DISASTER CAPITALISM

Economic impact of Australia's bushfires set to exceed $4.4bn cost of Black Saturday

Fires will cripple consumer confidence and harm industries such as farming and tourism, Moody’s says

Ben Butler
Wed 8 Jan 2020
 

Destroyed buildings in Cobargo, NSW. The risk of damage

 to the broader economy is high because the fire season

 still has months to run, Moody’s says. 

Photograph: Sean Davey/AAP

The economic damage from the bushfires devastating Australia’s eastern seaboard is likely to exceed the record $4.4bn set by 2009’s Black Saturday blazes, Moody’s Analytics has said.

The Moody’s economist Katrina Ell said the fires would further cripple Australia’s already anaemic consumer confidence, increasing the chances of a rate cut next month, as well as causing damage to the economy through increased air pollution and direct harm to industries such as farming and tourism.

She said the risk of damage to the broader economy, outside areas ravaged by fire, was increased because the bushfire season still had months to run.

So far the fires have charred at least 8.4m hectares across the whole country, compared with the 450,000 ha affected by Black Saturday.

Tourism is the lifeblood of NSW's south coast. Will we recover before the next bushfire crisis?

The 2009 fires, which ripped through relatively densely populated rural areas north of Melbourne, killed 173 people and almost completely destroyed the town of Marysville.


So far, 25 people are known to have died in this season’s fires, which have also done severe damage to many towns, including Cobargo and Mogo on the NSW south coast, and Mallacoota in the far south-east of Victoria.


Ell said that in the past bushfires had tended only to hurt the local economies directly in the path of the flames.

“But the risk of there being broader macroeconomic spillovers this season are high given the scale of the fires, as well as the fact that it is still early in the bushfire season and the existing fires are yet to be contained,” she said.

She said the direct effect on local industries came on top of the pain of Australia’s lengthy drought.

“Damage to fresh produce will put upward pressure on consumer prices, given that most fresh fruit and vegetables consumed at home are sourced locally,” she said.

She said tourism had also taken a “significant hit” during what is normally peak season.

Tourism bodies say it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild.

“Visitor numbers are significantly down in summer hot spots as smoke haze and uncertainty about safety keep local and international travellers away,” she said.

She said broader effects included air pollution, which has affected 30% of the population, and would cause “reduced worker productivity, increased health spending, and lower crop yields”, as well as road closures and the cost to insurers.

As of Monday, more than 8,200 claims worth about $644m had been lodged, according to Insurance Council of Australia data.

The ratings agency S&P said the claims were likely to crimp the profitability of insurers and lead to rises in premiums.

Ell said indirect damage to the economy would be “significant”.

“The devastating social impacts of the fires mean that already-fragile consumer confidence will take an added hit,” she said.

“The Australian consumer was already shying away from discretionary spending and the widespread air pollution and devastation are further deterrents.”

She said the odds of the Reserve Bank cutting official rates from the already record low level of 0.75% to 0.5% when its board meets on 4 February were already high.

Should fossil fuels pay for Australia's new bushfire reality? It is the industry most responsible

Amanda Cahill “The fires increase those odds,” she said.

But she said direct spending by governments on the recovery effort would probably be more effective.

“Fiscal measures can target the particular areas concerned, whereas monetary policy has a blunt impact,” she said.

The Morrison government has so far pledged $2bn in fire relief – although the money will flow over two years – and the prime minister, Scott Morrison, and the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, have weakened their previously rock-solid commitment to returning the budget to surplus.

“This potentially gives the government more flexibility to support the rebuild efforts and the broader economy,” Ell said.

She said rebuilding efforts usually helped offset the damage caused by fires.

“But in this circumstance, rebuilding could be delayed for months, since many fires are ongoing, and this is only the start of the usual bushfire season.

“It could be some months before efforts move from fire containment to rebuilding.”

The economic impact has been particularly severe on Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia, where tourists have been evacuated, farms devastated and timber plantations burned.

On Wednesday, Kangaroo Island Plantation Timber told the stock exchange about 90% of its timber had been affected by the fire, which has burned the western third of the island.

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UPDATED

Puerto Rico in state of emergency after most powerful quake in over 100 years

Island rocked by hundreds of earthquakes in recent weeks, killing at least one person and prompting power and water outages


Guardian staff and agencies

Tue 7 Jan 2020

 

A damaged house on the coast of Guánica, 

a municipality in the southwest of Puerto Rico. 

Photograph: Thais Llorca/EPA


Puerto Rico’s governor, Wanda Vázquez, declared a state of emergency and activated the national guard on Tuesday after a series of earthquakes including one of magnitude 6.4 that was the most powerful to strike the Caribbean island in 102 years.

The quakes killed at least one person, provoked a protective power outage across the entire island and cut off drinking water to 300,000 customers, Vázquez told a news conference.
 A priest inspects damage to the Parroquia

 Inmaculada Concepción church after a 6.4

 earthquake hit just south of the island on 

Tuesday. Photograph: Eric Rojas/Getty Images

At least 346 people were left homeless, officials said, as homes were flattened, mostly in the south of the island. Many damaged buildings sat next to piles of rubble.

The declaration of emergency will facilitate federal financial aid for the US territory. Vázquez said she had been in contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema).

Several members of Congress, including Florida’s two US senators and Puerto Rico’s non-voting member of the House of Representatives, appealed to Donald Trump for aid.

Trump has been briefed on the earthquakes and administration officials were monitoring the impact in coordination with Puerto Rico officials, the White House deputy press secretary, Judd Deere, said in a statement.

The island has been rocked by a series of quakes – literally hundreds – since 28 December, including 10 of magnitude 4 or greater, the US Geological Survey said.
Store owners remove supplies from Ely Mer 

Mar hardware store, which partially collapsed 

after an earthquake struck Guanica, Puerto

 Rico, on Tuesday. Photograph: Carlos Giusti/AP

A 5.8-magnitude temblor on Monday damaged some homes on the southern coast.
Powerful quakes are rare in Puerto Rico, and Tuesday’s 6.4 was the strongest in more than a century, the island’s seismology office, Red Sísmica, said.

On 11 October 1918, a 7.3 magnitude quake and tsunami killed 116 people in Puerto Rico, according to Red Sísmica data.

The US territory is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, which killed about 3,000 people and destroyed a significant amount of infrastructure. The island suffered during Hurricane Irma around the same time, as the climate crisis continues to exacerbate such storms.

Puerto Rico is also working through a bankruptcy process to restructure about $120bn of debt and pension obligations.

“We are a resilient people. We have responded to many difficult situations. Now this has been asked of us one more time,” said Vázquez, who later toured damaged areas.

One of Tuesday’s quakes triggered an automatic shutdown of electricity across the island as a safety measure and a later, more powerful quake damaged power plants in the southern part of the island, Vázquez said.

Power remained cut off to the capital San Juan and most of the island some 11 hours after the largest quake.

Puerto Rico was producing only 40 megawatts of electricity when demand was close to 2,000 megawatts, Ángel Figueroa, president of the electricity workers’ union Utier, said on Twitter.

Some 300,000 of Puerto Rico’s 1.3 million water customers lacked service, Vázquez said. The governor confirmed one death, as reported by El Nuevo Día, that a 73-year-old man died after a wall fell on him.

 A man walks past a destroyed store after a 

6.4 earthquake hit on Tuesday in Guánica, 

Puerto Rico. Photograph: Eric Rojas/Getty Images

But she said it was too soon to offer an accurate assessment of damage or injuries.

Vázquez, who assumed office in August after Ricardo Rosselló stepped down in the face of massive street protests, repeated pleas for people to remain calm and asked people to check on neighbors, especially the elderly.

The biggest quake on Tuesday, of magnitude 6.4, struck at a depth of six miles at 4.24am, near Ponce in the south, the US Geological Survey said.

Witnesses using social media described it as “super strong” and lasting up to 30 seconds, followed by a number of hefty aftershocks.

The international airport near San Juan continued normal service with the help of power generators, El Nuevo Día reported, citing Jorge Hernández, chief executive of Aerostar Airport Holdings.

On Tuesday evening, US House speaker Nancy Pelosi was reported as urging the Trump administration to respond to Puerto Rico’s plea for emergency status and accompanying aid.

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Puerto Rico declares state of emergency after wide quake damage

Ricardo Arduengo,
AFP•January 7, 2020




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Two firemen survey a collapsed building after an earthquake hit Guanica, one of the towns which appeared to suffer the worst damage on Puerto Rico's southwest coast
Two firemen survey a collapsed building after an earthquake hit Guanica, one of the towns which appeared to suffer the worst damage on Puerto Rico's southwest coast (AFP Photo/Ricardo ARDUENGO)

Guayanilla (Puerto Rico) (AFP) - Puerto Rico's governor declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after a powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake killed at least one person in the south of the island and caused widespread damage.

Governor Wanda Vazquez said the declaration would allow for the activation of National Guard troops in the US territory still recovering from a devastating 2017 hurricane.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at 4:24 am (0824 GMT) with the epicenter off the coast of the southern city of Ponce, and was followed by more than a dozen aftershocks.

Tuesday's quake was the most powerful in a series of tremors that have shaken the island since December 28.

Scientists initially sent out an alert about a potential tsunami but it was later canceled.

The island's electricity authority said the quake had forced an automatic shutdown of the power grid, already severely damaged by Hurricane Maria more than two years ago.

The worst damage appeared to be in towns on the southwest coast, including Ponce, Guayanilla and Guanica.

El Nuevo Dia newspaper said a 73-year-old man died after a wall fell in his home in Ponce. Eight others there were reported injured.

Two power plants in Guayanilla sustained major damage, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority said. The city could be without power for two weeks, its mayor Nelson Torres Yordan said.

Celebrity chef Jose Andres announced that a charity he runs, World Central Kitchen, had started serving meals and distributing solar-powered lamps in quake-hit areas.

Vazquez announced that $130 million in emergency aid funding will be disbursed.

On social media, people wrote of being shaken awake by the force of the quake.

One woman on Twitter said she had been "wrenched from sleep."

"Everybody is awake & scared all over," she posted.

In Guayanilla, the Inmaculada Concepcion church, built in 1841, was heavily damaged.

Volunteers salvaged statues and other valuable items from the ruins as a priest consoled distraught parishioners.

- 'Be safe' -

A 5.8 magnitude quake on Monday toppled some structures, caused power outages and small landslides, but did not result in any casualties.

It also destroyed a popular tourist landmark, Punta Ventana, a natural stone arch that crumbled on the island's southern coast.

Vazquez, the governor, said government employees were being given the day off on Tuesday to take care of their families.

"We want everyone to be safe," she said.

She said ports were undamaged and there are several weeks' supply of gasoline, diesel and natural gas stored so people need not worry about shortages.

The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed and Pete Gaynor, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), had been in touch with the governor.

Trump's administration came under severe criticism for its response to Hurricane Maria.

The Category 4 storm destroyed the island's already shaky power grid, overwhelmed public services, left many residents homeless and claimed several thousand lives, according to government estimates.

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A season in hell: bushfires push at least 20 threatened species closer to extinction

January 8, 2020 4.28pm AEDT Updated January 8, 2020 5.01pm AEDT

Images of desperate, singed koalas in blackened landscapes have come to symbolise the damage to nature this bushfire season. Such imagery has catalysed global concern, but the toll on biodiversity is much more pervasive.

Until the fires stop burning, we won’t know the full extent of the environmental damage. But these fires have significantly increased the extinction risk for many threatened species.

We estimate most of the range and population of between 20 and 100 threatened species will have been burnt. Such species include the long-footed potoroo, Kangaroo Island’s glossy black-cockatoo and the Spring midge orchid.

A dead koala after bushfires swept through on Kangaroo Island on January 7. DAVID MARIUZ

The fires are exceptional: way beyond normal in their extent, severity and timing. The human and property losses have been enormous. But nature has also suffered profoundly. We must urgently staunch and recover from the environmental losses, and do what it takes to avoid future catastrophes.

The fire and its aftermath

The South Australian sub-species of the glossy black cockatoo, extinct on the mainland. David Cook/Flickr

One estimate last month put the the number of birds, mammals (other than bats) and reptiles affected by fire in New South Wales alone at 480 million. The toll has risen since.

Most will have been killed by the fires themselves, or due to a lack of food and shelter in the aftermath.

Some animals survive the immediate fire, perhaps by hiding under rocks or in burrows. But the ferocity and speed of these fires mean most will have perished.

One might think birds and other fast-moving animals can easily escape fires. But smoke and strong winds can badly disorient them, and mass bird deaths in severe bushfires are common.

We saw this in the current fire crisis, when dead birds including rainbow lorikeets and yellow-tailed black-cockatoos washed up on the beach at Mallacoota in Victoria.

The charred remains of Flinders Chase National Park after bushfires swept through Kangaroo Island. DAVID MARIUZ

Damage lasts decades

Fire impacts are deeply felt in the longer-term. Many habitat features needed by wildlife, such as tree and log hollows, nectar-bearing shrubs and a deep ground layer of fallen leaves, may not develop for decades.

Populations of plant and animal species found only in relatively small areas, which substantially overlap fire-affected areas, will be worst hit. Given the fires are continuing, the precise extent of this problem is still unknown.

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Read more: Animal response to a bushfire is astounding. These are the tricks they use to survive

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We estimate most of the range and population of between 20 and 100 threatened species will have been burnt. The continued existence of such species was already tenuous. Their chances of survival are now much lower again.

For example, the long-footed potoroo exists in a very small range mostly in the forests of Victoria’s East Gippsland. It’s likely intense fires have burnt most of these areas.

The Kangaroo Island dunnart. Jody Gates

On South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, one-third of which burned, there are serious concerns for the Kangaroo Island dunnart, an endangered small marsupial, and the endangered glossy black-cockatoo, whose last refuge was on the island. Both species have lost much of their habitat.

Many threatened plants are also affected: in NSW, fires around Batemans Bay have burnt some of the few sites known for the threatened Spring midge orchid.

This time, it’s different

Fire has long been a feature of Australian environments, and many species and vegetation types have adapted to fire. But the current fires are in many cases beyond the limits of such adaptation.

The fires are also burning environments that typically go unburnt for centuries, including at least the perimeter of World Heritage rainforests of the Lamington Plateau in south-eastern Queensland. In these environments, recovery – if at all – will be painfully slow.

Feral cats flock to fire grounds where prey are exposed. Mark Marathon

Many Australian animal species, particularly threatened birds, favour long-unburnt vegetation because these provide more complex vegetation structure and hollows. Such habitat is fast disappearing.

The shortening intervals between fires are also pushing some ecosystems beyond their limits of resilience. Some iconic Alpine Ash forests of Kosciuszko have experienced four fires in 20 or 30 years.

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Read more: 'This crisis has been unfolding for years': 4 photos of Australia from space, before and after the bushfires

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This has reduced a grand wet forest ecosystem, rich in wildlife, to a dry scrub far more flammable than the original forest. Such ecosystem collapse is all but impossible to reverse.

Fires also compound the impacts of other threats. Feral cats and foxes hunt more effectively in burnt landscapes and will inexorably pick off wildlife that may have survived the fire.

What does this mean for conservation?

In a matter of weeks, the fires have subverted decades of dedicated conservation efforts for many threatened species. As one example, most of the 48,000 hectares of forest reserves in East Gippsland established last year in response to the rapid decline of greater gliders has been burnt. This has further endangered the species and makes the remaining unburnt areas ever more critical.

Beyond counting the wildlife casualties, responses are needed to help environmental recovery. Priorities may differ among species and regions, but here is a general list:

Care and rehabilitation of animals injured in a bushfire is key. AAP

• quickly protect unburnt refuge patches in otherwise burnt landscapes
• increase control efforts for pest animals and weeds that would magnify the impacts of these fires on wildlife
• strategically establish captive breeding populations of some threatened animals and collect seeds of threatened plants
• provide nest boxes and in special circumstances plant vegetation providing critical food resources
• care for and rehabilitate injured wildlife and establish monitoring programs to chart a hoped-for recovery.

Some of these actions may be mere pinpricks in the extent of loss. But any useful action will make a small difference, and perhaps help alleviate the community’s profound sense of dismay at the damage wrought by these fires.

Governments, conservation groups and landholders must all play a role. Recovery actions should be thoughtfully coordinated, and form part of the broader social and economic post-fire recovery program.

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Read more: In fact, there's plenty we can do to make future fires less likely

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Critically, we must also reduce the likelihood of similar catastrophes in future. Some have blamed the fires on national parks and a lack of hazard reduction burning. Skilful and fine-scale application of preventative burning does have merit. But such measures would not have stopped these fires, and the number of days suitable for such burning is diminishing.

Increasingly severe drought and extreme heat, associated with global warming, are the immediate causes of these wildfires and their ferocity. To prevent this fire-ravaged summer becoming the new normal, we must take drastic measures to tackle climate change.

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A caption in an earlier version of this article said the glossy black cockatoo was extinct on the mainland. It was referring to the South Australian subspecies found on Kangaroo Island. The caption has been amended to clarify this.

LET THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES BEGIN

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SEEMS APPROPRIATE AS A SOUNDTRACK FOR OUR TIMES; RAGNAROK

SQUATTERS RIGHTS
U.S.A
Homeless women who took over California home gain support

Associated Press•January 7, 2020



3 / 8

Homeless Moms
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, left, talks with Misty Cross, second from left, Tolani King, center, Sharena Thomas, second from right, and Dominique Walker, all from the group Moms 4 Housing, at a rally outside of City Hall in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. Some California lawmakers said they support a group of homeless women who have been illegally living in a vacant three-bedroom house since November, partly to protest real estate speculators who drive up housing costs in the pricey San Francisco Bay Area. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Some California lawmakers said they support a group of homeless women who have been illegally living in a vacant three-bedroom house since November, partly to protest real estate speculators who drive up housing costs in the pricey San Francisco Bay Area.

Moms 4 Housing, a collective recently formed to support the Oakland women, interrupted a press conference on legislation to boost housing construction Tuesday at City Hall, shouting “affordable housing now."

“I want to thank Moms 4 Housing for taking that house and for demonstrating that nowhere, nowhere should there be a vacant house anywhere in California when we have the housing crisis that we have,” said Democratic Sen. Nancy Skinner of Berkeley. “And it was totally legitimate for those homeless moms to take over that house.”

The women took over the home after they said they were unable to find permanent housing in the Bay Area, where high-paying tech jobs have exacerbated income inequality and a housing shortage. They also say they're protesting real estate developers who snap up distressed homes, then leave them empty.

They are awaiting a final ruling from a judge on whether they can stay, though Alameda County Superior Court Judge Patrick McKinney has tentatively ruled in favor of the property owner, Wedgewood Inc., a Redondo Beach-based real estate investment group that bought the home in a foreclosure auction last year.

Dominique Walker, 34, who has 1- and 5-year-old daughters, said she moved back to her native Oakland from Mississippi last year but could not find a place to live in the pricey market. She said many of the people who used to live in her neighborhood have been forced out by rising prices.

“Housing is a human right. I pay bills there. I pay water, PG&E, internet. We live there," Walker said. “We want to purchase the home ... it needs to belong back in the hands of the community. It was stolen through the foreclosure crisis."

The company bought the home for $501,000 and took possession days after the women moved in, said Sam Singer, a spokesman for Wedgewood. The 1908 house has one bathroom and is about 1,500 square feet (139 square meters).

“Wedgewood owns this home, and these squatters have broken into it, they’re illegally occupying it, and that is not the right thing to do. It’s simply theft," Singer said Tuesday. “This is really a case about a group of people taking the law into their own hands."

Lawyers for Walker argued in court last week that housing is a right and the court should allow the women to possess the house, particularly because it was vacant for a long time and the alternative would be to send them to the streets.

Assemblyman Ash Kalra, a Democrat from San Jose, said Tuesday that elected officials need to ensure “opportunistic landlords and corporate landlords” don’t “keep our homes vacant.”

Many Oakland residents say they are being pushed to the fringes of the Bay Area as they struggle to keep pace with housing costs.

Federal officials said last month that an uptick in the country's homeless population was driven entirely by a 16% increase in California, where the median sales price of a home is $500,000. It's higher in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The situation is so dire that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a statewide rent cap on some properties.

Yet there are four vacant homes for every homeless person in Oakland, said Leah Simon-Weisberg, an attorney for Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, which is helping the mothers in court.

The empty eyesores are in devastated, predominantly minority neighborhoods, she said, adding that developers like Wedgewood “acquire the property, they kick the people out who are in it, and they sell it."

Singer said Wedgewood buys distressed properties, hires local workers to fix up the homes and sells them, hopefully to first-time homebuyers. He said the company wants to start renovating the house so that “another family can join the ranks of homeowners of Oakland."

He said the company will continue with its eviction proceedings against the women if the judge rules in the company's favor, as expected.

___

Williams reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writer Janie Har in San Francisco also contributed to this story.

California measure pushing for more housing faces hurdles
By ADAM BEAM  1/6/2020

1 of 3
Nikia Durgin, who raps under the name Qing Qi, yells at a rally outside of City Hall in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. California Sen. Scott Wiener announced amendments to a closely-watched bill that would allow more housing to be built near public transportation. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Facing a shortage of 3.5 million houses, some California lawmakers want developers to build more apartments and other housing closer to public transportation — even if it means overriding local zoning laws.

The legislation is aimed at attacking a housing crisis in California, which has some of the nation’s highest home prices and an alarming growth in homelessness. The problem was on display Tuesday when supporters of homeless women living illegally in a vacant Oakland home interrupted a news conference on the measure to protest their plight.

But some local governments object to the proposal because they say the state should not tell them how to manage growth in their communities.

A similar proposal stalled in the Legislature last year. But state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, announced changes Tuesday to the measure designed to win over skeptical local government officials.

The new bill would exempt local governments from the law but only if they come up with their own rules to build more housing. Those rules would still require approval from two state agencies.

Most local governments would have two years to come up with the rules. If they don’t, the law would apply to them beginning in 2023. Other neighborhoods deemed at risk for gentrification would have more time — up to five years — to develop rules.

“(This bill) will help end this crisis by forcing cities to zone for more housing exactly where it should be: near job centers and near public transit,” Wiener said. “I’m optimistic that our growing coalition will help move this important housing reform bill forward.”

The bill must pass the Senate by Jan. 31 for it to have a chance to become law this year. But it’s stuck in the Appropriations Committee, with chairman Anthony Portantino opposed. Portantino, also a Democrat, said Tuesday that “we would be in a better place today” had Wiener shared his changes during the legislative break.

“Given that the criteria in the latest amendments create a nearly impossible threshold for cities to meet, the amendments seem like more theater than an implementable plan to truly engender broad support,” Portantino said.

But the measure has strong support among others in the majority Democratic caucus, including Nancy Skinner, a state senator from Berkeley. She said much of her district in Oakland is zoned for single-family homes, which are more expensive and excludes people who can’t afford them.

“(This bill) opens up those best neighborhoods, those neighborhoods with the best schools, those neighborhoods with the best parks, those neighborhoods with the best infrastructure and the best services,” she said.

The measure’s key provisions remain in place. It would relax height requirements for housing within a half-mile (1 kilometer) of public transportation and areas where state officials have determined lots of jobs are available.

That means developers could build a five-story housing complex in an area historically restricted to single-family homes. It also would allow homeowners to renovate existing buildings to add up to three additional units. Wiener’s office said those projects won’t substantially increase the building’s size and must conform to local design standards.

The two largest local government groups — the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties — say they are still reviewing the changes to the measure.

“But based on the briefing we heard yesterday, I think we’ll have a little more work that we want to do to be able to remove opposition,” said Chris Lee, legislative representative for housing issues with the county group.

The bill has attracted bipartisan support, with Republican Assemblyman Kevin Kiley appearing at a news conference Tuesday in Oakland to back it.

“In a perfect world we wouldn’t need (this bill),” Kiley said. “But California’s housing predicament is far from perfect. It’s desperate.”

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Americans increasingly critical of Trump's record on Iran, most expect war: Reuters/Ipsos poll


Reuters•January 7, 2020
By Chris Kahn


NEW YORK (Reuters) - The American public is increasingly critical of President Donald Trump's handling of Iran after he ordered the U.S. military to kill a powerful Iranian military commander, and a majority of U.S. adults now expect the countries to be at war in the near future, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling released on Tuesday.

The national opinion poll found that 53% of adults in the U.S. disapprove of Trump's handling of Iran, which is an increase of about 9 percentage points from a similar poll that ran in the middle of December. (https://tmsnrt.rs/2sYNzgi)

The number of adults who "strongly disapprove" of Trump's actions in Iran - 39% - is up 10 points from the December poll.

The response was largely split along party lines, with disapproval up over the past month among Democrats and independents, while it did not change among Republicans.

About nine in 10 Democrats and five in 10 independents disapprove of Trump's actions in Iran. Among Republicans, one in 10 disapprove. One in 10 Democrats, four in 10 independents and eight in 10 Republicans approve of Trump's handling of Iran.

The survey ran Jan. 6-7, shortly after Trump ordered the drone strike in Iraq that hit Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and escalated tensions in the region. Iraq's parliament called for American troops to withdraw from the country, and mourners in Iran crowded onto the streets, chanting "Death to America!"

Trump, who said that Soleimani had been planning to attack Americans, argued that the strike was meant to stop a war with Iran. The president threatened to attack Iranian cultural sites if Iran retaliated.

According to the poll, Trump's overall popularity remained stable following his strike on Soleimani, with 41% approving of his performance in office and 54% disapproving.

Americans also appeared to be much more concerned now about the risk of war with Iran.

A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll that ran Jan. 3-6 found that 41% consider Iran to be an "imminent threat" to the United States, up 17 points from a similar poll that ran in May 2019. (https://tmsnrt.rs/35xJUDA)

It also found that 71% of Americans believe that the U.S. will be at war with Iran within the next few years, up 20 points from May's poll.

A growing minority of Americans say they are now in favor of a "preemptive attack" on Iran's military. The poll found that 27% said the United States should strike first, up 15 points from May. Another 41% said the United States should not strike first and 33% said they do not know.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 1,108 adults in the Jan. 6-7 poll and 1,005 adults in the Jan. 3-6 poll. The results have a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 4 percentage points. 

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AMENITY OR AMNESTY?

Cannabis boxes are latest amenity at Chicago airports O’Hare and Midway

By TIM ROSTAN
MANAGING EDITOR
Published: Jan 7, 2020 6:15 p.m. ET

‘Cannabis amnesty box.’

That’s the text emblazoned on a new physical feature that’s cropped up this year at Chicago’s heavily trafficked airports in the wake of the state’s legalization on Jan. 1 of recreational marijuana, as Block Club Chicago and other local media outlets have noted.

Did you pack weed in your carry-on? O’Hare and Midway airports now have boxes for dumping your recreational marijuana before boarding a plane. https://t.co/ArPYvkKjqJ— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) January 7, 2020

It’s not illegal to possess cannabis at O’Hare or Midway or other Illinois airports, and the Chicago police aren’t looking to identify travelers with cannabis, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing a police-department spokeswoman. Likewise, a blog post on the TSA website indicates the agency does not target cannabis in screening travelers and their luggage. But, as the possession of marijuana is illegal under federal law, and air space is regulated by the federal government, travelers who do not unburden themselves of any unconsumed product are likely onboarding some risk.

Airlines including United UAL, -1.06% , American AAL, -0.37% and Alaska ALK, -0.63% are on record as saying they’d prefer passengers not be holding, citing federal law.
 

Associated PressA long line of recreational-marijuana customers awaiting the opening on Jan. 1 of the Sunnyside dispensary in Chicago’s Lake View neighborhood.

Airports in Colorado and elsewhere have previously put in place similar receptacles for travelers suddenly possessed by the realization that they have arrived at the airport for travel to a destination where a product they are carrying will be illegal. After all, it’s not as easy or socially accepted to consume the remainder of a bag of marijuana while you remove your shoes and belt and place your belongings on the security-screening conveyor belt as it is, arguably, to guzzle the bottom half of that LaCroix. And the stakes are, if you will, higher.

NOT SUITABLE EVEN FOR PORNHUB

Elon Musk says his ‘NSFW’ dance was just an effort to gain Pornhub followers

Published: Jan 7, 2020

MarketWatch photo illustration/Getty Images


By SHAWN LANGLOIS
SOCIAL-MEDIA EDITOR

Give the guy a break. You’d be dancing, too — with a little more rhythm, one would hope — if your stock was performing like his TSLA, +3.88% , with Tesla’s market cap on Tuesday eclipsing that of Ford Motor Co. at its peak, not adjusting for inflation.

Yes, with shares of his electric-car company surging to record highs, Elon Musk took the stage at Tesla’s new Shanghai factory on Tuesday and let his nerd flag fly.

Here he is, making suburban dads across the world feel better about themselves:


And what does Musk have to say about the striptease-style shimmy that managed to bring a little light to these otherwise dark times? “Just tryin to grow my follower count on Pornhub,” he joked on Twitter TWTR, +2.84% about his “NSFW” artistic expression.

He was, indeed, dancing like nobody was watching. Oh, but we were. And the internet was eating up every awkward head bob as the GIFs were flying.

Like this:


This:


And, of course, this:


He wasn’t just there to show off his rug-cutting skills, of course.

Musk was on had to launch the $2 billion factory’s Tesla Model Y electric SUV program. He predicted that the vehicle will ultimately “have more demand than probably all the other cars of Tesla combined.”

But, yeah, we came for the dancing.

THE FLU IS STILL THE BIGGEST PANDEMIC KILLER IN NORTH AMERICA

Spike in post-holiday flu cases as an unusual strain sweeps the US early and kills a record 27 children in the first three months of the viral season

• The flu came to the US early this year, with the first deaths reported in September - before the season typically begins 
• Already, 27 children have died, hitting a record high for this early in the season compared to all 17 years of the CDC's tracking 
• An estimated 6.4 million people have fallen ill, according to the CDC's latest data
• Cases diagnosed the week of Christmas made up more than 20 percent of all positive tests for flu this year
• Flu is now widespread in 45 states in the US and the season is far from over 

By NATALIE RAHHAL ACTING US HEALTH EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 12:05 EST, 7 January 2020 | UPDATED: 12:57 EST, 7 January 2020

Already, this flu season had doctors worried as it became widespread earlier on than the virus usually does - and now the holidays seem to have fueled a further spike in illnesses across the US.  

Flu is now widespread in 45 out of the 50 US states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) latest data. 

During the week after Christmas - ending in December 28 - more than 12,000 Americans tested positive for the flu, accounting for more than 20 percent of overall diagnoses this season. 

Although the flu season is on its annual upswing this time of year any way, the travel and togetherness of the holidays may help fuel the lat December spike. 

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In an unusually early surge, flu cases have hit 6.4 million in the US and diagnoses confirmed the week of Christmas (far right bar) accounted for 20% of those made all season. The flu this year is driven by an unusual dominant strain: influenza B (green) 

The first flu death of the 2019-2020 season was reported in California in September - an unusually early point for a fatality to occur. 

At the time, experts were hesitant to cause panic, but warned that it could be a harbinger of a harsh season that would come on quickly. 

They were right to be concerned. 

Already, an estimated 6.4 million Americans have come down with the flu, the CDC said on Friday. 

By the end of the final week of the deaths of 27 children in the US had already been reported.

In part, this season has been unusually lethal to kids because its followed an unusual pattern.

'Children are at higher risk this flu season primarily due to a greater susceptibility to influenza B, the dominant strain we are seeing so far,' Dr Robert Glatter, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital told DailyMail.com in an email. 

'Compared to influenza A, Influenza B is a more stable type of flu, not undergoing much change from prior years. As a result, a large number of adults are immune from previous exposure.

'As a result, it’s children and teens who are most at risk.'

In turn, children may be more likely to pass the flu on to adults. 

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Flu is now widespread in 45 states, with high activity levels (red) in most of them, as a CDC map shows 

CDC urges Americans to get the flu vaccine

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Children tend to have poorer hygiene practices - especially hand-washing - than do their adult counterparts and relatives. 

Proper hand-washing with warm water and soap kills germs and mechanically removes them. 

But when kids, who are more susceptible to the flu virus any way, skip or cut short hand-washing, they're more liable to spread it to others around them. 

And as families gathered for the holidays, more children may have been packed together in tighter spaces and exchanged more hugs and kisses with relatives - a ripe environment for flu transmission. 

The week of December 28 was just the latest spike in a generally active flu season, however. 

'We are hoping that the current uptick in flu cases will start to dissipate, otherwise this could be quite concerning,' said Dr Glatter. 

'Already this season, flu activity has surpassed the peak for the 2014-2015 season, and is headed toward the peak seen for the quite deadly 2017-2018 season.

'The best way to protect yourself is to get a flu shot, and by washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water.'