SpaceX Starship explosion spread particulate matter for miles

Story by Lora Kolodny • 

Researchers are scrambling to assess health and environmental impacts of SpaceX's Starship Super Heavy test flight last week, which spread particulate matter far beyond the expected debris field.

The largest rocket ever built blew up in mid-flight, with no crew on board, leading the FAA to ground the Starship Super Heavy launch program pending a "mishap investigation."

Environmental engineers and advocates are concerned the ash- and sand-like particulate matter could hurt people's respiratory health, and could irreparably harm endangered species in the area.


SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket self-destructs after its launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on a brief uncrewed test flight near Brownsville, Texas, U.S. April 20, 2023 in a still image from video.

SpaceX launched the largest rocket ever built for the first time on Thursday from its Boca Chica, Texas, spaceport. The Starship spacecraft, designed to fly people on a Mars mission someday, lifted off the launch pad then blew up in mid-flight, with no crew on board.

Now, residents and researchers are scrambling to assess the impact of the explosion on local communities, their health, habitat and wildlife including endangered species. Of primary concern is the large amount of sand- and ash-like particulate matter and heavier debris kicked up by the launch. The particulate emissions spread far beyond the expected debris field.

As a result of the explosion, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the company's Starship Super Heavy launch program pending results of a "mishap investigation," part of standard practice, according to an email from the agency sent to CNBC after the launch. No injuries or public property damage had yet been reported to the agency as of Friday.

SpaceX did not immediately return a request for comment.

Not in the plan

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, speaking publicly on Twitter Spaces on April 16 ahead of the test flight, acknowledged that a vehicle with 33 engines is akin to "a box of grenades," and that the Starship vehicle was not likely to reach orbit but was likely to explode.

However, Musk and SpaceX did not accurately predict that their launchpad would be destroyed, nor that particulate matter would rain down on residents and habitat as far away as Port Isabel, a town about six miles from the launchpad, and South Padre Island, a few miles up the coast from the site.

Images captured during the test flight show that the SpaceX launch pad also exploded, with concrete chunks from it flying in multiple directions leaving behind a giant crater underneath. According to Dave Cortez, the Lone Star chapter director for the Sierra Club, a 501c4 environmental advocacy group, "Concrete shot out into the ocean, and risked hitting the fuel storage tanks which are these silos adjacent to the launch pad."

Jared Margolis, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said that in an environmental assessment – which SpaceX completed to obtain a launch license – the company told the FAA and other agencies that in the event of an "anomaly" they expected debris would fall within a limited, 700-acre area surrounding the launch site.

That would translate to a one-square-mile debris field, with debris emanating about three-quarters of a mile away from the site, he said, referencing SpaceX environmental site assessment documents that are public record.

In reality, following the test flight and explosion, people in Port Isabel reported broken windows in their businesses, shaking windows at their homes, and dust and particulate matter that coated their homes, schools and land unexpectedly, according to Cortez.

Port Isabel is a mainland town near the SpaceX spaceport, and across from the South Padre Island offshore, which also got a share of particulate matter, according to correspondence between researchers and residents shared with CNBC.

It's not yet known whether the ash- and sand-like particulate matter is dangerous to touch or breathe in and what effect it could have on soil health, Cortez and Margolis both noted.

One industry chronicler who reported locally on the launch, Lavie Ohana, wrote that the launch was also "one of the loudest" she had ever witnessed, "with shockwaves that just felt like getting punched over and over and over."

SpaceX's Starship rocket suffers mid-flight failure after launch Duration 0:59  

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Effects on endangered species

Margolis said the Center for Biological Diversity is worried about the effects of the noise, particulate and heavier debris on endangered species that make their home in the area, including the piping plover, red knot, jaguarundi, ocelot populations and sea turtles including the Kemp's Ridley, which nests on the beaches of Boca Chica and is one of the most critically endangered sea turtles in the world.

February through June is the nesting season for the Kemp's Ridley.

National Wildlife Refuge lands, which are very near the launch pad, are designated critical habitat for the piping plover, he emphasized.

Cortez added that Sierra Club members have been especially worried about human health impacts and how the aftermath of the explosion may limit people's ability to get outdoors, whether to fish for their dinner, enjoy the beach or take a hike in the many parks and protected wildlife areas close to Starbase.
Health concerns

The impacts of particulate emissions from the SpaceX launch won't be understood until samples are evaluated and the debris field measured comprehensively.

But in general, particulate emissions are regulated under the federal Clean Air Act and Texas state law.

Eric Roesch, an environmental engineer who has been tracking the impact of SpaceX facilities and launches on his blog, ESGHound, said that particulate emissions are associated with pulmonary and respiratory issues, and are considered a high priority pollutant by the EPA. Health impacts depend upon exposure time and quantity, as well as particle size, and contents of the particulate, he added.

Roesch has been warning the public for months that the FAA and SpaceX had not been careful enough in their environmental analysis to comfortably proceed with a launch of this magnitude. He said, "The possibility of a widely dispersed plume of emissions was not disclosed by the FAA or SpaceX, during the initial environmental permitting and approval process."

Margolis and Cortez both noted that roads had been damaged, with gates and cordons closed immediately following the SpaceX Starship test flight. That meant wildlife biologists and other field researchers could not immediately pass through to study the full scale of any damage that occurred in a nearby wildlife refuge area – though some were reportedly on location by Saturday April 22.

One concern is that evidence of harm to endangered species could be removed from the site before regulators have an opportunity to assess it, Margolis said.



A newly hatched piping plover chick stands next to one of its parents, Monty or Rose, at Montrose Beach on July 10, 2021.

Getting back to flight

Elon Musk wrote in a tweet on April 21, 2023, after the test flight: "3 months ago, we started building a massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount. Wasn't ready in time & we wrongly thought, based on static fire data, that Fondag would make it through 1 launch. Looks like we can be ready to launch again in 1 to 2 months."

CNBC asked the FAA what it will take for SpaceX to be authorized to conduct another test flight or launch of the Starship Super Heavy vehicle from Boca Chica, Texas.

The agency said in an email that a return to flight for the Starship Super Heavy will require the FAA to decide that "any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety."

Because they are still gathering information, the FAA and the Texas regional office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were not able to answer questions yet about any environmental impacts of the Thursday launch. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.

However, the FAA told CNBC via e-mail that the explosion activated something called an "anomaly response plan," which is part of a 2022 Programmatic Environmental Assessment completed by the company along with state and federal agencies, and that SpaceX has additional "environmental mitigations" they must complete before launching again. The plan "was triggered by debris entering adjacent properties," the FAA noted.

After completing the list of tasks in the plan and mitigations SpaceX will need to ask the FAA to amend their launch license, to gain clearance for another test flight.

The Center for Biological Diversity attorney, Jared Margolis, believes the FAA requirements will be minimal and easy for the company to fulfill, but not ultimately effective in safeguarding local residents' wellbeing and endangered species.

He explained, "We are not against space exploration or this company. But while we are looking to the stars, we should not readily sacrifice communities, habitat and species."

Why Don Lemon and Tucker Carlson Were Fired and What Their Next Moves Are

Story by Paige Gawley‍ • ET

Tucker Carlson                                        Don Lemon 

 

Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon are both out of a job. Following Monday's high-profile cable news firings, former CNN anchor Brian Stelter tells ET's Kevin Frazier why he believes the networks parted ways with their top talent and what could be next for the men.

News first broke that Carlson was out at Fox News, a decision that Stelter believes "is related to the Dominion lawsuit." According to CBS News, Fox recently agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle the defamation case Dominion brought against them for claiming on-air that they helped rig the 2020 presidential election against former President Donald Trump.

Stelter believes that Fox didn't fire Carlson as a result of the settlement, but rather because of messages that came to light amid the case.

"Some of the emails and text messages from Tucker Carlson that came out before the trial were really embarrassing, but... there were a lot of messages still being redacted for public view and I believe there's material in those private messages that was incredibly ugly," he explains. "It gave Fox a reason to remove Carlson."

The network's other reason for axing Carlson could've been due to his popularity, Stelter speculates.

"Tucker Carlson actually became bigger than Fox News, which is something Fox never likes to see happen," he says, "so in some ways they cut him back down to size today."

While it's unclear who at Fox made the official call to end its relationship with Carlson, Stelter says a breakdown between the anchor and the Murdoch family, who runs the network, is likely to have happened.

"Ultimately Rupert is the patriarch of Fox, the 92-year-old boss, so whatever he wants, goes... We don't know if it was Rupert Murdoch or if it was his son, Lachlan, that made the ultimate decision to remove Tucker, but Lachlan and Tucker are reportedly close," Stelter says. "... Tucker Carlson would brag to his buddies about how close he was with Lachlan Murdoch, so something clearly ruptured the relationship between Tucker, the biggest star on Fox, and the Murdochs, who actually control the channel."

No matter who was behind the decision, the fact that it was made at all was a shock to Carlson's colleagues, a source told ET.

"Colleagues of Tucker are shocked and many found out about the news like the rest of the world, on Twitter," the source said. "Tucker made no indication he was leaving to anyone and on Friday told everyone he'd see them Monday for a new show. People at Fox News are looking for answers as to what happened and are waiting to hear."

Also surprised on Monday was the staff at CNN, following news that Lemon had been let go from the network, sources told ET.

Lemon's firing "came as a total surprise" to staff, who "found out in real time when the news broke in the media," the source said, with another source adding that "everyone is shook" by the move.

Lemon's ousting came after he said on-air that Nikki Haley "isn't in her prime" and was the subject of a Variety exposé that claimed he'd exhibited "troubling treatment of women and unprofessional antics" for nearly two decades. Lemon apologized for the former incident and called the latter "patently false."

Stelter tells ET that he believes Lemon's firing shows that "the new management of CNN does not want Don Lemon representing the brand."

"I was not very surprised to see Don Lemon removed at CNN. In fact, what surprised me was that he was able to stay there for so long," he says. "It was pretty clear that the new management at CNN, which admittedly did remove my show, Reliable Sources, last year, was not going to be a fan of Don Lemon. He was moved from primetime to the morning show. They gave him a shot in the mornings, but it always looked like a demotion. Now clearly this is more than a demotion, it was a termination."

The world learned of Lemon's termination after he took to Twitter to say he was "stunned" by the news when he learned it from his agent, adding, "After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly."

CNN refuted that shortly thereafter, tweeting that Lemon "was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter."

"Neither side is disputing that Don Lemon found out he was fired from his agent, [but] CNN is saying, 'Well, if Don had wanted to, he could have come into the office and had a meeting with management,'" Stelter explains. "Maybe Don did not want to have that, so he decided to go public instead."

Though the men were fired from separate networks, they've enlisted the same attorney to work out their exit packages.

"I have been told that both Don Lemon and Tucker Carlson have hired the same entertainment lawyer, Brian Freedman, to negotiate their exits. I've called Freedman, I have not heard back, but I'm told both men have brought him in because he's famously aggressive," Stelter, a special correspondent at Vanity Fair, tells ET. "He's represented people like Megyn Kelly in the past, so he may be able to come in and get a better deal for both Carlson and Lemon."

After securing their deals, Stelter thinks that neither man will have trouble securing work.

"I think Tucker Carlson can write his own ticket. Yes, even running for president if he wants to, although he's not going to do that," the Hoax author speculates. "I think he has basically endless options in the right-wing media world... He'll probably take his time in choosing between them."

As for Lemon, while Stelter says he was "clearly wounded by that Nikki Haley controversy," that doesn't negate the fact that "he is a television star."

"He oozes charm," Stelter says. "I've sat across from him countless times and I know he's a really talented broadcaster, so I think he's gonna have a number of options out there."

Whatever is next for the two men, Stelter says that, when viewed from a broader lens, Monday's "earthquake in cable news is actually a testament to the relevance of cable news."

"Even in the TikTok age, people still want to watch people, that's what TV is all about. No matter what other apps and devices are invented, that's always going to be true," he says. "It might not be Don Lemon or Tucker Carlson in 10 or 20 years, but people always want to watch other people. They want to spend time with folks who they trust."

New report provides insight into the library’s evolving role in student success

Based on a Student Survey, the Technology from Sage Report Reveals Gap Between What the Student Needs and What the Library Offers

Reports and Proceedings

SAGE

A new Technology from Sage report sheds light on challenges in the librarian-patron relationship, including the need for greater digital literacy and more tailored support for students, and recommends methods to support the student experience. “The Knowledge Gap Between Librarians and Students: Contrasting Librarian and Student Perspectives on the Undergraduate Workflow” report is the second in the Librarian Futures series.

A survey of nearly 600 students in the US, UK, and Canada highlights key findings for librarians across the undergraduate workflow — specifically in discovery, scaffolding, literacy, and engagement — and uncovers a gap between student needs and library offerings:

• 35 percent of students have used the library website.

• 63 percent use Google to conduct research while 10 percent try the library first.

• Only 27 percent have entered the library building itself.

These findings suggest a need for libraries to improve their online presence and visibility on campus and build students’ digital literacy.

The report also highlights a need to increase student engagement. For example:

• Only 25 percent of students reported receiving help from librarians for accessing resources, and 16 percent said librarians had helped them find good information.

• While most students were aware of extracurricular library offerings, only 25 percent took advantage of additional training.

• Key student groups (such as first-generation and disabled students) reported lower levels of engagement with their academic libraries.

The report concludes that by considering their current provision for students and taking the opportunity to refocus their output, librarians can continue to play an important role in reaching student learning needs.

“At Technology from Sage, we believe that the librarian will be more important than ever as institutions try to keep pace in today’s digital era and that the library is well-placed to address the gaps we identified through this report,” says Matthew Hayes, managing director of Technology from Sage. “We are dedicated to supporting libraries and librarians to perform these critical functions and it is our hope that by identifying student needs, this report will help bridge that gap.”

LGBTQ RIGHTS BEING ROLLED BACK
'Gender Queer' tops library group's list of challenged books

NEW YORK (AP) — With Florida legislators barring even the mention of being gay in classrooms and similar restrictions under consideration in other states, a report released Monday says books with LGBTQ+ themes remain the most likely targets of bans or attempted bans at public schools and libraries around the country.


'Gender Queer' tops library group's list of challenged books© Provided by The Canadian Press

The American Library Association announced that Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir “Gender Queer” was the most “challenged” book of 2022, the second consecutive year it has topped the list.

The ALA defines a challenge as a “formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.”

Other books facing similar trials include George M. Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” Mike Curato’s “Flamer,” Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” Jonathan Evison’s “Lawn Boy” and Juno Dawson’s “This Book Is Gay.”

“All the challenges are openly saying that young people should not be exposed to LGBTQ materials,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

The list also includes Toni Morrison’s first novel, the 1970 release “The Bluest Eye,” which has been criticized for its references to rape and incest; Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” (sexual content, profanity) and Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Mist and Fury” (sexual content).

Related video: Passions flare as officials debate gender identity books in kid's section of Greenville library (WYFF 4 Greenville-Spartanburg)
Duration 2:37
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Fremont library board considering removing 'This Book is Gay' from its shelves
2:30

LGTBQ book for youth moved to adult section in Fremont library
2:11

The ALA usually compiles a Top 10 list, but this year expanded it to 13 because the books ranked 10 to 13 were in a virtual tie.

“In the past, when it was that close, we would flip a coin to see who got in the list. This year, we got rid of the coin,” Caldwell-Stone said.

The ALA last month reported there were more than 1,200 complaints in 2022 involving more than 2,500 different books, the highest totals since the association began compiling complaints 20 years ago. The number is likely much higher because the ALA relies on media reports and accounts from libraries.

In charts accompanying Monday’s announcement, the ALA reported the majority of complaints — nearly 60% — come from parents and library patrons. “Political/religious” groups such as the conservative Moms for Liberty account for just 17% of complaints, but they object to a disproportionate number of books, according to Caldwell-Stone. Moms for Liberty, which advocates for parental rights in schools, objected to more than 1,000 books in 2022.

Caldwell-Stone cited the web site booklooks.org, a popular resource for conservatives to evaluate books that defines itself as “unaffiliated” with Moms for Liberty, but does “communicate with other individuals and groups with whom there is an intersection of mission and values.”

“Many of the books on our most challenged list appear on booklooks,” Caldwell-Stone said.

The ALA list followed last week’s report from PEN America, which found a continued rise in book bans at public schools during the first half of the 2022-2023 academic year.

According to PEN, there were 1,477 individual book bans affecting 874 different titles, up from 1,149 bans in the second half of 2021-2022. “Gender Queer” and “Flamer” tied at 15 for the most times banned during the more recent period, with other frequently banned books including “The Bluest Eye," “A Court of Mist and Fury” and a graphic novel edition of Margaret Atwood's dystopian “The Handmaid's Tale.”

Hillel Italie, The Associated Press

Another cheetah has died after relocation to India, the second in less than a month

Story by Chris Lau • Yesterday 

A cheetah from Africa has died two months after being reintroduced to India as part of an intercontinental effort to revive the big cat in the country, the second animal from the program to have passed away in less than a month.

India’s wildlife department said the male, called Uday, died at the Kuno National Park on Sunday in central Madhya Pradesh state, according to CNN’s affliate News18.

The cause of death was not immediately known and authorities will perform a post-mortem to find out more, the outlet reported.

Uday – who was named by Indian citizens in a contest – was among 20 cheetahs airlifted to India over the past few months from Africa. The Indian government’s ultimate plan is to introduce 50 big cats over the next five years.

The news of the deceased 6-year-old cheetah came just three weeks after his fellow feline, Sasha, died from a kidney infection.

Uday was one of 12 cheetahs flown across the ocean from South Africa in February. Sasha hails from another group of eight sent from Namibia in September last year.

South African veterinarian Adrian Tordiffe, who helped coordinate the move earlier, said experts were investigating various possibilities and awaiting tests for further confirmation.

“At this stage, it appears to be a rare random cause that is unlikely to pose any risk to the other cheetahs,” he said, adding that possible causes could range from severe botulism to a snake bite.

Laurie Marker, founder of the Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), which also helped with transferring the animals, said re-establishing a population is very difficult.

“Losses are to be expected and for unexpected reasons,” he said. “We are looking at populations which individuals are a part of and we all care about these individuals, but we also have to think of the big picture.”

While two cheetahs have died since being reintroduced, the overall population has nonetheless grown.

In late March, the country welcomed four newborn cheetahs for the first time since the species disappeared from India more than 70 years ago.

Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952, but the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change hopes they’ll be able to bring the species back.

The animals chosen were selected “based on an assessment of health, wild disposition, hunting skills, and ability to contribute genetics that will result in a strong founder population,” according to CCF’s earlier statement.

The cheetahs were first sent to a quarantine enclosure before being moved to acclimatization zones and eventually released into the park’s hunting enclosures.

Cheetahs are found in southern and eastern Africa, particularly in Namibia, Botswana, Kenya, and Tanzania, with less than 7,000 left in the wild, according to the World Wide Fund (WWF).

Canadian science pioneers' role in the Human Genome Project shows why it’s crucial to fund research

Story by John Bergeron, Emeritus Robert Reford Professor and Professor of Medicine, McGill University • TODAY -The Conversation


On April 25, the world will celebrate DNA Day, marking two events: the 70th anniversary of the discovery of the double helix and the 20th anniversary of the Human Genome Project, which sequenced humans’ genetic blueprint for the first time.


The research and vision of Canadian scientists were key foundations of the Human Genome Project. Today, lack of funding threatens discovery research in Canada.

© (Pixabay)

For the Human Genome Project, Canadians were at the forefront.

The distinguished Canadian medical geneticist Charles Scriver of McGill University, who recently passed away, convinced the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the United States in 1986 to bring together the parties who could fund and execute the Human Genome project. This objective has been acknowledged as prescient.

The meeting was attended by Nobel Prize winners Walter Gilbert and James Watson, and is described as a major catalyst for the Human Genome Project in The Book of Man: The Human Genome Project and the Quest to Discover Our Genetic Heritage.
From inspiration to sequencing the genome

Scriver was well aware of the significance sequencing the human genome would have on clinical genetics and the impact it would have on the health of patients, including identifying genetic causes of diseases.

To move forward from Scriver’s inspiration, a proof of principle project was needed. This was provided by the discovery of the gene for cystic fibrosis (CF) by Lap-Chee Tsui and Jack Riordan, who were then at the University of Toronto, and Francis Collins, then at the University of Michigan. In 1990 they indicated:

“More broadly, the cloning of the CF gene provides a fast start in the international effort to clone and map the entire human genome”

These pioneers performed the very challenging task of identifying the gene mutation in unaffected people (those with a single mutated gene). CF is a recessive genetic condition, meaning a person must inherit two mutated genes — one from each parent — to develop the disease. Today as a result of Canadian discovery science, patients with cystic fibrosis have a median age of survival of 57 years, compared to 35.9 years in 2001.



One of these pioneers went on to lead the even more challenging Human Genome Project. Collins received Canada’s Gairdner International Award in 2002 for “his outstanding leadership in the Human Genome Project and particularly for the international effort to map and sequence human and other genomes.”

This was a rare occurrence of a scientist winning a second Gairdner International Award, with Collins receiving his first Gairdner for the CF gene discovery, along with Tsui and Riordan, in 1990.

Read more: Solving the puzzle of cystic fibrosis and its treatments is a Nobel Prize-worthy breakthrough

Another Gairdner International award winner recognized for leadership in the Human Genome Project is Watson. This year’s International DNA Day will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the double helix, for which Watson was later recognized with a Nobel prize in 1962.

It was belatedly recognized that the experimental data for the double helix was actually an X-ray of a crystal of DNA by the late Rosalind Franklin.

Read more: Closing the gender gap in the life sciences is an uphill struggle

The consequences of the discovery of DNA and the sequencing of the Human Genome have been monumental for health research globally. As summarized in 2021 by Collins, the genes for over 5,000 rare diseases were discovered as well as insight into Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, heart disease and cancer.



Astonishingly, it is through DNA that all of us can follow the trajectory of our families through genetic genealogy. Remarkably, the Nobel Prize in 2022 was awarded to Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany for the new field of paleogenomics. His discoveries involving the intricate sequencing of genomic DNA from our extinct human ancestors led to the discovery of a new branch of human ancestors now known as the Denisovans.

Today, the genetic genealogy of modern and ancient humans has been extended through the analysis of the DNA of over 7,000 different genomes. This new study has defined the geographic location of the trajectory of our ancestors extending to over 800,000 years ago! DNA Day is a worthy celebration.

Can DNA Day be of significance in Canada?

The dedication of our accomplished discovery researchers Tsui, Riordan and Scriver inspired and led to the Human Genome Project. However, the project did not involve Canada. The major reason for this was funding.

The Human Genome Project was largely funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health to the labs of Robert Waterston at Washington University and Eric Lander at MIT. In addition, John Sulston was funded in the United Kingdom as part of the trio who actually sequenced the human genome.

Journalist and political commentator Paul Wells recently lamented the decades of deteriorating funding for Canadian discovery research. In 2019, Canada was ranked 18th globally in researchers per 1,000 population down from its 8th rank in 2011.

Without funding improvements, Canada will continue to lose the talent it was once proud to have. This loss is unsustainable for meeting the challenges of future pandemics, climate change and the continuing ravages of disease.

Scriver, Tsui and Riordan should inspire pride for the value of discovery research in Canada that globally saves human lives. Canada should remember their legacy on DNA day.

John Bergeron gratefully acknowledges Kathleen Dickson as co-author.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:
Why can’t Canada win another Nobel Prize in medicine?

Solving the puzzle of cystic fibrosis and its treatments is a Nobel Prize-worthy breakthrough

St. Louis gender clinic accusations ‘unsubstantiated,’ internal investigation finds


Story by Jo Yurcaba • TODAY

Washington University in St. Louis said a former employee’s allegations that its pediatric and adolescent transgender clinic did not appropriately assess minors before providing them with care are unsubstantiated, according to the findings of an internal investigation released Friday.

St. Louis gender clinic accusations ‘unsubstantiated,’ internal investigation finds© Provided by NBC News

In February, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey launched an investigation into the Transgender Center at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital after Jamie Reed, who was a case worker at the center from 2018 to November 2022, alleged in a 23-page affidavit that children were being routinely prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy without “appropriate or accurate” mental health assessments. Bailey’s investigation is ongoing.

Reed also alleged that the center’s providers “regularly refer minors for gender transition surgery,” even though providers have testified at the state Legislature that surgeries are not an option for anyone under 18.

On the same day the attorney general’s office announced its investigation, Reed went public with her allegations in an op-ed published in The Free Press, a news website started by Bari Weiss, a former op-ed writer and editor at The New York Times. Reed, who has a master’s degree in clinical research management, concluded her op-ed by calling for a “moratorium on the hormonal and surgical treatment of young people with gender dysphoria.”

Washington University in St. Louis, the parent institution of the Children’s Hospital, said in a statement that it was “alarmed by the allegations” and would look into Reed’s claims.

After an eight-week internal investigation, the university said in a summary of its findings that her allegations are unsubstantiated but that it would be changing some of its practices.

“Washington University physicians and staff at the Center follow appropriate policies and procedures and treat patients according to the currently accepted standard of care, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other nationally recognized organizations,” the university said in the summary.

Reed’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.

In her affidavit, Reed alleged patients were routinely provided medication “without informed parental consent.” She also alleged that the center did not obtain custody agreements from divorced parents to ensure all parties consented to treatment.

Though the university does not mention these allegations in the investigation summary, it said that, going forward, the Transgender Center will require written consent from parents prior to prescribing gender-affirming medications, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Previously, providers obtained verbal parental consent for treatment and documented it in the patient’s medical record, according to the summary.

The center will also require a family to provide custody agreements before an initial visit at the center if the patient is a minor, the summary said. Previously, providers would ask for custody agreements “before medical intervention in cases where decision-making authority was in question.”

Regarding Reed’s allegations about surgery referrals, the university said the center hasn’t provided such referrals for patients under 18 since late 2018, when it adopted a policy prohibiting them.

“Upon request, some families were provided with the names of surgeons (including Washington University physicians) who provided such surgeries, and the Center’s providers have provided summaries of care for patients desiring surgical interventions,” the university said in the investigation summary.

The university said that physicians will no longer perform gender-affirming surgeries on minors. Washington University declined to say when it adopted this policy.

The university said a total of six surgeries were performed on minors by university physicians since 2018, and that all six were chest surgeries for adolescents transitioning to male. The referrals were all from other medical providers outside of the center or were patient-initiated self-referrals, the university said.

It noted that chest masculinization surgery for minors is within the standard of care recommended by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, or WPATH, a nonprofit association dedicated to transgender medical care. WPATH’s standards, which were recently updated last year, recommend minors meet a list of criteria before they can be eligible for surgery.

Two former employees of the center said it follows the standard of care recommended by WPATH.

Jess Jones, who uses they/them pronouns and was an education liaison at the center from 2018 to 2020, shared a variety of documents regarding the center’s protocols, including documents that they said were provided to every family at their first visit, an endocrine “roadmap” that outlined steps patients had to complete to start gender-affirming treatment, and internal documents with hypothetical patient cases that the center used for teaching.

Christine Hyman, whose son has been a patient at the center since 2018, shared emails she received from Reed following her son’s appointments. The email includes one of the same documents Jones shared about masculinizing hormones. It details when a patient should freeze their eggs if they are interested in doing so and a chart on the various effects of testosterone and whether they are reversible, partially reversible or irreversible.

“They’re just a wealth of information,” Hyman said of the clinic’s doctors. “They’ve been fabulous the whole way through, especially with a parent who walked in, and I was like, ‘Help.’”

Jones said the center would sometimes “gatekeep” access to care, “which is why Jamie’s account was so appalling.”

“She made it sound like we were just handing out hormones left and right to kids,” Jones said, when in reality Jones said minors had to meet a number of criteria before they could access care.

The center declined to comment.

Cate Hensley, who uses “they” and “she” pronouns and worked at the center from August 2020 to May 2021 as part of getting their master’s in social work at Washington University, said they reported directly to Reed. They said Reed “frequently interpreted kids’ experiences as being exaggerated or not being truthful,” which was troubling to Hensley, who said that was “antithetical” to their clinical mental health training.

They said what stood out to them the most in Reed’s affidavit and op-ed was how she violated the trust of patients who did not consent to having their private health information publicly shared. They said they could identify some of the cases Reed described in her affidavit, but that Reed misunderstood or misinterpreted them.

For example, Hensley said they remember the medical team discussing a situation Reed describes in her affidavit in which a patient experienced vaginal lacerations after having sex while on testosterone, which can cause thinning of the vaginal tissue, but Hensley didn’t want to discuss it in detail because it is private patient information. They said Reed also described a child who said they identify as an “attack helicopter,” which Hensley said was a joke and is a reference to an internet meme and sci-fi story.

Hensley said the legislative landscape in Missouri, where the Republican-led House passed a bill last week that would ban gender-affirming care for minors, makes Reed’s allegations “more insidious.”

“It’s more important than ever that the center is able to continue running and provide ethical client-centered care, and what Jamie has done is not grounded in any evidence, is absolutely fueling transphobia and hate here in the state, and will directly harm kids,” Hensley said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

Conservationist seeks billionaire to buy world's biggest rhino farm

Story by CBSNews • Yesterday

Johannesburg — He spent his vast fortune on a 30-year quest to save the rhinoceros. Today, at 81, his money is all but gone, and South African conservationist John Hume is throwing in the towel.

Later this week, Hume will auction off his rhino farm — the world's largest — to the highest bidder.

"I'm left with nothing except 2,000 rhinos and 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres) of land," Hume quipped in an interview with AFP ahead of the sale.


John Hume poses for a photograph on his ranch and rhino farm outside Johannesburg, South Africa, in a Dec. 4, 2015 file photo. / Credit: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty© Provided by CBS News

South Africa is home to nearly 80% of the world's rhinos, making it a hotspot for poaching driven by demand from Asia, where horns are used in traditional medicine for their supposed therapeutic effect.

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The government said 448 of the rare animals were killed across the country last year, only three fewer than in 2021 despite increased protection at national parks such as the renowned Kruger.

Poachers have increasingly targeted privately-owned reserves in their hunt for horns, which consist mainly of hard keratin, the same substance found in human nails.

They are highly sought after on black markets, where the price per weight rivals that of gold and cocaine at an estimated $60,000 per kilogram.

Hume said that, through the years, he had lavished around $150 million on his massive philanthropic project to save the world's second largest land mammal.

"From a rhino point of view, it was definitely worth it," the bespectacled octogenarian, wearing a chequered shirt, said in a Zoom interview. "There are many more rhinos on Earth than when I started the project."



A blindfolded white rhino fights the effects of a tranquilizer dart before having it's horn trimmed, at the ranch of rhino breeder John Hume, October 16, 2017 in the North West Province of South Africa. 

/ Credit: Leon Neal/Getty© Provided by CBS News

A former businessman who made his fortune developing tourist resorts, Hume said he fell in love with the animals somewhat by accident having bought the first specimen after retiring with dreams of running a farm.

"I've used all my life savings spending on that population of rhinos for 30 years. And I finally ran out of money," he said.

His heavily guarded farm, at an undisclosed location in North West province, has around 2,000 southern white rhinos — a species that was hunted to near extinction in the late 19th century but gradually recovered thanks to decades of protection and breeding efforts.

Today, the Red List compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorizes white rhinos as "near threatened", with around 18,000 left following a decline in the last decade.

Miles of fences, cameras, heat detectors and an army of rangers patrol the site, which employs about 100 people.

The tight security is meant to dissuade would-be poachers sending the message that "they don't stand a chance," said the farm's head of security, Brandon Jones.



Two armed guards stand for a photo at the ranch of rhino breeder John Hume on October 16, 2017, in the North West Province of South Africa.

 / Credit: Leon Neal/Getty© Provided by CBS News

Speaking from the control room however Jones said the exercise is only partially successful, as poachers will merely go and kill rhinos somewhere else.

"We are simply diverting them from our reserve. We know that they will target areas where it is easier to penetrate and where the risk-reward ratio is to their advantage," he said.

The full extent of the security measures taken and the number of armed rangers on guard are kept secret.

Yet Hume said surveillance is the farm's biggest cost — and potential buyers will need deep pockets.

"I'm hoping that there is a billionaire that would rather save the population of rhinos from extinction than own a superyacht," Hume, a gruff outspoken man, said.

"Maybe somebody for whom five million dollars a year is small change."

Bids start at $10 million.

The online auction opens on Wednesday and on offer is the farm with its animals, land and machinery.

Adding its 11-ton stock of rhino horns to the lot is negotiable, said Hume.


Water is sprayed onto the area as a rhino has it's horn trimmed, at the ranch of rhino breeder John Hume, October 16, 2017, in the North West Province of South Africa.

 / Credit: Leon Neal/Getty© Provided by CBS News

The horns were preventively cut off as a way to dissuade poachers from killing the animals — and would be worth more than $500 million on the black market.

Hume believes they should be sold to fund conservation projects, creating a legal market for them, as he explained to "60 Minutes" four years ago when his stockpile of horn was about half what it is today.

"I have the solution. But the rest of the world and the NGOs don't agree. And we are losing the war," lamented Hume angrily. "Unfortunately, on the black market, a rhino horn from a dead rhino is still worth more than a live rhino."

Hume has argued for years that legal sales would flood the market and drive down the price, forcing poachers out of business. Speaking to "60 Minutes," he compared the situation to America before prohibition was repealed.

"All you did was build up a black market and the criminals of the world, the Al Capones of the world, were very, very active when you tried to ban alcohol in America. Now we've done the same thing with rhino horn. It's created criminals. It's pushed the price through the roof. Bans have never worked."

Cities must take immediate action against 'renovictions' to address housing crisis

Story by Brian Doucet, Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and Social Inclusion, University of Waterloo 

Laura Pin, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts, Wilfrid Laurier University 

THE CONVERSATION • Thursday 4/20/2023

Amid all the discussions about constructing new housing, existing affordable housing is being overlooked. A recent study found that 322,000 affordable homes were lost across Canada between 2011 and 2016 compared to the construction of only 60,000 new houses for those in greatest need of housing.


The federal government isn’t doing enough to protect tenants or preserve existing affordable housing.© (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

In cities like Hamilton, Ont., the situation is even more dire: for every new unit of affordable housing built, 29 are lost. While most of these homes still exist, they are now much more expensive. And that’s largely because of renovictions.

Renovictions occur when landlords evict tenants, renovate the vacated units, then lease the units at much higher rents. The lack of rent control on vacant units creates a financial incentive for landlords to evict long-term tenants, many of whom pay below market rates.

To be clear, when we speak about landlords in this context, we are primarily referring to large financialized landlords that own hundreds of buildings and thousands of units and whose business model is based on profit by dispossession — not just “mom and pop” landlords.

In Ontario, provincial rules around renovictions are weak. Doug Ford’s government recently introduced Bill 97, the Helping Homeowners, Protecting Tenants Act. Despite its name, the bill does not constitute a significant improvement for renters. The onus still falls on tenants to exercise their legal right to return to the residence and find temporary accommodation in the meantime.

Despite spending billions on housing, the federal government also isn’t making significant inroads to protect tenants or preserve existing affordable housing. The National Housing Strategy has produced little affordable housing for people in need.

This means it’s up to cities to use whatever powers they have to make a difference.

Anti-renoviction bylaws


Renovictions occur when landlords evict sitting tenants to renovate their units and lease them at much higher rents.© (Shutterstock)

On April 20, Hamilton’s Emergency and Community Services Committee will debate whether to pursue new bylaws to crack down on renovictions.

As housing researchers, we believe tough anti-renoviction bylaws are one of the best single measures a city can implement to make a dramatic and immediate impact on housing affordability.

There is precedent for this. New Westminster, B.C., passed an anti-renoviction bylaw in 2019 that heavily fined landlords who did not allow tenants to return after renovations were completed.

The result: New Westminster virtually eliminated renovictions.

The bylaw withstood two court challenges. It was only repealed after the British Columbia government enacted similar legislation province-wide, albeit a more watered-down version of New Westminster’s bylaw.

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Duration 2:52  View on Watch

Hamilton has the opportunity to be a national leader in housing affordability by ending an unjust practice that destroys the lives of tenants and erodes the city’s affordable housing stock.

The census doesn’t track renovictions; for some planners, politicians and policymakers, this lack of official data means there isn’t a problem.

At the April 20 committee meeting, councillors were poised to hear many first-hand accounts of renovictions from tenants. Their lived experiences are the data. But our research shows that this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Hamilton consultant report

City staff have been looking into whether Hamilton can legally enact a New Westminster-style bylaw. Their consultant’s report concluded it was not within the city’s powers. However, the report missed two key components.

First, the consultant’s report states that, in light of the provincial protections from renovictions in Ontario, a New Westminster-style bylaw would be irrelevant. This is not accurate. There are significant differences between the New Westminster bylaw and current B.C. legislation and the Ontario guidelines under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).

While the RTA has some protections against renovictions, they are inadequate; very few tenants who leave their units due to renovations return, and even fewer return at the same rent.


Banners are seen on the balconies of an apartment building where residents received notices stating they must move out for at least seven months due to renovations in Montréal in April 2021.© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

What is different about New Westminster’s bylaw? Unlike Ontario, in New Westminster, the onus was shifted to the landlord to demonstrate that tenant occupancy could not continue during renovations, and, importantly, to provide alternate accommodations while the renovation work was taking place.

Second, Hamilton’s report argues that B.C. municipalities have more authority as a result of their community charters to enact this type of bylaw. This is contrary to the legal opinion of ACORN Hamilton, a tenant advocacy and organizing group, which suggests such a bylaw would be in the purview of an Ontario municipality.

Moreover, prior to the court challenges in B.C., which upheld the New Westminster bylaw, it was not clear that B.C. municipalities had this authority either.

Walking the talk

Hamilton’s city council understands the urgency of the housing crisis. The city’s own data demonstrates a dramatic increase in N13 applications (notice to end tenancy because a landlord wants to demolish, repair or convert a rental unit) and subsequent renovictions.

Earlier this month, Hamilton declared a state of emergency over homelessness.

Our question to Hamilton’s civic leaders is this: with more than 15,000 units rented at less than $750 a month lost over the past decade, where do you think many people who are renovicted end up?

Creating a tough anti-renoviction bylaw would be a big step to turn nice words into bold action.

Cities can’t just talk. They need to take immediate action. Neither the province nor the federal government have any meaningful legislation to help renters. Evidence from elsewhere suggests tough anti-renoviction bylaws have a dramatic impact on affordability. City councils must do everything they can to protect tenants and affordable housing.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:
Renters have stepped up efforts to address the housing crisis ⁠— it’s time for property managers to do the same

Canadian young adults who live alone are more likely to struggle with unaffordable housing, study finds

Brian Doucet receives funding from SSHRC, the Canada Research Chairs program and the Hamilton Community Foundation. Some of his research is conducted in partnership with the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region. He has co-written reports on housing and mobility for local governments in Ontario. He will join ACORN and others delegating in favour of an anti-renoviction bylaw at the City of Hamilton's Emergency and Community Services Committee on 20 April.

Laura Pin receives funding from SSHRC and in the past has received funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. She has worked on community-engaged research projects with Services and Housing in the Province, the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region, the Guelph-Wellington Taskforce for Poverty Elimination, Tamitik Status of Women, A Better Tent City, and the Canadian Rent Bank Coalition. She submitted written comments to the City of Hamilton in favour of an anti-renoviction bylaw at the April 20th, 2023 Emergency and Community Services Committee meeting.

Some medical procedures cost more in private clinics, Quebec study finds

A study has found the cost of surgeries and other procedures performed in the private sector in Quebec far exceeds their public-sector equivalents, sometimes by as much as 150 per cent.

The study was based on data obtained by the Institut de recherche et d'informations socioéconomiques (IRIS) through an access to information request. IRIS looked at a pilot project initiated in 2016 by former Health and Social Services Minister Gaétan Barrette, which aimed to compare the costs of five types of surgeries and procedures between the public network and three private clinics.

Anne Plourde, a researcher at IRIS, reports, among other things, that in 2019-2020, the cost of a carpal tunnel surgery averaged $908 in the private sector compared to $495 in the public sector; a short colonoscopy cost $739 in the private sector compared to $290 in a public institution.

Between 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, in the public sector, the cost decreased by 11 per cent for cataract surgeries, 38 per cent for long colonoscopies, and 13 per cent for short colonoscopies, while it increased by three per cent, four per cent, and 81 per cent respectively in private medical centers.

Plourde added that the conditions negotiated by the Quebec government with private clinics as part of the pilot project are incentives to increase costs.

Ten days ago, a coalition of dozens of organizations criticized the Health Plan unveiled by Health Minister Christian Dubé, calling it an attack on the pillars of the public system, which include universality and accessibility.

The coalition expressed concern that the privatization of the health care system is accelerating, claiming that the private sector is not there to provide free health care, but to make a profit.

-- This report was first published by The Canadian Press in French on Monday, April 24, 2023.

VIDEO

Private surgeries cost twice as much as public, Quebec data shows (yahoo.com)