Fed Chair Powell: 'Patiently accommodative' because of bleak jobs picture - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday painted a dour picture on the state of U.S. employment, saying continued aggressive policy support is needed to fix the myriad issues still facing workers. Addressing the issue will require a "patiently accommodative monetary policy that embraces the lessons of the past" regarding the benefits that low interest rates bring to the labor market, the central bank chief told the Economic Club of New York. Even though the economy has reclaimed more than 12 million jobs since the early days of the Covid pandemic, Powell said the U.S. is "a long way" from where it needs to be in terms of employment. "Fully realizing the benefits of a strong labor market will take continued support from both near-term policy and longer-run investments so that all those seeking jobs have the skills and opportunities that will enable them to contribute to, and share in, the benefits of prosperity," he said in prepared remarks. The pace of job creation has slowed considerably. Though the unemployment rate has fallen from its 2020 high of 14.8% to 6.3%, nonfarm payrolls rose by just 49,000 in January and fell by 227,000 in December. More than 10 million workers are still without jobs — 4.4 million higher than before the pandemic a year ago. Powell further said the headline unemployment rate has "dramatically understated" the true damage, including the biggest 12-month drop in labor force participation since at least 1948. Without misclassification errors that have plagued the Labor Department since the pandemic began in March, the unemployment rate would be closer to 10%, Powell added. He also noted that the impact has been particularly burdensome on lower earners, with employment among the bottom quartile falling by 17% during the coronavirus crisis, while the top tier has seen a decline of just 4%. "Despite the surprising speed of recovery early on, we are still very far from a strong labor market whose benefits are broadly shared," Powell said. To address the disparities, the Fed six months ago adjusted its approach to full employment to make it a "broad and inclusive" goal and said it will not start raising interest rates until that objective is met. Central to the approach is a willingness to allow inflation to run a bit hotter than the Fed's standard 2% goal for price stability. Powell noted that in the latter years of the record expansion that ended a year ago, wage and employment gains began to be distributed more evenly while the unemployment rate fell, without the threat of high inflation. When the jobless rate fell in the past, the Fed would hike rates as a way to head off inflation, but will not do so now.www.
Powell: Fed 'will not tighten' policy until low-income workers recover - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the central bank will not raise interest rates or pull back on its aggressive asset purchase program at the first signs of a strong labor market. Powell told the Economic Club of New York that the central bank needs to “patiently” keep monetary policy accommodative by allowing a hot labor market to pull in low- and moderate-income workers that were displaced during the COVID-19 pandemic. “At present, we are a long way from such a labor market,” Powell said. Pointing to the January jobs report, Powell noted that there are nearly 10 million people still out of work compared to pre-pandemic levels. The Fed chair reiterated that the central bank’s new framework prioritizes a reduction in “shortfalls” from maximum employment. “This means that we will not tighten monetary policy solely in response to a strong labor market,” Powell clarified. Since the crisis began, the Fed slashed interest rates to zero and ratcheted up its aggressive quantitative easing program (which is purchasing U.S. Treasuries and agency mortgage-backed securities at a $120-billion-per-month rate). Powell has said that economic conditions are far from warranting a rate hike, and added that a tapering of its asset purchases is not presently on the table. “We’re not thinking about shrinking the balance sheet, to be clear,” Powell said. The central bank last year regretted that it had raised rates too early out of the last crisis, learning that keeping monetary policy easier for a longer period of time has the effect of pulling low-income and moderate-income workers back into jobs. The Fed found that it could get a hot labor market with an unemployment rate as low as 3.5% without runaway inflation. On Wednesday, Powell said the dynamics of the U.S. economy show that it can sustain a robust job market without unwanted inflation.
Fed’s aid program for midsize businesses spent only 3% of its total - The Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program, which was designed to provide emergency support to midsize U.S. companies during the pandemic, lent out a total $17.5 billion — or just 3% of its potential capacity — according to data released Tuesday by the central bank. The program was maligned from the start: slow to get off the ground, it only opened to borrowers in July. In the six months through December, when the Fed bent to a Treasury Department mandate to close it, it showed the challenges in setting up a program to aid this sector of the economy — companies larger than the typical small businesses that qualify for Paycheck Protection Program lending but not large enough to access capital markets. The program didn’t come close to the $600 billion that it could have lent out in part because the banks that acted as intermediaries didn’t feel adequately compensated to take on the riskiest borrowers. For healthier companies, the banks often just made regular loans so that they could reap the full benefits of the transaction. In the Main Street Program, the Fed bought 95% of the banks’ loans for a total of $16.59 billion. It was backstopped by $75 billion appropriated by Congress in the CARES Act. It closed on Jan. 8 after then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin instructed the Fed to wind it down. Fed Chair Jerome Powell had initially disagreed with Mnuchin’s interpretation of the expiration date in the law, but the Fed ultimately acquiesced to Treasury’s request. Janet Yellen, who took over as President Biden’s Treasury secretary last month, has said that the program wasn’t successful at getting credit to small and midsize companies and that the administration will try to help that sector more effectively.
Biden withdraws Judy Shelton's Fed nomination - President Biden on Thursday formally withdrew Judy Shelton’s nomination to the Federal Reserve Board, closing the book on her quest to join the central bank. Shelton’s nomination was withdrawn with more than two dozen other officials nominated by former President Trump in January shortly before he left office. The Democratic takeover of the Senate in January effectively ended Shelton’s chances of confirmation, and Biden’s withdrawal of her nomination does little more than clear the way for his eventual pick to fill the final vacant spot on the Fed board. Biden has not yet indicated who he would nominate in Shelton’s place. Trump announced in 2019 that he would nominate Shelton, a former campaign adviser, to the Fed board after Senate Republicans rejected four of his previous picks. She was formally nominated in early 2020 and narrowly approved for a confirmation vote by the Senate Banking Committee last July despite GOP concerns about her criticism of Fed independence, past support for the gold standard and inconsistent views on monetary policy. Shelton came remarkably close to confirmation in December, but coronavirus-related absences and the opposition of three Republican senators blocked her from joining the Fed. Trump renominated Shelton in January after the new Congress convened, but Republicans were unable to confirm her before losing their Senate majority. Other nominations withdrawn Thursday included Brian Brooks to serve as comptroller of the currency, Robert Bowes to be a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and several inspector general, judicial and ambassadorial picks.
White House officials back economist Lisa Cook for Fed board -- Economist Lisa Cook has the backing of several key White House officials and allies outside the administration as a possible choice for President Joe Biden in filling a vacancy on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, according to people familiar with the matter. Cook, who teaches at Michigan State University, is also on the steering committee of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a think tank co-founded by White House adviser Heather Boushey. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was previously on the steering committee. Biden has not weighed in on choices for filling the one current vacancy on the Fed board and the White House has not contacted Cook for the job specifically, the people said on the condition of anonymity. No announcement is imminent, they added. A White House spokeswoman declined to comment, and Cook did not immediately respond to an inquiry. Biden’s economic agenda includes efforts to bridge the inequality gap in the U.S., with an eye on diversity in key federal appointments. If nominated and confirmed, Cook would be the first Black woman to ever serve as a Fed governor. Cook worked for a year in the Obama administration as an economist with the Council of Economic Advisers. She earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley, and bachelor’s degrees from Spelman College in Atlanta and the University of Oxford. Axios reported earlier on her name emerging as a possible contender for the Fed board. Biden may need to fill four vacancies at the Fed over the coming year, depending on whether he opts to keep former President Donald Trump’s appointees in place. Jerome Powell’s term as chair comes due early next year, as does the board membership of Vice Chair Richard Clarida. Governor Randy Quarles’s term as vice chair for financial supervision expires later this year. One governor post is vacant after Trump’s attempt to place controversial economic adviser Judy Shelton on the Fed board failed in the U.S. Senate.
Powell loves his job. Biden must decide if he loves Powell - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he has nothing but affection for his work, suggesting that the 68-year-old central banker could be open to a second term if asked. “I love my job,” he said Wednesday in response to a question about whether being the world’s most powerful central banker was fun. “It’s a chance to do work that I think helps people. I have great colleagues, and the subject matter is endlessly interesting and important. I really do enjoy the work.” President Biden will get to choose if he shares that yearning. Powell’s four-year stint at the helm ends in February 2022, though a decision probably isn’t imminent. Former President Donald Trump didn’t name Powell until November 2017 for a stint that started February the following year. Other Fed chiefs have been announced a few months earlier.Some on Wall Street took Powell’s comments as a meaningful hint. Though Powell is a Republican, he was first put on the Fed by Barack Obama. Fed chairs in the past have also been re-appointed by presidents from the opposite party, though Trump broke that tradition by declining to give now-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen a second term. “Powell has fully invested himself in this job, and it is a great one,” said John Herrmann, director of U.S. rates strategy at MUFG Securities Americas. “He gets to divine monetary policy devoid of bitter partisan politics. What could be better than that?” Nearly three-quarters of economists surveyed by Bloomberg last month said they expected Biden to offer Powell a second term. The Fed chair’s slot is just one of four that Biden will be able to fill over the next two years. In addition to an open vacancy on the Fed’s seven-seat board, vice chair for supervision Randal Quarles’s term expires in October 2021 and the term of the other vice chair, Richard Clarida, runs through September 2022.
Seven High Frequency Indicators for the Economy - These indicators are mostly for travel and entertainment. The TSA is providing daily travel numbers. This data shows the seven day average of daily total traveler throughput from the TSA for 2019-2020 (Blue) and 2020-2021 (Red). This data is as of February 7th. The seven day average is down 64.0% from last year (36.0% of last year). The second graph shows the 7 day average of the year-over-year change in diners as tabulated by OpenTable for the US and several selected cities. This data is updated through February 7, 2021. Note that this data is for "only the restaurants that have chosen to reopen in a given market". Since some restaurants have not reopened, the actual year-over-year decline is worse than shown. Dining picked up during the holidays. Note that dining is generally lower in the northern states - Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York. Note that California dining picked up now after the orders to close was lifted. This data shows domestic box office for each week (red) and the maximum and minimum for the years 2016 through 2019. Blue is 2020 and Red is 2021. The data is from BoxOfficeMojo through February 4th. Movie ticket sales were at $13 million last week (compared to usually around $150 million per week at this time of year). This graph shows the seasonal pattern for the hotel occupancy rate using the four week average. This data is through January 30th. Hotel occupancy is currently down 29.6% year-over-year. 
This graph, based on weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), shows gasoline supplied compared to the same week of 2019. At one point, gasoline supplied was off almost 50% YoY. Red is for 2021. As of January 29th, gasoline supplied was off about 14.4% (about 85.6% of the same week in 2019). This graph is from Apple mobility. From Apple: "This data is generated by counting the number of requests made to Apple Maps for directions in select countries/regions, sub-regions, and cities." 
This data is through February 6th for the United States and several selected cities. The graph is the running 7 day average to remove the impact of weekends. According to the Apple data directions requests, public transit in the 7 day average for the US is at 47% of the January 2020 level. It is at 39% in Chicago, and 53% in Houston - and mostly moving sideways, and moving up a little recently. Here is some interesting data on New York subway usage. This graph is from Todd W Schneider.This data is through Friday, February 5th. Schneider has graphs for each borough, and links to all the data sources.
CBO projects $1.2 trillion average deficits through 2031 - Deficits are projected to average $1.2 trillion over the next decade, exceeding $1 trillion in all but two years, according to new projections from the Congressional Budget Office. Until last year, the deficit only exceeded $1 trillion in the four-year period following the Great Recession. "At 10.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the deficit in 2021 would be the second largest since 1945, exceeded only by the 14.9 percent shortfall recorded last year," the report said. According to the projections, deficits would dip below $1 trillion in 2023 and 2024, at $963 billion and $905 billion, respectively, as emergency COVID measures peter out and the economy rebounds, but then start growing dramatically again, reaching $1.9 trillion by 2031. By that year, the accumulated debt will reach $35.3 trillion, 107 percent of GDP, larger than its peak in 1945. It exceeded 100 percent of GDP for the first time since World War II last year. The report is sure to fuel the debate around President Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. Republicans have argued that the proposal is too big and should be more narrowly targeted. The CBO projections included December's $900 billion relief bill, but not the larger proposal currently being debated in Congress. Deficits soared in recent years, coming in just shy of $1 trillion in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic and the emergency response pushed the deficit to a record-shattering $3.1 trillion in 2020, over double its 2012 record. Democrats argue that the debt situation would be worse if the government doesn't spend massive amounts on stimulus, unemployment insurance and other priorities to boost the economy and ensure a strong recovery. The deficit projections were $345 billion lower through 2030 than in CBO's September projections, in part because economic projections improved. This year, the deficit is on track to reach $2.3 trillion, but that figure is expected to rise if Congress approves a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill and takes further action on a roughly $2 trillion infrastructure plan later in the year, as President Biden has proposed. Biden has also proposed tax increases on the wealthy and companies to cover some of the costs. The CBO report found that revenues are already projected to grow as a percentage of GDP over the decade, but part of that has to do with tax cuts expiring, an eventuality Congress is likely to change. The projections show that spending on mandatory programs remains among the biggest concerns on the spending side. Social Security spending is expected to rise about 80 percent by 2031, as are health programs including Medicare and Medicaid. Discretionary spending, which covers defense, education, non-mandatory health programs, foreign policy, transportation and other domestic priorities, are on a much more constrained trajectory. Ad Choices COVID-19 Drives Upsurge In ESG Consideration
Fed’s Powell adds urgency to Biden’s call for strong stimulus - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. job market remains a long way from a full recovery and called on both lawmakers and the private sector to support workers. “We are still very far from a strong labor market whose benefits are broadly shared,” Powell said Wednesday in a speech to the Economic Club of New York, noting that employment last month was nearly 10 million below February 2020 levels. “Achieving and sustaining maximum employment will require more than supportive monetary policy.” Powell’s remarks echo the urgency voiced by President Joe Biden for his $1.9 trillion in additional pandemic aid, a package that is moving ahead in Congress despite Republican opposition. In doing so, he also delivered a nuanced rebuttal to the minority of Democrats, as exemplified by former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, who view that relief proposal as too large. “The Fed is in full risk-management mode,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton LLP. “The reality is setting in that the virus will be managed instead of eradicated. That leaves a lot of uncertainty about the pace of reopening and what the world will look like on the other side of the pandemic.” Repeating that monetary policy would remain very supportive of the economy, the Fed chair cited a need for continued fiscal policy support. Returning to maximum employment “will require a society-wide commitment, with contributions from across government and the private sector,” Powell said. “The potential benefits of investing in our nation’s workforce are immense.”
Biden Goes Party Line on $1.9 Trillion – WSJ -- When George W. Bush took office in 2001 with a Senate divided 50-50, he negotiated his first tax cut with Democrats that passed with 58 votes, including 11 Democrats. Democrats won tax-rebate checks and a delay in the tax-rate cuts for their efforts. This made the bill worse as economic policy, but Mr. Bush made the concessions rather than jam his bill through with only GOP votes. That isn’t how President Biden is playing the politics of his $1.9 trillion spending bill in the current 50-50 Senate. Last week he made a show of listening at the White House to 10 GOP Senators who made an initial counteroffer of $618 billion. Mr. Biden and Democrats on Capitol Hill then ignored the GOP and rammed a budget resolution for the $1.9 trillion through the Senate and House on a partisan vote. So much for bipartisanship. The truth is that the Democrats refused even to negotiate. Instead they moved to pass the bill through a process known as budget reconciliation that skirts the 60-vote filibuster rule and requires only 50 votes plus Vice President Kamala Harris to pass. And that’s how it passed the Senate in the wee hours Friday morning, 51-50. It later passed the House, 219-209, with no Republicans in support. It’s true the GOP used reconciliation twice in 2017 on health care and tax reform. But Democrats refused to negotiate on either one. The Resistance dictated that Democrats oppose all things Donald Trump. They didn’t even try to mitigate the reduction in the state-and-local tax deduction that most affected blue states like California. This time Mr. Biden has a specific GOP proposal he won’t even consider. The Senate debate last week included a multitude of revealing amendments about the partisan Democratic strategy. Our favorite is the switcheroo by Senators Jon Tester (Montana) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.) on the Keystone XL pipeline. First they voted for a GOP amendment opposing Mr. Biden’s plan to shut down the pipeline that would provide thousands of high-paying energy jobs. But they later voted for a Democratic amendment at the end of the debate that passed 51-50 and erased that Keystone amendment. This is an instant Beltway swamp classic. That same Democratic clean-up exercise also erased two other amendments that had passed with bipartisan support. One barred Covid-19 relief checks from going to undocumented aliens, and the second would have barred Mr. Biden from banning fracking for oil and gas. Since Mr. Biden has promised not to ban such drilling, why would Democrats want to erase an amendment codifying the policy? Answer: Because a majority of Senate Democrats don’t want to say this in public, lest they run afoul of anti-fossil-fuel donors like billionaire Tom Steyer and the Sierra Club. Progressives dictate what Democrats do even if their proposals can’t muster a Senate majority.Republicans can still plead for a policy trinket here or there, but they have little leverage thanks to Donald Trump’s destructive meddling in the Georgia Senate races. The partisan process shows Democrats are determined to pass nearly all of what Mr. Biden has proposed whether they have GOP votes or not. Any change from the $1.9 trillion will now depend on what Democrats like Mr. Manchin or swing-district House Members are willing to insist on.
Biden $15 minimum wage plan would cut 1.4 million jobs in 2025: CBO (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by June 2025 would reduce employment by 1.4 million jobs that year and increase the U.S. budget deficit by $54 billion over the 10 years from 2021 to 2031, the Congressional Budget Office said on Monday. In its cost assessment of Biden’s “Raise the Wage Act of 2021,” the non-partisan legislative budget referee agency said that the minimum wage increase also would lift 900,000 Americans out of poverty in 2025. The CBO said the wage increase proposal would increase, on net the cumulative pay of affected people by $333 billion over the 2021-2031 period but noted that this represented an increased labor cost for firms employing them.“That net increase would result from higher pay ($509 billion) for people who were employed at higher hourly wages under the bill, offset by lower pay ($175 billion) because of reduced employment under the bill,” CBO said in its assessment. The CBO said the increase to the budget deficit would come as federal spending rose due to higher prices for goods and services as a result of the wage increase. The changes also would lead to increased spending on some programs, such as unemployment compensation and reduced outlays on others, such as nutrition aid. Federal revenue on net would rise, it said. Republicans in Congress have argued against the increase as an undue burden on businesses that would reduce employment.White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday that the Senate’s parliamentarian had yet to make a decision whether or not the proposal could be included in Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which is “still working its way through the process in Congress.” Biden said in an interview with the CBS Evening News released on Friday that he did not expect the $15 minimum wage proposal to be included in the COVID-19 package due to Senate rules governing budget procedures.
CBO analysis confirms that a $15 minimum wage raises earnings of low-wage workers, reduces inequality, and has significant and direct fiscal effects: Large progressive redistribution of income caused by higher minimum wage leads to significant and cross-cutting fiscal effects - Today’s analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) highlights a number of things that policymakers should keep in mind as they consider minimum wage legislation in the upcoming Congress. First, the benefits of passing a significant increase in the federal minimum wage—like the Raise the Wage Act of 2021—are enormous. Today’s CBO analysis indicates that raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would benefit 27 million workers and would lead to a 10-year increase in wages of $333 billion for the low-wage workforce—the same workforce that has borne the brunt of the COVID-19 economic shock and worked in essential jobs that have kept the economy going. In short, given which parts of the workforce have economically suffered the most from the pandemic, it seems more than appropriate to include a minimum wage increase in any relief and rescue package. Second, the federal minimum wage is a powerful policy instrument to redistribute income and bargaining power towards low-wage workers, and as a result it has very large gross fiscal effects on both federal revenue and federal spending.In our analysis released last week, we highlighted a number of large gross changes to both spending and revenue that were likely to result from the large increase in earnings for low-wage workers if the minimum wage was significantly increased.1 In particular, we estimated that by raising earnings of low-wage workers, a $15 minimum wage by 2025 would significantly reduce spending on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits.2 CBO’s analysis today also estimates outlays would fall for these public assistance programs, as they predict the higher minimum wage would lift nearly 1 million people out of poverty.CBO also estimates gross changes on the spending and the tax side of the federal budget from both the earnings increase of low-wage workers and assumptions regarding how this earnings increase is “financed.” They find large gross changes that net out to a small increase in budget deficits. These differences in emphasis and bottom-line numbers between independent analyses like ours and the CBO numbers today should not distract from the agreed-upon finding by all analyses of this issue: The effects of a significant increase in the federal minimum wage on the federal budget are large.There are essentially two main analytical differences between our findings and the CBO’s: CBO models significant job loss due to the minimum wage increase while we do not; and CBO models how the minimum wage increases are “financed” and assumes that a substantial part of this financing occurs through price increases that are mostly paid by those with high incomes and reductions in profits on the part of firms that employ low-wage labor. We believe that the CBO’s assumptions on the scale of job loss are just wrong and inappropriately inflated relative to what cutting-edge economics literature would indicate. The median employment effect of the minimum wage across studies of low-wage workers is essentially zero, according to a 2019 review of the evidence.3 Another recent review found that the median employment effect on workers directly affected by the minimum wage is less than half the size of what CBO assumed in its 2019 analysis.4 CBO’s exaggerated job loss assumptions account for 80% of the total increase in mandatory outlays.5
Retiring GOP senator calls for income cap of $50,000 for stimulus payments - Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (R) said Sunday that Republicans will push the Biden administration to target direct payments to Americans making less than $50,000 per year in the upcoming COVID-19 stimulus package. Speaking with Dana Bash on CNN's "State of the Union," the retiring senator called on Democrats not to push the White House's COVID-19 framework through Congress via the budget reconciliation process, which would allow a simple majority vote for passage, and to work with Republicans on a smaller stimulus package. "My hope is the president will meet with us," Portman said, adding that Republicans have had little success in their attempts to meet with the Biden administration to present their priorities for the next stimulus package. "This one, nobody was consulted, including the Democrats on our bipartisan group that compiled the previous legislation, and, frankly, we haven’t gotten much of a response yet until today," he added. Bash then asked how much Republicans would be willing to spend on a COVID-19 stimulus package, noting that a letter released Sunday by Sen. Susan Collins's (R-Maine) office and signed by Portman did not put an exact dollar amount on the GOP proposal. “It’ll be less than $1.9 [trillion] because a lot of what the administration has released has nothing to do with COVID-19,” Portman responded. “Let’s target it. We really want to help those who need it the most,” he continued, adding that Democrats should not "poison the well" by pushing the plan through without Republican votes. “It’s not in the interest in the Democratic Party to do that,” he said. Congressional Democrats and Republicans came together in December and pushed through a smaller stimulus package that included an extension of federal unemployment benefits and direct payments of $600 to individual American adults.
‘Unbelievable,’ Says Sanders, That Some Dems Want to Further Limit Eligibility for Covid-19 Relief Checks - Sen. Bernie Sanders took to Twitter Saturday night to call out Democrats in Congress who are considering a proposal to exclude millions of Americans from receiving $1,400 Covid-19 relief checks with narrower eligibility restrictions than the previous coronavirus pandemic packages passed under former President Donald Trump. As the new chair of the Senate Budget Committee, Sanders (I-Vt.) is playing a key role in congressional Democrats’ efforts to enact President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Amid reporting this week about lawmakers potentially further restricting direct relief, Sanders has repeatedly and forcefully spoken out against that. “Unbelievable,” Sanders tweeted Saturday. “There are some Dems who want to lower the income eligibility for direct payments from $75,000 to $50,000 for individuals, and $150,000 to $100,000 for couples. In other words, working-class people who got checks from Trump would not get them from Biden. Brilliant!”Sanders followed up with a post reiterating his position: “I strongly oppose lowering income eligibility for direct payments from $75,000 to $50,000 for individuals and $150,000 to $100,000 for couples. In these difficult times, ALL working-class people deserve the full $1,400. Last I heard, someone making $55,000 a year is not ‘rich.'” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) concurred, declaring that “it would be outrageous if we ran on giving more relief and ended up doing the opposite.” “In conclusion,” Ocasio-Cortez added, “$50k is wack and we shouldn’t do wack things.” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the new chair of the Senate Finance Committee, told the Washington Post‘s Jeff Stein, “I understand the desire to ensure those most in need receive checks, but families who received the first two checks will be counting on a third check to pay the bills.”
Dave Ramsey on stimulus checks: 'If $600 or $1,400 changes your life, you were pretty much screwed already' Dave Ramsey, known for his financial advice, went on Fox News and criticized the idea of another round of stimulus checks for the country during the coronavirus pandemic. “I don't believe in a stimulus check because if $600 or $1,400 changes your life, you were pretty much screwed already. You got other issues going on,” Ramsey said in the interview. Fox News guest Dave Ramsey: "I don't believe in a stimulus check because if $600 or $1400 changes your life you were pretty much screwed already. You got other issues going on." pic.twitter.com/6r1kTCxt8E Congress has been debating another round of stimulus checks as many are still out of jobs and struggling due to the pandemic. Ramsey said there are other issues in a person’s life, like career or debt problems, if a stimulus check is that impactful to a person. “That’s not talking down to folks. I’ve been bankrupt. I’ve been broke. I work with people every day who are hurting. I love people. I want people to be lifted up, but this is, again, it is just political rhetoric,” Ramsey said. Ramsey also discussed during the interview how he doesn’t believe that student loan forgiveness will help stimulate the economy and will only benefit those who would have been able to afford to pay off their debts.
Study: $1,400 stimulus checks would help 22.6 million pay bills through mid-July - President Biden's proposed $1,400 coronavirus relief checks would allow 22.6 million Americans to pay their bills for at least four and a half months, according to a study from data and research company Morning Consult. The analysis comes as debates continue over the size and number of stimulus checks to be included in the next round of COVID-19 aid. To evaluate the stimulus's impact, Morning Consult analyzed data on household finances, determining that a new stimulus targeted at low-income adults would help to prevent worsened financial hardship, more than just digging people out of trouble. According to the study, roughly 30.2 million Americans were unable to pay their bills in January. Out of those, 75 percent missed their bills by less than $300 — a 7 percent improvement from the month prior. Morning Consult said this shows that while previous stimulus checks didn't solve the recipients' financial problems, it made their overall debt less. The cost on the U.S. economy will ultimately be less if the government can help people stay out of debt rather than have to help them recover from it, Morning Consult said. Stimulus checks sent out on March 1 would allow Americans to pay their bills through mid-July without falling deeper into debt trying to make the payments or tapping into their savings. "The cost of sending significantly larger stimulus checks to everyone far outweighs the benefits of helping relatively few additional Americans," Morning Consult wrote, adding that for maximum economic benefit, the new stimulus should focus on those who need it most.
House Dems' COVID-19 aid bill includes $1,400 checks - House Democrats on Monday released key portions of their coronavirus relief package, including a section that would provide $1,400 checks to most Americans. As with previous rounds of direct payments, single taxpayers with annual income up to $75,000 and married couples that make up to $150,000 would qualify for the full payment amounts. However, the payment amounts above those thresholds would phase out at a faster rate than the payments from the first two rounds. Single filers with income above $100,000 and married couples with income above $200,000 would not be eligible for any payments. The release of bill text came after policymakers and economists debated what the income eligibility requirements should be for the payments. Republicans and some centrist Democrats argued that the payments should be more targeted to lower-income households because those households are most in need of relief and most likely to spend the money quickly. But progressives argued that the income requirements shouldn't be tightened so people who lost substantial amounts of income during the pandemic could quickly receive their payments. Eligible households would be able to receive payments of up to $1,400 per person, including for adult dependents, who were left out of the previous rounds. The bill directs the Treasury Department to issue payments to people based on their 2019 or 2020 tax returns, and it allows the department to make payments to non-filers based on information available to it. The direct payments are one of many portions of the package released by the House Ways and Means Committee. The package is based off a $1.9 trillion plan that President Biden proposed in January. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the new round of checks would cost $422 billion. The legislation would also extend federal unemployment programs, which are currently set to expire in March, through the end of August and increase the federal boost to unemployment benefits from $300 per week to $400 per week. Biden had proposed extending the programs through September. Additionally, the package includes a one-year expansion of the child tax credit, making the credit fully refundable and increasing the credit amount to $3,600 for children under the age of 6 and $3,000 for other children. It directs Treasury to issue advance payments of the credit, ideally on a monthly basis, starting in July. The package also includes one-year expansions of the earned income tax credit and the child and dependent care tax credit.
House Dems' COVID-19 relief bill includes 2-year boost to ObamaCare subsidies - House Democrats' coronavirus relief legislation released Monday would increase the Affordable Care Act's financial assistance for two years, providing greater help for enrollees' to afford their premiums. The measure, one provision in a sweeping COVID-19 relief package, would increase ObamaCare subsidies so that enrollees would have to pay no more than 8.5 percent of their income in health insurance premiums, down from a maximum cap of about 10 percent of income currently. Also for the first time, middle class people making over 400 percent of the poverty level (about $100,000 for a family of four), would qualify for assistance. Those people are currently ineligible for any help, and are therefore left with high costs if they have to buy health insurance on their own because they do not get it through a job. Increasing ObamaCare's financial assistance to make premiums more affordable has been a major Democratic goal for years, viewed as an improvement to the original ACA, but has been blocked by Republicans who oppose spending more money on a health care law they oppose. While House Democrats' ObamaCare expansion bill passed last year would have made the increased assistance permanent, the measure released Monday would make it temporary, just for 2021 and 2022. The coronavirus relief bill would also subsidize COBRA coverage, which allows people who lose their jobs to stay on their previous employer's health coverage. The measure would subsidize 85 percent of the cost of the coverage. "The increased ACA premium subsidies under the House COVID relief plan, along with a new outreach campaign, could supercharge the upcoming reopened enrollment period and help to reverse recent increases in the number of people uninsured," Larry Levitt, a health policy expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation, wrote on Twitter. He added that the increased subsidies "only last for two years, so this is not a permanent solution." "And, many people will still find premiums and deductibles unaffordable, likely leaving tens of millions uninsured," he wrote. When asked why the proposed subsidy increase is temporary, a spokesman for House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said: "This package is a COVID package that is intended to give families the relief they need now," but added that the measure is "something we would consider making permanent down the road." One possible explanation is that the rules for the fast-track procedure Democrats are using does not allow the budget deficit to increase after 10 years, limiting the cost. . "I think it’s mostly because they want to pretend it’s COVID relief, which would be hard to do if made permanent," he wrote in an email.
More relief funds are needed for vaccination, nutrition services to help older Americans - The president’s proposal would be greatly improved if Congress added two provisions, both of which would significantly help this vulnerable population. The first provision is to provide $200 million in dedicated funding to the national aging services network through Older Americans Act supportive services to allow community-based programs to support vaccine dissemination. This network serves millions of seniors each day with key social and human services, such as Meals on Wheels, case management and transportation, largely funded through the federal Older Americans Act. This same older adult population is anxious to be vaccinated. For example, in San Antonio, two senior centers operated by the WellMed Charitable Foundation were designated as vaccination sites; and Meals on Wheels San Antonio partnered with several local agencies to deliver in-home vaccinations. The WellMed centers alone received over 7.9 million calls from older adults seeking vaccines during the first week they opened and Meals on Wheels San Antonio was able to identify over 1,000 homebound clients ready to immediately receive the vaccines. This increased funding is vigorously supported by a cross-section of national aging organizations, including NANASP, Meals on Wheels America, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), and ADvancing States. A second, equally urgent need is to keep emergency funding flowing into the Older Americans Act nutrition programs, including local Meals on Wheels. These programs have undergone wholescale conversions, adapting their senior centers to “grab and go” drive-through meal sites, while the demand for meals not only from existing but also from an entirely new population of seniors continuing to shelter-at-home has skyrocketed.These operational shifts have resulted in increased food, transportation, safety and personnel costs that have outpaced the level of emergency funding provided. In fact, based on a recent survey, 91 percent of Meals on Wheels America members report serving more home-delivered meals than before the pandemic, with the average program serving 59 percent more meals in November 2020 compared to March 1, 2020. Virtually all programs surveyed have seen the cost of providing services increase, including food, labor and safety supplies, and 29 percent say they would need to double their home-delivered nutrition budgets to meet the existing need in their communities. Anecdotally, some programs have doubled or tripled their meal services. To address this significant and sustained need, we need an additional $750 million in emergency funding for the Older Americans Act nutrition programs to ensure that these life-saving services are sustained. Losing these programs would be devastating, especially at a time when we are seeing dramatic increases in food insecurity and loneliness.The amount of funding we are requesting here represents only 0.04% of the estimated $1.9 trillion in the original Biden proposal. However, the return on this investment is clear: more older adults can be vaccinated and receive vital daily nutrition services and social connection, both of which keep older adults healthy and out of costly, overburdened hospitals and nursing homes. We hope to see this modest adjustment made in the final spending package. Our seniors are depending on it.
Biden Stimulus To Shower State And Local Govts With $350 Billion In Aid, Make Changes To Medicaid --State and local governments are set to receive $350 billion in funding as part of the next stimulus bill, according to draft stimulus legislation released Tuesday night by House Democrats.The funding - which took a backseat during the Trump administration amid GOP criticism that it was nothing more than a bailout for poorly run Democratic strongholds - is slated for committee action on Friday in the House Oversight and Reform Committee after Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced it. The bill would bypass the traditional appropriations process which is not eligible for budget reconciliation, according to Bloomberg.States would receive $195 billion and that money would partly be distributed based on a the share of unemployed workers. The District of Columbia would get the same share as states, unlike in last year’s relief bill. Local governments would receive $130 billion, partly based on population, with a carve-out for smaller communities. Territories would receive $4.5 billion and tribes $20 billion.The bill also would spend $570 million to pay for 600 hours of paid leave for federal and postal workers to use for Covid quarantine or to care for infected loved ones. -Bloomberg"Democrats’ plan to bail out locked-down, poorly managed liberal states is unfair to American taxpayers and is ripe for waste, fraud, and abuse," said the committee's top Republican, James Comer of Kentucky.Meanwhile, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has drafted a proposal which would make big changes to Medicaid - offering states more money to expand public health insurance options for the poor, as well as granting them the ability to claw back funds for prices increases on certain drugs. Released late Tuesday night, the plan would end Medicaid drug rebate caps for certain medications, currently set at 100% of a drug's average manufacturer price. After the cap is reached, drug makers can reach their prices. By eliminating the caps, drugmakers could be prompted to leave the Medicaid program or curtail research, according to a 2019 warning by a congressional advisory committee.What's more, states would be allowed to restart Medicaid benefits for people in prison up to 30 days prior to their release - a provision intended to support those who need addiction treatments and other services. The plan has $14.2 billion for vaccines-related activities. Community health centers also would receive $7.5 billion and $6 billion goes to tribal health centers. The legislation has $7.5 billion for the expansion of internet access. Chairman Frank Pallone’s draft would also provide $46 billion for Covid-19 testing, tracing, monitoring and mitigation. The committee has planned a Thursday vote on the provisions. –Bloomberg
GOP attacks Dems’ $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill from all angles - (AP) — Republicans are attacking the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package as too costly, economically damaging and overtly partisan, an all-angles attempt to derail new President Joe Biden’s top priority as it starts moving through a Congress his party controls only narrowly. Four House committees worked Thursday on their pieces of sweeping legislation that would send $1,400 payments to many Americans. It would also provide hundreds of billions for state and local governments and to boost vaccination efforts, raise tax credits for children and increase unemployment benefits. Democratic leaders hope for House passage later this month, with Senate approval and a bill on Biden’s desk by mid-March. “This is the moment,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., citing the pandemic’s human and economic toll. As committees worked, Republicans proposed amendments spotlighting what they see as the legislation’s soft spots. Their themes were clear: Democrats are overspending, hurting workers and employers’ job markets, being too generous to some immigrants, inviting fraud and rewarding political allies — allegations that Democrats dismiss as ludicrous. The proposals signaled that Biden’s plan faces solid Republican opposition in a House and Senate where Democrats have few votes to spare, while forcing Democrats to take positions that could tee up GOP campaign ads for the 2022 elections. There were amendments to reduce the $400 extra in weekly jobless benefits Democrats want to provide through August and exempt the smallest businesses from Democrats’ plans to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 hourly from $7.25. Others would limit emergency grants for undergraduates to U.S. citizens and bar federal subsidies for some job-based health insurance to people without Social Security numbers, effectively targeting many immigrants. Other GOP proposals would put strings on emergency funds to help schools reopen safely, requiring that schools offer in-person classes or give the money to parents for education savings accounts if they remain closed. Still others would make sure assistance for renters, homeowners and the airline industry didn’t extend long after the pandemic ends, and divide $26 billion for urban transportation systems between cities and rural areas, which many Republicans represent. “I don’t know if the White House knows this, but you’re supposed to be creating jobs, not killing them,” said Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the Ways and Means panel. He said while his party has backed over $3 trillion in earlier pandemic relief bills, “whatever this rushed, partisan, special interest ‘stimulus’ package does, it comes with no bipartisan discussion, no opportunity for finding common ground.”
Biden hopes infrastructure can bridge partisan divide (AP) — President Joe Biden is hoping that launching an effort to build roads and bridges can help to unite Democrats and Republicans in a time of sharp partisan divisions. Biden met with lawmakers from both parties at the White House to discuss infrastructure on Thursday, even as the Senate is holding impeachment proceedings against former President Donald Trump where partisan divisions are on full display. “I’ve been around long enough,” Biden said, “that infrastructure wasn’t a Republican or a Democratic issue.” The president specifically mentioned the potential for improvement projects in the states of the senators attending the meeting, signaling that lawmakers might be willing to cooperate in order to make their voters’ lives better. Biden highlighted the need for repairs to “a lot of bridges in West Virginia.” Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, was among those in attendance. The president also referenced Route 9 in his home state of Delaware, which he shares with Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, the committee chairman, who was also in the Oval Office meeting Thursday and had discussed these issues with Biden last week. “The American people desperately want us to bring our roads, trains and bridges out of the last century and into the future,” Carper said after Thursday’s meeting.Carper pledged to work on a transportation bill that will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by cars and trucks and boosting electric cars. “I’m glad it’s at the top of the administration’s agenda.” The current authorization bill for surface transportation expires in September, so “there is no time to waste,” Carper said, adding that he expects bipartisan support for the reauthorization bill in the Senate. Also at the meeting were Vice President Kamala Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg virtually, Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland. Inhofe later told reporters that the meeting with Biden was “very good, very good. “One reason is that I’ve known the president forever, and we’ve worked on highway bills before,” Inhofe said. “The main thing that I want to be careful on is when you’re working on infrastructure that’s high dollar stuff.”
House panel advances portion of relief package that includes $1,400 checks - The House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday advanced a key portion of Democrats’ coronavirus relief package that includes stimulus payments of up to $1,400 per person and an expansion of the child tax credit.The committee approved the tax-related portion of the relief package by a party-line vote of 24-18. It now heads to the House Budget Committee, which will combine the portions of the relief package that are approved by a wide array of House panels.House Democrats started unveiling their relief package on Monday and have been spending the week moving the measure through relevant committees. The relief package is based on a $1.9 trillion proposal that President Biden floated last month. The tax-focused portion of the bill that the Ways and Means Committee advanced Thursday contains some of the provisions in the bill that have received the most attention from lawmakers and members of the public. The measure proposes direct payments of up to $1,400 per person, including adult dependents such as college students and elderly parents, who were not eligible for the first two rounds of payments. Ahead of the bill’s release, lawmakers had debated what the eligibility requirements should be for the $1,400 payments. The bill includes the same income limits for receiving full payment amounts as the first two rounds of payments, but changes how the payment amounts would phase out above those thresholds in an effort to prevent high-income households from getting the payments. Individuals with income of up to $75,000 and married couples with income of up to $150,000 would be eligible for the full payment amounts. The amounts would then be reduced above those thresholds, and individuals with income above $100,000 and couples with income above $200,000 would not be eligible for payments. Another provision in the measure would expand the child tax credit for 2021. It would increase the credit amount from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under age 6 and $3,000 for older children. The credit would also become fully refundable, allowing the lowest-income households to receive the full payment amounts. And it would direct the Treasury Department to issue advance payments of the credit, ideally on a monthly basis. The tax section of the coronavirus relief package also includes temporary expansions of the earned income tax credit and the child and dependent care tax credit, extensions of tax credits for paid sick leave and paid family leave, and an increase of ObamaCare’s premium tax credits for 2021 and 2022. Democrats said the bill would provide needed assistance to families that have been struggling during the pandemic.
The economic stimulus debate: Is Biden's plan too big? – Axios --Fear of inflation has emerged as the single biggest reason for Democrats and Republicans to oppose the latest round of stimulus. For the time being, however, most economists expect that inflation will remain subdued, even if the full package is enacted. Former Treasury secretary and semi-professional Democratic Party picnic skunk Larry Summers sparked a wonkish firestorm last week with an op-ed declaring that the package is too big. In doing so, he successfully managed to set the macroeconomic terms of the stimulus debate.The risk, as Summers sees it: That more money will be spent domestically than the American economy has capacity to absorb. When that happens, prices can end up rising, in a process known as demand-pull inflation, as consumers compete with their dollars for a finite set of resources. The losers from inflation are savers and anybody living on a fixed (non-inflation-adjusted) income. The winners are generally fixed-rate debtors, which includes most Americans with mortgages.: The broad economic consensus, both within and outside the Biden administration, is that the magnitude of the current crisis necessitates a very large response, and that $1.9 trillion is not too big.Most economists, however, agree that in principle there is such a thing as too much government spending, even if we're not yet at risk of reaching that point. "Could fiscal policy push things too far? Sure," says Stony Brook economist Stephanie Kelton."Do I think the proposed $1.9 trillion puts us at risk of demand-pull inflation? No. But at least we are centering inflation risk and not talking about running out of money. The terms of the debate have shifted." Fear of runaway inflation could be overblown, especially in an economy where weak or nonexistent unions have little power to negotiate above-inflation wage deals.The official position from Fed chair Jay Powell, speaking at an event on Wednesday, is that "there could be upward pressure on prices" as the economy reopens, but that any such pressure is likely to be "neither large nor sustained." Besides, if inflation ticks up, says Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, "we have the tools to deal with that risk." As a former chair of the Federal Reserve, she is better placed than almost anybody to make that claim — it is the Fed that's charged with raising interest rates when inflation risks going too high. Rising inflation is not always a bad thing. In moderation, it's exactly what the Fed wants. A separate worry is that another round of stimulus checks could serve to push an already-frothy stock market even higher. If the stock market bubble were to burst, that might cause a significant loss of wealth.
European spies can stop holding back secrets from the US after Biden called for end to Trump's briefings, sources say --Moves by President Joe Biden to restrict Donald Trump's access to intelligence has reassured European allies that they can share freely with the US again, sources told Insider. Officials in three different intelligence services in Europe responded warmly to comments by Biden in his first TV interview as president, where he saidhe didn't want Trump to keep getting intelligence briefings.Previous presidents have been given the briefings as a courtesy, which the current president can cancel at any time.Though Biden said he saw no need for Trump to keep getting briefed, he stopped short of saying definitively that he would cut him off.Nonetheless, the move reassured the intelligence officials Insider spoke to, all of whom requested anonymity because of the nature of their work. One, a senior official for a European country that's also a member of NATO, said: "This was expected and is a bit of a symbolic move - but it puts an end into the extraordinary situation where services like ours became reluctant to share key intelligence details because of fears these details would filter up from the national security community to the president, who would then tell them to the Russian ambassador."He was referring to an incident in the first month of the Trump administration where Trump shared critical intelligence with the Russian ambassador that could have revealed an Israeli intelligence source related to ISIS.The incident shocked US allies, whose officials suggested that they became reluctant to share information which could end up with Trump.Biden in his interview seemed to have similar scenarios in mind when he cited the risk that Trump "might slip and say something" as a reason to restrict his access.The intelligence official continued: "There had been concerns about Trump based on his reputation for criminal behavior and close ties to Russian elements ... considered suspicious at best," said the official."And many things have happened since 2017 - none of them good I might add - but that was the point everyone became much more careful about sharing with the Americans."
Senate confirms Biden's deputy Defense secretary - The Senate has approved President Biden’s nominee to be deputy Defense secretary, making her the first woman to be confirmed for the job by the Senate. Senators confirmed Kathleen Hicks in a voice vote Monday night, giving Biden his second Senate-confirmed Defense Department official about a week after her confirmation hearing. Hicks served as a deputy under secretary of Defense during the Obama administration and led Biden’s Pentagon transition team. Before her nomination to be deputy Defense secretary, she led the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Hicks’s nomination garnered attention both because of the history-making aspect and because Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged to empower Pentagon civilians such as her to assuage senators concerned about him being a recently retired general. Austin also pledged to recuse himself from decisions involving defense contractor Raytheon Technologies for the entirety of his tenure because he previously served on the company’s board of directors. That means decisions involving Raytheon will fall to Hicks, including major nuclear weapons programs such as the new cruise missile known as the long-range standoff weapon, in which the company is a prime contractor, and the intercontinental ballistic missile replacement known as the ground-based strategic deterrent, in which a Raytheon subsidiary is a subcontractor. During her confirmation hearing, Hicks said she supports nuclear modernization and personally supports all three legs of the nuclear triad, but did not endorse any specific weapons programs. She said her involvement as deputy secretary will be on programmatic decisions and made clear she would defer to Austin and Biden on questions of U.S. nuclear policy. Hicks also left the door open to defense budget cuts, saying that while the country “can afford the defense that it needs to have,” she thinks there are ways to trim the budget without sacrificing national security. The Pentagon has projected relatively flat budgets for the next few years because of external pressures such as ballooning U.S. debt, but progressive Democrats are expected to push for at least a 10 percent budget cut.
Biden administration announces plans to rejoin UN human rights council - The Biden administration has announced plans to reengage with the United Nations Human Rights Council after the Trump administration withdrew the United States from the body in 2018. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement on Monday described the council as a mechanism to “promote fundamental freedoms around the globe.” He acknowledged that the body is “flawed” and in need of reform but said the decision by the previous administration to withdraw from it in June 2018 “created a vacuum of U.S. leadership, which countries with authoritarian agendas have used to their advantage.” “We recognize that the Human Rights Council is a flawed body, in need of reform to its agenda, membership, and focus, including its disproportionate focus on Israel,” Blinken said. “However, our withdrawal in June 2018 did nothing to encourage meaningful change, but instead created a vacuum of U.S. leadership, which countries with authoritarian agendas have used to their advantage.” “The Council can help to promote fundamental freedoms around the globe, including freedoms of expression, association and assembly, and religion or belief as well as the fundamental rights of women, girls, LGBTQI+ persons, and other marginalized communities,” Blinken continued. “To address the Council’s deficiencies and ensure it lives up to its mandate, the United States must be at the table using the full weight of our diplomatic leadership.” The U.S. is rejoining the council as an observer, allowing officials to engage in negotiations and speak to its members, Blinken said. The Associated Press reported that he Biden administration is likely to pursue full membership at a later point. The decision drew pushback from conservatives. "The UN Human Rights Council doesn’t improve human rights. It covers for dictators & human rights abusers like Russia, China, & Venezuela," tweeted Nikki Haley, who served as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under former President Trump. "Sad to see the Biden admin legitimize an org that has become a farce to human rights advocates around the world." The Trump administration left the U.N. body in 2018, accusing it of failing to meet demands for reforms and exhibiting "chronic bias against Israel." "I want to make it crystal clear that this step is not a retreat from human rights commitments," Haley said at the time. "On the contrary, we take this step because our commitment does not allow us to remain a part of a hypocritical and self-serving organization that makes a mockery of human rights."
Biden Appears To Be Expanding The US Occupation Of Syria -- According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, some 50 vehicles in a US military convoy crossed into Syria this weekend and headed for bases in the nation’s northeast Hasakeh Province. Details aren’t clear on why the convoy arrived, beyond delivering equipment. The Observatory noted this is the ninth such convoy to enter Syria in 2021, meaning nearly two convoys per week are showing up. While there has been no official announcement on a policy change, this speaks to the Biden Administration’s intentions in Syria, or at least intentions to not leave Syria.The US has very limited troop presence left in Syria, and President Trump made much of the remnant just being there to loot oil. With reports of ISIS seeking a resurgence there, it seems the US may have found itself another war, or at least acontinuation of the existing war.A return to Obama-era priorities in Syria could set the stage for a bigger fight, as they were very keen to impose regime change in Syria before, and may be following the Libya model that saw Moammar Gadhafi deposed, killed, and Libya turned into the wreck it remains to this day. Citing SOHR, one regional report notes: According to the Britain-based monitoring group, "this is the ninth Coalition convoy to enter Syria since the beginning of 2021." Nothing Biden has said would suggest otherwise, with the Kurdish YPG expecting a new influx of US support. Some of this will be done under the guise of fighting terrorism, some on claimed US interests in the region. No longer content to rob a single oilfield, the US may once again have designs on much more.
US Shifts Official Justification Of Its Illegal Presence In Syria From "Guarding Oil" To "Fighting ISIS" - On February 9, the Pentagon announced that its forces in Syria are no longer responsible for the protection of the oil wells. A Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, said that the employees and contractors of the US Department of Defense are no longer allowed to assist any private company seeking to exploit the oil resources in Syria, nor to help the employees of this company or its agents. Kirby added that the 900 personnel stationed in the region are there to support the mission of fighting ISIS only, which is the main reason for their presence. The announcement of the US Department to shift the formal objectives of its military presence in Syria goes contrary to the position of the administration of former President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden announced that it would fix what Trump ‘sabotaged’ in the US policies. Two years ago, Trump that he would keep a limited contingent of US forces in Syria to protect the oil wells, and said at the time that the US forces would take their share of the Syrian oil. Last July, the SDF signed an agreement with a private US company called Delta Crescent Energy to modernize the oil wells seized by the SDF with the support of US forces, and to smuggle the oil extracted from them outside the Syrian territories.
U.S. may weigh baby steps to revive Iran nuclear deal (Reuters) - The United States is weighing a wide array of ideas on how to revive the Iranian nuclear deal, including an option where both sides would take small steps short of full compliance to buy time, said three sources familiar with the matter. Such a modest approach could slow the deterioration in relations since former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018 and freeze Iran’s subsequent violations, which have brought it closer to enriching weapons-grade uranium. This option could entail Washington allowing Tehran to get economic benefits less valuable than the sanctions relief it received under the 2015 deal in return for Iran stopping, or perhaps reversing, its own breaches of the agreement. The sources stressed U.S. President Joe Biden has yet to decide his policy. His stated position remains that Iran resume full compliance with the pact before the United States will. “(They) are having a real think,” said one source familiar with the U.S. review, saying ideas under consideration include a straight return to the 2015 nuclear deal and what he called “less for less” as an interim step. Another source said if the Biden administration concluded it would take too long to negotiate a full return to the deal, it could adopt a more modest approach. “Should (they) at least try to give Iran some sanctions relief and get Iran to agree to pause and maybe roll back some of its nuclear (steps)?” said this source. The deal between Iran and six major powers limited Iran’s uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms - an ambition Iran has long denied having - in return for the easing of U.S. and other sanctions.
Bipartisan resolution supports Iranian public amid Biden push to reenter nuclear deal - More than 100 Democratic and Republican House lawmakers have called on President Biden to “remain firm” in holding the Iranian government accountable for its destabilizing activities in the region, including its nuclear program, and hold it accountable for human rights violations. The bipartisan letter was sent to the president Thursday and corresponded with the introduction of a resolution co-sponsored by 112 lawmakers from both sides of the aisle reaffirming U.S. support for Iranian civil society. “For the sake of national security, peace, regional stability, and the Iranian people’s desire for freedom, the United States remains firm in holding the Iranian government accountable both for its nuclear and other destabilizing activities in the region; such as, its support for terrorism, development of ballistic missiles, and human rights violations against its own people,” the lawmakers wrote to Biden. The resolution, which is used as a record of conscience for Congress and is not legally binding, expresses U.S. support for Iranian civil society and their aspirations for a secular, democratic, non-nuclear country. It also calls for human rights violators to be held accountable. The measure, H.Res.118, is backed by the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC). "Working with Iranian American Community Members in 41 U.S. States, over 112 Bipartisan Original co-sponsors of H.Res.118 are affirming Congressional consensus on the need to hold Iranian regime accountable for human right violations and international terrorism," said Majid Sadeghpour, political director for the OIAC, in an email to The Hill. The resolution comes following the conviction this month of an Iranian diplomat in a Belgian court. The diplomat was identified as an undercover secret agent, accused of plotting a thwarted bomb attack on an exiled Iranian opposition group in France. The case is cited in the resolution as evidence of Iran’s terrorism activities. “The House of Representatives condemns past and present Iranians state-sponsored terrorist attacks against United States citizens and officials, as well as Iranian dissidents, including the Iranian regime’s terror plot against the ‘Free Iran 2018-the Alternative’ gathering in Paris,” the resolution reads.
Biden Holds First Phone Call With Xi, Both Sides Offer Vastly Different Accounts Of What Was Said - Nearly a month after his inauguration and more than three months since the presidential election, Joe Biden held his first call with Xi Jinping since entering the White House, just days after his secretary of state warned Beijing that Washington would hold China accountable for its “abuses”. In a Wednesday night tweet, Biden said that he spoke today with President Xi "to offer good wishes to the Chinese people for Lunar New Year." He also shared concerns "about Beijing’s economic practices, human rights abuses, and coercion of Taiwan" and told him that Biden "will work with China when it benefits the American people." The White house also chimed in saying that "President Biden underscored his fundamental concerns about Beijing’s coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan. President Biden committed to pursuing practical, results-oriented engagements when it advances the interests of the American people and those of our allies." "The two leaders also exchanged views on countering the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shared challenges of global health security, climate change, and preventing weapons proliferation. President Biden committed to pursuing practical, results-oriented engagements when it advances the interests of the American people and those of our allies" the White House said. The call, however, had vastly different content when retold from China's side. According to an account of the conversation reported by Chinese state television, Xi said that "cooperation was the only choice and that the two countries need to properly manage disputes in a constructive manner." Xi also told Biden that "confrontation between China and the United States would be a disaster and the two sides should re-establish the means to avoid misjudgments." Xi also said Beijing and Washington should re-establish various mechanisms for dialogue in order to understand each others’ intentions and avoid misunderstandings, the report said. Finally, and most bizarrely, Xi told Biden that he hopes the United States will cautiously handle matters related to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang that deal with matters of China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Quite the opposite of what Biden reportedly told Xi...
Cruz blocks vote on Biden Commerce secretary nominee over Huawei concerns Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday formally placed a hold on the Senate voting on the nomination of Gina Raimondo, President Biden’s pick for Commerce secretary, due to concerns Raimondo has not clarified her stance on Chinese telecom giant Huawei. “I’ll lift the hold when the Biden admin commits to keep the massive Chinese Communist Party spy operation Huawei on the Entity List,” Cruz tweeted in response to a report from Bloomberg Business that he had blocked a vote on Raimondo. Cruz’s block comes after over a week of criticism from both House and Senate Republicans of Raimondo’s comments on Huawei during her confirmation hearing. The Commerce Department under the Trump administration added Huawei, one of the largest 5G equipment manufacturers in the world, to its “entity list,” effectively blacklisting the company over concerns it posed an espionage threat due to ties to the Chinese government. Raimondo made clear that if confirmed, she would "review the policy, consult with you, consult with industry, consult with our allies, and make an assessment as to what’s best for American national and economic security,” but did not specifically commit to keeping Huawei on the entity list when Cruz questioned her about it during her confirmation hearing. She later made clear in written responses to questions from members of the Senate Commerce Committee that she had “no reason to believe that entities on those lists should not be there.” Cruz voted against approving Raimondo during the committee vote Wednesday, with Raimondo advancing out of committee by a vote of 21-3. “Gina Raimondo’s ethics issues and soft stance on China including her refusal to commit to keep Huawei on the Entities List is deeply troubling,” Cruz tweeted Wednesday following the committee vote. “That’s why I voted against advancing her nomination and I urge my colleagues to refuse to confirm her.”
US will not accept World Health Organization findings out of Wuhan without independently verifying - The United States will not accept World Health Organization (WHO) findings coming out of its coronavirus investigation in Wuhan, China without independently verifying the findings using its own intelligence and conferring with allies, a State Department official said Tuesday. Spokesman Ned Price added that a full and complete accounting by the WHO and China detailing how the pandemic started and spread is essential given the stakes and the disease’s devastating global impact. “Clearly, the Chinese, at least heretofore, has not offered the requisite transparency that we need and that, just as importantly, the international community needs so that we can prevent these sorts of pandemics from ever happening again,” he told reporters during a daily briefing. “We will work with our partners, and also draw on information collected and analysed by our own intelligence community … rather than rush to conclusions that may be motivated by anything other than science,” he said. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the probe in Wuhan is just part of the investigation, and reiterated the call for the US to let WHO experts to launch an investigation in the nation. “We hope that the US, like China, will adopt an open and transparent attitude and invite WHO experts to carry out research and studies in the US,” Wang said in a press conference on Wednesday. Members of a WHO mission made up of Chinese and foreign scientists told reporters Tuesday in Wuhan at the end of a four-week investigation that the virus most likely appeared in humans after jumping from an animal.
White House cites 'deep concerns' about WHO COVID report, demands early data from China (Reuters) - The White House on Saturday called on China to make available data from the earliest days of the COVID-19 outbreak, saying it has “deep concerns” about the way the findings of the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 report were communicated. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement that it is imperative that the report be independent and free from “alteration by the Chinese government”, echoing concerns raised by the administration of former President Donald Trump, who also moved to quit the WHO over the issue. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday said all hypotheses are still open about the origins of COVID-19, after Washington said it wanted to review data from a WHO-led mission to China, where the virus first emerged. A WHO-led mission, which spent four weeks in China looking into the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak, said this week that it was not looking further into the question of whether the virus escaped from a lab, which it considered highly unlikely. The Trump administration said it suspected the virus may have escaped from a Chinese lab, which Beijing strongly denies. Sullivan noted that U.S. President Joe Biden had quickly reversed the decision to disengage from the WHO, but said it was imperative to protect the organization’s credibility. “Re-engaging the WHO also means holding it to the highest standards,” Sullivan said. “We have deep concerns about the way in which the early findings of the COVID-19 investigation were communicated and questions about the process used to reach them.”
Buttigieg: Officials consider negative COVID-19 test requirement on domestic flights -Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that officials are considering a requirement that passengers provide a negative COVID-19 test ahead of domestic flights, according to an interview published on Sunday. One of President Biden's first confirmed Cabinet members told “Axios on HBO” that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is engaged in “an active conversation” on whether to implement the requirement. “What I can tell you is it’s going to be guided by data, by science, by medicine and by the input of the people who are actually gonna have to carry this out,” he said. “But here’s the thing: The safer we can make air travel in terms of perception as well as reality, the more people are gonna be ready to get back in the air.” Buttigieg’s comments on a potential testing madnate comes after the CDC instituted a requirement for travelers on international flights to the U.S. to test negative for the virus that has infected more than 27 million and killed more than 464,000 in the U.S. alone, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The testing rules for international flights came as U.S. officials expressed concern about the COVID-19 variants found in the U.K. and South Africa that are more contagious than the original strain. Both variants have been found in multiple states in the U.S., with 690 cases of the U.K. strain across 33 states and six cases of the South African strain across three states, according to CDC data. On Monday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky responded to a question about testing at airports by saying more tests could help reduce the spread, particularly from infected people who are not showing symptoms.
Biden Mulls Domestic Travel Restrictions Despite Improving COVID Backdrop - Despite headlines discussing COVID 'plateaus' and 'dramatic declines' in the United States, the Biden administration is mulling whether to impose domestic travel restrictions over concerns that "coronavirus mutations are threatening to reverse hard-fought progress on the pandemic," according to the Miami Herald. Outbreaks of the new variants — including a highly contagious one first identified in the United Kingdom, as well as others from South Africa and Brazil that scientists worry can evade existing vaccines — have lent urgency to a review of potential travel restrictions within the United States, one federal official said.Discussions in the administration over potential travel restrictions do not target a specific state but focus on how to prevent the spread of variants that appear to be surging in a number of states, including Florida and California. -Miami Herald"There are active conversations about what could help mitigate spread here, but we have to follow the data and what’s going to work. We did this with South Africa, we did this with Brazil, because we got clear guidance," said one White House official. "But we’re having conversations about anything that would help mitigate spread," the official added regarding the discussions aimed at targeting the spread of the UK mutation in places like Florida - where over a third of all UK variant cases in the US have been identified.Two federal officials made clear that no policy announcements are imminent, and that any travel restrictions would be undertaken in coordination with state and local governments."No decisions have been made, but we certainly are having conversations across government," said the White House official, adding "This is a war and we’re at battle with the virus. War is messy and unpredictable, and all options are on the table."The potential action comes after Biden directed the CDC, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation to "promptly" create a list of recommendations on "how their respective agencies may impose additional public health measures for domestic travel."Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the second gay man in US history to hold a cabinet position, has been examining whether to require COVID-19 testing for domestic flights - a suggestion that has drawn criticism from airline execs as "a horrible idea."
AOC And Schumer Want Taxpayer Funding For COVID-19 Funerals -- US residents whose family members died with or of covid will be eligible to receive $7,000 for funeral and related expenses, New York senator Chuck Schumer (D) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) announced. During a briefing in Queens on Monday, February 8, the duo announced that $267 million of the federally funded funeral benefits would go to low-income families in New York alone. The package, Schumer added, is part of a $2 billion disaster funds program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that will provide benefits to families nationwide.In her speech, Ocasio-Cortez explained that families “are having to pay for the storage of the bodies of their own loved ones” in addition to covering the funeral and burial expenses.“This is wrong,” she added.The announcement was received warmly on social media, so it wasn’t a surprise to see few people questioning the duo’s intentions.But if the goal is to help those impacted by the pandemic, why did neither Democrat bring up plans to provide aid to the families who lost loved ones to various state governments’ responses to the coronavirus?
DOJ to seek resignations of most Trump-appointed US attorneys: report - The Justice Department plans to seek the resignation of most U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Trump, CNN reported Monday. The transition move between administrations is expected to impact 56 U.S. attorneys who were confirmed by the Senate, a senior Justice Department official told CNN. The official said the calls for such resignations may begin as early as Tuesday. The official said the process is anticipated to take weeks but did not indicate when the resignations would take effect. Department officials reportedly have scheduled a call with U.S. attorneys for the transition. But President Biden’s Justice Department plans to keep at least two prosecutors to continue their work. Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson requested Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss to stay on during a Monday call in order to keep working on his investigation into the president's son, Hunter Biden, according to CNN. Special counsel John Durham, appointed by former Attorney General William Barr, will also be asked to continue his investigation into the origins of the previous probe into the Trump campaign’s links to Russia. But he will resign as U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut. The Justice Department did not immediately return The Hill's request for comment. The move to ask for the resignation of a previous administration's appointed U.S. attorneys is seen as a mostly routine move. Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, called on 46 U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Obama to resign. Currently, 25 of the 94 U.S. attorneys are operating in an acting manner after several appointed by Trump resigned following his election loss. The Hill's 12:30 Report: Senate prepares for im
Biden to Continue Seeking Extradition of Assange - The Biden Administration will continue to seek the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a Justice Department official said on Tuesday. This means the US will continue to challenge the decision of Vanessa Baraitser, the UK judge who ruled against the extradition, citing the risk of Assange committing suicide if he ends up in a US supermax prison. “We continue to seek his extradition,” said Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi, according to Reuters. Baraitser made her decision on January 4th, and the US formally appealed the ruling on January 15th. The appeal process could take months, and Assange is still being held in London’s Belmarsh prison.The Trump Administration indicted Assange on 17 counts of espionage and one count of conspiracy to commit a computer crime. If extradited, Assange could face up to 175 years in prison for exposing US war crimes. While Baraitser ultimately ruled against the extradition, she sided with the US prosecution team in her ruling and said the US would be justified to put Assange on trial for espionage. But Assange used standard journalistic practices to obtain the leaks he was indicted for, something many human rights groups, journalist organizations, and UN officials have pointed out. With the change in US administrations, Assange supporters appealed to President Biden to drop the charges against the WikiLeaks founder. More than 20 organizations sent a letter to Biden’s Justice Department calling for the release of Assange.“The indictment of Mr. Assange threatens press freedom because much of the conduct described in the indictment is conduct that journalists engage in routinely — and that they must engage in in order to do the work the public needs them to do,” the letter reads. Signatories to the letter include the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Reporters Without Borders.
Guantánamo Prisoner to Joe Biden: ‘The Last Two Decades of My Life Have Been a Nightmare Without End’ -- I’ll be bold but accurate. In international affairs, America acts like a criminal nation, the biggest bully on the block, a nation that soaks in fear and revels in power. Its hubris and insecurity are so great that it will spend near-infinite dollars to avoid a world in which any other nation stands its equal, or even half its equal.America is also run by a deeply corrupted Establishment, one so devoted to enriching its swollen defense and security industries — the other reason it’s constantly at war — that the thought of spending to relieve the pain of its people comes tenth on a list of two.There is no more poignant reminder of our criminal selves than the prisoners remaining at Guantánamo. As late as January 2021, more than 18 years since most of them were captured, 40 of the original 780 prisoners remain incarcerated. Stories of at Guantánamo are rampant.The Marine general who oversaw the building of the prison said in 2013, “Even in the earliest days of Guantánamo, I became more and more convinced that many of the detainees should never have been sent in the first place. They had little intelligence value, and there was insufficient evidence linking them to war crimes.”That’s being generous. Most of these prisoners were bought from Afghan warlords, who received a “bounty” (that’s the correct word) for every “terrorist” they delivered to the American army during the initial years of the Afghan War. Afghan warlords are no less corrupt than our Congress men and women — like the latter, most will do anything for money. Thus their enemies and often complete strangers were rounded up and sold to American soldiers eager for “terrorists” to punish. (If you remember the infamous TV program 24, you’ll appreciate just how eager Americans were and are to mete out punishment.)The prisoners, of course, are humans, just like the rest of us, with parents, wives, children, friends, careers and former jobs. Picture yourself in Guantánamo for 18 years, legally nowhere, with no evidence against you, no recourse to appeal, no way to confront your accusers, nothing behind you but memories of what you lost, nothing in front but detainment, torture, and death. You live looking forward to your death.Do you dream of revenge? It would be human to do so. If you were scooped up by, say, the Chinese and held in a torture camp for decades on no evidence, would you not consider an attack if let loose? It’s a perfect circle; we created these men’s hatred, then cannot let them go because of it.If there is a hell, the managers of the American Establishment State deserve a place — perhaps, as suits their wish, the center seat — in its deepest, hottest pit.
Biden Cancels Emergency Border Wall Funding As DHS Prepares To Admit 25,000 Migrants Waiting In Mexico -The Biden administration on Thursday canceled President Trump's 2019 emergency declaration directing nearly $25 billion to fund the construction of new and replacement fending at the US-Mexico border. "I have determined that the declaration of a national emergency at our southern border was unwarranted," wrote Biden in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). "I have also announced that it shall be the policy of my administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall, and that I am directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to that end." The proclamation is a final step from Biden after issuing an executive order on day one questioning the validity of Trump’s national emergency and ordering a pause on all border wall construction. Trump issued the national emergency at the border in early 2019 after repeatedly butting heads with lawmakers over funding for the project. The emergency declaration loosened the limits on taxpayer funding, paving the way for Trump to divert funds originally intended for other agencies. --The Hill Biden's proclamation follows a Supreme Court decision to cancel an upcoming hearing on the legality of the border wall at the request of the new administration. "The President has directed the Executive Branch to undertake an assessment of 'the legality of the funding and contracting methods used to construct the wall,'" the Biden administration wrote earlier this month. GOP members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee asked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas earlier this month to turn over all documents related to Biden's decision to pause construction. "This potentially dangerous action not only harms our national security and thwarts the will of Congress, but also leaves American citizens living near the southwest border vulnerable to activities involving cartels and smugglers," said Rep. James Comer (R-KY), ranking minority member of the committee.
Biden rolls out asylum system to replace Trump's 'remain in Mexico' policy - The Biden administration on Friday rolled out its plans for addressing tens of thousands of migrants camped out at the southern border as it seeks to replace the Trump administration’s "remain in Mexico" policy. Former President Trump’s policy, implemented in 2019, blocked migrants at the Mexican border from entering the U.S. to apply for asylum, leaving what the Biden administration estimates is now around 25,000 people awaiting their fate in Mexico. In what the administration deemed as phase one of their plan, the U.S. will begin processing as many as 300 people per day at three different undisclosed ports of entry starting Feb. 19. “This is an important part of President Biden's commitment to restoring humane and orderly processing at the border. And that means we need to start asylum proceedings and allow people access to asylum proceedings in the United States for people who have been too long kept in Mexico and been unable to pursue their cases,” a senior administration official said on a call with reporters. The U.S. will begin by processing those who have already enrolled in Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program who must then coordinate with a forthcoming international organization who will help coordinate housing and test migrants for COVID-19. Only those with a negative test will be permitted to enter. Administration officials said they would “start small” in an effort to ensure the system is working and that migrants can “be processed in a timely fashion with due regard for public health in the middle of a pandemic.” But the plan was accompanied by strict warnings that people should not head to the border, while those enrolled in MPP should await more specific instructions. “We are beginning this move in 30 days of the inauguration to demonstrate our commitment to a legal pathway to migration," an administration official said, noting that the Biden team began to formulate the plan during the transition. "But that does not change the status at the border and people should not assume that now they can come to the border and be part of this process,” the official said. Organizing the process will require an incredible amount of outreach, both to communicate who is eligible and to ensure they register with the international organization. “To some extent we are relying on people to come to us,” an official said.
Wyden to wield new power on health care, taxes with committee gavel - Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the new chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is poised to be a key player on some of the most hot-button issues over the next two years with Democratic control of both the White House and Congress. The Oregon Democrat last week took the reins of a committee that has jurisdiction over major components of the next coronavirus relief package, as well as other top priorities for Democrats. The panel oversees policy areas that impact a wide swath of the economy, including taxes, health care and trade. Some of Wyden’s top agenda items include extending and enhancing unemployment benefits, increasing taxes on the wealthy and addressing rising health care and prescription drug costs. “We got to fix the broken tax code, lower health care costs starting with prescriptions, move towards a carbon-free future and rebuild our infrastructure, and the Finance Committee is the center of all of these issues,” he said on a recent call with reporters. Wyden, 71, is a longtime member of Congress and a fixture on the Finance Committee. He was first elected to the Senate in 1996, after more than a decade in the House, and served as Finance Committee chairman in 2014 before spending the six subsequent years as ranking member. This time around, though, he’s taking control of the committee for at least a two-year period amid a pandemic and an economic downturn. To address those duel challenges, President Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion relief package, and congressional Democrats are about to start advancing legislation based on his proposal. The Senate Finance Committee is expected to be heavily involved in the effort. Wyden has recently placed particular emphasis on enhancing and extending federal unemployment programs, and he’s made his position known to the White House as well. The coronavirus relief package that lawmakers enacted in December provides a $300 per week boost to unemployment benefits through mid-March. Biden has proposed increasing that amount to $400 per week and extending it through September.
GOP lawmakers call for Pelosi to be fined over new screenings - A group of Republicans is calling for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to be fined after they say she failed to abide by newly implemented rules requiring members to go through metal detectors before entering the House chamber. Republicans on the House Administration Committee sent a letter to Acting Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett on Friday requesting the fine, arguing Pelosi should have to abide by the new rule that she pushed to implement. "Yesterday, at approximately 9:59 am, multiple members observed the Speaker of the House entering the House Chamber without completing security screening,” the Republicans wrote on Friday. “What was observed was a clear violation of House Resolution 73 and you are required by House Rules to impose this fine. Please inform us once the fine has been assessed," they added. "We look forward to a prompt response to this inquiry.” Blodgett responded by telling the members that he has not received a complaint from the Capitol Police about a violation by Pelosi. "House Sergeant at Arms imposes the fine after receiving an unusual occurrence report from the United States Capitol Police (USCP). An unusual incident report from the Capitol Police is appended to the document sent to the Member providing notice of the fine," he wrote. "Only the USCP can determine whether an individual has failed to complete security screening as only the USCP has sufficient training to determine compliance with USCP screening procedures. I have directed that the USCP produce and provide unusual incident reports on any individual who fails to complete security screening without exception. I have not received any unusual incident report from the USCP concerning the Speaker of the House."
Can members of Congress carry firearms on the Capitol complex? - With President Trump banned from Twitter and out of the White House, the constitutional atrocities are fewer and further between these days. But fear not. Congressional Republicans appear happy to step into the spotlight so that America’s civic lessons may continue. The latest question concerns House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) authority to keep guns off the House floor or whether Republican members can carry firearms with impunity under the 27th (not the 2nd) Amendment to the Constitution. In a standoff with Capitol Police on Jan. 12, freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) set off metal detectors installed at entrances to the Capitol in the wake of the insurrection riots of Jan. 6. Boebert’s own role in encouraging the Jan. 6 violence has prompted calls for investigation. She was eventually let into the House chamber without a search of her bag, claiming that she is “legally permitted to carry my firearm . . . within the Capitol complex.” On Feb. 3, the House of Representatives adopted a rule imposing a $5,000 fine on lawmakers who refuse to comply with the new security measures, including screening via metal detectors. The second offense carries a $10,000 fine. If members refuse to pay, the fines will be deducted from their federal paychecks after 90 days. “It is tragic this step is necessary,” Pelosi explained, “but the Chamber of the People’s House must and will be safe.” The Boebert incident was among at least a dozen cases of Republican members flouting the new security measures by triggering metal detector alarms. On Jan. 21, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) was identified by Capitol Police as actually attempting to carry a firearm onto the House floor. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) tweeted on Jan. 13 that fines would violate the 27th Amendment to the Constitution by altering members’ compensation before the next election. This is a legal stretch, to say the least.The 27th Amendment provides that “No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened.” It was designed as an anti-corruption measure. Article I of the Constitution provides that Congress sets its own compensation (the Articles of Confederation had given the states that task), so the potential for self-dealing to enrich members’ pocketbooks while in office was a significant concern to the Framers.
Videos tie Trump crony Roger Stone to Proud Boys indicted in Capitol assault - Recently uncovered video footage confirms that Roger Stone, the longtime political crony of Donald Trump, was in close contact with Proud Boy leaders, including Chairman Enrique Tarrio and recently indicted Ethan Nordean (alias Rufio Panman), in the run-up to the January 6 assault on the US Capitol.Nordean is one of six Proud Boys charged with conspiracy, which means prosecutors believe his actions were premeditated and planned. Tarrio, who was revealed last month to be an FBI informant, was arrested on a warrant in Washington D.C. on January 4.Stone has long operated as a right-wing “dirty tricks” operative for the Republican Party, beginning with his work for the Nixon White House. He was convicted in November 2019 on seven charges, including perjury, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, as part of the Mueller investigation into alleged Russian “meddling” in the 2016 elections and possible collusion by the Trump campaign. Stone was found guilty of lying to the House Intelligence Committee. Trump commuted his sentence in July 2020, before issuing a full pardon last December.The Parler social media video, uncovered by journalists Ryan Goodman and Justin Hendrix of Just Security, shows Stone speaking to a crowd of Trump supporters ahead of a rally on December 11, 2020. He is flanked by Proud Boy leaders Tarrio and Nordean, the latter of whom appears to place a hand on Stone’s shoulder as Stone tells the crowd: “We will fight to the bitter end for an honest count of the 2020 election. Never give up, never quit, never surrender, and fight for America!”The federal indictments released last week against the six Proud Boys charged with conspiracy stated that prosecutors believed “a measure of planning went into disrupting the certification of the presidential vote.” Prosecutors cited social media posts from Nordean in which he solicited donations for “safety/protective gear, or communications equipment” ahead of the January 6 coup. In a public video from December 11, Stone likewise solicited donations from his followers to raise money for the January 6 “Stop the Steal” rally in the capital. Stone implored those who couldn’t make it to D.C. on January 6 to “visit StopTheSteal.org” and contribute to “protective equipment” for Trump supporters.
Trump impeachment attorney to use video of Democrats during trial - Bruce Castor, former President Trump’s lead impeachment lawyer, said he’ll highlight Democratic lawmakers’ rhetoric during next week’s trial. Speaking on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show Friday, Castor said he will use video of Democrats’ comments to combat evidence against Trump that is anticipated to include video of his own remarks before a throng of supporters on the Ellipse prior to the deadly riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. “Will you then respond with Maxine Waters, a number of other Democrat officials not speaking out about the antifa and other extremist rallies over the last summer?” Ingraham asked. “I think you can count on that,” Castor responded. “Many of them in Washington are using really the most inflammatory rhetoric possible to use. And certainly there would be no suggestion that they did anything to incite any of the actions,” he later added. Castor indicated that he would highlight remarks Democrats made surrounding the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, though critics have pointed to protests that became violent. “There’s a lot of tape of cities burning and courthouses being attacked and federal agents being assaulted by rioters in the streets, cheered on by Democrats throughout the country,” he said.
Schumer, McConnell reach deal on Trump impeachment trial - Senate leadership announced on Monday that they have reached a deal on the framework for former President Trump's impeachment trial, which will start on Tuesday. “For the information of the Senate, the Republican leader and I, in consultation with both the House managers and Former President Trump's lawyers, have agreed to a bipartisan resolution to govern the structure and timing of the impending trial,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said from the Senate floor. “All parties have agreed to a structure that will ensure a fair and honest Senate impeachment trial of the former president,” Schumer said. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) confirmed on the Senate floor that they have reached a deal, noting that it “preserves due process and the rights of both sides.” Schumer's announcement comes after he disclosed during a press conference in New York earlier that they were finalizing an agreement. The timeline would allow the trial to wrap up as early as next week, if both sides agree not to call witnesses. Under the deal, the Senate will debate and vote on Tuesday on whether the trial is constitutional. The effort to declare the trial unconstitutional will fall short after Rand Paul (R-Ky.) forced a vote on the issue late last month. Forty-four GOP senators supported his effort. Opening arguments will start on Wednesday. Under the deal, the House impeachment managers and Trump’s team will have 16 hours over two days each to present their case to the Senate. That’s a faster pace than both the Clinton trial and the first Trump trial where both sides got 24 hours. The deal also leaves the door open to calling witnesses. The House impeachment managers previously invited Trump to testify under oath, an offer his attorneys rejected. They haven't yet said if they will try to get the Senate to call other witnesses. The trial will also be paused on Saturday to accommodate a request from one of Trump's attorneys to observe the Jewish Sabbath.
Poll: 53 percent support second Trump impeachment trial - Voters are split over whether or not they approve of the Senate holding an impeachment trial for former President Trump . Fifty-three percent of registered voters in the Feb. 8-9 survey said they approve of the Senate's impeachment trial of Trump now that he's a former president and has left office. By contrast, 47 percent of respondents disapproved of the trial. Not surprisingly, results in the poll had a partisan edge. Eighty-five percent of Democrats approve of the trial along with 55 percent of independents, but 82 percent of Republicans oppose having the trial. Tuesday marked the first day of Trump's historic second impeachment trial in the Senate. The most recent Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among 938 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.
Senators vote to proceed with Trump's impeachment trial, but conviction may prove elusive | Reuters (Reuters) - A divided U.S. Senate voted largely along party lines on Tuesday to move ahead with Donald Trump’s impeachment trial on a charge of inciting the deadly assault on the Capitol, but conviction appears unlikely barring a major shift among Republicans. The Senate voted 56-44 to proceed to the first-ever trial of a former president, rejecting his defense lawyers’ argument that Trump was beyond the reach of the Senate after having left the White House on Jan. 20. Democrats hope to disqualify Trump from ever again holding public office, but Tuesday’s outcome suggested they face long odds. Only six Republican senators joined Democrats to vote in favor of allowing the trial to take place, far short of the 17 needed to secure a conviction. Convicting Trump would require a two-thirds majority in the 50-50 Senate. The vote capped a dramatic day in the Senate chamber. Democratic lawmakers serving as prosecutors opened the trial with a graphic video interspersing images of the Jan. 6 Capitol violence with clips of Trump’s incendiary speech to a crowd of supporters moments earlier urging them to “fight like hell” to overturn his Nov. 3 election defeat. Senators, serving as jurors, watched as screens showed Trump’s followers throwing down barriers and hitting police officers at the Capitol. The video included the moment when police guarding the House of Representatives chamber fatally shot protester Ashli Babbitt, one of five people including a police officer who died in the rampage. The mob attacked police, sent lawmakers scrambling for safety and interrupted the formal congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s victory after Trump had spent two months challenging the election results based on false claims of widespread voting fraud. “If that’s not an impeachment offense, then there is no such thing,” Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, who led a team of nine House members prosecuting the case, told the assembled senators after showing the video.
Chief Justice Roberts is paving the way for Trump to claim his trial is unconstitutional -The Constitution calls for the chief justice to preside over an impeachment trial. By stepping aside, Roberts not only is failing to meet his duty, but his actions bring an air of illegitimacy to the trial. Impeachments are designed to bring the entire government together for a nonpartisan affair. If Trump is convicted, he would be ineligible to hold federal office. Without the presence of the chief justice, and if there is a conviction, Trump can argue the ruling was unconstitutional because the rules according to the Constitution were not followed. For Roberts to recuse himself flies in the face of the past two-and-a-half centuries of the evolution of the presidency itself because it allows someone who otherwise might be ineligible to become president to try again. As the nation’s chief magistrate, Roberts is doing our republic a disservice. Trump has hinted at a 2024 run for president. If, as has been reported, he does make another attempt at the presidency despite his conviction, among the first things he could claim is that the conviction was unconstitutional. He is no stranger to labeling facts as fake and, this time, the law could be on his side if he claims the wrong person presided over his impeachment trial. If a lawsuit about his eligibility followed, it inevitably would reach the Supreme Court. The chief justice would have to recuse himself because his refusal to preside is an issue in the case. Even if the court decided that it lacked the power to decide the issue — which would be likely under the “political question doctrine” — the damage would have been done. The chief’s non-role would be central to the constitutionality of a presidential campaign, and fodder for the campaign trail. It gives Trump leverage to make such a claim and opens a path for him to pursue the presidency in 2024. Suppose there is an acquittal when Roberts did not preside. The constitutionality of the trial still could become a political football. DuringRoberts’ confirmation hearing as chief justice, he said: “Justices are servants of the law … like umpires. Umpires don’t make rules, they apply them.” He followed through on his words when presiding over Trump’s first impeachment trial. His neutrality in presiding put beyond question any claim that the rules were being bent. This key pillar of our justice system is lost when an elected official holds this role because it can be argued that the ruling is political. Just last week, Sen.Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told Sean Hannity on Fox News that it would be a “fake, partisan impeachment” proceeding without the chief justice. The groundwork is being set by Trump supporters.
Managers present dramatic new video of Capitol mob at Trump impeachment trial - House impeachment managers showed a dramatic new video of the mob storming the Capitol in the opening minutes of former President Trump's impeachment trial, as Democrats look to make the case that Trump must be held accountable for his actions even if he is no longer in the White House. Democrats created the disturbing video documenting the Jan. 6 siege by interweaving Trump’s address to a group of supporters calling on them to march on the Capitol with violent footage of the attack. “We’re going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue … and we’re going to the Capitol and we’re going to try and give our Republicans, the weak ones … we’re going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness they need to take back our country,” Trump says in the video. The video then follows the mob down Pennsylvania Avenue and into the building, where lawmakers were gathered to certify the Electoral College vote count. The video shows new footage of the pro-Trump mob shouting “take the Capitol,” engaging in violent confrontations with police officers and damaging the building as they flooded the hallways looking to disrupt the vote count. Text at the end of the video reads: “At least seven people lost their lives, more than 140 law enforcement officers suffered physical injuries, and many more have been severely impacted by their experiences that day.” The video then shows the text of a tweet Trump sent four hours later: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!” “If that is not an impeachable offense, then there is no such thing,” impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) concluded.
Impeachment video reveals scale and intensity of Trump-incited assault on Capitol - Democratic House managers initiated the Senate trial of Donald Trump yesterday with a thirteen-minute video that reveals, to an extent not seen before, the large scale and intensity of the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol, where both houses of Congress were in session. The video will come as a shock to millions of viewers. Up until now, video footage of the event has been broadcast in bits and pieces, and often with the most violent scenes left out. The numbers of people involved in the assault, the extreme violence used by the mob as it stormed the Capitol, and the determination with which it hunted for congressmen, senators and even the vice president have never been presented to the public in so clear and concentrated a form. Moreover, the video presentation exposed the direct link between Trump’s incitement of the fascist mob and the violent assault that followed. Well over 5,000 people were involved in the mob, which included a large number of military, police and members of far-right militia groups. The insurrectionists were out for blood and were prepared to murder those whom they considered hostile to Trump. The video lays out a very clear narrative of what transpired. It begins with Trump’s speech prior to the storming of the Capitol. “We will stop the steal!” Trump declares, repeating the lie that he won in a “landslide” and that the election was rigged. “You can’t vote on fraud,” he says. “And when you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules.” “We fight, and we fight like hell,” Trump threatens. “And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” He says that the plan is to march on the Capitol building and “give our Republicans—the weak ones, because the strong ones don’t need any of our help—we are going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.” Trump’s remarks are interspersed with scenes of thousands of far-right militia members and Trump supporters violently charging the Capitol building, overriding the flimsy and poorly manned security around the perimeter. Individuals in the crowd can be heard yelling, “Take the building!”, “Stop the Steal!” “Traitors!” “Fight for Trump!” and “USA! USA!” One individual is seen constructing a noose. After breaching the barriers, the mob, including many individuals clad in military-style gear, break through windows, flood into the building and storm toward the separate House and Senate chambers. Some are directing the operation, guiding people into and through the building. One declares to a member of the Capitol police, “You’re outnumbered. There’s a fucking million of us out there, and we are listening to Trump, your boss.” As they engage in a coordinated push to override internal barriers, pinning one police officer violently against a door, one of the attackers shouts out, “We need fresh patriots to the front!” The video notes that as the insurrectionists were approaching the Senate chamber, with senators still inside, Trump sent out a tweet criticizing then-Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the congressional certification of the Electoral College vote. Members of Congress are hastily evacuated amidst an armed stand-off with rioters. Outside of the Capitol building, one protester is recorded saying that what they need is “30,000 guns,” to which another replies, “Next trip.”
Impeachment video shows Pence had 'nuclear football' as he moved away from Capitol riot - Video of the Capitol insurrection introduced by the Democratic impeachment managers revealed that as then-Vice President Pence fled the Capitol mob on Jan. 6, the “nuclear football” was accompanying him, CNN reported Thursday night. The backup “football” of equipment and nuclear codes needed to launch a strike is identical to the one carried by officials near the president. It always follows the second in command in case the president becomes incapacitated. A Pentagon official told CNN that U.S. Strategic Command became aware of the threat to the football after a startling video played at the Senate impeachment trial Wednesday showing Pence, his Secret Service agents and a military officer carrying the briefcase with classified nuclear launch information fleeing the Senate. Secret Service evacuated Pence and his wife, daughter and brother, Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.), out of a room connected to the Senate chamber at 2:26 p.m., 37 minutes after the initial breach of protesters, according to new security footage shown by the prosecutors. The timeline unveiled by House Democrats revealed how close a call it was for Pence and, by extension, the briefcase containing nuclear codes. According to CNN, it is unclear if officials at the National Security Council or the Pentagon were aware of the threat against Pence and members of his team prior to the impeachment video. "The risk associated with the insurrectionists getting their hands on Pence's football wasn't that they could have initiated an unauthorized launch. But had they stolen the football and acquired its contents, which include pre-planned nuclear strike options, they could have shared the contents with the world,"
Retired Navy commander charged in Capitol assault worked for FBI, his lawyer claims - Retired Navy commander and alleged Oath Keeper leader, Thomas Caldwell, 66, worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a section chief and has held a “top secret” security clearance since 1979, according to a motion filed by his lawyer on Monday. The motion seeks Caldwell’s release from house arrest. He is facing multiple charges, including conspiracy, for his role in the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. Of the roughly 200 people thus far facing federal charges in connection with the pro-Trump insurrection, those hit with the most serious charges are Oath Keeper and Proud Boy militia members who spearheaded the assault on the Capitol. That attack was the culmination of a conspiracy headed by President Donald Trump aimed at blocking the congressional certification of the electoral vote, won by Joe Biden, and paving the way for Trump to declare martial law and assume dictatorial powers. Prosecutors allege that Caldwell, from Berryville, Virginia, along with Army veteran Jessica Watkins, 38, and Marine veteran Donovan Crowl, 50, both from Woodstock, Ohio, are members of the fascistic Oath Keepers militia group. The Oath Keepers played a leading role in organizing the fascist mob that invaded the Capitol with the intention of capturing and/or killing members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the joint session called to officially count the electoral vote. Previous charging documents showed messages allegedly sent between Caldwell and his fellow insurrectionists as they were storming the building. One of the messages received by Caldwell reportedly said that “all members [of Congress] are in the tunnels under the capital. Seal them in turn on gas.” Another message read: “Tom all legislators are down in the Tunnels 3 floors down,” and “go through back house chamber doors facing N left down hallway down steps.” In seeking his client’s release from house arrest, attorney Thomas Plofchan claimed that Caldwell is not a member of the far-right group and instead has “been vetted and found numerous times as a person worthy of the trust and confidence of the United States government.”
Oath Keeper wanted to load boat with weapons for Potomac -A member of the right-wing paramilitary group the Oath Keepers in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot proposed a plan to transport “heavy weapons” in a boat across the Potomac River, prosecutors said in a Thursday court filing. Federal prosecutors made the allegation in a memo opposing a motion for release from the attorneys of Thomas Edward Caldwell, who along with fellow Oath Keeper members Jessica Marie Watkins and Donovan Crowl faces conspiracy charges in connection with alleged plans to lead a coup ahead of the deadly pro-Trump mob attack. Days before the attack, prosecutors in the court filing say Caldwell reached out to a member of the Three Percenters, an extremist gun rights militia, saying with “someone standing by at a dock ramp (one near the Pentagon for sure) we could have our Quick Response Team with the heavy weapons standing by, quickly load them and ferry them across the river to our waiting arms.”The revelation came the same day prosecutors in a separate memo called for Watkins to be held in jail without bail, saying she had been awaiting instructions from former President Trump in the days leading up to the attack. Prosecutors say that in the days after the presidential election, Watkins told other militia members that she was awaiting cues from Trump before taking action against what the former president had been calling a stolen election.“I am concerned this is an elaborate trap," Watkins allegedly wrote in a text message sent on Nov. 9. "Unless the POTUS himself activates us, it’s not legit. The POTUS has the right to activate units too. If Trump asks me to come, I will. Otherwise, I can’t trust it.”
Families seek 'line of duty' recognition in suicides of two Capitol police officers Families of two Capitol police officers who died by suicide after the Capitol riot seek “line of duty” recognition for the officers' deaths. Officers Jeffrey Smith's and Howard Liebengo-od's families say they deserve line of duty recognition because they believe the officers would be alive today if the Jan. 6 riot did not occur, according to The Washington Post. “But for his service to the country, they believe he would be alive today,” Liebengood family attorney Barry Pollack told the Post. Smith's family has sought support for their cause from members of Congress, the Post reported. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who represents the state where both officers lived, reportedly supports the Smith family's effort. The Hill has reached out to Kaine for comment. Most line of duty death recognitions do not include suicide due to the fact that suicide cannot be attributed to one reason. The recognition is normally for officers killed on duty. However, Smith's wife said her husband, who had no history of depression, was not the same after the riot. “He wasn’t the same Jeff that left on the sixth. ...
Trump told McCarthy that rioters 'more upset about the election than you are': report -- Former President Trump reportedly told House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy during a phone call on Jan. 6 that the rioters were “more upset about the election” than the California Republican. CNN on Friday reported the details of the expletive-filled call between Trump and McCarthy, citing Republicans who were briefed on the call. The news outlet reported that McCarthy pressed Trump to call off the riot, and they ended up in a shouting match. According to the lawmakers, Trump said, “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.” The quote was first mentioned by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.), who was one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, during a town hall. She and other Republicans confirmed it to CNN. Herrera Beutler, who also later shared the quote in a statement, told the news outlet that the line demonstrated that “either [Trump] didn't care, which is impeachable, because you cannot allow an attack on your soil, or he wanted it to happen and was OK with it, which makes me so angry.” Lawmakers told CNN that the comment set off a shouting match between Trump and the House Minority Leader. McCarthy reportedly told the president that rioters were breaking into offices and asked, “Who the f--- do you think you are talking to?” The Hill has reached out to Trump and McCarthy’s offices for comment. The details come as Democrats argue to a jury of senators that Trump incited the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. The House impeachment managers argued, in part, that Trump didn’t care that the riot was happening. During the second day of the impeachment trial, the managers briefly mentioned that McCarthy was among several people who personally pleaded with Trump to call off the riot as it was escalating.
Impeachment managers wrap case with new warning on Trump - The House Democrats making the case to convict former President Trump wrapped up their arguments Thursday with a warning. Acquittal, they said, could embolden Trump to incite violence again in the future. Lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) concluded Democrats' opening argument late Thursday afternoon, capping off two days of presentations that included disturbing new security footage from inside the Capitol on the day of the attack, charging documents against insurrectionists who cited Trump as the inspiration for their crimes, and videos of the mob attacking police officers trying to defend the Capitol. Some of those videos showed members of the mob breaching the very chamber where senators are serving as jurors in the impeachment trial. One showed the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt, an insurrectionist who was shot by Capitol Police as she tried to jump through a broken window to breach the House chamber while lawmakers, staff and journalists were still evacuating. "If a president did invite a violent insurrection against our government, as of course we allege and think we've proven in this case, but just in general, if a president incited a violent insurrection against our government, would that be a high crime and misdemeanor? Can we all agree at least on that?" Raskin said. Raskin later quoted from Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" pamphlet advocating for American independence from Great Britain — while adjusting the original line that "these are the times that try men's souls" to include "men and women's souls." "Senators, I've talked a lot about common sense in this trial, because I believe that's all you need to arrive at the right answer here," Raskin said. "Let's not get caught up in a lot of outlandish lawyers' theories here. Exercise your common sense about what just took place in our country." Democrats argued Thursday that acquitting Trump would allow him to potentially run for office and incite additional violence like on Jan. 6, when his supporters tried to stop Congress from ratifying President Biden's election victory. A conviction in the impeachment trial would allow the Senate to hold a separate vote to bar the former president from holding federal office in the future. “Senators, the evidence is clear. We showed you statements, videos, affidavits that prove President Trump incited an insurrection — an insurrection that he alone had the power to stop. And the fact that he didn’t stop it, the fact that he incited a lawless attack and abdicated his duty to defend us from it, the fact that he actually further inflamed the mob, further inflamed that mob, attacking his vice president while assassins were pursuing him in this Capitol more than requires conviction and disqualification,” Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) said. “We humbly, humbly ask you to convict President Trump for the crime for which he is overwhelmingly guilty of. Because if you don’t, if we pretend this didn’t happen, or worse, if we let it go unanswered, who’s to say it won’t happen again?” he said. The impeachment managers pointed to tweets from Trump on Jan. 6 that at first attacked then-Vice President Mike Pence shortly after the mob broke into the Capitol and only hours later included a video telling his supporters to go home while also saying "we love you" and "you're very special."
Managers seek to make GOP think twice about Trump acquittal - Democratic impeachment managers wrapped up their impeachment case against former President Trump on Thursday, seeking to make it as difficult and uncomfortable as possible for GOP senators to vote for his acquittal. In two days of arguments on the Senate floor, the nine House Democrats prosecuting the case portrayed the ex-president as the primary driver of a deadly pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 to block the vote certifying President Biden's victory in the presidential election. The long and haunting narrative was designed to sway public opinion and the history books as much as the Senate jurors. No more than five or six Senate Republicans are expected to vote to convict the former president, who continues to have enormous power over his party. That is far less than the 17 needed to secure a conviction. Yet many Republican senators over the past few days have complimented the arguments of the prosecutors, and while Democrats are signaling unity on the trial, the GOP has been badly divided. If Democrats do win several Republican votes, it will be the most bipartisan presidential conviction vote in the nation’s history. The managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a constitutional law expert, received high marks for a meticulous exhibition of the case, which sought to connect the dots directly between Trump's bellicose refusal to concede defeat and the violence that visited the Capitol last month. Their strategy included the liberal use of harrowing video footage and victim testimony, and served up the emotional equivalent of a Mike Tyson gut punch, forcing senators to revisit the trauma of the day through never-before-seen security footage. “That was a pretty emotional — emotional — presentation,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said heading into Thursday’s trial. “Because obviously, none of us were able to see all of that.” “They put forward a good case from their perspective. Obviously it was their side, their perspective,” added Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a vocal Trump defender and the past chair of the Homeland Security Committee, which is investigating the attack. Much of Thursday’s presentation focused on the frightened victims of the Jan. 6 insurrection — and included a warning that if senators did not vote to convict and bar Trump from future office, he could unleash more violence on the country. “President Trump’s lack of remorse shows that he will undoubtedly cause future harm if allowed,” one of the prosecutors, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), told the senators. “I'm not afraid of Donald Trump running again in four years. I'm afraid he's going to run again and lose, because he can do this again.” The managers played video clips of House lawmakers — including Reps. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) and Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a former Army Ranger — describing how they called their loved ones to say goodbye and grabbed sharp objects to prepare to fight their way out as the mob descended on the lower chamber. They shared personal accounts from Hill staffers and reporters who said they fled and barricaded themselves in rooms, cowering as rioters pounded on the doors. And the prosecution described the unfathomable toll the attack has taken on the thousands of Capitol Police and D.C. Metro Police officers who battled the insurgents that day. One, Officer Brian Sicknick, was killed; two others took their own lives in the days that followed. The officers who survived are suffering from both physical and emotional scars. Officers have brain and spinal injuries, one lost an eye, another lost three fingers, one was impaled by a metal fence stake. One police officer voluntarily turned in her gun because she thought she might do harm to herself.
Trump lawyers portray impeachment trial as Democratic score-settling (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s lawyers said on Friday Democrats had provided no evidence the former president incited last month’s deadly U.S. Capitol riot and had used his second impeachment trial to settle political scores. Trump is on trial in the U.S. Senate on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection by supporters who stormed the seat of Congress in Washington to stop lawmakers from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory, resulting in the deaths of five people, including a police officer. Trump’s lawyers argued that his remarks, including a fiery speech that day urging supporters to “fight like hell” to stop the certification, were protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which ensures the right to free speech. “To claim that the president in any way wished, desired or encouraged lawless or violent behavior is a preposterous and monstrous lie,” said Michael van der Veen, one of Trump’s lawyers. The Senate wrapped up its session at 6:29 p.m. A final up-or-down vote to convict could come as soon as Saturday. In arguments this week, Democratic members of the House of Representatives showed videos and shared tweets they said made clear Trump had set the stage for the violence by falsely claiming the election results were fraudulent and egging on his supporters with his rhetoric long before Jan. 6. They said he summoned the mob to Washington, gave the crowd its marching orders and did nothing to stop the violence as it played out on television. His one request to act peacefully did not absolve him, they said. “You rob the bank, and on the way out the door you yell, ‘Respect private property!’ That’s not a defense to robbing the bank,” said Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin. The Democrats are unlikely to gain a conviction, as few Republican senators have come out against Trump, who remains popular among Republican voters. Trump’s team played a roughly 10-minute video showing prominent Democrats using the word “fight” in political speeches. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” Trump lawyer David Schoen said, addressing Democrats. “It’s a word people use, but please stop the hypocrisy.”
Former President Donald Trump acquitted again - Exactly a month and a week after insurrectionists incited a riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, former President Donald Trump's second impeachmenttrial came to a climactic end on Saturday afternoon, with Trump being acquitted for his alleged role of inciting the deadly event. A majority of senators voted to convict the former president, but failed to reach the super majority threshold needed for a conviction."This has been yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country. No president has ever gone through anything like it, and it continues because our opponents cannot forget the almost 75 million people, the highest number ever for a sitting president, who voted for us just a few short months ago," former President Trump said via a released statement. "Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it!" the statement continued. Drama ensued on the Senate floor Saturday morning when senators voted to hear from witnesses. However, after a roughly one-hour recess, the Senate determined no witnesses would be called, and opted instead to admit into evidence written testimony from Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler, R-Wash. Then, both the prosecution and defense presented their closing arguments. When the vote began, the Senate chamber fell silent as each senator's name was called. As required by Senate rules, each senator present had to pronounce Trump "guilty" or "not guilty" while they stood behind their individual desks. Seven GOP senators -- Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Richard Burr of North Carolina and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania -- joined Democrats to vote Trump guilty of "incitement of insurrection." Cassidy issued a statement after his vote, saying he voted to convict because "Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person," his statement read. "I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty."
Even with acquittal, GOP sees trial ending Trump's shot at future office - Senate Republicans, including those who do not plan to vote to convict former President Trump, say this week’s impeachment trial has effectively ended any chance of him becoming the GOP presidential nominee in 2024. From the viewpoint of some Republican senators, the compelling case presented by House prosecutors carries a silver lining: It means they likely won’t have to worry about Trump running for president again in three years, while at the same time eroding his influence in party politics more generally. Several Republican senators became irate watching videos of the violence and chaos inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, including footage of police officers being called “pigs” and “traitors” and one officer screaming as he was crushed by rioters battering a police line. Interspersed with the traumatic scenes were clips of Trump urging his supporters to march to the Capitol, warning them “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore” and telling them “we love you; you’re very special” shortly after the attack. “It just makes you realize what an asshole Donald Trump is," said one GOP senator after watching day two of the House managers' presentation. The lawmaker suggested that Democrats may ultimately help the GOP by sidelining Trump. "Unwittingly, they are doing us a favor. They're making Donald Trump disqualified to run for president" even if he is acquitted, the senator said. Other Republican senators, even those who have indicated they will vote to acquit, say it would be a good thing if the impeachment trial helps distance the party from Trump, who has thoroughly dominated GOP politics over the past five years. “I can’t imagine the emotional reaction, the visceral reaction to what we saw today doesn’t have people thinking, ‘This is awful,’ whatever their view is on whether the president ought to be impeached or convicted,” said another GOP senator. “What would stand out to my colleagues is there was no rescue, there was nothing that came to put an end to it.” House impeachment managers emphasized that the National Guard was not deployed until two hours after the attack on the Capitol began, delaying the arrival of troops until 5 p.m. that day. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) noted in his presentation that Trump was not on the list released by the Pentagon of administration officials consulted on the eventual decision to deploy the Guard. Democratic prosecutors also presented a report that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) got into a heated exchange with Trump on Jan. 6 during a phone call in which he pleaded with the president to denounce the rioters as they stormed the Capitol. “This reminded and confirmed and probably added deeper emotion to the view that the president’s involvement in the party, while it brought new people, it’s very damaging to who we are, what we believe and what we stand for — what we believe we stand for,” the second GOP senator said.
Majority Of GOP Voters Would Join A New Trump-Led Political Party, Poll Shows - A new Hill-HarrisX poll, reveals that a majority of Republican voters would likely join a new political party created by former President Donald Trump. The Jan. 28 survey was conducted among 945 registered voters, 340 of which self-identified as Republicans.The results found that 64% of registered GOP voters said they’d join a new political party led by the former president and 32% said they would very likely join.While 36% of GOP voters said they are either very or somewhat unlikely to join.28% of independents and 15% of Democrats said they’d likely join a third party led by Trump.37% of voters overall said if Trump created a new political party they’d likely join.Last month, Trump discussed starting a new political party called the “Patriot Party” following his exit from the White House.“These numbers show that despite the Capitol riots Trump remains a political force to be reckoned with. He benefits from a diverse base of support making up over a third of voters, voters who are attracted to him on a number of issues that are yet to be properly addressed by, and coopted by, Democratic and Republican elites,” Dritan Nesho, CEO and chief pollster at HarrisX, told The Hill.“If Trump were to split from the GOP and create his own party, polling suggests he might well create the second largest political party in the country, knocking the GOP down to third place,” said Nesho.
DOJ dismissing suit against author of Melania Trump tell-all book -The Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed a Trump-era lawsuit on Monday against the woman who authored a tell-all book about former first lady Melania Trump.Justice Department officials requested the dismissal of its lawsuit against Stephanie Winston Wolkoff for her memoir called “Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of my Friendship with the First Lady,” which had accused the author of violating a White House nondisclosure agreement. Attorneys for the Justice Department did not give a reason for seeking the dismissal. It is one of the first lawsuits not being pursued by the Biden DOJ following the departure of the Trump administration.
Kushner, Ivanka Trump reported up to $640M in outside income during White House years Former White House advisors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner made as much as $640 million during their time in the Trump administration, according to an analysis by a government watchdog group. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) found the couple earned anywhere between $172 million and $640 million in outside income, according to their financial disclosures. The daughter and son-in-law of former President Trump both pledged to forego government salaries in an attempt to sidestep concerns over nepotism. But CREW’s review shows the couple, like Trump, still earned considerable sums from the Trump Hotel in Washington. “All told, Ivanka made more than $13 million from the hotel since 2017, dropping from about $4 million a year between 2017 and 2019 to about $1.5 million last year, at least in part due to the pandemic,” according to the report, which called the hotel a “locus of influence peddling in the Trump administration.” The financial disclosures, which report income in ranges, also showed a sharp drop in Ivanka Trump’s stake in the hotel. In her final disclosure she listed the value of her ownership in the hotel between $100,000 to $250,000 this year after previously claiming her stake to be worth between $5 million and $25 million. She did not report selling any of her ownership share in the hotel. During his final year working for the administration, Kushner also opened a new offshore holding company located in the British Virgin Islands, Kushner Companies BVI Limited, which holds several assets, including the Puck Building LP, which is valued at more than $25 million.
Ghislaine Maxwell loses bid to keep deposition excerpt secret (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s effort to keep under wraps an excerpt from a 2016 deposition that she fears could undermine her criminal trial on charges she aided the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and committed perjury. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska said Maxwell had only a “minimal” privacy interest in the 20-line excerpt, because it concerned massages and not private sexual activity of consenting adults, and the public had a right to see her testimony. “There is no reason not to unseal this portion of testimony,” the Manhattan-based judge wrote. “While the court acknowledges Ms. Maxwell’s interest in a fair criminal trial, Ms. Maxwell can argue all her points to the presiding judge in her criminal trial, as she has already.” Lawyers for Maxwell did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Preska had previously released large portions of the July 22, 2016 deposition, which came from a now-settled civil defamation lawsuit against Maxwell by Virginia Giuffre, one of dozens of women who have accused Epstein of sexual misconduct.
Mnuchin's wife Louise Linton on return to Hollywood: 'I've been villainized' - Louise Linton, wife of former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, said in a recent interview that she's been villainized as a result of her husband's role in the Trump administration, adding that this has had a direct effect on her career in Hollywood. The actress said she is relieved not to have her husband in the political spotlight anymore. "Fortunately, he's not in politics anymore, and I'm happy to have my husband home in Los Angeles [with me]," she told Fox News. "I think because of my association with that administration, people have this preconceived notion about me or I've been villainized." Linton recently released a trailer for her newest film, “Me You Madness,” a dark comedy in which she plays a murderous, sex-crazed hedge fund manager named Catherine Black. The film is her writer-director debut. "In some ways, this character, Catherine, is almost like a parody, a caricature and a satire of that media persona, which I think couldn't be further from who I am as an actual person," Linton said. The producer and actress has garnered negative media attention in the past, including an instance in which she posed with her husband in 2017 for a photograph holding sheets of newly printed money.
Facebook’s “depoliticization” aimed at censorship of left-wing and socialist organizations -The ongoing drive to impose online political censorship of the left has become clearer over the past week following remarks by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that the social media platform was being “depoliticized.” Speaking during a fourth-quarter earnings call with investors on January 28, Zuckerberg said the company was working on methods to “reduce the amount of political content in News Feed.” He said that Facebook was “continuing to fine-tune how this works” and “we plan to keep civic and political groups out of recommendations for the long term and we plan to expand that policy globally.” While individuals, pages and groups have been ostensibly blocked, banned or deleted for violating “community standards” in the past, Zuckerberg said the ongoing efforts to “turn down the temperature and discourage divisive conversation and communities” would include “groups that we may not want to encourage people to join even if they don’t violate our policies.” Zuckerberg’s remarks were in part a response to a letter he received on January 21 from Democratic Representatives Tom Malinowski of New Jersey and Anna Eshoo of California that blamed Facebook for presenting users with “content most likely to reinforce their existing political biases, especially those rooted in anger, anxiety, and fear,” and for using algorithms that “undermine our shared sense of objective reality, intensify fringe political beliefs, facilitate connections between extremist users.” Malinowski and Eshoo praised Facebook’s decision before the 2020 elections to stop “recommending that users join political and social issue groups” and denounced the lifting of these restrictions before the Georgia run-off election, which caused “a spike in partisan political content and a decline in authoritative news sources in users’ newsfeeds.” While it may appear that Zuckerberg and the Democrats are responding to the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 by a fascist mob incited by Donald Trump in a coup attempt aimed at overturning the results of the 2020 elections, their choice of words is significant. They do not refer to the far-right, fascists, neo-Nazis, militia groups and others who include in their ranks leading members of the Republican Party, law enforcement officers and active and retired US military representatives. The reference to “divisive conversation,” turning down “the temperature,” “fringe political beliefs” and “extremist users,” make it clear that the effort to shut down political dialogue on social media is aimed at silencing left-wing and socialist politics and preventing the working class from using Facebook to organize its struggles against the capitalist system.
Rights Groups Outraged After Twitter Purges Accounts Of Saudi Political Prisoners Twitter is once again being called out for its free speech hypocrisy and double-dealing when it comes to influential and wealthy foreign governments allied closely with Washington. In this latest case Twitter has purged accounts of recent Saudi political prisoners. A number of prominent Saudi activists and public intellectuals that ran afoul of the royal family have languished in Saudi prisons since the 2017 crackdown under the auspices of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), which most famously saw a number of princes and high profile officials temporarily confined to the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh.According to Middle East Eye (MEE) Twitter has removed 'blue check' verification badges of many of these prisoners given their account inactivity, or in other cases suspending them altogether. The report details some of the following instances: Among those whose verification label has been removed are Ali al-Omary and Awad al-Qarni, two senior religious figures who have been jailed since 2017. They were seized during a purge that followed Mohammed bin Salman's rise to the position of crown prince.Similarly, the accounts of the Saudi philanthropist Khaled al-Mohawesh and journalist Khaled al-Alkami, also jailed in the 2017 purge, had their blue tick removed, according to the advocacy Twitter account Prisoners of Conscience. It added that the account of economist Essam el-Zamil, another political prisoner, has been suspended. He tweeted under the handle @Essamz.Some of the activists were reportedly targeted by MbS because they publicly spoke out against the economic blockade on neighboring Qatar, a diplomatic crisis which has since been largely resolved, with the Saudi-UAE sanctions on Qatar lifted. Others were reportedly women's rights activists and those seen as luke-warm or doubtful on MbS' promises of "reform" in the kingdom. In many instances, activists or protesters had "terrorism"-related charges brought during their trials, which in Saudi Arabia is often broadly applied to enemies of the ruling family, especially when it comes to Shia dissidents in the country's east. ‘
Twitter Mocked For Refusing Indian Government's Orders To Suspend Accounts Due To "Free Expression" - Twitter faced ridicule after it resisted demands by the Indian government to suspend accounts for spreading “misinformation,” claiming that it cherished “free expression,” despite having removed multiple prominent accounts in the U.S. for “spreading misinformation.” The Silicon Valley giant is in a heated dispute with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, with the Indian government demanding it take action against over a thousand accounts it claims are “spreading misinformation” about the months-long farmers’ protests against new agricultural laws.“The government has played hardball, sending Twitter a notice of non-compliance last week that threatens its executives with jail terms of up to seven years and the company with fines if it does not block the content,” reports Al Jazeera.India claims the accounts, some of which are backed by Pakistan or are operated by alleged supporters of a separatist Sikh movement, are spreading fake news to destabilize the government.Twitter responded by claiming it insists “tweets must flow,” before asserting that it wouldn’t take action against news outlets, politicians, activists and journalists.
Twitter permanently suspends 'Project Veritas' group | TheHill - Twitter permanently suspended an account belonging to Project Veritas on Thursday, citing repeat violations of the site's policies against publishing private information. A Twitter spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that the main Project Veritas account was permanently suspended, while founder James O'Keefe had his account temporarily locked. Several recent tweets on O'Keefe's timeline appeared to have been deleted by Thursday afternoon. Twitter did not immediately return a request for comment regarding private information shared by Veritas and O'Keefe. Founded in 2010, Project Veritas is a right-wing group that routinely published undercover sting videos, some of which have been accused of deceptive editing. The group, which frequently targets Democratic politicians and media organizations, scored a victory last year when an ABC News correspondent was suspended after a Veritas video showed him claiming that the network does not care about newsworthy issues. They have also published videos of a "Good Morning America" anchor complaining about the network ignoring her story on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. O'Keefe, in an emailed statement, told The Hill that the content in question was a video of Project Veritas members questioning a Facebook executive, Guy Rosen. "Late last night, Twitter locked Project Veritas’s and my Twitter accounts, claiming we violated Twitter Guidelines by posting a video of our journalists asking questions of Facebook’s Vice President Guy Rosen which Rosen refused to answer. Twitter claimed the video published private information, which is false. Twitter invited Project Veritas to, and we did, appeal that decision with Twitter. In an apparent act of retaliation for daring to question their authority, Twitter responded to our appeal by suspending our account, continuing to tell us that Project Veritas could delete the tweet and have our account reinstated," said O'Keefe. "This is nothing new from Twitter – just last fall Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey admitted in Congress his company’s decision to block the New York Post was erroneous while still demanding the Post kneel before them by deleting the tweet," he continued, adding: "Here we go again – Twitter opting to delete news and demand fealty when their decision is dared to be questioned."
New Twitter App Blocks Over 800 New York Times Journos In "Fight Against Disinformation" - A new Twitter app encourages people to 'fight disinformation' by blocking over 800 New York Times reporters. "It's time to block," reads an introductory tweet from @blocknyt (www.blocknyt.com). "Twitter users have begun mass-blocking New York Times-linked accounts to control the flood of corporate disinformation online.""For a limited time, block 800 NYT reporters for the low price of $0," the tweet continues.When one visits the blocknyt.com website, created five weeks ago, they're greeted with several mock articles detailing the Times' failings."The New York Times Company now faces an economic and reputational reckoning. Employees are revolting, traffic is plummeting, colleagues are scathing, and readers are blocking," reads one teaser."Cade Metz and Pui-Wing Tam, senior employees of the New York Times Company, set out to intentionally reveal the identity of a private citizen against his will. An outcry ensued, and the paper backed down, but the damage was done," reads another.Once authorized, the app automatically blocks the journalists - and then tells you that you can uninstall it.
The Journalistic Tattletale and Censorship Industry Suffers Several Well-Deserved Blows - Glenn Greenwald - A new and rapidly growing journalistic “beat” has arisen over the last several years that can best be described as an unholy mix of junior high hall-monitor tattling and Stasi-like citizen surveillance. It is half adolescent and half malevolent. Its primary objectives are control, censorship, and the destruction of reputations for fun and power. Though its epicenter is the largest corporate media outlets, it is the very antithesis of journalism. I’ve written before about one particularly toxic strain of this authoritarian “reporting.” Teams of journalists at three of the most influential corporate media outlets — CNN’s “media reporters” (Brian Stelter and Oliver Darcy), NBC’s “disinformation space unit” (Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny), and the tech reporters of The New York Times (Mike Isaac, Kevin Roose, Sheera Frenkel) — devote the bulk of their “journalism” to searching for online spaces where they believe speech and conduct rules are being violated, flagging them, and then pleading that punitive action be taken (banning, censorship, content regulation, after-school detention). These hall-monitor reporters are a major factor explaining why tech monopolies, which (for reasons of self-interest and ideology) never wanted the responsibility to censor, now do so with abandon and seemingly arbitrary blunt force: they are shamed by the world’s loudest media companies when they do not.Just as the NSA is obsessed with ensuring there be no place on earth where humans can communicate free of their spying eyes and ears, these journalistic hall monitors cannot abide the idea that there can be any place on the internet where people are free to speak in ways they do not approve. Like some creepy informant for a state security apparatus, they spend their days trolling the depths of chat rooms and 4Chan bulletin boards and sub-Reddit threads and private communications apps to find anyone — influential or obscure — who is saying something they believe should be forbidden, and then use the corporate megaphones they did not build and could not have built but have been handed in order to silence and destroy anyone who dissents from the orthodoxies of their corporate managers or challenges their information hegemony. Oliver Darcy has built his CNN career by sitting around with Brian Stelter petulantly pointing to people breaking the rules on social media and demanding tech executives make the rule-breakers disappear. The little crew of tattletale millennials assembled by NBC — who refer to their twerpy work with the self-glorifying title of “working in the disinformation space”: as intrepid and hazardous as exposing corruption by repressive regimes or reporting from war zones — spend their dreary days scrolling through 4Chan boards to expose the offensive memes and bad words used by transgressive adolescents; they then pat themselves on the back for confronting dangerous power centers, even when it is nothing more trivial and bullying than doxxing the identities of powerless, obscure citizens.
IMF Wants To Use "Digital Footprint Of Customers' Online Activities" To Assess Creditworthiness - In a recent post, “What is Really New In Fintech,” on the IMF blog (International Monetary Fund), authors suggest “rapid technological change” in the financial industry. Many social media and other online platforms are now creating and accepting payments. This revolutionary change in the banking world could change the face of finance forever. As a result of this rapid change, the authors bring up the following questions:
- What are the transformative aspects of recent financial innovation that can uproot finance as we know it?
- Which new policy challenges will the transformation of finance bring?
To answer these questions, the authors wrote: Recent IMF and ECB staff research distinguishes two areas of financial innovation. One is information: new tools to collect and analyse data on customers, for example for determining creditworthiness. Another is communication: new approaches to customer relationships and the distribution of financial products. We argue that each dimension contains some transformative components. The authors mention the importance and functionality of “determining creditworthiness.” The method they want to use to do so can be found in the section labeled “New Types Of Information,” where they write (emphasis ours):The most transformative information innovation is the increase in use of new types of data coming from the digital footprint of customers’ various online activities—mainly for creditworthiness analysis.Credit scoring using so-called hard information (income, employment time, assets, and debts) is nothing new. Typically, the more data is available, the more accurate is the assessment. But this method has two problems. First, hard information tends to be “procyclical”: it boosts credit expansion in good times but exacerbates contraction during downturns.The second and most complex problem is that certain kinds of people, like new entrepreneurs, innovators, and many informal workers, might not have enough hard data available. Even a well-paid expatriate moving to the United States can be caught in the conundrum of not getting a credit card for lack of credit record, and not having a credit record for lack of credit cards.Fintech resolves the dilemma by tapping various nonfinancial data: the type of browser and hardware used to access the internet, the history of online searches, and purchases. Recent research documents that, once powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, these alternative data sources are often superior than traditional credit assessment methods, and can advance financial inclusion, by, for example, enabling more credit to informal workers and households, and firms in rural areas.The type of browser used could potentially indicate a different ranking for browsers that heavily track users, like Chrome, vs. browsers that emphasize privacy, like Brave. So what does this all mean for our financial future?It means the IMF authors suggest the global banking network begin using a history of online searches and purchases to determine “creditworthiness.” In other words, do you read CNN and purchase sports memorabilia? You’re approved! Do you read The Organic Prepper and buy “conspiracy” or “prepping” material? We’re sorry, you can not be approved at this time based on your credit score.
Johnstone: The Real World And The Narrative World - The real world is the physical world of matter, of atoms and molecules and stars and planets and animals wandering around trying to bite and copulate with each other. Science does not yet understand much of this world, but it can reasonably be said to have some degree of existence to it. The narrative world is made of stories, of mental chatter about what’s going on. It is only related to the real world in the loosest of terms, and commonly has no relation to the real world whatsoever. In the narrative world you exist as a person with a certain name and a certain life story with a mountain of adjectives attached to you, some believed consciously and some believed subconsciously. You are this, you are that. You are inadequate. You are inferior. You are clever. You are fat. You are unlovable. Whatever. Words, words, words, words, words. In the real world what you think of as “you” exists as an organism, breathing and digesting and pulsing and moving in the appearance of time. No thoughts or words need to occur for this organism to exist; it just is whatever it is. In the narrative world, your surroundings are experienced as friends and foes, good and bad, right and wrong, threatening and non-threatening. Churning, babbling stories about what’s happening pervade the experience of the narrative world: those people over there are bad people and should be punished. Those people over there are the good people and they should be rewarded. That man is blah blah blah. That woman is this and that. In the real world, your surroundings are experienced as raw sensory data: sensory impressions arising in each point in spacetime. Breath going in, breath going out. The feeling of feet on the ground. Sound of a bird call. Sight of a passing car. It’s all just happening as it is, as whatever it is. Simple. Present. It’s very hard to control people in the real world by just using the means that are available in the real world. If you’re bigger and stronger than someone you can get them to hand over their sandwich by hitting them, or if you have a big stick or something. If you want to exert a large amount of control over a large number of people, though, you generally have to seize that control through the narrative world. It’s easier to control people through the narrative world than the real world because the narrative world and its relationship with the real world is too complicated for most people to understand, whereas the real world is quite simple and straightforward. For this reason, a tremendous amount of energy goes into controlling the dominant narratives, the dominant stories that people tell about what’s going on in the world.
Tim Berners-Lee’s Plan to Save the Internet: Give Us Back Control of Our Data --Releasing his creation for free 30 years ago, the inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, famously declared: “this is for everyone”. Today, his invention is used by billions – but it also hosts the authoritarian crackdowns of antidemocratic governments, and supports the infrastructure of the most wealthy and powerful companies on Earth.Now, in an effort to return the internet to the golden age that existed before its current incarnation as Web 2.0 – characterised by invasive data harvesting by governments and corporations – Berners-Lee has devised a plan to save his invention.This involves his brand of “data sovereignty” – which means giving users power over their data – and it means wrestling back control of the personal information we surrendered to big tech many years ago.Berners-Lee’s latest intervention comes as increasing numbers of people regard the online world as a landscape dominated by a few tech giants, thriving on a system of “surveillance capitalism” – which sees our personal data extracted and harvested by online giants before being used to target advertisements at us as we browse the web.Courts in the US and the EU have filed cases against big tech as part of what’s been dubbed the “techlash” against their growing power. But Berners-Lee’s answer to big tech’s overreach is far simpler: to give individuals the power to control their own data.The idea of data sovereignty has its roots in the claims of the world’s indigenous people, who have leveraged the concept to protect the intellectual property of their cultural heritage.Applied to all web users, data sovereignty means giving individuals complete authority over their personal data. This includes the self-determination of which elements of our personal data we permit to be collected, and how we allow it to be analysed, stored, owned and used. This would be in stark contrast to the current data practices that underpin big tech’s business models. The practice of “data extraction”, for instance, refers to personal information that is taken from people surfing the web without their meaningful consent or fair compensation. This depends on a model in which your data is not regarded as being your property.
Deepfake Detectors Can Be Defeated, Computer Scientists Show For The First Time -Systems designed to detect deepfakes --videos that manipulate real-life footage via artificial intelligence--can be deceived, computer scientists showed for the first time at the WACV 2021 conference which took place online Jan. 5 to 9, 2021. Researchers showed detectors can be defeated by inserting inputs called adversarial examples into every video frame. The adversarial examples are slightly manipulated inputs which cause artificial intelligence systems such as machine learning models to make a mistake. In addition, the team showed that the attack still works after videos are compressed."Our work shows that attacks on deepfake detectors could be a real-world threat," said Shehzeen Hussain, a UC San Diego computer engineering Ph.D. student and first co-author on the WACV paper. "More alarmingly, we demonstrate that it's possible to craft robust adversarial deepfakes in even when an adversary may not be aware of the inner workings of the machine learning model used by the detector."In deepfakes, a subject's face is modified in order to create convincingly realistic footage of events that never actually happened. As a result, typical deepfake detectors focus on the face in videos: first tracking it and then passing on the cropped face data to a neural network that determines whether it is real or fake. For example, eye blinking is not reproduced well in deepfakes, so detectors focus on eye movements as one way to make that determination. State-of-the-art Deepfake detectors rely on machine learning models for identifying fake videos.The extensive spread of fake videos through social media platforms has raised significant concerns worldwide, particularly hampering the credibility of digital media, the researchers point out. "If the attackers have some knowledge of the detection system, they can design inputs to target the blind spots of the detector and bypass it," said Paarth Neekhara, the paper's other first coauthor and a UC San Diego computer science student.
Android barcode scanner with 10 million+ downloads infects users - A benign barcode scanner with more than 10 million downloads from Google Play has been caught receiving an upgrade that turned it to the dark side, prompting the search-and-advertising giant to remove it.
“What the GameStop Bubble Says about Financial Markets” - Whether one thinks that the overall equity market is currently valued properly or not, something very unusual happened in the last week of January to assets such as stock in the company GameStop. Its price rose 323 percent for the week, and 1,700 per cent for the month (that is, an 18-fold increase). This is a speculative bubble. That is, the price departed from fundamentals. In this respect, participating in a speculative bubble is like playing roulette in a casino. The role of “the house” in this casino is played by brokers like retail-investment platform Robinhood or financial-services company Charles Schwab.So far, not so unusual. Speculative bubbles happen from time to time. The GameStop episode is interesting in that it cuts against both of the two common interpretations of financial markets. On one side, the “establishment” view, in favor of financial-markets, is that they competitively and efficiently allocate capital, via the signal of the stock price. The claim is that they direct capital to enterprises that have a bright future in terms of their economic fundamentals, and directing capital away from those firms that don’t. On the other side, the “populist” view is that big Wall Street traders speculate in ways that destabilize the markets, in order to make unseemly profits at the expense of the little guy. In the most sinister view, they are even suspected of conspiring with each other to destabilize the market. So, who are the good guys and who the bad guys, in the GameStop bubble? There is no need to feel sorry for the hedge funds. Their business is risk. Even after taking their losses, these institutional investors remain plenty wealthy. But the hedge funds in this case are not bad guys. They were doing what they were supposed to do: pushing the price of GameStop toward a level more consistent with economic fundamentals and thereby sending a useful signal for the allocation of capital. The small investors who pushed the price up are not bad guys either. True, the boosters are not heard even claiming to believe that GameStop is truly worth $325 a share, its price on January 29. Their motives for buying appear, instead, to be either to ride the speculative bubble – much as casino habitués gamble for fun – or to inflict pain on the hedge funds, as a sort of populist political message. But they are within their rights to do either. The collusion by these Reddit traders, if it had been undertaken by a few big hedge funds, could well have been prosecuted as illegal market manipulation. After all, some of the traders are on the record as essentially saying “come on, guys; let’s push up the price.” They seem to meet the criterion of an intent to effectuate a market price that is artificial when judged against the true economic value of the company. But the Reddit traders are probably not liable to prosecution, because they were small, numerous, and open about what they were trying to do. The regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, rather than investigating either the roulette players who bet on red or those who bet on black, is investigating the casino “house.” Robinhood was operating with too thin a margin. It encountered both regulatory constraints (in the form of capital requirements) and demands from its clearing house (that it put up more deposits to back its trading). In the worst case, the casino would have had insufficient funds to pay off punters who had won their gambles. A capable regulator like Gary Gensler, if he is confirmed as the new Chair of the SEC, may find a need to tighten, not loosen, the regulations that led the broker to restrict trading in the 50 companies.
Retail Traders Are the New Lab Rats in High Frequency Trading Schemes -- Pam Martens -- Yesterday, reporters at the Washington Post provided important new information about the insidious machinations of high frequency traders’ efforts to rig U.S. markets in their favor. WaPo reporters Douglas MacMillan and Yeganeh Torbati revealed the following: “Hedge funds have started to build algorithms or hire outside firms that specialize in scanning conversations on Reddit and Twitter for clues about what retail traders are thinking. Several of these services, with names like Swaggy Stocks, Robintrack and Quiver Quantitative, popped up in the past two years… “Last year, prominent hedge funds including Point72, D.E. Shaw, Two Sigma and Capital Fund Management were all found to be siphoning trading data from a popular app called Robintrack, which collected information on which stocks users of Robinhood bought and sold. Casey Primozic, the programmer who created the now-defunct app, tweeted his finding in May that he had traced large volumes of traffic back to servers that appeared to belong to those firms.” This is the latest chapter in the long running saga of how Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department are allowing high frequency traders to fleece the public under the pretext of providing liquidity to markets. The question is, should high frequency traders’ ability to get information ahead of the general public be considered an illegal form of insider trading. One of the high frequency trading firms mentioned in the Lewis book was Virtu, which is currently paying for order flow from online brokerage firms like Robinhood. The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and others are aiding and abetting this scam by allowing high frequency trading firms to co-locate their computers next to those of the stock exchanges to gain faster access to trading data ahead of what the public sees. They charge expensive fees that the general public could never afford. Congress took testimony on this following the release of the Lewis book but has allowed it to continue.The SEC has also known for quite some time what has been going on. In December 2013 the SEC actually filed this rule change in the Federal Register announcing that the New York Stock Exchange was changing its pricing for some of its co-location services and computer cabinets for outside users. The NYSE stated it would offer: “a one-time Cabinet Upgrade fee of $9,200 when a User requests additional power allocation for its dedicated cabinet such that the Exchange must upgrade the dedicated cabinet’s capacity. A Cabinet Upgrade would be required when power allocation demands exceed 11 kWs. However, in order to incentivize Users to upgrade their dedicated cabinets, the Exchange proposes that the Cabinet Upgrade fee would be $4,600 for a User that submits a written order for a Cabinet Upgrade by January 31, 2014…”
15 Hedge Fund Managers Made $23 Billion In 2020 -Some time in late 2020, a sellside analyst penned the term "K-shaped recovery" meant to describe a pandemic-stricken world in which while some 11 million people have (still) lost their jobs from the February high...... others were making millions, and in some cases, billions.For better or worse, the "K-shaped recovery" term stuck and nowhere is it more applicable than in an article from Bloomberg today which shows that just the 15 top hedge fund managers on Wall Street raked in a combined $23 billion in 2020.Using the contextual parlance of our times, that's "more than enough money, at going prices, to buy one GameStop, two AMC Entertainments and four Bed Bath & Beyonds. Not shares -- those darlings of the r/wallstreetbets crowd -– but the entire companies."And while the staggering sum would have been sufficient to make these 15 individuals into billionaires from what they earned last year alone, that's a moot point since most of them were already billionaires.As shown below, the biggest winner from the staggering market rally which soared from its March lows even as the broader economy sank, was Tiger Global's Chase Coleman, who gained $3 billion personally in 2020. His fund returned 48% after building substantial stakes in Zoom, Peloton and JD.com, a portfolio almost perfectly positioned for the pandemic. And yes, Coleman was already a billionaire heading into 2020.Coleman’s fund returned 48% last year, earning him substantial fees. The majority of his gains, though, were from his stake in the fund. One of Tiger Global’s most successful bets was on Sunrun Inc., turning a $340 million investment in the solar-energy company into $1.5 billion.Other Tiger Cubs that traditionally favor tech stocks, such as Coatue Management, Viking Global and D1 Capital, also made Bloomberg’s list. A new entrant to the list was Bill Ackman - who was also a billionaire heading into 2020 - who made $1.3 billion after shorting credit markets at the start of 2020 and then betting on the recovery following a tearful appearance on CNBC.Amusingly, the last name on the list - Gabe Plotkin - has made the headlines in recent weeks after his hedge fund Melvin Capital lost 53% of its assets on the Reddit short squeeze. Then again, with $846 million in 2020 earnings alone, we are confident Gabe will be ok.
The Latest Short Interest Data Was Just Released: Here Are The New "Most Shorted Stocks" - The latest short interest data was released this afternoon and while it shows that short interest as a share of market cap for the typical stock remains extremely low, as the following Goldman chart reveals... ... there are some notable exceptions. So using an analysis we first conducted three weeks ago as a reference - when we laid out the most shorted Russell 3000 names - Goldman's David Kostin has assembled the Russell 3000 stocks with the largest outstanding short interest as a share of float as of Jan 29, as well as the largest recent changes in short interest as a share of float. The results are below: Next, here are the Russell 3000 stocks with the largest INCREASE in short interest as a share of float between January 15 and January 29... and finally, here are the Russell 3000 stocks with the largest DECREASE in short interest as a share of float between January 15 and January 29.
Janet Yellen’s Slush Fund to Meddle in Markets Got a $490 Billion Haircut -- Pam Martens -Remember all the hubbub in the fall of last year when then U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin demanded in a November 19 letter that the Fed return all of the money from the CARES Act that it had not used for emergency lending programs. Mnuchin’s stated reason for the demand was because he was going to turn the unused funds over to the general fund of the Treasury so that Congress could reappropriate it for other purposes.At the time, Mnuchin made it sound like the Fed had been sitting on the bulk of the $454 billion that the CARES Act had allotted to be used as loss-absorbing capital for the Fed’s emergency lending programs. In reality, Mnuchin had never turned over the bulk of the CARES Act money to the Fed, but had parked it instead in a Treasury slush fund known as the Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF). It should be noted that there was not one word in the CARES Act legislation that authorized Mnuchin to put the money in the ESF. (See Research Arm of Congress Confirms that Mnuchin Never Released Bulk of CARES Act Money Earmarked for Fed’s Emergency Loans.)The size of the ESF is decidedly important for this reason: under current law (31 U.S.C. §5302) the decisions on how to spend the billions in this slush fund belong to the Treasury Secretary and “are final and may not be reviewed by another officer or employee of the Government.” The law also provides that the Treasury Secretary “with the approval of the President, may deal in gold, foreign exchange, and other instruments of credit and securities the Secretary considers necessary.”Since publicly traded stocks are “securities,” that language would appear to give the U.S. Treasury Secretary the power to intervene in propping up the stock market without the ability of “another officer or employee of Government,” say, like, the Government Accountability Office, having the ability to review or conduct an audit of what’s going on in that regard. Quarterly statements from the ESF are provided to the public, but they simply show where things stand on the last day of the quarter. A lot can go on with the money in the ESF in the prior three months.The control of the ESF now passes to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who will have $489.96 billion less than Mnuchin to play with in the slush fund – thanks to Mnuchin’s efforts. Here’s how we did the math:
Goldman Is Evil But McKinsey Is Worse - Yves Smith - It is remarkable the way that McKinsey goes from train wreck to train wreck yet manages to depict itself as some sort of Corporate America Zelig: ever on the scene but not doing much of anything in particular. This is despite the fact (for instance) that McKinsey was singularly responsible for the biggest value destroying deal of all time, save maybe Bayer’s purchase of Monsanto, which was the Time Warner acquisition of AOL. McKinsey pitched AOL to the Time Warner board five times and the board had the spine to reject it only four times. Or how about the Enron bankruptcy? McKinsey was all over Enron every bit as much as Arthur Andersen had been, but didn’t leave fingerprints at the crime scene like signing off on Enron’s financials…even thought it was widely acknowledged as having approved of the accounting treatment that sank Arthur Andersen.1 But as McKinsey has gone from sleazy…its former head of the firm and a then-current partner convicted of insider trading….to sleazier…the moving force in a major South African bribery scandal, the firm has managed to outdo Goldman at the height of its financial crisis disrepute.There is no question McKinsey’s advice killed people, a level of damage that is much harder to credibly pin on Goldman. My most cold-blooded interlocutors, the sort that react to news of corporate misdeeds with a “Gambling in Casablanca?” shrug, are seething over the fact that no one at McKinsey was indicted over its role in stoking opioid sales in the US, nor was the firm charged either. And it isn’t due to class loyalties; they all have advanced degrees and are either in the 1% or the top half of the 10%. For those of you who managed to miss this story, which was the lead item at the Wall Street Journal when it broke, McKinsey agreed to pay $573 million to settle claims with 47 states and the District of Columbia related to the recommendations it provided to Purdue Pharma and other drug companies for their opioid businesses, with no admission of wrongdoing. Most of the money is to be paid in the next 60 days. The Journal gave some examples of McKinsey’s advice:Memos McKinsey sent Purdue executives in 2013 that have been made public in bankruptcy court filings included recommendations that the company’s sales team target health care providers it knew wrote the highest volumes of OxyContin prescriptions and shift away from lower-volume prescribers. According to bankruptcy court records, McKinsey sent recommendations to Purdue in 2013 that consultants said would boost its annual sales by more than $100 million. McKinsey recommended ways Purdue could better target what it described as “higher value” prescribers and take other steps to “Turbocharge Purdue’s Sales Engine.” Not to put too fine a point on it, but other disclosures about Purdue Pharma showed that the company set out to create addicts. One approach was that it encouraged doctors to switch from a version of OxyContin that lasted 8 hours to a supposed 24 hour version. But the 24 hour version actually provided only 12, at best 14, hours of relief and Purdue Pharma knew that. When patients came back to their doctors complaining that they were in pain, rather than tell them to go back to the 8 hour formulation, Purdue instead told MDs to increase the dose, when that would clearly not solve the problem. It’s inconceivable given how much McKinsey probes what its clients are currently doing that the firm somehow missed that Purdue’s sales practices were bound to kill patients. In other words, McKinsey was setting out to “turbocharge” clearly criminal practices. Oddly, both the Journal and the Financial Times skipped over proof that McKinsey knew its clients were exterminating some of their customers, recounted in the New York Times last November…
Tough choice for next OCC chief- Erase or redefine 'fair access' rule — The general consensus is that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will expunge a Trump-era bank regulation seen by many as protecting the interests of firearms and fossil-fuel companies. But the choice facing a Democratic-appointed comptroller over the so-called fair-access rule issued by former acting Comptroller Brian Brooks isn't as clear-cut as it seems. While a new comptroller will likely move on from the rule, which would prohibit banks from withholding service to disfavored industries for non-quantitative reasons, some legal experts note the agency's chief could instead seek to replace it with a version that appeals to progressives or strikes a nonpartisan tone. “It really goes back to who’s in charge,” said Chris Odinet, a law professor at the University of Iowa. “Someone with a progressive ideology with respect to the banking system might be willing to see how far this concept can go and take it in the opposite direction.” In writing the rule lauded by conservatives, Brooks referred to a Dodd-Frank Act clause revising the OCC's mission to add the statement that the agency ensures “fair access to financial services, and fair treatment of customers” by banks. The regulation followed sharp criticism from GOP lawmakers over some large banks' decisions to curtail lending to clients in the firearms and oil and gas sectors, citing reputational risks. The rule would bar banks with over $100 billion of assets from using politicial considerations in deciding whether to restrict services. Brooks argued his rule was bipartisan, ensuring banking access to liberal-backed customers, too. But a revised rule from the Biden administration could define "fair access" differently, such as reaffirming banks' obligations to invest in low- and moderate-income communities within their markets as required by the Community Reinvestment Act. An alternative rule could also reinforce fair-lending principles, or compel banks to cease product offerings like overdraft protection that consumer advocates say hurt the poor. “In that way, a Democratic rule would be the mark — they’d be planting their flag on their interpretation of that,”
Bankshot Regardless of who leads it, OCC has inherent conflict of interest - Regulation of the fintech industry has emerged as a flash point in the behind-the-scenes jockeying over President Biden’s choice to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Some progressives argue that Michael Barr, a former Obama administration official who is dean of the University of Michigan’s public policy school, is too close to the fintech sector, which has been angling for favorable treatment in Washington. Barr’s critics point to his former roles on the advisory boards of the fintech firms Ripple and LendingClub, as well as his ties to the Alliance for Innovative Regulation, which advocates for greater use of technology in financial regulation and has received funding from the venture capital sector. Their concern is that Barr’s numerous connections to the industry will lead to light-touch regulation. Barr’s supporters say that he has a strong, decades-long record on consumer protection and financial inclusion, which are key issues in the context of regulating upstart fintech companies. Mehrsa Baradaran, a University of California, Irvine law professor who is a strong advocate for postal banking and racial justice in the financial sector, has also been under consideration for the comptroller job. She has the support of some prominent Democrats, including Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown of Ohio. The hard-fought, intraparty contest has focused attention on an important issue: whether the U.S. fintech sector will be regulated in an industry-friendly manner, or more skeptically. But it has also obscured a more enduring reality: personnel is not the only force that affects policy. Financial incentives also matter a great deal. Of the four federal banking agencies, the OCC is the only regulator that gets its funding almost entirely from the examination fees paid by the companies that it oversees. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. receives deposit insurance premiums from all U.S. banks, no matter which agency is their primary regulator. The Federal Reserve derives its revenue mostly from the loans and securities it holds. And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding comes from the Fed. By contrast, more than 95% of the OCC’s $1.1 billion in revenue during the last fiscal year came from fees paid by firms that opted for national bank charters. That structure gives the OCC an incentive to interpret its congressionally granted authority broadly, in ways that enable it to oversee new parts of the financial industry, unless courts intervene to prevent it from doing so.
SBA rolls out fixes for PPP error codes - The Small Business Administration has announced a series of steps to address a nagging problem with error codes that Paycheck Protection Program lenders claim are needlessly delaying the approval of thousands of loans. In perhaps its biggest step to remedy an issue that has dogged the program for weeks, the SBA said on Wednesday that it would permit lenders to certify borrowers whose loans are impacted by validation errors to hasten their receipt of funds. The agency also said it would allow lenders to upload supporting documents for loans hit by the error messages. Relief can’t come soon enough for many PPP lenders. Error codes emerged as a leading bone of contention for shortly after lending resumed on Jan. 12. In the weeks immediately following the program’s relaunch, the codes interrupted the processing of as many as 30% of the loans submitted for approval. The American Institute of CPAs had urged the SBA earlier this month to address the issue. The codes are tied to validation checks the SBA created to combat fraud and stem the origination of improper loans. There were no such protections in place when the PPP was first launched in April. “I think the intentions from SBA were very good, and it is catching a lot of probably questionable activity for the industry overall, but there are a lot of validation errors that are simply wrong, for lack of a better word,” said Rick Kraemer, chief financial services officer at the $40.7 billion-asset Valley National Bancorp in New York. “The industry has expressed some frustration,” Kraemer added. Though the percentage of loans being flagged with error codes has decreased recently, Kraemer said the problem was still big enough to cloud the PPP’s funding picture. Between “what has been approved versus what has been applied for, there’s a pretty dramatic delta,”
Florida man pleads guilty to using PPP loans to purchase Lamborghini - A Florida man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to charges in connection with fraudulently obtaining nearly $4 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, some of which were used to buy a Lamborghini sports car. The plea comes after David Hines, 29, of Miami, was charged in July with one count of bank fraud, one count of making false statements to a financial institution and one count of engaging in transactions in unlawful proceeds. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a press release Wednesday that Hines, as part of his plea deal, “admitted that he fraudulently sought millions of dollars in PPP loans through applications to an insured financial institution on behalf of different companies,” through which he improperly obtained $3.9 million in loans intended for businesses to supplement workforce income and other expenses amid the coronavirus pandemic. Hines admitted that he did not make the payroll payments he reported on loan applications and, instead, used the money from the federal government for personal expenses. The man also acknowledged that within days of receiving the funds, he used about $318,000 to purchase a 2020 Lamborghini Huracan sports car for himself, according to the DOJ. North Carolina man charged with threatening to assassinate Biden At the time of his arrest, authorities seized the Lamborghini, as well as $3.4 million Hines had in his bank accounts. As part of the deal, Hines pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, with sentencing scheduled for April 14. The DOJ added Wednesday that since the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed in March 2020, fraud attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases, seizing more than $60 million in cash that had been fraudulently obtained through PPP funds, as well as real estate properties and other items improperly purchased with the loans.
Most PPP loans going to repeat customers - The lion’s share of Paycheck Protection Program loans is going to previous borrowers, providing more evidence that sectors that have been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic are still struggling to regain their footing. More than $93 billion of the roughly $101 billion of PPP funds approved by the Small Business Administration since the program reopened on Jan. 12 have involved second draws. The SBA data punctuates the challenges many industries still face. Loans to borrowers in the hospitality and food service sectors have accounted for nearly a fifth of PPP loans approved this year, while construction comprises about 14%. While willing to handle requests from first- and second-draw borrowers, many bankers said their lenders are largely receiving applications from small businesses that already have PPP loans. “The businesses that seem to need the stimulus are the ones most impacted by the COVID pandemic, mainly entertainment, hospitality, food services,” . “Those seem to be the industries where we're seeing the most demand during PPP2.” About 86% of the roughly 28,000 loans TD Bank has handled in the last month have involved second draws, Giamo said. Second-draw loans have comprised about 93% of the applications at Valley National Bancorp in New York, At Axiom Bank in Maitland, Fla., second draws have outnumbered new requests by a 10-to-1 margin, Another factor behind the dominance of second-draw loans involves the number of lenders focusing on each type of borrower. More than 5,000 lenders have submitted second-draw loans, compared to about 4,700 for first draws, based on data released by the SBA. While the application process is labor-intensive regardless of the type of borrower, second-draw loans, which have averaged $100,000 so far this year, are four times bigger than first draws, based on SBA data. To be sure, some lenders are devoting more resources into finding new PPP borrowers by placing a greater emphasis on first-draw loans. The view is that doing so will create long-term relationships with more borrowers.
PPP boosts banks' interest in other SBA loan programs - Emergency lending programs have cut into the volume of traditional Small Business Administration loans, but they have also led more bankers to make bigger long-term commitments to the agency’s flagship offerings. Volume in the SBA’s 7(a) program is down 11% in the 2021 fiscal year from a year earlier, at $6.4 billion. The agency's fiscal year began on Oct. 1. Lenders largely point to the prevalence of the Main Street Lending Program, which ended on Jan. 8, and the Jan. 11 return of the Paycheck Protection Program for the lower 7(a) volume. For many bankers, it has been daunting to devote resources to both traditional and emergency loan efforts. But many lenders are laying the groundwork for more 7(a) and 504 lending by hiring staff, entering new markets and boosting digital capabilities. Many of those investments wouldn’t have happened, or at least would have been delayed, if there had been no PPP. PPP “really opened our eyes as to how big the opportunity is to attract more business banking customers,” said Ted Sheppe, executive vice president for business development at Axiom Bank in Maitland, Fla. “We think we can compete with bigger banks for the relationships.” The $654 million-asset Axiom plans to hire two SBA business development officers this year, a decision that was spurred by its experience with PPP. “We are going to grow our SBA capabilities,” Sheppe said. Other banks are laying the groundwork for more SBA lending.
Biggest U.S. banks keep lending less and less of their money - The biggest U.S. banks reduced the portion of their collective balance sheets they’re dedicating to loans to a new low, extending a trend that’s seen the largest lenders put less and less of their firepower behind everyday borrowers. Total loans at the 25 biggest U.S. banks make up less than 46% of their combined assets, down from 54% this time last year, according to weekly Federal Reserve data made public on Friday. At 45.8%, the share of total assets devoted to loans is the lowest figure in nearly 36 years of weekly data. The figures provide a fresh reality check for an industry that’s been playing up its support for businesses and households as the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the economy. While the total amount that banks have loaned out has stagnated, the nation’s biggest lenders have rapidly expanded other parts of their businesses, such as their holdings of Treasuries and government-backed mortgage securities. Loans fell just over 1% from last year to $5.5 trillion, a figure that includes new loans ultimately backed by the Small Business Administration. At the same time, big-bank balance sheets expanded by more than 17% to $12 trillion after the Fed flooded the system with cash in hopes that firms would keep credit flowing to the U.S. economy. Banks have kept some of those funds as cash and used much of the rest to purchase securities guaranteed by the federal government. Lending has faced scrutiny during the pandemic as banks retrench, and small businesses and households find it harder to obtain reasonably priced credit. Large, publicly traded corporations have largely relied on bond markets to provide needed credit. Loans began accounting for less than half of big banks’ books for the first time last May, and in the 35 weeks since then lending has fallen to a fresh low 21 times.
New York regulator offers incentives for climate-friendly loans - State-regulated banks and credit unions in New York can now earn state Community Reinvestment Act credit for helping low-income communities better adapt to a warming world. Climate change disproportionately affects low-income communities and investments made to help reduce its impacts may receive credit under the state’s CRA rule, the New York State Department of Financial Services said in a letter issued Tuesday. Eligible projects could run the gamut from community solar projects to infrastructure intended to address stormwater runoff. Poorer communities are especially vulnerable to hurricane flooding, so flood resilience measures incorporated into multifamily housing development could count for credit. “If you’re a financial institution and you’re going to invest in a community to help them with energy efficiency or renewable energy and other measures to help that community deal with climate change, that is a form of community reinvestment for which you ought to receive credit,” Superintendent Linda Lacewell told American Banker. “We’re not directing anyone to do it, we’re just saying you have an opportunity to get credit here. ... It’s a win-win across the board.” Federal financial regulators have not yet made a similar determination about the federal CRA rule, but Lacewell said “there’s no reason New York can’t” under its own rule. New York is one of a handful of states with its own CRA rule on the books, which it passed in 1978, one year after President Jimmy Carter signed the federal Community Reinvestment Act into law. The New York State Department of Financial Services is the first regulator in the U.S. to formalize an incentive for banks to lend to projects addressing climate change in poorer communities. Its guidance on the state CRA rule is the latest action the regulator has taken with respect to climate change and the financial system. In October, it issued a letter calling on the banks it supervises to start incorporating climate risks into their strategy, risk management and corporate governance.
Citi to refund additional $4.2 million to overcharged consumers -Citigroup will refund an additional $4.2 million to some credit card customers who were overcharged years ago. The bank on Monday reached an agreement with attorneys general from Pennsylvania, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey and North Carolina to refund the money to customers in those states. The refunds follow a 2018 settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in which Citigroup agreed to repay $335 million after discovering it had improperly increased interest rates for some customers. “While Citi denies violating the states’ consumer-protection laws, we are pleased to put this matter behind us,” the New York-based firm said in a statement. “The states will administer and distribute payments at their discretion.” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said his state led the latest settlement. Customers who meet certain criteria will receive a refund check to be sent in the middle of the year, according to a separate statement. “Our office got back more than $1 million for those Pennsylvanians who were overcharged,” Shapiro said in the statement. “When banks step out of line, we will hold them accountable.”
Fed details stress-test scenarios for 2021—The Federal Reserve has unveiled the 2021 stress-testing scenarios that it will use to evaluate the safety and soundness of 19 of the largest U.S. banks. The harshest scenario banks will be tested against this cycle includes elevated stress in the commercial real estate and corporate debt markets along with an intense global recession. In that severely adverse scenario, banks would have to account for a rise in the U.S. unemployment rate by 4 percentage points to 10.75%. "The banking sector has provided critical support to the economic recovery," says Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles, and "this stress test will give the public additional information on its resilience.”BloombergThat hypothetical — which is much worse than current baseline projections for the path of the U.S. economy as it looks to recover from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic — will help guarantee that the largest banks are able to continue lending throughout a recession in order to provide critical support to the economy, the Fed said in a release Friday. "The banking sector has provided critical support to the economic recovery over the past year,” Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles said in the release. “Although uncertainty remains, this stress test will give the public additional information on its resilience.” The Fed conducts two separate stress tests every year on bank holding companies. Most regional banks with assets of $100 billion to $250 billion face stress tests every other year, and they're exempted from the 2021 cycle. However, those banks can choose to opt into this year’s test as long as they do so by April 5. The first test is the Dodd-Frank Act Stress Test, which examines a bank’s balance-sheet performance under the scenarios using a standard capital management plan. The second is the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, which uses the bank’s own capital management plan to better assess how the bank might actually perform under the same conditions. Each test examines a bank’s performance over nine future consecutive quarters. The baseline scenario for the 2021 cycle is in line with current economic projections that forecast a gradual decline in unemployment, stable inflation and a steady expansion in international economic activity. Both the baseline and the severely adverse scenario contain 28 variables, including interest rates, stock market prices and gross domestic product. Banks subject to stress tests in this cycle that have large trading operations also will be tested against a global market shock as well as a default of their largest counterparty. Banks are required to submit their capital plans to the Fed by April 6. The central bank will announce the results of both stress tests by June 30.
New Fed Stress Test Toughens Stock & Economy Crash Scenario, Eases Jobless Extreme --Having confirmed in December that all banks comfortably passed their stress tests (allowing them all to buy back stocks and up dividends), The Fed has decided to raise the bar (albeit modestly) for its Adverse Scenario in the next round of stress tests.The top 19 US banks will have to prove they can withstand a 55% collapse in stock markets in this year’s stress tests, regulators said on Friday, outlining the parameters for an exercise that decides how much banks can pay out to their shareholders. "The banking sector has provided critical support to the economic recovery over the past year. Although uncertainty remains, this stress test will give the public additional information on its resilience," Vice Chair for Supervision Randal K. Quarles said.Additionally, The Fed said that banks with large trading operations will be tested against a global market shock component that stresses their trading, private equity, and other fair value positions. Additionally, banks with substantial trading or processing operations will be tested against the default of their largest counterparty.But while the new adverse scenario increases the equity stress (from 50% drop to 55%) and worsens the economic impact (from 3% GDP decline to 4%), it softens the employment stress by decreasing the peak unemployment from 12.5% to 10.75% (note that the current rate is 6.3% but Fed Chair Powell recently said it was more like 10% due to labor force participation disruptions).“The scenarios are not forecasts and the severely adverse scenario is significantly more severe than most current baseline projections for the path of the US economy under the stress,” the Fed said. Full Stress Test details below:
Ex-chair of Senate Banking panel to retire after 2022 midterms — Former Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby said Monday that he will retire when his term expires at the end of 2022. The Alabama Republican served two separate stints as head of the committee, first from 2003 until 2007, and then again from 2015 to 2017. “I have strived to influence legislation that will have a lasting impact — creating the conditions for growth and opportunity,” Shelby said in a press release. “I have two good years remaining to continue my work in Washington. I have the vision and the energy to give it my all.” Shelby is the second senior Republican on the Senate Banking Committee to announce he will not seek reelection in 2022. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., the current ranking member of the committee, said in October that he will retire from the Senate as well. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., served two stints as head of the committee, from 2003 to 2007 and from 2015 to 2017.Bloomberg NewsShelby has been a reliable voice in the Senate against government intervention in the financial services industry. He opposed the bank bailout in 2008 and introduced legislation in 2015 to substantially roll back the Dodd-Frank Act. The legislation would have narrowed the scope of the Federal Reserve's new supervisory powers for large banks by raising the asset threshold for "systemically important" banks from $50 billion to $500 billion. The threshold was ultimately raised to $250 billion in the 2018 regulatory relief law authored by Shelby’s successor as chairman, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. Shelby was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 as a Democrat, but switched parties in 1994.
Acting CFPB head calls out industry for slow complaint response times - The new interim leader of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau pledged to take action against firms that are slow to respond to customer complaints during the pandemic. Consumers submitted 42,774 complaints to the CFPB portal in April 2020 as COVID-19 was spreading, the highest monthly tally ever. The CFPB received 187,547 complaints from Jan. 1, 2020 to May 31. But in a blog post, acting CFPB Director Dave Uejio expressed concern that financial institutions have dragged their feet in addressing complaints, and said the agency was working on an upcoming report highlighting response issues. The bureau typically requires a financial company to respond to the consumer within 15 days of a complaint. The bureau will specifically analyze disparities in how companies address complaints from minorities, he said Wednesday. “Some companies have been lax in meeting their obligation to respond to complaints," Uejio wrote. "Consumer advocates have found disparities in some companies’ responses to Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. This is unacceptable.” Uejio warned that companies doing a poor job of responding to consumers will be identified in its annual consumer response report that typically gets released in the first quarter. Uejio has wasted no time focusing on two areas in the early days of the Biden administration: consumers' financial hardships resulting from the coronavirus and racial equity issues. The CFPB is also updating its web site and expanding its social media presence to reach more consumers, Uejio said.
Why data aggregators want to be regulated by CFPB - Data aggregators have an unusual request for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as the agency writes rules on the sharing of consumer account information: Please regulate us. As the CFPB seeks to regulate how much control consumers have over their own financial data, aggregators such as Plaid say direct supervision from the agency should replace the current system in which banks oversee aggregators as third-party vendors. “We are asking the CFPB to supervise Plaid and data aggregators because we don’t have formal oversight,” said John Pitts, policy lead at Plaid. Plaid was among several companies — including aggregators, fintech providers, banks and trade groups — that submitted feedback to the CFPB on its pending rulemaking. The comment period closed Feb. 4. The CFPB rulemaking, required by the Dodd-Frank Act, aims to clarify standards for how fintechs access bank account data. Banks have long objected to screen scraping and increasingly partner with aggregators to send data to fintechs using application programming interfaces. But that requires auditing agreements between each partnering bank and aggregator. "Companies don’t lightly volunteer for supervision by the CFPB," said Pitts, but regulators need "to supervise the data holders and the companies doing the data retrieval to make sure they are all meeting their obligations.” Aggregators say direct CFPB regulation would be simpler and ensure consistency for all companies. CFPB supervision would be better than bilateral oversight from banks, they say, because it would block banks from restricting access to consumer data. “To have the CFPB directly supervise rather than have a bank exert oversight makes a lot more sense from a consumer protection perspective,” said Steve Boms, executive director of the Financial Data and Technology Association, a trade group representing aggregators such as Plaid, Envestnet Yodlee, Intuit and MX, as well as the fintech firms themselves. Boms said the CFPB could coordinate its policy on bank-aggregator partnerships with the prudential bank regulators that oversee banks' third-party relatonships. “If you, as a regulated entity, are doing business with another regulated entity, why should the financial institution be required to conduct its own auditing or compliance if the entity is being supervised by the federal government?” he said.
Installment lenders under scrutiny as delinquencies soar - Australia and the U.K. are building a case for regulation of buy now/pay later offerings, out of concern that the product's popularity is creating greater risk for consumers and mainstream lenders.A report from the Australian Parliament found buy now/pay later funding is now present in more than 20% of consumer insolvencies, compared to credit-card debt insolvencies at about 3%.BNPL has expanded rapidly over the past year as an alternative to credit cards, particularly for younger consumers looking to finance large purchases during the pandemic. In some markets, such as the U.S., BNPL grew at a triple-digit rate for several individual months in 2020. The market could expand as much as 15 times over the next four years, reaching $1 trillion in yearly spending globally, according to Bank of America.BNPL has several forms, with some using a consumer's existing credit and bank relationships to split purchases. The installment option — generally a purchase divided over four months on a new line of credit — is drawing attention in Australia and the U.K. The Australian report references a "halo effect" that could result in consumers not only building more debt, but also choosing BNPL over other financing options because of the perceived ease and speed of obtaining credit. The Australian report will likely lead to some form of regulation on BNPL firms, such as a provision that requires lenders to ensure borrowers can repay. There will also likely be curbs on the practice in the U.K."There is a place for buy now/pay later, but this is the time to examine it," said Brian Riley, director of the credit advisory service at Mercator Advisory Group, who says the static installment version of BNPL is not bank-grade lending. "There's some problems starting to bubble up. I'm not suggesting killing it but putting some structure to it." BNPL poses credit and reputational risks. In most cases the credit vetting does not include ability-to-repay modeling, according to Riley. The relative lack of regulation for BNPL creates risks for other credit instruments. The Australian report quotes Paul Homes from Queensland Legal Aid, saying the defaults tied to BNPL may be "artificially low" because BNPL is not regulated as credit and does not have hardship provisions enabling consumers to restructure debt. Because of that, a consumer who has several credit lines will likely pay the BNPL loan first and seek hardship protection from the other products, creating added economic pressure. Research from the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority led by former interim FCA chair Christopher Woolard found BNPL products expanded about 400% in the U.K., passing $3 billion in transaction volume. Additionally, more than 10% of consumers using BNPL were in arrears at the end of 2020. Wollard added BNPL products should be subject to financial regulation as a "matter of urgency." Woolard also encouraged regulatory support for more point of sale finance alternatives and the introduction of mainstream lenders. Sweden has already passed a regulation that requires merchants to present payment options that do not create debt at the point of sale, and California has fined BNPL lenders and required licensing. "This suggests there's a lot of lending to people who can't afford it and a [client roster] that's unreliable," Riley said.
E-commerce scammers branch out - When consumers turned to online shopping as pandemic lockdowns took hold, fraudsters tagged along in a big way. Scammers did their most damage in the fourth quarter of 2020, delivering increases in credential stuffing, account takeover and gift card fraud, all of which are likely to be top attack vectors in 2021, according to fraud prevention provider and researcher Arkose Labs. There were 2.1 billion attacks in the fourth quarter for an average attack rate of 30%, a slight boost over the 25% Arkose Labs' network reported in the third quarter. For 2020, Arkose Labs cited 4.9 billion total attacks detected and 14.8 billion transactions moving through its network for a 23% attack rate. The fraud from Black Friday until the end of the year not only increased, but took hold in industries not typically associated with holiday shopping such as social media, online dating and financial services, Arkose stated in its first quarter 2021 report. “2021 remains full of unknowns, however what’s certain is the frequency and severity of fraud will never return to pre-pandemic levels,” said Vanita Pandey, vice president of marketing and strategy at Arkose Labs. “With digital channels serving as an invaluable lifeline for much of the world, the Arkose Labs network saw four times as many transactions compared to the year prior." The increased activity created "an ideal breeding ground for attacks" as fraudsters worked to blend in with trusted users, which rendered typical models of good versus bad user behavior obsolete, Pandey added. The Arkose Labs fraud abuse report is based on actual user sessions and attack patterns analyzed through the company's fraud and abuse prevention platform from October through December of 2020. The sessions analyzed in real time included payments from financial services, e-commerce, travel, social media, gaming and entertainment. Electronic gift card fraud was rampant during the holiday season, delivering quick money to fraudsters while also making it difficult to track the criminals. Fraudsters used botnets to brute force attacks on gift card websites by testing thousands of card number and PIN combinations per minute. Bots and sweatshops were also used continually to check card balances and redeem them. Credential stuffing attacks more than doubled in the fourth quarter compared to the third, and increased by nearly 90% compared to the first quarter of 2020, the report noted.
Credit Suisse pays $600 million to settle U.S. mortgage case - Credit Suisse Group AG agreed to pay $600 million to settle a lawsuit over mortgage securities that collapsed in the 2008 financial crisis, an accord that locks in an expected hit to its profit. The plaintiff, MBIA Insurance, said late Thursday that it had reached an agreement, after a post-trial court decision that ordered the Swiss bank to pay about $604 million in damages. The settlement means there will be no appeal trial. BloombergCredit Suisse is expecting to post a fourth-quarter loss when it reports earnings on Feb. 18, after setting aside $850 million for U.S. legal cases including MBIA and booking a $450 million impairment on a hedge fund investment. “We are pleased to have resolved this legacy matter, which dates back to 2007. The settlement amount of $600 million is substantially less than our earlier guidance of up to approximately $680 million and has been fully provisioned for in our fourth quarter 2020 results,” Andreas Kern, a spokesman for Credit Suisse, said in an email. Last month, the New York state judge presiding over the case ruled against Credit Suisse in the 2009 suit brought by the bond insurer over alleged misrepresentations of the quality of loans underlying residential mortgage-backed securities it guaranteed in 2007. MBIA had been seeking $686.7 million plus interest while Credit Suisse had estimated damages of $597.7 million. Credit Suisse is among lenders including UBS Group AG, Morgan Stanley and Nomura Holdings that are still defending themselves against claims over the sale of the securities that plummeted in value during the 2008 crisis. Credit Suisse probably has the most exposure in repurchase litigation, as it faces suits seeking more than $3 billion, according to Bloomberg Intelligence’s Elliott Stein.
FHFA will allow borrowers to prolong forbearance plans — The Federal Housing Finance Agency is allowing borrowers with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to request an additional three months of forbearance, the agency said Tuesday. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act passed by Congress last year allowed borrowers with a federally backed mortgage to request up to 12 months of forbearance — divided into two 180-day increments — if they experienced financial hardship because of COVID-19. But as of Feb. 28, borrowers who are in forbearance plans will be permitted to request an additional three-month extension, covering up to 15 months of mortgage payments overall for borrowers with Fannie and Freddie-supported loans, the FHFA said. The agency also announced Tuesday that it is extending its moratorium on single-family home foreclosures and real estate owned evictions until March 31 in an effort “to keep families in their home during the pandemic,” FHFA Director Mark Calabria said in a news release. Meanwhile, President Biden is pushing Congress to allow borrowers to request forbearance on federally backed loans through Sept. 30 in his administration’s sweeping stimulus package. That proposal also calls for the national foreclosure and eviction moratorium on federally backed properties to be extended until the end of September.
MBA Survey: "Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Declines to 5.35%" - Note: This is as of January 31st. From the MBA: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Declines to 5.35%The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 3 basis points from 5.38% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.35% as of January 31, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 2.7 million homeowners are in forbearance plans….. “The share of loans in forbearance decreased at the end of January across all investor categories. Almost 14 percent of homeowners in forbearance were reported as current on their payments at the end of last month, but the share has declined nearly every month from 28 percent in May,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “While new forbearance requests increased slightly at the end of January, the rate of exits picked up somewhat but remained much lower than in recent months. We are anticipating a sharp increase in exits in March and April as borrowers hit the 12-month expiration of their forbearance plans.” “The proportion of long-term unemployed also remains troubling, with 4 million people who have been actively looking for work for 27 weeks or more. These are the homeowners who are likely to still be in forbearance and need additional support until the job market recovers to a greater extent.”This graph shows the percent of portfolio in forbearance by investor type over time. Most of the increase was in late March and early April, then trended down - and has mostly moved sideways recently.The MBA notes: "Total weekly forbearance requests as a percent of servicing portfolio volume (#) increased relative to the prior week: from 0.06% to 0.07%."
Black Knight: Number of Homeowners in COVID-19-Related Forbearance Plans Decreased --Note: Both Black Knight and the MBA (Mortgage Bankers Association) are putting out weekly estimates of mortgages in forbearance.This data is as of February 9th.From Black Knight: Forbearance Volumes Fall Below 2.7m For First Time Since April 2020 The latest weekly snapshot of our daily McDash Flash Forbearance Tracker shows the number of homeowners in active forbearance fell by 48,000 this week. As was the case last week, the decline was driven by January month-end forbearance plan expirations....As of Feb. 9, 2.67 million (5% of) homeowners remain in forbearance, marking the first time forbearance volumes have fallen below the 2.7 million threshold since early April. Despite this good news, improvement remains muted, with average monthly declines of less than 2% since early December.Also worth noting is the FHFA’s big announcement this week: borrowers in Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac forbearance plans may be eligible for an extension of up to three months, for a potential grand total of 15 months. This will have material impacts on the 907,000 homeowners currently in GSE forbearance plans, about 30% of whom were set to reach their 12-month expirations at the end of March.Should Ginnie Mae follow suit and also extend FHA/VA forbearance limits to 15 months, at the current rate of improvement there would still be some 2.5 million homeowners in forbearance at the end of June when the first round of plans hit their new 15-month expirations.The number of loans in forbearance has moved mostly sideways for the last few months.
MBA: "Mortgage Delinquencies Decrease in the Fourth Quarter of 2020" From the MBA: Mortgage Delinquencies Decrease in the Fourth Quarter of 2020 The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.73 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest National Delinquency Survey.For the purposes of the survey, MBA asks servicers to report loans in forbearance as delinquent if the payment was not made based on the original terms of the mortgage. The delinquency rate was down 92 basis points from the third quarter of 2020 and up 296 basis points from one year ago. The percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started in the fourth quarter remained unchanged from the last two quarters at a survey low of 0.03 percent.“For the second consecutive quarter, homeowners’ ability to make their mortgage payments improved,” said Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. “The 92-basis-point drop in the delinquency rate in the fourth quarter was the biggest quarterly decline in the history of MBA’s survey dating back to 1979. Total mortgage delinquencies across the three loan types – conventional, FHA, and VA – and across the major stages of delinquency – 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day – declined from last year’s third quarter.”.This graph shows the percent of loans delinquent by days past due. Overall delinquencies decreased in Q4.The decrease was in all the buckets. From the MBA: Compared to last quarter, the seasonally adjusted mortgage delinquency rate decreased for all loans outstanding. By stage, the 30-day delinquency rate decreased 8 basis points to 1.78 percent, the lowest rate since the survey began in 1979. The 60-day delinquency rate decreased 25 basis points to 0.77 percent, and the 90-day delinquency bucket decreased 60 basis points to 4.18 percent.The delinquency rate includes loans that are at least one payment past due but does not include loans in the process of foreclosure. The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the fourth quarter was 0.56 percent, down 3 basis points from the third quarter of 2020 and 22 basis points from one year ago. This is the lowest foreclosure inventory rate since the second quarter of 1982. This sharp increase last year in the 90-day bucket was due to loans in forbearance (included as delinquent, but not reported to the credit bureaus). The percent of loans in the foreclosure process declined further, and was at the lowest level since 1982.
NMHC: Rent Payment Tracker Shows Households Paying Rent Decreased 1.9% YoY in Early February -From the NMHC: NMHC Rent Payment Tracker Finds 79.2 Percent of Apartment Households Paid Rent as of February 6: The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC)’s Rent Payment Tracker found 79.2 percent of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by February 6 in its survey of 11.6 million units of professionally managed apartment units across the country. This is a 1.9 percentage point, or 216,479 household decrease from the share who paid rent through February 6, 2020 and compares to 76.6 percent that had paid by January 6, 2021. These data encompass a wide variety of market-rate rental properties across the United States, which can vary by size, type and average rental price."As we approach almost a full year of navigating the pandemic and the resulting financial distress, we remain encouraged by the COVID relief package passed at the end of 2020 that included critical support for apartment residents and the nation's rental housing industry such as $25 billion in rental assistance, extended unemployment benefits and direct payments," This graph from the NMHC Rent Payment Tracker shows the percent of household making full or partial rent payments by the 6th of the month compared to the same month the prior year.This is mostly for large, professionally managed properties. The second graph shows full month payments through January compared to the same month the prior year. This shows a decline in rent payments year-over-year, and somewhat more of a decline over the last several months.
MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest Weekly Survey --From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey: Mortgage applications decreased 4.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 5, 2021... The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week and was 46 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 5 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 17 percent higher than the same week one year ago.“Mortgage rates have increased in four of the first six weeks of 2021, with jumbo rates being the only loan type that saw a decline last week. Despite some weekly volatility, Treasury rates have been driven higher by expectations of faster economic growth as the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “With the 30-year fixed rate increasing to 2.96 percent – a high not seen since last November – refinances declined, and their share of total applications dipped to the lowest level in three months. Government refinance applications did buck the trend and increase, and overall activity was still 46 percent higher than a year ago. Demand for refinances is still very strong this winter.” Added Kan, “Purchase applications cooled the first week of February, but homebuyers are still very active. Purchase activity was 17 percent higher than last year, and the average purchase loan size continued to increase, reaching another survey high of $402,200, as the higher-priced segment of the market continues to perform well.” The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($548,250 or less) increased to 2.96 percent from 2.92 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.32 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.The first graph shows the refinance index since 1990. The refinance index has been volatile recently depending on rates. With near record low rates, the index remains up significantly from last year (but will be down year-over-year in early March - since rates fell sharply at the beginning of the pandemic).
These People Rushed to Buy Homes During Covid. Now They Regret It. – WSJ - Stella Guan spent months searching for a home to buy, getting outbid again and again in the white-hot real-estate market of the Los Angeles suburbs. Finally, her offer on a “beautiful” Santa Clarita house was accepted in August, she said. The graphic designer, 30, paid roughly $600,000 for the house. But after sleeping there for only a few nights, she had an unfortunate realization. “I was like ‘uh-oh, I hate this house,’ ” she recalled. “I hate this house so much.” Looking back on it, she said, “I should have seen all of the warning signs, but the pandemic housing fever got the better of me.” A house, unlike expensive jewelry or clothing, can’t be returned if the buyer is unhappy with it, so a cardinal rule of home buying is that you shouldn’t rush into a purchase. But in 2020, millions of Americans did just that.Fleeing small apartments, buying vacation homes or simply looking for a change of scenery amid the crushing boredom of lockdowns, people scrambled to buy houses amid the pandemic, spurring bidding wars and supercharging real-estate markets across the country. Now, many are discovering the pitfalls of these hasty purchases, ranging from buyers’ remorse and financial strain to damage caused by unexpected problems.This spring especially, “people were so panicked,” said Priscilla Holloway, a Douglas Elliman agent in the Hamptons, a popular spot for New Yorkers seeking refuge from the pandemic. “Buying a home is a huge commitment. You have to be thorough. But people were getting all crazy, and they weren’t as thorough as they usually are.”Many home buyers were apartment dwellers looking for larger spaces to shelter in. “It was a land grab for houses,” said Cheryl Eisen, CEO of the interior-design and property-marketing firm Interior Marketing Group. “People wanted out of apartments.”At the same time, inventory dropped as many homeowners hesitated to list their properties in the pandemic. The result is that much of the country saw a price spike and bidding wars, brokers said, leaving buyers with little to choose from. In these conditions, many are tempted to waive inspections or skip other due diligence they would normally perform before buying a home.Ms. Holloway said she helped a family move this summer after discovering that the Hamptons house they had just bought had an infestation of wasps nests in the backyard. The family didn’t find the wasps until after closing because they had waived the inspection in the midst of a bidding war, said Ms. Holloway, who wasn’t representing them at the time. Deciding the property was unsafe for their young children, they immediately put the Westhampton Beach home on the market. Ms. Holloway and a colleague helped them find another house to buy.Over the past two years, the insurance company Chubb has seen large, non-weather-related losses increase in frequency and severity, according to Fran O’Brien, division president of Chubb North America Personal Risk Services. She attributed these losses in part to hasty home purchases: Buyers moving from a small city apartment to a large home in a rural areamay not be well versed in how to prevent the pipes from freezing, for example.“People are moving to places that they don’t know a lot about,” Ms. O’Brien said. “They’re thinking, ‘this looks like a nice place to live’ for amenities it may have. They don’t understand what risk there could be with that home.”
US home prices rose 15 percent in fourth quarter - The median sale price of a single-family home rose 14.9 percent to $315,900 in the year since the fourth quarter of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic fueled a record-breaking housing market boom, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Every metro area tracked by NAR saw home prices rise over the past year, and 88 percent of metro areas saw double-digit price increases, said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "The fourth quarter of 2020 presented circumstances ripe for home price increases," Yun said. Home prices have skyrocketed since spring thanks to a combination of floor-low interest rates, the widespread adoption of teleworking and a housing shortage exacerbated by the pandemic. Office and school closures have prompted a surge of demand for larger homes among those who can afford them, and interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve helped drive down mortgage costs. Purchases in popular vacation areas also shot up amid the rise of teleworking. At the same time, COVID-19-related restrictions and uncertainty slowed home construction, which has lagged behind demand for years. "Mortgage rates reached record lows, thereby driving up the demand," Yun said. "At the same time, inventory levels also reached record lows, leading to grim inventory conditions of insufficient supply in the fourth quarter." The sharp rise in home sales has been a boon for homeowners and those able to afford a housing upgrade. But the steep increase in prices could pose severe challenges for those who may need or want to purchase a home but lack the financial capacity to pull it off. Millions of Americans who have relied on federal foreclosure protections and forbearance plans to avoid homelessness may also find it harder to secure a mortgage with lending standards tightening amid falling rates. "The average, working family is struggling to contend with home prices that are rising much faster than income," Yun said. "This sidelines a consumer from becoming an actual buyer, causing them to miss out on accumulating wealth from homeownership."
A Third Of All US Homeowners Own Property Worth Double The Underlying Mortgage --In the midst of a virus pandemic, with millions of Americans out of work facing housing and food insecurities, the Federal Reserve has managed to keep interest rates near zero, unleashing a real estate boom, the likes of which hasn't been seen in years. The central-planning mega brains at the Marriner Eccles building in Washington, D.C., have managed to boost home prices almost everywhere. The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index of property values is accelerating at the fastest pace since May 2014. Although the full history of the pandemic's impact on the housing market is yet to be determined, housing data from ATTOM Data Solutions for 4Q20 shows low-interest rates boosted the number of equity-rich properties. ATTOM showed at least 30% of U.S. homeowners were equity rich, which means their property was worth twice as much as their mortgage. Last quarter's equity-rich properties were about 30.2%, or about one in three, of the 59 million mortgaged U.S. homes. The figure was up from 28.3% in the third quarter, 27.5% in the second quarter, and 26.7% in the fourth quarter of 2019.Despite the virus pandemic crushing the working-poor and devastating tens of millions of American households, the central planners in the Eccles building decided to inflate the housing market with low-interest rates. The federal government also played its part by initiating forbearance programs to keep homeowners from panic selling properties they could no longer afford.
Here Comes A Blockbuster Retail Sales Report: BofA Card Data Shows Surge In Spending -Earlier today we reported that at least when it comes to spending at restaurants, the stimulus effect was wearing off. But while that may have been true in January, in February things appear to be picking up.According to the latest data based on aggregated BAC credit and debit card data, spending jumped by a brisk 9.7% Y/Y for the 7 days ending Feb 6th, which means that since the beginning of the year, total card spending is running at an average 5.6% Y/Y pace, up notably from the Dec average of 2.5% yoy as a new round of stimulus checks is being spent. A look at spending by geography, there was a particularly large gain in card spending in California with total card spending of 9.5% yoy for the 7-days ending Feb 6th, up from -1.1% yoy the week prior.The gain was driven in part by brick &mortar (B&M) retail and restaurant spending, which likely reflect the easing of COVID-related restrictions in the state. While spending in California jumped, the Northeast was hit by a major snowstorm on Feb 1st, resulting in a noticeable pullback in spending in NY, NJ, and PA – total card spending contracted yoy on Feb 1st when the rest of country saw little change in trend. There was also meaningful strength in apparel and furniture spending in CA. As a result of the strength in CA, card spending in all of the major 20 MSAs is now positive yoy Additionally, there was a meaningful improvement in higher-income spending, which could reflect greater engagement in leisure spending. Looking at the components, retail sales ex-autos increased 4.6% mom SA, offsetting the last three months of declines on a mom basis. The gain was driven by discretionary spending – department stores, furniture and clothing – which we found to be supported by stimulus payments. On the other side, there was a meaningful drop in card spending on airlines, showing a weakening in airline bookings following the holidays.
Consumer Price Index: January Headline & Core at 1.4% -The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the January Consumer Price Index data this morning. The year-over-year non-seasonally adjusted Headline CPI came in at 1.40%, up from 1.36% the previous month. Year-over-year Core CPI (ex Food and Energy) came in at 1.41%, down from 1.62% the previous month and below the Fed's 2% PCE target.Here is the introduction from the BLS summary, which leads with the seasonally adjusted monthly data:The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.4 percent before seasonal adjustment.The gasoline index continued to increase, rising 7.4 percent in January and accounting for most of the seasonally adjusted increase in the all items index. Although the indexes for electricity and natural gas declined, the energy index rose 3.5 percent over the month. The food index rose slightly in January, increasing 0.1 percent as an advance in the index for food away from home more than offset a decline in the index for food at home.The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in January. The indexes for apparel, medical care, shelter, and motor vehicle insurance all increased over the month. The indexes for recreation, used cars and trucks, airline fares, and new vehicles all declined in January.The all items index rose 1.4 percent for the 12 months ending January, the same increase as for the period ending in December. The index for all items less food and energy also rose 1.4 percent over the last 12 months, a smaller increase than the 1.6-percent rise for the 12 months ending December. The food index rose 3.8 percent over the last 12 months. In contrast to these increases, and despite rising in recent months, the energy index declined 3.6 percent over the last year. Read moreInvesting.com was looking for a 0.3% MoM change in seasonally adjusted Headline CPI and a 0.2% in Core CPI. Year-over-year forecasts were 1.5% for Headline and 1.5% for Core. The first chart is an overlay of Headline CPI and Core CPI (the latter excludes Food and Energy) since the turn of the century. The highlighted two percent level is the Federal Reserve's Core inflation target for the CPI's cousin index, the BEA's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index.
BLS: CPI increased 0.3% in January, Core CPI Unchanged - From the BLS: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.4 percent before seasonal adjustment. The gasoline index continued to increase, rising 7.4 percent in January and accounting for most of the seasonally adjusted increase in the all items index. Although the indexes for electricity and natural gas declined, the energy index rose 3.5 percent over the month. The food index rose slightly in January, increasing 0.1 percent as an advance in the index for food away from home more than offset a decline in the index for food at home. The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in January. The indexes for apparel, medical care, shelter, and motor vehicle insurance all increased over the month. The indexes for recreation, used cars and trucks, airline fares, and new vehicles all declined in January The all items index rose 1.4 percent for the 12 months ending January, the same increase as for the period ending in December. The index for all items less food and energy also rose 1.4 percent over the last 12 months, a smaller increase than the 1.6-percent rise for the 12 months ending December. Inflation was below expectations in January. I'll post a graph later today after the Cleveland Fed releases the median and trimmed-mean CPI.
Las Vegas Visitor Authority: No Convention Attendance, Visitor Traffic Down 64% YoY in December: December 2020 Las Vegas Visitor Statistics: With resumption of broader COVID-related restrictions across the country and the absence of traditional seasonal special events such as NFR, Las Vegas visitation came in at approximately 1.2M in December, down - 17.6% MoM and -64.0% YoY. With the combined impacts of the pandemic in the course of the year, Las Vegas hosted just over 19M visitors in 2020, down -55% from 2019.Total occupancy dropped to 30.9% from 39.3% in Nov and 85.1% during last year's robust December. Weekend occupancy for the month came in at 45.4% and midweek occupancy was 25%.Mbr . Average daily rates among open properties reached $100 (up 6.5% from Nov but down -20% YoY) while RevPAR came in at approx. $31, down -71% vs. Dec 2019. Here is the data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.The blue and red bars are monthly visitor traffic (left scale) for 2019 and 2020. The dashed blue and orange lines are convention attendance (right scale). Convention traffic in December was down 100% compared to December 2019. And visitor traffic was down 64% YoY. The casinos started to reopen on June 4th (it appears about 96% of rooms have now opened). On an annual basis, visitor traffic was down 55% compared to 2019, and convention attendance was down 74%.
Busiest U.S. seaport in California starts giving COVID-19 vaccinations (Reuters) - About 800 longshoremen from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Friday got the first COVID-19 vaccinations for dockworkers at the United States’ busiest seaport complex, which has been hard hit by pandemic-related workforce disruptions and surging imports. The shots were a welcome relief for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) members who snapped up the appointments in about 20 minutes. The inoculations offer “peace of mind” to longshoremen Patty Castillo, 46, and Adrian Esqueda, 48, who said co-workers and family members have contracted COVID-19 - and some have died of it. “We have a fortress against the disease,” said Esqueda, as he sat in a truck with Castillo, his wife, during the observation period required after receiving the vaccination. Many dockworkers have jobs that require interacting with dozens of different people every day, ILWU members said.
Port Of Long Beach Has Best January On Record -- The Port of Long Beach began 2021 the same way it ended 2020 - by setting records. The port reported last week it just had its best January on record, moving 764,006 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 21.9% jump from the same month last year. It was the first time the nation’s second-busiest seaport handled more than 700,000 TEUs in the month of January, surpassing the previous record set in January 2018 by a whopping 106,176 TEUs. During his State of the Port address on Thursday, Executive Director Mario Cordero announced that 2020 had been Long Beach’s best year, with 8,113,315 TEUs handled,. The port attributed the strong January to the ongoing rise in American consumers’ online spending. Imports were up 17.5% year-over-year to 364,255 TEUs. Exports were up too, an increase of 7% year-over-year to 116,254 TEUs. As it has in recent months, the number of empty containers heading back to Asia sticks out in West Coast ports’ reports. Empties were up 34.6% year-over-year in January to 270,221 TEUs — more than double the number of loaded containers for export. The Port of Long Beach is not forecasting a slowdown. The port said that although activity typically slows in February during celebrations in Asia for Lunar New Year, “projections show that this month could be busier than usual as unscheduled container ship calls continue to make up for voyages that were canceled at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.”
New Video Shows Massive California Container Ship Traffic Jam - Newly released U.S. Coast Guard video offers visceral proof of just how extreme the congestion has become at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The new view from above reveals a vast armada of container ships scattered at anchor across California’s San Pedro Bay. As the Coast Guard footage paints the picture, the latest data from the Port of Los Angeles and from the Marine Exchange of Southern California tells the story behind those images. The data confirms that there has been no real let-up in the historic container-ship traffic jam off California’s coast. As of Thursday, there were 25 container ships at berth in Los Angeles and Long Beach. Thirty-two container ships were at anchorage. That’s roughly the same level that has been at anchor since the beginning of this year. (The record of 40 container ships at anchor was hit on Feb. 1). The Port of Los Angeles, via its platform, The Signal, recently began disclosing the number of days at anchor for specific container ships. The numbers confirm that some vessels are spending almost as much time at anchor as it takes to traverse the Pacific Ocean. As of Thursday, the Ever Envoy, with a capacity of 6,332 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), had been at anchor for 11 days. Other ships that had just gone to berth had been waiting just as long: As of Tuesday , the 9,400-TEU MSC Romane had been at anchor for 12 days. The 11,356-TEU CMA CGM Andromeda, 8,452-TEU Ever Liven and 4,888-TEU NYK Nebula for 11 days. The Signal indicated that the average time at anchor for ships calling in Los Angeles was 8 days as of Thursday, up from 6.9 days on Tuesday. The Signal has provided information on ship waiting times since Jan. 27. Waiting time has remained at an average of around one week since then.
U.S. trade deficit hits record high in 2020: The Biden administration must prioritize rebuilding domestic manufacturing - The U.S. Census Bureau reported recently that the U.S. goods trade deficit reached a record of $915.8 billion in 2020, an increase of $51.5 billion (6.0%). The broader goods and services deficit reached $678.7 billion in 2020, an increase of $101.9 billion (17.7%). The U.S. goods trade deficit in 2020 was the largest on record, and the goods and services deficit was the largest since 2008. The rapid growth of U.S. trade deficits reflects the combined effects of the COVID-19 crisis, which caused U.S. exports to fall by more ($217.7 billion) than imports ($166.2 billion), and by the persistent failure of U.S. trade and exchange rate policies over the past two decades. The single most important cause of large and growing trade deficits is persistent overvaluation of the U.S. dollar, which makes imports artificially cheap and U.S. exports less competitive. The U.S. goods trade deficit is increasingly dominated by trade in manufactured products, as shown in the figure below. The manufacturing trade deficit reached record highs of $897.7 billion—98% of the total U.S. goods trade deficit—and 4.3% of U.S. GDP in 2020. Primarily due to these rapidly growing manufacturing trade deficits, the U.S. lost nearly 5 million manufacturing jobs and 91,000 manufacturing plants between 1997 and 2018 alone, and an additional 582,000 manufacturing jobs in 2020.Growing trade deficits with China are the largest single cause of growing manufacturing trade deficits and jobs losses. Between 2001, when China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO), and 2018, growingU.S.–China trade deficits eliminated 3.7 million total U.S. jobs, including 2.8 million jobs lost in manufacturing alone. Although the U.S. trade deficit with China fell by $34.4 million (10.0%) in 2020, China’s total trade surplus with the world increased 27% in 2020 to $535 billion, driven by surging exports of medical supplies and electronic goods. U.S. trade deficits with Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Australia, as well as Mexico and Switzerland all increased significantly in 2020. There is growing evidence that China is evading U.S. trade restrictions by shipping products through other countries (e.g. tariff circumvention). Growing U.S. trade deficits over the past two decades, which reached record levels in 2020, have decimated U.S. manufacturing. The United States can rebuild domestic manufacturing by rebalancing U.S. trade, and by implementing the Biden administration proposal for a $2 trillion, 4-year program for rebuilding U.S. infrastructure and investing in clean energy and energy efficiency improvements.
One Year After the Collapse of the Airline Business Began: What’s the Status Now? - Wolf Richter - United, the US airline with the most flights to China, started suspending some flights between the US and Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong in the first week of February 2020 due to a “significant decline in demand,” it said at the time as the then new coronavirus was spreading. “We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and will adjust our schedule as needed,” it said. This was followed by flight suspensions and travel bans across the globe. By April, the airline passenger business had collapsed. So where are we now? Over the past seven days, not quite 707,000 passengers per day on average passed TSA checkpoints at US airports, a measure of how many passengers in the US are flying somewhere. This was down by 61.6% from the same period in 2019, the last full year of the Good Times. At the end of January, the drop from 2019 was over 65%. Amid all the ups and downs, there still hasn’t been much improvement in terms of airline passenger traffic in the US since last September: Business travel for all kinds of meetings and conferences – the most lucrative end for airlines – has remained very sparse. And the seasonality of business travel has largely faded from the chart.And the seasonality of leisure travel has been upended by travel restrictions for foreign vacation destinations and reluctance by many people to get anywhere the inside of an airport just to have fun for a week somewhere else. .In the chart below, the bold red line shows the seven-day moving average of the number of air travelers who passed through TSA checkpoints daily from March 1, 2020, through February 7, 2021. The thin red line indicates the daily number of screenings..: For the fourth quarter, revenues of the six largest US airlines combined – American, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska, and JetBlue, with Spirit not having reported yet – plunged by 65.9% from a year earlier. For the year 2020, revenues plunged by 62.7%. For the fourth quarter, those six airlines combined reported a net loss of $6.6 billion; for the year 2020, they reported a net loss of $34.1 billion. The airlines have piled up mountains of cash from a series of government bailouts, most of them grants, and from the craziest financial markets of all times, created by the Fed, that allowed the airlines to sell more shares and tons of debt.The airlines have pledged their frequent flyer programs as collateral which allowed Delta, for example, to borrow another $9 billion. They have sold old aircraft, including to Amazon for freighter conversions. They have engaged in sale-lease-backs of their aircraft to raise cash. Even if business eventually goes back to “normal” – whatever that may mean and however many years this may still take, amid growing industry suspicions that the lucrative business travel segment may never go back to the old normal – those huge mountains of debt will stay.
Two American cruise lines requiring COVID-19 vaccinations before boarding - - Two American cruise lines will require proof of coronavirus vaccinations before passengers are allowed to board beginning in July. The requirements, set forth by American Queen Steamboat Company and Victory Cruise Lines, are part of guidelines called "SafeCruise" the companies have established to keep passengers and staff safe during their trips. "Vaccination requirements for both our guests and crew is the most prudent next step to ensure that we are providing the safest cruising experience possible," John Waggoner, CEO and founder of American Queen Steamboat Company told Condé Nast Traveler. Both companies' guidelines stipulate that passengers and crew must be vaccinated against the coronavirus starting July 1 in order to travel. The industry took a hit as a result of the pandemic, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) docked the cruises from March to October last year. Both companies will be resuming cruises starting in April, instituting coronavirus precautions such as masks and temperature checks, though the vaccine mandate will begin in July. The companies said they are not concerned about the requirement, as many of their customers are older and eligible for the vaccine. The crew is also eligible for the vaccine under the CDC's Phase 1c priority system since they are employees of a transportation company, both companies said, Condé Nast Traveler reported.
In Virginia, utility smart grid projects could help fill rural broadband gaps - Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power are each pursuing pilot projects in which high-speed fiber connections are shared with local internet service providers.A handful of rural Virginia communities where the pandemic has exposed the cost of unreliable internet service may soon see relief as a spillover benefit from utilities’ smart grid investments.The state’s largest utilities, Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power, are each developing pilot projects in which the utilities will defray some of the cost of grid communication system upgrades by partnering with local internet providers who will share use the fiber cables.Appalachian Power’s project in Grayson County was approved by the State Corporation Commission last May and is under construction. Dominion’sproposal for three pilot projects in Surry County, Botetourt County, and the Northern Neck region is currently before regulators. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 16.“We are installing fiber in a number of rural areas as we move forward with efforts to transform Virginia’s energy grid,” said Augustus Johnson IV, Dominion’s director of electric distribution grid solutions. “By utilizing fiber capacity for operational needs and broadband access, Dominion Energy can reduce fiber deployment costs for grid operations and for internet service providers.”Managing the power grid once involved overseeing a predictable, one-way flow of electricity from large power plants to customers. Today, it’s vastly more complex as utilities and customers install smart meters, sensors, solar panels and other devices that involve two-way flow of electricity and information.More utilities are investing in their own telecommunications infrastructure to avoid relying on public carrier networks that can’t always provide the level of security or redundancy needed to run an electric grid. (Some, including Dominion, have also received pushback from regulators over cost.)Under Dominion’s $29 million proposal, internet service providers would pay to lease portions of a 300-mile fiber cable built by Dominion to support its electric grid. Money from those contracts would help offset the cost of the project for Dominion investors and customers. The mainline fiber will improve safety, security, and operations by connecting substations and other facilities, Johnson said. Using operational data from these locations, Dominion Energy will be able to respond more quickly to events, enabling faster power restoration or avoiding a power outage altogether.
Small Business Optimism Decreased in January - Most of this survey is noise, but sometimes there is some information. From the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB): January [2021] Report: The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index declined in January to 95.0, down 0.9 from December and three points below the 47-year average of 98. ... “As Congress debates another stimulus package, small employers welcome any additional relief that will provide a powerful fiscal boost as their expectations for the future are uncertain,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to dictate how small businesses operate and owners are worried about future business conditions and sales.” ... NFIB’s monthly jobs report showed job growth continued in January. Firms increased employment by 0.36 workers per firm on average over the past few months, up from 0.30 in December, a strong 2-month performance. However, the hiring remains uneven geographically and by industry. This graph shows the small business optimism index since 1986.
Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims at 793,000 - The DOL reported: In the week ending February 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 793,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 33,000 from 779,000 to 812,000. The 4-week moving average was 823,000, a decrease of 33,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 8,250 from 848,250 to 856,500. This does not include the 334,524 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) that was down from 368,977 the previous week.The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased to 848,250. The previous week was revised up. The second graph shows seasonally adjust continued claims since 1967 (lags initial by one week). At the worst of the Great Recession, continued claims peaked at 6.635 million, but then steadily declined.Regular state continued claims decreased to 4,545,000 (SA) from 4,690,000 (SA) the previous week and will likely stay at a high level until the crisis abates.Note: There are an additional 8,715,306 receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) that increased from 7,218,801 the previous week (there are questions about these numbers). This is a special program for business owners, self-employed, independent contractors or gig workers not receiving other unemployment insurance. And an additional 4,777,842 receiving Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) up from 3,604,894. Weekly claims were higher than the consensus forecast, and the previous week was revised up sharply.
BLS: Job Openings "Little Changed" at 6.6 Million in December - From the BLS: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary The number of job openings was little changed at 6.6 million on the last business day of December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires decreased to 5.5 million while total separations were little changed at 5.5 million. Within separations, the quits rate and layoffs and discharges rate were little changed at 2.3 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. The following graph shows job openings (yellow line), hires (dark blue), Layoff, Discharges and other (red column), and Quits (light blue column) from the JOLTS.This series started in December 2000. Note: The difference between JOLTS hires and separations is similar to the CES (payroll survey) net jobs headline numbers. This report is for December, the most recent employment report was for January. Note that hires (dark blue) and total separations (red and light blue columns stacked) are usually pretty close each month. This is a measure of labor market turnover. When the blue line is above the two stacked columns, the economy is adding net jobs - when it is below the columns, the economy is losing jobs.The huge spikes in layoffs and discharges in March and April 2020 are labeled, but off the chart to better show the usual data.Jobs openings increased in December to 6.646 million from 6.572 million in November.The number of job openings (yellow) were up 1.4% year-over-year. Note that job openings were declining a year ago prior to the pandemic.Quits were down 6.9% year-over-year. These are voluntary separations. (see light blue columns at bottom of graph for trend for "quits").
December JOLTS report shows renewed stalled jobs market due to out of control pandemic - This morning’s JOLTS report for December confirmed a jobs market recovery that has paused due to the increasing effects of the out of control pandemic. Most importantly, hires declined sharply - down by over 5% in a single month! While the JOLTS data is a deep dive into the dynamics of the labor market, since it only dates from 2001, there are only 2 previous recoveries with which to compare the present. Nevertheless it is worthwhile to make the comparison. In the two past recoveries: first, layoffs declined second, hiring rose third, job openings rose and voluntary quits increased, close to simultaneously Let’s examine each of those in turn. In each case. What appears below is that, although there has been some variation, the year 2020 through December has recapitulated the pattern from the last two early recoveries: the first two data series to turn - layoffs and hires - have indeed turned, while the last two - job openings and voluntary quits - have appeared to bottom but have had a much less dramatic rise. With increased pandemic restrictions and consumer caution, several renewed negative readings in November, but not enough to significantly change the trend. This first graph compares layoffs and discharges (blue) with the 4 week average of initial jobless claims (red) prior to this recession, for reasons of scale since March and April would be “off the charts”: You can see that, by the end of the recessions, layoffs were already declining, and continued to decline steeply over the next 3-8 months before reaching a “normal” expansion level. The turning point coincides exactly with the much less volatile, but more slowly declining, level of initial jobless claims. The same had been the case this year up through October. Layoffs and discharges already declined to their “normal” level in May, while initial jobless claims peaked one to two months later, and continued to decline (slowly) into autumn. Then, in November, layoffs and discharges increased and remained elevated in December. Initial claims followed suit with a one month delay: Next, here is the entire historical relationship between hires (red) and job openings (blue) through 2020: In the past two recoveries, actual hires started to increase one to two months before job openings. Both made troughs in April, but hires initially rebounded more sharply ever since May compared with job openings. Since July openings have stagnated, while hires actually declined significantly in December to their worst level since the April lockdowns:
A stalled recovery: Hires fall in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey - EPI Blog - Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that, as of the middle of January, the economy was still 9.9 million jobs below where it was in February 2020. This translates into a 12.1 million job shortfall when using a reasonable counterfactual of job growth if the recession hadn’t occurred. Today’s BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reports little change in December, a clear sign that the recovery is not charging ahead. In fact, hiring and job openings are below where they were before the recession hit, which makes it impossible to recover anytime soon when we have such a massive hole to fill in the labor market.In December, job openings were little changed while hires softened considerably, falling from 5.9 million to 5.5 million. In particular, hiring decreased in leisure and hospitality—in both accommodation and food services and in arts, entertainment, and recreation. Hiring also declined in transportation, warehousing, and utilities.One of the most striking indicators from today’s report is the job seekers ratio—the ratio of unemployed workers (averaged for mid-December and mid-January) to job openings (at the end of December). On average, there were 10.4 million unemployed workers compared with only 6.6 million job openings. This translates into a job seekers ratio of about 1.6 unemployed workers to every job opening. Put another way, for every 16 workers who were officially counted as unemployed, there were only available jobs for 10 of them. That means, no matter what they did, there were no jobs for 3.8 million unemployed workers. And this misses the fact that many more weren’t counted among the unemployed: The economic pain remains widespread with 25.5 million workers hurt by the coronavirus downturn.On the whole, the U.S. economy is seeing a significantly slower hiring pace than we experienced in May or June. In December, hiring was below where it was before the recession, a big problem given that we have only recovered just over half of the job losses from this spring. And job openings are now substantially below where they were before the recession began (6.6 million at the end of December, compared to 7.1 million on average in the year prior to the recession). With hiring and job openings at these levels, the economy is facing a long, slow recovery without additional action from Congress. Policymakers need to act now at the scale of the problem to address the continuing economic crisis.
Why Opening Restaurants Is Exactly What the Coronavirus Wants Us to Do – ProPublica - Announcing that indoor dining would reopen at 25% capacity in New York City on Valentine’s Day, and wedding receptions could also resume with up to 150 people a month after, Cuomo suggested: “You propose on Valentine’s Day and then you can have the wedding ceremony March 15, up to 150 people. People will actually come to your wedding because you can tell them, with the testing, it will be safe...” Cuomo isn’t alone in taking measures to loosen pandemic-related restrictions. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer allowed indoor dining to resume at 25% capacity starting Feb. 1. Idaho Gov. Brad Little increased limits on indoor gatherings from 10 to 50 people. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is raising business capacity from 25% to 40%, including at restaurants and gyms. California Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted stay-at-home orders on Jan. 25. To justify their reopening decisions, governors point to falling case counts. “We make decisions based on facts,” Cuomo said. “New York City numbers are down.” But epidemiologists and public health experts say a crucial factor is missing from these calculations: the threat of new viral variants. One coronavirus variant, which originated in the United Kingdom and is now spreading in the U.S., is believed to be 50% more transmissible. The more cases there are, the faster new variants can spread. Because the baseline of case counts in the U.S. is already so high — we’re still averaging about 130,000 new cases a day — and because the spread of the virus grows exponentially, cases could easily climb past the 300,000-per-day peak we reached in early January if we underestimate the variants, experts said. Furthermore, study after study has identified indoor spaces — particularly restaurants, where consistent masking is not possible — as some of the highest-risk locations for transmission to occur. Even with distanced tables,case studies have shown that droplets can travel long distances within dining establishments, sometimes helped along by air conditioning. We’re just in the opening stage of the new variants’ arrival in the United States. Experts say we could speed viruses’ spread by providing them with superspreading playgrounds or slow them down by starving them of opportunities to replicate.“We’re standing at an inflection point,” “we finally have the chance right now to bring this back under control, but if we ease up now, we may end up wasting all the effort we put in.” Dr. Luciana Borio, an infectious disease physician who was a member of the Biden-Harris transition team’s COVID-19 advisory board, put it more bluntly at a congressional hearing on Feb. 3. “Our worst days could be ahead of us,” she said. I interviewed 10 scientists for this story and was surprised by the vehemence of some of their language. “Are you sure it could be that bad?” I asked, over and over. They unanimously said they expected B.1.1.7, the variant first discovered in the U.K., to eventually become the dominant version of coronavirus in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that B.1.1.7 will become dominant in March, using a model that presumes it’s 50% more transmissible than the original “wildtype” coronavirus. Experts are particularly concerned because we don’t have a handle on exactly how far B.1.1.7 has spread. Our current surveillance system sequences less than 1% of cases to see whether they are a variant.
DeSantis defends maskless crowds after Buccaneers win amid COVID-19 concerns - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) attacked the media for what he said was a double standard with how large marches for social justice were covered as opposed to celebrations in Tampa following the Buccaneers' Super Bowl win. "The media is worried about that, obviously," DeSantis said Wednesday of scenes of massive celebrations across Tampa that showed hundreds of fans maskless while crowded together in streets and bars on Sunday night. "You don't care as much if it's a 'peaceful protest' ... and then it's fine," DeSantis continued. "You don't care as much if they're celebrating a Biden election. You only care about it if it's people you don't like. I'm a Bucs fan. I'm damn proud of what they did on Sunday night." Local health officials and Tampa's mayor said she was greatly concerned after seeing the celebrations on Sunday night. “It is a little frustrating because we have worked so hard,” Mayor Jane Castor (D) said the next day. “At this point in dealing with COVID-19, there is a level of frustration when you see that.” DeSantis also found himself at the center of a controversy this week stemming from a photo taken of him at the game on Sunday night that shows him sitting in an indoor executive suite without a mask, seated less than six feet from the person next to him. DeSantis first addressed the controversy over the photo earlier in the week. "Someone said, 'Hey, you were at the Super Bowl without a mask,'" he said Monday. "But how the hell am I going to be able to drink a beer with a mask on? Come on. I had to watch the Bucs win."
Grocery store worker slapped after asking customer to wear mask, video shows - Colorado police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a woman seen in security footage earlier this month slapping a grocery store worker in the face after the employee asked the shopper to wear a face mask. According to Denver’s Fox-affiliated station, KDVR, the incident, which occurred on Feb. 3, happened after a worker told a customer at a King Soopers grocery store to put on a mask, after which the customer called the employee a vulgar name and slapped her. The employee told police that the suspect is “a regular at the store,” and had repeatedly been asked by employees to wear a mask to adhere to coronavirus safety guidelines. KDVR reported that the suspect allegedly claimed a medical exemption for why she was not wearing a mask, after which the employee attempted to offer the customer other options to purchase her groceries. After the suspect slapped the employee, the shopper reportedly ran away and has not since returned to the store. While the employee told police the slap did not hurt, she is pushing for harassment charges to be brought against the shopper. The Parker Police Department on Wednesday shared security footage of the incident on Facebook and Twitter, along with contact information for people to use should they have any information regarding the incident or the suspect.
As schools are forced open, Iowa removes all COVID-19 regulations - A new public health declaration went into effect on Superbowl Sunday in Iowa, lifting all statewide mask mandates and restrictions on gatherings, including at bars and restaurants. On Friday, Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds gave a press conference that did not explain the reasoning behind easing the state’s restrictions. The order comes exactly one week before Iowa’s public K-12 schools will be forced to offer 100 percent in-person learning. Since March there have been more than 324,000 confirmed cases and over 5,100 deaths from COVID-19 in the state. While daily infections and deaths have declined from their peak in mid-November 2020, a seven-day average of 743 Iowans are confirmed COVID-19 positive and 30 are dying every day. Iowa’s mask mandates and regulations were only ever partial. At their most stringent, as of December 2020, face coverings were required only when around people for 15 minutes and where social distancing was not possible, indoor gatherings were limited to no more than 15 people and outdoor gatherings were limited to 30. Large cities like Des Moines and Iowa City have, so far, maintained their public gathering restrictions and mask mandates, but infections rates will climb as community spread increases due to the malicious negligence of the ruling class with the homicidal campaign to reopen schools and the economy. Reynolds, a shameless Trump apologist, has recklessly pursued herd immunity in Iowa, resulting in one of the highest death rates in the country of 1,619 deaths per million in population. The state ranks 47th in vaccine distribution, with roughly 7 percent of Iowans having received the first of two vaccine injections. Iowa will see thousands more needless deaths as a result of well-documented increases in community spread via public school openings. The pandemic’s impact is expected to be compounded by the UK COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 strain which was discovered last week in Johnson and Bremer counties. The UK variant is much more contagious and may be more deadly; it is expected to be dominant variant in the US by March.
Officials release new footage in pepper-spraying of 9-year-old: 'You did it to yourself, hon' - The Rochester Police Department in New York on Thursday released extended body camera footage from the incident late last month in which police pepper-sprayed a 9-year-old girl. In the footage, which the police department posted on YouTube, several of the nine officers who responded to a call reporting "family trouble,” can be heard threatening the girl as they struggle to get her into the back of a police car. “Listen to me — you’re going to get sprayed if you don’t get in,” one officer says, according to the footage.“Get in the car,” another says. “I’m done telling you.”“I’m going to pepper-spray you, and I don’t want to,” one officer says. “So sit back.”“Please don’t,” the girl says.One of the officers eventually pepper-sprays the girl, shutting the door as the girl screams, “My eye is bleeding!”“Officer,” she says between sobs to a female officer in the front of the car, “please don’t do this to me.”The officer then responds, “You did it to yourself, hon.” The 90-minute footage, significantly longer than the 11-minute video released shortly after the incident, came as part of the city’s commitment to “being transparent and sharing all of the information and video regarding this incident,” Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren (D) said. “I continue to share our community’s outrage for the treatment of this child,” Warren added, according toThe New York Times.
Pandemic child abuse panic underscores need for CPS reform - Stories warning of a coming surge in child abuse have been a staple of local news reporting throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. For months, experts quoted in these reports issued dire predictions that severe instances of child abuse were poised to skyrocket due, in part, to the widespread move toward virtual schooling. The logic of these warnings followed a similar pattern: More children learning from home combined with increased parental stress caused by the economic downturn created a perfect storm where abuse at the hands of parents and caregivers would go undetected by teachers.On the surface, these warnings weren’t entirely unreasonable. After all, we know that periods of high parental stress can increase the risk of abuse or neglect, and school officials are consistently among the top sources of child maltreatment reports. A decrease in the number of calls to child abuse hotlines in 2020 compared with 2019 seemed to add credibility to the concerns. But as the pandemic wore on, the predicted spike in abuse never materialized. In a conversation with the Associated Press earlier this month, top officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed that they’ve seen no credible evidence supporting the dire warnings. This is good news and underscores the need for comprehensive child protective services reform.Reforming the system requires us to first understand why the predictions of a coming abuse epidemic were wrong. Proponents of the predictions frequently cited the drop in the number of reports to child abuse hotlines in the wake of pandemic-related shutdowns as evidence that severe cases of abuse were being missed. However, hotline calls tell us very little about the prevalence and severity of child maltreatment.Each year, the federal Children’s Bureau issues a report to Congressanalyzing data on child abuse and neglect from all 50 states. This report includes a breakdown of the number of child maltreatment referrals received by state child welfare agencies and the outcome of those reports. Approximately 4.3 million reports alleging child abuse or neglect involving 7.8 million children are received every year. In 2019, 45.5 percent — nearly 2 million reports — were “screened out,” meaning that child protective services immediately determined that they were unsubstantiated. The allegations investigated by CPS involved close to 3.5 million children, 80 percent of whom were found to be nonvictims. Going back to the original pool of 7.8 million children subject of a hotline call, only 656,000 — just 8 percent — were determined to have been victims of maltreatment. These figures have held consistent for at least the past decade.
Big Oil Gets to Teach Climate Science in American Classrooms - - If you were an elementary school student in Oklahoma, you might meet Petro Pete, a cartoon child outfitted in the overalls and hard hat of an oil rig worker. Through Pete, you might learn things like “having no petroleum is like a nightmare!” Meanwhile Pete’s trusty blue dog, Repete, assures the animal kingdom that “the humans learned their lesson and now they don’t leave behind a mess when they drill for oil.” Who would you have to thank for these important academic messages? Oklahoma Oil & Natural Gas, a fossil fuel industry trade group. In Ohio, children may complete a word search sponsored by the state’s oil and gas industry, with answers such as “lubricants” and “carbon black,” while in New Jersey students in grades three through six may receive a workbook titled “Natural Gas: Your Invisible Friend.” The National Energy Education Development Project, backed by 100 oil and gas industry players, promotes lessons on fracking using Jell-O and other fun foods as teaching aids. The stakes for how children and young adults learn about climate change—the science, the politics, the implications—are extremely high. Environmentalists know this. So, clearly, do fossil fuel companies. “Industry groups recognized the value of classrooms for marketing and propaganda decades ago,” says Carroll Muffett, president and chief executive of the Center for International Environmental Law. “It’s where you shape someone's understanding of your product and of your company and of your issues. In a school context, you're shaping their understanding of the world.” One of the many ironies of K-12 education on climate change is that among the parents, at least, there’s little discord. More than 80% of parents said that they want schools to teach their children about climate change, according to a 2019 NPR/Ipsos poll. That survey also found that whether people have children or not, nine out of 10 Democrats and two-thirds of Republicans agree that the subject needs to be taught in schools. Yet the forces trying to suppress accurate science teachings remain relentless, says Elizabeth Allan, president of the National Science Teaching Association. Allan teaches climate change to many students in Oklahoma whose parents work in the oil industry, and they come to class with preconceived ideas about what climate change is and isn’t. “When I’m talking to them, it doesn’t lessen the science,” she says, “or the need for them to understand or examine fossil fuels and human contributions to it.”
Utah school will no longer allow parents to opt students out of Black History Month curriculum - A Utah charter school said it is no longer allowing parents to opt students out of its Black History Month curriculum after drawing backlash for initially giving families the option to do so. Maria Montessori Academy Director Micah Hirokawa said in a statement shared with The Hill that all school families are now participating in the curriculum and that going forward it would not allow parents to opt out of the lesson plans. "Celebrating Black History Month is part of our tradition," Hirokawa said in the statement, which was also posted in the "Utah Montessorians" Facebook group. . "We regret that after receiving requests, an opt-out form was sent out concerning activities planned during this month of celebration," he continued. "We are grateful that families that initially had questions and concerns have willingly come to the table to resolve any differences and at this time no families are opting out of our planned activities and we have removed this option. In the future, we will handle all parental concerns on an individual basis." Hirokawa had initially announced the decision to allow students to not participate in the curriculum in a Friday post on the school’s private Facebook page, according to local news outlet the Standard-Examiner. Hirokawa wrote that he “reluctantly” sent a letter to families stating that administrators were allowing them “to exercise their civil rights to not participate in Black History Month at the school.” Hirokawa said in the post that “a few families” had asked not to participate in the curriculum, though he declined to tell the Standard-Examiner the exact number of parents who had contacted the school or the reasons they gave for making the request. The public charter school director added that the demand from parents “deeply saddens and disappoints me.” “We should not shield our children from the history of our Nation, the mistreatment of its African American citizens, and the bravery of civil rights leaders, but should educate them about it,” Hirokawa said.
Utah schools end program to read kids more books on diversity after parent outrage - Utah's Murray School District recently moved to suspend a program created to introduce students to more diverse and inclusive literature following backlash from parents, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. In a letter sent to students' families on Monday, the district shared that the “equity book bundles” program would be placed on hold. It also removed the page explaining the program from its website, the Tribune reported. The controversy reportedly began after a third-grader attending the school district's Horizon Elementary brought in the book “Call Me Max” for read-aloud story time. The book tells the story of a young transgender boy who educates his classmates and fellow students on his identity. According to the Tribune, some families responded to the action with concern and reached out to the school board to express their anger that the book was read to their children without their permission. Murray School District spokesman Doug Perry told the news outlet that the district is now looking to evaluate all 38 books included in its “equity book bundles” program. “As a district, we recognize and acknowledge the concerns,” the letter sent to families stated, according to the Tribune. “We are committed to learning from this experience and doing better.”
3 years later, Parkland school shooting trial still in limbo - (AP) — It's been more than 1,000 days since a gunman with an AR-15 rifle burst into a Florida high school, killed 17 people and wounded 17 others. Yet, with Valentine's Day on Sunday marking the three-year milestone, the trial of 22-year-old Nikolas Cruz is in limbo. One reason is the coronavirus, which has shut court operations down and made in-person jail access difficult for the defense. Another is the sheer magnitude of the case, with hundreds of witnesses from Feb. 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The case could have been all over by now. Cruz's lawyers have repeatedly said he would plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. But prosecutors won't budge on seeking the death penalty at trial. “We are dedicated to ensuring that justice is done and we are working diligently to ensure that the criminal trial begins as soon as possible,” said Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor, who was elected in November. The longtime state attorney he replaced, Michael Satz, is staying on to personally prosecute Cruz. Satz has said Cruz's fate must be decided by a jury, not by Cruz himself through a guilty plea. Parents of those slain and wounded are divided over the death penalty, said Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter Gina was killed in the shooting and who is president of the victims' family group Stand With Parkland. There's no doubt where Montalto stands. "“The option for a long life was not given to our children and spouses — it was taken that day,” Montalto said. “Society in general should demand that someone who attacked the most vulnerable, our children, at their school, a place of learning, should be held ultimately accountable. Our families have already paid the ultimate price.” Michael Schulman, the father of shooting victim Scott Beigel — a school cross-country coach and geography teacher hailed for protecting students — wrote a newspaper opinion piece in which he said it would be better for everyone if Cruz could plead guilty and be locked away for life. “Going for the death penalty will not bring our loved ones back to us. It will not make the physical scars of those wounded go away,” Schulman wrote. “In fact, what it will do is to continue the trauma and not allow the victims to heal and get closure.”
Government Fail: "We've Turned Teens Into Lockdown Lab Rats" --The verdict is clear: the imposition of lockdowns and social distancing, along with delays in getting children and adolescents back into schools – has been fatal for society, creating a slow motion mental health explosion that could last for decades. To anyone actually paying attention, warnings and concerns have been raised for months by many different people and advocacy groups, but rather than considering the spectre of permanent arrested development, governments have such dismissed concerns as a low priority in relation to ‘stopping the spread of the virus.’ Instead, virtue-signalling individuals in government, along with teachers unions, have retreated into the irrational world hypochondria and paranoia and leaving the youth hanging out to dry in the process – despite the fact that near zero risk of young people ever becoming ill from COVID-19. Similarly, most teachers are similarly in a low risk of ever becoming seriously ill from coronavirus.Last summer, an open letter was sent to UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, outlining the damage done by the government China-inspired reactionary ‘mitigation’ measures, and called for a return to ‘normal life.’ The letter was signed by more than 100 specialists in psychology, mental health and neuroscience, and published in The Sunday Times, stating:“As experts working across disciplines, we are united as we urge you to reconsider your decision and to release children and young people from lockdown.“Allow them to play together and continue their education by returning to preschool, school, college and university, and enjoy extra-curricular activities including sport and music as normally, and as soon, as possible.” Seven months later, the situation has deteriorated even further. The psychological impact is no longer a potential harm, it’s now manifest.
Philadelphia educators to defy district, maintain all-virtual schooling Monday - Thousands of Philadelphia public school teachers are set to defy their district’s order to return to classrooms Monday. They will instead work virtually. This week marks the third attempt by the school district of Philadelphia to reopen school buildings in the midst of the pandemic. The district has been remote-only since last March. District officials demanded that approximately 2,000 kindergarten through second-grade teachers prepare classrooms beginning February 8 so that students could return on February 22. Nine thousand students are scheduled to enter buildings first, with further grades phased in later. Following the policies of Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney, Democratic Governor Tom Wolf and the Biden administration, the district is issuing threats, lies and trying to browbeat teachers into acquiescing to its demands. “If you are expected to be in your building on Monday and choose not to do so, you will be subject to disciplinary action,” announced Chief Talent Officer Larisa Shambaugh. In a letter to principals sent Friday, Superintendent William Hite reiterated the threat. Under tremendous pressure from educators, parents and students, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) has sanctioned the one-day action. After pronouncing that in-school learning is best and claiming that a neutral party walk-through over the weekend would ensure safe schools, PFT President Jerry Jordan has now backtracked and urged teachers to defy the district. Behind the district’s vindictiveness and the collusion of the union is their mutual fear that the teachers will link up their struggle with teachers in Chicago and those across the country who are mobilizing against the homicidal return to face-to-face instruction.
Michigan educators call for unity with Chicago educators in fight to close schools - The Michigan Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee expresses its full support for the Chicago teachers’ struggle against the dangerous and indeed criminal drive to resume in-person instruction in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Their determined fight to save lives and resist the “herd immunity” policies pursued by the entire political establishment is the spearhead of a growing movement of educators and all workers throughout the US and globally. The back-to-school drive is the central domestic policy of the new Biden administration and the Democratic Party. Just as much as the Republicans, it is a party of the corporate and financial elite. The capitalist press is engaged in a propaganda campaign—led by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal— falsely claiming that schools are safe. In fact, the overwhelming body of scientific evidenceproves that schools are major vectors for the spread of the disease. The COVID-19 pandemic has already killed nearly half a million people in the US alone and is expanding daily. New and more infectious variants are spreading largely undetected throughout the country. Studies globally that have shown that closing schools is among the most significant measures to reduce infections and deaths from the virus. Since schools in the United States reopened in the fall, the death toll in the US has more than doubled and is rapidly heading to half a million people. Instead of upholding the demands and protecting the lives of rank-and-file members, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is making every effort, in collaboration with Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot, to reopen schools during the pandemic before community-wide inoculation against COVID-19, policy that will inevitably result in a massive increase in deaths among teachers, students, their families and the wider community. We have faced the same sort of miserable compromise here in Detroit, where the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) and Detroit’s Democratic Mayor Mike Duggan agreed to reopen “Learning Centers” and schools at 25 percent in the fall. This was a slap in the face to teachers, who at an August membership meeting voted 91 percent for a “safety strike” and to go completely virtual. It has proven disastrous for educators, students, parents and the entire working class, forcing Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer to shut down schools again in November. In Michigan, as of Tuesday, the state had 566,630 confirmed cases and 14,797 deaths since March.
U.S. educators wrangle over school re-opening (Reuters) - Educators in major cities including Chicago and Philadelphia on Monday called for strong COVID-19 safety protocols in their classrooms as those and other districts pushed to re-open schools that have been closed for nearly a year. Across the nation, school reopenings have become a red-hot topic. District officials, teachers, parents and health professionals have been debating when and how to safely re-open schools for millions of students who have been taking classes remotely for 11 months since the pandemic closed schools last spring. In Chicago, the powerful Chicago Teachers Union was considering the school district’s proposed COVID-19 safety plan that would allow schools to begin re-opening this week. In Philadelphia, educators won an agreement to allow a mediator to decide when in-person learning could safely resume. If approved, the agreement with Chicago Public Schools, the third largest U.S. district, would avert a threatened lock out by the district, or strike by teachers who demanded stronger safety protocols to prevent the spread of the virus in classrooms. A deal would allow for some 67,000 students to gradually return into school buildings over the next month, starting with pre-kindergarten and special education pupils later this week. The union’s leadership is expected to decide on Monday night whether to send its 28,000 rank and file members the district’s safety plan to for a vote on Tuesday.
Chicago district, teachers reach tentative deal to return to in-person instruction in phases - Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) reached a tentative deal to return to in-person instruction in phases, the district announced on Sunday. After months of tense negotiations and threats of a strike, CTU leaders signed an agreement that would reopen the third-largest district in the country. The union leaders will present the deal to its members who will review the plan for approval. “Late last night we received a tentative framework from Chicago Public Schools for the resumption of in-person learning,” the union confirmed in a statement. Under the proposal, pre-K and some special education staff and students will return to schools on Thursday. Kindergarten through fifth grade staff will follow on Feb. 22 before their students return on March 1. Sixth through eighth grade teachers are expected to come back on March 1, with their students joining on March 8. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) labeled the agreement “an important milestone” for the city and its residents to ensure safety and “that everyone’s lived experiences are respected and heard.” “This has been a lengthy and challenging negotiation, and we know it has weighed heavily on everyone in our school community,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson said in a statement. “Our agreement is a victory for the students and families who need more than remote learning can provide, and it guarantees staff the protections and resources needed to safely return to the classroom." Within the agreement, the district committed to working with Walgreens and the Chicago Department of Public Health to vaccinate pre-K and special education staff who have a medically vulnerable household member starting this week. Staff who agree to the sped-up vaccination process have to agree to return to school two weeks after getting the first dose. CPS will start its own vaccination sites later this month, solely for CPS staff, aiming to give shots to 1,500 people per week. The district also established new rules for pausing and restarting in-person learning.
Chicago Teachers Union endorses a bargain with death, agrees to in-person classes - Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) came to an agreement Sunday on a deadly plan to reopen schools in the third largest district in the US at the height of the pandemic. After Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson announced the tentative agreement (TA), the CTU held an all-membership meeting at which only top bureaucrats were allowed to speak in an effort to browbeat resistant educators and push through the sellout deal. The union is scheduled to hold a House of Delegates vote on the deal Monday. If approved, it would then send the TA to the full membership for a vote. There is enormous opposition among rank-and-file educators to this bargain with death, which would resume in-person learning for tens of thousands of students and staff by March 8, with the first group returning February 11. The Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee is spearheading the fight to organize this opposition in order to defeat the sellout deal and orient educators towards uniting with workers in every industry to prepare for a nationwide general strike. In a statement published last Thursday, the committee warned that the CTU would reach a rotten deal and stressed, “There’s nothing to negotiate. Reopening schools during the pandemic is not negotiable! Lives and health are not negotiable!” What is unfolding in this city is the latest and among the most damning exposures of the unions and their pseudo-left supporters. The present leadership of the CTU emerged out of the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (CORE) and has controlled the union for the past decade. Based on a “social justice” platform centered on the promotion of identity politics and the subordination of educators to the Democratic Party, the CTU betrayed the powerful teachers strikes of 2012 and 2019, accepting school closures, mass layoffs and the expansion of charter schools. They are now the linchpin of the Biden administration’s homicidal campaign to reopen the majority of K-8 schools across the US by the end of March.
NYC Middle School Students Set To Return To Classrooms: Live Updates - One day after the Chicago teachers union won concessions from the city, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that on Feb. 25, the city's public middle schools will reopen 250K of about a million public- school students. There are about 196K Middle School students in NYC. Still, No date has been set for high school students to return. Still, city officials intend to increase Covid-19 testing to permit the additional schools to open. "We’re going to get the high schools back,” de Blasio said Monday at a virus briefing. “High schools are a little bit more complicated.” Looking ahead to the fall semester, De Blasio expects to have more than 5MM residents vaccinated by the end of June, with schools set to reopen at full capacity. Though now that the Pandora's box of "remote instruction" has been opened, will be part of the curriculum, said Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza. “This whole notion of remote learning, that’s going to stay with us way beyond the pandemic,” he said. The city's health-care authorized to r will prioritize vaccine appointments for school personnel Feb. 12 to Feb. 21, which is the midwinter recess, Barbot said. Teachers and other school staff will report for work Feb. 24. NYC's was the only major US school system to open its buildings for in-person classes in September. The city offered a hybrid schedule with a mix of remote and in-person learning.
Back To School: Chicago Teachers Union Approves Deal To Resume In-Person Classes - The Chicago Teachers Union has finally come to an arrangement with the nation's third-largest school district to resume in-person classes for students up to the eighth grade, ending a months-long impasse between public officials and teachers who are petrified of catching COVID-19. The union vote - for which 13,681 out of roughly 25,000 members voted 'yes' and 6,585 voted 'no' - has diffused an impending lockout or strike after negotiations intensified in recent weeks - with teachers demanding a safer environment and more vaccinations, along with metrics to guide school closures if COVID-19 infections spike, according to theAssociated Press. The union said 13,681 members voted to approve the agreement and 6,585 voted against it. In a statement,the union described the agreement as the “absolute limit to which CPS was willing to go at the bargaining table to guarantee a minimum number of guardrails for any semblance of safety in schools.” Union President Jesse Sharkey also criticized the agreement in an email to members that was released by the union. -Associated Press "This plan is not what any of us deserve. Not us. Not our students. Not their families," read the email from Sharkey, adding. "The fact that CPS could not delay reopening a few short weeks to ramp up vaccinations and preparations in schools is a disgrace." On Thursday, the first wave of students in pre-K and special education are expected to return to classrooms, while K-8 will return in the coming weeks for 'limited classroom instruction.' No plans have been made for high school students to return, whose learning will continue online.
Democrats push for reopening of Detroit schools as auto companies cite worker shortage - Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) superintendent Nikolai Vitti and the Detroit School Board took a major step toward restarting in-person education, announcing plans last week to reopen Learning Centers February 24. In an email to staff, and a robocall to families, Vitti announced that Detroit Public Schools will reopen Learning Centers at all schools throughout the district on that date. Learning Centers provide supervision on site by school staff. The reopening of Learning Centers is a wedge designed to get schools opened and teachers back into the buildings. Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, in line with the demands of the Biden administration, has pledged to get all schools in the state operating with a face-to-face option by March. Statewide, more schools now have some form of in-person learning since the New Year holiday and Governor Whitmer has already allowed the resumption of indoor contact sports. Support workers, who make up a large portion of the total Detroit school staff, were told to report back to work on February 22 following the mid-winter break. This includes principals, assistant principals, deans, clerical staff, para-educators, school service assistants, noon hour aides and others. The announcement of the reopening came the same day that in-person dining at Michigan restaurants resumed after more than two months.Last fall teachers in Detroit voted 91 percent not to resume in-person instruction. The Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) then assisted DPSCD in pushing some teachers back into the buildings with a promise of a $750 per quarter bonus. The small number of teachers who agreed to go back manned the Learning Centers and schools for the small fraction of students whose parents opted for in-person instruction. Teachers who worked online elected to increase their workload rather than risk infection or death. Those teaching online have student loads that can be as large as 80 students, compared to teachers doing in-person instruction who have as few as 11 students. Nevertheless, as cases skyrocketed, all DPSCD classes had to be moved back to online instruction in mid-November. The same happened in other districts across Michigan that had opened either for all in person instruction or sought to lower classroom density by offering a hybrid form of education. The DPSCD website alleges its policies are motivated by sympathy for families. It states, “The reopening of Learning Centers will provide direct support to DPSCD families who need schools to be open in some capacity so their children can benefit from supervised in person support.” In reality, a major driving force behind the school reopenings are the demands of the auto companies, which complained as early as October of a 10-15 percent absentee rate due to COVID-related illnesses and parents staying home to care for children.
Media promotes the unsafe reopening of Ann Arbor schools and the University of Michigan - In the midst of a county-issued stay-at-home recommendation for students at the University of Michigan (UMich)—the second of its kind since the fall—as well as the recent state-mandated shutdown of the school’s Athletics Department, multiple local publications and corporate advocacy groups are aggressively pushing for the resumption of in-person learning as well as non-essential educational services in the Ann Arbor area. The purpose of the Washtenaw County Health Department’s (WCHD) recommendation, which was issued on January 27, was to “slow the spread of COVID-19, including the more easily transmitted B.1.1.7. variant.” As of Friday, 28 cases of the more contagious B.1.1.7 variant were identified in Washtenaw County and nearby Wayne County. The origin of the spread was traced to individuals associated with the university’s athletic department. An MLive.com report from Sunday confirms that the variant has now also been found in surrounding Kent County, Michigan. The University of Michigan campus has been the setting of a bitter struggle of students and university workers against the administration over the unsafe reopening of the campus. In September, 2020, graduate student instructors led a 9-day strike against the university’s reopening plans that drew widespread support across the campus and the region. The strike also won sympathy from workers in the region and inspired similar actions throughout the country.The strike movement was ultimately isolated and snuffed out by the leadership of the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) union and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), its parent organization. Cowering in the face of legal threats by the administration, the rammed through a pitiful deal which barely met a mere fraction of the demands that participants demanded.The university was forced by opposition that continued through the fall to implement mitigation measures, such as reducing on-campus residential capacity as well as mandatory weekly testing. However, months after the strike, the administration’s main priority remains the resumption of revenue-generating activity at the expense of the safety of the community.
State and local government, mass media mount all-out blitz to reopen Los Angeles schools - As Chicago teachers fight against that city’s homicidal school reopening plan, the Los Angeles city government has mounted an all-out campaign to reopen schools in the nation’s second largest school district. The campaign is in line with the school reopening plans of California Governor Gavin Newsom and with the Biden administration’s plans to open schools across the country within his first 100 days in office. On Thursday, LA City Council President pro tempore Joe Buscaino announced he would introduce a motion at next Tuesday’s council meeting that would direct L.A. City Attorney Mike Feuer to file a lawsuit against the district to compel to it to reopen as soon as possible. The move was supported by a Saturday opinion piece written by the Los Angeles Timeseditorial board entitled, “Start reopening California schools. Now.” The article wrote, “In the absence of a demonstrated threat, there is no scientifically sound reason to assert, as Los Angeles Unified Supt. Austin Beutner does, that vaccination of all teachers and staff must be a prerequisite to bringing students back to the classrooms. Many teacher unions are demanding full vaccination before reopening, on top of other measures that health officials say are unnecessary.”Beutner, a former investment banker and state department asset in the Clinton administration, responded to the lawsuit threat, calling it a “political stunt.” Beutner in fact agreed, however, with the need to reopen, only that the district couldn’t do so immediately, while various limited coronavirus containment measures were in place at the state level. Said Beutner, “We are ready to reopen and want nothing more than to welcome children back to classrooms safely but we cannot break state law to do so.”The move by the LA City Council follows a similar lawsuit recently filed by the San Francisco City Council against its own district. The San Francisco suit was the first of its kind in the state of California. City attorney Dennis Herrera, supported by Democratic Mayor London Breed, filed the suit on the grounds that the district had failed to “offer classroom-based instruction whenever possible.” Breed herself argued that the supposed suffering of ethnic minority children caused by remote learning should be answered by putting those same children and their families’ lives at risk by returning to full in-person instruction. “Our kids are suffering, and the inequities that existed before this pandemic have become more severe,” she said. “We have been a national leader in our response to COVID. Let’s be a national leader in getting our kids back to school.”
San Francisco sues schools over record number of suicidal students - The city of San Francisco says the number of suicidal children hit record highs as public schools remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, the city took an unprecedented step and sued its own school district over the continued closures that have kept San Francisco’s more than 54,000 public school students out of the classroom since March 2020. City Attorney Dennis Herrera argued in the lawsuit that reopening was safe and the San Francisco Unified School District was hurting students’ mental health by keeping the facilities closed. The lawsuit also said school officials have yet to deliver a detailed plan for reopening, which is required by law. In a motion filed in San Francisco Superior Court Thursday, Herrera provided testimony from hospitals and parents on the mental health effects the closures are allegedly having on children, according to The Associated Press (AP). The lawsuit claims UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital has seen a 66 percent increase in the number of suicidal children who visited emergency rooms and a 75 percent increase in children who required hospitalization for mental health issues, AP reports. UCSF Children’s Emergency Department at Mission Bay also saw record high numbers of suicidal children last month, according to the legal filing. The city also cites testimony from parents. One mother said her 15-year-old daughter often cries in the middle of the day out of frustration, and she recently found her “curled up in a fetal position, crying, next to her laptop at 11 a.m.,” according to the AP. Another parent said her 7-year-old son has had “uncontrollable meltdowns,” and her 10-year-old daughter is experiencing “depression and anger.” She said she believes her daughter’s mental health will continue to suffer until schools are reopened. San Francisco schools have been allowed by law to reopen since September. But teachers’ unions have said they will not return to in-person learning until they receive vaccinations and the district has yet to finalize a deal for reopening. “We wholeheartedly agree that students are better served with in-person learning,” Laura Dudnick, the school district’s spokeswoman, told AP. “We are eager for the city to make vaccines available to our staff.” On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidance on safely reopening schools, noting that while COVID-19 vaccination of teachers should be prioritized, it should not be considered a condition to reopening classrooms.
San Francisco district and unions agree on school reopening plan after city lawsuit - On Saturday, the United Educators of San Francisco (UESF), a collection of several unions representing all school employees, reached a tentative agreement with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) with a phased reopening plan to force 52,000 students and teachers back into schools for in-person learning.Under the new framework, which has yet to be voted on by teachers and school workers, schools will begin to return when the county enters the “red zone” of California’s latest “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” reopening plan. The “red zone” signifies a test positivity rate of 5 to 8 percent and up to 7 daily new cases per 100,000 people.According to the tentative agreement, reopening is contingent on staff members having “had the opportunity (eligibility and access) to be vaccinated at the recommended dosage.” However, teachers and staff do not have to receive vaccines before reopening if the county reaches the “orange zone,” with a test positivity rate of 2 to 4.9 percent. Currently, San Francisco County is in the highest “purple zone” with a positivity rate higher than 8 percent.The agreement endorses the idea that it can be “safe” to reopen schools before the COVID-19 pandemic is properly contained, a conception that relies on skewed data, pseudo-science and the false promise of providing all necessary resources to schools. Susan Solomon, the president of UESF, stated, “This agreement sets the stage to safely reopen schools in San Francisco. Now we need city and state officials to step up and make vaccines available to school staff now, while UESF continues to focus on finalizing agreements around classroom instruction, schedules, and continuing to improve remote learning for the students and families who choose not to return even with these standards in place.”
San Francisco files emergency order to reopen public schools - San Francisco on Thursday filed an emergency court order calling for public schools within the city to reopen for in-person instruction despite surging coronavirus cases.In the order, the city criticized the school district for keeping schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic. It alleged that the closures violated students' constitutional rights and called the move "unconscionable and unlawful."The emergency order comes just a week after the city filed a lawsuit against the school district."The Board of Education and the school district have had more than 10 months to roll out a concrete plan to get these kids back in school. So far they have earned an F. Having a plan to make a plan doesn't cut it," City Attorney Dennis Herrera said at the time, according to CNN.Many officials as well as teachers unions have pushed back on reopening schools, citing health and safety concerns.Earlier this week, a teachers union agreed that it would support resuming in-person teaching in the event that the city meets reopening criteria or vaccinates all school staff. San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) said that under those requirements it is unlikely that schools will reopen this year, CNN reported."We wholeheartedly agree that students are better served with in-person learning," the school district said in a statement to CNN. "This is a frivolous lawsuit and is taking resources away from the reopening process. We have called on the City to make vaccines available and to support staff and student surveillance testing. These calls have not been answered but are exactly what we need to move this process forward."The issue is set to go to court on March 22. San Francisco County has seen nearly 32,695 coronavirus cases and 351 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Almost 134,921 vaccines have been administered, according to the L.A. Times.
CDC calls for schools to reopen with precautions - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday released long-awaited guidance on safely reopening schools, emphasizing the importance of having schools open as long as proper coronavirus safety precautions are followed. The guidance states it is "critical for schools to open as safely and as soon as possible," given the benefits of in-person learning.The top recommendations for doing so safely are universal wearing of masks by students, staff and teachers as well as distancing so that people are six feet apart. COVID-19 vaccination of teachers should be prioritized, the agency said, but "should not be considered a condition" of reopening schools. The CDC says schools can adjust whether they are fully in-person or hybrid learning depending on the level of spread in the surrounding community and mitigation measures in place. Schools are encouraged to use "podding" to separate students into smaller groups to help make contract tracing easier. The Biden administration has faced heavy scrutiny over its position on school reopening in recent weeks, with Republicans accusing it of bowing to teachers unions in not backing statements from the CDC director about the ability of schools to reopen. Some teachers unions, for example, have called for vaccinations before returning to the classroom, which the CDC says is not necessary. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday that there had been no "political meddling" in her agency's recommendations, though she added she had shared some pieces with the White House to let them know what the CDC was planning. "The science has demonstrated that schools can reopen safely prior to all teachers being vaccinated," Walensky said. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten released a largely positive statement in response to the guidance. “Today, the CDC met fear of the pandemic with facts and evidence," she said. "For the first time since the start of this pandemic, we have a rigorous road map, based on science, that our members can use to fight for a safe reopening." Still, Weingarten also added that "securing the funding to get this done" is needed to "make this guidance real," and called for passing Biden's $1.9 trillion relief package, which includes more money for schools.
Biden Administration Says Schools Have Reopened If They Are Open One Day a Week - After President Biden made an ambitious promise to help reopen a majority of K-8 schools in his first 100 days, the White House said this week the pledge means opening more than 50% of schools for in-person teaching at least one day a week. The comments drew criticism from Republicans and some parents, amid growing debate over how to define opening schools. The fresh tension comes as many districts around the country remain in virtual mode amid the winter jump in Covid-19 cases and deaths, the spread of new coronavirus strains, the slow vaccination rollout and clashes between state authorities and teachers’ unions. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the goal was “at least one day a week in the majority of schools, by day 100.” On Wednesday she stressed that this was “not the ceiling, that is the bar we’re trying to leap over and exceed.” “Certainly, we are not planning to celebrate at 100 days if we reach that goal. That is our own effort to set our own markings, set a bold and ambitious agenda for how we’re going to measure ourselves and progress,” she said. “But we certainly hope to build from that, even at 100 days.” Several congressional Republicans criticized that goal on Wednesday. “The Biden Administration’s stated goal of reopening 50% of classrooms for one day a week is unacceptable. Our students deserve more,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said on Twitter. Mr. Biden has made school reopening a top priority, but the federal government has little influence over the operation of local school districts, which falls chiefly to local and state governments. He has included $130 billion in funds for K-12 schools in the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan that he has proposed to Congress and that Republicans oppose. The money would go to school districts to pay for reducing class sizes to accommodate social distancing, improving ventilation, hiring more janitors and providing more personal protective equipment.
The Teachers Unions Roll Over Biden – WSJ --President Biden made an early pandemic show by promising that a majority of American schools would reopen in his first 100 days in office. But on Tuesday we learned that this depends on the meaning of the word “reopen.” “His goal that he set is to have the majority of schools, so more than 50 percent, open by day 100 of his presidency and that means some teaching in classrooms,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. “So at least one day a week.”One day out of five? We doubt that’s how working parents define open. Ms. Psaki is trying to make a virtue out of a humiliating political embarrassment. Mr. Biden figured that his support for the teachers union agenda, along with more money, would get the unions to reopen the schools. Instead he’s discovering what America’s parents have learned in the last year: Unions run the schools, and no one—not parents, not school districts, not mayors, and not even a new Democratic President—will tell them what to do. So it’s one day a week, pal. Get used to it. This really is one of the great scandals of the pandemic. At first unions demanded that cases drop in their cities before schools open. Now cases are falling almost everywhere. So unions are insisting that teachers must be vaccinated before returning.Take Chicago, where elementary and middle schools were supposed to reopen last week—until the union called a de facto strike. On Wednesday the Chicago Teachers Union ratified an agreement to return to schools in March. But teachers, who will be prioritized for vaccines, won’t have to return to classrooms if they have an underlying medical condition or live with someone who does.Most teachers may be able to apply for an exemption. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40% of people in Cook County have a chronic condition. The agreement also requires in-person instruction to be “paused” for 14 days if a single child in a school tests positive for Covid. All of this means most kids will be stuck learning remotely for the rest of the school year.Or look at San Francisco, where the teachers union and district agreed over the weekend to reopen schools once all teachers are vaccinated. Mayor London Breed said Tuesday this means schools won’t reopen this year. “We have to do better. We have to think about these children,” she said. Maybe next year.Incredibly, San Francisco’s school board and union hadn’t even considered a plan to reopen schools for nearly 11 months. Last week the city finally sued the school board to force it to come up with a reopening plan.“Various public schools in Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Napa counties have all figured it out,” City Attorney Dennis Herrera said. “Private and parochial schools in San Francisco have figured it out. In-person instruction needs to be the Board of Education’s singular focus—not renaming schools that are empty, or changing admission policies when teachers aren’t in classrooms.” Hear, hear. On Tuesday Mr. Herrera accused the district of violating students’ rights under the state constitution and discriminating on the basis of wealth. Legal merits aside, he’s right that school closures are disproportionately harming low-income kids who are losing a year of learning they will never make up.
In the Absence of COVID Safety Plans, Teachers Are Resigning and Retiring Early - This should have been Cheryl Dubberly’s 40th year as a music teacher, but in August 2020, she resigned from her position with the Duval County Board of Education in Jacksonville, Florida.“It was dreadful to think about continuing,” Dubberly told Truthout. “I would not have been able to stay safe because I was responsible for teaching music to the entire school — 500 to 600 kids.” The job, she says, required her to go from classroom to classroom even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that singing with others can spread COVID-19.“The job was not worth my life,” she says. Like Dubberly, Christine Vehar, also a music teacher, left her position in the metro Atlanta area this fall. She had taught for just three and a half years. “When the schools closed in March, I had a great remote teaching experience,” she says. “The students were very engaged and despite some initial disorganization, it worked well, and I ended up loving teaching from home.” But when Vehar’s district decided to move to a hybrid schedule in October — holding in-person classes from 7:15 am to 2:15 pm four days a week, with Wednesdays as a remote teaching and learning day — she resigned.The reason was fear of catching and spreading the virus.“My mom is 63, and she lives with me,” Vehar told Truthout. “She is a three-time cancer survivor and an amputee with a compromised immune system, so there was absolutely no way for me to give her the care she deserves and continue to teach in-person.” A fall 2020 survey conducted by the National Education Association (NEA) confirms that neither Dubberly nor Vehar are unusual. “Teachers with less than 10 years in are leaving the profession,” NEA President Becky Pringle told Truthout. “And 40 percent of mid-range teachers — those with 21 to 30 years of teaching experience, the people who are mentors and leaders in many schools — have indicated that they are likely to resign or retire early. This is really disturbing.” Michele Fleiss, a technology teacher in a Brooklyn, New York, elementary and middle school, has taught for 23 years and is in this demographic. “I can get my pension once I’ve put in 25 years and reach age 55,” she says. “I have less than two years to go, and while COVID is not the only reason I want to leave the profession, it is a factor.” Her fury toward the City Board of Education is palpable. Staff, she says, are treated disrespectfully — not told whether they’ll be working remotely or in person until the last minute. “A few weeks ago, we got called at 8:30 at night and were told that the next day we’d be teaching remotely. We then had to start making calls and emailing the families about the change. We were also expected to immediately pivot our lesson plans from in-person to online instruction,”
Campus police deployed to UC Berkeley dormitories as administration blames COVID-19 outbreak on students - Campus police officers have been deployed to patrol the student dormitories at the University of California, Berkeley as a severe outbreak of COVID-19 that has spiked since the beginning of the year impacts students, faculty and staff. In an email to students living in dormitories, campus administrators warned that students faced suspension from the University for not complying with campus directives regarding COVID-19. The email then added, “We don’t wish for residents to be alarmed by this increased UCPD (University of California Police Department) presence, but we must ensure the health of our community.” The campus housing page clarifies that UCPD and a third-party security force have been deployed to enforce a self-sequester mandate that bans all UC dormitory students, regardless of whether they have tested positive, from leaving their rooms except “to obtain medical care, including mental health care, in case of emergency, to comply with your testing requirements, to use the bathroom, or to obtain food from nearby outdoor Cal Dining kiosk.” Over the last two weeks, there has been a surge of new cases at UC Berkeley. While cases were below 50 a week in the fall, they now exceed 150 per week. By mobilizing the police and threatening students with expulsion for violating protocols, the campus is doing everything it can to avoid and obscure the fact that university administrators are responsible for the spread of the virus, not the students. While most college classes are being held online, the school has encouraged students to return to the dormitories, which serve as a lucrative source of cash for the university. UC Berkeley’s budget has been significantly impacted by cuts over the last ten years, and the school is currently facing a $340 million budget deficit. UC Berkeley is desperate to keep students in its business-minded dormitory and dining programs, while it pretends that the mass communal living units could ever be remotely safe from the virus during the pandemic. In addition to threatening students with expulsion and deploying police, UC Berkeley has also implemented quarantines for non-sick students that have forced them to live alongside the ill.
Montana Aims To "Save Women's Sports" From Biden's Executive Order --The Montana House Judiciary Committee passed House Bill 112 in a 62-38 vote on Jan. 25, requiring public school athletes to participate in sports according to their biological sex. The bill, named the “Save Women’s Sports Act” is sponsored by Rep. John Fuller, who told Campus Reform, “I have spent my life’s career defending children, helping them achieve their dreams and advocating for the benefits of sports and athletics for everyone.” The bill passed the Montana House within days of President Joe Biden signing an executive order that would allow biological males who identify as females to compete in women's sports, as Campus Reform previously reported. According to United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515, 533 (1996) "'Inherent differences' between men and women, we have come to appreciate, remain cause for celebration, but not for denigration of the members of either sex or for artificial constraints on an individual's opportunity." All-American track athlete Doriane Lambelet Coleman, tennis champion Martina Navratilova, and Olympic track gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross recently wrote, “the evidence is unequivocal that starting in puberty, in every sport except sailing, shooting, and riding, there will always be significant numbers of boys and men who would beat the best girls and women in head-to-head competition. Claims to the contrary are simply a denial of science.” A study by the Journal of Applied Physiology found that on average women exhibit about 40 percent less upper body strength and 33 percent less lower-body strength than men. If signed into law, HB 112 would take effect on July 1.
COVID-19 recovery is the time for free college - The Biden administration is pushing hard to “go big” in its COVID-19 recovery plan over some reluctance from fiscal moderates in Congress. With the daunting challenge of managing a recovery and a balky Congress, it may not seem like the right time to push another big idea like free college. Yet, if structured right, tuition-free college can be an essential part of economic recovery, be accomplished with relatively modest resources and even (as one of us has written elsewhere) win bipartisan support. A federal free-college program focused on community college and technical training for good-paying jobs will be critical to address dramatic changes in the labor market that COVID-19 has only accelerated.Even before the pandemic, the displacement of workers due to automation was reducing opportunities in many occupations. And any recession, including the current one in which workers are jobless for an extended period, means skills can atrophy or become outmoded due to changing technology. This occurs as employers use the crisis of downturns to implement changes in how they produce goods and services. Moreover, the pandemic will almost certainly cause lasting shifts in demand away from some in-person services (business travel) and toward other sectors (health care and information technology). To keep up with the demands of growing jobs, workers will thus need to be retrained. Indeed, colleagues at the Upjohn Institute have found that low-income, low-skill workers bear the brunt of COVID-19-induced job losses, jobs that in many cases are not going to return at all. As our colleague Brad Hershbein told the Associated Press, “disparities in job loss between high and low wage workers are unprecedented among U.S. recessions over the past 100-plus years.” There are good-paying jobs emerging in fields likely to expand in a COVID-19 reshaped economy — but almost all these jobs will require a postsecondary credential and training of some sort. Emerging jobs in fields like health care, technology, medical devices and communications will require workers with associate degrees or short-term certifications of the sort available at community colleges. A targeted free-college program can help make this happen.The good news is that such a program doesn’t have to bust the budget. Estimates suggest that a nationwide tuition-free community college program for adult workers would cost between $4 billion and $6 billion in new discretionary outlays over four years — a drop in the bucket relative to the trillions of dollars being spent on recovery.
Black, Latino college students disproportionately picked for audits: analysis -- An analysis of federal data conducted by The Washington Post found that the Department of Education has disproportionately chosen students from majority Black and Latino areas to be audited. The Post found that almost a fourth of Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applicants were picked to be audited for the 2019-2020 academic year. In comparison, the newspaper notes that the IRS audited less than half a percent of all returns in the previous year. Using information obtained from an open records request, the Post found that FAFSA applicants from Black-majority communities were 1.8 times more likely to be audited than students from white-majority neighborhoods. Students from Latino-majority communities were 1.4 times more likely to be audited.Many students drop out of the auditing process altogether, the Post notes, with the Education Department estimating 11 percent step away. Financial aid experts, however, told the newspaper that 25 percent could be more accurate. Students who fail to provide information risk losing access to grants, scholarships and loans. Kim Cook, executive director of the nonprofit National College Attainment Network, told the Post that the pandemic has made it even harder for students to think about college when dealing with deaths in the family and loss of income. “If we get students to continue down the path to keep their options open for college, hurdles and barriers like verification can so easily knock them off that path," Cook said. The Post reports that the number of students audited has dropped, noting that Congress had recently taken steps so students no longer have to self-report income. The omnibus spending bill signed last December, for example, contains a provision that makes it easier for the IRS and the Education Department to share tax return data.
‘Sissy Hypnosis’: The Bizarre Social Engineering Experiment - As Aldous Huxley said it would be, the Brave New World is foisted upon us. Enter “sissy hypno“: a fascinating and eerie steampunk-style mass-scale psychosocial “movement” (for lack of a better word) that encourages men to renounce their masculine identity and become – as the term is used in the LGBTQ4GF150+ community – a “sissy.” The term “sissy” has a long colloquial use dating back to the 1890s. In its original conception (and the way it was almost always used until the 21st century), it meant “a person (usually male) regarded as effeminate or cowardly.” Essentially, it was a flippant term of derision and nothing more. In the context that the term “sissy” is currently used, the meaning is shifted subtly in a more sadomasochistic direction:“a process where submissive men learn to take on traditionally female roles. The submissive, known as a sissy, learns to adopt ultra-feminine behaviors and perform feminine activities under the guidance of his Dominant partner.” The long form of “sissy hypno” is “sissfication hypnosis,” with the goal being to indoctrinate male viewers into new roles as sissies while leaving old gender identities and practices behind — hence the “hypnosis” portion of the term. According to Andrea Long Chu, sissy porn functions as a type of “metapornography” in which the viewer becomes aware of the psychological effects of the content they are absorbing through the medium: “Sissy porn’s central conceit is that the women it depicts are in fact former men who have been feminized (‘sissified’) by being forced to wear makeup, wear lingerie, and perform acts of sexual submission. Captions further instruct viewers to understand that the very act of looking at sissy porn itself constitutes an act of sexual degradation, with the implication that, whether they like it or not, viewers will inevitably be transformed into females themselves.”Academic works have lexically dolled up the sissy hypno phenomenon by terming it as “trans porno remix,” also known by its acronym TPR:“Through digital editing techniques, TPR (trans porno remix) creates haptic spaces for the viewer to imagine themselves as trans subjects. Through modes of direct address to the viewer, on-screen captions, and audio-visual montage, TPR videos construct a trans imaginary that is coproduced with the porn consumer and create space for viewers to experiment with gendered embodiment through imagining a future-oriented transformation into a trans subject.” –Aster Gilbert, Ph.D. student in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Kansas (pronouns: she/her, they/them)
Los Angeles Hospital slated for closure amid pandemic -- On New Year’s Eve, the hospital giant Alecto Healthcare Services, announced that they will be closing the 200-plus-bed Olympia Medical Center Hospital in Los Angeles County on March 31, 2021 and laying off all staff. The announcement came as the majority of the state of California was reporting zero percent ICU capacity and hospitals throughout Southern California were strained to the brink as ambulances snaked around emergency rooms and health care staff were given directives to ration care. The planned closure of the hospital in the middle of a deadly pandemic—as the death toll approaches half a million victims—is a testament to the utter irrationality of the capitalist system and dire need to remove the profit motive from health care entirely. The closure of Olympia will have a devastating impact on Los Angeles County, which has been one of the major epicenters of the pandemic in the US. According to the state’s tracking system as of February 9, at least 44,997 people have died in California where cases exceed 3,428,698. In Los Angeles County alone there are 1,110,384 positive COVID-19 cases, of which 17,764 have resulted in death. The county’s ICU capacity has run dangerously low, as average daily admissions remain at approximately 400 according to County Health Director Dr. Christina Ghaly. The state’s tracking system predicts that a total of 51,950 deaths will occur in California by February 27. The closure of Olympia Medical Center will only put further strain on hospital systems and drive up the number of deaths. The announcement of the hospital closure has been met with outrage by nurses, health care workers, and the larger community as a whole, which will lose access to crucial medical services provided by Olympia. UCLA Health Services plan to convert the medical center into a neuropsychiatric center, which will leave the region without direct access to vital services such as an emergency room, medical surgical beds, intensive care unit, surgical services, hyperbaric wound care center and their internationally-recognized digestive disease institute.Adding insult to injury, the entire staff at Olympia faces layoffs at the end of next month, on top of being expected to maintain the daily care of COVID-19 patients under conditions where many health care workers are suffering from PTSD, and what one nurse described as the “endless conveyor belt of death.”
Porous materials unfavorable for coronavirus survival- As COVID-19 spreads via respiratory droplets, researchers have become increasingly interested in the drying of droplets on impermeable and porous surfaces. Surfaces that accelerate evaporation can decelerate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from IIT Bombay show a droplet remains liquid for a much shorter time on a porous surface, making it less favorable to survival of the virus. The researchers found the coronavirus can survive for four days on glass, seven days on plastic, and seven days on stainless steel. But on paper and cloth, the virus survived for only three hours and two days, respectively. "Based on our study, we recommend that furniture in hospitals and offices, made of impermeable material, such as glass, stainless steel, or laminated wood, be covered with porous material, such as cloth, to reduce the risk of infection upon touch," said author Sanghamitro Chatterjee. Similarly, the researchers suggest seats in public places, such as parks, shopping malls, restaurants, and railway or airport waiting halls, could be covered with cloth to alleviate the risk of disease spread. For both impermeable and porous surfaces, 99.9% of the droplet's liquid content is evaporated within the first few minutes. After this initial state, a microscopic thin residual liquid film remains on the exposed solid parts, where the virus can still survive. The researchers discovered the evaporation of this remnant thin film is much faster in the case of porous surfaces as compared to impermeable surfaces. The d¬¬¬¬roplets spread due to capillary action between the liquid near the contact line and the horizontally oriented fibers on the porous surface and the void spaces in porous materials, which accelerates evaporation.
CDC Begins Recommending Wearing Two Masks - Starting Wednesday, the CDC (aka the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) began recommending that Americans wear two masks, or specifically a cloth mask over a medical mask to slow the spread of Covid-19.The guidance followed the release of an agency study (because "scientists") that found double masking can boost protection from aerosolized particles.Whereas government officials previously said the CDC was waiting to gather evidence on double masking, they now appear to have a greenlight to mandate double-masking. The new study, part of the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, also examined the efficacy of modifications made to improve the fit of a medical mask. Either double masking or tightening a mask’s fit reduced exposure to aerosols that could be infectious by about 95%, the research concluded.“These experiments highlight the importance of good fit to maximize mask performance,” the authors wrote.“There are multiple simple ways to achieve better fit of masks to more effectively slow the spread of Covid-19.”The findings came from experiments done by the agency last month, which tested how double masking and changes to improve mask fit worked amid coughing, which the researchers simulated. Knotting the loops of a surgical mask and tucking in extra fabric near the face was found to reduce exposure, as was wearing a cloth mask over a surgical mask.
Cancer drug could reduce COVID-19 deaths, study finds - Biotech company Veru announced Tuesday that the results of a COVID-19 treatment trial indicate that one of the firm's anti-cancer treatments was effective in reducing the risk of death among coronavirus patients. The company pointed to the results of a double-blind study involving 40 hospital patients, some of whom were given the company's VERU-111 anti-cancer treatment and others who were given a placebo, which found the drug was responsible for an 82 percent "relative reduction" in the rate of respiratory failure or death. “We are very pleased with the results of our Phase 2 trial, which demonstrated clinically meaningful reductions in relevant endpoints, including respiratory failure, days in the ICU and on mechanical ventilation and patient mortality. We believe VERU-111 has significant potential in treating COVID-19, both as a broad-spectrum antiviral and an anti-inflammatory agent," said Veru's CEO Mitchell Steiner. “Due to the urgency of the global pandemic and need for more effective treatment options for patients, we are duty-bound to pursue this indication, even though it has not been the primary focus of Veru," he continued. The company will now pursue a phase 3 trial of the treatment in the hopes of general approval for use later this year, Steiner told CNBC. The Food and Drug Administration approved the antiviral drug remdesivir for general use to treat COVID-19 in October, just weeks after former President Trump was given a dose of the drug at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after he tested positive for the coronavirus. More than 464,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began in early 2020. The rate of new cases has sharply declined across the country following its peak in early January, but has yet to fall back to the same levels of new infections the country saw for most of last year.
Cancer Drug Shows Potent Activity in the Lab Against SARS-CoV-2, Including B.1.1.7 Variant - Scientists at UC San Francisco’s Quantitative Bioscience Institute (QBI) and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai (ISMMS) in New York have shown that plitidepsin (Aplidin), a drug approved by the Australian Regulatory Agency for the treatment of multiple myeloma, has potent antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In laboratory experiments reported in Science on Jan. 25, plitidepsin, a compound originally discovered in a Mediterranean sea squirt, was 27.5-fold more potent against SARS-CoV-2 than remdesivir, a drug that received FDA emergency use authorization in 2020 for the treatment of COVID-19. In addition, in two preclinical models of COVID-19, plitidepsin showed a 100-fold reduction in viral replication in the lungs and demonstrated an ability to reduce lung inflammation. The studies were led by the laboratories of Nevan Krogan, PhD, director of the QBI, part of the UCSF School of Pharmacy, and Adolfo García-Sastre, PhD, professor of microbiology and director of the Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute at ISMMS. In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Krogan, also a senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes, brought many UCSF labs together in the QBI Coronavirus Research Consortium (QCRG), which played a major role in the new research. In a separate publication posted to the bioRxiv preprint server, the UCSF and ISMMS researchers, in collaboration with Greg Towers, PhD, and Clare Jolly, PhD, of University College London, show that plitidepsin has antiviral activity against the recently identified B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 which is comparable to the drug’s activity against the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. Additionally, they found plitidepsin to be about 100 times more potent than remdesivir in human epithelial cells.
Nasodine antiseptic nasal spray shows potential antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 - A team of international scientists has recently investigated the efficacy of PVP-1, a complex of polyvinylpyrrolidone and iodine, in preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Using in vitro cell culture settings, the scientists observe that PVP-1 formulation used in a commercially available nasal spray (Nasodine) readily inactivates SARS-CoV-2 within a short period of time. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server. Because viral shedding from the nasal cavity and upper respiratory tract is the primary mode of infection transmission, early therapeutic elimination of SARS-CoV-2 in the nasal cavity can significantly reduce the risk of person-to-person transmission as well as propagation of the infection to the lower respiratory tract and other organs. In the current study, the scientists have examined the efficacy of PVP-1 in eliminating SARS-CoV-2 infection by conducting a series of in vitro experiments. PVP-1 is known to have a broad range of antimicrobial effects and is routinely used as a skin and mucous membrane disinfectant. In this study, the scientists have specifically evaluated the efficacy of commercially available Nasodine antiseptic nasal spray, which contains a clinically approved formulation of 0.5% of PVP-1.
Study shows anti-inflammatory drug reduces risk of death in hospitalized COVID-19 patients - An anti-inflammatory drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis reduces the risk of death in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19, especially when combined with the steroid dexamethasone, according to results of a study released Thursday. Tocilizumab, an intravenous drug manufactured by Roche, was also shown to reduce the need for a mechanical ventilator and shorten the length of hospitalization. The preliminary results came from the Recovery trial at the University of Oxford, which has been studying various potential treatments for COVID-19 since March. Tocilizumab, sold under the brand name Actemra, was added to the trial in April for patients with COVID-19 who required oxygen and had evidence of inflammation. "Previous trials of tocilizumab had shown mixed results, and it was unclear which patients might benefit from the treatment," Peter Horby, a professor at the University of Oxford and joint chief investigator for the Recovery trial, said in a statement. "We now know that the benefits of tocilizumab extend to all COVID patients with low oxygen levels and significant inflammation. The double impact of dexamethasone plus tocilizumab is impressive and very welcome," Horby said. The trial tested 2,022 patients who were randomly allocated tocilizumab, and compared the results to 2,094 who received standard care. According to researchers, 82 percent of the test subjects were also taking a steroid such as dexamethasone, which has also been found to reduce hospitalization in people with severe COVID-19. The study found 29 percent of the patients in the tocilizumab group died within 28 days, compared with 33 percent of patients in the usual care group. According to the researchers, the difference means that for every 25 patients treated with tocilizumab, one additional life would be saved. However, the drug also increased the probability of being discharged alive within 28 days from 47 percent to 54 percent. While there was no evidence the drug had any effect on the chances of successfully ending ventilation, the treatment significantly reduced the chances of progressing to a ventilator or death, from 38 percent to 33 percent. The preliminary results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed medical journal shortly.
Study: People with dementia more likely to contract coronavirus, be hospitalized - Older Americans suffering from dementia are at an increased risk of contracting the coronavirus and being hospitalized with serious complications from the resulting disease, according to a new study. The study, commissioned by Case Western University, found that Americans with dementia are twice as likely to contract the coronavirus and experience severe complications from COVID-19 as people who do not have dementia. “It’s pretty convincing in suggesting that there’s something about dementia that makes you more vulnerable,” Kristine Yaffe, a professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco who was not involved in the study, told The New York Times, referring to the research. An estimated 5.8 million Americans age 65 and older and 50 million people worldwide are living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, the study found, noting that many of the common comorbidities in patients with dementia are also "demonstrated risk factors for COVID‐19 and are associated with worse clinical outcomes." Among patients with dementia, Black people were twice as likely to contract the coronavirus than their white counterparts. Patients with dementia who contracted the virus had significantly worse outcomes, including long hospital stays and higher death rates, than patients suffering from dementia or COVID‐19 alone. "One of the things that has come from this COVID situation is that we should be pointing out these disparities," Maria Carrillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, told the Times. A separate study released in November found that the coronavirus can have mental health impacts on patients years after they have recovered.
Past coronavirus infections don’t seem to help with SARS-CoV-2 While the SARS-CoV-2 virus is new to humans, coronaviruses in general aren't. There have been earlier members of this group of viruses that have raised pandemic fears, while another group regularly circulates widely in humans, causing symptoms of the common cold. Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, there were some indications that prior exposure to cold-causing viruses could produce a degree of protection against the disease. But back in December, researchers published results indicating that any cross-reactivity against related viruses by T cells was likely to be ineffective. Now, additional results have been published that indicate antibodies raised against cold viruses fail to neutralize SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has a number of features that distinguish it from other coronaviruses that have circulated within humans. But it also has plenty of things in common, like its use of RNA as a genetic material and the general layout of its genome. Some of its genes have also picked up very few changes over the course of evolution. As a result, there are some stretches of genes that are identical in cold viruses and SARS-CoV-2. This revelation turned out to be relevant to a study we covered last year. In that work, researchers were looking at the response to SARS-CoV-2 within T cells, specialized immune cells that do things like assist antibody-producing cells or kill off cells that are already infected. T cells act by recognizing short pieces of foreign proteins, such as those made by viruses. As you'd expect, the number of T cells that respond to SARS-CoV-2 went up after infection. The surprise was that they went up from a non-zero level. In other words, even before people were exposed to SARS-CoV-2, their immune system had T cells that could react to its proteins. This turned out to be mediated by short pieces of the viral proteins that were identical in both cold viruses and SARS-CoV-2. So, it's possible that these T cells could provide a small degree of immune protection against the new virus—which in turn could potentially help explain some of the differences in the severity of COVID-19 symptoms.
Signs that SARS-CoV-2 is evolving to avoid immune responses. Over the summer, you could almost hear a sigh of relief rising from the portion of the research community that was tracking the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Viruses, especially those new to their hosts, often pick up mutations that help them adapt to their new habitat, or they evade drugs or immune attacks. But SARS-CoV-2 seemed to be picking up mutations at a relatively sedate pace, in part because its virus-copying enzymes had a feature that lets them correct some errors.But suddenly, new variants appear to be everywhere, and a number of them appear to increase the threat posed by the virus. A new study helps explain the apparent difference: while new base changes in the virus's genetic material remain rare, some deletions of several bases appear to have evolved multiple times, indicating that evolution was selecting for them. The research team behind this new work found evidence that these changes alter how the immune system can respond to the virus. The researchers' interest in deletions started with their involvement with an immunocompromised cancer patient, who held off the infection for over two months without being able to clear the virus. Samples obtained from late in the infection revealed two different virus strains that each had a deletion in the gene encoding the spike protein that SARS-CoV-2 uses to attach to and enter cells.When the researchers searched a database of other viral genomes, they found six other cases where the same or similar deletions seem to have evolved in other patients. This caused them to go back and look at a collection of nearly 150,000 viral genomes. They found that over 1,100 of them carried deletions in the spike protein. But critically, they found that these weren't distributed randomly. Ninety percent of the deletions clustered into four distinct areas of the spike gene.That could be for one of two reasons. It's possible that these viruses are related by common descent and all inherited the same ancestral deletion. Or these deletions could be useful from an evolution perspective, and so whenever they happen to occur, they end up being kept around. If these deletions are being kept around, then the obvious question is "Why?" To find out, the researchers figured out how each of the deletions would alter the spike protein produced by the mutant form of the gene. They then compared this information to what we know about the structure and function of the spike protein. Again, so far, there's no indication that any of these strains can evade the immunity built up by earlier infection or one of the vaccines currently in use. But the results make clear that the virus is evolving in response to the immune system's reaction to it, and we can't guarantee that further changes won't make COVID-19 harder for our immune systems to keep at bay.
UK strain doubling every 10 days in US: study The more transmissible COVID-19 variant that originated in the U.K. is doubling here in the U.S. every 10 days, according to a new study published Sunday. The study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, also found the variant to be up to 35 to 45 percent more transmissible than the COVID-19 strain first circulating in the U.S. “Unless decisive and immediate public health action is taken, the increased transmission rate of these lineages and resultant higher effective reproduction number of SARSCoV-2 will likely have devastating consequences to COVID-19 mortality and morbidity in the U.S. in a few months, if decisive action is not immediately taken,” the authors write. Dozens of researchers from both academia, public, and private health sectors sequenced and analyzed positive COVID-19 samples across the U.S. to better gauge how contagious the variant from the U.K. is and how fast it grows. For the study, the strain from the U.K. was represented by a proxy testing anomaly, similar in genetic structure to the mutation first seen in England. Approximately half a million samples were tested in Helix Industries since July 2020. Scientists began specifically looking at the strain from the U.K. in early October 2020, citing 0.2 percent of daily positive COVID-19 samples with a similar genetic structure seen in the spike protein of the mutation from the U.K. Further analysis revealed that researchers found that during January 2021, the nationwide proportion of COVID-19 tests that matched the strain from the U.K., known as B.1.1.7, increased from an average of 0.8 percent in the first week to 4.2 percent in the last week. These results imply a high level of transmission and growth of the virus within a population. “Given the current trajectory of B.1.1.7 in the U.S., it is almost certainly destined to become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 lineage by March, 2021 across many U.S. states,” the report reads. Based on the sample of positive tests sequenced in the study, the variant from the U.K. was detected in the U.S. multiple times in November 2020, with two prominent groups detected in Florida and California. Cases in other states, including North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas, led researchers to believe that B.1.1.7 has likely been spreading throughout the country since late 2020. Despite a lower frequency of occurrence in the U.S. as opposed to some European countries, the B.1.1.7 is expected to grow, researchers say, into the dominant COVID-19 strain in the U.S. based on its current movements––mainly driven by community spread.
New variants threaten to reverse progress against COVID-19 The rise of more contagious variants of the coronavirus are threatening an encouraging trend of falling COVID-19 cases across the country. New U.S. cases of COVID-19 on Sunday dropped below 100,000 for the first time since November, a hopeful sign after a brutal post-Thanksgiving period that saw cases, hospitalizations and deaths spike. Health officials are urging the public and governors not to ease up on precautions despite the somewhat improved situation, given that measures like wearing a mask and distancing from others are even more important when the virus is more contagious. In addition, while the trend is going in a positive direction, the levels of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are still much higher than either of the previous peaks in the spring and summer of last year. There were 96,000 new cases on Sunday, according to the COVID Tracking Project, down from a peak of almost 300,000 in early January. But that is still far above any level experts would consider a goal. It is still higher than the peak of cases over the summer, for example, which was about 75,000 cases per day. Roughly 3,000 people are dying every day from the virus, and about 80,000 are in the hospital with COVID-19. Still, the positive trend has spurred some governors to start loosening restrictions. In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) last week lifted the mask mandate and distancing restrictions on restaurants and bars. While that is perhaps the most drastic recent move, other states have been taking more gradual steps to ease back. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that indoor dining can return at 25 percent capacity in New York City ahead of Valentine’s Day. Asked about Iowa’s decision, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky on Monday urged states not to lift precautions, in part citing the rise of new variants of the virus. “We still have this emerging threat of variants, and I would just simply discourage any of those activities,” she said. “We really need to keep all of the mitigation measures at play here if we're really going to get control of this pandemic.” Highlighting the threat of a more contagious variant of the virus first identified in the United Kingdom, a study released Sunday found that the variant is doubling every 10 days in the U.S. and will likely become the dominant strain in many states by March. Because the variant is 35 to 45 percent more transmissible, experts warn its rise could lead to a sharp spike in cases and hospitalizations. “We certainly do expect to see a spike in cases” on the current trajectory, said Karthik Gangavarapu, a researcher at the Scripps Research Institute and one of the authors of the study. “We still don't know how much of a spike it will be.” Ramping up genomic sequencing to keep track of the prevalence of different variants, as well as additional contact tracing efforts from local public health departments aimed at slowing the spread of the U.K. variant, could both help in the fight, Gangavarapu said. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, issued a warning by pointing to the example of Ireland, which was hit hard by the new variant. It peaked at 132 new cases per 100,000 people in early January. “US has never seen numbers like that. Only the Dakotas had infection rates that high,” Jha wrote on Twitter.
Tweaking COVID vaccines to fight variants won’t require big trials, FDA says -- With concerning coronavirus variants erupting around the world, the US Food and Drug Administration is ironing out how to rapidly review vaccine tweaks that better protect against the mutants—and the regulatory agency is turning to its experience with annual flu shots to do so.In a statement late Thursday, the regulatory agency said it is actively hashing out what kind of “streamlined” clinical data makers of authorized COVID-19 vaccines could submit. The agency expects to have a draft of its guidance in the next few weeks. The announcement suggests that makers of authorized vaccines will not be required to submit reams of data from large, months-long clinical trials, as they did for their initial authorizations. Still, data on any altered vaccine—however pared down—would still have to be enough to convince FDA scientists that a next-generation shot is safe and effective against variants. Vaccine alterations may include changes to the initial vaccine design or additions of new vaccine components, the FDA said. So far, the FDA has issued emergency use authorizations for two COVID-19 vaccines, an mRNA-based vaccine made by Moderna and another by partners Pfizer and BioNTech. (The FDA is now reviewing an EUA application for a third candidate, made by Johnson & Johnson, which is a non-replicating adenovirus-based vaccine.) Both mRNA vaccines showed around 95 percent efficacy in massive international Phase III trials. However, those trials were conducted prior to the rise of concerning variants, some of which appear to be able to evade immune responses. Early clinical data does indeed suggest that vaccine efficacy will be reduced by the currently emerging variants—though not eliminated entirely.
BioNTech-Pfizer COVID vaccine effective against 2 variants - A lab study has found the vaccine effective against UK and South Africa variants. German Health Minister Jens Spahn has voiced his confidence in the EU's three approved vaccines.A peer review has confirmed that the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine is effective against two variants of the coronavirus, the companies announced on Monday.The review, which was published in the journal Nature Medicine, backed the results of a study completed by Pfizer and the University of Texas in late January.When the study was originally released, BioNTech and Pfizer said its finding suggested that no newvaccine would be necessary to fight coronavirus mutations first discovered in the United Kingdom and South Africa.Nevertheless, the continuous transformation of the deadly virus makes clinical data and constant observation imperative. Experts say that it is not a foregone conclusion that vaccines currently in use will remain effective against possible new variants of the virus in the future.On Monday, German Health Minister Jens Spahn voiced confidence in the effectiveness of all three vaccines approved by the European Union. It followed the South African government's announcement that it would suspend its planned rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine.South Africa justified the decision by pointing to the vaccine's low effectiveness against mild and moderate infection stemming from the B.1351 variant, which is currently dominant in the country. Spahn emphasized that the three EU-approved vaccines exhibited high efficacy against serious infection.
AstraZeneca’s Vaccine Does Not Work Well Against Virus Variant in South Africa - The New York Times -South Africa halted use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine on Sunday after evidence emerged that the vaccine did not protect clinical trial volunteers from mild or moderate illness caused by the more contagious virus variant that was first seen there. The findings were a devastating blow to the country’s efforts to combat the pandemic.Scientists in South Africa said on Sunday that a similar problem held for people who had been infected by earlier versions of the coronavirus: The immunity they acquired naturally did not appear to protect them from mild or moderate cases when they were reinfected by the variant, known as B.1.351.The developments, coming nearly a week after a million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine arrived in South Africa, were an enormous setback for the country, where more than 46,000 people are known to have died from the virus.They were also another sign of the dangers posed by new mutations in the coronavirus. The B.1.351 variant has spread to at least 32 countries, including the United States.The number of cases evaluated as part of the studies outlined by South African scientists on Sunday were low, making it difficult to pinpoint just how effective or not the vaccine might be against the variant.And because the clinical trial participants who were evaluated were relatively young and unlikely to become severely ill, it was impossible for the scientists to determine if the variant interfered with the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine’s ability to protect against severe Covid-19, hospitalizations or deaths.The scientists said, however, that they believed the vaccine might protect against more severe cases, based on the immune responses detected in blood samples from people who were given it. If further studies show that to be the case, South African health officials will consider resuming use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, they said.The new research findings have not been published in a scientific journal. But the discovery that the AstraZeneca-Oxford product showed minimal efficacy in preventing mild and moderate cases of the new variant added to the mounting evidence that B.1.351 makes current vaccines less effective. Pfizer and Moderna have both said that preliminary laboratory studies indicate that their vaccines, while still protective, are less effective against B.1.351. Novavax and Johnson & Johnson have also sequenced test samples from their clinical trial participants in South Africa, where B.1.351 caused the vast majority of cases, and both reported lower efficacy there than in the United States. “These results are very much a reality check,”
Covid vaccine: J&J CEO says people may get annual shots for the next several years -People may need to get vaccinated against Covid-19 annually, just like seasonal flu shots, over the next several years, Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky told CNBC on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, as [the virus] spreads it can also mutate," he told CNBC's Meg Tirrell during a Healthy Returns Spotlight event. "Every time it mutates, it's almost like another click of the dial so to speak where we can see another variant, another mutation that can have an impact on its ability to fend off antibodies or to have a different kind of response not only to a therapeutic but also to a vaccine." Public health officials and infectious disease experts have said there is a high likelihood that Covid-19 will become an endemic disease, meaning it will become present in communities at all times, though likely at lower levels than it is now. Health officials will have to continuously watch for new variants of the virus, so scientists can produce vaccines to fight them, medical experts say. Gorsky's comment came after J&J said it applied for an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its coronavirus vaccine. Unlike Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines, which require two doses given about three to four weeks apart, J&J's only requires one dose, easing logistics for health-care providers. U.S. officials and Wall Street analysts are eagerly anticipating the authorization of J&J's vaccine, which could happen as early as this month. President Joe Biden is trying to pick up the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. and experts say his administration will need an array of drugs and vaccines to defeat the virus, which has killed more than 450,000 Americans over the last year, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The Department of Health and Human Services announced in August that it reached a deal with Janssen, J&J's pharmaceutical subsidiary, worth approximately $1 billion for 100 million doses of its vaccine. The deal gives the federal government the option to order an additional 200 million doses, according to the announcement. Gorsky told CNBC that the company's first priority is to work with the FDA toward U.S. authorization. He said J&J is working "full speed" on vaccine manufacturing, adding the company is "extremely confident" it will meet its target to deliver 100 million doses of its Covid vaccine to the U.S. by the end of June. "We will meet our commitments and at the same time we're doing everything we possibly can to safely and effectively accelerate" production, he said, adding people are "highly anticipating" being able to get a single shot against the virus. J&J is also continuing work on a two-dose coronavirus vaccine, Gorsky said. The company expects two-shot vaccine data from clinical trials in the second half of 2021, he said.
One dose of COVID-19 vaccine provokes strong immune response in those previously infected -Although clinical trial data are encouraging, real-world evidence with regard to the COVID-19 vaccine remains scarce. In particular, response to the vaccine among those previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 is still not completely understood. Researchers from Bar-Ilan University and Ziv Medical Center now report preliminary evidence that people previously infected with the virus responded very strongly to one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, regardless of when they were infected and whether or not they had detectable antibodies against COVID-19 prior to receiving the vaccine. Their study, published on February 11, 2021 in the journal Eurosurveillance, was conducted on a cohort of 514 staff members at Ziv Medical Center. Seventeen of them were infected with COVID-19 anytime between one and ten months before receiving the first dose of the vaccine. Antibody levels of the entire cohort were measured prior to vaccination and thereafter to determine response to the vaccine. The response among those previously infected was so effective that it opens the debate as to whether one dose of the vaccine may suffice. "This finding can help countries make informed decisions regarding vaccine policy - for instance, whether those previously infected should be vaccinated in priority and, if so, with how many doses," says Prof. Michael Edelstein, of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University, who led the study. "It also offers reassurance that not having detectable antibodies after being infected does not necessarily mean that protection following infection is lost." The research also provided evidence that immune response was similar across multi-ethnic groups. Ziv Medical Center, where the study was conducted, is staffed by a workforce comprised of Jews, Arabs and Druze, among others. Members of each of these groups responded very similarly to the first dose of the vaccine, a welcome finding considering that the virus itself is known to affect some groups more than others.
Fully vaccinated people can skip Covid quarantines, CDC says - People who have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus -- right now that means with two doses of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine -- can skip quarantine if they are exposed to someone infected with the virus, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. That doesn't mean they should stop taking precautions, the CDC noted in updated guidance. It's just not necessary for them to quarantine. "Fully vaccinated persons who meet criteria will no longer be required to quarantine following an exposure to someone with COVID-19," the CDC said in updates to its web page with guidance on vaccination. "Vaccinated persons with an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 are not required to quarantine if they meet all of the following criteria," the CDC added. The criteria: They must be fully vaccinated -- having had both shots with at least two weeks having passed since the second shot. That's because it takes two weeks to build full immunity after the second dose of vaccine. But the CDC says it's not known how long protection lasts, so people who had their last shot three months ago or more should still quarantine if they are exposed. They also should quarantine if they show symptoms, the CDC said. "This recommendation to waive quarantine for people with vaccine-derived immunity aligns with quarantine recommendations for those with natural immunity, which eases implementation," the CDC said. The agency will update guidance as more is learned. People who have been vaccinated should still watch for symptoms for 14 days after they have been exposed to someone who is infected, the CDC said. And everyone, vaccinated or not, needs to follow all other precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, the CDC said. This is not least because it's possible even vaccinated people could harbor the virus in their noses and throats, and pass it to others. "At this time, vaccinated persons should continue to follow current guidance to protect themselves and others, including wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet away from others, avoiding crowds, avoiding poorly ventilated spaces, covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands often, following CDC travel guidance, and following any applicable workplace or school guidance, including guidance related to personal protective equipment use or SARS-CoV-2 testing," the agency said. Vaccines prevent symptomatic illness but they have not yet been shown to prevent asymptomatic illness, the CDC noted. While people with no symptoms can spread coronavirus, the CDC said, "symptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission is thought to have a greater role in transmission than purely asymptomatic transmission.".
Why do US health care workers continue to refuse vaccination against COVID-19? - In January, when COVID-19 vaccines were first rolled out among US health care workers, news stories quickly surfaced with reports that large numbers of health care workers were refusing to be vaccinated. In a press briefing on January 4, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that roughly 60 percent of the state’s nursing home workers refused the first round of vaccinations. Other areas reported a similar phenomenon. In Los Angeles County, between 20 and 40 percent of all health care workers refused the vaccine when first available, and 50 percent in neighboring Riverside County refused. Dr. Jeremy Boal, the chief clinical officer at the Mount Sinai Hospital system in NYC, told the Gothamist in early January that across the eight hospitals in the system, vaccine acceptance ranged from 25 to 65 percent. The trend of vaccine skepticism among health care workers is especially dangerous because these workers are in more frequent contact with both COVID-19 patients and patients who are more vulnerable to deadly COVID-19 complications. Health care workers also play a crucial role in influencing the general population to accept the vaccine. Updated data from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) COVID-19 vaccine monitor shows that compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine is increasing among health care workers as well as the general population. However, health care workers are still accepting vaccination at alarmingly low rates. As of January 27, 32 percent of surveyed health care workers say they have received at least the first dose and 26 percent say they plan to receive it as soon as they can. Twenty-eight percent state they want to “wait-and-see,” while 9 percent say they will never get it. Of those refusing or delaying vaccination, 68 percent cited fear of long-term side effects as their primary concern. According to the KFF vaccine monitor, despite high levels of vaccine hesitancy, health care workers are still vaccinated or plan to be vaccinated at higher rates than the general population. Fifty-eight percent of surveyed health care workers have been vaccinated or plan to become vaccinated as soon as possible compared to 47 percent of the surveyed general population. Another survey by the non-profit group Surgo Ventures, focused solely on health care workers, allows for a more detailed analysis. At the time of the survey, 50 percent of respondents had been offered the vaccine and, across all groups, an average of 15 percent had refused vaccination. The group most likely to refuse the vaccine were allied health professionals, with a refusal rate of 22 percent. According to the Surgo study, 31 percent of those who refused the vaccine stated they were concerned about lack of evidence and safety of the vaccine. Another 24 percent had concerns about long-term side effects of vaccination. Sixteen percent felt the process of vaccine research and rollout was too rushed, and 12 percent stated they wanted to wait to observe side effects or issues in others.
Vaccines Alone Are Not Enough to Beat COVID - Scientific American - The world’s attention is rightly focused on news of COVID-19 vaccine updates, from eligibility to supply. But we will make a critical error if we ignore the need for treatments as well as vaccines. Vaccines may not reach everyone for many years. Vaccines will not protect everyone. And as infection surges threaten to overwhelm hospitals and nursing homes, immediate remedies are needed. So, it is vitally important we continue to research treatments to limit and cure COVID-19.Consider the flu, which is targeted annually with widely available and effective vaccines. But since no vaccine is perfect, there remains a significant need for flu therapies such as Tamiflu and Relenza because these drugs prevent hospitalizations and save lives. We need Tamiflu-like and Relenza-like drugs for COVID-19. To date, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only fully approved one treatment, intravenous remdesivir, for hospitalized patients. The FDA has also approved other intravenous therapies including convalescent plasma; a monoclonal antibody drug calledbamlanivimab; and a cocktail of the monoclonal antibodies casirivimab and imdevimab for outpatient care under emergency use authorization (EUA). While these drugs can be helpful, their requirement for intravenous administration severely hampers their widespread use. Because EUAs are issued during an emergency, the data for drug risks and benefits are much less than required for full FDA approval. The widespread and uncontrolled use of numerous EUA drugs has made it difficult to perform proper randomized clinical trials for other new experimental treatments, because it is unethical to ask a patient to participate in a clinical trial when they may or may not receive an EUA-approved treatment.The overuse of EUAs makes it difficult or impossible to know if these therapies truly are actually effective and safe. What is badly needed is more randomized clinical trials.To accelerate the discovery of essential new treatments, the U.S. government needs to commit to supporting and coordinating the research. I am encouraged by President Biden’s recent executive ordercalling for more large-scale randomized clinical trials and further studies on the most promising treatments to date. Federal government oversight is required to properly assess the risks and benefits of current EUA treatments individually and in combination because often these drugs are used together.
As Covid-19 Vaccines Raise Hope, Cold Reality Dawns That Illness Is Likely Here to Stay – WSJ - Vaccination drives hold out the promise of curbing Covid-19, but governments and businesses are increasingly accepting what epidemiologists have long warned: The pathogen will circulate for years, or even decades, leaving society to coexist with Covid-19 much as it does with other endemic diseases like flu, measles, and HIV.The ease with which the coronavirus spreads, the emergence of new strains and poor access to vaccines in large parts of the world mean Covid-19 could shift from a pandemic disease to an endemic one, implying lasting modifications to personal and societal behavior, epidemiologists say. “Going through the five phases of grief, we need to come to the acceptance phase that our lives are not going to be the same,” said Thomas Frieden, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “I don’t think the world has really absorbed the fact that these are long-term changes.”Endemic Covid-19 doesn’t necessarily mean continuing coronavirus restrictions, infectious-disease experts said, largely because vaccines are so effective at preventing severe disease and slashing hospitalizations and deaths. Hospitalizations have already fallen 30% in Israel after it vaccinated a third of its population. Deaths there are expected to plummet in weeks ahead. But some organizations are planning for a long-term future in which prevention methods such as masking, good ventilation and testing continue in some form. Meanwhile, a new and potentially lucrative Covid-19 industry is emerging quickly, as businesses invest in goods and services such as air-quality monitoring, filters, diagnostic kits and new treatments.
Dozens of people develop rare blood disorder after taking coronavirus vaccines – reports - At least 36 recipients of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines in the US have developed a rare immune disorder that attacks the blood, according to reports. One patient is dead, and doctors can’t rule out blaming the vaccine. Dr. Gregory Michael – a 56-year-old obstetrician-gynecologist who ran his own practice at Miami Beach’s Mount Sinai Medical Center for more than a decade – died in January of a brain hemorrhage. He had received a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine two weeks earlier, and immediately developed immune thrombocytopenia, a rare and sometimes fatal blood disorder. Michael is one of at least 36 people to have developed the condition after receiving either Pfizer’s or Moderna’s coronavirus vaccines, according to a New York Times report published on Monday. The cases were self-reported to the government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) before the end of January, meaning more people could have developed the condition since then.Immune thrombocytopenia is a rare condition affecting an estimated 50,000 people in the US. The condition is caused by the body’s own immune system attacking the platelets that are the component of the blood responsible for clotting. With their blood unable to clot, patients often develop internal or external bruising, which may look like a rash. In several cases like Michael’s, the condition has caused massive hemorrhages or strokes. One patient contacted by the Times suffered heavy vaginal bleeding two weeks after receiving Moderna’s vaccine and required platelet transfusions and steroid treatment to survive. Another woman was hospitalized with bruising and bleeding blisters in her mouth just a day after receiving the same shot. Her condition deteriorated to the point where doctors concerned that a slight knock would trigger fatal bleeding were afraid to move her from the hospital bed.The cases can’t all conclusively be linked with the vaccines, but Dr. James Bussel, a hematologist and expert on the condition, told the Times that an association “is possible.” “Having it happen after a vaccine is well-known and has been seen with many other vaccines,” he said. “Why it happens, we don’t know.”
Man in his 70s collapses and dies just 25 minutes after receiving COVID-19 vaccine in NYC – as officials say he ‘didn’t have allergic reaction An elderly man collapsed and died in New York City on Sunday morning shortly after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, officials revealed Monday. The man, who was in his 70s, fell as he left Manhattan's Jacob Javits Convention Center just 25 minutes after receiving his shot, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement. On-site security and first responders raced to his side within seconds, but the man, who has not yet been named, was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly afterward. It's currently unclear if the man's death is linked to the vaccine, with an investigation now underway. Adverse reactions to the vaccine are considered extremely rare, with those few cases most commonly linked to an allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. 'Initial indications are that the man did not have any allergic reaction to the vaccine,' Zucker, however, said in his statement.
Rep. Ron Wright Dies After Contracting Covid-19, First Sitting Congressman Killed by Virus – WSJ - Rep. Ron Wright (R., Texas) died on Sunday after contracting Covid-19, according to his campaign office, becoming the first member of Congress to die from the coronavirus while in office. Mr. Wright’s death at the age of 67 came two weeks after he was admitted to Baylor Hospital in Dallas, his campaign said. He said on Jan. 21 that he had tested positive for Covid-19 after coming into contact with someone who was infected. He was also being treated for cancer, his office said.“Despite years of painful, sometimes debilitating treatment for cancer, Ron never lacked the desire to get up and go to work, to motivate those around him, or to offer fatherly advice,” his campaign said Monday.President Biden, in a statement, said Mr. Wright was a “fighter who battled bravely against both cancer and Covid-19, diseases that our nation will continue working tirelessly every day to defeat in the memory of all those we have lost.”Mr. Wright was starting his second term in Congress. He previously served as a member of the Arlington, Texas, City Council and as chief of staff for former Rep. Joe Barton, a fellow Texas Republican who previously represented the district, south of Dallas.
New COVID-19 cases nationally drop below 100K for first time in 2021 -The number of new daily coronavirus cases has dropped below 100,000 for the first time this year, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Just under 87,000 cases were recorded in the U.S. on Feb. 7. The last time John Hopkins recorded less than 100,000 daily cases was on Nov. 2. Deaths are also down, according to data kept by The New York Times. It recorded 1,301 deaths on Sunday, compared to 4,101 deaths on Jan. 27 and and 4,406 on Jan. 12. Both case numbers and total deaths across the country can vary based on different reporting methods by states and local communities. Cases in the United States shot up in November and December as people moved indoors because of the colder weather, and as families and friends gathered for the Thanksgiving holiday. The number of cases peaked in early January and have been dropping steadily ever since. More and more people are now getting vaccines, though total vaccinations in the country represent a tiny portion of the population. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. has administered over 41 million doses of the vaccine with more than 9 million people receiving both doses of the vaccines. New variants of the coronavirus have also raised fears that the COVID-19 disease could spread further if those variants take hold before more people are vaccinated. Some of the newer variants of the coronavirus have been found to be much more contagious versions of the virus. The U.S. has so far recorded over 27 million cases of the coronavirus and over 463,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.
U.S. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations log biggest weekly drops since pandemic started -- - The United States reported a 25% drop in new cases of COVID-19 to about 825,000 last week, the biggest fall since the pandemic started, although health officials said they were worried new variants of the virus could slow or reverse this progress. New cases of the virus have now fallen for four weeks in a row to the lowest level since early November, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports. The steepest drop was in California, where cases in the week ended Feb. 7 fell 48%. Only Oregon, Puerto Rico, Arkansas and Vermont saw cases rise. (Open tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR in an external browser to see a state-by-state graphic.) At least three new variants of the novel coronavirus are circulating in the United States, including the UK variant B.1.1.7 that is 30% to 40% more contagious, according to researchers. “I’m asking everyone to please keep your guard up,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Monday. “The continued proliferation of variants remains a great concern and is a threat that could reverse the recent positive trends we are seeing.” The average number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals fell by 15% to 88,000 last week, also a record percentage drop, according to a Reuters analysis of data from the volunteer-run COVID Tracking Project. It was the lowest average number in hospitals since late November. Death fell 2.5% last week to 22,193. Excluding a backlog of deaths reported by Indiana, fatalities were down 9.5% last week. Deaths are a lagging indicator and usually fall several weeks after cases and hospitalizations drop.
Right-wing US Supreme Court majority again exempts large religious gatherings from COVID-19 safety measures - Late Friday night, the right-wing Supreme Court majority enjoined California from prohibiting indoor church services in “Tier 1” counties where coronavirus infection rates and COVID-19 deaths are highest. The fractured 6–3 ruling expands the exception from public health measures first carved out for religious services last November. The ruling comes just as California hospitals are beginning to recover from the holiday surge that caused emergency rooms and intensive care units to overflow, along with morgues, throughout the state. If California were a nation, its nearly 45,000 COVID-19 deaths would rank 15th in the world. Under the ruling, California can continue to bar large, prolonged indoor gatherings such as sporting events, lectures and political meetings, but must allow indoor religious services up to 25 percent of capacity. A prohibition against singing remains in place for the time being. Based on scientific studies and the advice of public health and epidemiological experts, California implemented complex, evolving regulations to restrict activities based on relative risks of transmitting COVID-19 and the resulting toll on the health care system. Since August, all large indoor gatherings have been prohibited within the most at-risk regions. Anticipating “free exercise” challenges, California explicitly provided for unlimited attendance at outdoor religious services and deemed faith-based streaming services “essential.” Nevertheless, a Pentecostal denomination headquartered in San Diego County challenged the regulations, claiming that the regulations prohibiting large indoor gatherings and singing violated the First Amendment when applied to religious services. After the lower courts upheld the state regulations, the Supreme Court declined the church’s request for an injunction last May, with Chief Justice John Roberts casting the decisive vote in favor of the health measures over the dissent of right-wing Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Trump appointees Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch. Roberts wrote at the time, “Although California’s guidelines place restrictions on places of worship,…similar or more severe restrictions apply to comparable secular gatherings, including lectures, concerts, movie showings, spectator sports, and theatrical performances, where large groups of people gather in close proximity for extended periods of time. And the Order exempts or treats more leniently only dissimilar activities, such as operating grocery stores, banks, and laundromats, in which people neither congregate in large groups nor remain in close proximity for extended periods.” The same 5–4 majority upheld public health regulations against free exercise of religion challenges in several other states, including Nevada and Illinois.
February 8 COVID-19 Test Results and Vaccinations --NOTE: The Covid Tracking Project will end daily updates on March 7th. Heroes that filled a critical void! Quality government data will likely be available soon. From Bloomberg on vaccinations as of Feb 8th. "In the U.S., more Americans have now received at least one dose than have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began. So far, 43.1 million doses have been given, according to a state-by-state tally. In the last week, an average of 1.47 million doses per day were administered."Also check out the graphs at COVID-19 Vaccine Projections The site has several interactive graphs related to US COVID vaccinations including a breakdown of how many have had one shot, and how many have had both shots. The US is now averaging close to 2.0 million tests per day. Based on the experience of other countries, for adequate test-and-trace (and isolation) to reduce infections, the percent positive needs to be under 5% (probably close to 1%), so the US has far too many daily cases - and percent positive - to do effective test-and-trace. There were 1,434,298 test results reported over the last 24 hours. There were 77,737 positive tests. This is the fewest daily positive cases since October. Over 23,000 US deaths have been reported in February. See the graph on US Daily Deaths here. This data is from the COVID Tracking Project.And check out COVID Act Now to see how each state is doing. (updated link to new site) This graph shows the 7 day average of positive tests reported and daily hospitalizations.The percent positive over the last 24 hours was 5.4%. The percent positive is calculated by dividing positive results by total tests (including pending). Both cases and hospitalizations have peaked, but are declining from a very high level.
Coronavirus: California passes New York for most COVID-19 deaths -California on Tuesday overtook New York in overall deaths from COVID-19, reclaiming the ignominious title 11 months after the first American to die from the coronavirus was discovered in the Golden State.The death toll in California grew by another 513 on Tuesday, according to data compiled by this news organization, to 44,996 since the onset of the pandemic nearly a year ago. Although New York’s devastating wave last spring has not been replicated anywhere else in the country, California, a state with double the population of New York and 10 million more people than any other state, has recorded its deadliest period of the pandemic over the past two months, reporting deaths at triple the pace of New York in the past week.However, even deaths, considered to be the final lagging indicator of an outbreak, have begun to hit a downturn, now about a month removed from the first signs of cases and hospitalizations leveling off. California’s curve has followed a similar trajectory to the country’s, which has also begun to see diminishing numbers of new cases and deaths, as well as active hospitalizations.In California, the average number of new cases continued to fall Tuesday, after there were 10,913 reported around the state. At approximately 12,320 per day over the past week, California has cut its cases nearly in half from two weeks ago, a 47% decline, but infections are still coming at a rate higher than any point prior to the winter wave. The number of Californians hospitalized with COVID-19 has fallen 35% in the past two weeks to 11,198, as of Monday, its lowest point in over two months but still well above any point prior to Thanksgiving.But California’s death toll has grown by more than 3,100 just in the past week — an average of 445 per day — nearly 20% fewer than two weeks ago but still triple any seven-day period outside of this winter. Two in every five Californians to have perished over the entire pandemic have died since the calendar turned to 2021. Since the new year began, California has recorded more than 18,500 fatalities from COVID-19, compared to just over 7,200 in New York, more than 12,000 in Texas and about 6,500 in Florida — the three states with the next-highest cumulative death tolls (and populations).During April, New York’s deadliest month of the pandemic, it recorded nearly 21,300 casualties, more than the nearly 15,000 lives lost in California last month with about half the population.On a per-capita basis, California comes in below all three of its fellow large states, including a death rate over the course of the pandemic less than half that of New York, which ranks behind only neighboring New Jersey in lives lost per-capita.
Coronavirus updates: California death toll at 45,000, up 15,000 in less than a month - The state on Thursday surpassed 45,000 COVID-19 deaths for the pandemic. The California Department of Public Health reported the official death toll at 45,456 with a single-day increase of 461, slightly below the state’s average of 464 over the past two weeks.The first 15,000 fatalities took more than six months, from March to September. The next 15,000 took a little less than four months, from late September to mid-January.The most recent 15,000 came in just under a month. But on the hopeful side, more than one in 10 Californians have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and CDPH. The state reported Thursday that about 5.29 million total doses have been administered, and the CDC on its data tracker Thursday showed the state of 40 million people surpassing 4 million first doses. Nearly 1 million have had both doses, according to the CDC.The pace has improved from a stumbling start to the rollout. The CDPH data tracker shows California has administered an average of about 1.07 million total doses per week over the past four weeks, including both first and second doses.The state’s infection and hospitalization metrics are also showing vast improvement from the peak of the winter surge in early January.Since then, the two-week daily case rate has fallen from over 40,000 to just over 13,000; test positivity has dropped from 14% to 5.4%; and the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients in hospital beds has cut in half, from nearly 22,000 to about 10,400 as of Thursday’s update from CDPH.
Coronavirus hospitalizations hit lowest level in nearly three months - More than 74,000 people remain in the hospital due to COVID-19 as of Thursday, the lowest level in nearly three months, according to data fromthe COVID Tracking Project.The group recorded approximately 74,225 hospitalizations as of Thursday, making it the third straight day the number has remained below 80,000. The number of patients in intensive care units — 15,190 — is the lowest number recorded by the group since Nov. 17, 2020.The new data marks a promising development from January, which saw the greatest number of COVID-19 fatalities and the highest average number of coronavirus hospitalizations of any month since the pandemic first hit the U.S.According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. had more than 103,000 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, bringing the country total to approximately 27.4 million.The U.S. also had 3,724 additional coronavirus-related deaths reported Thursday, with the total number of fatalities now at more than 475,000. Despite the improving numbers,officials have warned the public and governors not to ease up as there has been a rise in cases of new and more contagious coronavirus variants across the country. The decline in hospitalizations came the same day President Bidenannounced that the U.S. had secured an additional 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, finalizing a commitment that was promised last month.
Daily coronavirus cases tip back over 100,000 - Daily new coronavirus cases tipped back over 100,000 on Thursday after having fallen below that threshold for the first time since the fall earlier in the week. The overall trend in recent weeks is still positive, as cases and hospitalizations have fallen from their January highs. But the 103,000 cases on Thursday, as tallied by the COVID Tracking Project, are a reminder that spread of the virus is still at extremely high levels, and more contagious variants threaten to start another surge upward. Cases are down 23 percent from last week and 57 percent from the peak in January. Hospitalizations are down 42 percent from their high-water marks, according to the COVID Tracking Project. But the toll of the virus remains heavy, with about 3,000 people dying every day. Deaths are a lagging indicator, so the drop in cases will take longer to show up there. And the threat of more contagious variants, particularly one first identified in the United Kingdom, known as B.1.1.7, threatens to undo downward trends. MLB releases opening-day schedule ahead of planned full season Coronavirus hospitalizations hit lowest level in nearly three months A race has essentially been set off between the new variants and vaccinations. Experts say the faster people can be vaccinated, the more it will do to prevent a new spike from the variants. Other precautions remain key, including wearing a mask, avoiding indoor gatherings and maintaining distance from others. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday emphasized that it is important to wear a mask that fits well, and said that wearing a cloth mask over a medical procedure mask can significantly reduce transmission.
Coronavirus variant cases have doubled in US since the end of January - The United States has seen cases of coronavirus variants from South Africa, the United Kingdom and Brazil double since the end of January. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the numbers on Thursday to show 997 reported U.S. cases of the variants. The number of cases reported at the end of January was 471, according to The Associated Press. The rise of new variants is a cause of concern given that they are more contagious. There are 981 reported cases of the U.K. variant across 37 states. The U.K. variant has been shown to spread more quickly and have higher mortality rates, but it is not clear if that is due to the virus itself or external factors. There are 13 reported cases of the South African variant in five states. The South African variant has been a cause of concern as a study has shown it does weaken the efficacy of the coronavirus vaccines, but the vaccines still work against the variant. There are only three reported cases of the Brazil variant in two states. All of these variants can be combated with coronavirus vaccines, along with masks and social distancing. Florida is seeing the most variant cases, while California is recording the second most. The U.S. has imposed restrictions on international travelers such as requiring a negative COVID-19 test before boarding a plane to the country and recommending that travelers quarantine upon arrival until they test negative for the virus.
Coronavirus in Ohio: 3,305 cases, 2,559 deaths reported Friday due to backlog (interactive map) Here is the latest on the coronavirus pandemic in Ohio. This list will be updated after 2 p.m. each day.
- As many as 4,000 previously unreported COVID-19 deaths will be added to the state's tally in the next week after state officials learned an employee had not been properly reviewing death certificate data.
- The Ohio Department of Health issued guidelines for self-serve buffets and salad bars to reopen Friday.
- Vaccine appointments will be stop and go for weeks, providers say, as the state works to inoculate a pool of about 2.2 million Ohioans.
- Ohio is in phase 1B for COVID-19 vaccinations. That includes people age 65 and older, school employees and people with certain severe congenital and developmental conditions.
At least 934,742 people have been reported to have COVID-19 in Ohio. According to reports, 15,136 have died. Each circle represents total numbers for one county — tap or hover over each one for more details. (interactive map)
February 13 COVID-19 Test Results and Vaccinations - NOTE: The Covid Tracking Project will end daily updates on March 7th. From Bloomberg on vaccinations as of Feb 13th. "In the U.S., more Americans have now received at least one dose than have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began. So far, 52 million doses have been given, according to a state-by-state tally. In the last week, an average of 1.64 million doses per day were administered." Here is the CDC COVID Data Tracker. This site has data on vaccinations, cases and more. The US is now averaging close to 2.0 million tests per day. Based on the experience of other countries, for adequate test-and-trace (and isolation) to reduce infections, the percent positive needs to be under 5% (probably close to 1%), so the US has far too many daily cases - and percent positive - to do effective test-and-trace. There were 1,743,784 test results reported over the last 24 hours. There were 90,199 positive tests. Over 42,000 US deaths have been reported in February. See the graph on US Daily Deaths here.This data is from the COVID Tracking Project.And check out COVID Act Now to see how each state is doing. (updated link to new site) This graph shows the 7 day average of positive tests reported and daily hospitalizations. The dashed line is the previous peak for hospitalizations (almost back to the summer peak level).The percent positive over the last 24 hours was 5.1%. The percent positive is calculated by dividing positive results by total tests (including pending). Both cases and hospitalizations have peaked, but are still above the previous peaks.
Intellectual Property Cause of Covid Death, Genocide - Refusal to temporarily suspend several World Trade Organization (WTO) intellectual property provisions to enable much faster and broader progress in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic should be grounds for International Criminal Court prosecution for genocide. Making life-saving vaccines, medicines and equipment available, freely or affordably, has been crucial for containing the spread of many infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS, polio and smallpox. Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine, insisted that it remain patent free. Asked who owned the patent 65 years ago, he replied, “The people I would say. There is no patent. You might as well ask, could you patent the sun?” However, cross-border enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) is relatively recent. The 1994 WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) greatly strengthened and extended intellectual property transnationally. IPRs have effectively denied access to patented formulas and processes except to the highest bidders. Recognising the extent of the pandemic threat, vaccine developers expect to be very profitable, thanks to national and transnational intellectual property laws. Thus, IP has distorted research priorities and discouraged cooperation and knowledge sharing, so essential to progress. As COVID-19 infections and deaths continue to rise alarmingly, rich countries are falling out among themselves, fighting for access to vaccine supplies, as IP profits take precedence over lives and livelihoods. ‘Vaccine nationalism’ involves cut-throat contests responding to scarcity due to limited output. Facing vaccine wars, multilateral arrangements, such as Covax, have not adequately addressed current challenges. Vaccine nationalism has also meant that among the rich, the powerful – Trump’s US – came first. Consequently, most developing countries and most of their people will have to wait longer than necessary for vaccines, while the powerful and better off secure prior access, regardless of need or urgency.This lethal combination of intellectual property and vaccine warfare is responsible for more avoidable losses of both lives and livelihoods. Developing nations, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, have been left far behind, even in most programmes for COVID-19 prevention, containment, treatment and vaccination.The deadly duo are unnecessarily delaying the end of the pandemic, causing avoidable infections, deaths and related setbacks. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General (DG) Tedroswarns “the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure…the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries”.
China, Russia steal a vaccine diplomacy march - The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about an unprecedented mobilization of advanced biotechnology on a worldwide scale. By any measure, progress in developing, testing and deploying vaccines has proceeded with breathtaking speed. Hardly more than a year after the pandemic started its lethal spread, scores of millions of people are being immunized using a variety of newly-developed vaccines with proven effectiveness against the Covid-19 virus. A technological and logistical basis now being laid will permit rapid responses to mutants as well as to future pandemic threats that may arise.All is not well, however.At present vaccination rates, it could take as long as seven years to reach levels of immunity sufficient to completely eliminate Covid-19’s spread. Production capacities are wholly inadequate to meet the demand, with the lion’s share of vaccines going to wealthy countries while developing countries face less certain fates. Russia and China are rising to the rich versus poor challenge by supplying much-needed vaccines to nations that would otherwise be far down on the global list. While the US and EU remain preoccupied with their own Covid-19 problems, Russian and Chinese companies are forming partnerships with each other and countries around the world.That “vaccine diplomacy” success, however, is already starting to raise concerns in the West. Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, originally poo-pooed in the West as a mere publicity stunt by President Vladimir Putin, has not only proved to be one of the most effective vaccines – providing over 90% protection – but also is inexpensive and easy to use. Unlike many of other Covid-19 vaccines, Sputnik V can be stored in ordinary refrigerators at between two and eight degrees centigrade. Together, a first and second (booster) dose cost a mere US$20. Sputnik V is currently approved in 18 countries, with vaccinations underway in Bolivia, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Palestine, the UAE, Paraguay, Hungary, Armenia, Serbia, Venezuela and Iran. Mexico plans to administer 7.4 million doses of Sputnik V by March, with at least 16 million doses to follow.Kirill Dmitriev, director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the national sovereign wealth fund which has been sponsoring the development and marketing of Sputnik V, emphasized that the Russian government sets a high priority on supplying the home-grown vaccine to developing countries. In order to ensure sufficient vaccine supplies, the RDIF is negotiating with prospective manufacturing partners in China, India, South Korea and possibly others. The target is to produce enough this year to protect at least 500 million people outside of Russia. Needless to say, Russia-China cooperation in this field has strategic importance. Until recently, China’s vaccine industry was considered a relatively minor player on the international scene. But the race to develop and deploy Covid-19 vaccines has provided China the impetus to massively upgrade its capacities while establishing itself as a major global supplier. Covid-19 vaccines by at least four Chinese producers are in final, Phase III trials in a dozen countries, with more in the pipeline. More importantly, the two presently leading Chinese vaccines, produced by the Sinovac and Sinopharm companies, have already been administered to many millions of people in emergency vaccination campaigns in the developing world.
Czech Republic clinics collapse as pandemic rages - The coronavirus pandemic is assuming increasingly dramatic forms in the Czech Republic. Across the country an average of 9,000 new infections are being reported daily and around 400 people admitted to hospitals due to COVID-19. Clinics in the west of the country are hopelessly overrun and, in some regions, no intensive care beds remain available. In the region around Karlovy Vary and Pilsen, intensive care treatment capacity has been exhausted. Every day, patients are transferred by helicopter from the municipal hospital in Cheb to other parts of the country where treatment is still possible. Residents of the border region have launched an online petition titled, “Open the borders for ambulances,” which received over 3,000 signatures in a very short period of time. The Czech health minister, Jan Blatny, has rejected any transfer of patients to German hospitals only a few kilometres away, as long as intensive care beds are free in other parts of the country. The transport to such facilities, sometimes hundreds of kilometres away, is an enormous burden for seriously ill patients. Healthcare workers move a COVID-19 patient to the Motol hospital in Prague, Czech Republic. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, FILE) In the capital city of Prague, the seven-day incidence (infections per 100,000 inhabitants) is over 310 and even exceeds 1,000 in Cheb and in Trutnov to the north. On the German side of the border, high numbers of infections have also been reported in the border region. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the districts of Hof and Tirschenreuth have the highest number of COVID-19 infections in Germany, with a seven-day incidence of 379 and 351 respectively. Last Wednesday, the number of infected people in the Czech Republic exceeded 1 million. On the same day, the country, with about 10.7 million inhabitants, recorded 16,545 deaths. Mortality rose by 15 percent last year, the highest rate since World War II. Around 129,100 people died in the country in 2020, an increase of 17,000 compared to 2019, according to the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ). More than 11,000 of this increase in deaths were connected to coronavirus infection, according to health authorities. The situation in the country’s clinics and health facilities can only be described as catastrophic. Up until last week, more than 4,050 clinic workers had been infected. The remaining doctors and nurses have been working to the point of exhaustion for months, and clinics are only able to stay operative due to support from volunteers. A field hospital built specifically to treat 500 coronavirus patients is currently being dismantled. Deputy Health Minister Vladimir Cerny admitted that the hospital could not be put into operation due to a lack of staff.
Nearly Three Times As Many Russians Have Died From Covid Than Previously Thought - The number of Covid-related deaths in Russia last year was three times worse than previously believed, coinciding with exacerbating the country’s demographic crisis of a shrinking population. The Russian government’s Federal Statistics Service said on Monday that 162,429 people in the country died from COVID-19 last year, almost triple the 57,555 deaths previously estimated by the government’s own virus response center.The agency said 44,435 deaths related to COVID-19 were recorded in December, making it the deadliest such month of the year If the Russian government’s data is correct, only the U.S. (464,000), Brazil (232,000) and Mexico (166,000) have recorded more COVID-19 fatalities so far, according to Johns Hopkins.On the whole, 2,124,479 Russians died last year (from all causes), an increase of 324,000 from 2019, said the statistics service.In December 2020, Russia's deputy prime minister Tatyana Golikova accurately warned that the government had severely undercounted the death toll from Covid.When the second wave of Covid infections emerged in September, Russian officials did not order a wholesale lockdown, preferring rather to impose “targeted restrictions.” The pandemic is worsening an already existing demographic crisis in Russia – the country’s overall population is shrinking. Russia’s population totaled about 146.24 million on Jan. 1, 2021, down by 510,000 from the prior year and the biggest annual drop since 2005, when the population shrank by 564,500. The country’s birth rate fell by 4.4% from 1.36 million from the January-November 2019 period to 1.3 million in the same period of 2020. Even before the onset of the pandemic, health experts attributed Russia’s population fall to such factors as AIDS, high tobacco use, high abortion rates, low immigration and alcoholism. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been trying to reverse the country’s population decline by, among other things, offering bigger tax breaks to larger families, increased state funding for new mothers and more welfare benefits and free school meals for children in low income families.
South Africa scraps AstraZeneca COVID vaccine South Africa is considering trading its doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and beginning its inoculation campaign with Johnson & Johnson shots instead, the health minister said. The country, worst-hit by the pandemic in Africa, has suspended its vaccine roll-out that was due to begin with Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine this week after a study found the jab failed to prevent mild and moderate illness caused by a variant discovered in South Africa dubbed 501Y.V2. The vaccination delay has set back an ambitious plan to inoculate about 40 million people – 67 percent of the population – by the end of 2021. “Given the outcomes of the efficacy studies [the government] will continue with the planned phase one vaccination using the Johnson & Johnson vaccines instead of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize told a press briefing on Wednesday. “The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been proven effective against the 501Y.V2 variant.” He did not say when immunisation would begin. Officials are also deciding on the fate of more than one million Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines already secured from the Serum Institute of India (SII) and set to expire at the end of April, though that date could potentially be adjusted.
WHO expert group recommends use of AstraZeneca vaccine (AP) — Independent experts advising the World Health Organization about immunization on Wednesday recommended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine even in countries that turned up worrying coronavirus variants in their populations. The WHO experts’ advice is used by health care officials worldwide, but doesn’t amount to a green light for the United Nations and its partners to ship the vaccine to countries that have signed up to receive the shots through a global initiative. That approval could come after separate WHO group meetings on Friday and Monday to assess whether an emergency-use listing for the AstraZeneca vaccine is warranted. The AstraZeneca vaccine is important because it forms the bulk of the stockpile acquired so far by the U.N.-backed effort known as COVAX, which aims to deploy coronavirus vaccines to people globally. COVAX plans to start shipping hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine worldwide later this month, but that is contingent on WHO approval for the shot, vaccine stocks and countries’ readiness to receive it. But the vaccine has faced rising concerns. After an early study suggested that it might be less effective against a variant first seen in South Africa, the South African government scrambled to tweak its COVID-19 vaccination program. “Even if there is a reduction in the possibility of this vaccine having a full impact in its protection capacity, especially against severe disease, there is no reason not to recommend its use even in countries that have the circulation of the variants,” said Dr. Alejandro Cravioto, chair of the WHO’s expert group. Instead of rolling out 1 million AstraZeneca doses as planned, South Africa's health minister said Wednesday that the government would start immunizing health workers with the still-unlicensed shot from Johnson & Johnson. The expert group's recommendations about the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed at Oxford University in Britain, largely mirror those issued earlier by the European Medicines Agency and Britain's drug regulator.
Indigenous leaders warn of missionaries turning Amazon villages against vaccines(Reuters) - Medical teams working to immunize Brazil's remote indigenous villages against the coronavirus have encountered fierce resistance in some communities where evangelical missionaries are stoking fears of the vaccine, say tribal leaders and advocates. On the São Francisco reservation in the state of Amazonas, Jamamadi villagers sent health workers packing with bows and arrows when they visited by helicopter this month, said Claudemir da Silva, an Apurinã leader representing indigenous communities on the Purus river, a tributary of the Amazon. "It's not happening in all villages, just in those that have missionaries or evangelical chapels where pastors are convincing the people not to receive the vaccine, that they will turn into an alligator and other crazy ideas," he said by phone. That has added to fears that COVID-19 could roar through Brazil's more than 800,000 indigenous people, whose communal living and often precarious healthcare make them a priority in the national immunization program. Tribal leaders blame Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and some of his avid supporters in the evangelical community for stoking skepticism about coronavirus vaccines, despite a national death toll that lags only the United States. "Religious fundamentalists and evangelical missionaries are preaching against the vaccine," said Dinamam Tuxá, a leader of APIB, Brazil's largest indigenous organization. The Association of Brazilian Anthropologists denounced unspecified religious groups in a statement on Tuesday for spreading false conspiracy theories to "sabotage" the vaccination of indigenous people. Many pastors of Brazil's urban evangelical megachurches are urging followers to get vaccinated, but they say missionaries in remote territories have not gotten the message. "Unfortunately, some pastors who lack wisdom are spreading misinformation to our indigenous brethren," said Pastor Mario Jorge Conceição of the Assembly of God Traditional Church in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state.
COVID Has Reached Antarctica, and Scientists Are Extremely Concerned for Its Wildlife -- In December, Antarctica lost its status as the last continent free of COVID-19 when 36 people at the Chilean Bernardo O'Higgins research station tested positive. The station's isolation from other bases and fewer researchers in the continent means the outbreak is now likely contained. However, we know all too well how unpredictable — and pervasive — the virus can be. And while there's currently less risk for humans in Antarctica, the potential for the COVID-19 virus to jump to Antarctica's unique and already vulnerable wildlife has scientists extremely concerned. We're among a global team of 15 scientists who assessed the risks of the COVID-19 virus to Antarctic wildlife, and the pathways the virus could take into the fragile ecosystem. Antarctic wildlife haven't yet been tested for the COVID-19 virus, and if it does make its way into these charismatic animals, we don't know how it could affect them or the continent's ecosystem stability. The COVID-19 virus is one of seven coronaviruses found in people — all have animal origins (dubbed "zoonoses"), and vary in their ability to infect different hosts. The COVID-19 virus is thought to have originated in an animal and spread to people through an unknown intermediate host, while the SARS outbreak of 2002-2004 likely came from raccoon dogs or civets. The World Organization for Animal Health is monitoring cases of the COVID-19 virus in animals. To date, only a few species around the globe have been found to be susceptible, including mink, felines (such as lions, tigers and cats), dogs and a ferret.While mink, dogs or cats are not in Antarctica, more than 100 million flying seabirds, 45% of the world's penguin species, 50% of the world's seal populations and 17% of the world's whale and dolphin speciesinhabit the continent.In a 2020 study, researchers ran computer simulations and found cetaceans — whales, dolphins or porpoises — have a high susceptibility of infection from the virus, based on the makeup of their genetic receptors to the virus. Seals and birds had a lower risk of infection. We concluded that direct contact with people poses the greatest risk for spreading the virus to wildlife, with researchers more likely vectors than tourists. Researchers have closer contact with wildlife: many Antarctic species are found near research stations, and wildlife studies often require direct handling and close proximity to animals.
Nitrate in maternal drinking water may impair fetal growth - Women whose household drinking water contained nitrate had babies that weighed, on average, 10 grams less than babies born to mothers where household water had no detectible nitrate, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago and Aarhus University. The study, which is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, followed pregnant women living in Denmark. The researchers found that even low nitrate levels -- about half of the allowable level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA -- caused an adverse effect. "While the effects of elevated nitrate levels on infant health are known, little research has been done on the impact of lower levels of nitrate in drinking water may have on neonates," Drinking water becomes contaminated by nitrate when fertilizers seep into drinking water sources. High levels of nitrate in tap water can cause infant methemoglobinemia -- a potentially fatal condition known as blue baby syndrome in which a baby's skin turns blue -- as nitrate prevents hemoglobin in the blood from carrying oxygen. For this reason, the EPA set standards for nitrate in drinking water at 10 parts per million, to reduce the risk of blue baby syndrome. In the largest study of the association between nitrate in drinking water and birth weight, Coffman and colleagues estimated maternal nitrate exposure for 852,348 live births in Denmark from 1991 to 2011. They linked home addresses with nitrate data from a national water quality monitoring database with data from Danish registries on infant birth weight, length and head circumference -- these registries offer an unparalleled resource for epidemiologists, as they are some of the most complete in the world, with national health care data and robust individual demographics and environmental data spanning decades. The researchers found that levels of nitrate in maternal drinking water were associated with birth weight, but the weight differences were small but important. Babies born to mothers whose drinking water was estimated to contain about half of the allowable level of nitrates were on average 10 grams lighter than babies born to households where drinking water nitrate levels were undetectable. The researchers also observed a decrease in body length with increasing nitrate concentrations in drinking water. "This difference in weight and body length is small but could have an impact on health if the baby is underweight to begin with for other reasons. Birthweight is a critical marker for health, as it can have a life-long impact on health and development," Coffman said.
Hacker Tried To Poison Entire Florida Town By Raising Chemical Levels In Water Supply - A town in Florida has been target of a hack which briefly altered chemicals in its water supply to "potentially damaging levels" according to local media reports. Federal and local authorities are currently investigating the computer network intrusion which happened last Friday morning, the alarming details of which are emerging Monday.Plant operators overseeing the small city of Oldsmar’s water supply began observing strange activity on their monitors. That's when technicians noticed that sodium hydroxide levels (or lye), which is used to treat the city's water in small amounts in order to control acidity while removing heavy metals, was being remotely pushed higher. Technicians noticed the chemical levels being subject of unauthorized external manipulation in real time and immediately moved to restore the sodium hydroxide input to its safe, correct levels. The AP detailed based on local reporting: "A plant worker first noticed the unusual activity at around 8 a.m. Friday when someone briefly accessed the system." "At about 1:30 p.m., someone accessed it again, took control of the mouse, directed it to the software that controls water treatment and increased the amount of sodium hydroxide," the report continued.The hacker or hackers have yet to be uncovered and apprehended. According to details announced by the county sheriff Bob Gualtieri and featured in Tampa Bay Times: Someone remotely accessed a computer for the city’s water treatment system and briefly increased the amount of sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, by a factor of more than 100, Gualtieri said at a news conference Monday. The chemical is used in small amounts to control the acidity of water but it’s also a corrosive compound commonly found in household cleaning supplies such as liquid drain cleaners.
EPA's plan to test for lead in schools will do more harm than good - In the waning days of the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its much anticipated revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), which regulates heavy metals in drinking water. Lead and copper leach from plumbing materials like piping, solders and plumbing fixtures. This occurs in our homes, places of work, schools and anywhere else people expect to drink water. In the new rule, the EPA is requiring that water providers start testing for lead in elementary schools and licensed child care facilities. Lead is a potent neurotoxin, especially for children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), even low-blood lead levels can irreparably harm a child’s IQ, academic achievement and ability to pay attention. Historically, testing in schools has not been required unless a school is its own water provider. Most are not. Where testing has been conducted, the only support from the EPA has been their nebulous 3Ts (Training, Testing, and Taking Action) manual. Revised in 2016, the 3Ts calls on schools and child care facilities to use testing results to reduce lead levels in drinking water “to the lowest possible concentrations.”At face value, the testing requirement seems necessary and long overdue. But the EPA’s new law has little to do with water safety. First, the EPA chose to ignore most drinking water locations in buildings during testing. Only five locations must be tested in schools and two locations in child care facilities. We guarantee such limited testing will miss instances of lead contamination. Our own experiences in Indiana and Iowa have frequently encountered schools with over 100 drinking water locations. Second, when lead is found, and it will be, the EPA provided no requirements for how schools should respond. Absent is an acceptable level of lead above which a school must act to improve water safety. Left to their own devices, most schools have been misappropriating the non-health based “action level” of 15 micrograms per liter or parts-per-billion (ppb) from the original LCR. But this is wrong; the value has no medical basis. Analogous to a car’s dashboard warning light, the 15 ppb action level is only to be used by water utilities to assess corrosion in their buried pipe network. Even EPA officials have stated, “there is no evidence to support a conclusion that lead levels in drinking water near the 15 ppb are safe, especially for sensitive populations.” The revisions to the LCR will enshrine unsafe water across the nation’s schools and child care facilities. Parents are right to be alarmed.
Study: Fossil fuel air pollution linked to 1 in 5 deaths worldwide -Fine particulate matter air pollutants were tied to more than 8 million deaths in 2018, or about 20 percent of deaths worldwide, according to research Harvard University released Tuesday.The study, conducted in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, the University of Leicester and University College London, found regions with the highest level of air pollution produced by fossil fuels also have the highest mortality rates. These include Eastern North America, Southeast Asia and Europe, according to the study, published in Environmental Research.Existing research has relied on satellite and surface data, which does not make a distinction between fine particulate matter from fuel emissions and naturally occurring sources such as wildfires or dust, according to the researchers.However, the research published Tuesday incorporated a global 3D atmospheric chemistry model that was less reliant on averages and enabled more precise estimates of emission sources.The results indicated a much higher level of air pollution-related mortality than earlier studies. The most recent Global Burden of Disease Study indicated a much lower number of 4.2 million deaths from outdoor airborne particulate matter, a figure that includes natural sources. “The big takeaway message here is that we have far more to gain from our health than we just realized yesterday from getting off fossil fuels,” Aaron Bernstein, a pediatrician and interim director of the Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told The Hill in a phone interview.“We already had a tremendous amount to gain … but we now see a much bigger return not just from people’s lives … but the pollutants that they studied cause children to have asthma, they cause women who are pregnant to have babies that are born too soon and with more birth defects,” added Bernstein, who was not an author on the study.“This same air pollution we know causes pneumonia … we know that this air pollution is probably increasing the risk of people who are dying from coronavirus right now,” he added. “We can now see a much, much bigger gain to our health and welfare as we wean ourselves off fossil fuels.”
Essential Farmworkers Deserve Pesticide Protections -- COVID-19 is having disproportionate impacts on our nation's two million farmworkers, who as essential workers continue to toil in the fields despite numerous deadly outbreaks and no federal COVID-related workplace protections. COVID-19 has pulled back the veil on the strikingly poor workplace conditions of these essential workers, built by decades of insufficient farmworker health and safety policy, poor immigration policy, and limited health care access. As a consequence, at least 86,900 food workers have tested positive for COVID-19 – but with uneven data collection, exacerbated by businesses' lack of transparency over workplace outbreaks and workers' avoidance of testing due to fear of losing income, the figures we have are likely an underestimate. A new analysis does note that each additional percentage point of farmworkers per overall population in a county was associated with 5.79 more deaths from COVID-19 – but did not contribute to more deaths per 100,000 residents. The researchers concluded, "farmworkers may face unique risks of COVID-19 beyond issues of language, insurance, or economics." The Biden Administration must issue a federal standard to protect workers from COVID-19 that includes farmworkers. But beyond COVID-specific actions for farmworkers, the Biden Administration also needs to urgently address the underlying health and workplace conditions that pre-dated COVID. One key way the Biden Administration can start to correct the course is by enforcing and safeguarding the Worker Protection Standard (WPS), the main federal regulation that protects workers from pesticide exposure. Pesticide exposure weakens the respiratory, immune, and nervous systems — exacerbating farmworkers' COVID-19 risks. Unfortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Trump Administration made various efforts to weaken or eliminate key provisions of the WPS, which had been revised and improved at the end of the Obama Administration. The WPS is an outlier in occupational health standards – because pesticides, although they are a workplace hazard, are regulated by the EPA, instead of by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which covers occupational health in every other industry. This is just one example of how farmworkers are exempted from basic protections afforded to other workers.
EPA to Amazon: Stop Selling Illegal Pesticides - For the third time in three years, the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered Amazon to stop selling illegal pesticides. The EPA's Seattle office announced Tuesday that it had presented the online retailer with a "stop sale" order targeting products that were unregistered and potentially dangerous or ineffective. Some of them made false or misleading claims that they offered protection against viruses. "Unregistered pesticides in the e-commerce marketplace pose a significant and immediate health risk to consumers, children, pets, and others exposed to the products," Ed Kowalski, director of the Enforcement Compliance Assurance Division in EPA's Region 10 office in Seattle, said in the announcement. The EPA sent the latest order to Amazon on Jan. 7, The Seattle Times reported. The order added 70 products to a June 2020 stop sale order that targeted more than 30 products.. The new products include items marketed to clean homes and pools, bracelets claiming to repel mosquitoes and several products promising to kill viruses, The Seattle Times reported. "We have no idea what those products are made of," Chad Schulze, the EPA's pesticide enforcement lead in Seattle, told The Seattle Times. "And when you have people purchasing a product that says it will kill or control viruses in their personal space but it does not, that's a huge risk as well." Since the stop sale order was issued in January, Amazon has removed the products from its website, a spokesperson for the company told The Seattle Times. However, the online sale of unregistered pesticides is an ongoing problem. All pesticides sold in the U.S. are supposed to be registered with the EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the agency explained in its June stop sale order. The registration process allows the EPA to ensure all pesticides for sale are safe and do what they say they will do. Between 2013 and 2018, the EPA claimed that Amazon violated FIFRA almost 4,000 times, The Seattle Times reported. Amazon reached a settlement with the agency over these violations and said it would take steps to reduce the number of illegal pesticides sold on its platforms. Since then, the problem has decreased, but it has not disappeared.
Corn Tumbles From 7-1/2 Year High As USDA Projects Supply Woes --Chicago Board of Trade corn futures have faded 7-1/2 year highs after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) projected supplies of the grain would be well above market expectations. "Corn led the sell-off as the USDA only minimally trimmed its U.S. end-of-season stocks outlook and raised its export forecast by less than many traders had anticipated following record-large sales to China," according to Reuters."The surprise in the report is that the government only took (U.S. corn) exports up 50 million bushels despite the fact that we had huge Chinese buying," said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities.USDA projected corn ending stocks for 2020/21 were around 1.502 billion bushels. Analysts surveyed by Reuters estimated corn ending stocks of 1.392 billion.Corn futures have risen 87% from August to $5.74-1/4 per bushel on strong Chinese demand and unfavorable weather in South America.The question now remains with fundamentals deteriorating, tilting to supply woes, can corn prices hold their gains? If not, a correction is ahead.
Corporate Concentration in the US Food System Makes Food More Expensive and Less Accessible for Many Americans - Agribusiness executives and government policymakers often praise the U.S. food system for producing abundant and affordable food. In fact, however, food costs are rising, and shoppers in many parts of the U.S. have limited access to fresh, healthy products. This isn’t just an academic argument. Even before the current pandemic, millions of people in the U.S. went hungry. In 2019 the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that over 35 million people were “food insecure,” meaning they did not have reliable access to affordable, nutritious food. Now food banks are struggling to feed people who have lost jobs and income thanks to COVID-19. Consolidation has placed key decisions about our nation’s food system in the hands of a few large companies, giving them outsized influence to lobby policymakers, direct food and industry research and influence media coverage. These corporations also have enormous power to make decisions about what food is produced how, where and by whom, and who gets to eat it. We’ve tracked this trend across the globe. It began in the 1980s with mergers and acquisitions that left a few large firms dominating nearly every step of the food chain. Among the largest are retailer Walmart, food processor Nestlé and seed/chemical firm Bayer. Between 1996 and 2013 Monsanto acquired more than 70 seed companies, before the firm was itself acquired by competing seed/chemical firm Bayer in 2018. Some corporate leaders have abused their power – for example, by allying with their few competitors to fix prices. In 2020 Christopher Lischewski, the former president and CEO of Bumblebee Foods, was convicted of conspiracy to fix prices of canned tuna. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison and fined US$100,000.In the same year, chicken processor Pilgrim’s Pride pleaded guilty to price-fixing charges and was fined $110.5 million. Meatpacking company JBS settled a $24.5 million pork price-fixing lawsuit, and farmers won a class action settlement against peanut-shelling companies Olam and Birdsong.Industry consolidation is hard to track. Many subsidiary firms often are controlled by one parent corporation and engage in “contract packing,” in which a single processing plant produces identical foods that are then sold under dozens of different brands – including labels that compete directly against each other.Recalls ordered in response to food-borne disease outbreaks have revealed the broad scope of contracting relationships. Shutdowns at meatpacking plants due to COVID-19 infections among workers have shown how much of the U.S. food supply flows through a small number of facilities. With consolidation, large supermarket chains have closed many urban and rural stores. This process has left numerous communities with limited food selections and high prices – especially neighborhoods with many low-income, Black or Latino households.
Vegetable Plots Are Growing in Popularity for Home and Apartment Buyers – WSJ - Some people took up running during the pandemic, others turned to baking or bought a pet. Graham and Caralyn King found solace in growing their own food, a pastime to which the British have historically turned in times of crisis. During World War II, for example, the British Government urged those left at home to “dig for victory” by growing produce in backyards and public parks to beat food shortages. The pandemic has cultivated a similar zest for homegrown fruit and vegetables—which hasn’t gone unnoticed by property developers. With only a modest backyard at their home in the market town of Darlington, in northeast England, Mr. and Mrs. King gained more space for food growing by securing a $55-a-year allotment. Allotments are small tracts of land that have traditionally been made available by local governments. They got their plot in April, when the U.K. had just entered its first national lockdown. Before that they had been confined at home, venturing out only to buy food and or take a walk. Their allotment gave them a reason to spend six to seven hours out of the house every day, preparing their plot, planting seeds, tending existing plants and digging a wildlife pond. By the summer, they were harvesting courgettes, beans, potatoes, celery and leeks. “It got us out of the house, and it is good exercise,” said Mr. King, who now writes a blog detailing their progress. “Without it, we may have imprisoned ourselves, and I dread to think of the state of mind that would have led to.” Real-estate developers are increasingly offering allotments and the multifamily alternative, “grow gardens,” to new residents, alongside more urban lifestyle offerings, like movie theaters and spas. “We are all considerably more health conscious than we have been in the past,” said James Hyman, head of residential agency at Cluttons estate agents. He says it is trendy, particularly in cities as a distraction from urban living, and it feeds into our interest in sustainability. Over the past two decades, Di Appleyard, a spokeswoman for the National Allotment Society, said growing interest in sustainability and organic food had led to an enthusiasm for allotments. Even pre-pandemic, the average waiting time for an allotment was up to 18 months, according to the Association of Public Sector Excellence. Some local governments have such long waiting lists they are no longer accepting new allotment candidates. In the borough of Camden, in northwest London, some 1,000 people have their names down for 200 plots.
Vietnam Culls 100,000 Poultry As Bird Flu Spreads To 14 Provinces -- Reuters reports Vietnam has culled more than 100,000 chickens this year as an outbreak of the avian flu hits poultry farms in more than one dozen provinces.The Vietnamese government released a statement on Monday outlining how the highly pathogenic H5N1 and H5N6 bird flu strains have spread across 14 provinces in 39 days. To mitigate the spread, the government has culled more than 100,000 chickens. "The risk for the outbreaks to spread on a larger scale is very high," the statement said.Vietnam's total poultry flock is around 460 million birds. So the outbreak is not sizeable but definitely notable as bird flu outbreaks have been reported in the country over the last few years. Meanwhile, the country culled tens of thousands of pigs in late 2020 to curb the spread of African swine fever. The outbreaks have been manageable for the country's Department of Animal Health. If there is more spreading, readers should be on the lookout for government travel restrictions around outbreak areas. So far, none have been posted.Last week, we reported that China, a country that borders Vietnam, has had what one farmer told Reuters African swine fever contagion "is bad" right now. This has kept Chinese pig prices elevated, with possible meat shortages later in the year.
Artificial Border Walls Impede Wildlife Adapting to Climate Change - As parts of the world become drier and hotter, wildlife adapt by moving to more suitable habitats. But human-made borders could stand in the way, researchers warn.A first-time study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA examined how human-made barriers could restrict wildlife movement as their habitats become uninhabitable due to climate change, Bloomberg Green reported."Species all over the planet are on the move as they respond to a changing climate," Professor Stephen Willis of Durham University's Department of Biosciences and the joint-study lead, told Durham University, according to Phys.org. "Borders that are fortified with walls and fences pose a serious threat to any species that can't get across them."Researchers at Durham University in the UK studied about 80 percent of climate niches for land mammals and birds, and which temperature and precipitation pattern best suits their preferences, Bloomberg Green reported. Researchers then predicted where these niches would be if greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise, showing how they will dramatically shift over the coming decades.By 2070, under a high-emissions scenario, 35 percent of mammals and 29 percent of birds are expected to have half of their climate niches in countries they are not currently found in, study authors wrote.Researchers examined aspects that could restrict wildlife from moving to more suitable areas. Human-made physical borders, such as walls and fences, could be an "overlooked obstacle to climate adaptation," they noted.Durham University reported that borders between the U.S. and Mexico, China and Russia and India and Myanmar pose the biggest ecological threats.While past research has identified ecological damage caused by the U.S.-Mexico border wall, researchers said their findings show this damage could be worse than previously expected and that this border could be "one of the worst international borders on the planet along which to build such a wall."Researchers predict that the U.S.-Mexico border wall could prevent 122 species from finding a new climate niche. These barriers could also "destroy habitats, fragment populations, [and] prevent dispersal and migration," the authors wrote.The Mexican gray wolf is among the most threatened, Sierra reported.As of early last year, the U.S. contained about 131 Mexican grey wolves, while the Mexican population numbered around 20 to 30, Maggie Howell of the Wolf Conservation Center told Sierra. Although these numbers were at a population high since the wolves were reintroduced in the 1990s, Trump's border wall hampered their ability to grow, Sierra reported."The fact that something everybody in the recovery of Mexican gray wolves is working toward is now literally being blocked off... I'm feeling the devastation to this subspecies," Howell told Sierra last year. "We are blocking off a chance for these animals to one day be a self-sustaining, healthy, recovered population."
Green Coalition Threatens to Sue Biden Admin Over Trump Permits That Endanger Wildlife - A coalition of environmental advocacy groups on Monday threatened to sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for failing to ensure that Trump-era development permits "will not jeopardize endangered species and critical habitat across the country."The Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Waterkeeper Alliance, and other groups filed their formal notice to the Biden administration regarding Nationwide Permits reissued during the final days of Donald Trump's presidency.At issue are 16 permits that, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, "will allow hundreds of thousands of discharges of dredged or fill material into the nation's waters and wetlands from oil and gas development, pipeline and transmission-line construction, and coal mining.""The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service have previously found that these activities—which are approved with little or no environmental review—threaten iconic species including whooping cranes, Florida manatees, and the hundreds of migratory birds that need wetlands to survive," the center said.Last May, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the Endangered Species Act when it issued Nationwide Permit 12, which allows companies to construct energy projects—including the highly controversial Keystone XL pipeline—at water crossings."Rather than comply with a court order to ensure that endangered species are protected from further death and destruction, the Trump administration doubled down on its original violation by issuing even weaker Nationwide Permits with fewer protections for these species," Daniel E. Estrin, general counsel for Waterkeeper Alliance, said in a statement. "It's long past time for the Corps to rethink its approach to dredge-and-fill permitting and to ensure that these activities will not put endangered species or their habitat in jeopardy," Estrin added. Jared Margolis, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement that the Trump administration "flagrantly violated bedrock environmental laws when it reissued the Nationwide Permits, without regard for the people, places, or wildlife that are affected by this deeply flawed program." "I'm hoping President Biden will prevent the Corps from continuing to use the permits to rubber-stamp major projects like oil pipelines that leak and spill, degrading the clean water that people and wildlife need," added Margolis.
The invisible killer lurking in our consumer products - Our consumer products, such as food, cosmetics and clothes, might be filled with nanomaterials - unbeknownst to us. The use of nanomaterials remains unregulated and they do not show up in lists of ingredients. This is a cause of concern since nanomaterials can be more dangerous than COVID-19 in the long term if no safety action is taken: they are tricky to measure, they enter our food chain and, most alarmingly, they can penetrate cells and accumulate in our organs. Nanotechnology is appearing everywhere, to change our daily lives. These used to be the stuff of science fiction and Hollywood movies, but are now the reality we live in. The global market for nanomaterials is growing, estimated at 11 million tonnes at a market value of 20 billion euros. The current direct employment in the nanomaterial sector is estimated between 300,000 and 400,000 in Europe alone. Yet, nanomaterials and their use in consumer products is far from unproblematic. A new study published in Nature Communications today sheds light on whether they are harmful and what happens to them when they enter an organism. An international team of researchers developed a sensitive method to find and trace nanomaterials in blood and tissues, and traced nanomaterials across an aquatic food chain, from microorganisms to fish, which is a major source of food in many countries. This method can open new horizons for taking safety actions. "We found that that nanomaterials bind strongly to microorganisms, which are a source of food for other organisms, and this is the way they can enter our food chain. Once inside an organism, nanomaterials can change their shape and size and turn into a more dangerous material that can easily penetrate cells and spread to other organs. When looking at different organs of an organism, we found that nanomaterials tend to accumulate especially in the brain," lead author Dr Fazel A. Monikh from the University of Eastern Finland says. According to the researchers, nanomaterials are also difficult to measure: their amount in an organism cannot be measured only by using their mass, which is the standard method for measuring other chemicals for regulations. The findings emphasise the importance of assessing the risk of nanomaterials before they are introduced to consumer products in large amounts. "It could be that you are already using nanomaterials in your food, clothes, cosmetic products, etc., but you still don't see any mention of them in the ingredient list. Why? Because they are still unregulated and because they are so small that we simply can't measure them once they're in your products," "People have the right to know what they are using and buying for their families. This is a global problem which needs a global solution. Many questions about nanomaterials still need to be answered. Are they safe for us and the environment? Where will they end up after we're done using them? How can we assess their possible risk?"
Plastic Use Surging -- February 8, 2021 --A new report shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the environment due to increased plastic usage around the world – led by the United States with a 78% increase. India’s plastic use is up 55% and China’s 50%.While air travel, electricity usage and miles driven declined in 2020, increases in food delivery, online shopping, household trash and single-use personal protective equipment, has made the crisis of plastic in the ocean worse and it will nearly triple by 2040 to 29 million metric tons. [This is probably accurate; if hyperbole, the writer would have said, "30 million metric tons."]ReUseThisBag.com today released a report, the Pandemic Plastic Waste Disaster, using the most recent data from the U.S. Transportation Department, Cirium data via FlightGlobal and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. The report found five factors during the pandemic devastating our environment:
- Food Delivery: An increase in high plastic usage food takeaway (plastic bags utensils and packaging) and e-commerce orders (plastic packaging).
- PPE: Massive spike in demand for single use personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves.
- Reusable Bag Ban: Many areas that banned single use plastic bags, temporarily reversed course, and did not allow people to bring their own reusable bags to stores.
- Recycling Centers Down: During lockdown, limited staff meant that recycling centers around the world were not operational, so trash ended up in landfills and the ocean.
- Cheaper Plastic Due to Lower Oil Prices: Decreased oil prices meant that producing plastic became even cheaper, hences driving up demand.
Countries with the highest increase in plastic usage during the pandemic: U.S.: 78% increase, Singapore: 65%, South Korea: 65%, Vietnam: 57%, India: 55%, China: 50%.
In the Oceans, the Volume Is Rising as Never Before – NY Times -Although clown fish are conceived on coral reefs, they spend the first part of their lives as larvae drifting in the open ocean. The fish are not yet orange, striped or even capable of swimming. They are still plankton, a term that comes from the Greek word for “wanderer,” and wander they do, drifting at the mercy of the currents in an oceanic rumspringa.When the baby clown fish grow big enough to swim against the tide, they high-tail it home. The fish can’t see the reef, but they can hear its snapping, grunting, gurgling, popping and croaking. These noises make up the soundscape of a healthy reef, and larval fish rely on these soundscapes to find their way back to the reefs, where they will spend the rest of their lives — that is, if they can hear them.But humans — and their ships, seismic surveys, air guns, pile drivers, dynamite fishing, drilling platforms, speedboats and even surfing — have made the ocean an unbearably noisy place for marine life, according to a sweeping review of the prevalence and intensity of the impacts of anthropogenic ocean noise published on Thursday in the journal Science. The paper, a collaboration among 25 authors from across the globe and various fields of marine acoustics, is the largest synthesis of evidence on the effects of oceanic noise pollution.“They hit the nail on the head,” said Kerri Seger, a senior scientist at Applied Ocean Sciences who was not involved with the research. “By the third page, I was like, ‘I’m going to send this to my students.’”Anthropogenic noise often drowns out the natural soundscapes, putting marine life under immense stress. In the case of baby clown fish, the noise can even doom them to wander the seas without direction, unable to find their way home.“The cycle is broken,” said Carlos Duarte, a marine ecologist at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia and the lead author on the paper. “The soundtrack of home is now hard to hear, and in many cases has disappeared.”
Sahara sand covers European ski resorts and cities – in pictures - This exceptional meteorological phenomenon is linked to a powerful southerly airflow that brings spring temperatures – and a large concentration of Saharan dust suspended in the atmosphere.
Widespread Arctic air mass with frigid temperatures and brutal wind chills affecting the United States -- (numerous The main theme this coming week will be the continuation of the widespread arctic air mass with frigid temperatures and dangerous wind chills consuming the Central U.S., especially the Upper Midwest, the National Weather Service (NWS) warns. This dangerous winter weather is affecting 100 million people. The bitter cold will gradually advance southward to Texas and the western Gulf Coast region, spread into much of the Northwestern U.S., and may begin to reach the East next weekend.Residents across the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest will start off the work week with continued below-average temperatures and brutal wind chills, NWS meteorologist Snell noted early Monday morning, February 8, 2021.Wind Chill Advisories and Warnings remain in effect from Montana to the U.P. of Michigan, with wind chill values well below zero and as low as -45 °C (-50 °F) at times across this region.While not as extreme, this cold airmass stretches as far south as Oklahoma and as far east as the Ohio Valley, Snell said.Thanks to a strong high-pressure system and constant flow of bitter Arctic air from southwest Canada, widespread temperatures 10 - 15 °C (20 to 30 °F) below average are expected across these areas.Unfortunately, these below-average temperatures don't appear to moderate or exit the region in the foreseeable future. With cold air in place across the northern U.S. and a stalled frontal boundary bisecting the middle of the country, multiple rounds of wintry precipitation are expected from the Southern/Central Plains to the Northeast.Winter Weather Advisories and Avalanche Warnings are in effect across much of the mountainous terrain in Montana and northern Idaho. Light snow will also be found across the Central Plains and Midwest today as a wave of low pressure develops along the frontal boundary and moves toward the Northeast by Tuesday. Generally, around 5 - 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) of snow can be expected for these locations, with higher amounts up to 15 cm (6 inches) possible across the Northeast. A mix of sleet, snow, and freezing rain will be possible across northeast Oklahoma and southern Missouri through tonight as well. By Wednesday morning, another round of wintry weather is expected to develop across similar regions from the southern Plains to Midwest. More impactful freezing rain accretion will be possible and this time stretch from northeast Oklahoma to northern Kentucky.
Record cold temperatures hit Canadian Prairies - Polar vortex continues to bring piercing cold to the Canadian Prairies -- Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta -- since Sunday, February 7, 2021. According to Environment Canada, 22 cold weather records were smashed throughout the three provinces, while the Northwest Territories recorded the coldest temperature for the whole country in nearly four years with -51.9 °C (-61.4 °F).On Sunday, the coldest temperature was in Uranium City, where the mercury hit -48.9 °C (-56 °F), breaking the previous record of -40 °C (-40 °F) set in 2019.In Alberta, the coldest temperature was in Fort Chipewyan, where the mercury plummeted to -47.3 °C (-53.1 °F), smashing the past record of -45.6 °C (-50 °F) in 1936.Edmonton International Airport was close to setting a daily temperature record with -43.8 °C (-46.8 °F). The previous record set on the same day was -43.9 °C (-47 °F) set in 1994.In Manitoba, the Roblin community set a new record of -42 °C (-43.6 °F), beating the past record of -40.6 °C (-41.08 °F) in 1972.Canada also logged its coldest temperature in almost four years as the Northwest Territories confirmed a reading of -51.9 °C (-61.4 °F). Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang told CTVNews that the last time such cold temperatures were recorded in Canada was in March 2017, when the mercury hit -54.7 °C (-66.5 °F) in Mould Bay."The spinning up of the cold air up around the North Pole deepens and strengthens in the winter because of the lack of sunshine," said Lang. The polar vortex contains Arctic air that sits over the poles for most of the winter, which falls into Canada when the weather systems break down heading into spring."Across [the] Prairies, we're just getting some of that cold air that's coming down because the jet stream has looped far enough south. This is what happens every winter, and it’s what gives Canada its cold weather.""It's going to be here for a while," Lang added. "Once that really deep, cold air settles in, it's kind of hard to move out. It's very dense, it's very heavy, so it's really hard to get it out of there." The remnants of the polar vortex will stay between Alberta and Manitoba for the week and then move into some regions of British Columbia as the wind chill makes the weather even colder.
Pileup shuts down Texas road; icy weather in store for many (AP) — Dozens of people were taken to hospitals after a massive car crash Thursday morning on an icy interstate in Texas as a winter storm dropped freezing rain, sleet and snow on parts of the U.S., officials said. First responders took about 30 people to hospitals after the crash near downtown Fort Worth, MedStar spokesman Matt Zavadsky told the Star-Telegram newspaper. He said some of those people were critically injured. Farther south, in Austin, more than two dozen vehicles were involved in a pileup on an icy road, and one person was injured, emergency officials said. Elsewhere, ice storm warnings were in effect from Arkansas to Kentucky, while another winter storm was predicted to bring snow to Mid-Atlantic states, the National Weather Service said. More than 125,000 homes and businesses were without electricity Thursday morning, largely in Kentucky and West Virginia, according to the website poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports. Meanwhile, officials in central Kentucky were urging people to stay home due to icy conditions. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said state offices would be closed due to the weather. He declared a state of emergency, which he said would free up funding and help agencies coordinate as they respond to reports of slick roads and downed power lines. Crews were responding to numerous calls of downed icy tree limbs and power lines, Lexington police said in a tweet that urged people not to travel “unless absolutely necessary.”
Relentless Wintry Weather to Bombard Much of US into Next Week - If it feels like winter has been serving up more wild weather than usual lately, that's because it has been. According to AccuWeather meteorologists, this recent frosty stretch of snow, ice and frigid temps has been the most active winter weather pattern across the country likely since the mid-1990s. And that pattern is not letting up as several weather systems are lining up and threatening more snow and ice for the Midwest and Northeast through the end of next week. Winter storms could arrive every two to three days amid the tumultuous pattern, which is due in part to a major buckling of the jet stream. The river of high winds aloft plunged southward over the central United States then swung up along the Atlantic coast in recent days, setting the path for storms to ride along. That active storm track will be fueled by the collision of Arctic air sprawling across the middle of the nation and milder air holding its ground in the Southeast. Two systems will come into play during the next storm late this week into this weekend, including on Valentine’s Day in the Northeast. One storm was already sweeping across Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa and northern Kansas with light to moderate snow on Friday. This storm and its snow will continue to shift eastward across the Midwest during Friday night and Saturday. Meanwhile, a secondary storm is expected to push northward up the Eastern Seaboard this weekend. This graphic shows the percentage of snowfall that has fallen this season compared to averages for this time of year. (AccuWeather) "Both weekend systems are forecast to remain weak with the snow portion of the precipitation on the nuisance end of the spectrum," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist John Feerick said. "But even a light amount of snow and especially a thin coating of ice can lead to dangerous travel conditions." In general, 1-3 inches of snow is expected from eastern Wyoming to the to the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, but heavier amounts of 3-6 inches will occur across eastern Wyoming, southwestern South Dakota and Nebraska, where an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 8 inches is predicted. "Chicago is another spot where heavier snow on the order of 3-6 inches can occur from Friday night to Saturday due some enhancement from Lake Michigan," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis said. A few additional pockets of 3-6 inches of snow can develop around the Great Lakes as well. The snow in this 1,500-mile-long swath will be light and fluffy due to the Arctic air in place. This type of snow can be highly subject to blowing and drifting in a mere breeze amid the frigid conditions. Farther to the east, most of the moisture associated with the storm pushing northward along the Atlantic Seaboard may stay out to sea.
Major snowstorm hits Netherlands, Germany and UK - (w/ videos) Dutch authorities declared a rare 'code red' emergency for the entire country on Sunday, February 7, 2021, as a severe snowstorm, named Darcy by their meteorologists, hit parts of western Europe. This was the first major snowstorm to hit the Netherlands since January 2010. The storm also affected parts of Germany, disrupting road, rail, and air traffic, and the United Kingdom. Dozens of people were injured, with some of them severely. While the stormy weather will end today and tomorrow, most of Europe is now in for a significant cold outbreak. If models prove right, the cold will last through the end of February. This prolonged cold outbreak is associated with the Sudden Stratospheric Warming event in early January 2021 and the subsequent breakdown of the polar vortex. Darcy dropped temperatures to -5 °C (23 °F) on Sunday and brought heavy snow to the region. Most of the Netherlands received from 5 to 10 cm (2 - 4 inches) of snow, and locally up to 30 cm (12 inches) or more. Eindhoven airport in the country's south was shut down while Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport delayed or canceled dozens of flights. All trains were canceled in the country, including international services to Germany, France24reports. At least 80 car accidents were reported on Sunday alone.The German Weather Service (DWD) issued an extreme weather warning ahead of the storm, saying emergency crews across the country have been put on standby. Darcy brought dense snowdrifts and limited visibility, causing major disruptions in parts of the country, including Hamburg and Hanover. The city of Muenster was among the hardest-hit places with so much snow on the streets that ambulances could no longer drive. Police officials said hundreds of accidents took place on German roads on Sunday. In North Rhine-Westphalia, a total of 222 car accidents were registered since Saturday. Police in NRW closed several motorways after they froze and turned into an ice rink. DWD issued its highest warnings for parts of NRW, Lower Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt. Black ice was also forecast for parts of NRW, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Thuringia, and Saxony. The country saw up to 30 cm (12 inches) with up to 40 cm (16 inches) expected in northern regions overnight Monday, February 8.
Storm Ciara cuts power to more than 500,000 in UK, brings travel to a standstill in northern Europe - Travel cancellations, power cuts and areas of flooding persisted across northern Europe on Monday as powerful Storm Ciara began to depart following a chaotic weekend. The name Ciara was given to the storm on Wednesday by the UK Met Office, which had warned ahead of time it could be the biggest of the season for the country. In Germany, the storm is known as Sabine. Ciara is the third-named windstorm of the season by the United Kingdom, Ireland and Netherlands. The windstorm season begins in September and continues through the end of April. A lifeboat passes white cliffs, as Storm Ciara hits Newhaven, on the south coast of England, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. Trains, flights and ferries have been cancelled and weather warnings issued across the United Kingdom and in northern Europe as the storm with winds expected to reach hurricane levels batters the region. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) At least five people were killed in storm-related incidents, according to the Associated Press. Deaths were reported in the United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden and Slovenia. Many other injuries were reported across northern Europe due to trees falling on automobiles and flying debris from the fierce winds. Several news outlets reported a death due to the strong winds in the Netherlands. The full force of Ciara was felt across Ireland and the United Kingdom Saturday night into Sunday as powerful winds whipped across the region and downpours caused flooding. As of Monday, total power cuts have totaled nearly half a million across the United Kingdom, according to the BBC. Elsewhere, more than 125,000 homes and businesses were left without power from Sunday into Monday across France, according to the AP. An additional 290,000 power outages were reported in Czechia on Monday.
Scotland records coldest night in UK since 2010 as extreme cold snap continues - (videos) An extreme cold snap is ongoing in Scotland, which has brought record temperatures, heavy snowfall, and triggered severe weather warnings until Friday, February 12, 2021. On Tuesday, February 9, the coldest night in the UK since 2010 was recorded in the Scottish Highlands when the mercury dropped to -16.7 °C (1.9 °F). As the cold snap continues, many transport services have been disrupted, with snow showers forecast to bring further travel disruptions in some areas. At the start of the week, there were reports of 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) in southeast coastal areas. At Altanharra in the Scottish Highlands, the mercury plummeted to -16.7 °C (1.9 °F) on Tuesday, marking the UK's coldest night since December 2010, the Met Office confirmed. Dubbed as the "Beast from the East 2", the cold snap brought more than 2 m (6 feet) of snow to the area, leaving farmers in distress as they had to plow over the snow. Ramage Contractors headed out in tractors to clear roads following some blizzards. On Wednesday morning, February 10, Stagecoach East Scotland canceled many of its early morning Fife services. Rail services between Edinburgh and Glasgow were delayed due to the weather, while all Edinburgh tram services have been halted. More than 380 classes across the country were also canceled. Authorities in Norfolk warned of blizzard-like conditions, adding that many roads have had snowdrifts and blockages. According to Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey, "cold air crosses from Russia and eastern Europe, crosses the sea, picks up some moisture, then when it hits the land you see rain or because the air's so cold you see snow." A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for much of the country until Friday. The Met Office forecasts snow showers in the far northeast on Thursday, February 11, while it will be mostly dry and very cold on Friday. Through the weekend, outbreaks of rain and snow will move slowly eastwards as the weather becomes less cold and increasingly windy.
'Snow apocalypse' blankets frozen Moscow (Reuters) - Heavy snowfalls have buried Moscow in massive snow piles, disrupting transport, delaying flights and making it tough to get around for pedestrians braving strong winds and temperatures of minus 15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit). The snowfall started late on Thursday and was expected to end on Sunday. Russia’s emergency service advised people to stay away from trees, warning of winds gusts of 18 metres per second (40 mph). “It’s a real snowstorm, a snow Armageddon, a snow apocalypse. This is not a practice alert, but a combat alert,” Evgeny Tishkovets from the weather service Fobos was quoted by RIA news agency as saying before the snowfall began. By early Saturday, snow depth in the city reached 56 centimetres (22 inches), Fobos said. This was close to exceeding a record high of 60 cm for accumulated snow on a Feb. 13, it said. On Friday Moscow saw record snowfall for a Feb. 12, breaking the previous record set for the date in 1973, Russian news agencies reported citing the national meteorological service. There have been multiple flight delays at the airports in Moscow, a city of more than 12 million people. Unusually for a weekend, traffic was jammed in many places. Around 60,000 people were working to clear the streets, the Moscow mayor’s office said.
Strong hailstorm hits Abha, blanketing the desert in ice, Saudi Arabia (videos) A strong hailstorm hit Abha in Asir Province, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, February 9, 2021, turning the desert into icy roads. The hailstorm struck the city on Tuesday afternoon, accompanied by cold winds and thunderstorms. Photos and videos on social media show roads covered in hail and the desert blanketed in ice.
Shimla sees heaviest snow in 30 years as whiteout conditions hit Himachal Pradesh, India - Himachal Pradesh in India received fresh and heavy snowfall on Thursday and Friday, February 4 and 5, 2021, resulting in whiteout conditions in several areas. State capital Shimla received 50 cm (19.7 inches) of snow in 24 hours -- the city's highest in the last 30 years. Kufri, Manali, and Dalhousie were engulfed in a white blanket of snow as the cold wave intensified across Himachal Pradesh, as well as in neighboring Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, where whiteout conditions were reported. On Thursday, Kufri received up to 61 cm (24 inches), while Shillaro and Khadrala received 55 and 49 cm (21.6 and 19.3 inches), respectively. Heavy snowfall led to the disruption of transport and power supply in portions of the state, especially in the capital city. Officials said three national highways-- one state highway and 461 link roads in the state-- were blocked with snow. The primary roads of Shimla were cleared of snow on Friday, but authorities warned drivers to take precautions due to a layer of black ice on the road.
Southwest France hit by heavy floods, Paris area on flood alert (Reuters) - Southwestern France was hit by heavy flooding on Monday following days of torrential rain, and several other regions including eastern Paris were on flood alert ahead of a cold snap expected later this week. The worst flooding was in Saintes, 115 km (71 miles) north of Bordeaux, where the river Charente stood at a near-record level of 6.20 metres (20 feet). The waters were at waist level in several streets and knee-deep in large parts of the town. Hundreds of people were evacuated as water seeping into cellars knocked out power supplies. Local authorities laid beams on cinder blocks so residents could walk from flooded houses to dry land. Fire brigade chief Pascal Leprince said his services had evacuated about 400 people in Saintes and he estimated that up to 800 people had left their houses on their own. To the southeast of Bordeaux, where the river Garonne last week flooded large areas between Marmande and La Reole, floodwaters were receding, but the waters of the Charente were not expected to fall before Wednesday. “We are at a peak level now. We expect water levels to rise a little more in coming days, and to subside from mid-week,” a Charente-Maritime spokeswoman said. The city of Cognac, centre of brandy production on the Charente river, also saw several streets flooded. The France Meteo weather service put seven departments on flood alert on Monday, including Charente-Maritime, two areas along the Loire river, the Somme and Oise regions in northern France and the Seine-et-Marne region east of Paris. In Paris, parts of quays on the river Seine have been inaccessible for days after the river broke its banks, but water levels, at 4.35 metres on Monday morning, remained well below recent highs of 5.88 metres seen in January 2018 and 6.10 metres in June 2016. Along the river Marne, which flows into the Seine on the eastern edge of the capital, the river broke its banks in several towns, notably in Conde-Sainte-Libaire and Esbly, where several streets were flooded.
Floods send carpets of plastic waste down river to Hungary - (Reuters) - Flooding has sent carpets of waste plastic down river into Hungary over the past few days, officials say, despite earlier pleas to its upstream neighbours Ukraine and Romania for an end to the pollution. As of Monday, floating garbage disposal units have removed 500 cubic metres of waste from the Tisza and Szamos rivers, Gabriella Siklos, a spokeswoman at the Hungarian Water Authority said. Plastic bottles are streaming in on the Tisza from Ukraine, where it rises, and on the Szamos river that flows from Romania, said Gabor Molnar, an engineer at the authority, adding that colleagues up river were counting them as they entered Hungary. “At Tivadar (a village on the Tisza) there are still 50-70 bottles flowing every minute and there are similar numbers on the Szamos River,” he said. While much of the debris flowing downstream is organic when water levels rise, household waste, including slippers and even televisions, appears alongside the plastic bottles, Molnar said. The floating waste reached Hungary’s border late last week, requiring the deployment of disposal teams for the sixth time over the past year and a half, Siklos said, adding that the amount of debris was similar to previous instances. Last July Hungarian President Janos Ader called on Ukraine and Romania to stop polluting the two major rivers that flow across Hungary after floods brought in “dirty carpets” of plastic bottles from its neighbours.
Flash flood claims 24 lives in an illegal underground factory in Tangier, Morocco - At least 24 people were killed in an illegal underground textile factory in the port city of Tangier after heavy rains brought widespread flash floods on Monday, February 8, 2021. According to local authorities, rescue workers recovered 24 bodies on Monday and rescued 10 survivors. Rescue operations continue as it's still not clear how many people had been in the building at the time of the incident. Local media reports mention at least some of the victims were electrocuted, but there is still no official confirmation of those reports.Although destructive and deadly, heavy rains affecting the country in recent weeks brought much-needed rain after 2 years of drought. According to reports from Morocco’s Ministry of Equipment, Transport, Logistics, and Water, the country was in dire need of water resources as dams and reservoirs were depleting. In 2020, the country reported its lowest level of rainfall since 2015. But this year's heavy rainfall helped alleviate the problem, the ministry said.
Flash floods leave at least 4 fatalities in Jordan and Saudi Arabia - Heavy rainfall has been affecting western Jordan and neighboring Saudi Arabia since February 5, 2021, causing flash floods that resulted in four fatalities and property damage. Heavy downpours particularly affected Al Mafraq and Ma'an governorates in Jordan, as well as Tabuk and Al Jawf provinces in Saudi Arabia.In Jordan, four fatalities were reported in the area of Ruwaished Town, according to local media on February 8. The civil defense said the victims were in a vehicle that was swept away by floodwaters.Several roads were inundated and impassable across Al Mafraq and Ma'an. In neighboring Saudi Arabia, the streets of Tabuk were heavily inundated, which caused traffic disruption. Civil defense teams used a helicopter to rescue four people after their car was swept away. Drier conditions are forecast over the affected areas across both countries on Tuesday, February 9.
Western Australia lashed by 'once-in-10-years' flooding, roads and highways destroyed -- Highways and roads in Western Australia were destroyed in what was described as a "one-in-10-year" flooding event triggered by a slow-moving tropical low from Friday, February 5, 2021. As of Monday, February 8, a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall is in place over the East Kimberley as the low has moved offshore to the south of the state. The tropical low dumped up to 176 mm (6.9 inches) of rain in Carnarvon in a 24-hour period on February 5. The WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) issued flood warnings for Midwest-Gascoyne, particularly for areas of Geraldton, Mullewa, Kalbarri, Northampton, Overlander Roadhouse, and Wooramel Roadhouse. DFES said moderate flooding occurred along the Gascoyne River-- which stood at 6.98 m (22.9 foot) on Friday-- to Jimba. On Saturday, February 6, the Gascoyne River at Nine Mile Bridge reached 7.06 m (23.1 feet), which was above moderate flood stage. Dozens of people were rescued from flooding in the Gascoyne region, including some by helicopter. DFES said there were 50 calls for assistance in the Carnarvon area, and some evacuations were conducted at the site. Many highways and roads were damaged or destroyed, which will take weeks to repair. "The advice is that this is a one-in-10-year flood," noted WA Premier Mark McGowan. "Road building crews are ready to deploy as soon as flood levels recede sufficiently to make an on-the-ground assessment of the damage."
Floods trigger power outages, evacuations in Indonesia's capital (Reuters) - Floods, heavy rain and power outages led people to evacuate their homes in parts of Indonesia’s capital on Monday, with the conditions - worsened by the La Nina weather pattern - expected to continue until March or April. More than 1,000 people in east and south Jakarta were evacuated after torrential rain overnight, local media reported, with households along the winding Ciliwung River among the worst affected by the floods. “If the flood gets bigger, we will have to take refuge elsewhere, but if it remains this high, then I think we will decide not to evacuate,” said resident Isti Barokah, whose home was flooded. “Most of our stuff is already on the second floor.” Wooden homes along the river were partially submerged in muddy brown water. Children played waist-deep in the water in front of their homes. Fire department officials dressed in red life jackets inspected the affected areas, where they said some elderly residents and small children were evacuated. The country’s meteorology, climatology and geophysical agency (BMKG) had issued heavy rain alerts across populous Java island, Bali and parts of eastern Indonesia. President Joko Widodo in October warned of the hazardous impact of the La Nina weather pattern, like flooding, landslides and agriculture losses, after BMKG indicated monthly rain volume could increase by 20%-40% above normal levels. The flooding came days after a factory manufacturing batik, a traditional method of creating dyed material and fabrics, was inundated, flooding a nearby village and producing surreal, blood-red waters.
Severe flooding hits Belo Horizonte as more than a month's worth of rain falls in 72 hours, Brazil - (videos) Torrential rains lashed Belo Horizonte in Brazil over the weekend, causing damaging floods that prompted the Civil Defense to issue alerts for the West, Pampulha, and Venda Nova regions on Sunday, February 7, 2021. In the south-central, about 234.6 mm (9.2 inches) of rain fell in a 72 hour period, which exceeded the February average of 181.4 mm (7.1 inches). Persistent heavy rains caused severe flooding in Belo Horizonte, affecting many houses and buildings. Locals said as streams overflowed, floodwaters dragged away vehicles on roads. The Civil Defense issued flood alerts for the West, Pampulha, and Venda Nova regions on Sunday afternoon. Avenida Vilarinho in Venda Nova was flooded twice on the said day, first in the morning and then in the afternoon.In the Vila Suzana I neighborhood, at least 47 people were stranded and rescued by firefighters, including families. In Santa Luzia, Rio das Velhas overflowed, forcing about 300 people to flee their homes.In the south-central region alone, around 234.6 mm (9.2 inches) of rain fell in 72 hours, which surpassed the February average of 181.4 mm (7.1 inches), according to Inmet.The Civil Defense reported that 301 people were left without homes in the state due to the severe weather. Another 2 849 had to evacuate due to the risk of collapse. A geological risk alert has also been issued for Belo Horizonte, which is in force until Tuesday, February 9.
Catastrophic rock and ice avalanche hits Uttarakhand, leaving more than 150 people missing, India -- A catastrophic rock and ice avalanche took place in the Chamoli district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand at around 05:00 UTC on Sunday, February 7, 2021. The event took place around 500 km (310 miles) N of New Delhi, leaving more than 150 people dead or missing.At first sight, it appeared to be a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) but it was later determined to be a rock and ice avalanche caused by a landslide. "The question as to the cause of this event has been solved by the availability of a Planet Labs image collected today," Dr. Dave Petley of The Landslide Blog wrote in his analysis of the event. PlanetLabs images posted on his website show the source of the disaster – a large rockslope detachment from Trishuli. "It has moved northwards onto the glacier, and turned into a rock and ice avalanche that has moved toward the northwest."The Rishiganga Hydroelectric Project in the Tapovan-Rini area, with more than 150 workers believed to be in the facility, was completely destroyed.Only 10 bodies have been recovered so far.The debris also swept away homes, bridges, and livestock along the way and trapped 16 people in a tunnel near Tapovan who were later rescued.Rescue efforts are underway to rescue more people trapped in another tunnel, the federal ministry said early Sunday.State utility NTPC said a part of its Tapovan Vishnugad hydropower plant that was under construction was also damaged.The event played out so fast there was no time to alert anyone, one of the locals told Reuters.
Search on for more than 200 after India glacier fractures, sweeping away all before it (Reuters) - Indian rescuers searched on Monday for more than 200 people missing after part of a remote Himalayan glacier broke away, sweeping away bridges, breaking dams and sending a torrent of water, rocks and construction debris down a mountain valley. Sunday’s disaster below Nanda Devi, India’s second-highest peak, swept away the small Rishiganga hydro-electric project and damaged a bigger one further down the Dhauliganga river being built by state firm NTPC. Eighteen bodies had been recovered so far, officials said. Most of the missing were people working on the two projects, part of the many the government has been building deep in the mountains of Uttarakhand state as part of a development push.“As of now, around 203 people are missing,” state chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said. Mohd Farooq Azam, assistant professor, glaciology & hydrology at the Indian Institute of Technology in Indore, said a hanging glacier fractured. “Our current hypothesis is that the water accumulated and locked in the debris-snow below the glacier was released when the glacier-rock mass fell,” he said. Videos on social media showed water surging through a small dam site, washing away construction equipment and bringing down small bridges. “Everything was swept away, people, cattle and trees,” Sangram Singh Rawat, a former village council member of Raini, the site closest to the Rishiganga project, told media. Experts said it had snowed heavily last week in the Nanda Devi area and it was possible that some of the snow had started melting and may have led to an avalanche.
At least 15 dead as the U.S. sees the deadliest week of avalanches in over a century - At least 15 people lost their lives due to avalanches in the U.S. from January 30 to February 6 this year-- the worst and deadliest in the country since 1910, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC). It included avalanches in Alaska, California, Colorado, Montana, New Hampshire, Utah. The U.S. had its deadliest week of avalanches in over a century after at least 15 people lost their lives. The most recent one was in Utah, where four skiers lost their lives in an avalanche in Millcreek Canyon on Saturday, February 6, 2021. Four other skiers survived. On February 1, three backcountry skiers died in an avalanche in San Juan Mountains, Colorado. Four people were initially trapped, while others in the group managed to set free one skier who sustained minor injuries. "This is a tragic week for all of us in the United States, with more deaths in avalanches than we've seen since 1910 and three accidents that killed three people or more," the CAIC said in a statement on Monday, February 8. "Monday's (February 1) accident near The Nose in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado is a painful reminder of the danger of multiple people exposed to a large avalanche path and the way terrain traps amplify the consequences of an avalanche."
California's aging dams face new perils, 50 years after Sylmar quake crisis - — It was a harrowing vision of the vulnerability of aging California dams — crews laboring feverishly to sandbag and drain the lower San Fernando Reservoir, as billions of gallons of Los Angeles drinking water lapped at the edge of a crumbling, earthquake-damaged embankment that threatened catastrophe on the neighborhoods below. The 1,100-foot dam, which began construction in 1912, held 3.6 billion gallons of water on the morning of Feb. 9, 1971. Due to earthquake concerns identified five years earlier, the reservoir was ordered to be kept below full capacity, and on that morning the water level measured 36 feet below the lip of the dam. The top 30 feet of the rolled earth dam crumbled and sank into the reservoir, leaving the water only 6 feet from the top with fresh chunks of earth falling off with each aftershock. Not since 1925, when a 6.8 magnitude quake destroyed the Sheffield Dam and sent 30 million gallons of water coursing through Santa Barbara, had California faced such a seismic-related crisis. Although the 1971 San Fernando earthquake and the near failure of the Lower Van Norman Dam have given rise to construction improvements — the much newer Los Angeles Dam survived an equivalent shaking in the 1994 Northridge quake — the overwhelming majority of California dams are decades past their design life span. And while earthquakes still loom as the greatest threat to California’s massive collection of dams, experts warn that these aging structures will be challenged further by a new and emerging hazard: “whiplashing shifts” in extreme weather due to climate change. “The biggest issue facing dam safety in California is aging infrastructure and lack of money to fund repairs and retrofits of dams,” said Sharon K. Tapia, who leads the Division of Safety of Dams at the California Department of Water Resources. “Many older dams were built using construction methods considered outdated by today’s standards.” Federal engineers have found that three major dams in Southern California — Whittier Narrows, Prado and Mojave River — are structurally unsafe and could collapse in a significant flood event and potentially inundate millions of people downstream. Each has been reclassified as “high urgency structures” amid growing concerns that they were designed and built on 20th-century assumptions and hydrological records that did not anticipate the region being hit more frequently by storms that were previously regarded as once-in-a-lifetime events. “Even if engineers had made risk assessments that were accurate at the time these structures were built, they aren’t accurate now, and won’t be anymore due to climate change,”
Aviation Color Code for Semisopochnoi volcano raised to Orange, Alaska - A high-resolution satellite image acquired on February 7, 2021, shows a second small ash deposit extending at least 3 km (1.8 miles) to the northeast from North Cerberus Crater on Semisopochnoi Island, similar to the first observed on February 6.Clouds obscured views into the crater and the southern side of the volcano. Any ash clouds associated with these deposits have not been observed and are likely low-level (below 3 km (10 000 feet)) and short-duration, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) said. Because of evidence for continued low-level ash emissions, AVO has raised the Aviation Color Code to ORANGE and the Volcano Alert Level to WATCH at 23:11 UTC on February 8.
Large lahar at Semeru volcano, Indonesia (video) A large lahar flow formed on the slopes of Mount Semeru volcano in East Java, Indonesia during heavy rains on February 8, 2021. The flow took place at around 08:39 UTC (15:39 WIB), sweeping away a car. Fortunately, the driver managed to get out of the vehicle and survive.
Increased explosive activity at Pacaya volcano, Alert Level raised to Yellow, Guatemala - Volcanic activity at the Guatemalan Pacaya volcano has increased over the past few days, prompting authorities to raise the Alert Level to Yellow. INSIVUMEH reported a significant increase in Strombolian activity with constant moderate and occasional strong explosions on February 9. This activity is generating dense columns of ash and gas, reaching a height of about 3.8 km (12 500 feet) above sea level. Ash columns spread in a radius of 10 to 68 km (6 - 42 miles), mainly to the N, NW, W and SW, affecting the communities of El Patrocinio, El Rodeo, and El Caracol. Active effusive activity is generating several lava flows up to 1.2 m (0.7 miles) in length.People who live in areas near the Pacaya volcano are recommended to attend to the information shared by local authorities, review their Family Response Plan and have the 72-hour backpack ready for each member of the family. To the residents and tourists, avoid approaching the Pacaya volcano area
Climate Crisis Is Pushing California’s Great White Sharks North -The climate crisis is driving young great white sharks up the California coast, and it's causing problems for the endangered wildlife that live there. Juvenile great white sharks have historically spent their time in Southern California waters, but after a marine heat wave started in 2014, they began to spend more time further north in Monterey Bay. This is bad news for prey animals such as sea otters, whose area numbers have fallen 86 percent since the sharks moved in, The Guardian reported. "White sharks aren't just another species — they're an apex predator and all eyes are on them in the ocean," Kyle Van Houtan from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, who co-authored a new study on the phenomenon, told The Guardian. The study, published in Scientific Reports on Tuesday, used data from juvenile great white sharks tagged in 2002 to monitor their movements, according to a Monterey Bay Aquarium press release published inEurekAlert! Researchers used 22 million electronic data records from 14 sharks and compared them to 38 years of ocean temperature data to find the coldest temperature the sharks could stand. Juvenile sharks range between five and nine feet long and often prefer warmer water, where they feast on fish, rays and squid, according to The Mercury News.. After two or three years the sharks set out for colder, deeper waters after growing more than ten-feet long and developing wider, more serrated teeth. Between 1982 and 2013, the young sharks never ventured further north of Santa Barbara, at 34 degrees North, according to the press release. However, after the marine heat wave in 2014, their range shifted 4.5 degrees North to Bodega Bay. The sharks' current range limit remains at 36 degrees North near Monterey Bay. The cold water limit for the sharks moved about 373 miles north between 2014 and 2020, according to The Guardian. At the same time, the sharks' suitable water temperature range actually shrank by five percent. This is a problem for their prey. "It doesn't seem big in the overall scheme of things but predators and prey are now compressed into a smaller place, where prey have fewer places to hide. So you're seeing a really rapid decline in fish, including salmon,"
Limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius will require far-reaching emissions cuts in coming years, find University of Washington researchers - The pledges countries made to reduce emissions as part of the 2015 Paris agreement are woefully inadequate, and the world must nearly double its greenhouse gas-cutting goals to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, according to research published Tuesday.“The commitments are not enough,” said Adrian Raftery, a University of Washington statistics professor and co-author of the study, published in Communications Earth & Environment.The study found that even if countries were to meet their existing pledges, the world has only about a 5 percent chance to limit the Earth’s warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) over preindustrial levels — a key aim of the international agreement.Raftery and a colleague calculated that global emissions would need to fall steadily — about 1.8 percent each year on average — to put the world on a more sustainable trajectory. While no two countries are alike, that amounts to overall emissions reductions roughly 80 percent more ambitious than those pledged under the Paris agreement, he said.In many respects, the race to slow the Earth’s warming is a daunting math problem. Emissions have risen about 1.4 percent annually on average over the past decade, not including the abnormal plunge in 2020 driven by the coronavirus pandemic.In 2019, the world logged the highest emissions ever recorded, at 59 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, a category that includes not only carbon dioxide but also methane and other climate-warming agents. If that trend continues unabated, scientists say, the world could begin to cross troubling climate thresholds within the coming decade.The architects of the Paris accord and numerous world leaders have long underscored that the pledges made in 2015 were not enough to limit warming to acceptable levels. The expectation was always that nations would grow more ambitious with time, and there is evidence that is happening.
WVU biologists uncover forests' unexpected role in climate change - New research from West Virginia University biologists shows that trees around the world are consuming more carbon dioxide than previously reported, making forests even more important in regulating the Earth's atmosphere and forever shift how we think about climate change.In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Richard Thomas and alumnus Justin Mathias (BS Biology, '13 and Ph.D. Biology, '20) synthesized published tree ring studies. They found that increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the past century have caused an uptick in trees' water-use efficiency, the ratio of carbon dioxide taken up by photosynthesis to the water lost by transpiration - the act of trees "breathing out" water vapor."This study really highlights the role of forests and their ecosystems in climate change," said Thomas, interim associate provost for graduate academic affairs. "We think of forests as providing ecosystem services. Those services can be a lot of different things - recreation, timber, industry. We demonstrate how forests perform another important service: acting as sinks for carbon dioxide. Our research shows that forests consume large amounts of carbon dioxide globally. Without that, more carbon dioxide would go into the air and build up in the atmosphere even more than it already is, which could exacerbate climate change. Our work shows yet another important reason to preserve and maintain our forests and keep them healthy."Previously, scientists have thought that trees were using water more efficiently over the past century through reduced stomatal conductance - meaning trees were retaining more moisture when the pores on their leaves began closing slightly under rising levels of carbon dioxide. However, following an analysis using carbon and oxygen isotopes in tree rings from 1901 to 2015 from 36 tree species at 84 sites around the world, the researchers found that in 83% of cases, the main driver of trees' increased water efficiency was increased photosynthesis - they processed more carbon dioxide. Meanwhile, the stomatal conductance only drove increased efficiency 17% of the time. This reflects a major change in how trees' water efficiency has been explained in contrast to previous research.
Climate “emergency” claims falsified by real world data - The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) - Contrary to popular belief there is little evidence of harmful trends from the impact of global warming. According to the paper’s author, Dr Indur Goklany,“Almost everywhere you look, climate change is having only small, and often benign, impacts. The impact of extreme weather events ― hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and droughts ― are, if anything, declining. Economic damages have declined as a fraction of global GDP. Death rates from such events have declined by 99% since the 1920s. Climate-related disease has collapsed. And more people die from cold than warm temperatures” And even sea-level rise – predicted to be the most damaging impact of global warming – seems to be much less of a problem than thought. According to Dr Goklany, reviews of historic maps and satellite imagery have shown that the places predicted to disappear are in fact still with us. “A recent study showed that the Earth has actually gained more land in coastal areas in the last 30 years than it has lost through sea-level rise. We now know for sure that coral atolls aren’t disappearing and even Bangladesh is gaining more land through siltation than it is losing through rising seas.” Empirical data also shows that food production per capita has increased by 30% since 1961 despite a more-than-doubling of the global population. Hunger and malnutrition have declined, area burnt by wild fires has declined, and since 1950 poverty has declined, people are wealthier and global life expectancy has increased from 46 years to 73 years. Dr Goklany’s paper Impacts of Climate Change: Perception and Reality is published by the Global Warming Policy Foundation and can be downloaded here (pdf).
Joe Biden’s executive order on refugees matters a lot for climate migration - Joe Biden’s administration is crafting a report that will include proposals for how the US might respond to global migration due to climate change. Biden commissioned the report as part of a broader executive order he signed yesterday aimed at overhauling the US refugee resettlement program, which was gutted under the Trump administration.“I’ve worked on this very intersection of issues for over a decade, and I never thought that this would be a part of any American president’s priorities, especially within the first 30 days of their administration,” says Kayly Ober, climate displacement manager at the humanitarian organization Refugees International. “So I am delighted and surprised.”If Biden’s report, due in 179 days, leads to an actual pathway to resettlement in the US, it could be a game-changer for people who’ve fled their homes because of climate change. There are currently no policies that allow someone who’s been displaced by climate-related disasters to apply for a visa, green card, or refugee protections in the US. It’s a gap that’s, for the most part, missing globally, too. International institutions literally don’t even have the words to tackle the issue: there’s still a debate over whether to consider displaced people “migrants” or “refugees” since the terminology could affect what legal protections a person is entitled to. Meanwhile, an average of 21.5 million people are pushed from their homes each year because of climate-related hazards. That includes people who’ve survived disasters like storms and floods that have grown more intense as the planet heats up. For comparison, that’s almost nine times as many people as those who apply for political asylum because of the fear of persecution in their home country. What’s more, 21.5 million people is likely an underestimate of how many people climate change is actually pushing to the brink. That figure doesn’t include people on the move because of the slower-moving consequences of climate change like drought and rising sea levels. The number of people seeking new homes as global temperatures rise is only expected to grow. So governments and international organizations need to start acting.
Big Business squirms as Biden tightens climate regulations - Corporate America is entering the Biden era with bold public pledges to fight climate change. But as Democrats seek to hold businesses to those promises, they're facing a big battle. Democrats are vowing to go through the Securities and Exchange Commission to impose sweeping financial disclosure rules on climate risk that would force thousands of businesses including banks, manufacturers and energy producers to divulge information to investors. Lenders are set to get even more scrutiny from their own regulators like the Federal Reserve, including potential stress tests to measure their resiliency to rising sea levels and extreme weather. Now, the backlash is beginning. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who has been hailed by some as a corporate leader in fighting climate change, is putting his weight behind a call for companies to abide by a voluntary global standard instead and is warning against the potential shortfalls of government intervention. And Republican lawmakers are emerging as allies to businesses resistant to the looming transparency rules. “This is about solving a societal problem that does not align simply with the SEC’s mission,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry, the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee. “I’d like the Securities and Exchange Commission to stick to what they do and then for us in the elected class to make these large-scale societal decisions.” At the heart of the clash is a broader argument about how much control the government should have over business, a debate that will get more heated as President Joe Biden's administration moves to impose stricter regulations on the economy after four years of rollbacks by former President Donald Trump. The reluctance to embrace the government's growing role in climate policy is echoed by business groups in Washington, D.C., that are calling for flexible disclosure requirements. The campaign by Democrats is expected to trigger a lobbying blitz as companies try to shape regulations that could require them to publicly quantify their carbon footprints, potential financial losses from climate-related risks and their plans for making their operations more environmentally sustainable. An increasing number of corporations are responding to the pressure by releasing more climate data voluntarily, though industry representatives say companies are split on the issue. "There are some who care, but they don't want to be told what to do," said Stephen Brown, a veteran energy industry consultant who ran the federal affairs office of oil refiner Tesoro for 12 years. "There are others who would like to be told how to do it."
'A big promise': Biden's climate spending pledge faces early test - President Joe Biden has promised 40 percent of the benefits from the $2 trillion he's aiming to spend on climate change will go to disadvantaged communities that have suffered the most from pollution. But figuring out how to spend that potential mountain of cash may vex the places vying for it and the lawmakers tasked with doling it out.People at the highest levels of Biden’s administration are huddling to try to meet the 120-day deadline Biden set out in his sprawling executive order on climate change to issue recommendations for spending that money. And figuring out the details while avoiding the blunders that could undermine confidence in the program will be crucial for generating political momentum for his climate agenda — something Biden’s former boss President Barack Obama struggled to do with his 2009 stimulus package.“That’s a big promise,” said Cecilia Martinez, who heads the environmental justice portfolio at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, one of the offices Biden tasked with crafting the blueprint. “When we talk about 40 percent to the most vulnerable and the communities that need it most, that’s a sign of achievement. And from the get-go that is what we’re all working on.” With much of the country struggling under the economic slowdown from the pandemic, there is no shortage of targets. Environmental organizers from low-income and communities of color across the country are linking up with mainstream green groups to identify their needs — and the list goes far beyond traditional environmental concerns to include things like personal protective equipment, community health centers and affordable housing.
Senate advances nomination of Biden EPA pick Regan - Senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee voted on Tuesday to advance the nomination of Michael Regan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The committee voted 14-6 to move Regan's nomination to the full Senate. Regan was formerly North Carolina’s top environmental regulator. If he’s confirmed to lead the EPA, he’ll be tasked with implementing a number of Biden’s campaign pledges, including helping the U.S. reach carbon neutrality by 2050. While Regan had bipartisan support on the committee, the nominee also garnered opposition from some Republicans who took issue with the Biden administration’s policy agenda. “It is unclear whether Secretary Regan, if confirmed, would …. have the authority to stop the regulatory march towards the Green New Deal,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the committee’s ranking member. She added that it is “unclear” whether Regan would “set out on a different policy course” than Obama-era officials who have joined or have been appointed to join the Biden administration. However, all of the committee’s Democrats, as well as Republicans Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), Kevin Cramer (N.D.), and Dan Sullivan (Alaska) voted to support his nomination. “I believe that Michael Regan is someone who can help unite us in common purpose,” said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the committee’s chairman. “That’s what he did in North Carolina and as an honest and thoughtful public servant, he brought people together to find solutions to some of the Tarheel State’s most pressing environmental challenges,” Carper added.
HOGSH*T: Michael Regan’s Disingenuous Claim Of Reining In North Carolina’s Factory Farms | Food & Water Watch --Michael Regan has a legacy of bowing to the factory farm industry even when it means sacrificing public health and contributing to pollution. Why is he being put in charge of the agency meant to protect our environment? In the opening statement of his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, EPA Secretary-nominee Michael Regan claimed to have “tackled the adverse impacts of hog farms” in North Carolina while serving as Secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality.I’m not so sure about that. I live in eastern North Carolina. My home was flooded badly by Hurricane Florence in September of 2018. After making landfall near Wilmington, the climate-change fueled superstorm crawled inland at a pace of three miles per hour, dumping nearly 30” of rain on the coastal plain. Eastern North Carolina experienced catastrophic and record-setting flooding as a result. But in eastern North Carolina, floodwater also contains enormous amounts of untreated hog waste. North Carolina’s factory hog farms store untreated waste in large, often unlined “lagoons” until it is sprayed on nearby fields for disposal. This spraying results in horrific odors, significant health impacts and dramatically reduced quality of life for people living nearby. And these lagoons are also incredibly vulnerable to flooding, putting everyone downstream at risk. Hundreds of lagoons were built in floodplains, and extensive rainfall and the resulting flooding from Hurricanes Floyd (1999), Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018) caused many to leak, be inundated or to breach entirely, letting loose millions of gallons of untreated hog waste into downstream rivers and communities – and into our flooded homes. (Sometimes it doesn’t even take a hurricane, as was the case in December 2020and again in June 2020 when Smithfield lagoons failed, collectively spilling four millions of gallons of hog waste). In 2007 the North Carolina legislature imposed a moratorium on the construction of new hog lagoons. That moratorium held until last summer when the General Assembly bent to the will of Smithfield Foods and created an exception to the moratorium – hog farms would now be allowed to construct new lagoons in order to facilitate the installation of “manure digesters” to generate factory farm biogas. Don’t be fooled by this factory farm biogas scheme. It’s a false solution, and it won’t solve the climate crisis or our factory farm crisis. But the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, under the leadership of Secretary Michael Regan, is fully on board. There’s a reason the hog factory farm lobby is super excited about Regan’s nomination to lead the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden Administration – it’s because he essentially allowed the industry to operate at status quo with only minimal attempts to increase oversight. DEQ under his leadership has largely failed to address the critical environmental and community impacts caused by factory farms — and the lagoon and sprayfield system in particular. Instead of working to phase out this harmful and polluting system, Secretary Regan’s DEQ is issuing permits that will only further entrench North Carolina’s factory farms by allowing Smithfield to profit from the waste they produce.
Biden's auto dilemma: How hard to push for electric cars? - Los Angeles Times - After four years of bitter fighting, California and the federal government agree they need to set ambitious climate goals, and major automakers are increasingly betting that the future of their business lies with electric cars.But consumers aren’t there yet.Despite growing momentum for a national shift toward cleaner cars, less than 1% of vehicles on the nation’s roads are electric. A recent analysis found that Americans were buying so many gas-guzzling SUVs and pick-up trucks that they had effectively canceled emissions reductions from every electric vehicle in the United States.This divide between the reality of America’s auto market and what the federal government and some automakers hope it will become is certain to create dilemmas for the Biden administration as it sets out to negotiate a new set of fuel-economy standards.“The challenge for the administration is that they’re going to be faced with the car companies saying you can’t make the overall standards too strong because the consumers aren’t there,” said John DeCicco, research professor emeritus at the University of Michigan Energy Institute. “There’s a pretty severe misalignment between the market and the regulatory need.” At stake is President Biden’s ability to deliver on his promise of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Calculating backward, most environmentalists say the only way to meet that goal is to mandate all new cars be emissions-free by 2035.Biden is expected to replace the weaker tailpipe emissions standards put in place by the Trump administration with new regulations modeled on California’s voluntary agreement with five automakers. Under the state’s rules, car companies would be required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 4% each year. But both federal and California regulators, as well as major car companies, are already looking ahead to the next set of standards that would apply to cars built after model year 2026. Finalizing these rules could take two years and prove the ultimate test of whether the administration is able to rein in the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, most of which come from the transportation sector.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Study reveals EV secret: They are driven less than gas cars -- Monday, February 8, 2021 -- Electric vehicles in California logged half the miles on the roads of gas-powered cars and didn't draw the big quantity of energy that grid planners expected, according to a new study.The results of the study, published today by the National Bureau of Economic Research, feed into a topic of intensifying interest to the new Biden administration and in the states: How many resources should be devoted to supporting electric cars?Researchers, including Fiona Burlig, an energy and environmental policy professor at the University of Chicago, analyzed utility industry data to reveal how much EVs are actually driven compared with their gasoline counterparts.The findings surprised the academics. As of four years ago, EVs in the Golden State drove on average 5,300 miles a year, less than half the distance driven by an average gas-powered car. And their energy usage is a small fraction of what state officials assume."If it turns out there are various reasons that people drive their EVs less," Burlig said, "it means that the EV is a less-good substitute for the gas car than we thought."Burlig acknowledged the study has limits. It looked at California's use of EVs in a three-year period ending in 2017. EVs were less popular then; the Tesla Model 3, now the country's hottest-selling EV, had just hit the streets.The study also didn't consider why electric cars' travel is so constrained. But the researchers have some ideas.It could be that the drivers, encountering few public charging stations and suffering range anxiety, didn't trust their EVs for longer trips. It could be that households with more than one car look at their EV as an auxiliary. Or it could be that California's electricity rates, among the highest in the country, made fueling too expensive. Whatever the reason, there is something about EVs that makes them less convenient.
SK Innovation loses U.S. battery trade case but gets temporary OK to sell to Ford, VW |(Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Wednesday sided with South Korea’s chemicals and electric vehicle (EV) battery maker LG Chem Ltd, which accused its cross-town rival SK Innovation Co Ltd of misappropriating trade secrets related to EV battery technology.The ITC said it was issuing a limited 10-year exclusion order prohibiting imports into the United States of some lithium-ion batteries by SK Innovation, but would permit SK to import components for domestic production of lithium ion batteries and other parts for Ford Motor Co’s EV F-150 program for four years, and for Volkswagen of America’s MEB electric vehicle line for the North America region for two years. The ITC added that SK Innovation can replace or repair its batteries in Kia vehicles sold to U.S. consumers. The move could effectively ban the company from supplying EV batteries in the United States unless the company can source all the needed materials there - a step analysts say is not feasible. The ITC said the decision would allow the automakers to transition to new suppliers for these programs. LG Chem’s wholly owned battery subsidiary LG Energy Solution, a EV battery supplier to Tesla Inc and General Motors Co, praised the ruling. “SKI’s total disregard of our warnings and intellectual property rights gave us no choice but to file this case,” Kim Jong-hyun, the CEO of LG Energy Solution, said in a statement. He said the company would “further strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights going forward.”
Exclusive: Amazon orders hundreds of trucks that run on natural gas — (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has ordered hundreds of trucks that run on compressed natural gas as it tests ways to shift its U.S. fleet away from heavier polluting trucks, the company told Reuters on Friday. The coronavirus pandemic caused delivery activity to surge in 2020, with truck volumes exceeding 2019 levels on average while passenger car traffic fell. But that increase in road activity means more pollution, as heavier-duty trucks emit higher levels of greenhouse gases than passenger vehicles. Transportation companies are building their stable of electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions. Much of the nation’s freight is delivered via medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which account for more than 20% of the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions even though they make up less than 5% of the road fleet, according to U.S. federal data. “Amazon is excited about introducing new sustainable solutions for freight transportation and is working on testing a number of new vehicle types including electric, CNG and others,” the company said in a statement. Amazon has ordered more than 700 compressed natural gas class 6 and class 8 trucks so far, according to the company. The online retailer’s sales rose 38% in 2020; it plans to run a carbon neutral business by 2040. The engines, supplied by a joint venture between Cummins Inc and Vancouver-based Westport Fuel Systems Inc, are to be used for Amazon’s heavy duty trucks that run from warehouses to distribution centers. More than 1,000 engines that can operate on both renewable and non-renewable natural gas have been ordered by the supplier, according to a source familiar with the situation. Natural gas emits approximately 27% less carbon dioxide when burned compared with diesel fuel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Electric-powered motors are considered less viable for heavy-duty trucks than for the average passenger vehicle. In 2019, Amazon ordered 100,000 electric vans from startup Rivian Automotive LLC. The first of those vans, to be used for last-mile delivery to customers, are to be delivered this year. The company also ordered 1,800 electric vans from Mercedes-Benz for its European delivery fleet.
Better ways to cross the pond -Transatlantic flights are positioned to get a little more eco-friendly in the next few weeks as airlines are given the green light to pursue their own flight paths. Since the pandemic has reduced flight traffic, air traffic controllers are experimenting with allowing pilots to choose their own paths across the sea, potentially saving airlines money on fuel and reducing emissions.NATS and Nav Canada, the flight controllers that are responsible for U.K. and Canadian airspace respectively, are going to let airlines select paths based on optimal speed and trajectories. A few years ago this wouldn’t have been possible, but new technology has allowed controllers to collect real-time data on planes over the ocean. With fewer planes in the air, the controllers believe they can safely eliminate the precaution of designated paths.That could mean much more fuel-efficient flights. Researchers at the University of Reading in England estimate that fuel use for transatlantic flights could be reduced by up to 16 percent if pilots take better advantage of wind patterns when flying east. With the airline sector accounting for about 2 percent of global CO2 emissions, any reductions in fuel use are helpful toward the global aviation industry’s target of cutting flight emissions in half by 2050.
The Dangers of Sustainability Metrics - Sustainability is the corporate issue of the day. It was the theme of the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, and the call for companies to serve the wider society – not just shareholders – has only intensified in the COVID-19 pandemic. A key challenge, however, is to measure the sustainability of a company. Accordingly, global consortiums are devising an ever-increasing set of sustainability metrics for companies to report. One example is the World Economic Forum’s framework, released in September 2020 in collaboration with the Big Four accounting firms. Policymakers, investors, and stakeholders are demanding that companies report sustainability metrics so that they can be held accountable for delivering social performance. Doing so increases the total amount of information in the market and reduces the cost of capital. However, real decisions depend on not the total amount of information, but the balance between ‘hard’ (quantitative) and ‘soft’ (qualitative) information. Since sustainability metrics only contain the former, they distort this balance – skewing managers’ sustainability investments to ones with short-term payoffs.
Vote Solar says Ameren pushing flawed, incomplete solar plan - Clean energy groups including Vote Solar say Ameren Illinois has proposed a critically flawed plan to compensate its solar customers, threatening Illinois’ clean energy transition. On Feb. 5, the Environmental Law & Policy Center, Vote Solar and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed testimony in the Illinois Commerce Commission’s ongoing investigation into compensation for Ameren solar customers. In the testimony, energy expert Curt Volkmann called Ameren’s proposal for how to compensate solar panel owners for the energy they provide the grid “overly complex and opaque, flawed, and too narrowly focused.” The core issue is how the utility plans to compensate solar panel owners after full retail net metering ends. When solar panels on homes, schools, churches and businesses in Southern and Central Illinois generate more power than the building uses, those excess electrons go back to the grid. Ameren then sells this electricity to other customers. Under state law, Ameren must compensate solar panel owners the same amount they charge other customers for the power, a 1:1 reimbursement rate called “full retail net metering.” That’s a foundational policy the General Assembly created to spur investment in clean power and help Illinois meet its clean energy goals. Once distributed solar generation makes up 5% of Ameren’s overall load, the utility — with ICC approval — can set up a new, more sophisticated compensation plan, one where Ameren must provide rebates to their solar customers for the value they provide to the grid. “If Ameren is unwilling or unable to show their math on the value they offer local solar customers, Illinoisans will have no reason to trust that they are getting a fair shake. Customers must be fairly compensated for the benefits they bring for the grid,” said Will Kenworthy, Regulatory Director, Midwest for Vote Solar. “And the Commission must be confident that the calculations are just and reasonable, but they can’t make that judgement without transparency.”
Wood heat tax credit gives New England industry ‘something to rally around’ - Congress included the new tax credit in December’s COVID-19 stimulus bill, offering 26% off the cost of installing high-efficiency wood boilers. New England’s wood heat industry is hoping a new tax credit and marketing campaign can convince more homeowners to buy a high-efficiency wood boiler. While more common in New England than other regions, wood heat is still a relatively small niche, especially beyond a handful of northern counties. About 3.5% of homes in the six-state region are heated by wood, according to the U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey. Central wood heating systems can cost upward of $15,000 — twice the cost of typical oil or gas systems, which the region has long relied on. Clean energy advocates have been trying to increase the use of higher-efficiency heating systems, including wood heat as well as electric heat pumps. Several states offer rebates for wood heat, and a new federal tax credit could be a tipping point for customers still trying to make up their minds. Federal lawmakers included the credit in the stimulus and spending law passed in late December. The 26% credit is applied to the installed cost of home heating and hot water systems, including boilers and stoves, that use wood pellets, chips and cordwood at efficiencies greater than 75% high heat value. The credit drops to 22% in 2022 and 2023, after which it’s set to expire. Supporters had lobbied for the tax credit over the last decade, but it didn’t begin to gain traction until 2019, said Charles Niebling, a partner and principal at the consulting firm Innovative Natural Resource Solutions. While they’d been hoping it would find its way into the pandemic stimulus bill, they weren’t sure it would happen until the final bill was released in December. Wood burning for fuel has been a controversial practice, particularly for electricity. Proponents say burning wood for heat is more efficient than doing so for electricity. Many clean energy groups in the Northeast support the technology, saying it can complement building electrification, especially in cold climates where heat pumps alone may not meet homeowners’ needs. They say the wood pellets and other low-grade wood-based fuels used are the product of responsible, often local, forest management. When managed sustainably, they say, wood can be more responsible than electrifying with fossil fuels. “We cannot say that we will only accept perfect solutions because … there are no perfect solutions,” said Madeleine Mineau, executive director of Clean Energy New Hampshire. The forest products industry in the state is hugely important, she said, and the wood heat market stimulates local business.
Incinerators won renewable energy subsidies despite violations – POLITICO - New Jersey waste incinerators were allowed to collect millions of dollars in renewable energy credits even after racking up air permit violations that critics claim should have denied them the state subsidy. The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the allegations, POLITICO has learned. And environmental justice groups in New Jersey are using the regulatory failure to bolster their case that the program be shut down completely. They say incinerators, which tend to be located near lower-income communities, contribute to pollution and should not be considered sources of clean power. “We paid for our own disproportionate deaths,” said Maria Lopez-Nuñez, director of environmental justice and community development for Ironbound Community Corp., a Newark-based social services group. “People are losing their homes, their lives and their livelihoods, and we’re subsidizing a dirty industry.” Across the country, 23 states — including Oregon, Oklahoma, Massachusetts and Virginia — include energy from incinerators in their renewable portfolio standards, according to data from the Energy Recovery Council. For years, environmental groups coast to coast have asserted that burning garbage undermines governments’ green agendas. That argument is gaining ground as the environmental justice movement amasses influence across the U.S. and in Washington. A growing body of research has exposed the health and social costs paid by fenceline communities, which have long fought to evict sources of industrial pollution from their neighborhoods, with limited success. In New Jersey, the issue was raised in a letter obtained by POLITICO through a public records request. In it, lawyers for Ironbound Community Corp. and New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance presented data showing that the state’s five incinerators have violated federal and state laws, including the Clean Air Act, every year since 2004. An analysis of state data showed incinerators had been cited for more than 800 permit violations between 2004 and 2020, the groups said. Still, the incinerators continued to sell renewable energy certificates worth more than $30 million, an estimate based on data provided by the Board of Public Utilities and PJM, the state’s grid operator.
‘Pre-emption’ bill clears House subcommittee — A Georgia House subcommittee approved legislation Wednesday that would prohibit local governments from adopting building codes based on the source of energy to be used. House Bill 150, which passed 12-2 and now moves to the full House Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee, has drawn fire from environmental advocates who say it would make it harder for cities and counties to push renewable energy over dirty fossil fuels. In Georgia, the cities of Atlanta, Augusta, Athens, Savannah and Clarkston have set long-term goals of converting their buildings to 100% clean energy. Recommended for you 50 Black writers whose impact went beyond the page 50 Black writers whose impact went beyond the page This Stacker slideshow showcases some of the most prominent African American writers in history who’ve had impacts that reached far beyond the page. Some of the esteemed authors include James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Frederick Douglass, Maya Angelou, and others. Click for more. “I know a carbon-free energy goal is going to be a long haul,” Neill Herring, a lobbyist for the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club, told the subcommittee Wednesday. “(But) cities should have the right to choose.” The two Democrats on the subcommittee who voted against the bill echoed similar arguments that the measure strikes a blow against local control. “I may have a preference for renewable energy, but that’s not what this is about,” Rep. Karla Drenner, D-Avondale Estates, said. “This is about pre-empting 535 cities (in Georgia) from doing what their elected people were elected to do.”
Amazon to buy half of the energy produced by huge offshore wind farm in the Netherlands — Amazon announced Monday it plans to buy half of the energy produced by a huge new wind farm in the Netherlands. Shell and Eneco secured the right to build the 759 megawatt wind farm in the North Sea last July, and Amazon said it would now purchase more than 380 MW of its output to power its operations in Europe. Amazon said the "Amazon-Shell HKN Offshore Wind Project" will be its largest single-site renewable energy project yet. The offshore wind farm is expected to be operational by 2023. Located 18.5 kilometers off the Dutch coast and covering an area of 125 square kilometers, the wind farm will be operated by the CrossWind Consortium, which is a joint venture between Shell and Eneco. It will reportedly feature 69 wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa that have a capacity of 11 MW and a rotor diameter of 200 meters. The offshore wind farm will include five technology prototypes that have the potential to be implemented at full scale in the future, including a floating solar park and "optimally tuned turbines." Tech goes green Like other tech giants, Amazon is looking to use its billions to pay for more renewable sources of energy and reduce its carbon footprint. The company's data centers around the world use vast amounts of electricity to perform computing tasks for Amazon and other companies. Over the years, Greenpeace has accused Amazon of being relatively secretive about the energy sources it uses to power the centers, which are operated by Amazon Web Services. AWS has denied the allegations. Amazon has also been criticized for increasing pollution with its planes and vans, and for using excessive amounts of cardboard when packaging its products. Amazon says that its packaging is 100% renewable and that it doesn't use plastic clamshells and wire ties.
World's largest utility-scale battery storage facility proposed for Morro Bay - –A Texas energy company is proposing to build the world’s largest utility-scale battery storage facility on the site of the old Morro Bay Power Plant. Vistra Energy presented its new proposal to the Morro Bay City Council on Jan. 26.Earlier this year the company went online with the world’s largest utility-scale battery energy storage system in Moss Landing, Calif. It’s capable of storing and transferring 300 megawatts of electricity with its lithium-ion battery storage system at the Moss Landing Power Plant.The proposal for Morro Bay is even larger. The company would like to build a 273,000-square-feet plant with lithium-ion batteries on 22-acres at the old power plant. It would be capable of storing 600 megawatts of electricity, the company says.Utility-scale battery storage systems can store electricity produced by renewable energy sources like solar and wind farms or pulled directly from the electrical grid and then redistribute the power later as needed. A 1,000-megawatt wind farm with 100 turbines is being planned for the coastal waters 15-20 miles from Morro Bay.
Power struggle: TVA distributors want access to transmission lines to bring in outside electricity - After relying on the Tennessee Valley Authority for more than 80 years, a handful of local power companies in Tennessee are looking for a new and cheaper source of power. Before such a split could occur within the Tennessee Valley, four of the local utilities say they need TVA to open up its transmission lines to bring the outside power into the region. Although such electricity transfers are allowed in most of America, TVA is balking, setting up a power battle that could shape the future of TVA and electricity prices in its seven-state region. Volunteer Energy Cooperative and Athens Utilities Board in East Tennessee and the Gibson and Joe Wheeler electric membership corporations in West Tennessee are asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to order TVA to transmit the outside electricity to them on TVA lines. They have not specified which alternative provider they might want to use. In a 55-page petition to the commission, attorney William DeGrandis said TVA is charging "excessive bundled rates" and using "draconian" measures in its power contracts to block open access to cheaper power. TVA President Jeff Lyash says the local power companies are free to leave TVA with the proper notice, but they should not be able to use TVA transmission assets paid for by all TVA customers to get power from another wholesale supplier. "If this were allowed to happen, outside power suppliers will cherry-pick the attractive power loads around the edges and leave stranded costs that would have to be picked up by the other local power companies in the valley," he said. The local power companies must give TVA a five-year notice to switch to another wholesale electricity supplier under their contracts, and they claim they can reduce their electric rates collectively for more than 200,000 of their customers if they turn to another power source. "TVA's wholesale power rates are just not competitive with others in the region at this point," said Rody Blevins, president of Volunteer Energy Cooperative, which provides electric service in parts of Hamilton, Bradley, Polk, McMinn, Meigs, Bledsoe, Rhea and 10 other counties in East Tennessee. At the neighboring Athens Utilities Board in Athens, Tennessee, utility president Eric Newberry Jr. said TVA prices aren't reflective of the wholesale bulk-power market and do not meet the "least feasible rate" requirement under the TVA act.
Georgetown residents concerned about TVA transmission lines being installed near property - Residents in a Georgetown, Tennessee neighborhood have been concerned about large power lines being placed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) near their properties. The company started to build a new systems operation center in Georgetown with plans to use a 5.25-mile-long transmission line to increase power reliability. A spokesperson said the new lines have replaced wooden poles. Richard Welty, who purchased his home on Georgetown Village Lane in December 2019, said he believed the insertion would cause a health hazard. “I’ve read articles on both sides of that, for and against in regard to causing cancer. Second, this, I think, if you look at our neighborhood. We have a nice neighborhood here. Now our property value is taking a huge hit,” Welty said. Angie Plumley has been in her home across the street for 12 years. “I’m concerned about my 3-year-old. The precious family across the street, they have two little ones. The other family across over there has two little ones and so that concerns me more than anything,” Plumley said. Both Welty and Plumley told Channel 3 they reached out to TVA but got the runaround. They questioned why outer farmland was not considered. "It's only a couple of yards away," Welty said. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, studies have been inconclusive in regard to electromagnetic fields and health, including cancer.
CMP raises 1st pole as construction on contested $1B corridor begins — Dozens of workers braved temperatures in the low teens in rural Somerset County Tuesday morning, anticipating the first pole to be hoisted for a $1 billion hydropower project nearby. The 100-foot-tall pole near Moxie Pond is part of the New England Clean Energy Connect, a 145-mile project of a Central Maine Power-affiliated company and Hydro-Quebec to bring up to 1,200 megawatts of hydropower from the Canadian border to a converter station in Lewiston. The corridor has been embroiled in controversy for the past three years as environmentalists question its benefit to Maine and potential harm to the environment. It has been the target of two referendum efforts and multiple lawsuits, most recently one that halted construction on the last 53 miles of the corridor until at least mid-February. But proponents cite benefits including promises of up to 1,600 jobs during its 30-month construction and $200 million in upgrades to Maine’s energy grid. Some 200 Mainers already have been hired, according to NECEC Transmission, the company set up to run the corridor, which is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2023.In April, CMP and its partners awarded $300 million in contracts to build the project’s infrastructure to Pittsfield-based Cianbro in a joint venture with Irby Construction of Mississippi, Sargent Electric of Pennsylvania and Northern Clearing Inc. of Wisconsin. The project will include union and non-union labor with average pay of $38 per hour plus benefits, said Tim Burgess, IBEW 104 assistant business manager. Tuesday’s pole installation occurred several weeks after the injunction stopping work from the Forks to the Canadian border. The injunction came on the same day that the project received its final major permit, and Burgess said about 50 IBEW 104 workers were ready to start work. They were shifted to an adjacent section of the corridor.
Canada plans hydropower push as Biden looks to clean up U.S. grid (Reuters) - Canada sees an opportunity in U.S. President Joe Biden’s push to achieve a carbon-free electrical grid by 2035: hydropower exports. With Canadian crude exports taking a hit from Biden’s decision to scrap the Keystone XL oil pipeline, Ottawa is increasingly focused on sales of clean energy. Around 60% of the 4 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed in the United States in 2019 came from fossil fuels, government data show. Biden’s push to convert that to clean energy gives Canada, the world’s third-largest producer of hydropower, a window to sell more hydro exports to its southern neighbour. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Reuters last week the United States is interested in boosting hydro imports. In a separate interview Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said combining Canada’s clean energy with U.S. wind, solar and geothermal power was a priority for early talks between the two countries. “We do think that’s a big economic opportunity,” Wilkinson told Reuters. A White House spokesman, asked about Canadian hydro exports, said the new administration is “leaving no sources of renewable energy off the table.” Canada generated about 440 billion kilowatt-hours from hydropower in 2020, just over half its maximum installed capacity. Canada’s electricity exports to United States dropped in 2019 to a six-year low of 47 billion kilowatt-hours, worth C$1.9 billion ($1.5 billion), influenced by factors like water levels and domestic demand, Canada Energy Regulator specialist Matthew Hansen said. While a massive U.S. effort to build renewable energy infrastructure might meet Biden’s targets, an interconnected grid and sharing resources with neighbouring countries would keep energy more affordable, said Steve Clemmer, director of energy research and analysis with the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists. “Having the hydro from Canada gives some more flexibility to control costs,”
GOP congressman pitches $34 billion plan to breach Lower Snake River dams in new vision for Northwest | The Seattle Times - For nearly three decades, the region has been stuck in unending litigation and spiraling costs as salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers decline toward extinction. But in a sweeping $34 billion proposal from an unlikely source, at an auspicious moment, comes a chance for a fresh start.Could Congressman Mike Simpson, a Republican from a conservative district in eastern Idaho, have launched a concept that will forever alter life on the Columbia and Snake — and finally honor tribal treaty fishing rights in the Columbia Basin?His proposal includes removing the earthen berms adjacent to all four Lower Snake River hydroelectric dams to let the river run free, to help save salmon from extinction, while spending billions of dollars to replace the benefits of the dams for agriculture, energy and transportation. Such a colossal proposal coming from a relatively unknown Republican is a shocker and the delegation is already giving it a look.All four Democratic senators from Washington and Oregon issued a joint release Friday evening stating: “All communities in the Columbia River Basin and beyond should be heard in efforts to recover the Northwest’s iconic salmon runs while ensuring economic vitality of the region. Any process needs to balance the needs of communities in the Columbia River Basin, be transparent, be driven by stakeholders and follow the science.” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, put out a statement in staunch opposition. “These dams are the beating heart of Eastern Washington,” she said in a press release. “Spending $33 billion to breach them — with no guarantee that doing so will restore salmon populations — is a drastic, fiscally irresponsible leap to take.” Washington’s three GOP House members also joined with a representative from Idaho on a proposed resolution supporting existing hydropower dams, and seeking expansion of hydropower in the region.
A $5 billion water project could drill through Anza-Borrego park. Is it a pipe dream? — It would be arguably the most ambitious public works project in San Diego history. The envisioned pipeline would carry Colorado River water more than 130 miles from the Imperial Valley — through the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, tunneling under the Cuyamaca Mountains, and passing through the Cleveland National Forest — to eventually connect with a water-treatment plant in San Marcos. An alternative route would run through the desert to the south, boring under Mount Laguna before emptying into the San Vicente Reservoir in Lakeside. Estimated cost: roughly $5 billion. New water delivered: none. Proponents of the modestly named Regional Conveyance System say the project has the potential to save ratepayers billions of dollars by the end of the century. The region has long received most of its water through a series of pipes and canals to the north via the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, or MWD. The new pipeline would connect San Diego directly to the Imperial Irrigation District, or IID, and its All-American Canal outside of El Centro. Those pushing the project argue that MWD has long overcharged San Diego for delivering water, including supplies the region has purchased from IID. "If there's a way to bring water to our region cheaper and more efficient, we owe it to our ratepayers to do our due diligence. It's that simple," said Jim Madaffer, who as a board member of the San Diego County Water Authority has worked tirelessly over the last two years to advance the venture. The idea of building a new pipeline to Imperial Valley just to bypass MWD has enraged environmental groups. They have vowed to block the massive, decade-long construction project, arguing it would needlessly generate new greenhouse-gas emissions, threaten endangered species such as big horned sheep and rip up pristine wilderness landscapes. "The environmental destruction that would happen to the backcountry, to the parks, the mountains, it's ludicrous," said Matt O'Malley, executive director and managing attorney for San Diego Coastkeeper. "We would use everything within our arsenal including legal remedies to stop this.
GOP Senators Backed An Extremist At Interior But Reject A Native American Woman | HuffPost - Republican senators have settled on their messaging for President Joe Biden’s historic pick to lead the Interior Department, Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.): She’s “radical.” Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) announced his opposition Friday after a conversation with Haaland, who would be the first Native American to serve as the top steward of America’s public lands and waters. Montana’s junior senator signaled he would not only vote against her confirmation but attempt to block her nomination from advancing. “I’m deeply concerned with the Congresswoman’s support on several radical issues that will hurt Montana, our way of life, our jobs and rural America, including her support for the Green New Deal and President Biden’s oil and gas moratorium, as well as her opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline,” Daines said in a statement Friday. “I’m not convinced the Congresswoman can divorce her radical views and represent what’s best for Montana and all stakeholders in the West. Unless my concerns are addressed, I will block her confirmation.” Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.), the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, joined the mudslinging Monday, telling E&E News that Haaland’s “radical views are squarely at odds with the responsible management of our nation’s energy resources.” The two senators’ full-throated endorsement of fossil fuels is expected, as the oil and gas industry has been a top-five contributor to both over their careers, giving $1.16 million to each, But Daines’ attempt to paint Haaland, a 35th-generation New Mexican and by all standards a qualified nominee for the post, as an extremist threat to America is, well, extreme. Daines often portrays himself as a champion of America’s public lands. In contrast, though, he and Barrasso voiced no concern when President Donald Trump put William Perry Pendley, a conservative lawyer with a history of lobbying for the sale of federal lands and of ridiculing Native Americans over their religious beliefs, in charge of the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. After Pendley’s backdoor appointment as acting director of the agency in late July 2019, Daines dismissed concerns about the new Trump official’s past support for pawning off federal lands as “overblown.” Barrasso said Pendley “knows firsthand the impact public lands have on our state” and that he was looking forward to “working with him to protect public access for those who live, work and recreate on public lands.”A few months later, Daines signaled he’d vote to support Pendley if Trump were to officially nominate the anti-federal-land extremist. Barrasso said he’d vote to confirm Pendley to lead a bureau that manages more than one-third of all federal land and 700 million subsurface mineral acres.
Ohio geologists study potential for geothermal in abandoned coal mines | Energy News Network -Geologists at Ohio University are exploring the potential to turn abandoned coal mines into sources of carbon-free heating and cooling.Ohio is home to thousands of abandoned coal mines, which have become both public safety and environmental hazards as they leach acidic pollution into nearby waterways. “We have a horrible legacy of acid mine drainage in Ohio that has destroyed the life in streams,” said Ohio University geologist Dina López, who has studied the problem for more than a decade. Lopez also has long studied issues related to geothermal energy at locations in both the United States and in El Salvador, where she grew up. That work led her to explore the possibilities for flooded coal mines. Those mines generally don’t present acid drainage problems, because oxygen doesn’t react with sulfides. And Ohio has lots of those sites.Geothermal systems take advantage of steady below-ground temperatures, usually by circulating fluid through a closed loop of pipes that run underground and then up through buildings on the surface. In the winter, the fluid is warmed as it passes underground. In the summer, it’s the reverse. Geologist Andreana Madera-Martorell worked with López and others while she was a graduate student to estimate the potential for energy from ground-source heat pumps for one flooded coal mine site. She presented the work at the Geological Society of America’s 2020 conference in October.The specific mine, located between Athens and The Plains in Ohio, sits roughly 99 meters below the surface. It’s one of 131 old, mostly flooded coal mines in the state that López’s former graduate student Joshua Richardson previously identified as candidates for geothermal energy production. Other old mines brought the total to 147 potential sites spanning 21 counties in Ohio. “There’s so many abandoned, not being used at all,” Madera-Martorell said. “They’re just taking up space.”While Ohio has even more old coal mines, the feasibility for geothermal energy calls for geographic proximity to a potential user. A facility probably shouldn’t be located right on top of a mine, due to the potential for subsidence. On the flip side, “there’s no use in using a mine that’s five miles away,” Madera-Martorell said. As the distance from the mine increases, so would capital costs for the piping system, along with losses in heating or cooling capacity.
Coal-Fired Power Took a Beating During the Pandemic, Study Finds - The share of energy generated from coal has dropped more sharply during the coronavirus pandemic than that of any other power source, according to a new report on Monday that looked at coal demand in some of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases.The shift away from coal power had a significant impact on global emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide, the researchers said, and could lead to an acceleration of the global shift toward renewable energy.The report, led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, analyzed emissions and electricity demand in the United States, Europe and India.Ottmar Edenhofer, director and chief economist at the Potsdam Institute and an author of the study, said the findings were surprising because natural gas has traditionally had the highest operating costs of all power sources, so gas-fired plants are usually the first to be taken offline when demand for power falls. The sharp decline in gas prices during the pandemic, however, appears to have changed that calculation, making coal power more expensive than gas power.Coal releases more carbon dioxide than any other form of power generation, so even the relatively small decreases in demand that caused coal plants to go offline resulted in substantial decreases in greenhouse gas emissions. Burning coal for power also pollutes the air, releasing toxins that have been linked to heart and lung problems and some neurological disorders.In some regions studied, a 20 percent decrease in power demand from 2019 monthly averages corresponded with decreases in carbon dioxide emissions of up to 50 percent. Emissions declines in terms of coal demand were most pronounced in Germany, Spain and Britain.The trend away from coal could outlast the pandemic, the report said. That’s because power plants that use renewable energy, like wind or solar, are expensive to build. Once complete, though, it is not necessary to purchase fuels to run them.According to a separate study by Ember Climate, an energy research organization based in London, global wind and solar power capacity increased last year despite the pandemic. That, combined with the relatively low operating costs, means that when power demand rebounds, a greater share of the total energy will quite likely come from low-emissions or renewable sources.The authors of the Potsdam report noted, however, that so-called brown recovery plans that expand coal power are still a possibility. That is particularly a concern in parts of Southeast Asia, where energy demand is increasing quickly but high interest rates can lead to steep costs for renewable energy projects. “We are not saying we predict that coal will be phased out,” Dr. Edenhofer said. “What we are saying is, this is now a splendid opportunity, and it would be good if energy ministers and finance ministers around the globe will take advantage of the situation.”
Company in Marlin aiming to pull resources from coal ash -- A Dallas energy company is making Marlin its headquarters, setting up offices in an old National Guard armory and announcing interest in making the troubled Veterans Affairs hospital there a research center. New Alternative Green Energy Inc., or New AGE, wants to remove toxins from coal and valuable metals from coal ash while producing hydrogen to produce cleaner electricity, according to a press release. It chose Marlin because of its central location in the state and its proximity to the coal-fired Sandy Creek power plant near Riesel, company founder Mike Wilson said. Wilson said the company hopes to work with Baylor University and Texas A&M University to develop a talent pipeline, while also collaborating with local leadership to provide training and job opportunities. Marlin Mayor Carolyn Lofton said New AGE presented its vision for the community several months ago, and she remains upbeat. “I hope it’s not something that will bring any negativity to Marlin. We don’t need that. We hope that it’s something good for Marlin. That is our prayer,” Lofton said.
Other states are making utilities dig up toxic coal ash. Indiana is letting it sit there. Ash from Indiana's coal-burning power plants is contaminating groundwater across the state, rendering it unsafe to drink. But unlike some other states, Indiana is not requiring utility companies to remove the toxic ash from leaky pits. Indiana has more than 80 pits holding the cancer-causing coal byproduct. That's more than any other state in America. The vast majority of them are unlined, in contact with groundwater and at risk of being washed into rivers or streams because they sit in floodplains. They've already rendered the groundwater around 14 of 15 power plants across the state no longer safe enough for drinking water, according to the latest monitoring data. Other states are making power companies dig up their coal ash and move it into dry, lined landfills where it can no longer pollute. Those states include Virginia and North Carolina, where a huge coal ash spill resulted in environmental disaster. Indiana has already seen some major spills of its own, but regulators and policymakers here are taking a different approach, letting much of the coal ash stay right where it is for decades to come. Indiana’s environmental agency has started to approve plans that would let utilities close their ash pits by putting a cap over them and leaving the ash in place, rather than excavating the pits and moving the ash to lined landfills outside of flood zones. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management told IndyStar that any plans for closing ash pits that it approves "are in compliance with all state and federal regulations, and are protective of human health and the environment.” But environmentalists and some community members from around the sites are left wondering why Indiana says it’s safe when other states have decided it isn't. “Indiana has more coal ash ponds than any other state, and yet at least a handful of other states have managed to excavate their coal ash,” said Susan Thomas, a northwest Indiana resident whose neighborhood is next door to a coal plant. She is part of a grassroots group called Just Transition NWI that's pushing for state leaders to close the pits in a safer manner.
North Dakota Legislature looks to ease taxes on coal industry -- Energy is one of the biggest industries in North Dakota, and the Legislature is looking to support the coal industry with House Bill 1412. Rep. Jeff Delzer, R-Underwood, introduced the bill to members of the House Finance and Tax Committee on Feb. 3, and the committee voted unanimously send the bill on to the Appropriations Committee, where Delzer is chairman. It would reduce the current coal conversion tax by 60% and impose a lignite research tax. Lignite is a type of coal that is abundant in North Dakota. “We cannot afford to ignore the challenges the industry faces,” Delzer said, noting that the industry “has done many improvements” on environmental issues. “We in North Dakota enjoy some of the best air and water quality in the nation and likely the world,” he said. The bill would reduce general fund revenue for the 2022-23 biennium by $35.5 million, according to an attached fiscal note. The bill would be effective from June 30, 2021, to June 30, 2023. Delzer said the industry faces such challenges as requirements to reduce carbon emissions and competing with federally subsidized “green” energy. The state has been collecting a conversion tax from the coal industry since 1975, he said. “This [bill] will give the industry some relief to better compete with other forms of generation,” he said. “The end goal is to keep the thousands of our friends and neighbors who have [made] and will continue to make their living” in the coal industry. Jason Bohrer, president and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council, testified in favor of the bill. “Due to changing field markets, federal policies and regulations and distorted energy markets, the lignite industry greatly needs immediate economic relief,” he said. Bohrer said the North Dakota lignite industry produced more than $5 billion in regional economic impact and over 13,000 jobs. “The total amount of coal conversion taxes paid in 2019, which is the most complete data available, was $25.4 million,” he said.
Powder River Basin coal mine ceases operations, asks court to reject pension and health care obligations - A Powder River Basin coal mine has closed down for the first time in modern history. At the end of January, mining ceased at the Decker coal mine in Montana after the owner of the mine filed for bankruptcy late last year.Home to some of the world’s largest mines, the Powder River Basin is the epicenter for coal production in the country. But a dramatic decline in thermal coal demand has left many companies in trouble.Coal firm Lighthouse Resources owns the Decker mine in Montana’s Big Horn County, just north of Wyoming’s border. A majority of the mine’s workers live in Wyoming. The parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, citing dismal market conditions for coal. Continuing to operate the surface coal mine was no longer economically feasible, it stated in court filings. But before the doors of the Decker coal mine officially shutter for good, the company needs to send out the last shipments of coal, clean up the mining site and settle outstanding obligations to its workers. A battle over the details is now playing out in federal bankruptcy court. Upon filing for bankruptcy on Dec. 3, the company laid off 76 workers at the Decker mine. That left 28 active union employees and nine furloughed union employees. An additional 18 non-union employees held manager or administrative positions. But by Jan. 22, the company had stopped mining for coal and kept on only four union workers at the facility, according to court documents.
Arch Resources Reports Fourth Quarter 2020 Results -Arch Resources, Inc. today reported a net loss of $78.5 million, or $5.17 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with a net loss of $8.6 million, or $0.57 per diluted share, in the prior-year period. The net loss included a $45.0 million charge primarily related to the planned, accelerated closure of the Coal Creek mine in the Powder River Basin. Arch had adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization, accretion on asset retirement obligations (ARO), and non-operating expenses ("adjusted EBITDA") 1 of $4.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, which included a $2.0 million non-cash mark-to-market loss associated with the company's coal-hedging activities. This compares to $43.7 million of adjusted EBITDA recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019, which included a $1.3 million non-cash mark-to-market loss associated with the company's coal-hedging activities. Revenues totaled $360.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020, versus $549.5 million in the prior-year quarter.
Judge to Rule on Blackjewel Settlement for Wyoming Miners - Next month, about 600 employees suddenly laid off in July 2019 at two Campbell County coal mines formerly owned by Blackjewel, LLC, plus about 1,100 of the company's employees in central Appalachia will learn about the fate of a proposed settlement of a federal lawsuit.On March 3, the judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of West Virginia will decide whether to approve a settlement of a class action lawsuit, said Ned Pillersdorf of Prestonsburg, Ky., who was among the attorneys for the employees in the lawsuit.The proposed settlement was tentatively reached in March 2020, but sealed until Sept. 1.The class action lawsuit was filed against Blackjewel because it violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires large employers to give employees a 60-day notice when a plant closing and/or mass layoffs are pending.The employees of the Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte mines got no notice when the Milton, W.Va-based Blackjewel LLC, and related companies suddenly filed for Chapter 11 business reorganization Bankruptcy Protection onJuly 1, 2019.They and employees at about 30 mines and other operations in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia were sent home, and shocked them and their families and communities.In October 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor ordered Blackjewel to pay about 500 Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte employees nearly $800,000 in back wages for the last week of June 2019. But the class action lawsuit under the WARN Act was different, and took a long time to get to having the March 3 hearing set because of delays with some employees having medical issues and an insurance case among other issues, Pillersdorf said
WV senators push back against Biden environmental moves - West Virginia’s senators are sending out messages of disagreement with President Joe Biden’s climate policy. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., addressed a letter to fellow Democrat Biden on Tuesday in which he reaffirmed his support for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, asking the president to reconsider his executive order revoking a cross-border permit for the pipeline that was planned to carry about 800,000 barrels of oil daily from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast.Meanwhile, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, voted against the committee advancing Biden’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency for consideration by the full Senate.Manchin has long supported the Keystone XL pipeline. The new chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources was one of 45 senators to introduce legislation that died in 2012 that would have approved the Keystone XL pipeline project. He also supported bills to approve it in 2014 and 2015, the latter of which was vetoed by then-President Barack Obama.Biden’s executive order revoking the Keystone XL permit said that leaving it in place would undermine U.S. leadership in fighting climate change as the administration looks to lead the country toward reducing emissions and creating clean-energy jobs.“The United States must be in a position to exercise vigorous climate leadership in order to achieve a significant increase in global climate action and put the world on a sustainable climate pathway,” Biden wrote in his executive order. “Leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my Administration’s economic and climate imperatives.”Manchin wrote: “Pipeline infrastructure projects already undergo a rigorous permitting process that allows experts to weigh in on the security, safety, and environmental impacts of the project. I encourage you to let these processes proceed as intended and to not let politics drive the decisions on the development and operation of our nation’s vital energy infrastructure.”Manchin argued that pipelines are a safer mode of transport than truck and rail, referencing a 2019 U.S. Department of Transportation finding that rail incidents involving crude oil happen once every 50 million gallons of crude oil shipped but just once every 720 million gallons of crude oil for pipelines. Projects like the Keystone XL and the unfinished Mountain Valley Pipeline — planned to run from Northwestern West Virginia to Southern Virginia and provide up to 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations to markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States — are crucial for the country to achieve energy security, Manchin said, viewing them as conducive to Biden’s economic recovery plan.
Eric Engle: WV delegation's balk at climate plan senseless (Opinion) | Op-Ed - I’m chairman of an organization called Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action, a nonprofit voluntary association on file with the West Virginian Secretary of State’s Office and centered around Parkersburg and Marietta, Ohio.Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action was thrilled to see that a three-Judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy Rule, effectively reinstating the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, with the Biden administration now taking the helm.President Joe Biden’s executive orders have caused some discomfort for our congressional delegation in West Virginia, it would seem. Reps. David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Rep. Carol Miller, all R-W.Va., along with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., have expressed their chagrin at Biden’s revoking of the Keystone XL pipeline permit, rejoining the Paris climate accords and, of course, the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision. So, why are they so upset?Our House and Senate members, including Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., all have expressed concern about the effect on jobs with regard to these decisions. Fair enough. Let’s look at that.According to the National Resources Defense Council: “When TC Energy said the [KXL] pipeline would create nearly 119,000 jobs, a State Department report instead concluded the project would require fewer than 2,000 two-year construction jobs and that the number of jobs would hover around 35 after construction.” West Virginia’s congressional representation is worked up about 35 permanent jobs in another area of the country?The NRDC and its research partners also found that the majority of KXL oil would be sent to markets overseas, following a 2015 reversal of a ban on crude oil exports, so arguments about grid resiliency and gas prices fall flat. Same for natural gas.In the D.C. Circuit ruling, the judges stated in their opinion that the purpose of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule was, “to slow the process for reduction of emissions,” which the court called “arbitrary and capricious.” Did the Trump administration rule save any coal jobs or revitalize the industry in West Virginia? Data from S&P Global Market Intelligence shows: “Average quarterly coal mining employment fell 23.6% [nationwide] from the first quarter of 2017, when Trump took office, to the most recent quarter. Coal production is down 31.5% in the third quarter [of 2020], compared to the first quarter of 2017.” As of November 2020, when this report was issued, only 40,458 coal jobs existed across the country.
Fossil Fuel Air Pollution Linked to 1 in 5 Deaths Globally, New Study Reveals - Fossil fuel air pollution is responsible for roughly one in five deaths worldwide, a much higher death toll than previously thought, according to a new study published Tuesday.Poor air quality from burning fossil fuels such as coal and diesel was responsible for more than 8 million deaths in 2018, according to research published February 9 in the journal Environmental Research by Harvard University, the University of Birmingham, the University of Leicester, and University College London.This new research suggests that mortality from fossil fuel air pollution is twice as high as previously thought; an earlier estimate from the Global Burden of Disease Study in 2015, the largest and most comprehensive study on the causes of global mortality, pegged the number of deaths from all sources of air pollution at 4.2 million.“Our study adds to the mounting evidence that air pollution from ongoing dependence on fossil fuels is detrimental to global health,” Eloise A. Marais, a professor in the Department of Geography at the University College London, and a co-author of the report, said in a statement. “We can’t in good conscience continue to rely on fossil fuels, when we know that there are such severe effects on health and viable, cleaner alternatives.”The study’s high death toll is the result of an improved understanding and mapping of particulate matter, or PM2.5 —microscopic pollution particles found in the air which are 30 times smaller than the width of human hair.PM2.5 lodges in the lungs and contributes to respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, and can lead to lung cancer. The latest study looks at global mortality, but it is important to note that at the local level, air pollution is disproportionately felt by low-income communities and communities of color. Suffering from these types of respiratory illnesses also contributes toworse effects from Covid-19. The new study provides a more precise understanding of how fossil fuels specifically impact human health. Prior studies relied on satellite and surface observations of PM2.5, an approach that cannot discern the pollutant’s source; satellite data wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between pollution from a diesel engine or a wildfire. The new study overcomes this challenge by using a sophisticated 3-D modelling program of atmospheric chemistry calledGEOS Chem. The researchers used the program to divide up the world into small 50-kilometer by 60-kilometer boxes. They then incorporated data on emissions from industry, ships, aircraft, and ground transportation. This allows for a much more accurate portrait of what people are breathing, and where the pollution comes from.
Fossil fuel emissions responsible for 1 in 5 deaths: Harvard report -- A report released Tuesday shows the emissions from use of fossil fuels was responsible for one in five premature deaths around the world in 2018 — significantly more than was previously thought.The study shows that burning fossil fuels have dire implications for the health of human beings, in addition to being a major contributing factor in climate change."Our study adds to the mounting evidence that air pollution from ongoing dependence on fossil fuels is detrimental to global health," co-author Eloise Marais, an associate professor at University College London, said in a statement. "We can't in good conscience continue to rely on fossil fuels, when we know that there are such severe effects on health and viable, cleaner alternatives." In 2018, 8.7 million people died prematurely as result of air pollution from fossil fuels, according to the new research from Harvard University in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, the University of Leicester and University College London. (2018 was the year with the most complete information, among other factors, according to Marais.) That is more than twice the previous estimate of 4.2 million deaths from a previous benchmark study (though that study also included deathsfrom things like dust and smoke from wildfires and agricultural burns, not just from fossil fuel).For the new study, the research team used a global 3-D model of the chemical make up of the atmosphere called GEOS-Chem, open-source software which allows a higher resolution study of the air and what is in it at any specific location.Previous methods of research do not distinguish between the type of particulates found in the air because they used satellite technology, according to a statement."With satellite data, you're seeing only pieces of the puzzle," Loretta J. Mickley, senior research fellow in chemistry-climate interactions at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and co-author of the study, said in the statement. "It is challenging for satellites to distinguish between types of particles, and there can be gaps in the data." For the Harvard study, "we wanted to map where the pollution is and where people live, so we could know more exactly what people are breathing," Karn Vohra, a graduate student at University of Birmingham and first author of the study, said in the statement.Broadly speaking, it is more dangerous to live in a country where there are more particulates in the air from burning fossil fuels. "There are higher death rates in countries where there are more fossil fuels burned," Marais tells CNBC Make It. "These include countries such as India and China." Of course, 2020 bucked almost every trend, and fossil fuel emissions were no exception. The coronavirus pandemic locked down travel across the globe, limiting greenhouse gas emissions.But "the studies focusing on air quality changes due to lockdown in response to the pandemic have also generally found that the improvement in air quality was dramatic, but short lived," Marais says. "Studies looking at the effect of this short respite from poor air quality on health will only start to emerge now, as a full year of data is needed to relate long-term exposure to air pollution to health." In response to the Harvard study, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) tells CNBC Make It the governmental agency does not comment on "reports by outside parties."
Exelon Generation’s Illinois nuclear power plants continue as clean energy workhorses — While Illinois and the world adjusted to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Exelon Generation’s Illinois nuclear fleet produced a record-breaking amount of reliable, carbon-free electricity to ensure hospitals, nursing homes, businesses and vital infrastructure had the power needed to help Americans combat the virus. “The reliable generation of electricity is important in any year, but in 2020 that job became even more vital as every facet of our lives was challenged by the pandemic,” said Dave Rhoades, Chief Nuclear Officer of Exelon Generation. “Our frontline, essential workers battled weather extremes of heat and cold and multiple storms in 2020, all while adjusting to new procedures and safety measures brought on by COVID-19. Our mission is to safely deliver carbon-free, reliable energy for customers and we’re grateful to our employees for accomplishing that goal.” In Illinois last year, Exelon Generation’s Byron and Dresden stations each set world records for shortest refueling outage duration for pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors, the respective reactor type of each facility. The Braidwood, Clinton, LaSalle and Quad Cities stations also set annual records for the amount of electricity produced at each station. The company’s six Illinois nuclear plants generate more than half of the state’s electricity and nearly 90 percent of its carbon-free energy. Exelon Generation’s nuclear plants, which are located in Illinois, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania, produced nearly 150 million megawatt-hours of zero-emissions energy in 2020, the equivalent of taking 32 million cars off the road. The units’ capacity factor, a metric used to measure the percentage of time units operate, was 95.4 percent, significantly higher than other energy sources. Planned refueling and maintenance outages account for much of the offline time.
U.S. Nuclear Waste Sites Face Sea-Level Rise Threat -- Nuclear power is a source of low-carbon electricity, but producing it creates dangerous radioactive waste that needs to be stored safely and permanently. Recent research suggests that as seas rise, some nuclear waste storage facilities are at risk of flooding or storm damage. "We really focused in to say, 'OK, well, how many plants might actually be subject to these risks?'" says Sarah Jordaan of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Her team looked at 13 facilities along the U.S. coast. They found that if seas rise about six feet – which is possible by the end of the century – more than half of the waste storage sites would be directly along the water's edge or even surrounded by water. So she says it's critical to anticipate these long-term vulnerabilities and take action. "There are certainly ways that those risks can be managed now," Jordaan says. For example, after five years, spent fuel can be moved to dry casks. This is a safer long-term storage method than the cooling pools where a lot of spent fuel is currently stored. So Jordaan says it's critical for policymakers to understand the risks at nuclear facilities and create regulations and policies to ensure greater safety.
Texas on track to get even more nuclear waste as feds tinker with rules -- A hazardous waste disposal company in Andrews County wants to handle more dangerous levels of nuclear waste. Federal agencies are pondering new rules that could allow more of it to come to Texas.To get rid of eight gallons of water, the U.S. Department of Energy spent $100,000. It’s little more than half a tank of gasoline in a midsize car, but the radioactive shipment from South Carolina to a West Texas company last fall marked one change that could lead to more nuclear waste traveling to Texas — waste that, until recently, was considered too dangerous to be disposed of. Much of the public debate surrounding Waste Control Specialists’ hazardous waste facility in Andrews County, on the New Mexico border, has focused on the company’s plans, with a partner, to store the riskiest type of nuclear waste: the spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants, which can remain dangerously radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. Scientists agree that spent nuclear fuel should be stored deep underground, but the U.S. still hasn’t located a suitable site. Interim Storage Partners — a joint venture of Waste Control Specialists and Orano USA, a subsidiary of one of the world’s biggest nuclear power companies — proposed bringing the spent fuel to a 332-acre site next to the WCS facility in Andrews County until a permanent storage site is found. If the plan succeeds, it would be a big expansion for Waste Control Specialists, which has been disposing of the nation’s low-level nuclear waste — including tools, building materials and protective clothing exposed to radioactivity — for a decade. Interim Storage Partners’ website says it expects to get the federal approval for spent nuclear fuel storage, a major step in the plan, this year. The idea still faces significant legal hurdles and stiff opposition from environmental groups, local oil companies, some residents and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who wrote to federal regulators last year asking them to deny the license application, stating that the proposal presents a “greater radiological risk than Texas is prepared to allow.”
Audit raises concerns about wildfire risks at U.S. nuclear lab (AP) — One of the nation’s premier nuclear laboratories isn’t taking the necessary precautions to guard against wildfires, according to an audit by the U.S. Energy Department’s inspector general. The report comes as wildfire risks intensify across the drought-stricken U.S. West. Climatologists and environmentalists have been warning about worsening conditions across the region, particularly in New Mexico, which is home to Los Alamos National Laboratory and where summer rains failed to materialize last year and winter precipitation has been spotty at best. The birthplace of the atomic bomb, Los Alamos has experienced hundreds of millions of dollars in losses and damage from major wildfires over the last two decades. That includes a blaze in 2000 that forced the lab to close for about two weeks, ruined scientific projects, destroyed a portion of the town and threatened tens of thousands of barrels of radioactive waste stored on lab property. Watchdog groups say the federal government needs to take note of the latest findings and conduct a comprehensive review before the lab ramps up production of key plutonium parts used in the nation’s nuclear arsenal. “The threat and risks of wildfire to the lab and northern New Mexico will continue to increase because of climate warming, drought and expanded nuclear weapons production,” said Jay Coghlan, director of the group Nuclear Watch New Mexico. The audit released this month found that cutting back vegetation along power lines and other measures to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires were not always done, increasing the potential for another devastating fire like the Cerro Grande Fire in 2000. Federal auditors said not all fire roads were maintained to ensure safe passage for firefighters and equipment responding to blazes on lab property. The audit also cited federal policy that requires a comprehensive, risk-based approach to wildfire management — something the inspector general’s office said had not been developed by the contractor that manages the lab for the U.S. government. It also pointed to a lack of oversight by Energy Department field staff. “Without documenting planning and preparedness activities, there was no assurance that all prevention and mitigation options were considered and that the site was fully prepared for wildland fire events,” the audit says. The report included photos that depicted overgrown areas. In Los Alamos Canyon, for example, specialists indicated there were about 400 to 500 trees per acre. Auditors said the ideal number should be 40 to 50 trees per acre.
Nonprofit in alleged $60M bribery scheme to plead guilty (AP) — A nonprofit that authorities believe was used to funnel payments for a $60 million bribery scheme to win legislative approval for an energy subsidy bill and block a voter issue from reaching the Ohio ballot agreed to a guilty plea Friday in federal court in Cincinnati.The agreement calls for Generation Now Inc. to plead guilty to one count of racketeering, the seizure of nearly $1.5 million from two bank accounts and a sentence of five years' probation.Federal authorities have said former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and others used the nonprofit as a conduit for $60 million secretly provided by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. The money was used to gain legislative approval of a $1 billion bailout for two nuclear power plants operated by a FirstEnergy subsidiary.Generation Now, Householder and four of his associates were indicted in July of last year on racketeering charges. Two of the men have pleaded guilty. Householder, who was stripped of his leadership post but remains a state representative, has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial.Generation Now attorney Robert Krapenc said Friday that a plea hearing would be held soon but otherwise declined to discuss specifics.U.S. Attorney David DeVillers' office would “reserve comment” until the plea is accepted in court, spokesperson Jennifer Thornton said. The bailout legislation, known as HB6, was supposed to provide as much as $150 annually for the two nuclear plants, but also contained a provision that would guarantee FirstEnergy profits based on earnings from 2018, a year of weather extremes in its northern Ohio service areas. The Ohio Supreme Court in late December issued a temporary stay to stop the nuclear subsidy from being collected from Ohio customers starting in January. Earlier this week, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced that his office had reached an agreement with FirstEnergy for the company to forgo collecting revenues from the other ratepayer subsidy, which would have totaled more than $100 million this year. In addition, prosecutors said the nonprofit Generation Now used around $38 million of FirstEnergy cash to pay for a dirty tricks campaign to prevent an anti-bailout group from collecting enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot.
Householder bribery: Dark money PAC signs plea agreement -- Representatives of a dark-money political action committee signed a guilty plea Friday admitting involvement in a massive bribery scheme in Ohio to protect a $1 billion nuclear plant bailout. The plea agreement comes seven months after the arrest of former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder and several others on charges of participating in what federal prosecutors describe as the largest political corruption case in Ohio history.Prosecutors say the political group, Generation Now, received tens of millions of dollars that Householder and others used to pay bribes, fund his own political activities and run a public campaign supporting the nuclear bailout.Generation Now was set up as a social welfare nonprofit, which allowed it to avoid disclosing donors. Federal authorities have said Generation Now’s real purpose was to protect the nuclear plant bailout and enrich Householder and others.A former Householder advisor, Jeffrey Longstreth, signed the plea deal on behalf of Generation Now. It acknowledges Generation Now was part of a criminal conspiracy with Householder and the others. As part of the agreement, the PAC will forfeit potentially millions of dollars in assets.Householder oversaw the controversial, Republican-led bailout of the two northern Ohio nuclear plants, both owned by FirstEnergy Solutions, now known as Energy Harbor. Known as House Bill 6, the measure was approved by state lawmakers and signed by Gov. Mike DeWine last July. House Bill 6 allowed FirstEnergy Solutions to use fees from Ohio ratepayers to cover the cost of the $1 billion bailout of nuclear plants in Perry and Oak Harbor. The bailout stirred an immediate backlash from consumer rights advocates, who attempted to repeal House Bill 6. Householder and Generation Now responded with a massive statewide campaign to protect the bailout, which included ads warning Ohioans that the Chinese would take over the state’s power grid if the repeal was successful. Prosecutors have said FirstEnergy Corp., which federal authorities have identified only as “Company A,” and related companies poured more than $60 million in secret payments over three years into Householder’s “criminal enterprise.”
Ohio lawmaker reintroduces bill to repeal nuke plant bailout (AP) — A bill to repeal a bailout of two aging nuclear power plants at the heart of a federal $60 million bribery probe has been re-introduced in the Ohio House by its Republican sponsor.The legislation known as HB6 was signed into law by GOP Gov. Mike DeWine in 2019. The Justice Department accused five individuals including former Republican House Speaker Larry Householder of shepherding $60 million in energy company money for personal and political use in exchange for passing the law and then derailing an attempt to place a rejection of the bailout on the ballot.Two of those five have pleaded guilty and a plea deal has also been reached with a nonprofit that authorities believe was used to funnel payments from the scheme.State Rep. Laura Lanese, a Republican from Grove City in suburban Columbus, introduced a repeal bill last week similar to the one she introduced last year. That died after some fellow Republicans in the GOP-controlled House disagreed on whether a repeal was necessary.“A full repeal of House Bill 6 would protect consumers from predatory pricing, restore our renewable energy policy, and instill public confidence in the legislative process,” Lanese said in a statement.
Owners of two Ohio nuclear plants may decline subsidies (AP) — The new owners of two Ohio nuclear power plants have given indications they are no longer interested in receiving as much as $1 billion in subsidies handed out in a tainted energy bill, according to two state lawmakers. One of the lawmakers, freshman GOP Sen. Jerry Cirino, last week cosponsored Senate Bill 44, legislation that would eradicate subsidies that would have been paid by electric customers across the state for the plants now owned by a privately held company called Energy Harbor. The plants, one of which is in Cirino’s district, were operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. when the bill known as HB6 was approved in July 2019 and quickly signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. Messages were left Friday with Energy Harbor spokespersons seeking comment about the company’s plans. “I believe there is extremely broad support for Senate Bill 44 in the Legislature and broad external support as well,” said Cirino, who added that recent discussions with Energy Harbor officials lead him to believe they will not find any problems with SB44. Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican who was a key player in pushing HB6 through the Legislature, said an Energy Harbor lobbyist told him in December that the company would like the option to decline the subsidies. Both Seitz and Cirino said Energy Harbor officials were concerned that accepting subsidies would put the company at a disadvantage competing with non-subsidized suppliers, given priority on pricing in the 13-state PJM energy markets where electricity is bought and sold. “You don’t have to be a genius to come up with some logical reasons for this,” Seitz said. Seitz also said early actions by the new administration of Democratic President Joe Biden taking aim at other energy sectors, such as rescinding a permit for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline project, may have caught Energy Harbor’s attention because they could foster renewed interest in nuclear power. Cirino signed on as a co-sponsor of SB44 after years of unflagging support to keep the Perry plant in Lake County and the Davis-Besse plant in Ottawa County open. He served four years as a Lake County commissioner before being elected to the Senate in November.
13 FirstEnergy utilities paid $144 million for external affairs to service company involved in Ohio bribery scandal - FirstEnergy utilities in five states paid $144 million over three years for external affairs support from the central service company that’s alleged to be the source of tens of millions of dollars in bribes to a criminal enterprise led by indicted former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder. Ratepayers may be on the hook for much of the spending on external affairs, based on how the utilities accounted for the service company payments in annual reports to the nation’s top utility regulatory agency. State utility regulators in Ohio and New Jersey are investigating whether any money from ratepayers may have been spent in the bribery scandal in Ohio. The $144 million for external affairs support was paid to the FirstEnergy Service Company (FESC) between 2017 and 2019 by thirteen electric distributions and transmission companies that are subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp. The payments were reported as affiliate transactions on annual Form 1 reports to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reviewed by the Energy and Policy Institute for this analysis. Copies of the Form 1 reports can be found here on DocumentCloud or via FERC’s eLibrary. The thirteen FirstEnergy subsidiaries include ten regulated electric distribution utilities and three transmission companies that together serve Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The table below lists the utilities included in this analysis, and how much they paid the FESC for external affairs services for 2017 to 2019: “FirstEnergy Service Company provides legal, financial, and other corporate support services to all of FirstEnergy’s subsidiaries and affiliates,” according to FirstEnergy. The money from the utilities paid for a suite of services largely overseen at the time by Michael Dowling, the FESC’s vice president of External Affairs who was terminated last year by FirstEnergy in connection with the bribery scandal. The external affairs services the FESC provided to the utilities included support on local affairs and economic development, state affairs, federal affairs and energy policy, corporate affairs and community involvement, and rates and regulatory affairs. A now-removed bio once found on FirstEnergy’s website described Dowling as “responsible for FirstEnergy’s local, state and federal Governmental Affairs; Energy Policy; State Regulatory Affairs and Market Policies; Economic Development; Corporate Affairs and Community Involvement, and the FirstEnergy Political Action Committee.”
U.S. Attorney Who Launched Ohio Nuclear Bailout Bribery Probe Resigns - The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio has submitted his resignation. David DeVillers is one of 56 U.S. Attorneys appointed by former President Trump asked to resign by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice. DeVillers said in a written statement that he had hoped to stay on as U.S. Attorney until his successor was appointed. He urged the next U.S. Attorney to be just, apolitical, aggressive and impactful."It is with a heavy heart that I announced my resignation," DeVillers wrote. "I have been a prosecutor for my entire career, and it was my wish to remain a prosecutor until the end of my career, but that is not to be."DeVillers, who was appointed by Trump in 2019 to replace outgoing U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman, was heading up several high-profile cases throughout the state. He made a splash last summer by announced racketeering charges against five individuals, including then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, accusing them of funneling $60 million in bribes from a utility company in exchange for securing the passage of a nuclear bailout law.So far, two defendants and the dark money group Generation Now have pleaded guilty in the $60 million conspiracy. Householder has pleaded not guilty and remains in the Ohio legislature after winning reelection in November. DeVillers last year announced corruption cases against three current and former members of Cincinnati City Council, who are accused of taking bribes in exchange for favorable votes on development projects. One, Tamaya Dennard, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to honest wire fraud.And in Columbus, DeVillers was coordinating the federal criminal and civil rights investigation into the killing of Casey Goodson Jr. by a Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy, and another civil rights probe of the killing of Andre Hill by a since-fired Columbus Police officer."While it was my hope to continue on for a few more months to finish some of the work we have started, I am absolutely certain that the AUSAs and investigators working for the people of the Southern District of Ohio will bring this work to a successful and just closure," DeVillers said. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, Justin Herdman, resigned last month.
Ohio Ratepayer RICO Claims Advance Against FirstEnergy Corp. - Ohio ratepayers can proceed with their proposed class action against FirstEnergy Corp. over a $900 million bailout for two failing nuclear plants, even though a state court blocked the company from accepting fees, an Ohio federal court ruled. The bailout is still in effect because House Bill 6 hasn’t been repealed and the court’s injunction is temporary, according to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Individual and commercial ratepayers claim FirstEnergy violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and Ohio Corrupt Practices Act by sending bribes to former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder (R)...
Nearly 20 elected officials from indicted state Rep. Larry Householder’s district seek his ouster --- Nearly 20 elected officials in state Rep. Larry Householder’s district are seeking the former Ohio House speaker’s ouster, saying his indictment on federal corruption charges is limiting their voice in Columbus.All three Coshocton County commissioners, County Prosecutor Jason Given, County Auditor Christine Sycks, County Recorder Susan Turner, County Engineer Fred Wachtel, Coshocton Mayor Mark Mills and Coshocton City Council President Cliff Biggers, as well as several county Republican Party committee members, are among those who signed a Monday letter asking House Speaker Bob Cupp to immediately replace Householder. Coshocton County contains the district’s largest city -- Coshocton -- and is one of the two whole counties Householder represents - the other is his hometown Perry County, with parts of Licking County also in his rural southern Ohio district.The letter notes two of Householder’s associates have pleaded guilty to federal charges, and a pro-Householder political group filed a plea agreement on Friday, admitting it participated in a $61 million bribery scheme that helped Householder become speaker in exchange for his agreement to pass House Bill 6, a nuclear bailout bill.It also notes that Householder received no committee assignments when the new state legislative session began last month, and said Coshocton County received less funding than other similar rural counties in last year’s state capital budget.“The United States Constitution guarantees citizens a fair trial and a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. This is a key pillar of our judicial system,” reads the letter. “That said, holding an elective office is not a right, it is a privilege and a sacred trust. The State of Ohio deserves to proceed with the work of the people and it is clear to us that Representative Householder cannot effectively serve the interests of Coshocton County while the criminal charges are ongoing.”
Will drilling deal find new life? - The proposal to frack around LaDue Reservoir is off the table, but for how long? After a groundswell of objections, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan last week removed the proposed legislation from the City Council agenda. The mayor said his action was prompted by concerns of people from both inside and outside of Akron. He was, however, “troubled” by the “misinformation used to stir up community concern when our primary objective is to safeguard the health, economic mobility and safety of our residents.” Misinformation? Perhaps the lack of information – timely information – resulted in the public outcry. Akron Public Service Director Chris Ludle told council members in January, when the proposal first hit the agenda, that the city had been working on the deal with DP Energy Auburn, LLC for about a year. Yet some council members said that was news to them. The proposal called for Akron to lease mineral rights to DP Energy, allowing the company to use hydraulic fracturing to pressurize wells to break up underground rocks at LaDue and release gas and oil deposits. The proposal involved 475 acres around LaDue in Geauga County, with the company paying Akron a one-time fee of $237,500, or $500 per acre, and 15 percent of the royalties on natural gas and oil extracted from the well. Drilling would not have been conducted on the city’s land, but mineral rights would have allowed the company to extract the underground resources. Though in Geauga County, LaDue is owned by Akron as part of its drinking water supply. The mayor, clearly unhappy about the public reaction and the need to nix the deal, emphasized the financial aspect, saying the city lost an opportunity to increase revenue and help keep utility bills in check for Akron residents. He also cited a need to finance a federally mandated $1.2 billion sewer project. That project price tag is a far cry from the one-time, quarter-million payment Akron would have received from DP Energy. The mayor denied the proposed deal had anything to do with campaign or political influence. But some critics pointed out that paperwork to create DP Auburn Energy was filed this year by former Akron councilman Patrick D’Andrea, a longtime friend of the mayor. It is clear this proposal was not vetted properly by the administration and council. With so many concerns, the proposal had to be stopped. There are too many unanswered questions. Geauga residents and officials need to keep a watchful eye out to ensure a drilling deal around LaDue remains off the table.
Unused Gas Well Spews What's Suspected to Be Frack Waste, Killing Fish - Ohio regulators are working at a gas well that started spewing what’s believed to be brine water from fracking into the environment more than a week ago. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which regulates the oil and gas industry, said in an email that it was notified on Sunday, January 24 that fluid, what the agency called “produced brine,” was spraying out of an oil and gas well in the Crooked Tree area near Dexter City in Noble County. Brine is a salty byproduct of gas and oil production and can contain toxic metals and radioactive substances, according to US EPA. This video posted to Facebook by Amber Deem shows what she says is liquid spraying out of the well and pooling on the ground. Deem told The Allegheny Front in a phone call that the Parkersburg, West Virginia company where said she works owns this well, and that it hadn’t produced gas in years. Deem has now said she is awaiting advice from her attorney before commenting further. Chasity Schmelzenbach, director of Noble County Emergency Management, was informed by Ohio DNR about the incident at the well, which is owned by Genesis Resources LLC of Parkersburg. On Wednesday, January 27, the state was able to contain the spray in a collection system on-site, Schmelzenbach said, but not before the suspected brine killed fish in Taylor Fork, a small tributary. She said state regulators had wildlife experts at the scene. “The chloride counts are really high, that’s why the fish kill happened, they believe,” Schmelzenbach said. “Typically brine doesn’t kill fish, so the concentrations had to be pretty high in that small area.” Ohio DNR said brine continues to flow at the wellhead. So far it has collected, and disposed of more than 30,000 barrels of fluid from the site. The agency has not determined where the liquid originated, or why it suddenly started spewing from the old gas well. There have been no injuries or evacuations and the extent of impact to the environment is not yet known. Noble County is home to around ten frack wastewater injection wells, according to Schmelzenbach and state mapping, some a few miles from the incident. In late 2019,brine from an injection well in Washington County, Ohio migrated to several producing gas wells, some more than five miles away. Since 2017, there have been seven spills of frack waste in Noble County, including this one, according to Ohio EPA records.
Ohio Regulators Investigating Source of Brine Shooting from Well -- Ohio environmental regulators investigating the source of brine that began shooting from a gas well in Noble County and continued to flow for almost two weeks before contractors were able to stop it. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) said preliminary testing indicates that the fluid was brine, which is a highly salty water that is produced during the hydraulic fracturing process and can contain chemicals, metals and radioactive substances. Brine can also be produced naturally from oil and gas operations that do not involve fracking, and the source of the spill is not yet known, according to a statement from Sarah Wickham, ODNR chief of communications. Contractors brought in by ODNR have so far collected about 40,000 barrels of fluid during their mitigation efforts. The ODNR was notified of the spill on Jan 24 and contractors were called in to build an emergency containment system, and begin mitigation efforts to prevent fluid from flowing into a nearby stream. However, about 500 fish and other aquatic species were killed. Within 48 hours, ODNR instructed the contractors to build a “more substantial system of containment structures, pipes and storage tanks to prevent the fluid from entering the environment,” until the flow was finally stopped on Feb. 4. The vertical well, Ohio Power/Gant 17-69, is owned by Genesis Resources of Parkersburg, W.Va. The well is located only a few miles from three underground injection wells, where fracking wastewater that can no longer be reused is injected into deep geological formations. Ohio is home to more than 200 injection wells, and much of Pennsylvania’s fracking waste is sent there. There are just 10 injection wells in Pennsylvania. In 2019, brine from an injection well in Washington County, Ohio, migrated to three producing wells at least five miles away. Washington County sits just to the south of Noble County in eastern Ohio. Efforts to add more injection wells in Pennsylvania have been met with opposition from environmental groups. Plans to put an injection well in Indiana County stalled after a legal fight with the township and an environmental group, while the state Department of Environmental Protection in 2020 approved plans for well in Plum Borough, Allegheny County, after a six-year battle. These types of wells are often controversial, as there is research indicating that they may negatively affect groundwater quality and cause unintended seismic activity in the area near the well, and Ohio’s experience may prove valuable in determining their future use in Pennsylvania.
Lorain County pipeline Nexus continues attempts to reduce tax bill - Lorain County is in the midst of a dispute with Nexus over attempts by the company to devalue pipeline infrastructure which has troubled local officials. Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy said Feb. 3 a move by Nexus in challenging the value of its natural gas pipeline could have a devastating impact on local school districts with reduced tax revenue. Attempts by the company to reduce the valuation from an original assessment of $127 million down to around $50 million is a problem, Lundy said. The Ohio Department of Taxation already has reduced the company's assessment to $111 million, he said. “But the big part of their presentation was tax dollars that were going to come into Lorain County because of the value of that pipe in that system," Lundy said. "And I'm disappointed to see that once again, Nexus is back at the table in the state with the Ohio Department of Taxation seeking Reduced values and lower values.” Under the proposed plan, Lorain County alone could lose $955,000 in annual tax revenue with local school districts taking big revenue hits. Firelands Local School District would lose $606,200; Keystone Local Schools; $915,000; Midview Local Schools would drop $882,000; and Oberlin City Schools is set to lose over $1 million annually. This an economic impact that Lundy says will hurt schools and communities. “The sad part is that these kinds of fights can go on for years, and while the fight goes on for years, the company can make the assertion that they're only going to pay what they think the value is," he said. "So, this is going to have a very negative impact on our schools and on our communities." Lundy encourages residents to write to their legislators and tell them the concern and the impact it will have. The Nexus Gas Transmission is a 256-mile natural gas transmission pipeline that crosses through parts of Michigan and Ohio, including Lorain and Medina counties. Lundy previously called the actions by the company a “bait and switch” stating it has not held up its end of the bargain in the commitments made to Lorain County. The pipeline has been operational since 2018 following fierce opposition from the city of Oberlin. In a previous statement to The Morning Journal on the pipeline assessment in December 2019, Nexus spokesperson Adam Parker said the company was committed to paying a "fair and justified tax." “Consistent with how individuals, homes and businesses are taxed, our property tax assessment should reflect the true market value of the pipeline,” Parker said. “After reviewing the preliminary assessment, we have elected to file a petition for reassessment through the formal process established by the Ohio Department of Tax. “Nexus is committed to paying a fair and justified property tax based on the true market value of the pipeline, and looks forward to developing future economic and taxing opportunities in Ohio."
Panel discusses economic future of oil and gas - Martins Ferry Times Leader — An organization affiliated with environmentalist groups says it soon will produce studies suggesting that the oil and gas industry is on an economic decline and that a proposed ethane cracker plant should not become a reality in Eastern Ohio.Panelists from the Ohio River Valley Institute, a think tank focused on “lasting job growth, clean energy, and more inclusive civic structures for northern Appalachia,” held a discussion Wednesday. Speakers at the economic forum included: Kathryn Hipple, professor of finance at Bard College and former financial analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis; John Hanger, energy consultant and former Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection; and Anne Keller, former Wood-Mackenzie petrochemical analyst and current industry consultant.Sean O’Leary, senior researcher at the institute, said their topic was whether the “Shale Crescent”region of Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania will realize the promise of economic renewal or if it’s on the verge of failing.“We are a very new organization. We are a think-tank, and we are devoted to developing policy in the areas of economic development, energy, and also the democratization of election processes as well as policymaking and regulatory processes. In pursuit of that, we’re going to be hosting forums like this one.” O’Leary said the group will be publishing three reports in the coming weeks. On Feb. 10 it will release an economic analysis of the effects of the fracking boom on 22 counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia that produce the majority of natural gas.
The Utica Shale: Ohio's Under-Appreciated Economic Machine - The Utica Shale has never really gotten the level of attention and respect it probably deserves as a major U.S. resource of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). “We sometimes feel like the Utica is kind of the ‘red-headed stepchild’ of the shale industry,” Mike Chadsey told me when we talked last week, reminding me that, himself being a red-head, it’s ok for him to use that comparison. Mike is the Director of Public Relations for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, the major trade association for the industry in the Buckeye State.The Utica’s proximity to and co-existence with the immense Marcellus Shalenatural gas formation has a great deal to do with its not getting so much attention for being such a major resource play. But for Ohio, the Utica has been the main driver of a renaissance of an industry that started there decades before the famousSpindletop discovery kicked off the oil business in Texas in 1901. Long before then, Cleveland had become a major commerce center for the early U.S. oil industry, with the state home to one the largest refining centers on earth. Ohio has been an oil and gas state for a long, long time. The past decade has seen another boom in the state, this time centered around not oil, but natural gas and the various liquids elements contained in the rich production from the Utica Shale formation. Instead of new refineries, Ohio has seen an array of new natural gas processing and fractionating plants constructed, along with billions in new investments by a booming chemicals and plastics sector that uses natural gas and NGLs as feedstock. Centered in the Southeastern quarter of Ohio, the boom in the Utica that kicked off in earnest in 2011 had resulted in over $86 billion in new capital investments and created over 200,000 new jobs for Ohio citizens by the end of 2019. Unemployment rates that had stood as high as 15.5% in 2009 had dropped into the 5% to 6% rangeten years later. But then, of course, the bust of 2020 hit, and the Utica region was hit hard like every other shale region in the United States. The collapse of global crude demand that began a year ago resulted in a corresponding collapse in new industry capital investment as companies rushed to cut costs wherever they could. Those cuts impacted company head counts, causing some of those employment gains of the prior decade to be lost.
Report: Ohio fracking counties saw declines in jobs, population and income - A decade earlier, the oil and gas industry was touted as being the savior for the Ohio River valley region, which had weathered the crumbling of the steel industry and watched helplessly as the coal industry declines.The millions of dollars invested in the Marcellus and Utica region were supposed to translate into local wealth in the form of more jobs, higher incomes and more people moving into the region.However, a new report released Wednesday by an independent think tank based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the Ohio River Valley Institute, showed that 22 counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia responsible for 90% of Appalachia's oil and gas production saw their share of the nation's jobs, personal income and population all decline."In many respects, it's the region that should have theoretically benefited the most from development," said Sean O'Leary, a native of Wheeling, West Virginia, and senior researcher of the institute's 27-page report.In fact, Ohio fared the worst of the three states examined for economic success. Seven eastern Ohio counties — Belmont, Carroll, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe and Noble — were the hardest hit amongst those analyzed, experiencing a net job loss of more than 8% and a population loss of more than 3%. Mike Chadsey, director of public relations for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, disagreed with the report's conclusions, saying the industry has worked to revive Appalachia."There are certainly people who take this as gospel. But all you have to do is look at the unemployment numbers from the state, from when oil and gas started in the shale development and unemployment went down," he said. "We know that people found jobs. We know that people are getting $5,000 to $7,000 an acre to lease their property. What they did with that was create all these family foundations and community foundations so they can reinvest their money."Unemployment data doesn't tell the full story, O'Leary said. "The reason the region's unemployment rate dropped during the period wasn't because they were adding jobs. It's because people were moving away and the number looking for jobs was declining," he said.
Report: Shale gas boom counties saw little growth in local jobs, income | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -In the last decade, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio produced a tsunami of natural gas that exceeded even the most optimistic projections. That wealth of gas was supposed to translate into newly thriving local economies.According to a report released Wednesday by the Ohio River Valley Institute, the local renaissance never happened.Instead, counties that pumped out nearly all of the Appalachian region’s natural gas lagged on traditional measures of local prosperity: They had less personal income and job growth than the states as a whole and the nation over that time period, and their populations declined.“It is a case of economic growth without prosperity, the defining characteristic of the resource curse,” the institute said. The new think tank advocates for the region to shift away from fossil fuel extraction to clean energy. It is a project of the Johnstown-based Community Foundation for the Alleghenies and has received funding from the Heinz Endowments.Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the report looked at 22 counties in the three states between 2008 and 2019, a period when natural gas drilling in the Marcellus and Utica shales began, surged and subsided. In those years, the region went from being a marginal natural gas producer to one of the world’s largest. The 22 counties produced 90% of the states’ total gas output during the study period. Their gross domestic product — the value of the goods and services produced within their borders — grew by 60% over the decade — more than triple the national growth rate.But the communities were not rewarded with proportionate growth in jobs, income or people, according to the report. Over the study period, jobs in the 22 counties at the heart of the shale boom grew by just 1.7%, compared to 10% nationally and nearly 4% in the three states. Personal income in the major shale counties increased by 14.3% — roughly on par with the states, but seven percentage points less than the nation as a whole. Meanwhile, population in the shale counties dropped by 2.4%. “This extreme disconnect between economic output and local prosperity raises the question of whether the Appalachian natural gas industry is capable of generating or even contributing to broadly shared wellbeing,” the report said. Sean O’Leary, the main author of the Ohio River Valley Institute report, said one of the remarkable things about the Bureau of Economic Analysis data is how clear it is. “There is almost no math going on here,” he said. “All that I did was pull the numbers for the years 2008 and 2019 and look at the change over that time.” “It is just blindingly obvious.” Still, John Hanger, a former policy director for Gov. Tom Wolf who led the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection during the first years of shale development, said when he saw the report he found it “shocking.” It “explodes in a fireball of numbers the claims that the gas industry would bring prosperity to Pennsylvania, Ohio or West Virginia,” he said. Mr. O’Leary said the economic disconnect may have been obscured by the fact that “the money was real.”“The money did get invested to drill all the wells and pump all the gas,” he said. But, “it didn’t land in these local economies.”
CNX Resources (CNX) 2020-End Proved Reserves Up 13% to 9.55 Tcfe - CNX Resources Corporation announced that it has increased total proved reserves by 13% year over year to 9.55 trillion cubic feet equivalent (Tcfe). The company added 2,247 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe) of proved reserves through extensions and discoveries, which helped it in replacing more than 440% of 2020 net production of 511 Bcfe. CNX Resources’ proved reserve has a reserve life ratio of 18.69 years, based on 2020 production. CNX Resources’ strong performance is based on stable production from Marcellus and Utica shale assets. Production from these shales enables the company to meet its production goal. Replenishment of production through the addition of new proved reserves will allow the company to sustain momentum over the long term.CNX Resources’ 94.6% of the proved reserve is natural gas. Moreover, the company has a very low-cost structure. Drilling and completion costs incurred in 2020 for extensions and discoveries were $480 million. Finding and development cost of the added proved reserves stands at 21 cents per thousand cubic feet (Mcfe), which will give the company a competitive advantage. CNX Resources — through its efficient technology — has been able to explore and expand proved reserves annually for the last five years. At 2016-end, proved reserves of the company were 6.25 Tcfe. At 2020-end, the metric totaled 9.55 Tcfe, reflecting an increase of 52.8% in the last five years. Over the last five years, it was able to lower average cost per Mcfe to $1.64 at 2020-end from $2.32 at 2016-end.
Range Resources assessed $294K penalty for well-status error - Pittsburgh Business Times - The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection fined Range Resources Corp. $294,000 over what the DEP said was incorrectly classifying a Fayette County well as inactive. The civil penalty came in a consent agreement between DEP and Range Resources, one of the largest natural gas producers in southwestern Pennsylvania. The agreement covers one conventional natural gas well, Shirocky No. 1 in Fayette County, that Range had asked for inactive status but provided information that it both expected to have it become active at a later date and an internal memo that said it wouldn’t. DEP said that the well, if there was no plan to use it in the future, should have been plugged. Range said a former employee’s error was responsible for the miscommunication. A DEP subpoena to Range found 42 conventional wells — ones that aren’t drilled into the Marcellus or Utica Shale using current drilling methods — were designated inactive between 2013 and 2017 but production never was resumed. DEP said they should be considered not inactive but instead plugged. “It’s the law: inactive wells need to be viable for future use,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell in a statement. “If wells are not viable for future use, then they should be classified as abandoned wells and are required to be plugged."
Northern Oil Enters Appalachia as India's Reliance Exits - India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. has agreed to divest its entire stake in 64,000 net acres in the Appalachian Basin, continuing its exodus from unconventional oil and natural gas assets in the United States. Northern Oil and Gas Inc. (NOG) agreed to acquire the nonoperated stake from Reliance Marcellus LLC in exchange for $175 million and 3.25 million warrants to purchase its common stock at a price of $14.00/share.EQT Corp., which acquired the properties in a broader deal last year when it bought Chevron Corp.’s Appalachian portfolio in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, would operate the assets. The assets are expected to produce 100-110 MMcfe/d this year, and consist of 102.2 net producing wells, another 22.6 wells in process and 231 net undrilled locations in the core of the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, NOG said. The deal gives NOG entry to the Appalachian Basin and complements its stakes in 183,000 acres in the Williston and Permian basins. The company primarily invests in nonoperated minority working and mineral interests. “Our cash purchase price for these assets only ascribes value for producing wells and the large inventory of wells-in-process, with significant upside value on the undeveloped properties,” said NOG COO Adam Dirlam. “The joint venture (JV) structure allows Northern significant input and clarity on the development plans for these assets on a multiyear basis.” NOG plans to finance the transaction with a combination of equity and debt. The deal is expected to close in April.
Public input blocked on shale gas wastewater permitting - Cathy Lodge has some questions and concerns about new state wastewater storage and reuse permits issued to three shale gas developments near her home in Robinson Township, Washington County, but didn’t get an opportunity to voice them. People living near 46 other shale gas operations granted permits in December and January were similarly silenced when the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection decided to not follow its newly adopted notification and public participation protocols for the 10-year general permits known as “ WMGR123.” The wastewater storage and reuse authorizations, approved on Dec. 23 and Jan. 4, allowed shale gas wastewater operations to expand, without pre-permitting public notification and review, at existing shale gas facilities in 15 counties, including Washington, Greene, Fayette, Westmoreland and Butler in southwestern Pennsylvania. “If DEP is going to allow WMGR123 permits and waste processing and storage at wellpads, I definitely want every opportunity possible to voice my concerns prior to them issuing approvals,” Ms. Lodge said. “Getting the opportunity to comment on the permits was something I was looking forward to.” In a Feb. 4 letter to the DEP, Ms. Lodge joined five environmental groups in asking the DEP to immediately suspend the permit approvals, publish public notices of its permit decisions and initiate a 60-day public comment period. Groups signing the letter include the Environmental Integrity Project, PennFuture, Mountain Watershed Association, Earthworks and Center for Coalfield Justice.They requested a formal response from the DEP by Feb. 11. “CCJ believes that public notice and the opportunity to comment ensures that communities have a voice in the environmental decisions that affect them,” Veronica Coptis, executive director of Center for Coalfield Justice, said in an email response to questions. “The DEP’s failure to notify and include impacted communities in the decision making process for these WMGR123 authorizations that will last 10 years is unacceptable.” According to the letter, the DEP’s approval of the 49 permits deprived the organizations’ members and shale gas field residents of the opportunity to review site-specific permit applications and voice concerns before the permits were granted about the potential impacts of oil and gas facilities on their health, environment and public safety.
A Decade Into the Fracking Boom, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia Haven’t Gained Much, a Study Says - After fracking companies invested billions chasing the natural gas boom across West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, what do people living in the middle of the most prolific gas fields have to show for it, more than a decade later?That’s the question the Ohio River Valley Institute, an independent think tank based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, working to advance a more prosperous, sustainable and equitable Appalachia, asked in a report published on Wednesday.Its answer: In short, not much. To be sure, the report found that new horizontal drilling techniques involving hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations, which helped reshape the nation’s oil and gas fortunes, produced a lot of economic growth. But it largely failed to bring the things that help people and local communities the most: jobs, personal income gains and population growth.The natural gas industry hasn’t been an engine for economic prosperity, said Sean O’Leary, the institute’s senior researcher and principal author of the report, and “there is no basis on which we can see that it even can be, going into the future.”It was unable to deliver on local prosperity even though gas production itself exceeded the most optimistic projections, he said. The optimistic projections included a 2010 American Petroleum Institute report projecting robust job growth that was seized on by officials in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia to usher in the industry. But the institute found that jobs in the 22 counties that account for 90 percent of the production in the three states increased by only 1.7 percent, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, while nationally the number of jobs grew by 10 percent.O’Leary does not dispute that the oil and gas industry employs people in each state, but questions where they are located and how many of the jobs are new.He said the institute’s report seeks to reveal true measures of economic prosperity in the counties most affected by the gas boom. In order to do that, the institute focused on counties that produce the most gas and where natural gas production is a more significant part of the local economy.Those counties were Doddridge, Harrison, Marshall, Ohio, Ritchie, Tyler and Wetzel in West Virginia; Belmont, Carroll, Jefferson, Guernsey, Harrison, Monroe and Noble in Ohio; and Bradford, Greene, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Washington and Wyoming in Pennsylvania.In general, the report found an increase in economic growth as measured by their share of gross domestic product, but job growth and personal income lagged behind, as did population growth.
Fracking Counties Economic Impact Report – Ohio River Valley Institute – A new Ohio River Valley Institute report titled, “Appalachia’s Natural Gas Counties: Contributing more to the U.S. economy and getting less in return” quantifies the decade-long failure of natural gas boom in the Marcellus and Utica fields to deliver growth in jobs, income, and population to the 22 Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia counties that produce more than 90% of the region’s natural gas.Contrary to the predictions of the oil and natural gas industry, which a decade ago published economic impact studies saying the expected boom in natural gas production would give rise to over 450,000 new jobs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show that jobs in the 22 counties crept up by a paltry 1.7% while nationally the number of jobs grew by 10%.It should not have been this way. Natural gas production in the region substantially exceeded the projections contained in the industry studies. And economic output in the 22 counties grew by 60%, more than three times the rate of output growth nationally. But little of the income generated by that growth entered local economies. Between 2008 and 2019, as the counties’ contribution to the nation’s economy grew from $2.46 per thousand dollars of output to $3.31, their piece of the national economic pie got smaller.
• Their share of the nation’s personal income fell by 6.3%, from $2.62 for every $1,000 to $2.46.
• Their share jobs fell by 7.5%, from 2.8 in every 1,000 to 2.6.
• Their share of the nation’s population fell by 9.6%, from 3.2 for every 1,000 Americans to 2.9 for every thousand.
Ohio’s seven eastern counties – Belmont, Carroll Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, and Noble – were the hardest hit seeing a net job loss of over 8% and a population loss of over 3%. Pennsylvania’s eight primary gas counties – Bradford, Greene, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Washington, and Wyoming – did better with a net 4.5% gain in jobs. Although that was slightly less than the statewide average gain of 4.6%. And it did not prevent a population decline of 1.4%.Only in West Virginia did the natural gas counties – Doddridge, Harrison, Marshall, Ohio, Ritchie, Tyler, and Wetzel — outperform the state for personal income and jobs. But even then, the rate of growth was less than half the national average and the population loss was greater than the population loss in the state as a whole.John Hanger, former Pennsylvania secretary of Environmental Protection and policy director to Governor Tom Wolf, called the report’s findings “shocking”. “This report documents that many Marcellus and Utica region fracking gas counties typically have lost both population and jobs from 2008 to 2019. This report explodes in a fireball of numbers the claims that the gas industry would bring prosperity to Pennsylvania, Ohio or West Virginia. These are stubborn facts that indicate gas drilling has done the opposite in most of the top drilling counties,” said Hanger.Kathy Hipple, Bard College professor of finance and former analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said, “This detailed report is another indictment of fracking. The business case for fracking has never been proven. The Appalachian shale gas producers have been spectacularly unsuccessful financially, despite impressive production gains. Many have filed for bankruptcy. Others have taken massive write-offs. This financial failure of the natural gas sector extends to local communities.” Hipple concluded, “Simply put, the natural gas industry has not delivered the promised benefits for producers, investors — or local communities.”
Somerset County Opposes Tennessee Gas Compressor Station - Last night Somerset County passed a resolution (see attached) that opposes the West Milford and Wantage Compressor Station that Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company plans to build. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company’s proposal includes modification and expansion of the Wantage Compressor Station in Sussex County, New Jersey, including installation of one Solar Titan 130 turbine with an ISO rating of 20,500 hp and auxiliary facilities. This is part of TGP’s East 300 Upgrade that also includes a new compressor station in the Highlands Region of West Milford. “Somerset County has stood up for our health and environment by opposing TGP’s fossil fuel compressor stations. They are the first county and government entity that has passed a resolution to oppose these fossil fuel projects. The compressor stations increase GHG’s, climate impacts, and will have damaging impacts to our air and water. In their resolution, Somerset County raised the fact that the TGP Compressor stations go directly against Governor Murphy’s EO 100 to reduce GHG’s and move to 100% clean energy by 2050. One site for the compressor is in the middle of the Highlands Preserve right next to a C1 stream and above the Wanaque and Monksville reservoir. A leak or accident will be detrimental to the critical drinking water and to nearby communities,” saidJeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We thank Somerset County for protecting the Highlands and the drinking water for almost 3 million people.On June 20th, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company L.L.C filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seeking the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct, install, modify, operate, and maintain certain compression facilities located in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. “These compressor facilities release harmful air pollutants such as NOx, PM2.5, Sox, VOCs, HAPs such as formaldehyde, benzene, and GHG’s. Benzene can cause headaches, asthma attacks, and worsen symptoms for people with respiratory problems. Chromium, benzene and hydrocarbons can get into industrial stormwater runoff that will increase pollution and flooding.” The New Jersey Sierra Club, Skylands Sierra Club, Sustainable West Milford, North Jersey Pipeline Walkers, Food & Water Watch, held a town hall against the 2 compressor stations with close to 200 people, including government officials from West Milford.
Environmental Groups Sue Federal Regulators Over Western Mass. Pipeline Plan - Environmental groups are challenging a federal agency's decision to allow natural gas expansion in central Massachusetts, arguing legal precedent — and a change in regulatory leadership -- is on their side.On Friday, the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments from two groups opposed to the proposed expansion of a compressor station in Agawam, which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved in 2019.The project in question is a proposal from the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC — a subsidiary of energy giant Kinder Morgan — to build 2.1 miles of new natural gas pipeline and replace two small compressors with a larger unit at its Agawam site. The company says these upgrades will allow it to deliver more natural gas for distribution in the greater Springfield area, and as such, “alleviate capacity-constrained New England gas markets.”Opponents of the project, meanwhile, want the panel of appellate judges to nullify the permit issued by FERC, saying the project will contribute to climate change, prolong our dependence of fossil fuels, and harm local residents by increasing pollution in an area already known for poor air quality and pose public safety risks. They also argue that FERC violated federal law and disregarded legal precedent by allowing the project to move forward.“The National Environmental Policy Act requires FERC to meaningfully evaluate greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel production and transportation projects,” wrote petitioners, Berkshire Environmental Action Team and Food & Water Watch, in court documents.A spokesperson for FERC declined to comment.
As new information arises, RCC Big Shoal case may enter criminal court -- Criminal charges may become a factor as the Pike County Fiscal Court continues to seek full repayment of a $400,000 loan a previous administration made to the principals of a company whose promised natural gas to liquid fuel plant never materialized. On Feb. 5, Pike Commonwealth’s Attorney Bill Slone confirmed to the News-Express that his office, along with Kentucky State Police, have launched an investigation into the circumstances involved in RCC Big Shoal’s failure to repay the loan from the county. Slone said he has been aware of the case for some time, but as information has arisen recently, he began to feel as though an investigation is warranted. Slone said his office has begun an investigation along with the KSP Special Investigations Branch, which has assigned a detective to assist.While the criminal charges could ultimately result in jail time if those charged are found guilty, Slone said his goal is the same as that of Pike County Judge-Executive Ray Jones and the current Pike County Fiscal Court. “My goal is to get the county’s money back,” he said. RCC Big Shoal principals David Farmer and Bill Johnson were able to obtain a $400,000 loan from the administration of former Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford with promises of building a natural gas-to-fuel plant in the Big Shoal area of Pike County. The project never materialized and the majority of the loan remains unpaid.
Chesapeake Energy emerges from bankruptcy and shifts back to natural gas (Reuters) - U.S. shale producer Chesapeake Energy Corp on Tuesday exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy with business plan that nods to its founders’ emphasis on natural gas after a recent push into crude oil. Once the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer, Chesapeake was felled by a long slide in gas prices and heavy debts from overspending on deals. Two years ago it paid $4 billion in a bet on shale oil firm WildHorse Resource Development. But oil prices fell after the deal closed. The company plans to focus 85% of this year’s spending on gas fields in the U.S. Northeast and Louisiana, and will let its oil output decline, Chief Executive Doug Lawler said in an interview. It aims to spend between $700 million and $750 million per year on new projects that could generate $400 million in annual free cash flow, he said. Chesapeake filed for court protection last June and won approval last month for a plan that shed about $7.7 billion in debt. It was unable to invest enough in operations to turn a profit while simultaneously paying down $9 billion in debt. That “led us to make decisions that weren’t always the best,” said Lawler, who took over the firm in 2013.
Appalachian Fracking Boom Was a Jobs Bust, Finds New Report – DeSmog - The decade-long fracking boom in Appalachia has not led to significant job growth, and despite the region’s extraordinary levels of natural gas production, the industry’s promise of prosperity has “turned into almost nothing,” according to a new report. The fracking boom has received broad support from politicians across the aisle in Appalachia due to dreams of enormous job creation, but a report released on February 10 from Pennsylvania-based economic and sustainability think tank, the Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI), sheds new light on the reality of this hype.The report looked at how 22 counties across West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio — accounting for 90 percent of the region’s natural gas production — fared during the fracking boom. It found that counties that saw the most drilling ended up with weaker job growth and declining populations compared to other parts of Appalachia and the nation as a whole.Shale gas production from Appalachia exploded from minimal levels a little over a decade ago, to more than 32 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2019, or roughly 40 percent of the nation’s total output. During this time, between 2008 and 2019, GDP across these 22 counties grew three times faster than that of the nation as a whole. However, based on a variety of metrics for actual economic prosperity — such as job growth, population growth, and the region’s share of national income — the region fell further behind than the rest of the country. Between 2008 and 2019, the number of jobs across the U.S. expanded by 10 percent, according to the ORVI report, but in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, job growth only grew by 4 percent. More glaringly, the 22 gas-producing counties in those three states — ground-zero for the drilling boom — only experienced 1.7 percent job growth.“What’s really disturbing is that these disappointing results came about at a time when the region’s natural gas industry was operating at full capacity. So it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the results would be better,” said Sean O’Leary, the report’s author. The report cited Belmont County, Ohio, as a particularly shocking case. Belmont County has received more than a third of all natural gas investment in the state, and accounts for more than a third of the state’s gas production. The industry also accounts for about 60 percent of the county’s economy. Because of the boom, the county’s GDP grew five times faster than the national rate. And yet, the county saw a 7 percent decline in jobs and a 2 percent decline in population over the past decade.
Near Complete Mountain Valley Pipeline Needed, D.C. Circuit Told --Natural gas users, landowners, and the environment would benefit from finishing construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline and putting the infrastructure into service, the company and other intervenors in a lawsuit to stop the pipeline told the D.C. Circuit. Green groups, including the Sierra Club and Appalachian Voices, argue falling demand for natural gas and surplus pipeline capacity undermines the company’s claim that the project will serve the public interest. They seek an emergency motion blocking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s orders allowing construction to continue. But the arguments against the project are based on “cherry-picked snippets from an earnings report’...
With construction slowed, MVP continues erosion control from the air - For the third winter in a row, helicopters are dropping grass seeds and mulch along the route of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in an effort to curb erosion on the unfinished project. Heavy traffic of the company’s helicopters has been reported by residents of Franklin County in recent days. Mountain Valley says the erosion control efforts are needed as construction of the natural gas pipeline continues to be delayed by legal challenges of its permits from environmental groups. “Due to ongoing project delays, previous temporary stabilization measures must be periodically refreshed to maintain and protect the ROW [right of way],” company spokeswoman Natalie Cox wrote in an email this week. Helicopters are being used to distribute a liquid mixture of seeds and mulch, a measure that has been approved by state and federal regulators as the best way to preserve construction areas, she said. Although Mountain Valley says it hopes to complete work on the $6 billion project by the end of this year, legal hurdles remain as opponents say the 303-mile long pipeline will scar the scenic landscape of Southwest Virginia, pollute its waters and endanger protected species of bats and fish. The company has agreed to stop all work — with the exception of stabilization and erosion control effects — until Feb. 22, the date by which an appellate court is being asked to rule on approvals from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In 2017, FERC approved the pipeline to run through the Virginia counties of Giles, Craig, Montgomery, Roanoke, Franklin and Pittsylvania. At the time, the pipeline was slated for completion by late 2018.
Appalachia's top natural gas-producing counties falling further behind economically, report says - A new study of Appalachian natural gas production suggests that the region’s natural gas boom hasn’t kept the top gas-producing counties in the Ohio Valley from lagging behind the rest of the nation economically. The Ohio River Valley Institute, a nonprofit think tank, released an analysis Wednesday finding that, while those counties’ rates of gross-domestic-product growth more than tripled that of the country between 2008 and 2019, their collective shares of the nation’s personal income, jobs and population all declined.“What we’re seeing is almost the definition of the resource curse, and that is great economic growth with very little, if any, impact on local measures of prosperity,” Sean O’Leary, senior researcher at the institute, said of the report during a webinar last week that focused on the so-far unrealized dream of a petrochemical boom in Appalachia.The report attributes much of the increase in gross domestic product — the total value of goods and services — in 22 counties in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania to an Appalachian natural gas production boom powered by the advent of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” that exceeded high industry expectations but did not come close to bringing the number of jobs to the region expected to coincide with the boom.Combined job growth in those 22 counties — including Doddridge, Harrison, Ohio, Ritchie, Tyler and Wetzel in West Virginia — was only 1.7% between 2008 and 2019, the report notes, questioning the economic value of the Appalachian natural gas industry to the region.Only in Doddridge County, population 8,448, per 2019 U.S. Census Bureau data, did gains in shares of income, jobs, and population come close to matching the region’s contributions to economic production, the report found. It offered hypotheses that exporting labor and materials, lower natural gas prices than expected and lack of anticipated progress toward petrochemical and plastics manufacturing in the region are contributing to the economic stagnation in “Frackalachia.”“This extreme disconnect between economic output and local prosperity raises the question of whether the Appalachian natural gas industry is capable of generating or even contributing to broadly shared wellbeing,” the report reads. “And, if it is not, should it continue to be the focus of local and regional economic development efforts?”
West Virginia Sen. Manchin to President Biden: Avoid major curbs to natural gas fracking, horizontal drilling — The chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, seen by many as the likely key vote in the Senate for the Biden administration on contested issues, has asked the president to steer clear of major natural gas fracking and horizontal drilling reforms. “Technologies like hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have allowed our country to more efficiently tap into our rich, domestic energy resources that reside in the vast shale plays across the country, including in my home state of West Virginia,” wrote Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. who, as a moderate, is a critical vote in the 50-50 makeup of the Senate. “These technologies catalyzed a ‘shale revolution’ in the U.S. that has propelled a surge in domestic oil and gas production, culminating in the U.S. becoming a net total energy exporter in 2019 for the first time in 67 years. This energy security affords your administration with expanded geopolitical tools and strengthens our national security,” Manchin wrote. The senator also pointed to a U.S. Geological Survey estimate of 214 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations that hasn’t been discovered yet and could be recovered. “Responsible production of our abundant resources is critical. That includes using existing technologies and continuing to innovate new ways to reduce methane flaring and leaks from oil and gas systems and expanding our energy infrastructure and gathering lines to instead get that product to market,” Manchin wrote. “I also strongly support advancing carbon capture, utilization and sequestration technologies, including for natural gas applications, to further reduce emissions,” he wrote. “I encourage you to bear in mind these many benefits of responsible domestic natural gas production as you consider any future executive or administrative action, and I look forward to working with you to achieve our shared goals of energy security, economic growth and global emissions reductions,” Manchin wrote.
Natural gas company announces plan to expand to Knox, Waldo counties -Summit Natural Gas of Maine plans to invest $90 million to extend its service into the Midcoast. “The Midcoast is one of the last commercial centers in Maine without natural gas service, which is why Summit is committed to bringing this energy option to communities along Route 1,” Summit CEO Kurt Adams said in a news release Friday. “We are very excited to help Belfast, Camden, Rockland, and other towns in the region strengthen their economies while providing them with a lower emission fuel alternative.” The company said it hopes to break ground on the pipeline in the fall and that roughly 100 jobs will be created in the Midcoast during construction of the pipeline. Service is expected to start for residential and commercial customers in late 2022 following the completion of the project’s initial phase. Summit hopes to have made service available to more than 6,500 customers and extended its footprint into the towns of Lincolnville and Northport by 2026. Town officials in Rockport and Belfast welcomed the project. “Just as businesses require a variety of fuel sources to meet their unique energy needs, folks in the Midcoast will now have an additional option for heating their homes as they see fit,” Town Manager William Post said in the release.
Westchester County Unanimously Opposes Danskammer Plant Expansion - -- Last night, the Westchester County Board of Legislators unanimously voted in favor of a resolution opposing the massive expansion of the Danskammer fracked gas power plant in Newburgh.With the passage of last night’s resolution, Westchester County has become the first county in New York to unanimously come out in opposition to the dirty Danskammer plant’s expansion aims. In doing so, the county has joined the chorus of municipalities across the state calling for Governor Cuomo to deny the plan its desired expansion permits.Legislator Catherine Parker (D - Harrison, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Rye), chief sponsor of the resolution and chair of the Board's Planning, Economic Development and Energy Committee said, "New York State's recently passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act establishing programs, obligations and targets to meet zero emissions by 2050. Expanding the Danskammer plant to a full time, fossil fuel facility is exactly the wrong thing to do if we're serious about a clean, sustainable future, and about meeting those goals."Legislator Ruth Walter (D - Bronxville, Yonkers), chair of the Board's Environment and Health Committee, said, "Although this plant will not be in Westchester, pollution and climate change do not observe County lines. The plant's expansion would add 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually to our atmosphere, drastically harming air quality in the region and exacerbating climate change and with gallons of diesel fuel and aqueous ammonia are proposed to be stored on-site, there's a significant threat to the water quality for all of us downstream on the Hudson."
U.S. LNG Exports Eclipse Pipeline Takeaway for Only Second Time Since 1998, EIA Says -U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) outstripped natural gas exports by pipeline in November, marking only the second time that has happened in more than 20 years, the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) said in a new report.LNG exports exceeded gas delivered via pipeline by nearly 1.2 Bcf/d in November, as demand from Asia for the super-chilled fuel mounted ahead of winter.Based on shipping data, preliminary estimates for December and January “suggest a continuation of this trend,” EIA said in its Natural Gas Monthlyreport.LNG feed gas volumes increased in both December and January, NGI data show, as Asian demand further intensified amid the onset of a particularly harsh stretch of cold temperatures.Last November and December, Lower 48 LNG exports set two consecutive monthly records at 9.4 Bcf/d and 9.8 Bcf/d, respectively, EIA said. Average LNG exports over the course of January held at 9.8 Bcf/d and surpassed 11 Bcf on several days.When LNG exports last topped those by pipeline, which was last April, they did so by only 0.01 Bcf/d, EIA said. Prior to that, LNG had not eclipsed pipeline exports since 1998. In its January Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA forecast that U.S. LNG exports would exceed gas delivered by pipeline in the first and fourth quarters of this year – spanning the typical months of peak demand — and on an annual basis in 2022. The agency said from November through January, monthly U.S. LNG volumes nearly tripled the average levels in the summer months of 2020.EIA forecast that U.S. LNG exports would average 9.8 Bcf/d this month, on par with January’s record level, before tapering to seasonal lows amid milder temperatures in the spring. The agency’s outlook calls for LNG exports to average 8.5 Bcf/d over 2021 and climb to 9.2 Bcf/d in 2022 amid continued strong demand from Asia as well as Europe. The relative ascension of LNG is particularly notable because pipeline exports are strong as well. Total U.S. gross exports by pipeline averaged 7.9 Bcf/d in the first 11 months of 2020, EIA noted, 3% higher than during the same period of 2019.
Cheniere Seeks OK to Ramp Third Corpus Christi LNG Train - Cheniere Energy Inc. has requested FERC approval to place the third train in service next month at its Corpus Christi liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in South Texas, which would ramp up capacity by 4.5 million metric tons/year (mmty). The company requested permission in a letter filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday to bring the train online by March 12. The third train would bring total output at the facility to 15 mmty. Cheniere in December loaded the first commissioning cargo from the third train. Cheniere sanctioned the third train in 2018, the same year the Corpus terminal produced its first LNG. In November 2019, the company moved up its timeline to complete the third train to the first half of 2021, several months ahead of schedule. A sixth train also is under construction at its Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Louisiana, which was 71% complete at the end of September. The sixth train would boost production capacity at that facility to 30 mmty. Global LNG supply grew by 100 million tons (Mt) between 2016 and 2020, driven largely by Australia, Qatar and the United States, according to data intelligence firm Kpler. Despite the pandemic, LNG supply last year grew by 4 Mt, driven mainly by U.S. growth. U.S. capacity is expected to increase to 71 mmty this year, driven by the Corpus expansion and more operating efficiencies at existing terminals, according to Kpler. Winter demand for LNG is strong, and feed gas deliveries to U.S. terminals have been at or near capacity most of the season. Domestic exports reached 6.14 Mt in January during a cold snap in the northern hemisphere that drove up demand, rebounding from a low of 1.97 Mt in July when prices were down amid a supply surplus. Higher demand has left natural gas storage stocks in Asia and Europe lower, while the global economy continues to recover from low points brought on by Covid-19 last year. LNG buying this year is expected to remain above 2020 levels, supporting U.S. exports. Recent NGI data showed U.S. LNG in the money both in Asia and Europe through the remainder of the year.
U.S. energy regulator to create environmental justice position: chairman (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said on Thursday the panel will create a senior position on environmental justice, to make sure new energy projects, such as pipelines and liquefied natural gas facilities, do not unfairly harm minority communities. “I believe that the Commission should more aggressively fulfill its responsibilities to ensure our decisions don’t unfairly impact historically marginalized communities,” Richard Glick, a Democrat recently appointed to head the panel by President Joe Biden, told reporters during a teleconference. While the panel is required to consider green justice issues under the National Environmental Policy Act, Glick said in recent years, it has not always emphasized its responsibility. “I thought we really haven’t taken the issue too seriously especially with regards to a couple of LNG projects,” Glick said. He did not name the projects as they are pending. Glick said the FERC would be spending more time considering whether fossil fuel projects would expose nearby residents to a lot of particulate pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, or NOX. FERC should consider whether pollution impacts on communities could be mitigated by moving the projects or installing more pollution controls, Glick said.
Natural Gas Traders Unswayed by Record-Breaking Cold Penetrating Lower 48 - Weather model volatility left natural gas traders flummoxed on Monday, with double-digit increases early in the session nearly erased by the close. With the frigid cold descending from Canada into the Lower 48 seen possibly continuing into March, though, the March Nymex gas futures contract settled 1.9 cents higher than Friday at $2.882. April edged up 2.1 cents to $2.862. Spot gas prices also retreated across most of the country, though trading in the Northeast was notably volatile. New England cash traded as high as $14.000, but NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. dropped 2.5 cents to $3.985. Even with big swings in the weather data, there’s little argument that the next couple of weeks are poised to be the coldest the country has experienced in years. The issue in the near term is that the European model initially pushed back the arrival of the next bout of extreme cold, shedding demand from the outlook for this week and for later in the month. However, by the afternoon, the model added it all back and then some, with February remaining on track to be in the top 5 coldest on record, according to Bespoke Weather Services. “…the other key is that we do not yet see warming to even normal yet at the end of the runs,” the forecaster said. “If cold continues beyond day 15 and into March, we should see a steady climb in prices, at least when smoothed out.” NatGasWeather expressed frustration in Monday’s price action. The firm pointed out that the Global Forecast System added 25 heating degree days (HDD) since before Sunday’s open and the latest European ensemble data is now 133 HDDs colder compared with the 30-year average for the coming 15 days, which is “by far the coldest it’s been the past several years. “So, clearly, other factors are driving today’s selling since very cold/bullish weather patterns and a tight balance are finally working in concert, and it still isn’t good enough for a sustained rally.” Supporting that theory is the quickened pace that storage inventories have fallen in the final weeks of the traditional withdrawal season, which wraps at the end of March. Even with some deviations in the 15-day forecast, market observers expect a hefty withdrawal in the next three government storage reports. Analysts at The Schork Group indicated the “early whisper number” for the next Energy Information Administration (EIA) report is in the mid-180s Bcf, while the following two reports could fetch draws well into the 200s Bcf. This would bring total working gas in storage to 2,000 Bcf by Feb. 19. “This is significant,” The Schork Group said. “As a result, the odds of finishing this winter above the five-year avarage have collapsed.”
Natural Gas Futures Take Back Seat to Cash as ‘Punishing’ Cold Drives Largest Increases ‘In Years’ - Intraday natural gas price volatility was on full display midweek as traders assessed the impacts of a substantial, though likely temporary, decline in export demand and the potential for a more moderate end-of-February following some of the coldest weather in years. After tumbling to a $2.741/MMBtu intraday low, the March Nymex gas futures contract bounced and eventually settled 7.6 cents higher at $2.911. April tacked on 5.6 cents to reach $2.879. Spot gas prices mounted some of the largest gains in years as the frigid air penetrating the north/central United States stalled, leaving large population centers to bear sub-zero temperatures. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. climbed $1.040 cents to $4.835. Weather model fluctuations are nothing new, but when it’s the dead of winter and a polar vortex has plunged into the Lower 48, gas traders take notice. So it’s no surprise that March futures trading has been erratic in recent days. On Wednesday, the prompt month fell early as overnight weather models erased some demand from the 15-day outlook. Prices then bounced when some of that demand was added back to the midday forecast and went on to climb even further once the European model’s afternoon run not only recovered the demand it lost overnight but added significantly more to the outlook. The March contract closed at the session high after dropping to $2.74. “So, now that prices are back to $2.90, is a return run to $3.00 possible?” asked NatGasWeather. A move back to $3.000 may be more plausible if it weren’t for lower export demand. Ahead of the Arctic being pushed farther south into Texas, heavy fog has clouded the Gulf Coast much of this week. This has prompted many key ports and waterways to impose shipping restrictions because of visibility levels, according to Wood Mackenzie. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand has steadily fallen since the start of the week, reaching 10.3 Bcf by Wednesday, off from 11.3 Bcf on Monday. Wood Mackenzie attributed most of the decline to Sabine Pass liquefaction facilities partially shutting down operations at the second production unit. There remains a moderate-to-high fog and visibility threat through Thursday; however, “current LNG inventory levels may help limit any further declines,” the firm said.
"Supply Is Frozen" - Polar Vortex Sparks Massive Spike In NatGas/Electricity Costs - As a 'deep chill' from a polar vortex split spills into much of the central US, spot natural gas and electricity prices are spiking quicker than Robinhood pajama traders pumping penny stocks, low-float biotechs, and, of course, GameStop and other meme stocks in recent weeks. The week's biggest story is the plunge in temperatures across the Great Plains from Canada to Texas, resulting in skyrocketing demand for natgas and electric markets as tens of millions of Americans crank up their thermostats to stay warm."One of the main stories is the very cold temperatures and the expanse of the cold," Marc Chenard, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center, told Bloomberg."Most of the country will be at or below average except Florida."BAMWX explains a series of winter storms are possible" from Denver to Dallas to Chicago to Cleveland to Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states through next week."An overwhelming signal seems to be developing for a major winter storm from the Deep South to the Ohio Valley into the NE early next week. Here are our 3-7 day hazards map and a blend of models 75th percentile data. Worth note deterministic data showing major snow numbers. #Snow," BAMWX's official Twitter account tweeted. The reason the extreme weather is so critical to note is that the colder temperatures have prompted wellhead freeze-offs, cutting production receipts just when they're most needed by customers' demand for heating. Frigid temperatures caused equipment failures, temporarily shutdowns and flaring at four natural gas processing plants in the West Texas shale play, filings with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality show.
US working natural gas volumes in underground storage decline 171 Bcf: EIA | S&P Global Platts — Last week's draw from US working natural gas in storage proved strong enough to reduce the year-on-year surplus to a deficit while the possibility for the largest weekly draw ever is on the horizon. Stay up to date with the latest commodity content. Sign up for our free daily Commodities Bulletin. Sign Up Storage inventories declined 171 Bcf to 2.518 Tcf for the week-ended Feb. 5, the US Energy Information Administration reported Feb. 11. The withdrawal was a bit below the 175 Bcf draw expected by an S&P Global Platts' survey of analysts, but above the five-year average withdrawal of 125 Bcf, according to EIA data. Storage volumes now stand 9 Bcf, or 0.4%, below the year-ago level of 2.527 Tcf and 152 Bcf, or 6.4%, above the five-year average of 2.366 Tcf. The pull was less than the 192 Bcf dip reported the week prior as demand was down 2.2 Bcf/d, with residential and commercial declines accounting for the bulk of the declines, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics. Gas-fired generation dropped 800 MMcf/d as a rally in spot prices led to gas losing market share to coal generation. The NYMEX Henry Hub March contract dipped 5 cents to $2.85/MMBtu in trading following the release of the weekly storage report. The upcoming summer strip, April through October, fell 5 cents to average $2.92/MMBtu, up about 3 cents from the week prior. Still, gas prices rose across the board this week. Strong cash market gains from robust demand and production freeze-offs have helped to elevate market forwards. Henry Hub cash prices spiked to more than $5 in Feb. 11 trading while regional markers in the Midcontinent, Rockies, and Texas sailed past $10. The upcoming two storage reports should erase the surplus to the five-year average for the first time since 2019 — placing end-of-March inventories on course to potentially come in below 1.5 Tcf. Platts Analytics' supply and demand model currently forecasts a 265 Bcf withdrawal for the week ending Feb. 12, which would prove more than 100 Bcf above the five-year average draw. Colder-than-normal weather has increased week-on-week demand by 12.6 Bcf/d relative to the prior week. The residential-commercial sector paced the demand growth — averaging 9.8 Bcf/d above the prior week while gas-fired generation rose 1.6 Bcf/d as wind generation fell and loads increased. In addition, widespread freeze-offs from severe cold and wind have taken 1.5 to 2 Bcf/d of production offline currently in the Midwest and Texas. With the worst of the cold weather slated to hit the Midwest and Texas this weekend and early next week, further price spikes are likely, which could force demand-side curtailments to balance on the likelihood of additional production freeze-offs. A very early forecast for the week ending Feb. 19 points to a 365 Bcf withdrawal. The largest weekly storage drop on record stands at 359 Bcf during the week ended Jan. 5, 2018. During that week, a "bomb cyclone" blasted its way across the US, prompting freeze-offs and pipeline-related outages in Appalachia, Permian, Anadarko, and the Bakken, resulting in a 3 Bcf/d drop in production.
Natural Gas Forwards Brush Off Ice, Snow Draping Lower 48; Higher Prices Still to Come - Bitterly cold temperatures blanketed the Lower 48, and the deep freeze threatened to curb output throughout most of the country’s production basins. Long-held storage surpluses have quickly eroded and export demand continues to fire on all cylinders. It was, by all considerations, the perfect storm to send natural gas futures rocketing sharply higher. And yet, in anti-climatic fashion, natural gas futures failed to sustain a $3 handle during the Feb. 4-12 period, slipping a couple of cents on the week to settle Friday at $2.912/MMBtu. The rest of the curve also barely budged, with modest losses at the front of the curve and meager gains further out. U.S. markets moved similarly, with very small changes across the majority of forward curves. Instead, all the wild swings happened in the cash markets this week, with prices screaming higher as sub-zero temperatures draped across a large swath of the country’s midsection. With a train of winter blasts tracking through the Lower 48 and heading east, there were the usual price gains in the Northeast, but market hubs in the normally quiet Midcontinent market also got in on the action. By Friday, spot gas at Oneok Gas Transmission, or OGT, had surged as high as $600 as the mercury in Oklahoma was set to fall to near zero overnight. Up to 10 inches of snow also was possible. It’s not that futures traders haven’t expressed at least some enthusiasm for the winter blast. March Nymex futures have made brief appearances above $3.000/MMBtu on a couple of occasions. It’s just that prices quickly reversed course any time that level was reached. The prompt month settled Wednesday at $2.911 and then continued to languish through Friday. Forward Look - Learn More “The coldest pattern of the past two years keeps getting sold after each bounce to $3. The back end of the forecast being warm weighted for Feb. 22-27 does stand out,” said NatGasWeather. “However, there’s still three much larger-than-normal draws lined up that will flip surpluses of 152 Bcf to deficits over 200 Bcf, which isn’t bearish.”
Drilling will stop on controversial oil well 150 miles from South Florida after company finds the well too dry — A company will stop drilling a controversial oil well it started in December about 150 miles from the South Florida coast, after saying it did not find a valuable oil source. Bahamas Petroleum Company began drilling the exploratory well off the west coast of Andros Island on Dec. 20, despite wide criticism from Bahamian conservation groups as well as a group of U.S. Representatives led by Alcee Hastings. After six weeks of drilling, the company said it found oil, but a not a commercial quantity of it. BPC plans to plug and abandon the well in the next few days and move its drillship, Stena IceMax, away from the site. The Port of Palm Beach was used as a hub for a supply ship assisting the Stena IceMax during its drilling. The project drew concern in Florida over the possibility that a spill could cause major problems for tourism, fishing, diving, coral reefs, wildlife and the environment, particularly in South Florida and the Florida Keys. The drilling shutdown is good news for the project's opposition. “Offshore drilling in the Bahamas is dangerous for both the country’s tourism-driven economy and its pristine waters,” said Diane Hoskins, offshore drilling campaign director for Oceana, an international organization that advocates for ocean conservation. “We hope the Bahamian government takes this as a sign to stop this senseless journey. The United States and the Bahamas have a shared interest in preventing the associated devastation to our climate, coastal communities and economy.” Despite the victory for conservationists, the battle isn’t over. BPC said it hasn’t yet decided whether or not to drill in the area again in the future, saying its focus now is to shut down the well it was working on.
Shelby Co. Commissioners delay vote on controversial Byhalia Pipeline — Plans for the controversial Byhalia Pipeline remain up in the air, despite another night of fiery debate. Shelby County Commissioners were set to vote on whether to sell two parcels of property for the Byhalia Pipeline project Monday but delayed a vote which would allow the Byhalia Connection Company to purchase land in area code 38109. Opponents argue the pipeline could pollute the water in the neighborhood, while the company argues it could boost the economy. “An oil spill would be devastating to this community and there is nothing, no safety measures to prevent a spill from occurring,” said Justin Pearson. Content Continues Below Pearson is the co-founder of Memphis Communities Against Pipeline. The organization protested outside of the Shelby County Commissioner meeting urging leaders to keep a moratorium in place that would block interested buyers like the Byhalia Connection Company from purchasing two parcels of land in area code 38109. The company plans on building a 49-mile crude oil pipeline that would run from Memphis to Marshall County, Mississippi. “We’ve been inside the community and we have yet to find a single resident who says ‘oh I do want a crude oil pipeline going through my water, oh I want a crude oil pipeline going through our neighborhood and disrupting our future,’” said Pearson.
Byhalia Pipeline Project Gets Final Permit, Can Begin Construction --The Byhalia Connection Pipeline now has all permits needed to begin construction, company officials said Tuesday. The 49-mile pipeline is proposed to run from the Valero refinery near Presidents Island to Marshall County, Mississippi. It's a joint venture between Valero and Plains All American Pipeline. It would connect several other pipelines and, eventually, carry crude oil to the Gulf of Mexico. The project needed approval from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, which officials said it received. The pipeline also needed approvals from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offices in Tennessee and Mississippi. The project received those permits "as of last week," said Katie Martin, communications manager with Plains All American Pipeline. The company notified elected officials about the permits Monday but could not release the information publicly until today, following the release of the company's earnings. “Following more than 10,000 hours of environmental field study and analysis, the Byhalia Connection Pipeline project has obtained the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 12, a federal permit only available for projects that will have minimal impacts on the environment," Martin said. "Obtaining the Nationwide Permit 12 is a key step in the project; we look forward to safely and responsibly building and operating a pipeline that will be a long-term benefit to the community.” With permits in hand, Martin said the company can begin construction. Though, it hasn't decided when construction would begin, she said. Once it begins, the company has projected construction would take nine months. However, some properties have not yet been secured by the company. A court hearing on a lawsuit from a group of landowners was slated to begin this week.
Oil company files plan to build tanks, pipeline over historic slave cemeteries - Thick woods overtook the old St. Rosalie Plantation house more than 70 years ago.But to the people of Ironton, a community of modest homes just south of those woods, St. Rosalie remains a powerful symbol of Black heritage in the heart of what used to be a bastion of White supremacy -- Plaquemines Parish.And now, plans to build a new oil export facility on St. Rosalie are raising concerns about whether a key part of that heritage could be erased.Nearly 200 years ago, a free Black man named Andrew Durnford owned and operated a sugar plantation at St. Rosalie, along the west bank of the Mississippi River. Durnford died a few years before the Civil War and left the plantation to his widow and children. Records show the Durnfords enslaved Black workers, but also paid them wages during the Civil War. Once emancipated, those workers founded the town of Ironton just south of the plantation.Durnford and his family were laid to rest in above-ground tombs in one spot on the St. Rosalie property, close to where La. 23 now passes by. About a quarter-mile closer to the river, enslaved people were buried in an area of unmarked graves.The existence of the historic graves was no secret. Documents stored in the Tulane University Archives include lists of workers’ names and references to the enslaved people who died at St. Rosalie. Official maps in the 1920s and 1940s clearly marked two cemetery locations, and Ironton residents who hunted in the woods there knew exactly where the burial grounds were. “We would see the graves,” said Wilkie DeClouet, a retired Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputy who lives in Ironton. “We knew the graves was there, but we know to go around and you respect that kind of stuff.”
The Sunniest City in Texas is Expanding … Natural Gas Production --The \Newman Power Station, a natural gas plant just across the Texas border in El Paso, is responsible for nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compound emissions, which can form ozone, or smog. Last August, El Paso had one of itsworst days of air pollution in nearly 20 years, as ozone and particulate matter levels spiked sharply. Although it’s likely that the summer’s record-breakingWest Coast wildfire season contributed to the pollution peak, El Paso’s air quality has been worsening over the past few years, driven mainly by local sources like cars, refineries, and industrial plants. In 2020, data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that compared to its five-year average, the El Paso region experienced 20 fewer “good” air quality days per year and four more “bad” air quality days, which can be dangerous for vulnerable populations. “The power plant has been here as long as I can remember,” says Lara, who grew up in Chaparral and now lives in nearby Las Cruces. “It affects me, and my family and friends, the people I care about in this community.” She worries that in the future, her son might develop asthma, as she has from breathing in excess pollution. Her father, who has lived near the plant for three decades, developed a chronic lung condition that leaves him winded. Last year, El Paso Electric, the company that owns and operates Newman Power Station, proposed upgrading the plant with more efficient generators and decommissioning older, more polluting equipment that is, in some cases, more than 60 years old. While the company says that the new generators will lead to a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the plant will still create ozone-causing emissions. In December, the New Mexico Public Regulations Commission, which oversees utilities, rejected El Paso Electric’s proposal, saying that the plant would be obsolete within a few years under the state’s clean energy mandates. By 2045, El Paso Electric will not be able to sell any natural gas-generated electricity to its New Mexico customers—and the state agency won’t make residents pay for a project they can’t use. But nothing is stopping the company from selling all of its natural gas power to Texas, and making Texans pay the full price. The Texas Public Utility Commission has already approved the plan to upgrade the power plant. A representative from El Paso Electric told the Observer that the company is moving ahead on the upgrade as it waits for a final air permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
US Oil, Natural Gas Permitting Drops 10% in January, but Majors in Permian Record Six-Month High Lower 48 onshore oil and gas permit approvals fell by 10% in January versus December to 1,688, with declines seen across all of the major basins, according to the latest monthly statistics compiled by Evercore ISI. The Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale combined to account for 52% of the total permit count, said the Evercore team of researchers led by James West. Among the oil-heavy plays, filings in the Permian fell by 99 or 12% month/month (m/m), while the Eagle Ford saw a drop of 73 or 35%. Permits in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ)/Niobrara formation fell by 73 or 35% m/m, and the Bakken Shale saw a reduction of 29 or 43% from the prior month. The Rockies region also included a 45% decline in the Powder River Basin (PRB) to 53 permits. The Permian decline was driven by independent exploration and production (E&P) companies, as permits granted to majors in the basin actually rose by seven to a six-month high of 47. ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell plc accounted for 25, nine and 11 Permian permits, respectively. Denver-based independent Ovintiv Inc. also saw an increase in Permian permits, up 15 or 49% m/m. As for the larger independents working in the basin, Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy), Devon Energy Corp. and Pioneer Natural Resources Co. saw their permit counts fall by 47, 40 and 25, or 59%, 56% and 63%, respectively. The Eagle Ford decline was driven in large measure by Marathon Oil Corp. and ConocoPhillips, whose permit totals plummeted by 32 and 21, respectively, or 72% and 73%. The Bakken permit total of 38 was the lowest count since 2009, with the dropoff driven mainly by Marathon, ConocoPhillips and Devon. The report follows the sale by Equinor ASA of its Bakken portfolio in a deal valued at around $900 million, suggesting that sentiment around the Williston Basin may be cooling. The DJ/Niobrara decline was led by publicly traded companies, with only filed one permit for the basin, Evercore researchers said. The PRB downtrend, meanwhile, was led by Oxy, EOG Resources Inc. and privately held Anschutz Exploration Corp., whose permit counts fell by 85%, 47% and 90%, respectively.
US oil, gas rig count rises by 1 rig to 457, with improved oil prices a boost to E&Ps— The US oil and gas rig count moved up one to 457 in the week ending Feb. 10, rig data provider Enverus said, as growth slowed from double-digit rig increases in the previous two weeks, even with WTI oil prices improving toward $60/b. The week's single net rig add came on the oil side, as rigs chasing that commodity moved up three to 338, while those chasing natural gas were down two to 119. The rig count had seen double-digits gains in four of the past nine weeks, growing by 26 over the previous two weeks, as operators added rigs to maintain production. Nationwide rig totals have risen 64% since the early July low of 279, according to Enverus. Among the eight largest plays for the week ended Feb. 10, the Permian showed the most change, with three rigs added for a total 208, marking the highest count for the basin since early May 2020. Three plays added one rig: the Eagle Ford Shale (35 rigs) in South Texas, the DJ Basin (10) in Colorado and the Utica Shale (10), mostly in Ohio. The Marcellus Shale (32) mostly in Pennsylvania, and the Bakken Shale (13), mostly in North Dakota, each shed two rigs. Rig totals in both the Haynesville Shale (50) of East Texas/Northwest Louisiana, and the SCOOP/STACK (16) of Oklahoma were unchanged on the week. WTI oil, which plunged into the $20s/b as the pandemic took hold last March and was in the $40s/b for most of H2 2020, is now trading in the $58/b range, providing some comfort for E&P operators after a worrisome year. For the week ended Feb. 10, WTI averaged $57.62/b, up $3.91 week on week; while WTI Midland averaged $58.54/b, up $3.96; and the Bakken Composite price averaged $56/b, up $5, according to S&P Global Platts. Natural gas prices also fared well. Prices at Henry Hub averaged $3.29/MMBtu, up 43 cents; while prices at Dominion South averaged $3.04/MMBtu, up 45 cents. Although commentary on fourth-quarter earnings calls seemed "restrained," in the words of one analyst, upstream executives showed a clearly optimistic attitude for the industry near term.
U.S. Oilfield Workforce Climbs in January for Fifth Consecutive Month - Employment in the U.S. oilfield services (OFS) and equipment sector climbed for the fifth consecutive month in January, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and analysis by the Energy Workforce and Technology Council. “After shedding nearly 102,000 jobs from March to August due to pandemic-related demand destruction, the upstream oil and gas industry has added back approximately 21,000 positions over the past five months,” the Council noted. An estimated 8,421 jobs were added in January. The sector gained an estimated 5,717 jobs in October, 3,651 in November, and 933 in December, the BLS data showed. “OFS sector employment rose 1.4% in January as companies reopened some production to prepare for expected demand increases as more people are vaccinated,” researchers noted. “Uncertainty remains because of the high number of Covid-19 cases, which continue to suppress demand.” The monthly Oilfield Services and Equipment Employment Report, compiled and published by the Council, which represents 600 OFS members, estimated job losses from demand destruction because of Covid-19 now total 81,061. Since January 2020, about 80,014 jobs have been lost across the domestic OFS sector. Estimated OFS sector jobs in the United States declined from 706,528 in February 2020 to 625,467 last month, down 11.5%. “Losses were heaviest in April, when the sector shed 57,294 jobs — the largest one-month total since at least 2013,” the Council noted. “The jobs lost in 2020 represent annual wages of approximately $15.4 billion.” Job losses were heaviest among companies that provide support services for oil and gas extraction. This portion of the OFS sector has cut 72,580 jobs since the pandemic’s onset — 89.5% of the sector’s total job losses. OFS job losses last year were estimated to be heaviest in Texas, down 56,200, and in Louisiana, which lost 10,800 jobs. The states are the two leaders for oil and gas production, the Council noted. According to the BLS data, oil and gas jobs cut last year also were in order Oklahoma, 9,800; Colorado, 5,200; New Mexico, 4,800; California, 4,700; Pennsylvania, 4,600; North Dakota, 4,000; Wyoming, 2,900; Ohio, 2,100; Alaska, 2,000; and West Virginia, 1,900.
Lower 48 DUC Count Falling to 'Normal' by Year's End, Says Raymond James - The Lower 48’s ample supply of drilled but uncompleted wells, aka DUCs, is coming down at a quick pace and is expected to reach “normal” levels by year’s end, tightening the oil supply according to Raymond James & Associates Inc. In a note to clients, Raymond James analyst John Freeman made the case that the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) may be overstating the number of actual DUCS not yet completed. The EIA in the most recent Drilling Productivity Report for December said the total DUC inventory across seven main Lower 48 regions stood at 7,298, down from 7,443 in November. However, the EIA’s DUC count is 22% “too high and contains many older wells that are likely to never be completed,” according to Freeman. The federal data contains a “plethora of DUCs drilled back as far as 2014 that are ‘dead in the water.’” Even if the older DUCs were to be finished, they “would not produce at near the rate as wells drilled with cutting-edge technology and lateral lengths.” In addition, the escalation in mergers and acquisitions last year across the exploration and production (E&P) sector consolidated a lot of onshore acreage. That has led E&Ps to build larger, more efficient pads with more wells. The additional wells have created a more “normal” DUC inventory than years past. What Freeman sees in Raymond James data is the DUC inventory reaching “normal levels by the end of this year” at the current pace that E&Ps are finishing them. That would require “more spending to hold completions levels flat in 2022 and constraining supply growth.” The pandemic created a historic cut to energy demand, which led to a tremendous work-in-progress inventory of DUCs, he noted. Finishing those wells began in earnest in the second half of 2020, as E&Ps eschewed more development capital spending to concentrate on what they had in inventory.
Experts say Joe Biden's energy moves could benefit Texas | The Texas Tribune — Surrounded by refineries and chemical plants that make up the Houston Ship Channel, the Republican leader of the U.S. House stood last week along what he called “one of America’s success stories.” A cadre of Texans in Congress flanked U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California to continue a campaign of criticisms they’ve lobbed at President Joe Biden’s climate-focused agenda. Biden’s swift moves to combat global warming have brought equally quick criticisms from state officials that Texas oil and gas jobs are in danger. But their comments often ignore that there is a global push in the free market — not just from the White House — to limit reliance on fossil fuels. And their rhetoric belies the benefits Texas’ oil and gas sector could see from Biden’s early moves. “Unfortunately, our economic bedrock of oil and gas is under attack by an administration that is bent on eliminating millions of jobs,” said U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville, one of seven Texas lawmakers who joined McCarthy last week in front of one of the busiest cargo ports in the world. Even before Biden took office last month, Texas lawmakers had forecasted doom and gloom for the state’s energy industry, projecting the sector’s demise at the hands of the new president. Even Texas Democrats have swiftly pushed back against Biden’s early moves aimed at protecting the environment. However, the percentage of jobs in the oil and gas industry had begun steadily declining, both in Texas and nationwide, long before Biden took office. At the beginning of 2020 — before the coronavirus pandemic and a global drop in the demand for oil — the share of jobs in the Texas oil and gas field had fallen to about 1.8%. Over the last decade, the percentage of jobs that are in the oil and gas industry has steadily declined, both in Texas and nationwide. The industry in Texas was especially affected after Saudi Arabia in 2014 ramped up oil production, leading American oil producers to cut jobs while still producing lots of oil. A majority of Americans have said they are interested in a clean and safe environment. Their spending habits increasingly demonstrate that, which experts say poses a much larger threat to the Texas oil and gas industry than Biden does. And, in the short term, Biden’s moves may help Texas, some say. “Basically every executive action Biden’s taken is good for Texas oil and gas,” said Michael Webber, energy professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Democratic state lawmakers want to tax flared, vented natural gas. Texas oil industry says no. -Environmental groups are pushing state lawmakers to impose a new tax: a 25% levy on gas that is vented or flared as part of the oil extraction process. Currently, this byproduct of oil production is exempt from state taxes normally levied on natural gas production, as it is burned off and released into the atmosphere instead of being captured and brought to market.Groups such as the Environmental Defense Fund and Earthworks are hoping to curb this release of greenhouse gases by making it more expensive for energy producers to flare or vent gas than it would be to invest in the necessary infrastructure to capture and transport it.“Texas is one of the top oil and gas producing states, and as a byproduct of pulling oil out of the ground, this gas comes out — the same gas we use in our homes to cook our food,” said state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, an Austin Democrat who wrote a bill to tax flared or vented gas. “But for oil producers, they see it as a waste product. Rather than figuring out how to sell it or how to use it on-site, they’re basically just throwing it away.” In addition to leading the nation in oil and gas production, Texas is a leader in the amount of natural gas that is vented and flared, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In 2019, Bloomberg reported that oil producers in the Permian Basin were burning off enough gas to power every residence in the state.The industry and its regulators have since taken steps to tamp down the practice. Several oil and gas companies and trade associations formed a coalition aimed at limiting flaring and methane emissions, and the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, adopted rules requiring more detailed disclosures from companies seeking flaring permits.In light of those steps, Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, said a tax on flared or vented gas could create unnecessary burdens for companies that are already moving toward eliminating the practice. But environmental groups, concerned by the volume of pollutants being released into the atmosphere, say the energy industry in Texas is not moving quickly enough to make changes in the face of the growing threat of climate change. “This is a common sense bill that needs to be passed,” said Sharon Wilson, a senior field advocate at Earthworks. “It is unnecessary to be wasting this product, and it is an intense pollutant that is having an impact not just locally, but globally.”
Texas Group Sets Goal to End Routine Flaring - A group of organizations linked to the Texas oil and gas industry on Wednesday reported that they aim to end routine natural gas flaring in the state by 2030.The announcement from the Texas Methane and Flaring Coalition follows a decision Tuesday by the state’s energy regulator to defer flaring requests from various operating companies. A Bloomberg article posted to Rigzone deems the stance taken by the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) “uncharacteristically critical” of the industry practice.Calling flaring “‘a necessary last resort during an upset,’” one commissioner quoted in the Bloomberg article pointed out the RRC should be more vigilant about not approving flaring requests outside such situations. Another commissioner expressed similar sentiments.In a written statement emailed to Rigzone, the Coalition noted that it “considers routine flaring to be flaring of natural gas from new and existing wells/facilities during normal production operations when gas gathering, processing, or infrastructure are insufficient or unavailable.” Additionally, the group stated that it “supports industry’s continued progress to end routine flaring and shares a goal of ending this practice by 2030.” To be sure, it noted that certain situations warrant flaring for safety and environmental protection reasons. Members of the Coalition include more than 40 Texas operators as well as the following seven trade associations: Panhandle Producers and Royalty Owners Association (PPROA), the Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA), the South Texas Energy and Economic Roundtable (STEER), the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO), the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA), and the Texas Pipeline Association (TPA).
4.2-magnitude earthquake in Oklahoma, officials say -- A 4.2 magnitude earthquake in Oklahoma was the largest in a swarm of temblors to rattle the state Friday, officials say. The large quake rumbled shortly before noon near Garfield and Noble counties, about 80 miles north of Oklahoma City, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was among about a dozen earthquakes in the area from late morning to early afternoon, geologists say. Hundreds reported feeling the quakes. A resident in Covington, which is near the epicenter, said the shaking knocked items off the walls of her home while others felt the earthquake as far as 30 miles away in Enid, the Enid News & Eagle reported. Earthquakes aren’t unusual for Oklahoma. Last year, about three dozen above a 3.0 magnitude were reported in the state, the newspaper reported. Oklahoma has experienced a “surge in seismicity” since 2009, even topping California for more 3.0-magnitude quakes from 2014-2017, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. “While these earthquakes have been induced by oil and gas related process, few of these earthquakes were induced by fracking,” U.S. Geological Survey officials say. Most temblors in the state are caused by wastewater disposal from oil and gas production in which fluid is injected deep below drinking water aquifers, officials say. About 90% of wastewater that’s injected is a byproduct of oil extraction process, not waste frack fluid, officials say. Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article249045035.html#storylink=cpyE&P
Biden administration delays Trump rule allowing companies to pay less money for drilling on federal lands - The Biden administration is delaying a Trump administration rule that was expected to result in the oil and gas industry paying less money for drilling on public lands and waters. The administration announced on Thursday that the rule, which was slated to go into effect next Tuesday, will now not become effective until April 16. Interior will also start a 30-day comment period to allow for “additional engagement” on the rule. “The Trump administration sought to allow corporations to pay less money for the oil and gas resources they extract from public lands, which deprives American taxpayers from a fair return and would result in lost tax revenue for state and local governments,” a department spokesperson said in a statement. “As part of the ongoing review directed by President Biden, the Department of the Interior is reviewing this rule to ensure that corporations aren’t unfairly pocketing money that is owed to the American public,” the spokesperson added. The rule, which was finalized in January, changed the way that royalties companies pay to the government for drilling on federal property is calculated and was expected to decrease how much the government collects by $28.9 million each year. This amounts to less than 0.5 percent of the total federal oil and gas royalties it collected in 2018, the rule notes. When he proposed the rule in August, then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said in a statement that it would provide “regulatory certainty and clarity to States, Tribes and stakeholders, removing unnecessary and burdensome regulations for domestic energy production.” The rule’s promulgation followed a request from a leading industry lobbying group, the American Petroleum Institute, for changes to how royalties are calculated.
Out of spotlight, two-member panel spent $475K on consulting contracts last year for Line 5 project ⋆ A two-member panel with full, independent authority to oversee the intensive project to replace Enbridge’s controversial Line 5 pipeline and keep oil flowing under the Straits of Mackinac has been quiet and out of the news for the past year, as Line 5-related court cases heat up and focus has largely been on the regulatory agencies permitting the project. The Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority (MSCA) did not meet publicly for 11 months until Wednesday. In the meantime, the panel spent hundreds of thousands of dollars held in trust by the MSCA to secure significant consulting contracts meant to guide Enbridge’s tunnel project forward, according to documents obtained by the Michigan Advance. The statute creating the MSCA was rushed through the 2018 Lame Duck session by the GOP-controlled Legislature, then swiftly signed into law by former Gov. Rick Snyder, who had negotiated the deal with Enbridge shortly before leaving office. While three state regulatory bodies are in charge of granting Enbridge the construction permits necessary for the tunnel — the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — the MSCA was entrusted specifically to oversee all aspects of the tunnel project and ensure it comes to fruition. The MSCA approved two contracts worth a total of $475,689 — with the Chicago-based McMillen Jacobs Michigan, Inc. for “advisory tunnel engineering services,” and the Lansing-based CDM Smith Michigan, Inc. for “structural design support services.” Both were already signed in October, according to Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) documents attained by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, but both members of the MSCA met virtually Wednesday to publicly “approve” the contracts. Both contracts were secured by MSCA Chair Mike Nystrom, a registered lobbyist for the construction industry and executive vice president/secretary of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA). He didn’t respond to an inquiry for the story. MSCA Member Tony England, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan, did not appear to be included in the decisions. England’s name is not on the documents, and at Wednesday’s meeting he asked when they were signed. But he approved the contracts during the meeting anyway. The two 2020 contracts make four total consulting contracts entered into by the independent panel. On Dec. 28, 2018, the MSCA signed three-year agreements with the Colorado-based Michael Mooney Consulting, LLC for up to $452,805.33 and with the Grand Rapids-based HT Engineering, Inc. for up to $309,452.70.
Should future plans for Line 5 consider climate change? --The plan to dig a nearly four-mile tunnel underneath the Straits of Mackinac and replace the Line 5 oil and gas pipelines continues to move forward.Last week, Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said the plan complies with environmental laws on wetland protection, cultural resources, and wastewater discharge.But other state and federal agencies still need to weigh in on the project. And one big sticking point is climate change and whether carbon emissions from burning the oil and gas that flow through Line 5 should be a factor in deciding if the tunnel project gets greenlit.That question is before a Michigan judge right now, and could ultimately determine the tunnel’s fate. For most energy projects that are proposed on public lands, like drilling for oil and gas or installing a solar farm, the government has to review the resulting environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions.That’s true for pipelines too, explains Pete Erickson, who studies climate policy at the Stockholm Environment Institute.“There is a clear causal link between a pipeline being built or not built and both the production and consumption of that oil, and therefore carbon dioxide emissions, and therefore climate change,” he says.And a project’s impact on climate can be the deciding factor in whether or not it goes forward. A high-profile example is the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would have carried oil and gas from Alberta to Nebraska. The main reason the federal government didn’t grant a permit for the project was because of climate change, according to the Obama administration. And there have been other examples, like recently in Washington, where state agencies have rejected fossil fuel projects because of their projected carbon emissions. For the Line 5 tunnel project, Enbridge, the company behind the proposal, requested that government agencies make an exception in this case.That’s because the company argued this is not a new pipeline — it would justreplace the old one and make it safer. And Judge Mack agreed with Enbridge. Back in October, he said public agenciesshould not consider greenhouse gas emissions with this tunnel project at all.
Line 5 pipeline shutdown adds urgency to Michigan’s propane heating debate - Shutting down the pipeline would cut off the Upper Peninsula from its supply of cheap propane, but clean energy advocates say there are better alternatives for heating. The impending shutdown of the Line 5 pipeline is bringing new urgency to the debate over transitioning Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from fossil fuel heating. Since 1996, Line 5 has supplied propane to about 15,000 homes in the U.P., a sparsely populated region separated from the rest of the state by Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order in December to shut down the pipeline this spring where it crosses the Straits of Mackinac between the two lakes. Enbridge is challenging the order and pursuing permits for a tunnel to carry a rebuilt line under the straits, but either of those efforts fails it could force propane companies to import the fuel by rail or truck, increasing household prices by up to $500 per year in a place with a high number of low-income residents who already struggle to pay heating bills without assistance. “It’s interesting with the whole propane question — immediately people are like, ‘How do we get more propane?’” said Jim Lively, an organizer behind the Upper Peninsula Clean Energy Conference, a monthly series of virtual events spotlighting heat pumps, geothermal and wood alternatives. “All these ideas are better alternatives to being tethered to a pipeline that’s controversial at best.” Conference sessions scheduled for Friday focus on propane delivery options and financing for clean energy in buildings. The events have been organized by a coalition of about 15 groups with representation from environmental, trade, tribal, academic and industry groups. Separately, Gov. Whitmer’s U.P. Energy Task Force is expected to present its own report on propane alternatives next month, while the National Resources Defense Council and consulting firm 5LakesEnergy have also produced a report. Among the proposals are increasing the use of heat pumps, which run on electricity and require dramatically less energy consumption than propane heating systems. Heat pump technology has improved in recent years to the point that geothermal and other systems can heat a home during the winter’s coldest days, said Douglas Jester, a partner at 5LakesEnergy who helped create the NRDC report and sits on the U.P. Energy Task Force. Propane heating systems have around a 15-year life, and the region could gradually transition to heat pumps as residents’ old systems need to be replaced, Jester said. He noted that several utility cooperatives already provide incentives for homeowners to switch, but state regulators would likely have to restructure electric rates before a switch would make economic sense for its customers. “It’s doable, but there’s still work that needs to be done,” Jester said.
Motion Seeks To Dismiss Lawsuit Against Pipeline Company - A motion has been filed to dismiss a lawsuit brought by an environmental activist against the company that installed a controversial natural gas pipeline through Livingston County. The suit was filed last October in U.S. District Court in Detroit by Michigan resident Matthew Borke against Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the ET Rover pipeline, and its Chairman Kelcy Warren. The company’s security contractor, Leighton Security, was also named in the suit, along with that company's CEO Kevin Mayberry and Operations Manager Gary Washburn.Energt Transfer constructed the 42-inch diameter pipeline which carries 3.25 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day up from the Marcellus and Utica Shale through West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio, crossing into Michigan in Lenawee County, then proceeding north through Washtenaw and Livingston counties before joining the Vector Pipeline in Fowlerville, where it crosses the state into Ontario, Canada. The suit alleges the companies engaged in a conspiracy to deprive Borke of his civil rights. Borke says he began attending meetings of Michigan Residents Against the ET Rover Pipeline in March of 2017, around the same time the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office began providing security at the ET Rover pipeline sites for $60 an hour, utilizing deputies in uniform and departmental vehicles. Borke claims that over the next several months, he and other members of the group were subjected to harassment and intimidation by employees of Leighton Security, which the lawsuit alleges was supported in its activities by the Sheriff’s Office through its contract. On Monday, attorneys for Energy Transfer filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming it had failed to establish jurisdiction over the defendants nor that a conspiracy existed. Borke tells WHMI he isn’t surprised the firms are seeking to dismiss his lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds. “Large companies routinely use sub-contractors to do the work, which creates a wall of liability that protects the actual company. The reverse of that however is that anyone working for the company represents that company’s interest and therefore represents them.” He adds that the motion is “attempting to separate the employees from the company it does actually work for.”
Federal court declines to halt construction on northern Minnesota oil pipeline --- A federal court on Sunday denied a request to halt construction on Enbridge’s Line 3 oil pipeline across northern Minnesota and upheld a key water quality permit granted to the project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last year. The decision stems from a Dec. 24 lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., by the White Earth and Red Lake nations and environmental groups Sierra Club and Honor the Earth that sought to stop construction as the groups argued the Army Corps had failed to consider environmental impacts like climate change and a potential oil spill. In an opinion filed Sunday, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote the groups and bands did not meet the burden of proof necessary for the injunction and said the harm of stopping construction, which began Dec. 1, outweighs the environmental risks of the new Line 3. She noted “most of the environmental effects stemming from the construction of Line 3 will not be ‘permanent or irreversible, as the preliminary injunction standard requires.'” “Overall, the court finds the balance of harms and public interest considerations to be a close call,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote. “Plaintiffs offer numerous examples of potential environmental harms stemming from the project’s construction. But the Corps presents persuasive evidence that delaying construction — and in doing so, continuing to rely on existing Line 3 which Enbridge is required to decommission pursuant to its consent decree — also causes ongoing environmental harm and safety risks.
Another court blocks attempt to stop Line 3 construction | MPR News --A federal judge says Enbridge Energy can proceed with construction on its contentious Line 3 oil pipeline, less than a week after a state appellate court panel also denied a request from Minnesota tribes and environmental groups to temporarily block work on the project.The Red Lake Band of Chippewa, White Earth Band of Ojibwe, the Sierra Club, and the Native American-led environmental group Honor the Earth filed suit in federal court in December, seeking to overturn a key permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.At the same time, the groups asked the court for an injunction to suspend construction on the pipeline until their lawsuit could be heard, citing “irreparable harm” if work on the project was allowed to proceed.U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly denied the request yesterday, writing the plaintiffs failed “to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits and that they will suffer irreparable harm.” The judge agreed that the construction of the 340-mile Line 3 across northern Minnesota will destroy wetlands and could result in other environmental harms.But she said delaying construction also causes safety risks, because that would result in the continued operation of the existing Line 3, which is corroding and requires extensive maintenance. Enbridge Energy is seeking to replace the old line with a new, larger one along a different route across the state. “Overall, the Court finds the balance of harms and public interest considerations to be a close call,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote.“Plaintiffs offer numerous examples of potential environmental harms stemming from the project’s construction. But the Corps presents persuasive evidence that delaying construction …also causes ongoing environmental harm and safety risks.” The judge cited an estimate from Enbridge that delaying construction for six months would result in a $322 million economic hit. The company says more than 5,000 people are currently working on the project.
New Campaign Targets Wall Street Funding to Stop Line 3 Tar Sands Pipeline -A coalition of climate groups ramped up their fight to stop Enbrige's Line 3 pipeline Monday with a new campaign to put a "deluge" of pressure on the financial institutions funding the tar sands project."Funding Line 3 is an unconscionable act at any time, but especially during a time when there is but a small window for us to move toward a zero-carbon economy in a way that ensures a future for the next generation simply because some JP Morgan or Bank of America executive prioritize profits over people is sickening," said Alec Connon, co-coordinator at Stop the Money Pipeline, in a statement."We won't let them take our future—not without a fight," Connon said.Canadian company Enbridge's plan to replace a corroding pipeline with a larger one totransport an estimated 760,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day from Alberta, Canada to Wisconsin, via North Dakota and Minnesota, has been met with strong opposition. Recent direct actions included water protectors locking themselves to an excavator at a work site in Minnesota earlier this month.The new campaign focuses on major U.S.banks including JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America, as well as international banks such as HSBC, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank, all of whom the Stop the Money Pipeline says (pdf) are underwriting the project. The climate activists have got their eyes on an upcoming deadline when the institutions must decide whether or not to renew Enbridge's loan for the pipeline replacement. Rainforest Action Network, a member of the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition, said the crucial role of the banks is clear. "Without any project finance associated with the pipeline construction, the banks providing Enbridge's general corporate financing are the supporters of this destructive project," RAN said in a December briefing."Less than two months from now, on March 31st, 18 banks have a $2.2 billion loan to Enbridge due for renewal," Stop the Money Pipeline co-coordinator Amy Gray said Monday. "Between now and then, we are going to do everything in our power to make it loud and clear to bank executives: They must walk away from Line 3―or there will be consequences."
Tribes, faith leaders petition Biden to end Enbridge Line 3 pipeline - Native tribes and faith leaders are together calling on President Joe Biden to intervene in the ongoing construction of the long-contested Line 3 pipeline in northern Minnesota. Nearly 3,800 people have signed a petition organized by Interfaith Power & Light. The petition, along with a separate letter signed by 345 faith leaders and organizations, asks that the president use executive actions to stop the $2.6 billion Enbridge Energy project — a 1,097-mile replacement pipeline that, once complete, would transport daily 915,000 barrels of Canadian tar sands oil, which produces larger quantities of greenhouse gas emissions than typical crude oil. Opponents of the Line 3 pipeline say it will exacerbate climate change — estimating its emissions will be the equivalent of pollution from 50 coal-fired power plants — and is unnecessary at a time when infrastructure investments should shift toward clean energy. Indigenous tribes, led by the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, add that Line 3, which would span 337 miles in Minnesota, violates their land rights under treaties and endangers wetlands where wild rice grows, and other places they consider sacred. Appealing to Biden's Catholic faith, the petition quotes Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," where he wrote that the Earth "now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted" through irresponsible use of the planet's resources. "In your inaugural address, you said 'a cry for survival comes from the planet itself.' We hear that cry," the interfaith petition reads, "it is being sung by our Indigenous siblings standing in the cold Minnesota winter against this destruction of the sacred. Join their prayer and stand against Line 3." The petition and letter are part of an ongoing campaign that has united the faith community with Indigenous tribes and environmentalists against the oil pipeline. In the six years since the fight against Line 3 began, faith groups and clergy have been present at prayer circles, public hearings and demonstrations where some have been arrested.
Minnesota Police Want a Pipeline Company to Pay for Weapons Claimed as PPE -A MINNESOTA SHERIFF’S OFFICE has requested that the tar sands pipeline company Enbridge reimburse the department for nearly $72,000 worth of riot gear and more than $10,000 in “less than lethal” weapons and ammunition, including tear gas, pepper spray, bean bag and sponge rounds, flash-bang devices, and batons. The sheriff’s office of Beltrami County, which sits at the center of an Indigenous-led fight to stop the construction of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline replacement project, labeled the weapons as “personal protective equipment.” The invoices, some of which were first described by the blog Healing Minnesota Stories, await review by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. The agency maintains an escrow account set up so that Enbridge can reimburse public safety agencies for expenses associated with Line 3 construction, especially costs for policing protests. In its construction permit, the utilities commission clarified that the fund “may not be used to reimburse expenses for equipment, except for personal protective gear for public safety personnel.” The commissioners did not define the term “personal protective gear.”“I don’t think by any stretch of the imagination batons could be considered PPE — or grenades,” said Tara Houska, an organizer with the anti-Line 3 Giniw Collective. “Those are obviously militarized equipment to be used to subdue and oppress the Indigenous people and allies that are resisting this project from going through our territory.”
Environmental Activists, Unions Conflict Over Oil Pipelines - Environmental activists and labor unions have worked together in the past, but are now on opposite sides of a heated dispute. The disagreement partly involves the building of an oil pipeline between Canada and the United States. The U.S. is currently the world’s largest producer of oil and gas. However, the administration of President Joe Biden aims to bring the country’s release of carbon gasses to net-zero by 2050. One of Biden’s first acts was to cancel the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The administration also said it is reducing the amount of oil and gas production permitted on federal land. The reactions to the administration’s moves show the difficulties of forming policy that affects many different groups. Climate activists celebrated the cancellation of the Keytone XL pipeline. But labor unions want to keep projects from being stopped. Mike Knisely is secretary and treasurer of the Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council. He said he has been asking state officials to talk to the president about the effects of his climate policy on union members. “I tell them they need to get back with Biden and ask if this all really has to happen on Day Two of the new administration,” Knisely said. He said he is unhappy that “there’s almost no common ground (on pipelines) with the environmental community.”Climate groups have had successes in recent years. They have persuaded large investors to reduce financial holdings in the fossil fuel industry. They also have sought to get banks to avoid financing oil drilling in Arctic areas of the United States. But a number of important labor unions have members who work on pipelines, in oil refineries and in industries tied to the energy industry. That includes the International Teamsters and North America’s Building Trades Unions. Those unions opposed the move to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline. They also are moving against threats to other pipelines. Environmental groups want to block oil imports from Canada’s oil sands. They also are intensifying efforts to close three other pipelines. Two pipelines, known as Line 3 and Line 5, are operated by the Canadian company Enbridge. The company Energy Transfer’s Dakota Access Pipeline, or DAPL, is the other. Unlike the Keystone XL, the three other pipelines are currently operating. The Enbridge lines bring oil and fuel from Canada. The DAPL sends oil from North Dakota to the Midwestern states and Gulf Coast. Legal cases and government rules threaten all three pipelines. A White House spokesman said the Biden administration is considering a recent court decision that called for an environmental study of the DAPL.
Senator Manchin urges Biden to reverse opposition to Keystone XL pipeline (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Senate energy committee, Joe Manchin, on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden to reverse his opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, saying the project provides union jobs and is safer than transporting the oil via trucks and trains. Biden revoked a permit for the pipeline which would transport 830,000 barrels a day of carbon-intensive heavy crude from Canada’s Alberta to Nebraska. It was part of a flurry of Biden’s executive orders aimed at curbing climate change. In a letter to fellow Democrat Biden, the West Virginia senator said that even without the pipeline, the oil would still find its way to the United States by rail and truck, and pointed to U.S. data showing those methods result in more spills than pipelines. “Pipelines continue to be the safest mode to transport our oil and natural gas resources and they support thousands of high-paying, American union jobs,” Manchin said. Opponents of TC Energy Corp’s pipeline project say building such infrastructure would lock in decades of dependence on oil, making it harder to transition to clean energy. Manchin said he supports “responsible” energy infrastructure development including the Mountain Valley pipeline, which would take natural gas from Manchin’s state to Virginia. Manchin’s support for big pipelines underscores the difficulty that Biden could have moving wide-ranging climate legislation through Congress given Democrats have only the slimmest possible majority in the Senate.
Alberta oil's U.S. allies try long-shot measures to get Keystone XL built | CBC News - Pipeline proponents write letters, try procedural tactics in U.S. Congress. Do they have any hope of success? Some American politicians are still making long-shot efforts to revive the Keystone XL pipeline project, cancelled last month by U.S. President Joe Biden. On Tuesday, Biden received letters from several parties urging him to reconsider, including state-level Republicans and the powerful Democrat who leads the Senate energy committee.In addition, a pipeline measure, sponsored by Republican Steve Daines of Montana a few days ago looked like it would pass in the U.S. Senate but ultimately failed.In a marathon all-night voting session last week, the Senate approved a budget amendment that called for the creation of a fund to improve relations with Canada, related to Keystone XL.The cancelled 1,897-kilometre pipeline was to have carried 830,000 barrels of crude a day from the storage terminal in Hardisty, Alta., to Nebraska, where it would connect to the original Keystone pipeline to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.The budget amendment was an attempt to stick pipeline construction into the massive COVID-19 stimulus bill. Democrats are preparing a pandemic recovery plan via a fast-track process known as budget reconciliation, which requires just a 51-vote majority to pass instead of the 60 votes required for most bills in the U.S. Senate.The catch with reconciliation: it's only allowed for budget bills. So the reference to a Canada-U.S. budget fund was a procedural gambit to get it tacked onto the spending bill. In any case, it didn't last long: the Democratic majority removed Daines's measure in a subsequent vote. Now, Republicans are talking about other legal options. Fourteen attorneys general from Republican-led states sent Biden a letter on Tuesday saying they were reviewing legal options in the pipeline battle. Written by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, the letter accused Biden of cancelling the project without explaining why his move was in the national interest or offering evidence that it will lower carbon emissions or create green-energy jobs.
Local businesses and people impacted by the loss of Keystone XL Pipeline voice their concerns (KELO) — South Dakota Congressman, Dusty Johnson, and two of North Dakota’s State Representatives gathered Monday with local businesses affected by the cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline.TransCanada Energy first proposed the $8 billion Keystone XL Pipeline in 2008. Phillip is one of many communities along the 1,200-mile project’s proposed path. Last month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order halting the construction of the pipeline which would have delivered crude oil from Western Canada to Midwest refineries.Today more than a dozen people from the Black Hills area came to share their concerns with State Representatives. “I don’t want it to end here. I’ve been fighting for this and making phone calls, I won’t give up, it’s what we need,” Jeff Birkeland, West Central Electric, said.Owner Tricia Burns says the Ignite Wellness Studio has potentially lost 165 memberships which is about $10,700 in revenue.“There’s no certainty at all with anything it seems anymore. So what does the future hold? If we continue to lose jobs and people continue to leave, will we have enough locals to support our business? It’s some difficult conversations,” Burns said. Even more than the lost revenue, Burns believes the town has lost some great community members.“It’s not just the money but it’s the lives too,” Burns said. Not everyone opposes the President’s executive order, in fact some celebrated it. Environmentalists and many tribal leaders don’t want the project to move forward because there could be oil spills and it could make climate change worse. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is so opposed to the project, in 2019 the tribe issued a resolution saying all Keystone XL trucks must immediately turn around and leave the reservation.
Did Biden's Order To Halt Keystone XL Pipeline 'Destroy' 11,000 Jobs? - Snopes.com - Claim: U.S. President Joe Biden's Jan. 20, 2021, executive order to halt construction of the Keystone XL pipeline "destroyed" 11,000 jobs. In October 2020, TC Energy, the firm behind the pipeline, projected that it would hire 11,000 people to work on the pipeline in the coming year. Additionally, two union leaders said 1,000 members would immediately lose their jobs and another 10,000 future positions will no longer exist, totaling 11,000, as a result of Biden's order. However, there was no evidence to definitely prove if, or to what extent, 11,000 positions would have been filled without Biden's order, considering multiple hurdles for pipeline proponents. The exact number of jobs eliminated, or employment opportunities that were planned for but won't be created because of Biden's decision, remained unknown.
Cold as Ice - Frigid Weather Blasting into Propane Country. Markets Brace for Supply Disruptions - A blast of Arctic air plunges the Midwest and Northeast into deep freeze. Already-low propane inventories result in supply shortages in local markets. Propane transport trucks move product hundreds of miles from storage hubs to replenish regional terminals as markets scramble to meet surging propane demand. Are we talking about the nightmarish polar vortex winter of 2013-14, when regional propane inventories were sucked down dangerously low and Conway, KS, propane prices skyrocketed to almost $5.00/gal? No. We are talking about now. This is a description of what is happening today in U.S. propane country –– that belt of northern states that depend heavily on propane for heating. But this is not 2013-14. Things have changed. So in today’s blog we’ll explore how the latest polar vortex could be quite different than that weather-driven crisis seven years ago. We’ve been particularly interested in the propane market this winter, starting with Now You See It, where we warned of the possibility of a coming propane price squeeze. The big issue was exports, which were running at all-time highs and had the potential to deplete inventories at record rates. We worried that average days-supply, when calculated using both domestic demand and exports, had dropped to a five-year low, and that the market could get very tight. By January, as we detailed in Big Panama With A Purple Hat Band, that was just how things were playing out, with markets further complicated by long delays at the Panama Canal and, as a consequence, skyrocketing shipping rates. Then, a couple of weeks ago in It's All Over Now, we looked at how frigid weather in Asia had pulled even more U.S. propane into export markets, and how that resulted in a Mont Belvieu price spike up to 95 cents/gallon (c/gal), and over a dollar per gallon at the Conway hub in Kansas. We wrapped up that blog by stating the blindingly obvious: “The short term is all in the hands of Mother Nature.”
Mineral owners seek lawmakers' help in addressing oil, gas royalty concerns -- Some North Dakota mineral owners report they have seen as much as two-thirds of the oil and gas royalties they expect to receive in a given month disappear as Bakken producers take deductions to move the products down the processing chain, and they’re asking for lawmakers to help stop the practice. The oil industry is pushing back, saying that such change might cause oil development to dry up and would discourage companies from investing in pipelines and other infrastructure needed to accommodate gas produced alongside oil in the Bakken. The issue is complex and garnered numerous questions Monday from legislators on the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee when they heard from supporters and opponents of Senate Bill 2217, whose lead sponsor is Rep. Brad Bekkedahl, R-Williston. The Williston Basin Royalty Owners Association, led by former Rep. Bob Skarphol, R-Tioga, is backing a bill to address the deductions, which are sometimes taken from royalties to help pay for post-production costs. The expenses have to do with transporting oil or gathering gas from wells, compressing it and moving it to a processing plant where its various components are separated out into more marketable products. Skarphol said royalty owners familiar with deductions “will express their disdain” whenever the topic comes up. “Disdain is a polite way to say it,” he said. “Many royalty owners find the royalties statement so complex they do not even make the effort to decipher what is happening. They simply deposit the check and stick the statement in a drawer. Some royalty owners are afraid if they complain, their wells could be shut down and their royalties would end.” Deductions for post-production costs are not applied consistently across the Bakken -- some oil and gas companies take them at a variety of rates, and others don’t. Whether a mineral owner sees deductions also depends on the specific language of the lease he or she signed with the company developing the minerals. The bill would prohibit the deductions unless a lease explicitly allows for the practice. It also would give mineral owners the right to audit the records of the oil and gas company paying them royalties and require the business to comply. Violators could be punished with a Class B misdemeanor and a $10,000 penalty.
Equinor Sells Bakken Position as Production Fades - Equinor has agreed to sell its Bakken Shale operation for $900 million, ending a decade long struggle to make money in the US shale oil business. The Norwegian oil company is exiting assets in North Dakota and Montana after a decade of development. A Houston-based private equity producer will take over the shale fields. The buyer, Grayson Mill Energy, is acquiring wells producing around 48,000 BOE/D and 242,000 operated and non-operated acres in North Dakota and Montana. The Norwegian oil company’s remaining shale holdings are in the gas producing Marcellus and Utica Shale formations in the eastern US, which it has been paring in recent years. “We are taking action to improve the profitability of Equinor’s international oil and gas business,” said Al Cook, executive vice president of development and production international at Equinor. He added that Grayson Mill agreed to hire Equinor’s Bakken field team and a “significant number of the support teams.” “By divesting our Bakken position, we are realizing proceeds that can be deployed towards more competitive assets in our portfolio, enabling us to deliver increased value creation for our shareholders,” said Anders Opedal, president and chief executive officer of Equinor. Equinor is selling for a fraction of the $4.4 billion price it paid to enter the Bakken in 2011, when it bought Brigham Exploration at a premium during the early shale boom. The Bakken sale completes is retreat from which began with the sale of its Eagle Ford Shale operation in 2019 for $325 to Repsol.
More than 20,000 gallons of oil spill near Williston — An estimated 21,000 gallons of crude oil spilled Tuesday, Feb. 2, at an oil well in Williams County, N.D., according to a news release from the state Department of Environmental Quality.Norwegian firm Equinor Energy reported the spill about two miles east of Williston occurred due to a valve failure. By the time the spill was reported, all but 420 gallons of oil had been recovered on-site. The department reports no impact to nearby farmland. Department officials will continue inspecting the site and monitoring remediation efforts, according to the release.
More than 10,000 gallons of oil spill from pipeline in Dunn County, North Dakota — An estimated 10,500 gallons of crude oil spilled Tuesday, Feb. 2, from a pipeline in Dunn County, N.D., according to a news release from the state Department of Environmental Quality. Wyoming-based Bridger Pipeline reported the spill due to a pipeline fracture about 11 miles northwest of Killdeer, N.D. About 420 gallons of oil flowed onto nearby rangeland, which can render the land temporarily unusable for agriculture. Department officials will continue inspecting the site and monitoring remediation efforts, according to the release.
Equinor sells U.S. Bakken shale assets, posts record loss for 2020 (Reuters) - Norway’s Equinor has agreed to sell its assets in the U.S. Bakken shale oil province after a decade of multibillion-dollar losses and criticism for poor investment decisions. Equinor will sell the assets in the states of North Dakota and Montana to Grayson Mill Energy, a company backed by private equity firm EnCap Investments, for around $900 million. The Bakken region was developed during last decade’s U.S. shale boom, and currently produces more than a million barrels of oil a day, roughly half the peak reached in late 2019. The region has a high per-barrel cost of production and investor demands for capital discipline have caused producers to throttle back output since the coronavirus pandemic erupted. “Equinor is optimising its oil and gas portfolio to strengthen profitability and make it more robust for the future,” CEO Anders Opedal said in a statement. “We are realising proceeds that can be deployed towards more competitive assets in our portfolio,” he added. Opedal declined to say whether Equinor planned to sell more foreign assets, but added it was happy with its remaining U.S. operations. “We still have a good position in the Marcellus and also in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico,” he told Reuters. “We will also focus on our operations in Brazil and Britain, and seek to improve our international business as operators or partners.”
Equinor Exits The Bakken Shale As It Books Record Loss -Equinor is selling all its assets in the Bakken shale play as part of a strategy to boost the profitability of its international upstream business, the Norwegian major said on Wednesday, while the oil major records a net loss for 2020.Equinor has agreed to sell its assets in the Bakken, including all operated and non-operated acreage and midstream infrastructure, to Grayson Mill Energy, which is backed by EnCap Investments, for only US$900 million. It paid $4.7 billion for the assets in 2011.“Equinor is optimising its oil and gas portfolio to strengthen profitability and make it more robust for the future. By divesting our Bakken position we are realising proceeds that can be deployed towards more competitive assets in our portfolio, enabling us to deliver increased value creation for our shareholders,” Equinor’s president and CEO Anders Opedal said in a statement. The Bakken sale is the latest Equinor divestment of onshore U.S. assets following the sale of its assets in the Eagle Ford in Texas in 2019.Equinor commissioned a report on its U.S. business to PwC last year, and that report showed in October that “Equinor has recorded large financial losses in the US. These were mainly driven by an ambitious growth strategy and investments that were based on overly optimistic price assumptions,” Equinor’s board chair Jon Erik Reinhardsen said at the time. Apart from the Bakken sale, Equinor announced on Wednesday its Q4 and full-year 2020 results, reporting a record net loss of US$5.5 billion for 2020, compared to a net income of US$1.85 billion for 2019. The fourth-quarter loss soared to US$2.4 billion from a loss of US$230 million for Q4 2019. For this year, Equinor expects free cash flow before capital distribution at around US$6 billion, assuming $50 oil, chief financial officer Svein Skeie said in a presentation. The company is cutting its capex plans by around 15 percent compared to previous guidance, with annual capex expected at US$9 billion-US$10 billion this year and next.
US Army Corps asks for two-month delay to decide whether to shutter DAPL | S&P Global Platts — The US Army Corps of Engineers requested a two-month delay until April 9 to decide whether to shutter the Dakota Access Pipeline, triggering a further strengthening in Bakken crude differentials as traders considered the possibility of the Bakken Shale's primary crude oil artery closing. Fresh off of canceling the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, a federal judge agreed to postpone a Feb. 10 court hearing until April 9 in a move that could give the Biden administration an ample timetable to consider how it might take the unprecedented step to close the 4-year-old, 570,000 b/d pipeline, at least temporarily, while a more stringent, court-ordered Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, review is conducted that could easily extend into 2022. Bakken crude differentials, which had already strengthened ahead of the hearing, continued moving higher Feb. 9. S&P Global Platts assessed Bakken barrels at Williston, North Dakota, that are injected into DAPL, at WTI CMA minus $1.25/b, up 10 cents from the Feb. 8 assessment and the strongest in eight months. Bakken crude at Clearbrook, Minnesota, was assessed at WTI CMA minus 35 cents/b, up 15 cents from Feb. 8 and the strongest in six months. A federal appeals court ruling in January essentially confirmed the Dakota Access Pipeline is operating illegally without the necessary legal permitting, and that it is up to the Biden-led Corps of Engineers to determine whether it will let the Energy Transfer-operated pipeline continue to flow crude oil while the environmental review determines whether the needed easement is deserved. The plaintiffs, led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, supported the requested delay. The DAPL case is closely watched by industry and environmental observers alike because it could potentially set a standard for attempting to close existing pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure. Biden has never publicly weighed in on DAPL, but Vice President Kamala Harris and Biden's nominee for Interior secretary, US Rep. Deb Haaland, a Democrat from New Mexico, have both supported shutting the pipeline. Accord to the motion in court requesting the delay, "Department of Justice personnel require time to brief the new administration officials, and those officials will need sufficient time to learn the background of and familiarize themselves with this lengthy and detailed litigation."
Indigenous Youth Embark on Sub-Zero, 93-Mile Run to Protest Dakota Access Pipeline -- Despite sub-zero temperatures, group of Indigenous youth on Tuesday kicked off a 93-mile run to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline and demand that the Biden administration #BuildBackFossilFree. The run began shortly after 8am CST from a drill pad in Timber Lake, South Dakota—where the youth braved a wind chill of -26°F (-32°C)—and will end at the Oceti Sakowin Camp site, the center of heated resistance to the pipeline in 2016. Standing Rock youth are sharing a live stream of the event. "In 2016 a group of us youth from the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Nations had the courage and were brave enough to stand up to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) that was going to cross our lands, threatening not only our drinking water supply but the land we have called home for generations. Millions of people from all walks of life stood with Standing Rock," Annalee Rain Yellowhammer, Standing Rock Sioux Youth Council vice president, said in statement last week announcing the run. "Mr. President Joe Biden," she said, "you have the opportunity to be brave and take courage; shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline." The group is encouraging people to show support by taking actions Tuesday including making "some noise on social media" and calling the White House to pressure Biden to shut down the pipeline, which is operating without a federal permit. "They are running because of one simple fact," Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network wrote in a Wednesday email to supporters. "DAPL IS AN ILLEGAL PIPELINE." That legality is set to come under further legal scrutiny at a hearing Thursday. Last month, a federal appeals court sided with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe by upholding a lower court's ruling that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) violated federal law in granting an easement for DAPL to cross a federal reservoir along the Missouri River. According to the Associated Press: U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has set a status hearing for Feb. 10 to discuss the impact of [the] opinion by the D.C. Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals that upheld Boasberg's ruling ordering the Corps to conduct a full environmental impact review. Opponents of the pipeline want it shut down immediately. Boasberg said in his one-sentence order that the Corps needs to show how it "expects to proceed" without a federal permit granting easement for the $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile (1,886 kilometer) pipeline to cross beneath Lake Oahe, a reservoir along the Missouri River, which is maintained by the Corps.
Judge delays hearing on permit for Dakota Access pipeline (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday agreed to push back a hearing about whether the Dakota Access oil pipeline should be allowed to continue operating without a key permit while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts an environmental review on the project. The Corps filed a motion Monday to postpone the Wednesday hearing in order to allow Biden administration officials more time to familiarize themselves with the case, including the 2016 lawsuit filed by the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in an attempt to stop construction. The pipeline began operating in 2017 after Donald Trump took office. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reset the hearing for April 9. Neither the tribes nor Texas-based Energy Transfer, which owns the pipeline, objected to the delay. Boasberg said he wants the Corps to explain how it “expects to proceed” without a federal permit granting easement for the $3.8 billion pipeline to cross beneath Lake Oahe, a reservoir along the Missouri River that is maintained by the Corps. Boasberg in April 2020 ordered further environmental study after determining the Corps had not adequately considered how an oil spill under the Missouri River might affect Standing Rock’s fishing and hunting rights, or whether it might disproportionately affect the tribal community.
North Dakota oil prices surge and output stalls as pipeline's fate awaited (Reuters) - Crude prices in North Dakota’s Bakken shale region have surged to their highest levels in about six months as producers in the region rein in output and amid doubt over the fate of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the main artery running oil out of the region.North Dakota is the second only to Texas in terms of U.S. oil producing states, with about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of output. Harsh weather in the region is restraining production and well completion, which had already been hampered by poor demand in 2020 caused by coronavirus. Concern about how U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration will handle the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), which can transport more than 550,000 bpd out of the Bakken, is also boosting prices. The possibility that the line could be shut down is prompting some producers to ask for higher premiums for their oil, fearing buyers may renege on agreements, dealers said. Crude output in North Dakota is still about 20% lower than the historic high of 1.5 million bpd hit in late 2019. While production from wells more than one year old has recovered, output from newer wells has not, because of a lower rate of completions. Bakken crude in Clearbrook, Minnesota strengthened to trade just 35 cents under benchmark futures on Tuesday, the strongest since early August, dealers said. The state’s rig count has been flat at around 11 since October, according to Baker Hughes data. Output is expected to slide by nearly 20,000 bpd, the biggest decline since May, to about 1.2 million bpd in February, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Prices have risen in part due to the frigid temperatures that have plunged below 0 degrees Fahrenheit in recent days. Cold weather can cause equipment to freeze and cut production further, traders said. Meanwhile, DAPL has been embroiled in legal battles over the past five years, and faces new threats from the Biden administration. The latter has already taken several steps to restrict new oil and gas development, though it has not yet tried to shut a pipeline currently in operation.
Burgum says Corps should argue for keeping pipeline running (AP) — North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum is asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to argue for keeping the Dakota Access oil pipeline operating while it conducts an environmental review on the project. A federal judge has asked the Corps to explain how “it expects to proceed” now that court rulings have determined that the pipeline is operating without a permit to cross beneath Lake Oahe, a reservoir along the Missouri River that is maintained by the Corps. A hearing on the matter originally scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed to April 9. Burgum’s letter to the Corps said that shutting down the pipeline during the review “would have devastating consequences for the state” and a “chilling effect on infrastructure investment” across the country. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in April 2020 ordered further environmental study. He said the Corps had not adequately considered how an oil spill under the Missouri River might affect fishing and hunting rights for the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, which straddles the North and South Dakota border, or whether it might disproportionately affect the tribal community. Burgum said to stop the flow of oil after more than three years would be a blow to a country that is in “desperate need of infrastructure upgrades, jobs and economic activity to accelerate recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
West Coast lawmakers try again for drilling ban - U.S. senators from the West Coast, looking to build on the Biden administration’s pause on new offshore oil leases, are again pushing for a ban on drilling off Washington, Oregon and California. At the end of January Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both D-Wash., introduced the “West Coast Ocean Protection Act” to permanently ban offshore drilling in federal waters off the West Coast. Cantwell is a senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and in a position to push the measure there. Murray and Cantwell say their intent is to make permanent an existing moratorium on drill leasing in those federal waters, to prevent a repeat of the Trump administration’s attempt to reopen them for oil and gas exploration. “The Pacific Ocean provides vital natural resources for Washington state, and offshore drilling puts everything from local jobs and ecosystems at risk,” Murray said in a Jan. 29 joint statement with Cantwell. “We need this permanent ban to safeguard our coastal environment and our state’s economy, including fisheries, outdoor recreation, and so much more.” “Washington’s $30 billion maritime economy supports over 146,000 jobs from fisheries, trade, tourism and recreation—but it could all be devastated in an instant by an oil spill,” said Cantwell. “We must permanently ban offshore drilling on the West Coast to protect our coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems against the risk of an oil spill.” Meanwhile, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is considering potential offshore wind energy areas that could be mapped out for leasing to developers. Compared the relatively shallow outer continental shelf off the U.S. East Coast – where up to 16 wind energy project are already planned – the deeper Pacific Ocean waters would need floating wind turbine technology to advance before wind power arrays are constructed.
Chevron Refinery Dumps Oil Into San Francisco Bay -A Chevron oil refinery in Richmond, California dumped an estimated 600 gallons of petroleum into San Francisco Bay Tuesday.The leak was not detected until an oil sheen on the water near the refinery was noticed around 3 p.m. Many local residents complained of the fumes from the spill, which eventually washed up on shore."It smelled like somebody spilled gasoline in front of my house. It smelled very very badly for [the] whole day," Margaret Berczynski, told ABC7-KGO. "I'm really devastated. I cannot take my kids to the water... I'm really scared," she added.Officials warned the fumes could cause ear, nose, and throat irritation. Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia harshly criticized the refinery. "It is unacceptable to have this happen in our community," he said. "It causes harm to people's health. It causes harm to bird life, wildlife and marine life." The cause of the spill is still unknown.As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle:The investigation into the spill is a multi-agency effort involving Chevron, the U.S. Coast Guard, California Office of Spill Prevention and Response, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Contra Costa County, Chevron officials told The Chronicle. Other state and federal agencies "may elect to join the investigation," said Tyler Kruzich, a Chevron spokesperson.Kruzich told The Chronicle that Chevron officials are "developing an estimate of how much hydrocarbon was released, in addition to testing the hydrocarbon to determine its composition."County Supervisor John Gioia — who said on Facebook that there was a 5 gallon-per-minute leak of a petroleum product at the Chevron Richmond Long Wharf — said the leak started around 2:40 p.m. and continued until about 4:30 p.m. For a deeper dive: ABC-7 KGO News, East Bay Times, KTU, SFGate, KCRA Sacramento, KPIX-CBS5, San Francisco Chronicle
Oil spill at Chevron refinery in Contra Costa County prompts public health warning - Contra Costa County authorities issued a public health advisory Tuesday afternoon after a Chevron refinery in Richmond began spilling a petroleum product into the San Francisco Bay. Tyler Kruzich, a spokesman for Chevron, said refinery employees first noticed a sheen in the water about 3 p.m. The company immediately started working to contain the leak and notified the various state and federal agencies that respond to oil spills, he said. A spill report from the state’s Office of Emergency Services said a refinery pipeline was leaking roughly five gallons per minute of an oil and gasoline mixture into the bay. Footage from the Bay Area ABC7 helicopter showed an iridescent sheen hugging the coastline and extending into the bay. AdvertisementThe leak was stopped about 5 p.m., according to Chevron and Contra Costa County officials. It remained unclear what caused it, the spill report said. The extent of the spill was unclear Tuesday evening. The state report, which was generated at 4 p.m., said about 100 gallons had been spilled. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, a regulatory agency that dispatched inspectors to the scene, wrote on Twitter that about 600 gallons of a “petroleum and water mixture” had leaked. Eric Laughlin, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said it was too early to say how much petroleum had entered the bay. Officials were working Tuesday night to contain the spread of the oil and identify delicate habitats at particular risk, he said. State authorities were weighing whether to issue a fisheries closure for the area.
Oil May Not Be Chevron’s Largest Business In 20 Years - While oil and gas will certainly be needed for decades to come, the oil and gas division may not be Chevron’s top business in 20 years, although it will still be a very big part of the U.S. supermajor’s operations, chief executive Michael Wirth told CNN Business in an interview published on Monday.Big Oil, especially the European majors, have rushed to announce increased investments in renewable energy, and some even plan to reduce their overall oil and gas production. BP, for example, said last year that it would boost its investment in low-carbon energy ten times to US$5 billion a year and reduce oil and gas production by 40 percent by 2030. The biggest oil corporations in the Americas, including U.S. supermajors Exxon and Chevron, have not promised to become net-zero emission businesses by 2050, unlike all major oil firms in Europe—BP, Shell, Eni, Equinor, Total, and Repsol, which have raced to announce green strategies over the past year.In the Americas, Occidental Petroleum became the first major U.S. oil firm to announce a net-zero emissions goal at the end of last year.For Chevron, “Oil and gas will still be a very big part. Will it be the biggest part? Time will tell,” Wirth told CNN Business in the interview.Chevron will not be investing in solar and wind power, Wirth told CNN. This is in contrast with European oil majors, who are building solar and wind power portfolios as they look to capture larger shares of the electricity market.Chevron’s bet is on carbon utilization technologies, renewable natural gas, and reducing emissions from its operations. “We increased actions to advance a lower carbon future, abating emissions in our operations, starting up our first renewable natural gas plant and investing in low-carbon technologies like our recent announcement with carbon utilization start-up, Blue Planet,” Wirth said on the Q4 earnings call last month.Oil and gas will still be a large part of the energy system, and “somehow demand will need to be met. And we think it should be met by those that can do it in a way that has the lowest carbon impact,” the executive said on the call.
Shell Hits Its Own Peak Oil, Plans to Reduce Output – WSJ - Royal Dutch Shell said it would start reducing oil production, calling an end to a decades-old strategy centered on pumping more hydrocarbons as it and other energy giants seek to capitalize on a shift to low-carbon power. The move marks a historic shift for the company, which after starting out importing seashells began selling kerosene in the 19th century and had sought to grow its oil business ever since. Until recent years, it pursued expensive, environmentally challenging projects in Canadian oil sands and Alaska, driven by fears the world could run out of oil. Now, it sees demand faltering long before oil runs out. Shell said Thursday its oil production had already peaked and it expects output to decline 1-2% a year, including from asset sales, reducing its exposure to commodity prices over the longer term. The company plans to cut its production of traditional fuels such as diesel and gasoline by 55% in the next decade. At the same time, the company said it would double the amount of electricity it sells and roll out thousands of new electric-vehicle charging points. The strategy follows similar plans from rivals BP PLC and Total SE to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels while expanding in renewable power such as wind and solar, partly in response to growth in regulatory and investor pressure. By contrast, U.S. companies Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. don’t plan to invest substantially in electricity and both say the world will need vast amounts of fossil fuels for decades to come. Exxon does, though, plan to invest in technology to reduce carbon emissions. However, the pivot to low-carbon energy is seen by analysts as challenging because it requires investments in areas where major oil companies don’t necessarily have a competitive advantage and that have lower returns. Renewables projects typically generate returns of around 10%, compared with the traditional 15% targeted on oil-and-gas projects. As such, major oil companies’ green ambitions have so far failed to ignite enthusiasm among investors, at a time when the energy industry is grappling with the fallout from the pandemic, which prompted BP and Shell to cut their dividends. The share prices of Europe’s three largest oil companies have fallen dramatically since Covid-19 sapped demand and sent oil prices lower, with Shell down 35% over the past year, BP 45% lower and Total down 24%. Shell shares traded 2% lower Thursday. Shell sought to allay any concerns about its new strategy Thursday, saying fossil-fuel production would remain a material source of revenue into the 2030s, while reiterating its policy to increase its dividend by 4% each year. “By accessing the enormous opportunities that the future of energy holds we will create the conditions for future share price appreciation,” said Chief Executive Ben van Beurden. “We expect to radically transform Shell over the next 30 years.”
USGS Estimates 1.4 Tcf of Conventional Natural Gas in Alaska's Western North Slope -- The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said Friday it estimates 1.4 Tcf of conventional natural gas resources are technically recoverable in formations west of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A), the first time such an assessment has been released for the area. Despite the North Slope’s abundant petroleum resources, the region is not believed to contain any recoverable oil deposits. The North Slope’s Prudhoe Bay field, for example, remains the most prolific in U.S. history, with more than 12 billion bbl produced, according to BP plc. The USGS study suggested that while oil deposits were formed in the NPR-A area, they were transformed when geologic temperatures increased and turned them to natural gas. “This new assessment shows that we still have much to learn about Alaska’s North Slope,” said USGS’s Sarah Ryker, associate director for Energy and Minerals. “There has been speculation for decades that this area west of the NPR-A might be rich in oil. However, the limited geologic data we have indicate the rocks assessed contain modest natural gas, but likely no oil. “That finding helps the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the State of Alaska and the Alaska Native Corporations understand the natural resources that they manage.”The latest assessment was one in a series ordered by the Department of the Interior under the Trump administration in 2017. President Biden has sincetemporarily frozen leasing and permitting on federal lands and offshore waters. The USGS had not previously assessed areas west of the NPR-A for conventional resources. Other formations in the region were included in both a 2017 assessment of conventional resources of the Cretaceous Nanushuk and Torok formations in the NPR-A and adjacent areas, and a 2012 assessment ofunconventional resources of the entire North Slope. The USGS also released an assessment of conventional resources of the Central North Slope in 2020. The latest assessment only included areas adjacent to the NPR-A, not any formations that lie within it. However modest, the new assessment shows more natural gas resources could be tapped on the North Slope at a time when developers are working to rejuvenate liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the state.
Alaska LNG Project Lands Private Partner, Plans to Seek Federal Funding to Launch $5.9B First Phase - Alaska is pursuing federal funding and partnering with a private firm to jumpstart a long-simmering pipeline project to export North Slope natural gas. Tim Fitzpatrick, spokesman for the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corp. (AGDC), told NGI that Alaska aims to begin the first phase of the state’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline and export plant by partnering with an as-yet unnamed private firm and by applying for federal pandemic stimulus and infrastructure funds.AGDC may also seek defense funding because a large military installation in the state would be able to switch from coal to natural gas if the project is completed, Fitzpatrick said. AGDC anticipates that federal funds would cover approximately 75% of costs of the first phase, he said, with the private partner paying the rest and taking the lead on the project once funded.AGDC said it and the private firm would build a $5.9 billion natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to Fairbanks. It would span about 500 miles and could begin delivering gas to the Fairbanks area by 2025, AGDC said.Frank Richards, AGDC president, said that by breaking the project into phases, AGDC hopes to complete the key first portion of the pipeline largely with federal investments. With that work underway, he said, the overall project would gain momentum and likely be viewed as lower risk, opening a door for more private investments to complete the overall project.“We’re calling strategic parties right now,” Richards told NGI. “That’s ongoing.”
Court order delays construction at ConocoPhillips' Alaska project (Reuters) - A weekend court ruling has temporarily blocked winter construction at a huge ConocoPhillips oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason issued an order Saturday barring ConocoPhillips from starting planned gravel mining and gravel-road construction at its Willow project. With an estimated 590 million barrels of oil and the potential to produce 160,000 barrels per day, Willow would be the westernmost operating oil field in Arctic Alaska. First oil is planned as early as 2024, according to ConocoPhillips. Gleason’s injunction came in response to an environmental lawsuit claiming the Trump administration’s Willow approval failed to properly consider wildlife and climate-change impacts. The judge last week rejected environmentalists’ request for a more sweeping injunction. Her new order halts gravel-related work until at least Feb. 20, giving the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals time to weigh in. ConocoPhillips had intended to start blasting gravel on Feb. 12, according to Gleason’s order. The plaintiffs have shown “there is a strong likelihood of irreparable environmental consequences once blasting operations commence,” the order said. Additionally, the plaintiffs’ arguments concerning climate change “could well be likely to succeed on the merits” at the appeals court, Gleason said. Gleason’s order does not stop construction of seasonal ice roads, which melt away in summer. Plaintiff representatives noted that Biden is reviewing Trump administration oil policies, including the approval of Willow. “We’re hopeful this terrible project can be stopped, either by the courts or the Biden administration’s review,” Kristen Monsell, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement on Sunday. ConocoPhillips Alaska spokeswoman Rebecca Boys said by email that the company does not comment on pending litigation.
'Invisible killer': fossil fuels caused 8.7m deaths globally in 2018, research finds --Air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil was responsible for 8.7m deaths globally in 2018, a staggering one in five of all people who died that year, new research has found.Countries with the most prodigious consumption of fossil fuels to power factories, homes and vehicles are suffering the highest death tolls, with the study finding more than one in 10 deaths in both the US and Europe were caused by the resulting pollution, along with nearly a third of deaths in eastern Asia, which includes China. Death rates in South America and Africa were significantly lower.The enormous death toll is higher than previous estimates and surprised even the study’s researchers. “We were initially very hesitant when we obtained the results because they are astounding, but we are discovering more and more about the impact of this pollution,” said Eloise Marais, a geographer at University College London and a study co-author. “It’s pervasive. The more we look for impacts, the more we find.”The 8.7m deaths in 2018 represent a “key contributor to the global burden of mortality and disease”, states the study, which is the result of collaboration between scientists at Harvard University, the University of Birmingham, the University of Leicester and University College London. The death toll exceeds the combined total of people who die globally each year from smoking tobaccoplus those who die of malaria.Scientists have established links between pervasive air pollution from burning fossil fuels and cases of heart disease, respiratory ailments and even the loss of eyesight. Without fossil fuel emissions, the average life expectancy of the world’s population would increase by more than a year, while global economic and health costs would fall by about $2.9tn.The new estimate of deaths, published in the journal Environmental Research, is higher than other previous attempts to quantify the mortal cost of fossil fuels. A major report by the Lancet in 2019, for example, found 4.2m annual deaths from air pollution coming from dust and wildfire smoke, as well as fossil fuel combustion. This new research deploys a more detailed analysis of the impact of sooty airborne particles thrown out by power plants, cars, trucks and other sources. This particulate matter is known as PM2.5 as the particles are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter – or about 30 times smaller than the diameter of the average human hair. These tiny specks of pollution, once inhaled, lodge in the lungs and can cause a variety of health problems.
Feds release report on crude oil leak near Herschel - A Transportation Safety Board investigation has found several factors contributed to an oil spill at an Enbridge pumping station near Herschel, Sask. The TSB released the final report on its investigation into the spill on Wednesday. The equivalent of about 300 barrels of crude oil leaked on April 30, 2020, including about 60 barrels’ worth that seeped off the Enbridge property into a ditch running along a road near the pumping station. The report found that the problem originated with a ruptured hose in a system that injects chemicals meant to ease the flow of oil through several of the company’s pipelines, including Enbridge Line 3, which moves crude to Eastern Canada and the U.S. Midwest. A heat tracing system failed, which is believed to have allowed the hose to freeze overnight. This likely caused a buildup of pressure, leading the hose to fail, the report stated. The leak was too small to be detected by remote monitoring systems in Edmonton, so it wasn’t found until workers arrived at the site in the morning. A piece of hose that failed at an Enbridge pumping station near Herschel, Sask., contributing to an April 2020 spill of about 300 barrels’ worth of crude oil. Annotations on the photo were done by staff from the Transportation Safety Board. TSB investigators noted the spill was a result of overlapping failures in various systems. Enbridge’s own hazard assessment for the pumping station noted the potential for freezing to cause the hose to rupture. However, the TSB investigation found the company only saw the potential for a chemical leak and failed to identify a design flaw allowing crude oil from Line 3 to back up into the hose. Lastly, the investigation found that, despite a network of berms, ditches, control valves and containment ponds meant to handle spills orders of magnitude larger than the one that occurred, a worker failing to close a control valve in the station’s storm water release system at the end of the day on April 29 allowed spilled oil to get off the property.
Ng Spurns Keystone XL Nafta Challenge -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is rejecting calls for a more combative response to U.S. protectionism, hoping a conciliatory approach will mend relations damaged during Donald Trump’s presidency. Trade Minister Mary Ng said in an interview this week she is focusing her efforts with the new Biden administration on mutual U.S.-Canada interests despite early policy hiccups that risk further fracturing ties between the two nations, whose commercial relationship is worth $725 billion a year. The rocky start began when President Joe Biden canceled permits for the Keystone XL pipeline, a move that prompted the leader of oil-rich Alberta to threaten a challenge under the old North American free-trade pact. Tensions grew when the new administration strengthened “Buy American” provisions for government procurement contracts. “I don’t think that getting into a trade war with the U.S. is in the best interests of Canadian workers or the energy sector,” Ng said Wednesday. “What we’ve got to do is find that common ground where Canadian interests are viewed and seen as American interests as well.” The trade minister’s comments highlight Trudeau’s decision to sidestep flashpoints with Biden and instead channel energy into goals such as fighting climate change and fostering an economic recovery. Trudeau’s officials welcomed Biden’s arrival at the White House after the Trump era, which upended years of relative stability with Canada’s largest trading partner. The two countries exchanged almost $2 billion in goods and services every day in 2019. Their economies are so integrated that the average automobile manufactured in North America crosses the U.S.-Canada border seven times before being sold, Ng said. Biden’s “Buy American” rules are intended to boost the U.S. economy by pushing federal agencies to source goods and services from domestic businesses. The government spends nearly $600 billion annually on such contracts. “Canadian contributions -- our business contributions, our exporter contributions -- into those supply chains and value chains are absolutely important to American workers and American businesses,” Ng said when pressed on how the government will push back against the president’s plan.
Oil Company Caves Under Pressure to Cut ‘Draconian’ Injunction | DeSmog UK -- Campaigners are celebrating after an oil and gas exploration company was forced to scale back a “draconian” injunction against protesters.Activists have posed a series of legal challenges to an interim injunction granted to UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) in 2018, that apply to three of its sites in West Sussex and Surrey.In a dramatic climbdown just days before the next court hearing, the company yesterday announced it planned to remove the ban on “slow-walking” – a tactic used by activists to delay deliveries to oil and gas sites by walking in front of lorries. “This is a massive victory,” said Lorraine Inglis, from Weald Action Group. “We’ve been fighting for three years to cut down this draconian injunction – at every court hearing we’ve made progress.” Campaigners initially challenged the High Court injunction just a fortnight after it was granted. Five women put themselves forward as the named defendants, enabling a challenge to be mounted, and the case was adjourned for a trial in 2022.Initially, the injunction applied to the company’s sites in Broadford Bridge and Markwells Wood in West Sussex, Horse Hill in Surrey and its headquarters in Guildford The named defendants have successfully reduced the injunction’s power in both size and scope, but the injunction still applies to activity at Horse Hill, where UKOG has secured oil drilling rights. However, activity on the site – known as the “Gatwick Gusher” for its extensive hydrocarbon resources – is yet to start.“This has been an abuse of the injunction process which should only be used to prevent real and immediate threats of unlawful action,” said Ann Stewart, from residents’ campaign group Markwells Wood Watch. “UKOG have basically had an injunction over an empty field for two and a half years.”The initial injunction followed years of protests at UKOG’s different oil and gas drilling sites, which were predominantly peaceful. In a statement, the company said it would request that the High Court leave the monitoring of the Horse Hill site to local Surrey police.
Oil major Total’s full-year profit falls 66% as Covid pandemic hits fuel demand - France's Total on Tuesday reported a massive drop in full-year profit, following a tumultuous 12 months in which commodity prices collapsed amid the coronavirus pandemic. The energy major said full-year 2020 net profit came in at $4.06 billion, beating expectations of $3.86 billion from analysts polled by Refinitiv. It compared with $11.8 billion for the 2019 fiscal year, reflecting a drop of 66% year-on-year. Total also posted fourth-quarter net profit of $1.3 billion, beating analyst expectations of $1.1 billion. Shares of Total are up around 0.8% year-to-date, having tumbled more than 28% last year. "Total faced two major crises in 2020: the Covid-19 pandemic that severely affected global energy demand, and the oil crisis that drove the Brent price below $20 per barrel in the second quarter," Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne said in a statement. "In this particularly difficult context, the Group implemented an immediate action plan and proved its resilience thanks to the quality of its portfolio," he added. Total said it would propose a fourth-quarter dividend payout of 0.66 euros ($0.8) per share, in line with previous quarters, and set the dividend for 2020 at 2.64 euros per share. The oil and gas industry was sent into a tailspin last year, as the coronavirus pandemic coincided with a historic demand shock, falling commodity prices, evaporating profits, unprecedented write-downs and tens of thousands of job cuts. Last week, U.K.-based oil and gas major BP reported its first full-year net loss for a decade, while U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil reported its fourth consecutive quarter of losses. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell also reported a sharp drop in full-year profits.
Merkel Offered Trump $1BN For US To Drop Sanctions Against Russia-Germany Pipeline - Fresh Nord Stream 2 pipeline controversy has erupted in Germany as Angela Merkel’s government stands accused of attempting to arrange a quid pro quo with top American officials to get them to call off the sanctions regimen that's aimed at thwarting construction and completion of the project. Berlin reportedly offered to spend $1 billion on American gas if Washington would stop piling on sanctions and allow the Russia to Germany pipeline to be finished, which under normal circumstances would be just months away. The US position which hardened under the Trump administration and its sanctions on any companies or their executives working on NS-2 was that it would made Europe more energy-dependent on Russia and thus more susceptible to its geopolitical influence, while at the same time "punishing" Ukraine. However, critics have pointed out the US has economic interests as well, namely the desire to sell its own LNG to Germany.It appears Merkel government tried to tap into this clear economic motive, knowing this might be the most direct 'opening' with then President Trump.The details of the brewing scandal, according to UK's The Telegraph, are as follows:Lobbying group Environmental Action Germany (DUH) this week published a leaked letter from Olaf Scholz, the German finance minister, to Steve Mnuchin, the then US treasury secretary, dated last August. In it, Mr Scholz offered to invest $1bn on new infrastructure to import American liquefied natural gas (LNG) at German ports if the US dropped the planned sanctions.And now thrown into the mix and adding to the scandal is the Alexei Navalny affair. The United States and Ukraine have used Russia's arrest of the Russian opposition activist who was allegedly poisoned by nerve agent last August to put pressure on Merkel over the Nord Stream 2 project. Earlier this month even after Russia expelled diplomats from Germany, Sweden and Poland for allegedly taking part in pro-Navalny rallies, which the embassies for the most part denied, Berlin said it's sticking with cooperation with Russia on Nord Stream 2 "for the time being".
Nornickel must pay €1.62 billion for its huge oil spill - Judges at the Krasnoyarsk Court of Arbitration on the 5th of February announced their verdict in the case against the Norilsko-Taymyrsky Energy Company.The company that is owned and managed by mining and metallurgy giant Nornickel will have to pay 146,18 billion rubles (€1.62 billion) for the grave environmental damage inflicted on nature in the Taymyr region.It was Russia’s environmental protection agency Rosprirodnadzor that sued the company after more than 21,000 tons of diesel fuel in late May 2020 leaked from aruptured oil reservoir near the city of Norilsk. Rosprirodnadzor and its leader Svetlana Radionova originally demanded almost 148 billion rubles. Nornickel and its subsidiary, however, soon disputed the claim and argued that damage was worth only 21,4 billion rubles (€238 million).The court case started in early October. Svetlana Radionova is content with the verdict.“I am confident that this money will be spent on solving environmental problems,” she says in a statement. According to newspaper Kommersant, practically the whole sum (145,5 billion rubles) will included in the federal budget, while the minor sum of 685,000 rubles will be included in the budget of Norilsk.In a statement, Nornickel says it will “carefully study the verdict.” It is not clear if the company will file and appeal.Previously, the company has argued that the fine must be included not in the federal treasury, but rather in the regional budget of Krasnoyarsk. The fine is unprecedented in Russia and must be seen as a strong signal to the country’s powerful producer of nickel, copper, palladium and platinum. It is a strike against the company. But company shareholder and CEO Vladimir Potanin will have no major problems finding the required money.
NDMO responds to oil spill reports - THE Solomon Islands Government through the National Disaster Management Office, NDMO, has deployed a Multi-Sectoral Technical Assessment Team on an oil spill operation in Graciosa Bay in Temotu Province, on Friday 05th February 2021. The deployment of the team followed oil spill reports on MV QUEBEC, a foreign bulk carrier anchored at Graciosa Bay, discharging Heavy Oil Fuel, (HFO) when it arrived on 20th January 2021. The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), received a report from Lata Police Temotu Province that there has been an Oil Spill with potential damage to the environment observed by Solomon Islands Government, SIG, Border Agencies whilst conducting routine vessel clearance on MV Quebec. The NEOC elevated the initial report to the Solomon Islands Maritime Authority (SIMA), Environment and Conservation Division (ECD) of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, and the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF). Based on the technical assessment and recommendations on maritime, environmental, and disaster risks, the Multi‐Sectoral Technical Assessment Team aimed to provide further information on the oil spills and the impacts to the communities and environment, whilst identifying the drivers to determine appropriate actions for the Government to take. Whilst on the ground, the Team will also assess the oil leakage from the wreckage of MV Tremax, a sunken vessel at the Lata wharf in 2014. NEOC received oil leakage reports on the sunken vessel from some individuals, Temotu Provincial Government, and the Lata Fisheries Centre on 03rd February 2021. Coordinated by NEOC, the team is spearheaded by the Solomon Islands Maritime Authority, SIMA, and comprised of other technical agencies including the Environment, Fisheries, Disaster, Police, and Temotu Provincial Government Officers. Under the National Marine Spill Contingency Plan (NATPLAN), SIMA is the SIG lead agency on marine pollution and oil spill in the country.
Court orders Shell to pay for Nigerian oil spills - Between 2004 and 2007, oil spilled out from pipelines owned by a Shell subsidiary, polluting the fields and fish ponds in three Nigerian villages.1 So four Nigerians teamed up with Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands to sue Shell over the leaks in 2008. Now, nearly 13 years later, a Dutch court has largely ruled in their favor. “Finally, there is some justice for the Nigerian people suffering the consequences of Shell’s oil,” plaintiff Eric Dooh said in a press release. “It is a bittersweet victory, since two of the plaintiffs, including my father, did not live to see the end of this trial. But this verdict brings hope for the future of the people in the Niger Delta.” The case involved three leaks: two from pipelines near the villages of Oruma and Goi and one from a well near the village of Ikot Ada Udo. The Court of Appeal in the Hague issued its decision on the first two spills January 29, ruling that Shell Nigeria must compensate the villagers for the damage done. Further, it ruled that both Shell Nigeria and its parent company, Royal Dutch Shell, must install a warning system in the Oruma pipeline so that leaks can be detected and stopped before they cause significant environmental harm. The compensation will be life-changing for the plaintiffs. Dooh hopes to use it to invest in his home village of Goi and create jobs, Milieudefensie climate justice campaigner Freek Bersch told Treehugger in an email. Another plaintiff, Fidelis Oguru of Oruma, wants to use it for an operation to recover his eyesight. However, it is the second half of the ruling that is especially significant. It marks the first time that a Dutch company has been held responsible for the actions of one of its subsidiaries abroad, Friends of the Earth explained. Campaigners say this could set an important precedent for the Netherlands, Nigeria, and the wider world. “This is also a warning for all Dutch transnational corporations involved in injustice worldwide,” Milieudefensie director Donald Pols said in the press release. “Victims of environmental pollution, land grabbing or exploitation now have a better chance to win a legal battle against the companies involved. People in developing countries are no longer without rights in the face of transnational corporations.” Bersch said that more lawsuits would likely be brought against other oil companies acting in Nigeria. “But,” Bersch added, “we hope that this judgment will also be a stepping stone for court cases for victims in other countries, against other multinationals, in other courts.” The ruling could also help with the growing movement to hold fossil fuel companies liable for the effects of climate change.
Nigerian farmers win hollow legal victory against Shell for oil spillages -In a case that has taken 13 years to reach a conclusion, the Dutch Court of Appeal has ruled that the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell—the Anglo-Dutch oil giant is headquartered in the Netherlands—is liable for oil spills in the Niger Delta in Nigeria between 2004 and 2007. While Shell had argued that saboteurs were responsible for leaks in underground oil pipes that have polluted the delta, the court ruled that while sabotage was the most likely cause in two of the villages, this had not been established beyond reasonable doubt. By allowing the leaks to occur and failing to clean up the contaminated area, Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary had acted unlawfully and was liable for the damage. The court ordered Shell Nigeria to pay compensation for the massive oil spills that have caused widespread pollution and ruined Nigerian farms, with the amount of compensation to be decided later. It ordered the company to start purifying the contaminated water within weeks and to install a leak detection system to a pipeline that caused one of the spills. Shell may yet appeal to the Dutch Supreme Court. Environmental and human rights activists have hailed the decision as ground-breaking, enabling cases to be brought against transnational corporations in the country where they are headquartered and making it harder for the parent company to “walk away from trouble” caused by overseas subsidiaries. Such optimism is belied both by Shell and other oil corporations’ record in Nigeria and the outcome of previous court rulings that, without any mechanisms to enforce their decisions, have achieved little in practice. Shell, with its deep pockets, have long sought to evade responsibility via lengthy legal proceedings, many of them in UK courts, for their part in regular oil spills on the Niger Delta that have ruined the livelihoods of local people. Even when courts find against Shell, the oil giant manages to manoeuvre its way out of its obligations. In 2015, Shell accepted responsibility for the oil spills of Bodo, Ogoniland, in 2008 and 2009 and agreed to pay the people of Bodo $83.4 million, far less than their original demand of $454.9 million, but the oil spills have yet to be cleaned.
Qatar Sanctions Massive $30B North Field East LNG Project - State-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP) is moving ahead with the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project ever to be sanctioned, staking a claim to the world’s projected future demand. QP announced a positive final investment decision (FID) Monday for the North Field East (NFE) Project, which has been in the works for years and would produce 33 million metric tons/year (mmty). The project would boost Qatar’s overall LNG production capacity to 110 mmty from 77 mmty. The new facilities would receive 6 Bcf/d from the North Field, considered the world’s largest non-associated gas field. Qatar is already the world’s largest LNG exporter. The NFE project is expected to cost $28.75 billion. CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said QP is in discussions with other energy majors to take a stake in the project as they have in the country’s other LNG trains over the years. The FID comes at a time when sanctioning export projects of any size has been rare given a LNG supply glut that’s plagued the market in recent years and the pandemic’s economic fallout. “This event is of particular importance as it comes at a critical time when the world is still reeling from the effects of a global pandemic and related depressed economies,” he said. “This investment decision is a clear demonstration of the steadfast commitment by the state of Qatar to supply the world with the clean energy it needs.” QP awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to a joint venture of Chiyoda Corp. and Technip Energies. Chiyoda has built 12 of Qatar’s 14 existing LNG trains. The EPC award covers four mega liquefaction trains each with a capacity of 8 mmty, associated utility facilities and a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facility to cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the export terminal by 25% compared to similar plants, Chiyoda said. Al-Kaabi said the CCS system would be the largest of its kind in the LNG industry. The project would also tap solar power, utilize a boil-off gas recovery system to limit GHG emissions, as well as conserve water and cut nitrogen oxide emissions. The measures come as buyers and the countries they serve are increasingly demanding responsibly produced and delivered LNG. The cost of feed gas would be offset in part by condensate, propane, ethane, sulfur and helium production. “At a long-term breakeven price of just over $4.00/MMBtu, it’s right at the bottom of the global LNG cost curve, alongside Arctic Russian projects,” Qatar has been dominant in the global LNG trade for decades. According to Kpler, about two-thirds of its exports go to Asia, which is projected to drive the market’s growth in the years ahead.
Exxon Exits Kurdistan License - DNO has announced the acquisition of ExxonMobil’s 32 percent interest in the Baeshiqa license in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The deal, which is pending government approval, doubles DNO’s operated stake to 64 percent and sees ExxonMobil exit the asset. DNO said it plans to continue an exploration and appraisal program on the license while fast tracking early production from existing wells in 2021. “By increasing our stake in the Baeshiqa license now, we demonstrate our belief in its ultimate potential,” Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, DNO’s executive chairman, said in a company statement. “Following the stabilization of oil prices and export payments in Kurdistan, DNO is stepping up spending on new opportunities,” he added in the statement. Following the completion of the deal, the remaining partners in the license would comprise TEC, with a 16 percent stake, and the Kurdistan Regional Government, with a 20 percent carried interest. DNO previously bought a 32 percent interest in the Baeshiqa license from ExxonMobil, and assumed operatorship of the asset, back in 2018. The 125 square mile Baeshiqa license is said to contain two large structures, Baeshiqa and Zartik, which have multiple independent stacked target reservoir systems, including in the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic, DNO pointed out. In addition to the Baeshiqa license, DNO operates the Tawke license, containing the Tawke and Peshkabir fields, in Kurdistan. Gross operated production from the Tawke license averaged 110,300 barrels of oil per day in 2020, DNO highlighted.
Analysis: Iran oil output faces race against time as U.S. sanctions linger (Reuters) - Iran’s oil reserves risk becoming stranded assets unless the new U.S. administration eases sanctions that have left the country lagging rivals in output capacity and losing a race against time as the transition to low carbon energy gathers pace. Iran, which sits on the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves, relies heavily on oil revenue, but sanctions have prevented it from pumping at anywhere near capacity since 2018. The penalties were tightened under former U.S. president Donald Trump and although the new President Joe Biden is more conciliatory, top officials in his administration have said Washington would not take a quick decision on any deal with Iran. Iran’s leadership says sanctions have only delayed the moment when it will produce the oil in its vast reserves - and that the world will eventually need it. But the increasing pace of the global energy transition to lower carbon fuels, combined with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on energy demand, have brought forward forecasts for when the world will hit peak demand - the point beyond which consumption will permanently fall. Some Iranian officials, including the oil minister Bijan Zanganeh, have said repeatedly Tehran needs to maximise production rapidly - before oil demand disappears and rival producers take what’s left of market share. That idea, however, has been pushed back by factions who see it as a betrayal of future generations. “The dominant narrative is still to keep production optimal long-term - without realising time is running short - and to avoid exporting oil as raw material - without appreciating the refining business may not be a profitable business in the long-term anyway,” said Iman Nasseri, managing director for the Middle East with FGE energy consultancy.
State oil firms risk wasting $400 billion as energy transition speeds up (Reuters) - National oil companies (NOCs) risk squandering $400 billion on expensive oil and gas projects over the next decade that may only break even if the world fails to meet the Paris climate goals, a non-governmental organisation said on Tuesday. In a new report called Risky Bet, the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) estimated that NOCs could invest $1.9 trillion over the next ten years, meaning one-fifth of those investments would be unviable unless the oil price stayed above $40 a barrel. Major oil companies like BP, Total and Royal Dutch Shell have already progressively lowered their long term price estimates, now in the $50-60 a barrel range, while some analysts see even lower levels depending on the energy transition scenario. The result could worsen inequalities as funds that could have been better spent on healthcare, education or diversifying the economy might instead create an economic crisis. Many of these NOCs are based in countries where 280 million people live below the poverty line. “State oil companies’ expenditures are a highly uncertain gamble,” “They could pay off, or they could pave the way for economic crises across the emerging and developing world and necessitate future bailouts that cost the public dearly.”
Hedge funds bet on oil's 'big comeback' after pandemic hobbles producers (Reuters) - Hedge funds are turning bullish on oil once again, betting the pandemic and investors’ environmental focus has severely damaged companies’ ability to ramp up production. Such limitations on supply would push prices to multi-year highs and keep them there for two years or more, several hedge funds said. The view is a reversal for hedge funds, which shorted the oil sector in the lead-up to global shutdowns, landing energy focused hedge funds gains of 26.8% in 2020, according to data from eVestment. By virtue of their fast-moving strategies, hedge funds are quick to spot new trends. Global oil benchmark Brent has jumped 59% since early November when news of successful vaccines emerged, after COVID-19 travel curbs and lockdowns last year hammered fuel demand and collapsed oil prices. Last week it hit pre-pandemic levels close to $60 a barrel. U.S. crude has climbed 54% to around $57 per barrel during the same period. “By the summer, the vaccine should be widely provided and just in time for summer travel and I think things are going to go gangbusters,” said David D. Tawil, co-founder at New York-based event-driven hedge fund, Maglan Capital, and interim CEO of Centaurus Energy.
Brent approaches $60 per barrel as supply cuts, stimulus hopes lift prices - Oil prices rose on Monday to their highest in just over a year, with Brent nudging past $60 a barrel, boosted by supply cuts among key producers and hopes for further U.S. economic stimulus measures that can boost demand. Brent was up 87 cents, or 1.47%, at $60.21 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 90 cents, or 1.58%, to $57.75 a barrel. Both contracts were at their highest levels since January 2020. "Oil prices are back close to pre-pandemic levels," "Support seems robust and the narrative sees the oil market swiftly burning through the remaining crisis-surplus, potentially running into tightness later this year," The oil market continues to tighten with deeper cuts from Saudi Arabia who pledged extra supply cuts in February and March on the back of reductions by other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies. In a sign that prompt supplies are tightening, the six-month Brent spread hit a high of $2.54 on Monday, its widest since January last year. OCBC's economist Howie Lee said the world's top exporter Saudi Arabia sent a "very bullish signal" last week when it kept monthly crude prices to Asia unchanged despite expectations of small cuts. "I don't think anybody dares to short the market when Saudi is like this," he added. A weaker dollar against most currencies on Monday also supported commodities, with dollar-denominated commodities becoming more affordable to holders of other currencies. Investors are also keeping a close watch on a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package for the United States that is expected to be passed by lawmakers as soon as this month. Hopes that Iranian oil exports would soon return to the market have been dampened, supporting oil prices. Stronger crude prices are, meanwhile, encouraging U.S. producers to increase output. The U.S. oil rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose last week to its highest since May, according to energy services firm Baker Hughes Co.
Oil rises 2% to more than one-year high on supply cuts, stimulus hopes (Reuters) - Oil prices rose 2% on Monday to their highest in over a year, with Brent nudging past $60 a barrel, boosted by supply cuts among key producers and hopes for further U.S. economic stimulus. Brent rose $1.22, or 2.1%, to settle at $60.56 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose $1.12, or 2%, to settle at $57.97 a barrel. Both benchmarks were at the highest since January 2020. “Managing to breach $60 again feels like the market is finally resurfacing after the long struggle and (taking) a proper breath,” Brent and WTI have risen more than 60% since the start of November due to optimism around coronavirus vaccine distributions as well as production cuts from OPEC+ members. “There is a sense that the glut of oil supply is disappearing more rapidly than anybody thought possible.” Saudi Arabia pledged extra supply cuts in February and March following reductions by other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies. In a sign that prompt supplies are tightening, the six-month Brent spread hit a high of $2.54 on Monday, its widest since January last year, a signal of demand for current supply. OCBC economist Howie Lee said the world’s top exporter Saudi Arabia sent a “very bullish signal” last week when it kept monthly crude prices to Asia unchanged despite expectations for small cuts. “I don’t think anybody dares to short the market when Saudi is like this,” he added. Investors are keeping watch on a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package for the United States that is expected to be passed as soon as this month. Hopes that Iranian oil exports would soon return to the market have been dampened, supporting oil prices. U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States would not lift sanctions on Iran simply to get it back to the negotiating table, while Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said all sanctions should be lifted first.
Oil climbs to 13-month highs, as supply cuts, demand optimism support - Oil prices edged up on Tuesday to their highest in 13 months as supply cuts by major producers and optimism over fuel demand recovery support energy markets. Brent crude futures for April gained 29 cents, or 0.5%, to $60.85 a barrel by 0246 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) for March was at $58.25 a barrel, up 28 cents, or 0.5%. Both Brent and WTI are at their highest since January 2020. Front-month prices for both contracts are up for the seventh session on Tuesday, the longest win streak since January 2019. Additional supply reductions by top exporter Saudi Arabia in February and March, on top of cuts by producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, are tightening supplies and balancing global markets. Investors are also pinning hopes on oil demand recovery when COVID-19 vaccines take effect. A weak dollar has also helped shored up prices of commodities. "Progress on U.S. stimulus and optimism around the roll-out and effect of vaccines across the remainder of 2021 and a slightly weaker USD help the view (for a recovery) albeit there was mixed news on the impact of the current vaccines formulated on the emerging South African variant," He cautioned, however, that both Brent and WTI are in overbought territory on technical charts. "While I remain a bit cautious at current levels, the medium and longer-term outlook for demand is healthy, and one can understand a willingness to look through some of the near-term uncertainty that remains for oil,"
Oil gains, with Brent prices up an 8th session as traders spot signs of better energy demand - Oil futures moved up on Tuesday, shaking off earlier weakness, as signs of improving energy demand prompted global benchmark prices to tally an eighth consecutive session gain. “With supply dynamics of the global oil market as clear and steady as they have been in years, trader focus has turned to demand in recent sessions, and with the continued vaccine distribution efforts, falling COVID case counts, and another huge stimulus package working its way through Congress, demand expectations are rising,” analysts at Sevens Report Research wrote in a Tuesday newsletter. The U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery rose 39 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $58.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with front-month prices scoring a seventh consecutive session of gains. That is the longest streak of gains since the eight-session rise ended Feb. 22, 2019, according to Dow Jones Market Data. April Brent crude tacked on 53 cents or 0.9%, to end at $61.09 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. Tuesday’s rise marked its eighth in a row, the longest run since February 2020. Both WTI and Brent crude futures logged their highest settlements since January of last year. “After losing momentum through much of January trading, the crude complex has posted a strong rally over the past two weeks,” bringing Brent above the $60 a barrel level, said Robbie Fraser, manager of global research and analytics at Schneider Electric, in a daily note. “That rally has been aided by longer-term optimism and expectations of broader market strength, but current prices are likely to generate some anxiety that the rally is near overextended territory,” he said. Oil rallied Monday as equities continued their surge, helping to lift major U.S. benchmarks to another round of all-time highs. Broad-based market optimism remains tied to expectations for another large round of government aid under President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion proposal, as well as progress on vaccine rollouts around the world. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s decision to unilaterally cut output by 1 million barrels a day in February and March is seen helping to keep supplies in check, analysts said.
Oil prices extend rally after surprise fall in U.S. stocks - Oil extended its rally for a ninth day on Wednesday, its longest winning streak in two years, supported by producer supply cuts and hopes that vaccine rollouts will drive a recovery in demand. The American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday crude inventories fell by 3.5 million barrels, versus expectations for a 985,000-barrel build. Brent crude was up 41 cents, or 0.67%, at $61.51 after touching a 13-month high of $61.61 earlier in the session. U.S. crude was up 33 cents, or 0.57%, to $58.68, having touched $58.76, also a 13-month high. "One can only wonder whether there's further to go in this week's rally," said Stephen Brennock of broker PVM. "However, as things stand, oil has yet to lose its shine." Brent has now risen for nine sessions in a row, its longest sustained period of gains since December 2018 to January 2019. It is the eighth daily rise for U.S. crude. Some analysts say prices have moved too far ahead of the underlying fundamentals. "The current price levels are healthier than the actual market and entirely reliant on supply cuts, as demand still needs to recover," said Bjornar Tonhaugen of Rystad Energy. Crude has jumped since November as governments kicked off vaccination drives for COVID-19 while putting in place large stimulus packages to boost economic activity, and the world's top producers kept a lid on supply. Top exporter Saudi Arabia is unilaterally reducing supply in February and March, supplementing cuts agreed by other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+. Some analysts forecast supply will undershoot demand in 2021 as more people get vaccinated and start going away on trips and working in offices.
WTI Rebounds, Shrugging Off Another Big Gasoline Stock Build - Oil prices have pumped and dumped overnight, back to unchanged, after API reported a bigger than expected crude draw and much bigger than expected gasoline build that confused the algos. API:
- Crude -3.5mm (-994k exp)
- Cushing -378k
- Gasoline +4.81mm- biggest build since April 2020
- Distillates -487k
DOE
- Crude -6.645mm (-994k exp, -2.5mm whisper)
- Cushing -658k
- Gasoline +4.259mm
- Distillates -1.732mm
Crude stocks fell more than expected (for the 3rd week in a row) but gasoline inventories continued their almost 6-week streak of builds.. Source for graphs: Bloomberg Gasoline Demand weakness lingers... Crude production has been flat to slightly lower as prices and rig counts have risen recently suggesting some capital discipline among drillers. WTI was hovering near the lows of the day around $58.20 ahead of the data drop and spiked on the bigger than expected crude draw...
Oil Is Soaring Amid "Supercycle" Chatter Just days after one of our favorite macro strategists, Dylan Grice, predicted that the stage is set for "a bull market in oil", and JPM quant Marko Kolanovic said a new oil and commodity supercycle has begun, oil is starting to get the message, and has jumped more than 2% on Friday... ... rising to the highest intraday level in more than a year as output curbs from top producers whittle down global inventories, while JPM predicts that an epic systematic short squeeze is about to be unleashed next month in oil (we discussed this earlier this week, and will touch on this shortly again). Oil was set for a second straight weekly gain, as OPEC+ continued to slash output and the group expects a stronger second half of the year, which to Bloomberg indicates "that global inventories will face sharp declines unless the cartel boosts supply." Indeed, Iraq said OPEC+ is unlikely to change its output policy at a March meeting. Meanwhile, in the U.S., crude stockpiles are at the lowest in nearly a year. “This time of year, there’s usually builds,” said Bill O’Grady, executive vice president at Confluence Investment Management in St. Louis. "The draws we’ve been getting are pretty surprising, setting up a really bullish backdrop.” As a result of the rally, WTI futures' 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) rose to the most overbought since 1999 this week and remains above 70 in a sign that the commodity may be due for a pullback, which however has yet to come. “Based on fundamental analysis, the case for further price gains is hard to make, although we are seeing optimism in financial markets in general,” said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro. “We think that much higher oil prices are not sustainable and that oil producers will then start to increase production.”
Oil in longest rally in two years as vaccines boost demand hopes (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Wednesday, extending its rally for a ninth day, its longest winning streak in two years, supported by producer supply cuts and hopes vaccine rollouts will drive a recovery in demand. Falling U.S. crude inventories were also supportive. Crude stocks last week fell for a third straight week, dropping 6.6 million barrels to 469 million barrels, their lowest since March, according to the Energy Information Administration. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 985,000-barrel increase. [EIA/S] “A combination of higher refining activity and lower imports resulted in a third consecutive draw to oil inventories, and a chunky one at that,” said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData. He cautioned that a build to gasoline inventories offset the bullish draw. Brent crude settled up 38 cents, or 0.6%, at $61.47 a barrel, after touching a 13-month high of $61.61. U.S. crude closed 32 cents, or 0.6%, higher at $58.68 a barrel, also after touching a 13-month high at $58.76. Brent has now risen for nine sessions in a row, its longest sustained period of gains since December 2018 to January 2019. It is the eighth daily rise for U.S. crude. Some analysts say prices have moved too far ahead of the underlying fundamentals. “The current price levels are healthier than the actual market and entirely reliant on supply cuts, as demand still needs to recover,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen of Rystad Energy. Crude has jumped since November as governments kicked off vaccination drives for COVID-19 while putting in place large stimulus packages to boost economic activity, and the world’s top producers kept a lid on supply. Top exporter Saudi Arabia is unilaterally reducing supply in February and March, supplementing cuts agreed by other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+. Some analysts forecast supply will undershoot demand in 2021 as more people get vaccinated and start going away on trips and working in offices. “It should be a strong second half of the year and oil prices are a reflection of that,”
The Most Fragile Oil Price Rally In History - Brent crude could hit $70 or even $80 a barrel by the end of this year, one hedge fund manager says. It could top $100 next year, an energy analyst forecasts. Oil is on a tear, and suddenly, everyone is bullish. But this is probably the most fragile oil price recovery in history. Something as tiny as a virus could kill it.Herd immunity is the big factor for hedge funds, according to a recent Reuters report. According to them and several banks, the United States—the world’s biggest oil consumer—will reach herd immunity by the middle of the year, which will coincide with summer driving season to the benefit of oil producers.“By the summer, the vaccine should be widely provided and just in time for summer travel and I think things are going to go gangbusters,” one hedge fund manager, David D. Tawil of Maglan Capital, told Reuters.Government stimulus will also help. In fact, it could even push prices to $100 and over, accordingto Energy Aspects’ Amrita Sen.“We’ve always called for $80 plus oil in 2022. Maybe that is $100 now given how much liquidity there is in the system. I wouldn’t rule that out,” Sen told Bloomberg this week.Central banks and governments have been more than generous with stimulus to weather the effects of the crisis caused by the pandemic, and while some are skeptical about the long-term benefits of some measures, the overall sentiment towards them is positive. There are some flies in the stimulus ointment, however. In Europe, some analysts are warning that government support for businesses is creating so-called zombie companies that will collapse the moment the stimulus end, which it will eventually have to do. In the United States, some analysts have questioned the need for President’s Biden $1.9-trillion stimulus program saying the economy is already picking up, however slowly, and a stimulus package as huge as this one could lead to excessive inflation, which could have unexpected consequences. And then there are the oil producers, many of which have been struggling to stay afloat since the pandemic hit the global scene. With rising oil prices, the struggle will end, but it will also tempt many to start producing more, especially as demand recovers thanks to mass vaccinations. This is the dominant expectation: that by the summer, there will be enough people vaccinated for life to begin to return to normal, including in oil demand. Analysts and financiers note that oil companies are much warier about production growth this time and will hold off returning to growth mode for longer. This may or may not be the case, but what most analysts and financiers seem to be brushing off is the possibility of a resurgence in Covid-19 infections.
Oil drops after strong rally, demand hopes limit losses - Oil prices fell on Thursday, giving up some of the recent strong gains, although losses were curbed by production cuts and hopes that rollouts of vaccines will drive a recovery in demand. Brent crude fell 39 cents, or 0.6%, to $61.08 a barrel, as of 0231 GMT, after touching its highest since January 2020 on Wednesday. U.S. crude slid 35 cents, or 0.6%, to $58.33 a barrel. "Crude oil futures rallied following a bigger than expected fall in inventories in the U.S.," ANZ said in a note. "However, sentiment was curtailed by a rise in gasoline inventories." Crude stocks last week fell for a third straight week, dropping 6.6 million barrels to 469 million barrels, their lowest since March, according to the Energy Information Administration. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 985,000-barrel increase. Brent has risen for the previous nine sessions, its longest sustained period of gains since January 2019. On Wednesday, was the eighth daily rise for U.S. crude. However, some analysts say prices have moved too far ahead of the underlying fundamentals. Stocks were flat in early trading in Asia on Thursday as investors kept tapping the brakes on runs in asset prices after taking in tepid U.S. inflation data and comments from the Federal Reserve chief affirming the outlook for a slow recovery. Crude has jumped since November as governments kicked off vaccination drives for COVID-19 while putting in place large stimulus packages to boost economic activity, and the world's top producers kept a lid on supply. Top exporter Saudi Arabia is unilaterally reducing supply in February and March, supplementing cuts agreed by other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+.
Oil prices snap an eight-day run as IEA cuts demand outlook - Oil capped its longest winning streak in two years following the International Energy Agency’s bleaker outlook for global demand and signs that futures were overbought. Prices in New York slid 0.8% on Thursday, the biggest decline in two weeks, after rising for eight straight sessions. The IEA said the re-balancing of the global oil markets remains “fragile” and slashed its forecasts for world oil consumption in 2021 as the pandemic continues to limit travel and economic activity. Still, the agency said the market’s prospects look stronger in the second half of the year, and swollen oil inventories will drop sharply as fuel use picks up. “Crude has shown some really strong gains,” said Gary Cunningham, director at Stamford, Connecticut-based Tradition Energy. But “there’s some questions as to whether or not these levels can be maintained” amid uncertainty over the demand recovery and the ability for producers to limit supplies. While crude is up more than 11% this month, the recent stretch of price gains had pushed its 14-day Relative Strength Index this week to the most overbought level since 1999, signaling the rally was due for a correction. But the underlying setup for oil remains firm. Citigroup Inc. predicted the global benchmark Brent will likely reach $70 a barrel by the end of the year, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. called a new supercycle for commodities. Oil’s rebound accelerated after Saudi Arabia pledged to deepen output cuts and the premium on the nearest contract firmed in a bullish backwardation structure, helping to unwind global stockpiles built up during the outbreak. There are still concerns that the virus may curb near-term fuel demand, with China’s air traffic falling sharply ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday after a resurgence in some areas. “It’s an ideal time for profit-taking” following the recent streak of price gains, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp. Yet, “there’s optimism that a lot of Americans are going to get vaccinated in these next couple months, which means they’re going to be more willing to travel.” West Texas Intermediate for March delivery fell 44 cents to settle at $58.24 a barrel. Brent for April settlement slid 33 cents to end the session at $61.14 a barrel, posting the largest daily loss since Jan. 22. Along with the IEA’s expectation for a brighter second half of the year, OPEC also said demand for its crude will be higher than previously expected, on a weaker outlook for rival supply and stronger global consumption in the second half.
Oil Prices Surge As Inventories Decline | Rigzone -- Oil in London climbed for a fourth straight week as efforts to clear an oil surplus are seen holding the market over until demand comes back in force. Global benchmark Brent futures on Friday surged the most since early January, while West Texas Intermediate crude flirted with $60 a barrel for the first time in more than a year. Signs of inventories declining in the U.S. and elsewhere point to the success OPEC+ has had in draining a surplus left in the wake of an historic demand slump due to the pandemic. OPEC expects a stronger second half of 2021, indicating this week that global inventories will face sharp declines unless the cartel boosts supply. Iraq said OPEC+ is unlikely to change its output policy at a March meeting. In the U.S., crude stockpiles are at the lowest in nearly a year. “OPEC is showing a lot more nimbleness and practicality in their approach,” said Vikas Dwivedi, a global energy strategist for Macquarie Group in Houston. “It looks like U.S. shale is going to be a lot more measured and not just completely collapse the supply/demand balance.” One of the most dramatic moves in the market this week has been in Brent’s futures curve. So-called backwardation between the first and third futures contract, which indicates tight supplies, soared to its strongest level since January 2020. At the same time, brokers reported a frenzy of bullish trading in the key Dated-Frontline swap, which is tied to physical North Sea markets, flipping to a premium for the first time in a year. There are further signs of supply being constrained in the near term. A frigid Arctic blast spreading across America’s largest shale oil patch has caused crude flowing from wells to slow or halt completely. Traders say several hundred barrels a day of output in the Permian Basin could be impacted by well shutdowns that began Thursday. Crude prices “can still go higher from here,” said Ryan Gorman, market strategist at Blue Line Futures LLC in Chicago. “With Saudi Arabia’s production cut and some progress toward the end of the tunnel here for the virus, there’s still some room for this market to go.” Prices West Texas Intermediate gained $1.23 to settle at $59.47 a barrel, rising the most in nearly two weeks. Brent for April settlement rose $1.29 to end the session at $62.43 a barrel. Both benchmarks are at the highest since January 2020. Still, concerns remain over whether crude’s rally is sustainable. WTI futures’ 14-day Relative Strength Index rose to the most overbought since 1999 this week and remains sharply above 70 in a sign that the commodity is due for a pullback. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to crimp fuel consumption from China to the U.S., with the International Energy Agency cutting its demand forecast for 2021 and describing the market as fragile.
Oil Futures at Fresh Highs on Saudi Attack (DTN) -- Oil futures nearest delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange and the Brent contract on the Intercontinental Exchange reversed higher in late morning trade and rallied to fresh highs Friday afternoon after the Iranian-aligned Houthis militia claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a Saudi Arabian airport and airbase earlier this week, heightening the risk of supply disruption in the world's largest crude oil exporter amid tightening global oil market.Further bolstering the oil complex, the U.S. dollar faded earlier gains to finish below 90.50 level after University of Michigan reported its consumer sentiment index unexpectedly declined in early February, with the souring sentiment concentrated in the expectations index among households making less than $75,000 a year. At 76.2, the consumer sentiment index dropped to a four-month low and missed analyst expectations for an improvement to an 80.9 reading."Households with incomes in the bottom third reported significant setbacks in their current finances, with fewer of these households mentioning recent income gains than any time since 2014," said Richard Curtin, chief economist of the consumer survey. Even more surprising was the finding that despite the expected passage of a massive $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, consumers viewed prospects for the national economy less favorably in early February than last month.On the session, West Texas Intermediate for March delivery futures rallied $1.23 to settle at $59.47 barrel (bbl), while international crude Brent April contract advanced $1.29 to finish at $62.43 bbl. Both benchmarks finished this week at their highest points on the spot continuous charts in 13 months.NYMEX March ULSD futures added 2.68 cents to $1.7714 gallon and March RBOB futures surged 4.23 cents to $1.6925 gallon. Friday's gains came despite Baker Hughes data released early afternoon showing the number of oil-drilling rigs in the United States increased for the twelfth consecutive week through Friday, reaching the highest level since May 2020. At 306, the number of active oil rigs rose seven from the prior week but are down 372 from the comparable week a year ago. During the fourth quarter 2020, the number of rigs increased a total of 84 while gaining 39 so far in the current quarter.
International Criminal Court ruling paves way for legal proceedings against Israel for war crimes - The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ruled that it does have jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. This paves the way for investigations into Israel and Hamas’ conduct during Israel’s murderous assault on Gaza in 2014 and Israel’s response to the weekly protests held under the banner of the Great March of Return that started in March 2018 and lasted for more than a year. According to United Nations figures, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in 2014 killed 2,251 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians, and injured 11,231. Of the Palestinians who lost their lives, 521 were children and 283 were women. The civilian death toll was far higher than that of the estimated 400 fighters belonging to Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza and the ostensible target of the war. Just 67 Israeli soldiers, along with six civilians, were killed, and 1,600 soldiers were injured. The UN’s Human Rights Council (UNHRC) concluded that the mass killing and destruction were deliberate, not accidental, resulting from explicit decisions taken at the highest level of the Israeli government. Israeli forces responded to the largely peaceful Great March of Return protests, held in Gaza near its border with Israel, by firing tear gas canisters, some of them dropped from drones, rubber bullets and live ammunition, mostly by snipers. As a result, 214 Palestinians, including 46 children, were killed, and over 36,100, including nearly 8,800 children were injured. One in five of those injured (over 8,000) were hit by live ammunition. In contrast, just one Israeli soldier was killed and seven others injured during the demonstrations. The ICC ruling constitutes a potential legal barrier to Israel’s plans to extend and/or build new settlements and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans, now on hold, to annex the Jordan Valley in breach of the ban on an occupying power settling civilians in or annexing occupied territory.
UAE and Chinese spacecraft safely enter Martian orbit - Two missions to Mars successfully entered orbit around the fourth planet in the solar system this week: the Hope spacecraft built by the United Arab Emirates and launched by Japan from the Tanegashima Space Center, on February 9, and the Tianwen-1 (“heavenly questions”) launched by China from the country’s Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, on February 10. A third mission will reach Mars next Thursday, the Mars 2020 rover and helicopter pair, named Perseverance and Ingenuity, respectively, launched by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).All three missions took advantage of the favorable conjunction between Earth and Mars, which occurs about every 26 months, when the two planets reach their closest approach to each other. The “launch window” varies slightly depending on the exact path taken to get to Mars, but it allowed all three spacecraft to arrive a mere seven months after launch, after a relatively short journey of about 493 million kilometers.Once the spacecraft arrive in the vicinity of Mars, they must undertake an orbital insertion maneuver, one of the most difficult operations in space exploration. Spacecraft travel to Mars (and the other planets) at speeds of tens of kilometers per second, and must brake sharply and precisely to be captured by the planet’s gravity and enter orbit. The gravitational attraction of Mars is also much weaker, about 62 percent less than Earth’s. Moreover, the 22-minute round-trip required for radio signals between Earth and Mars means the entire process must be automated.These challenges have meant that, since the Soviet Union first exploited this launch window 61 years ago, more than half of the 49 Mars missions have failed. Only in the last 25 years have successes overtaken failures.
Russia, Iran & China To Hold Joint Naval Drills As CENTCOM Chief Blasts Iran As "Driver Of Instability" - On Monday Russia announced plans to hold joint naval drills with Iran and China in the Indian Ocean, according toReuters, which cites comments made by Moscow's ambassador to Tehran. Russian Ambassador Levan Dzhagaryan said, "The next multilateral naval exercises will take place in the northern part of the Indian Ocean in mid-February 2021."It comes just after the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier was ordered out of its Mideast region of responsibility at the start of this month. The Nimitz is headed home to its base in Washington state, after Trump kept it in the Indian Ocean and gulf region on standby amid ratcheting tensions with Iran. Biden then ordered it home within his first couple weeks in office. Russia, China, and Iran last held naval drills in the region in a December 2019 exercise. Amb. Dzhagaryan detailed in his comments initially given to Russian state media that the joint drills are expected to focus on "search and rescue" operations as well as maritime security focused on shipping. Interestingly it comes following the summer of 2019 'tanker war'showdown with the UK and US.The announcement also comes just as the US, Japan, and Australia are conducting joint drills out of Guamspecifically aimed at countering a theoretical future attack from big powers like China or Russia. These drills, dubbed Cope North 2021, are expected to run until Feb. 19.Also on Monday the head of US Central Command, Gen Kenneth McKenzie, issued his first public remarks since President Biden entered the White House last month. He blasted Iran as the main and "most challenging driver of instability" in the region, while further describing that Tehran and Washington are currently in a state of "contested deterrence".
Myanmar Coup and Fast Fashion: Sanctions Would Harm Poor Textile Workers - Jerri-Lynn Scofield - The Wall Street Journal ran a piece today, Myanmar’s Garment Factories Suffer One-Two Punch of Covid and Coup, highlighting the impact imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar in response to last week’s military coup would have on workers who make clothes for fast fashion retailers.Per the Journal:A decade ago, as Myanmar was turning toward democracy from military rule, Western governments began dropping crippling sanctions—drawing fast-fashion labels to the country. Factories sprang up, employing hundreds of thousands of people making shirts and dresses for consumers in Europe and elsewhere.Last week’s military coup threatens to turn back the clock. Factory owners fear political instability will push Western clients away, and that any Western efforts to pressure the generals by restoring broad sanctions or withdrawing trade preferences would be crushing. “I am very afraid of going back to that time because I already know what the situation was like with sanctions,” says Aung Myo Hein, who opened a garment factory in Myanmar in 2013, when the European Union gave Myanmar’s garment exports duty-free access. Now, downsizing or eliminating entirely the fast fashion industry would undoubtedly benefit the planet. But going cold turkey would cause immediate misery to the many poor textile workers who would be deprived of their livelihoods. Globally, COVID-19 has caused a huge drop in fashion sales, as those working from home have slashed their spending on garments. Part of this drop comes from a lesser need for new clothes, while part is no doubt driven by economic uncertainty. Faced with such plummeting demand, many fashion companies have responded by stiffing their suppliers, as the Guardian discussed in World’s garment workers face ruin as fashion brands refuse to pay $16bn: Powerful US and European fashion companies have refused to pay overseas suppliers for more than $16bn (£12.3bn) of goods since the outbreak of Covid-19, with devastating implications for garment workers across the world, according to analysis of newly released import data.
Nissan lowers sales forecast as CEO acknowledges disruption caused by chip shortage - The CEO of Nissan reaffirmed the importance of electric vehicles to the carmaker's future on Tuesday, telling CNBC that his company would be "building (on) our strengths to electrify 100% of our all-new vehicle offering from the early 2030s in key markets." Makoto Uchida's comments echo an announcement made by Nissan at the end of January, when the firm said the Japanese, European, U.S. and Chinese markets would be the focus of its electrification goal for new vehicles. In his interview with CNBC's "Street Signs Europe," Uchida also addressed the global shortage of semiconductors affecting the automotive industry, stating that it had "impacted our domestic and our overseas production." An increased demand for gadgets and electronic devices during the coronavirus pandemic has contributed to a global squeeze on the availability of semiconductors. This has hit the car industry, which is heavily reliant on the technology, particularly hard. "We are working with our suppliers to minimize this impact," Uchida went on to add, "and we are closely monitoring the situation and adjusting our production. We recognize the uncertainties will continue." In the three months ending Dec. 31, Nissan's operating profit hit 27.1 billion Japanese yen, compared to 22.7 billion yen in the same period a year earlier. For the fiscal year ending March 31, Nissan said it was now expecting a net loss of 530 billion yen, or roughly $5.1 billion. It had previously forecast a net loss of 615 billion yen.
Brazil: São Paulo teachers strike against deadly school reopenings - Some 180,000 teachers in São Paulo, Brazil began an indefinite strike Monday against the resumption of partial in-person education in the state’s public high schools. Teachers voted for the strike action by an 80 percent majority in a virtual assembly held last Friday, February 5. Teachers went into the schools on the first day of scheduled classes to speak to students and parents about the strike, and are due to stay out beginning today. At the beginning of last week, private schools in the state had already reopened for in-person classes with up to 35 percent of their of students in classrooms. But on Monday, only 5 percent of students attended classes in the public schools. The reopening of schools in São Paulo came after right-wing Governor João Doria (PSDB) decreed education an “essential service,” allowing schools to reopen in the so-called “red” and “orange” phases of the state’s supposed pandemic containment plan, dubbed “Plano São Paulo.” Before, schools could reopen only in the “yellow” phase, with the pandemic supposedly “under control.” Now infections are escalating. The secretary of education of São Paulo, Rossieli Soares, is working closely with the most significant layers of Brazil’s ruling elite to reopen the state’s schools. This includes São Paulo’s corporate and commercial sectors, associations of private school owners, a section of the Brazilian medical sector, the corporate media, pro-business educational think tanks and the state’s courts. On January 28, São Paulo Judge Simone Gomes ruled in favor of a suit brought by the teachers’ unions against the reopening of the schools. Basing her decision on the “protection of the right to life,” she barred the reopening of schools in the “orange” and “red” phases of the “Plano São Paulo.” One day later, the decision was reversed by the State Court of Justice. Speaking for São Paulo’s governor, the state secretary of education threatened Monday that “appropriate judicial measures” will be taken against the strike, and that teachers who do not return to the classroom will not be paid. The reopening of schools in São Paulo—Brazil’s richest and most industrial state, as well as the country’s financial center—will undoubtedly open the way for other states to do the same. Of Brazil’s 26 states, 20 have already planned to start in-person classes in the coming weeks. The strike in São Paulo began after teachers in Rio de Janeiro decided to strike against the reopening of state and municipal public schools on January 30. Teachers in the southern state of Paraná are scheduled to strike on February 18, when in-person classes begin in the state.
Canadian educators denounce deadly reopening of schools amid COVID-19 pandemic - Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across the country, schools in virtually all parts of Canada will be providing in-class instruction as of next Tuesday. That is when schools in Toronto and the adjacent York and Peel Regions are to reopen—the last to do so, since many provinces were forced to implement a temporary return to online instruction and/or extend the traditional Christmas/New Year’s break. This homicidal policy has been championed by the Trudeau Liberal government in Ottawa and implemented by provincial governments of all stripes, from John Horgan’s New Democrats in British Columbia to Doug Ford’s hard-right Progressive Conservatives in Ontario and Quebec’s CAQ government. Despite continuing high-rates of infection in wide swathes of the country and the rapid spread of newly-identified more infectious COVID-19 variants, nothing has been done to provide teachers and students with adequate protection as they return to packed, poorly-ventilated classrooms The unions, meanwhile, have suppressed the widespread opposition to the back-to-school drive. They have ruled out job action to protect the health and lives of educators, students, and their families with claims that it would be “illegal.” Teachers from Ontario and Quebec who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site expressed their outrage over the reckless reopening of schools, which, if not prevented through the independent action of the working class, will sow the seeds for a “third wave” of the COVID-19 pandemic even more deadly than the first two. A secondary school teacher from Montreal vividly described the life-threatening conditions prevailing in many schools. “The reopening of schools places students and staff in dangerous conditions,” she told the WSWS. “Indeed, the groups are very large, from 30 to 35 students. In order to achieve the 2-meter distance from the teacher, the students have to be pushed back and crammed on top of each other, as most of the premises are very small. As a result, the students are often placed in bubbles of 2-3 students with a space of 20-30 cm between each bubble. “The plexiglass that arrived after a month, is now often broken. We have to beg for disinfectant. Many classrooms do not have windows ... or it’s too cold to open them. “The students do not respect the bubbles. They meet outside (talking, pulling at each other, some smoking vape) and wait in the hallways during breaks and lunch. “In class, many students take off their masks to drink water during class or simply because they are teenagers. Those who want to protect themselves are glued to those who don’t want to.
'Turkish government prepares to reopen schools as pandemic surges - Amid a global homicidal back-to-school drive, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government is planning to begin in-person teaching starting February 15 in Turkey, where there are nearly 18 million students and 1 million teachers in K-12 schools. Last week, after a cabinet meeting, Erdoğan said, “Considering limited internet access, we have decided to open village schools on February 15.” He added, “Preparations will begin for the 8th and 12th grades, primary and special education schools to start education from March 1.” The 8th through 12th grades already partially began in-person teaching on January 22. Education Minister Ziya Selçuk’s announced Thursday that Monday through Friday, in-person education will begin at villages and similar schools on February 15. The ministry also declared: “As of March 1, face-to-face education will be held in all public and private primary schools, as well as nursery classes and special education classes within these primary schools as two days a week; face-to-face education will begin in the 8th grade of all public and private secondary schools and Islamic divinity secondary schools.” Previously, Selçuk announced that the government had reached “a principled decision on the February 15 opening of schools,” emphasizing its determination against widespread concerns and opposition among teachers, parents and students. With the lack of widespread vaccination, the spread of very transmissible COVID-19 variants and medical experts’ warnings of another surge, this decision continues the “herd immunity” policy at the expense of thousands of workers lives.
French universities reopen despite spread of coronavirus, new variants - Last week French universities began to partially reopen to students. Following a tweet from French President Emmanuel Macron on January 21 announcing the partial reopening, new rules this term will allow each student to attend classes one day per week. Macron’s tweet was made a day after a series of small student protests led by the New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA) and student unions called for the immediate reopening of universities on January 20. The measure will throw hundreds of thousands of students back into classroom settings every day. For example, at just the University of Orléans, 4,000 students will return for in-person education each day. The risk of infection is not limited to the classroom. Students, professors and staff will increase the number of people on public transport and lead to unmasked, crowded lunches in cafeterias. Even if strict protocols are followed, the virus will inevitably spread in an educational setting. This has been shown by multiple scientific studies. However, in all likelihood there will be a repeat of the September reopening of universities and schools, where supposedly strict rules will not be followed by most universities. Lectures will again take place in poorly ventilated rooms and halls without enough space for social distancing. In current conditions the policy means a further acceleration in the spread of the virus, leading to more infections and deaths both among students and the wider population. Since the September reopening, nearly 50,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the country. The relaxation of these measures comes as dangerous variants of the virus become further entrenched in France. On Thursday, Prime Minister Jean Castex reported that 14 percent of COVID-19 cases in the country already involved the more infectious B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the UK. In France, an average of 419 people have died every day over the past week. On Sunday, preliminary results from a study were published showing that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was significantly less effective against the South African variant. In some cases, the British variant has also developed the E484K mutation that is believed to cause the reduction in vaccine efficacy. The rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine in France began on Saturday and is a key part of the government’s vaccination campaign, which has still reached less than 3 percent of the population. The government is using the campaign for vaccines as a justification for its refusal to impose a lockdown until the population can be vaccinated and the virus stopped.
Mario Draghi Officially Becomes Premier Of Italy, Names His Top Ministers As expected (see below), Mario Draghi has agreed to take over as Italy’s next prime minister, naming his ministers as he prepares to head a new government that will prioritize the pandemic, a struggling economy and moving ahead with European integration. The 73-year-old former ECB head will lead a new national unity government to replace Giuseppe Conte's centre-left coalition that collapsed one month ago, leaving the country rudderless in an unprecedented crisis. Draghi will return to the presidential palace at midday on Saturday to be formally sworn in. After securing broad support from all the country’s main parties except for the far-right Brothers of Italy, Draghi met with President Sergio Mattarella late on Friday to formally accept the appointment and told the head of state he was ready to form an administration. Draghi then spoke only to list the names of his ministers, a mix of politicians and technocrats. The senior deputy governor of Bank of Italy, Daniele Franco, was named as the new economy minister, while Roberto Speranza would stay on as health minister. According to Bloomberg, "Franco, director-general at the central bank, will play a key role in administering Italy’s 209 billion-euro share ($253 billion) of the EU’s recovery package, and in introducing measures to help families and businesses cope with the recession prompted by the pandemic and lockdowns." Luigi Di Maio would be kept as foreign minister, with the new administration set on carving out a bigger role for Italy. Bloomberg adds that Roberto Cingolani, an executive at Leonardo SpA, would head a new ministry for ecological transition. He will be responsible for managing spending on green projects under the European Union’s recovery package. Other ministers include Giancarlo Giorgetti, minister for economic development, who - as veteran senior lawmaker with the League of Matteo Salvini - has been pushing for the party to adopt a more pro-European stance. Draghi has already told lawmakers he will push for a common euro-area budget, and Italy has taken up the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 nations. Draghi will be tasked with restoring the economy in a country where more than 93,000 people with coronavirus have died since it became the first European country to face the full force of the pandemic one year ago, and the toll is still rising by the hundreds each day.
UK unemployment rises to highest level in four years - The number of workers being made redundant in the UK is rising at the fastest pace on record, as pandemic lockdown measures place increasing pressure on the economy. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed last week that unemployment is at its highest level for four years, reaching 5 percent. It found that 1.7 million workers are without work. Britain’s economy has suffered the deepest recession for more than 300 years, with Bank of England chief economist Andrew Haldane saying that without state intervention the unemployment figures would have already reached five million. The government’s furlough scheme has supplemented the wages of almost 10 million workers employed by more than 1.2 million companies during various pandemic lockdowns since last March. In addition to the rapidly rising figures of those without work, millions more workers on furlough run the risk of being made redundant once the scheme is lifted at the end of March. The government’s independent economics forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), expects the jobless rate to more than double from pre-pandemic levels to 7.5 percent when furlough ends—representing more than 2.6 million people out of work. Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 210,000 UK jobs have been axed and this figure does not include job losses announced by transnational corporations making redundancies but who have not yet stipulated how many jobs will be cut from their UK located operations. According to the Financial Times, “418,000 people have fallen out of work since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, taking the total number of unemployed people to 1.72m.” Jobs have been slashed across all sectors, with retail especially hard hit—with closures, mergers and acquisitions occurring as traditional retailers lose out to the online corporations. .
UK Economy Crashed 9.9% In 2020, Biggest Drop In 311 Years - Britain’s crippled economy suffered its biggest crash in economic output in 311 years after it slumped by 9.9%. Last year’s fall in output was the biggest since modern official records began after World War Two. Longer-running historical data hosted by the Bank of England suggest it was the biggest drop since 1709, when Britain suffered a “Great Frost”. The GDP fall was steeper than almost any other big economy’s, though Spain - also hard-hit by the virus - suffered an 11% decline. It also means that the market cap of AAPL is now roughly equivalent to the entire output of the UK. The good news is that the UK avoided heading back towards recession at the end of the year, with stronger than expected Q4 and December GDP prints, and looks on course for a recovery in 2021. In Q4, GDP grew 1.0%, double consensus estimates of 0.5%. This makes it likely that Britain will escape two straight quarters of contraction - the standard definition of recession in Europe - even though the economy is set to shrink in early 2021 due to the effects of a third COVID lockdown.“As and when restrictions are eased, we continue to expect a vigorous rebound in the economy,” said Dean Turner, an economist at UBS Global Wealth ManagementIn December alone, Britain’s economy grew 1.2% after a 2.3% fall in output in November when there was a partial lockdown, pointing to greater resilience to COVID restrictions than at the start of the pandemic. That left output 6.3% lower than in February before the start of the pandemic, the Office for National Statistics said.However, the Bank of England forecasts the economy will shrink by 4% in the first three months of 2021 because of the new lockdown and Brexit disruption. It thinks it will take until early 2022 before GDP regains its pre-COVID size, assuming vaccination continues at the current rapid pace, which outstrips the rest of Europe’s. Many economists think recovery will take longer.
Is There Really a Problem with Left Wing Extremism in the UK, or Is the Government Seeking Excuses to Suppress Fair Protest? - As The Guardian noted in the last day or so: The government has reportedly ordered an investigation into the extreme fringes on both ends of the political spectrum, with a peer tasked with offering recommendations to the prime minister and home secretary. The review will be led by John Woodcock, the former Labour MP who now sits in the upper chamber as Lord Walney and was appointed as the government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption last November. Let’s be clear: the government is right to note that we face an extremist threat. Fascism is growing in out society. Threats are commonplace. I have no time for them. They are utterly unacceptable, from wherever they come. But let’s also be clear that as far as I can see the only left wing extremists that will be found are likely to be, in the government’s opinion, Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter. Both take action to affirm the right to live in freedom of fear. In contrast, on the right what we are seeing is the active promotion of fear. Oppression of others is the stock-in-trade of the right. So, we have one supposed extremism wing affirming the right to life free from fear and discrimination in all its forms, and the other extreme seeking to do the exact opposite. And what that very strongly suggest to me is that we are not comparing like with like. In fact, the analogy is deliberately a falsehood in itself and part of the process of oppression in its own right. I am not suggesting I always agree with all protest methods used by XR and BLM, because I can have my own views on what is appropriate. But have I ever spotted what might fairly vibe called extremism in their actions? No, is my fair response to that. But I do see oppression and violence, and violent threats coming from the right. So shall we not equate the two, whilst always condemning all those who use such methods? I cannot help that feel that just as the government is cracking down on charities to oppress the proper statement of history to prevent exposure of those who oppressed in pursuit of profit, so too is the government now seeking to use right wing violence as an excuse to oppress those who want to curtail those who still do the same thing. And that is utterly unacceptable, but a clear indication of the world we now live in.
Who Wanted Pandemic Lockdowns? --People of the future will look back at these 11 months and be very confused. How could virtually the entire world have thrown out settled practices of civil, economic, and cultural liberties for a virus that resisted every attempt to control it? This virus is not Ebola and it has come nowhere near approaching the death rates associated with H1N1 of 1918. By some measures, it’s not been as deadly as 1957-58, a virus that came and went without much public attention at all. New pathogens are part of life, and there was and is nothing particularly unusual about this one. The enduring question now and for many years to come will be: why? We all asked the question a thousand times, and it has been asked of us the same number of times. It is too early to say, and the answer will likely be similar to other epic events in history such as the Great War or the Fall of Rome. The answer to the question why is: multiple causes. I’m not prepared to weigh them yet. And yet, it seems reasonable to observe that many groups and sectors had a kind of hankering for a pandemic.They turned a widespread and mostly manageable pathogen – doctor/patient relationships and reasonable cautions on the part of the vulnerable – and converted it into the basis for a global panic that overthrew centuries of progress in law and liberty.
No comments:
Post a Comment