New York appeals court dismisses AG suit against Amazon

By HALELUYA HADERO

New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks during the New York State Democratic Convention in New York, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. An appeals court in New York has dismissed James’ lawsuit against Amazon, Tuesday, May 10. Besides potentially exposing workers to the virus at two Amazon facilities in New York City, the lawsuit filed by James last year had said the company illegally retaliated against workers who spoke up about poor safety conditions. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — An appeals court in New York dismissed New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against Amazon over its coronavirus safety protocols and a former employee who led the successful union organizing effort on Staten Island.

Besides potentially exposing workers to the virus at two Amazon facilities in New York City, the lawsuit filed by James last year claimed that Amazon illegally retaliated against workers who spoke up about poor safety conditions in its warehouses. They include Chris Smalls, the fired Amazon worker who now heads the Amazon Labor Union, and Derrick Palmer, the group’s vice president of organizing.

The appellate court said in its ruling Tuesday that federal labor law preempted state labor law, and the National Labor Relations Board “should serve as the forum” for disputes arising from conduct that’s protected or prohibited by federal labor law, not the states.

It also said the lawsuit’s efforts to require the retailer to comply with New York’s COVID-19 workplace guidelines was dismissed as moot because the restriction in place at the time have since been lifted.

The court also pointed to a separate NLRB case over another fired employee, Gerald Bryson. It said that case involves “essentially the same allegations of retaliation, and the possibility of inconsistent rulings on the same issue poses an ‘obvious and substantial’ ‘risk of interference’” with the NLRB’s jurisdiction.

Palmer, who was given a final written warning in the early days of the pandemic, is still employed at Amazon.

The court’s ruling is a win for Amazon, which had sought to have the case thrown out but its motion to dismiss was denied by a trial court last year.

“Throughout the pandemic, Amazon has failed to provide a safe working environment for New Yorkers, putting their health and safety at risk,” said Morgan Rubin, a spokesperson for the attorney general, in a statement. “As our office reviews the decision and our options moving forward, Attorney General James remains committed to protecting Amazon workers, and all workers, from unfair treatment.”

The Seattle-based online retailer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russian envoy to Poland hit with red paint at war cemetery

By VANESSA GERA

May 9, 2022

Russian Ambassador to Poland, Ambassador Sergey Andreev is covered with red paint in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, May 9, 2022. Protesters have thrown red paint on the Russian ambassador as he arrived at a cemetery in Warsaw to pay respects to Red Army soldiers who died during World War II. Ambassador Sergey Andreev arrived at the Soviet soldiers cemetery on Monday to lay flowers where a group of activists opposed to Russia’s war in Ukraine were waiting for him. 

AP Photo/Maciek Luczniewski

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Russia’s ambassador to Poland was splattered with red paint thrown at him by protesters opposed to the war in Ukraine, preventing him from paying respects on Monday at a Warsaw cemetery to Red Army soldiers who died during World War II.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced the attack, saying that “we won’t be scared” while the “people of Europe should be scared to see their reflection in a mirror.”

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau described the incident as “highly deplorable.”

“Diplomats enjoy special protection, regardless of the policies pursued by the governments that they represent,” he said.

Ambassador Sergey Andreev arrived at the Soviet soldiers’ cemetery to lay flowers on Victory Day, which marks the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Allies. The major Russian patriotic holiday was celebrated with pomp in a parade at Red Square in Moscow.

As he arrived at the Soviet Military Cemetery in the Polish capital, Andreev was met by hundreds of activists opposed to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Red paint was thrown from behind at him before a protester standing beside him threw a big blob of it in his face.

The protesters carried Ukrainian flags and chanted “fascists” and “murderers” at him, while some were dressed in white sheets smeared with red, symbolizing the Ukrainian victims of Russia’s war. Other people in his entourage were also seen splattered with what appeared to be red paint.

Zakharova said that “admirers of the neo-Nazis have once again shown their face.” She said that along with the removal of monuments to Soviet army World War II heroes, the attack reflected the “course for the reincarnation of fascism.”

Some Russian commentators suggested that the attack on the ambassador could prompt Moscow to recall him and ask the Polish ambassador to leave Russia.

The Polish government faced some criticism for not providing the ambassador with more security, allowing for an incident to occur that Russia could use to depict Poland as hostile to Moscow.

Among the critics was a former interior minister, Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz, who said he couldn’t understand why there wasn’t more protection for the ambassador when for weeks “you could feel how May 9 could end in Warsaw.”

Poland’s current interior minister, however, said Poland’s government opposed the ambassador against laying a wreath at the cemetery, and noted that police helped him to safely leave the scene. The ambassador had originally hoped to hold a Victory Day march in Warsaw, but national and city authorities opposed that — and some viewed his appearance at the cemetery as provocative.

“The gathering of opponents of Russian aggression against Ukraine, where the crime of genocide takes place every day, was legal,” Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski added. “The emotions of Ukrainian women taking part in the demonstration, whose husbands are fighting bravely in defense of their homeland, are understandable.”

Protesters also marched in Warsaw on Sunday evening to protest the war, bringing a tank on a tractor and parking it in front of the Russian Embassy. Since the war began on Feb. 24, images of Ukrainian tractors hauling off Russian tanks have been symbols of Ukrainian resistance.

The Soviet cemetery is set amid a vast park on the route linking the downtown to the international airport. It is the final resting place of more than 20,000 Red Army soldiers who perished on Polish soil fighting while helping to defeat Nazi Germany.

While Poland has removed some monuments to the Red Army in the decades since it threw off Moscow-backed communist rule, it has allowed the cemetery to remain undisturbed. Though Soviet soldiers defeated the Nazis, earlier in the war the Soviet forces had invaded Poland following a secret agreement with the German Nazi government, and carried out atrocities against Poles, including mass executions and deportations to Siberia.





Russian Ambassador to Poland, Ambassador Sergey Andreev is covered with red paint in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, May 9, 2022. Protesters have thrown red paint on the Russian ambassador as he arrived at a cemetery in Warsaw to pay respects to Red Army soldiers who died during World War II. Ambassador Sergey Andreev arrived at the Soviet soldiers cemetery on Monday to lay flowers where a group of activists opposed to Russia’s war in Ukraine were waiting for him.

 (AP Photo/Maciek Luczniewski)

Al Jazeera reporter killed during Israeli raid in West Bank

By JOSEPH KRAUSS and FARES AKRAM

An undated photo released by the Al Jazeera network shows Shireen Abu Akleh, a journalist for Al Jazeera network. Abu Akle. the well-known Palestinian reporter for the broadcaster's Arabic language, channel was shot and killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early Wednesday, May 11, 2022, the Palestinian health ministry said

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Journalists and medics wheel the body of Shireen Abu Akleh, a journalist for Al Jazeera network, into the morgue inside the Hospital in the West Bank town of Jenin, Wednesday, May 11, 2022. The well-known Palestinian reporter for the broadcaster's Arabic language channel was shot and killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said. 

(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)


JERUSALEM (AP) — A journalist for Al Jazeera was shot and killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early Wednesday. The broadcaster and a reporter who was wounded in the incident blamed Israeli forces, who said they were investigating.

Shireen Abu Akleh, a well-known Palestinian female reporter for the broadcaster’s Arabic language channel, was shot and died soon afterward. Ali Samoudi, another Palestinian journalist, was hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in the back.

The Qatar-based network interrupted its broadcast to announce her death. In a statement flashed on its channel, it called on the international community to “condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for deliberately targeting and killing our colleague.”

“We pledge to prosecute the perpetrators legally, no matter how hard they try to cover up their crime, and bring them to justice,” Al Jazeera said in a statement.

The Israeli military said its forces came under attack with heavy gunfire and explosives while operating in Jenin, and that they fired back. The military said it is “investigating the event and looking into the possibility that the journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said it had proposed to the Palestinian Authority a joint pathological investigation into the reporter’s death. “Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth,” he tweeted.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters, condemned what it said was a “shocking crime” committed by Israeli forces.

Abu Akleh, 51, was born in Jerusalem. She began working for Al Jazeera in 1997 and regularly reported on-camera from across the Palestinian territories. In video footage of the incident, Abu Akleh can be seen wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked with the word “PRESS.”

Samoudi, who was working as her producer, told The Associated Press they were among a group of seven reporters who went to cover the raid early Wednesday. He said they were all wearing protective gear that clearly marked them as reporters, and they passed by Israeli troops so the soldiers would see them and know that they were there.

He said the first shot missed them, then a second struck him, and a third killed Abu Akleh. He said there were no militants or other civilians in the area — only the reporters and the army.

He said the military’s suggestion that they were shot by militants was a “complete lie.”

Shaza Hanaysheh, a reporter with a Palestinian news website who was also among the reporters, gave a similar account in an interview with Al Jazeera’s Arabic channel, saying there were no clashes or shooting in the immediate area.

She said that when the shots rang out she and Abu Akleh ran toward a tree to take shelter.

“I reached the tree before Shireen. She fell on the ground,” Hanaysheh said. “The soldiers did not stop shooting even after she fell. Every time I extended my hand to pull Shireen, the soldiers fired at us.”

Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav, an Israeli commander, told army radio that the two journalists were standing alongside armed Palestinians. He said the gunmen were “unprofessional people, terrorists, who were shooting at our troops.”

Israel has carried out near-daily raids in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks amid a series of deadly attacks inside Israel, many of them carried out by Palestinians from in and around Jenin. The town, and particularly its refugee camp, has long been known as a militant bastion.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want the territory to form the main part of their future state. Nearly 3 million Palestinians live in the territory under Israeli military rule. Israel has built more than 130 settlements across the West Bank that are home to nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers, who have full Israeli citizenship.

Israelis have long been critical of Al Jazeera’s coverage, but authorities generally allow its journalists to operate freely. Another Al Jazeera reporter, Givara Budeiri, was briefly detained last year during a protest in Jerusalem and treated for a broken hand, which her employer blamed on rough treatment by police.

Relations between Israeli forces and the media, especially Palestinian journalists, is strained. A number of Palestinian reporters have been wounded by rubber-coated bullets or tear gas while covering demonstrations in the West Bank. A Palestinian journalist in Gaza was shot and killed by Israeli forces while filming violent protests along the Gaza frontier in 2018.

Another journalist working for a local Gaza radio station, who was shot on the same day at Gaza frontier, died a week later

In November 2018, Associated Press reporter Rashed Rashid was covering a protest near the Gaza frontier when he was shot in the left ankle, apparently by Israeli fire. Rashid was wearing protective gear that clearly identified him as a journalist, and was standing with a crowd of other journalists some 600 meters (660 yards) away from the Israeli border when he was hit. The military has never acknowledged the shooting.

During last year’s war between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers, an Israeli airstrike destroyed the building in Gaza City housing the offices of The Associated Press and Al Jazeera. Residents were warned to evacuate and no one was hurt in the strike. Israel said Hamas was using the building as a command center but has provided no evidence.

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Akram reported from Hamilton, Canada. Associated Press writer Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed.

SEE 

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/shireen-abu-akleh-outrage-grows-over-al.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/palestinians-honour-slain-journalist.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/rest-in-power-shireen-abu-aqla.html

Pandemic gets tougher to track as COVID testing plunges


Workers at a drive-up COVID-19 testing clinic stand in a tent as they prepare PCR coronavirus tests, Jan. 4, 2022, in Puyallup, Wash., south of Seattle. Testing for COVID-19 has plummeted across the globe, dropping by 70 to 90% worldwide from the first to the second quarter of 2022, making it much tougher for scientists to track the course of the pandemic and spot new, worrisome viral mutants as they emerge and spread. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)


Testing for COVID-19 has plummeted across the globe, making it much tougher for scientists to track the course of the pandemic and spot new, worrisome viral mutants as they emerge and spread.

Experts say testing has dropped by 70 to 90% worldwide from the first to the second quarter of this year — the opposite of what they say should be happening with new omicron variants on the rise in places such as the United States and South Africa.

“We’re not testing anywhere near where we might need to,” said Dr. Krishna Udayakumar, who directs the Duke Global Health Innovation Center at Duke University. “We need the ability to ramp up testing as we’re seeing the emergence of new waves or surges to track what’s happening” and respond.

Reported daily cases in the U.S., for example, are averaging 73,633, up more than 40% over the past two weeks, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. But that is a vast undercount because of the testing downturn and the fact tests are being taken at home and not reported to health departments. An influential modeling group at the University of Washington in Seattle estimates that only 13% of cases are being reported to health authorities in the U.S. — which would mean more than a half million new infections every day.

The drop in testing is global but the overall rates are especially inadequate in the developing world, Udayakumar said. The number of tests per 1,000 people in high income countries is around 96 times higher than it is in low income countries, according to the Geneva-based public health nonprofit FIND.

What’s driving the drop? Experts point to COVID fatigue, a lull in cases after the first omicron wave and a sense among some residents of low-income countries that there’s no reason to test because they lack access to antiviral medications.

At a recent press briefing by the World Health Organization, FIND CEO Dr. Bill Rodriguez called testing “the first casualty of a global decision to let down our guard” and said “we’re becoming blind to what is happening with the virus.”

Testing, genomic sequencing and delving into case spikes can lead to the discovery of new variants. New York state health officials found the super contagious BA.2.12.1 variant after investigating higher-than-average case rates in the central part of the state.

Going forward, “we’re just not going to see the new variants emerge the way we saw previous variants emerge,” Rodriquez told The Associated Press.

Testing increases as infections rise and people develop symptoms — and it falls along with lulls in new cases. Testing is rising again in the U.S. along with the recent surge.

But experts are concerned about the size of the drop after the first omicron surge, the low overall levels of testing globally, and the inability to track cases reliably. While home tests are convenient, only tests sent to labs can be used to detect variants. If fewer tests are being done, and fewer of those tests are processed in labs, fewer positive samples are available for sequencing.

Also, home test results are largely invisible to tracking systems.

Mara Aspinall, managing director of an Arizona-based consulting company that tracks COVID-19 testing trends, said there’s at least four times more home testing than PCR testing, and “we are getting essentially zero data from the testing that’s happening at home.”

That’s because there’s no uniform mechanism for people to report results to understaffed local health departments. The CDC strongly encourages people to tell their doctors, who in most places must report COVID-19 diagnoses to public health authorities.

Generally, though, results from home tests fall under the radar.

Reva Seville, a 36-year-old Los Angeles parent, tested herself at home this week after she began feeling symptoms such as a scratchy throat, coughing and congestion. After the results came back positive, she tested twice more just to be sure. But her symptoms were mild, so she didn’t plan to go to the doctor or report her results to anyone.

Beth Barton of Washington, Missouri, who works in construction, said she’s taken about 10 home tests, either before visiting her parents or when she’s had symptoms she thought might be COVID-19. All came back negative. She shared the results with the people around her but didn’t know how to report them.

“There should be a whole system for that,” said Barton, 42. “We as a society don’t know how to gauge where we’re at.”

Aspinall said one potential solution would be to use technology like scanning a QR code to report home test results confidentiality.

Another way to keep better track of the pandemic, experts said, is to bolster other types of surveillance, such as wastewater monitoring and collecting hospitalization data. But those have their own drawbacks. Wastewater surveillance remains a patchwork that doesn’t cover all areas, and hospitalization trends lag behind cases.

Udayakumar said scientists across the world must use all the tracking methods at their disposal to keep up with the virus, and will need to do so for months or even years.

At the same time, he said, steps must be taken to boost testing in lower-income countries. Demand for tests would rise if access to antivirals were improved in these places, he said. And one of the best ways to increase testing is to integrate it into existing health services, said Wadzanayi Muchenje, who leads health and strategic partnerships in Africa for The Rockefeller Foundation.

Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said there will come a point when the world stops widespread testing for COVID-19 – but that day isn’t here yet.

With the pandemic lingering and virus still unpredictable, “it’s not acceptable for us to only be concerned about individual health,” he said. “We have to worry about the population.”

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AP reporters Bobby Caina Calvan in New York and Carla K. Johnson in Seattle contributed to this story.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Minor league players, MLB reach deal in minimum wage suit

Quad Cities River Bandits players warm up before a Class-A Midwest League baseball game against the Cedar Rapids Kernels in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Monday, May 13, 2019. Minor league players and Major League Baseball have reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging teams violated minimum wage laws. The settlement has not yet been filed with the court and details were not released Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Minor league players and Major League Baseball have reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging teams violated minimum wage laws.

Terms of the settlement were not filed with the court Tuesday and details were not released. Two people familiar with the negotiations, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the release of details was not authorized, said the sides in recent weeks had been discussing a possible settlement in the $200 million range.

“We are pleased to report that the parties have reached a settlement in principle in this over eight-year-old case, subject to court approval,” lawyers for the players said in a statement. “We look forward to filing preliminary approval papers with the court and cannot comment further until then.”

The two sides asked the court for permission to file by July 11 for approval of the settlement.

The suit was filed in 2014 by first baseman/outfielder Aaron Senne, a 10th-round pick of the Marlins in 2009 who retired in 2013, and two other retired players who had been lower-round selections: Kansas City infielder Michael Liberto and San Francisco pitcher Oliver Odle. They claimed violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state minimum wage and overtime requirements for a work week they estimated at 50 to 60 hours.

A trial had been scheduled to start June 1 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Several classes of players are part a of case involving laws in different states.

A letter filed with the court by lawyers for both sides asked Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero to postpone a conference scheduled for Tuesday and the trial.

“The parties are pleased to inform the court that they have reached a settlement of the matter in principle,” the letter said. “The parties have agreed upon a confidential memorandum of understanding. The settlement is subject to ratification by the respective parties, and we are in the process of preparing the settlement documents.”

The letter was signed by Elise M. Bloom of Proskauer Rose on behalf of MLB and by Clifford H. Pearson of Pearson, Simon & Warshaw and Stephen M. Tillery of Korein Tillery on behalf of the players.

Spero wrote in a pretrial ruling in March that minor leaguers are year-round employees who work during training time and found MLB violated Arizona’s state minimum wage law and was liable for triple damages. Spero also ruled MLB did not comply with California wage statement requirements, awarding $1,882,650 in penalties.

He said minor leaguers should be paid for travel time to road game s in the California League and to practice in Arizona and Florida.

“These are not students who have enrolled in a vocational school with the understanding that they would perform services, without compensation, as part of the practical training necessary to complete the training and obtain a license,” Spero wrote.

The case was sent back to the District Court by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2019 after lawyers for the players and MLB spent years arguing whether it should receive class-action status.

Spero ruled MLB is a joint employer with teams of minor league players; that those players perform “work” during spring training; that travel time on team buses to away games is compensable under FLSA, Florida and Arizona law and that travel time by California League players to away games is compensable under California law.

In 2017, the players suing were defined as those with minor league contracts who played in the California League for at least seven straight days starting on Feb. 7, 2010 or Feb. 7, 2011, depending on state or federal claims; those who participated in spring training, extended spring training instructional leagues in Arizona starting Feb. 7, 2011; and those who participated in spring training, extended spring training instructional leagues in Florida starting Feb. 7, 2009.

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Parents hunting for baby formula as shortage spans US & CANADA

By MATTHEW PERRONE and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH

MAY 10, 2022

Shelves typically stocked with baby formula sit mostly empty at a store in San Antonio, Tuesday, May 10, 2022. Parents across the U.S. are scrambling to find baby formula because supply disruptions and a massive safety recall have swept many leading brands off store shelves. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Parents across the U.S. are scrambling to find baby formula because supply disruptions and a massive safety recall have swept many leading brands off store shelves.

Months of spot shortages at pharmacies and supermarkets have been exacerbated by the recall at Abbott, which was forced to shutter its largest U.S. formula manufacturing plant in February due to contamination concerns.

On Monday, White House press secretary Jenn Psaki said the Food and Drug Administration was “working around the clock to address any possible shortages.”

On Tuesday, the FDA said it was working with U.S. manufacturers to increase their output and streamlining paperwork to allow more imports.

For now, pediatricians and health workers are urging parents who can’t find formula to contact food banks or doctor’s offices. They warn against watering down formula to stretch supplies or using online DIY recipes.

“For babies who are not being breastfed, this is the only thing they eat,” said Dr. Steven Abrams, of the University of Texas, Austin. “So it has to have all of their nutrition and, furthermore, it needs to be properly prepared so that it’s safe for the smallest infants.”

Laura Stewart, a 52-year-old mother of three who lives just north of Springfield, Missouri, has been struggling for several weeks to find formula for her 10-month-old daughter, Riley.

Riley normally gets a brand of Abbott’s Similac designed for children with sensitive stomachs. Last month, she instead used four different brands.

“She spits up more. She’s just more cranky. She is typically a very happy girl,” Stewart said. “When she has the right formula, she doesn’t spit up. She’s perfectly fine.”

A small can costs $17 to $18 and lasts three to five days, Stewart said.

Like many Americans, Stewart relies on WIC — a federal program similar to food stamps that serves mothers and children — to afford formula for her daughter. Abbott’s recall wiped out many WIC-covered brands, though the program is now allowing substitutions.

Trying to keep formula in stock, retailers including CVS and Walgreens have begun limiting purchases to three containers per customer.

Nationwide about 40% of large retail stores are out of stock, up from 31% in mid-April, according to Datasembly, a data analytics firm. More than half of U.S. states are seeing out-of-stock rates between 40% and 50%, according to the firm, which collects data from 11,000 locations.

Baby formula is particularly vulnerable to disruptions because just a handful of companies account for almost the entire U.S. supply.

Industry executives say the constraints began last year as the COVID-19 pandemic led to disruptions in ingredients, labor and transportation. Supplies were further squeezed by parents stockpiling during lockdowns.

Then in February, Abbott recalled several major brands and shut down its Sturgis, Michigan, factory when federal officials concluded four babies suffered bacterial infections after consuming formula from the facility. Two of the infants died.

When FDA inspectors visited the plant in March they found lax safety protocols and traces of the bacteria on several surfaces. None of the bacterial strains matched those collected from the infants, however, and the FDA hasn’t offered an explanation for how the contamination occurred.

For its part, Abbott says its formula “is not likely the source of infection,” though the FDA says its investigation continues.

Chicago-based Abbott said it is increasing production at its other facilities to fill the gap, including air-shipping formula from a plant in Ireland.

The shortages are especially dangerous for infants who require specialty formulas due to food allergies, digestive problems and other conditions.

“Unfortunately, many of those very specialized formulas are only made in the United States at the factory that had the recall, and that’s caused a huge problem for a relatively small number of infants,” Abrams said.

After hearing concerns from parents, the FDA said last month that Abbott could begin releasing some specialty formulas not affected by the recalls “on a case-by-case basis.” The company is providing them free of charge, in coordination with physicians and hospitals.

Food safety advocates say the FDA made the right call in releasing the formula, but that parents should talk to their pediatricians before using it.

“There’s still some risk from the formula because we know there are problems at the plant and FDA hasn’t identified a root cause,” said Sarah Sorscher of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. ”But it’s worth releasing because these infants might die without it.”

It’s unclear when the Abbott plant might reopen.

The FDA said the company is still working “to rectify findings related to the processes, procedures and conditions.” Other infant formula makers are “meeting or exceeding capacity levels to meet current demand,” the agency said.

Among other steps, the FDA said it was waiving enforcement of minor product labeling issues to increase availability of both U.S. and imported products.

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Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri.

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Follow Matthew Perrone on Twitter: @AP_FDAwriter

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Study: Minorities bore brunt of 'excess deaths' due to killings, drugs during pandemic

Between March and December 2020, the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 242,000 deaths from "external causes," including homicides, were reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo

May 9 (UPI) -- Black Americans, as well as American Indians and Alaska Natives, were more likely to be slain or die as a result of drug overdoses or traffic accidents during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic than White Americans and those of other racial and ethnic groups, an analysis published Monday found.

Of more than 17,000 "excess deaths," or more than expected fatalities, between March and December 2020, nearly 7,000, or 42%, involved Black Americans, the data published Monday by JAMA Internal Medicine showed.

Meanwhile, about 3% of these deaths involved American Indians or Alaska Natives, the researchers said.

Black Americans make up about 12% of the total population of the United States, while American Indians and Alaska Natives account for just over 1%, according to 2020 census figures.

RELATED Thousands of COVID-19 deaths in U.S. South were preventable, study suggests

"The pandemic has and continues to disproportionately impact some communities -- especially marginalized communities -- above and beyond just COVID-19 infection," study co-author Mathew V. Kiang told UPI in an email.

"It is clear that we need more structural ways of protecting these marginalized groups," said Kiang, a computational and social epidemiologist and an Instructor in epidemiology and population health at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.

Between March and December 2020, the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 242,000 deaths from "external causes" were reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

External, or unnatural, causes of death include intentional and unintentional injury and poisoning, such as drug overdose, as well as complications of medical or surgical care, and homicide and suicide, the agency says.

The 242,000 figure is about 17,000 above what would normally be expected for the nine-month period, based on data from prior years, Kiang and his colleagues said.

The 17,000 excess deaths included 4,300 homicides,12,900 drug overdoses and 2,200 transportation fatalities, the data showed.

RELATED Minority groups bear brunt of COVID-19 death toll, study says

Black Americans accounted for two-thirds of all excess deaths attributed to homicide and 19% of those linked with drug overdoses, the researchers said.

They also made up 57% of excess deaths associated with transportation-related accidents, according to the researchers.

American Indians and Alaska Natives accounted for 2% of all drug overdose-related excess deaths and 2% of homicide fatalities, the data showed.

This group also had higher rates of suicide deaths during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic while others experienced declines, the researchers said.

"Excess deaths are a way for us to think about what would have happened to these groups if COVID-19 never happened," Kiang said.

"In that way, it allows us to understand the full brunt of COVID-19, both directly in terms of infection but also indirectly," he said.

MAY BE CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Justice Department investigates mental health startup Cerebral for misleading ads

Cerebral, currently under investigation for possible Controlled Substances Act violations, offers prescriptions for some of the conditions it offers therapy and counseling services for, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and insomnia. 

File Photo by Sponge/Wikimedia Commons


May 9 (UPI) -- The United States Department of Justice launched an investigation into Cerebral, a mental health startup facing scrutiny over its advertising and prescribing practices for controlled substances including Xanax and Adderall.

The DOJ is looking into Cerebral for "possible violations" of the Controlled Substances Act, which regulates distribution of medications that come with a high risk of addiction.

The online, San-Francisco-based company offers prescriptions for some of the conditions it offers therapy and counseling services for, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and insomnia.

In recent months, medical professionals and social media platforms like TikTok and Meta have accused Cerebral of misleading advertisements linking ADHD to obesity.

Meta and TikTok have subsequently pulled such ads from its platforms.

After the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York issued a grand jury subpoena on Wednesday requesting documents, Cerebral halted issuing controlled substance prescriptions the same day.

The company's Adderall prescriptions could no longer be filled by certain pharmacies including CVS and Walmart as of April, and the pharmacy described by Cerebral as its preferred choice -- Truepill -- announced on April 29 it would no longer mail Schedule 2 controlled substances like Adderall to their customers.

"To be clear, at this time, no regulatory or law enforcement authority has accused Cerebral of violating any law," Cerebral said in a statement to Insider.

"Cerebral intends to fully cooperate with the investigation, which we already have conveyed to the U.S. Attorney's Office," the statement to Insider read.

Antibiotics may cause recurrent UTIs, study suggests

By Amy Norton, HealthDay News

The antibiotics used to treat UTIs might set the stage for repeat infections by depleting the gut microbiome of beneficial bacteria, a new study found. 

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common and often easily managed, yet some women are plagued by one infection after another. Now, a new study hints at a culprit: the antibiotics used to treat them.

UTIs can affect anyone, but are particularly prevalent among women. Studies suggest that up to 80% of women develop a UTI at some point, and about one-quarter of them have frequent recurrences.

Exactly why those women suffer repeat bouts has been unclear.

The new study, published recently in the journal Nature Microbiology, offers early evidence of a potential reason: The antibiotics used to treat UTIs might set the stage for repeat infections by depleting the gut microbiome of beneficial bacteria.

The microbiome refers to the vast array of bacteria that naturally dwell in the body, largely the gut, and help keep vital functions running smoothly -- including the immune response.

The makeup of those bacteria is always in flux, being influenced by various factors, from diet to antibiotic use. Anyone who has ever had digestive issues after a course of antibiotics has felt those effects.

The gut is also known to be a "reservoir" for certain bacteria that cause most UTIs -- so-called uropathogenic E. coli. In fact, UTIs often arise from the "ascension" of those bacteria from the gut to the urinary tract, explained Scott Hultgren, one of the senior researchers on the new study.

In theory, throwing off the delicate balance between "good" and "bad" gut bacteria could predispose some women to recurrent UTIs.

But until now, studies have not delved into the question, said Hultgren, a professor of molecular microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

So he and his colleagues recruited 31 women ages 18 to 45. Fifteen of them had recurrent UTIs -- three or more in the past year. Over the next year, the researchers collected blood and urine samples, plus monthly stool samples, from the women. During that time, there were 24 more UTIs in the study group, all among women who'd been suffering recurrent bouts, and they were usually treated with antibiotics.

Overall, the researchers found, women with recurrent UTIs had a gut microbiome that looked different from other women's. They had much less diversity in their good bacteria, and fewer microbes that produce butyrate -- a fatty acid that helps control inflammation.

Meanwhile, women in the comparison group were just as likely to show UTI-causing E. coli in their guts, and those bugs sometimes traveled to their bladders. The difference was, those women did not develop UTIs.

According to the researchers, it all suggests that those UTI-free women were able to control the bad bugs, while women with recurrent UTIs were not -- possibly due to the disturbances in their gut bacteria.

One big unknown is how everything is thrown off in the first place, said Ashlee Earl, co-senior researcher on the study. Was it the antibiotic treatment for the first UTI? Or was there a gut microbiome disturbance, for whatever reason, which set women up for the first UTI and the antibiotic worsened the situation?

"To be determined," said Earl, of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Mass.

A bigger point, she noted, is that this study throws cold water on the traditional notion that recurrent UTIs are a matter of "hygiene."

"There can be a stigma around recurrent UTIs," Earl said. "But this doesn't have to do with hygiene. There is something else going on inside the body."

Dr. Karyn Eilber, a urologist who was not involved in the study, said the findings make sense, and fit with the longstanding concern that antibiotics are probably overused for UTIs.

There are certainly times when an antibiotic is needed, including when a UTI involves fever, said Eilber, who is based at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

"But if your doctor recommends an antibiotic," she said, "you can feel free to ask whether it's necessary."

Sometimes it's possible to simply treat symptoms, like using common painkillers to manage abdominal discomfort. Another alternative for recurrent UTIs, Eilber said, is a medication called methenamine. It works by making the urine more acidic and stopping bacterial growth, and studies have shown that it can prevent recurrent UTIs.

Yet another option for some women, Eilber said, is vaginal estrogen: After menopause, the vaginal lining thins, which can foster the growth of bad bacteria there, and sometimes lead to UTIs. Vaginal estrogen counters that, and may prevent recurrent UTIs in some women.

The hope is that additional treatment options will be available in the near future.

"We're trying to develop new compounds to selectively deplete uropathogenic E. coli, while keeping the gut microbiome intact," Hultgren said.

One such compound, based on the sugar mannoside, is currently being tested in a clinical trial.

For now, the researchers said, it's unknown whether any diet changes or probiotics can aid in preventing recurrent UTIs.

More information

The U.S. Office on Women's Health has more on urinary tract infections.

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Exclusive-U.S. asked Brazil's Petrobras if it could raise oil output; it said no -sources


By Gabriel Stargardter, Gram Slattery and Rodrigo Viga Gaier

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - U.S. government officials in March asked Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras whether it could increase crude output after Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent global prices soaring, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

They came away empty-handed, the sources said.

Officials at Petrobras, formally Petroleo Brasileiro SA, said output levels were a function of business strategy rather than diplomacy and also that a significant short-term production boost would not be logistically possible, the sources said.

"We are ... doing everything possible with our allies and partners to mitigate the economic impacts of Russian actions on other economies like Brazil," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters. "We are working with energy companies to surge their capacity to supply energy to the market, particularly as prices increase."

The spokesperson did not elaborate or comment specifically on the March meeting with Petrobras officials.

Petrobras denied in a statement that any meeting had occurred with "representatives of the U.S. State Department." It did not respond to a request for comment when asked if it had been contacted by any other U.S. government agency.

Washington has been making a sweeping diplomatic push to secure global oil supplies and keep a lid on prices after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. U.S. officials also have been trying to improve relations with the right-wing government of President Jair Bolsonaro, despite disagreements over the Ukraine war and environmental policy.

Brazil is the world's ninth-largest oil producer.

U.S. officials have also called on domestic producers to boost output. In March, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the country was on "war footing."

Also in March, U.S. officials traveled to Venezuela for their first high-level bilateral talks in years. The sides discussed the easing of some oil sanctions on Venezuela.

Brazil Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque told Reuters in April that he had met with Granholm twice to discuss the South American nation's role in keeping a lid on global crude prices. Few details of the government-to-government talks have emerged previously.

During a March meeting, U.S. officials asked Petrobras if the company had the capacity to increase short-term production, according to U.S. government and Petrobras sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private talks.

One of the sources said that initial contacts were made between the U.S. and Brazilian governments, and Petrobras officials were consulted in an "informal" follow-up meeting.

The Petrobras officials responded that such a move was not on the table due to strategic goals and logistical obstacles, all three sources said.

Those officials added, however, that Petrobras was ramping up medium-term production as part of an announced plan to add 500,000 barrels per day of crude production by 2026.

Petrobras executives insist it operates independently of the government, but the state is by far its biggest shareholder.

($1 = 5.08 reais)

(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter, Gram Slattery and Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Editing by Brad Haynes and David Gregorio)