US lawmakers pressure FDIC chief over misconduct allegations

November 17, 2023



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Friday renewed public calls for an investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct at the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The announcements came as FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg this week faced calls for his resignation following Wall Street Journal reporting according to which the agency had failed to eradicate widespread harassment in its workforce and spotlighting Gruenberg's personal role in cases of alleged harassment and discrimination.

The FDIC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, Gruenberg has said in testimony he found the reports deeply troubling and vowed to take corrective action as a top priority.

Friday's announcements suggest lawmakers will continue to pile pressure on Gruenberg over revelations about a key agency in the Biden administration's financial reform agenda.

In a letter, Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee on Friday publicly notified Gruenberg of a probe announced earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee released a letter demanding an investigation by the FDIC's Office of Inspector General (OIG), saying the reports of misconduct were "nothing short of appalling."

An FDIC OIG representative told Reuters on Friday the office had received the Senate Democrats' request and was reviewing it.

"Chairman Gruenberg, the viability of your leadership is in question," wrote House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry and senior members Bill Huizenga and Andy Barr, all Republicans. "The Committee will use its full arsenal of oversight and investigative tools, including compulsory mechanisms, to ensure that our banking system remains safe and sound."

(Reporting by Douglas Gillison in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2023/11/lawmakers-grill-fdic-chief-after-sexual.html

DRONES EVEN THE ODDS
With drones and dawn assault, Myanmar's Chin rebels open new front

CHANCHINMAWIA
November 17, 2023


ZOKHAWTHAR, India (Reuters) - In the pre-dawn darkness on Monday, a 22-year-old Myanmar rebel fighter approached a hill-top military camp in remote Chin State with dozens of comrades for an assault that opened up another front in a mounting nationwide offensive against the junta.

"We cut the fencing wire," said Suan, who gave only his first name. "I was the first to enter. As soon as I entered, they started firing at us."

The battle at Khawmawi military camp, near Myanmar's porous border with India's Mizoram state, lasted almost 12 hours, according to Suan and five other rebel fighters and commanders.

Another military camp at Rihkhawdar was overrun by rebels within a few hours, marking a key victory for a grassroots insurgency that has brewed in Chin State since a 2021 coup when Myanmar's generals deposed a democratically elected government.

The ethnic Chin fighters said they used drones to drop bombs on the military bases, and junta soldiers fought back - especially fiercely at Khawmawi - occasionally firing mortars.

"When we entered the camp, most soldiers had already fled. But the ones that stayed, around 20 soldiers, fought intensely," said Lawma, 26, who like Suan, lay at a hospital in India's Champhai town after being wounded in the fighting.

At least nine Chin fighters were killed in the assault, along with six junta soldiers, two Chin rebels said, asking not to be named.

Suan and Lawma's account of the battle, which was corroborated by a rebel commander and six residents who witnessed some of the fighting, provides a rare ground-level insight into a widening assault against Myanmar's military junta.

A junta spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment.

In late October, three ethnic minority insurgent groups launched what they call "Operation 1027", from the date their offensive began, to take on junta troops in Shan State near Myanmar's border with China, winning control of several towns and more than 100 military outputs.

The Arakan Army, part of Three Brotherhood Alliance that launched the offensive, also opened a front against the military in western Rakhine State.


Insurgents are also beating back the military in Kayah State, which borders Thailand.

The offensive is the most serious challenge to the junta since the 2021 coup.

Zaw Min Tun, a junta spokesperson, said late on Wednesday the military was facing "heavy assaults" on multiple fronts. The junta describes the rebels as "terrorists".

HOMEMADE GUNS TO DRONES

Lalchaka, a resident of the Indian border town of Zokhawthar, near the overrun military camps, said he initially heard gunshots on Sunday evening but the firing intensified after rebels deployed drones to drop bombs at night.

At the beginning of their insurgency, Chin fighters, including university students who took up arms, struggled to find weapons, often using homemade guns to take on the military.

"At that time, from a military perspective, we were young," said Sui Khar, vice chairman of the Chin National Front, which participated in Monday's assault that had been planned weeks in advance after reconnaissance.

Across Myanmar, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said insurgents had been using drones to drop hundreds of bombs on military positions.

One Chin fighter said their drones, which could carry up to 6 kg (13 pounds), were smuggled in from abroad, adding: "We use drones in most of our operations".

After the two military camps were overrun, 43 junta soldiers crossed over to India seeking shelter and most were subsequently flown back to Myanmar.

On Wednesday, two days after the battle, Indian paramilitary soldiers manned one side of the Zokhawthar border crossing.

On the other side stood armed Chin rebels, under a billowing Chin flag.

(Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik; writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; editing by Robert Birsel)

Myanmar military, insurgents battle over port town

November 16, 2023 



(Reuters) - Myanmar's military has launched attacks from the air and the sea to recapture a port town on the Bay of Bengal, an opposition alliance said on Friday, as junta forces face the fiercest offensive from their enemies in years.

The military, which seized power from an elected government in a 2021 coup, is battling a coordinated offensive launched last month by an alliance of three ethnic minority insurgent groups, as well as allied pro-democracy fighters who have taken up arms since the coup.

"The military attacked Pauktaw town with helicopters and artillery fire from a navy ship after we conquered the police station of the town in the morning," the Three Brotherhood Alliance said on its Telegram channel, referring to the fighting in western Myanmar's Rakhine State on Thursday.

"In the evening, junta troops came into the town and shot and killed civilians," the alliance said.

Reuters could not independently verify the report and a junta spokesperson did not respond to request for comment.

Pauktaw is about 500 km (310 miles ) northwest of Myanmar's main city of Yangon.

The offensive, which the insurgent alliance calls "Operation 1027" after the date it was launched, is the biggest the junta has faced in years.

Three rebel groups, aligned with pro-democracy fighters and a parallel, pro-democracy civilian government, have captured several towns and military posts across the country.

The Irrawaddy news portal, citing a resident of Pauktaw, said members of the Arakan Army (AA) guerrilla group had earlier taken control of the town.

"All the residents are running away. There is no one in the city, all the shops are closed," the resident said.


Fighting has also broken out in Shan State on the border with China where the insurgents have pledged to wrest control of the area from the junta and eradicate online scam centres run illegally there.

In the weeks before the clashes, Chinese officials called on the junta to take stronger action against the scam centres where Chinese and other foreign nationals have been known to be trapped as victims of human trafficking.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to work in scam centres across Southeast Asia in recent years, including at least 120,000 in Myanmar, robbing strangers of their savings online in a fast-growing new kind of crime, the United Nations says.

Junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun accused the rebel alliance of trying to get China's support for their cause.

"China is really keen to eliminate online scam activities, and (the alliance) is using that situation with a strategy to gain benefits for their organisation," he said in a statement on Thursday.

Junta state media said on Friday it had handed three Chinese nationals accused of running scams over to China, while a fourth suspect shot himself after being captured.

The Chinese government could not immediately be reached for comment.

Dozens of junta troops have surrendered in the fighting, according to rebel forces and a video verified by Reuters, and more have fled into neighbouring India.

The junta says it is battling terrorists and has ordered all government staff and those with military experience to prepare to serve in case of emergency.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; editing by Robert Birsel)

HEY REMEMBER US?!

Amnesty International says ‘abuses persist’ and ‘too little has been done’ to protect workers after Qatar World Cup

THOMAS SCHLACHTER, CNN
November 17, 2023

Leading human rights organization Amnesty International claims that the legacy for migrant workers in Qatar following the 2022 World Cup is in “serious peril” as the one-year anniversary of the tournament nears.

In a briefing titled “A Legacy in Jeopardy,” Amnesty International said that it “finds that just as the glare of the world’s media spotlight dimmed, so too did the [Qatar] government’s push for fair conditions and decent work for the hundreds of thousands of men and women who helped realize Qatar’s World Cup dream and will continue to keep the country moving for many years to come.”

In a statement sent to CNN, Qatar’s International Media Office responded to Amnesty International’s findings, stating the “positive impact of Qatar’s labor reforms is evident for all to see.”

The statement read: “The World Cup accelerated labor reforms in Qatar, creating a significant and lasting tournament legacy. Qatar now leads the region on workers’ rights and labor reforms, setting an example for other countries on how a system can be successfully overhauled.

“The commitment to strengthen Qatar’s labor system and safeguard workers’ rights was never an initiative tied to the World Cup and was always intended to continue long after the tournament ended.”

Amnesty International said that some previous issues had been improved – workers were able to leave the country and are more freely able to change jobs. However, the organization maintained that, despite FIFA and Qatar’s claims of progress, not enough has been done for workers’ rights in Qatar.

“Reforms belatedly introduced and weakly enforced by the Qatari government, and FIFA’s introduction of a human right policy in 2017, failed to prevent widespread abuses occurring in the lead up to and during the tournament, and abuses continue today,” the human rights organization added.

Argentina's Lionel Messi lifts World Cup after defeating France in the final. - Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

In the build-up to last year’s World Cup, the organizers received widespread criticism for their treatment of migrant workers.

In 2021, The Guardian reported that 6,500 South Asian migrant workers died in Qatar since the country was awarded the World Cup in 2010, most of whom were involved in low-wage, dangerous labor, often undertaken in extreme heat.

The report did not connect all 6,500 deaths with World Cup infrastructure projects and has not been independently verified by CNN.


Hassan Al Thawadi, the man in charge of leading Qatar’s preparations, told CNN’s Becky Anderson that The Guardian’s 6,500 figure was a “sensational headline” that was misleading and that the report lacked context.

In a 2021 report, Amnesty International said that Qatari authorities have not investigated “thousands” of deaths of migrant workers over the past decade “despite evidence of links between premature deaths and unsafe working conditions.” That these deaths are not being recorded as work-related prevents families from receiving compensation, the advocacy group states.

Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic Social Justice, believes that Qatar “must renew efforts to improve workers’ rights.”

He added: “Qatar’s continued failure to properly enforce or strengthen its pre-World Cup labor reforms puts any potential legacy for workers in serious peril.

“The government must urgently renew its commitment to protecting workers, while both FIFA and Qatar should agree to remediation plans for all those who suffered.”

The organization said that it is unaware of improvements in investigating workers’ deaths, that wages continue to be stolen from workers by employers and that migrant workers’ rights continue to be abused.

Amnesty International also reiterated its 10-point plan which was published in the build-up to the 2022 World Cup. The plan includes calls to end forced labor, allow trade unions and to compensate historic abuses.

In support of Qatar, FIFA added that it is “undeniable that significant progress has taken place,” in a statement sent to CNN.

But soccer’s international governing body admitted: “It is equally clear that the enforcement of such transformative reforms takes time and that heightened efforts are needed to ensure the reforms benefit all workers in the country.”

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

She got a ticket for beeping her car horn. Now she's asking the U.S. Supreme Court to sound off.

JOHN FRITZE, USA TODAY
November 17, 2023 

WASHINGTON – Susan Porter remembers the shock she felt when the sheriff's deputy finally explained why he pulled her over.

"He said, 'illegal use of horn' and gave me the ticket," the 69-year-old Californian recalled.

"I said, 'There’s a law for that?'"

Porter had been driving by a rally outside her congressman's office in 2017 and her honks were a sign of support – in the same way drivers beep for a political candidate waving a sign at rush hour, or to celebrate a sports team after a game.

Porter has challenged a California traffic law that bans honking – other than to warn another driver – all the way to the Supreme Court. Her argument: Since the dawn of the automobile, car horns have sometimes served as a form of expression. Because of that, Porter says, beeping is protected under the First Amendment.

"The car horn is the sound of democracy in action," her lawyers wrote in their appeal.

Though they appear to be rarely enforced, similar laws are on the books in 41 states, according to court records. A New York law bars drivers from sounding a car horn for anything other than as a "reasonable warning." Missouri admonishes drivers to use their horns "for warning purposes only."

Porter’s attorneys say such requirements defy reality. During the pandemic, to avoid bringing large crowds together for a traditional campaign rally, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden organized drive-in rallies in which he encouraged people to "honk if you want to be united again."

In 2020, a convoy of truckers honked their horns outside the White House in protest as former President Donald Trump was delivering remarks in the Rose Garden.

At the time, Trump described the horns interrupting his remarks as a "sign of love."


Edwin Hernandez pumps his fist as passing car honks. Striking health care workers picket in front of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Panorama City, Calif., on Oct. 4.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that speech protected by the First Amendment encompasses more than the spoken word. In a landmark 1969 decision, for example, a 7-2 majority of the justices ruled that students wearing black arm bands to protest the Vietnam War were taking part in protected speech. Seven years later, the court said that campaign contributions are a form of political speech.

David Loy, legal director at the California-based First Amendment Coalition, said he was as stunned as Porter to learn about “warning-only" car horn restrictions and the extent to which they exist across the country. Many of those restrictions, he said, date to the early 20th century and were enacted without much thought to First Amendment implications.

Susan Porter, a California woman who has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court asserting that honking a car horn can be expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment.

"This kind of expression with vehicle horns is as old as the automobile. We've been doing this for decades," said Loy, who has been working on Porter's case for years. "Who doesn't honk their horn at somebody to say 'hello' or honk at the protesters on the corner? I mean, everyone does it."

California's Department of Justice and an attorney representing the San Diego County Sheriff's Department did not respond to multiple requests seeking comment. But in lower courts, the state argued the law is intended to improve traffic safety by avoiding the distraction of other drivers with unnecessary noise.

"Horn honking is very loud and distracting by design, and the restriction ... has been 'nearly universally accepted as a means to reduce the incidence of vehicular accidents' for more than 100 years," the state told an appeals court in 2021, partly quoting from a lower court's earlier decision in the case.

Along Rt 46 by Veterans Memorial Park supporters of President Trump encourage vehicles to honk support in 2020.

A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit sided with the state in May, concluding that horn honking can be a form of “expressive conduct” but that California's interest in traffic safety justified the law. In a decision from two of those judges, the court wrote that there was a "common-sense inference" that the horn's "usefulness as a warning tool" would be reduced if more and more drivers use it for other purposes, like beeping at a protest. The third judge dissented.

The law at issue in the Supreme Court appeal is different from noise ordinances adopted in many local communities. Those usually involve time or place restrictions barring drivers from leaning on their horns in a residential neighborhood, for instance, or in the evening. The California law Porter was ticketed for violating is categorical, meaning it applies at all times and places.

If the Supreme Court agrees to decide the case, it would add to a docket full of First Amendment controversies this term. Many of those cases focus on social media and how far the government may go to regulate or control the posts on Facebook or X, formerly Twitter. And so while the court is wrestling with speech on high-tech platforms, it would also confront what a Pennsylvania State University professor recently described as one of the first electrical consumer technologies of the 20th century, if it agreed to hear the case.

Andrew Row, one of the lawyers working on Porter's case, said that California officials had taken notice of the appeals court decision against Porter and had been "emboldened" by it. During the Hollywood strikes this year a sign appeared outside a studio in Burbank, California, where some workers were protesting.

"Excessive horn use," the sign warned, "violates" state law.

"This is not just a theoretical thing," Row said. "It's now being used by law enforcement."

Supporters listen from their cars as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks at a get-out-the-vote drive-in rally at Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport on November 02, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court asked if beeping the horn is a First Amendment right

FACEBOOK PROFITS OFF THE BIG LIE

Facebook will allow ads claiming 2020 election was "stolen"; hate speech spikes amid war

WILL CARLESS, USA TODAY
November 17, 2023

Hate and extremism, particularly antisemitism and islamophobia, continue to run rampant on social media and in real life as the Israel-Hamas war drags on. Meanwhile, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has decided to allow political ads claiming the 2020 election was rigged, according to new reports. And as one new Jan. 6 defendant appears in court, a Capitol rioter who already served time in prison says he’s running for Congress.

It’s the week in extremism.

Loay Alnaji
Antisemitism, islamophobia still spiking as war continues

As USA TODAY has reported for the last month, hate-fueled incidents, both online and in real-life, have been spiking across the country since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. That trend continued this week, with increased impacts to American Jewish and Muslim communities.

On Thursday, Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, a community college professor from Moorpark, California, was taken into custody on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter. Paul Kessler, a Jewish protester, died after falling and hitting his head during an altercation at a protest earlier this month. The death was investigated as a hate crime, but prosecutors have not said whether hate crime charges will be brought.

TikTok posts circulating this week also promoted a years-old letter by Osama bin Laden – architect of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks – which criticized America’s support of Israel. TikTok reportedly minimized the posts amid cries of antisemitism.

A report released this week by the Tech Transparency Project found that white supremacists have been using “blue checkmark” accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, to spread anti-Muslim, antisemitic and anti-immigrant narratives. Researchers found dozens of premium X accounts sharing memes and hateful messages that often violate X’s terms of service.

The Anti-Defamation League also reported this week that in the month since the Hamas attack against Israel, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. increased by 316 percent compared to the same time period last year.

My colleague Jessica Guynn also wrote this week about an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who attempted to use TikTok to inform a new generation about his experience, but who had to close down his account after being targeted by a torrent of antisemitic abuse.

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks Sept. 27 during Meta Connect event at Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

Meta to allow election denial ads

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has changed course and will allow political advertising that questions the validity of the 2020 Presidential election, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.

The company will allow paid ads that claim the 2020 election was “rigged” or “stolen” but will not allow advertisers to question future elections, the Journal reported.

Unnamed sources told the Journal the updated policy “is part of a number of changes Meta has made that might fundamentally alter its influence and reach compared with in past elections, including a move to adjust its algorithm in a way that de-emphasizes organic political content on Facebook.”

Earlier this year, YouTube reversed its “election integrity” policy and started leaving up content that questions the integrity of the 2020 election.

In a newly released photo from FBI documents, a photo taken from a police officer's body camera shows the man the FBI says is Gregory Yetman at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
One insurrection defendant in court, another runs for Congress

Army investigators reported alleged Jan. 6 participant Gregory Yetman to the FBI more than two years ago, but he was only arrested late last week and made his first court appearance on Monday. Meanwhile, Jacob Chansley, who became one of the most recognizable participants in the Jan. 6 riots, has filed paperwork to run for Congress in his home state of Arizona.

Yetman, who gave himself up to police last Friday after a two-day search near his home, appeared in court Monday to face charges. Court documents filed in the case reveal Yetman was identified to the FBI shortly after the insurrection by Army investigators.


Yetman had been publicly identified in a USA TODAY investigation in March that examined the more than 100 Jan. 6 suspects who could be identified from the FBI’s “Wanted” photographs, but had not yet been charged.

Meanwhile, Jacob Chansley, who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 shirtless in a furry horned hat, has filed paperwork to runfor Congress in Arizona. Chansley was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the insurrection.

Jacob Chansley, who also goes by the name Angeli, at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the insurrection, and has now filed paperwork indicating he plans to run for Congress in his home state of Arizona.
Statistic of the week: 60 days

That’s how long the Chicago Police Department has to respond before a new policy takes effect, banning the city’s police officers from joining extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.

The policy was enacted Monday by Chicago’s Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Election fraud ads allowed on Facebook; hate speech spikes during war

America is facing its 'worst rate of hunger' in years, food banks say. Here's why.

CLAIRE THORNTON, USA TODAY
November 17, 2023 

Hunger in America is unabating, and in 2023, safety nets meant to catch people at their most vulnerable are seeing spikes in visits compared to last year.

Food bank leaders from all corners of the country tell USA TODAY their neighborhood pantries are serving more people while using less resources, as economic pressures continue to ravage the budgets of low-income Americans and service providers alike.

Since pandemic-era boosts to government food aid ended earlier this year in many states, families are turning to food banks to close a gap in need that feels like it has no end in sight. The level of hunger is so great, some food bank CEOs compare the current moment to past economic recessions.

“From where I’m sitting, after 28 years of food banking, what we have is the logical result of 40 years of dire economic inequality," said Susannah Morgan, president of Oregon Food Bank.

Food bank budgets have been buckling under inflation in 2023, causing some nonprofits to buy less food and cut back on services.

Data released this fall from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed food insecurity increased in 2022 for the first time in more than a decade.

"This is the worst rate of hunger in my career," said Morgan, who has worked at food banks in Boston, San Francisco and Anchorage, Alaska. “It’s so large, it’s hard to wrap your head around."

A turkey is placed in the trunk of a car in Milwaukee County, as part of the Hunger Task Force's food donation programs.
Holidays bring extra pressure

During the holidays, parents, and especially moms, feel even more pressure to provide for their families, said Eric Cooper, CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank.

"The last year they’ve been falling behind," Cooper said, and when around 300 families left the San Antonio Food Bank with turkeys in-hand this month, he said, they felt "reassurance" that they could create positive memories during the Thanksgiving holiday.

So many parents recall holiday memories of their own, laden with the aromas of turkey and gravy, said Sherrie Tussler, CEO of Wisconsin's Hunger Task Force food bank network.

"All of us have these memories," Tussler said. "We can see our parents cutting the food. We can taste it. We can see our grandma cutting a pie."

When people can't afford all the ingredients that go into making a special holiday meal, "that makes you sad – sadder than sad," she said.

Behind the scenes, food bank staff and volunteers feel "a lot of pressure at this time of year," as they frantically purchase turkeys and other food items to help satisfy the country's gaping need, Tussler said.

“I don’t know if we can keep up," Morgan said. "We’re going to keep up for the next six or nine months, but in three years, I don’t know if we can keep up.”

Tomatoes are sorted at Oregon Food Bank.
How can I donate food?

Donating money or nonperishable food to food banks, pantries and soup kitchens in your local area or neighborhood will go a long way to bolster their budgets and allow them to help more people, Tussler said.

The more localized the organization is, the better, she said, explaining that smaller nonprofits have smaller budgets and less resources to begin with.

Near Fort Myers, Florida, the Gladiolus Food Pantry this month is asking for donated frozen turkeys, stuffing, mashed potatoes, canned or jarred gravy, cranberry sauce, canned green beans, canned corn, and chicken or beef broth.

The food pantry serves over 200 families living in Lee County once a week. Many are still recovering from tourism industry jobs lost to Hurricane Ian. In the past month, 40 new families came each week, said staffer Mary Burns.

"When you go into the supermarket and they're having a buy-one-get-one, get them. That way you can use one, and donate one," Burns said. "Drive around your neighborhood and look for the signs that say, 'food pantry here on Sunday,' and see how you can help your neighborhood."

Year-round, the pantry always needs food and kitchen items that people normally don't think of, and things that kids enjoy, Burns said, especially:

Kids cereal.


Shelf-stable milk that doesn't need to be refrigerated until after its open, like Parmalat, and some nut milks.


Cooking oil.


Peanut butter and jelly.


Spices.


Tuna.


Macaroni-and-cheese.


Spaghetti.


Can openers.

Local news organizations, like newspapers or radio stations may have articles online listing different food banks and pantries in your area. Donating to church food pantries is also a great way to get started.

The homepage for FoodPantries.org lists tens of thousands of food banks across the country where users can search by state and city. The USDA's website lists more than 250 of the agency's eligible distributors here.

Cans of food are carried across a parking lot in Milwaukee County, as part of the Hunger Task Force's food donations programs.
Food bank demand points to economic problems

In Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Tussler's network of 47 food pantries are an economic bellwether, she said.

"Right now, the numbers just look bad," she said.

This year across Milwaukee County, food pantries saw a 50% increase in visits after extra pandemic-era SNAP allotments ended in Wisconsin in March. During the same time period, and with the same SNAP cut-off, Morgan's food bank network in Oregon saw the same: a 50% spike in demand, she said.

Those increases, combined with inflationary pressures on food banks mean the nonprofits are "having to ration the food they provide because they see how long the line is," Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, told USA TODAY.


A volunteer packs boxes at Oregon Food Bank.

In Oregon, Morgan said she worries how much longer current patterns can continue before something in the system breaks completely.

“I worry about a vicious cycle," she said. "I worry about 40 years of income inequality hitting a place where it’s very difficult for us to recover from – hitting an irreversible trend.”
Donations, government resources dropped in 2023

Food bank leaders said monetary donations from the public swelled in 2020 and 2021 during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. It felt like a moment when the nation came together to help those most in need, Tussler said.

In 2020 and 2021, stimulus checks and the expanded child tax credit helped bring poverty in the U.S. to record lows. But when government resources began drying up in 2022, poverty rates swung back in the opposite direction.

Now, food pantries across the country are getting less monetary donations from the public because everyone is feeling inflation's pinch too, Babineaux-Fontenot said.

A volunteer sorts apples at Oregon Food Bank.

Due to the national health emergency in 2020 and 2021, the federal government flooded food banks with food commodities through the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation.

This year, it feels like "there is no additional food coming from the federal government," Tussler said, which is "exacerbating some of the challenges we have."

"It's the perfect storm of things dragging things down," Babineaux-Fontenot said.

On the East Coast, the Food Bank for New York City had to scale back its longstanding low-income tax-refund filing assistance program due to budget constraints, said Zac Hall, who runs programs at the nonprofit.

"We weren't naïve to think the amount of support we received during COVID would be sustained, but the demand has still not gone back to pre-COVID levels," Hall said.

In the Alamo City, Cooper gave the same answer: “The need has stayed up and the support, year over year, has been shrinking."

Food is loaded into a truck in Milwaukee County, as part of the Hunger Task Force's food donations programs.

Inflation hasn't eased for food prices

After inflation peaked in June 2022, high prices have come down a little in 2023. But unlike most other consumer categories, inflation in grocery prices has remained stubbornly high.

Because a greater share of poor Americans' income is spent at the grocery store, inflationary food prices take a heavier toll on their budgets, Hall said, adding that seniors he works with have to decide between paying for medicine and procedures or having meals.

"Those are really hard and inhumane decisions to be made, and that's not something that we want to see be sustained," Hall said.

In San Antonio, Cooper said families he serves routinely report they can't afford apples, berries and tomatoes. When that happens, he said, people buy more of cheaper items that aren't as healthy.

"We’re still at such a high rate of inflation on so many food categories that diets have shifted,” Cooper said. “Families tend to move into more boxed dinners, carbs, starches, cheaper belly-fillers."

People can improvise to save money at the grocery store, but other areas of a family's budget, like housing and gas, are much more fixed, he said.

"For every household budget, rent eats first," Cooper said.

Among other factors, food insecurity can be measured by lack of variety in one's diet, according to the USDA. In 2022, more Americans reported eating lower quality diets or skipping meals entirely, the agency reported.

Jars of peanut butter and other food items are unloaded at Oregon Food Bank.
Food stamp program needs to be strengthened, food banks say

Food banks can only support struggling Americans so much, because getting a bag of groceries is not the same as putting money in someone's pocket who needs it, Hall said.

"We are not a replacement for SNAP," he said. "SNAP is the largest and best anti-hunger program we have in the country."

Cooper calls SNAP "our nation's first line of defense" against hunger, one that helps families in a direct way, while also filling some gaps food banks will never be able to satisfy.

“It’s so dignifying for a family to be able to go to their grocery store and select the items that are culturally relevant," Cooper said. "And it accommodates religious preferences."

This fall, as Congress delays talks on the Farm Bill, which funds SNAP, Babineaux-Fontenot said lawmakers shouldn't be allowed to get away with adding restrictions to funding meant for the most vulnerable in society.

"Isn't it remarkable that in the middle of a pandemic with supply chain crises and all that was going on, that we actually saw a decrease in food insecurity rates," she said. "Let's not trick ourselves into believing we don't know that we know how to do this."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Food banks are feeding more people than ever, but with less resources

I SPY WITH MY TV EYE

New report outlines risks of AI-enabled smart toys on your child's wish list

EMILEE COBLENTZ, USA TODAY
November 17, 2023 

Toys that spy on children are a growing threat, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group which published a report Thursday covering the dangers of certain products as well as purchases of recalled toys.

"Smart toys" specifically, are causing concern and the industry isn't slowing down. The global market for smart toys grew to $16.7 million this year, from $14.1 million in 2022, according to a large market research firm, and is expected to at least double by 2027.

Before purchasing that "must have" smart toy on your child's Christmas wish list, here's what to know about the risks.

AI ChatGPT-powered smart toys: How to keep your kids safe this holiday

Risks of AI-enabled toys and smart toys

With the incredible growth of artificial intelligence, has come unexplored threats. As researchers continue to gather information, here's what to know about the potential of these toys according to the PIRG.

• AI-enabled toys with a camera of microphone may be able to assess a child's reactions using facial expressions or voice inflection, allowing the toy to try to form a relationship with the child

• AI-enabled toys may gather and share information that could risk a child's safety

• Some smart toys can collect data on your child and transmit it to a company’s external servers

• Smart toys can collect, store and use a lot of data about children

• Smart toys microphones and cameras can pose safety concerns

• Breaches and hacks can expose children's data

• In-app purchases can cost parents money

• Smart toys may gather data on children and use it for marketing

• Platforms may include inappropriate content for download

• Smart toys may hinder the development of young children

“Parents and caregivers should understand the toy’s features,” Samuel Levine, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shared with the PIRG.

According to Levine, parents should ask these two questions:

• Does the toy allow the child to connect to the internet and send emails or connect to social media?

• Does it have a microphone or camera? If so, when will it record, and will you know it’s recording?

New bill for social media: Kids under 13 would be banned. Here's what parents want.

Other questions parents should ask before making a purchase

The PIRG has its own checklist on what to note about a toy before purchasing. Check the parent safety controls and read the fine print, but also ask yourself:

• Does it have a microphone?

• Does it have a camera?

• Does it connect to Wi-Fi?

• Does it connect to Bluetooth?

• Does it collect personal information on a child under 13-years-old?

• Does it collect data on anyone of any age?

• Is there a privacy policy?

• Does it have an app?

• Does it allow your child to spend money?

Instead of simply listening to secrets, the new Hello Barbie doll can talk back.

Advocates started sounding the alarm in 2016

Warnings started in 2016 after Fisher Price’s Smart Toy Bear, created for children ages 3 through 8 as “an interactive learning friend that talks, listens, and remembers" was found with a security flaw that potentially allowed hackers to collect information on kids.

That same year, Hello Barbie, Mattel’s Internet-connected iconic doll, left computer security researchers spinning when the app was accused of letting "hackers eavesdrop on communications between it and the cloud servers it connects to," Fortune reported.

The Senate published an extensive report right before Christmas in 2016, outlining just how bad these privacy concerns were. Most recently, this past spring, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice accused Amazon of violating children's privacy laws when it refused to delete voice recordings of children who had used its Alexa service. Amazon was also accused of gathering geolocation data on kids.

Search: USA TODAY's database of recalled products, toys

Recalled toys keep being purchased

One of the most urgent issues raised in the PIRG report relates to parents buying toys online, or purchasing them second-hand, without knowing whether the toy has been recalled for any reason. There are ways to know.

• Check whether the toys you’re considering buying have been recalled at cpsc.gov/recalls

• Do a keyword search on saferproducts.gov before your purchase

• If you have a serious incident with a toy, alert the CPSC by filing a report at saferproducts.gov

• Search USA TODAY's database for your desired product Consumer Product Recalls | USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Toys that spy on children are a growing concern: report

New report says toys that 'spy' on kids are on the rise

YI-JIN YU
November 16, 2023 

A new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, a national network of consumer advocacy groups, is raising the alarm about a potential rising threat posed by smart toys for children ahead of the holiday gifting season.

In a news release Thursday, the organization likened the growing toy category to spying.

"It's chilling to learn what some of these toys can do," Teresa Murray, a U.S. PIRG Education Fund consumer watchdog and co-author of the report, said in a statement. "Smart toys can be useful, fun or educational, but interacting with some of them can create frightening situations for too many families."

PHOTO: Stock photo of a child playing in a nursery. (STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)

Smart toys, such as those that can be linked to mobile apps and cameras, those with microphones, Wi-Fi capability, location trackers or more, include products as simple as toy dolls and plushes that can "listen" or "speak" to more complicated devices like drones, smart speakers, smartwatches and virtual reality headsets.

MORE: Amazon facing lawsuit over Alexa 'eavesdropping'

The U.S. PIRG Education Fund said in its annual "Trouble in Toyland" report that smart toys can open the door to a variety of unknown risks for children and families, with the possibility of data breaches and hacking, potential violations of children's privacy laws, and exposure to "inappropriate or harmful material without proper filtering and parental controls."


MORE: Watchdog group says kids vulnerable to inappropriate content on popular game Roblox

The consumer advocacy group recommends that parents and anyone buying a toy or gift for a child this upcoming holiday season consider the following tips:

Perform a web search about a smart toy and read reviews to check for any red flags.

Find out the features of a smart toy and what it can do. Ask questions such as, "Does it connect to Bluetooth, the internet or social media? Does it collect a child's private information? Does it record audio and video? Can it send online messages or emails?"

Read a smart toy's privacy policy, not just a toy company's privacy policy, and understand what kind of data is collected and how it is used.

The U.S. PIRG Education Fund is also calling in its report for more federal legislation to further protect children's online privacy and introduce stronger labeling standards for smart toys.

The group highlighted its support for the expansion of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, and the Transparency Over Toys Spying Act, or TOTS Act, which were introduced in the Senate and House earlier this year, would require the Federal Trade Commission to establish new labeling rules for smart toys, and would require toy user agreements or privacy policies to state "how personal information may be collected and used by the manufacturer or other entity."

COPPA -- which some experts worry may make the internet less safe for some children and teens by censoring important content or allowing parents to surveil them in unsafe households -- passed out of committee earlier this year and has been sent to the Senate for consideration. The TOTS Act is currently awaiting a vote in the House Innovation, Data, and Commerce subcommittee.

Consumer Reports has previously warned parents to "be cautious" when giving children smart toys to play with. The group said in a 2018 report after testing internet-connected toys that although their small sampling showed there was "no immediate threat" to children's safety, the toys did "follow a trend we see elsewhere with internet-connected devices in that companies could be doing a better job protecting customer data."

New report says toys that 'spy' on kids are on the rise originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com

AUSTRALIA
Children signed off school for ‘feelings of despair’ over climate crisis

NICK SQUIRES
November 17, 2023 a

Young climate activists march towards the environment minister's office in Sydney, Australia - Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images AsiaPac

Australian schoolchildren suffering from climate “despair” walked out of classes to stage protests against global warming, presenting “sick notes” written by self-proclaimed “climate doctors”.

Thousands of children skipped class to take part in rallies known as School Strike 4 Climate in cities across the country, from Sydney and Melbourne to Adelaide and Perth.

The sick notes, which children downloaded from the internet, said they were suffering from symptoms including “feelings of despair”, “increased anxiety” and “elevated stress” because of the climate crisis.

The “Climate Doctor’s Certificate” was written and signed by three Australian climate scientists: David Karoly, Nick Abel and Lesley Hughes. The certificates said children should be allowed to “take a sick day for a sick planet”.

It is the fifth year that schoolchildren across Australia have taken part in the School Strike 4 Climate event, which originated in Sweden.

Protesters march during the School Strike 4 Climate rally at Flagstaff Gardens in Melbourne - JAMES ROSS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

“If we continue this way, none of us are going to have a future, none of our children are going to have futures,” a 14-year-old pupil called Arielle told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Australia has been struck by a series of extreme weather events in recent years, which have been blamed partly on climate change and partly on the weather phenomena known as La Nina and El Nino.

As the southern hemisphere summer approaches, the country is bracing for bushfires and heatwaves.

Australian governments have been criticised internationally for their lacklustre response to the climate crisis and a reluctance to lower emissions.
‘I want our kids at school’

Jason Clare, the federal minister for education, said he disapproved of the climate strike.

“I want our kids to be passionate, I want our kids to care about democracy and I want our kids to care about the future, but I also want our kids at school.”

In Sydney, children marched on the office of Tanya Plibersek, the federal environment minister, shouting “shame”.

She has approved several new oil and gas projects since the centre-Left Labor government came to power in May 2022.

“We are striking against the Australian Federal Government’s approval of nine fossil fuel projects and the A$9 billion dollars’ worth of subsidies handed out to the fossil fuel industry,” the School Strike 4 Climate group wrote on their website.

U$A

The climate crisis is already dangerous for people with mental health problems. It could get even worse

KRISTEN ROGERS, CNN
November 17, 2023 

As the climate crisis gets worse, we know of farmers whose crops are drying up and people who lose their homes due to rampant wildfires.

But there’s another group for whom the climate crisis is a potentially lethal threat — people with mental health problems such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or anxiety.

And this threat has already become reality for some people. During a record-breaking heat wave in British Columbia in June 2021, 8% of people who died from the extreme heat had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to a March study. That made the disorder a more dangerous risk factor than all other conditions the authors studied, including kidney disease and coronary artery disease.

People with certain mental health problems are more at risk for experiencing the dangers of the climate crisis, experts say. - Olezzo/iStockphoto/Getty Images

“Until climate change gets under control, things are only going to get worse unfortunately,” said Dr. Robert Feder, a retired New Hampshire-based psychiatrist and the American Psychiatric Association’s representative to the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health. “As the temperature keeps increasing, these effects are going to be magnified. There’s going to be more storms, more fires, and people are going to be more worried about what could happen because a lot more things are happening.”

Rising temperatures have also been associated with suicide attempts and increased rates of mental health-related emergency department visits, several studies have found. And long-term exposure to air pollution — which the climate crisis can worsen by adding more particles from droughts or wildfires — has been linked with elevated anxiety and an increase in suicides.

What’s going on in the brains of people with schizophrenia or other conditions is just one factor that makes them more vulnerable to extreme heat, air pollution and stress, experts said — and in need of support from loved ones, surrounding communities and policymakers.

Extreme heat and mental health

What makes some psychiatric patients more susceptible to the harms of extreme heat — such as heatstroke or death — begins in a part of the brain called the anterior hypothalamus. Think of it as the body’s thermostat.

“That’s the part of the brain that is working to tell you — when you’re too hot or you’re too cold — to begin shivering, to begin sweating,” which is the body’s cooling mechanism, said Dr. Peter Crank, an assistant professor in the department of geography and environmental management at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Crank was a coauthor of the March study about the heat wave in British Columbia.

“It tells the rest of your brain you need to take behavioral action, like drinking water or putting on a coat when it’s too cold or taking off a coat when it’s warm,” he added. “These disorders, whether it’s bipolar, schizophrenia or manic depressive — all three of them impair the neurotransmission of information to that portion of the brain.”

The capacity to regulate body temperature may also have to do with brain chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine, which are generally lower in the brains of people with these disorders, experts said.

“The hypothalamus is directly dependent upon being stimulated by serotonin,” said Dr. Joshua Wortzel, a psychiatrist at Bradley Hospital at Brown University in Rhode Island and chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s committee on climate change and mental health. “Serotonin levels in the brain are affected by temperatures outside, and so you can imagine that when we’re playing around with serotonin levels in the brain with our medicines, that can change a person’s ability to sweat.”

Some medications used to treat these disorders can add to the risk by affecting the ability to sweat or raising the body’s core temperature.

Antipsychotic medications — often used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, paranoia and delusions — have the greatest effect, Feder said. Those include aripiprazole, olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine and lurasidone.

Some stimulant medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, such as lisdexamfetamine and amphetamine/dextroamphetamine salts, and anti-anxiety medications can also cause this problem.

Lithium, a mood-stabilizing medicine, can cause dehydration, Feder added.

Lifestyle habits important for managing mental health symptoms can also take a hit. Warm temperatures can also interfere with sleep, an important factor for managing mental health symptoms, experts said.

Additionally, “the nature of most mental health conditions is that once you’re diagnosed with it, you are at risk for recurrent episodes of that illness,” Feder said. “And these episodes are often brought on by some type of stress. And climate disasters are certainly a stress.”

Homelessness is also high among people with mental health conditions, especially in the schizophrenic population.

“And if you’re homeless during a heat wave, that puts you at increased risk for death, because you don’t have access to air-conditioning,” Feder said.

Behaviors caused by these conditions can also contribute to a higher risk of heat-related illness or death. The psychosis that people with schizophrenia can experience, for example, can mean they’re not correctly interpreting reality, so “they may not even be aware that they’re overheated, or they may think that the source of their being overheated is due to some bizarre or irrational reason and not do something appropriate to get out of the heat or to make themselves (safer),” Feder said.

People with mental health issues are also more likely to self-medicate with drugs that interfere with their body’s ability to sense and respond to heat.
How to protect yourself and others

If you’re on any of these medications and think no longer taking them is the solution, not so fast. “That would be far worse than staying on the medicine,” which plays a crucial role in your treatment, Wortzel said.

Talk with your doctor about whether a medication you’re on or starting makes you more vulnerable to extreme heat since some informational pamphlets for these drugs may not list that risk as a potential side effect.

“These are rather just cautions,” he added, “to really just make sure that you’re staying in cooler environments, making sure you’re hydrated — that if climate change continues to get worse, this is going to be really a side effect that we’re going to have to worry more and more about.”

It’s not a reason to stop taking antipsychotics, Wortzel said, but it’s good reason to take care of yourself in the heat.

Addressing the climate crisis, the root of the problem, is of course the most important solution, Wortzel said. What’s also necessary at the policy level, he added, is expanding access to cooling centers and other resources, and providing more funding for research that would help us better understand the impact of heat on mental health.

There are steps individuals and communities can take to protect vulnerable people when hot weather comes.

“Patients need to be aware that they are vulnerable to stress,” Wortzel said. “You need to make sure that you have access to air-conditioning, a cooling center, to stay hydrated and to make sure you’re monitoring how much you’re outside, (that) you’re not out in the hottest times of the day, things like that.”

Wear sunscreen, hats and light-colored, loose-fitting clothing, Crank said. Taking cold showers can also help keep your core temperature down.

“The other thing that people can do is start getting involved in climate activities,” Feder said. “For the anxiety that’s associated with climate change, the best thing people can do is actually get involved in climate (advocacy) groups and start working for changes to the climate crisis.”

Feder also suggested people write or talk to their lawmakers about the issue.

You should also inform your loved ones of your vulnerabilities so they can offer support.

If you’re not someone at greater risk and are wondering how you can help, practice empathy and awareness by keeping water bottles in your car to hand out to those at higher risk of harm from extreme heat.

“Take the time to, if seeing someone in distress, call some sort of emergency services so that they can get medical attention,” Crank said. Doing so will likely take only a few minutes out of your day.