Christian boarding school: 'Invasive' background checks violate rights

CNS International Ministries, which offers drug and alcohol recovery programs for children and adults under the name Heartland at its campus, alleges in a federal lawsuit that new requirements on background checks violate due process and parental rights, federal privacy laws and freedom of religion rights. Photo courtesy of Heartland community/Facebook

By Pamela Manson
NOV. 1, 2021 / 

Nov. 1 (UPI) -- A Missouri nonprofit that operates a Christian boarding school is suing to stop enforcement of a new law that mandates background checks for all staff members at unlicensed youth residential facilities and requires notification to the state of the identities of everyone 18 or older who lives on the property.

CNS International Ministries Inc., which offers drug and alcohol recovery programs for children and adults under the name Heartland at its campus, alleges in a federal lawsuit that the requirements in the Residential Care Facility Notification Act violate due process and parental rights, federal privacy laws and freedom of religion rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

"The Free Exercise and the Establishment Clauses together vest in churches and other religious organizations the autonomy to order their own affairs, to decide for themselves, free from governmental interference, matters of ecclesiastical government, doctrine, the communication of that doctrine and the internal administration of their institution," the suit says.

However, by requiring "invasive" background checks, the Missouri Department of Social Services, which drafted the regulations implementing the new law, presumes to tell the ministries who is eligible or ineligible to be an officer or employee at Heartland, the suit alleges

"The department's regulations restrict the freedom of CNSIMI to form an expressive association of those who share a common commitment to education, addiction recovery and religious faith," the suit says.

The law also deprives students' parents of a fair opportunity to get the kind of instruction for their children that they selected at least in part for religious reasons, the suit alleges.

Before the new law went into effect on July 14, boarding schools operated by religious organizations were exempt from licensing requirements. Now, license-exempt residential care facilities, or LERCFs, must notify the state of their existence, conduct background checks and meet various health and safety standards.

A summary by the Missouri Senate says that "nothing in this act shall give any governmental agency jurisdiction or authority to regulate or attempt to regulate, control, or influence the form, manner, or content of the religious curriculum, program or ministry of a school or facility sponsored by a church or religious organization."

But the suit, filed Oct. 12 in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, says the DSS regulations do not contain a required exception for the employment of "ministerial" employees, including teachers, house parents and other staff members. The ministerial exception, which stems from a 2012 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School vs. EEOC, gives Heartland the right to decide who will promote its message, the suit says.

Heartland is asking the court for a judgment that declares it is unlawful to condition participants' eligibility to be present at a recovery program on the disclosure of their identity and the outcome of a background check; to interfere in CNS Ministries choice in officers, staffing and contractors; to demand a list of staff members and people who live on the facility's property; and to criminally penalize people for failure to undergo background checks.

Heather Dolce, DSS media director, said in an email to UPI that the department does not comment on pending litigation.

Missouri KidsFirst, a chapter of the National Children's Alliance and the Missouri Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, praised the law, saying it creates safeguards for children.

"This law closes a loophole in our child protection system that had gone unaddressed for decades," Jessica Seitz, interim executive director of the organization, said in a statement.

Heartland is asking the court for a judgment that declares it is unlawful to condition participants' eligibility to be present at a recovery program on the disclosure of their identity and the outcome of a background check among other issues. Photo courtesy of Heartland community/Facebook

Recovery programs

Heartland, which says it carefully vets staff and anyone directly involved in the unsupervised care of children, is an LERCF because of its boarding school, the Heartland Children and Youth Home. The organization runs separate recovery programs for girls, boys, women and men at its campus.

There are four boys and one girl in the children's recovery programs, the suit says.

Also on campus are the two-year Heartland Christian College and a K-12 school that is attended by the girls and boys in recovery, staff members' kids and children from the community. The men live in a part of the campus that is in Knox County and are separated by a lake from the children, women and college students, who live in Shelby County.

"Heartland's recovery programs, which have been continuously operating since the mid-1990s, seek to introduce the concepts of Christian living and personal responsibility, helping men and women and boys and girls who are bound with life-controlling addictions, attitudes and behavioral problems," the suit says.

A background check includes an FBI fingerprint check and searches on national and state sex offender registries and Missouri's Family Care Safety Registry and its Central Registry for Abuse and Neglect.

Under the law, people are considered ineligible to be employed or be present at Heartland if they have pleaded guilty or no contest to or been found guilty of, among other crimes, child endangerment, child abuse or neglect, a sex crime, robbery, a pornography-related offense, arson, certain weapons crimes, making a terrorist threat or a felony drug-related offense in the preceding five years.

"These individuals are ineligible to remain at Heartland regardless of whether they have any contact with children and in many cases regardless of whether their criminal offenses have anything to do with children," the suit says.

People can be barred from working or living at Heartland if their names are placed in a central registry on the basis that there is probable cause or reasonable suspicion of an offense and regardless of whether they got to appeal the placement in court, the suit says. A facility is not told why someone is determined to be ineligible.

It is a Class B misdemeanor for someone to knowingly fail to complete a criminal background check that is required under the act. Facilities can be closed for not complying.

A second chance

Heartland alleges that the provision making people with felony drug-related offenses on their records in the past five years ineligible to be at its facility threatens the viability of its recovery programs.

David Melton, general counsel for CNS International Ministries, told UPI that many participants in the recovery program are there because they committed drug-related crimes and are in diversion. People who have make a mistake deserve a second chance, Melton said, emphasizing that he was not talking about offenders who have committed abuse or sex crimes.

"We're the redemption business," Melton said. "That's what we do. Redemption is all about people who have sinned."

He added that some of the best leaders in the recovery programs have rap sheets.

"They've cleaned their lives up and we're not going to let the state of Missouri tell us that they're not eligible to be on our premises, let alone running our recovery programs," Melton said.

The change in the law this year came after The Kansas City Star ran a series of stories about abuses at faith-based reform schools.

Heartland was not part of those stories. The suit says that "to Heartland's knowledge, there is no listing in Missouri's Central Registry for Abuse and Neglect that has resulted from any incident between an adult and a child in the boys' or girl's recovery program in the past 20 years, and no felony or misdemeanor convictions resulting from such interactions in the entire history of Heartland, going back to its beginning in the mid-1990s."

"We're a safe place for kids," Melton said.

In 2001, several abuse allegations were lodged against the Heartland, leading authorities to remove 115 children from the facility and bring criminal charges against five employees, according to The Star.

The newspaper said a series of lawsuits and challenges followed and, in the end, all charges were either dropped or the staff members were acquitted and the state paid extensive attorney fees and court costs to settle a lawsuit filed by Heartland.

HE PAID MORE TAXES THAN THE 1%
Lottery win means SC man can pay mortgage — and help family out, too. 

‘Great feeling’



Bailey Aldridge
Mon, November 1, 2021,

A South Carolina man said he’ll use his North Carolina lottery winnings to pay off his mortgage and help his family.

Nathaniel Geathers of Bennettsville, South Carolina, stopped at Nic’s Pic Kwik on U.S. 401 in Laurinburg during a trip to North Carolina on Oct. 28 and bought $10 Fast Play tickets, according to a news release from the North Carolina Education Lottery.

His first ticket won $20, and his second won $15, according to the lottery. His third won a $153,045 jackpot.

“It was good,” Geathers told lottery officials of winning. “It was a great feeling to get what I was looking for.”

Geathers took home $108,282 after taxes, according to the lottery. He told lottery officials he plans to use the money to pay off his mortgage, help some family members in need and put a new motor on his boat.  HE PAID OVER $44,000 IN TAXES

“A $10 Jackpot 7’s Fast Play ticket wins all of the progressive, rolling jackpot,” the lottery said. “The odds of winning a Fast Play jackpot are 1 in 240,000.”

So Elon Musk wants to build a tunnel to the beach in Florida. And that may be just the beginning


Susannah Bryan, South Florida Sun Sentinel
Mon, November 1, 2021


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Inquiring minds want to know just how Elon Musk’s Boring Company will dig a pair of underground tunnels from downtown Fort Lauderdale to the beach in flood-prone South Florida on the cheap.

The Boring Company’s 29-page pitch, submitted to the city in June but only recently made public, holds some clues to the ambitious plan.

The tunnels would not be for your car or mine, but would eventually use self-driving Teslas as a form of public transportation, shuttling riders east and west from the Brightline Station to the famous beachfront intersection of Las Olas and A1A. To start out, the Teslas would have drivers.

Mayor Dean Trantalis has been championing the project for months, saying underground tunnels could be one way to lessen the pain of downtown gridlock and get more cars off the road.

Here’s how things would work, based on details laid out in The Boring Co. documents and interviews with city officials.

Las Olas Loop

The plan’s Las Olas Loop would send passengers through a pair of 2.7-mile tunnels spanning several blocks under Las Olas, with up to five stops, leading all the way to the beach. Teslas would speed along at 50 to 70 mph, slowing down at bends.

“We figure the ride from one end to the other will be about three to four minutes,” Trantalis said, adding, “It’s not going to be just a dark cave. There’ll be lights. There will be music. There may be a narration: ‘Welcome to Fort Lauderdale,’ talking about who we are.” Passengers will also be able to use their cellphones during the ride.

The city has not yet worked out how much fares will be. The mayor at one point mentioned charging $5, but that’s not set in stone.

Fear factor

Critics are still wondering if underground tunnels make sense in South Florida, with its king tides, hurricanes and porous limestone bedrock. Some worst-case scenario questions: What happens if there’s a fire in the tunnel? What if a Tesla being driven on Autopilot goes rogue? What happens if the tunnel floods?

“What happens if Mars hits Earth?” an exasperated Trantalis said after hearing the list of safety concerns. “There are multiple safety features to anticipate any type of calamity. Not just fire safety equipment, but escape routes, sprinkler systems, ventilation systems. We have a long history in this country of using tunnels for transportation.”

Final approval is likely months away as the city’s experts and consultants embark on a due diligence journey.

“This has to be properly and thoroughly vetted,” Commissioner Steve Glassman said. “In my opinion, there’s no rush because this has to be done right. The geology has to be studied. We have to talk to everyone who’s an expert on soil. We have to really pick the brains of everyone who is an expert.”

Glassman says he’s heard from fans excited about the beach tunnel and from critics who think it’s a dumb idea.

“People made fun of the Wright brothers,” he said. “People made fun of Thomas Edison. We have to be a little bit bolder. We have to look to the future. People are moving here in droves. And we have to figure out how to move them around. If this is successful, we need to create a network of tunnels. We are going to face a transportation crunch and we need to consider all options.”

How can Musk build tunnels fast and cheap?

Underground tunnels usually cost around $1 billion a mile, but Musk’s team claims they can build them for $10 million a mile using special technology that’s faster and cheaper than traditional methods.

New technology allows crews to excavate the hole, remove the dirt and install segments of the concrete superstructure simultaneously. That means the equipment operates 15 times faster.

Traditional tunneling requires the construction of special drills for each project, but Musk is standardizing tunnel size and reusing his equipment, much the way SpaceX reuses rockets. Additionally, the boring machinery operates on electric power rather than diesel, allowing equipment to operate longer without having to ventilate the tunnel.
Will the technique change to accommodate South Florida soil?

That remains to be seen. When The Boring Co. made its original proposal, Trantalis says it was based on general conditions. Now they’re doing a deeper dive on their investigation. The city’s Public Works Department is also hiring consultants to collaborate with The Boring Co., Trantalis said.
How the transit loop works

A station won’t require all traffic to stop when a passenger wants to disembark. Each station will have a pull-off area to allow other vehicles to speed on by.

Stations can range from the size of a car to a large subway-style venue depending on the needs of the station location.

The loop could start out with a small number of vehicles for start-up operations or non-peak periods and add more for high-demand times.

Service would start with drivers, with automated transit as the eventual goal.

Why use Teslas and not trams?

With a tram system, riders might wait 20 minutes for a tram to arrive.

In the Musk setup, a Tesla would be waiting at the station to immediately take passengers to the next stop on their destination. While trams would stop at each station, the Tesla would take passengers from pickup to drop-off without stops in between.
Potential expansion

The Las Olas Loop project would cost under $100 million, the mayor says.

In theory, Musk’s loop tunnels can be expanded to connect to other key destinations within the city and beyond. The tunnel network could provide service to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades to the south, the Tri-Rail Station to the west and the Galleria mall and Inter Miami’s DRV PNK soccer stadium to the north.
What are the hurdles?

Fort Lauderdale has to find a way to pay for it.

Even if the city had the money in hand, several government agencies could stand in the way.

The project is located predominantly within city right-of-­way.

But right-of-way permits and easements will be required from other agencies: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state Department of Transportation, Broward County, Florida East Coast Railway and potentially private property owners.
How did this all start?

It started with a tweet.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, sparked a flurry of tweets in January with this message: “Cars & trucks stuck in traffic generate megatons of toxic gases & particulate, but @boringcompany road tunnels under Miami would solve traffic & be an example to the world. Spoke with @RonDeSantisFL about tunnels last week. If Governor & Mayor want this done, we will do it.”

Trantalis tweeted back: “Fort Lauderdale would love to be a part of this discussion. We have #tunnelvision in the #magicregion!”

The following month, Trantalis was in Las Vegas to discuss the possibility of building tunnels in Fort Lauderdale to help alleviate gridlock.

Officials with The Boring Co. visited Fort Lauderdale in March to look over the terrain and get a better feel for how the beach loop would work.

Musk started The Boring Co. in 2016 after growing weary of traffic gridlock in Los Angeles. In a tweet, he said “traffic is driving me nuts” and promised to “build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging.”

Two years later, Musk and his team built a mile-long test tunnel at his SpaceX headquarters in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne. It was built at a cost of $10 million and accommodates Teslas at speeds of up to 150 mph.

Elon Musk says Tesla has not signed deal with Hertz

Tue, November 2, 2021

Tesla boss Elon Musk

Elon Musk has said a deal between Tesla and car rental company Hertz, which led the carmaker's market value to surpass $1 trillion last week, has not yet been signed.

Last week, shares in Tesla jumped 12.6% after Hertz said it had ordered 100,000 vehicles by the end of 2022.

However, Mr Musk tweeted: "I'd like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet."


Both companies have been asked for comment.

The deal announced by Hertz with Tesla was the biggest-ever rental car order for electric vehicles.

"Electric vehicles are now mainstream, and we've only just begun to see rising global demand and interest," said Hertz interim boss Mark Fields.

It was reported Hertz would pay $4.2bn for 100,000 Model 3s over the next 14 months, which amounts to about a fifth of its fleet. The rental firm would also build a network of charging stations.



But on Tuesday, Tesla boss Mr Musk tweeted: "Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers.

"Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics."

Tesla became the fifth company to surpass a market value of $1 trillion on 25 October, behind Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google-owner Alphabet.

Hold the meat: Burger King, Chipotle, Starbucks top fast-food rankings on World Vegan Day 2021

Steve Kiggins, USA TODAY

Mon, November 1, 2021

Sofritas at Chipotle. The Impossible Whopper at Burger King. Fresco style at Taco Bell.

Plant-based eaters, once limited to wimpy salads minus cheese and often without dressings that contained dairy, have increasingly more options at some of the most recognizable U.S. fast-food restaurants amid growing company commitments to diversify protein offerings and cut greenhouse gas emissions created by animal farming.

But for every Starbucks, which introduced its Impossible Breakfast Sandwich in 2020, and Pizza Hut, which is testing a plant-based pepperoni topping, are “Dining Dawdlers” like McDonald’s, Subway and Chick-fil-A, according to a first-of-its-kind report to be released Monday on World Vegan Day by World Animal Protection.

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Cameron Harsh, programs director for the nonprofit animal welfare organization, described the 24-page report as a guide to help “individual consumers align with the restaurants that share their values,” but stressed that “a lot more progress” is needed to reduce the production and consumption of animal proteins for the sake of the climate and general health.

“What the ‘Menu Movers’ in this report have done is not just added plant-based alternatives to their menus and called it good, they’ve actually talked publicly … about the benefits of these products,” Harsh told USA TODAY.

In its “Moving the Menu” report, shared first with USA TODAY, World Animal Protection graded the country’s 50 largest fast-food chains on their efforts to vary protein offerings, highlight the benefits of plant-based eating in their corporate social responsibility reporting and make public commitments to reduce the use of meat and increase vegan and vegetarian menu options.

A Chipotle burrito bowl including sofritas, a shredded firm tofu flavored with chipotle chiles, poblano peppers and a blend of spices.

Only seven chains were designated as “Menu Movers,” the report card’s top ranking: Burger King, Chipotle, Starbucks, KFC, Panera Bread, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

World Animal Protection, while not a vegan or vegetarian organization, advocates eating less meat as part of its mission to “change animals’ lives for the better,” according to its website. One of the group’s primary initiatives is Meating Halfway, a 21-day custom plan designed to give individuals and families accessible tools to reduce meat and increase plant-based foods in their diets.

An early trendsetter with sofritas, a menu staple since 2014, Chipotle remains focused on pushing more vegetables and plant-based products to the “center of plate,” said Stephanie Perdue, the company’s vice president of marketing. The Mexican grill is now testing a meatless chorizo – free of gluten, soy, nuts and grains – at its Denver and Indianapolis locations.

What is COP26? Your quick guide to United Nations climate change summit in Glasgow

The popularity of sofritas, made from shredded tofu flavored with chipotle chiles, poblano peppers and a blend of spices, has only reinforced Chipotle’s thinking. The company expects to source 4.9 million pounds of organic tofu this year from Hodo Soy Beanery in California, up from 4.2 million pounds in 2020.

“We knew that if it’s craveable, you wouldn’t miss the meat,” Perdue told USA TODAY. “You still get all those layers of flavors.”

Taco Bell, which already offers more than 15 items on its “Veggie Cravings” menu, is also testing additional plant-based options – including its Cravetarian meatless protein made from a seasoned blend of chickpeas and peas.

“With more than 7,000 restaurants nationwide and consumers’ growing sustainability concerns, we see the opportunity – and responsibility – to make a positive environmental impact,” said Missy Schaaphok, Taco Bell's director of global nutrition and sustainability, adding that consumers shouldn’t have to “choose between crave-ability and responsible dining.”

Starbucks and Panera, meanwhile, have highlighted their respective commitments in recent sustainability reports noted by World Animal Protection.

In its 2020 Global Environmental and Social Impact Report, Starbucks said, “To meet our 2030 goals, we set five key strategies, rooted in science, grounded in Starbucks Mission and Values, and informed by comprehensive market research and trials: Expand plant-based menu options.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic delayed plans to test several plant-based dishes, Panera said its “long-term aspiration is to have a menu where half of our entrees are plant-based,” according to its most recent sustainability report.

Thirty-nine of the top 50 fast-food restaurants, however, aren’t taking meaningful steps to provide vegans and vegetarians with much more than the ketchup packets next to the napkin dispensers, according to the World Animal Protection report.

• While McDonald’s began testing its McPlant vegan burger at eight U.S. locations across four states this month, the American fast-food icon has lagged behind Burger King, long its primary rival. BK launched the Impossible Whopper at its 7,000-plus locations more than two years ago, and the company has reported U.S. guests who chose the meatless burger in 2020 “avoided the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions of driving about 520 million miles in an average passenger vehicle.”

• Subway, with nearly 24,000 locations – the most of any chain – has yet to provide a plant-based meat option nationally and failed to make a public commitment to expand its menu or reduce meat consumption.

• Unlike KFC, which has carried out plant-based chicken trials, Chick-fil-A hasn’t featured a plant-based alternative on its menu, publicly detailed any such plans or recognized the benefits of reducing animal proteins.

The World Animal Protection list of “Dining Dawdlers” also includes Arby’s, Dairy Queen, Domino’s, Dunkin’, Panda Express and Wendy’s.

The message for those straggling chains, Harsh said, is to recognize the plant-based movement as an “important and necessary direction” for the sustainability of the planet – and for their bottom line.

“To not catch up,” he said, “is going to be detrimental to their business.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Burger King, Chipotle, Starbucks get top marks at World Vegan Day 2021

Sen. Joe Manchin Was A Headliner At A Secretive Coal CEOs' Confab



Mary Papenfuss
Mon, November 1, 2021, 

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a key foil of Democratic plans to fight climate change, was a top speaker at a recent secretive confab of coal company executives.

Manchin’s role was revealed when the event program and a video touting the “Coal and Investment Leadership Forum” in September was unearthed by an investigative journalist for Documented. The three-day, invitation-only event was held in Virginia at the luxe Olde Farm golf resort, owned by Jim McGlothlin, a founding partner of the United Coal Co., Documented reported Monday.

Those attending — which included coal and energy CEOs and other top executives and bankers, according to an event roster — had to pony up $7,000, plus lodging expenses, according to a website’s information on the gathering, which was tracked by Documented.

Manchin’s headline billing adds to the evidence of his powerful connections to key players in the fossil fuel business and highlights his investments in the industry even as he chairs the Senate’s influential Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The senator who has become “America’s climate decider-in-chief ... has a massive climate conflict of interest,” The Guardian noted in a Sept. 30 article.

On Monday, Manchin again criticized the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” infrastructure proposal, which includes measures to battle climate change. Manchin had already won major concessions in the shrinking legislative package over the issue — and had blocked a paid family leave provision — by indicating that he would at one point support some plan.

“We must allow time for complete transparency and analysis on the impact of changes to our tax code and energy and climate policies,” Manchin said at a news conference Monday on Capitol Hill.

The bulk of the Build Back Better legislation is meant to address the worsening climate crisis.


(Photo: Screen Shot/Leadership Forum/Courtesy of Documented)

Meanwhile, according to his financial disclosures, Manchin last year earned at least $490,000 from his co-ownership of Enersystems, a coal company he founded. (His Senate salary is $174,000). He owns as much as $5 million in stock in the company.

Manchin has emphasized that his holdings are in a blind trust, but he’s well aware that his support for the fossil fuel industry benefits Enersystems. The company is now run by his son, The New Yorker noted in a story last week.

He’s also the U.S. senator who has received the most political donations from the oil, gas, and coal industries, reported The New Yorker.

Manchin’s fellow senator from West Virginia, Shelley Moore Capito (R), was also a speaker at the coal executives’ huddle.

“I know both of these individuals well,” boasted Olde Farm manager and Chief Operating Officer Larry Kleine in a video touting the event (see it up top). “You’d be really hard-pressed to find two more influential people in politics right now, and I’m sure you’ll be curious about what they have to say.”

Manchin’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Check out the full story and more coal country background on Manchin in Documented here.

When and how was walking invented?

Jan Simek, Professor of Anthropology, University of Tennessee
Mon, November 1, 2021

Three upright walkers, including Lucy (center) and two specimens of *Australopithecus sediba*, a human ancestor from South Africa dating back nearly 2 million years. Image compiled by Peter Schmid and courtesy of Lee R. Berger/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

When and how was walking invented? — Rayssa, 11, Newark, New Jersey

This is an important question because many anthropologists see bipedalism – which means walking on two legs – as one of the defining characteristics of “hominins,” or modern humans, and their ancestors. It is difficult to give a simple answer, though, because bipedalism did not just appear one day. It went through a gradual evolution that began many millions of years ago.

Of course there are no video clips of the first person ever walking upright. So how do scientists try to answer questions about how people moved in the very ancient past? Luckily, the shape of a creature’s bones and the way they fit together can tell the story of how that body moved when it was alive. And anthropologists can find other evidence in the landscape that indicates how ancient people walked.


In 1994, the first fossils of an unknown hominin were found in Ethiopia. The anthropologists who found the remains called the new discovery, an adult female individual, Ardipithecus ramidus, nicknamed “Ardi.” Over the next 10 years, more than 100 fossils from Ardi’s species were found and dated to between 4.2 million and 4.4 million years old.

When scientists examined this collection of bones, they identified certain characteristics that indicated bipedalism. The foot, for example, had a structure that allowed the kind of toe push-off that we have today, which four-legged apes do not have. The shape of the pelvic bones, how the legs were positioned under the pelvis and how the leg bones fit together all suggested upright walking too. It may be that Ardi did not walk exactly as we do today, but bipedalism as the normal way of movement does seem to be characteristic of these fossils from as early as 4.4 million years ago.

Anthropologists had already found the nearly 40%-complete skeleton of a hominin species that lived about a million years after Ardi, also in Ethiopia. Because of its similarity to other fossils found in southern and eastern Africa, they called it Australopithecus afarensis, which in Latin means “southern ape from the afar region.” This individual was female, so they nicknamed it “Lucy” after a song by the Beatles that was popular at the time.

Many more fossils from this species – more than 300 individuals – have been added to the group, and today researchers know quite a lot about Lucy and her relatives.

Close-up image of face of a model based on Lucy and other _A. afarensis_ fossils

Lucy had a partial but well-preserved pelvis, which was how anthropologists knew she was female. The pelvis and upper leg bones fit together in a way that showed she walked upright on two legs. No feet bones were preserved, but later discoveries of A. afarensis do include feet and indicate bipedal walking as well.

In addition to fossil remains, scientists found other remarkable evidence for how Lucy’s species moved at the Laetoli site in Tanzania. Beneath a layer of volcanic ash dating to 3.6 million years ago, anthropologists found fossilized footprints in what had once been a wet surface of volcanic ash. The tracks go along for almost 100 feet, and 70 individual prints indicate the presence of at least three individuals walking upright on two feet. Given the presumed age, the makers were likely Australopithecus afarensis.

The tracks prove that these hominins walked on two legs, but the gait seems to be a bit different from ours today. Still, Laetoli provides solid evidence for bipedalism 3.5 million years ago.

A hominin whose anatomy was so like our own that we can say it walked as we do did not appear in Africa until 1.8 million years ago. Homo erectus was the first to have the long legs and shorter arms that would have made it possible to walk, run and move about Earth’s landscapes as we do today. Homo erectus also had a much larger brain than did earlier bipedal hominins and made and used stone tools called Acheulean implements. Anthropologists consider Homo erectus our close relative and an early member of our own genus, Homo.

So, as you can see, human walking took a very long time to develop. It appeared in Africa more than 4.4 million years ago, long before tool-making appeared.

Why did hominins walk upright? Perhaps it allowed them to see predators more easily, or to run faster, or maybe the environment changed and there were fewer trees to climb as earlier hominins did.

In any case, humans and their ancestors began to walk very early in their evolutionary history. Even though bipedalism came before tool-making, an upright posture freed the hands to make and use tools, which ultimately became one of the hallmarks of humans like us.

Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Jan Simek, University of Tennessee.

Read more:

Fossil jawbone from Israel is the oldest modern human found outside Africa

How did humans evolve, and will we evolve more?

Jan Simek has received funding from the LSB Leakey Foundation, the NSF, the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the National Geographic Society.

ECOCIDE

Bomb squad Marines reveal what it takes to create a towering 'wall of fire' 1,000 feet long

Ryan Pickrell

Mon, November 1, 2021

A Blue Angels aircraft is silhouetted by the "Wall of Fire" during the Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, Air Show, May 4, 2018. US Marine Corps photo

• The pyrotechnic display known as the "wall of fire" takes military air shows to a new level.

• Explosive ordnance disposal teams, military bomb squads, spend hours setting these up.

• Two EOD technicians talked to Insider about what it takes to create these towering infernos.

The US military sometimes likes to add a spark to its air shows with a massive pyrotechnic display known as the "wall of fire."

Most recently, the Marines did this at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina, as can be seen in this Sept. 26 video from the base. The "wall of fire" was around 1,000 feet long and estimated to be several hundred feet tall.

The "wall of fire" is usually the penultimate act. The finale is typically the headline performance by an aerial demonstration team like the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds.

Although the demonstration is meant to look like an aircraft is dropping bombs on the airfield, the successive fiery explosions are the result of hours of work by a team of skilled explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel.

Two Marine EOD technicians told Insider about what it takes to make a "wall of fire."

A crowd watches as the Wall of Fire - a pyrotechnic blast conducted by Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point EOD technicians - sets the sky ablaze during a demo at the 2021 MCAS Cherry Point Air Show on Sept. 26, 2021. US Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Lauralle Walker

"It takes time. It takes the raw materials, the explosives, and a little bit of expertise. I had about 30 guys working for me," Chief Warrant Officer 5 Michael Gaydeski, who has been in explosive ordnance disposal for most of his 23 years in the Marine Corps, said.

"As soon as it's light, I have the guys working," he told Insider, explaining that it took about four hours to set up the explosive display, which used over 4,000 feet of detonation cord, among other combustible materials, mainly large amounts of fuel.

The "wall of fire" does not require a lot of explosive material, Gaydeski said. "It's not much at all. It's the manner it's employed. And then it's enhanced by fuel. There is a significant amount of fuel that goes up in that."

Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 5 Michael Gaydeski, the officer in charge for Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), goes over standard operating procedures with EOD technicians during a practice event at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina, Aug. 12, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Jacob Bertram

The recent air show at MCAS Cherry Point was Gaydeski's third time creating a "wall of fire," but for a lot of the Marines involved, this was their first show.

"It's definitely not common," Gaydeski said. "Guys who have experience doing that can be hard to find."

A little over a month before the big event, the Marines did a practice run to make sure everyone knew what to do, with Gaydeski providing guidance.

An explosion is set off by Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians during a practice event at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina, Aug. 12, 2021. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Jacob Bertram

'More dangerous' than Fourth of July fireworks

Pyrotechnic displays are not unusual, as anyone who has ever attended a big Independence Day celebration knows, but the "wall of fire" takes things to another level.

It is "more dangerous" than Fourth of July fireworks, Gaydeski told Insider.

The EOD personnel use explosives that they put together themselves, not something manufactured. The fiery explosions, though they are contained, tend to set the grass on fire. And there is always the possibility that something will go wrong, risking an unplanned detonation or resulting in unexploded ordnance that needs to be rendered safe.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians prepare detonation cord during an EOD practice event at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina, Aug. 12, 2021, US Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Jacob Bertram

"Once things start catching on fire, you might have other explosives that are still on the field. Then you have fire and explosives, and you don't want an unintentional detonation," Gaydeski said.

"If something goes wrong and we're unable to fire a particular charge, perhaps because one of the wires got burned through - that is the most common cause - we've got to disarm that," he said.

"We have got to put out the fire first so that we can get in and remove those explosives or rewire and detonate them manually, whichever we deem to be safer."

Marine Corps Master Sgt. Carlos Villarreal, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician, delivers a safety brief before an EOD practice event at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina, Aug. 12, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Jacob Bertram

Master Sgt. Carlos Villarreal, the second in charge with 18 years in the Marine Corps and almost 11 years in EOD, was tasked with overseeing safety during the air show.

Because the display uses "actual explosives" and because of the "amount of fuel that we use in order to make the detonations make that nice fireball," Villarreal told Insider, "we have the safety concern of people being injured" or worse.

So his job is making sure everybody is behind cover before detonation and that the explosives do not pose a threat to personnel or aircraft, among other things.

Villarreal said creating the wall of fire was "exciting" while Gaydeski said it is "still fun" despite having done three of these.

"If you get the chance, I would say go to it," Gaydeski said. "The spectator line is almost 1,500 feet away. The wall of fire is 1,000 feet long. You'll feel the heat and the blast pressure."

Hell of a victory: Satanists convince Pennsylvania school district to change anti-satanic dress code

Mike Snider, USA TODAY
Sun, October 31, 2021,

Satanists earned a victory after convincing a Pennsylvania school district to remove a student dress code ban on clothes that are "satanic in nature."

The Rose Tree Media School District, just west of Philadelphia, had included a ban on satanic clothing, along with clothes those that are sexually suggestive, obscene or promote violence. But earlier this week, the superintendent issued a statement that the dress code's reference to satanic clothing would be removed, reported WPVI-TV, an ABC TV station in Philadelphia.

"Although we have had no complaints or concerns brought forward by any student, parent, or resident we will remove this language from our current dress code information in the student handbook," the announcement read, according to WPVI.

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Joseph Rose, founder of the group Satanic Delco, in Philadelphia.

Joseph Rose, founder of the Philadelphia area group Satanic Delco, began contacting the school district about a month ago after learning about the dress code language from parents with children in the district. The wording is discriminatory, he argued.

“The idea that a public school, which really isn’t a place for religion to begin with, would allow all but one religion is just so obviously unfair and unconstitutional,” Rose told WPIV-TV.

The group Satanic Delco does not "promote a belief in a personal Satan," it says on its website. "We believe that religion can, and should, be divorced from superstition. … To embrace the name Satan is to embrace rational inquiry removed from supernaturalism and archaic tradition-based superstitions. Satanists should actively work to hone critical thinking and exercise reasonable agnosticism in all things. Our beliefs must be malleable to the best current scientific understandings of the material world – never the reverse."

The school district made the correct move, Villanova law professor Ann Juliano told WPIV-TV. "They recognize that there could be religious beliefs at issue, not that there are, but there could be, and therefore they would take it out," she said.

Rose is currently fighting similar dress code wording – a ban on clothing or jewelry with satanic or cult references – at Garnet Valley School District, also near Philadelphia.

"I'm glad the (Rose Tree Media School District) made the right choice, and I only hope it sends a message to other schools that freedom of expression has to be given equally," Rose told USA TODAY.

Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Satanists get PA school district to change 'satanic' dress code ban

The science everyone needs to know about climate change, in 6 charts


Betsy Weatherhead, 

Senior Scientist, 

University of Colorado Boulder
Mon, November 1, 2021,

Scientific instruments in space today can monitor hurricane strength, sea level rise, ice sheet loss and much more. Christina Koch/NASA

With the United Nations’ climate conference in Scotland turning a spotlight on climate change policies and the impact of global warming, it’s useful to understand what the science shows.

I’m an atmospheric scientist who has worked on global climate science and assessments for most of my career. Here are six things you should know, in charts.

What’s driving climate change

The primary focus of the negotiations is on carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is released when fossil fuels – coal, oil and natural gas – are burned, as well as by forest fires, land use changes and natural sources.

The Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s started an enormous increase in the burning of fossil fuels. It powered homes, industries and opened up the planet to travel. That same century, scientists identified carbon dioxide’s potential to increase global temperatures, which at the time was considered a possible benefit to the planet. Systematic measurements started in the mid-1900s and have shown a steady increase in carbon dioxide, with the majority of it directly traceable to the combustion of fossil fuels.

Once in the atmosphere, carbon dioxide tends to stay there for a very long time. A portion of the carbon dioxide released through human activities is taken up by plants, and some is absorbed directly into the ocean, but roughly half of all carbon dioxide emitted by human activities today stays in the atmosphere — and it likely will remain there for hundreds of years, influencing the climate globally.

During the first year of the pandemic in 2020, when fewer people were driving and some industries briefly stopped, carbon dioxide emissions from fuels fell by roughly 6%. But it didn’t stop the rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide because the amount released into the atmosphere by human activities far exceeded what nature could absorb.

If civilization stopped its carbon dioxide-emitting activities today, it would still take many hundreds of years for the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to fall enough naturally to bring the planet’s carbon cycle back into balance because of carbon dioxide’s long life in the atmosphere.
How we know greenhouse gases can change the climate

Multiple lines of scientific evidence point to the increase in greenhouse emissions over the past century and a half as a driver of long-term climate change around the world. For example:

Laboratory measurements since the 1800s have repeatedly verified and quantified the absorptive properties of carbon dioxide that allow it to trap heat in the atmosphere.

Simple models based on the warming impact of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere match historical changes in temperature.

Complex climate models, recently acknowledged in the Nobel Prize for Physics, not only indicate a warming of the Earth due to increases in carbon dioxide but also offer details of the areas of greatest warming.

Long-term records from ice cores, tree rings and corals show that when carbon dioxide levels have been high, temperatures have also been high.

Our neighboring planets also offer evidence. Venus’ atmosphere is thick with carbon dioxide, and it is the hottest planet in our solar system as a result, even though Mercury is closer to the sun.

Temperatures are rising on every continent

The rising temperatures are evident in records from every continent and over the oceans.

The temperatures aren’t rising at the same rate everywhere, however. A variety of factors affect local temperatures, including land use that influences how much solar energy is absorbed or reflected, local heating sources like urban heat islands, and pollution.

The Arctic, for example, is warming about three times faster than the global average in part because as the planet warms, snow and ice melt makes the surface more likely to absorb, rather than reflect, the sun’s radiation. Snow cover and sea ice recede even more rapidly as a result.

What climate change is doing to the planet

Earth’s climate system is interconnected and complex, and even small temperature changes can have large impacts – for instance, with snow cover and sea levels.

Changes are already happening. Studies show that rising temperatures are already affecting precipitation, glaciers, weather patterns, tropical cyclone activity and severe storms. A number of studies show that the increases in frequency, severity and duration of heat waves, for example, affect ecosystems, human lives, commerce and agriculture.

Historical records of ocean water level have shown mostly consistent increases over the past 150 years as glacier ice melts and rising temperatures expand ocean water, with some local deviations due to sinking or rising land.

While extreme events are often due to complex sets of causes, some are exacerbated by climate change. Just as coastal flooding can be made worse by rising ocean levels, heat waves are more damaging with higher baseline temperatures.

Climate scientists work hard to estimate future changes as a result of increased carbon dioxide and other expected changes, such as world population. It’s clear that temperatures will increase and precipitation will change. The exact magnitude of change depends on many interacting factors.

A few reasons for hope

On a hopeful note, scientific research is improving our understanding of climate and the complex Earth system, identifying the most vulnerable areas and guiding efforts to reduce the drivers of climate change. Work on renewable energy and alternative energy sources, as well as ways to capture carbon from industries or from the air, are producing more options for a better prepared society.

At the same time, people are learning about how they can reduce their own impact, with the growing understanding that a globally coordinated effort is required to have a significant impact. Electric vehicles, as well as solar and wind power, are growing at previously unthinkable rates. More people are showing a willingness to adopt new strategies to use energy more efficiently, consume more sustainably and choose renewable energy.

Scientists increasingly recognize that shifting away from fossil fuels has additional benefits, including improved air quality for human health and ecosystems.

[Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week. Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter.]

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Betsy Weatherhead, University of Colorado Boulder.

Read more:

What is COP26? Here’s how global climate negotiations work and what’s expected from the Glasgow summit


4 key issues to watch as world leaders gather for the Glasgow climate summit


Climate change is relentless: Seemingly small shifts have big consequences

Betsy Weatherhead does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

BHP's Plan to Exit Thermal Coal Is in Doubt



Thomas Biesheuvel, Harry Brumpton and James Thornhill
Mon, November 1, 2021, 

(Bloomberg) -- BHP Group’s exit from thermal coal is looking less certain as record prices and shifting investor attitudes put the brakes on its planned retreat from the dirtiest fuel, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company has been planning its thermal coal exit for at least two years -- BHP has already sold a stake in the Cerrejon thermal coal mine in Colombia and is nearing a deal to sell some Australian coking coal mines.

But the process for offloading its Mt Arthur mine in Australia is stalling because coal’s rally has made the asset more valuable, and it’s no longer under as much pressure from some investors to sell, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the details are private. That’s giving BHP more room to consider its options for Mt Arthur and wait for better offers.

BHP and rivals including Anglo American Plc have looked to exit thermal coal under pressure from investors who weren’t comfortable with blue-chip names mining the dirtiest fuel. Yet that urgency has softened somewhat in the past year, with some activists now saying major miners are best placed to eventually close down operations responsibly themselves.

A spokesman for BHP declined to comment.

BHP Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry last month said the plan to exit thermal coal was largely business-based, rather than being driven purely by a green agenda.

There “wasn’t any push toward becoming fossil-fuel free,” he said at a shareholder meeting. “It was simply a cold-eyed assessment on how those commodities fit with the BHP portfolio, how we saw the long-term value and the ability to compete for capital in the BHP portfolio.”

BHP has already rebuffed multiple offers for Mt Arthur, and with uncertainty around future liabilities, has yet to receive offers that match its valuation, the people familiar with the matter said.

BHP will also have its deal to exit Cerrejon in Colombia fresh in its mind. The timing of the sale agreement means that BHP and partner Anglo are essentially giving away their interests in the mine. While Glencore Plc agreed to pay $588 million this year to buy stakes from the two companies, it also took over cash flows for the rest of 2021. The recent surge in coal prices means those cash flows will likely more than cover the purchase cost.

Benchmark prices for thermal coal exported from Australia spiked to a record last month, though prices have pulled back as China rolls out measures to ease a supply crunch that’s contributed to power shortages.

BHP’s BMC metallurgical coal assets in Australia are the more attractive of the coal mines up for sale, and that process is ongoing, the people said.