[Economy] :
Foreign investors were net sellers in the South Korean stock market for the third month in October. According to data from the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Friday, foreigners sold a net four-point-17 billion U.S. dollars worth of stocks last month. But the latest figure is lower than September’s total of ...

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New research supports conservation of fallow deer across Europe  British Geological Survey

Seabed geology data: stakeholder consultation  British Geological Survey

Recent advances in quantum crystallography have shown that, beyond conventional charge density refinement, a one-electron reduced density matrix (1-RDM) satisfying N-representability conditions can be reconstructed using jointly experimental X-ray structure factors and directional Compton profiles (DCP) through semidefinite programming. So far, such reconstruction methods for 1-RDM, not constrained to idempotency, have been tested only on a toy model system (CO2). In this work, a new method is assessed on crystalline urea [CO(NH2)2] using static (0 K) and dynamic (50 K) artificial experimental data. An improved model, including symmetry constraints and frozen core-electron contribution, is introduced to better handle the increasing system complexity. Reconstructed 1-RDMs, deformation densities and DCP anisotropy are analysed, and it is demonstrated that the changes in the model significantly improve the reconstruction quality, even when there is insufficient information and data corruption. The robustness of the model and the strategy are thus shown to be well adapted to address the reconstruction problem from actual experimental scattering data.

For the first time, a multimodal reconstruction of a magnetic thin-film structure has been found using polarised neutron reflectivity. This has been achieved by implementing the Bayesian approach in combination with error correction based on the maximum likelihood method and instrument function optimization.

Algebraic expressions for averaging linear and nonlinear stiffness tensors from general anisotropy to different effective symmetries (11 Laue classes elastically representing all 32 crystal classes, and two non-crystalline symmetries: isotropic and cylindrical) have been derived by automatic symbolic computations of the arithmetic mean over the set of rotational transforms determining a given symmetry. This approach generalizes the Voigt average to nonlinear constants and desired approximate symmetries other than isotropic, which can be useful for a description of textured polycrystals and rocks preserving some symmetry aspects. Low-symmetry averages have been used to derive averages of higher symmetry to speed up computations. Relationships between the elastic constants of each symmetry have been deduced from their corresponding averages by resolving the rank-deficient system of linear equations. Isotropy has also been considered in terms of generalized Lamé constants. The results are published in the form of appendices in the supporting information for this article and have been deposited in the Mendeley database.

This work presents a detailed analysis of the performance of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism photoemission electron microscopy (XMCD-PEEM) as a tool for vector reconstruction of magnetization. For this, 360° domain wall ring structures which form in a synthetic antiferromagnet are chosen as the model to conduct the quantitative analysis. An assessment is made of how the quality of the results is affected depending on the number of projections that are involved in the reconstruction process, as well as their angular distribution. For this a self-consistent error metric is developed which allows an estimation of the optimum azimuthal rotation angular range and number of projections. This work thus proposes XMCD-PEEM as a powerful tool for vector imaging of complex 3D magnetic structures.

The demand for powder X-ray diffraction analysis continues to increase in a variety of scientific fields, as the excellent beam quality of high-brightness synchrotron light sources enables the acquisition of high-quality measurement data with high intensity and angular resolution. Synchrotron powder diffraction has enabled the rapid measurement of many samples and various in situ/operando experiments in nonambient sample environments. To meet the demands for even higher throughput measurements using high-energy X-rays at SPring-8, a high-throughput and high-resolution powder diffraction system has been developed. This system is combined with six sets of two-dimensional (2D) CdTe detectors for high-energy X-rays, and various automation systems, including a system for automatic switching among large sample environmental equipment, have been developed in the third experimental hutch of the insertion device beamline BL13XU at SPring-8. In this diffractometer system, high-brilliance and high-energy X-rays ranging from 16 to 72 keV are available. The powder diffraction data measured under ambient and various nonambient conditions can be analysed using Rietveld refinement and the pair distribution function. Using the 2D CdTe detectors with variable sample-to-detector distance, three types of scan modes have been established: standard, single-step and high-resolution. A major feature is the ability to measure a whole powder pattern with millisecond resolution. Equally important, this system can measure powder diffraction data with high Q exceeding 30 Å−1 within several tens of seconds. This capability is expected to contribute significantly to new research avenues using machine learning and artificial intelligence by utilizing the large amount of data obtained from high-throughput measurements.

The management and processing of synchrotron and neutron computed tomography data can be a complex, labor-intensive and unstructured process. Users devote substantial time to both manually processing their data (i.e. organizing data/metadata, applying image filters etc.) and waiting for the computation of iterative alignment and reconstruction algorithms to finish. In this work, we present a solution to these problems: TomoPyUI, a user interface for the well known tomography data processing package TomoPy. This highly visual Python software package guides the user through the tomography processing pipeline from data import, preprocessing, alignment and finally to 3D volume reconstruction. The TomoPyUI systematic intermediate data and metadata storage system improves organization, and the inspection and manipulation tools (built within the application) help to avoid interrupted workflows. Notably, TomoPyUI operates entirely within a Jupyter environment. Herein, we provide a summary of these key features of TomoPyUI, along with an overview of the tomography processing pipeline, a discussion of the landscape of existing tomography processing software and the purpose of TomoPyUI, and a demonstration of its capabilities for real tomography data collected at SSRL beamline 6-2c.

Data acquisition and processing for cryo-electron tomography can be a significant bottleneck for users. To simplify and streamline the cryo-ET workflow, Tomo Live, an on-the-fly solution that automates the alignment and reconstruction of tilt-series data, enabling real-time data-quality assessment, has been developed. Through the integration of Tomo Live into the data-acquisition workflow for cryo-ET, motion correction is performed directly after each of the acquired tilt angles. Immediately after the tilt-series acquisition has completed, an unattended tilt-series alignment and reconstruction into a 3D volume is performed. The results are displayed in real time in a dedicated remote web platform that runs on the microscope hardware. Through this web platform, users can review the acquired data (aligned stack and 3D volume) and several quality metrics that are obtained during the alignment and reconstruction process. These quality metrics can be used for fast feedback for subsequent acquisitions to save time. Parameters such as Alignment Accuracy, Deleted Tilts and Tilt Axis Correction Angle are visualized as graphs and can be used as filters to export only the best tomograms (raw data, reconstruction and intermediate data) for further processing. Here, the Tomo Live algorithms and workflow are described and representative results on several biological samples are presented. The Tomo Live workflow is accessible to both expert and non-expert users, making it a valuable tool for the continued advancement of structural biology, cell biology and histology.

Ultra-intense, ultra-fast X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) enable the imaging of single protein molecules under ambient temperature and pressure. A crucial aspect of structure reconstruction involves determining the relative orientations of each diffraction pattern and recovering the missing phase information. In this paper, we introduce a predicted model-aided algorithm for orientation determination and phase retrieval, which has been tested on various simulated datasets and has shown significant improvements in the success rate, accuracy and efficiency of XFEL data reconstruction.

Stimulated by informal conversations at the XVII International Small Angle Scattering (SAS) conference (Traverse City, 2017), an international team of experts undertook a round-robin exercise to produce a large dataset from proteins under standard solution conditions. These data were used to generate consensus SAS profiles for xylose isomerase, urate oxidase, xylanase, lysozyme and ribonuclease A. Here, we apply a new protocol using maximum likelihood with a larger number of the contributed datasets to generate improved consensus profiles. We investigate the fits of these profiles to predicted profiles from atomic coordinates that incorporate different models to account for the contribution to the scattering of water molecules of hydration surrounding proteins in solution. Programs using an implicit, shell-type hydration layer generally optimize fits to experimental data with the aid of two parameters that adjust the volume of the bulk solvent excluded by the protein and the contrast of the hydration layer. For these models, we found the error-weighted residual differences between the model and the experiment generally reflected the subsidiary maxima and minima in the consensus profiles that are determined by the size of the protein plus the hydration layer. By comparison, all-atom solute and solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are without the benefit of adjustable parameters and, nonetheless, they yielded at least equally good fits with residual differences that are less reflective of the structure in the consensus profile. Further, where MD simulations accounted for the precise solvent composition of the experiment, specifically the inclusion of ions, the modelled radius of gyration values were significantly closer to the experiment. The power of adjustable parameters to mask real differences between a model and the structure present in solution is demonstrated by the results for the conformationally dynamic ribonuclease A and calculations with pseudo-experimental data. This study shows that, while methods invoking an implicit hydration layer have the unequivocal advantage of speed, care is needed to understand the influence of the adjustable parameters. All-atom solute and solvent MD simulations are slower but are less susceptible to false positives, and can account for thermal fluctuations in atomic positions, and more accurately represent the water molecules of hydration that contribute to the scattering profile.

Ultrafast, high-intensity X-ray free-electron lasers can perform diffraction imaging of single protein molecules. Various algorithms have been developed to determine the orientation of each single-particle diffraction pattern and reconstruct the 3D diffraction intensity. Most of these algorithms rely on the premise that all diffraction patterns originate from identical protein molecules. However, in actual experiments, diffraction patterns from multiple different molecules may be collected simultaneously. Here, we propose a predicted model-aided one-step classification–multireconstruction algorithm that can handle mixed diffraction patterns from various molecules. The algorithm uses predicted structures of different protein molecules as templates to classify diffraction patterns based on correlation coefficients and determines orientations using a correlation maximization method. Tests on simulated data demonstrated high accuracy and efficiency in classification and reconstruction.

Conformational heterogeneity of biological macromolecules is a challenge in single-particle averaging (SPA). Current standard practice is to employ classification and filtering methods that may allow a discrete number of conformational states to be reconstructed. However, the conformation space accessible to these molecules is continuous and, therefore, explored incompletely by a small number of discrete classes. Recently developed heterogeneous reconstruction algorithms (HRAs) to analyse continuous heterogeneity rely on machine-learning methods that employ low-dimensional latent space representations. The non-linear nature of many of these methods poses a challenge to their validation and interpretation and to identifying functionally relevant conformational trajectories. These methods would benefit from in-depth benchmarking using high-quality synthetic data and concomitant ground truth information. We present a framework for the simulation and subsequent analysis with respect to the ground truth of cryo-EM micrographs containing particles whose conformational heterogeneity is sourced from molecular dynamics simulations. These synthetic data can be processed as if they were experimental data, allowing aspects of standard SPA workflows as well as heterogeneous reconstruction methods to be compared with known ground truth using available utilities. The simulation and analysis of several such datasets are demonstrated and an initial investigation into HRAs is presented.

Two different multi-component crystals consisting of papaverine [1-(3,4-di­meth­oxy­benz­yl)-6,7-di­meth­oxy­iso­quinoline, C20H21NO4] and fumaric acid [C4H4O4] were obtained. Single-crystal X-ray structure analysis revealed that one, C20H21NO4·1.5C4H4O4 (I), is a salt co-crystal composed of salt-forming and non-salt-forming mol­ecules, and the other, C20H21NO4·0.5C4H4O4 (II), is a salt–co-crystal inter­mediate (i.e., in an inter­mediate state between a salt and a co-crystal). In this study, one state (crystal structure at 100 K) within the salt–co-crystal continuum is defined as the ‘inter­mediate’.

Processing of single-crystal X-ray diffraction data from area detectors can be separated into two steps. First, raw intensities are obtained by integration of the diffraction images, and then data correction and reduction are performed to determine structure-factor amplitudes and their uncertainties. The second step considers the diffraction geometry, sample illumination, decay, absorption and other effects. While absorption is only a minor effect in standard macromolecular crystallography (MX), it can become the largest source of uncertainty for experiments performed at long wavelengths. Current software packages for MX typically employ empirical models to correct for the effects of absorption, with the corrections determined through the procedure of minimizing the differences in intensities between symmetry-equivalent reflections; these models are well suited to capturing smoothly varying experimental effects. However, for very long wavelengths, empirical methods become an unreliable approach to model strong absorption effects with high fidelity. This problem is particularly acute when data multiplicity is low. This paper presents an analytical absorption correction strategy (implemented in new software AnACor) based on a volumetric model of the sample derived from X-ray tomography. Individual path lengths through the different sample materials for all reflections are determined by a ray-tracing method. Several approaches for absorption corrections (spherical harmonics correction, analytical absorption correction and a combination of the two) are compared for two samples, the membrane protein OmpK36 GD, measured at a wavelength of λ = 3.54 Å, and chlorite dismutase, measured at λ = 4.13 Å. Data set statistics, the peak heights in the anomalous difference Fourier maps and the success of experimental phasing are used to compare the results from the different absorption correction approaches. The strategies using the new analytical absorption correction are shown to be superior to the standard spherical harmonics corrections. While the improvements are modest in the 3.54 Å data, the analytical absorption correction outperforms spherical harmonics in the longer-wavelength data (λ = 4.13 Å), which is also reflected in the reduced amount of data being required for successful experimental phasing.

The capillary wave model of a liquid surface predicts both the X-ray specular reflection and the diffuse scattering around it. A quantitative method is presented to obtain the X-ray reflectivity (XRR) from a liquid surface through the diffuse scattering data around the specular reflection measured using a grazing incidence X-ray off-specular scattering (GIXOS) geometry at a fixed horizontal offset angle with respect to the plane of incidence. With this approach the entire Qz-dependent reflectivity profile can be obtained at a single, fixed incident angle. This permits a much faster acquisition of the profile than with conventional reflectometry, where the incident angle must be scanned point by point to obtain a Qz-dependent profile. The XRR derived from the GIXOS-measured diffuse scattering, referred to in this paper as pseudo-reflectivity, provides a larger Qz range compared with the reflectivity measured by conventional reflectometry. Transforming the GIXOS-measured diffuse scattering profile to pseudo-XRR opens up the GIXOS method to widely available specular XRR analysis software tools. Here the GIXOS-derived pseudo-XRR is compared with the XRR measured by specular reflectometry from two simple vapor–liquid interfaces at different surface tension, and from a hexadecyltri­methyl­ammonium bromide monolayer on a water surface. For the simple liquids, excellent agreement (beyond 11 orders of magnitude in signal) is found between the two methods, supporting the approach of using GIXOS-measured diffuse scattering to derive reflectivities. Pseudo-XRR obtained at different horizontal offset angles with respect to the plane of incidence yields indistinguishable results, and this supports the robustness of the GIXOS-XRR approach. The pseudo-XRR method can be extended to soft thin films on a liquid surface, and criteria are established for the applicability of the approach.

Coherent diffractive imaging with X-ray free-electron lasers could enable structural studies of macromolecules at room temperature. This type of experiment could provide a means to study structural dynamics on the femtosecond timescale. However, the diffraction from a single protein is weak compared with the incoherent scattering from background sources, which negatively affects the reconstruction analysis. This work evaluates the effects of the presence of background on the analysis pipeline. Background measurements from the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser were combined with simulated diffraction patterns and treated by a standard reconstruction procedure, including orientation recovery with the expand, maximize and compress algorithm and 3D phase retrieval. Background scattering did have an adverse effect on the estimated resolution of the reconstructed density maps. Still, the reconstructions generally worked when the signal-to-background ratio was 0.6 or better, in the momentum transfer shell of the highest reconstructed resolution. The results also suggest that the signal-to-background requirement increases at higher resolution. This study gives an indication of what is possible at current setups at X-ray free-electron lasers with regards to expected background strength and establishes a target for experimental optimization of the background.

Here, a morphologically based approach is used for the in situ characterization of 3D growth rates of facetted crystals from the solution phase. Crystal images of single crystals of the β-form of l-glutamic acid are captured in situ during their growth at a relative supersaturation of 1.05 using transmission optical microscopy. The crystal growth rates estimated for both the {101} capping and {021} prismatic faces through image processing are consistent with those determined using reflection light mode [Jiang, Ma, Hazlehurst, Ilett, Jackson, Hogg & Roberts (2024). Cryst. Growth Des. 24, 3277–3288]. The growth rate in the {010} face is, for the first time, estimated from the shadow widths of the {021} prismatic faces and found to be typically about half that of the {021} prismatic faces. Analysis of the 3D shape during growth reveals that the initial needle-like crystal morphology develops during the growth process to become more tabular, associated with the Zingg factor evolving from 2.9 to 1.7 (>1). The change in relative solution supersaturation during the growth process is estimated from calculations of the crystal volume, offering an alternative approach to determine this dynamically from visual observations.

Tina Turner performing, used in the documentary "Tina." ; Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty Images/HBO

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

#FreeBritney activists protest outside the Los Angeles Superior Court during one of Britney Spears' hearings this April.; Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Pop star Britney Spears hasn't been in charge of her personal life or her finances for 13 years — that's how long she has been in a court-dictated legal arrangement called a conservatorship.

But on Wednesday, the artist will be speaking directly, albeit from a remote location, to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge about her situation. What exactly she intends to say in her appearance and what her goals might be are anyone's guess.

Before then, here's a quick look at what conservatorships are and why they exist, the specifics of Spears' arrangements, the #FreeBritney movement and what Spears and others have said publicly — and privately — about her conservatorship.

What is a conservatorship, and why does one get put in place?

Typically, legal and financial conservatorships are arranged for people who are unable to make their own decisions in their own best self-interest, such as in the case of an elderly person or someone with some kind of cognitive impairment.

Why does Britney Spears have one?

The exact reasons that the 39-year-old Spears is under a conservatorship have not been publicly disclosed. She lost her autonomy 13 years ago, in 2008, after apparently suffering a mental health crisis.

During the time that Spears has lived under this arrangement, though, she has released four albums (two of which, 2008's Circus and 2011's Femme Fatale, achieved platinum sales); appeared as a judge on both The X Factor and American Idol; and had a four-year residency in Las Vegas that reportedly grossed close to $138 million. Those accomplishments don't exactly line up with the typical profile of someone unable to look after themselves.

What does Spears' conservatorship cover?

Essentially, it controls all the major aspects of Spears' life, including decisions regarding her financial, medical and personal well-being. The conservators also oversee visitation arrangements with her two teenage sons, who are under the full custody of her ex-husband, Kevin Federline.

According to Forbes, Spears' current net worth is around $60 million.

Who controls Spears' conservatorship?

Up until recently, both the financial and personal arms of the conservatorship were controlled by Spears' father, Jamie Spears.

In 2020, her lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, stated in a filing that Spears "strongly opposed" her father as conservator and that she refused to perform if he remained in charge of her career. Spears asked the court for her father to be suspended from his role as conservator. (He had temporarily stepped away in 2019 for health reasons.)

In February, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny overruled an objection from Jamie Spears to having a third party help look after his daughter's financial affairs. A wealth-management company, Bessemer Trust, is now a co-conservator for the financial side of Spears' situation. But Jamie Spears is still the main conservator for all other aspects of Spears' arrangement.

Why is Spears planning to talk to the court now?

Back in April, Spears' legal team asked Penny to allow her to speak to the court directly about the conservatorship, and they agreed that June 23 would be the date for this to happen. At the time, Ingham did not disclose why Spears wants to speak or what she intends to say.

Has Spears ever asked for the conservatorship to end?

Up until now, Spears has never voiced a desire for the conservatorship to be removed completely — at least not publicly. In a court filing, she has stated that the conservatorship "rescued her from a collapse, exploitation by predatory individuals and financial ruin" and allowed her to "regain her position as a world class entertainer."

But on Tuesday afternoon, The New York Times reported that it had obtained confidential court records that purport to show that Spears has opposed the conservatorship privately for years. The Times quoted a 2016 report from a court investigator assigned to Spears' case, in which the investigator wrote that Spears told her that the conservatorship had "become an oppressive and controlling tool against her" and that she wanted the arrangement to end quickly.

According to the Times, Spears told the court in 2019 that the conservatorship had forced her into a stay at a mental health facility, as well as into making public performances against her will. The article further reported that the conservatorship had dictated Spears' friendships, her dating life and her spending habits, even preventing her from refinishing kitchen cabinets according to her taste.

As early as 2014, the article states, Spears wanted to consider removing her father from his prime role in the conservatorship, citing his reportedly heavy drinking.

Does Spears herself support the #FreeBritney movement?

Certain Spears fans have organized themselves into a grassroots movement — #FreeBritney — to help Spears regain autonomy over her life. The dynamics between Spears and her dedicated #FreeBritney fans are murky, as are her various declarations on social media.

In a court filing last September, her lawyer, Ingham, wrote: "At this point in her life when she is trying to regain some measure of personal autonomy, Britney welcomes and appreciates the informed support of her many fans."

On the other hand, Spears to date has never publicly asked to be released from the conservatorship and regain her autonomy — which is the main goal of #FreeBritney.

A very sympathetic New York Times television documentary, Framing Britney Spears, debuted on FX in February. The project reckons with the way the media, comedians and the music industry itself characterized Spears during her ascent to global fame and during her later, very public struggles — and it also profiles some #FreeBritney activists.

After it aired, Spears wrote on Instagram: "My life has always been very speculated [sic] ... watched ... and judged really my whole life !!! ... I didn't watch the documentary but from what I did see of it I was embarrassed by the light they put me in ... I cried for two weeks and well .... I still cry sometimes !!!!"

Some #FreeBritney supporters don't believe Spears writes her own Instagram messages, leaving them to speculate about the pop star's true feelings. But Spears reportedly told TMZ in April that she writes her own captions.

What's next for Britney Spears?

Unclear. In an Instagram video posted last week, a visibly jittery Spears professed to be answering fans' most burning questions, including her shoe size and her favorite business trip (answer: "a trip to Italy [to] Donatella Versace. ... She fined [sic] and dined us").

The last question Spears put forward to herself was a crucial one: Would she ever return to the stage again?

"I have no idea," she said. "I'm having fun right now. I'm in transition in my life, and I'm enjoying myself."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A judge has denied Britney Spears' request to remove her father, Jamie Spears (left), as a co-conservator.; Credit: /AP

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge signed an order Wednesday denying Britney Spears' request to have her father, Jamie Spears, removed from the financial aspects of her conservatorship.

Judge Brenda Penny denied the request, which was first filed by Spears' attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, last November. The judge's decision comes after the singer appeared in court last Wednesday to make a direct appeal to the court. In that emotional statement, Spears said that she was being exploited and "bullied" by the conservatorship — and specifically, by her father.

Until recently, both the financial and personal arms of the conservatorship were controlled by Spears' father, Jamie Spears.

Last year, Ingham stated in a filing that Spears "strongly opposed" her father as conservator, and that she refused to perform if he remained in charge of her career.

In February, Judge Penny allowed a wealth-management company, Bessemer Trust, to come in as a co-conservator for the financial arm of Spears' arrangement. Jamie Spears remains the main conservator for all other aspects of Spears' conservatorship.

The next hearing in the case is currently scheduled for July 14. It is possible that Spears will submit a petition for the conservatorship to be terminated. In her comments to Judge Penny last week, Spears said that she had been unaware that she could take such an action. "I didn't know I could petition the conservatorship to end it," she said. "I'm sorry for my ignorance, but I honestly didn't know that."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

; Credit: /Courtesy of TED

Part 3 of TED Radio Hour episode: An SOS From The Ocean

In 1998, Alasdair Harris went to Madagascar to research coral reefs. He's worked there ever since. He explains the true meaning of conservation he learned from the island's Indigenous communities.

About Alasdair Harris

Alasdair Harris is a marine biologist and the founder of the organization Blue Ventures. His organization seeks to catalyze and sustain locally-led marine conservation in coastal communities around the world.

His work focuses on rebuilding tropical fisheries and working with coastal people to increase their sources of income.

Harris holds a PhD in tropical marine ecology, and an honorary doctorate of science from the University of Edinburgh.

This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Matthew Cloutier and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Twitter @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadio@npr.org.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The idea was discussed by Andy Lee, the chief executive of its Foxtron electric vehicle venture, in the presence of Foxconn chairman Young Liu and a cluster of states at a meeting organised last month when Liu was visiting India, they said. Foxtron is also looking to manufacture EVs in India.

Panelists in a discussion on ‘Mobility Megatrends 2050’, highlighted that in the next decade, with electrification, autonomous driving, smart and connected infrastructure, modal diversity, and mobility that is integrated, resilient, shared, and sustainable – powered by disruptive business models, will transform and shape up of the automotive industry. The industry is racing towards a new world, driven by sustainability and changing consumer behaviour, encompassing electric vehicles, autonomous cars, mobility fleet sharing, and always connected.

Two members of the Catawba County Board of Commissioners, Vice-Chair Lynn Lail and Commissioner Barbara Beatty joined UNC Charlotte officials and leaders from business and power industries to celebrate the start of construction on the University�s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC). EPIC is a planned research endeavor between the University and private partners with the goal of expanding energy engineering and research within the region based on industry needs. The Catawba County EcoComplex will play an important role in EPIC through research partnership between Catawba County and UNC-Charlotte

For the twenty-second straight year, Catawba County�s Budget Office has been recognized by its peers for producing a budget document which is easy to read and understand. The Office has won the 2010 Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association. This award recognized the County�s fiscal year 2010-2011 budget.

The Catawba County Finance Department is a winner of the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2010. Catawba County has now won the award for 29 consecutive years.

Catawba County�s Budget Office has been recognized by its peers for producing a budget document which is easy to read and understand. The County Budget Office has won the 2011 Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).

The Institute for Conservation Leadership has chosen to honor the Catawba-Wateree Relicensing Coalition for their exemplary collaboration to accomplish outstanding environmental protection. The Coalition is being recognized for collaborative work that is creative, visionary, and highly effective and that their respective coalition members could not have achieved by acting alone

Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2012-2013 shows Catawba County improved its financial position with conservative approach.

Britney Spears performing onstage in Las Vegas in 2016.; Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Addressing a Los Angeles Superior Court judge today via a remote connection, Britney Spears on Wednesday afternoon made her most public statement to date about her long-running conservatorship. For over a decade, the pop star's life has been ruled by an atypical court-dictated legal arrangement that removes practically all autonomy from her life. Until now, the pop star has remained mostly quiet on the subject.

Today, in a passionate statement, she plead for the conservatorship to end. According to tweets sent by observers on the scene, Spears was open and outspoken about her situation. She said her life was being exploited, and she can't sleep, is depressed and cries every day. She stated that she wants another baby, but is forced by the agreement to keep an IUD in place.

Before today, after a recent New York Times and FX documentary, Framing Britney Spears, reignited interest in her story and the wider #FreeBritney movement, she has shied away from public comment, but did share some thoughts on social media.

"I didn't watch the documentary but from what I did see of it I was embarrassed by the light they put me in," she wrote in an Instagram caption in March. "I cried for two weeks and well .... I still cry sometimes !!!!"

But on Tuesday, The New York Times, citing recently obtained confidential court records, reported that Spears has been trying to fight her conservatorship for years.

"She articulated she feels the conservatorship has become an oppressive and controlling tool against her," a court investigator wrote in a 2016 report. The system had "too much control," Ms. Spears said, according to the investigator's account of the conversation. "Too, too much!"

Ms. Spears informed the investigator that she wanted the conservatorship terminated as soon as possible. "She is 'sick of being taken advantage of' and she said she is the one working and earning her money but everyone around her is on her payroll," the investigator wrote.

In 2019, Ms. Spears told the court that she had felt forced by the conservatorship into a stay at a mental health facility and to perform against her will.

You can find more details about the history of her conservatorship here, but these are the broad strokes:

In 2008, Britney Spears' father, Jamie Spears, gained control of all aspects of his daughter's life after the singer publicly struggled with her mental health. (As the Framing Britney Spears documentary brought new attention to her case, it also started some soul-searching among media types who farmed her mental health issues for tabloid headlines.) Everything from her performances to her finances to her relationships with her two now-teenage sons was under her father's control.

The pop star's fans began to question the ethics and legality of the arrangement, and under the banner #FreeBritney they have sustained a lengthy campaign to see it end.

During this time, Britney Spears continued working — putting out platinum-selling albums, doing TV gigs and mounting a hugely successful four-year residency in Las Vegas. She had no control over the financial arrangements of any of these projects.

In a 2020 court filing, Spears asked the court to suspend her father from his role as conservator and refused to perform if he remained in charge of her career. As a result, a wealth-management company became a co-conservator for her finances, but her father presently remains the main conservator for all other aspects of Spears' life.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Federal prosecutors secured their first guilty plea Wednesday in the Justice Department's sprawling conspiracy case involving the Oath Keepers extremist group in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

At a hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., Graydon Young pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. The 55-year-old Florida resident agreed to cooperate with investigators, which could prove critical as the government pursues the remaining defendants in the high-profile case.

Young is one of 16 people associated with the Oath Keepers to be charged with conspiracy, obstruction and other offenses over the Capitol riot. Prosecutors say the defendants coordinated their efforts and actions to try to disrupt Congress' certification of the Electoral College count on Jan. 6.

More than 500 people have been charged so far in connection with the Capitol breach, but the Oath Keepers conspiracy case is one of the most closely watched because of the allegations and the link to an extremist organization.

Young is the second defendant linked to the Oath Keepers to plead guilty. Jon Schaffer pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding and entering restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon in April.

According to Young's statement of offense, he coordinated with his co-conspirators ahead of Jan. 6 and used encrypted messaging apps to maintain "operational security."

On the day itself, the document says, Young and some of his co-conspirators pushed through U.S. Capitol Police lines guarding the Capitol and into the building.

"Mr. Young believed that he and the co-conspirators were trying to obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding, that is, a proceeding before Congress, specifically, Congress's certification of the Electoral College vote," the document says.

At Wednesday's hearing, Judge Amit Mehta read that passage to Young to ensure that it was accurate.

"Yes, sir," Young replied, "that is correct."

According to the plea deal, Young has agreed to cooperate fully with prosecutors, including sitting for interviews with investigators and testifying before the grand jury and at trial.

The government, meanwhile, has agreed to dismiss the remaining charges against him. Even so, Mehta said Young is facing a possible prison sentence of 5 to 6 1/2 years under the sentencing guidelines.

Wednesday brought another significant development in the Capitol investigation.

Anna Morgan-Lloyd, a 49-year-old from Indiana who described Jan. 6 as the "best day ever," became the first Capitol riot defendant to be sentenced.

Morgan-Lloyd was not accused of taking part in any of the violence at the Capitol. She pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of "parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building."

Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced her to three years of probation and no jail time.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Britney Spears arrives for a movie premier in Hollywood, Calif., on July 22, 2019. On Wednesday, the singer asked a judge to end her conservatorship.; Credit: Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Britney Spears is asking a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to end her 13-year conservatorship, saying she is being exploited, bullied and feeling "left out and alone."

Below is a transcript from a leaked audio recording of part of Spears' court statement Wednesday posted on YouTube and verified by NPR.

Britney Spears: I will be honest with you, I haven't been back to court in a long time because I don't think I was heard on any level when I came to court the last time. I brought four sheets of paper in my hands and wrote in length what I had been through the last four months before I came there. The people who did that to me should not be able to walk away so easily. I'll recap: I was on tour in 2018; I was forced to do. My management said if I don't do this tour I will have to find an attorney.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny: Ms. Spears, Ms. Spears. I hate to interrupt you, but my court reporter is taking down what you're saying.

Spears: OK.

Penny: And so you have to speak a little more slowly.

Spears: Oh, of course. Yes. OK. I apologize. Great.

Penny: So we hear and make a record of everything you're saying.

Spears: The people who did this to me should not get away and be able to walk away so easily. Recap: I was on tour in 2018. I was forced to do. My management said if I don't do this tour, I will have to find an attorney and by contract my own management could sue me if I didn't follow through with the tour. He handed me a sheet of paper as I got off the stage in Vegas and said I had to sign it. It was very threatening and scary and with the conservatorship, I couldn't even get my own attorney. So out of fear, I went ahead and I did the tour. When I came off that tour, a new show in Las Vegas was supposed to take place. I started rehearsing early, but it was hard cause I'd been doing Vegas for four years and I needed a break in between.

But no, I was told this is the timeline and this is how it's gonna go. I rehearsed four to four days a week, half of the time in the studio and a half of the other time in a Westlake studio. I was basically directing most of the show with my whereabouts, where I preferred to rehearse and actually did most of the choreography, meaning I taught my dancers my new choreography myself. I take everything I do very seriously. There's tons of video with me at rehearsals. I wasn't good. I was great. I led a room of 16 new dancers in rehearsals. It's funny to hear my manager's side of the story. They all said I wasn't participating in rehearsals and I never agreed to take my medication, which my medication is only taken in the mornings, never at rehearsal. They don't even see me. So why are they even claiming that?

When I said no to one dance move into rehearsals, it was as if I planted a huge bomb somewhere and I said, no, I don't want to do it this way. After that, my management, my dancers and my assistant of the new people that were supposed to do the new show all went into a room, shut the door and didn't come out for at least 45 minutes. Ma'am, I'm not here to be anyone's slave. I can say no to a dance move. I was told by my — at the time — therapist, Dr. Benson, who died, that my manager called him and then that moment and told him I wasn't cooperating or following the guidelines in rehearsals. And he also said I wasn't taking my medication, which is so dumb because I've had the same lady every morning for the past eight years give me my same medication and I'm nowhere near these stupid people. It made no sense at all.

There was a week period where they — they were nice to me and they said, "I don't want to do —" And I told them, "I don't want to do the —" They, wait, no — they were nice to me. They said, if I don't want to do the new Vegas show, I don't have to cause I was getting really nervous. I said, "I can wait." It was like, they told me I could wait. It was like lifting literally 200 pounds off of me when they said I don't have to do the show anymore cause it was — I was really, really hard on myself and it was too much.

I couldn't take it anymore. So I remember telling my assistant, "But you know what, I feel weird if I say no. I feel like they're going to come back and be mean to me or punish me or something." Three days later, after I said no to Vegas, my therapist sat me down in a room and said he had a million phone calls about how I was not cooperating in rehearsals and I haven't been taking my medication. All of this was a false. He — he immediately the next day put me on lithium out of nowhere. He took me off my normal meds I'd been on for five years. And lithium is a very, very strong and completely different medication compared to what I was used to. You can go mentally impaired if you take too much, if you stay on it longer than five months. But he put me on that and I felt drunk. I really couldn't even take up for myself. I couldn't even have a conversation with my mom or dad really about anything. I told them I was scared and my doctor had me on — six different nurses with this new medication come to my home, stay with me to monitor me on this new medication, which I never wanted to be on to begin with.

There were six different nurse — nurses in my homes and they wouldn't let me get in my car to go anywhere for — for a month. Not only did my family not do a goddamn thing, my dad was all for it. Anything that happened to me had to be approved by my dad. And my dad only — he acted like he didn't know that I was told I had to be tested over the Christmas holidays before they sent me away when my kids went home to Louisiana. He was the one who approved all of it. My whole family did nothing. Over the two-week holiday, a lady came into my home for four hours a day, sat me down and did a psych test on me. It took forever, but I was — I was told I had to then — after that I got off — Wait.

I was told — I had to then after I got a phone call from my dad saying after I did the psych test with this lady, basically saying I had failed the test or whatever — whatever. "I'm sorry, Britney, you have to listen to your doctors. They are planning to send you to a small home in Beverly Hills to do a small rehab program that we're going to make up for you. You're gonna pay $60,000 a month for this."

I cried on the phone for an hour and he loved every minute of it. The control he had over someone as powerful as me as he loved the control to hurt his own daughter, 100,000%. He loved it.

I packed my bags and went to that place. I worked seven days a week, no days off — which in California, the only similar thing to this is called sex trafficking, making anyone work — work against their will. Taking all their possessions away — credit card, cash, phone, passport card — and placing them in a home where they — they work with the people who live with them. They offer — they all lived in the house with me, the nurses, the 24/7 security. There — there was one chef that came there and cooked for me daily during the weekdays. They watched me change every day, naked. Morning, noon and night. My body — I had no privacy door for my — for my room. I gave eight gallons of blood a week. If I didn't do any of my meetings and work from 8 to 6 at night — which is 10 hours a day, seven days a week, no days off — I wouldn't be able to see my kids or my boyfriend. I never had a say in my schedule. They always told me I had to do this. And ma'am, I will tell you, sitting in a chair 10 hours a day, seven days a week, it ain't fun. And especially when you can't walk out the front door.

And that's why I'm telling you this again two years later, after I've lied and told the whole world I'm OK and I'm happy. It's a lie. I thought I just — maybe I said that enough, maybe I might become happy because I've been in denial. I've been in shock. I am traumatized, you know, fake it till you make it. But now I'm telling you the truth, OK? I'm not happy. I can't sleep. I'm so angry. It's insane and I'm depressed. I cry every day. And the reason I'm telling you this is because I don't think how the state of California can have all this written in the court documents from the time I showed up and do absolutely nothing. Just hire — with my money — another person to keep — and keep my dad on board. Ma'am, my dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship and my management who played a huge role in punishing me when I said, "No, ma'am, they should be in jail." Their cruel tactics working for Miley Cyrus. If she smokes on joints and stage at the VMAs, nothing is ever done to this generation for doing wrong things. But my precious body, whose work for my dad for the past f***ing 13 years, trying to be so good and pretty. So perfect when he works me so hard, when I do everything I'm told, and the state of California allowed my ignorant father to take his own daughter, who only has a role with me if I work with him. They set back the whole course and allowed him to do that to me? That's given these people I've worked for way too much control.

They also threatened me and said if I don't go, then I have to go to court and it will be more embarrassing me if the judge publicly makes you go, "The evidence we have, you have to go." I was advised for my image. I need to go ahead and just go and get it over with. They said that to me. I don't — I don't even drink alcohol. I — I should drink alcohol, considering what they put my heart through.

Also, the Bridges Facility they sent me to none of the kids — I was doing this program for four months. So the last two months I went to a Bridges Facility. None of the kids there did the — did the program. They never showed up for any of them. You didn't have to do anything if you didn't want to. How come they always made me go? How come I was always threatened by my dad and anybody that persisted in this conservatorship? If I don't do this, what they tell me — enslave me to do, they're going to punish me. The last time I spoke to you about just keeping the conservatorship going and also keeping my dad in the loop made me feel like I was dead. Like I didn't matter. Like nothing had been done to to me. Like you thought I was lying or something. I'm telling you again, because I'm not lying. I want to feel heard and I'm telling you this again so maybe you can understand the depth and the degree and the damage that they did to me back then.

I want changes and I want changes going forward. I deserve changes. I was told I have to sit down and be evaluated — again — if I want to end the conservatorship. Ma'am, I didn't know I could petition the conservatorship to end it. I'm sorry for my ignorance, but I honestly didn't know that. But honestly, which I don't think I owe anyone to be evaluated. I've done more than enough. I don't feel like I should even be in a room with anyone to offend me by trying to question my capacity of intelligence, whether I need to be in this stupid conservatorship or not. I've done more than enough. I don't owe these people anything. Especially me, the one that is roofed and fed tons of people on tour on the road. It's embarrassing and demoralizing what I've been through. And that's the main reason I've never said it openly. And mainly I didn't want to say it openly because I honestly don't think anyone would believe me. To be honest with you, the Paris Hilton story on what they did to her, at that school, I didn't believe any of it. I'm sorry, I'm an outsider. And I'll just be honest, I didn't believe it. And maybe I'm wrong. And that's why I didn't want to say any of this to anybody, to the public, because people would make fun of me or laugh at me and say, "She's lying. She's got everything. She's Britney Spears." I'm not lying. I just want my life back. And it's been 13 years and it's enough.

It's been a long time since I've owned my money and it's my wish and my dream for all of this to end without being tested. Again, it makes no sense whatsoever for the state of California to sit back and literally watch me with their own two eyes, make a living for so many people and pay so many people — trucks and buses on tour on the road with me — and be told I'm not good enough. But I'm great at what I do. And I allow these people to control what I do, ma'am, and it's enough, it makes no sense at all. Now, going forward, I'm not willing to meet or see anyone. I've met with enough people against my will. I'm done. All I want is to own my money, for this to end, and my boyfriend to drive me in his f***ing car. And I would honestly like to sue my family, to be totally honest with you.

I also would like to be able to share my story with the world and what they did to me instead of it being a hush hush secret to benefit all of them. I want to be able to be heard on what they did to me by making me keep this in for so long is not good for my heart. I've been so angry and I cry every day. It concerns me I'm told I'm not allowed to expose the people who did this to me. For my sanity, I need you to the judge to approve me to do an interview where I can be heard and what they did to me. And actually, I have the right to use my voice and take up for myself. My attorney says I can't. It's not good. I can't let the public know anything they did to me. And by not saying anything is saying it's OK. I don't know what I said here. It's not OK. I would actually — I don't want to interview. I'd much rather just have an open call to you for the press to hear, which I didn't know today we're doing, so thank you.

Instead of having an interview, honestly, I need that to get it off my heart. The anger and all of it. That — that — that's — that's been happening. It's not fair they're telling me lies about me openly. Even my family. They do interviews to anyone they want on news stations, my own family doing interviews and talking about the situation and making me feel so stupid. And I can't say one thing. And my own people say I can't say anything. It's been two years. I want a recorded call to you — actually, we're doing this now, which I didn't know that we were doing this — until the public knows what they did me. I told my — I know my lawyer Sam has been very scared for me to go forward because he's saying if I speak up, I'm being overworked in that facility, that rehab place that the rehab place will see me. He told me I should keep it to myself. I would personally like to — actually, I know I've had grown with a personal relationship with Sam, my lawyer. I've been talking to him like three times a week now. We've kind of built a relationship, but I haven't really had the opportunity by my own self to actually handpick my own lawyer by myself. And I would like to be able to do that.

I would like to also — the main reason why I'm here is because I want to end the conservatorship without having to be evaluated. I've done a lot of research, ma'am, and there is a lot of judges who do end conservatorships for people without them having to be evaluated all the time. The only times they don't is if a concerned family member says something's wrong with this person and consider an other — otherwise. And considering my family has lived off of my conservatorship for 13 years, I won't be surprised if one of them has has something to say. Go forward and say, "We don't think this should end. We have to help her." Especially if I get my fair serve and turn in exposing what they did to me. Also I want to speak to you about at the moment my obligations, which I personally don't think at the very moment, I owe anybody anything.

I have three meetings a week I have to attend no matter what. I just don't like feeling like I work for the people whom I pay. I don't like being told I have to, no matter what, even if I'm sick, Jodi, the conservator says I have to see my Coach Ken even when I'm sick. I would like to do one meeting a week with a therapist. I've never in — before — even before they sent me to that place, had two therapy sessions. A therapy, one, a therapy session and one therapy session with my — I have a doctor and then a therapy person. What I've been forced to do illegal in my life, I shouldn't be told I have to be available three times a week to these people I don't know.

I'm talking to you today because I feel again, yes, even Jodi is starting to kind of take it too far with me. They have me going to therapy twice a week and a psychiatrist. I've never in the past had — they had me going yeah, twice a week and my doctor goal. So that's three times a week. I've never in the past went to see a therapist more than once a week. It takes too much out of me going to this man I don't know. Number one, I'm scared of people. I don't trust people with what I've been through. And the clever set up of being in what's like, one of the most exposed places in Westlake, which today — yesterday paparazzi showed me coming out of the place, literally crying in there. It's embarrassing and it's demoralizing. I deserve privacy when I go. I deserve privacy when I go and have therapy either at my home, like I've done for eight years — they've always come to my home — or when the Dr. Benson, the guy — the man that died — I went to a place similar to what I went to in Westlake, which was very exposed and really bad. OK, so wait, where was I? It was like, it was identical to Dr. Benson who died. The one who illegally — yes, 100% — abused me by the treatment he gave me to. And to be totally honest with you, I was so —

Penny: Ms. Spears, excuse me for interrupting you. But my reporter says if you could just slow down a little bit because she's trying to make sure she gets everything that you're saying.

Spears: OK, cool.

Penny: And so if you just —.

Spears: OK.

Penny: So that would be great.

Spears: I have been through — and the clever set up in Westlake is identical to Dr. Benson who died, the one who illegally — yes, 100% — abused me by the treatment he gave me. And to be totally honest with you, when he passed away, I got on my knees and thanked God. In other words, my team is pushing — pushing it with me again. I have trapped phobias being in small rooms because the trauma locked me up for four months in that place is not OK for them to send me — sorry, I'm going fast — to that small room like that twice a week with another new therapist I pay that I never even approved. I don't like it. I don't want to do that. And I haven't done anything wrong to deserve this treatment. It's not OK to force me to do anything I don't want to do. By law — by law, Jodi and this so-called team should honestly — I should be able to sue them for threatening me and saying if I don't go and do these meetings twice a week, we — we can't let you have your money and go to Maui on your vacations. You have to do what you're told for this program and then you will be able to go.

But it was very clever. They picked one of the most exposed places in Westlake knowing I have the hot topic of the conservatorship, that over five paparazzi are going to show up and get me crying coming out of that place. I begged them to make sure that they did this at my home so I would have privacy. I deserve privacy. The whole conservatorship from the beginning — once — the conservatorship — the conservatorship from the beginning, once you see someone, whoever it is in the conservatorship, making money, making them money and myself money and working, that whole, that whole statement right there, the conservatorship should end. There should be no — I shouldn't be in a conservatorship if I can work and provide money and work for myself and pay other people. It makes no sense. The laws need to change. What state allows people to own another person's money and account and threaten them and saying, "You can't spend your money unless you do what we want you to do." And I'm paying them.

Ma'am, I've worked since I was 17 years old. You have to understand how thin that is for me. Every morning I get up to know, I can't go on somewhere unless I meet people I don't know every week in an office identical to the one where the therapist was very abusive to me. I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. And now we can sit here all day and say, "Oh, conservatorships are here to help people." But ma'am, there's a thousand conservatorships that are abusive as well. I don't feel like I can live a full life. I don't — I don't owe them to go see a man I don't know and share him my problems. I don't even believe in therapy. I always think you take it to God.

I want to end the conservatorship without being evaluated. In the meantime, I want this therapist once a week. He can either come to my home — no, I just want him to come to my home. I'm not willing to go to Westlake and be embarrassed by all these paparazzi, these scummy paparazzi laughing at my faces while I'm crying, coming out and taking my pictures as all these white, nice dinners where people drinking wine at restaurants, watching me from these places.

They set me up by sending me to the most exposed places, places. And I told them I didn't want to go there because I knew paparazzi would show up there. They only gave me two options for therapist, and I'm not sure how you make your decisions, ma'am, but this is the only chance for me to talk to you for a while. I need your your help. So if you can just kind of let me know where your head is, I don't really honestly know what to say, but my requests just are to end the conservatorship without being evaluated. I want to petition, basically, to end the conservatorship, but I want to — I want it to be petitioned. And if I don't want to be evaluated, to be sat in a room with people for hours a day like they did me before, and they made it even worse for me after that happened.

So I just — I'm honestly new at this and I'm doing research on all these things. I do know common sense and the method that things can end, it — for people, it has ended without them being evaluated. So I just want you to take that into consider — consideration. I've also done research and wait — also took a year during COVID to get me any self-care methods during COVID. She said there were no services available. She's lying, ma'am. My mom went to the spa twice in Louisiana during COVID. For a year, I didn't have my nails done. No hair styling and no massages, no acupuncture, nothing. For a year. I saw the maids in my home each week with their nails done different each time. She made me feel like my dad does — very similar, her behavior. And my dad, but just a different dynamic. Team wants me to work and stay home instead of having longer vacations. They — they are used to me sort of doing a weekly routine for them and I'm over it. I don't feel like I owe them anything at this point. They need to be reminded they actually work for me. They trick me by sending me to the — OK, I repeated myself there. OK.

Also, I was supposed to be able to have a friend that I used to do AA meetings with. I did AA for two years, I have like, you know — I did three meetings a week and met a bunch of women there. And I'm not able to see my friends that live eight minutes away from me, which I find extremely strange. I feel like they're making me feel like I live in a rehab program. This is my home. I'd like for my boyfriend to be able to drive me in his car. And I want to meet with the therapist once a week, not twice a week. And I want him to come to my home because I actually know I do need a little therapy.

I was told, hold on — I think that's — oh, and I would like to progressively move forward and I want to have the real deal. I want to be able to get married and have a baby. I was told right now in the conservatorship, I'm not able to get married or have a baby. I have an IUD inside of myself right now, so I don't get pregnant. I wanted to take the IUD out so I could start trying to have another baby. But this so-called team won't let me go to the doctor to take it out because they they don't want me to have children — any more children.

So basically this conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I — I deserve to have a life. I've worked my whole life. I deserve to have a two- to three-year break and just, you know, do what I want to do. But I do feel like there is a crutch here and I feel like I feel open and I'm OK to talk to you today about it. But I — I wish I could stay with you on the phone forever, because when I get off the phone with you, all of a sudden all I hear — I hear all these no's. No, no, no. And then all of a sudden I get — I feel ganged up on and I feel bullied and I feel left out and alone. And I'm tired of feeling alone. I deserve to have the same rights as anybody does by having a child, a family, any of those things. And more so. And that's all I wanted to say to you. And thank you so much for letting me speak to you today.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with then-President Donald Trump on Jan. 6.; Credit: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

An alleged member of the Oath Keepers has pleaded guilty to charges connected to the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol and agreed to cooperate with the government in its conspiracy case against the extremist group.

Mark Grods entered a plea of guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. According to the statement of offense, the conspiracy's aim was to stop Congress' certification of the Electoral College count.

The plea marks another step forward for prosecutors pursuing a broader conspiracy case against 16 alleged members or associates of the Oath Keepers, a far-right, anti-government group. Last week, one of the defendants in that case pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction, and agreed to cooperate with investigators.

Grods, who was charged separately but admitted to having coordinated with members of the Oath Keepers, has also agreed to cooperate with the government, including testifying before a grand jury or at trial.

In a court filing, prosecutors said Grods' case "is part of an ongoing grand jury investigation and plea negotiation related to United States v. Thomas Caldwell, et al.," which is the government's Oath Keepers conspiracy case.

At a court hearing Wednesday in Washington, D.C., just blocks from the Capitol, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta went over the charges and the terms of Grods' plea deal, and told him his estimated sentencing guidelines range was 51 to 63 months.

"How do you plead on count one, the charge of conspiracy, sir?" Mehta asked.

"Guilty," Grods said.

"Count two, obstruction of an official proceeding, how do you plead, sir?" Mehta asked.

"Guilty," Grods replied again.

In his statement of offense, Grods admits to bringing firearms to Washington, D.C., and then stashing them across the Potomac River at a Virginia hotel — a detail the government says buttresses its argument that the Oath Keepers prepared for violence on Jan. 6.

The government alleges the group planned to store weapons in Virginia and ferry them into Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 if the situation in the city got messy.

Grods' statement of offense says on Jan. 6, he rode in a golf cart with others through the city before parking a few blocks away from the Capitol and walking the rest of the way. He then linked up with other alleged Oath Keepers, who forged their way through the crowd, up the steps of the Capitol in a military-style "stack" formation and into the building itself.

Other members of the "stack" have been charged in the Oath Keepers conspiracy case.

Four minutes after entering the Capitol, the statement of offense says, Grods left the building as police shot pepper balls at a wall near him.

Two days after the assault on the Capitol, an unnamed individual told Grods to "make sure that all signal comms about the op has been deleted and burned," according to the statement of offense, which Grods confirmed he had done.

It is unclear how much additional information Grods will be able to provide investigators, but his plea agreement — the second in the span of a week — may prompt other defendants in the case to cut deals with prosecutors as well.

Overall, charges have now been brought against more than 500 individuals related to the riot at the Capitol.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

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Representatives from the national academies of sciences of the G20 countries handed over recommendations for improving marine conservation to the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine offers guidance to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on how to conduct a hazard assessment of nonpolymeric, additive organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs), which are used in some consumer products.

We tend to think of the process of seeing as fairly objective — that our eyes are similar to cameras, neutrally taking in light and turning it into pictures. But research has shown that biases buried beneath our awareness can powerfully shape how we see.

Guidelines about feeding children under the age of 2 are generally consistent, but there are some inconsistencies, such as the minimum recommended age to which breastfeeding should be continued, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.