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Published by AFP Prince Andrew has vehemently denied claims he had sex with Virginia Giuffre, and said he has no recollection of meeting her New York (AFP) – Britain’s Prince Andrew has been served legal papers in a US lawsuit brought by a woman who says he sexually abused her when she was a teenager, a court filing showed Friday. The complaint was delivered to the royal’s home in Windsor, England, on August 27, according to an affidavit filed in the Southern District of New York. Virginia Giuffre says she was “lent out” for underage sex by late US financier Jeffrey Epstein who killed himself in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking minors. Giuffre sued Andrew last month, alleging he sexually abused her at the London home of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago, when she was under 18. Giuffre also claims Andrew abused her at Epstein’s New York mansion and on Little St. James, Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands. Andrew, 61, has vehemently denied claims he had sex with Giuffre, and said he has no recollection of meeting her, but the allegations have damaged the British royal family. An agent for Giuffre said in the affidavit that he handed the papers to a police officer at the main gates of Andrew’s property and did not meet Queen Elizabeth II’s second son. A spokesperson for Andrew refused to comment when asked to by AFP. Andrew, a divorced father of two and former Royal Navy helicopter pilot who flew in the 1982 Falklands War against Argentina, was forced to step back from frontline royal duties in late 2019. That followed a furore at a rare television interview he gave to the BBC, in which he defended his friendship with Epstein, a multi-million-dollar hedge fund manager to befriended countless celebrities. Andrew — who as a young man was considered one of Britain’s most eligible bachelors and was dubbed “Randy Andy” in the tabloid press — later issued a statement in which he said he “unequivocally” regretted his “ill-judged association” with Epstein. He has made few public appearances since, although joined other senior royals for the funeral of his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Windsor Castle in April. Maxwell pleaded not guilty in April to charges of recruiting underage girls for Epstein. She is due to go on trial on November 29. Giuffre sued Andrew under the Child Victims Act as she was 17 at the time. The first hearing in the case is set for Monday. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jessica Chastain was shaking with fear before starting work on ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’. The 44-year-old actress plays the titular role in the upcoming film about the controversial televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker and her husband Jim Bakker and admits that many elements of the film “terrified” her. Jessica told DuJour magazine: “There were so many parts of making this movie that terrified me. On the first day of shooting, I started shaking before the first take. That’s never happened to me on a movie before, and it was so embarrassing. “But I thought, if I’m going to throw myself off this cliff, I’m going to jump off the deep end. People might really make fun of me. But Tammy Faye probably thought that every day, and she did it anyway.” Jessica, who is also a producer on the film, recalled how it would take her over seven hours to get into makeup as the character and that she would use the time to study Tammy Faye. The ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ star said: “I just wanted to cry. “People don’t understand that (that kind of makeup) takes a lot of energy, but I used that time to listen to her voice. I just rewatched and rewatched her on video. I’ve seen every video she’s ever done.” Jessica acquired the rights to the film by watching the 2000 documentary of the same name and described it as one of her “crazy ideas”. She explained: “I knew about Tammy from what I’d seen on ‘Saturday Night Live’, but I actually had never seen her give an interview until I watched the documentary. “My impression from sketch television was that she cried all the time, she was a crook and always had mascara running down her face.” Jessica added: “I have these ideas that we have to push against an old-fashioned way the film industry has worked.” Jessica Chastain acquired on Towleroad Prince Andrew served with papers in US sexual assault lawsuit More ‘By the people, for the people’… but who really runs America? More Facebook and Ray-Ban debut ‘smart’ shades More Judge blocks enforcement of Florida’s ‘anti-riot’ law More Biden’s COVID vaccine mandate angers Republicans, libertarians More Gayle King proud to be Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham’s third wheel More Gay man in alleged homophobic attack in Spain says he made it up More Explainer – Beyond Delta, scientists are watching new coronavirus variants More Singapore robocops patrol for smokers and pandemic rule-breakers More Spanish leader to crack down on hate crimes after homophobic attack More Solar could comprise almost half US power by 2050, govt says More Load More View the full article

Published by AFP A young man holds an American flag in January 2021 outside the State Capitol in Texas, which just signed strict measures into law that essentially amount to a total ban on abortion Washington (AFP) – With conservative moves to restrict abortion and voting rights dominating headlines, an outsider might be forgiven for thinking it was Republicans, not Democrats, who run Washington. But the most important elections of 2020 probably weren’t for who would take the White House or Congress — it was the battle for control of America’s state houses. “The Republicans have been especially good at winning state legislative elections,” Wendy Schiller, a professor of political science at Brown University, told AFP. “They smartly focused time, money and energy into winning the House of Representatives back in 2010, and state legislatures.” In that year alone, she said, Republicans picked up more than 600 seats, eventually amassing a nationwide lead of almost 1,100 seats. While control of the executive and legislative branches might seem like the endgame in US politics, Americans’ happiness and prosperity depends as much on what happens in state capitols as in the US capital. Republican legislatures have wielded state power with alacrity in recent weeks, passing a barrage of what opponents characterize as voter suppression bills, while Texas just signed strict measures into law that essentially amount to a total ban on abortion. Critics expect the eventual outcome of the laws, which are seen spreading across numerous red states, to be wide disparities in access to services from one part of the United States to the next. “Federalism has always produced stark inequality in the arena of civil rights and voting, and again now with restrictions on abortions,” said Schiller. “In some cases the federal government has been able to prevail, but unlike civil rights and voting, abortion has not produced the same level of national consensus in favor of increased access.” Outgunned When they ratified the Constitution, states agreed the federal government would have responsibility for two dozen or so national and international issues, while all other duties would be discharged locally. “So the 10th Amendment provides a great amount of latitude and protection of individual states to make their own legislative and legal decisions that may be starkly different from Washington,” Capri Cafaro, of American University’s School of Public Affairs, told AFP. These days the federal government’s exclusive responsibilities include coining money, regulating the mail, declaring war and conducting other foreign policy. It is states, though, that are charged with ensuring the welfare, safety and health of their citizens, taking responsibility for most public services and running elections. Democrats acknowledge that in recent years they have been much more focused on winning the presidency and controlling Congress while being outgunned in grassroots funding and organization. As a result, the Republicans have control of the House and Senate — or the single chamber — in 31 of America’s 50 states. The Texas abortion law, a dramatic escalation of the campaign to undo Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized the procedure nationwide, flies in the face of public opinion. Polls consistently show that over half of Americans believe abortion should be legal all or most of the time. Balance of power “If we do not defend our Democratic majorities and invest in Democratic power, progress on reproductive rights can and will be lost,” Heather Williams, executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said in a statement. US states are currently redrawing their legislative districts in a constitutionally required process that will determine the balance of power in state capitols and Washington for the next 10 years. In most states, legislators meet to come up with the new maps of congressional districts after the census. As a result, redistricting can be as important to the balance of power in the US House of Representatives as the parties’ performances in elections. Most political analysts agree that Republicans — known in Washington as the Grand Old Party, or GOP — have a clear advantage. They control mapmaking in 20 out of the 35 states with multiple congressional seats and legislatures that are in charge of the process. Democrats control just 11. But for all the emphasis on local politics, the state houses need the White House as much as the White House needs the states, according to Schiller, the Brown University professor. “The GOP has moved well beyond its traditional message that the federal government is too big, to a message that the federal government is bad overall,” she said. “Anything federal is bad for states according to the GOP, except of course when it comes to disaster aid, which GOP governors take readily and without objection.” View the full article

Published by AFP Facebook and Ray-Ban have launched new smart glasses, seen here in an undated handout photo San Francisco (AFP) – Facebook and iconic eyewear brand Ray-Ban on Thursday launched their new smart glasses, the latest effort in a tricky, niche market but which the social media giant sees as a step toward its future. The “Ray-Ban Stories” shades can take pictures and video upon the wearer’s voice commands, and the frames can connect wirelessly to Facebook’s platform through an app. “We took our Wayfarer (frames), born in 1952, and we reinvented the design squeezing in some cool technology,” said Fabio Borsoi, global research and design director at the EssilorLuxottica group, Ray-Ban’s maker. Facebook is wading into a market that has already seen 2013’s Google Glass, which sparked a privacy backlash over built-in cameras and prompted the tech titan to pivot its focus for the device away from the general public. Messaging app SnapChat has also released its camera-equipped Spectacles, but they are pricey and have struggled to catch on broadly with tech lovers. Notably, the Ray-Ban Stories glasses will not have augmented reality features — technology that can mesh online computing with visual cues such as mapping or face recognition. Instead, the shades are an early step toward efforts to create futuristic eyewear that adds to real-world views with data or graphics from the internet, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said previously. The company had said in July it was combining specialists from across its hardware, gaming and virtual reality units to build an immersive digital world known as the “metaverse.” Privacy features Priced starting at $299, the Ray-Ban Stories will roll out in Australia, Britain, Canada, Ireland, Italy and the United States. Cameras are built into the front of the frames, while the arms are designed to act as directional speakers for listening to calls or streamed audio. A white light in the front of the frame goes on when the cameras are being used, which is intended as a privacy feature to alert people they could be filmed. Users can take a picture or a video clip of up to 30 seconds by pressing a button at the temple or using a voice command, both of which can be cues that a camera is on. “We need the user to feel completely in control of their capture experience,” said Facebook Reality Labs product manager Hind Hobeika. “And, similarly, we need people around them to feel comfortable that these smart glasses exist and always be in the know when a capture is happening,” Hobeika added, referring to filming. The glasses also have a physical switch for turning them off. Users log into the glasses’ Facebook View app using their accounts at the social network. Ray-Ban Stories frames sync wirelessly to a smartphone app designed specifically for handling images or video captured by the glasses. Users can decide using the app whether they want to share pictures or video they have just captured, such as posting to Facebook or attaching them to an email. Only data needed to run the app is gathered, and no information is used for targeting ads, said Hobeika. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Dan Whitcomb (Reuters) -A federal judge on Thursday blocked enforcement of an anti-riot law spearheaded by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in response to nationwide protests last year over racial injustice, saying the legislation likely violated the U.S. Constitution. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, ruling in a lawsuit brought by civil rights groups, did not rule the entire statute was unconstitutional but found that the Florida legislature’s new definition of the word “riot” was too vague and confusing to satisfy free-speech rights guaranteed under the First Amendment. “If this court does not enjoin the statute’s enforcement, the lawless actions of a few rogue individuals could effectively criminalize the protected speech of hundreds, if not thousands, of law-abiding Floridians,” he wrote. In the 90-page ruling, Walker, who was appointed in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama, included a three-page history of the civil rights movement in Florida dating back to 1956. “We vehemently disagree with today’s decision, but this case was always going to be decided by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals,” DeSantis said in a written statement. “There is a difference between a peaceful protest and a riot, and Floridians do not want to see the mayhem and violence associated with riots in their communities.” The law, prompted by last year’s summer of sometimes violent nationwide protests over police brutality and racism, created criminal offenses tied to rioting and increased penalties for people taking part. “We are glad the court has agreed to suspend enforcement of this key provision while we continue to advocate to ensure that protesters in Florida can safely exercise their right to speak out against injustice,” the ACLU of Florida said. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Peter Cooney and Sandra Maler) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nandita Bose and Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans and libertarians are vowing to fight U.S. President Joe Biden’s new vaccine mandate covering big companies, healthcare workers and federal employees, announced as the Delta strain of the coronavirus rapidly spreads through the country. The mandate https://reut.rs/3niM2M3, which the White House says would cover 100 million U.S. workers and applies to about two-thirds of all U.S. employees, is being written in part by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Within hours of the new measures being announced https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-deliver-six-step-plan-covid-19-pandemic-2021-09-09 on Thursday, some lawmakers, state governors and political party officials were threatening lawsuits or pledging to defy it. “When this decree goes into effect, the (Republican National Committee) will sue the administration to protect Americans and their liberties,” RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. A majority of those opposed questioned the authority the administration has to mandate vaccines. “The Biden administration’s ill-conceived ‘Path out of the Pandemic’ plan vastly exceeds the powers the United States Constitution allots the executive branch,” said the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonprofit funded by the Charles Koch Foundation, a deep-pocketed conservative group. “The federal government has no police power, and likewise no authority to force private employers of any size to mandate vaccines,” the group said. Asked Friday about possible legal challenges, Biden said “Have at it. I’m so disappointed that because some of the Republican governors have been so cavalier with the health of these kids, so cavalier with the health of their communities.” The disease has killed https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/united-states more than 655,000 people in the United States, and deaths and hospitalizations have been rising sharply as the easily transmissible Delta variant of the virus spreads. The vast majority of those are unvaccinated. The situation reignites a long-standing U.S. battle over individual rights, states’ constitutional remit to police citizens and regulate public welfare, and the powers of the executive branch. Similar fights have raged over gun laws and government healthcare. U.S. vaccine mandates in the past have mostly been administered by state and local governments in relation to public venues and schools. Roughly 16% of the adult American population – nearly 34 million people – are currently unvaccinated but open to getting one, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. The poll arrived at this estimate by asking respondents a series of questions about their vaccination status. Legal challenges are likely to focus on the executive branch’s power to enforce the requirements. The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, argued in its blog that the private-sector mandate would present the Biden administration with a “tsunami of legal filings.” “There’s a separation-of-powers issue in that this sweeping new regulation is being imposed by presidential diktat, with related claims about the proper scope of OSHA’s statutory authority and whether Congress can even delegate such broad power to the executive branch.” Many Republican lawmakers, who said they have received vaccines and support Americans getting a COVID-19 shot, also accused the administration of overreach. “While I support the vaccine and have received it, Americans have the right to exercise personal choice when it comes to their health,” said Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. “Getting the vaccine is a decision to be made in consultation with one’s doctor, not forced on Americans by the government.” (Reporting by Nandita Bose and Diane Bartz, Additional reporting by David Shepardson and Andrea Shalal in Washington and Chris Kahn in New York; editing by Heather Timmons and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Gayle King is a “proud third wheeler”. The 63-year-old broadcaster – who has adult children Kirby and William with ex-husband Bill Bumpus – admitted it wouldn’t “occur” to her that she wouldn’t be invited on vacations with her best friend Oprah Winfrey and her long-term partner Stedman Graham because they have always been so “welcoming” towards her. She admitted: “I’m a proud third wheeler. I make no apologies for that. I got divorced back in 1994 and I’ve been their third wheel ever since. “The good news is that Stedman is always very welcoming, so it never occurs to me when she says, ‘We’re going to so and so,’ I’m like, ‘When?’ It doesn’t occur to me that I’m not invited. “But throughout the years, we’ve gone on some great trips together. And that’s not gonna change.” The two friends always put their bond ahead of any relationship. Gayle told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: “Oprah came to my house after my favourite daughter, Kirby, was born and she was wearing a T-shirt that said, ‘Husbands come and go, best friends last forever,’ and I went, ‘Whoa, why are you wearing that T-shirt?’ She didn’t even realise, she said she didn’t even realise she had it on, but there is some truth to that. “When you have a best friend, you really are there through thick and thin, and that’s not always true with husbands and spouses or you know, co-workers, anybody in your life, but when you have a true best friend, it really does. It is something that really is a lifelong thing.” After embarking on a cross-country trek 15 years ago, the two women have embarked on another road trip for new series ‘OG Chronicles: Joy Ride’ and Gayle knew all along she’d be the one taking the wheel. She said: “She ain’t changed. She doesn’t like to merge, she doesn’t like to get on the highway, she doesn’t like to parallel park, man, she doesn’t like to change lanes, all the things that come with…driving! “I really enjoy driving. I actually do, but what I really like is the rule [that] if you’re behind the wheel, you get to control the radio!” View the full article

Published by DPA Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain and Secretary General of the PSOE, speaks during an interparliamentary meeting of the socialist parliamentary group pf the Spanish parliament. Óscar Cañas/EUROPA PRESS/dpa A Spanish man who claimed he was the victim of a homophobic attack in Madrid that sparked widespread outrage has recanted and said he made up the story, according to press reports Wednesday. The 20-year-old man claimed he was attacked late Sunday by eight hooded men in Malasana, a Madrid neighbourhood popular for its nightlife. The victim was hospitalized with injuries that included the word “maricon” – slang for “gay” – carved into one of his buttocks. In a fresh statement to police on Wednesday, the 20-year-old man said there had been no attack and that he had allowed another man to carve the word into his backside, the online edition of the newspaper El Pais reported, citing police. He claims he lied in order to not lose his current partner. Reports from RTVE and El Pais indicate he was trying to conceal another sexual relationship. Madrid police had been unable to verify the alleged victim’s story and questioned the 20-year old further, leading to his confession that the incident never happened, according to the media outlets. The alleged homophobic attack had led Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to promise tougher penalties to prevent hate crime. Speaking to lawmakers Wednesday, Sanchez said the government would do everything in its power to prevent hate crimes. He called on parliament to move swiftly to pass a bill on equal treatment of minorities that was introduced earlier this year. Although the Sunday attack turned out not to have transpired, human rights groups point out that organized attacks targeting homosexuals and other minorities have been reported across the country. There were 43 per cent more hate crimes targeting people for their sexual orientation throughout Spain in the first half of 2021 than in the whole of 2020. Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain and Secretary General of the PSOE, attends an interparliamentary meeting of the socialist parliamentary group pf the Spanish parliament. Óscar Cañas/EUROPA PRESS/dpa View the full article

Published by Reuters By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) – The continued spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spawned a Greek alphabet of variants – a naming system used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to track concerning new mutations of the virus that causes COVID-19. Some have equipped the virus with better ways of infecting humans or evading vaccine protection. Scientists remain focused on Delta, now the dominant variant around the world, but are tracking others to see what may one day take its place. DELTA – STILL DOMINANT The Delta variant first detected in India remains the most worrisome. It is striking unvaccinated populations in many countries and has proven capable of infecting a higher proportion of vaccinated people than its predecessors. The WHO classifies Delta as a variant of concern, meaning it has been shown capable of increasing transmissibility, causing more severe disease or reducing the benefit of vaccines and treatments. According to Shane Crotty, a virologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego, Delta’s “superpower” is its transmissibility. Chinese researchers found that people infected with Delta carry 1,260 times more virus in their noses compared with the original version of the coronavirus. Some U.S. research suggests that the viral load in vaccinated individuals who become infected with Delta is on par with those who are unvaccinated, but more research is needed. While the original coronavirus took up to seven days to cause symptoms, Delta can cause symptoms two to three days faster, giving the immune system less time to respond and mount a defense. LAMBDA – ON THE WANE The Lambda variant had attracted attention as a potential new threat, but this version of the coronavirus, first identified in Peru in December, appears to be receding. Although cases involving Lambda were rising in July, reports of this variant have been falling globally for the past four weeks, according to data by GISAID, a database that tracks SARS-CoV-2 variants. The WHO classifies Lambda as a variant of interest, meaning it carries mutations suspected of causing a change in transmissibility or causing more severe disease, but it is still under investigation. Lab studies show it has mutations that resist vaccine-induced antibodies. MU – ONE TO WATCH Mu, the variant formerly known as B.1.621, was first identified in Colombia in January. On Aug. 30, the WHO designated it as a variant of interest due to several concerning mutations, and assigned a Greek letter name to it. Mu carries key mutations, including E484K, N501Y and D614G, that have been linked with increased transmissibility and reduced immune protection. According to the WHO’s Bulletin published last week, Mu has caused some larger outbreaks in South America and Europe. While the number of genetic sequences identified as Mu have fallen below 0.1% globally, Mu represents 39% of variants sequenced in Colombia and 13% in Ecuador, places where its prevalence has “consistently increased,” WHO reported. The global health agency said it continues to monitor Mu for changes in South America, especially in areas where it is co-circulating with the Delta variant. Maria van Kerkhove, head of WHO’s emerging diseases unit, said circulation of the variant is decreasing globally but needs to be observed closely. In a press briefing last week, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said U.S. officials are watching it, but so far Mu is not considered an immediate threat. MORE ON THE WAY? Getting more people vaccinated against COVID-19 is critical as large groups of unvaccinated people give the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate into new variants. That effort must be stepped up internationally to keep variants from emerging unchecked among the populations of poor nations where very few people have been inoculated, experts say. Even so, while the current vaccines prevent severe disease and death, they do not block infection. The virus is still capable of replicating in the nose, even among vaccinated people, who can then transmit the disease through tiny, aerosolized droplets. To defeat SARS-CoV-2 will likely require a new generation of vaccines that also block transmission, according to Dr. Gregory Poland, a vaccine developer at the Mayo Clinic. Until then, Poland and other experts say, the world remains vulnerable to the rise of new coronavirus variants. (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Additional reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by DPA Smoking in non-smoking places, illegal street hawking, improperly parked bikes and motorbikes, as well as large groups of people (banned during the lockdown) is what Singapore's new robocop is prowling for. HTX/dpa Wealthy Singapore has long been known as a tightly-run city-state where dissent and disobedience are rare. While authorities have only had to resort to one 6-week lockdown since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, rigorous testing and tracing as well as public caution has meant even as curbs have been relaxed, the renowned local blend of control and compliance has not. Even so, the government said on Sunday it would trial the use of robots, codenamed “Xavier,” which are to “patrol and survey a public area with high foot traffic to augment the work of public officers in enhancing public health and safety.” The 3-week test run has the robocops’ cameras and sensors “providing 360-degree video feed to the command and control centre,” while watching for smoking in “prohibited” places, illegal street hawking, improperly parked bikes and motorbikes mounting footpaths. There’s a pandemic link, of course, with the robots also to keep an eye out for congregations of more than five people, currently the limit under the ever-changing local pandemic restrictions Any rule-breaking and Xavier will get into scold mode and relay the “the appropriate message to educate the public and deter such behaviours,” according to the government’s Home Team Science and Technology Agency. During last year’s April-June lockdown, authorities deployed a robot dog to warn people in public parks to maintain so-called social distancing. View the full article

Published by DPA Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain and Secretary General of the PSOE, speaks during an interparliamentary meeting of the socialist parliamentary group pf the Spanish parliament. Óscar Cañas/EUROPA PRESS/dpa Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez promised tougher penalties to prevent hate crime on Wednesday, after a brutal homophobic attack at the weekend caused outrage throughout the nation. Speaking to lawmakers, Sanchez said the government would do everything in its power to prevent hate crimes. He called on parliament to move swiftly to pass a bill on equal treatment of minorities that was introduced earlier this year. His comments come as the nation reels from an incident on Sunday, in which eight hooded men attacked a homosexual man in Malasana, a Madrid neighbourhood popular for its nightlife. The victim was hospitalized with injuries that included the word “maricon” – slang for “gay” – carved into one of his buttocks, according to media reports. Those behind the attack have not yet been identified. There are also organized attacks targeting homosexuals and other minorities nationwide, say human rights groups. The Catalan Interior Ministry spoke of a “hunt” on Wednesday. There were 43 per cent more hate crimes targeting people for their sexual orientation throughout Spain in the first half of 2021 than in the whole of 2020. Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain and Secretary General of the PSOE, attends an interparliamentary meeting of the socialist parliamentary group pf the Spanish parliament. Óscar Cañas/EUROPA PRESS/dpa View the full article

Published by AFP The Department of Energy said solar power could account for almost half of US electricity supply by the middle of the century New York (AFP) – Solar power could account for nearly half of the United States’ electricity supply by the middle of the century, according to a government study released Wednesday. The report, released by the Department of Energy, said solar could account for much as 40 percent of the power supply by 2035 and 45 percent by 2050, up from its current level of just three percent. However reaching this level would require the United States to quadruple its annual solar capacity additions, the department said in a statement. This future also depends on extensive public investments, as well as policy changes to disincentivize carbon-based energy, the department added. “The study illuminates the fact that solar, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in the US by 2035,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “Achieving this bright future requires a massive and equitable deployment of renewable energy and strong decarbonization polices –- exactly what is laid out in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.” The report comes as President Joe Biden presses for aggressive action on climate change and renewable energy as Congress debates massive proposals to overhaul the country’s infrastructure and social services. Biden highlighted the need for action during a visit Tuesday to parts of New York and New Jersey ravaged by Hurricane Ida last week, saying the world faces a “code red” danger on climate. The report came as the Solar Energy Industry Association on Wednesday called for aggressive action to expand solar capacity, including a long-term extension of the solar investment tax credit and other policies promoting clean energy. View the full article

Published by Reuters HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong police on Wednesday arrested four members of a pro-democracy group that organises the annual June 4 rally to commemorate those who died in the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, in the latest blow to the opposition movement. Activist and barrister Chow Hang Tung of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China was arrested along with three others, the group said. “I want to tell Hong Kongers that we need to continue to resist, don’t surrender to the unreasonable power quickly and easily,” Chow told media on Tuesday when she went to police headquarters to tell officers she would not provide information they had requested. Police sent a letter to the alliance in August requesting information about its membership, finances and activities by Sept. 7, according to a copy the group sent to reporters. The letter accused the alliance of being “an agent of foreign forces”. Failure to provide the information by the deadline could result in a HK$100,000 fine and six months in jail, the letter said. The National Security Department said it had arrested three men and one woman, aged 36 to 57, for failing to comply with national security law requirements. It did not identify them. The department said investigations were ongoing and it did not rule out further arrests. The national security law punishes what authorities broadly refer to as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison. Chow’s arrest came hours before she was due to represent detained opposition politician Gwyneth Ho, who is charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under a Beijing-imposed national security law, at a bail hearing. Ho withdrew her bail application at the High Court after Judge Esther Toh declined her request to lift reporting restrictions for the hearing. Alliance leaders Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan are already in jail over their roles in anti-government protests that roiled the city in 2019. The group said in July that it had laid off staff members to ensure their safety and that half of its committee members had resigned. (Reporting By Tyrone Siu and Jessie Pang, Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Michael Perry) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Brendan O’Brien (Reuters) -A statue of Confederate commander Robert E. Lee was removed from its base in Richmond, Virginia’s capital, early on Wednesday after a yearlong legal battle over a monument that has been the focus of protests over racial injustice. As onlookers watched, crews secured the 21-foot (6.4-meter) bronze statue of the U.S. Civil War leader to a crane that hoisted it off its 40-foot (12.2-meter) granite pedestal and placed it on the ground. Since 1890, the towering memorial has stood at its location on Monument Avenue in Richmond, the former capital of the pro-slavery Confederacy, a group of Southern states that fought against Union forces in the 1861-65 Civil War. The Robert E. Lee statue is one of the largest still standing in the United States. Memorials that honor leaders of the Confederate side have become targets of protests against racism. Defenders of the statues say they are tributes to the bravery of those who fought to defend the South. Officials have said workers will move the statue of Lee, dressed in military attire and mounted on top of a horse, to a secure, state-owned storage site until a decision on its future is finalized. The hoisting of the statue was captured on the Twitter feed of Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, who announced plans to remove it in June 2020, 10 days after a white Minneapolis policeman killed George Floyd, who was Black, sparking nationwide protests. During the last six years, more than 300 symbols of the Confederacy and white supremacy have been taken down, while some 2,000 still stand, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Streets around the statue were closed on Tuesday evening as crews prepared a viewing area for the public to watch the statue’s removal. On Thursday, workers will remove plaques from the monument’s base and replace a time capsule believed to be at the site with a new one. The base will remain in place as the community reimagines Monument Avenue. Last Thursday, the Virginia Supreme Court unanimously ruled https://www.reuters.com/world/us/virginia-can-remove-statue-civil-war-general-lee-states-highest-court-rules-2021-09-02 in two cases that Northam could remove the statue. In summer 2020, the removal was challenged by nearby residents and a descendant of the family that transferred ownership of the statue to the state. (Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago and Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is reportedly funding new ant-aging technology which could extend the human lifespan by up to 50 years. Bezos – reputedly the world’s richest individual – is believed to be one of several billionaire investors in Altos Labs, a Silicon Valley tech firm working on experimental new life extension technologies. The company’s “reprogramming technology” has the goal to return normal cells to a ‘primitive’ stem cell state – which is how cells behave when someone is first born – in order to heal and regenerate. Altos Labs has hired some of the world’s top scientists in the field, including Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte from Spain, who is known for his controversial work on mixing human and monkey embryos. Belmonte has tested his cell work on live mice, with the rodents showing some signs of age reversal although some animals developed deadly tumours called teratomas. Since leaving his position as Amazon CEO, Bezos achieved his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. The 57-year-old businessman and his crew landed safely back on Earth following a successful launch by his private spaceflight company Blue Origin from West Texas Bezos flew himself and his younger brother Mark, as well as 18-year-old Dutchman Oliver Daemen and 82-year-old aerospace pioneer Wally Funk – who became the youngest and oldest people to travel to space respectively – in the New Shepard rocket. Richest Man on Towleroad HRC Fires President Alphonso David Over Alleged Connections to Cuomo Sexual Harassment Scandal; David Promises Legal Action More BGI prenatal gene test under scrutiny for Chinese military links More U.S. Justice Dept. says will protect Texas abortion clinics that come under attack More ‘Silent crisis’ looms as US to end Covid aid for millions of jobless More Facebook labels black men ‘primates’ by mistake, Takes Feature off line until fixed. More U.S. companies lash out at Texas law changes, including abortion ban More Filibuster imperils Pelosi’s abortion bill in U.S. Senate – Klobuchar More ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ Season 6 Finale Makes a Memorable Entry to the Hall of Fame More Monica Lewinsky Now Relates To Britney; Says Only 1 Of Us ‘Made a Mistake’; Overall ‘Happy People Are Making Amends For Their Treatment Of Women’ More Emily Hampshire and Demi Lovato Age Gap Is The Reason They Didn’t ‘Kick it’; Lovato Slid A Direct Message Into Her DMs, Gets ‘Friend Zoned’ More Facebook to limit political content on News Feeds More Load More View the full article

Alphonso DavidCivil Rights attorney Alphonso David’s tenure as president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) came to an end Monday when organization chairs at HRC fired him amid an investigation into his connection to efforts to combat sexual harassment claims against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. David Fired HRC board chair Morgan Cox and HRC Foundation chair Jodie Patterson announced the decision late Monday evening, stating that David’s actions as outlined in New York attorney general Letitia James’ report “was in violation of HRC’s Conflict of Interest policy and the mission of HRC.” “This is a painful moment in our movement,” read the joint statement. ” While the Board’s decision is not the outcome we had ever envisioned or hoped for in terms of Mr. David’s tenure with HRC, his actions have put us in an untenable position by violating HRC’s core values, policies and mission.” According to the New York Times, multiple sources stated that the vote was unanimous, with two HRC Foundation board members abstaining. Journalist Katelyn Burns reported that HRC staff weren’t made aware of David’s ousting prior to media reports announcing the move. David called his termination “unjust” early Tuesday morning and appears ready to fight the decision in the courts. “As a Black, gay man who has spent his whole life fighting for civil and human rights, they cannot shut me up,” David said. “Expect a legal challenge.” Back And Forth Monday’s decision comes after a tumultuous 24 hours for David and HRC leadership. On Sunday, David stated that Cox and Patterson asked him to resign from his position despite the completed investigation, led by law firm Sidley Austin, finding “no indication of wrongdoing on my part.” An email from Cox and Patterson sent to HRC staffers on Monday disputed David’s statement. The email said that the Sidley Austin investigation wasn’t completed yet and called his claim it absolved him a mischaracterization. ” We were very surprised and disappointed by the inaccuracies in his portrayal of events,” the message read. The email also confirmed that Cox and Patterson did ask David to resign. A response from David quickly followed, claiming Cox and Patterson’s email was an “effort to confuse and distract us from the truth.” According to David, the board co-chairs told him Friday that the investigation was complete and “didn’t offer a shred of evidence of any wrongdoing on my part” despite repeated requests. David also stated that Cox and Patterson refused to provide a copy of the investigation’s findings to anyone, including himself. According to David, Cox and Patterson gave him a deadline of 8 AM Saturday morning to decide whether he would voluntarily resign. “Their refusal to offer up the findings, even with the indication that they found wrongdoing, and yet still urge me to consider resigning during a holiday weekend to avoid media interest, does disservice to any persons or organizations involved in the fight for civil and human rights, David said.” AG Report Accusations According to the AG report, much of David’s involvement in efforts by Cuomo’s office to discredit sexual harassment survivors centered on former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan. The report alleges that David provided Boylan’s confidential personnel file at the request of Cuomo staffers after Boylan went public with her accusations against Cuomo. David did so while holding the position of HRC president, taking the position after working as Cuomo’s chief legal counsel. Information from the file provided by David was leaked to major media outlets in an effort to discredit Boylan, though it is unclear if David knew that would happen when asked for Boylan’s file. Boylan responded to David’s initial statement Sunday, highlighting inconsistencies in David’s claims. “Alphonso David questions the veracity of a report having never read it and yet is able to say it finds him innocent of any wrongdoing in helping to smear me when I spoke publicly about the abusive monster we both worked for over a period of years. What a time to be alive,” Boylan said. The AG report also claimed David helped advise the crafting of an unpublished letter disputing claims of sexual harassment against Cuomo. Involvement in that advisement process led to famed LGBTQ rights lawyer Roberta Kaplan’s resignation as co-chair of Time’s Up in August. Questions Remain Supporters of David have called into question the level of transparency in the distribution of the Sidley Austin investigation’s findings and how much David’s race impacted the HRC’s decision. David’s hiring in 2019 made him the first Black man to lead the organization and HRC’s work to address issues facing LGBTQ BIPOC communities has improved during his tenure. The board co-chairs decision to extend his contract by five years in August as his name emerged in the AG report supported such. J. Maurice McCants-Pearsall, HRC director of HIV and Health Equity, called for the release of the investigation’s findings while claiming that HRC has “struggled with addressing internal racism among staff” for decades. “It would be an affront for me, a Black gay man, to sit aside and watch while my brother in the struggle, Alphonso David, be railroaded and stripped of his dignity and livelihood,” McCants-Pearsall said Sunday. Sidley Austin’s role as an independent investigator in the matter was also criticized due to the firm having a previous relationship with HRC. The firm became a prominent legal partner of the organization in October 2019. Questions about the nature of how Sidley Austin’s report was delivered have also surfaced. A source told the New York Times that a written report outlining the firm’s findings was not produced. Instead, investigators communicated their conclusion in “oral presentations to the board.” This is likely why no copy of the report has been released publicly or privately. HRC Fire: Previously on Towleroad HRC Fires President Alphonso David Over Alleged Connections to Cuomo Sexual Harassment Scandal; David Promises Legal Action Brian Bell September 7, 2021 Read More Cuomo’s Downfall Spawns Tertiary, Fraught HRC Investigation of Its Leader Who Joined the Gay Rights Group From Governor’s Staff Brian Bell August 23, 2021 Read More The “Inner Circle” That Kept Andrew Cuomo Governor Faces Scrutiny: HRC Investigates Leader’s Involvement; Roberta Kaplan Resigns From ‘Time’s Up’ Brian Bell August 9, 2021 Read More NY AG Details HRC Leader Alphonso David’s Roles in Cuomo Scandal; Sparks Scrutiny By Staff, Partners, Press And Calls To Resign Brian Bell August 6, 2021 Read More Tennessee Trans Bathroom Bill Alleged to Violate Title IX. Human Rights Campaign Sues on behalf of the the affected children. Brian Bell August 4, 2021 Read More Biden Signs ‘Most Substantive, Wide-Ranging’ LGBTQ Rights Executive Order in U.S. History Andy Towle January 21, 2021 Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Clare Baldwin and Kirsty Needham (Reuters) – Health regulators in five countries are examining a prenatal test that collects the DNA of women and fetuses for research, while some doctors that promoted it and clinics that sell it say they were unaware the company that produces it also conducts research with the Chinese military. The test, made by Shenzhen-based BGI Group and marketed under the brand name NIFTY, is sold in at least 52 countries. It screens for Down syndrome and more than 80 other genetic conditions, and has been taken by 8.4 million women globally. The regulators’ concerns, raised in response to a Reuters report, highlight the challenges of regulatory oversight when genetic data is sent from one country to another. Canada’s privacy commissioner said the report raised important questions about “highly sensitive” information and it is looking into the matter. Two regulators in Europe – in Slovenia and in Germany – said they were examining the test in light of European Union data protection rules. The data privacy regulator in Slovenia, where one of BGI’s regional partners is based, said it was concerned by the exporting of data from the BGI tests and would examine data protection issues. But it added that Slovenia has not yet adopted the changes to its national laws to make Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) fully applicable, so it cannot issue fines in the event of GDPR breaches. Reuters reported in July that more than a dozen scientific studies – including clinical trials – showed BGI developed and improved the test in collaboration with People’s Liberation Army hospitals. BGI uses the pregnant women’s genetic data for research into the traits of populations. It also collaborates with the PLA in other areas of research. BGI rejects any suggestion that it developed the NIFTY test in collaboration with the military, and says working with military hospitals is not equivalent. It said it works with thousands of healthcare providers, that other prenatal test providers in China work with military hospitals, and that many companies worldwide work with militaries. It said it takes data privacy seriously, complies with applicable laws and regulations, and only 5% of its NIFTY tests have been conducted on women overseas. Consent forms signed by women outside China seek permission for their blood samples and genetic data to be sent abroad to BGI and used for research. The privacy policy on the test’s website also says data can be shared for national security purposes in China – though BGI says it has never been asked to do so. Regulators in Germany, Australia, Estonia and Canada called for transparency in BGI’s use of women’s genetic data, and said even if data was sent abroad, BGI’s local vendors are responsible for ensuring data privacy. The European Data Protection Supervisor said it was monitoring the situation. “It is vital that the patient is provided with clear information,” said Beverley Rowbotham, chairperson of Australia’s National Pathology Accreditation Advisory Council. A regulator in Ontario told Reuters it is now advising women to seek tests from providers in Canada, or places where data security is “comparable” to the protections mandated in Canada. The regulator in Quebec said prenatal tests – like consumer genetic tests – can result in people losing control over their genetic information. Canadian privacy and genetic disclosure laws can impose maximum fines of C$250,000 to C$1 million for breaches, and set strict conditions for exemptions for scientific research. “Genetic information is not only valuable to marketers and data brokers, but also to foreign states and cybercriminals as well,” the Office of the Information and Privacy Commission of Ontario told Reuters. Fertility Partners, a clinic network in Canada, said it had no prior knowledge of BGI’s work with the PLA, and had stopped selling NIFTY through its clinics in April for unrelated reasons. Reuters has previously reported that BGI’s joint research with PLA medical institutes is wide ranging, from efforts to protect soldiers from altitude sickness to mass testing for pathogens. U.S. government advisers warned in March that a vast bank of genomic data that BGI is amassing and analyzing with artificial intelligence could give China a path to economic and military advantage. The same military hospital that ran clinical trials for NIFTY also collaborated with BGI to send pathogens into space under a military equipment research program, according to 12 scientific papers, which has not previously been reported. BGI did not respond to a request for more information about that research program. In the United Kingdom, where NIFTY tests are only sold through private clinics, the government said BGI would need to register its test before Sept. 1 to continue selling them. BGI told Reuters it submitted a voluntary registration to the UK medical regulator in August. The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told Reuters it had received BGI’s registration but said the application had not yet had data validation and scrutiny by the regulator’s registration and software team. NIFTY tests are sold overseas through three business models: local clinics collect blood samples to send to BGI in Hong Kong; labs sequence the DNA from blood samples locally and share the data with BGI in Hong Kong where it is stored for five years; or labs complete the entire process locally using BGI technology. Labs in Spain and Slovenia each told Reuters the genetic data of a client had been used by BGI in mainland China for research, with informed consent. Slovenia-based GenePlanet, which says it sells NIFTY tests across Europe and also offers its own-branded test using BGI’s technology, said the Slovenia customer gave consent for a “research test.” GenePlanet says it operates according to EU regulations and has an agreement with BGI that “none of the GenePlanet patient data generated from (the) NIFTY process is going to mainland China.” The Slovenian and Spanish women’s data was among that of 542 women stored in China’s National GeneBank, which BGI also runs. BGI said the data of the 542 women has not been used for other purposes, and its “scientific research only uses anonymised data.” Eluthia GmbH, a laboratory in Germany which sells BGI’s test, said its transfer of women’s blood and patient data to BGI had been suspended by the data protection regulator for the Hesse region while it investigates whether the rules had been violated. Eluthia said it did not know when it could resume sending tests to BGI. Its Chief Executive Ramon Enriquez Schaefer said doctors had called the suspension “excessive” since patients had “expressly consented to the shipment to Hong Kong.” He also said Eluthia hasn’t been able to make “concrete progress” on the regulator’s concerns about BGI’s military collaboration. BGI told Reuters it is providing information to Eluthia and relevant government authorities to demonstrate it complies with data protection laws. DOCTORS’ VIEWS One UK doctor who promoted BGI’s test in an online video when it first became available said he would now advise women not to take the BGI test, due to privacy concerns. “My personal view now would be to advise anybody not to use the BGI NIFTY test – not from a clinical point of view – but because the data from it might be misappropriated or used for reasons that neither the clinician nor the patient would ever have imagined,” said Bryan Beattie, a fetal medicine consultant. Reuters contacted Beattie and two other UK doctors who also promoted the test on BGI’s YouTube channels in 2014 for their reactions. The doctors said they were unaware of BGI’s military links. BGI said the doctors were not paid to participate and it had told them the videos were for educational and marketing purposes. The NIFTY test captures more genetic information about the mother and the fetus than the results patients see, said Beattie, which has previously been reported by Reuters and BGI has confirmed. “If you were able to link that to large numbers of patients in a foreign country, you would have a fairly good idea of their health profile over the next sort of 20 or 30 years,” said Beattie. Beattie said he had supported the relatively new technology because it was an improvement on previous methods, but his clinic had switched to a different supplier for reasons unrelated to privacy. An Estonian scientist who turned down an offer from BGI in 2020 to replace a test developed by his lab with NIFTY said he was concerned European health services, whom he declined to name, were choosing BGI’s test because of its cheaper cost and not considering data security. “It is a stupidly easy way to earn money for taking a blood sample,” said Kaarel Krjutskov, who runs the Estonian lab. BGI declined to sell his lab a DNA sequencer unless it also began selling NIFTY, email correspondence seen by Reuters showed. BGI’s marketing material promotes its sequencing of genes as the lowest cost in the industry. BGI told Reuters it was “always striving to make our NIFTY pricing even more affordable,” without providing further details. (Reporting by Clare Baldwin in Hong Kong and Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Additional reporting by Allison Martell in Toronto, Allison Lampert in Montreal, Douglas Busvine in Berlin, Tarmo Virki in Tallinn, Alistair Smout and Tom Bergin in London, Krisztina Than in Budapest, Robert Muller and Jan Lopatka in Prague, Radu Marinas in Bucharest, Nathan Allen in Madrid, Joanna Plucinska and Alicja Ptak in Warsaw, Ludwig Berger in Frankfurt, Foo Yun Chee in Brussels, Michael Martina in Washington and Antoni Slodkowski in Tokyo; Editing by Sara Ledwith, Kevin Krolicki and Bill Rigby) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department on Monday said it would not tolerate attacks against people seeking or providing abortions in Texas, as the agency explores ways of challenging the state’s recently enacted law https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-supreme-court-declines-block-texas-abortion-ban-2021-09-02 that imposed a near-total ban on abortion. The law, known as SB8, leaves enforcement up to individual citizens, enabling them to sue anyone who provides or “aids or abets” an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement the department would “protect those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services” through a 1994 law known as the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act). The FACE Act prohibits the use of force and physical obstruction to interfere with a person obtaining or providing reproductive health services. Former President Bill Clinton backed the legislation in response to violence by anti-abortion activists in the 1980s and 90s. “The department will provide support from federal law enforcement when an abortion clinic or reproductive health center is under attack,” Garland said, adding that he would “not tolerate violence against those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services.” Garland said the Justice Department would enforce the FACE Act while it “urgently explores all options to challenge Texas SB8 in order to protect the constitutional rights of women and other persons.” Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The law took effect early on Wednesday in Texas after the U.S. Supreme Court did not act on abortion rights groups’ request to block it. That suggests Supreme Court justices are closer than ever https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-supreme-courts-rightward-lurch-put-roe-v-wade-brink-2021-09-03 to overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision under which abortion rights have been protected. (This story corrects to add ‘General’ in third paragraph) (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Sonya Hepinstall) View the full article