'

Desmond's story went largely untold for a half-century, but in recent years she has been featured on a stamp, and her name graces a Halifax harbour ferry.

A Toronto park and streets in Montreal and New Glasgow bear her name, and she was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2017.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2020.

Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press

Donald Trump's alternate reality of Covid-19 crumbles as the White House obfuscates

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Some seven months into a pandemic that has killed more than 209,000 Americans, the nation is now facing a grave governing crisis with its commander in chief hospitalized -- his condition hinging on his progress over the coming days -- as the White House events of the past week serve as a textbook example of how not to handle a deadly virus

© Drew Angerer/Getty Images WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 02: U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the White House for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the South Lawn of the White House on October 2, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have both tested positive for coronavirus. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Late Saturday night, the public learned new details about why President Donald Trump was airlifted to the hospital Friday, when chief of staff Mark Meadows said during an interview with Fox News that Trump had a fever on Friday morning and his oxygen level had "dropped rapidly." Meadows added that Trump has made "unbelievable improvements from yesterday morning."

A memo from Trump's physician earlier Saturday night said that Trump had "made substantial progress" since his diagnosis but "is not yet out of the woods."

Speaking from a White House that already has a huge credibility problem with the public, Meadows' statement capped a 24-hour period that served as a master class in opacity and contradiction that raised major questions about the President's health -- and renewed questions about this administration's ability to tell the truth.

Trump has been watching and critiquing coverage of his hospitalization from the presidential suite at Walter Reed and has been agitated at what he claims are exaggerated descriptions of his condition, people familiar with the matter said.

Those people told CNN that Trump seemed particularly upset when he saw a quote saying he was displaying "concerning" symptoms on Friday attributed to person familiar with his health but later assigned by the New York Times and Associated Press to Meadows.

The comment about the President's vitals hinted that his condition was more worrisome than his doctors let on. But the President's aversion to appearing weak and sick is now what is driving the effort to project resolve, including a video he tweeted from Walter Reed on Saturday, the photos released by the White House of him working and the multiple accounts of phone calls where he sounded strong by his allies and family members.

For much of this year, Trump has spun an alternate reality about the dangers of coronavirus — disputing science and the efficacy of masks, downplaying the risks to the American people, and making false statements about how 99% of coronavirus cases in America are "totally harmless" or that the virus "affects virtually nobody."

He encouraged his aides and advisers to live in that dangerous fantasy land, pushing his luck to the limits as late as this past week when he again recklessly gathered thousands of unmasked Americans at his political rallies and packed the top officials in government into a Rose Garden ceremony for his Supreme Court nominee. All the while, White House officials embraced the fallacy that administering rapid coronavirus tests frequently at the White House could provide a shield of immunity.

The President's construct crumbled Friday when he was airlifted to Walter Reed after contracting the virus, while many aides, advisers and allies were testing positive for Covid-19 after interacting with him over the past week.

The White House seemed to be continuing to downplay concerns about the severity of the virus Saturday morning when the President's physician, Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley, gave a news conference at Walter Reed where he described the President as upbeat and feeling good, without revealing any of the alarming developments with his oxygen levels the day before.

Undermining the confidence in the information coming from the White House, Conley gave confusing statements Saturday morning about how long it's been since the President was diagnosed with Covid-19, which he later had to try to clean up.

Conley was evasive about whether the President had received supplemental oxygen (CNN confirmed he had). Conley also refused to pinpoint when the President had his last negative test or to detail whether any tracing had been done to determine how he contracted the virus.

A potential superspreading event at the White House

Many of the Trump aides or contacts who have recently tested positive for Covid-19 attended the White House festivities honoring Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on September 26, in the Rose Garden.

At least seven people attending the event, including the President and first lady, have tested positive. University of Notre Dame President the Rev. John Jenkins, former counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who were seated relatively close to each other, tested positive. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also tested positive and checked himself into the hospital Saturday as a precautionary measure, because he has asthma.

Conway, Christie, Trump's senior adviser Hope Hicks and his campaign manager Bill Stepien — who have all tested positive — were also all involved in debate prep ahead of Trump's Tuesday clash with Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

It "seems highly likely this originated at the SCOTUS announcement last week," a senior administration official told CNN's Jake Tapper of the outbreak among GOP officials. "It may have come from the Hill. The next major concern will be securing Capitol Hill and protecting lawmakers," the official added.

Trump did not address anyone else's diagnosis during his video message from Walter Reed Saturday. As he praised the medical care he had received at Walter Reed, he sought to spin his hospitalization to his advantage by making it sound like his diagnosis had been inevitable, even though he took few precautions to prevent it.

The President said he was "starting to feel good" and that he was receiving therapeutics he said are like "miracles coming down from God."

"This was something that's happened, and it's happened to millions of people all over the world and I'm fighting for them, not just in the US," Trump said. "We're gonna beat this coronavirus — or whatever you want to call it — and we're gonna beat it soundly."

Thanking the American people for their well wishes, Trump said the true nature of his condition would be revealed in the coming days: "You don't know. Over the next period of a few days, I guess that's the real test, so we'll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days," Trump said.

The President said the decision to go to Walter Reed on Friday was his. He suggested he didn't like the prospect of staying isolated at the residence: "Lock yourself in, don't ever leave, don't even go to the Oval Office, just stay upstairs and enjoy it, don't see people, don't talk to people and just be done with it."

That statement from Trump, clearly attempting to make himself look like a decision-maker in command of the situation, contradicts reporting from CNN's Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins that the President was reluctant to go to the hospital.

"I had to be out front and this is America, this is the United States, this is the greatest country in the world, this is the most powerful country in the world," Trump continued in the video. "I can't be locked up in a room upstairs and totally safe, and just say, hey whatever happens, happens. I can't do that."


White House concerns about optics

The President appeared to be breathing and talking without effort during the video released Saturday, but it remains unclear how severe his symptoms have been, beyond Meadows' comments to Fox Saturday night.

There is a long history of White House officials covering up or obfuscating about the medical condition of the sitting President — from Grover Cleveland's secret surgery to remove a tumor in his mouth aboard a friend's yacht, to John F. Kennedy hiding his Addison's disease.

Officials in the Trump White House have carefully calibrated their statements about the President's health over the past few days in what seems like an effort to put the best face on the diagnosis at a time when the President is 30 days from Election Day and trailing in the polls. Mail-in voting has already begun in certain states across the country.

The President tweeted that he had tested positive for coronavirus around 1 a.m. ET Friday, hours after attending a Thursday night fundraiser in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he met with a small group of donors indoors with no masks, before addressing a larger crowd outdoors. Trump got his first positive coronavirus test result Thursday after returning from that trip, a White House official said Saturday evening.

Hicks had begun experiencing symptoms the previous night while accompanying the President on his trip to Minnesota for a fundraiser and rally Wednesday night. It's unclear whether the President was tested around that same time, given how closely they work together.

On Friday, Meadows at first described the President as energetic with mild symptoms. But the President was abruptly taken to Walter Reed Friday evening in what officials described as an "abundance of caution." Other sources told CNN Friday that the President had a fever and some trouble breathing.

On Saturday morning, Conley acknowledged that the President had a fever at one point, but refused to say what his temperature was or give the press a rundown on the President's vital signs.

He declined to say whether medical tests had revealed any damage to the President's lungs. And he also would not say how many people in the President's orbit may have been exposed, given that Trump rarely wears a mask. One of the White House aides who works closest to Trump has tested positive, a White House official confirmed to CNN.

Conley was most evasive about whether the President was given supplemental oxygen, repeatedly stating that the President was not currently receiving any. Another Walter Reed doctor treating the President told reporters at the Saturday morning news conference that Trump told doctors: "I feel like I could walk out of here today."

Conley said Trump had been fever-free for 24 hours and had experienced an "extremely mild cough," nasal congestion and fatigue.

But Conley's rosy pronouncements were contradicted minutes later in a statement that was given to pool reporters from a source familiar with Trump's health, who was later identified by the New York Times and the Associated Press as Meadows.

"The President's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We are still not on a clear path to a full recovery," the source later identified as Meadows told pool reporters.

That's the statement, according to the New York Times, that made Trump furious at Meadows and prompted the President to take to Twitter to say he was feeling well.

On Saturday evening, Conley said in a memo that the President "remains fever-free and off supplemental oxygen with a saturation level between 96% and 98% all day," which is within the normal range for blood oxygen levels.

While the President was still at the White House Friday, he was administered the experimental Regeneron antibody cocktail, a promising treatment that has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration that was intended to help boost the President's immune system as he fights the virus.

Once Trump was at Walter Reed, doctors initiated the antiviral drug remdesivir. He is receiving a five-day course of the drug, which has been shown to shorten recovery time for some coronavirus patients.