Current Directions in Psychological Science, Ahead of Print. Population-level administrative data—data on individuals’ interactions with administrative systems, such as health-care, social-welfare, criminal-justice, and education systems—are a fruitful resource for research into behavior, development, and well-being. However, administrative data are underutilized in psychological science. Here, we review advantages of population-level administrative data for psychological research and […]

The post Population-Level Administrative Data: A Resource to Advance Psychological Science was curated by information for practice.

Global pandemic treaty negotiators are hashing out cooperation plans this week and considering rushing the process out of fear that the Trump administration would pull the U.S. out of negotiations.

January 25, 2013

President Obama officially began his second term of office on January 20th. In his inaugural address to the nation the following day, his focus was on the strengths and promises of America. In this Basic Black conversation, we explore the challenges, the goals, and the demands for the second Obama administration.

Our panel this week:
- Callie Crossley, host and moderator, Boston Public Radio, WGBH
- Kim McLarin, assistant professor of writing, literature and publishing, Emerson College
- Phillip Martin, senior reporter, 89.7 WGBH Radio
- Peniel Joseph, professor of history, Tufts University
- Robert Fortes, Republican strategist and political consultant




Photo: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administers the oath of office to President Barack Obama during the inaugural swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 21, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

Donald Trump is naming longtime adviser Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner, to be the deputy chief of policy in his new administration. The announcement was first reported by CNN on Monday.

A majority of practicing Christians, including pastors, admit to viewing pornography and a large share say they are comfortable with the habit, a new study has found.

Kent McLellan, a 32-year-old American neo-Nazi who fought in the Donbass as part of the Nazi Right Sector* movement, who then joined Azov Battalion* after Russia launched the special operation in Ukraine, returned to Florida and started sharing his experience with media outlets. Some of his interviews do not fit into the framework of what American propaganda says about the Ukrainian conflict. In a conversation with Juan Sinmiedo, Ken "Boneface" McLellan busted myths about the coup on the Maidan, about today's Ukraine, and about how many neo-fascists Ukraine has actually sheltered.

US pilots told a story about Soviet pilots of MiG aircraft that took off to intercept enemy aircraft at the height of the Cold War. Soviet pilots were making jokes during the operations, Theaviationgeekclub website wrote with reference to a collection of stories dedicated to the Douglas F3D Skyknight air missions. "The first time we were intercepted, they reported that we were taking pictures of them, as we were carrying 35 mm hand-held cameras. Normally, it would be on the pilot's side where the interceptors were, and the ECMO would lean across and snap some pictures of them. And the Russians would report, "They're taking pictures of us. What should we do?” One of the Russian controllers had a sense of humour and said "Smile”. Who would have thought the Russians had any sense of humour at all?" Skyknight pilot Chuck Houseman said. The book also said that US pilots, who were collecting reconnaissance data near the Soviet borders in the Far East, thought of Soviet pilots as friendly individuals compared to pilots from other communist countries. According to the author of the book and aviation expert Joe Copalman, the midair encounters had always been quiet as the United States had not violated state borders and performed its tasks within international space.

Admiral Vyacheslav Popov, the former commander of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, said that the Kursk submarine (nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk) sank in 2000 as a result of the collision with a NATO submarine. The name of the Western submarine is known almost for sure, Popov said in an interview with RIA Novosti. The ex-commander-in-chief of the Northern Fleet suggested that the submarine that collided with the Kursk was tracking the sub. The Western submarine could not ensure the required level of safety under the conditions of the sea and other circumstances, so it came too close to the Kursk. According to the admiral, the sub was later found off the coast of Norway. Popov added that the manoeuvre of the Russian nuclear submarine could also lead to the "loss of contact." According to the admiral, he can reveal the name of the NATO submarine with almost 100 percent certainty, but said that he would not do it for a number of reasons.

The opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang is to begin on Friday, February 9, at 14:00 MSK. One hundred and sixty-eight athletes from Russia will take part in the Games for sure, but their quantity may increase. The second hearing of the panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was held on Feb. 8. For the time of the Olympics, judges stay in Pyeongchang. Today, they looked into the cases of 45 athletes and two coaches from Russia, who still have a chance to perform at the Games.They received such an opportunity after the first meeting, at which the CAS issued a decision that came contrary to the position of the IOC, but the decision was consistent with common sense. Having not heard any evidence to establish the guilt of several Russian athletes, the CAS sustained their appeals. Afterwards, the Russian athletes appealed against the non-admission to the Olympics.During the second hearing, CAS arbitrators considered the cases of 13 athletes and two coaches who had been acquitted. They also looked into the cases of 32 athletes who had never been suspected of violating anti-doping rules. None of them have received invitations from the IOC. They are stars of Russian sports - Anton Shipulin (biathlon), Victor An (speed skating) and Sergei Ustyugov (skier). Which abbreviation is worse: CAS, WADA, or IOC? Head coach of the Russian national luge team, Albert Demchenko, Tatyana Ivanova (sleigh) and Elena Nikitina (skeleton) had an opportunity to speak at the hearings. They told reporters later that they could not say anything about the hearings, and expressed a hope that common sense would prevail. According to Albert Demchenko, CAS arbitrators have listened to all arguments of the Russians.Earlier, skeletonist Elena Nikitina expressed the general idea of the outcast athletes. In an interview with R-Sport, she said that CAS made an independent and fair decision at first hearings contrary to that of the IOC, which gave the Russian athletes more confidence. The athlete also said that she would not mind moving into the Olympic Village even on the opening day of the Games.The head of the Russian Bobsleigh Federation, Sergei Parkhomenko, said that Russian bobsleighers would fly to South Korea as soon as they are allowed to do so. Nick Butler of Inside The Games shared insider information on Twitter. A reliable source, he wrote, informed him that the lawsuits from the Russian athletes would be sustained partially - some would be allowed to take part in the Games, but some others would not. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the IOC remain dissatisfied with the decision that CAS made during the first hearing. WADA officials said that the CAS verdict may cause anxiety and disappointment among athletes.However, it was only the Germans, who publicly supported the decision of the International Olympic Committee not to admit even acquitted Russian athletes. The head of the German delegation, Dirk Schimmelpfennig, told Munchner Merkur that the IOC rightly sticks to its original opinion, and this comes as "an important signal about the equality of all athletes - a signal about the ongoing struggle against doping."IOC President Thomas Bach stated that one needs to reform the CAS. All of a sudden, it turned out that the court in Lausanne makes the decisions that the IOC does not like, because the attacks against the Russian athletes were unfounded. Vice president of the Curling Federation of Russia, Andrei Sozin, said that the IOC behaves like a feudal lord who chooses whom of his slaves can be admitted to the Olympics. Yet, the Russians do not agree with that role that someone wants them to play. Evgeny ShurshakovPravda.Ru Read article on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru

Brazilian journalist and geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar admired the streets of Moscow and praised the city for its cleanliness. Escobar shared his impressions of the Russian capital on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Moskovskiye Novosti (Moscow News) Telegram channel said. Escobar noted that he very much enjoyed walking along the streets of Moscow, especially at night. "I never take a taxi in the center, I always walk there. And it's a beautiful city: everything is clean, everything works. Fantastic. This is something that people in the West have no idea about,” the journalist said.

The heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, which is undergoing repairs and extensive modernization at Sevmash shipyard, will begin trials in the upcoming autumn of 2024, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseyev told TASS. "The Admiral Nakhimov is to go to sea for factory sea trials in the autumn of 2024. She is to be transferred to the Navy in 2025," he said during the Army-2024 Forum. Admiral Nakhimov of Project 1144.2M has been under repair since 1999, although the works started 2013. During the modernization, the cruiser will receive a universal shipborne firing system 3S14 to carry Kalibr, Onyx, or Zircon cruise missiles.

University of Georgia School of Law Assistant Professor of Law & Faculty Co-Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center Desiree LeClercq, who specializes in international labor law and worked in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during the previous Trump administration, as well as in the International Labor Organization and at the National Labor Relations Board, is available for further commentary at desireelc@uga.edu.

[Sports] :
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism says it has uncovered evidence of financial misconduct at the Badminton Korea Association(BKA). During a briefing on an ongoing investigation Tuesday, the ministry said it suspects the head of the association and another top official improperly distributed 150 ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
The national governing body of badminton has strongly protested the sports ministry's allegations of embezzlement and breach of trust by its chief, Kim Taek-gyu. In a statement late Friday, the Badminton Korea Association(BKA) said it will hold the government legally responsible for defamation, ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
Prosecutors are seeking a four-year prison term for football forward Hwang Ui-jo, who has admitted to filming sexual encounters without his partners’ consent. The 32-year-old footballer, who plays for the Turkish Süper Lig club Alanyaspor, entered the guilty plea Wednesday at the Seoul Central District ...

[more...]

[Politics] :
Police say former President Moon Jae-in’s daughter has admitted that she operated an illegal lodging business in Jeju City.  Jeju’s provincial police department said Wednesday that it will hand over Moon Da-hye’s case to the prosecution sometime this week and recommend charges under the Public ...

[more...]

[International] :
North Korea has for the first time admitted carrying out public executions, a form of punishment widely criticized by the international community as an extreme human rights violation. According to the British daily The Times on Sunday, Pak Kwang-ho, director of the North’s Central Court, made the rare ...

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The crystal structure of Cd5(TeO3)4(NO3)2 exhibits a distinct layered arrangement, whereas Cd4Te5O14 crystallizes with a framework structure.

The reaction of cadmium bromide tetra­hydrate with 3-amino­pyrazole (3-apz) in ethano­lic solution leads to tautomerization of the ligand and the formation of crystals of the title compound, catena-poly[[di­bromido­cadmium(II)]-bis­(μ-3-amino-1H-pyrazole)-κ2N3:N2;κ2N2:N3], [CdBr2(C3H5N3)2]n or [CdBr2(3-apz)2]n. Its asymmetric unit consists of a half of a Cd2+ cation, a bromide anion and a 3-apz mol­ecule. The Cd2+ cations are coordinated by two bromide anions and two 3-apz ligands, generating trans-CdN4Br2 octa­hedra, which are linked into chains by pairs of the bridging ligands. In the crystal, the ligand mol­ecules and bromide anions of neighboring chains are linked through inter­chain hydrogen bonds into a two-dimensional network. The inter­molecular contacts were qu­anti­fied using Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots, revealing the relative qu­anti­tative contributions of the weak inter­molecular contacts.

Single crystals of tricadmium orthophosphate, Cd3(PO4)2, have been synthesized successfully by the hydro­thermal route, while its powder form was obtained by a solid-solid process. The corresponding crystal structure was determined using X-ray diffraction data in the monoclinic space group P21/n. The crystal structure consists of Cd2O8 or Cd2O10 dimers linked together by PO4 tetra­hedra through sharing vertices or edges. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the morphology and to confirm the chemical composition of the synthesized powder. Infrared analysis corroborates the presence of isolated phosphate tetra­hedrons in the structure. UV–Visible studies showed an absorbance peak at 289 nm and a band gap energy of 3.85 eV, as determined by the Kubelka–Munk model.

A novel o-phenyl­enedi­amine (opda)-based cadmium complex, bis­(benzene-1,2-di­amine-κ2N,N')bis­(benzene-1,2-di­amine-κN)cadmium(II) naphthalene-1,5-di­sulfonate, [Cd(C6H8N2)4](C10H6O6S2), was synthesized. The complex salt crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c. The Cd atom occupies a special position and coordinates six nitro­gen atoms from four o-phenyl­enedi­amine mol­ecules, two as chelating ligands and two as monodentate ligands. The amino H atoms of opda inter­act with two O atoms of the naphthalene-1,5-di­sulfonate anions. The anions act as bridges between [Cd(opda)4]2+ cations, forming a two-dimensional network in the [010] and [001] directions. The Hirshfeld surface analysis shows that the primary factors contributing to the supramolecular inter­actions are short contacts, particularly van der Waals forces of the type H⋯H, O⋯H and C⋯H.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, catena-poly[[[aqua­bis­(pyridine-κN)cadmium(II)]-μ2-4,4'-(1H-1,2,4-triazole-3,5-di­yl)dibenzoato-κ4O,O':O'',O'''] 4.5-hydrate], {[Cd(C16H9N3O4)(C5H5N)2(H2O)]·4.5H2O}n or {[Cd(bct)(py)2(H2O)]·4.5H2O}n (I), consists of a Cd2+ cation coordinated to one bct2– carboxyl­ate dianion, two mol­ecules of pyridine and a water mol­ecule as well as four and a half water mol­ecules of crystallization. The metal ion in I possesses a penta­gonal–bipyramidal environment with the four O atoms of the two bidentately coordinated carboxyl­ate groups and the N atom of a pyridine mol­ecule forming the O4N equatorial plane, while the N atom of another pyridine ligand and the O atom of the water mol­ecule occupy the axial positions. The bct2– bridging ligand connects two metal ions via its carb­oxy­lic groups, resulting in the formation of a parallel linear polymeric chain running along the [1overline{1}1] direction. The coordinated water mol­ecule of one chain forms a strong O—H⋯O hydrogen bond with the carboxyl­ate O atom of a neighboring chain, leading to the formation of double chains with a closest distance of 5.425 (7) Å between the cadmium ions belonging to different chains. Aromatic π–π stacking inter­actions between the benzene fragments of the anions as well as between the coordinated pyridine mol­ecules belonging to different chains results in the formation of sheets oriented parallel to the (overline{1}01) plane. As a result of hydrogen-bonding inter­actions involving the water mol­ecules of crystallization, the sheets are joined together in a three-dimensional network.

Single crystals of two basic cadmium phosphates, dicadmium orthophosphate hydroxide, Cd2(PO4)OH, and penta­cadmium bis­(orthophosphate) tetra­kis­(hydroxide), Cd5(PO4)2(OH)4, were obtained under hydro­thermal conditions. Cd2(PO4)OH adopts the triplite [(Mn,Fe)2(PO4)F] structure type. Its asymmetric unit comprises two Cd, one P and five O sites, all situated at the general Wyckoff position 8 f of space group I2/a; two of the O atoms are positionally disordered over two sites, and the H atom could not be localized. Disregarding the disorder, distorted [CdO6] polyhedra form a tri-periodic network by edge-sharing with neighbouring [CdO6] units and by vertex-sharing with [PO4] units. The site associated with the OH group is coordinated by four Cd atoms in a distorted tetra­hedral manner forming 1∞[(OH)Cd4/2] chains parallel to [001]. The oxygen environment around the OH site suggests multiple acceptor atoms for possible O—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions and is the putative reason for the disorder. Cd5(PO4)2(OH)4 adopts the arsenoclasite [Mn5(AsO4)2(OH)4] structure type. Its asymmetric unit comprises five Cd, two P, and twelve O sites all located at the general Wyckoff position 4 a of space group P212121; the H atoms could not be localized. The crystal structure of Cd5(PO4)2(OH)4 can be subdivided into two main sub-units. One consists of three edge-sharing [CdO6] octa­hedra, and the other of two edge- and vertex-sharing [CdO6] octa­hedra. Each sub-unit forms corrugated ribbons extending parallel to [100]. The two types of ribbons are linked into the tri-periodic arrangement through vertex-sharing and through common [PO4] tetra­hedra. Qu­anti­tative structure comparisons are made with isotypic M5(XO4)2(OH)4 crystal structures (M = Cd, Mn, Co; X = P, As, V).

The title compound, [CdBr2(C6H14N2O)], was synthesized upon complexation of 4-(2-aminoethyl)morpholine and cadmium(II) bromide tetra­hydrate at 303 K. It crystallizes as a centrosymmetric dimer, with one cadmium atom, two bromine atoms and one N,N'-bidentate 4-(2-aminoethyl)morpholine ligand in the asymmetric unit. The metal atom is six-coordinated and has a distorted octa­hedral geometry. In the crystal, O⋯Cd inter­actions link the dimers into a polymeric double chain and inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds form R22(6) ring motifs. Further C—H⋯Br and N—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds link the components into a three-dimensional network. As the N—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds are shorter than the C—H⋯Br inter­actions, they have a larger effect on the packing. A Hirshfeld surface analysis reveals that the largest contributions to the packing are from H⋯H (46.1%) and Br⋯H/H⋯Br (38.9%) inter­actions with smaller contributions from the O⋯H/H⋯O (4.7%), Br⋯Cd/Cd⋯Br (4.4%), O⋯Cd/Cd⋯O (3.5%), Br⋯Br (1.1%), Cd⋯H/H⋯Cd (0.9%), Br⋯O/O⋯Br (0.3%) and O⋯N/N⋯O (0.1%) contacts.

The title coordination polymer with the 4-methyl-N-(pyridin-2-yl­methyl­idene)aniline Schiff base ligand (L, C13H12N2), [Cd2Cl4(C13H12N2)]n (1), exhibits a columnar structure extending parallel to [100]. The columns are aligned in parallel and are decorated with chelating L ligands on both sides. They are elongated into a supra­molecular sheet extending parallel to (01overline{1}) through π–π stacking inter­actions involving L ligands of neighbouring columns. Adjacent sheets are packed into the tri-periodic supra­molecular network through weak C—H⋯Cl hydrogen-bonding inter­actions that involve the phenyl CH groups and chlorido ligands. The thermal stability and photoluminescent properties of (1) have also been examined.

The reaction of cadmium iodide with 3-amino­pyrazole (3-apz) in ethano­lic solution leads to tautomerization of the ligand and the formation of crystals of the title compound, catena-poly[[di­iodido­cadmium(II)]-bis­(μ-3-amino-1H-pyrazole)-κ2N2:N3;κ2N3:N2], [CdI2(C3H5N3)2]n or [CdI2(3-apz)2]n. Its asymmetric unit consists of a half of a Cd2+ cation, an iodide anion and a 3-apz mol­ecule. The Cd2+ cations are coordinated by two iodide anions and two 3-apz ligands, generating trans-CdN4I2 octa­hedra, which are linked into chains by pairs of the bridging ligands. In the crystal, the ligand mol­ecules and iodide anions of neighboring chains are linked through inter­chain hydrogen bonds into a di-periodic network. The inter­molecular contacts were qu­anti­fied using Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots, revealing the relative qu­anti­tative contributions of the weak inter­molecular contacts.

The title compound, [Cd(C14H16N3S)Cl] or [CdLCl] (1), where LH = 2-[bis­(pyridin-2-ylmeth­yl)amino]­ethane-1-thiol, was prepared and structurally characterized. The Cd2+ complex crystallizes in P21/c with a distorted trigonal–bipyramidal metal coordination geometry. Supra­molecular inter­actions in 1 include parallel offset face-to-face inter­actions between inversion-related pyridyl rings and potential hydrogen bonds with chlorine or sulfur as the acceptor. Additional cooperative pyrid­yl–pyridyl inter­actions with roughly 45° tilt angles and centroid–centroid distances of less than 5.5 Å likely also contribute to the overall solid-state stability. Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates that H⋯H (51.2%), Cl⋯H/H⋯Cl (13.9%), C⋯H/H⋯C (12.3%) and S⋯H/H⋯S (11.8%) inter­actions are dominant in the solid state.

The crystal structure of the title organic–inorganic hybrid salt, (C13H12N3)2[CdCl4], (I), has been reported with four mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit in a monoclinic cell [Vassilyeva et al. (2021). RSC Advances, 11, 7713–7722]. While using two different aldehydes in the oxidative cyclization–condensation involving CH3NH2·HCl to prepare a new monovalent cation with the imidazo[1,5-a]pyridinium skeleton, a new polymorph was obtained for (I) in space group P1 and a unit cell with approximately half the volume of the monoclinic form. The structural configurations of the two crystallographically non-equivalent organic cations as well as the geometry of the moderately distorted tetra­hedral CdCl42– dianion show minor changes. In the crystal, identically stacked cations and tetra­chloro­cadmate anions form separate columns parallel to the a axis. The loose packing of the anions leads to a minimal separation of approximately 9.53 Å between the metal atoms in the triclinic form versus 7.51 Å in the monoclinic one, indicating that the latter is packed slightly more densely. The two forms also differ by aromatic stacking motifs. Similar to the monoclinic polymorph, the triclinic one excited at 364 nm shows an intense unsymmetrical photoluminescent band with maximum at 403 nm and a full width at half maximum of 51 nm in the solid state.

Monoclinic single crystals of Cd5(TeO3)4(NO3)2 (space group P21/c), penta­cadmium tetra­kis­[oxidotellurate(IV)] dinitrate, and of Cd4Te5O14 (space group C2/c), tetra­cadmium penta­oxidotellurate(IV), were obtained under the same hydro­thermal conditions. Whereas the crystal structure of Cd5(TeO3)4(NO3)2 is distinctively layered, that of Cd4Te5O14 exhibits a tri-periodic framework. In Cd5(TeO3)4(NO3)2, the three CdII atoms have coordination numbers (CN) of 7, 6 and 6. The two types of [CdO6] and the [CdO7] polyhedra [bond lengths range from 2.179 (3) to 2.658 (2) Å] share corners and edges, resulting in layers extending parallel to (100). Both TeIV atoms are coordinated by three oxygen atoms in a trigonal–pyramidal shape. The oxygen atoms of the isolated [TeO3] groups [bond lengths range from 1.847 (3) to 1.886 (3) Å] all are part of the cadmium–oxygen layer. The electron lone pairs ψ of the TeIV atoms are directed away from the layer on both sides. The available inter­layer space is co-occupied by the nitrate group, which is directly connected with two of its O atoms to the layer whereas the third O atom is solely bonded to the N atom and points towards the adjacent layer. In Cd4Te5O14, all three unique CdII atoms are coordinated by six oxygen atoms, considering Cd—O distances from 2.235 (2) to 2.539 (2) Å. By edge- and corner-sharing, the distorted [CdO6] polyhedra form an open framework that is partially filled with three different stereochemically active TeIV atoms. All of them exhibit a CN of 4, with Te—O bonds in a range from 1.859 (2) to 2.476 (2) Å. The corresponding [TeO4] units are linked to each other by corner- and edge-sharing, forming infinite helical 1∞[Te10O28] chains extending parallel to [203]. The connectivity in the chains can be described as (⋯–⋄–⋄=⋄–⋄–⋄–⋄–⋄=⋄–⋄–⋄–⋯)n where ‘⋄’ denotes a [TeO4] unit, ‘–’ a linkage via corners and ‘=’ a linkage via edges. Such a structural motif is unprecedented in the crystal chemistry of oxidotellurate(IV) compounds.

The Biden administration is opening the West Coast to offshore wind. Companies have largely focused on the East Coast, like this wind farm off Block Island, Rhode Island.; Credit: Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration plans to open the California coast to offshore wind development, ending a long-running stalemate with the Department of Defense that has been the biggest barrier to building wind power along the Pacific Coast.

The move adds momentum to the administration's goal of reaching 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035, coming just weeks after the country's first large-scale offshore wind farm was approved off the coast of New England. Today, the country has just a handful of offshore wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean, with around a dozen wind farms being developed in federal waters off the East Coast.

"It's an announcement that will set the stage for the long term development of clean energy and the growth of a brand new made-in-America industry," says national climate adviser Gina McCarthy. "Now we're thinking big and thinking bold."

The agreement identifies two sites off Central and Northern California with the potential to install massive floating wind turbines that could produce 4.6 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 1.6 million homes.

Interest in offshore wind on the West Coast has grown for years, especially with California's own ambitious goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The deep waters off the coast have the potential to produce a significant amount of energy.

But the Defense Department has largely objected to the idea, since the Navy and Air Force use the area for training and testing operations. In response to the growing interest, the Navy released a map in 2017 putting large swaths of California waters off limits.

In 2018, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management solicited interest from wind developers. But negotiations with the Department of Defense have been slow going ever since, effectively blocking wind development off California.

Tuesday's announcement outlines a compromise for a 399-square-mile area off Morro Bay, a site that's appealing to renewable energy companies because of existing transmission lines nearby that once service a retired power plant. It also identifies a location off Humboldt County in Northern California.

"It's our view that the world faces a grave and growing climate crisis," says Dr. Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy. "Climate change is both a threat to the Department of Defense's operations around the world and an existential challenge to our ability to maintain resilience here at home."

Another key site, just offshore from the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, was not included in Tuesday's deal. California's last-remaining nuclear plant is scheduled to completely close by 2025, freeing up more potential transmission lines for offshore wind.

The Biden administration has set a goal of jump-starting the country's offshore wind sector with 30 gigawatts of projects by 2030. Those wind farms will foster tens of thousands of jobs, according to the White House, between renewable energy installers, manufacturers and steelworkers.

"This is a major breakthrough — a major advancement that will allow California to start planning for its carbon-free electricity goals with offshore wind firmly in the picture," says Nancy Rader of the California Wind Energy Association, who also pointed to the challenges. "Offshore wind development off the coast at Morro Bay and Humboldt will require a major port facility in each area to construct the floating platforms and assemble the turbines that will require continued proactive planning by the state and federal governments."

Still, the areas identified in the agreement may not be enough for hitting the administration's clean electricity goal, as well as California's. The state is planning to get 100% of its electricity from zero-emission sources by 2045. To reach that, renewable energy needs to triple statewide with offshore wind playing a key role, reaching 10 GW, according to a recent state analysis. Tuesday's deal could provide just half of that.

A potential lease auction for the offshore wind sites could be held in mid-2022. But the projects will still have to negotiate concerns about the potential impacts on California's fishing industry and shipping channels, as well as any environmental concerns about sensitive ecosystems.

"Far too many questions remain unanswered regarding potential impacts to marine life which is dependent on a healthy ecosystem," says Mike Conroy of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. "The fishing industry has been told these areas work best for offshore wind developers; but no one has asked us what areas would work best for us."

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

• Provide the utmost Child Support Services by always providing excellent customer service to internal and external customers.

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Residents and businesses affected by severe storms and tornado on Oct. 26 in Catawba County can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills announced today. Mills made the loans available in response to a letter from North Carolina Gov. Beverly E. Perdue on Nov. 12, requesting a disaster declaration by the SBA. The declaration covers Lincoln County and the adjacent counties of Burke, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell and Mecklenburg in North Carolina.

Lisa Przekop, director of admissions at University of California, Santa Barbara, says that many high schoolers this year wrote their application essays about depression and anxiety during the pandemic.; Credit: Patricia Marroquin/Moment Editorial/Getty Images

College-bound high schoolers are making their final deliberations ahead of May 1, the national deadline to pick a school. That day will mark the end of a hectic admissions season drastically shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many colleges dropped standardized testing requirements, and because some high schools gave pass/fail grades and canceled extracurriculars and sports, admissions counselors had to change how they read and evaluate applications.

"[It was] definitely the craziest of all my 36 years, without a doubt," says Lisa Przekop, director of admissions at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The UC school system received the most applications in the United States.

Like many others, Przekop says all of her staff has been working remotely throughout the pandemic. But if pivoting to working from home wasn't a challenge enough, Przekop says the school saw an increase in applications of 16%.

"On top of all that, we had to devise a way of doing our admissions selection process without the use of SAT or ACT scores," she says. "So any one of those things would have been a major change, but to have all of them at the same time was beyond anything really that I could've imagined."

Przekop spoke with All Things Considered about how what counselors looked for in applications this year changed, what topics they saw in admissions essays and how the process might have actually improved in spite of the pandemic.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview Highlights

Has it all added up to more time spent on every individual application?

Quick answer, yes. Things are much more nuanced now. And although a student may have, for instance, planned to do certain activities, well many of those activities were canceled. The other big difference was students were a lot more depressed this year, obviously. Everybody's more anxious, including students. They're applying for college which is stressful in and of itself. And so what we found is a lot of students used their essays to talk about depression, anxiety, things like this. To read essay after essay after essay about depression, anxiety, stress — is taxing. And so we really had to encourage staff to take more breaks as they were reviewing. So it definitely slowed the whole process down at a time when we had more applications to review.

Can you give any insight into what you are basing your decisions on this year?

Absolutely. Maybe in the past I would've focused on that GPA right away. Now when I'm looking at that academic picture, I have to look at the fact that did the student challenge themselves as much as they could have? Were the courses even available? Do I see any trends in their academic performance? If their spring term of last year, their junior year, was all pass/no pass, can I safely assume that they did well in those courses? And that's where you really had to rely on what the students shared in their essays to try to piece that together.

Are you noticing greater diversity in the students applying to UC?

In terms of ethnic diversity, yes, we are seeing that. In terms of diversity of experience — for instance, first generation students and students with lots of different socioeconomic backgrounds — we're definitely seeing that. I'm seeing students who are very committed to the environment more so than i've seen before. I'm seeing students who are more politically aware and active than I've seen before. So I'm definitely seeing a pattern of behaviors that look a little bit different than students in the past.

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

; Credit: /Rob Dobi for NPR

When someone applies to college, there's often a box or a section on the application that asks if they have any relatives who attended the university —perhaps a parent or a cousin. This is called "legacy," and for decades it's given U.S. college applicants a leg up in admissions. But no longer in Colorado's public colleges.

On Tuesday, Colorado became the first state to do away with that admissions boost, when Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed a ban on the practice into law. The governor also signed a bill that removes a requirement that public colleges consider SAT or ACT scores for freshmen, though the new law still allows students to submit test scores if they wish.

Both moves are aimed at making higher education access more equitable. According to the legislation, 67% of middle- to high-income students in Colorado enroll in bachelor's degree programs straight from high school, while only 47% of low-incomes students do. There are also major differences when it comes to race, with white students far more likely to enroll in college.

Legacy admissions have long been a target for reform. In a 2018 survey of admissions directors by Inside Higher Ed, 42% of private institutions and 6% of public institutions said they consider legacy status as a factor in admissions. Some of the nation's largest public universities do not consider legacy, including both the University of California and the California State University systems. However, private colleges in California have reported using legacy as a way to encourage philanthropic giving and donations.

During the pandemic, many colleges backed off on using SAT and ACT scores in admissions. Research has shown — and lawsuits have argued -- that the tests, long used to measure aptitude for college, are far more connected to family income and don't provide meaningful information about a student's ability to succeed in college. Wealthier families are also more likely to pay for test prep courses, or attend schools with curriculums that focus on the exams.

As pandemic restrictions loosen up, and in-person testing resumes, some universities have begun to re-incorporate the SAT and ACT into their admissions. But others have made the temporary changes permanent. This spring, the University of California system agreed to continue a test-free admissions policy through 2025. California sends the largest number of high school students to U.S. colleges, and if the UC system no longer uses the tests, its unclear whether those students will be interested in applying to other schools that do require them.

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

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