Alberta NDP endorses nationalized auto insurance, calls for premium freeze
Lisa Johnson 

© Provided by Edmonton Journal 

NDP Leader Rachel Notley said Wednesday that if private companies can't afford to cover drivers in Alberta it's time for the government to consider nationalized insurance.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley called on the UCP to freeze auto insurance premiums until 2021 on Wednesday, saying if private companies can’t afford to cover drivers in Alberta it’s time for public insurance.

Notley said government-run auto insurance is better for taxpayers, but it would be difficult to initiate while private companies occupy the market.

“When the insurance companies say (they) can’t possibly afford to provide insurance, ‘We’re going to leave the province,’ well, that sounds like it’s opening up a market for somebody else to provide something that would be less expensive and ensure that profits remain inside the province,” said Notley.

After the UCP government cancelled the former NDP government’s five per cent rate cap, it appointed a panel to look at what was ailing Alberta’s auto insurance market last December.

At the time, Finance Minister Travis Toews said offering government-run insurance such as B.C. and Saskatchewan do was not an option on the table. Jerrica Goodwin, the minister’s press secretary, confirmed Wednesday his previous remarks still stand.

In question period Wednesday, NDP Service Alberta critic Jon Carson called on the government to freeze rising auto insurance rates. Toews rejected the idea, saying any kind of rate cap would make the situation worse.

“The members opposite did not have the courage to fix the broken automobile insurance system,” said Toews, referring to Notley’s time in power.

The government is expected to introduce auto insurance reforms Thursday that Toews said will deal with the “cost pressures that are driving insurance premiums up in the province.”

But Notley said she is worried that the UCP government’s solution would be to capitulate to insurance companies at the expense of Albertans.

According to data from the General Insurance Statistical Agency , Alberta has the third-highest average rate of insurance premiums after British Columbia and Ontario, which saw an increase of $300 since 2015.

Industry representatives have argued that the former NDP government’s cap resulted in higher costs and less competition

Sobeys CEO is ready for grocers' code of conduct

The chief executive of Canada’s second-largest supermarket chain criticized two of his chief competitors on Wednesday for foisting a set of “repugnant” new fees on suppliers

.

© Provided by Financial Post

 'It’s a very complex industry and I don’t want unintended consequences

Michael Medline at Empire Co. Ltd. — which owns Sobeys, Safeway and FreshCo — said the fees announced by both Walmart Canada and Loblaw Cos. Ltd. will hurt manufacturers, farmers and smaller grocers, and threaten to drive up prices for consumers.

“Taken to the extreme, some of these behaviours are just plain bad for Canada,” he said during a virtual event hosted by the Empire Club of Canada. “It’s just not right.”

Medline said Empire is now open to imposing a code of conduct in the industry, echoing manufacturing advocates that have been pressing the federal and provincial governments to rein in bullying tactics in the heavily consolidated grocery retail sector.

Loblaw follows Walmart in imposing new fees on suppliers to help pay for upgrades

Food fight in Aisle 3: Grocers, suppliers clash over need for code of conduct in Canada

‘Gap in legislation’: Stronger law needed to launch wage-fixing probe into grocers’ behaviour

“It’s a pretty exciting day,” said Michael Graydon, chief executive of Food, Health and Consumer Products of Canada, one of the leading advocates for a grocery code. “I’m just absolutely delighted that he would come out publicly and have that conversation today.”

Medline, who was once CEO of Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. before joining Empire in 2017, said he finds that grocers and suppliers have “the worst relationship I’ve ever seen in my couple of decades in retail.”

His comments are liable to intensify the debate over an industry code of conduct, which ramped up in July after Walmart Canada imposed a non-negotiable fee on suppliers of up to 6.25 per cent on the cost of goods to help pay for its $3.5-billion infrastructure investment.

Manufacturing associations warned that other major chains would follow with similar fees and Loblaw last week told suppliers it would levy a new 1.2-per-cent fee, as well as increased distribution and marketing charges, noting it was investing $6 billion on infrastructure over the next five years.

“I don’t think a government unilaterally coming in and putting in legislation will probably help, because it’s a very complex industry and I don’t want unintended consequences,” Medline said. “It’s time that we got together as an industry and had a set of very simple, value-driven ground rules so that we don’t get in this mess and that we have a very healthy food supply chain.”

The federal government has said it does not have the jurisdiction to regulate the grocery industry, but encouraged the provinces to look into it.

In a letter this week, a coalition of trade groups representing farmers, food processors, bakers and independent grocers urged federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Ontario Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman to raise the issue when they co-chair the next Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers of Agriculture and Agri-Food meeting in November.

© Kevin King/Postmedia/File Empire Co. Ltd., owner of supermarket chains Sobeys, Safeway and FreshCo, said it would not be instituting a supplier charge.

“It is unfortunate to see grocers impose these costly fees during this pandemic,” Bibeau’s office said in an email on Wednesday. “We are pleased to see the interest from some of our provincial counterparts to examine this matter.”

Medline said he would be open to a “simple and short” code, similar to the model used in the United Kingdom. But he also said that the code would have to apply to all players in the industry, unlike the voluntary version used in Australia.

“It has to cut both ways,” he said. “Suppliers need to also promise to play fair.”

The moves by Walmart and Loblaw had some industry insiders questioning whether Empire was next. But Medline made it clear he would not follow suit, noting the company had worked closely with suppliers to manage massive demand spikes in the early days of the pandemic this spring.

Court rules that California Uber drivers could not establish 'political coercion'

© Reuters/BRENDAN MCDERMID A screen displays the company logo for Uber Technologies Inc. on the day of it's IPO at the NYSE in New York

(Reuters) - A California court on Wednesday denied an application for a temporary restraining order by the state's Uber Technologies Inc drivers, saying the drivers could not establish the alleged "political coercion" by the ride-hailing company.

The drivers had last week sued Uber over in-app messages regarding an upcoming gig worker ballot measure that the drivers say violates a California law protecting their political rights.

The lawsuit had said that Uber was unlawfully pressuring drivers via the app to support the Nov. 3 company-sponsored ballot measure, known as Proposition 22. Uber had rejected those claims.

"The application for a temporary restraining order is denied", Richard Ulmer, judge of Superior Court of California for San Francisco County, said in his order.

The request for "extraordinary injunctive relief" is belated, the judge wrote, adding that the drivers could not establish if anyone was punished by Uber for advocating against Prop 22.

Prop 22 would overwrite California law AB5 intended to force Uber, Lyft Inc and other app-based companies to classify workers as employees, entitling them to benefits including minimum wage, overtime pay, health and unemployment insurance.

Uber and Lyft say such changes would force them to reduce their California driver base by more than 75% and prevent the majority of its drivers from enjoying their current flexibility and income opportunities.

Both companies have also threatened to leave the state if AB5 was enforced.

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Postmates have jointly spent close to $200 million to promote the ballot proposal and Uber has included messages in its driver app to promote it.

Last week, a California appeals court unanimously ruled against Uber and Lyft, saying they must reclassify their drivers in the state as employees, with both companies saying they were considering all legal options, including an appeal.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Husky pipeline spills 900,000 litres of produced water in northwestern Alberta



RAINBOW LAKE, Alta. — Husky Energy is cleaning up after one of its pipelines in northwestern Alberta spilled 900,000 litres of produced water, a byproduct of oil and gas extraction that sometimes contains residual petroleum and chemicals.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The Calgary-based company said Wednesday it discovered the leak during a daily inspection on Monday morning and immediately shut down the pipeline.

The Alberta Energy Regulator said it happened about 15 kilometres southeast of the town of Rainbow Lake and that "salt/produced water" spilled into a low-lying wetland.

Husky spokeswoman Dawn Delaney said in a statement that the spill has been contained.

"Cleanup efforts continue, including the use of pumps and vacuum trucks. There have been no observed impacts to wildlife and fencing is in place to keep wildlife from the area," she said.

"Husky’s first priority is the safety of its people and the protection of the environment in the communities we operate in. We are undertaking a thorough investigation of this incident."

Husky initially reported a spill of 500,000 litres to the regulator, but Delaney said the amount was increased after an initial investigation.

The energy regulator has not confirmed the amount spilled or determined a cause, said spokesman Jordan Fitzgerald.

"The AER reviews the cause and circumstances of each incident," he said in a statement.

"If we determine that Husky is not in compliance with our requirements, we have a number of compliance and enforcement tools to bring them back into compliance."

That could include a warning, fine or prosecution.

In July 2016, a Husky pipeline spilled diluted heavy oil into the North Saskatchewan River, harming fish and wildlife and forcing three Saskatchewan cities to shut off their water intakes for almost two months.

Forty per cent of the 225,000 litres that spilled got into the major waterway near Maidstone, Sask.

The company was fined $3.8 million last year after it pleaded guilty to three environmental charges.

Cenovus Energy announced on the weekend that it had reached a deal to buy Husky for $3.8 billion in shares, which would make it the third-largest Canadian oil and gas producer by total output.

— By Lauren Krugel in Calgary

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 28, 2020.

Global economic rebound at risk from rising coronavirus cases: Reuters poll

By Shrutee Sarkar 

© Reuters/DADO RUVIC FILE PHOTO: George Washington is seen with printed medical masks on a U.S. dollar near Euro banknotes in this illustration

BENGALURU (Reuters) - There is a high risk the resurgence in coronavirus cases halts the global economic recovery by year-end, according to Reuters polls of around 500 economists, a majority of whom expected the rebound next year to be weaker than previously thought.

Governments and central banks around the world have pledged trillions of dollars of stimulus, helping most economies out of deep recessions. But a second wave of infections in places that eased lockdowns is now underway, leading to more restrictions.

That was a top risk repeatedly highlighted by Reuters surveys of economists, FX analysts, bond and equity strategists, as well as global fund managers since the start of the pandemic.

The Oct. 6-27 Reuters polls of economists across Asia, Europe and the Americas covering 46 economies showed scant sign of activity recovering to pre-COVID-19 levels anytime soon.

Nearly three-quarters of 150 analysts who responded to an additional question said the resurgence in coronavirus cases posed a high risk of halting the current global economic recovery as early as this year.

"Even before the renewed lockdowns there was already a broad acceptance that many countries will see a permanently lower level of GDP than they would have done in the absence of the pandemic," noted Janet Henry, global chief economist at HSBC.

"Higher unemployment and higher debt appear inevitable but there are also implications for equality, long-term growth potential and financial stability."

Median growth forecasts for over 65% of those 46 economies were downgraded or left unchanged for 2020 and nearly 60% of those for 2021. The range of forecasts also reveals mostly lower lows and lower highs.

For a Reuters poll graphic on global 2020 GDP forecast revisions: https://graphics.reuters.com/GLOBAL-ECONOMY/POLL/xegvblekxvq

For a Reuters poll graphic on global 2021 GDP forecast revisions: https://graphics.reuters.com/GLOBAL-ECONOMY/POLL/azgpojlbzvd

In the meantime, there is no sign of the pandemic letting up anytime soon. The United States, Russia, France and many other countries have registered record numbers of cases in recent days, and European governments introduced new curbs.

The global economy was expected to grow 5.3% next year after shrinking 4.0% this year, a touch higher than the International Monetary Fund's projection of 5.2% for 2021.

But nearly 80% of economists, or 119 of 150, said a weaker global recovery than previously thought was the greater risk in 2021, rather than a vigorous rebound or a renewed downturn.

For many major economies, it's been whiplash: plunging into the deepest contraction on record, then growing at the fastest pace ever, only to face trouble once again during the current quarter.

"For economies it has literally been a roller coaster, from the blissful ignorance and denial in Q1, to the lockdowns and economic implosion in Q2 and the reversal of restrictions fuelling a rebound in economic activity in Q3," said Stefan Koopman, senior market economist at Rabobank.

"Unfortunately Q4 also comes with renewed virus challenges. Economically speaking, we might have to bridge another 6 months or more before a vaccine can offer substantial relief and should weigh heavily on activity in the near term. Particularly as we may face some fatigue in terms of offsetting stimulus measures."

Despite expectations for further monetary stimulus in the euro zone and Britain, and another round of U.S. fiscal support, the economic outlook was subdued in the latest polls, with the fresh rise in coronavirus cases the biggest risk to their recoveries.

For Japan, economists said the government needs to pledge a third stimulus package to shore up an economy hammered by the pandemic, while the Australian and Canadian economies were predicted to grow at a much weaker pace than previously thought.

China, the world's second-largest economy, was projected to grow 8.4% in 2021, in stark contrast to much weaker recoveries everywhere else. But some economists outside China expected a much lower figure and said many forecasts do not capture the real extent of the economic hit.

Most other emerging market economies were expected to struggle this year and next.

"Emerging market economies are leaving behind the worst of their COVID-19-related economic contractions, even if infection cases continue to increase in a number of countries, notably India," noted Ajay Rajadhyaksha, head of macro research at Barclays.

"In aggregate, EM economies no longer have a growth advantage over the advanced economies."

(Reporting by Shrutee Sarkar; Analysis and graphics by Indradip Ghosh; Polling by the Reuters Polls team in Bengaluru and bureaus in Shanghai, Tokyo, London, Istanbul, Johannesburg, and Buenos Aires; Editing by Ross Finley and Hugh Lawson)

Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US


BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Trump administration officials on Thursday stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The U.S. Department of Interior announcement just days ahead of the Nov. 3 election could lead to resumption of wolf hunts in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin -- a crucial battleground in the campaign between President Donald Trump and former Vice-President Joe Biden.

It's the latest in a series of administration actions on the environment that appeal to key blocs of rural voters in the race’s final days, including steps to allow more mining in Minnesota and logging in Alaska.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz, who opposes recreational wolf hunting, called the decision disappointing and wildlife advocacy groups pledged to fight it in court.

Both feared and revered by people, gray wolves have recovered from near extinction in parts of the country but remain absent from much of their historical range.

Federal wildlife officials contend thriving populations in the western Great Lakes region, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest ensure the species' long-term survival. They argue it’s not necessary for wolves to be in every place they once inhabited to be considered recovered.

In an announcement attended by several dozen people at a national wildlife refuge overlooking the Minnesota River in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt declared the gray wolf's recovery “a milestone of success."

“In the early part of the 20th century the gray wolf had essentially become a ghost throughout the United States," Bernhardt said. “That is not the case today."

Former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director Dan Ashe agreed that wolves were recovered and said it's time for the agency to “move on" to help other imperiled wildlife. But he questioned the announcement coming so close to the election.

“It creates the perception that it's being done for political reasons," Ashe said in an interview.

Some biologists and former government officials who previously reviewed the administration’s proposal for lifting protections said it lacked scientific justification. And wildlife advocates worry the move will make it harder, if not impossible, for wolves to recover in more regions, such as the southern Rocky Mountains and portions of the Northeast.

Their numbers also are sure to drop in the western Great Lakes area, as happened previously when federal controls were lifted, said Adrian Treves, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin. Hunting seasons took their toll and research showed that poachers were emboldened by the absence of federal enforcement, he said.

Agency scientists believe wolves can continue expanding even without the federal listing, although support from states is considered crucial.

Farmers and hunters welcomed the news.

Ashleigh Calaway of Pittsville, Wisconsin said 13 of her family farm's sheep were killed by wolves in July of 2019. Reducing wolf numbers through state-sponsored hunts would help prevent such attacks, she said.

“It's allowing them to be managed to a level to lower the risk to sheep and cattle," Calaway said. 

FARMERS USING PUBLIC LANDS FOR GRAZING THAT THEY DON'T PAY FOR INFRINGE ON WOLF AND OTHER PREDATORS TERRITORY

The decision keeps protections for a small population of Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest. It's the latest attempt over two decades to return management authority to the states. Courts have frequently rejected such moves after opponents filed lawsuits.

Environmental groups said protections are still needed to shield small populations of wolves in West Coast states, including California, and to help them expand to new areas.

“Instead of pursuing further wolf recovery, the Fish and Wildlife Service has just adopted the broadest, most destructive delisting rule yet," said Collette Adkins with the Center for Biological Diversity.

An initiative on the Colorado ballot next week seeks to reintroduce wolves there in coming years. With federal protections removed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would have no say about moving ahead with the plan, if voters approve it.

Wolves were wiped out across most of the U.S. by the 1930s under government-sponsored poisoning and trapping campaigns. A remnant population in the western Great Lakes region has since expanded to some 4,400 animals in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

More than 2,000 occupy six states in the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest after wolves from Canada were reintroduced in Idaho and Yellowstone National Park beginning 25 years ago.

Following a protracted courtroom battle that ended when Congress intervened, the Northern Rockies wolves are now under state management and are hunted in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

State officials also allowed hunting of Great Lakes wolves for several years last decade when protections were removed. The hunts ended when protections were restored under a 2014 federal court order.

Wolves were given initial federal protections in the late 1960s and listed as an endangered species in 1978, except in Minnesota where they were classified as threatened. A government-sponsored recovery effort had cost roughly $160 million as of last year.

The wolves lose protection 60 days after the decision is published Nov. 3 in the Federal Register, although the wildlife service will continue monitoring their populations for five years.

Wolves have never been legally protected in Alaska, which has a population of 7,000 to 11,000.

___

Flesher reported from Traverse City, Michigan, and Brown from Billings, Montana.

Matthew Brown, John Flesher And Jim Mone, The Associated Press

CANADA

Ethics watchdog clears Morneau of accepting gift from WE Charity


OTTAWA — The federal ethics watchdog has cleared former finance minister Bill Morneau of failing to disclose a gift from WE Charity.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

In a letter to Morneau, ethics commissioner Mario Dion says he accepts that the former minister "genuinely believed" he had paid for the entire cost of two trips he and family members took in 2017 to view WE's humanitarian projects in Ecuador and Kenya.

As soon as Morneau became aware last summer that WE had in fact covered $41,000 worth of expenses for the trips, Dion says he reimbursed the charity.

Because he immediately took "the appropriate corrective measures," Dion concludes: "I am of the view that you did not accept a gift from WE Charity."

Craig Kielburger, who co-founded WE with his brother, Marc, hailed Dion's decision, saying in a statement that “we have always maintained that these trips were done in good faith and welcome this important clarification of the facts.”

Morneau reimbursed the money shortly before testifying on the WE affair at the House of Commons finance committee in July.

Dion says WE's invitation to view the projects was intended to encourage Morneau's wife to donate to the charity. He accepts Morneau's explanation that he was not involved in her subsequent choice to make two large donations through the family foundation.

While he's dropping his probe into this aspect of the former minister's conduct, Dion says he continues to investigate whether Morneau breached the Conflict of Interest Act by failing to recuse himself from the cabinet decision to pay WE Charity $43.5 million to manage a since-cancelled student grant program.

Dion is also investigating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's failure to recuse himself, despite his own family's close ties to WE.

WE's involvement in the student services grant triggered immediate controversy when announced in late June. WE withdrew from the program a few days later and the program was eventually cancelled.

In what Kielburger called a further effort to correct "inaccurate information" about the charity promulgated by opposition parties and the media, WE released Thursday the results of what it said were investigations by non-partisan experts into the charity's overall conduct and into the student grant program in particular.

WE said the reports were commissioned by the Stillman Foundation, a U.S.-based charity.

Matt Torigian, former deputy solicitor general of Ontario, concluded the government asked WE to submit a proposal, considered the ability of other organizations to run the program and its ultimate choice of WE was "not predetermined."

After reviewing all the organization's finances, forensic accountant Al Rosen dismissed suggestions that the charity was in dire financial straits before being awarded the contract or that there were financial irregularities in its operations from which the Kielburger brothers stood to benefit.

“These financial findings stand in stark contrast to many public allegations launched against the organization by members of Parliament, Canadian media, and select critics,” Rosen wrote.

Morneau resigned abruptly from politics in August, as the WE affair continued to engulf the government. There were also reports of tensions between Morneau and Trudeau over massive spending on pandemic relief.

The following day, Trudeau prorogued Parliament for six weeks — a move opposition parties charged was intended to shut down committee investigations into the WE affair.

Since Parliament's resumption in September, the Liberals have been filibustering opposition attempts to reopen those committee investigations.

However, there is no mention of the WE affair in a report to Parliament explaining the decision to prorogue — a new requirement introduced by the Trudeau government ostensibly to prevent abuse of the prorogation procedure.

The report echoes Trudeau's explanation at the time, that the government needed to prorogue in order to come back with a throne speech outlining its plan for coping with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and rebuilding the shattered economy.

"Five and a half months into this pandemic — the greatest challenge Canadians have faced since the Second World War — the people of Canada deserved to know that the federal government had a bold and comprehensive plan to get them through whatever challenge would come next," the report says.

"In order for this to be the case, our government was duty-bound and honour-bound to ensure we had the continued confidence of the House of Commons. We needed to outline a clear, realistic plan on which parliamentarians would have the opportunity to vote.

"This was the only clear and transparent way to ensure that the federal government could continue to provide the support on which Canadians were relying."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2020.

Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said former finance minister Bill Morneau became aware in August that WE Charity had in fact covered $41,000 worth of expenses for the trips. It was in July.

New ‘black neutron star’ stuns astronomers with its spectacular death

By Josh K. Elliott Global News
Posted June 24, 2020

Artistic rendering of the GW190814 event, in which a smaller compact object is swallowed by a nine-times-more-massive black-hole. Alex Andrix via EGO

VIDEO https://vimeo.com/413180380

What happens when a star dies?

Astronomers thought they had it all figured out. A dying star either fades into a simmering white dwarf, explodes and then shrinks into a super-dense neutron star or collapses into an all-consuming black hole, depending on its mass.

However, gravitational waves detected last year suggest that a black hole may have devoured an extremely rare form of dead star — one that was heavier than a neutron star, but lighter than the lightest black hole.

Astronomers say this mystery object is the first they’ve ever seen in the “mass gap” between their definitions of neutron star and black hole. That means it might be some sort of black neutron star or — to borrow the title of a Soundgarden song — a black hole sun.

Researchers detected the object’s demise last August through the U.S.-based LIGO antenna and Virgo, a similar project in Italy for monitoring the gravitational waves of huge nearby objects in space. The cosmic event sent out ripples in space-time some 780 million years ago that included hints about the mystery object’s size, according to the findings published Tuesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Scientists had suspected that objects like this one might exist, but they’d never seen one before. Now they’ll have more information to go looking elsewhere for similar objects.

“We’ve been waiting decades to solve this mystery,” study co-author Vicky Kalogera, of Northwestern University, said in a news release from LIGO. “We don’t know if this object is the heaviest known neutron star or the lightest known black hole, but either way it breaks a record.”

READ MORE: Big Bang 2: Black hole creates biggest space explosion since time began

Stars and black holes are measured in terms of their size relative to our sun — a unit called solar mass. The largest-known neutron stars have a maximum solar mass of 2.5, while the smallest black holes start at a solar mass of five.

The mystery object had a solar mass of about 2.6, placing it in that theoretical in-between zone. It was devoured by a black hole with a solar mass of 23, and together they formed an even bigger black hole that sent invisible gravitational waves rippling toward Earth. Astronomers labelled the event “GW190814.”

The discovery could transform scientists’ understanding of space and the way massive binary objects come together and circle one another, according to Charlie Hoy, a PhD student at Cardiff University who was part of the study.

“We can’t rule out any possibilities,” Hoy told BBC News. “We don’t know what it is and this is why it is so exciting, because it really does change our field.”

Patrick Brady, a professor and spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, said the discovery should help scientists spot more of these “mass gap” objects in the future.

“The mass gap may in fact not exist at all, but may have been due to limitations in observational capabilities,” he said in the LIGO news release. “Time and more observations will tell.”

Researchers say the event was hard to see via telescopes because the two objects would not have shone any light. The smaller object also likely wouldn’t have gone out with a bang because the black hole probably devoured it all at once.

“I think of Pac-Man eating a little dot,” Kalogera said. “When the masses are highly asymmetric, the smaller neutron star can be eaten in one bite.”


READ MORE: Why a blurry picture of a black hole matters

Hoy says the findings will help LIGO and Virgo scientists fine-tune their instruments so they can see more such events.

The scientists behind the discovery did not provide a new classification for the mysterious object — but whatever they eventually choose, it’ll make for a good band name in the future.

The LIGO facility first detected gravitational waves in 2016, confirming a key theoretical part of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. The U.S.-based LIGO and Virgo, in Italy, have detected dozens of gravitational waves since that first discovery.

3:44 Scientists discusses how proof of gravitational waves was discovered

Each wave is generated by a grand cosmic event, such as the collision of two black holes or — in last year’s case — a black hole eating something that doesn’t fit into an existing category. The waves are sent out in the seconds before two huge space objects collide with one another.

University of Chicago professor Daniel Holz, who was not part of the study, told the New York Times that the discovery is incredible because black holes and neutron stars are “polar opposites” in a sense.

“A neutron star is composed of the densest matter in the universe, and in some sense is the ultimate star,” he told the Times. “A black hole is just warped space time. It doesn’t even have a physical surface!”

2:32 Scientists confirm first direct evidence of gravitational waves

Holz, who is a member of the LIGO collaboration, said that in one way, black holes aren’t even part of our universe because nothing can ever escape them.

“What is astounding is that, despite their profound differences, in this particular case we can’t tell which is which,” he said.

“Lots of theorists are now sharpening their pencils to try to explain what we’ve seen.”

GLOBAL VIDEOS 

https://globalnews.ca/news/7102112/black-neutron-star-ligo-hole/

Can Liberty Oil maverick's corporate culture survive the U.S. shale bust?

By Liz Hampton 

© Reuters/ANTHONY ANDORA Handout photo of Chris Wright

DENVER (Reuters) - Chris Wright stands out as an oilman who might be more at home in Silicon Valley than the shale fields of North Dakota.

A mountain climber and Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate who stationed his oilfield firm in Denver, he saw opportunity in the high employee turnover at hydraulic fracturing providers. 

Nine years later, Wright is running the second-biggest fracking company in North America and preparing for a battle to keep the unconventional culture he has built at Liberty Oilfield Services Inc . The challenge will be to maintain its free-wheeling style while grappling with a major acquisition and the oil industry's worst bust.

 In September, Wright bought Schlumberger's North American frack business by swapping a 37% stake in Liberty. The deal puts Liberty second in the U.S. behind Halliburton Co in what was a $20 billion-a-year market before the coronavirus crushed global fuel demand, according to estimates from consultancy Spears & Associates.

Liberty and rival fracking firms have been hit hard. U.S. shale oil companies have cut budgets up to 30%, halting most new drilling and pushing several oilfield firms out of the business.

Just a third of the multimillion dollar frack fleets working in the top U.S. shale field before March are still active, estimates consultancy Primary Vision.

 Liberty reported a $49 million third-quarter loss as revenue fell 71% from a year-earlier to $147.5 million.

HIGH ENERGY BOSS

Wright combines tech savvy and a wildcatter's passion for the oil business, said employees and executives familiar with the company. His downtown Denver headquarters echoes tech startups with industry get-togethers, ping pong tables and craft beer on tap, unlike the sprawling corporate campuses at larger rivals Schlumberger and Halliburton.

"The main advantage of any company is culture," Wright said in an interview in which he choked up when discussing staff cuts.

Wright must battle to keep Liberty's distinctive corporate style as hundreds of Schlumberger workers join the business. Schlumberger staff waiting to hear who will be transferred to Liberty are enthused at the prospect, said one.

Wright made a media splash last year when he drank fracking fluid on a radio talk show to demonstrate it was not dangerous. 

A CORPORATE SHILL DID THAT WITH DDT TRYING TO PROVE RACHEL CARSON WRONG

His teams are well respected in the industry.

"They hire go-getters,” said an employee at another oilfield services firm who has worked alongside Liberty but could not be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media. "They were extremely innovative," the person said.

Customers liked his hands-on approach after the deal to buy Schumberger was announced. He sent individual video messages to customers, and then spent the next day addressing employees and explaining the deal - something that impressed customers, according said Maynard Holt, CEO at investment banker Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co, who attended one of Wright's town halls following the deal.

His leadership style, "high personal connectivity, passion, opinions based on real analysis, energetic," said Holt, which stand out among energy executives.

STANDOUT RETURNS

Wright formed Liberty in 2011 after struggling to secure efficient services for his shale production business. He became convinced there would be strong demand for a company that could keep experienced staff through the industry's boom-bust cycles.

"If we have low turnover and good culture, we'll be much better" than existing suppliers, he recalled thinking. He set out to build a tolerant team culture that would keep people, which includes flexible working policies.

Liberty has generated "some of the best if not the best full-cycle returns in the business," said James West, a senior managing director at investment firm Evercore ISI. Liberty has stayed "on the leading edge of efficiency gains and technology prowess" under Wright, said West.

The company's return on invested capital averaged 27% between 2012 and 2019, estimates West, compared with 11% for the Philadelphia Oilfield Service Index <.OSX>. 

           SURPLUS VALUE  

Return on revenue per employee was $794,866 in 2019, according to data from Refinitiv, versus $389,704 at larger rival Halliburton.

PAINFUL YEAR

Wright got through the 2008 and 2016 oil downturns without cutting staff. He pledged at the time to do his utmost to avoid layoffs, recalled his mother, Gayla Wright, in an interview.

"I'll cut whatever it takes to pay those people," he confided to her during the 2008 price rout.

But this year, the industry's worst downturn has forced deep cuts. Facing a 90% decline in revenues as producers pulled back spending, Wright and other executives cut their pay 30%, then halved staffing on its frack fleets.

Chad Crofford, who lost his job in April after about three years as a Liberty employee, said he harbors no ill will and believes Wright's values made his stay worthwhile.

"It's more of a family than a company," he said. "With Chris, you can really tell he has his heart in it," said Crofford. 

THE GIG ECONOMY SOCIAL ECOLOGY IS POST MODERN PATERNALISTIC OWENISM 

After leaving the company, Crofford wrote to Wright and thanked him for the opportunity to work at Liberty and was recently hired back on.

Wright, who at age 27 started his first company, a technology firm that mapped underground fractures for oil producers, said he does not underestimate the difficulties ahead.

"I'm going to age more than one year next year," Wright, now 55, said. "It's going to be a challenge."

(Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver; editing by Gary McWilliams and Marguerita Choy)

Two ‘murder hornet’ queens captured in Washington state sting

By Josh K. Elliott Global News
Posted October 29, 2020 


WATCH: Washington State authorities captured two Asian giant hornet queens, known as "murder hornets," on Wednesday, four days after officials eradicated the first nest found in Blaine, just south of the Canadian border, on Oct. 24 

https://globalnews.ca/news/7429274/murder-hornet-queen-nest/

God save the queens — for research purposes.

Wildlife officials in Washington have captured two so-called “murder hornet” queens, following a major operation to wipe out the invasive species’ first known nest in the United States.

You might even call the operation a “sting,” as it took a bit of subterfuge to finally capture the Asian giant hornet queens. Entomologists trapped three hornet drones last week, then tagged them with radio trackers and followed them back to their nest.

The nest was located inside a tree in Blaine, Wash., just south of the border with British Columbia.

State wildlife officials wrapped the tree in plastic and vacuumed up the colony on Oct. 24, then toppled the tree on Wednesday to dig the queen out of hiding.

1:25 Scientists remove 98 murder hornets from Washington state nest near B.C. border

https://globalnews.ca/news/7429274/murder-hornet-queen-nest/

Entomologists actually found two queens inside the nest, the Washington State Department of Agriculture says. The queens were either two “virgins” preparing to strike out and found their own colonies, or one virgin and one old queen who may have spawned the nest.

Officials shared video of the captured queens on Wednesday. The video shows the two black-and-yellow, thumb-sized behemoths crawling around inside separate glass vials.

Two captive Asian giant hornet queens are shown in Washington state on Oct. 28, 2020. Washington State Department of Agriculture

Entomologists captured 13 live hornets in addition to the queens. They also killed 85 more by sucking them up with high-tech vacuums.

Asian giant hornets are native to China and Japan but they started spreading into North America last year, sparking fear that they might decimate vulnerable honey bee hives in the U.S. and Canada. The first ones were spotted near Nanaimo, B.C., in August 2019.

The insects were nicknamed “murder hornets” earlier this year, and that name is well-deserved. A handful of the armoured hornets can wipe out an entire honeybee colony in an afternoon, slaughtering the bees one by one while shrugging off hundreds of stings. The hornets then capture the honeybees’ young and bring them back to the nest for food.

READ MORE: Asian giant hornet is death on wings for bees in North America

Murder hornets are relatively huge when compared to the bees they prey upon. Each one measures four to five centimetres (1.5 to 2 inches) long, and has a toxic stinger that can cause excruciating pain for humans. One victim described the sting as a “red-hot thumbtack” earlier this year.

Their heads are completely yellow with two big, black eyes. Their bodies are black and their abdomens are striped black and yellow.

This handout chart shows the Asian giant hornet compared to other North American insects. Washington State Department of Agriculture

The hornets do not pose a major threat to humans, despite their threatening nickname. They are unlikely to sting unless they feel the nest is threatened; dozens of people die in Asia each year after stumbling upon a nest without protection

Washington entomologists wore state-of-the-art suits to deal with the hornets this week. Their puffy white outfits looked like a cross between a spacesuit and a hazmat suit, and were designed to protect them from swarms of stinging murder hornets.

Entomologists hold a canister containing dozens of Asian giant hornets after eradicating a nest in Washington state on Oct. 24, 2020. Washington State Department of Agriculture

Wildlife officials are hailing the operation as a good first step in the fight against the Asian giant hornet.

Officials in the U.S. and Canada have been setting traps for the hornets along the West Coast since last year.

1:27 Why arrival of ‘Murder hornet’ in North America could cause danger for bees, concerns for humans https://globalnews.ca/news/7429274/murder-hornet-queen-nest/

The first confirmed nest in Canada was wiped out last fall on Vancouver Island.

Anyone who sees one of the Asian giant hornets in B.C. is urged to immediately contact the Invasive Species Council of B.C. at 1-888-933-3722, or submit information through its website.