Exclusive: Virgin Hyperloop picks West Virginia to test high-speed transport system

By Eric M. Johnson and Joey Roulette 2020-10-08

© Reuters/Handout . Artist's rendering of Virgin Hyperloop's forthcoming certification center and test track to be built in West Virginia

SEATTLE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Virgin Hyperloop has picked the U.S. state of West Virginia to host a $500 million certification center and test track for billionaire Richard Branson's super high-speed travel system, the company told Reuters.

The center will be the first U.S. regulatory proving ground for a hyperloop system designed to whisk floating pods packed with passengers and cargo through vacuum tubes at 600 miles (966 kmph) an hour or faster.

Later, Branson announced the decision in a press conference on Thursday, joined virtually by U.S. Transportation Department Secretary Elaine Chao, the state's Republican governor Jim Justice, and U.S. Senators from West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat.

"Today we lay the foundation for commercial deployment and operations across the United States of America and beyond," the company's Chief Executive Jay Walder told reporters.

In a hyperloop system, which uses magnetic levitation to allow near-silent travel, a trip between New York and Washington would take just 30 minutes. That would be twice as fast as a commercial jet flight and four times faster than a high-speed train.

Construction is slated to begin in 2022 on the site of a former coal mine in Tucker and Grant Counties, West Virginia, with safety certification by 2025 and commercial operations by 2030, the company said.

Federal regulators will use the center, and accompanying six-mile test track, to establish regulatory and safety standards, while Virgin will test its product and infrastructure.

The announcement comes less than three months after the Transportation Department published guidance on a regulatory framework for U.S. hyperloop systems. On Thursday, Chao said the guidance will enable the company "to spend less time on government paperwork and more time on making hyperloop systems fast, efficient, and above all, safe."

Virgin Hyperloop, which has raised more than $400 million, largely from United Arab Emirates shipping company DP World and Branson, is among a number of firms racing to launch new high-speed travel systems.

Canada's Transpod and Spain's Zeleros also aim to upend traditional passenger and freight networks with similar technology they say will slash travel times, congestion and environmental harm linked with petroleum-fueled machines.

HYPERLOOP WAS FIRST DEVELOPED BY THE RESEARCH COUNCILS IN CANADA I SAW IT IN A MODEL FORM IN THE SIXTIES AT THE ALBERTA RESEARCH COUNCIL WHERE MY UNCLE WORKED AS AN ENGINEER.

Elon Musk's Boring Company envisions commuters zipping along underground tracks in electric cars.

Virgin Hyperloop picked West Virginia after reviewing applications from 17 U.S. states to host the center.

However, the company's most likely first route could be in India, linking Mumbai to Pune, though the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed procurement and construction, initially slated for 2020.

Virgin Hyperloop also has a research and development test track near Las Vegas, Nevada.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Joey Roulette in Washington; Editing by David Gregorio)

Trump's Indian worshipper dies 'depressed' over president's COVID-19 illness
By Sudarshan Varadhan

© Reuters/VINOD BABU FILE PHOTO:

 Bussa Krishna, a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump, adjusts a garland on a Trump statue after offering prayers at his house in Konney village

CHENNAI (Reuters) - An Indian man who worshipped Donald Trump and was upset by the news of the U.S. president contracting COVID-19 died of a cardiac arrest on Sunday, an official from his village and police said.

© Reuters/VINOD BABU FILE PHOTO:

 Bussa Krishna, a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump, wears a t-shirt with the word Trump as he poses for a photograph in Konney village

Bussa Krishna, who had said his devotion for Trump began more than four years ago when the leader appeared to him in a dream, had days ago posted a tearful video on his Facebook page wishing for his idol's recovery from the viral disease that has killed more than 1 million people worldwide.

© Reuters/VINOD BABU FILE PHOTO: 

Bussa Krishna, a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump, checks his mobile phone with an image of Trump outside his house in Konney village

Trump revealed on Oct. 2 that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and spent three nights in the hospital for treatment. He said on Sunday he had fully recovered and was due to resume campaigning on Monday ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. election.

Venkat Goud, the head of Krishna's native Konney village and a close friend, said he was "depressed" that Trump and his wife Melania had got the disease.

"It's sad that he passed away without meeting his hero," Goud told Reuters by phone. "He had tried so hard to meet him" when Trump had come to India in February.




Raghupathi, a local police officer, said Krishna had left the village over two weeks ago to meet his parents in another part of the same southern state of Telangana.

"It is there that he passed away due to a cardiac arrest," Raghupathi, who goes by one name, said.

Reuters could not immediately contact Krishna's family members or the hospital where he was taken to. Local media said Krishna was in his late thirties.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

More homeowners in Edmonton, Calgary deferred mortgages during pandemic than in any other city

CBC/Radio-Canada

© John Bazemore, File/Associated Press Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation numbers show deferrals were sought in 18.9 per cent of mortgages in Alberta — double that of Ontario and Quebec.

A higher percentage of homeowners in Edmonton and Calgary deferred their mortgage payments than in any other major city in Canada, numbers shared by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation show.

In Edmonton, 21 per cent of mortgages were deferred in August, according to a list tweeted by CMHA president Evan Siddall. Calgary was close behind at 18 per cent.

Overall, deferrals were sought in 18.9 per cent of mortgages in Alberta — double that of Ontario and Quebec.

"We've been dealing — reeling — already from low energy prices and then shut downs related to COVID have led to people not being able to pay their mortgage bills and led to even more lower prices, leading to more layoffs," said Raja Bajwa, president of the Economic Society of Northern Alberta.

Canada's big banks announced mortgage-relief programs in March and April allowing mortgage payments to be deferred up to six months.

With deferrals coming to an end, it remains to be seen whether those relying on the programs will face foreclosures or find other strategies to continue payments, Bajwa said.

"This will kind of be holding our breath to see where things are at," he said.

Homeowners who took deferrals fell broadly into two categories, said Todd Bradley, a real-estate agent with Royal LePage in Edmonton, those who used the deferral as a means to stockpile cash or pay off other consumer debt and people who "really put a Band-Aid on some very intense bleeding."

"There's a big chance that they couldn't make the payments three or four months ago and they couldn't make the payments now that the deferral ends," Bradley said in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

"Those people are going to be in a whole world of hurt."

Bradley predicts the industry will see a jump in foreclosures.

"I don't think it's going to be calamitous, but they're going to increase."

Although the court system is getting back on track after shutting down early in the pandemic, foreclosure cases are well behind, he said.

"You won't see the foreclosures come from the court probably for another six or seven months — easily that long."

Bradley notes there could be a silver lining for potential buyers, however.

"If you do have stable employment and you have a little bit of down payment, never, ever have interest rates been this low for mortgages."

Lenders will need to plan

Mark Holtom, a mortgage broker with Dominion Lending Centres, believes part of the reason Alberta's deferral proportion was so high was because the province has fewer mortgage holders than Ontario or Quebec.

Banks were not set up to deal with the program when it began, leading to long waits on the phone, which would have been even longer in places with a higher proportion of mortgages, Holtom said.

Those looking for a deferral but not necessarily needing one would have bowed out somewhere along the way, he said.

"I think Alberta maybe was just a little bit luckier in enabling to defer them."

The impact of deferrals will likely be seen in the next six months, Holtom said. But with many people returning to work, he does not see catastrophe ahead.

"You're probably going to see a small percentage of properties that may be going into foreclosure or would normally go into foreclosure," he said.

With the courts backed up, Holtom said, lenders will have to make decisions that could mean further deferrals.

"It's in their best interest to work with those borrowers to actually come up with a plan," he said.

Analysis: The US and Europe face rising Covid-19 case numbers as they squander lessons from Asia-Pacific

Analysis by Tara John, CNN

While the Asia-Pacific region treads water until a coronavirus vaccine is found, the West's biggest economies are drowning as a second wave firmly establishes itself in Europe.

© Top Photo Corporation/Shutterstock Mandatory Credit: Photo by Top Photo Corporation/Shutterstock (10739563a) Eric Chou performs in concert and invited Ella to be his special guest. Eric Chou in concert, Taipei, Taiwan, China - 09 Aug 2020

Europe is now reporting more daily infections than the United States, Brazil, or India -- the countries that have been driving the global case count for months -- as public apathy grows towards coronavirus guidelines. Several countries are seeing infection rates spiral again after a summer lull that saw measures to contain the virus and travel restrictions relaxed.

© Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/Getty Images US President Donald Trump removes his mask on his return to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was treated for coronavirus.

In the United Kingdom, for example, questions are being asked about whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to lift the country's lockdown in June was premature. Northern England's current high rates of Covid-19 are down to the fact that infections "never dropped as far in the summer as they did in the south," Jonathan Van-Tam, Britain's deputy chief medical officer, told a press conference on Monday.

© STR/AFP/AFP via Getty Images Thousands of revelers gathered at an open air water park in the Chinese city of Wuhan, ground zero of the pandemic, for an electronic music festival in August.

It is just the latest problem to beset Britain's slapdash pandemic response. There are now more patients in hospital with Covid-19 in England than there were in March, when a nationwide lockdown was imposed, according to Johnson and health officials.

France and the Netherlands broke their own records over the weekend, reporting the highest numbers of confirmed Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.

In the United States, there were more new positive cases in the White House on October 2 than in the whole of Taiwan, after President Donald Trump became the second G7 leader (after Johnson) to test positive for Covid-19. Despite his illness, Trump has continued to downplay the severity of the virus and potentially endanger the health of those around him, holding a campaign rally on Monday.

Seven months after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic, life is closer to normal in the Asia-Pacific region thanks to the basic lessons of epidemiology: clear communication, quarantines, border controls, aggressive testing and contact tracing, Kenji Shibuya, the Director of the Institute for Population Health at King's College London, told CNN.

Nightclubs remain open in Taiwan, which also held its first full capacity arena show in August. Thousands were pictured visiting the Great Wall of China last week, months after an estimated 20,000 people packed into a New Zealand stadium for a rugby match.

European countries with successful pandemic responses, like Germany, have taken this approach.

But experts say Spain, the US and the UK are seeing cases skyrocket, and cracks appear in the political and public consensus, after they opted to prematurely re-open their economies without heeding those rules.

Spain's government declared a state of emergency on Friday in the country's worst-hit Madrid region, in order to override regional leaders' objections to the restrictions. In the UK, Johnson's muddled messaging and a lack of transparency in decision-making have drawn criticism from across the political spectrum.

But instead of taking stock of their failures and looking at a sustainable way forward, an Anglo-American narrative has grown, suggesting it is too late to try to emulate Asia-Pacific nations, said Dr. Tim Colbourn, a global health epidemiology and evaluation lecturer at University College London. Libertarian think-pieces, open letters and politicians across the Atlantic have advocated -- with little scientific merit -- for governments to "give up restrictions and let it [Covid-19] spread" for the sake of the economy, Colbourn said.

© SAM YEH/AFP/AFP via Getty Images A worker sprays sprays hand sanitiser onto passengers as they arrive at Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan.

This is a maddening idea to the vast majority of health professionals and scientists, who point to Covid-19's high fatality rate and its long-term effects on survivors.

"When countries [like the US and UK] experience declining life expectancy, it really should be a red flag," said Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Deteriorating health in populations has electoral consequences, McKee told CNN -- adding that historically, those factors caused "populism and then you get state failure."

© From Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare/Facebook Taiwan's government deployed a cartoon spokesdog to help communicate its social distancing policy.

Classic epidemiology

Resurgences of Covid-19 in the Asia-Pacific region look a lot different to what is happening in the West. New Zealand pretty much eradicated community transmission within its borders after a minor outbreak in August, during which the virus' spread never rose beyond 19 new infections a day.

Border controls have been effective, says Shibuya. Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand have largely kept their borders closed to visitors, with returning citizens and work permit holders being quarantined at home or at designated facilities.  

 

© Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images A South Korean woman wears plastic gloves and a mask as she prepares to cast her ballot during April's election.

The same is true in Vietnam, which remains closed to most international travelers and, like many countries in the region, has encouraged citizens to holiday within its borders. The lower-middle income country has taken a proactive approach to the outbreak, bringing infections down to the single digits in October, little more than two months after authorities evacuated 80,000 local tourists from the resort city of Da Nang after three residents tested positive for the virus.

By contrast, the European Union resumed inter-regional tourism in June, even though many European countries were slow to require visitors to undergo routine testing on arrival.

The United Nations' tourism agency, the UNWTO, found that "Europe is the region in which more destinations (81%) have eased travel restrictions" while only 28% of destinations in the Asia-Pacific region had eased border controls by September 1, according to its analysis of travel restrictions.

Taiwan and South Korea, which had the world's second highest number of cases in February, kept a handle on outbreaks without blunt instruments like lockdowns thanks to their gold standard test and tracing systems, and a transparent communication strategy that has kept the public on side.

The UK deploys conventional contact-tracing methods, which identify cases and track down the people they met after they became infectious, says McKee. Meanwhile, Asian countries like South Korea have relied on what is known as backwards tracing, which attempts to identify the event, place or source of an infection.

"Was it the churches in Germany, our packing plants or a nightclub in Korea?" Mckee said, adding that instead of focusing on the source of infection, the UK has "hit whole communities with a hammer" of localized lockdowns without consulting local leaders. He says such measures are appropriate "if you don't have intelligence" on the source of an outbreak, but adds: "The UK should not be in that position at this stage."

Even the economic situation looks less stark. The IMF forecasts that the economy in the Asia-Pacific region will contract by 0.2% this year, while those in US and Western Europe are expected to sink by 5.9% and 7.3% respectively.

Cultural tropes

Asia-Pacific's response has been shaped by the 2003 SARS outbreak. Trauma from that period meant many Asian countries were better prepared and better resourced to act decisively at start of the pandemic with public approval.

But a common, and orientalist, refrain has emerged from the Western commentariat that more draconian measures and -- arguably sensible -- rules on mask wearing would be impossible to mandate on freedom-loving Anglo-Americans.

Countries like Norway and the Netherlands recommend masks in indoor public spaces, but do not mandate it. Swedish authorities have actively discouraged the use of masks, despite the high number of Covid-19 deaths in care homes,

As well as resorting to lazy cultural tropes, such as Trump's immediate racialization of the outbreak by calling coronavirus the "China virus," American and British leaders have also repeatedly undermined guidance and best practice.

Though he has since changed tack, in March Johnson said he shook hands "with everybody" during a visit to a hospital treating confirmed Covid-19 patients, on the same day the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies advocated against the practice. Trump has turned masks into a hyper-partisan issue, routinely mocking Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for wearing a face covering.

Communication strategies are an underestimated "non-pharmaceutical intervention" which are not only useful in the short term -- by encouraging measures like mask usage -- but have long-term uses as well, says Heidi Tworek, an associate professor of international history and public policy at the University of British Columbia, who authored a report on democratic communications during the pandemic.

The report analyzed three democratic jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region -- Taiwan, New Zealand, and South Korea -- and found that cohesive messages from those governments were useful in forestalling "compliance fatigue" and laid the foundation for vaccine uptake. "They also matter for cultivating trust among citizens and their governments -- trust that is critical for the future stability of democratic institutions," the report stated.

Winning trust

That trust can easily be lost. A study in The Lancet found that when Johnson's chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, broke lockdown rules but faced no consequences, it undermined the public's faith in the government's ability to handle the pandemic. The opposite happened in New Zealand, where David Clark, its Health Minister, was demoted in April 2020 after twice breaking the country's Covid-19 regulations. He resigned in July and goodwill for the government has remained.

New Zealand and South Korea adopted a "division-of-labour approach to communicating political and scientific information," the report noted. Public health officials would first deliver the science. The message would be humanized and reinforced with meaning by politicians like New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern or South Korea's President Moon Jae-on in televised addresses or Facebook lives, Tworek said.

Misinformation and conspiracies were tackled in South Korea and Taiwan via high quality information being pushed out on multiple channels, Tworek added. To engage the public, the Taiwanese government worked with local comedians to create memes for their "humor over rumor" strategy. It included the use of a cartoon "spokesdog," a Shiba Inu called Zongchai, to help communicate its policies. One meme showed that the 1.5 meter indoor social distancing policy equated to the length of three Shiba Inu, while the outdoor social distancing policy was two Shiba Inu.

Masks were distributed to Taiwanese households at the start of the pandemic -- many of them in a shade of pink. After hearing that male students were being bullied for wearing pink masks at schools, officials wore pink face coverings at their daily briefing. "It is fantastic because it's not just about countering disinformation, it is about countering stigma and prejudice," Tworek said. "This is not rocket science. These are basic tenets of health and risk communications [in order to] establish trust."

Have an upcoming election in the pandemic? Asian democracies also have a solution to that. South Korea saw its highest turnout in April's poll as voters wore masks and gloves, polling booths were disinfected, and people spaced out as they queued to vote. In the US, officials are turning large venues and sports centers into polling stations in order to accommodate social distancing concerns in November's poll.

New Zealand and Hong Kong postponed elections over the summer, citing coronavirus fears. While the main New Zealand opposition party backed the move, some pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong claimed the government was using the pandemic as an excuse to avoid potential losses in a crucial election.

America's largest roadblock remains its President, who has repeatedly called into question the integrity of the democratic process by undermining the safest way to hand in a ballot in a pandemic: Mail-in voting.

As Trump continues to downplay the threat of the virus, another 20,000 Covid-19 deaths are "inevitable" by the end of the month, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden, told CNN this weekend.

Unlike the Asia-Pacific region, the West appears to be well on its way to a tragic winter.

Americans' dwindling belief in American exceptionalism
Mark Hannah and Dina Smeltz, opinion contributors 

If in the past several years, you've started to think America has lost its superior standing in the world, you're not alone. For the past several decades, American foreign policy has been animated by a belief that the country possesses special traits which, as one leading policymaker put it, "can be put to work to advance both the national interest and the larger common interest." This defines American exceptionalism, the belief that America can and should single-handedly confront the world's problems, not just its own. Recently fashionable inside the Beltway, this conviction is dwindling in the face of our present reality.

© Getty Images Americans' dwindling belief in American exceptionalism

This past year has laid bare to many the myth at the heart of American exceptionalism. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CCGA) and the Eurasia Group Foundation (EGF) are out with two major national surveys of Americans' views about their country and its role in the world. As the lead authors of both reports, we were struck at how Americans' confidence in their country's global leadership has plummeted. As a snapshot, this is not terribly surprising. This year has been full of sobering events, from the botched response to the COVID-19 pandemic to racial unrest to the struggle against west coast wildfires.

But this isn't merely a snapshot. The CCGA survey documented a steady downward trend going back eight years in feelings of American exceptionalism. The EGF study found a strong correlation with age, with the youngest Americans most likely to think "America is not an exceptional nation."

As the heady Cold War victory recedes from memory, and as Americans' experience of their country's foreign affairs continues to be dominated by decades of discrediting and dispiriting adventures in the Middle East, Americans appear to have grown bearish on their country's international influence. This is not all bad news. In fact, these findings give us some cause for optimism. America's political leaders can better confront threats and respond to the world as it is if they shed that intoxicating sense of supremacy, which leads to foolhardy foreign policy choices.

As Matt Duss, an advisor to Bernie Sanders, commented in response to some of these findings, "We can and should be globally engaged without stoking ultranationalist chauvinism... upholding democracy, dignity, and the rule of law doesn't require, is actually undermined by, the belief that we are anointed by God [or] history."

Americans of all political stripes are tired of international interventions - including to protect human rights - as they seek to shift leadership of international problems to multilateral organizations and, crucially, see urgent human rights problems at home which need to be tackled first. When the Eurasia Group Foundation asked how peace is best achieved and sustained by the United States, a plurality of both Democrats and Republicans answered: "by keeping a focus on domestic needs and the health of American democracy, while avoiding unnecessary intervention beyond the borders of the United States." Thirty-five percent more survey-takers believe the U.S. should first fix its "own human rights problems" such as "mass incarceration and aggressive policing" than believe the U.S. should use "military intervention to stop human rights abuses around the globe."

According to the Chicago Council, fewer Americans today than at any time in the past eight years believe the United States has a unique character that makes it the greatest country in the world - barely half, down from a high of 70 percent in 2012. While eight in ten Republicans continue to say the United States is the greatest country on Earth, this sentiment has taken a nose-dive among Democrats and Independents alike.

These declines are likely related to disappointment with how the government handles the domestic issues they deem top threats. Barely one in five Democrats say the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic has been effective, and fewer think the government has responded well to climate change, election interference, or racial and economic inequality. Mere minorities of Independents think the government responded effectively to the pandemic, political polarization, China's development as a world power, and racial inequality. Even among Republicans, fewer than half think the government is effectively confronting economic inequality, racial inequality, and political polarization, although these are not counted among the top threats.

Across both surveys, one thing Americans appear to believe is that America's strength abroad depends upon its strength at home. The US ranks 27th out of 31 countries in an OECD's social-justice index. Other recent surveys show the United States' global opinion is at or near new lows, with declining percentages worldwide saying America respects its citizens' personal freedoms. The virus is the latest challenge to national unity. Still, political polarization and economic tensions have long been simmering, and the prospect of a flagrant and flamboyant challenge to the integrity of American elections likely diminishes this stature further.

Jim Goldgeier and Bruce Jentleson recently argued the United States should have "a seat at the table but not always at its head." Americans appear to agree and would welcome a greater role for international institutions and agreements. Roughly 70 percent want the U.S. to reenter the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement, and 66 percent think the U.S. should rejoin the Iran nuclear deal. A solid majority believes the U.S. should negotiate with adversaries to avoid a military confrontation. The largest group of respondents support a type of U.S. engagement characterized by fewer international military obligations and more diplomacy.

Far from a kind of confidence crisis, it's likely Americans are emerging from a period of overconfidence. Instead of trying to solve the world's problems single-handedly, they are taking a more realistic assessment of the threats their country faces. They want political leaders to emphasize cooperation over confrontation and protect America's power at home before projecting it abroad. In a democracy predicated on the popular will, those leaders would be wise to listen.

Mark Hannah is a senior fellow at the Eurasia Group Foundation. Dina Smeltz is a senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

More Americans fall into poverty after federal stimulus programs end

By Tami Luhby, CNN 3 hrs ago

Congress' swift and expansive response to the coronavirus pandemic last spring spared millions of Americans from falling into poverty after losing their jobs. But now that the relief has ended, the poverty rate has risen in recent months, two new studies show.

© Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle/Getty Images Boxes of supplies to be distributed, with the Feed The Children logo on them, bottled water, school supplies, and bags with cereal. At the Hope Rescue Mission in Reading, PA Thursday morning August 27, 2020 where a food distribution was held from Feed the Children, in cooperation with Price Rite Marketplace, and Hope Rescue Mission.

The poverty rate fell from 11% in February to 9.3% in June, according to research conducted by professors at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Chicago and Zhejiang University in China. The entire decline could be attributed to the one-time federal stimulus checks of up to $1,200 for eligible individuals and $2,400 for eligible married couples, plus $500 for each qualifying child, that were distributed in the spring.

Lawmakers also enacted a historic expansion of the unemployment program, temporarily broadening it to more of the jobless, adding a $600 weekly boost and extending the duration of benefits. The $600 enhancement ceased at the end of July.

While Congress and the White House continue to discuss a new relief package, Democrats and Republicans remain divided.

Without the additional federal help, more people -- particularly Black Americans, children and those with a high school education or less -- fell into poverty over the summer. The rate rose to 11.1% in September, according to the researchers, who have created a near real time dashboard.

"Our results show that for low-income individuals and families, the government response to the pandemic more than offset the sharp decline in earnings early on in the pandemic," the authors wrote. "However, these gains appear to have faded as some of the benefits expire."

These figures differ from the nation's official poverty rate, which is determined by the US Census Bureau. The 2020 data will not be released until next year, likely in September.

Another study, done by researchers at Columbia University's Center on Poverty and Social Policy, found that the stimulus checks and enhanced jobless benefits lifted more than 18 million people out of monthly poverty in April.

The expiration of the $600 assistance sent the monthly poverty rate to 16.7% in September, higher than the spring and pre-pandemic levels. Only 4.3 million people were kept out of poverty last month, mainly through the broadening of the unemployment program to freelancers, the self-employed, independent contractors and certain people affected by the coronavirus.

Without the March relief package, the poverty rates would have been higher over the last seven months.

The increases have been particularly severe for Black and Hispanic Americans, as well as for children, the Columbia study found. The monthly poverty rate for White Americans was 12% in September, but it was 25.2% and 25.8% for Black and Hispanic Americans, respectively.

GRIFTER NATION

A billionaire who vowed to pay off the debt of an entire college class will pay $140 million to settle a 

4-year tax probe, a report says

© Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

The billionaire Robert Smith will pay $140 million to settle a four-year tax investigation, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The CEO of the private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners will admit misconduct but will not be prosecuted, sources told Bloomberg.

The settlement amount, which is expected to be made public as early as Thursday, is said to include back taxes, penalties and interest.

Bloomberg reported in August that Smith had been the subject of a four-year investigation by the Justice Department and the IRS into outstanding taxes on $200 million in assets.

Smith hit headlines last year when he vowed to pay off the student loans of the entire graduating class of 2019 at Morehouse College.

Robert Smith, the billionaire who pledged a year ago to pay off the student debt for an entire class of college graduates, will pay $140 million to settle a four-year tax investigation involving assets held in offshore tax havens, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said Smith told some executives of the pending agreement on Wednesday. Bloomberg said Smith, who heads up the private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners, was cooperating with investigators and would admit misconduct but would not be prosecuted.

Bloomberg reported in August that Justice Department and IRS officials had spent four years investigating whether Smith owed taxes on $200 million in assets that were moved through offshore entities.

The settlement, which one source told Bloomberg could be made public as early as Thursday, is said to include back taxes, penalties, and interest. It does not involve Vista, Bloomberg said.

Representatives for Smith, Vista Equity Partners, and the US attorney in San Francisco declined to comment to Bloomberg on the nature of the agreement.

Smith's settlement includes a non-prosecution agreement that states he did not pay roughly $30 million in taxes, with penalties and interest accounting for the remainder of the payment, one source told Bloomberg.

The person added Smith admitted in a telephone call to failing to file accurate reports of foreign bank and financial accounts over three years.

Smith hit headlines last year when he pledged to pay off the student debt of the entire 2019 graduating class at Morehouse College in Georgia.
Read the original article on Business Insider

Mexico says two women may have had non-consensual surgery in U.S. detention center

MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico's Foreign Ministry said it has identified two Mexican migrant women who may have had surgery performed on them without their consent while detained at a U.S. immigration center in the state of Georgia.

© Reuters/BRIAN SNYDER Demonstrators march during the Never Again Para Nadir protest against ICE Detention camps in Boston

While being held at the Irwin center in Georgia, one Mexican woman was reportedly subject to gynecological surgery without her approval and without receiving post-operative care, the ministry said in a weekend statement.

The ministry said its findings were based on actions taken by consular staff and interviews Mexican officials conducted at the center.

Officials were also verifying the case of a second woman who may have been subject to surgical intervention "without her full consent," without receiving an explanation in Spanish of the procedure, or her medical diagnosis, it added.

It did not name the women. The ministry last month said it had identified a woman possibly subjected to surgery in the center, but did not specify whether she had given her consent.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency did not respond to a request for comment.

The ministry also said it is in touch with a lawyer about a possible class action lawsuit by Mexican women who have been detained at the facility.

In September, a complaint by a whistleblower nurse alleged medical abuse within the Georgia detention center, including unauthorized hysterectomies, a surgery to remove the uterus.

Reuters could not independently confirm those claims. In its statement, the Mexican foreign ministry said the first woman it referred to was not subject to a hysterectomy. It gave no further details on the second.

ICE Health Service Corps said in September that since 2018 only two people at the center were referred for hysterectomies, based on approved recommendations by specialists.

The contractor that runs the facility has said it strongly refutes the allegations and any implications of misconduct.

(Reporting by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

Senator shares family's abortion story, 1st sitting senator to do so

A Michigan senator facing a tense reelection race has become the first sitting senator, male or female, to share a personal abortion story with the public.

© Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, FILE Sen. Gary Peters leaves the Senate Democrats policy lunch in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Sept. 10, 2019.

"The mental anguish someone goes through is intense," Sen. Gary Peters told Laura Bassett for Elle magazine, "trying to have a miscarriage for a child that was wanted."

As Peters, 61, told it, his first wife, Heidi, was about four months pregnant -- in the second trimester -- when her water broke, creating what their doctor said were unsurvivable conditions for the fetus. The couple was told to go home to miscarry naturally.

When a miscarriage didn't happen naturally by the next day, the couple returned to the hospital, where the doctor recommended an abortion but said it couldn't be provided there as the hospital had a ban. The couple went home again.

On the third day with no natural miscarriage, they again returned to the hospital where, Peters said, the doctor told them Heidi could lose her uterus or die of sepsis. The hospital denied the doctor's appeal for an abortion procedure, but the Peters were able to get the procedure at another hospital because they were friends with its chief administrator, Bassett reported.

"If it weren’t for urgent and critical medical care, I could have lost my life," his former wife said in a statement to Elle.

"I’ve always considered myself pro-choice and believe women should be able to make these decisions themselves, but when you live it in real life, you realize the significant impact it can have on a family," Peters, who was elected to the Senate in 2014, told Elle.

He said he chose to come forward with his story now as the Senate considers President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who has signed her name to anti-abortion ads.

Barrett's confirmation would represent a solid conservative-leaning block for the court, which would likely impact abortion law in years to come. Depending on the outcome of a 5th Circuit decision, a case that would be a de facto ban on second-trimester abortions, by banning the dilation and evacuation method of abortion, could soon make it to the Supreme Court.

MORE: Is Ginsburg's death the end of Roe v. Wade? This time, some experts say, it could be.

Republicans, including the president and vice president, have made a point of targeting Democrats' implicit support for the right to abortion in the second and third trimesters. According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, abortions after 14 weeks' gestation make up about 8.9% of all abortions in the United States, with just 1.2% occurring after 20 weeks.

Pressed about the right to abortion in the third trimester in a Fox News town hall last year, in a clip that recently went viral on social media, then-Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said, "We're talking about women who have perhaps chosen the name, women who have purchased the crib, families that then get the most devastating medical news of their lifetime, something about the health or the life of the mother that forces them to make an impossible, unthinkable choice. That decision is not going to be made any better, medically or morally, because the government is dictating how that decision should be made."

In his bid for reelection, Peters is facing Republican candidate John James in a contentious -- and costly -- race. According to FiveThirtyEight, Peters has had a slight edge in recent polls.


See what people are saying

M. Gretchen Roedde

I am a pro-life Catholic, global public health doctor, and practicing physician. Unsafe abortion contributes heavily to the deaths of pregnant women. According to the Lancet/Guttmacher Commission Sept. 2020 Vol.8: "Conclusion: The Guttmacher-Lancet Commission recommended a comprehensive package of essential sexual and reproductive health and rights services, including contraception and safe abortion care, for inclusion in national health systems. Our findings emphasise that unintended pregnancy and abortion are experiences shared by many people globally, regardless of region, income group, and legal status. Our findings highlight the need for continued commitment and investment to ensure access to the full spectrum of quality comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care. Fulfilling these commitments will not only result in better outcomes for all, but are also necessary to achieve the targets for the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescent’s Health (2016–30)8 as well as the Sustainable Development Goals, and universal health coverage." Dr. Gretchen Roedde Canada

IN$IDER TRADING

Elizabeth Warren demands investigation into elite investors accessing Trump briefings

By Matt Egan, CNN Business 

Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling on US financial regulators to investigate whether insider trading laws were violated when elite investors reportedly got wind of private concerns voiced by Trump officials about the pandemic in late February.

© Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images UNITED STATES - JULY 22: From left, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hold a news conference in the Capitol to call for an extension of eviction protections in the next coronavirus bill on Wednesday, July 22, 2020. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

"Numerous investors may have used this early and insider information about the looming, tragic economic and public health consequences of the pandemic to extract profits for themselves," Warren wrote in the letter obtained first by CNN Business.

Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, urged the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission to swiftly open an investigation into the episode.

The request follows a report by The New York Times alleging that senior members of President Donald Trump's economic team privately detailed concerns in late February about the looming pandemic. These warnings, reportedly relayed during private addresses to board members of the conservative Hoover Institution, contrasted sharply with the administration's public comments.

At the time, Trump was telling the public that the health crisis was "very much under control." The president even said in a tweet that the stock market was "starting to look very good to me!"

Word of those private concerns held by top US officials reportedly spread to elite investors through a hedge fund consultant, allowing these traders to make bets that stocks would drop.

According to the Times, the president's aides "appeared to be giving wealthy party donors an early warning of a potentially impactful contagion at a time when Mr. Trump was publicly insisting that the threat was nonexistent."

"Short everything" was the reaction of one major investor briefed on the memo from the hedge fund consultant, the Times said.

That proved to be a lucrative trade.

By March 11, the S&P 500 had plunged into the fastest bear market in US history. Retirement accounts and investment portfolios were crushed. Trillions of dollars of market value vanished.

In the letter, Warren said the incident "appears to be a textbook case of insider trading."

Some legal experts, however, told CNN Business that may not be the case.

"The optics are bad, but not everything that looks bad is criminal," Charles Whitehead, a professor at Cornell Law School, said in an email. "It's unclear whether trading based on the White House's private release of factual information, that was otherwise publicly obtainable, would constitute insider trading, even if the White House was publicly contesting that information."

Whitehead said that it would be an entirely different matter if investors had learned what the Trump administration might or might not do in the face of the pandemic.

That kind of information "can be extremely valuable for investors, and its private release does come nearer and may very well step over the line," he said.

Elizabeth Nowicki, a former SEC attorney, agrees that the conduct described in the article likely does not run afoul of insider trading laws.

"The facts regarding the private disclosure and later trading are disturbing, unfair, and unseemly," she said. "But they are unlikely to be found by a court or the SEC to constitute unlawful insider trading."

'Appalling abdication of duty'

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin dismissed the Times report on Thursday as "another exaggeration" by the paper.

"I can't imagine this occurred," Mnuchin told CNBC. "By the way, there were plenty of investors who had their own views of what was going on at the time and were very concerned rightfully."

And the Times reported that legal experts say it is not apparent that any communications about these briefings violated securities laws.

But at least one billionaire investor expressed concern about the incident.

"But the problem is — and what crystalized that story — the feeling that the public was getting one set of briefings from White House spokesmen, 'Not to worry — it's mostly contained, or all contained' and then donors and insiders were getting a different set of more worrisome briefings inside the White House," hedge fund manager Jim Chanos told Hedgeye Risk Management on Thursday.

Warren urged the SEC and CFTC to review the material nonpublic information provided to investors and any trading that occurred as a result.

Specifically, Warren asked the regulators to determine which Trump administration officials provided the information, how that information differed from the public comments by the administration, who received the information and whether those individuals made trades of securities, futures, swaps or commodities.

"If this report is accurate, it represents an appalling abdication of duty by President Trump and top officials in his administration," Warren wrote.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M 

Wall Street heavyweights profited as the market melted down in February after getting private warnings from the Trump administration, a new report says  

Wall Street investors knew of private concern about the coronavirus within the Trump administration and used the knowledge to position for the following market plunge, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

A memo from the hedge-fund consultant William Callanan described White House officials' wariness, expressed in meetings in late February, about a US outbreak. Meanwhile, the officials publicly allayed concerns about the coronavirus.

Callanan sent the note to David Tepper, the founder of Appaloosa Management, on February 26. The memo spread throughout the firm and to investors at other offices.

Some recipients adjusted their portfolios accordingly, viewing the US officials' private statements as a warning of devastation to come, The Times reported. 

 

The S&P 500 plummeted 4.4% on February 27, and by March 23 it sat roughly 25% lower than the day Tepper received the memo.

A February memo shared among Wall Street's elite detailed the Trump administration's private concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

Some heeded the warning and cashed out on bearish positions when markets tanked later that month, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

On February 24, senior members of President Donald Trump's economic team privately spoke with board members of the Hoover Institution, a research organization at Stanford University, about the risks of a domestic outbreak. One advisor said the White House couldn't yet estimate the effects on the US economy, suggesting to some that the coronavirus could cause significant harm, the report said.

But administration officials publicly allayed fears that the virus would slam the US. The next day, Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, said the nation was "pretty close to airtight," despite privately telling the Hoover board that "we just don't know" how contained the virus was, The Times said.

William Callanan, a hedge-fund consultant and member of the Hoover board, wrote in a memo at the time that almost every administration official addressed the virus "as a point of concern, totally unprovoked," according to The Times.

The memo quickly spread throughout the hedge-fund industry just as markets began to grapple with the prospect of a US outbreak.

On February 25, Callanan emailed David Tepper, the Appaloosa Management founder, about the Hoover meetings, highlighting the wariness expressed by the administration officials.

In an interview with CNBC on February 1, Tepper had told investors to be "cautious" until more was known about the virus. Callanan's memo reinforced his bearish stance.

The email spread through Appaloosa and, eventually, to investors outside the firm. Over the next day, at least seven investors across four money-management offices received elements of Callanan's memo, The Times reported.

Many of the investors, equipped with knowledge of the Hoover meetings, adjusted their portfolios accordingly. One told The Times that their reaction was to "short everything," while another said they added to their existing short bets. Some said they even bought up essential goods like toilet paper, reading the memo as a preview of nationwide devastation to come.

The bearish adjustments likely paid off big. The S&P 500 plunged about 4.4% on February 27, the day after the Hoover memo spread from Appaloosa to other investing firms. By the time the benchmark stock index bottomed on March 23, it sat roughly 25% lower from its level on February 27.

Tepper initially denied receiving the memo before telling The Times that while he likely got it, he didn't pay it much attention.

"We were in the information flow on COVID at that point," Tepper said. "Because we were so public about this warning, people were calling us at this time."

He added that Appaloosa held a bearish position on February 23, days before he received Callanan's email.

Thousands of indigenous people march to end Colombian violence
AFP 3 days ago

Thousands of indigenous people demonstrated in southwestern Colombia on Monday demanding an end to violence, on the day commemorating Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas.

© Luis ROBAYO Colombian indigenous people are heading to Cali in the southwest in the hope of meeting President Ivan Duque to demand concrete action on ending violence

Clashes also broke out between police and protesters in Chile as hundreds demonstrated in favor of the Mapuche indigenous people on the day known in many countries in the region as the 'Day of the Race.'

Dressed in green and red and carrying traditional sticks, the demonstrators converged on the city of Cali where they hope to meet President Ivan Duque.

"The main reason we're marching is the systematic massacres happening in our territories without the government taking any interest," said Franky Reinosa of the Regional Indigenous Council in the western state of Caldas.

The demonstrators are demanding they be consulted on major development projects and for the full implementation of the historic 2016 peace plan that ended a half century of armed resistance by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels.

Interior Minister Alicia Arango said on Twitter a government delegation was traveling to Cali to meet the protesters.

The demonstration coincides with the commemoration of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492.

While the occasion was originally intended to mark the beginning of Hispanic influence in the Americas, for many people in Latin America it is seen as an opportunity to celebrate native cultures and their resistence to European colonialism.


"For us (that) was the greatest ethnocide in the history of our territories," said Reinosa.

The southwest of Colombia that borders Ecuador and the Pacific has a large indigenous population and is one of the worst affected areas by a wave of violence that has resulted in at least 42 massacres this year, according to the United Nations.

Despite the 2016 peace accord, dozens of armed groups remain active in Colombia fighting over the lucrative drug-trafficking trade.

Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine.

Representing 4.4 percent of Colombia's 50 million population, indigenous people have been fighting for territorial rights for decades, using methods such as road blocks to gain attention.

In Chile's capital Santiago, hundreds of people, including other indigenous tribes, converged on a central square for a demonstration dubbed "Mapuche Resistence."

Clashes broke out with police as some people wearing hoods smashed bus stops and road signs and threw stones at security forces, who responded with tear gas and water cannon.

The Mapuche are the largest indigenous group in Chile and have a long-running dispute with the state.

They are demanding the return of ancestral lands in the country's south, much of which has been allocated to private logging companies.

The disturbances came less than two weeks before a landmark referendum on changing Chile's dictatorship era constitution.

dl/lda/bc/jh

'I want freedom': Thais mass to defy protest ban

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat

© Reuters/CHALINEE THIRASUPA FILE PHOTO: Pro-democracy protesters show the three-finger salute as they gather demanding the government to resign and to release detained leaders in Bangkok

BANGKOK (Reuters) - From shops, offices and schools they spilled onto a Bangkok street in their tens of thousands, voicing shock and anger and above all defiance.

Thailand's government had announced emergency measures to ban gatherings of five or more people to try to end three months of protests. The response was one of the biggest demonstrations so far, in the heart of the capital.  

© Reuters/JORGE SILVA FILE PHOTO: A pro-democracy protester stands in front of police officers during anti-government protests in Bangkok

"I'm not afraid. Emergency or not, I have no freedom," said 26-year-old illustrator Thanatpohn Dejkunchorn, who left work early to attend the protest with friends. "I want freedom to exist in this country. I want it to be free from this vicious cycle."  

© Reuters/JORGE SILVA Pro-democracy protesters gather demanding the government to resign and to release detained leaders in Bangkok

Protests have built since mid-July in the biggest challenge in years to the political establishment - seeking the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, and to curb the powers of King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

"We have to create understanding with the protesters," government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri told Reuters, complaining that protest leaders were not giving protesters "complete information."

© Reuters/CHALINEE THIRASUPA Police officers with riot shields take position during a gathering of pro-democracy protesters who demand the government to resign and to release detained leaders in Bangkok

Police said they would arrest all protesters, though they did not explain how they would charge tens of thousands of people.

The Royal Palace has declined all comment on the protesters or their demands.

Until Wednesday, the government had largely allowed demonstrations to happen, while making no sign of meeting protesters' demands.

But that changed after an incident in which protesters jeered Queen Suthida's motorcade as she and the king were paying a rare visit from Europe, where they spend most of their time.

The government cited that as well as the risks to national security and the economy from protests and the danger of spreading coronavirus as reasons for imposing emergency measures.

The government then launched a crackdown, sweeping away a camp set up outside Prayuth's office and arresting three protest leaders - among around 40 arrests in the past week.

"EXCESSIVE AND UNNECESSARY POWER"

"It's obvious that the state wants to exercise excessive and unnecessary power on people," said 22-year-old student Pattanun Arunpreechawat, who joined Thursday's protest after studies.

Protesters want to oust Prayuth, who first took power in a 2014 coup, saying he engineered election rules last year to keep his position - an accusation he denies. Breaking a longstanding taboo, protesters have also challenged the monarchy - saying it has helped entrench decades of military influence.

They gathered in the shadow of upmarket shopping malls and shiny tower blocks that are home to multinationals and other businesses in Southeast Asia's second biggest economy.

But the Ratchaprasong Intersection also has a historic resonance for protesters. In 2010, it was the scene of bloodshed as security forces cracked down on Red Shirts who battled pro-establishment Yellow Shirts during a decade of turmoil.

"I'm not afraid. I've been chased by guns," said beef noodle seller Thawat Kijkunasatien, 57, a veteran of the bloody crackdown a decade ago and another in 1992.

"Wherever the kids go, I go," he said at the protest while sipping a can of beer.

One characteristic of the latest Thai protests has been the extent to which they are led by students and other young people. Most protest leaders are in their 20s, but an even younger generation is following.

From giving the three-finger salute of protest when the national anthem plays at school to tying white ribbons in their hair and on school bags as symbols of protest, high school students have rallied to the campaign.

Many left school to join Thursday's protest - among them 18-year-old Tan, who came along after finishing school exams. He declined to give his full name for fear of reprisals.

"I make sure I’m prepared for exams before I go to protests. I have to give importance to both things," he said. "We can’t let it go on like this, or it will never end."

(Additional reporting by Matthew Tostevin and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Toby Chopra)

GREEN CAPITALI$M

$5 trillion investor group sets tougher portfolio carbon targets

 

© Reuters/Nguyen Huy Kham FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from the chimney of a paper factory outside Hanoi

LONDON (Reuters) - Thirty of the world's largest investors managing a combined $5 trillion said on Tuesday they plan to set targets to lower their portfolio carbon emissions by as much as 29% over the next five years.

All members of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a group which includes the biggest U.S. pension scheme CalPERs and German insurer Allianz, are aiming to align their portfolios with the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

The move is the most ambitious yet by the influential group, whose members own sizeable stakes in many of the world's top companies, and comes as pressure builds for asset owners to use their financial muscle to push for quicker change.

While an increasing number of investors, companies and governments are committing to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, some have been criticised for not setting the clear nearer-term targets needed to ensure the goal is met.

With policymakers gearing up for the next round of global climate talks in Scotland next year, the group's move is likely to act as a challenge for other leading investors to step up their own efforts.

The group said its members would implement cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from their portfolios of between 16% and 29%, with each confirming their own particular target in the first quarter of 2021.

The plan, called the 2025 Target Setting Protocol, should help increase investment in those companies contributing to the transition to a low-carbon economy and influence both markets and government policies, the group said in a statement.

Specifically, the group said it would send a message to the thousands of companies owned by the investors that "deep emissions cuts are required", and that the group would work with boards willing to adjust their business models.

The Protocol has been made available for comment by the public, academics, government and business until Nov. 13.

"Reaching net-zero is not simply reducing emissions and carrying on with the business models of today," said Günther Thallinger, Alliance Chair and Member of the Board of Management, Allianz SE.

"There are profound changes and opportunities that will come from the net-zero economy, we see new business opportunities and strong wins for those who are ready to lead," he added.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

CANADA

Striking N.L. Dominion workers spend Thanksgiving on the picket line

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Parking lots at Dominion grocery stores in Newfoundland and Labrador were unusually deserted heading into Thanksgiving, except for a few striking employees holding their mittened hands over burn barrels.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Eleven Dominion stores across the province have been closed since late August, when more than 1,400 workers went on strike to demand better wages and more full-time positions.

The employees represented by Unifor have rejected a contract offer from Loblaw Companies Ltd., Dominion’s parent company, that included a pay raise of $1 an hour over the next three years.

In interviews with The Canadian Press over the holiday weekend, Dominion workers said they’re fighting not only for themselves, but for retail workers across the country.

The vote to strike came after Loblaws, Sobeys and other major grocery store chains eliminated a $2-an-hour pay increase offered during the height of the pandemic.

Danni Singleton, who's worked at Dominion in St. John’s for eight years, said the extra $2 an hour made a real difference.

“It was not having to worry about, ‘Oh jeez, can I pay my rent and my phone bill this month?” Singleton said.

Singleton said it’s been “tiring and stressful” being on the picket line for so long, and a lot of her co-workers with families are struggling to get by.

Paula Hennebury, who’s worked at Dominion for 25 years, said she also misses the customers.

“It’s a little sad that we’re not seeing our regular people. You get to know them as family,” said

“But we do get to see them here, they stop by and say hello. It’s a sad time of the year to be out, but we’re strong, we’re going to keep going as long as we have to.”

Hennebury said it's not always easy to hold the line, especially as the weather turns cold.

“We’re pushing through it. We could be inside doing what we love to do, but we gotta fight for the future of everybody else,” she said.

Singleton agrees with her colleague that it’s tough to be out in the empty parking lot on Thanksgiving. But as she talks, passing cars beep their horns in support. People have brought the workers pizza and fried chicken, she said, and a law firm donated $1,000, which they used to rent a warming shelter.

A spokeswoman for Loblaw defended the company's proposed contract, noting it was supported by union leadership.

"We put a deal in front of our colleagues that we believed to be fair and that addressed many of the topics they have raised including full-time roles, job security and wage increases," Catherine Thomas said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2020.

Downtown Edmonton contemporary arts centre showcases — and is led by — Indigenous artists

A new art centre in Edmonton is focused on supporting the work of Indigenous artists.

© Morgan Black/Global News 

Lana Whiskeyjack inside Ociciwan Contemporary Arts Centre on October 8, 2020

The Ociciwan Contemporary Arts Centre features the art of both established and current creatives.

"Ociciwan" comes from the Cree word that means "the current comes from there." The Indigenous-led collective chose the name to represent the North Saskatchewan River.

Executive director Becca Taylor said the group worked with the city to re-design the space (formerly the iHuman building) so that it would fit the needs of an Indigenous organization.

"We needed the space to be transformable.

"We needed an exhibition space but we also needed to think about the ways in which we gather as Indigenous people," Taylor said.

"A top priority became having a kitchen because we gather over food a lot — and having a community space to gather and have conversations."

The centre's artwork features a variety of Indigenous experiences, including depictions of Canadian history such as the smallpox epidemic and residential schools.

"There are works that are a little bit darker.

"It looks at our history and the way colonialization has really affected the Indigenous population, but also the resiliency of Indigenous people and the honouring of our spirits and community within the exhibition," Taylor said.

The exhibit opened in September, after delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its first exhibit includes artists with roots in Edmonton.

Read more: Young Alberta writers explore the world through words during COVID-19 pandemic

"We wanted to honour our home, the place we are in, and highlight the incredible talent that is here," Taylor said. "You'll see paintings, film, beading, sculpture and performance."

Lana Whiskeyjack is one artist highlighted in the exhibition. Whiskeyjack's research, writing and art explores the "paradoxes of what it means to be nehiyaw (Cree) and iskwew (woman) in a Western culture and society.


"A lot of the intention and purpose of my work isn't art for art's sake; it's art for community and future generations.

"It's a constant response of my experiences as an Indigenous woman."

Whiskeyjack said the space is also a place of healing.

"It's a space I don't have to explain myself to. It has elder involvement and knows the protocols and history of the ways of knowing and being of Indigenous people in this land," she said.

"It's a space based in our Indigenous worldviews and values. It's where we can honour ourselves as human beings."

Will host four exhibits a year. You can book a visit to Ociciwan here.

CANADA
Feds fund small nuclear reactor ahead of national strategy to adopt more of them

OTTAWA — An Ontario nuclear power company is getting $20 million from Ottawa to try to get its new small modular reactor in line with Canada's safety regulations.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The grant to Terrestrial Energy in Oakville, Ont., is the first investment Canada has made in small modular reactors, or SMRs. It comes just weeks before Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan expects to produce a "road map" to show how the emerging technology will be used to help get Canada to its climate change goals.

"Just last week, the International Energy Agency released a landmark report showing that achieving our target of net-zero emissions without nuclear energy will take a lot longer, with a great risk of failure," he said.

Canada has promised to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by almost one-third in the next 10 years, and then to net-zero by 2050, when any emissions still produced are captured by nature or technology.

About one-fifth of Canada's electricity still comes from fossil fuels, including natural gas and coal.

Nuclear generators produce no greenhouse gas emissions. They currently make up 15 per cent of Canada's energy mix overall, but only Ontario and New Brunswick use nuclear reactors for electricity.

Those CANDU reactors are big and expensive, while SMRs are pitched as smaller and more versatile, and can be shipped to remote locations where electricity grids don't currently reach.

SMRs are still in the developmental stage, with about a dozen companies in Canada trying to be the first to the finish line.

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, whose department is providing the $20-million grant through its strategic innovation fund, said they are an emerging technology with high growth potential.

"Without a doubt one of our most promising solutions to fight climate change and promote clean energy has three letters — SMR," he said.

Bains says the money will help the company complete a pre-licensing process with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

This process occurs before the company applies for a licence so that it can work to meet the commission's requirements in the development phase. Terrestrial has been working with the commission for nearly two years and is also undergoing a similar process with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Terrestrial has offices in Oakville and Connecticut.

The company hopes its first nuclear reactor will be producing power before the end of the decade.

Not everyone is as convinced as O'Regan and Bains that nuclear is the answer to Canada's climate change dreams.

Eva Schacherl, who helped found the Coalition Against Nuclear Dumps on the Ottawa River, said nuclear waste is a big concern, and fears investments in SMRs are going to take money away from cleaner, already proven technologies like wind, solar and tidal power.

"It will distract our attention and resources," she said.

Plus, she said, Canada already has enough nuclear waste to fill more than 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

"We really don't need to create more," she said.

O'Regan said he is also developing a radioactive waste policy, and said nuclear will not displace other sources of clean power.

"All of this is part of a wave of different energy sources we are going to need," he said. "We're going to need all of it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2020.

Federal government invests in small nuclear reactors to help it meet net-zero 2050 target


The federal government says it's investing $20 million in the nuclear industry to help Canada meet its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The investment in Oakville Ontario's Terrestrial Energy is meant to help the firm bring small modular nuclear reactors to market.

"By helping to bring these small reactors to market, we are supporting significant environmental and economic benefits, including generating energy with reduced emissions, highly skilled job creation and Canadian intellectual property development," said Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains in a media statement.

Small modular reactors — SMRs — are smaller than a conventional nuclear power plant and can be built in one location before being transported and assembled elsewhere.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited says it sees three major uses for SMRs in Canada:

Helping utilities replace energy capacity lost to closures of coal fired power plants.

Providing power and heat to off-grid industrial projects such as mines and oilsands developments. 

Replacing diesel fuel as a source of energy and heat in remote communities.

Bains said nuclear energy is part of the energy mix Canada must have to reach its climate targets. 

Another part of that mix, Bains said, was the recently announced $590 investment — split evenly between the Ontario and federal governments — to help the Ford Motor Company upgrade its assembly plant in Oakville and start making electric vehicles there

.

© Tracy Fuller/CBC Small modular nuclear reactors could replace diesel generating facilities in remote communities across Canada, like this one in Fort Providence, NWT.

Recycling nuclear waste

Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan said the federal government is reviewing its radioactive waste program to ensure it adheres to the "highest international standards."

"We do have to make sure that Canadians trust the power system," O'Regan said. "SMR technology allows us to minimize the amount of waste and in some cases has the potential to recycle nuclear waste."

The federal government says that Terrestrial Energy has committed to creating and maintaining 186 jobs and creating 52 co-op placements nationally.

The government says the company also has promised to undertake gender equity and diversity initiatives to, among other things, boost the number of women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.