Gates Earns 10X on BioNTech in Just Two Years: $55m Investment Now Over $550m

TrialSite StaffJuly 2, 2021

As it turns out, the vaccine business has been incredibly lucrative for Bill Gates and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation lately. From one point of view, it’s truly a compelling position to be in, seeking to profit off the business of saving lives. In our system, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this; in fact, it’s celebrated. And the Gates Foundation should be celebrating as apparently, they have turned the $55 million vaccine investment in BioNTech into $550 million in just a couple of years! That is, they injected $55 million in exchange for pre-IPO equity in the German biotech company, which based on the market capitalization present day is worth north of $550 million. This represents, frankly, a staggering return in the world of drug development that often takes a decade for a return on investment. Of course, the coronavirus vaccines have received enormous government subsidies, albeit the BioNTech and Pfizer partnership, to their credit, took a pass on the Operation Warp Speed clinical development cash injection..

Thanks to some reporting by Nickie Louise writing for Tech Startups, the world can learn a little more about some ingenious investment platform strategies. As it turns out, Gates and Co also possess vested equity in other COVID-19 vaccine makers and therapeutic developers. For example, Ms. Louise writes that Gates took positions in Pfizer, CureVac, and Vir Biotechnology. The reporter found via Fool.com that in 2015, Gates put $52 million into CureVac and thereafter made further bets to progress various mRNA-based vaccines on the CureVac platform.

What a Difference a Couple Years can Make

Gates and Co. first placed the $55 million back in September 2019. Those funds were to help develop HIV and TB programs as well as to further expand the German biotech venture’s infectious disease portfolio. The first $55 million as described in their press release were used to develop preclinical vaccine and immunotherapy candidates targeting HIV and TB infection. The total funding was anticipated to reach $100 million. New infectious disease projects were very much on top of mind as evident in press releases back then.

Now BioNTech’s stock’s at $224 and a market capitalization of $54 billion. The top two institutional holders of the German company’s stock include Scottish Ballie Gifford and Company and Pasadena, CA-based Primecap Management Company, totaling just under 5% between the two of them.

Deep, Integrated Platform Strategy

Gates’ involvement apparently in vaccine research has gone well beyond investment at the early research and development or clinical development stages and crossed into production and commercialization. For example, back in 2015, his organization invested $52 million in not only mRNA-based vaccine development programs with the “potential to revolutionize the prevention of a wide range of infectious diseases “but also a “Good Manufacturing Practice (GM) production facility.”

Move into Vir Biotechnology

Moreover, Gates Foundation took a lead investment role in Vir Biotechnology emphasizing vaccine development. At least one investment totaled $14.8 million. Vir has gone on to see significant success with its monoclonal antibody investigational product in combination with GlaxoSmithKline. On May 26, GSK and Vir Biotechnology shared with the world that their VIR-7831 (Sotrovimab) received an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in high-risk adults and pediatric cases.

Turnaround on Idea of Lifting Vaccine Patent Restrictions

While Gates and Co. were initially resistant to temporarily resisting the lifting of vaccine patent protection for equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines the group apparently changed their position, sharing with the world that the foundation would support this effort floated by the POTUS. Social media was abuzz that Gates “was on the wrong side of history” in this previous position.

Not a Conspiracy

That Gates has earned 10X on the foundation’s money isn’t the result of some nefarious, dark-order orchestrated conspiracy but rather part of a methodical, systematic investment thesis dedicated to monetizing public health. Now, all of this, of course, must unfold in an ethical and lawful manner. As society moves toward a new, heretofore not contemplated reality where billionaires and powerful private equity intermediaries’ movements can shape life as we know it, the endpoints can certainly feel like planned. Yet when combining regulatory capture and evolving corporate crony capitalism (as opposed to dynamic free markets) and well, it’s easy to see how some could mistakenly point to a “conspiracy” when it’s really just representative of an unfolding confluence of interests, marked by a series of coincidences.

Covid 19 coronavirus: Unvaccinated people are 'variant factories', US expert says

3 Jul, 2021 

As of midnight last night, 149,608 doses of vaccine had been administered across New Zealand, while more than 444,000 New Zealanders had received their second dose.
NZ Herald

Unvaccinated people are not only at risk of catching Covid-19 - but also at risk of creating new variants, an infectious disease specialists say.

Unvaccinated people do more than merely risk their own health. They're also a risk to everyone if they become infected with coronavirus, infectious disease specialists said.

"Unvaccinated people are potential variant factories," Dr William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, told CNN.

"The more unvaccinated people there are, the more opportunities for the virus to multiply," Schaffner added, explaining how the multiplication of the virus can also lead to mutations and the creation of new variants.

"When it does, it mutates, and it could throw off a variant mutation that is even more serious down the road."

While not all mutations result in new variants, the expert explained that some mutations can give the virus an advantage such as better transmissibility and eventually make the virus strong enough to outcompete other viruses.

If a mutant version of a virus becomes strong enough, through multiplication, it becomes its own variant, as it has happened since the start of the pandemic.

"As mutations come up in viruses, the ones that persist are the ones that make it easier for the virus to spread in the population," Andrew Pekosz, a microbiologist and immunologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, also told CNN.

Denise Fogasavaii getting vacinated at a Covid-19 vaccination clinic in Auckland. Photo / Supplied

"Every time the viruses changes, that gives the virus a different platform to add more mutations. Now we have viruses that spread more efficiently."

If a virus is not able to spread, it is not able to mutate into stronger variants.

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen the appearance of variants all over the world, starting with the B.1.1.7, or Alpha variant, first spotted in England.

The B.1.351, or Beta variant, first appeared in South Africa, while the Delta Variant, B.1.617.2, was first detected in India.

There have also been new variants appearing first in the US, including the B.1.427 or Epsilon lineage first seen in California, and the B.1.526 or Eta variant first detected in New York.

According to the experts, we've already seen one variant spread further and become more deadly than the original strain of the virus.

The Delta variant, currently spreading around the globe, is set to become the dominant variant, due to its extremely high transmissibility.

The current vaccines being rolled out across the world protect against all the variants so far but experts warn that could change at any moment, if people do not get vaccinated and continue to give the virus the ability to multiply.

"The more we allow the virus to spread, the more opportunity the virus has to change," the World Health Organisation warned last month.

Populations of unvaccinated people, the experts say, give the virus the chance not only to spread but also to mutate, becoming less visible to the immune system.

"All it takes is one mutation in one person," Dr Philip Landrigan, an immunologist at Boston College, said.

 

ExxonMobil lobbyists filmed saying oil giant’s support for carbon tax a PR ploy

Undercover reporter hears company worked to undermine Biden efforts and funded shadow groups to deny global heating

The ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge. Greenpeace said that Unearthed reporters posed as recruitment consultants looking to hire a Washington lobbyist for a major client. Photograph: Kathleen Flynn/Reuters

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Chris McGreal

Wed 30 Jun 2021 20.00 BST

Lobbyists for ExxonMobil have described the oil giant’s backing for a carbon tax as a public relations ploy intended to stall more serious measures to combat the climate crisis.

Two senior lobbyists based in Washington told an undercover reporter for Unearthed, the investigative journalism branch of Greenpeace, that they worked to undermine Joe Biden’s plans to limit greenhouse emissions and other environmental measures in his infrastructure bill.

US cities are suffocating in the heat. Now they want retribution

Read more

One of the lobbyists also admitted that Exxon “aggressively” fought against climate science and funded shadow groups to deny global heating.

Keith McCoy, a senior director in Exxon’s Washington government affairs team, was recorded on video in May saying that the company backs a carbon tax “as an easy talking point” and an “advocacy tool” because “there is not an appetite for a carbon tax” and that Republican legislators who oppose taxes in principle will never let it happen

“Nobody is going to propose a tax on all Americans, and the cynical side of me says, yeah, we kind of know that – but it gives us a talking point that we can say, well, what is ExxonMobil for? Well, we’re for a carbon tax,” he said.

Later, McCoy reiterates the point: “Carbon tax is not going to happen.”

The oil conglomerates and closely allied trade organizations, such as the American Petroleum Institute, finally declared their support for a carbon tax after years of resisting what many environmentalists regard as a key measure to reduce damaging fossil fuel emissions. But the lack of specifics over a cost and a timeframe immediately raised questions about the seriousness of the commitment.

Greenpeace said that Unearthed reporters posed as recruitment consultants looking to hire a Washington lobbyist for a major client and approached McCoy and Exxon’s former White House lobbyist, Dan Easley, who left the company at the end of the Trump administration.

In a meeting over Zoom, McCoy admitted that Exxon funded “shadow groups” that worked to misrepresent and deny climate science in order to sow doubt and stall regulation.

“Did we aggressively fight against some of the science? Yes,” he said. “Did we join some of these shadow groups to work against some of the early efforts? Yes that’s true. But there’s nothing illegal about that. We were looking out for our investments, we were looking out for shareholders.”

But McCory denied that Exxon covered up evidence from its own scientists about global heating caused by burning fossil fuels even though the company’s role in misrepresenting the dangers is well documented.

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“Did we hide science? Did we at some point figure out climate change and then decide to bury the evidence? No.”

Although Exxon is not so overtly denying climate science any more, McCoy acknowledged that it continues to work to undermine environmental regulations and policies to combat global heating. He called measures in Biden’s American Jobs Plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions “insane” and described how the company lobbies Congress against them and on other issues.

McCoy said the oil giant was particularly concerned that Biden’s infrastructure and environmental plans would be paid for by undoing Trump’s corporate tax cuts which Easley described as “probably worth billions to Exxon”.

McCoy said that Exxon sought to restrict the infrastructure bill to spending on “roads and bridges” because it would help limit tax increases but also remove environmental measures the company opposed.

“If you lower that threshold, you stick to highways and bridges, then a lot of the negative stuff starts to come out,” he said. “Why would you put in something on emissions reductions on climate change to oil refineries in a highway bill? So people say, yeah, that doesn’t make any sense … that shouldn’t be in this bill.”

Easley said that the oil and gas industry was also lobbying against other environmental measures such as “requirements for the federal government to purchase green energy and renewable technologies and retrofitting federal buildings” that a future Republican administration would not be able to reverse.

“It’s gonna accelerate the transition to the extent that I think four years from now it’s going to be difficult to unwind that,” he said.

McCoy acknowledged that at the same time that Exxon was pushing to maintain tax cuts, it was also seeking government funding to get a carbon capture programme off the ground.

“So it’s a delicate balance. We’re asking for help with taxes over here and we’re saying don’t increase our taxes over here,” he said.

The lobbyist said that among the politicians he targeted was the Democratic senator Joe Manchin whose support is central to Biden getting the infrastructure bill and climate legislation through Congress.

“Joe Manchin … I talk to his office every week. He is the kingmaker on this, because he’s a Democrat from West Virginia, which is a very conservative state, and he’s not shy about sort of staking his claim early and completely changing the debate,” he said.

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McCoy ticked off the names of other Democratic senators he was working on, including Chris Coons from Delaware, the president’s home state, because he “has a very close relationship with Senator [sic] Biden”.

“As a matter of fact, our CEO is talking to him next Tuesday and having those conversations and just teeing it up and then that way I can start working with his staff to let them know where we are on some of these issues.”

The lobbyist described some Republican senators as “a captive audience” because they are reliant on industry backing.

“The Republicans, we have the great relationship with the senators, where we have assets,” he said.

McCoy said that meetings with senators might ostensibly be about a global issue, such as Russia or the Middle East, but the conversations are used to ensure backing on issues of concern to Exxon such as taxes and environmental legislation.

“There are all these opportunities that you use, and to use the fishing analogy just to kind of reel them in,” he said.

Exxon’s chairman and CEO, Darren Woods, repudiated the lobbyists’ statements.

“Comments made by the individuals in no way represent the company’s position on a variety of issues, including climate policy and our firm commitment that carbon pricing is important to addressing climate change. The individuals interviewed were never involved in developing the company’s policy positions on the issues discussed,” he said in a written statement to the Guardian.

“We condemn the statements and are deeply apologetic for them, including comments regarding interactions with elected officials. They are entirely inconsistent with the way we expect our people to conduct themselves. We were shocked by these interviews and stand by our commitments to working on finding solutions to climate change.”

POT IS NOT A PERFORMANCE ENHANCER

Sha’Carri Richardson Was Suspended For A Positive Cannabis Test. Seriously?

© Provided by Refinery29 EUGENE, OREGON – JUNE 19: Sha’Carri Richardson raises her fist after winning the Women’s 100 Meter final on day 2 of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on June 19, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Sha’Carri Richardson, a star sprinter who’d secured herself a spot on Team USA and was set to go to the Tokyo Olympics, may not be able to compete after a drug test for cannabis came back positive.


Last month at the Olympic Trials, Sha’Carri Richardson’s run was the talk of the internet. The 21-year-old ran the 100-meter dash in just 10.86 seconds. People said she “looked like a meteor” running down the track, thanks in part to her fire-orange hair. She later told media outlets that her girlfriend helped choose the color “to show the world I’m a force to be reckoned with.”

On Friday morning, the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced that Richardson had tested positive for cannabis, and had accepted a one-month suspension. Weed is legal in Oregon, where Richardson was competing at the time, but it’s banned for Olympic athletes.

During an interview with The Today Show’s Savannah Guthrie, Richardson said she’d used the substance after finding out about the unexpected death of her biological mother during the Olympic trials in Oregon. The news was revealed to her by a reporter during an interview. “It sent me into a state of emotional panic,” she said. “I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time.”

“To have to go in front of the world and put on a face and hide my pain… who am I to tell you how to cope when you’re dealing with a pain or you’re dealing with a struggle that you’ve never experienced before,” she said.

She started the interview by saying, “I take responsibility for my actions. I know what I did, I know what I’m supposed to do and I’m allowed not to do, and I still made that decision. I’m not looking for an excuse… I apologize.”

A day before her positive test was announced, she had tweeted, “I am human.”

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency noted that Richardson’s one-month suspension began June 28. The Olympic Games start on July 23 this year, but the suspension may be over in time for Richardson to run the 4×100 meter relay, which takes place in the latter half of the Games, if she’s still put on Team USA. It seems unlikely, however, that Richardson will be able to compete in the individual 100-meter race in Tokyo; a New York Times report said U.S.A. Track & Field had contacted other women who’d competed in the 100-meter race at the trials to let them know they’d moved up a spot in the standings.

USATF called the situation “incredibly unfortunate and devastating for everyone involved.” Read their full statement here:

Folks on Twitter were quick to come to Richardson’s defense, noting that weed is very different than steroids and doping. Many drew comparisons between her case and Michael Phelps’s. In 2009, a photograph of the decorated swimmer surfaced that showed him inhaling from a weed pipe, and he was disciplined. He never tested positive for the substance, but he did lose sponsorship deals and was suspended from U.S.A. Swimming for three months with pulled financial support, Newsweek reports.

“Cannabis prohibition is a human rights issue that we need to address,” says Dasheeda Dawson, a molecular biologist and Cannabis Program Supervisor for the City of Portland, OR. “Cannabis prohibition destroyed communities for decades and has caused countless athletes to lose promising careers simply because we choose to accept the lies perpetuated by the War on Drugs. In the state of Oregon, where the trials are taking place, cannabis is legal for both medical and adult-use. And, as the wave of legalization hits globally and billions of dollars generated from conscious cannabis consumption, I wonder what the US Olympic Committee will say to all of the world-class athletes, like Sha’Carri, that [are] harmed out of sheer ignorance. Hopefully, it’s more than just a paltry apology.”

Dawson adds that the ban on weed in the sport may be tied to officials “lacking cannabis competency and true understanding about the science of cannabis,” adding that cannabis is often used medicinally for joint and muscle recovery after training.

All eyes will be on USATF and Richardson as the decision is made as to whether she’ll be able to make the relay race. In the meantime, we hope the world will treat Richardson with some compassion after her loss.

Molly Longman 

Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati, 26, won the men's giant slalom on February 8 in the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. After Rebagliati tested positive for marijuana -- 17.8 nanograms of metabolite per milliliter -- the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped him of his gold medal on February 10.

Canadian Snowboarder Retains Olympic Gold Medal After ...

ndsn.org/FEB98/mj1.html

Richardson will miss Olympic 100 after marijuana test

By EDDIE PELLS and PAT GRAHAM

In this June 19, 2021 photo, Sha'Carri Richardson celebrates after winning the first heat of the semis finals in women's 100-meter runat the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore. Richardson cannot run in the Olympic 100-meter race after testing positive for a chemical found in marijuana. Richardson, who won the 100 at Olympic trials in 10.86 seconds on June 19, told of her ban Friday, July 2 on the “Today Show.”(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)


American champion Sha’Carri Richardson cannot run in the Olympic 100-meter race after testing positive for a chemical found in marijuana.

Richardson, who won the 100 at Olympic trials in 10.86 seconds on June 19, spoke of her ban Friday on the “Today” show. She tested positive at the Olympic trials and so her result is erased. Fourth-place finisher Jenna Prandini is expected to get Richardson’s spot in the 100.

Richardson accepted a 30-day suspension that ends July 27, which would be in time to run in the women’s relays. USA Track and Field has not disclosed plans for the relay.

The 21-year-old sprinter was expected to face Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in one of the most highly anticipated races of the Olympic track meet.

On Thursday, as reports swirled about her possible marijuana use, Richardson put out a tweet that said, simply: “I am human.” On Friday, she went on TV and said she smoked marijuana as a way of coping with her mother’s recent death.

“I was definitely triggered and blinded by emotions, blinded by badness, and hurting, and hiding hurt,” she told NBC. “I know I can’t hide myself, so in some type of way, I was trying to hide my pain.”

Richardson had what could have been a three-month sanction reduced to one month because she participated in a counseling program.

After the London Olympics, international regulators relaxed the threshold for what constitutes a positive test for marijuana from 15 nanograms per milliliter to 150 ng/m. They explained the new threshold was an attempt to ensure that in-competition use is detected and not use during the days and weeks before competition.

Though there have been wide-ranging debates about whether marijuana should be considered a performance-enhancing drug, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency makes clear on its website that “all synthetic and naturally occurring cannabinoids are prohibited in-competition, except for cannabidiol (CBD),” a byproduct that is being explored for possible medical benefits.

While not weighing in on her prospects for the relays, USATF issued a statement that said her “situation is incredibly unfortunate and devastating for everyone involved.” The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said it was “working with USATF to determine the appropriate next steps.”

Richardson said if she’s allowed to run in the relay, “I’m grateful, but if not, I’m just going to focus on myself.”

Her case is the latest in a number of doping-related embarrassments for U.S. track team. Among those banned for the Olympics are the reigning world champion at 100 meters, Christian Coleman, who is serving a suspension for missing tests, and the American record holder at 1,500 and 5,000 meters, Shelby Houlihan, who tested positive for a performance enhancer she blamed on tainted meat in a burrito. Also on Friday, defending Olympic 100-meter hurdles champion Brianna McNeal had a five-year ban for tampering or attempted tampering with the doping-control process upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Now, Richardson is out as well, denying the Olympics of a much-hyped race and an electric personality. She ran at the trials with flowing orange hair and long fingernails.

“To put on a face and go out in front of the world and hide my pain, who am I to tell you how to cope when you’re dealing with pain and struggles you’ve never had to experience before?” Richardson said.

___

More AP Olympics coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics

US track star Sha’Carri Richardson gets one month suspension for positive marijuana test

BY JORDAN ROBLEDO

GAYTIMES

US track and field star and Olympic qualifier Sha’Carri Richardson has been disqualified from the upcoming games.

The news comes after Richardson failed a drug test – which found marijuana in her system.

During an interview on the Today show, the 21-year-old apologized for her actions and opened up about the recent death of her mother.

“I want to take responsibility for my actions. I know what I did,” she said. “I know what I’m supposed to do, [what] I’m allowed not to do and I still made that decision, but not making an excuse or looking for empathy in my case.”

Due to her test result, she is now on a one-month suspension.

Richardson goes on to explain the events leading up to her marijuana use and revealed that she found out her mother died by a reporter.

“I had an interview scheduled with my agent… I was just thinking ‘Oh it’s going to be a normal interview,'” she explained.

“But then on the interview to hear that information come from a complete stranger it was definitely nerve shocking. It’s just like how are you to tell me that?

“No offence to him at all, he was just doing his job but it definitely sent me into a state of mind and in a state of emotional panic.”


A few days after finding out her mother died, Richardson went on to qualify for the Olympics with her record-breaking win in the women’s 100-meter dash.

Before the news hit headlines on Friday (2 July), the young athlete seemingly referred to the situation in a cryptic tweet on 1 July, stating: “I am human.”

In the interview, Richardson referred to the tweet to reiterate that she’s human and makes mistakes.

“Like I tweeted yesterday, I’m human. We are human, I want to be as transparent as possible with you guys whether it’s good, whether it’s bad,” she said.

The Chief executive officer of the US Anti Doping Agency, Travis T Tygart, opened up about the news in a statement.

“The rules are clear, but this is heartbreaking on many levels; hopefully, her acceptance of responsibility and apology will be an important example to us all that we can successfully overcome our regrettable decisions,” he said.

The USADA organization also revealed that Richardson’s wins and record-breaking results have been disqualified and any prizes, medals and points have been forfeited.

Since the news fans, athletes and celebrities have spoken out against the decision to disqualify the young talent.

Athletic brand Nike and sponsor for Richardson released a statement sticking by the Olympic hopeful.

“We appreciate Sha’Carri’s honest and accountability and will continue to support her through this time,” they said.

Gabrielle Union took to Twitter and wrote: “Weed is great for many a thing but running faster isn’t one of them. LET HER RUN!!!”

Basketball star Dwayne Wade also showed support for the Richardson, stating: “Majority of y’all rule-makers smoke and probably are investors in THC companies. Let’s stop playing these games.”

LONG WAY TO GO TO GET WOKE ON THIS

Biden praises Olympic sprinter’s response to weed suspension — but ‘rules are rules’


By Mary Kay Linge
NY POST
July 3, 2021 || Updated

President Joe Biden applauded Sha'Carri Richardson's response to her marijuana suspension from the Olympic team.REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

NBA star speaks out in support of suspended Sha’Carri Richardson

‘Let Sha’Carri Run!’: Fans petition for sprinter to rejoin Olympic team

AOC blasts IOC for suspending Olympian over marijuana test

Olympian’s weed suspension leads to Michael Phelps comparison

President Joe Biden said Saturday he is “proud” of sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson — but doesn’t think she should be reinstated to the US Olympic track team after being bounced for pot use.

“Well, the rules are the rules,” Biden told reporters Saturday as he shopped at a farm stand in Central Lake, Mich. “But I was really proud of the way she responded.”

Richardson, 21, won the 100-meter dash in 10.86 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials on June 19 — but later tested positive for THC, the chemical in marijuana.

The test results meant a 30-day suspension from competition. Weed is considered a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and USA Track and Field.

“I want to take responsibility for my actions,” Richardson told NBC News Friday. “I’m not looking for an excuse.”Sha’Carri Richardson’s suspension for marijuana use ignited protests from professional athletes such as NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes and NBA point guard Damian Lillard.Getty ImagesPresident Joe Biden insists “the rules are the rules,” in response to sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson’s suspension for drug use.Bloomberg via Getty Images

Biden’s reaction to Richardson’s punishment puts him at odds with many of his fellow Democrats — including far left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who blasted the International Olympic Committee’s anti-weed stance as “an instrument of racist and colonial policy” and demanded Richardson’s return to the team.

Biden’s comment came one day after Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida attacked the president for his silence on the Richardson matter.Sha’Carri Richardson dominated the women’s 100 meter race at the US Olympic team trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on June 19, 2021.Andy Lyons/Getty ImagesSha’Carri Richardson has acknowledged the consequences for using marijuana.Patrick Smith/Getty Images

“The press who love to bathe in the intersectionality of race-gender-sports should ask @JoeBiden if he believes Sha’carri Richardson should be barred from representing America for using a drug legal in most states that doesn’t impact performance,” Gaetz tweeted Friday.

“I sure as hell don’t.”

#ECOCIDE

Mexico, state-owned oil company slammed after gas leak causes subaquatic fireball in Gulf

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Greenpeace Mexico says incident illustrates dangers of country's fossil fuels policy

The Associated Press · Posted: Jul 03, 2021 7:56 PM ET | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

The Pemex logo is seen at a gas station in Mexico City in 2015. A gas leak at an underwater pipeline operated by the state-owned company unleashed a subaquatic fireball that appeared to boil the waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Friday. (Edgard Garrido/Reuters)

Environmentalists criticized Mexico's state-owned oil company Saturday after a gas leak at an underwater pipeline unleashed a subaquatic fireball that appeared to boil the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Greenpeace Mexico said the accident Friday appeared to have been caused by the failure of an underwater valve and that it illustrates the dangers of Mexico's policy of promoting fossil fuels.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has bet heavily on drilling more wells and buying or building oil refineries. He touts oil as "the best business in the world."

Greenpeace wrote in a statement that the fire, which took five hours to extinguish, "demonstrates the serious risks that Mexico's fossil fuel model poses for the environment and people's safety."

Climate activist Greta Thunberg reposted a video clip of the massive fireball on her Twitter account.

"Meanwhile the people in power call themselves 'climate leaders' as they open up new oilfields, pipelines and coal power plants - granting new oil licenses exploring future oil drilling sites," Thunberg wrote. "This is the world they are leaving for us."

Mexico's state-owned oil company said Friday that an undersea gas pipeline ruptured near a drilling platform in the Gulf.

• 'Ugly, horrible': Witnesses recount Mexico fuel pipeline blast that killed 71

Petroleos Mexicanos dispatched fire control boats to pump more water over the flames. Pemex, as the company is known, said nobody was injured in the incident in the offshore Ku-Maloob-Zaap field.

The leak near dawn Friday occurred about 137 metres from a drilling platform. The company said it had brought the gas leak under control about five hours later.

It was unclear how much environmental damage the gas leak and oceanic fireball had caused.

She's got a point. Expensive compared to what? This?