Canada announces Can $590 mn investment in Ford electric car plant

If Canadians buy the electric vehicles produced at the plant, Canada will move towards its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, Justin Trudeau said.

By AFP News October 9, 2020 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government and the province of Ontario announced Thursday investments of Can$295 million (US$223 million) each in a Ford factory billed as the largest electric vehicle plant in North America.

At a joint news conference with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Trudeau called the investments totaling Can$590 million "one of the first steps to build a next-generation auto industry."

It will also help Canada -- if Canadians buy the electric vehicles produced at the plant -- move toward its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, he said.

The Oakville, Ontario assembly plant is to be repurposed as part of a deal announced last month between the Ford Motor Company and the Canadian union Unifor, to build five new electric vehicle models and the batteries that will power them.

The project is valued at Can$1.8 billion and will secure up to 5,400 Ford jobs in Canada, including over 3,000 at the Oakville plant.

The repurposed Ford assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario will produce five new electric vehicles such as this all-electric Mustang Mach-E unveiled in California in November 2019. Photo: AFP / Mark RALSTON

"Today's announcement represents the largest investment in Ontario's auto sector in over 15 years," said Doug Ford, adding that the plant "will be the largest electric car manufacturing facility anywhere in North America."

"This is a historic moment," he said.

According to Statistics Canada, there were 1.9 million new vehicles registered in Canada last year and while electric vehicle sales jumped nearly 40 percent, they represent a very small portion of the total cars and trucks on Canadian roads.

In the first half of 2020, Tesla's Model 3, with almost 7,000 sold, remained the top EV seller in Canada, followed by the Chevrolet Bolt (1,600 sold), and the Hyundai Kona (1,200 sold), according to industry figures.

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

Covid could add to 2 million per year stillbirth toll: UN
Globally, over 40 percent of stillbirths occur during labour.

By Patrick Galey October 8, 2020 

Almost two million babies are stillborn every year -- one every 16 seconds -- the United Nations said Thursday, warning that the Covid-19 pandemic could add another 200,000 deaths to the "devastating" toll.

The vast majority of stillbirths, 84 percent, occur in low- and middle-income countries, where basic neo-natal care could save hundreds of thousands of lives each year, according to a joint report by UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the World Bank Group.

Most stillbirths occur due to poor quality healthcare lacking investment in equipment and training of midwives.

And unlike notable reductions in recent decades in the global rate of maternal and infant deaths, stillbirths remain stubbornly frequent, particularly throughout sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia.

"Losing a child at birth or during pregnancy is a devastating tragedy for a family, one that is often endured quietly, yet all too frequently, around the world," said UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore.

"Beyond the loss of life, the psychological and financial costs for women, families and societies are severe and long lasting. For many of these mothers, it simply didn't have to be this way."

The report warned that the pandemic could result in nearly 200,000 additional stillbirths, assuming that 50 percent of health services are impacted in low- and middle-income countries by the Covid-19 response.

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Mark Hereward, UNICEF's associate director for data and analytics, told AFP that infants in many countries would suffer from Covid-19 even if their mothers never contracted the disease.

"Firstly, due to the massive increase in poverty because of the global recessions," he said.

"The other way is through an interruption to health services, either because health workers are reassigned to work on Covid or because people are afraid to go to clinic."

Hereward said that without urgent action the world will have suffered 20 million more stillbirths by 2030.

The vast majority of stillbirths, 84 percent, occur in low- and middle-income countries, where basic neo-natal care could save hundreds of thousands of lives each year Photo: AFP / ADEK BERRY

Globally, over 40 percent of stillbirths occur during labour, the UN said. These are among the most avoidable deaths given that many labour stillbirths could be prevented with access to trained midwives and emergency obstetric care.

Sabine Uwizeye, a 35-year-old living in Rwanda's capital Kigali, lost her baby when she went into labour during the 37th week of pregnancy.

"I knew that something was wrong and the doctor told me that my baby was dead. I couldn't believe it. I cried and cried," she told AFP.

"The baby had many knots in its umbilical chord. I feel so bad even now not being able to hold my sick baby."

Uwizeye is now the mother to a healthy 10-month-old, but she urged expectant mothers to be vigilant in monitoring their baby's health.

"Keep going for check ups and make sure that your pregnancy is normal," she said.

"Even when you are at home you can make sure the baby in the womb is ok. Be constantly aware and vigilant."

As well as the wide disparity in stillbirth rates between rich and poorer nations, the report also found significant variations in the rates within individual countries, often linked to socioeconomic status.

In Nepal, for example, women of minority castes have stillbirth rates 40-60 percent higher than those from upper-class castes.

And in Canada, Inuit communities have a stillbirth rate nearly three times higher than the general population.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Anshu Banerjee, director for the Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing at the WHO said the world needed "break out of this cocoon of taboos and stigma" surrounding stillbirth.

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

Armenia PM Pashinyan says Turkey behind 'war' in Karabakh

Armenia has become "the last obstacle" to Turkish expansion, Pashinyan said.

By Maxime Popov October 7, 2020

Turkey's "full support" motivated its ally Azerbaijan to reignite fighting in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Tuesday in an interview with AFP, calling the escalating conflict a "war against terrorism".

"While it is true that the leadership of Azerbaijan has been actively promoting bellicose rhetoric for the last 15 years, now the decision to unleash a war was motivated by Turkey's full support," the 45-year-old premier said.

"Without Turkey's active engagement this war would have not begun," he added, speaking to AFP in a sumptuous room of the Government House in the heart of Armenian capital Yerevan.

The prime minister arrived in a motorcade with wailing sirens, while armed soldiers in combat gear manned the entrance to the imposing building, built in the era of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

Pashinyan nevertheless projected an air of calm, speaking slowly and weighing every word as he condemned Azerbaijan for waging a "terrorist war against a people struggling for their freedom."

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Pashinyan, a former newspaper editor, became prime minister in 2018 after leading tens of thousands in protests against the ruling party, channelling a widespread desire for change and calling for good relations with both Russia and the West.

He stressed that the latest fighting is "not simply a new escalation of the Karabakh conflict," a territorial decades-old dispute over the majority ethnic Armenian mountainous region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a mainly Muslim Turkic country that is a close ally of Turkey.

Pashinyan stressed that the latest fighting is "not simply a new escalation of the Karabakh conflict" Photo: AFP / -

The current conflict has seen the "active engagement of terrorist groups from the Middle East in the conflict zone," Pashinyan said, describing the role of Armenian forces as a "counter-terrorism operation."

Turkey has been accused of deploying fighters from Syria to support Azerbaijan in Karabakh. French President Emmanuel Macron claimed that "jihadists" had arrived in the region, accusing Turkey of crossing a "red line".


Armenia also accuses Turkish forces of fighting directly in the region, and Pashinyan said Turkey's F-16 fighter jets were "actively engaged" in the conflict.

Turkey has denied this and no firm evidence has been presented.

A chronology of the renewed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh Photo: AFP / Céline AGNIEL

Pashinyan accused Turkey of involving itself in Nagorno-Karabakh as part of its "policy of Armenian genocide."

"Turkey has returned to the South Caucasus to continue the Armenian genocide," he said.

Armenians say that up to 1.5 million people were killed by Ottoman Turks during World War I in what amounted to genocide, a claim supported by some 30 countries. Turkey rejects the genocide label and says that Turks also died in civil strife.

Armenia has become "the last obstacle" to Turkish expansion, Pashinyan said.

He warned that if "Europe fails to properly call this situation by its name," it could see Turkish forces outside Vienna, referring to the Ottoman Empire laying siege to the city in the 17th century.

Yet if the current conflict deteriorates so far that Armenia experiences a direct attack on its territory, Pashinyan said he is sure that his nation's key ally Russia would come to its aid due to the two countries' membership in a military alliance.

"In case of a security threat to Armenia, Russia's engagement will be subject to our treaty framework. I am confident that as per the situation... Russia will uphold its treaty obligations," the prime minister said.

As for the international community and the European leaders with whom Pashinyan has been exchanging multiple phone calls in recent days, he said that "the best response ... to this terrorist operation would be to recognise the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh."

The region is not currently recognised by any UN member state -- not even Armenia.

Fierce fighting reignited in Karabakh 10 days ago and has caused at least 286 deaths according to confirmed tolls that are likely short of the real total. Neither side appears to have taken a decisive lead on the ground.

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia-Azerbaijan fighting rages in disputed region
By Obtech

-September 28, 2020

Fierce fighting continues to rage following a flare-up of a decades-old conflict in the Caucusus region of south-eastern Europe.

Armed forces belonging to Azerbaijan and Armenia both say they have the upper-hand.

At the heart of the conflict is a dispute over control of the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

It is recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but has been controlled by ethnic Armenians since a war in the 1990s.

Tens of thousands of people died during the war and a million others were forced to leave their homes.

Other countries are concerned that the latest fighting could spill out of the region and draw in neighbouring powers, including Turkey, Russia and Iran.


What is behind the conflict?

Armenian authorities said 31 of their soldiers had now died, and some lost positions had been retaken.

Azerbaijan said its forces had inflicted “heavy losses” and that Armenian shelling had injured 26 civilians.

Both parties said they had mobilised more soldiers and declared martial law in some areas.

The fighting is the heaviest seen in the conflict since 2016, when at least 200 people were killed in clashes.

Turkey has already declared its support for Azerbaijan, while Russia – which has military bases in Armenia – called for an immediate ceasefire.

Armenia accuses Turkey of providing direct military support for Azerbaijan, a claim denied by Azerbaijan.

When Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, tens of thousands died in fighting, and many ethnic Azerbaijanis were forced to flee their homes.

It is now a de facto independent region, relying heavily on support from Armenia. But it is not recognised by any UN member, including Armenia.

Nagorno-Karabakh – key facts

A mountainous region of about 4,400 sq km (1,700 sq miles)

Traditionally inhabited by Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks
In Soviet times, it became an autonomous region within the republic of Azerbaijan

Internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but majority of population is ethnic Armenian

An estimated one million people displaced by 1990s war, and about 30,000 killed

Separatist forces captured some extra territory around the enclave in Azerbaijan in the 1990s war

Stalemate has largely prevailed since a 1994 ceasefire

Turkey openly supports Azerbaijan

Russia has military bases in Armenia

What’s the latest from the battlefield?

On Monday, authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said another 15 of their soldiers had been killed. They had reported 16 fatalities among the military on Sunday.

More than 100 people have been wounded.

The self-proclaimed republic said its forces had destroyed four Azeri helicopters, 36 tanks and armoured personnel vehicles, according to the Armenpress news agency.

It also said it had killed many Azerbaijani troops.

Armenian defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said that “fights of various intensity are raging on”, adding that “defence army units” were carrying out “counter actions” in several areas.

Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said the country’s forces continued “the counter-attack”, moving from “advntageous positions liberated from the Armenian armed forces”.

It said that “the enemy suffered heavy losses”.

Azerbaijan earlier confirmed the loss of one helicopter but said the crew had survived, and reported that 12 Armenian air defence systems had been destroyed. It denied other losses.

Azerbaijan on Monday said 26 civilians were injured in Armenian shelling, accusing Armenia of targeting densely populated areas.

Azerbaijan said five members of the same family had been killed by Armenian shelling on Sunday.

The casualty claims made by Armenia and Azerbaijan have not been independently verified.
In July, at least 16 people died in border clashes, prompting the largest demonstration in years in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, where there were calls for the region’s recapture.
The international reaction

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “extremely concerned”, urging both sides to stop fighting

Russia’s foreign minister held urgent talks both with the Armenian and Azeri leadership
France, which has a large Armenian community, called for an immediate ceasefire and dialogue

Iran, which borders both Azerbaijan and Armenia, offered to broker peace talks
President Donald Trump said the US was seeking to stop the violence
What’s the background?

In 1988, towards the end of Soviet rule, Azerbaijani troops and Armenian secessionists began a bloody war which left Nagorno-Karabakh in the hands of ethnic Armenians when a truce was signed in 1994.

Swathes of Azeri territory around the enclave are also under Armenian control.

Negotiations have so far failed to produce a permanent peace agreement, and the dispute in the region remains one of post-Soviet Europe’s “frozen conflicts.”

Karabakh is the Russian rendering of an Azeri word meaning “black garden”, while Nagorno is a Russian word meaning “mountainous”. Ethnic Armenians prefer to call the region Artsakh, an ancient Armenian name for the area.

Over the years both sides have had soldiers killed in sporadic breaches of the ceasefire. Landlocked Armenia has suffered severe economic problems due to the closure of borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Russia, France and the US co-chair the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Minsk Group, which has been attempting to broker an end to the dispute.

Mysterious toxic substance killing sea life in Russian beach
Upon initial analysis of the water, authorities were able to detect traces of oil products and phenol but no official cause of the pollution has been established.

By Nina Siena October 6, 2020

Dead sea creatures have been washing up on the beaches of Kamchatka, Russia as environmental activists are demanding answers from what they call a major ecological disaster. Videos and photos of discoloured ocean waters, dead octopuses, carcasses of seals and the like are showing up on social media prompting Greenpeace to denounce the current state of the far eastern beach.

Believed to be caused by a toxic spillage in the Pacific Ocean, local residents and surfers have since been complaining of fever, rashes, swollen eyelids and vomiting. Health officials have also confirmed that surfers suffered mild burns in their corneas. Upon initial analysis of the water, authorities were able to detect traces of oil products and phenol, however, no official cause of the pollution has been established.

Environmental disaster happened in Kamchatka.

Experts found an excess of oil products (4 times), phenol (2.5 times) and other substances in water samples. The extent of the pollution has not yet been determined. Greenpeace requires immediate investigation. pic.twitter.com/UNVMQjaumi— Greenpeace Russia (@greenpeaceru) October 3, 2020

The Kamchatka administration says investigations are currently being conducted by Russia's emergency ministry. Specialists are collecting samples from different bodies of water in the region to better determine the cause. Reports from late September state that waters on Khalaktyr beach exhibited a change in colour and had a strange smell, the BBC wrote.

The Pacific Fleet headquarters denied any involvement while local authorities have not had any reports of industrial accidents in the area.

Greenpeace reported that their tests showed four times more petroleum products and 2.5 times more phenol were found in the water. An amount which exceeded authorised standards and has affected several kilometres of the beach.

«We've observed a yellowish foam on the ocean surface. The water itself is opaque. In one location we found dead animals. A certain volume of pollutant, not only on the surface, but also at depth, moves along the coast», Vasily Yablokov, Greenpeace Russia climate project leader. pic.twitter.com/icLrFptiFC

Why advertise with us— Greenpeace Russia (@greenpeaceru) October 5, 2020

Kamchatka governor Vladimir Solodov said they will be checking two military testing sites, Radygino and Kozelsky, that may be linked to the contamination. Experts suggest that highly toxic rocket fuel could have leaked into the sea as a "yellow film" on a local river has been reported.

Radygino, which is around 10 kilometres from the sea, was the venue for drills in August. Biologists speculate that stored rocket fuel in the military site could have rusted over and caused fuel to leak into the streams. The other military site was used to bury toxic chemicals and pesticides.

Local authorities still have not ruled out seismic activity or a natural phenomena, such as the algae that was brought to the coast during a storm. As of this time, Ecology Minister Dmitry Kobylkin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered him to get to the bottom of the situation.

Oil spill on water is seen near an oil production facility at Maracaibo lake near the coastal town of Barranquitas August 15, 2011. REUTERS

Bark Beetles blamed for California wildfires

THEY ARE THE RESULT OF GLOBAL WARMING
The insects are said to have chewed their way through millions of trees across western North America which left them with parched land and dry timber

By Nina Siena October 9, 2020 15:16 



Beetles are getting the blame for sparking the deadly wildfires that have engulfed more than four million acres of land in the state of California. The insects are said to have chewed their way through millions of trees across western North America, which left them with parched land and dry timber during the dry season.

Although scientists and environmental researchers strongly point to climate change being the cause of a five-year drought in the area, state authorities claim many trees have died due to the presence of bark beetles.

Cal Fire Public Information Officer Daniel Berlant said the Creek Fire scorched more than 390,000 acres as massive amounts of pine trees have already been dead and dry due to drought over the years.

The US Forest Service estimates that 90 percent of the trees that burned were dead trees eaten up by bark beetles which easily provided fuel to the blaze, the Daily Mail reported.

According to experts, climate change sparked the drought resulting in stressed and parched trees that rendered them vulnerable to being eaten up by these creatures.

National Geographic said the link between timber that has been killed by bark beetles and wildfires could also depend on the type of forest affected. In some areas, beetles are found to be beneficial.

The wildfires in California cannot be applied to the forest in the Rockies or the Pacific Northwest as Pine beetles, another US native insect, eat their way through older, weaker trees, which makes room for a healthier forest.

In the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest, research data suggests that a beetle infestation actually reduces wildfire incidents. The type of fire that razes through these forests are known as crown fires. This takes place when flames travel just on top and along the canopy. When beetles eat through these trees, the needles and branches die and fall to the ground, thereby leaving nothing for flames to latch on to.

On the other hand, experts say humans have changed the landscape by filling land with fuel and densely packed trees. As more vegetation moved in, it forced trees to compete for nutrient sources which left them stressed and open for the bark invaders.

The US Department of Agriculture has estimated more than 129 million trees have died since 2010 as a result of years of the deadly combination of drought and bark beetle infestations.
In southern Wyoming and northern Colorado, bark beetles can get through 100,000 trees a day. Getty

Slow progress on women's rights decried at UN Summit

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, marked the 25th anniversary of the seminal 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing.

By Philippe Rater October 2, 2020 


More than 170 countries promised during a virtual UN summit Thursday to step up their efforts to advance women's rights, while the US took aim at China's claims of leadership on the issue.

The meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, marked the 25th anniversary of the seminal 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing.

"In the coming five years, China will donate another $10 million to UN Women," President Xi Jinping said in a pre-recorded video, proposing another world meeting on gender equality for 2025.


In her own pre-recorded address, US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos condemned the treatment of women in Venezuela, Cuba and Iran, but saved her harshest criticism for Beijing.

"The worst violator of all in both scope and scale is the host of the conference we commemorate today," she said.


"Since 1995, the Chinese Communist Party has been responsible for the murder of millions of baby girls through brutal population controls on industrial scale, unfortunately with the support (of) UN agencies."

She specifically took aim at Beijing's operations in the Xinjiang region, which some rights groups and lawmakers in Washington have said could amount to genocide.


DeVos called out practices of sterilisation, abortion and birth control she said have been forced on Uighur Muslim women.

Protesters, led by the group the Feminist Collective, demand Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez declare a state of emergency in response to recent gender-based femicides, assaults and disappearance of women in San Juan, September 28, 2020. Photo: AFP / Ricardo ARDUENGO

Meanwhile, France and Mexico committed to hosting an international forum on women's rights in Paris next June -- a meeting which was scheduled for July of this year but was canceled due to the pandemic.

French President Emmanuel Macron lamented the slow progress of the last 25 years.

"Everywhere, women's rights are under attack, as are human rights, from which they are inseparable," he said.

"Progress achieved by great efforts is being undermined even in our democracies, starting with the freedom for women to control their own bodies, and in particular the right to abortion," he said, also pointing out inequalities in schooling, pay, domestic work and political representation.

Even at the UN General Assembly, there were only a handful of women speakers among the representatives for 170 countries.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said gender equality was "fundamentally a question of power, so it starts with the equal representation of women in leadership positions."

He bemoaned the circumstances that lead to one in three women experiencing violence and 12 million girls marrying under the age of 18 every year.

He also pointed to 137 women being killed by a family member every day in 2017.

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

 Doctor reveals everything wrong with Donald Trump's 'live' health check on Fox News

BY HOPE NGO/OCT. 9, 2020 11:36 PM EDT

If you were tuning in to get some clarity on President Donald Trump's medical situation Friday night, you might have come away feeling more than a bit disappointed. Fox News had seemed to promise, and other stations — like WGN9 — has interpreted, that this would be Trump's first on-camera interview since he got sick, and medical examination on top of that. As it turns out, we didn't exactly get what we paid for, because as Dr. José Morey, board-certified physician of radiology and founder of Ad Astra Media told The List, "To begin it was not a medical evaluation. In fact you saw Dr. [Marc] Siegel [the interviewer] preface that at the beginning. If it had been, he could be in violation of either NY state's or D.C.'s telehealth laws. He said it jokingly, but it was a medical disclaimer to not be able to be held liable against medical/legal violations."

Morey also points out that the location of what we now know was a taped interview gave away the fact that there is some concern over just how contagious the president still could be. "The fact that it was outside makes me believe that they are still concerned for potential infection transmission. We know being outside is safer than being enclosed. I assume this was to protect the camera crew and other auxiliary individuals for this interview," Morey says.

Trump is still showing signs of infection: Expert

While President Donald Trump insists that all is well, thanks to the excellent medical staff at Walter Reed, the board-certified physician of radiology tells The List that the reality could not be more stark for the president. "He is still exhibiting signs of infection. Earlier in the day during his call on Sean Hannity you could hear him coughing. Both during that call and during this interview you could hear some voice strain."

Morey said that the video clip also shows the president struggling to breathe, especially at the end of long sentences, which is visible during the on-camera interview. "He [President Trump} would have to inhale deeply. He was also pursing his lips while he breathed and mouth breathing which are signs of stress. His lips may have been mildly cyanotic (blue). It is hard to tell but it is a sign of oxygen desaturation which is consistent with his clinical history. His sentences at times were short with gasps of air."

Doctor says the president's scan may have showed an irregularity

The president's admission led Morey to address a matter Trump's physicians, like Sean Conley, have been brushing aside, but which reporters have been asking to be addressed. Throughout Trump's stay at Walter Reed Military Medical Center, the president's team of physicians had either evaded questions or refused to clarify whether the president had lung damage, and when Trump last still received a negative COVID test. 

To this point, Morey told us, "It sounds like the president had a CT scan that found typical ground glass opacities often seen in COVID infections. It also seems like these may not have fully cleared by the time that he left." Various medical sources describe ground glass opacities as abnormal findings usually picked up by CT scans, and they show up as hazy, gray areas in the lungs (via WebMD).

The interviewer mentioned COVID-related fallacies: Expert

Morey calls out Trump's interviewer for skipping critical questions that would have classified the televised interview as an actual medical examination. "The doctor didn't ask any questions in the way you would with a patient if this had been a true medical evaluation. An example is how he queried about side effects of dexamethasone. In a medical eval you do not ask how did you handle the steroids, you ask for probing questions that would elucidate the typical complications of steroids." The board-certified physician of radiology also called out the interviewer, Dr. Marc Siegel, for raising incorrect statements about the virus.

"He [Siegel] has stated that COVID is no worse than influenza. We know both by the numbers and extent of disease manifestation this is false. The CDC estimates nearly 35 million Americans were infected by the flu in last year's cycle with about 35,000 deaths. This death rate is at about 0.1 percent compared to coronavirus of about 5 percent. The hospitalization rate is also much higher. The manifestations of vasculopathy, hemorrhage, GI symptoms, neurologic symptoms, and long term respiratory and other complications far outpaces those of influenza," Morey says. 

Doctor says Trump should have stayed at the hospital

Morey adds that Siegel also stated that masks didn't provide adequate protection against COVID-19. Morey stressed, "This is not true. Although the reality is more complicated due to proper fitting and adherence, if both are followed the data shows dramatic decreases in infection propagation."

In case you're wondering whether the president was fit to return to the White House, never mind planning public rallies so soon after he was diagnosed with COVID-19? "It seems like the president left earlier than the physicians would have wanted. Typically you are treated under supervision for five days on Remdesivir which he received. We know he got the final treatment at the White House. This may mean the president left AMA (against medical advice)," Morey tells The List.

Why Trump's 'live' Fox News health check is raising eyebrows

BY HOPE NGO/OCT. 9, 2020 

Because there have been so many rumors surrounding President Donald Trump's health, we thought we might get some clarity when Fox News promised what it said what would be the president's first on-camera interview, where the president would undergo a medical evaluation on camera. The network added, "Dr. Marc Siegel will conduct a medical evaluation and interview during the program" (via The Daily Beast). And while the president was indeed on camera for his first live interview, which host Tucker Carlson — and all of us — would say is a remarkable recovery, Carlson noted on his show (via Fox News), "This was his first time talking on camera about what happened. We should know that these are very unusual circumstances. Normally we'd send our own camera crew into the White House to interview the president, but because his diagnosis was just a week ago, we had to rely on the White House camera team for that interview. Dr. Siegel interviewed the president from New York." The network then ran what appeared to be a prerecorded interview.

Fox's decision to keep crews away from the White House is in keeping with the CDC's recommendation that most people can stop self-isolating 10 days after they first show symptoms of having COVID, if their medical condition has improved, they haven't had a fever for 24 hours, and if they aren't on medicines that control a fever (via WGN9). But all of this meant there was not actually a "live" exam of any kind performed, and that immediately raised eyebrows.

Trump credits his success to fighting COVID by seeking early medical treatment

During the chat, the president provided his perspective on what happened at Walter Reed Medical Center — of particular interest to reporters was the state of his lungs, which the coronavirus is known to attack. On camera, Trump said, "They [doctors] tested the lungs, they checked with the lungs, they tested with different machinery, incredible stuff that I've never even seen before. And it tested good... initially, I think they had some congestion in there, but ultimately [I think it] tested good, and with each day it got better. That's why they wanted me to stay, frankly, but the CAT scans were amazing, the equipment is incredible" (via Twitter). He also said he felt strong and has been medication-free for eight hours before the exam. 

Trump also said, "The biggest question is that I did do it early, I had such great access to medical, we have White House doctors who are great, and we have so many doctors. It's a lot easier for me than it is for someone who doesn't have access to doctors so easily [and where] it's a big deal to see a doctor. But here we have them all over the White House, watching from every corner. But very important for me, was very early... and I think it would have gotten a lot worse. One of the doctors said he thought it would have gotten a lot worse. I just think these medications, they're a lot better if you get them early than if you get them late" (via Fox News).

Twitter: Trump is having a telehealth exam

Hulu

Some took to Twitter to express their bemusement over Trump's televised medical exam. One tweeted: "The President is having a tele-health 'exam' on FOX News with Dr. Marc Siegel, who asked what his worst symptoms were when he went to Walter Reed. Trump said he 'didn't feel strong' and experienced 'weakness' until his Regeneron cocktail." Another said bluntly, "I'm watching the dumbest thing I've ever seen," along with a screen capture of the interview taking place. A third shared a clip of the president saying he has been retested, along with the clip of Trump saying, "I haven't even found out numbers or anything yet but I've been retested and I know I'm either at the bottom of the scale or free."

CNN's Jim Acosta confirmed that the president is scheduled to speak at a public rally at the White House on Saturday (via Twitter).

Here's why Donald Trump 'gasping' is trending on Twitter

BY HOPE NGO/OCT. 5, 2020

Shortly after returning to the White House, Donald Trump tweeted a video to express his thanks and show the world how great he felt. "I just left Walter Reed Medical Center and it's really something very special. The doctors, the nurses, the first responders — and I learned so much about coronavirus, and one thing that's for certain: Don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it. We're going to beat it. We have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines, all developed recently. And you're going to beat it. I didn't feel so good... I could have left two days ago... I felt great, better than I have in a long time..." he said. 

Yet in the face of this reassurance, Trump "gasping" had begun to trend on Twitter. It might have had to do with the fact that moments after he reached the White House balcony, dramatically removed his medical mask, and turned to face reporters, he also appeared to be struggling to breathe (via Twitter).

The Twitterverse was divided over Trump 'gasping'

Some Twitter users were incredulous. "Trump looks like a goldfish that fell out of the fishbowl onto the floor, gasping for breath," commented one user along with a video retweeted all over the Twitterverse showing the president appearing to take big gulps of air. Another tweet said: "Maybe Trump should take it easy. He's visibly gasping for air after climbing stairs and posturing like Putin. COVID ain't no joke." A third commented: "Trump climbs a few steps to the White House, takes off his mask and then is visibly gasping and having diffulty (sic) breathing while he tries to wave and pretend everything is fine." A fourth said: "Trump is gasping with pneumonia. Does he not think we can see?"

The president's supporters maintained the gasps were imaginary, with one saying: "LOL, the triggered left has now abandoned the 'hoax' theory and has gone back to Trump 'gasping' for air and on his deathbed notion. Come on now, make up your minds because the rest of us need to know. It can't be both. Only 8:40 PM though, carry on. Hysterical."

One of the president's biggest critics right now is Kellyanne Conway's daughter Claudia, who posted, "guys lmao he's not doing better... he is so ridiculous. apparently he is doing badly lol and they are doing what they can to stabilize him" (via Palmer Report).

Trump's messaging contradicts advice from public health experts

Twitter's backlash against the president's behavior may make public health experts breathe a bit easier. Doctors had hoped that Trump might learn a few lessons about COVID-19, but that doesn't appear to be the case. An assistant professor of medical at the University of Pennsylvania Harald Schmidt tells the The New York Times: "I am struggling for words — this is crazy. It is just utterly irresponsible." 

By virtue of his position, Trump's experience of COVID is slightly different from everyone else's. The daughter of one Covid victim says: "My mom, a respiratory therapist, couldn't get tested at her hospital where she worked, she had to look for two days for a testing site while feeling the effects of covid, she didn't want to go to a hospital because she said it was worse there and she didn't want to call an ambulance because it was too expensive. So she stayed home for a week and lost her pulse as soon as the medics put her on a gurney." Newsweek has also pointed out that a cost for a five day course of Remdesivir, one of the medicines the president is on, costs $3,120 — or as one candidate for the Senate put it, "Remdesivir is approximately 4 years of taxes for some taxpayers."

The U.S. currently has 7.4 million cases of COVID-19, with nearly 210,000 deaths (via The New York Times).

Read More: https://www.thelist.com/256968/heres-why-donald-trump-gasping-is-trending-on-twitter/?utm_campaign=clip

Regeneron seeks FDA emergency authorisation of Covid-19 antibody therapy used by Trump

Although REGN-COV2 is still currently in its trial phases, there have been exceptions allowed by the FDA such as the most recent one with Trump.

By John Diente October 9, 2020 
 
A little over a week ago, Regeneron was in the news when clinical studies of its antibody therapy reported promising results. Although COVID-19 vaccines have been at the centre of attention over the course of the past few months, experts highlighted the fact that a treatment is equally important. Therefore, when United States President Donald Trump was diagnosed positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus, the biotech firm's experimental drug was administered. Now, the company has applied for emergency use authorisation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to the statement posted on its website, the group already submitted the documents. "Subsequent to our discussions with regulatory authorities, we have submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for our REGN-COV2 investigational antibody combination for COVID-19," said Regeneron as reported by CNN.

Regeneron continued: "Under our agreement with the U.S. government for the initial doses of REGN-COV2, if an EUA is granted the government has committed to making these doses available to the American people at no cost and would be responsible for their distribution. At this time, there are doses available for approximately 50,000 patients, and we expect to have doses available for 300,000 patients in total within the next few months."

Although REGN-COV2 is still currently in its trial phases, there have been exceptions allowed by the FDA such as the most recent one with Trump. So far, observations made during tests show that it is most effective on people whose immune systems have already begun to fight against the infection. Furthermore, it also apparently reduces the viral load in the nasopharynx, which, in theory, should prevent transmission via respiratory droplets or aerosols.

Trump received a single dose of Regeneron's antibody cocktail, according to a letter issued by White House physician Sean Conley AFP / JIM WATSON

Preliminary data supposedly confirms that there are no alarming side effects, which makes REGN-COV2 fairly safe with proper medical supervision. Meanwhile, others caution against its purported benefits until findings are published on medical journals after being peer-reviewed. With many pharmaceutical companies sharing press releases regarding favourable results from clinical trials, others are suspecting it might be for raising stock prices instead. Majority of healthcare experts agree that the vaccines and treatments might not be publicly available until early in 2021.

A senior warning sign for Trump: 'Go Biden' cry at Villages

Aides say President Donald Trump's campaign has seen an alarming drop in support among older adults in its internal research

Via AP news wire

America Disrupted Seniors(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Sara Branscom’s golf cart whizzed down the smooth asphalt path that winds through The Villages, the nation’s largest retirement community, an expanse of beautiful homes, shops and entertainment venues that bills itself as “Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.”

Branscom’s cart was festooned with two American flags that flapped in the warm afternoon breeze. A line of oncoming carts bedecked with balloons and patriotic streamers chugged past while honking. Branscom jabbed her left foot on the horn pedal, then gave a thumbs-up.

“This gets you rejuvenated and ready for the next month or so, so we can do this and win. It gives you hope,” the 60-year-old retiree said.

Then she let out a whoop and two surprising words: “Go Biden!”

It’s not a cry that might be expected to resound in The Villages, and it’s certainly not one that is encouraging to President Donald Trump Older voters helped propel him to the White House — the Pew Research Center estimates Trump led among voters 65 and older by 9 percentage points in 2016 — and his campaign hoped they would be a bulwark to cement a second term.

They remain a huge chunk of the electorate. Pew estimates that nationwide, nearly 1 in 4 eligible voters will be 65 and older. It’s the highest level on record, going back to 1970.

But there have been warnings that older voters are in play. To be sure, Trump has solid support among older adults but his campaign has seen a drop-off in its internal research, according to campaign aides, and some public polls suggest Democrat Joe Biden is running ahead or just even with Trump.

Mostly, it seems, older voters have been put off by Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, which affects these voters more acutely than others. They were particularly alarmed by Trump’s performances at daily task force briefings in the spring because his remarks showed an uneven handling of the crisis and inspired little confidence.

The president has tried to shore up his popularity with older adults. He has emphasized themes of law and order, and has warned that Democrats would preside over a sundering of the suburbs. He has promoted his prescription drug policy. And he has kept up steady visits to Florida — after Maine, the state with the oldest population — and advertised heavily there.

But whatever improvement he saw is now in jeopardy. The president’s own COVID-19 infection has refocused attention on the virus and his handling of it. If the 74-year-old Trump can’t safeguard his own health, some wonder, how can he be trusted to protect other older adults who are far more vulnerable?

In few places could any significant drop-off spell doom more profoundly than Florida, a state Trump almost certainly must win. Older adults historically are the most reliable voters, and Florida is infamous for its tight races. So even a modest drop in support could send Trump back to private life.

The Villages, where the median age is 66, is built on the American dream of a golden retirement. “We’ve created the backdrop of possibilities for you to write the next chapter in your story,” its website says.


Retirees can enjoy everything from golf to seminars on Mark Twain to drinking a cold beverage in the town square while listening to a “jamgrass” band (progressive bluegrass in the vein of Phish).


Politically, it long has been considered a conservative redoubt, so entrenched that it’s a must-stop for any national or statewide Republican running for office. One clear measure of its importance: Vice President Mike Pence's scheduled visit Saturday.


The Morse family, which developed the community northwest of Orlando, has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican campaigns over the years. During the 2008 presidential race, GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin drew a stadium-sized crowd with 60,000 residents flocking to see her in one of the community’s town squares.

Last fall, Trump picked The Villages to promote his support for Medicare and its private insurance option.

But on Wednesday, the scene told a markedly different story. An armada of as many as 500 golf carts gathered at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center to caravan to the nearby elections office, so folks could drop off ballots for Biden.

As each cart rolled into the parking lot and slid a ballot into a locked box under the watchful eye of elections supervisors, dozens lined the sidewalk, cheering and clapping every time a vote was cast.

“I think we all came out of the closet for this election,” said Branscom.

It’s not that there weren’t Hillary Clinton supporters in The Villages in 2016, said Chris Stanley, president of the community’s Democratic Club. There were.

But there was also “an overwhelming sense in 2016 of ‘we’ve got this in the bag.’ There was a level of complacency that she’d win,” said Stanley. “Now there’s a heightened sense of urgency, and in many ways, Trump has been our best recruiting tool ever.”

If the slow moving, four-wheel, golf cart show of force is an indication of growing allegiance to the Democrat among the retiree set, it would represent a substantial shift. In Florida, 29% of registered voters are 65 and older. As of Oct. 1, 43% were Republican, 37% were Democrats and 17% were nonpartisan.

Susan MacManus, a University of South Florida distinguished professor of government and international affairs, said The Villages and its powerful voting demographic have become less Republican over the years because of an influx of more liberal people from the Northeast.

She’s seen research that shows a softening in Trump’s older base, both nationally and in Florida — especially with women.

“That’s the group that’s leaving Trump,” she said. “And it’s because of his demeanor, more than his policies. For older women, especially. They went through the battles. They frankly do not appreciate the demeaning of women. More than that, they’re thinking of their children and their grandchildren.”

Indeed, at The Villages, many of the people riding in golf carts are women like Joan Morrill, a 76-year-old former Republican. The pandemic has weighed heavily on her, especially when she considers her four children and seven grandchildren. “We can’t live like this ...” she said. “I want a better world for them.”

Jeff Johnson, the state director for the Florida AARP, believes voters over 65 are more “in play” in this year’s presidential race, largely because of Trump’s handling of the pandemic. In recent weeks, Democrats have seized on this softening of support and have rolled out six ads targeting older voters.

In 2018, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for The Associated Press, older Republicans thought immigration was the nation’s most important issue, while older Democrats said health care was. But this year, with the pandemic, concern about health care has become a top issue for both.

The Trump campaign seems to be paying attention. On Thursday, the president released a video of himself standing on the White House lawn in which he called older adults “my favorite people.” Noting that they are vulnerable to the virus, he asserted with no basis in fact that a medicine he said he was given in the hospital would be free to older people.

“The seniors are going to be taken care of,” he said.

That is not how it has played out so far. Not only has Florida been slammed by the virus, but also no other demographic has been affected more than older people. About 93% of Florida’s 15,100 deaths from the virus have been people 55 and older, and many are scared — and enraged.

“The whole virus thing has hit really hard here,” said Branscom, who pointed out that almost everyone in The Villages moved there from somewhere else. “We can’t go see our families because of COVID. I’m not seeing an end to it. There is no plan. Biden has a plan. He wears a mask. It gives us hope.”

In recent weeks, Morrill watched as Trump announced he was infected with COVID-19, left the hospital days later and dramatically removed his mask upon his return to the White House.

She seethed.

“I was angry,” she said, her voice shaking. “He’s showing a bad example. He thinks that nothing’s going to affect him. It feels like one lie after another.”

For the golf cart caravan, she wore a T-shirt that said “Team Fauci,” referring to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease expert. “I trust the scientists and the doctors. I don’t trust Trump.”

Those sentiments extend well beyond the well-tended streets of The Villages. Ron Hood, 78, a retired college biology professor, lives on the Atlantic coast in Jacksonville. Hood, a Democrat, is voting for Biden. He, too, feels that Trump has left older adults behind.

“I do think there has been an attitude: ‘Well, it’s not that important to keep them alive and well. If we can’t, well, that’s too bad. Nice knowing you, bye,’” he said. “I just try not to dwell on things like that, though.”

In rural Alachua County, which Clinton carried easily in 2016, 69-year-old Maxie Hicks is deeply troubled by the country’s direction and Trump’s leadership. Hood, who is Black, said he’s been thinking a lot about the civil rights movement, when he was a teenager.

“I’ve never seen this type of cold-blooded hate, not even back then,” he said. “This is a Donald Trump funk. I’ve never seen this much hostility.”

The retired state transportation department worker often thinks about how he and Trump are similar in age. “I don’t know how he could come through our generation and be so mean. So heartless. So insensitive. So indecent. So ungentlemanly.”

The hostility that Hood bemoans has played out even in “the friendliest town,” where Villagers who are Trump enthusiasts have held their own golf cart parades.

In June, a fight broke out between Trump and Biden supporters in front of the Panera Bread shop, and one Trump supporter was captured on video yelling, “White power!”

People still talk about that, and there appear to be some lingering hurt feelings. On Wednesday, during the Biden rally, one woman in her golf cart decked out with Biden signs smiled and said good morning to a man coming from the other direction in a cart with a Trump sign.

“Shove it!” he said.

Judy Wise, a 75-year-old retiree in Plant City, a town east of Tampa on the Interstate 4 corridor, said her niece hasn’t spoken to her in years, since a fight over Trump. Wise is a stalwart supporter, and her niece is not.

“It’s not so much about the man, but the ideology,” Wise explained. She’s convinced that Biden and the Democrats have a “plan to unseat capitalism” and that he will be a “puppet” of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, progressive Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris.

Wise believes in small government and lower taxes, and she’s worried about the summer’s recent nationwide protests, a few of which have turned violent. She recognizes that Trump can be abrasive, but it doesn’t bother her, and she questions media reports that Trump had called servicemen and women “losers.” Trump wouldn’t do that, she said.

Pamela Allen, 72, supported Trump from the time he came down the escalator in Trump Tower in 2015 to announce his candidacy. Every few weeks, she waves Trump flags on the roadside of her Tampa suburb of Holiday with a group of other Republicans.

“I love him. I think he’s doing a great job. He’s addressing the situations of everyday people’s normal everyday concerns,” she said. “He’s keeping his promises, with little to no help from the media or the Democrats. There is no positivity on anything he does.”

As for the pandemic, she does think it’s serious for older people, but “it may be blown out of proportion.”

“I don’t believe the numbers they’re posting about deaths. I wash my hands. I wear my mask. I avoid getting very close to people I don’t know,” she said.

Professor MacManus cautions that while some older voters have gravitated toward Biden, there are many others like Allen and Wise who are firmly in Trump’s corner. But that might not be enough for Trump.

“They’re still probably leaning more towards Trump. But in Florida, you look at margins,” she said. “He won the senior vote in Florida by double digits in 2016. And now we’re showing single digits in polls. ... Any bleeding of any cohort is a red flag for that candidate.”

And in this week’s golf cart caravan, the Biden flags were blue.

___


Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire, Josh Boak and Michael Schneider contributed to this report.

The banyan tree looks odd for a reason
Genomic study reveals secrets of those aerial roots.

Credit: Gang Wang

BUDDHA MEDITATED UNDER A BANYAN TREE 

The banyan tree (Ficus macrocarpa) is known for its rather odd appearance, thanks to the ability to sprout roots from branches that eventually reach the soil.

Perhaps less well known is that it, like others in the Ficus species, has co-evolved with the wasp that pollinates it. The size and shape of wasps correspond exactly to those of the fig fruits, and each fig species creates a unique perfume to attract that wasp.

Now researchers in the US and China think they know how and why this happens. Perhaps not surprisingly, it’s all about the genome.

In a paper in the journal Cell, a team led by Ray Ming form the University of Illinois and Jin Chen, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, describes its analysis of the banyan tree, its pollinating wasp, and a related fig tree, Ficus hispida.

Unlike F. microcarpa, which produces aerial roots and bears male and female flowers on the same tree, F. hispida produces distinct male and female trees and no aerial roots.

“When we sequenced the trees’ genomes, we found more segmental duplications in the genome of the banyan tree than in F. hispida, the fig without the aerial roots,” Ming says. “Those duplicated regions account for about 27% of the genome.”

The duplications were found to increase the number of genes involved in the synthesis and transport of auxins, a class of hormones that promote plant growth. Duplicated regions also contained genes involved in plant immunity, nutrition and the production of volatile organic compounds that signal pollinators.

“The levels of auxin in the aerial roots are five times higher than in the leaves of trees with or without aerial roots,” Ming says, adding that the elevated auxin levels appear to have triggered aerial root production. The duplicated regions also include genes that code for a light receptor that accelerates auxin production.

When they turned to the fig wasp, and compared it with related wasps, the researchers observed that it was retaining and preserving genes for odourant receptors that detect the same smelly compounds the fig trees produce – a likely signal of co-evolution.

They also report discovering a Y chromosome-specific gene that is expressed only in male plants of F. hispida and three other fig species that produce separate male and female plants, a condition known as dioecy.

“This gene had been duplicated twice in the dioecious genomes, giving the plants three copies of the gene. But Ficus species that have male and female flowers together on one plant have only one copy of this gene,” Ming says. “This strongly suggests that this gene is a dominant factor affecting sex determination.”

Understanding this evolutionary history is important, the researchers says, because the ability to produce large fruits in a variety of habitats makes Ficus a keystone species in most tropical forests.