Amal Clooney Advised ICC’s War Crimes Arrest Warrants Against Netanyahu and Hamas Leaders

David GilmourMay 20th, 2024, 

Amal Clooney, wife of actor George Clooney, sat on a panel of UK experts who ‘unanimously’ approved the pursuit of the arrest warrants. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)

British barrister Amal Clooney was among a panel of experts in international law convened by the International Criminal Court (ICC) who approved the pursuit of arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Hamas leaders for war crimes.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced Monday that Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are being targeted for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The Israeli officials are accused of having systematically deprived civilians of essential supplies and that attacks on aid workers have further exacerbated the humanitarian crisis.

Meanwhile Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh are being pursued for their roles in the October 7 attacks on southern Israel relating to crimes including torture, murder and sexual violence.

In a statement, Khan said that all the actions “demand accountability.”

The warrant applications, which still must be reviewed and issued by ICC judges, mark a significant shift as the court targets a leader from one of the U.S.’s closest allies for the first time.

Khan emphasised that evidence collected indicates “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for crimes including the starvation of civilians and the intentional targeting of civilian populations.

Clooney, an expert on human rights law and wife to actor George Clooney, was part of a UK-based group of lawyers advising Khan, and was included in their unanimous approval of the warrant applications in a report published Monday.

In an editorial published in the Financial Times, the panelists explained that they had engaged in “an extensive process of review and analysis” of evidence submitted by ICC prosecutors to justify the applications for arrest that included “witness statements, expert evidence, official communications, videos and photographs.”

After doing so, the panel found “reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Israel’s minister of defence Yoav Gallant have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity… [including] the war crime of intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the murder and persecution of Palestinians as crimes against humanity.”

They added: “It is important to understand that the charges have nothing to do with the reasons for the conflict. The charges concern waging war in a manner that violates the long-established rules of international law that apply to armed groups and the armed forces in every state in the world… There is no doubt that the step taken today by the prosecutor is a milestone in the history of international criminal law. There is no conflict that should be excluded from the reach of the law; no child’s life valued less than another’s. The law we apply is humanity’s law, not the law of any given side. It must protect all the victims of this conflict; and all civilians in conflicts to come.”

If the warrants are approved, Netanyahu, Gallant, and the Hamas leaders could face arrest in any of the 124 ICC member nations.

Biden asks how Trump would have handled Jan 6 if Black Americans had been responsible: ‘I can only imagine’

Question brings audible gasp from attendees at NAACP dinner in Detroit

Joe Biden speaks at an NAACP Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner in Detroit

 (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

Joe Sommerlad

Joe Biden has launched a stinging attack on his Republican rival for the presidency, Donald Trump, by suggesting at a civil rights event that his predecessor in the White House might have acted differently if the Capitol riot of 6 January 2021 had been carried out by Black Americans.

“Let me ask you: what do you think he would have done on January 6 if Black Americans had stormed the Capitol?” President Biden said during an address to the Detroit chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on Saturday.


When members of the 5,000-strong audience attending the Fight for Freedom Fund dinner audibly gasped, the president continued: “No, I’m serious. What do you think? I can only imagine.”

The mob of Mr Trump’s supporters who laid siege to the legislative complex in an attempt to stop the formal certification of the 2020 election results at a joint session of Congress on that infamous date was predominately white, with the flag of the Confederacy flown by some participants.

The outgoing president and his allies had addressed the crowd from the Ellipse in Washington DC moments before the violence erupted, urging them to “fight like hell” in support of his bogus claim that the election had been “stolen” from him by his political enemies.

Mr Trump then returned to the White House and watched the brutal clashes between his supporters and law enforcement play out on television, ignoring urgent appeals from his inner circle to call off the attack until much later in the day, despite representatives being forced to flee for their lives.

Five people died that day and over 1,265 people have since been charged and imprisoned for their part in the failed insurrection, but Mr Trump has continued to refer to the participants as “patriots” and “hostages”, hinting that he will pardon them should he return to power and even playing a recording of the national anthem sung by a jailed January 6 choir at his campaign rallies.

In invoking Mr Trump’s tolerant response to the “American carnage” he once predicted, Mr Biden was perhaps seeking to recall memories his earlier failure to decry the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the tensions of summer 2020 when the Black Lives Matter movement campaigned against police brutality in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, which saw protesters tear-gassed outside the White House.

Elsewhere during his address in the key swing state of Michigan, at which he was joined by state governor Gretchen Whitmer, the president told his audience: “You’re the reason Donald Trump was defeated for president. You’re the reason Donald Trump is going to be a loser again.”

He warned against the prospect of a belated second Trump administration by arguing that “something snapped” in his rival after the events of 2020 and calling him “unhinged”.

“Let me ask you, who do you think he’ll put on the Supreme Court?” President Biden asked his audience.

“Do you think he’ll pick anybody who has a brain?”

He further cautioned that Republicans have been banning library books and attempting to impose a revisionist view of American history.

“Extremists close the doors of opportunity, strike down affirmative action, attack the values of diversity, equality and inclusion,” the president said.

“They don’t see you in the future of America, but they’re wrong. We know Black history is American history.”

Minnesota ends prison gerrymandering

With Governor Tim Walz's signature, the state is the latest to reject the Census Bureau’s flawed and outdated way of counting incarcerated people.

by Danielle Squillante, May 20, 2024

On Friday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed HF 4772 — an omnibus elections policy bill — into law, officially ending prison gerrymandering in the state. With this action, Minnesota joins the rapidly growing list of states that have taken action on this issue. The measure requires state and local governments to count incarcerated people at their home addresses when drawing new political districts during their redistricting process.

Prison gerrymandering is a problem created because the Census Bureau incorrectly counts incarcerated people as residents of their prison cells rather than their home communities. As a result, when states use Census data to draw new state or local districts, they inadvertently give residents of districts with prisons greater political clout than all other state residents.

“With this law, yet another state has rejected the Census Bureau’s flawed way of counting incarcerated people to ensure its residents have an equal voice in their government,” said Aleks Kajstura, Legal Director of the Prison Policy Initiative and the head of the organization’s campaign to end prison gerrymandering. “Roughly half the country now lives in a place that has ended prison gerrymandering. With so many places taking action on this issue, it raises the question, ‘Will the Census Bureau listen to the growing consensus on this issue, or will it cling to its outdated and misguided way of counting people in prisons and jails in 2030?'”   

The provisions ending prison gerrymandering in the state were initially introduced as standalone measures and were rolled into this omnibus election bill.

Avoiding carveouts in prison gerrymandering reforms

Carveouts that exclude certain incarcerated people from bills to end prison gerrymandering undermine their impact and continue to distort democracy.

(expand)

Most states have clauses in their constitutions or statutes that explicitly say that prisons are not a residence — whether someone is incarcerated away from home for a few months or a few decades — yet the Census Bureau continues to count people as if they are. The Census Bureau has the authority to change how it counts incarcerated people and officially end prison gerrymandering at the national level, but inaction has forced state and local officials to pass reforms and shoulder the burden of correcting flawed Census redistricting data to count incarcerated people at home.

In addition to Minnesota, eighteen other states — including “red” states like Montana, “blue” states like New York, and “purple” states like Maine — have recognized the impact of prison gerrymandering on political representation and have taken action to provide more equal representation to their residents. Progress on this issue has been so swift that the staunchly bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures recently called the movement to end prison gerrymandering “the fastest-growing trend in redistricting.”

With Minnesota adding itself to this rapidly growing trend, there is yet another reason for the Census Bureau to finally change how it counts incarcerated people and end prison gerrymandering nationwide.

New EPA drinking water standards may help US ensure access to safe water


Esperanza Guerrero, 35, fills a glass full with water from her tap in Teviston, California, U.S., October 20, 2021. The town had advised not to drink the water but only use it for washing dishes and washing clothes due to contamination. Approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide (including 46 million Americans) don't have regular access to clean water — a right Pope Francis outlined in Laudato Si'

. (OSV News/Reuters/Stephanie Keith)


KIMBERLEY HEATHERINGTON
View Author Profile

OSV NEWS
May 20, 2024


"Access to safe drinkable water," Pope Francis said in his milestone 2015 ecological encyclical Laudato Si', "is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights."

Approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide don't have regular access to clean water. Among them are 46 million Americans with no running water or with water that's unsafe to drink.

On April 10, those statistics expanded even further — but with an accompanying promise of decline — as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standards to protect Americans from exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals."

"The final rule will reduce PFAS exposure for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses," announced the EPA.

"Drinking water contaminated with PFAS has plagued communities across this country for too long," EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a press release. "That is why President Biden has made tackling PFAS a top priority, investing historic resources to address these harmful chemicals and protect communities nationwide."

Related: Toxic contamination of water sources poses long-term hazards to American communities and environment

"Forever chemicals" are so called because their components don't degrade over time, but instead accumulate in people, wildlife and the environment. Thousands of these man-made elements and their constituent compounds are found in consumer, commercial and industrial products, according to the EPA.

"Exposure to PFAS has been linked to deadly cancers, impacts to the liver and heart, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children," the agency stated.

"Let's put it in perspective," Graham Peaslee, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame, told OSV News. "This is the first new rule for drinking water that the EPA has proposed in 23 years. There was a revision back in 2012 on the lead levels, but that was just a revision to the rule; they made it lower."

"In the U.S., we have to poison somebody before anything gets done," Peaslee said in a note of frustration. "And so that leaves the question: Shouldn't we have acted sooner? Well, we acted as fast as the U.S. can ever regulate something; it takes a while," he explained. "This country litigates more often than it regulates."

Peaslee noted that industry interests also complicate expediency.

"Industry does fight against it; they are fighting against this. But (the EPA) wouldn't have done it unless they felt they could justify it — and the health data certainly justifies a lower limit than ever before," he said.

Nearly $1 billion in government funding will be made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law "to help states and territories implement PFAS testing and treatment at public water systems and to help owners of private wells address PFAS contamination," the EPA also announced.

The EPA estimates "that between about 6% and 10% of the 66,000 public drinking water systems subject to this rule may have to take action to reduce PFAS to meet these new standards. All public water systems have three years to complete their initial monitoring for these chemicals," the agency added.

"They've picked a limit that is as low as reasonably measurable — which is a very practical compromise," said Peaslee. "They have data indicating that adverse health effects happen at less than one part per trillion. Pancreatic cell cancer lines are affected by PFAS at less than one part per trillion," he emphasized.

Since there are nearly 15,000 PFAS, why are just six being singled out by the EPA?

"The reason they went after these six is that they have the health toxicity data to prove it for these six," Peaslee explained. "There's no doubt that these six are toxic at the levels they've said. You can argue a little bit on one level or the other, but nobody will doubt that if you put these six into an animal, you can get a cancer or a disease or an adverse health effect that's very measurable."

Other EPA rulings for PFAS not included in the April 10 announcement are likely to follow once more study conclusions become available, Peaslee said.

"In about 10 years, we'll have the health data on that — and my guess is that rule might be revised at that point," he predicted. "But this one's good for another 10 years. When you clean up these ones, a lot of others are going to get cleaned up at the same time."

Nonetheless, "the things that we've been using for the last 70 years are out there," said Peaslee, "and they will be there for a couple of thousand years."

A file photo shows the Flint River flowing through downtown Flint, Michigan, which continues to deal with the effects of its 2014 contaminated drinking water crisis 10 years later. 

(OSV News/Reuters/Rebecca Cook)


"The Environmental Protection Agency's new rule on limiting these PFAS chemicals is worth celebrating," said Anna Johnson, North America senior programs manager for the Laudato Si' Movement, an international network of member organizations, local communities and grassroots leaders working to implement the tenets of Francis' encyclical Laudato Si'.

"The federal mandate means that all communities nationwide will benefit from the positive health benefits of removing these from our drinking water, particularly including our U.S. neighbors who are poorest among us," Johnson said. "This will save lives and protect the health of our and future generations; and go even further to protect our children today: This ruling will reduce suffering and upholds and protects the common good."

Ricardo Simmonds, a policy adviser in the Environmental Justice Program at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, agreed.

"Generally speaking, more action should have been taken earlier," Simmonds said. "That's why the USCCB, at least, has been on this for a few years now — mostly with regard to Congressional engagement and action on the issue."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that most Americans have been exposed to PFAS, and have PFAS in their blood.

"These chemicals have been used widely in household items for their water repellent properties — and then there's the added concentration and risk with manufacturing, especially for foam for firefighters and others," Simmonds noted. "That's where I think the risks are even greater."

"It's a first step," Simmonds added, "but we need to do more."

The USCCB has long advocated for safe drinking water, supporting legislation and federal funding to address lead pipe removal, as well as chemicals in drinking water that disproportionately impact children, expecting mothers and the unborn.

"That has been one of the priorities of the pope and the Holy See the last few years. Laudato Si' itself has a whole section just on water," noted Simmonds. "Maybe it doesn't grab the headlines or the attention as it should, but it's a really important issue. We all need water to survive — and nature and the environment is affected by this, too."

Simmonds is, however, realistic about the expediency of the EPA's new standards — which experts say will almost certainly face legal challenges.

"Like many of these issues," he reflected, "it's not like you have a regulation and you solve the problem — so we expect this to be a long battle."

Read this next: High levels of 'forever chemicals' in children's school uniforms, study finds

Worcester, MA, Firefighters' Union Alleges 'Toxic Work Environment'

Results from a survey about safety, morale. leadership and training have been released publicly after the union says nothing has changed.

May 20, 2024

Adam Bass
masslive.com
(TNS)

A Worcester firefighters union is accusing Worcester City Manager Eric Batista’s administration of creating a work environment that is “toxic and demoralizing.”

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, Worcester Firefighters Local 1009 wrote that the 425 members of the fire department took a survey about the quality of a range of topics, such as safety, morale, leadership and training.

According to the union, the survey was conducted 18 months ago to better understand the current climate within the Worcester Fire Department.

The results of the survey were brought to the city manager’s office in February and were originally intended to be private, according to a union statement.

“After months of no change, we found it necessary to go public,” the statement read.

In a statement to MassLive, Batista said that his administration is committed to the well-being of firefighters in Worcester and defended the findings of the ESCI report.

“The overall health and safety of the membership is a priority for the city’s administration, balancing the needs of the community with the needs of the department,” Batista said. “Membership remains steadfastly dedicated to the public they serve and to the oath they take as a Worcester Firefighter.”

Since Wednesday, the union has been posting different findings from the survey on its social media accounts.

Some of these findings were that 90% of respondents expressed fear of negative consequences for using sick time, and 81% reported coming to work while sick or injured because they were afraid to use sick time. Another finding was that only 6% of respondents said the relationship between the administration and Local 1009 is “good,” highlighting possible tensions between the two bodies behind the scenes.

The rest of the 13-page survey has yet to be revealed, but the union wrote that they will continue to release more information throughout the month.

“We feel an obligation to release these results to our members and the citizens of Worcester,” the union wrote.

The survey came three years after the City of Worcester hired Emergency Services Consulting International (ESCI) to conduct a study for a plan to prevent line-of-duty deaths and create better command structures for firefighters. The plan, which was revealed in September 2021, called for stronger communication, chain of command systems, and better training protocols.

On X, the union said that the proposal has resulted in “experienced few improvements” for its members and that they have “noticed a significant decline in working conditions, morale and overall safety of our firefighters.”

William Mosley, the president of Worcester Firefighters Local 1009, told MassLive that he began to see these problems when he was first elected union president last year. Mosley said it was his and the union’s intention to re-establish a better relationship with the administration but accused Batista of not following through on the process.

“We found out quickly there really doesn’t seem to be that kind of interest for change,” Mosley said.

Mosley told MassLive the union had not decided to go on strike but that it is looking to conduct another survey to gather more information regarding the lack of morale among members.

“The firefighters in Worcester have taken it upon themselves to hire the same company, ESCI, to conduct a survey of our members regarding safety, policies and procedure,” the union wrote.

Advanced Economic Modeling Can Support the Transition to Electric Vehicles

NAFISA LOHAWALA, JOSHUA LINN, AND BEIA SPILLER


Resources - innovative ideas and engaging stories in environmental economics

Date
MAY 20, 2024

Image
SHAWN HAMILTON / SHUTTERSTOCK


Projections of potential policy impact and the transition to electric vehicles are complicated for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Predicting accurate outcomes may be difficult, but possible, if the models incorporate market dynamics comprehensively.


The widespread adoption of electric vehicles could reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially from the US transportation sector, thus improving air quality and public health while helping achieve climate goals. Incentives and regulations in the transportation sector thus aim to increase the adoption of electric vehicles. For example, in April, the US Environmental Protection Agency took notable steps in the pursuit of cleaner transportation, announcing final greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty trucks. Additionally, states are rolling out their own initiatives, with California leading through its Zero-Emission Vehicle mandates for light-duty vehicles and its introduction of the Advanced Clean Fleets and Advanced Clean Trucks regulations for the heavier vehicle classes.

Yet, the transition to electrification for medium- and heavy-duty trucks is more complex than for passenger vehicles, requiring greater infrastructural investments and more complicated decisions that involve vehicle fleets rather than individual vehicles. Accurate models and forecasting in this sector are essential to understanding market transitions, determining the appropriate stringency of regulatory standards, and ensuring compliance with international climate pledges. In this blog post, we explore such complexities, emphasizing the importance of accurate modeling—and noting that failure to address these intricacies may lead to overly optimistic expectations about the costs and the efficacy of a given policy.

Credit: MVProductions / Shutterstock


Data from 2022 indicate that medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks constituted only 0.4 percent of registrations for all new trucks in the United States. Various hurdles may hinder the widespread adoption of medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles, including the high up-front cost of electric trucks and buses, the high cost and low availability of charging infrastructure, and complexities surrounding electricity tariffs. Regulatory impact analyses that use models like the MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator, EMission FACtor model, or total cost of ownership–based models often fail to fully capture some of these hurdles, particularly those that require changes in logistics, behavior, or learning by fleet managers.

For example, the EMission FACtor model relies on sales forecasts from the US Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook to assess the impact of regulatory measures, but the model doesn’t account for how these regulations influence decisions for fleet purchases. Consider California’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation, which mandates that manufacturers sell a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles. If there are significant barriers to electric vehicle adoption, the model will likely yield overly optimistic projections for new electric vehicle sales.

While the total cost of ownership–based models effectively capture visible hurdles, such as the up-front price of vehicles and chargers, they do not include less obvious hurdles such as fleet owners’ preferences for specific vehicle features, nor transition costs such as those that arise from having to navigate complex electricity tariffs. By not incorporating the preferences of fleet owners or transition costs in their models, regulatory agencies risk underestimating the costs or overestimating the efficacy of a regulation.

Furthermore, total cost of ownership–based models do not adjust new and used vehicle prices and sales forecasts in response to stringent regulations. Because regulations target only new trucks, these policies may contribute to increased up-front costs to purchase these vehicles (and potentially affect the price of vehicles in the used market); thus, these models would fail to consider the very real possibility that fleets might continue using older vehicles for extended periods. In fact, historical data reveal a consistent increase in truck lifespans and a decline in their scrappage rates.

To explore this issue more directly, we analyzed vehicle registration records from five different years: 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2022. Figure 1 shows the five-year scrappage rates for certain classes of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, broken down by vehicle age for these years. Each line represents a different five-year interval. For each age group, the values show the percentage of trucks that were taken off the road within that five-year interval. For example, the yellow curve indicates that 10 percent of 50-year-old trucks registered in 2017 were taken off the road before 2022. Moreover, the end points of the curves on the x-axis indicate the age of the oldest vehicles that were registered in each year.

Figure 1. Proportion of Aging Trucks Taken Off the Road within Five Years of Last Registration

Figure 1 shows that the likelihood of a truck being taken off the road has decreased notably over time. As a result, the oldest vehicles registered in the United States were 36 years old in 2002, which progressively aged to 41 years in 2007, 46 years in 2012, and as old as 51 years in 2017.

This trend may be attributed, in part, to regulations that allow older trucks to remain in operation without adhering to newer emissions standards, potentially reducing the financial incentive to invest in newer, more environmentally friendly models. By omitting information about scrappage decisions by fleet owners in their models, agencies risk overestimating the benefits of regulations.

Moreover, additional market dynamics, such as market power held by one or a few truck manufacturers, can maintain high prices, further hindering the adoption of new technologies by vehicle fleets. These dynamics are especially true at the beginning of a market transition, when a recognizable brand dominates the market until higher-quality products become available and gain market share.

This challenge of persistent high prices necessitates a more sophisticated approach to modeling outcomes that is grounded in game theory, which can adequately incorporate market structure into analyses. A 2023 analysis from Resources for the Future underscores this issue by scrutinizing data on truck characteristics from 2021 to 2023. The report shows that, for large vehicles, the price gap between conventional and electric trucks markedly exceeds the intrinsic cost of the battery (Figure 2). In the case of the largest vehicles (the heavy-duty category), the price differential is about three times the cost of the battery. This discrepancy can be partly attributed to low economies of scale and limited competition within the market, factors that exacerbate the challenge of transitioning fleets to more sustainable options.

Figure 2. Price Differential and Battery Cost across Vehicle Type
This figure originally appeared in a May 2023 blog post about the high cost of electric trucks.


Rather than estimating price markups based on game-theoretic foundations and actual data, agency analyses often simply assume the size of the markup. Accurate assessment of these market conditions is crucial for understanding how regulations and incentives influence vehicle prices. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act’s purchase subsidies for electric vehicles and charging stations may not be fully passed through to the buyer. This is because, in markets with low competition, incentives that are designed to encourage electric vehicle adoption may inadvertently enable manufacturers to increase pre-incentive prices. This dynamic may, in the end, delay the transition to electric vehicles. Failing to accurately capture the market structure can lead to overestimated cost reductions for fleets.

The need for advanced modeling of this sector is readily apparent. The complexity of the transition to electric fleets, and the myriad policies implemented to support this transition, call for the development and use of a comprehensive econometric, data-based analysis of demand and supply in the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sector that captures preferences for vehicle characteristics, market dynamics that affect price, and real-world costs of electrification. Without this type of modeling, predictions about the costs and efficacy of existing policies may be overly optimistic.
Share via emailPrintShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn



RELATED PEOPLE


Nafisa Lohawala

FELLOW

Joshua Linn

SENIOR FELLOW

Beia Spiller

FELLOW; DIRECTOR, TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM

US pediatricians group reverses decades-old ban on breastfeeding for those with HIV

The recommendations had been in place since the start of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s.


Photo by: Courtesy Ci Ci Covin via AP

A mother with HIV successfully breastfed her newborn for seven months.

By: AP via Scripps News
Posted May 20, 2024


People with HIV can breastfeed their babies, as long as they are taking medications that effectively suppress the virus that causes AIDS, a top U.S. pediatricians group said Monday in a sharp policy change.

The new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics reverses recommendations it had in place since the start of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s.

It recognizes that routinely prescribed drugs can reduce the risk of transmitting HIV via breast milk to less than 1%, said Dr. Lisa Abuogi, a pediatric HIV expert at the University of Colorado and lead author of the report.

“The medications are so good now and the benefits for mom and baby are so important that we are at a point where it is important to engage in shared decision-making,” Abuogi said.

The drugs, known as antiretroviral therapy, don’t eliminate all risk of transmitting HIV through breast milk. Avoiding breastfeeding is the only certain way to prevent spreading the virus, Abuogi said.

In addition, parents must breastfeed exclusively for the babies' first six months because research shows that switching between breast milk and formula can disrupt an infant's gut in ways that increase the risk of HIV infection.

About 5,000 people who have HIV give birth in the U.S. each year. Nearly all take drugs to suppress the virus to very low levels, Abuogi said, though viral levels can rebound if they don't stay on them.

Before the medications became widely available starting a decade ago, about 30% of HIV infections transmitted from moms to babies occurred during breastfeeding, said Dr. Lynne Mofenson, an adviser to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. In the early 1990s, about 2,000 infections occurred in U.S. infants each year. Today, it’s fewer than 30.

The AAP policy comes more than a year after the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed longstanding recommendations against breastfeeding by people with HIV. That guidance said people who have consistent viral suppression should be counseled on their options. It also emphasizes that health care providers shouldn't alert child protective services agencies if a parent with HIV seeks to breastfeed.

The goal is listening to patients “and not blaming or shaming them,” said Dr. Lynn Yee, a Northwestern University professor of obstetrics and gynecology who helped draft the NIH guidance.

Breastfeeding provides ideal nutrition for babies and protects them against illnesses and conditions such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes, research shows. Nursing also reduces the mother’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.

The World Health Organization has recommended since 2010 that women with HIV in developing countries breastfeed their infants and have access to antiretroviral therapy. The guidance weighed the risk of infants acquiring HIV through breastfeeding and the risk of babies dying from malnutrition, diarrhea and pneumonia in places where safe replacements for breast milk aren't available.


In developed nations, however, experts had recommended against breastfeeding because the wide availability of safe water, formula and human donor milk could eliminate the risk of HIV transmission, Yee said.

That frustrated people with HIV who were flatly refused the option of nursing.

Ci Ci Covin, 36, of Philadelphia, said she was diagnosed with HIV at age 20 and not permitted to breastfeed her first child, Zion, now 13.

“I couldn't understand how come my sister that lives in a place like Kenya, who looks just like me with the same color brown skin, was given the option to breastfeed and how my option was starkly no," she said.

Not being able to nurse her son sent Covin into a spiral of postpartum depression, she said. When she became pregnant with her now 2-year-old daughter, Zuri, her health care team helped her successfully breastfeed for seven months. Covin took her prescriptions as directed and also gave the baby drugs to prevent infection.

“Breast milk has everything in it that my baby would need,” Covin said. “That's a beautiful thing.”


Abuogi said the AAP report provides crucial guidance for pediatricians, nurses and lactation specialists who work directly with children and families.

Some providers were already helping people treated for HIV to nurse their babies, despite the earlier recommendations. The new guidance should expand the practice, hopefully quickly, Abuogi said.

“This is a unique situation because it’s not just doctors and providers who are changing,” Abuogi said. “Our patients are pushing this as well.”

Copyright 2024 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

Chinese ad unveils a ‘twin brother’ of the US destroyer Zumwalt

By Boyko Nikolov On May 20, 2024 

New frigates and destroyers are making waves at the Jiangnan Shipyard, generating quite the buzz. Notably, some of these destroyers are being compared to the US Navy’s advanced Zumwalt class. The Chinese news resource, Sohu, even refers to one such destroyer as a “twin brother” of the American model. 

Photo credit: Sohu

• Russia doubles military repairs, adds new 122mm artillery line
• China speeds up Chengdu J-20 fighter deliveries to military
• Secret Chinese warship leaked in Fujian aircraft carrier photo

According to Sohu, the Jiangnan Shipyard is developing two ships that bear a striking resemblance to the Zumwalt class. However, these vessels are still in the development phase and not yet part of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Sohu specifies that these include a new type of frigate and a new type of destroyer. Let’s delve into the details of the new frigate first. 

Given Jiangnan Shipyard’s strict confidentiality norms, the designs showcased in their posters are likely meticulously thought out. The ships’ overall layout, specific roles, and configurations are assuredly based on detailed plans and comprehensive design blueprints. 

Photo credit: Sohu

In the latest promotional poster from Jiangnan Shipyard, it is clear that their new frigate is not especially large. In fact, it is quite a bit smaller than the Type 054A and Type 054B frigates. It seems these 3,000-ton patrol vessels are likely designed with the foreign trade market in mind.

The real eye-catcher is the new destroyer, which bears a striking resemblance to the US Zumwalt-class destroyer. For context, the Zumwalt class is a 15,000-ton, high-tech destroyer developed by the United States, with only three ships built for various reasons. 

While it’s true the Zumwalt class faced several issues during development, the limited number of ships built shouldn’t overshadow it. significance Many design elements, innovative concepts, and system layouts of the Zumwalt are indeed worth studying and could offer valuable insights for navies worldwide.

Photo credit: Sohu

In a recently released promotional poster by Jiangnan Shipyard, the new Chinese destroyer bears a striking resemblance to the U.S. Zumwalt-class destroyer in terms of design, general structure, and basic concept. They look like “twin brothers.” However, on closer inspection, significant differences are evident between the two vessels. For instance, the U.S. Zumwalt-class destroyer sports two 155 mm large-caliber guns at the bow, consuming almost all the space in that area, which is unlike the bow armament on the Chinese destroyer. 

It appears that the Chinese destroyer may be equipped with a new generation of 130 mm naval guns. Utilizing only one bow gun frees up the forward deck to accommodate a greater number of vertical launch units, distinctively setting it apart from the Zumwalt class.

Additionally, a large active phased array radar has been installed at the front of the bridge on China’s new destroyer. The development of these ships by Jiangnan Shipyard symbolizes the future direction of naval vessels. However, whether these ships will be constructed or commissioned into service remains uncertain, according to the Chinese resource Sohu. 

Photo credit: Sohu

The emergence of these new vessels showcases China’s strategic perspective, technical outlook, and strategic considerations in capital ship development. This is particularly important for the next generation of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, including the Type 055 Destroyer and the Type 054B Frigate. You’ll see these technologies and concepts gradually applied to enhance and evolve their naval capabilities.

Experts predict that once China wraps up the second batch of Type 055 destroyers, they will likely move on to developing Type 055B destroyers or another main destroyer category with a full-load displacement between 15,000 and 17,000 tons. 

From 2020 onwards, the primary destroyers’ plans of various nations have trended toward increased size and capability. Countries like the UK, Japan, India, South Korea, and the US have rolled out their own large-tonnage destroyer projects, such as the British Type 83 and the South Korean KDX III.

Photo credit: Sohu

Despite the United States developing only three Zumwalt-class destroyers for various reasons, these vessels stand at the forefront of design innovation and stealth technology. One notable feature is the fully enclosed transom, which integrates the entire superstructure above the waterline seamlessly. 

This design not only reduces radar reflectivity but also minimizes infrared detection from enemy surveillance. Additionally, the low-resistance wave-piercing characteristics of the Zumwalt-class’s tumblehome hull have become increasingly popular among other naval ships.

***

Follow us everywhere and at any time. BulgarianMilitary.com has responsive design and you can open the page from any computer, mobile devices or web browsers. For more up-to-date news, follow our Google News, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook pages. Our standards: Manifesto & ethical principles.

SPACE

Blue fireball flashes in night sky as comet fragment soars over Spain and Portugal

Footage filmed from several cities across both countries shows an object of "cometary origin" streaking across the sky at around 28 miles per second.

Sunday 19 May 2024 

Blue fireball lights up night sky in Spain


A comet fragment lit up the skies over parts of Spain and Portugal overnight - as one person said witnessing the blue fireball "felt like a movie".

The European Space Agency (ESA) shared a video on the X social media platform on Sunday which it says was captured by its "fireball camera".

The agency said the blue light streaking across the sky over the western Spanish city of Caceres was a "stunning meteor" travelling at roughly 28 miles per second.

However, it later said the light was from a "small piece of a comet" and not a meteor.

The comet fragment eventually burned up over the Atlantic Ocean.

"The likelihood of any meteorites being found is very low," the ESA said.

Videos filmed from several cities in Spain and Portugal were circulating on social media.

They showed the comet fragment crossing the sky at high speed and illuminating it in bright tones of blue and green.

NASA has said magnesium creates a blue-green colour when it burns in meteors.

The Spanish Calar Alto astronomical observatory said a preliminary analysis by Andalusia's Institute of Astrophysics revealed the object had a "cometary origin".

CCTV footage released by the mayor's office in the city of Cadiz in southwestern Spain shows the fireball crossing the sky at 12.46am local time (11:46pm UK time).

The fragment was filmed streaking across the sky as a singer performed at a concert in the Portuguese city of Barcelos.

Another video showed the skies of Porto, Portugal's second-biggest city, turning bright for a few seconds.

Many contacted emergency services to report what happened.

A spokesperson for the Spanish Emergency service 112 in Madrid told Europa Press news agency it had received several calls.

Lisbon resident Bernardo Taborda, 31, told Reuters he was walking around the city with friends when the sky suddenly turned bright green: "It almost looked like daylight... we all looked back and saw it."

He added: "It felt like a movie, we all looked at each other and we were stunned.

"It was amazing."

 

 

How Solar Storms Can Shut Down The Internet, Power Grids, And Even Tractors

Brace yourself.

BYDAVID WALLACE

THE CONVERSATION
3 HOURS AGO

NASA/SDO


The geomagnetic storm that began on May 10, 2024, generated stunning aurora borealis, more commonly known as the northern lights, that could be seen as far south as Mexico. They also generated headaches for farmers whose GPS-guided tractors were idled in the middle of planting season.

Geomagnetic storms occur when a large bubble of superheated gas called plasma is ejected from the surface of the Sun and hits the Earth. This bubble is known as a coronal mass ejection. The plasma of a coronal mass ejection consists of a cloud of protons and electrons, which are electrically charged particles. When these particles reach the Earth, they interact with the magnetic field that surrounds the planet. This interaction causes the magnetic field to distort and weaken, which in turn leads to the strange behavior of the aurora borealis and other natural phenomena.

The May 2024 storm, rated G5 on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 1-to-5 Geomagnetic Storms scale, disrupted GPS communications enough to throw off tractor guidance, which requires centimeter-level precision. Stronger storms would have much more serious consequences. As an electrical engineer who specializes in the power grid, I study how geomagnetic storms also threaten to cause power and internet outages and how to protect against that.

GEOMAGNETIC STORMS

Stronger solar storms have happened, and one caused havoc with one of the earliest electronic technologies. On Sept. 1 and 2, 1859, telegraph systems around the world failed catastrophically. The operators of the telegraphs reported receiving electrical shocks, telegraph paper catching fire, and being able to operate equipment with batteries disconnected. During the evenings, the aurora borealis could be seen as far south as Colombia. Typically, these lights are only visible at higher latitudes in northern Canada, Scandinavia, and Siberia.

What the world experienced that day, now known as the Carrington Event, was the largest recorded account of a geomagnetic storm, far stronger than the May 2024 storm.

MICHAEL SEAMANS/GETTY IMAGES NEWS/GETTY IMAGES


Geomagnetic storms have been recorded since the early 19th century, and scientific data from Antarctic ice core samples has shown evidence of an even more massive geomagnetic storm that occurred around A.D. 774, known as the Miyake Event. That solar flare produced the largest and fastest rise in carbon-14 ever recorded. Geomagnetic storms trigger high amounts of cosmic rays in Earth’s upper atmosphere, which in turn produce carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon.

A geomagnetic storm 60% smaller than the Miyake Event occurred around A.D. 993. Ice core samples have shown evidence that large-scale geomagnetic storms with similar intensities as the Miyake and Carrington events occur at an average rate of once every 500 years.

Scientists were able to estimate the strength of the Carrington Event based on the fluctuations of Earth’s magnetic field as recorded by observatories at the time. There was no way to measure the magnetic fluctuation of the Miyake Event. Instead, scientists measured the increase in carbon-14 in tree rings from that time period. The Miyake Event produced a 12% increase in carbon-14. By comparison, the Carrington Event produced less than a 1% increase in carbon-14, so the Miyake Event likely dwarfed the G5 Carrington Event.

KNOCKING OUT POWER

Today, a geomagnetic storm of the same intensity as the Carrington Event would affect far more than telegraph wires and could be catastrophic. With the ever-growing dependency on electricity and emerging technology, any disruption could lead to trillions of dollars of monetary loss and risk to life dependent on the systems. The storm would affect a majority of the electrical systems that people use every day.

Geomagnetic storms generate induced currents, which flow through the electrical grid. The geomagnetically induced currents, which can be in excess of 100 amperes, flow into the electrical components connected to the grid, such as transformers, relays and sensors. One hundred amperes is equivalent to the electrical service provided to many households. Currents of this size can cause internal damage to the components, leading to large-scale power outages.

A geomagnetic storm three times smaller than the Carrington Event occurred in Quebec, Canada, in March 1989. The storm caused the Hydro-Quebec electrical grid to collapse. During the storm, the high magnetically induced currents damaged a transformer in New Jersey and tripped the grid’s circuit breakers. In this case, the outage led to five million people being without power for nine hours.

BREAKING CONNECTIONS

In addition to electrical failures, communications would be disrupted on a worldwide scale. Internet service providers could go down, which in turn would take out the ability of different systems to communicate with each other. High-frequency communication systems such as ground-to-air, shortwave, and ship-to-shore radio would be disrupted. Satellites in orbit around the Earth could be damaged by induced currents from the geomagnetic storm burning out their circuit boards. This would lead to disruptions in satellite-based telephone, internet, radio, and television.

Also, as geomagnetic storms hit the Earth, the increase in solar activity causes the atmosphere to expand outward. This expansion changes the density of the atmosphere where satellites are orbiting. Higher density atmosphere creates drag on a satellite, which slows it down. And if it isn’t maneuvered to a higher orbit, it can fall back to Earth.

Another area of disruption that could potentially affect everyday life is navigation systems. Virtually every mode of transportation, from cars to airplanes, uses GPS for navigation and tracking. Even handheld devices such as cell phones, smartwatches, and tracking tags rely on GPS signals sent from satellites. Military systems are heavily dependent on GPS for coordination. Other military detection systems, such as over-the-horizon radar and submarine detection systems, could be disrupted, which would hamper national defense.


The global internet is held together by a network of cables crisscrossing the world’s oceans.JENS KÖHLER/ULLSTEIN BILD VIA GETTY IMAGES

In terms of the Internet, a geomagnetic storm on the scale of the Carrington Event could produce geomagnetically induced currents in the submarine and terrestrial cables that form the backbone of the Internet as well as the data centers that store and process everything from email and text messages to scientific data sets and artificial intelligence tools. This would potentially disrupt the entire network and prevent the servers from connecting to each other.

JUST A MATTER OF TIME

It is only a matter of time before the Earth is hit by another big geomagnetic storm. A Carrington Event-size storm would be extremely damaging to the electrical and communication systems worldwide, with outages lasting for weeks. If the storm is the size of the Miyake Event, the results would be catastrophic for the world, with potential outages lasting months, if not longer. Even with space weather warnings from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, the world would have only a few minutes to a few hour's notice.

I believe it is critical to continue researching ways to protect electrical systems against the effects of geomagnetic storms, for example, by installing devices that can shield vulnerable equipment like transformers and by developing strategies for adjusting grid loads when solar storms are about to hit. In short, it's important to work now to minimize the disruptions from the next Carrington Event.

This article was originally published on The Conversation by David Wallace at Mississippi State University. Read the original article here.