Intelligence report predicts COVID-19 could cause long-term inequality, division


The National Intelligence Council's 2040 Global Trends report predicted that long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic could include increased political division and global inequality. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo




April 8 (UPI) -- The COVID-19 pandemic has caused potential long-term effects including deepening global inequality and driving political division, according to a U.S. intelligence report released Thursday.

The National Intelligence Council's Global Trends report, issued every four years, predicts a possible future in which people clash over resources, governments struggle to meet the needs of their citizens and people live in increasingly fragmented communities by 2040.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political and security implications that will ripple for years to come," said the council, a center in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that releases forecasts based on U.S. spy agencies.

It noted that the pandemic is "slowing and possibly reversing some longstanding trends in human development," while the response to the pandemic has fueled partisanship and polarization as people "argue over the best way to respond and seek scapegoats to blame for spreading the virus and for slow responses."

As a result, the report predicts that people are likely to "gravitate to information silos of people who share similar views, reinforcing beliefs and understanding of the truth."

In addition to the pandemic, the report also warns that the physical effects from climate change, sea level rise and extreme weather events "will impact every country."

Technology is also expected to remain an integral role in daily life, with artificial intelligence emerging as a tool that will "benefit almost every aspect of life" accompanied with steep risks regarding civil liberties.

"Privacy and anonymity may effectively disappear by choice or government mandate, as all aspects of personal and professional lives are tracked by global networks," the report says. "Real-time, manufactured or synthetic media could further distort truth and reality, destabilizing societies at a scale and speed that dwarfs current disinformation challenges.

The report also envisions various scenarios including one where the United States rises to a new era of global leadership along with its European allies, fueled by the global distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, while Russia and China struggle with internal issues as their brightest minds leave to other nations.

Another scenario presents the United States falling from its status as a global power amid a global environmental crisis and food shortages, while the European Union works with China and the United Nations to strengthen international aid and sustainability.

The report notes that the international system is currently "poorly set up to address the compounding global challenges facing populations" but says the pandemic may also provide the spark to correct these issues.

"COVID-19 could also lead to redirection of national budgets toward pandemic response and economic recovery, diverting funds from defense expenditures, foreign aid and infrastructure programs in some countries, at least in the near term," the report states.

U.S. targets Myanmar's gemstone industry to cut funds from junta




The United States government on Thursday imposed further sanctions targeting the finances of Myanmar's military. Photo by Xiao Long/UPI | License Photo

April 8 (UPI) -- The United States on Thursday imposed additional punitive sanctions targeting the Myanmar junta over its usurpation of the government and its bloody crackdown on those who protest its coup.

The Treasury said in a statement it was sanctioning state-owned Myanma Gems Enterprise, which is responsible for all gemstone activities in the country.

Gemstones are a key economic resource for the military regime, it said.

"Today's actions highlights Treasury's commitment to denying the Burmese military sources of funding, including form key state-owned enterprises throughout Burma," Andrea Gacki, director of the Office of the Foreign Assets Control, said, referring to Myanmar by its older name.

The sanctions, which freeze all property and assets under Myanma Gems Enterprise name while barring U.S. citizens from doing business with it, were imposed under Executive Order 14014 for it being a political instrument of the Myanmar government.

The Treasury said the enterprise, operated under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, is responsible for managing the mining and marketing of jade and other gems.

"By imposing targeted sanctions on this entity, we are sending a clear signal to the military that the United States will keep increasing pressure on the regime's revenue streams until it ceases its violence, releases all those unjustly detained, lifts martial law and the nationwide state of emergency, removes telecommunications restrictions and restores Burma to the path of democracy," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The United States has repeatedly imposed targeted punitive sanctions against Myanmar military units, companies and generals in response to their ousting of democratically elected officials to usurp control of the country on Feb. 1.

Since the coup, protests that have raged nationwide in opposition have been confronted with escalating military violence, resulting in hundreds of deaths and arrests, including more than 100 people on March 27.

According to Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 614 people have been killed by the state, including 16 in the past two days. More than 2,850 people have also been detained by security forces since the coup, it said.

The European Union, Canada, Britain and other countries have also imposed sanctions against Myanmar.

Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged the EU to impose additional sanctions against military officials and military-owned companies after EU High Representative Joseph Borrell said further sanctions would be coming.

The rights organization asked for the sanctions to target the country's oil and gas sector as it is the greatest source or revenues for the country.

In the letter to the EU, the organization called for international governments to design coordinated measures to block payments to the junta and state-owned enterprises from foreign-financed oil and gas projects.

"EU Condemnation and efforts to advance accountability and justice for grave, widespread and systematic abuses by the military junta are welcome and important, yet words and partial steps are not enough," it said. "Additional sanctions are urgently needed."

Late Thursday, the ambassadors to Myanmar from Australia, Canada, the EU, Czech Republic, Denmark, the United States and 12 other nations issued a joint statement in support of the protesters and in condemnation of those who were killed, saying they are "humbled by their courage and dignity."

"We are united to accompany the grief of their families and friends. We stand together to support the hopes and aspirations of all those who believe in a free, just, peaceful and democratic Myanmar, where the rights and the potential of all people can be fully respected and developed," the countries said in a joint statement. "Violence has to stop, all political detainees must be released and democracy should be restored."

Biden proposes 6.3% boost for NASA 

in budget proposal


Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building the solid rocket boosters are stacked and waiting to be mated to the core stage of NASA's Space Launch System rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 24. President Joe Biden is proposing a 6.3% increase in funding for NASA in 2022. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo

April 9 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden is seeking $24.7 billion for NASA in his 2022 budget released Friday, boosting funding for the agency's Artemis program as well as weather and climate efforts.

The budget request represents a 6.3% increase over the $23.27 billion funding NASA received in the 2021 fiscal year.

Steve Jurczyk, NASA's acting administrator, said the funding demonstrates Biden's "commitment to NASA and its partners who have worked so hard this past year under difficult circumstances and achieved unprecedented success."

"The president's discretionary request increases NASA's ability to better understand Earth and further monitor and predict the impacts of climate change."

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The 58-page budet request, which is light on specifics, includes $6.9 billion for the human exploration program, such as the Artemis program. The program was created in 2017 by the Trump administration with the stated goal of returning Americans to the moon by 2024.

NASA officials see the mission as laying the groundwork for eventual human exploration of Mars.

Since Artemis' inception, the goal has been to include the first woman to walk on the moon. For the first time Friday, Jurczyk said the mission also plans to send the first person of color.

Biden's budget "gives us the necessary resources to continue advancing America's bipartisan moon to Mars space exploration plan, including landing the first woman and first person of color on the moon under the Artemis program."

Included in the budget was $2.3 billion for NASA's earth science program to fund the "next generation of earth-observing satellites" to study climate.

Also targeting climate issues is $2 billion in funding for weather satellite programs to improve weather and climate forecasts for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The space technology program would get $1.4 billion to grow the commercial space industry and research to develop clean energy.

And $147 million is slated for NASA's education initiative STEM Engagement, which seeks to attract underrepresented students in STEM fields.

"We know this funding increase comes at a time of constrained resources, and we owe it to the president and the American people to be good and responsible stewards of every tax dollar invested in NASA," Jurczyk said.

 

Biden administration won't shut down Dakota Access Pipeline during environmental review

April 9 (UPI) -- The Biden administration on Friday indicated in court it will not shut down operation of the Dakota Access Pipeline while it conducts an environmental review.

U.S. government lawyer Ben Schifman told the court the Army Corps of Engineers "is essentially in a continuous process of evaluating" the project, according to CNN

He said the decision to continue use of the pipeline may change in the future pending "continuing discretion."

Jan Hasselman, an attorney for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which opposes the pipeline on environmental grounds, said he was "deeply disappointed."

"The company gets to keep the benefits of operating the pipeline that was never properly authorized while the community has to bear the risks," he said. "It's not right. It's a continuation of a terrible history."

Judge James Boasberg said he'd evaluate the tribe's request that the pipeline be halted, The Hill reported.

The Dakota Access Pipeline, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer, runs nearly 1,200 miles from oil fiends in North Dakota, south through South Dakota and Iowa, ending in Illinois. It was completed in 2017 despite protests and lawsuits brought by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

COMMODITY FETISH

Superman's 1938 first appearance sells for a record $3.25M

April 7 (UPI) -- A 1938 comic book featuring the first appearance ofSuperman sold for a record-breaking $3.25 million in an auction.

Online auction house ComicConnect.com said Action Comics #1, which bore a price of only 10 cents when it was released in 1938, fetched a high bid of $3.25 million, setting a new record for the highest price paid for a comic book.

The auction house said the seller had purchased the comic three years ago for a sum that was $1 million less than what it sold for in the auction.

Vincent Zurzolo, co-owner of ComicConnect, said in a news release that the comic is in "near-pristine condition," making it an especially rare find for collectors

Temps hit 38 below zero in Alaskan city, setting new April record

By Jessica Storm, AccuWeather, Accuweather.com

April 10 (UPI) -- A historic cold blast settling into Alaska this week will send temperatures plummeting far below zero, which could topple century-old low-temperature records in one city and even a longstanding state record.

The severe cold comes at a time when Alaska normally starts to thaw out from brutal winter weather.

"April is typically the time of year when Alaska is steadily climbing out of the Arctic's icy grip, with average high temperatures rising 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit from the beginning of the month to the end in places such as Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Fairbanks and Anchorage," AccuWeather meteorologist Renee Duff said.

High temperatures in Anchorage, Alaska, usually start April in the upper 30s, before reaching the lower 50s by the end of the month. Fairbanks rivals this spring warmup average by rising from the mid-30s in early April and ending up near the mid-50s by the last day of the month.

"But that has been far from the truth so far this month, with temperatures running close to 18 degrees below normal month-to-date in Fairbanks," Duff said.

Anchorage set a daily record low of 9 degrees on Thursday. The previous record low for April 8 of 10 F was set back in 1986.

The cold air is also keeping snow from melting, which led to a new record Thursday. A snow depth of 24 inches was measured Thursday, the latest on record the snow has been that deep around Anchorage. The previous record came from 2011-2012 at the end of Anchorage's snowiest winter on record when 134.6 inches of snow fell. This year only 69.7 inches has been measured, which is below normal for the city. A normal total for April 8 is 71.8 inches.

It's been a topsy-turvy start to April in Fairbanks. The city began the month with a high of 11, and low temperatures that didn't reach above zero degrees. Around Easter, the city's temperatures nearly recovered, just a couple degrees below the average high, but this was short-lived as temperatures tanked again to fall below -20, despite average lows being around 15 degrees.

"The next three days will bring historic-level cold for this time of year to parts of mainland Alaska. The state record low for April of -50F (-45.6C) might be broken," Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks said on Twitter on Wednesday.

"A cold snap this extreme in April hasn't been experienced in the Fairbanks area since 1911, when three consecutive record lows were set from April 9-11," Duff said. Record lows are likely to be challenged during the latest cold wave, including Friday night's record of minus 32 F.

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Bettles, Alaska, recorded a temperature of -38 F at 6 a.m. Friday. This is a new all-time record low for the month of April, Thoman said. The previous record was -37 F set back on April 7, 1986. Thoman said climate observations at Bettles date back to May 1944. Bettles is located roughly 240 miles northwest of Fairbanks and is located near the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

"Also, -32 F is the all-time April low temperature on record in Fairbanks, which has a shot at being broken as well," the local National Weather Service office said on Twitter.

The temperature dipped to -16 F Friday morning in Fairbanks.

While Fairbanks usually sits at a high of 40 in early April, temperatures in the city didn't rise above 3 degrees on Friday, a whopping 37 degrees below normal. This broke the record for lowest maximum temperature on April 9th and was the latest in the season a single-digit high had occurred in the city, according to climatologist Brian Brettschneider. April 8 held the previous record, according to the NWS.

As of 1 a.m. local time Saturday, the city was sitting at -25 degrees, just 7 degrees shy of tying the all-time April low temperature.

Fairbanks is currently amid a record-setting stretch of days since it last surpassed the 40-degree mark. It has been 180 days since Fairbanks last was above 40 degrees. That record broke the previous mark of 176 days previously set from Oct. 3, 1965, to March 27, 1966. The city is expected to keep adding to the new record as temps remain below 40 into next week.

So why exactly are Alaska's temperatures plummeting in the middle of the spring? The answer can be found with the jet stream, an upper-level phenomenon that directs the atmosphere.

"A deep southward dip in the jet stream will allow extreme cold from the Arctic to invade mainland Alaska on Saturday, with temperatures expected to plunge 15-35 degrees Fahrenheit below normal," Duff said.

Temperatures will be more typical of the heart of winter than nearly the midpoint of meteorological spring.

High winds won't help with the cold at all. In fact, several areas of Alaska are under wind chill advisories on Thursday. Utqiaġvik, Alaska, had AccuWeather RealFeel Temperatures in the minus 30s Thursday night.

Howard Pass, Alaska, among other locations, experienced a wind chill of -74 degrees Thursday night as winds gust over 50 mph.

Residents of Alaska are being urged to take precautions when going outdoors.

"People spending any length of time outdoors will want to be sure to bundle up appropriately and leave no skin left exposed to lessen the risk of frostbite and hypothermia," Duff added.

By Sunday, temperatures may recover a bit as the core of the Arctic air is expected to slide eastward into the Yukon Territory of northwestern Canada.

"This unusually cold air mass will begin to turn southeastward into the Canadian Prairies and then into the northern U.S. Plains, likely sending temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below normal for the first half of next week," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Brett Anderson said.

For Alaska, there will be a major flip in the weather pattern. An area of high pressure will build over the Gulf of Alaska, ushering in milder air on southwesterly winds to the state.

"By Tuesday and Wednesday, much of interior Alaska may see temperatures as much as 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, which may translate to a 30-50 degree rise in temperatures for many locations," Anderson said.
ADVERTISE

TOXIC RED TIDE

Wastewater pumped into Tampa Bay could cause a massive algae bloom

By Larry Brand, University of Miami

4/9/2021


Red tide in recent years has killed large numbers of Florida’s manatees, a threatened species. Photo by David Hinkel/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

April 9 (UPI) -- Millions of gallons of water laced with fertilizer ingredients are being pumped into Florida's Tampa Bay from a leaking reservoir at an abandoned phosphate plant at Piney Point. As the water spreads into the bay, it carries phosphorus and nitrogen -- nutrients that under the right conditions can fuel dangerous algae blooms that can suffocate sea grass beds and kill fish, dolphins and manatees.

It's the kind of risk no one wants to see, but officials believed the other options were worse.

About 300 homes sit downstream from the 480 million-gallon reservoir, which began leaking in late March. State officials determined that pumping out the water was the only way to prevent the reservoir's walls from collapsing. They decided the safest location for all that water would be out through Port Manatee and into the bay.

Florida's coast is dotted with fragile marine sanctuaries and sea grass beds that help nurture the state's thriving marine and tourism economy. Those near Port Manatee now face a risk of algal blooms over the next few weeks. Once algae blooms get started, little can be done to clean them up.

RELATED Drone picks up potential second leak at Piney Point reservoir in Florida

The phosphate mining industry around Tampa is just one source of nutrients that can fuel dangerous algae blooms, which I study as a marine biologist. The sugarcane industry, cattle ranches, dairy farms and citrus groves all release nutrients that often flow into rivers and eventually into bays and the ocean. Sewage is another problem -- Miami and Fort Lauderdale, for example, have old sewage treatment systems with frequent pipe breaks that leak sewage into canals and coastal waters.

All can fuel harmful algal blooms that harm marine life and people. Overall, blooms are getting worse locally and globally.

Problem with algae blooms

RELATED Summer toxic algae blooms may be growing threat to health

Just down the coast from Port Manatee, the next three counties to the south have had algae blooms in recent weeks, including red tide, which produces a neurotoxin that feels like pepper spray if you breathe it in. Karenia brevis, a dinoflagellate, is the organism in red tide and produces the toxin.

This part of Florida's Gulf Coast is a hot spot for red tide, often fueled by agricultural runoff. A persistent red tide in 2017 and 2018 killed at least 177 manatees and left a trail of dead fish along the coast and into Tampa Bay. If the coastal currents carry today's red tide father north and into Tampa Bay, the toxic algae could thrive on the nutrients from Piney Point.

Even blooms that are not toxic are still dangerous to ecosystems. They cloud the water, cutting off light and killing the plants below. A large enough bloom can also reduce oxygen in the water. A lack of oxygen can kill off everything in the water, including the fish.

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This part of Florida has extensive sea grass meadows, about 2.2 million acres in all, which are important habitat for lots of species and serve as nurseries for shrimp, crabs and fish. Scientists have argued that sea grass is also a major carbon sink -- the grass sucks up carbon and pumps it down into the sediments.

Once the nutrients are in a large body of water, there isn't much that can be done to stop algae growth. Killing the algae would only release the nutrients again, putting the bay back where it started. Algae blooms can remain a problem for years, finally declining when a predator population develops to eats them, a viral disease spreads through the bloom or strong currents and mixing disperse the bloom.

Agriculture runoff

The phosphate mining industry around Tampa is a large source of nutrient-rich waste. On average, more than 5 tons of phosphogypsum waste are produced for every ton of phosphoric acid created for fertilizer. In Florida, that adds up to over 1 billion tons of radioactive waste material that can't be used, so it's stacked up and turned into reservoirs like the one now leaking at Piney Point.

The reservoirs are obvious in satellite photos of the region, and they can be highly acidic. To get the phosphate out of the minerals, the industry uses sulfuric acid, and it leaves behind a highly acid wastewater. There have been at least two cases where it ate through the limestone below a reservoir, creating huge sinkholes hundreds of feet deep and draining wastewater into the aquifer.

Since saltwater had previously been pumped into the Piney Point reservoir, acidity is less of an issue. That's because the seawater would buffer the pH. There is some radioactivity, but only slightly above regulatory standards, according to state Department of Environmental Protection, and probably not much of a health hazard.

But the nutrients are a risk. In 2004, water releases from the Piney Point reservoir contributed to an algae bloom in Bishop Harbor, just south of the current release site. In 2011, it released over 170 million gallons into Bishop Harbor again after a liner broke.

Another significant source of algae-feeding nutrients is agriculture, particularly cattle ranching and the sugarcane industry. Nutrient runoff from cattle ranches and dairy farms north of Lake Okeechobee end up in the lake. South of the lake, much of the northern third of the Everglades was converted to sugarcane farms, and those fields back-pumped runoff into the lake for decades until the state started cracking down in the 1980s. Their legacy nutrients are still in the lake.

The nutrient-rich water in the lake then pours down the Caloosahatchee River and into the Gulf of Mexico near Fort Myers, south of Tampa. That's likely feeding the current red tide off the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River.

When water from the Everglades region's agriculture is pumped south instead, huge blooms tend to appear in Florida Bay at the southern tip of the state. Some scientists believe it may be damaging coral reefs there, though there's debate about it. During times that flow of water from the farms increased, reefs throughout the Florida Keys have been harmed. Those reefs have become overgrown with algae.

With the current red tide, the coastal currents have carried it north as far as Sarasota. If they carry it farther north, it will run into the Piney Point area.

Larry Brand is a professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

 

Lightning strike destroys tree outside Wisconsin high school

April 9 (UPI) -- A security camera at a Wisconsin high school captured the moment a lightning strike destroyed a tree right outside the building.

Jennifer Johnson, the principal at Wautoma High School, said lightning struck the tree just as students were sitting down to take the ACT Aspire test at 8:25 a.m. Thursday.

"Initially, the students and staff were startled by the event; however, after realizing what had just happened, they were fascinated by the rare incident that occurred just feet from them," Johnson told WBAY-TV.

A video recorded by a school security camera shows the moment the tree was illuminated by the bolt of lightning before crashing to the ground in pieces.

Johnson said no one was injured and there was no damage to the property other than the destroyed tree.

RATHER AMAZING THE LIGHTENING ACTUALLY DISINTIGRATES THE TRUNK LEAVING THE BRANCHES TO FALL TO THE GROUND.

WE HAD LIGTHENING HIT AN ELM ON OUR BOULEVARD,. THE CRACK WAS SO LOUD IT SHOOK THE HOUSE AND KNOCK THINGS OFF SHELVES 

SURPRISINGLY THE TREE LIVES!

Dig uncovers 'Lost Golden City';

largest ancient city ever found in Egypt


An archaeological discovery, named the "Lost Golden City," is seen in Luxor, Egypt. Scientists say the city is 3,000 years old and excavation work to uncover it began last September. Photo by Zahi Hawass Center For Egyptology/EPA-EFE

April 9 (UPI) -- Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a 3,000-year-old city that dates back to the era of ruler Amenhotep III, one of the country's most powerful pharaohs who reigned for almost four decades in the 1300s B.C.

Egyptian officials, who announced the find on Thursday, are calling the discovery in the southern province of Luxor the "Lost Golden City." The city is also known as Aten.

Betsy Brian, a Johns Hopkins University egyptologist, calls the significance of the find second only to the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922.

"The discovery of the Lost City, not only will give us a rare glimpse into the life of the Ancient Egyptians at the time where the Empire was at its wealthiest but will help us shed light on one of history's greatest mystery: Why did Akhenaten and Nefertiti decide to move to Amarna?" Brian said, according to ABC News.

RELATED Analysis of King Tut's treasure shows aesthetic influence of Levant

After seven months of excavation, the mission led by former Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass found neighborhoods of the city. The mission's initial objective was to find a mortuary temple of King Tut.

Hawass said the find was the largest ancient city ever uncovered in Egypt. The dig revealed archaeological finds, such as jewelry, colored pottery and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep III, who ruled during the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt.

"What they unearthed was the site of a large city in a good condition of preservation, with almost complete walls, and with rooms filled with tools of daily life," Hawass said in the ABC News report, adding that discoveries included a residential area and a bakery.

RELATED Museum staff in Egypt facing charges over failed King Tut beard job

Many foreign missions have previously searched for the city, but none were able to locate it. Hawass said his team expects to uncover tombs filled with treasures.

Excavation work to uncover the Lost Golden City began in September.

Large snake photographed in tree at Pittsburgh park

April 9 (UPI) -- Police in Pennsylvania said a large snake photographed slithering through a tree in a public park is believed to be a non-venomous species.

Pittsburgh Public Safety said Thursday that the snake had been photographed in a tree by a member of the public along a trail in Frick Park.

Police, animal control officers and Pittsburgh Park Rangers were summoned to the park Thursday to search for the serpent.

The city said in a later update that experts at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium reviewed the photo of the reptile and believe it to be a black rat snake, a non-venomous species that is native to Pennsylvania but is not often seen in the Frick Park area.