India asks Twitter to take down some tweets critical of its COVID-19 handling

Kanishka Sing

Health workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) carry bodies of people who were suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside the Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, in New Delhi, India, April 24, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

The Indian government asked social media platform Twitter (TWTR.N) to take down dozens of tweets, including some by local lawmakers, that were critical of India’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, as cases of COVID-19 again hit a world record.

Twitter has withheld some of the tweets after the legal request by the Indian government, a company spokeswoman told Reuters on Saturday.

The government made an emergency order to censor the tweets, Twitter disclosed on Lumen database, a Harvard University project.

In the government's legal request, dated April 23 and disclosed on Lumen, 21 tweets were mentioned. Among them were tweets from a lawmaker named Revnath Reddy, a minister in the state of West Bengal named Moloy Ghatak and a filmmaker named Avinash Das.



The law cited in the government's request was the Information Technology Act, 2000.

"When we receive a valid legal request, we review it under both the Twitter Rules and local law," the Twitter spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

"If the content violates Twitter's rules, the content will be removed from the service. If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only," she said.

The spokeswoman confirmed that Twitter had notified account holders directly about withholding their content and let them know that it received a legal order pertaining to their tweets.

 A Indian police officer checks the movement of commuters during the lockdown imposed by the state government as a preventive measure against the spread of Covid-19 coronavirus in Amritsar Photograph: Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images

The development was reported earlier by technology news website TechCrunch, which said that Twitter was not the only platform affected by the order.

Overwhelmed hospitals in India begged for oxygen supplies on Saturday as the country’s coronavirus infections have soared in what the Delhi high court called a “tsunami,” setting a world record for cases for a third consecutive day.

India is in the grip of a rampaging second wave of the pandemic, hitting a rate of one COVID-19 death in just under every four minutes in Delhi as the capital's underfunded health system buckles.

The number of cases across the country of around 1.3 billion people rose by 346,786, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, for a total of 16.6 million cases. COVID-19 deaths rose by 2,624, to a total of 189,544, according to Saturday's figures.


Health experts said India became complacent in the winter, when new cases were running at about 10,000 a day and seemed to be under control. Authorities lifted restrictions, allowing the resumption of big gatherings, including large festivals and political rallies for local elections.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jagmeet Singh’s cowardice on Palestine sparks Canadian backlash

Ali Abunimah 

THE ELECTRONIC INTAFADA 

5 April 2021

PUBLISHED PRIOR TO LAST WEEKENDS NDP CONVENTION

Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party. (BC NDP)

On Saturday morning, I was listening to The House, the CBC’s weekly show about Canadian politics.

There was an interview with Jagmeet Singh, leader of the nominally progressive New Democratic Party. Surprisingly, given that this was the CBC, The House host Chris Hall asked Singh a question about Palestine.

It is difficult to convey in a few words the sheer cravenness of Singh’s response, so I’ve included a full transcript of the exchange below.

Hall’s question was prompted by several resolutions the NDP is expected to debate at its policy convention next weekend.

One of the resolutions, attracting many endorsements, calls for Canada to end all trade with Israeli settlements built on occupied territory, and to suspend Canada’s arms trade with Israel.

Another resolution, which is being supported by prominent Canadian Palestinian and Jewish voices, opposes the adoption of the so-called IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.

That misleading definition promoted by Israel and its lobby has been used to stifle criticism of Israel by falsely equating it with anti-Jewish bigotry.

Palestinians erased

What is notable is that Hall specifically asked Singh about “Canada’s relationship with Israel and the Palestinian territory.”

Singh began his reply by declaring that “The space that we’ve been occupying and I think is very important is to first of all acknowledge that anti-Semitism is on the rise, hate in general.”

He continued in that vein.

After Singh completely avoided the initial question, Hall pressed him: “Right, but what is your position on some of those resolutions that in a sense condemn Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians?”

Singh again went off on a tangent about anti-Semitism and hate crimes, never once mentioning Palestinians.

The NDP leader’s answer appeared to accept Israel lobby framing that virtually any advocacy for Palestinian rights is tantamount to an attack on Jews.

Immediately after this was broadcast, I tweeted my disgust at Singh’s answer, and compared him to Keir Starmer, the leader of Britain’s Labour Party who is busy purging supporters of Palestinian rights while bending over backwards to appease Israel lobby groups.

The tweet quickly gained traction and many NDP supporters and other commentators shared their own criticisms of Singh.

Damage control

By Saturday afternoon, Singh was in damage control mode.

“Sometimes you can miss the opportunity to fully answer a question. I missed one here,” he tweeted. “Here’s what I should have said: It’s not enough for New Democrats to just express concern about the occupation and settlements.”
Reaffirming his support for a “negotiated peace process” to achieve a two-state solution, Singh said, “We have to work with other countries to uphold international law and the human rights of Palestinians.”

He added: “We have to send a clear message that illegal occupation on Palestinian land in the West Bank isn’t acceptable, and neither are the conditions in Gaza.”

Other than the usual lip service, Singh did not specify what this “message” might be.

While some were appreciative of these clarifications, others, including Palestinian Canadian writer and activist Hammam Farah, were unimpressed.

“Frankly, Singh’s clarification isn’t good enough. And I’d urge our allies to stop thanking him for it as it only serves as a pat on the back,” Farah tweeted.

“He’s telling you he rejects sanctions. These aren’t two equal sides that won’t negotiate; it’s a colonizer that gets away with colonizing.”

“Repeating cliché statements isn’t enough,” Rana Nazzal, a Canadian Palestinian artist and activist, responded to Singh. “The NDP leadership has let Palestinians down too many times.”

“Over-the-top” appeasement

Writer Yves Engler also noted in a blog post on Sunday that Singh’s “complete erasure” of Palestinians was hardly without precedent.

“While the House interview was appalling, Singh’s anti-Palestinian record is long-standing,” Engler writes, adding that last summer the NDP leader refused to endorse a pledge supported by dozens of lawmakers to oppose Israel’s plan to annex the occupied West Bank.

And during 2019’s general election, according to Engler, the NDP leadership “blocked a half-dozen candidates from running partly or entirely because of their support for Palestinian rights.”

Balance of power

The NDP is currently propping up the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose ruling Liberal Party lacks a majority in Parliament.

This underscores that although the NDP currently has just two dozen seats in Canada’s House of Commons, it can hold the balance of power and make substantive demands of major parties.

Its policies are especially important to Canadians seeking left-wing alternatives to the neoliberal and hawkish consensus of Canada’s main parties, the Liberals and Conservatives.

Yet just like Britain’s Labour Party, the NDP under Jagmeet Singh appears to think the path to power is by erasing key differences in its stances from those of the establishment parties.

Engler considers Singh’s response to the CBC’s questions “an over-the-top bid to appease CIJA, which has been running an aggressive campaign to pressure the NDP leadership to suppress debate” about the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.

CIJA is one of Canada’s leading Israel lobby groups.

But if anything, Singh’s effort to make Palestinians disappear altogether has only ensured that the debate over Canada’s support for Israel’s crimes and abuses will be sharper than ever.

Transcript: Jagmeet Singh on The House, 3 April

Listen to the segment at CBC.ca

Chris Hall: One last area that has emerged in a number of resolutions being put forward is about Canada’s relationship with Israel and the Palestinian territory. How do you plan to navigate those issues, because they are clearly controversial and not necessarily prone to finding a kind of common ground?

Jagmeet Singh: The space that we’ve been occupying and I think is very important is to first of all acknowledge that anti-Semitism is on the rise, hate in general. We’re seeing lots of increase in hate crimes generally speaking, and specifically anti-Semitism. So all New Democrats are committed to fighting anti-Semitism. That’s something really important. We’ve always been a party that’s been willing to talk about human rights and it’s important to be able to do that, but we’ll take a very strong position in acknowledging the rise of anti-Semitism and the importance of always defending human rights.

Hall: Right, but what is your position on some of those resolutions that in a sense condemn Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians?

Singh: Well, like all policy conventions, there’s going to be some healthy debate and healthy debate is important, but the principles that will guide me as leader will be to acknowledge that in this current time that we’re going through, that there is a real and urgent threat of rising hate. We’ve seen it targeting anti- – in terms of anti-Asian hate, targeting Asian people, people of Chinese descent in particular. And we know there’s been increased hate crimes also against people of the Jewish faith, so I think that has to be top of mind when we’re looking at decisions moving forward. And human rights will always be part of our party’s discussions about how we can be better champions and allies to protect the rights of people across the world.

Canada
Jagmeet Singh
New Democratic Party
IHRA definition of anti-Semitism
Ali Abunimah's blog

Coffee maker suspends ethical standard due to Suez blockage
posted by Charlie Hart
in Risk, Supply chain
21 April 2021


JDE has had to temporarily suspend Rainforest Alliance certification 

© skaman306/Getty Images

The Suez Canal crisis has hit coffee supply chains with a major manufacturer no longer able to claim products are Rainforest Alliance certified.

Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), which owns brands including Carte Noire, Kenco and L’Or, said certified coffee from Asia and Africa had been caught up in delays caused by the blocked canal.

It said: “Due to the unexpected incident on the Suez Canal that resulted in supply chain blockages, we are currently unable to source enough certified coffee from key coffee origins in Asia and Africa for some of our brands with the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ labels.

“This means that from March 2021 to May 2021, some of our brands may not contain 100% coffee from Rainforest Alliance certified farms. We expect this to be resolved by the end of May 2021 though and our products will go back to 100% certified.”

JDE said it would “purchase a volume of certified coffee equivalent to compensate what we would have used during this period” to support its suppliers.

Meanwhile, Aldi posted a statement on its website blaming “current disruptions to global shipping” for delays to a number of its ‘SpecialBuy’ items, including travel cots, bicycle equipment and stationery.

It is estimated up to 400 container ships were queued to pass through the Suez Canal after the 400m Ever Given container ship became stranded in March.

Some vessels were diverted to the route around South Africa, adding up to two weeks to their voyages.

Earlier this month, research revealed that food establishments and retailers were among those industries most likely to feel the impact of the delays.

Container line A.P. Møller-Maersk has estimated the Suez blockage could cause bottlenecks throughout the container industry and supply chains into the third quarter.

NOW READ
New coffee species 'offers opportunity' for Sierra Leone farmers

Nestlé boosts coffee farmers' incomes in the Philippines

John Lewis part of efforts to support coffee farmers

Blockchain app connects coffee drinkers with farmers

Global focus on… coffee

Consumer Reports shows a Tesla can drive with no one in the driver's seat

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN Business

 Fri April 23, 2021


(CNN)A Consumer Reports test driver has demonstrated in a new video that, yes, a Tesla vehicle with the Autopilot feature will drive with no one in the driver's seat.
The question came up after a fatal accident in Texas last weekend, said Jake Fisher, head of auto testing at Consumer Reports. In that crash, according to police, no one was in the driver's seat of a Tesla Model S when it crashed at high speed, killing two passengers.

On Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted about the accident, saying "Data logs recovered so far show Autopilot was not enabled," and that "Moreover, standard Autopilot would require lane lines to turn on, which this street did not have." Musk also said that the car was not equipped with the more advanced "Full Self-Driving" feature.

Police say no one was in driver's seat in fatal Tesla crash

It was not clear from Musk's tweet whether he meant the Autopilot system was not enabled at the moment of impact or that it had not been used at all in that fatal drive.

Tesla has repeatedly faced allegations that the name of its "Autopilot" driver assistance system is misleading some to believe the car can indeed drive safely by itself.
But Consumer Reports wasn't trying to necessarily recreate the Texas crash, Fisher said. That incident is still being investigated so it's not known exactly what happened. Instead, Fisher said, Consumer Reports investigators were trying to show how driver assistance systems like this -- which could include those from companies other than Tesla -- are open to abuse without more effective driver monitoring.
"If a system can't even tell if a driver is in the seat, it's clearly insufficient," he said.

The researchers at Consumer Reports said they found that it would be easy to trick Tesla's Autopilot feature into driving without a driver in the driver's seat.

"In our evaluation, the system not only failed to make sure the driver was paying attention, but it also couldn't tell if there was a driver there at all," said Fisher, who conducted the experiment. the consumer advocacy group's Connecticut test track where there were no other cars, no pedestrians and no trees or other obstacles the vehicle could hit if things went badly wrong, the report said. That part of Consumer Reports' track is specifically designed to test driver assistance systems, such as Autopilot.

Despite warnings from Tesla, Autopilot drivers still aren't paying enough attention, study finds

Fisher reported that he started out the trial in the driver's seat of a Tesla Model Y. After turning on the car's Autopilot system while the car was moving, Fisher said he reduced the car's speed to zero then moved over to the passenger seat. He reached over from there to increase the car's speed using a dial on the steering wheel. With the Autopilot system set to 30 miles per hour, the vehicle remained on course. It then continued to drive without anyone in the driver's seat. Fisher said the system did not send out a warning or indicate in any way that the driver's seat was empty.

Tesla vehicles do have a weight sensor in the driver's seat, Fisher said, which is used by the vehicle to recognize when the seat is occupied so it can turn the vehicle on, as it does not have a traditional key or start button. But the seat sensor is not, evidently, tied into the Autopilot system to prevent the system from being used with no driver, he said.
"I was actually a bit shocked at how easy it was to do what I did," Fisher said.

Instead, the system relies on occasionally sensing a driver's hand on the steering wheel to ensure that a driver is present and engaged in driving. To get around this, Fisher said he hung a weighted rope on one side of the steering wheel to gently pull on the wheel.
As Fisher's rope trick shows, it's easy to mimic a continuous tug on the steering wheel. In 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration banned a device which was designed specifically to trick such a system into thinking someone was holding a steering wheel when they weren't. It was simply a weight designed to hang from the steering wheel.

Other cars with advanced driver assistance systems also rely on steering wheel movement to assess a driver's involvement. It is possible that systems like this on other cars that do not include sophisticated driver monitoring could also be abused, Kelly Funkhouser, Consumer Reports' program manager for vehicle interface testing, said in the report.

Tesla, which has generally not responded to press inquiries for over a year, has not responded to a request for comment on Consumer Reports' findings, nor on the meaning of Musk's tweet.

The NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating last weekend's crash.

Tesla owners warned of 'full self-driving' risks even before fatal crash

Investigators have not said whether Tesla's Autopilot or the more advanced "Full Self-Driving" feature was involved in the crash.

According to Tesla's website and public statements, these systems are not intended to actually drive a car without human involvement.

Consumer Reports' testing team recommended that Tesla use the front seat's weight sensor to ensure that a driver is in the seat when Autopilot is used. William Wallace, manager of safety policy at Consumer Reports, also suggested that driver monitoring systems, which use cameras to ensure drivers are paying attention to the road, should be required safety equipment. Such systems are used today in combination with driver assistance systems in a number of cars. Auto safety regulators in Europe plan to start requiring them in 2023

Watch NASA’s Mars helicopter fly again as Ingenuity spreads its wings

Chris Davies - Apr 23, 2021, 

  

NASA has released video of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter’s second flight, a more ambitious test as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory team experiments with just what’s possible for powered aircraft on other planets. The test took place on April 22, adding several new elements to the flight-plan compared to the history first attempt made back on April 19.

Then, Ingenuity became the first example of powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on a different planet to our own. Although the helicopter – which traveled up to Mars in the belly of the Perseverance rover – carries no specific scientific instruments itself, future missions could use the results of its test flights to do aerial reconnaissance and more.

That’s something for the future: for now, Ingenuity extended its flight time almost by double. After taking off, it rose to 16 feet – up from the previous 10 feet of the first test – and then hovered briefly. After tilting to a 5-degree angle, it flew sideways for 7 feet.

Following some turns in place, pointing its camera around at different angles, the helicopter returned to the Martian surface safely. In total, it spent 51.9 seconds in the air, versus 30 seconds of the initial flight.

Perseverance was positioned at a safe distance away, observing the trial with its cameras from around 211 feet across Jezero Crater. That simultaneously helps avoid any shadowing of the helicopter and its solar panels, which are used to charge Ingenuity’s batteries, and to lower the risk of damage to the rover should something go wrong while it’s airborne. Since Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z system has a zoom lens, it can still make out the helicopter from across the crater.

In total, Ingenuity’s mission on Mars is scheduled to run for around a month. However, it’s possible that the helicopter itself could outlast that, and remain operational for some time longer. We’ve seen that happen with many of NASA’s projects, including the InSight rover that’s also on Mars. It was originally intended to run for 709 solo, or the equivalent of 728 Earth days, but has already more than 100 sols longer than that.

Although the ability to perform controlled, powered flight on Mars is the big goal of the Ingenuity project, it’s not the only demonstration the helicopter is giving. One of the key elements was its construction, with a combination of custom parts and off-the-shelf components used both in the name of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Much of the technology has close parallels with smartphone tech, for example.

The Qualcomm Flight Platform, for example, has been adapted for use on Mars, with a Snapdragon chipset powering autonomous operations. Bosch’s accelerometer and gyroscope sensors are also found onboard the helicopter, used for tracking speed and direction, and helping maintain overall stability. Due to the distance between Mars and Earth, and the latencies involved in getting a signal back and forth, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory team responsible for Ingenuity cannot pilot it manually. Instead, they load the mission criteria ahead of time, and the helicopter flies itself autonomously.

The JPL is now working on putting together a third flight mission, which will push the envelope a little further still

Ted Nugent performed inside Florida anti-mask supermarket days before saying he has COVID-19

Updated Apr 22, 2021
By Edward Pevos | epevos@MLive.com


Ted Nugent said he thought he was dying from COVID-19 just days after he performed inside a Florida supermarket that’s become well-known for its anti-mask stance. Video of his performance can be seen on Nugent’s YouTube page.

The Michigan rocker, who has a condo in Naples, according to NaplesNews, played a concert at Oakes Farms Seed to Table Market in that city on April 12. A video taken inside that crowded supermarket went viral on Twitter earlier this year, showing pretty much no one wearing a mask, including employees.

Nugent went on Facebook Live on April 19 to tell his fans he’d tested positive for coronavirus that day after battling flu-like symptoms for nearly two weeks. His self-described timeline would mean he had these symptoms while performing at the supermarket, where he was shown not wearing a mask.

RELATED: Days after calling it BS, Ted Nugent says he’s been battling COVID-19: ‘I thought I was dying’

“I have had flu symptoms for the last 10 days and I thought I was dying,” Nugent said in his live video. “I was tested positive today. I’ve got a stuffed up head, body aches. My God, what a pain in the a--. I literally could hardly crawl out of bed the last few days. But I did. I crawled.”

During the supermarket performance, with his wife Shemane by his side, Nugent criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“What happens at Seed to Table, let me tell you, you are not alone. God, family, country, freedom, law and order. We know that’s how you people live your life and even in my beloved birth state of Michigan, do not think that Gretchen Whitmer represents the heart and soul of Michigan.”

According to a report by NBC News, Seed to Table’s owner told the news agency he knows masks do not work and doesn’t believe the coronavirus has killed hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S., saying it’s “total hogwash” and “Why don’t we shut the world down because of the heart attacks? Why don’t we lock down cities because of heart attacks?”

Nugent used similar lingo his his Facebook Live, saying it was BS that 500,000 Americans have died from COVID and asking why we didn’t shut down for COVIDs one through 18.

COVID-19 was named by The World Health Organization for the disease which is causing the novel coronavirus outbreak. COVID-19 stands for “corona,” “VI” (for virus), and “D” (for disease). The “19″ is for 2019, the year in which the virus was first identified. There is no COVID one through 18.

According to the CDC, more than 565,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States.

Michigan is averaging 5,744 new COVID-19 cases per day and 59 new deaths per day over the last week. There have been 804,724 coronavirus cases and 17,031 deaths since the start of the pandemic in the state, along with 90,721 probable cases and 1,099 probable deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has repeatedly stated that masks and social distancing can help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

DOJ considers charging Chauvin for alleged 2017 assault of Black teen


Chauvin then “applied a neck restraint, causing the child to lose consciousness and go to the ground," according to court documents

Stephanie Guerilus

Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the murder of George Floyd and his legal troubles may not yet be over. The DOJ may go after him on federal charges in Floyd’s murder and allegedly kneeling on a Black teen’s neck, according to ABC News.

A jury convicted Chauvin on Tuesday of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death after kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. This was not the first instance of Chauvin using his knee to obstruct the breathing of another person.Defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin listen as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over pre-trial motions prior to opening statements, Monday March 29, 2021, in the trial of Chauvin, in the May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. (Court TV via AP, Pool)


Read More: 3 other officers still awaiting trial after Chauvin guilty verdict

On Sept. 4, 2017, the former Minneapolis police officer was caught on video hitting a Black teenager with a flashlight, causing him to bleed, requiring stitches. Chauvin then “applied a neck restraint, causing the child to lose consciousness and go to the ground,” according to court documents, ABC News reported.

Chauvin allegedly held the teenager down with his knee for 17 minutes despite the boy insisting he couldn’t breathe.

“Those videos show a far more violent and forceful treatment of this child than Chauvin describes in his report,” Matthew Frank, one of the state prosecutors, wrote in a court filing at the time.

Frank further added that the videos showed that Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force towards this child and “complete disdain for his well-being.”

In this image from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin listens as his defense attorney Eric Nelson gives closing arguments. (Credit: AP)

Frank added that Chauvin and the other officer present ignored the pleas of the 14-year-old’s mother.

“Chauvin and [the other officer] placed [the teenager] in the prone position and handcuffed him behind his back while the teenager’s mother pleaded with them not to kill her son and told her son to stop resisting,” Frank wrote. “About a minute after going to the ground, the child began repeatedly telling the officers that he could not breathe, and his mother told Chauvin to take his knee off her son.”

Read More: Derek Chauvin found guilty on all charges in the murder of George Floyd

Chauvin released his hold on the teenager and said he was under arrest for domestic assault and obstruction with force.

Judge Peter A. Cahill did not allow this incident into evidence during Chauvin’s trial as a pattern of behavior for the former cop. However, sources told ABC News that the Department of Justice may pursue federal charges into the matter and Floyd’s death.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin poses for a mugshot after being charged in the death of George Floyd. (Photo by Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images)

The Minneapolis Police Department was informed of the DOJ’s inquirers and a spokesperson pledged to be of assistance.

“We will assist the DOJ with anything that they need, and the chief has pledged full cooperation with any investigating agency,” MPD spokesman John Elder told ABC News.

A spokesperson for the DOJ declined to comment to ABC News, but they have signaled their intentions in recent days. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Wednesday that the DOJ would be launching a civil investigation into the conduct of the MPD. The prole would determine if the department “engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing.”

Garland added that law enforcement should not be wary of accountability.

“Good officers welcome accountability because accountability is an essential part of building trust with the community, and public safety requires public trust,” Garland said.

Maryland AG: Work of ex-medical examiner who testified in Chauvin trial should be reviewed


Demonstrators march in Baltimore last year as they protest the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo

April 24 (UPI) -- Maryland's attorney general office said there should be a review of the work of a former medical examiner who testified for the defense in the Derek Chauvin trial this week in Minneapolis.

The trial ended Tuesday with a Minnesota jury finding Chauvin, 45, guilty of second-and third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the murder of George Floyd, 46. Chauvin is slated to be sentenced June 16, a Minnesota court said Friday, and Chauvin's attorneys will have 60 days to appeal, NBC News reported.

Prosecution experts said the Black security guard and community leader in Minneapolis, who was unarmed, died of lack of oxygen as Chauvin pressed his knee on his neck for more than 9 minutes during a Memorial Day arrest over the alleged use of counterfeit $20 bill. A teenager captured footage of the scene that went viral and set off protests against police brutality and systemic racism across the country and worldwide.

Dr. David Fowler, a chief medical examiner of Maryland from 2002-2019, testified during the trial that Floyd's heart disease combined with fentanyl and methamphetamine use, exposure to vehicle exhaust and tumors near his carotid artery all played a part in his death. He classified the killing as "undetermined."

RELATED Daunte Wright funeral: Sharpton pledges policing reform

The Maryland Attorney General's Office received a letter from former medical examiner of Washington, D.C., Roger A. Mitchell, signed by 431 doctors across the country, who said Fowler's testimony was so outlandish it called all of his prior work into question, The Baltimore Sun reported.

"Dr. Fowler's stated opinion that George Floyd's death during active police restraint should be certified with an 'undetermined' manner is outside the standard practice and conventions for investigating and certification of in-custody deaths," the letter obtained by The Baltimore Sun said. "This stated opinion raises significant concerns for his previous practice and management."

On Friday, less than 24 hours after receiving the letter, the Maryland attorney general's office said Fowler's "in custody" death reports should be reviewed.

Fowler defended himself in a statement to The New York Times.

"I stand behind the outstanding work that all our dedicated staff at the Maryland State Medical Examiner's Office performed during my tenure as Chief ME," the statement said.

RELATED Daunte Wright's family holds public vie

Flexible diet has helped leaf-eating lemurs survive deforestation



When fruits and flowers are plentiful, leaf-loving lemurs called sifakas diversify their diets, but their diverse diets may help them habitat fragmentation and deforestation. Photo by Lydia Greene/Duke University

April 23 (UPI) -- Several species of leaf-eating lemurs, or sifakas, in Madagascar also like to munch on flowers and fruit, returning to leaves when more nutrient dense food sources are scarce.

The authors of a new study, published Friday in the journal Science Advances, estimate lemurs with more flexible diets are better able to resist habitat fragmentation and deforestation compared to their pickier peers.

For the study, scientists sequenced the genomes of four different sifaka species: the Coquerel's sifaka, Propithecus coquereli; Verreaux's sifaka, P. verreauxi; golden-crowned sifaka, P. tattersalli; and the diademed sifaka, P. diadema.

All but two of the surveyed lemurs were born in the wild but lived at Duke Lemur Center.

RELATED Lemurs prove there's more than one biochemical recipe for monogamous love

Though the four species prefer different types of habitat, all four share similar diets -- they eat leaves, and their genomes reflected as much.

Tree leaves are difficult to digest, host toxic compounds and are frequently bitter.

Thankfully, all four surveyed sifaka species have evolved the genetic coding required to digest leaves. These evolutionary adaptations allow them to neutralize toxic compounds and break down tough leaf membranes so they can efficiently absorb nutrients.

RELATED Most of Madagascar's rainforest on pace to disappear by 2070

Scientists found the genetic coding that help lemurs digest tree leaves are similar to leaf-digestion genes found in the genomes of domestic cattle and Central Africa's colobus monkey.

Though sifakas are well-suited for leaf consumption, as the genomic analysis confirmed, they're not picky eaters. When flowers bud and fruits ripen, sifakas abandon leaves for more nutritious foods.

"Sifakas can take advantage of foods that are higher energy and are more nutrient dense, and can fall back and subsist on leaves in times of scarcity," lead study author Elaine Guevara, an assistant research professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, said in a news release.

RELATED Gut bacteria reveal which lemurs are most vulnerable to deforestation

Scientists were surprised to find that diademed sifakas feature surprisingly high levels of genetic diversity, despite being threatened by habitat loss.

The latest research suggests the species' ability to utilize a diversity of food sources may offer it and other lemur species like it an advantage over those targeting only leaves or only fruit.

"I've seen sifakas at the Lemur Center eat dead pine needles," said Guevara. "Their diet is really flexible."

Previous studies have shown even small, vulnerable mammal populations with high levels of genetic diversity, or heterozygosity, are often more resilient to climate change, habitat loss and disease.

Unfortunately, sifakas yield new generations only once every 17 years or so.

Scientists worry their genetic diversity may simply reflect the genetic health of previous generations. And deforestation rates have accelerated dramatically in recent decades.

"Sifakas are still critically endangered, their population numbers are decreasing, and habitat loss is accelerating drastically," said Guevara.

While the latest research suggests the island's lemurs are naturally resilient, scientists suggest there are limits to their resiliency.

Without policies to protect the lemur habitat that remains, however, even the most resilient lemur populations are likely to shrink.

"Sifakas still have a good chance if we act," said Guevara. "Our results are all the more reason to do everything we can to help them."

POWER ENGINEERING

Navy certifies first female Steam Generating Plant Inspector
By Christen McCurdy



Chief Machinist’s Mate Mayra Hudgens, a Bronx, N.Y., native assigned to Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, recently became the first female Sailor to earn the U.S. Navy’s Steam Generating Plant Inspector certification. Photo by Hendrick L. Dickson/U.S. Navy

April 22 (UPI) -- A Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center sailor recently became the first woman certified as a Steam Generating Plant Inspector for the U.S. Navy, the service announced Thursday.

Marya Hudgens, a chief machinist's mate assigned to the MARMC Engineering Department's Steam and Propulsion Branch, completed the SGPI certification course after a lengthy process including screenings, shipboard qualifications and courses of knowledge.

"When I was aboard USS Boxer as an E-5, this was a goal I set for myself," Hudgens said in a press release issued by the branch. "Everyone was telling me there had never been a female boiler inspector in the Navy. I remember saying, 'One day I'm going to be the first.'"

According to the Navy, there are more than 6,000 machinist mates in the service, but only about 25 certified SGPIs

SGPIs perform specialized tasks like inspecting material condition, monitoring general readiness, diagnosing improper operating procedures and detailing repairs of all marine main propulsion plant boilers and steam catapult accumulators.

According to Senior Chief Machinist's Mate Michael Barton, who is also assigned to the Steam and Propulsion Branch, the training program begins early in a sailor's career.

Sailors who show potential and interest are added to a list, which is whittled down before they make it to the final certification course.

Hudgens, a 15-year veteran of the service, said she hopes her accomplishments will influence others to aim high.

"My hope is that by me achieving this, it will push more female machinist's mates to set their goals high and realize they could be doing the same thing that the guys are doing, if they work hard and don't give up," Hudgen said.