Landmark bill to limit cryptomining passes NY Legislature

The Greenidge Generation bitcoin mining facility, in a former coal plant by Seneca Lake in Dresden, New York, is shown in this photo from Nov. 29, 2021. A milestone measure that would tap the brakes on the spread of cryptocurrency mining operations burning fossil fuels in New York has passed the state Legislature. The bill approved early Friday, June 3, 2022, by the state Senate would establish a two-year moratorium on new and renewed air permits for fossil fuel power plants used for energy-intensive “proof-of-work” cryptomining. The plant also produces power for the state's electricity grid. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers have passed a milestone environmental measure designed to tap the brakes on the spread of cryptocurrency mining operations that burn fossil fuels.

Both supporters and opponents say that the closely watched bill, approved early Friday by the state Senate, is the first of its kind in the U.S.

If it becomes law, it would establish a two-year moratorium on new and renewed air permits for fossil fuel power plants used for energy-intensive “proof-of-work” cryptocurrency mining — a term for the computational process that records and secures transactions in bitcoin and similar forms of digital money. Proof-of-work is the blockchain-based algorithm used by bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies.

Environmentalists are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the legislation. They say the state is undermining its long-term climate goals by letting cryptomining operations run their own natural gas-burning power plants.

“We cannot be re-powering fossil fuel power plants for the purposes of private gain in New York, especially as we’re looking to move away from fossil fuels entirely,” said Liz Moran of Earthjustice.

Dozens of fossil fuel plants in New York could potentially be converted into mining operations, she said.

Cryptocurrency advocates complained that the measure singled out the industry without addressing other fossil fuel use. They argue that the legislation would crimp economic development in New York while other states court the burgeoning field.

“The message from the bill and the embrace of that kind of policy is not a good one for an industry that really can go anywhere,” said John Olsen of The Blockchain Association, an industry group.

“We’re very hopeful that the governor realizes that the long-term benefits of embracing this industry and this technology far outweigh a potential pause on prospective future emissions,” he added.

Hochul, a Democrat, has said she want to make sure any legislation balances economic and environmental concerns

Cryptocurrency mining requires specialized computers that consume huge amounts of energy. One study calculated that as of November 2018, bitcoin’s annual electricity consumption was comparable to Hong Kong’s in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Some miners are looking for ways to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels to produce the necessary electricity.

A coalition of environmental groups has separately been urging the Hochul administration to deny the air permit renewal for Greenidge Generation in the Finger Lakes, which also produces power for the state’s electricity grid. A decision could come at the end of the month.

The moratorium measure, if signed into law, would not affect pending applications, such as the one from Greenidge.

The measure also would require the state Department of Environmental Conservation to perform an environmental impact assessment on how cryptomining affects the state’s ability to meet its climate goals.

The bill passed the Assembly, the Legislature’s lower chamber, in April.

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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed from New York City.

FROM ONE UNELECTED LEADER TO ANOTHER
Kim Jong Un congratulates Queen Elizabeth II on her Platinum Jubilee


North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth II, congratulating her on the 70th anniversary of her ascension to the throne, the North's foreign ministry said.

 File Photo by KCNA/UPI | License Photo

SEOUL, June 3 (UPI) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth II, congratulating the British monarch on the 70th anniversary of her ascension to the throne amid a four-day Platinum Jubilee celebration, Pyongyang said.

"I extend my congratulations to you and your people on the occasion of the National Day of your country, the official birthday of Your Majesty," the letter said, according to a statement by North Korea's foreign ministry on Thursday.

Buckingham Palace acknowledged receiving the letter, saying in a statement that the private message is "in line with standard practice of receiving messages from countries with whom we have diplomatic relations," according to The Mirror.

North Korea and Britain established diplomatic ties in 2000 and continue to maintain embassies in Pyongyang and London. In September, the Queen sent a message to Kim, congratulating the people of North Korea on the 73rd anniversary of the country's founding.

Kim's letter was a rare episode of cordiality with the West in recent years, as the secretive regime has ramped up its weapons program and appears poised to conduct its first nuclear detonation since 2017.

Pyongyang has conducted 17 rounds of weapons tests so far this year, with its most recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile coming just hours after U.S. President Joe Biden concluded a visit to South Korea and Japan.

Washington has been seeking a new round of U.N. Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang over the provocations, with its latest effort vetoed last week by China and Russia.

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebration kicked off Thursday with pomp and pageantry including a 1,400-troop military parade and aircraft flyover.

Report: Harvard University holds 7,000 Native American remains, 19 possible slaves


Image of Harvard University during the Harvard University Class Day address at the tercentenary theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 29, 2019. An unreleased report said the university is in possession of 7,000 Native American remains and 19 possible slaves. 

File Photo by Matthew Healey/ UPI | License Photo

June 3 (UPI) -- Harvard University possesses human remains of 19 people who were likely enslaved and nearly 7,000 Native Americans and has been urged to turn over the remains to descendants, the institution's draft report said.

Harvard's student newspaper, The Crimson, wrote the unreleased report was created by the university's Steering Committee on Human Remains in Harvard Museum Collection.

The report said, according to the newspaper, that the bodies were "obtained under the violent and inhumane regimes of slavery and colonialism; they represent the university's engagement and complicity in these categorically immoral systems. Moreover, we know that skeletal remains were utilized to promote spurious and racist ideas of difference to confirm existing social hierarchies and structures."

The report, which has not been finalized, suggested that a new commission be created that would oversee the treatment of the remains and efforts to find descendants.

Evelynn M. Hammonds, the committee's chair, called the release of the draft "irresponsible reporting" because the report has not been finalized and its document could change before it becomes official.

She told The Crimson its reporting "puts in jeopardy the thoughtful engagement of the Harvard community in its release. Further, it shares an outdated version with the Harvard community that does not reflect weeks of additional information and committee work."

The remains are primarily housed at Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography. In an April report on Harvard's past involvement with slavery, the university committed $100 million to redress its legacy.

Peabody Director Jane Pickering made a formal apology on behalf of the museum last year for the practices that led to its large collection of Native American human remains and funerary objects.

GAO finds flaws in Air Force's selection process for SPACECOM headquarters


Vice President Kamala Harris interacts with U.S. military officers in the Command Space Operation Center at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc, California, on April 18. The Government Accountability Office said the Air Force had shortcomings its its selection process for a new SPACECOM headquarters in a report on Friday. 

File Photo by Etienne Laurent/UPI | License Photo


June 3 (UPI) -- The Air Force had "significant shortfalls" in its process of selecting the new Space Command headquarters, the Government Accountability Office said in a report on Thursday.

The news paralleled complaints from Colorado legislators who criticized the process after Peterson Space Force Base, where the provisional SPACECOM headquarters is located, lost out to the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., for the permanent location.

"While the January 2021 selection of Redstone Arsenal as the preferred location for U.S. Space Command headquarters was consistent with the Air Force's analysis, our assessment of the Air Force's revised selection process and attendant analysis against our Analysis of Alternatives best practices identified significant shortfalls in its transparency and credibility," the GAO said in its report.

GAO recommended the Air Force develop guidance for future basing decisions aligned with the agency's best practices.

"GAO believes that the [Analysis of Alternatives] best practices are relevant and, if effectively implemented, can help ensure such basing decisions are transparent and deliberate," the GAO report said.

"Developing basing guidance consistent with these best practices, and determining the basing actions to which it should apply, would better position the Air Force to substantiate future basing decisions and help prevent bias, or the appearance of bias, from undermining their credibility."

The Air Force manages most of the Pentagon's military space systems and was ordered with selecting the headquarters location for SPACECOM in 2018. The Air Force then announced six candidate installations, four in Colorado, one in California and one in Alabama.

The military branch started conducting site visits after service validated those preferred locations in 2019.

FUTILE FRUITLESS COUNTER PRODUCTIVE ENDEAVOUR

Afghan Taliban launch campaign to eradicate poppy crop

By ABDUL KHALIQ

June 2, 2022

1 of 4

Taliban eradicate a poppy field in Washir, district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sunday, May 29, 2022. Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have begun a campaign to eradicate poppy cultivation, aiming to wipe out the country's massive production of opium and heroin, even as farmers fear their livelihoods will be ruined at a time of growing poverty.(AP Photo/Abdul Khaliq)


WASHIR, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have begun a campaign to eradicate poppy cultivation, aiming to wipe out the country’s massive production of opium and heroin, even as farmers fear their livelihoods will be ruined at a time of growing poverty.

On a recent day in Washir district in southern Helmand province, armed Taliban fighters stood guard as a tractor tore up a field of poppies. The field’s owner stood nearby, watching.

The Taliban, who took power in Afghanistan more than nine months ago, issued an edict in early April banning poppy cultivation throughout the country.

Those violating the ban “will be arrested and tried according to Sharia laws in relevant courts,” the Taliban deputy interior minister for counternarcotics, Mullah Abdul Haq Akhund, told The Associated Press in Helmand’s provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.

Afghanistan is the world’s biggest opium producer and a major source for heroin in Europe and Asia. Production spiraled over the past 20 years despite billions of dollars spent by the U.S. trying to stop poppy cultivation.

But the ban will likely strike a heavy blow to millions of impoverished farmers and day laborers who rely on proceeds from the crop to survive. The ban comes as Afghanistan’s economy has collapsed, cut off from international funding in the wake of the Taliban takeover. Most of the population struggles to afford food, and the country has been suffering under its worst drought in years.

Noor Mohammed, who owns one poppy field in Washir that was torn apart by Taliban tractors, said his plot of land is small and lacks water, so he can’t survive by growing less profitable crops.

“If we are not allowed to cultivate this crop, we will not earn anything,” he said of his poppies.

Day laborers can earn upwards of $300 a month harvesting opium from the poppies. Villagers often rely on the promise of the upcoming poppy harvest to borrow money for staples such as flour, sugar, cooking oil and heating oil.

Helmand is the heartland of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. It appeared the new eradication campaign was targeting mainly those who planted their crops after the ban was announced. Many others who had planted earlier succeeded in harvesting, going from plant to plant, slicing the poppy’s bulb, then scooping up the sap that oozes out, the raw material for opium.

Akhund, the deputy interior minister, said the Taliban were in touch with other governments and non-governmental organizations to work out alternative crops for farmers.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said the eradication campaign will take place across the country. “We are committed to bringing poppy cultivation to zero,” he told the AP.

It’s not known how many poppies were planted this season, how much was harvested and how many fields the Taliban have eradicated so far.

But Afghanistan’s production has steadily risen, reaching new heights every year in recent years. In 2021, 177,000 hectares (438,000 acres) were planted with poppies, yielding enough opium to produce up to 650 tons of heroin, according to estimates by the U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime. That was an increase from up to 590 tons of heroin in 2020.

The total value of Afghanistan’s opiates production in 2021 was $1.8-$2.7 billion, up to 14% of the country’s GDP, exceeding the value of its legal exports, the UNODC said in its most recent report.

During their first time in power in the late 1990s, the Taliban also banned poppy cultivation and with a fierce campaign of destroying croplands nearly eradicated production within two years, according to the United Nations.

However, after the U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban in 2001, many farmers returned to growing poppies.

Over the next nearly 20 years, Washington spent more than $8 billion trying to eradicate Afghan poppy production. Instead, it only steadily increased: In 2002, around 75,000 hectares were planted with poppies, producing some 3,400 tons of opium. Last year, production was double that.

During the years-long Taliban insurgency, the movement reportedly made millions of dollars taxing farmers and middlemen to move their drugs outside Afghanistan. Senior officials of the U.S.-backed government also reportedly made millions on the flourishing drug trade.

Today, Afghanistan’s opium output is greater than all other opium-producing countries combined. Nearly 80% of the heroin produced from Afghan opium reaches Europe through Central Asia and Pakistan.

Playing drums may improve socialization, focus in teens with autism

By Alan Mozes, HealthDay News

For teens with an autism spectrum disorder, learning to drum appeared to reduce hyperactive behavior and improve teens' ability to focus and pay attention. Photo by Pexels/Pixabay

The percussive skill needed to bang out rhythms on a drum may help improve socializing, inhibition control and focus among teens with autism, new research suggests.

The finding follows work with 36 teens with an autism spectrum disorder.

Half were randomly chosen to receive two months' worth of drum training, based on a standard electronic drum kit program.

Designed so that it could track each teen's motor performance and timing accuracy, the program "consisted of learning to perform a series of repetitive rhythm patterns," explained lead author Marie-Stephanie Cahart.

The upshot: Learning to drum appeared to reduce hyperactive behavior and improve teens' ability to focus and pay attention, she said. The activity also seemed to enhance communication "between brain regions responsible for inhibitory control, action-outcome monitoring, and self-regulation."

Cahart is a doctoral candidate at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London in the United Kingdom.

She noted that autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition marked by deficits in social communication and interaction, as well as a range of repetitive interests, activities and behaviors.

Those deficits often show up as a lack of inhibition, impulsiveness, attention problems, and hyperactive behavior, Cahart said. But drumming requires "motor planning and timing accuracy" as well as focused attention and inhibition control, she said. Other small studies have also investigated drumming as an autism intervention.

To see if it could be of help, researchers tested a drumming program among three dozen teens (average age 18). None had drummed before.

Those assigned to drum training were given two 45-minute sessions a week for eight weeks. The other group received no drum training.

All underwent brain scans and neuro-psychological testing both before and after the study. Severity of autism symptoms was also assessed for all.

By the study's end, caregivers and drum tutors reported that participants who received drum training had better ability to make eye contact, verbalize their needs and regulate their emotions, Cahart said. As a result, participants' self-esteem was better and there were fewer angry outbursts, according to the caregivers and tutors.

Plus, young people in the drumming group "reported that they really enjoyed learning to drum," Cahart said.

"It is now clear that drumming activities are particularly relevant in the context of autism spectrum disorders," Cahart said, suggesting that the activity - even if it's not yet considered an autism "treatment," per se - would likely confer benefits to patients with "a wide range of ability levels and autism symptoms."

Why? Cahart pointed to the emphasis that drumming places on timing, hand-eye coordination and the need to continuously monitor and correct mistakes - all of which enhance the attention, inhibition and thinking skills that are keys to "social outcomes and physical and mental health well-being."

Plus, "percussion activities are also enjoyable and accessible to everyone, regardless of ethnicity, age range and musical background," she added.

"Most importantly, [they] offer a non-verbal means of self-expression, thus making them particularly suitable in the context of autism spectrum disorders," Cahart said.

Donna Murray, vice president and head of clinical programs at Autism Speaks, said she is not aware of drumming being specifically deployed as an autism intervention.

At the same time, she suggested that the potential benefit be viewed in the overall context of music therapy, which "is a common supplemental therapy" for people with autism.

Music therapies designed "to address motor coordination, synchronization and even tapping to enhance verbal communication have been successful in improving outcomes, in a number of conditions," Murray added.

In this instance, she noted, the findings suggest that drumming may have a positive impact in several areas of concern for people with autism, including attention and focus, inhibition and motor control, and better timing.

But while the findings "look promising," Murray said the study's small size means it's too soon to draw broad conclusions or make clinical recommendations.

"More research is needed to determine type of drumming intervention, how much, and for whom it may be beneficial," she said.

The findings were published online Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

More information

Learn more about autism and music therapy at American Music Therapy Association.

Copyright © 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

FROM SLAVERY TO WAGE SLAVERY
White House interns to be paid for first time starting this fall


The White House announced Thursday that for the first time interns there will be paid starting in the fall. Pool File Photo by Ron Sachs/UPI | License Photo

June 2 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday that White House interns will be paid for the first time starting in the fall.

A White House statement said, "This significant milestone of paying White House interns will help remove barriers to equal opportunity for low-income students and first-generation professionals at the beginnings of their careers and help to ensure that those who receive internships at the White House -- and who will be a significant part of the leadership pipeline across the entire federal government -- reflect the diversity of America."

Funding is coming from bipartisan legislation signed into law earlier this year, according to the White House.

The White House said the fall 2022 session will be a 22-week program. Applicants to become interns must be U.S. citizens are 18 or older.

They must meet one of three criteria: be enrolled in a college or university, have graduated from a two- or four-year institution, or be a U.S. military veteran with a high school diploma or equivalent.

The White House statement added, "President Biden and Vice President Harris have committed to building an Administration that looks like America, believing that qualified people from every background and walk of life should have equal opportunity to serve our Nation.

"That commitment is reflected in each White House Internship Program class, and all who are interested and meet the established criteria are highly encouraged to apply."

People interested in becoming White House interns can obtain more information at WH.gov/intern.

GOOD NEWS

Monarch butterflies make huge comeback

By , Accuweather.com

The monarch butterfly population in Mexico is on the rise. 

Photo by anuphadit/Shutterstock


The monarch butterfly population in Mexico is on the rise again, following several years in which the number of butterflies had dwindled to worrying lows.

In a report from the World Wildlife Fund-Telmex Telcel Foundation Alliance and the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas in Mexico, experts say there has been a 35 increase in the number of butterflies wintering in Mexico's mountaintop forest compared to previous seasons.

At wintering sites in central Mexico, entomologists from the WWF-Telmex Telcel Foundation Alliance and National Commission of Natural Protected Areas have been measuring the acreage of trees covered by these butterflies since 2004.

According to a newly released report, the monarch butterfly population this year covered 2.84 hectares (7 acres), compared to the 2.1 hectares (5.2 acres) that the butterflies covered last year.

Experts know that habitat availability strongly influences the butterflies' population numbers, but they are curious about how weather and climate conditions affect population numbers.

According to a report from Journey North, a science program organized by the University of Wisconsin-Arboretum, much of the habitat these butterflies rely on was lost early in the 21st century.

These great migrators arrive in Mexico's oyamel fir forest, which is just west of Mexico City, in late October to early November to spend the winter.

During the winter months, the trees in this forest provide the monarchs with a "blanket and umbrella," protecting them from extremely cold temperatures and precipitation, according to the Monarch Joint Venture, a nonprofit organization working to conserve monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

Since the temperature in the forest doesn't drop too low or get too high, the butterflies are able to conserve their lipid reserves, slowing down their metabolism, thus making them burn less energy.

But, due to legal and illegal logging, land conversion for farming and the effects of climate change, these forests have been threatened by degradation, which has altered their microclimates.

The degraded wooded areas have become less effective buffers for the monarchs, providing decreased protection from precipitation or temperature extremes. According to Journey North, the oyamel forest ecosystem is Mexico's most endangered forest type.

Even though strides have been made to replace the habitat, the efforts have not come close, which has resulted in smaller butterfly populations each year at the wintering sites.

And the data reflects just that. The average amount of hectares that have been occupied in the time period of 1993 to 2001 was 8.70. For the most recent 10 years (2012 to 2021) the average dropped to 2.62 hectares.

Weather conditions, such as more frequent heat waves and higher temperatures, have forced the butterflies to change their migratory patterns, and last year was one of the first years experts noticed the change.

In February 2021, the butterflies began heading north about a month early, fortuitously escaping an April heat wave, which brought triple digits to parts of Southern California and mid-summerlike temperatures to much of the southwestern United States.

Experts think the increased number of wintering butterflies that were measured in Mexico this past December was a direct result of their early migration in 2021.

This year, the butterflies' pattern was different. They left almost a whole month later than normal.

Experts are curious to see next year's numbers to determine whether this late start in their migration was a good strategy.

Study shows progress for using time crystals in quantum computing

Researchers cooled superfluid helium-3 to about one-ten thousandth of a degree from absolute zero inside this rotating refrigerator. Inside this superfluid, the researchers created two time crystals and and brought them to touch. 

Photo by Mikko Raskinen/Aalto University

June 2 (UPI) -- Physicists seemed to bend the laws of physics by linking two time crystals together for the first time in a new study, showing progress for their potential use in quantum computing.

Time crystals are similar to normal crystals except for one unusual property where their atoms exist in a perpetual state of regular motion without an external push, according to ScienceAlert. In normal crystals, atoms are arranged in a fixed, three-dimensional structure, like the atomic lattice of a diamond, and won't move without an external push.

Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek first theorized time crystals in 2012, but they weren't identified and confirmed by physicists until 2016.

The physicists from Britain and Finland created two time crystals, long believed to be impossible because their perpetual motion appeared to defy the laws of physics, together in a two-level system, the new study published in Nature Communications on Thursday shows.

"Everybody knows that perpetual motion machines are impossible," lead author Samuli Autti of Lancaster University in Britain said in a news release. "However, in quantum physics perpetual motion is OK as long as we keep our eyes closed. By sneaking through this crack we can make time crystals."

"It turns out putting two of them together works beautifully, even if time crystals should not exist in the first place," Autti added. "And we already know they also exist at room temperature."

The two-level system is a basic part of a quantum computer, so time crystals could be used to build quantum devices

Researchers created the two time crystals and brought them to touch in superfluid helium-3 cooled to about one-ten thousandth of a degree of absolute zero in a rotating refrigerator, and then watched them interact.

When they touched each other, they exchanged magnons, which affected the oscillation of the time crystals, creating a single system with the option of functioning in two separate states, according to ScienceAlert.

The experiment is the next step in potentially harnessing time crystals for quantum information processing following the first observation of the interaction between two time crystals, published in Nature Materials two years ago, ScienceAlert noted.

Poll finds 55% of Americans identify as pro-choice


A Gallup poll released Thursday finds 55% of Americans surveyed identify as pro-choice, the highest percentage since the company first started asking the question in 1995. File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI | License Photo

June 2 (UPI) -- A majority of Americans now identify as being pro-choice, according to a poll released Thursday.

The Gallup poll found 55% of Americans are pro-choice, the highest figure since the company first measured the opinion 27 years ago, when it came in at 56% in 1995.

It also found 39% of people identify as pro-life, which is the lowest number since 1996.

Over the past decade, between 45% and 50% of Americans have typically identified as pro-choice, according to Gallup. That figure stood at 49% in 2021.

The increase on the pro-choice side is mostly made up of Democrats. A total of 88% of Democrats polled identify as pro-choice, an increase from 70% the year before.

There also were significant swings among women and younger adults. Among adults age 18 to 34, pro-choice identification climbed to 67%, an increase of 12 percentage points. For women, that increase was 9 percentage points, for a total of 61%.

The pro-choice percentage did not change significantly this year among Republicans, independent voters, men or older Americans.

The poll also found 52% majority of Americans do consider abortion to be morally acceptable, while 38% call it morally wrong, which is a record low since Gallup began asking the question. The company first started asking the abortion morality question in 2001.

Only 13% of those surveyed believe abortion should be illegal in any situation, regardless of circumstances. That number is down 6 percentage points over the previous year and the lowest number since Gallup first began asking the question in 1995.

The results come a month after the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed a leaked draft opinion at the start of May to overturn the landmark abortion ruling in Roe vs. Wade was authentic.

In that opinion, drafted in February and first reported by Politico, Justice Samuel Alito was joined by four Republican-appointed justices in the decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade's holding of a federal constitutional right to abortion and Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, which largely maintained that right.