FALLING RATE OF PROFIT

No, you’re not going crazy - package sizes are shrinking

“I’m not saying they’re profiteering, but it smells like it,” 

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

Bottles of Gatorade are pictured, left, a 32 fluid ounce and 28 fluid ounce, in Glenside, Pa., Monday, June 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

It’s the inflation you’re not supposed to see.

From toilet paper to yogurt and coffee to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices. It’s dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it’s accelerating worldwide.

In the U.S., a small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues; a few months ago, it had 65. Chobani Flips yogurts have shrunk from 5.3 ounces to 4.5 ounces. In the U.K., Nestle slimmed down its Nescafe Azera Americano coffee tins from 100 grams to 90 grams. In India, a bar of Vim dish soap has shrunk from 155 grams to 135 grams.

Shrinkflation isn’t new, experts say. But it proliferates in times of high inflation as companies grapple with rising costs for ingredients, packaging, labor and transportation. Global consumer price inflation was up an estimated 7% in May, a pace that will likely continue through September, according to S&P Global.

“It comes in waves. We happen to be in a tidal wave at the moment because of inflation,” said Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts who has documented shrinkflation on his Consumer World website for decades.

Dworsky began noticing smaller boxes in the cereal aisle last fall, and shrinkflation has ballooned from there. He can cite dozens of examples, from Cottonelle Ultra Clean Care toilet paper, which has shrunk from 340 sheets per roll to 312, to Folgers coffee, which downsized its 51-ounce container to 43.5 ounces but still says it will make up to 400 cups. (Folgers says it’s using a new technology that results in lighter-weight beans.)

Dworsky said shrinkflation appeals to manufacturers because they know customers will notice price increases but won’t keep track of net weights or small details, like the number of sheets on a roll of toilet paper. Companies can also employ tricks to draw attention away from downsizing, like marking smaller packages with bright new labels that draw shoppers’ eyes.

That’s what Fritos did. Bags of Fritos Scoops marked “Party Size” used to be 18 ounces; some are still on sale at a grocery chain in Texas. But almost every other big chain is now advertising “Party Size” Fritos Scoops that are 15.5 ounces — and more expensive.

PepsiCo didn’t respond when asked about Fritos. But it did acknowledge the shrinking of Gatorade bottles. The company recently began phasing out 32-ounce bottles in favor of 28-ounce ones, which are tapered in the middle to make it easier to hold them. The changeover has been in the works for years and isn’t related to the current economic climate, PepsiCo said. But it didn’t respond when asked why the 28-ounce version is more expensive.



Likewise, Kimberly-Clark — which makes both Cottonelle and Kleenex — didn’t respond to requests for comment on the reduced package sizes. Proctor & Gamble Co. didn’t respond when asked about Pantene Pro-V Curl Perfection conditioner, which downsized from 12 fluid ounces to 10.4 fluid ounces but still costs $3.99.

Earth’s Best Organic Sunny Day Snack Bars went from eight bars per box to seven, but the price listed at multiple stores remains $3.69. Hain Celestial Group, the brand’s owner, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

Some companies are straightforward about the changes. In Japan, snack maker Calbee Inc. announced 10% weight reductions — and 10% price increases — for many of its products in May, including veggie chips and crispy edamame. The company blamed a sharp rise in the cost of raw materials.

Domino’s Pizza announced in January it was shrinking the size of its 10-piece chicken wings to eight pieces for the same $7.99 carryout price. Domino’s cited the rising cost of chicken.

In India, “down-switching” — another term for shrinkflation — is mostly done in rural areas, where people are poorer and more price sensitive, said Byas Anand, head of corporate communications for Dabur India, a consumer care and food business. In cities, companies simply jack up prices.

“My company has been doing it openly for ages,” Anand said.

Some customers who have noticed the downsizing are sharing examples on social media. Others say shrinkflation is causing them to change their shopping habits.

Alex Aspacher does a lot of the grocery shopping and meal planning for his family of four in Haskins, Ohio. He noticed when the one-pound package of sliced Swiss cheese he used to buy shrank to 12 ounces but kept its $9.99 price tag. Now, he hunts for deals or buys a block of cheese and slices it himself.

Aspacher said he knew prices would rise when he started reading about higher wages for grocery workers. But the speed of the change — and the shrinking packages — have surprised him.

“I was prepared for it to a degree, but there hasn’t been a limit to it so far,” Aspacher said. “I hope we find that ceiling pretty soon.”

Sometimes the trend can reverse. As inflation eases, competition might force manufacturers to lower their prices or reintroduce larger packages. But Dworsky says once a product has gotten smaller, it often stays that way.

“Upsizing is kind of rare,” he said.

Hitendra Chaturvedi, a professor of supply chain management at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, said he has no doubt many companies are struggling with labor shortages and higher raw material costs.

But in some cases, companies’ profits — or sales minus the cost of doing business — are also increasing exponentially, and Chaturvedi finds that troubling.

He points to Mondelez International, which took some heat this spring for shrinking the size of its Cadbury Dairy Milk bar in the U.K. without lowering the price. The company’s operating income climbed 21% in 2021, but fell 15% in the first quarter as cost pressures grew. By comparison, PepsiCo’s operating profit climbed 11% in 2021 and 128% in the first quarter.

“I’m not saying they’re profiteering, but it smells like it,” Chaturvedi said. “Are we using supply constraints as a weapon to make more money?”

___

AP Writers Ashok Sharma in Delhi and Kelvin Chan in London contributed.

Griner’s fate tangled up with other American held in Russia

By ERIC TUCKER

today

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner leaves a courtroom after a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, May 13, 2022. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was detained at the Moscow airport in February after vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis were allegedly found in her luggage, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

 (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)


WASHINGTON (AP) — Brittney Griner is easily the most prominent American locked up by a foreign country. But the WNBA star’s case is tangled up with that of a lesser-known American also imprisoned in Russia.

Paul Whelan has been held in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage charges he and the U.S. government say are false. He was left out of a prisoner exchange in April that brought home yet another detainee, Marine veteran Trevor Reed. That has escalated pressure on the Biden administration to avoid another one-for-one swap that does not include Whelan — even as it presses for the release of Griner, an Olympic gold medalist whose case has drawn global attention.

For Griner and Whelan, the other’s case injects something of a wild card into their own, for better or worse.

The U.S. government may not agree to a deal in which just one of them is released, potentially complicating negotiations. But Whelan could also benefit from the attention given to Griner, which has cast a spotlight on his case. And though the U.S. may hesitate to give up a high-level Russian prisoner in exchange for Griner, who’s charged with a relatively minor drug offense, it’s possible it would be more inclined to do so if both she and Whelan were part of any deal.

The potential interplay between the cases is not lost on the families and supporters of Whelan and Griner.

“It’s still very raw,” Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth Whelan, said of her brother being excluded from the Reed deal. “And to think we might have to go through that again if Brittney is brought home first is just terrible.”

But “what’s really bad” about feeling that way, she hastened to add, is that she and her family absolutely want Griner released, too. “It’s not like we don’t want her home. We want everyone out of there, out of Russia and away from that situation.”

It all adds up to a “sticky wicket,” said Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania who specializes in Russia and is advising the WNBA players’ association on Griner’s case.

If Griner were to leapfrog Whelan in coming home, the administration will face scrutiny from Whelan’s supporters. “And if Paul Whelan gets out first, you’re going to have questions about why isn’t Brittney out when Brittney hasn’t even been convicted yet,” she said.

U.S. officials have not said whether swaps are being discussed that could get Griner, Whelan or both home, or whether they’d accept a deal that yields the release of one without the other. A spokesman for the State Department office that advocates for wrongfully detained Americans, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, or SPEHA, declined to say how the cases might affect each other but said in a statement that the office remains committed to securing the release of both.

There’s no question that the February arrest of Griner — Russian authorities detained her at an airport after they said a search of her bag revealed vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis — has heightened public awareness around the dozens of Americans who, like Reed and Griner, are classified as wrongfully detained by foreign governments.

The seven-time WNBA All-Star is not only one of the most dominant figures in her sport but also a prominent gay, Black woman. That has prompted questions about the role race and sexual identity are playing in a country where authorities have been hostile to the LGBTQ community, and about whether her case would get more attention if it involved a white male athlete.

U.S. officials and Griner’s supporters initially said little publicly about her case, but that changed in May when the State Department designated her as wrongfully detained and transitioned her case to the SPEHA office.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle, urged the Biden administration in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” to do anything necessary to get Griner home, but also expressed empathy for Whelan. She said that even though there’s no connection between the two besides the fact they’re both in Russia, “I obviously want him back, too.”

Griner’s fame cuts both ways, said St. Julian-Varnon. If ever Russia wants to reestablish itself as a country hospitable to foreign athletes like Griner, the country would have significant incentive to release her. But given Griner’s “political value” to Russia, it may also make a huge demand for her release.

“This is the biggest chip that they have to play,” she said.

Tamryn Spruill, a freelance journalist and author who launched a Change.org petition demanding Griner’s freedom, said in an email that if her “case can be leveraged to simultaneously secure Whelan’s release — or vice versa — then it is my hope that the president will exploit all of those avenues.”




Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested for alleged spying, listens to the verdict in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2020. Brittney Griner is easily the most prominent American locked up by a foreign country. But the WNBA star’s case is tangled up with that of another prisoner few Americans have ever heard of. Paul Whelan has been held in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage charges he and the U.S. government say are false. 

(Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP)

Unlike Griner, who is awaiting trial, Whelan has been convicted and sentenced.

A corporate security executive from Michigan who was arrested after traveling to Russia for a wedding, Whelan was found guilty in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He and his family have vigorously asserted his innocence. The U.S. government has denounced the charges as false.

Reed had also been sentenced well before the swap that freed him. He had been jailed over what Russian authorities say was a drunken physical encounter with police in Moscow and was freed in exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot who was serving a 20-year sentence for drug trafficking conspiracy. U.S. officials cited in part Reed’s ailing health as justification for the trade.

It’s not clear which other Russians, if any, might be part of additional exchanges. Russian state media have for years floated the name of notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, though such a deal risks being seen as lending false equivalency between a Russian the U.S. government regards as properly convicted and Americans it considers unjustly detained.

Jonathan Franks, a consultant who worked on the Reed case, said it was hard to envision a Griner-Bout deal or a Griner deal that didn’t involve Whelan.

“I truly believe Brittney Griner’s fastest path out of Russia is on Air Whelan,” he said.

Elizabeth Whelan said the early morning call she had to make to her aging parents to tell them Reed was coming home but her brother was not is not an experience she wants to repeat. But she said her family does understand the possibility one prisoner could be freed without the other.

“We’re faced with a situation where these hostile foreign nations can assign different values to each person they’re holding, and can work separate deals. Whichever deal comes through first is often who comes home first,” she said, “and it’s not at all a tenable situation.”

___

Follow Eric Tucker at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP

‘Only God  - WE can help’: Hundreds die as Somalia faces famine

By OMAR FARUK and CARA ANNA

PHOTO ESSAY 1 of 17  WARNING DISTRESSING IMAGES

Doctor Mustaf Yusuf treats Ali Osman, 3, who is showing symptoms of Kwashiorkor, a severe protein malnutrition causing swelling and skin lesions, as his mother Owliyo Hassan Salaad, 40, holds him at a malnutrition stabilization center run by Action against Hunger, in Mogadishu, Somalia Sunday, June 5, 2022. Deaths have begun in the region's most parched drought in decades and previously unreported data show nearly 450 deaths this year at malnutrition treatment centers in Somalia alone.

 (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — No mother should have to lose her child. Owliyo Hassan Salaad has watched four die this year. A drought in the Horn of Africa has taken them, one by one.

Now she cradles her frail and squalling 3-year-old, Ali Osman, whom she carried on a 90-kilometer (55-mile) walk from her village to Somalia’s capital, desperate not to lose him too. Sitting on the floor of a malnutrition treatment center filled with anxious mothers, she can barely speak about the small bodies buried back home in soil too dry for planting.

Deaths have begun in the region’s most parched drought in four decades. Previously unreported data shared with The Associated Press show at least 448 deaths this year at malnutrition treatment centers in Somalia alone. Authorities in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are now shifting to the grim task of trying to prevent famine.

Many more people are dying beyond the notice of authorities, like Salaad’s four children, all younger than 10. Some die in remote pastoral communities. Some die on treks in search of help. Some die even after reaching displacement camps, malnourished beyond aid.

“Definitely thousands” have died, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula, told reporters on Tuesday, though the data to support that is yet to come.

Salaad left behind another four children with her husband. They were too weak to make the journey to Mogadishu, she said.

Drought comes and goes in the Horn of Africa, but this is one like no other. Humanitarian assistance has been sapped by global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and now Russia’s war in Ukraine. Prices for staples like wheat and cooking oil are rising quickly, in some places by more than 100%. Millions of the livestock that provide families with milk, meat and wealth have died. Even the therapeutic food to treat hungry people like Salaad’s son is becoming more expensive and, in some places, might run out.

And for the first time, a fifth straight rainy season might fail.

An “explosion of child deaths” is coming to the Horn of Africa if the world focuses only on the war in Ukraine and doesn’t act now, UNICEF said Tuesday.

Famine even threatens Somalia’s capital as displacement camps on Mogadishu’s outskirts swell with exhausted new arrivals. Salaad and her son were turned away from a crowded hospital after arriving a week ago.

They were sent instead to the treatment center for the extremely malnourished where rooms are full, extra beds have been put out and yet some people must sleep on the floor. Mothers wince, and babies wail, as tiny bodies with sores and protruding ribs are gently checked for signs of recovery.

“The center is overwhelmed,” said Dr. Mustaf Yusuf, a physician there. Admissions more than doubled in May to 122 patients.

At least 30 people have died this year through April at the center and six other facilities run by Action Against Hunger, the humanitarian group said. It is seeing the highest admission rates to its hunger treatment centers since it began working in Somalia in 1992, with the number of severely malnourished children up 55% from last year.

More broadly, at least 448 people died this year at outpatient and in-patient malnutrition treatment centers across Somalia through April, according to data compiled by humanitarian groups and local authorities.

Aid workers warn the data is incomplete and the overall death toll from the drought remains elusive.

“We know from experience that mortality rises suddenly when all the conditions are in place — displacement, disease outbreaks, malnutrition — all of which we are currently seeing in Somalia,” said Biram Ndiaye, UNICEF Somalia’s chief of nutrition.

Mortality surveys conducted in parts of Somalia in December and again in April and May by the U.N.’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit showed a “severe and rapid deterioration within a very short time frame.” Most alarming was the Bay region in the south, where adult mortality nearly tripled, child mortality more than doubled and the rate of the most severe malnutrition tripled.

Deaths and acute malnutrition have reached “atypically high levels” in much of southern and central Somalia, and admissions of acutely malnourished children under 5 have risen by over 40% compared to the same period last year, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network.

One notable complication in counting deaths is the extremist group al-Shabab, whose control over large parts of southern and central Somalia is a barrier to aid. Its harsh response to Somalia’s drought-driven famine from 2010-12 was a factor in more than a quarter-million deaths, half of them children.

Another factor was the international community’s slow response. “A drama without witnesses,” the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia said at the time.

Now the alarms are sounding again.

More than 200,000 people in Somalia face “catastrophic hunger and starvation, a drastic increase from the 81,000 forecast in April,” a joint statement by U.N. agencies said Monday, noting that a humanitarian response plan for this year is just 18% funded.

Somalia isn’t alone. In Ethiopia’s drought-affected regions, the number of children treated for the most severe malnutrition — “a tip of the crisis” — jumped 27% in the first quarter of this year compared to last year, according to UNICEF. The increase was 71% in Kenya, where Doctors Without Borders reported at least 11 deaths in a single county’s malnutrition treatment program earlier this year.

At one of the overflowing displacement camps on the outskirts of Mogadishu, recent arrivals were anguished as they described watching family members die.

“I left some of my children behind to care for those suffering,” said Amina Abdi Hassan, who came from a village in southern Somalia with her malnourished baby. They’re still hungry as aid runs dry, even in the capital.

“Many others are on the way,” she said.

Hawa Abdi Osman said she lost children to the drought. Emaciated, and weakened by another pregnancy, she walked five days to Mogadishu.

“We had to leave some of our relatives behind, and others perished as we watched,” said her cousin, Halima Ali Dhubow.

More people come to the camp every day, using the last wisps of energy to set up makeshift shelters in the dust, lashing together branches with fabric and plastic. Some walked up to 19 days to reach the capital, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

“Last night alone 120 families came in,” camp manager Nadifa Hussein said. “We are giving them all the little supplies we have, like bread. The number of people is so overwhelming that helping them is beyond our capacity. In the past aid agencies helped, but now aid is very scarce.

“Only God can help them,” she said.

___

Cara Anna reported from Nairobi, Kenya. Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

 

EVENT: For Lula - and the return of hope to Brazil 7PM UK time (GMT+1) Thursday, 23rd June - register for the online rally here   Elections take place in October and president Bolsonaro and his far-right allies are ramping up threats against Brazilian democracy.  We're coming together for an online rally to show that the world is watching. Take part and build international support for Lula and the wide-movement of resistance fighting back against Bolsonaro. Please join us in showing solidarity on June 23rd. WITH:  Julia Felmanas, Núcleo PT Londres Aline Piva, Progressive International Latin America Coordinator Rodrigo Toneto, PT Youth activist Richard Burgon MP, Brazil Solidarity Initiative Chair Jess Barnard, Young Labour Chair Luke Daniels, Caribbean Labour Solidarity PLUS: International guests and speakers from the Brazilian Workers Party (PT) & Lula's campaign TBA!   You can help us build the event by sharing it on Facebook here; and retweeting on twitter here. Please also share the event link through your own channels and groups!    Kind regards, The Brazil Solidarity Initiative Team www.brazilsolidarity.co.uk f: @BrazilSolidarityInitiative t: @BSI_updates   P.S. A big thanks to everyone who has donated to our 2022 fundraiser so far. Our campaign needs your support to be able to host important events like this one - please consider donating £20 or whatever you can afford here.  If you can't afford to donate, please instead consider signing and sharing our Brazil elections 2022 statement!

ALL IN ONE DAY

One dead, others rescued after 3 separate incidents on California mountain

incidents occurred amid poor climbing conditions on 

Mt. Shasta's Avalanche Gulch


Four survivors were airlifted Monday to local hospitals after being rescued from Mt. Shasta. Photo courtesy Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office/Facebook

June 7 (UPI) -- One climber died and four others were rescued in separate incidents that occurred amid poor climbing conditions on Mt. Shasta's Avalanche Gulch in Northern California, authorities said.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that the first incident was reported at 8:39 a.m. Monday, and responders were dispatched to locate three climbers.

One was found in serious condition, another had a broken ankle and a third was confirmed dead before rescue efforts could begin, authorities said.

Courtney Kreider, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, told the Redding Record Searchlight that witnesses said at least one of the climbers had fallen about 1,000 feet.

The identities of the climbers were not released.

"We're still notifying families," Kreider said.

The sheriff's office said the second incident was reported at about 12:31 p.m. and involved one climber who was reported in critical condition. A third incident then occurred at about 4 p.m. and required a helicopter crew to locate a woman climber who was found Monday night.

All four survivors were airlifted off the mountain to local hospitals, authorities said.

Wallace Casper, a climber from Bozeman, Mt., said in a video posted to the sheriff's office Facebook page that conditions on the mountain were "really bad" as there was a layer of ice on top of the snowpack that made it nearly impossible for skiers and climbers to traverse.

"A lot of people had issues with falling and sliding," he said, adding that the conditions on the mountain made it "pretty much impossible to self arrest."

According to the Mt. Shasta Avalanche Center, Avalanche Gulch is a steep and rigorous climb that follows a 7,000 vertical foot ascent "that exposes the climber to steep snow and ice, rock fall and weather extremes."

"Don't consider this route as a cake walk," it said.

Photographer captures unusual striped sunset in Midwest

By Zachary Rosenthal, Accuweather.com

The sky glowed orange, but in stripes, as the sun sets over Sabetha, Kansas, on May 30. 

Photo by Jazz Bishop via AccuWeather

June 7 -- An Oklahoma-based photographer captured a stunning phenomenon in nearby Kansas as the sun set over the Great Plains, and AccuWeather meteorologists are able to explain how this unusual sunset got set in motion.

Rather than seeing a sunset where the entire sky was illuminated in the typical orange glow one might expect as evening approaches, photographer Jazz Bishop caught a sunset that made it look like the sky was glitching.

Only certain parts of the sky glowed orange, rather than the whole sky being painted in the typical array of sunset colors.

What was even more peculiar were the glowing and non-glowing areas that were nearly perfectly straight, giving off the appearance of separate orange stripes in the sky.

The phenomenon, filmed from a few different angles in Sabetha, Kan., on May 30, can be explained by meteorologists, though it is not precisely clear what happened.

Crepuscular rays are seen at sunrise in Portugal on September 1, 2018. 

Photo by Kees Scherer/Flickr/AccuWeather

The stunning sunset could be attributed to either crepuscular or anticrepuscular rays, which are typically identified by the contrast between the orange rays and nearby darker skies at sunset or sunrise.

The major difference between the two is the direction they converge toward -- crepuscular rays point toward the sun, while anticrepuscular rays converge opposite the sun.

The dark regions between the rays are commonly known as cloud shadows, which help give the rays in the sky further definition. When the sunlight during sunrise and sunset is obstructed by clouds, the cloud itself can leave its shadow across the skies.

Cloud shadows operate essentially as the inverse of crepuscular and anticrepuscular rays, leaving streaks of darkness in the skies, while the latter phenomena are literally glowing columns of sunlight in the sky.

Philippines' Duterte calls for drug war to continue after he leaves office

By Thomas Maresca

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte urged police to continue with a bloody war on drugs after he leaves office at the end of the month. File Photo by Rolex Dela Pena/EPA-EFE

June 7 (UPI) -- As his single six-year term comes to an end, strongman Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called for the continuation of his bloody war on drugs and urged the country to rally in support of his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

In a weekly briefing broadcast Monday night, Duterte called on the national police force to "maintain your momentum against the drug problem."

"I would encourage the [police] to remember their country irrespective of who the leader is," he said. "Please don't let go of the fervor in your hearts, regardless of the leader."

Duterte swept to the presidency in 2016 with a violent, tough-on-crime message, vowing to end the country's drug problem within six months and publicly urging police and even citizens to kill drug dealers.

RELATED  For Philippines under new President Marcos, cold hard truths lie ahead

According to official government figures, more than 6,200 people have been killed in the brutal anti-drug operations since Duterte took office.

However, the International Criminal Court in The Hague has said the figure could be as high as 30,000, including widespread extrajudicial violence.

In September 2021, the court officially opened an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippines under Duterte's war on drugs, dating to his time as mayor of the city of Davao.

Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the court in 2019 after its preliminary investigation began and his administration attempted to argue that the international body has no jurisdiction in the country.

The court temporarily suspended its probe in November after Manila requested a deferral, but said it would continue to analyze information in the case.

In his address Monday, which Duterte said would likely be his "parting message," the 77-year-old announced he was "ready and eager" for the transfer of power to the incoming Marcos Jr. administration, which will take office June 30.

RELATED Marcos clan returns to power in the Philippines with landslide presidential victory

"We must all be united in confronting the issues ahead of us," he said. "We have no room for politicking or going into a divisive exercise."

Marcos Jr., son and namesake of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., won a landslide victory last month fueled in part by an extensive disinformation campaign that worked to rebrand his family's history as a golden age of the Philippines.

The Marcos camp also benefited by forging ties with the hugely popular current president through an alliance with his daughter, Sara Duterte, who was elected vice president in a separate race.

The president-elect has said that he will bar the international court from continuing its investigation against Duterte.

"We have a functioning judiciary, and that's why I don't see the need for a foreigner to come and do the job for us, do the job for our judicial system," Marcos said while campaigning earlier this year.

Duterte said in his address that he planned to stay out of politics once he leaves office.

"If there's a compelling need to talk, I will do it," he said. "But my drift is just really to retire quietly. No more politics for me."

Read More  Marcos victory opens old wounds for martial law victims in Philippines

Few studies have examined treating pain with medical marijuana, CBD

By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay News

Little research has been done to guide doctors in potential uses for medical marijuana, including for muscle pain, pinched nerves and other forms of chronic pain.

 Photo by Atomazul/Shutterstock

Use of medical marijuana has surged across the United States, but a new analysis finds that evidence supporting its use in treating chronic pain remains surprisingly thin.

There have been few well-performed clinical trials focused on pain relief from the sort of products you'd buy at a marijuana dispensary, including smoked cannabis, edibles, extracts and cannabidiol (CBD), researchers report.

The best medical evidence generated so far supports just two synthetic products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that contain 100% THC, the chemical in pot that causes intoxication, researchers found.

The two drugs, dronabinol and nabilone, have a short-term benefit in treating neuropathic pain caused by damage to the peripheral nerves, researchers said.
RELATEDMore teens use pot when states legalize recreational marijuana

Another drug available in Canada but not in the United States -- a THC/CBD extract sprayed under the tongue -- also showed some evidence of clinical benefit for neuropathic pain.

That leaves unexplored many other potential uses for medical pot, including for muscle pain, pinched nerves and other forms of chronic pain, said lead researcher Marian McDonagh, a professor of medical informatics and clinical epidemiology with the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine.

"The narrowness of the research was a bit surprising," McDonagh said. "While there are a lot of people with neuropathic pain, this would not include people with, say, low back pain. There's a lot less evidence for those kinds of conditions."

The FDA-approved drugs also came with significant side effects, including dizziness and sedation, McDonagh said.

"The products that we have better evidence on are just not the products we're talking about in a typical dispensary in one of the U.S. states that allows medical marijuana," McDonagh said.

Medical cannabis is now legal in 38 states, according to World Population Review. Of those, 19 states have outright legalized the recreational use of pot, along with the District of Columbia.

RELATED Medical marijuana reduces pain, opioid use among cancer patients

As medical pot has become more widely accepted, so has the notion that THC or CBD products can help treat chronic pain. This new analysis, sponsored by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, was intended to shed light on the subject.

McDonagh and her colleagues searched through more than 3,000 studies, and they came up with 25 that had scientifically valid evidence regarding the use of pot products to treat chronic pain. These included 18 clinical trials involving 1,740 people and seven observational studies that included more than 13,000 participants.

The researchers then sorted the studies by the type of product being tested -- containing high, low or comparable ratios of THC to CBD.

Six randomized controlled studies showed that the high-THC drugs dronabinol and nabilone demonstrated statistically valid benefits for easing neuropathic pain, researchers concluded.

But the evidence for pot, CBD and other chemicals derived from marijuana were limited by flaws in the studies they reviewed.

McDonagh suggested that people interested in trying medical marijuana talk to their doctor, although there's not a lot for a physician to go on.

"What we found that has evidence is a prescription product," McDonagh said of the two drugs. "So really, you'd have to go to your doctor anyway. But there isn't enough evidence in there to guide a physician on how to advise a patient about what to buy at a dispensary or how to use it."

Her team's findings were published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

People interested in medical pot should start with pure CBD products, since they don't contain anything that would intoxicate and have a remarkable safety profile, said Dr. Daniel Clauw, a professor of anesthesiology with the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor. Clauw is co-author of an editorial accompanying the analysis.

"It's totally fine for most people that have chronic pain to try some CBD because it seems to be quite safe," Clauw said. "On the other hand, when you do add THC, you have to be a lot more careful.

"It does appear as though a low amount of THC might be a lot more effective to treat pain, but if people take recreational, really high THC products in the hope of getting good pain relief, it's probably more likely they'll get harmed by the product than helped because they'll be using too much THC," Clauw continued.

Some studies have suggested that CBD has anti-inflammatory properties that could help treat arthritis pain, Clauw noted.

"Given the slow pace of clinical trials, we believe it likely that McDonagh and colleagues' findings will be the best available evidence for some time," Clauw's editorial concluded.

"While we await better evidence, we believe that clinicians should meet patients with chronic pain 'where they are,'" the editorial said. "Conventional analgesic medications are effective only in a subset of persons, so it is no wonder that many patients are drawn to widely available cannabis products. Clinicians can compassionately witness, record and offer guidance to help patients with chronic pain use cannabis wisely."

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about marijuana.

Copyright © 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Cowboys lasso loose cow on Oklahoma City highway

June 7 (UPI) -- A cowboy rode his horse onto a busy Oklahoma highway and was able to lasso a cow running loose in traffic -- and the moment was caught on camera.

Blake Igert, a contractor for Oklahoma National Stockyards pinback crew, said he received a call Monday morning that loose cows had been spotted on Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City.

Igert and colleague Jimmy Dishman saddled up their horses and rode onto the highway.

"It was a little more intense this time. We were right in the middle of traffic. The cows were heading right into the interstate," Igert told KOCO-TV.

An Oklahoma City Fire Department crew that happened to be in the area blocked traffic while Igert and Dishman chased the bovine.

A KOCO news helicopter recorded the moment Dishman threw a lasso around the neck of the cow.

"You got to be patient and wait for a good opportunity," Igert said.

Barcelona to tax cruise passengers for pollution from 'monster ships'


Barcelona announces it will tax cruise passengers to help clear up toxic emissions from massive ships. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

June 7 (UPI) -- Cruise passengers in Barcelona will have to pay more tourist taxes to fight pollution caused by massive ships docking in the Spanish port city.

The Catalan government that oversees Barcelona has not yet announced how much the new tax will cost.

"We expect to be able to present, in the coming weeks, the government's proposal to regulate emissions in the port areas of Catalonia, and we will be delighted to be able to share with Barcelona town hall the work carried out and the formula for this tax," said Teresa Jordan, the Catalonian minister for climate action.

The new tax will be added to the Catalonia government's existing tourist tax for Barcelona's cruise passengers, which is 3 euros for a stay of more than 12 hours, 1 euro for less than 12 hours and a daily surcharge of 1.75 euros.

Barcelona is Europe's busiest cruise port with more than 10,000 passengers disembarking daily during the high season of 2019. While those numbers dropped during the pandemic, they are expected to surge again.

A 2019 Transport & Environment report detailed the impact of massive cruise ships and the effects they are having on ports bordering the Mediterranean. The report found toxic sulphur emissions from the ships that run on heavy crude oil is far worse than emissions from road vehicles.

The report also found Barcelona suffered more air pollution from cruise ships than any other port in Europe with 32.8 metric tons, or 72,311 pounds, of sulphur oxide emitted in 2017.

"The enormity of the problem caused by monster ships is finally starting to be realized," said Fair Abbasov, director at Transport & Environment.

"Luxury cruise ships are floating cities powered by some of the dirtiest fuel possible. Cities are rightly banning dirty diesel cars but they're giving a free pass to cruise companies that spew out toxic fumes that do immeasurable harm to those both on board and on nearby shores."

Barcelona is not the only city fighting the impact of large cruise ships. Italy banned cruise ships from docking in Venice last year to prevent the city from sinking.

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