Have you ever wondered what the European Union was up to 30 years ago? Dive with us into the European Commission’s audiovisual archives and discover important anniversaries with our new weekly AV history teaser!
Upcoming anniversaries in the teaser:
· 1990: The 1000th weekly meeting of the Commission of the European Communities
· 2005: New rights for passengers in the EU
· 2005: The Kyoto Procotol enters into force
· 2005: Summit of the EU and USA in Brussels
Get the complete material from our archive: https://europa.eu/!RjHQhC https://europa.eu/!mF98DY https://europa.eu/!jU36JY https://europa.eu/!qJ43uJ Find more historical material on the Audiovisual Portal of the European Commission: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/
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Since its debut over a year ago, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has seen tremendous success, breaking attendance records and selling out arenas across North America. The next stop of the PWHL’s neutral-ground Takeover Tour will be in Edmonton, where two Canadian teams will battle at Rogers Place, the heart of Edmonton’s world-renowned Ice District.
The hype around the PWHL proves the growing demand for women’s hockey and increasing support for professional women’s sport. Alberta’s government staunchly supports women’s sports, working to remove barriers women face and increase participation in sport and recreation. Each year, Alberta’s government commits $18 million to increase access to sport and recreation through the Every Kid Can Play program and Active Communities Initiative, as well as more than $50,000 to support women in sport leadership – helping Albertan women thrive, both on and off the ice.
“Alberta’s government is thrilled to welcome the PWHL to our capital city. Hockey runs deep in Alberta, and we couldn’t be more proud to have the world’s best women’s hockey players compete here. Sunday’s game is about more than hockey – it’s about showing girls across the province that there is not only space for them in sport, but that their dreams are within reach, and the entire province is rooting for them.”
Sunday’s much-anticipated game is the direct result of conversations had during Minister Schow’s mission to New York this past fall, and will draw a sold-out crowd, injecting millions into the local economy as visitors book accommodations, eat at restaurants and shop at local businesses. As the PWHL continues to build its audience and consider expansion, Sunday’s game will highlight Alberta as a premier destination, with world-class sport infrastructure and the world’s best hockey fans.
“The support from Edmonton and the Alberta hockey community leading up to our PWHL Takeover Tour game has been incredible. We’re thankful for the partnership with local leaders, who have been instrumental in bringing our world-class players to Edmonton, and we look forward to an unforgettable weekend, capped by our Feb. 16 game.”
Sunday’s game will give four Albertan players the opportunity to play in front of a hometown crowd. This includes Ottawa Charge forward Danielle Serdachny, the second overall pick in the 2024 draft, along with her teammates: defender Stephanie Markowski from Edmonton and goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer from Bruderheim. Also featured in the game are Ottawa head coach Carla McLeod, from Spruce Grove, and Calgary’s Jessica Kondas, a defender for the Toronto Sceptres.
“Explore Edmonton is proud to celebrate women’s hockey with the first ever PWHL game in Edmonton, where hockey culture thrives and is supported by the best fans. There is strength in partnership, and we are glad to work alongside the event partners and funders to bring the community together to continue our hockey legacy and support women-in-sport.”
Related information
PWHL Takeover Tour
Related news
Promoting Alberta tourism in New York City (Sept. 20, 2024)
Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests, and Dan Dunmoyer, CEO, California Building Industry Association, have released the following statement on B.C. lumber and softwood duties:
“B.C. and California have a strong relationship and a history of co-operation that has benefited so many people up and down the coast.
“Together, we are working to make sure that our desire for fair, mutually beneficial trade policies is fully understood by U.S. industry leaders and policymakers, and to show that unjustified tariffs on Canadian imports on top of the already challenging softwood issue will only hurt people on both sides of the border.
“There’s no doubt that our American partners need B.C.’s quality softwood products, and any tariff will simply increase the costs to build much-needed housing. This is particularly true following the recent fires in Los Angeles. More than 16,000 homes and buildings were lost, an almost unimaginable tragedy. There are now predictions that housing and rental units will now become even more unaffordable.
“B.C. can play a positive role in helping California rebuild after the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. Rebuilding is only possible using B.C. wood, and unjustified tariffs and duties will only make recovery more expensive and take longer. B.C. can help in this housing crisis and we have a role in shaping the future of trade between our two countries.
“The message we are bringing to Californians is this: B.C. is here to help. Our relationship creates reliable jobs and predictable, stable markets at a time when they can be hard to find. The best way forward is together.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking candidates for appointment as members of the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee, which was established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to help protect investors and improve securities regulation. Candidates will be considered for open at-large membership positions on the committee, as well as for a position as the member who is representative of the interests of senior citizens, as provided in the Act.
The purpose of the Investor Advisory Committee is to advise the Commission, protect investor interests and promote the integrity of the securities marketplace. Committee members represent the interests of investors, are knowledgeable about investment issues, and have reputations for integrity.
The committee advises and consults with the Commission on:
Regulatory priorities of the Commission;
Issues relating to the regulation of securities products, trading strategies, fee structures, and the effectiveness of disclosure;
Initiatives to protect investor interests; and
Initiatives to promote investor confidence and the integrity of the securities marketplace.
“We look forward to receiving candidates who want to serve on the Investor Advisory Committee,” said SEC Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda. “Obtaining a variety of investor views helps the SEC to fulfill our mission on behalf of American issuers and investors.”
Members of the public interested in serving on the committee in either of the above capacities should promptly email a letter of interest to iac-candidates@sec.gov with applicable information about their relevant experience. The letter of interest should indicate whether the person submitting the letter seeks to serve as one of the at-large committee members or as the committee member representing the interests of senior citizens. The deadline for submission of a letter of interest is March 15, 2025. Those who have previously applied for membership on the committee must re-apply to be considered at this time.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham today announced Brian Young will serve as the agency’s Director of Enforcement. Young has been serving in an acting capacity since January 22, and previously was the Director of the Whistleblower Office. He is a distinguished federal prosecutor with nearly 20 years of service at the Department of Justice, including Acting Director of Litigation for the Antitrust Division and Chief of the Litigation Unit for the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division, and has successfully tried some of the most high-profile criminal fraud and manipulation cases in the CFTC’s markets. “Brian exemplifies the best of what we stand for at the CFTC,” said Acting Chairman Pham. “He is a fearless leader that will build an even more impressive enforcement program that will stay true to the CFTC’s mission to protect the American public from fraudsters and scammers. I am confident that under Brian’s leadership, the CFTC will expand and scale our resources to help more victims than ever before and ensure the integrity of our markets in the name of justice. Brian has hit the ground running and I look forward to seeing his continued impact to strengthen the Division of Enforcement and deliver results.” “I want to thank Acting Chairman Pham for her confidence in me and for her commitment to continuing the CFTC’s aggressive efforts to protect our global commodity markets from fraud, manipulation, and other abusive practices,” said Young. “As former Director of the Whistleblower Officer, I worked closely with the talented and dedicated staff of the Division of Enforcement, and I look forward to working with this highly motivated group to help bring justice for victims, protect those who cannot protect themselves, and root out misconduct and wrongdoing.” Brian Young, Director of Enforcement Young joined the CFTC in 2024 as the Director of the Whistleblower Office following nearly 20 years at the Department of Justice. During his first year as the Director of the Whistleblower Office, Young oversaw a team that achieved a record high number of annual dispositions of whistleblower award applications. His most recent role at DOJ was as the Acting Director of Litigation for the Antitrust Division, where he served as the highest-ranking career official in the Antitrust Division’s litigation program. There, he oversaw criminal prosecutions brought under the Sherman Act as well as civil merger and antitrust conduct litigation. Before his time at the Antitrust Division, Young served in various roles in the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division, culminating in his appointment as Chief of the Fraud Section’s Litigation Unit. While at the Fraud Section, Young tried several of the most significant white collar crime matters in the past decade, including prosecutions of the first individuals tried in the United States on charges of manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR); the former head of HSBC Bank’s Foreign Exchange (FX) desk in connection with a scheme to “frontrun” a client on a $3.5 billion FX trade; and two former London and Singapore-based Deutsche Bank precious metals traders arising from a scheme to “spoof” the futures markets by placing over $1 billion in non-bona fide orders on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Young joined the DOJ through the Attorney General’s Honors Program and began his career as a law clerk for the Honorable Alice M. Batchelder of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. During his time at DOJ, Young received the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, three Assistant Attorney General’s Awards for Exceptional Service, and an Outstanding Service Award from the Washington Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3
Summary
Company Announcement Date:
FDA Publish Date:
Product Type:
Drugs
Reason for Announcement:
Recall Reason Description
Bags of POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 20 mEq have incorrect overwrap labels which state POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 10 mEq.
Company Name:
ICU Medical
Brand Name:
Brand Name(s)
ICU Medical
Product Description:
Product Description
POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 20 mEq and 10 mEq
Company Announcement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 13, 2025 LAKE FOREST, Illinois – ICU Medical, Inc. is voluntarily recalling one lot each of POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. bags with overwrap labels 10mEq, packaged in cases of POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 20 mEq, to the user level. ICU medical has received a customer complaint which states that bags of POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 20 mEq have incorrect overwrap labels which state POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 10 mEq.
ICU Medical has identified a potential for some of the product overwraps in one lot being mislabeled as 10 mEq (instead of 20 mEq that is contained in the I.V. Bag) of POTASSIUM CHLORIDE due to a manufacturing issue. The 20 mEq, correctly printed on the labeling affixed to the bag, is not visible or not easily visible without manipulation when the 10 mEq overwrap is in place
Risk Statement: If the Health Care provider mistakenly calculates the patient dose using 10 mEq, the patient will receive an overdose of potassium chloride. Severe hyperkalemia after large intravenous overdoses causes neuromuscular dysfunction including muscle weakness, ascending paralysis, listlessness, vertigo, mental confusion, hypotension, cardiac dysrhythmias, or death from cardiac arrest. Premature infants, patients on chronic parenteral nutrition, patients who have a history of cardiac arrythmias, patients with chronic renal insufficiency, patients who have acute renal failure, patients on potassium-sparing diuretics—all are at risk for adverse and potentially fatal outcomes. ICU Medical has not received reports of adverse events associated with this issue to date.
Potassium Chloride Injection 20 mEq and 10 mEq, is indicated in the treatment of potassium deficiency states, when oral replacement is not feasible and is packaged in 100 mL bags. The mislabeled POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 20 mEq, 100 mL bags contain incorrect overwrap labels with the following information: NDC 0990-7074-26, 200 mEq/L POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 10 mEq. The lot 1023172 and Exp. Date 31 January 2026 is found on the primary container (see picture below). These mislabeled bags are packaged in cases labeled: NDC 0990-7075-26, CASE PACK 1×24 – 100ML 20MEQ POTASSIUM CHLORIDE INJECTION LOT NO. 1023172, EXP DATE 2026-01.
DESCRIPTION OF MISLABELLED BAGS BEING RECALLED:
NDC Number
Barcode Number
Product Overwrap Description
Product Primary Bag Description
Lot Number
Expiration Date
Configuration
0990-7074-26
(01)00309907074269
POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 10 mEq
POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 20 mEq
1023172
31 January 2026
100 mL Flexible Container
0990-7075-26
(01)00309907075266
POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 20 mEq
POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Inj. 20 mEq
1023172
31 January 2026
100 mL Flexible Container
DESCRIPTION OF CASES BEING RECALLED:
NDC Number
Barcode Number
Lot Number
Expiration Date
Configuration
0990-7075-26
(01)30309907075267
1023172
31 January 2026
1 x 24 – 100 mL
ICU Medical is notifying its customers, including distributors, of this recall by letter, and is arranging for the return of all recalled product. All Health Care professionals that have product that is being recalled should stop use/further distribution, as applicable, and return to place of purchase.
Consumers with questions regarding this recall can contact ICU Medical by phone number or e-mail address as indicated in the table below. Consumers should contact their physician or healthcare provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking or using this drug product.
For further inquiries, please contact ICU Medical using the information provided below
ICU Medical Contact
Contact Information
Areas of Support
Global Complaint Management
1-844-654-7780 or ProductComplaintsPP@icumed.com M-F 8-5 CST
To report product complaints
Drug Safety
1-844-654-7780 or DrugSafety@icumed.com M-F 8-5 CST
To report adverse events for IV Solutions & Drugs
Medical Information
1-800-241-4002, option 6 or medinfo_us@icumed.com M-F 8-5 CST
Medical inquiries
Customer Care
1-877-946-7747, option 1 M-F 7-6 CST
Product Replacement Options
Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.
This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
How will inflation, conflict and technological change shape economies in the year ahead?
The International Monetary Fund’s First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath sat down with Meet The Leader at the World Economic Forum‘s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland to share what’s next for global growth.
She identified the statistics that she found most compelling and the risks and opportunities leaders must prioritize in 2025. She also described the pivot countries will need to make in fiscal policy to tackle historic levels of global public debt (levels that could hit the $100 trillion mark) and how “optimism bias” could stand in the way.
This special episode of interview of Meet The Leader was recorded at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
About the research cited:IMF World Economic Outlook: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2025/01/17/world-economic-outlook-update-january-2025
Find a transcript here: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/gita-gopinath-imf-economic-outlook
The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.
Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
Dismantling Medicaid is a Direct Attack on New Mexicans;
New Mexico has the Most Medicaid Recipients Per Capita Than Any Other State
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M) joined U.S. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in writing a letter to President Trump demanding the Trump administration, Elon Musk, and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to not dismantle Medicare and Medicaid to pay for the Republican Tax Scam that gives a handout to the country’s most wealthy. This follows reporting that Elon Musk and DOGE officials gained access to key payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS). CMS administers Medicare and Medicaid.
In 2024, 68 million seniors and people with disabilities seniors relied on Medicare coverage for essential health care, including hospital visits, screenings for cancer, diabetes, and depression, and prescription drugs. Nearly 80 million Americans relied on Medicaid, making it the largest public health insurance program in the United States. In New Mexico, one in three New Mexicans rely on Medicare and over 780,000 individuals rely on Medicaid to access health care.
In the letter the lawmakers wrote, “We write to say no to Elon Musk and DOGE, and demand hands off Medicare or Medicaid. We strongly oppose any efforts by Musk – or anyone else in your administration – cutting or damaging these vital programs. Medicare and Medicaid must not be raided to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Every cut risks Americans paying more, waiting longer, and wading through more insurance red tape for care. Every cut risks hospitals and community health centers struggling harder to keep their doors open and forcing health providers and workers out of their jobs.
The lawmakers continued, “We continue to fight for a health care system that works better for all Americans, so they experience lower costs, shorter wait times, and receive better care. But your Administration, Elon Musk, and DOGE have already made that harder. Your Administration is already responsible for the shut-down of Medicaid portals across all 50 states, disruptions to vital health care communication, closures of community health centers, and significant delays in funding for life-saving health research. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will only serve to deepen the harm.”
The lawmakers urged, “It is dangerously unacceptable that an unelected Musk and his unqualified acolytes have access to sensitive CMS systems and are ready to bypass Congress to make life and death decisions affecting millions of Americans. No one asked for this lawless approach to our critical government health care systems. We urge you to stop this threat to Americans’ health care, now.”
Senator Luján has long supported protecting Medicare and Medicaid from attacks during his career in Congress. In the nomination hearing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become Secretary of Health and Human Services, Senator Luján questioned Mr. Kennedy on his understanding of the importance of Medicaid and pressed Mr. Kennedy for his commitment to protect Medicaid from cuts. Additionally, Senator Luján pressed Mr. Kennedy regarding his views on Medicare drug price negotiation and confirm he will not pause negotiations, as CEOs representing the largest pharmaceutical companies have requested.
In addition to Senators Luján, Markey, and Warren, the letter is signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The full text of the letter is available here.
US Vice President JD Vance has been accused of spreading shocking and shameless misinformation about safe access zones in Scotland by Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay.
In a speech this morning, VP Vance claimed that people in Scotland were told that private prayer in their own homes would be against the law within a safe access zone and that people were encouraged to report anyone they thought guilty of “thought crime.” This has never been true.
Ms Mackay introduced the bill that secured 200 metre wide safe access zones, or buffer zones, around abortion service providers to stop the intimidating anti-choice protests that were taking place across Scotland. Private prayer at home has never been impacted by this Act.
Ms Mackay said:
“This is shocking and shameless misinformation from VP Vance, who is either very badly informed about what my Act has done or he is knowingly misrepresenting it.
“He is one of the most powerful people in the world but he is peddling total nonsense and dangerous scare mongering.
“Nobody should be intimidated or harassed when accessing healthcare, and I am proud that my Act has put a stop to the graphic banners and the protests that far too many people were being forced to pass in order to access healthcare.
“I was proud that our Parliament voted to back safe access zones so overwhelmingly, and that they stood against the cynical lies and misrepresentation of the kind that Mr Vance is promoting.”
Ms Mackay added:
“The government that Mr Vance represents is a clear threat to reproductive rights. He has a shocking record on abortion and many other issues. He has supported calls to reduce access to healthcare and has even argued for a national ban on abortion rights across the US.
“Abortion rights are human rights and they are healthcare. Today and every day I will stand with the millions of people across the US who oppose the misogynistic and anti-choice agenda of Donald Trump and JD Vance.”
The UN Secretary-General on Friday called on the international community to urgently scale up funding and diplomatic action to ease the suffering of millions of Sudanese facing hunger and displacement as rival militaries continue battling each other for control.
Speaking at a high-level humanitarian conference in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, António Guterresdescribedthesituation in Sudanas a catastrophe of “staggering scale and brutality”.
He warned that it is increasing spilling into the wider region.
“It is a crisis that demands sustained and urgent attention,” he said, underscoring the need to ensure protection of civilians and humanitarians, as well as unhindered access to all those in need.
Mr. Guterres also stressed the need to stop the flow of arms and ammunition into the country.
“This flow is enabling the continuation of tremendous civilian destruction and bloodshed,” he added.
Nearly 22 months of conflict between Government forces and their former allied militia, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has leftmore than 30 million peopleacross Sudan in need of assistance and protection.
That figure includes over 12 million displaced from their homes, of whom 3.3 million have sought refuge outside the country’s borders.
Food security and health situations are equally worrying, with less than a quarter of Sudan’s health facilities functioning in areas worst hit by fighting. Nearly 25 million people are suffering from “acute” levels of hunger.
Coordinated response
To respond to the staggering needs, the UN alongside humanitarian partners, is preparing to launch two major response plans for Sudan and its neighbouring countries, requiring a combined $6 billion to assist nearly 26 million people most in need.
“These UN-coordinated appeals far exceed any we have launched for Sudan and for the region. And indeed, it represents the unprecedented dimensions of the needs we are facing,” Mr. Guterres said, underlining the scale of the crisis.
He also applauded local responders and civil society organizations – including women-led organizations – who continue to work bravely and tirelessly to provide assistance and services in their communities, often at great personal risk.
UNECA/Daniel Getachew
UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaks at the humanitarian conference.
Call for a ceasefire
Mr. Guterres also highlighted the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire and protection of civilians.
“My Personal Envoy [Ramtane Lamamra] is engaging with the warring parties on concrete ways to advance these aims, including through the full implementation of the Jeddah Declaration,” he said.
Signed by the leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – facilitated by Saudi Arabia and the United States – the Jeddah Declaration outlined key steps, including respect for international humanitarian law, protecting civilians from harm, facilitating humanitarian aid, and dialogue to reach a ceasefire.
Call for global solidarity
As the holy month of Ramadan approaches, Mr. Guterres called on world leaders to use their influence to support peace and humanitarian aid efforts.
“At this blessed time for peace, compassion, giving and solidarity, I urge all of you to use your tremendous leverage for good,” he said.
“We must do more – and do more now – to help the people of Sudan out of this nightmare,” he concluded.
Opportunity Home Treatment and Recovery Centre – Exterior (Credit: Opportunity Home Treatment and Recovery Centre)
Since 2019, Alberta’s government has worked to establish a system of care that supports treatment and recovery for those suffering from the disease of addiction. The Alberta Recovery Model is removing barriers to ensure every person has an opportunity to pursue recovery. This has included the addition of more than 10,000 new publicly funded treatment spaces, expanding the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program, and building 11 world-class recovery communities across the province, three of which are open and supporting clients. In the Alberta Recovery Model, no person is expected to pay for life-saving addiction treatment services.
Alberta’s government has further expanded addiction treatment capacity by partnering with Opportunity Home Treatment and Recovery Centre in Drayton Valley with a funding agreement of $331,000. Opportunity Home is a 10-bed addiction treatment facility that can support men over the age of 18 with residential addiction treatment services. It has the capacity to support up to 40 clients each year in their pursuit of recovery.
“Our government is proud to invest in treatment and recovery as it is the most compassionate, dignified approach in supporting Albertans suffering from addiction. We are pleased to support ongoing expansion of recovery programs that give Albertans an opportunity to live meaningful, hopeful lives.”
“As the MLA for Drayton Valley, I am grateful for this support from Alberta’s government. Families in Alberta want to see their loved ones recover from addiction, and Opportunity Home makes that possible. I was pleased to advocate for this funding on behalf of this constituency and I am glad to see the government is supporting our community.”
Opportunity Home first opened its doors in 2023. Treatment programs typically last about 90 days, offering a recovery program built on faith and community. The program supports clients with the necessary skills for success and reintegration into society as a person living in recovery.
“I want to thank Alberta’s government for its leadership and commitment to recovery in Alberta and in Drayton Valley. My council and I recognize the vital role that centers like Opportunity Home play in helping individuals overcome addiction and rebuild their lives. Opportunity Home’s passion and commitment has been instrumental in bringing this project to life, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact this funding will have in our community.”
“This support from Alberta’s government alongside the local community members ensures our clients can participate in our programs, free of charge. We are passionate about bringing people out of addiction, into recovery, and helping them rebuild their lives. The support from Alberta’s current government, alongside our local community, has allowed us to remove barriers people face when taking the step forward to access treatment and recovery services. We work together to support people in building long-term success in their recovery from addiction and living healthy lives.”
Opportunity Home is actively expanding its operations and services including cultural programming, as well as increasing services, staffing, training, and clinical hours of operation.
Alberta’s government is committed to making addiction treatment accessible for Albertans in need. The Alberta Recovery Model is based on the fact that recovery is possible and there is hope for those facing mental health and addiction challenges. Alberta’s government believes everyone deserves an opportunity to rebuild their life and reunite with their family, community and culture.
Quick facts
Albertans struggling with opioid addiction can contact the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP) by calling 1-844-383-7688, seven days a week, from from 6 a.m. to midnight. VODP provides same-day access to addiction medicine specialists. There is no waitlist.
Albertans can call 211 Alberta for information on services and supports in their community.
A Nevada woman pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the United States by making claims for refunds of false COVID-19 related employment tax credits.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Candies Goode-McCoy, of Las Vegas, conspired with others to file tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on the employee retention credit (ERC) and paid sick and family leave credit. From around June 2022 through September 2023, McCoy filed approximately 1,227 false tax returns for her businesses and others claiming these refundable credits.
In total, these claims sought refunds of over $98 million, of which the IRS paid approximately $33 million. McCoy personally received over $1.3 million in fraudulent refunds and was paid about $800,000 from those on whose behalf she filed fraudulent returns. McCoy knew that these returns were fraudulent. Neither she nor the others for whom she filed them were eligible to receive the refundable credits in the amounts claimed. McCoy used the proceeds for her personal benefit, including the purchase of luxury cars, gambling at casinos, vacations and other luxury goods.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, Congress authorized the ERC for small businesses to reduce the employment tax owed to the IRS. Congress also authorized the IRS to give a credit against employment taxes to reimburse businesses for the wages paid to employees who were on sick or family leave and could not work because of COVID-19. This credit was equal to the wages the business paid the employees during the sick or family leave, subject to a maximum amount.
McCoy is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 23, 2026. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney John C. Gerardi of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Anthony Lopez for the District of Nevada are prosecuting the case.
Detectives from the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command have charged a man with causing death by dangerous driving after a nine-year-old girl was killed in a collision with a bus last summer.
Martin Asolo-Agogua 23 (17.07.01) of Nunhead, was also charged on Thursday, 13 February with causing death by careless driving when under influence of drink or drugs and driving whilst over the drug limit.
Police were called to the scene where a bus had collided with two children in Watling Street near the junction with Halcot Avenue on the morning of Saturday, 3 August 2024.
Both children were taken to hospital and, despite the best efforts of medical staff, nine-year-old Ada Bicakci sadly died in the afternoon of Monday, 5 August.
Ada’s family continue to be supported by specialist officers.
Asolo-Agogua, who was driving the bus, was arrested on the day of the incident on suspicion of causing serious injury through dangerous driving and drug-driving.
He has been bailed and is due to attend Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 24 March.
ATHENS, Greece, Feb. 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — STEALTHGAS INC. (NASDAQ: GASS) (the “Company”), a ship-owning company serving the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector of the international shipping industry, announced today that it will release its fourth quarter operating and financial results for the period ended December 31, 2024 before the market opens in New York on February 21, 2025.
On February 21, 2025 at 10:00 am ET, the company’s management will host a conference call to discuss the results and the company’s operations and outlook.
Conference Call details: Conference call participants should pre-register using the below link to receive the dial-in numbers and a personal PIN, which are required to access the conference call.
Slides and audio webcast: There will also be a live and then archived webcast of the conference call, through the STEALTHGAS INC. website (www.stealthgas.com). Participants to the live webcast should register on the website approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the webcast.
About STEALTHGAS INC. StealthGas Inc. is a ship-owning company serving the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector of the international shipping industry. StealthGas Inc.’s fleet consists of fully pressurised, semi refrigerated and fully refrigerated vessels. StealthGas Inc.’s shares are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and trade under the symbol “GASS.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The British Embassy in Yerevan invites female citizens in Armenia aged 18 to 22 to enter a competition to be an Ambassador for a Day.
Call for applications for the Ambassador for a Day in Armenia 2025 announced by the British Embassy in Yerevan
What is Ambassador for A Day
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to represent your country on the international stage? The Diplomacy plays a key role in shaping global decisions and women’s voices are truly crucial in this field. This competition gives you a rare chance to step into the shoes of an Ambassador for a day, learn about diplomacy in action and the work of the British Embassy team.
Why you should enter this competition
Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and, therefore, half of its potential. Yet they are not fully represented in diplomacy, politics and leadership roles.
This is why we are encouraging women to make their voices heard on topics that affect us all. We encourage young students to become leaders and advocates for change by offering them an opportunity to experience diplomacy in action and to Take a glimpse behind the scenes of the British Embassy in Yerevan.
Who can apply?
You can enter this competition if you:
are a female citizen of Armenia
are aged between 18 to 22 years old
have a good command of English
agree to be
available to spend a full day with the British Embassy staff on 20 March 2025
agree to be photographed and filmed throughout the day, with content shared across publicly (in accordance with GDPR guidelines)
How to apply?
To enter, submit a short video (up to 2 minutes) in English answering the following question: “What would you do if you were the British Ambassador in Armenia?”
Important tips:
we will be celebrating Women’s month together and this competition highlights the importance of women’s leadership. Please bear in mind that the topic for International Women’s Day 2024 is “Accelerate Action (IWD 2025) and “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment (UN Women 2025)
creativity will be an important judging criteria. Don’t be afraid to be bold and share your unique perspective.
the selection process will be fair and inclusive with a diverse judging panel to ensure equal evaluation
Please read the information in detail on our Terms and Conditions.
How to submit your entry?
Read the terms and conditions for entering the Ambassador for a Day 2025 competition:
Once you have prepared your video, email it along with the Ambassador for A Day participation form to Enquiries.Yerevan@fcdo.gov.uk before the end of 3 March 2025.
Key dates to remember
Mark your calendar!
applications open: 14 February 2025
deadline for applications: 3 March 2025
shortlisted winner contacted: 14 March 2025
ambassador for a Day: 19 March 2025
…and for the winner
The winner will spend an entire day shadowing the British Ambassador. This will include attending meetings, learning about international cooperation and engaging with UK-funded projects.
Follow the journey!
Even if you are not selected as the winner, we encourage you to follow the journey on our social media channels. We will be sharing inspirational stories and insights from past winners. This is a chance to engage with a community of young women interested in leadership and diplomacy.
This half term a huge range of free activities are set to take place for children to enjoy over their break.
From sports and physical activities to arts and crafts and day trips there is a wider variety of activities on offer to keep the kids entertained and engaged organised via the City Council.
These free events are open to all families whose children are eligible for free school meals. The activities are free, and a nutritious meal will also be provided over the course of the day.
Addressing hunger over the holiday is a priority for Manchester City Council and around 44,000 children and young people are being supported through payments via Manchester schools. And a further £190,000 has been allocated to the city’s Holiday Activity Fund (HAF) to provide free activities during half term breaks.
You can also find out about even more activities that are taking place over the half term, from fun events at the People’s History Museum, to free swimming sessions to nature walks all of which are open to everyone!
Councillor Julie Reid, Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People said: “Supporting families over the half term period is a really important role that we play as a Council. A huge amount of work has taken place, particularly since the pandemic, to address inequalities across the city and schemes like the Holiday Activities Fund is a big part of that. Holiday hunger can have a real impact on children which is why schemes like this are so vitally important.
“There are a lot of great events that will be running over the half term with a free meal or snack included, so if you have not already been contacted to take part I’d urge families to have a look at our Loads to Do website and see what they think their child would enjoy over the half term.”
Ukrainian authorities said on Friday a Russian drone strike with a high explosive warhead struck the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant overnight, damaging a protective shield which was built following the 1986 disaster in order to prevent further radiation leaks.
Russia has denied any responsibility for the attack. The head of the UN-backed international atomic energy watchdog, IAEA – which has a team based at the former Soviet nuclear site in Ukraine – issued a statement confirming that the strike had caused a fire, describing it as “a deeply concerning incident that underlines the persistent risks to nuclear safety during the military conflict.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the team heard the explosion at 1:50am local time followed by smoke and associated fire visible from their dormitory rooms.
“Fire safety personnel and vehicles arrived at the scene within minutes to extinguish the blaze, which still could be seen intermittently for several hours afterwards,” Mr. Grossi added.
Radiation levels ‘normal and stable’
Radiation levels inside and outside the so-called New Safe Confinement building “remain normal and stable,” the team was told, and there are no reports of any casualties or radiation leak.
The damaged cladding around reactor unit 4 was built to seal in the radioactive material from the 1986 fire and meltdown and is intended to last for many generations.
Russian forces briefly occupied the area around Chernobyl shortly after invading Ukraine, but it was recaptured in March 2022.
The explosion sent radioactive material high into the atmosphere and triggered a public health emergency across the whole of Europe.
“The IAEA team could see a breach of the outer layer of the NSC that occurred following the detonation,” Mr. Grossi continued. “Supplementary information from Ukraine’s regulatory body received this morning confirmed that the outer cladding of the NSC arch sustained damage, and investigations are ongoing to determine the status of the inner cladding.”
I would suggest putting the 1986 disaster details at the end as the Grossi quote that follows could be interpreted as referring to it.
Constant threat
Coming soon after a recent increase in military activity near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Director General Grossi said it once again demonstrated that nuclear safety remains under constant threat for as long as the conflict continues.
“There is no room for complacency, and the IAEA remains on high alert,” he said. “I once again call for maximum military restraint around Ukraine’s nuclear sites.”
The agency said it would continue to provide updates as information becomes available.
The IAEA will provide further updates about the situation at Chornobyl as relevant information becomes available.
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3
Thisrecallinvolves updating instructions for using certain devices, and does not involve removing them from where they are used or sold. The FDA has identified this recall as the most serious type. This device may cause serious injury or death if you continue to use it without following the updated instructions.
Affected Product
Product Names: Impella RP with SmartAssist and Impella RP Flex with SmartAssist
Unique Device Identifier (UDI)/Model: 00813502011869 and 00813502012811
Lot/Serial Numbers: All devices
What to Do
On December 12, 2024, Abiomed Inc. sent all affected customers an Urgent Medical Device Correction notification recommending the following actions:
Product is NOT being removed from the field and does not need to be returned.
Forward this notice to anyone in your facility that needs to be informed.
If any of the subject products have been forwarded to another facility, contact that facility and provide them with this notice.
Use updated instructions for use, found in the Urgent Medical Device Correction notification, when inserting, manipulating, or removing concomitant devices.
Reason for Updates to Use Instructions
Abiomed Inc. has updated the use instructions for the Impella RP with SmartAssist and Impella RP Flex with SmartAssist due to a risk that the tip of guidewires or other medical devices may come into contact with the Impella pump during insertion, adjustment, or removal. The interaction may result in optical sensor damage, temporary pump stop, or permanent pump stop. This may trigger alarms and cause a loss of certain heart and blood pressure readings.
There have been no reported injuries. There have been no reports of death.
Device Use
The Impella RP Flex with Smart Assist System Catheter is used for up to 14 days in patients that develop acute right heart failure after left ventricular assist device implantation. The device is placed via the internal jugular vein and supports the right chamber of the heart (ventricle) by pumping blood into the pulmonary artery.
Contact Information
Customers in the U.S. with questions about this recall should contact Abiomed at onemd-field-actions@its.jnj.com.
Additional FDA Resources
Unique Device Identifier (UDI)
The unique device identifier (UDI) helps identify individual medical devices sold in the United States from manufacturing through distribution to patient use. The UDI allows for more accurate reporting, reviewing, and analyzing of adverse event reports so that devices can be identified, and problems potentially corrected more quickly.
How do I report a problem?
Health care professionals and consumers may report adverse reactions or quality problems they experienced using these devices to MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.
I’m a law professor who has written about Congress’ power of the purse and some of the legal and constitutional issues that surround it. Here’s a brief explanation of the concept – and of why you should care about it.
Concretely, Congress may enact laws that raise revenue through taxes and import duties, and it may also spend money for “the common Defence and general Welfare,” terms in the Constitution that are understood to cover almost any spending that Congress thinks is a good idea.
The Constitution, however, provides that “[n]o Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” Because of this clause, officials may not spend any government money unless a statute “appropriates,” or makes available, specific funds for the relevant purpose.
Although the Constitution forbids any appropriation for the Army that lasts longer than two years, Congress can choose in other contexts whether to provide an appropriation permanently or only for a prescribed length of time. Some benefits programs such as Social Security today have permanent appropriations, but most government agencies receive funds for their operations for just a year at a time.
James Madison, who wrote much of the U.S. Constitution, said Congress’ power of the purse was ‘the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people.’ wynnter-iStock/Getty Images Plus
Leverage over policy and presidents
Why does all of this matter?
Historically, the British Parliament’s control over government funds created a powerful check on the crown, and Parliament developed the practice of annual appropriations to ensure that it would always have leverage over royal policy.
Reflecting this history, James Madison, the fourth president and a leading figure in the Constitutional Convention, wrote in the Federalist Papers that the power of the purse was “the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every just and salutary measure.”
This sort of leverage over policy still matters. American presidents today exercise vast powers. Over time, Congress has conferred extensive regulatory authorities on administrative agencies that operate under the president’s supervision.
Congress has also established a large Army, Navy, and Air Force over which the president is commander in chief. Presidents, moreover, have claimed the power to employ these armed forces in significant ways even without a declaration of war or other specific authorization from Congress.
Congress’ power of the purse gives it a say in how these powers are exercised. If Congress doesn’t like what an administrative agency is doing, it can cut its budget or deny funds for enforcing certain regulations – something it does regularly.
Likewise, Congress can deny funds for certain military operations or impose constraints on military activities – something it also does with some regularity. In the 1970s, Congress helped end the Vietnam War in part by withholding appropriations for military activities in Indochina.
Who’s in charge here?
Annual appropriations also give rise to the frustrating phenomenon of government “shutdowns”: If annual funding runs out before Congress enacts new appropriations, government agencies generally must halt operations.
On the whole, however, annual appropriations continue to serve much the same purpose in the United States that they did in Britain: They provide a potent check on the executive branch.
Given how strong this check is, it may not be surprising that presidents have sought ways to get around it.
President Donald Trump, right, and Elon Musk, left, are cutting congressionally approved government programs and staff – an effort that may be unconstitutional. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Based on debatable legal claims, President Barack Obama continued certain health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act even after Congress denied appropriations for them. President Joe Biden attempted massive student debt relief without clear authority from Congress. Courts blocked both those actions, but now the new Trump administration has adopted several controversial policies that implicate Congress’ power of the purse.
On the one hand, the administration has apparently offered many federal employees nine months of paid leave if they agree to resign from federal service. But the legal basis for these offers is unclear, and it may be that no current appropriation by Congress provides funds for them.
On the other hand, the administration has attempted to “pause” certain government spending, even though existing appropriations made by Congress may require at least some of this spending.
These actions could violate not only Congress’ constitutional power of the purse but also specific statutes that Congress has enacted to reinforce its constitutional power.
The buyout offers could violate a law called the Anti-Deficiency Act that makes it unlawful, and sometimes criminal, for government officials to commit to spending money without an appropriation providing the necessary funds.
For their part, the pauses could violate a 1974 law called the Impoundment Control Act that generally forbids the government from delaying or withholding spending that Congress has mandated. Courts are now considering challenges to these actions based on these laws and other issues.
Trump may be hoping that Congress will cure any legal problems by ratifying these actions after the fact in its next round of appropriations legislation. But if Trump is indeed defying Congress’ spending laws and yet faces no consequences, his actions could chip away at Congress’ authority to check presidential policies in the future through its spending choices.
James Madison would not have been pleased.
Zachary Price does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Scientists comment on asteroid 2024 YR4 which may hit Earth in 2032.
Prof Martin Ward, Emeritus Temple Chevallier Professor of Astronomy, Durham University, said:
“The way these percentages for the chance of impact are calculated are based on extrapolations of the asteroid trajectory and the position of the Earth when the asteroid arrives. They get more accurate with time as we get more data. Think of it as a circle in the sky (much bigger than the asteroid itself). The direction of future travel plus the position of the Earth could take any line out of the circle towards the Earth. Most lines are projected to miss, but a few would hit. As our data on the asteroid trajectory and Earth’s position when it arrives get better by tracking it with time the circle becomes smaller, and the number of possible future lines decreases. If the lines that previously hit the Earth are now outside the improved circle, then the chances go down (and maybe vanish). But if the smaller circle still includes the lines that hit the Earth, then the chances of hitting us go up correspondingly. So, as time goes on we will get either good news, that eventually the future direction of travel misses us, or bad news, that the ratio of lines that hit us to those that miss us, goes up. If that trend continues, then duck… Before that happens, it will be possible to predict the path it would take through the atmosphere, and hope for the best. The Earth is 70% covered by water, and of the remaining land mass, 33% is desert. So the question will be… “do you feel lucky?”
Prof Danny Steeghs, Professor and Head if Astronomy & Astrophysics Group, Department of Physics, University of Warwick, said:
What is the situation?
“We monitor many asteroid orbits, but this object was not previously known. It was identified in December 2024, near its closest approach, when it was bright and moving through the sky fast. Routine is to model the orbit of newly discovered asteroids including projecting forwards in time to see if there are any concerns around close approaches with the Earth. Almost always the answer is no. In this case we could not, and still cannot, fully rule that out. This is rare, it has been many years since we have had an asteroid with this level of impact probability.”
How strong is the science behind a potential earth impact?
“We understand the dynamics of solar system orbits well. It’s about measuring the orbit with better precision and characterising the nature/size of the object. The Earth is a small target on the scale of the solar system, but orbit calculations have a finite precision since they are based on measurements of the position of the asteroid at different times since its discovery. These measurements have a finite precision, and we do not have many yet, and we can accurately translate this into a probability of impact during future passes. At the moment this is a few 2%, which is considered high enough to warrant further and urgent observations.”
How worrying/expected is this?
“It is not really worrying, expectations are that as we refine the orbit of the asteroid, the probability of impact will reduce. Its better maybe to think of it as, we cannot fully rule out that it may impact, rather than expecting it to impact. The next steps are clear – securing more data and improving our precision/confidence.”
How is the risk of collision calculated, and could it change?
“The measurements that feed into these calculations are collected by a number of telescopes and observatories. These are globally shared so that a number of teams can calculate orbit projections. Each time new data is added, the calculations can be refined. This is why the number is changing and in the early stages it can change more erratically. As precision improves, it will tend to settle down to the point where we can be very confident. This could take some time, as the asteroid is getting faint quickly, and it may not be fully settled until it passes again in 2028.”
What could we do to stop it / prepare?
“We do not yet accurately know the size of the object, and what any impact might do and how we could mitigate it depends on that. We have tested deflecting an asteroid by sending a probe to hit it from the right angle, just to change its orbit a little. That is the preferred intervention route, but what is involved depends on the mass, size and orbit.”
Dr Darren Baskill, Physics & Astronomy Lecturer, University of Sussex, said:
“An asteroid passes by the Earth, within the orbit of the Moon, typically every month – which is very close in cosmic terms. The last time this happened was when a 26m asteroid passed us by on the 4th of February 2025.
“Watching an asteroid approach is a bit like watching a long pot in snooker – you don’t know if the ball will go in a pocket until the very last moment, and there is always a good chance of the ball rattling in the jaws of the pocket and missing. This is why there is so much uncertainty surrounding this asteroid. Of course, the distances involved in astronomy are much, much larger, making accurate long-term predictions difficult.
“It is worth noting that the predicted size of asteroid 2024 YR4 is 40-70m, which is only around 3 times larger than the asteroid that famously struck Russia in 2013. While there were large amounts of minor damage in that event, including large numbers of windows being blown out in the area due to the resulting shockwave, there were no fatalities, nor any major damage recorded.
“At the moment, while there are teams around the world who are able to detect asteroid threats better than ever before, there are no systems in place that could prevent an asteroid strike should one be found to be on a collision course. Hopefully, that will change over the next 7-and-a-half years, just in case!”
Dr James O’Donoghue, planetary scientist at the University of Reading, said:
“Scientists are getting better at tracking the asteroids that could hit Earth, with the result that we have become accustomed to asteroids having incredibly low impact probabilities, typically in the order of one in tens of thousands. That’s why a 1-in-49 chance is making us sit up and notice.
“This level of risk demands serious attention, and it’s clear that it is being taken seriously, as seen by NASA’s response and the high-level notifications that have been triggered. The recent diversion of the James Webb Space Telescope to observe this object is particularly noteworthy. Understanding its precise size is crucial – an 80-meter asteroid would impact with eight times more energy than a 40-meter one, as doubling the diameter increases the volume and mass by a factor of eight. To put this in perspective, a 40-meter asteroid carries the energy of a few megatons of TNT, comparable to a nuclear warhead, while a 90-meter asteroid exceeds 50 megatons – roughly equivalent to the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated.
“The fact that we can predict this potential impact many years in advance is a testament to how well humanity is advancing in planetary defence through astronomy. It’s also a reminder than we have discovered less than half the total number of similarly sized asteroids so far, so there is much more work to be done.”
Dr Olivier R. Hainaut, Astronomer, European Southern Observatory, said:
What is the situation?
“Observatories around the world (including ESO) are working to refine the orbit. This takes time, as one has to wait for the asteroid to move to perform more measurements. We can fairly easily observe YR4 for another month with large telescopes, then it will become harder and harder. By early April it will be out of reach of most telescopes. Hopefully the orbit will be refined enough to completely rule out an impact.
How is the risk of collision calculated and could it change?
“Orbital calculation and celestial mechanics… You measure the position of the asteroid in front of the background stars over as many nights as possible, then solve for the orbit, which is the 3D trajectory of the asteroid in space. The longer you can measure, the better you know the orbit. Currently, we could observe YR4 for a little less than 2 months over its 4y orbit, so we need to extrapolate a lot, hence the large uncertainty. As we will observe more, the orbit will be refined, and we will know better where the asteroid will be in 2032. Eventually, the probability of impact will converge towards one of two possible values: 0% or 100%… Hopefully 0%, and hopefully by the end of this visibility period. Note that the probability is likely to go up even if it ends up going down to 0% -that’s normal.”
“Measuring and computing the orbit is very robust- celestial mechanics is very well known, and demonstrated by the navigation of spacecrafts all around the solar system.
“Measuring the size and composition of the asteroid is not scientifically complicated, but is tricky in this case because the object is very faint.”
How worrying/expected is this?
“How worrying: currently, the probability of impact is ~2%. It is typical to start preparing for disaster relief when the probability goes above 1% (astronomers did not make that number up – it is what is customarily used for all kind of disasters). IF the probability stays above 1% at the end of the visibility period (~April), it will be time to start possible mitigation space mission. Keep in mind that IF these mission would fail and IF the asteroid does impact, it is not a large one. Possibly a few times larger than the one that blasted above Chelyabinsk in 2013, but ~150x SMALLER than the Chicxulub dinosaur killer.
“How expected: look at the Moon. It is covered with craters, and the Earth is just next to it. Collisions with asteroids are expected, which is why we try to discover as many as possible (and all the “large” ones). The question is not “if”, but “when” and “how big”.”
What could we do to stop it / prepare?
“Short answer: first, refine the orbit to determine whether it will hit or not. If it will, then nudge it to slightly change its orbit so that it misses the Earth. The sooner the better, as a later nudge will need to be larger. To nudge it, refer eg to the DART mission, which did it as a test on an asteroid about 2x the size of YR4.
“DON’T break the asteroid (refer to a series of bad SciFi movies): you would end up with many fragments to deal with.”
Declared interests
For all experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.
ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man pled to federal charges of firearm and drug trafficking, including the possession and sale of a machine gun.
According to court documents, on March 1, 2024, Micah Maestas, 20, and two accomplices sold 3 grams of cocaine for $100 and a firearm with an attached machinegun conversion device for $1200 to an undercover officer. Maestas also possessed a second firearm during this drug trafficking offense.
In a subsequent incident on May 9, 2024, Maestas and two others met the undercover officer to sell a rifle for $1100 and offered additional firearms for sale, including firearms with machinegun conversion devices. During this interaction, the buyer claimed to be a felon, yet Maestas proceeded with the transaction.
The final incident occurred on July 3, 2024. Maestas met the undercover officer alone and sold him a firearm fitted with an “Invisible Switch” machinegun conversion device for $1300. Maestas admitted to installing the conversion device himself, knowing it would transform the semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic firearm.
At sentencing, Maestas faces not less than five years and up to 25 years in prison, followed by not less than five years and up to life of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Brendan Iber, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made the announcement today.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Letitia Carroll Simms is prosecuting the case.
Machine gun conversion devices and auto sears are illegal devices that transform semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons capable of continuous firing with a single trigger pull. The possession, manufacture, and sale of these devices without proper licensing is a federal offense carrying severe penalties, including up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.
The proliferation of these devices poses an immediate and critical threat to public safety. Between 2018 and 2023, the ATF recovered thousands of machine gun conversion devices, indicating an alarming trend in their availability and use. Violent street gangs are increasingly employing these devices, devastating communities and neighborhoods with unprecedented firepower.
This dramatic increase in illegal automatic weapons puts both civilians and law enforcement at extreme risk. Officers responding to incidents may find themselves severely outgunned, facing weapons capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute. The potential for mass casualties in such encounters is staggering.
Law enforcement agencies are racing against time to intercept these devices before they can be used in violent crimes. Public cooperation is crucial in combating this threat. If you have information about illegal firearms or conversion devices, please contact the ATF immediately:
Call: 1-888-ATF-Tips (1-888-283-8477)
Email: ATFTips@atf.gov
Visit: www.atf.gov/atf-tips
Your tip could save lives and prevent these dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands. The time to act is now, before our community fall victim to the devastating impact of these illegal automatic weapons.
PROVIDENCE, RI – A Warwick man who previously admitted to a federal judge that he traveled to a local hotel via a commercial rideshare provider with the intent to have sex with a person he thought to be 13 years old was sentenced today to six years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Zachary Q. Baker 39, admitted that on March 10, 2023, he responded to an online advertisement for escorts that contained images of what appeared to be two young females being offered for a “short visit” and a “little fun.” Baker engaged in a lengthy series of text messages with a person he believed was offering a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old for sex in exchange for a fee.
According to information presented to the court, after several hours of text messaging, Baker traveled to a local hotel via a rideshare where he met with the person he believed was arranging for a sexual encounter with one or both of the girls. The person with whom Baker was communicating and with whom he met was, in fact, a Homeland Security Investigations agent.
Baker was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Senior Judge William E. Smith to 72 months of incarceration to be followed by 10 years of federal supervised release. Baker pleaded guilty on July 9, 2024, to a charge of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr.
The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.
ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man, already in custody awaiting trial on federal charges, now faces additional allegations of drug trafficking and firearms offenses.
According to court documents, on or about March 7, 2020, Kyle Majedi, 45, allegedly possessed with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. On the same day, Majedi is accused of possessing with the intent to distribute heroin.
The indictment further alleges that Majedi knowingly possessed a firearm in connection with these alleged drug trafficking activities. Majedi, who was previously convicted of possession for sale of a controlled substance, is prohibited from possessing firearms.
Majedi is currently in custody, awaiting trial on separate charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Trial is scheduled to begin on April 7, 2025. If convicted, Majedi faces up to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
If convicted on the new charges, Majedi faces not less than 15 years and up to life in prison, followed by five years and up to life on supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Brendan Iber, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made the announcement today.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case with assistance from the New Mexico Department of Justice. Assistant United States Attorney Natasha Moghadam is prosecuting both cases.
The indictment is the result of a newly formed Firearms Trafficking Task Force. The New Mexico ATF Firearms Trafficking Task Force works with State and local law enforcement partners, including the New Mexico Department of Justice, the Albuquerque Police Department, Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, the Bernalillo Police Department, and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office to identify, deter, disrupt, and dismantle Firearms Trafficking Organizations (FTOs) supplying firearms to individuals and groups engaged in our community’s most egregious acts of violence, as well as any associated, violent offenders.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Gawthorpe, Lecturer in History and International Studies, Leiden University
When a new US president takes office, his first order of business is usually to reassure America’s allies and warn its enemies. However, Donald Trump is doing things differently. It seems his goal is to strike fear into the heart not of America’s foes, but rather its friends.
American presidents have traditionally seen the country’s network of allies as a “force multiplier” – something that magnifies American power and applies it more effectively. A broad range of allies means trading partners, military bases and diplomatic support in international institutions. According to this line of reasoning, it is in America’s own interests to defend and support its allies – the benefits outweigh the cost.
Trump, by contrast, views allies both as competitors and burdens. He thinks they are too reliant on American military power to defend themselves, and that their economic relationship with the US makes them rich at the expense of American workers. He wants US allies, particularly in Europe, to spend more of their own money on defence and to buy more goods from the US.
He also seems even more willing than in his first term to deploy America’s formidable tools of coercion to make this happen. His widespread threats of tariffs, for instance, are designed to force countries to go along with his wishes, including in non-economic aspects of the relationship. He is also threatening to use economic and military force in alarming ways, such as to seize control of Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal.
The result is a world in which American allies can no longer rely on the US to be a reliable partner. They may increasingly have to fend for themselves against not just their traditional foes, but also a predatory Washington.
Although all US allies are concerned about this turn of events, some are more surprised than others. The biggest shock has come in Europe, which has long occupied a privileged place in America’s strategic thinking.
Europeans knew that a second Trump term was going to be rough. On the campaign trail, for example, he vowed across-the-board tariffs of up to 20%. But they didn’t expect Trump to threaten the territory of Nato members Canada and Denmark, which owns Greenland.
As a result, Europeans’ view of the US has shifted since Trump returned to the White House. According to the results of a recent survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations, the majority of people in Europe no longer see the US as an ally that shares the same interests and values, instead agreeing that it is only a “necessary partner”.
For other US allies and partners, particularly in the global south, this shift is less surprising. Panama owes its existence to an act of US imperialism. The US sent military forces to assist the country in seceding from Colombia in 1903, with the ultimate goal of working with the country’s new government to build the canal.
But Panama has since witnessed numerous American military interventions. Most recently, in December 1989, the then US president, George H.W. Bush, ordered 20,000 US troops to Panama where they toppled the government and arrested the country’s president, Manuel Noriega, on charges of drug trafficking, racketeering and money laundering.
Non-western countries have long been used to the idea that the US will disregard their interests and take advantage of their weakness if policymakers in Washington deem it necessary. What we are witnessing now is the extension of this precariousness to all.
Weakness for flattery
For world leaders looking to navigate this turbulent time, there is an additional problem. Trump has a habit of personalising diplomacy, deciding whom he likes and whom he doesn’t like based on their perceived friendliness to him rather than a more detached calculation of their interests.
He is also a sucker for big, splashy acts of diplomacy. He often gives the impression that his main goal is to be able to sign a deal – any deal – which he can declare to be a victory, rather than giving too much thought to the underlying interests at stake.
This means that smart leaders can flatter and deceive him. In early February, Trump postponed tariffs on Mexico after the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, promised to send troops to the US-Mexico border to tackle the cartels trafficking the drug fentanyl in the US.
The only problem is that almost all fentanyl is trafficked by US citizens at legal border crossings, who bring in very small quantities of the drug in their vehicles. According to Raúl Benítez, a military expert at Mexico’s National Autonomous University, the “ant-like traffic of fentanyl” makes control of the trade “almost impossible”.
But the occasional weakness for flattery hardly makes Trump reliable.
Instead, Trump presents US allies with a dangerous and unpredictable force. Like the leaders of Russia and China, Trump seems to view the world as split into spheres of influence in which powerful countries are free to bully their neighbours.
Many countries will conclude that America is just another aggressive great power to be managed, rather than a country that at least pays lip service to international law. Some might even decide they have no choice other than to develop closer relations with Russia and China, and drift out of the US orbit.
One thing is clear: US allies must do more to ensure they can defend their interests independently. Unlike a country such as Panama, European countries have the resources to do this, if only they can summon the will. They should count themselves lucky – and get to work.
Andrew Gawthorpe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Bridget Jones, the endearingly chaotic heroine who is unlucky in love, is back – but not as many might expect. This is the fourth Bridget Jones film, which adapts the story of the third book in Helen Fielding’s much-loved series (the third film, Bridget Jones’s Baby, was based on the fourth book).
When Bridget Jones’s Diary came out in 2001, our heroine’s low-level eating disorder, neediness and alcohol abuse associated female singlehood with mental instability. In this new instalment, we see an older Bridget with more mature concerns.
The woman we meet in the long opening pre-credit sequence of Mad About The Boy is frazzled, manic and, as we’ve seen Bridget before, given to long bouts on the sofa communing with a bottle of white wine. However, this time she’s not down because love eludes her but because she had a wonderful love and lost it. Our once bubbly singleton has been reconfigured as a subdued widow with two young kids.
Mad About the Boy starts several years after the death of Bridget’s husband Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). While echoes of melancholy endure throughout, once in its stride the film does reestablish the reassuringly comical coordinates of the Jones-verse. At its best, it offers the brilliant one-liners and set pieces to be expected from its star writing team – including Dan Mazer (Ali G, Borat) and Abi Morgan (Shame, The Iron Lady) as well as Fielding herself – served up with a good dose of Bridget Jones’s signature slapstick.
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Embracing the usual trappings of popular feminism, Mad About the Boy champions body positivity and romantic optimism for middle-aged women. It is the latest in a growing genre of story that affords older female characters active sexual identities, including by pairing them up with younger partners. Think of the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That, the Nicole Kidman corporate kink romance Babygirl or the romcom Good Luck Leo Grande (starring Emma Thompson, who plays a wry gynaecologist in Mad About the Boy).
The most interesting consideration in updating the Jones franchise for the 21st century comes from its interrogation of internet dating practices: a classic source of humour in stories about Generation X rejoining the dating game. This is most memorably mined in the novel and series Fleishman is in Trouble. Watching the trailer you might expect Mad about the Boy to centralise Tinder. But this proves a bluff.
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy trailer.
The app leads to the relationship between Bridget and the film’s eponymous “boy”, Roxster, which is initiated in emphatically physical terms when he rescues her from a tree. This scene was full of nods to the famous shot of her backside sliding down a fireman’s pole in the original film. While the connection is consolidated over a dating app, this relationship quickly regains IRL contours as they engage in passionate sex.
In a self-aware gesture towards the franchise’s debt to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Bridget brings up the findings of sociological research on dating apps while talking to her friends about why she’s not met anyone IRL yet. Apps, such as Tinder, provide the illusion of a dating life without ever having to engage in the messy business of actually meeting someone, let alone having sex Bridget argues. She backs this up with the research that suggest this removal of intimacy during the courting stage is not dissimilar to the marriage mart in Austen’s Regency England where young, eligible women were essentially “on display” for men.
At the end of the day, Roxster ghosts Bridget and she is left anxiously checking her phone, drinking alone again and obsessing. This, however, is the old Bridget Jones. Even though the boy does eventually come back, Bridget ends up taking the advice from one of her perennially supportive friends to “let him disintegrate into nothingness”. Symbolically rejecting the flakiness that comes with digitising human relationships, Bridget mirrors society’s increasing disenchantment with dating apps.
The idea of spending time on concrete and lasting relationships underpins Daniel Cleaver’s (Hugh Grant) narrative arc too. With no “kin” he can draw on to put down as an emergency contact, his close friendship with Bridget ends up counting all the more.
At the heart of this film is a strong validation of real connection, understood in terms of corporeality, dependability and also emotional intelligence that cannot be reproduced by dating apps and their algorithms. Likewise, it considers the broader climate of romantic and social crisis in today’s culture, as birth rates plummet and more people live alone and suffer from loneliness. Friendship and family, whether blood or chosen, are just as important here as romance.
Zellweger is effervescent and Hugh Grant gives a show-stealing performance as devilish Lothario-with-a-heart Cleaver. It’s great to see old Bridge back and not so mad after all.
Mary Harrod does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been sworn in as the US health and human services secretary, despite saying a few things that raised eyebrows during his confirmation hearing. One of those things was the claim that some people have a harder time coming off antidepressants than they do coming off heroin. He was referring specifically to the current generation of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.
RFK Jr. is known for saying controversial things about medicine, but is he right on this count?
People trying to come off antidepressants who experience these types of symptom sometimes believe their depression has returned, and will start taking their antidepressant pills again. Differentiating between returning depression and SSRI discontinuation syndrome can be difficult. And it can lead to people continuing to take their antidepressant medication even though they no longer need it.
Evidence suggests that SSRIs with short half-lives (where the drug is rapidly broken down in the body) are more likely to cause discontinuation syndrome. These drugs include paroxetine and fluvoxamine, which cause discontinuation syndrome in about 7% of people. Antidepressants with a long half-life – such as sertraline and fluoxetine – only cause the syndrome in about 2% of people.
Other studies suggest that discontinuation syndrome may be as high as 40% when people stop taking SSRIs abruptly.
The situation is further complicated in that some SSRIs, when broken down by the body, have active metabolites. These metabolites can have similar effects to the SSRI and effectively prolong the half-life of the drug.
So fluoxetine, which has quite a long half-life and an active metabolite, rarely triggers discontinuation syndrome. On the other hand, paroxetine has a short half-life and no active metabolites and is the SSRI most likely to cause withdrawal effects, accounting for about 65% of cases.
The simplest explanation for discontinuation syndrome is that coming off these drugs leads to an abrupt and rapid reduction in serotonin, the neurotransmitter thought to mediate the initial antidepressant effects. This is a gross oversimplification, but appropriate levels of serotonin make you happy and relaxed, while low levels make you sad and anxious.
This serotonin discontinuation theory is supported by studies in rats, although other neurotransmitters are almost certainly involved.
How does this compare to heroin withdrawal?
Heroin activates a protein found in the brain, spinal cord and gastrointestinal tract called the mu opioid receptor. When activated, these receptors reduce the perception of pain by blocking pain signals in the nervous system.
More users of heroin experience a withdrawal syndrome compared to users of SSRIs. Around 85% of opioid users who inject the drug experience severe withdrawal symptoms when they come off it. As with SSRIs, opioid withdrawal syndrome severity depends on how long they have been used for and the half-life of the specific opioid.
The half-life of heroin is very short, which would suggest that it will cause severe withdrawal symptoms. However, heroin produces two active metabolites when it is broken down in the body, 6-MAM and morphine, which, like heroin, activate mu opioid receptors.
But these metabolites do not activate the mu opioid receptor to the same extent as heroin. So in most cases of heroin withdrawal, significant symptoms occur as mu opioid receptors quickly shift from a state of high to low activation, leading to severe effects.
Symptoms include drug craving, anxiety, nausea, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, fever and increased heart rate. These are all caused by changes to opioid receptors in the brain and gut. The gastrointestinal symptoms tend to be shorter lasting, whereas the psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and irritability, can last for years.
Withdrawal from heroin often requires treatment with methadone or buprenorphine, two drugs that activate the mu opioid receptor but which have long half-lives.
Typically, someone trying to come off heroin would go to the pharmacist and get a daily dose of methadone or buprenorphine. This is so-called substitution therapy because the new drug (methadone) substitutes for heroin.
Methadone has many advantages over heroin, including that it is free (no need for criminality to get money for heroin), clean (no need to use potentially dirty needles or potentially contaminated heroin) and less addictive, with reduced side-effects.
Heroin withdrawal is a relatively more common and more serious condition. But individual patients can still have a terrible time coming off SSRIs and a relatively easier time coming off heroin.
How do you come off SSRIs?
To come off SSRIs with minimal chance of a withdrawal syndrome, especially for the short-acting SSRIs, you should taper off the dose. This means that you would take progressively smaller and smaller doses over several weeks or months before coming off completely. Recent medical advice suggests that the tapering should be over a longer period than originally thought, and the final doses should be much lower.
You could also switch from a short-acting SSRI to one with a long half-life like fluoxetine, and then taper off fluoxetine, which should be easier than tapering off paroxetine.
Doctors should also consider “nocebo” effects. Just as doctors can increase placebo effects by being positive about a treatment, they can also increase negative effects (nocebo effects) by focusing on potential side-effects. So if your doctor focuses too much on a potential SSRI withdrawal syndrome, you will be more likely to experience negative effects.
In addition to tapering off SSRIs very slowly, several drugs are available to mitigate the withdrawal effects of SSRIs. These include anxiety-reducing drugs, such as benzodiazepines, and antiemetic drugs, such as ondansetron for nausea.
RFK Jr. has made several debatable statements related to health, including, for example, on vaccinations. On this occasion, though, concerning antidepressants, there is considerable evidence that coming off of SSRIs can be very difficult. But, for most people, it is unlikely that it would be as difficult as coming off heroin.
Colin Davidson has previously received funding from the NIH (USA) and the European Community for projects related to drug abuse. His PhD, on the SSRI paroxetine, was sponsored by GSK. He is currently a consultant on psychoactive substances for the UK Defence Science Technology Labs and is a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (UK). The views expressed here are his own.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Russell, Lecturer, Faculty of Creative & Cultural Industries, University of Portsmouth
Did you hear? There’s been another murder at a White Lotus hotel, this time the one in Thailand.
Back for its third season, Mike White’s critically acclaimed and Emmy award-winning tragi-comedy series follows the terrible exploits of the White Lotus’s rich, primarily white holidaymakers, alongside the local employees.
There is social satire, a lot of drama and always a death in paradise. In the first season there was death in Hawaii; the second in Sicily, Italy, and now, in the third, there’s death in Koh Samui.
As someone who has researched on screen representations of Thailand I was intrigued to see how the show handled this locale. Disappointingly, the exoticness and beauty of Thailand is foregrounded, as is the mysticism of Buddhism.
The series follows four groups of people, the majority of whom the audience are made to feel repulsed by in some way.
The first is the Ratliff family. There’s father, Timothy (Jason Isaacs) who works in finance and mother, Victoria (Parker Posey), whose anxiety means she is heavily medicated and constantly falling asleep. Then the kids: daughter, Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) who is studying Buddhism; son Lochlan (Sam Nivola) who has poor posture from being glued to his computer; and Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), the eldest of the three, whose primary focus is having sex.
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The second group is three middle-aged women who are on a “girls’ holiday” who abandon their inhibitions as the series progresses. They are routinely referred to as cougars by Saxon. Then there is odd couple Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) and her older partner Rick (Walton Goggins), who seem to be going through a rocky patch.
The one likeable person, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell), is a character previously seen working in the spa in the first season’s Hawaiian resort. She’s in Thailand on a research trip for her own wellbeing business.
Terrible people
As with previous series, the ignorance of the holidaymakers is clear. Thailand is referred to as Taiwan. Piper is told by her mother that she can’t possibly be a Buddhist because she isn’t Chinese. The stereotype of the older, rich, bald white male – referred to here as LBHs (losers back home) – who retires to Thailand with a much younger wife is hammered home in various episodes.
Through these guests’ continued cultural ignorance and insensitivity, the few Thai characters we are introduced to are subservient and constantly smiling, always there to please. There’s never a sense of disgust at the exploits of the rich white customers. They are voiceless and for the most part, absent.
Belinda, the only black character, is also the only one who converses in any meaningful way with a Thai person. The only sort of story that gives any space to Thai characters is about a blossoming love between the security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) and health expert Mook (Lalisa Manoban), but this is sidelined.
There is a clear cultural, economic and racial split presented, one that fails to allow any Thai character the ability to air their criticisms of the guests or to be developed in a meaningful way. In the main, the focus is on whiteness – a criticism previous series have also garnered.
An imaginary Thailand
All these facets together create a version of Thailand that is seen through the lens of orientalism. This is a western way of looking at non-western places as full of mysticism, eroticism and exoticness, where nothing normal occurs.
This lens is foregrounded by characters constantly saying things like: “Thailand is full of people either looking for something or hiding from something”, and “Whatever happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand”.
There is a constant flow of alcohol, and drugs can be procured away from the resort. Incest is even hinted at in the first few episodes as the audience are shown Lochlan gazing upon the naked body of his brother. The country is portrayed as a playground for white debauchery, where anything goes – much like in The Hangover part II (2011), a trope I have written about in my research.
The link to orientalism is further enhanced by the way in which Thai religion is shown as being mystical. Anytime a character engages in a spiritual practice it is accompanied by a tinkling score indicating something otherworldly is occurring. This isn’t limited to Western characters. When Gaitok, makes an offering at a shrine the visuals are presented in slow motion as candlelight flickers with a mythical aura pervading.
The previous seasons have seen a boom in travel to filming locations in Sicily and Hawaii, driven by their onscreen depictions), and this season’s Thailand setting will likely lead to the same.
The landscape is a constant focal point, exemplifying the British sociologist John Urry’s theory of the “tourist gaze”. Exotic portions of the landscape are lingered upon, from the jungle and palm trees to ocean vistas. Monkeys are continuously seen, alongside other “exotic” creatures.
This is a recurring trait seen in Hollywood films set in Thailand, from Anna and the King of Siam (1946) to The Impossible (2012), situating it purely as an exotic locale.
This series uses iconic tourist locations, such as the Buddhist temple Wat Pho which forms the background for a conversation in one scene. Also, what appears to be the Phi Phi Islands, known for their pristine beaches and clear waters, drift past during a luxury yacht trip. Sadly, Thailand in this series is reduced to a digestible set of iconic images for the audience.
White Lotus engages in a double game. The series is clearly critical of the characters, presenting lifestyle and holidays as desirable and aspirational, all the while reinforcing antiquated orientalist stereotypes itself. You would hope a show trying to show the evils of a certain kind of tourism wouldn’t also be guilty of the thing it’s attempting to lampoon.
Andrew Russell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephanie Alice Baker, Reader (Associate Professor) in Sociology, City St George’s, University of London
This article contains spoilers for Apple Cider Vinegar.
The new Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar tells the story of wellness influencer Belle Gibson, who built a loyal following on social media by documenting her cancer journey online. But in 2015, Gibson was exposed as a fraud. She never had cancer, and lied about donating funds to charities and ill children.
The series documents Gibson’s rise to fame and subsequent downfall, portraying some of the psychological factors that influenced her deceit. But this scandal also illustrates a larger story about the conditions that enable cancer frauds such as Gibson to gain credibility and influence online.
The 2000s were characterised by the “blogging revolution” – a shift in how people produced and consumed information. Blogs enabled content creators to share their lives and experiences publicly, and engage directly with their readers. Niche communities formed around common interests ranging from health to heartbreak.
Gibson capitalised on this trend, creating a blog called The Whole Pantry where she documented her alleged journey battling a rare form of terminal brain cancer. She claimed on her blog to have decided to reject conventional cancer treatments.
Instead, Gibson expressed that she was empowered to heal herself naturally through nutrition, determination and love – as well as alternative medicine including Ayurvedic treatments, craniosacral therapy, oxygen therapy and colonics.
The blog was developed into an app in 2013 and a book in 2014 – with Gibson’s story being legitimised by a reputable publisher and brands, then further fuelled by her social media presence.
Gibson’s primary platform of communication was Instagram. She used the photo-and-video sharing app to build and engage with her followers through inspirational quotes, personal anecdotes and evocative photographs. Lifestyle and wellness influencers typically earn trust and intimacy by presenting themselves as authentic, accessible – and autonomous from state and corporate interests.
A quote from Gibson’s book, also called The Whole Pantry, encapsulates the way she executed this strategy to appeal to online followers. She wrote: “Too many people over-edit themselves. There’s not enough honesty out there. It’s human to feel sick, to ask questions, to search for answers … Never refine yourself in a way which takes away your heart, message and truest self.”
This persona allowed Gibson not only to achieve fame online, but to establish a parasocial relationship with her followers by distancing herself from the medical establishment, appearing relatable and unfiltered in her exchanges with followers.
The mass media has long been recognised as facilitating parasocial relationships: emotional and imaginary bonds that, despite feeling real, tend to be one-dimensional and one-sided. The original parasocial relationships were formed with media figures such as news anchors, radio hosts, and film and pop stars.
Today, content creators on social media are the primary influencers. Although these relationships are typically one-sided, they can still feel intimate and real.
The role of the wellness industry
In the aftermath of the scandal, people searched for who to blame. Fingers were pointed at the press for glamorising Gibson, as well as a publisher and other companies that failed to adequately fact-check Gibson’s claims.
There’s an assumption that wellness is mainly a female pursuit – and the Netflix series follows several female wellness influencers who have built brands around their illness and disease.
There’s an irony that Gibson’s wellness brand went by the Instagram handle “healing_belle”. Part of the success of the wellness industry today is derived from promising miracle cures and remedies for various forms of illness and disease. Many wellness influencers have built successful brands by commodifying health and wellbeing.
This is a far cry from the movement’s origins and the more positive conception of health they sought to establish – which aimed to operate in conjunction with medicine, rather than against it.
Gibson rose to fame in a climate of low institutional trust, where her lived experience was valued over institutional expertise. Similar to many alt-health influencers, her suspicion of conventional medicine resulted in controversial claims about vaccination, and the benefits of Gerson therapy – a regimen that claims to cure cancer through a special diet, supplements and enemas – and raw milk.
It was by documenting the negative side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in her book that Gibson was able to present her lifestyle and lived experience as a hopeful alternative path to healing.
After she was convicted of misleading and deceptive conduct in 2017 and ordered by the Federal Court of Australia to pay a fine of AUS$410,000 (£206,000), one might have expected to see a decrease in cancer frauds, given the global publicity this scandal attracted.
Short-form video platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have changed the dynamics of fame. Algorithms are central to the user experience on these apps, allowing relatively unknown content creators to gain visibility and attention online.
Whereas Gibson spent years cultivating a following online, today a content creator with only a handful of followers can upload an engaging video and achieve millions of views.
The technologies have changed, but there is an industry of content creators profiting from misleading and harmful advice. The prevalence of cancer misinformation online highlights that the problem runs much deeper than the case of Gibson, as told in Apple Cider Vinegar.
Stephanie Alice Baker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
A County Durham man has been jailed for operating an illegal waste site in a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency.
Image shows waste on the site in Rowlands Gill.
Christopher Williams, 66, of Acton Dene in Stanley, appeared at Newton Aycliffe magistrates’ court on Thursday 13 February for sentencing.
He had previously pleaded guilty to two charges of operating a waste site without an environmental permit at Whinfield Industrial Estate in Rowlands Gill, Gateshead.
He was sentenced to 44 weeks in prison, comprising 26 weeks and a further 18 weeks because the conviction placed him in breach of a suspended sentence imposed for previous environmental offences.
Waste posed ‘obvious’ fire risk
Gary Wallace, area environment manager for the Environment Agency in the North East, said:
Not only was the waste on site illegal, but there was a very obvious fire-risk. Williams was given ample opportunity to clear the waste and was advised how he could operate within the law.
But instead he continued to breach the law with no consideration for the environment or community.
Environmental permits are in place to protect the public and environment, and I hope this sentence sends out the message to others that we will take action against those involved in illegal waste activity.
Image shows mixed waste stored inside one of the sheds at the site in Rowlands Gill.
The court heard that Williams runs an organisation called the LCA Community Charity, which is not a registered charity, from an industrial unit at the site. It advertises as offering help with clothing, furniture and household donations.
The organisation and the defendant both hold waste carrier licences, which is a legal requirement to be able to transport waste.
EA officers saw large amount of waste at site
On 17 November 2022, Environment Agency officers attended the unit. Outside, they saw a large amount of household waste, including more than 50 fridges and fridge freezers, dismantled furniture, mattresses, sink units and toilet bowls, baths and doors, amongst other general waste.
Most of the waste was mixed together, with some looking like it had been there for a long time. Inside the unit was an office area with some household items for sale.
Inside one of the two sheds on site, waste was piled 12 feet high. Across the site, the illegally stored waste posed a fire-risk, with no separation between piles, meaning if a fire broke out it would spread quickly.
Officers spoke to Williams, and he was requested to remove the waste by 16 January 2023, and in a follow-up letter, he was advised about waste exemptions, which allows for low level waste activity without the need for a permit that could allow him to sort recyclable waste for recovery and operate within the law.
On 17 January, officers returned, only to find there was more waste present, with a noticeable increase in broken wooden furniture. Officers expressed concerns about the fire risk.
In the following months, through March and into the summer, Environment Agency officers made numerous visits where they saw waste still on site. At one point, Williams said half of the fridges had ‘gone to Africa.’
Fridges contain refrigerant gasses and blown foam insulation, with old fridges classed as hazardous waste, and should be disposed of at an suitably-licensed facility.
He also told officers he had no waste transfer notes, which are a legal requirement to trace the movement of waste between one place and another.
Officers explained to Williams that the deadline for clearing the site passed in January 2023.
During a visit in September 2024, officers inspected the site and found it was still operating as an illegal waste facility. Williams claimed to still be busy clearing the site.
Illegal waste activity can be reported to the Environment Agency on 0800 807060.
Between 16 November 2022 and 12 July 2023 at unit 13, Whinfield Industrial Estate, Rowlands Gill, Williams operated a regulated facility, namely a waste operation for the storage and treatment of waste pending recovery or disposal, otherwise than in accordance with an environmental permit
Contrary to regulations 12(1)(a) and 38(1) Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016.
On 24 September 2024 at unit 13, Whinfield Industrial Estate, Rowlands Gill, you operated a regulated facility, namely a waste operation for the storage and treatment of waste pending recovery or disposal, otherwise than in accordance with an environmental permit.
Contrary to regulations 12(1)(a) and 38(1) Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The case of Concept Scaffolding Services Ltd, recently heard by the Traffic Commissioner for the East of England and Senior Traffic Commissioner, Richard Turfitt, has highlighted issues from which other licence holders might learn.
The company holds a restricted goods vehicle operator’s licence authorising two vehicles. Both directors, Andrew Erskine and Karl Takkou were present at the hearing.
On 4 September 2024, a Traffic Examiner stopped a vehicle driven by Karl Takkou and discovered multiple infractions. Mr. Takkou failed to insert his digital tachograph driver card, admitting he had left it in another vehicle despite knowing the requirement to use it. The vehicle also lacked an operator licence disc, and the vehicle unit had not been downloaded for over seven years. No driver card had been inserted into the vehicle’s unit for 28 days.
A subsequent visit by another Traffic Examiner on 4 October 2024 was marked as unsatisfactory, identifying deficiencies in compliance systems. The investigation found prolonged failures to download vehicle unit and driver card data, as well as instances of driving without tachograph use.
Simply put, directors had not adequately equipped themselves with the necessary knowledge to manage transport operations effectively. While they had engaged a transport consultant, serious concerns remained.
In deciding to only curtail the licence by one vehicle for one month, Mr Turfitt took account of the corrective measures employed after the stop: introducing a driver defect reporting system, acquiring a company card for vehicle downloads, and adopting a structured compliance monitoring approach. Mr. Takkou had attended a Transport Manager Refresher Course, and the directors committed to ongoing compliance training. Additionally, driver Karl Takkou’s vocational entitlement was suspended for the same period.
Commissioner Turfitt commented: “The Directors were so ill-equipped that there was little prospect of them meeting the licence obligations and yet it is difficult to understand why any business, which all carry obligations under health and safety legislation, had failed to identify the risks and to at least employ basic measures or seek advice. The fitness of this operator has been severely tarnished by their failures…Applicants should read the published guidance and work out what is required before even attempting to complete the application form. Scaffolders and similar operators applying for restricted operator licences need to start giving the same attention to these basic requirements as they would the tax or health & safety regimes.”
Undertakings were accepted to ensure future compliance, including appointing an independent compliance auditor and ongoing oversight from a transport consultant. The operator must submit an audit report to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner within six months.
While improvements have been noted, the Commissioner emphasised that compliance with licensing regulations is fundamental, and future breaches will result in harsher consequences.
