This paper introduces a new 2D representation of the orientation distribution function for an arbitrary material texture. The approach is based on the isometric square torus mapping of the Clifford torus, which allows for points on the unit quaternion hypersphere (each corresponding to a 3D orientation) to be represented in a periodic 2D square map. The combination of three such orthogonal mappings into a single RGB (red–green–blue) image provides a compact periodic representation of any set of orientations. Square torus representations of five different orientation sampling methods are compared and analyzed in terms of the Riesz s energies that quantify the uniformity of the samplings. The effect of crystallographic symmetry on the square torus map is analyzed in terms of the Rodrigues fundamental zones for the rotational symmetry groups. The paper concludes with example representations of important texture components in cubic and hexagonal materials. The new RGB representation provides a convenient and compact way of generating training data for the automated analysis of material textures by means of neural networks.

Controlling the shape and size dispersivity and crystallinity of nanoparticles (NPs) has been a challenge in identifying these parameters' role in the physical and chemical properties of NPs. The need for reliable quantitative tools for analyzing the dispersivity and crystallinity of NPs is a considerable problem in optimizing scalable synthesis routes capable of controlling NP properties. The most common tools are electron microscopy (EM) and X-ray scattering techniques. However, each technique has different susceptibility to these parameters, implying that more than one technique is necessary to characterize NP systems with maximum reliability. Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) is mandatory to access information on crystallinity. In contrast, EM or small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is required to access information on whole NP sizes. EM provides average values on relatively small ensembles in contrast to the bulk values accessed by X-ray techniques. Besides the fact that the SAXS and WAXS techniques have different susceptibilities to size distributions, SAXS is easily affected by NP–NP interaction distances. Because of all the variables involved, there have yet to be proposed methodologies for cross-analyzing data from two techniques that can provide reliable quantitative results of dispersivity and crystallinity. In this work, a SAXS/WAXS-based methodology is proposed for simultaneously quantifying size distribution and degree of crystallinity of NPs. The most reliable easy-to-access size result for each technique is demonstrated by computer simulation. Strategies on how to compare these results and how to identify NP–NP interaction effects underneath the SAXS intensity curve are presented. Experimental results are shown for cubic-like CeO2 NPs. WAXS size results from two analytical procedures are compared, line-profile fitting of individual diffraction peaks in opposition to whole pattern fitting. The impact of shape dispersivity is also evaluated. Extension of the proposed methodology for cross-analyzing EM and WAXS data is possible.

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, it is investigated how optical properties of single scatterers in interacting multi-particle systems influence measurable structure factors. Both particles with linear gradients of their scattering length density and core–shell structures evoke characteristic deviations between the weighted sum 〈S(Q)〉 of partial structure factors in a multi-component system and experimentally accessible measurable structure factors SM(Q). While 〈S(Q)〉 contains only the structural information of self-organizing systems, SM(Q) is additionally influenced by the optical properties of their constituents, resulting in features such as changing amplitudes, additional peaks in the low-wavevector region or splitting of higher-order maxima, which are not related to structural reasons. It is shown that these effects can be systematically categorized according to the qualitative behaviour of the form factor in the Guinier region, which enables assessing the suitability of experimentally obtained structure factors to genuinely represent the microstructure of complex systems free from any particular model assumption. Hence, a careful data analysis regarding size distribution and optical properties of single scatterers is mandatory to avoid a misinterpretation of measurable structure factors.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has...

Source: Streetwise Reports 11/07/2024

Sanu Gold Corp. (SANU:CSE; SNGCF:OTCQB; L73:FRA) commenced inaugural phase one drilling, to comprise about 19 holes for up to 2,000 meters (2,000m), at its Diguifara project in Guinea, as announced in a news release. Diguifara is one of this Canadian mineral explorer's three claim blocks totaling 280 square kilometers in the country's Siguiri Basin, a prolific gold district in West Africa. The other two assets are Daina and Bantabaye.

The company plans to drill test three priority targets, Dig 1, Dig 2, and Dig 3, which cover a cumulative strike length of 3.2 kilometers (3.2 km). Auger-in-saprolite samples from these targets showed gold grades up to 4.8 grams per ton (4.8 g/t). Along with auger sampling of bedrock, Sanu previously completed extensive and systematic surface geochemistry and ground geophysical surveys at Diguifara.

Capital Ltd. will complete the drilling, using a large multipurpose rig to drill air core and reverse circulation holes. This company is experienced in drilling large deposits in Guinea, and its investment arm, Capital DI, is a Sanu shareholder. Capital will collect samples on-site and submit them to MSALABS in Bamako, Mali, for analysis.

Sanu Gold is excited to drill at Diguifara because it contains kilometer-scale geochemical and geophysical gold trends and strong gold mineralization in the weathered bedrock and is located within trucking distance to a large operating gold mine, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Martin Pawlitschek told Streetwise Reports in an interview. He said the company could potentially monetize even a modest discovery of about 200,000–300,000 ounces (200–300 Koz) on the block due to this proximity to a major mine. Although it is important to point out that our target here is to make multi-million-ounce discoveries, our targets are large enough to potentially deliver this.

Diguifara is close to AngloGold Ashanti Plc.'s (AU:NYSE; ANG:JSE; AGG:ASX; AGD:LSE) Siguiri mine and mill, which produced gold since the mid-1990s, specifically 214 Koz last year. This South African gold miner owns 14% of Sanu.

"[AngloGold Ashanti has] a very hungry mill that will welcome additional ore feed from satellite deposits, and we're right in the range," said Pawlitschek.

In other news, Sanu announced separately that it added a new prospective gold target, Salat East, at its Daina claim block in the southeastern corner. There, artisanal miners started extracting mineralized material along a 500m-long, northeast-trending line of workings from a 5–8m wide structure dipping to the west. Daina already has an impressive pipeline of large footprint targets that will see drilling once the rig finishes at Diguifara.

"Salat East represents a new target with possible significant gold ounce potential," Pawlitschek said in the release.

Sanu intends to evaluate this target, with rock chip sampling, geological mapping and geophysics, prior to deciding whether or not to drill it.

Working to Discover Deposits

At Diguifara, Daina and Bantabaye, Sanu Gold is looking to discover multimillion-ounce gold deposits. The trio, in the Siguiri Basin, is surrounded by world-class operating mines and major new discoveries. Société Minière de Dinguiraye SA's Lefa, Hummingbird Resources Plc's (HUM:AIM) Kouroussa and Robex Resources Inc.'s (RBX:TSX.V) Kiniero and Predictive Discovery (PDI:ASX) with its 5.4million ounce Bankan project are some.

"We believe there is definitely that big potential on all three blocks," Pawlitschek told Streetwise.

Guinea and West Africa are pro-mining and looking to expand the industry, noted Sanu's CEO. Since the mid-1990s gold has been mined in Guinea. Last year, gold output there was 10% higher than in 2022, making Guinea the world's 23rd largest producer of the metal, according to GlobalData.

With contributions from operations in Guinea, and Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali, West Africa has become a key gold mining region, reports the data analytics firm. It forecasts total gold production in West Africa this year will be 11,830,000 ounces.

Gold Continues Historic Climb

The gold price broke through the US$2,800 per ounce (US$2,800/oz) Wednesday, marking its fourth consecutive monthly gain, Reuters reported on Oct. 31. After, gold retreated, to end today at US$2756/oz.

"You're going to see a bit more consolidation," David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, told Reuters. "We have a lot of major impactful news next week, the U.S. election on Tuesday, Fed meeting on Wednesday. So it's really not surprising to see some traders take profits."

As for gold equities, the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (SPCDNX) confirmed a multidecade bull run for junior, intermediate, and senior mining stocks when it closed above 1,000 recently, Stewart Thomson with 321Gold wrote. The index is a key indicator of the health of the general gold, silver, and mining stocks market.

A reversal of outflows from gold exchange-traded funds occurred during Q3/24, and inflows during the quarter amounted to 95 tons, as reported by the World Gold Council, reported Ron Struthers of Struthers Resource Stock Report on Oct. 30. Positive inflows during the quarter came from all geographical regions, for holdings of 3,200 tons.

"All regions saw positive inflows during the quarter, which ended with collective holdings of 3,200 tons," the newsletter writer added. "Next year, we should be back to levels of 2020 and 2021. This will be fuel for a continued bull market."

Experts predict the gold price will continue its historic climb. Recently polled London Bullion Market Association members indicated they believe the gold price could reach US$2,940/oz during 2025, reported Stockhead.

Also, for 2025, InvestingHaven predicts US$3,100/oz gold. This is based on leading gold price indicators, including heightened inflation and increasing central bank demand, and from patterns on long-term gold charts, it noted.

The Catalysts: Drill Results

With drilling underway at Diguifara, results from the program could catalyze Sanu's stock, said Pawlitschek. They will be released when ready in about six to eight weeks.

Meanwhile, the gold company will tackle preparations for drilling untested targets at Daina, which will start soon. The scope of the campaign planned for Daina matches that is being carried out at Diguifara. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-10892]

"We have multiple targets that are going for 3, 4, up to 9 km strike lengths, some of them," the CEO said, referring to Diguifara and Daina.

When the initial phase at Daina is complete and results from Diguifara are back, we will likely go back to Difuifara for follow up drilling.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to the company's latest presentation, the largest share holders include strategic investors Anglo Gold Ashanti at 14 % and Capital at 10%.

Institutional investors include Scotia Global Asset Management, US Global Investors, Lowell Resources Funds Management, and Palos Management, which collectively make up 17% of the shareholders.

Management, founders and insider own around 22% with another 22% being held by high net worth individuals. 15% is held by retail investors.

The market cap for Sanu Gold is CA$17-18million with 238.5 million common shares. The 52-week range for the stock is CA$0.03 and CA$0.15.

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1. Sanu Gold Corp. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$4,000 and US$5,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Sanu Gold Corp.
3. Doresa Banning wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor.
4. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.

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( Companies Mentioned: SANU:CSE;SNGCF:OTCQB;L73:FRA, )

Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires perform onstage at the 13th annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards Show at the Ryman Auditorium on September 17, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. ; Credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Americana Music

Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell swept the major awards Wednesday night at the Americana Honors & Awards, creating another special moment with his wife, Amanda Shires.

Isbell won artist, album and song of the year during the 13th annual awards show Wednesday night at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Though surprisingly ignored by Grammy Awards voters, Isbell's album of the year winner "Southeastern" reverberated through the Americana community and made many of 2013's best-of lists.

He performed song of the year "Cover Me Up" with Shires, a significant figure on the album as muse and collaborator.

"I wrote this song for my wife," Isbell said. "I've had a lot of people ask me to dedicate it to their wives, girlfriends or cousin's wife or something strange like that. This was probably the hardest song I ever had to write because I wrote it for her and then I played it for her. It was very difficult. Do the things that scare you. That's the good stuff."

Isbell was one of this year's top nominees along with Rosanne Cash and Robert Ellis. Each had three nominations and all were up for artist, album and song of the year.

Many of the top nominees and honors recipients performed, including all five emerging artist nominees. Former couple Patty Griffin and Robert Plant made a surprise appearance and sang their collaboration "Ohio."

Sturgill Simpson, something of a modern cosmic cowboy, earned emerging artist of the year and the Milk Carton Kids took group/duo of the year. And Buddy Miller, now executive music producer for the television show "Nashville" and theAmericana's winningest performer, won his fifth instrumentalist of the year award.

The Americana Music Association also honored several pioneering musicians. Loretta Lynn received the lifetime achievement award for songwriting from Kacey Musgraves and Angaleena Presley.

"The truth is we both might cry giving out this award," Musgraves said.

Lynn, writer of some of country music's most important female empowerment songs, accepted the award in a sparkly lavender dress and her usual humble manner.

"When they told me I was going to get this award," she told the crowd, "I said, 'Naw, you got the wrong one.'"

Jackson Browne received the Spirit of Americana-Free Speech in Music award, Flaco Jimenez received the lifetime achievement award for instrumentalist and Taj Mahal earned the lifetime achievement award for performance.

"I was affected deeply by American music, near and far — my mother's interest in Southern music and my dad's interest in jazz and bebop and classical, all that kind of stuff," Mahal said in an interview. "But this music here, if you get this music, you can go anywhere in the world with it. For me, I play for the goddess of music. People ask me what I do and I go, deep Americana."

The relationship between pianist Justin Kauflin and trumpeter Clark Terry is at the heart of the documentary, "Keep On Keepin' On."; Credit: COURTESY OF RADiUS-TWC

Trumpeter Clark Terry played in Count Basie's and Duke Ellington's bands. He was the first African American hired for The Tonight Show band. He mentored the teenage prodigies Miles Davis and Quincy Jones. But Terry isn't as well known as you might think he'd be. 

Thanks to the new documentary, "Keep On Keepin' On," you can see Clark Terry — or C.T., as everyone calls him — in action. The film tells the story of Terry's early love of the trumpet, his quick rise through the jazz ranks, and how he's devoted much of his life to inspiring other musicians — all with a sparkle in his eye.

The movie is directed by first time filmmaker Alan Hicks and made on a shoestring budget. Hicks is himself a drummer and had been one of Terry's students. Originally it was going to be a short film about Terry and Hicks' relationship, funded by the Australian Broadcasting Company. (Hicks is from Australia.) When that financing fell through, Hicks improvised. Determined to tell the world about Terry, he and a childhood buddy, Adam Hart, decided to do it themselves — despite having no filmmaking experience. They bought a camera and plane tickets to the U.S. and began following Terry.

For many years their schedule was to shoot until they ran out of funds, usually about three months, work for a few months to save more money, then go back to shooting. To demonstrate how Terry mentors his students, they followed one young man in particular. Justin Kauflin is a blind jazz pianist with stage fright who would spend days and nights practicing at Terry's bedside. Over the course of the film, as we learn about Terry's past, we see the aging trumpeter in the present (he's now 93) — struggling with advanced diabetes, but always composing riffs from his bed late into the night.  

In one moving scene, Kauflin is riddled with anxiety as he prepares to compete in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz competition. Terry sends him an audio letter and some lucky socks for inspiration.

Years into the project, when Quincy Jones came to visit Terry, he met Kauflin and the filmmakers. Eventually Jones signed on as an executive producer of "Keep On Keepin' On" — as is only fitting given that, at age 13, he'd been Terry's first student.

Jones, Hicks and Kauflin spoke with The Frame about Terry and his unparalleled talent as a musician and as a mentor.

We enumerate the 55083357 iso-edge subdivisions of six-dimensional translational lattices. We report on the use of the method of canonical forms that allows us to apply hashing techniques used in modern databases.

Source: Streetwise Reports 10/22/2024

The growth of artificial intelligence, the need for more computer data centers, the eventual adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), and the need for more net-zero power means a renaissance in nuclear power is underway.

Just last month, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT:NASDAQ) announced a deal with Constellation Energy Group (CEG:NYSE) to restart and buy all of the power from one of the shut-down reactors at its infamous Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania and the Biden administration also announced a plan to restart the Palisades plant in Michigan.

"Biden has called for a tripling of U.S. nuclear power capacity to fuel energy demand that is accelerating in part due to expansion of power-hungry technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing," Valerie Volcovici wrote for Reuters on Oct. 8.

The administration also wants to develop small nuclear reactors (SMRs) for certain applications.

All of this is putting the metal needed to power nuclear energy, uranium, front and center. Prices for the element have started rising, with nuclear fuel trading at US$83.30 per pound last Thursday, a level not seen since 2007, according to a report by Daily Finland on Friday.

Uranium prices are expected to move higher by the end of this quarter, when Trading Economics' global macro models and analyses forecast uranium to trade at US$84.15 per pound, Nuclear Newswire reported on Oct. 3. In another year, the site estimates that the metal will trade at US$91.80 per pound.

The Catalyst: Surging Demand

The engine driving the prices is a "fundamental global shortage" of uranium driven by surging demand, said Andre Leibenberg, chief executive officer of Yellow Cake, which is focused on providing exposure to uranium's spot price.

The demand is stemming not only from a growing recognition of nuclear power's role in the future energy mix, but also from its critical importance in supporting the AI boom and the development of data centers, he wrote in a company update last week, according to Mining Weekly.

According to the report, Liebenberg noted that the primary mine supply of 140 million pounds was significantly trailing behind global demand of more than 180 million pounds a year.

In the European Union, a "lack of clarity" about Russian uranium imports is holding back investment in new enrichment plants, according to Reuters.

Russia supplied more than 25% of European and American enriched uranium before the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, the report said.

Since then, "the U.S. implemented a ban on imports of enriched uranium from Russia in August, with some exemptions, but in Europe, different countries have taken different approaches," muddying the waters.

Complicating matters is a hint in September that Russian President Vladimir Putin might embargo exports of the vital element to the west.

Citi, in a note to clients, said utilities have been stockpiling Russian uranium, but an embargo would make it "hard to replace" supplies of the metal in the next two years.

"Russia supplies close to 12% of U3O8 (known as yellow cake), 25% of UF6 (uranium hexafluoride) and 35% of EUP (enriched uranium product) to international markets," the bank said, according to Forbes. "While the largest share of these supplies goes to China and in supplying nuclear reactors that were built by Russia's Rosatom, we believe that at-risk supplies are exports to the U.S. or Western Europe."

The consequences of what could happen without more nuclear power can be seen in the U.K., where the number of reactors is shrinking. Four of five of them are expected to close in the next couple of years, which could "stretch the grid to the limit."

"As Britain's reactor fleet shrivels, the amount of nuclear capacity will fall from six gigawatts (GW) today to just 1.2 GW by 2028 or soon after," Jonathan Leake and Matt Oliver wrote for The Telegraph last week. "Along with rising demand from power-hungry data centers and technologies of the future, it will make it even harder to keep the lights on when wind and solar generation is low."

Small Nuclear Reactors (SMRs)

SMRs are another possible solution for some medium-sized energy needs. They have been operational for dozens of years in submarines and other long-distance ocean-going craft.

"They can be manufactured in factories and then rapidly erected on-site," Dominic Frisby wrote for his newsletter, The Flying Frisby, on Oct. 13. They are scalable, and that flexibility "aids manufacture, transportation, and installation while reducing construction time and costs."

A 440-megawatt (MW) SMR would produce about 3.5 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity per year, enough for 1.2 million homes, Frisby noted.

SMRs produce electricity that can easily be adjusted to meet the constant, everyday needs of the grid (baseload), and they can also ramp up or down to follow changes in demand throughout the day, the author wrote. They spin in sync with the grid, so they help keep everything stable.

"When they're running, they act like a steady hand, providing momentum that makes it easier to manage sudden changes in electricity supply or demand," he wrote.

'Bucket Loads of Power' Needed

All of this equates for a bright future for the metal, he said.

"Guess what? AI requires bucket loads of power," Frisby wrote. "That's why Microsoft recently agreed to pay Constellation Energy, the new owner of America's infamous nuclear power station, Three Mile Island, a sizeable premium for its energy. There is cheaper wind and solar power to be had in Pennsylvania, but it isn't as reliable as nuclear 24 hours a day. It's not just AI. The widespread political desire to rid ourselves of fossil fuels means the world needs electricity, and fast."

Chris Temple, publisher of The National Investor, recently noted that with the Three Mile Island deal, "uranium/nuclear power is BACK!"

"I've watched as the news has continued to point to uranium being in the early innings of this new bull market," Temple wrote. "Yet the markets have been yawning . . . until now."

What follows are several uranium explorers and producers that could benefit from this upswing for investors looking to take advantage.

Baselode Energy Corp.

Baselode Energy Corp. (FIND:TSX.V; BSENF:OTCQB) controls 100% of about 273,000 hectares for exploration in the Athabasca Basin area in northern Saskatchewan, Canada.[OWNERSHIP_CHART-10321]

The company said it discovered the ACKIO near-surface, high-grade uranium deposit in September 2021. ACKIO measures greater than 375 meters along strike, greater than 150 meters wide, and is comprised of at least 11 separate zones. Mineralization starts as shallow as 28 meters beneath the surface and continues down to about 300 meters depth beneath the surface, with the bulk of mineralization occurring in the upper 120 meters, Baselode said. ACKIO remains open to the west and south and along the Athabasca sandstone unconformity to the east and south.

Earlier this month, the company reported positive uranium assay results from three drill holes of its 2024 drill program at ACKIO.

Notably, drill hole AK24-119 intersected 0.28% U3O8 over 21.0 meters, including a high-grade section of 1.55% U3O8 over 1.5 meters at a depth of 141 meters. While drill hole AK24-118 returned 0.59% U3O8 over 8.5 meters, including 1.25% U3O8 over 1.5 meters at a depth of 153 meters.

"These results strengthen our confidence in ACKIO," Chief Executive Officer James Sykes said in a release. "It's remarkable that, just over three years after discovering ACKIO, we're still achieving better-than-expected grades and widths."

Baselode expects further assay results from the remaining 40 drill holes to be released after quality review and approval.

David Talbot, Managing Director at Red Cloud Securities, noted in a September 17 report that drilling at ACKIO "continued to expand the mineralized footprint at Pods 1, 6, and 7," highlighting that "thirteen holes reported composite intervals of anomalous radioactivity between 11m and 42m in thickness."

In his report, Talbot rated the stock as a Buy and further projected the potential for "8-10-12 million pounds of U3O8 at a grade of ~0.3% U3O8," which aligns with typical grades found in the southeastern part of the Athabasca Basin.

According to Refinitiv, Baselode has institutions holding 23.26% with Alps Advisors holding the bulk of it with 17.94%, followed by Vident Investment Advisory LLC at 2.97%. Management and Insiders hold 1.59%. The rest is retail.

The company has a market cap of CA$20.05 million, with 131.51 free float shares. It trades in the 52-week range between CA$0.10 and CA$0.61.

Uranium Energy Corp.

According to its website, Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC:NYSE AMERICAN) is America's "largest and fastest growing supplier of uranium."[OWNERSHIP_CHART-402]

The company said it is advancing the next generation of low-cost, environmentally friendly in-situ recovery (ISR) mining uranium projects in the United States and high-grade conventional projects in Canada. It has two production-ready ISR hub and spoke platforms in South Texas and Wyoming.

Additionally, Uranium Energy Corp. said it has diversified uranium holdings with one of the largest physical uranium portfolios of U.S. warehoused U3O8; a major equity stake in Uranium Royalty Corp., the only royalty company in the sector; and a Western Hemisphere pipeline of resource stage uranium projects.

Most recently, the company announced it was expanding its U.S. uranium production capacity by acquiring Rio Tinto Plc.'s Sweetwater Plant and a portfolio of Wyoming uranium assets.

On September 25, Temple of The National Investor noted that UEC was "upgraded back to Buy" following recent uranium market news. He pointed to UEC's acquisition of the Wyoming uranium assets as a catalyst, emphasizing that uranium is "in the early innings of this new bull market."

Jeff Clark of The Gold Advisor, in his September 26 update, called the acquisition a "significant move," noting that it consolidated a large portfolio of uranium assets under UEC's control, positioning the company for rapid growth. He also highlighted the company's strategic advantage with "53,000 additional acres for exploration," reinforcing UEC's potential to ramp up production.

According to Reuters, Uranium Energy has a market cap of US$3.48 billion and 411.41 million shares outstanding. It trades in a 52-week range of US$4.06 and US$8.66.

About 2% of UE is help by management and insiders, Reuters noted. The largest portion, 77.58%, is held by institutional investors. The rest is in retail.

Terra Clean Energy Corp.

Formerly Tisdale Clean Energy Corp., Terra Clean Energy Corp. (TCEC:CSE; TCEFF:OTC; T1KC:FSE), a Canadian-based uranium exploration and development company, is currently developing the South Falcon East uranium project, which holds a 6.96-million-pound inferred uranium resource within the Fraser Lakes Zone B uranium/thorium deposit, located in the Athabasca Basin region of Saskatchewan.[OWNERSHIP_CHART-10935]

Representing a portion of Skyharbour Resources Ltd.'s existing South Falcon Project, Terra Clean Energy's project covers approximately 12,464 hectares and lies 18 kilometers outside the Athabasca Basin, approximately 50 kilometers east of the Key Lake Mine.

Recently, the company announced a comprehensive exploration program set for Winter 2025 at its South Falcon East Uranium Project. The work will focus on extending the mineralized footprint at the Fraser Lakes B Uranium Deposit and includes about 2,000 meters of infill and step-out drilling designed to verify existing mineralized zones and identify additional targets.

In a release, Chief Executive Officer Alex Klenman described the initiative as "a unique setup for a Canadian microcap, offering multiple paths to significant value creation." This US$1.5 million project will involve TerraLogic Exploration Inc., operating out of SkyHarbour's McGowan Lake Camp with helicopter support.

According to Reuters, management and insiders hold 4.62% of Terra Clean Energy. Of those, Alex Klenman holds the most, with 4.37%.

Strategic Investors hold 12.03%, with Planet Ventures Inc holding the most at 7.40%. The rest is retail.

Terra Clean Energy has a market cap of CA$2.98 million and a 52-week range of CA$0.05 to CA$0.22.

North Shore Uranium Ltd.

North Shore Uranium Ltd. (NSU:TSX) said it is working to become a major force in exploration for economic uranium deposits at the eastern margin of the Athabasca Basin.[OWNERSHIP_CHART-10945]

The company said it is running exploration programs at its Falcon and West Bear properties and evaluating opportunities to complement its portfolio of uranium properties.

Falcon consists of 15 mineral claims, the company said. Four of them comprise 12,791 hectares and are 100%-owned by the company. The remaining 11 claims totaling 2,908 hectares are subject to an option agreement with Skyharbour Resources Ltd. Under the terms of the option agreement, North Shore has the option to earn up to 100% interest in the 11 claims by completing certain payments.

Earlier this month, the company announced details of its target generation efforts at its Falcon uranium project at the eastern margin of Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin. The company said it has identified 36 uranium targets across three zones.

"We have a great pipeline of targets to choose from for our next drill program at Falcon," said President and Chief Executive Officer Brooke Clements. "Our Zone 2 has attracted the interest of uranium explorers in the past, and we believe there is potential to make a significant uranium discovery using new data and interpretation."

Earlier this month, North Shore announced it had received a Crown Land Work permit for the full 55,700-hectare Falcon project. Issued by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, it authorizes the company to conduct mineral exploration activities, including prospecting and ground geophysics, trail and drill site clearing, line cutting, the drilling of up to 75 exploration drill holes, and the storage of drill core. The permit expires in July 2027.

Insiders and founding investors own approximately 45% of the issued and outstanding shares. Clements himself owns 3.6% or 1.33M shares, Director Doris Meyer has 2.11% or 0.78M shares, and Director James Arthur holds 1.58% or 0.58M shares. According to North Shore, 14.92M shares (40.5%) held by six founding investors are subject to a voluntary pooling agreement that restricts the disposition of these shares before October 19, 2026.

Most of the rest is with retail, as the institutional holdings are minor.

North Shore has 36.84M outstanding shares and currently has a market cap of CA$1.47 million. It has traded in the past 52 weeks between CA$0.04 and CA$0.30 per share.

Skyharbour Resources Ltd.

Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (SYH:TSX.V; SYHBF:OTCQX; SC1P:FSE) has an extensive portfolio of uranium exploration projects in Canada's Athabasca Basin, with 29 projects, 10 of which are drill-ready, covering over 1.4 million acres of mineral claims. In addition to being a high-grade uranium exploration company, Skyharbour utilizes a prospect generator strategy by bringing in partner companies to advance its secondary assets.[OWNERSHIP_CHART-6026]

In an updated research note on July 24, Analyst Sid Rajeev of Fundamental Research Corp. wrote that Skyharbour "owns one of the largest portfolios among uranium juniors in the Athabasca Basin."

"Given the highly vulnerable uranium supply chain, we anticipate continued consolidation within the sector," wrote Rajeev, who reiterated the firm's Buy rating and adjusted its fair value estimate from CA$1.16 to CA$1.21 per share. "Additionally, the rapidly growing demand for energy from the AI industry is likely to accelerate the adoption of nuclear power, which should, in turn, spotlight uranium juniors in the coming months."

Skyharbour acquired from Denison Mines, a large strategic shareholder of the company, a 100% interest in the Moore Uranium Project, which is located 15 kilometers east of Denison's Wheeler River project and 39 kilometers south of Cameco's McArthur River uranium mine. Moore is an advanced-stage uranium exploration property with high-grade uranium mineralization at the Maverick Zone, including highlight drill results of 6.0% U3O8 over 5.9 meters, including 20.8% U3O8 over 1.5 meters at a vertical depth of 265 meters.

Adjacent to the Moore Uranium Project is Skyharbour's Russell Lake Uranium Project optioned from Rio Tinto, which hosts historical high-grade drill intercepts over a large property area with robust exploration upside potential. The 73,294-ha Russell Lake Uranium Property is strategically located in the central core of the Eastern Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan. Skyharbour has recently discovered high-grade uranium mineralization in a new zone at Russell and is carrying out an additional 7-8,000-meter drill campaign across both Russell and Moore.

Management, insiders, and close business associates own approximately 5% of Skyharbour.

According to Reuters, President and CEO Trimble owns 1.6%, and Director David Cates owns 0.70%.

Institutional, corporate, and strategic investors own approximately 55% of the company. Denison Mines owns 6.3%, Rio Tinto owns 2.0%, Extract Advisors LLC owns 9%, Alps Advisors Inc. owns 9.91%, Mirae Asset Global Investments (U.S.A) L.L.C. owns 6.29%, Sprott Asset Management L.P. owns 1.5%, and Incrementum AG owns 1.18%, Reuters reported.

There are 182.53 million shares outstanding with 178 million free float traded shares, while the company has a market cap of CA$89.44 million and trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.31 and CA$0.64.

ATHA Energy Corp.

Atha Energy Corp. (SASK:TSX.V; SASKF:OTCMKTS) is a Canadian mineral company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of uranium assets with a portfolio including three 100%-owned post-discovery uranium projects (the Angilak Project located in Nunavut, and CMB Discoveries in Labrador hosting historical resource estimates of 43.3 million pounds and 14.5 million pounds U3O8 respectively, and the newly discovered basement-hosted GMZ high-grade uranium discovery located in the Athabasca Basin).[OWNERSHIP_CHART-11007]

In addition, the company said it holds the largest cumulative prospective exploration land package (more than 8.5 million acres) in two of the world's most prominent basins for uranium discoveries. ATHA also holds a 10% carried interest in key Athabasca Basin exploration projects operated by NexGen Energy Ltd. and IsoEnergy Ltd.

Technical Analyst Maund considers Atha Energy to be "THE top play in the uranium sector" and has an Immediate Strong Buy rating on it, he wrote in the previously mentioned Oct. 17 report.

The company's 3-, 13- and 26-month charts indicate its stock price had been in a bear market since trading began until September, when it had an upwave or preliminary breakout. This, along with other indicators, including positive accumulation-distribution convergence and high volume, suggest another upleg is expected soon, he said.

"Given the outlook for the uranium price and what Atha Energy has going for it, its stock is astoundingly cheap after its persistent downtrend this year," Maund wrote.

According to Refinitiv, 10 management and insiders own 16.44% of Atha Energy. The Top 5 are Timothy Young with 6.32%, Matthew Mason with 5.8%, Atha Chairman Michael Castanho with 1.16%, and Atha Director Sean Kallir with 0.9%.

Seven institutional investors together hold 9.38%. The Top 3 are Alps Advisors Inc. with 6.26%, Sprott Asset Management LP with 1.3%, and Vident Investment Advisory LLC with 0.8%.

The remaining 74.18% of Atha is in retail.

According to the company, it has 277.9M shares outstanding, 14M options, 4M restricted stock units/performance rights, and 10.2M warrants.

Reuters reports Atha's market cap is CA$208.42 million, and its 52-week range is CA$0.46−$1.42 per share.

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Important Disclosures:

1. Skyharbour Resources Ltd. and Terra Clean Energy Corp. are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports and pay SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$4,000 and US$5,000. In addition, Terra Clean Energy has a consulting relationship with Street Smart an affiliate of Streetwise Reports. Street Smart Clients pay a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of North Shore Uranium Ltd., Uranium Energy Corp., and Terra Clean Energy.
3. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
4. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.

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( Companies Mentioned: SASK:TSX.V; SASKF:OTCMKTS, FIND:TSX.V; BSENF:OTCQB, NSU:TSX, SYH:TSX.V; SYHBF:OTCQX; SC1P:FSE, TCEC:CSE; TCEFF:OTC; T1KC:FSE, UEC:NYSE AMERICAN, )

Full Text:

A new study shows that graphene sheets can block the signals mosquitoes use to identify a blood meal, potentially enabling a new chemical-free approach to mosquito bite prevention. Researchers showed that multilayer graphene can provide a twofold defense against mosquito bites. The ultra-thin yet strong material acts as a barrier that mosquitoes are unable to bite through. At the same time, experiments showed that graphene also blocks chemical signals mosquitoes use to sense that a blood meal is near, blunting their urge to bite in the first place. The findings suggest that clothing with a graphene lining could be an effective mosquito barrier.

Image credit: Hurt Lab/Brown University

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, leads some of the Biden administration's efforts to expand Medicaid access.; Credit: Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag

The Biden administration is quietly engineering a series of expansions to Medicaid that may bolster protections for millions of low-income Americans and bring more people into the program.

Biden's efforts — which have been largely overshadowed by other economic and health initiatives — represent an abrupt reversal of the Trump administration's moves to scale back the safety-net program.

The changes could further boost Medicaid enrollment — which the pandemic has already pushed to a record 80.5 million. Some of the expansion is funded by the COVID-19 relief bill that passed in March, including coverage for new mothers.

Others who could also gain coverage under Biden are inmates and undocumented immigrants. At the same time, the administration is opening the door to new Medicaid-funded services such as food and housing that the government insurance plan hasn't traditionally offered.

"There is a paradigm change underway," said Jennifer Langer Jacobs, Medicaid director in New Jersey, one of a growing number of states trying to expand home-based Medicaid services to keep enrollees out of nursing homes and other institutions.

"We've had discussions at the federal level in the last 90 days that are completely different from where we've ever been before," Langer Jacobs said.

Taken together, the Medicaid moves represent some of the most substantive shifts in federal health policy undertaken by the new administration.

"They are taking very bold action," said Rutgers University political scientist Frank Thompson, an expert on Medicaid history, noting in particular the administration's swift reversal of Trump policies. "There really isn't a precedent."

The Biden administration seems unlikely to achieve what remains the holy grail for Medicaid advocates: getting 12 holdout states, including Texas and Florida, to expand Medicaid coverage to low-income working-age adults through the Affordable Care Act.

And while some of the recent expansions – including for new mothers -- were funded by close to $20 billion in new Medicaid funding in the COVID relief bill Biden signed in March, much of that new money will stop in a few years unless Congress appropriates additional money.

The White House strategy has risks. Medicaid, which swelled after enactment of the 2010 health law, has expanded further during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, pushing enrollment to a record 80.5 million, including those served by the related Children's Health Insurance Program. That's up from 70 million before the COVID crisis began.

The programs now cost taxpayers more than $600 billion a year. And although the federal government will cover most of the cost of the Biden-backed expansions, surging Medicaid spending is a growing burden on state budgets.

The costs of expansion are a frequent target of conservative critics, including Trump officials like Seema Verma, the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, who frequently argued for enrollment restrictions and derided Medicaid as low-quality coverage.

But even less partisan experts warn that Medicaid, which was created to provide medical care to low-income Americans, can't make up for all the inadequacies in government housing, food and education programs.

"Focusing on the social drivers of health ... is critically important in improving the health and well-being of Medicaid beneficiaries. But that doesn't mean that Medicaid can or should be responsible for paying for all of those services," said Matt Salo, head of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, noting that the program's financing "is simply not capable of sustaining those investments."

Restoring federal support

However, after four years of Trump administration efforts to scale back coverage, Biden and his appointees appear intent on not only restoring federal support for Medicaid, but also boosting the program's reach.

"I think what we learned during the repeal-and-replace debate is just how much people in this country care about the Medicaid program and how it's a lifeline to millions," Biden's new Medicare and Medicaid administrator, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, told KHN, calling the program a "backbone to our country."

The Biden administration has already withdrawn permission the Trump administration had granted Arkansas and New Hampshire to place work requirements on some Medicaid enrollees.

In April, Biden blocked a multibillion-dollar Trump administration initiative to prop up Texas hospitals that care for uninsured patients, a policy that many critics said effectively discouraged Texas from expanding Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare. Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation.

The moves have drawn criticism from Republicans, some of whom accuse the new administration of trampling states' rights to run their Medicaid programs as they choose.

"Biden is reasserting a larger federal role and not deferring to states," said Josh Archambault, a senior fellow at the conservative Foundation for Government Accountability.

But Biden's early initiatives have been widely hailed by patient advocates, public health experts and state officials in many blue states.

"It's a breath of fresh air," said Kim Bimestefer, head of Colorado's Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

Chuck Ingoglia, head of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, said: "To be in an environment where people are talking about expanding health care access has made an enormous difference."

Mounting evidence shows that expanded Medicaid coverage improves enrollees' health, as surveys and mortality data in recent years have identified greater health improvements in states that expanded Medicaid through the 2010 health law versus states that did not.

Broadening eligibility

In addition to removing Medicaid restrictions imposed by Trump administration officials, the Biden administration has backed a series of expansions to broaden eligibility and add services enrollees can receive.

Biden supported a provision in the COVID relief bill that gives states the option to extend Medicaid to new mothers for up to a year after they give birth. Many experts say such coverage could help reduce the U.S. maternal mortality rate, which is far higher than rates in other wealthy nations.

Several states, including Illinois and New Jersey, had sought permission from the Trump administration for such expanded coverage, but their requests languished.

The COVID relief bill — which passed without Republican support — also provides additional Medicaid money to states to set up mobile crisis services for people facing mental health or substance use emergencies, further broadening Medicaid's reach.

And states will get billions more to expand so-called home and community-based services such as help with cooking, bathing and other basic activities that can prevent Medicaid enrollees from having to be admitted to expensive nursing homes or other institutions.

Perhaps the most far-reaching Medicaid expansions being considered by the Biden administration would push the government health plan into covering services not traditionally considered health care, such as housing.

This reflects an emerging consensus among health policy experts that investments in some non-medical services can ultimately save Medicaid money by keeping patients out of the hospital.

In recent years, Medicaid officials in red and blue states — including Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland and Washington — have begun exploring ways to provide rental assistance to select Medicaid enrollees to prevent medical complications linked to homelessness.

The Trump administration took steps to support similar efforts, clearing Medicare Advantage health plans to offer some enrollees non-medical benefits such as food, housing aid and assistance with utilities.

But state officials across the country said the new administration has signaled more support for both expanding current home-based services and adding new ones.

That has made a big difference, said Kate McEvoy, who directs Connecticut's Medicaid program. "There was a lot of discussion in the Trump administration," she said, "but not the capital to do it."

Other states are looking to the new administration to back efforts to expand Medicaid to inmates with mental health conditions and drug addiction so they can connect more easily to treatment once released.

Kentucky health secretary Eric Friedlander said he is hopeful federal officials will sign off on his state's initiative.

Still other states, such as California, say they are getting a more receptive audience in Washington for proposals to expand coverage to immigrants who are in the country without authorization, a step public health experts say can help improve community health and slow the spread of communicable diseases.

"Covering all Californians is critical to our mission," said Jacey Cooper, director of California's Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal. "We really feel like the new administration is helping us ensure that everyone has access."

The Trump administration moved to restrict even authorized immigrants' access to the health care safety net, including the "public charge" rule that allowed immigration authorities to deny green cards to applicants if they used public programs such as Medicaid. In March, Biden abandoned that rule.

KHN correspondent Julie Rovner contributed to this report.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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

Sherman Institute, built in the Mission Revival architectural style, enrolled its first students on Sept. 9, 1902.; Credit: SHERMAN INDIAN MUSEUM

Earlier this month, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced an effort to search federal boarding schools for burial sites of Native American kids. 

The effort is similar to the one in Canada, which found the remains of up to 751 people, likely mostly children, at an unmarked grave in a defunct school in the province of Saskatchewan.  

We dive into the history of American Indian Boarding Schools, as well as their evolution and what the schools that still exist, including Sherman Institute High School in California, look like today.

Guests:

Brenda Child, professor of American Studies and American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota; she is the author of many books, including “Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940” (University of Nebraska Press, 2000)

Amanda Wixon, curator at the Sherman Indian Museum, which is on the campus of Sherman Indian High School; assistant curator at Autry museum of the American West; PhD candidate in history at UC Riverside where her research is in Native American history, especially federal boarding schools and the carceral aspects of the Sherman Institute

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

USGS groundwater and surface water monitoring data contributed to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's (PaDEP) November 1, 2024, declarations of drought watches and warnings for 35 Pennsylvania counties.

NASA released a workshop report on the UNBOUND-FEW workshop series, which was facilitated in part by Tribal Resilience Learning Network staff from the Alaska CASC. The workshop report reveals key recommendations for making data tools more useful for climate adaptation planning.

President Biden signed a memorial bill to recognize the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting and offered his condolences to people who are awaiting news on their loved ones in the wake of the deadly Surfside, Fla., partial condo collapse.

Biden — who was vice president when a 29-year-old man killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in the nightclub mass shooting — signed the bill to enshrine a monument to the dozens killed in the Latin Night massacre.

The shooting occurred at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in June 2016. The month of June is celebrated annually as LGBTQ Pride Month in the United States.

"May a president never have to sign another monument like this," Biden said.

Biden also offered his thoughts to the victims and loved ones of those affected by the catastrophic collapse this week of a Miami-Dade County condo. Authorities say four people have been declared dead and an additional 159 are considered missing in the rubble.

"I just want to say, I've spoken to Gov. [Ron] DeSantis, and we've provided all the help that they have, they need," Biden said. "We sent the best people from FEMA down there. We're going to stay with them."

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

Incoming President Biden and Vice President Harris stand with their respective spouses Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff after delivering remarks in Wilmington, Del., on Nov. 7, the day the Democrats were declared the winners in the 2020 election.; Credit: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

We know that President Biden won the 2020 election (regardless of what former President Donald Trump and his allies say). We just haven't had a great picture of how Biden won.

That is until Wednesday, when we got the clearest data yet on how different groups voted, and crucially, how those votes shifted from 2016. The Pew Research Center just released its validated voters' report, considered a more accurate measure of the electorate than exit polls, which have the potential for significant inaccuracies.

The new Pew data shows that shifts among suburban voters, white men and independents helped Biden win in November, even while white women and Hispanics swung toward Trump from 2016 to 2020.

To compile the data, Pew matches up survey respondents with state voter records. Those voter files do not say how a person voted, but they do allow researchers to be sure that a person voted, period. That helps with accuracy, eliminating the possibility of survey respondents overreporting their voting activity. In addition, the Pew study uses large samples of Americans — more than 11,000 people in 2020.

It's a numbers-packed report, but there are some big takeaways about what happened in 2020 (and what it might tell us about 2022 and beyond):

Suburban voters (especially white suburban voters) swung toward Biden

Suburban voters appear to have been a major factor helping Biden win. While Pew found Trump winning the suburbs by 2 points in 2016, Biden won them by 11 points in 2020, a 13-point overall swing. Considering that the suburbs accounted for just over half of all voters, it was a big demographic win for Biden.

That said, Trump gained in both rural and urban areas. He won 65% of rural voters, a 6-point jump from 2016. And while cities were still majority-Democratic, his support there jumped by 9 points, to 33%.

Men (especially white men) swung toward Biden

In 2020, men were nearly evenly split, with 48% choosing Biden to Trump's 50%. That gap shrank considerably from 2016, when Trump won men by 11 points. In addition, this group that swung away from Trump grew as a share of the electorate from 2016 — signaling that in a year with high turnout, men's turnout grew more.

White men were a big part of the swing toward Biden. In 2016, Trump won white men by 30 points. In 2020, he won them again, but by a substantially slimmer 17 points.

In addition, Biden made significant gains among married men and college-educated men. All of these groups overlap, but they help paint a more detailed portrait of the type of men who might have shifted or newly participated in 2020.

However, we can't know from this data what exactly was behind these shifts among men — for example, exactly what share of men might have sat on the sidelines in 2016, as opposed to 2020.

Women (especially white women) swung toward Trump

The idea that a majority of white women voted for Trump quickly became one of the 2016 election's most-cited statistics, as many Hillary Clinton supporters — particularly women — were outraged to see other women support Trump.

While that statistic was repeated over and over, Pew's data ultimately said this wasn't true — they found that in 2016, white women were split 47% to 45%, slightly in Trump's favor but not a majority.

This year, however, it appears that Trump did win a majority of white women. Pew found that 53% of white women chose Trump this year, up by 6 points from 2016.

This support contributed to an overall shift in women's numbers — while Clinton won women of all races by 15 points in 2016, Biden won them by 11 points in 2020. Combined with men's shifts described above, it shrank 2016's historic gender gap.

Notably, the swing in white women's margin (5 points altogether) was significantly smaller than white men's swing toward Biden (13 points altogether).

Hispanic voters swung toward Trump

Trump won 38% of Hispanic voters in 2020, according to Pew, up from 28% in 2016.

That 38% would put Trump near George W. Bush's 40% from 2004 — a recent high-water mark for Republicans with Hispanic voters. That share fell off substantially after 2004, leading some Republican pollsters and strategists to wonder how the party could regain that ground. Trump in 2016 intensified those fears, with his nativist rhetoric and hard-line immigration policies.

There are some important nuances to these Hispanic numbers. Perhaps most notably, there is a sizable education gap. Biden won college-educated Hispanic voters by 39 points, but the Democrat won those with some college education or less by 14 points.

That gap mirrors the education gap regularly seen in the broader voting population.

Unfortunately, Pew's sample sizes from 2016 weren't big enough to break down Hispanic voters by gender that year, so it's impossible to see if this group's gender gap widened.

Nonwhite voters leaned heavily toward Biden

Unlike white and Hispanic voters, Black voters didn't shift significantly from 2016. They remained Democratic stalwarts, with 92% choosing Biden — barely changed from four years earlier.

Nearly three-quarters of Asian voters also voted for Biden, along with 6 in 10 Hispanic voters and 56% of voters who chose "other" as their race. (Those groups' sample sizes also weren't big enough in 2016 to draw a comparison over time.)

2018 trends stuck around ... but diminished

In many of these cases where there were substantial shifts in how different groups voted, they weren't surprising, given how voters in the last midterms voted. For example, white men voted more for Democrats in 2018 than they did in 2016, as did suburban voters.

What it means for 2022

The data signals that Democrats' strength with Hispanic voters has eroded, but that the party succeeded in making further inroads in the suburbs, including among suburban whites.

It suggests that these groups, already major focuses for both parties, will continue to be so in 2022, with Republicans trying to cement their gains among Hispanics (and regain suburban voters), while Democrats do Hispanic outreach and try to hold onto the suburbs.

However, it's hard to project much into the future about what voters will do based on the past two elections because of their unique turnout numbers.

"It's hard to interpret here, because 2018 was such a high turnout midterm election, and then our last data point, 2014, was a historically low turnout midterm election," said Ruth Igielnik, senior researcher at Pew Research Center.

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

Source: Dr. Ram Selvaraju 10/18/2024

H.C. Wainwright & Co. analyst Dr. Ram Selvaraju, in a research report published on October 18, 2024, reiterated a Buy rating on Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (AVXL:NASDAQ) with a price target of US$40.00. The report follows Anavex's announcement of encouraging preliminary electroencephalography (EEG) biomarker results from Part A of the ongoing Phase 2 clinical study of ANAVEX3-71 for schizophrenia treatment.

Selvaraju highlighted the significance of these results, stating, "Preliminary results demonstrated a dose-dependent effect of ANAVEX3-71 on two key EEG biomarkers in patients with schizophrenia. Treatment with ANAVEX3-71 vs. placebo resulted in improvements in 40 Hz Auditory Steady-State Response (ASSR) Inter Trial Coherence (ITC) and Resting State Alpha Power."

The analyst viewed these developments positively, noting, "These results provide evidence of CNS target engagement and potential therapeutic effects of ANAVEX3-71 in schizophrenia. The observed changes reversed known EEG and ERP biomarker abnormalities associated with schizophrenia."

Regarding Anavex's lead candidate, blarcamesine, Selvaraju stated, "Anavex remains committed to completing the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) submission to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) under the Centralized Procedure petitioning for approval of blarcamesine for treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in 4Q24."

The report also highlighted Anavex's progress with other clinical programs, including a pivotal Phase 2b/3 trial in Parkinson's disease and potential trials in Rett syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome.

Selvaraju's valuation methodology for Anavex Life Sciences is based on a discounted cash flow (DCF) approach. He explained, "We utilize a discounted cash flow (DCF)-driven methodology, which ascribes a total value of roughly US$3.25B to blarcamesine alone without ascribing value to any other pipeline assets. We employ a 50% probability of approval in Rett syndrome; 60% in Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD); and 50% in AD."

The analyst added, "Further, we apply a 12% discount rate and 1% terminal growth rate. We derive a total firm value of ~US$3.4B, which yields a 12-month price objective of US$40 per share, assuming 84.8M shares outstanding as of end-F2Q25."

Selvaraju also outlined several risk factors, including potential negative clinical data, regulatory approval challenges, and commercialization difficulties.

In conclusion, H.C. Wainwright & Co.'s maintenance of a Buy rating and US$40 price target reflects a positive outlook on Anavex Life Sciences' clinical progress and potential in developing treatments for neurological disorders. The share price at the time of the report of US$5.51 represents a potential return of approximately 626% to the analyst's target price, highlighting the significant upside potential if the company's clinical development plans prove successful.

Important Disclosures:

1. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.
2. This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.

For additional disclosures, please click here.

Disclosures for H.C. Wainwright & Co., Anavex Life Sciences Corp., October 18, 2024.

This material is confidential and intended for use by Institutional Accounts as defined in FINRA Rule 4512(c). It may also be privileged or otherwise protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply to unsubscribe@hcwresearch.com and delete it from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents to anyone. The integrity and security of this message cannot be guaranteed on the Internet. H.C. WAINWRIGHT & CO, LLC RATING SYSTEM: H.C. Wainwright employs a three tier rating system for evaluating both the potential return and risk associated with owning common equity shares of rated firms. The expected return of any given equity is measured on a RELATIVE basis of other companies in the same sector. The price objective is calculated to estimate the potential movements in price that a given equity could reach provided certain targets are met over a defined time horizon. Price objectives are subject to external factors including industry events and market volatility.

H.C. Wainwright & Co, LLC (the “Firm”) is a member of FINRA and SIPC and a registered U.S. Broker-Dealer. I, Raghuram Selvaraju, Ph.D. , certify that 1) all of the views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views about any and all subject securities or issuers discussed; and 2) no part of my compensation was, is, or will be directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendation or views expressed in this research report; and 3) neither myself nor any members of my household is an officer, director or advisory board member of these companies. None of the research analysts or the research analyst’s household has a financial interest in the securities of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (including, without limitation, any option, right, warrant, future, long or short position). As of September 30, 2024 neither the Firm nor its affiliates beneficially own 1% or more of any class of common equity securities of Anavex Life Sciences Corp.. Neither the research analyst nor the Firm knows or has reason to know of any other material conflict of interest at the time of publication of this research report.

The research analyst principally responsible for preparation of the report does not receive compensation that is based upon any specific investment banking services or transaction but is compensated based on factors including total revenue and profitability of the Firm, a substantial portion of which is derived from investment banking services. Mr. Selvaraju, who is [the][an] author of this report, is the Chairman of and receives compensation from Relief Therapeutics Holding SA, a Swiss, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company identifying, developing and commercializing novel, patent protected products in selected specialty, rare and ultra-rare disease areas on a global basis ("Relief"). You should consider Mr. Selvaraju's position with Relief when reading this research report. The firm or its affiliates received compensation from Anavex Life Sciences Corp. for non-investment banking services in the previous 12 months. The Firm or its affiliates did not receive compensation from Anavex Life Sciences Corp. for investment banking services within twelve months before, but will seek compensation from the companies mentioned in this report for investment banking services within three months following publication of the research report. The Firm does not make a market in Anavex Life Sciences Corp. as of the date of this research report. The securities of the company discussed in this report may be unsuitable for investors depending on their specific investment objectives and financial position. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. This report is offered for informational purposes only, and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities discussed herein in any jurisdiction where such would be prohibited. This research report is not intended to provide tax advice or to be used to provide tax advice to any person. Electronic versions of H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC research reports are made available to all clients simultaneously. No part of this report may be reproduced in any form without the expressed permission of H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC. Additional information available upon request. H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC does not provide individually tailored investment advice in research reports. This research report is not intended to provide personal investment advice and it does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation and the particular needs of any specific person. Investors should seek financial advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in financial instruments and implementing investment strategies discussed or recommended in this research report. H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC’s and its affiliates’ salespeople, traders, and other professionals may provide oral or written market commentary or trading strategies that reflect opinions that are contrary to the opinions expressed in this research report. H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC and its affiliates, officers, directors, and employees, excluding its analysts, will from time to time have long or short positions in, act as principal in, and buy or sell, the securities or derivatives (including options and warrants) thereof of covered companies referred to in this research report. The information contained herein is based on sources which we believe to be reliable but is not guaranteed by us as being accurate and does not purport to be a complete statement or summary of the available data on the company, industry or security discussed in the report. All opinions and estimates included in this report constitute the analyst’s judgment as of the date of this report and are subject to change without notice. Securities and other financial instruments discussed in this research report: may lose value; are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal amount invested.

( Companies Mentioned: AVXL:NASDAQ, )

Source: Streetwise Reports 10/31/2024

Healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) company Treatment.com AI Inc. (TRUE:CSE; TREIF:OTCMKTS; 939:FRA) announced that it has closed a non-brokered private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of CA$1.95 million.

A total of 2,138,766 special warrants of the company were offered at CA$0.75 per special warrant with proceeds of CA$1.6 million. The company also said 466,666 units of the company were offered at CA$0.75 per unit for proceeds of CA$349,999.50.

The company said it intends to use the proceeds for working capital purposes.

"We are very encouraged by the support from our investors with their overwhelming response to the financing and the subsequent over-subscription," Chief Executive Officer Dr. Essam Hamza said. "This money will help expedite our aggressive growth plans over the next year."

Technical Analyst Clive Maund noted on October 9* that the outlook for the company is "outstandingly bright" because it has "positioned itself to revolutionize the healthcare industry using AI and advanced machine learning technologies."

The company "is set to transform the current archaic system so that no longer do patients have to sit for hours in waiting rooms to see a doctor or doctors, and doctors and other healthcare professionals have to suffer a crushing burden of often unnecessary patient visits and tedious repetitive bureaucracy," he wrote. "Treatment AI's platform will take care of most of it."

Healthcare Professionals Worldwide Contribute to AI Engine

Treatment.com AI said it is a company utilizing AI and best clinical practices with a goal to positively improve the healthcare sector and impact current inefficiencies and challenges.

With the input of hundreds of healthcare professionals globally, Treatment.com AI said it has built a comprehensive, personalized healthcare AI engine called the Global Library of Medicine (GLM). With more than 10,000 expert medical reviews, the GLM is designed to provide tested clinical information and support to all healthcare professionals, as well as providing recommended tests (physical and lab), X-rays, and billing codes.

According to the company, the GLM will help healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, and pharmacists) reduce administrative burdens, creating more time for face-to-face patient appointments.

"AI is set to expedite and streamline the healthcare industry, making it vastly more efficient for the benefit of both healthcare professionals and patients," Maund noted.

The Catalyst: A 'Profound Transformation' in the Industry

AI has an important role to play in the healthcare offerings of the future, a 2019 report from the National Center of Biomechanical Medicine listed in the National Library of Medicine said. "In the form of machine learning, it is the primary capability behind the development of precision medicine, widely agreed to be a sorely needed advance in care."

Healthcare organizations are increasingly turning to the technology to address both clinical and administrative challenges. The combination of generative AI, as noted by Appinventiv in September, and operational tools like those developed by Treatment.com AI are driving this transformation.

Generative AI is "catalyzing a profound transformation within the healthcare industry" by generating synthetic data, predicting patient outcomes, and optimizing treatment plans, all of which revolutionize clinical decision-making processes, Appinventiv reported. This aligns with Treatment.com AI's announced collaboration with SPRYT on September 17 whereby integrating SPRYT’s AI receptionist "Asa" with its GLM has the goal of enhancing patient access to healthcare while reducing administrative burdens.

A CBC report from September 16 said real-world applications of AI in healthcare are already showing promising results. Dr. Muhammad Mamdani, co-author of a study on the topic, expressed optimism about AI's ability to "complement clinicians' own judgment and lead to better outcomes for fragile patients."

According to a report by Markets and Markets, the global AI in healthcare market in total was valued at US$20.9 billion this year and will reach an estimated US$148.4 billion by 2029, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.1%.

"The growth of AI in the healthcare market is driven by the generation of large and complex healthcare datasets, the pressing need to reduce healthcare costs, improving computing power and declining hardware costs, and the rising number of partnerships and collaborations among different domains in the healthcare sector, and growing need for improvised healthcare services due to imbalance between healthcare workforce and patients," the report said.

Analyst: A 'Genuine Breakout Soon' for Stock

Maund said its stock charts are also looking "very positive indeed" for the company.

Of particular note is the big upleg late in June and early in July on persistent heavy volume, which broke the price clear above the May high and drove volume indicators steeply higher," the analyst noted. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-10594]

"This is very bullish price/volume action, especially as the volume indicators have not just held up but have actually advanced as the price has reacted back in a normal manner from the early July high to arrive at a support level where it has stabilized above the 200-day moving average in readiness for renewed advance, so the correction looks like a large bull Pennant that, as it is now closing up, promises renewed advance soon," continued Maund, who said holders should stay long and rated the stock a Strong Buy that "is thought worth going overweight on."

"The June-July rally must be classed as a 'preliminary' breakout," he noted. "But that said, the exceptionally bullish price/volume action of recent months does promise a genuine breakout soon that looks set to lead to a sustained and substantial uptrend."

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Sedi.ca, insiders own approximately 8% of Treatment.com AI. Retail investors own the remaining 92%.

The company has 48.84 million outstanding common shares and has 41.3 million free float traded shares.

As of October 31, the market cap is approximately CA$31.75 million. Over the past 52 weeks, the company traded between CA$0.355 and CA$1.11 per share.

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Important Disclosures:

1. Treatment.com AI has a consulting relationship with Street Smart an affiliate of Streetwise Reports. Street Smart Clients pay a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Treatment.com AI.
3. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
4. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.
5. This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.

For additional disclosures, please click here.

* Disclosure for quotes from the Clive Maund source October 9, 2024

1. For the quote (sourced on October 9, 2024), the Company has paid Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, US$1,500.
2. Author Certification and Compensation: [Clive Maund of clivemaund.com] is being compensated as an independent contractor by Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, for writing the article quoted. Maund received his UK Technical Analysts’ Diploma in 1989. The recommendations and opinions expressed in the article accurately reflect the personal, independent, and objective views of the author regarding any and all of the designated securities discussed. No part of the compensation received by the author was, is, or will be directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views expressed.

Clivemaund.com Disclosures

The quoted article represents the opinion and analysis of Mr. Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund's opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund's opinions on the market and stocks cannot be only be construed as a recommendation or solicitation to buy and sell securities.

( Companies Mentioned: TRUE:CSE; TREIF:OTCMKTS;939:FRA, )

The growth of artificial intelligence, the need for more computer data centers, the eventual adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), and the need for more net-zero power means nuclear power, and the uranium needed to fuel it, is seeing a resurgence. Here are some options to make the situation work for your portfolio.

James Franco attends a special screening of the final season of "The Deuce" at Metrograph on Sept. 5, 2019 in New York City. =; Credit: Taylor Hill/WireImage/Getty Images

The parties involved in a sexual misconduct case against Oscar-winning actor James Franco have reached a preliminary settlement agreement. The two actors who filed the suit have agreed to drop their claims.

In 2019, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal alleged that James Franco's Studio 4 acting school sexually exploited female students. The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, also alleged fraud and sought to represent more than 100 former female students at the now defunct Studio 4. Vince Jolivette, Jay Davis and Franco's RabbitBandini Productions were also named in the suit which accused Studio 4 of setting out to "create a steady stream of young women to objectify and exploit."

According to their joint status report filed on Feb. 11, Tither-Kaplan and Gaal agreed to drop their individual claims. The Sexual Exploitation Class claims will also be dismissed. NPR is reaching out to both parties for comment.

The original complaint was filed shortly after Franco won a Golden Globe for his performance in The Disaster Artist. Franco denied the allegations. In a statement to NPR at the time, his attorney said "James will not only fully defend himself, but will also seek damages from the plaintiffs and their attorneys for filing this scurrilous publicity seeking lawsuit."

In 2016, Franco made a docuseries based on his Sex Scenes class at Studio 4 that he posted on his Facebook page. The videos have since been taken down, but one is still available on Vimeo. Tither-Kaplan, who was a student in the class, told NPR she thought it would teach her how to "maneuver in sex scenes professionally as an actor," but it "did not do that at all."

According to Tither-Kaplan, the class did not explain industry standards such as "nudity riders, the detail required in them, the right to counsel with the director about nude scenes, the custom to choreograph nude scenes ahead of time to negotiate them with the cast and the director — I knew none of that throughout that class."

According to the parties' agreement, the allegations of fraud will be "subject to limited release." It is not clear whether monetary payments are involved. The parties say they expect to file a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement agreement no later than March 15.

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

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and China, the world's two biggest carbon polluters, agreed to cooperate to curb climate change with urgency, just days before President Joe Biden hosts a virtual summit of world leaders to discuss the issue.

The agreement was reached by U.S. special envoy for climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua during two days of talks in Shanghai last week, according to a joint statement.

The two countries "are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands," the statement said.

China is the world's biggest carbon emitter, followed by the United States. The two countries pump out nearly half of the fossil fuel fumes that are warming the planet's atmosphere. Their cooperation is key to a success of global efforts to curb climate change, but frayed ties over human rights, trade and China's territorial claims to Taiwan and the South China Sea have been threatening to undermine such efforts.

Meeting with reporters in Seoul on Sunday, Kerry said the language in the statement is "strong" and that the two countries agreed on "critical elements on where we have to go." But the former secretary of state said, "I learned in diplomacy that you don't put your back on the words, you put on actions. We all need to see what happens."

Noting that China is the world's biggest coal user, Kerry said he and Chinese officials had a lot of discussions on how to accelerate a global energy transition. "I have never shied away from expressing our views shared by many, many people that it is imperative to reduce coal, everywhere," he said.

Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to the April 22-23 summit. The U.S. and other countries are expected to announce more ambitious national targets for cutting carbon emissions ahead of or at the meeting, along with pledging financial help for climate efforts by less wealthy nations.

It's unclear how much Kerry's China visit would promote U.S.-China cooperation on climate issues.

While Kerry was still in Shanghai, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng signaled Friday that China is unlikely to make any new pledges at next week's summit.

"For a big country with 1.4 billion people, these goals are not easily delivered," Le said during an interview with The Associated Press in Beijing. "Some countries are asking China to achieve the goals earlier. I am afraid this is not very realistic."

During a video meeting with German and French leaders Friday, Xi said that climate change "should not become a geopolitical chip, a target for attacking other countries or an excuse for trade barriers," the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

On whether Xi would join the summit, Le said "the Chinese side is actively studying the matter."

The joint statement said the two countries "look forward to" next week's summit. Kerry said Sunday that "we very much hope that (Xi) will take part" in the summit but it's up to China to make that decision.

Biden, who has said that fighting global warming is among his highest priorities, had the United States rejoin the historic 2015 Paris climate accord in the first hours of his presidency, undoing the U.S. withdrawal ordered by predecessor Donald Trump.

Major emitters of greenhouse gases are preparing for the next U.N. climate summit taking place in Glasgow, U.K., in November. The summit aims to relaunch global efforts to keep rising global temperatures to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) as agreed in the Paris accord.

According to the U.S.-China statement, the two countries would enhance "their respective actions and cooperating in multilateral processes, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement."

It said both countries also intend to develop their respective long-term strategies before the Glasgow conference and take "appropriate actions to maximize international investment and finance in support of" the energy transition in developing countries.

Xi announced last year that China would be carbon-neutral by 2060 and aims to reach a peak in its emissions by 2030. In March, China's Communist Party pledged to reduce carbon emissions per unit of economic output by 18% over the next five years, in line with its goal for the previous five-year period. But environmentalists say China needs to do more.

Biden has pledged the U.S. will switch to an emissions-free power sector within 14 years, and have an entirely emissions-free economy by 2050. Kerry is also pushing other nations to commit to carbon neutrality by then.

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

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry tells NPR that the U.S., China and other major emitters aren't doing enough to stem climate change.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Biden is pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% from 2005 levels by 2030.

It's an ambitious goal that requires transforming much of the economy. Renewable energy would need to make up half of the U.S. power supply from roughly 21% currently. Electric cars make up about 2% of sales now — by 2030, at least half, potentially all, new car sales would need to be electric, according to estimates. Many industrial manufacturing facilities would need to use technologies that haven't been developed.

It's part of Biden's effort to get the U.S. on track to reach the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement but Biden has formally rejoined.

John Kerry is Biden's special envoy for climate, a position that involves meeting with countries around the world about efforts to stem emissions.

He calls the threat of climate change "existential."

"That means life and death. And the question is, are we behaving as if it is? And the answer is no," Kerry said in an interview on NPR's All Things Considered.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity and includes extended Web-only answers.

Interview Highlights

Is this more a matter of shoot for the moon and if you miss, at least you'll land among the stars?

No, I think it's achievable. And I think that people who've really studied this, analyzed it and thought about it for a long period of time believe it is achievable.

Already the [car] marketplace is moving towards electric. I mean, you know, Joe Biden didn't create the value of Tesla as the most valuable automobile company in the world. The market did that. And the market did it because that's where people are moving.

The scale of change that you're talking about in the timeframe that is required is something we've never seen in human history.

Let me put it to you this way. How many politicians, how many scientists, how many people have stood up and said, "This is existential for us on this planet"? Existential. That means life and death. And the question is, are we behaving as if it is? And the answer is no.

So why are younger generation folks so angry? Why are they standing up and demonstrating and asking adults to accept adult responsibility to move our nations in the right direction? Because the scientists are telling them that. They learn about this in high school and college. They read. They know what's happening. They know we're experiencing the hottest day in human history, the hottest week, the hottest month, the hottest year. And we see the results. Fires, floods, mudslides, drought, crop disruption, ice melting in the Arctic, run the list.

Climate change is still seen as a partisan issue in the U.S., and Republicans could take over Congress next year. A Republican could win the White House in three years. So why should global leaders view this as a reliable commitment from the United States when GOP leaders have not bought in?

For two reasons. No. 1, when Donald Trump was president of the United States and he pulled out of the agreement, 37 governors in the United States, Republican and Democrats alike, stood up and said, "We're still in." And states, those 37 states, have passed renewable portfolio laws. So at the state level, people are moving because they know it's better for their state. It's a safer, better delivery of power to their state, and it's the way it's going to move.

The second part of the answer: Masses of capital, trillions of dollars, are going to move into the energy market, which is the largest market the world has ever seen and going to grow now. Multiple double-digit trillions of dollars of market. And no politician can come along and tell those banks, or those asset managers or those investors or those venture capitalists or the companies, the corporations that are doing this, they know this is where the market's going to be in the future.

If the $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan that the president has put forth does not pass the Senate, does this goal to cut emissions in half by 2030 effectively die with the bill?

Well, it doesn't die, but it certainly takes a blow, a serious one. But the companies I've talked about are going to move in this direction no matter what. I mean, if you look at the biggest companies in America, these folks are all pushing to get this done because they know that the world is going to be better off and that their businesses are going to be better off if we do that. This is a real challenge for all of us, and I think people are waking up to it all around the world.

Let me ask you a question. Why do you think 40 heads of state, including President Xi of China, President Putin of Russia, Prime Minister Modi of India, huge populations come together and say, "We have to do this"? Do they know something that some of these opponents of it don't know or aren't willing to admit? I mean, the only leader in the entire world that saw fit to pull out of the Paris agreement was Donald Trump.

But it's so easy to make commitments and we haven't seen countries follow through on those commitments.

This is accurate. They're doing things; they're not doing enough. There are very few countries that are doing enough. Most countries are not. And of the 20 countries that equal 81% of all the emissions, they are the critical ones that have to do more. And we're among them. We are 15% of all the world's emissions. China is 30%. Does China need to do more? Absolutely. All of the 20 need to do more.

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

The logo of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is seen at the Nation Hurricane Center in Miami on Aug. 29, 2019. President Biden has nominated Rick Spinrad to head NOAA.; Credit: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images

President Biden is nominating Rick Spinrad to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the government's premier agency on climate science which oversees the National Weather Service.

Prior to his current role as a professor of oceanography at Oregon State University, Spinrad served as NOAA's top scientist under President Obama and the U.S. representative to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

The nomination comes at a difficult moment in NOAA's history. The agency has been without an official, Senate-confirmed leader since former President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, after his two nominees to lead the agency failed to garner enough support to win a full vote before the Senate.

If Spinrad manages to win over the Senate, he will have to contend with a challenge beyond the agency's already-rigorous scientific mandate: restoring public confidence in a traditionally apolitical agency marred by political scandal.

In September 2019, then-President Trump wrongly said Alabama was in the projected path of Hurricane Dorian. He continued to reassert the claim for several days, including during an Oval Office briefing on the storm — in which he displayed what appeared to be an official National Weather Service map in which the storm's projected path was extended to Alabama by someone using a black marker.

After a National Weather Service office in Birmingham put out a tweet correctly stating that Alabama would not feel the effects of the storm, NOAA published an unsigned defense of the president's claims and rebuking its professional staff who posted the message.

Dan Sobien, then-president of the National Weather Service Employees Organization, said at the time that "the hard working employees of the NWS had nothing to do with the utterly disgusting and disingenuous tweet sent out by NOAA management."

If confirmed, Spinrad will lead a 12,000-person agency charged with a diverse portfolio that spans daily weather forecasts, climate monitoring, fisheries management and coastal restoration.

In a statement, the Environmental Defense Fund's Eric Schwaab applauded Spinrad's nomination, saying that NOAA's workers "couldn't ask for a better leader to restore scientific integrity and honor the agency's mission."

Biden, whose administration has made climate action a central focus, has proposed the largest budget in NOAA's history — $6.9 billion, a $1.5 billion increase over the 2021 budget allocated by Congress. It remains to be seen whether Congress will agree to the increase.

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

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to the media about the cruise industry during a press conference at PortMiami in April. DeSantis faces criticism for failing to do all he could on Florida's biggest environmental threat: climate change.; Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Brick by brick, the stucco shell of a new flood-resilient public works building is taking shape blocks from the beach, the most visible sign yet of a small community's enormous task staving off the rising sea.

"This is actually the highest point in the city," Satellite Beach City Manager Courtney Barker said, adding that right next door to the new public works building will be a new fire station.

It's a close-knit community established by rocket scientists south of Kennedy Space Center, on a low-slung barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Indian River Lagoon.

By 2040, community leaders expect significant impacts associated with climate change. Already flooding is a problem, and beach-front homes perch precariously atop a sand dune left exposed after a series of storms and hurricanes washed away a sea wall.

The needs are great, and in Gov. Ron DeSantis, Barker sees a potential ally.

"At least he talks about climate change as actually being real, so that's good," she said. "And he's putting money toward it so that's encouraging."

But Barker also feels DeSantis is doing only part of the job.

"We desperately need to grow up as a state and realize that we need to get our emissions down," Barker said.

Since his election in November 2018, DeSantis is making good on some of his environmental promises, including what he likes to call "resilience," a new buzzword for climate adaptation. But as the governor prepares for a reelection bid in 2022, and is seen as a potential Republican frontrunner for the presidency in 2024, DeSantis faces criticism for failing to do all he could on Florida's biggest environmental threat: climate change.

Some of his critics acknowledge that the $1 billion Resilient Florida plan he announced in January could be a first step toward helping some communities pay for adaptation. But critics also point out that DeSantis has done almost nothing to put Florida on a path to scaling back the state's heavy reliance on fossil fuels.

"I would give him probably a C-minus," said former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who served from 2007 to 2011, and now represents St. Petersburg in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat.

Crist still gets plaudits from environmentalists for his administration's climate initiatives, including a cap-and-trade system to curb carbon emissions and an executive order that was intended to put the state on a path to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050. But those were basically abandoned by Gov. Rick Scott, the Republican now serving in the U.S. Senate.

Crist, who switched parties and this week announced he is running for governor in 2022, said DeSantis should be "encouraging renewables such as wind energy, solar energy, and particularly solar. I mean, my goodness, we're the Sunshine State."

DeSantis' press office declined to make the governor available for an interview and did not respond to written questions.

In comments at two press conferences earlier this year, the governor cited his support for spending hundreds of millions of dollars on water projects and Everglades restoration as evidence of his environmental credentials, while promising to double down on funding for coastal resilience.

Florida needs "to tackle the challenges posed by flooding, intensified storm events [and] sea level rise," he said. "When you look at how an insurance market would view property insurance, and to see that Florida is leading and trying to get ahead of some of these impacts, we think it'll be a very smart thing to do."

Lawmakers have had their own ideas on how to handle climate threats, and have passed two bills that, when taken together, are similar to DeSantis' Resilient Florida proposal.

"It's not exactly as he said he wanted it, but it's close," said Jonathan Webber, deputy director of Florida Conservation Voters. "These are policies that need to happen. It would have been better if they happened 20 years ago."

"I am not a global warming person"

In his 2018 campaign, DeSantis appealed directly to supporters of former President Donald Trump, such as in this ad where he tells one of his children to "build the wall" with toy blocks. The environment was a major issue in that election.

Residents were grappling with a toxic red tide and blue-green algae crisis that made beaches and waterways unsafe, and left marine-life belly-up.

In recent years Floridians have also experienced deadly, devastating consequences of back-to-back major hurricanes.

All the while, advocates were highlighting likely links between the state's environmental woes and global warming.

Florida's climate challenges are among the biggest in the country. Beyond those related to hurricanes intensified by climate change, they include sea level rise, extreme heat, drought and increasing health threats from mosquito-borne diseases.

By its own numbers, the DeSantis administration predicts that with sea level rise, $26 billion in residential property statewide will be at risk of chronic flooding by 2045.

But in 2018, DeSantis let voters know that he had clear limits when it came to climate change.

"I am not in the pews of the church of the global warming leftists," DeSantis told reporters at one 2018 campaign stop. "I am not a global warming person. I don't want that label on me."

Early plaudits from environmentalists

Once in office, DeSantis won early plaudits for directives aimed at cleaning up water and helping Florida adapt to climate change. He appointed the first state resilience officer and the first chief scientist, and ordered Florida's Department of Environmental Protection to make sure its decisions were based on the best available science.

In 2019, they approved of DeSantis' order to his environmental regulators to oppose fracking, but he since has failed to get his Republican colleagues in the legislature to pass a statewide fracking ban, something he advocated for during his campaign. The state's oil and gas industry does not currently use fracking as a drilling method, but environmentalists are worried it might start doing so, resulting in water pollution.

Environmental groups also praised DeSantis in 2020 when the governor announced the state was backing a plan to buy 20,000 acres of the Everglades to prevent oil development there.

And they did the same when DeSantis backed spending $166 million in settlement money Florida received from Volkswagen on electric vehicle charging stations and cleaner electric buses. The money, part of a larger $14.7 billion settlement, came after the German automaker was caught lying about its cars' diesel emissions.

"Everyone was optimistic," said Susan Glickman, the Florida director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "I kept hearing an opening on climate."

Two years later, though, Glickman and other advocates are assessing DeSantis' climate record much like this: He's done more than previous Governor Scott, but that's not saying much.

DeSantis quietly replaced his chief science officer in March with Mark Rains, a professor, and chair and director of the School of Geosciences at the University of South Florida. But he never has replaced his chief resilience officer after she left for the Trump administration after only a few months in the position.

"Missing in action" on renewables

In many ways, it's what DeSantis hasn't done that defines his climate record. He has chosen not to use his bully pulpit to advocate for a clean-energy future, like his Democratic Party counterparts in the Southeast states of North Carolina and Virginia, or like the mayors of Orlando and Tampa.

DeSantis has also been "missing in action" in debate over bills this year in the Florida legislature that would undermine local government efforts to transition to clean energy, said Webber, with the Florida Conservation Voters group.

One such bill, that has passed the House and Senate and awaits DeSantis' consideration, would ban local governments from restricting fuel sources. The oil and gas industry has supported such measures around the country. They aim to block the push by climate activists to ban natural gas hook-ups in new buildings, and electrify them instead to reduce carbon emissions.

Of course, electrification only reduces emissions if it's powered by renewable energy. But Florida has no requirement that utilities provide a certain amount of that. Solar power accounts for only about 2.5% of the electricity produced by utilities, while they rely on fossil fuels for about 84%.

When DeSantis had a chance to appoint someone to the state's powerful Florida Public Service Commission, a regulatory body with a big say in state energy policy, he chose the Florida chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group known for its support of fossil fuels.

"We are very frustrated by the messaging, and the lack of acknowledgement of the root of the problem of all these issues," said Yoca Arditi-Rocha, executive director of The CLEO Institute, a nonprofit that focuses on climate science education.

"We need to acknowledge the warming temperatures and the rising seas are a result of our warming climate," she said. "We cannot adapt our way out of it. We need to aggressively tackle mitigation."

"What places can we not save?"

In Satellite Beach, Courtney Barker, the city manager who welcomes the governor's help with adapting to climate change, also wants to see him tackle the emissions side of the equation.

Besides moving the public works building and fire station to higher ground, the community is fortifying its system of flood control. Barker said the community needs more funding opportunities from the state.

"We're looking for assistance in helping us engineer our way out of it," she said.

Marine and climate scientist Jeff Chanton, of Florida State University, thinks there's too much emphasis on sea walls, which can cause beach erosion and destroy tidal zones vital to marine life, including crabs and turtles.

"An ideal governor would try to lessen the impacts of growth in this state, especially along our coastlines," he said.

Before her departure, Julia Nesheiwat, DeSantis' chief resilience officer, characterized the state's infrastructure as "outdated" in a report, and called its resilience strategy "disjointed."

For Thomas Ruppert, an attorney and coastal planning specialist with Florida Sea Grant, DeSantis' emphasis on hardening infrastructure ignores that — for some communities — the investments will be futile in staving off the inevitable.

"Ultimately, what we really need is to start talking seriously [about] what places can we not save? And what is an exit strategy? Because we have no idea," Ruppert said.

Barker hopes it doesn't come to that in Satellite Beach, where she grew up.

"It's personal to all of us, because I think everyone can look at their own hometown, and you can't imagine being anywhere else."

This story is a collaboration between Inside Climate News and WMFE Orlando, a member of ICN's National Reporting Network-Southeast.

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

A rollercoaster that once sat on the Funtown Pier in Seaside Heights, N.J., rests in the ocean on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012 after the pier was washed away by superstorm Sandy.; Credit: Julio Cortez/AP

When Hurricane Sandy swept up the eastern seaboard in 2012, it left a trail of damage from Florida to Maine. Subways were inundated in New York City. Hurricane-force winds tore across New Jersey. Blizzard conditions walloped Appalachia.

The hurricane — also known as Superstorm Sandy — caused an estimated $70 billion in damages in the U.S., mostly from flooding. And while scientists have long believed that some of the carnage was attributable to a warming climate, it's been unclear just how much of a role human-caused warming played in the storm's impacts. New research, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, puts a dollar amount on some of those damages and it's a startling figure.

Using flood maps and sea-level rise measurements, researchers found that human-induced sea-level rise caused an estimated $8 billion in excess flooding damage during Hurricane Sandy and affected an additional 70,000 people.

"I often hear people say when we're trying to help them adapt to increasing coastal flooding, 'Well, it's not going to happen in my lifetime, the sea-level rise won't happen in my lifetime,'" said Philip Orton, a co-author of the study from the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. "But it's already happening to people. It's already here."

Sea levels at the tip of Manhattan have risen about 8 inches since 1950, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Estimates range for how much additional sea-level rise is likely to occur, but on average, the expectation is that by mid-century water levels could rise by more than a foot in New York City, compared to the year 2000.

In worst case scenarios, in which humanity does not significantly cut its climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions and the world's ice sheets rapidly melt, sea levels could rise by more than 6 feet by the end of the century, putting hundreds of millions of people at risk worldwide.

Higher water levels mean more areas are susceptible to flooding, storm surge and other problems associated with hurricanes, as well as more chronic flooding from high tides.

The Biden administration has made addressing climate change one of its top priorities. It's proposed a major reconfiguration of the nation's energy and transportation sectors to cut the country's outsized contribution to global warming, with the goal of making the U.S. carbon neutral by the year 2050. Accomplishing that feat will require major federal investments and likely bipartisan support. It's unclear if the administration will be able to procure the latter.

The new study, which joins a growing body of broader attribution science, aims to quantify the cost of inaction and business as usual. Similar studies found that climate change fueled the strength of Hurricane Harvey, increased the risk of Australia's recent unprecedented fire season and contributed to a record-breaking heatwave in Europe.

Scientists have debated whether Hurricane Sandy was made more intense by a warming climate, but it's difficult to know. Generally, there's agreement in the scientific community that hotter global temperatures and warmer ocean waters will lead to more rapid intensification of hurricanes.

Quantifying exactly how much those climatic differences affected a storm like Sandy is difficult. That's why Orton and the team of researchers focused their efforts on sea-level rise, where there's a bevvy of good data. They used that data to model the impacts of Hurricane Sandy in a world without climate change and found the estimated $8 billion difference.

"Increasingly we have the tools to simulate these events and study and quantify the impact of climate change on people's lives," Orton said. "People's lives were dramatically changed by Hurricane Sandy and a lot of them don't realize it had to do with climate change at all."

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

Traffic on Interstate 95 was diverted for hours after a group of armed men fled from police near Wakefield, Mass. on Saturday. Massachusetts state police say 11 suspects have been taken into custody.; Credit: Michael Dwyer/AP

Eleven people were taken into custody Saturday after an hours-long standoff with police early Saturday outside Boston.

While police engaged in negotiation, members of the group engaged the public on social media, saying their group was called "Rise of the Moors."

The heavily armed men were said to be driving from Rhode Island to Maine for "training."

The incident started around 1:30 a.m., when state police noticed two cars stopped at the side of I-95 near Wakefield, Mass., apparently out of fuel. As troopers stopped to assist, they noticed that some individuals near the cars had "military-style" gear, and were carrying long guns and pistols, Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason told reporters.

"You can imagine 11 armed individuals standing with long guns slung on an interstate highway at 2 in the morning certainly raises concerns and is not consistent with the firearms laws that we have in Massachusetts," Mason said.

Police requested backup, and thus began a standoff that lasted several hours. The men refused to lower their weapons, saying that they "don't recognize our laws," police said. Some of the armed men fled into a nearby wooded area, police said, and a portion of I-95 was closed for several hours.

The standoff was broadcast on social media

Around 4 a.m., a man whom the Boston Globe identified as Jamhal Talib Abdullah Bey said he was broadcasting live from I-95 and said that he told police they had nothing to fear.

"I reassured them that we are not sovereign citizens," a man who appeared to be Bey said in a live-streamed video. "I reassured them that we are not Black identity extremists. I reassured them that we are not anti-police. I reassured them that we are not anti-government. I reassured them that these men here will not be pointing guns at them. I reassured them that we are trying to come to a peaceful resolution."

"We're going to our private land to train, which is our Second Amendment right," he said, showing a vehicle he said contained camping equipment.

As police tactical teams brought in armored vehicles to surround the area, and negotiators interacted with the men, they ultimately surrendered. Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan told reporters the suspects were expected to appear in court on Tuesday morning.

State police "don't have any knowledge about this particular specific group" but as state police "it is not unusual for us to encounter people that have sovereign citizen ideologies — I'm not saying that this group does — but we have had those encounters before in the past," Mason said at a Saturday morning press briefing.

"We train to those encounters," Mason continued. "We very much understand the philosophy that underlies that mindset. And we train our officers, actually, at the academy, on these interactions and how to de-escalate those situations, and how to engage with people that have that philosophy and mindset and resolve those situations in a peaceful manner."

The group calls itself "Rise of the Moors"

The same man appearing to be Bey said in a later video: "They keep portraying us as being anti-government, but we're not anti-government at all."

The group's website lists Bey as a leader of the "Rhode Island State Republic and Providence Plantations." According to the site, Bey served in the military for four years, some or all of that time in the Marines, after which he began studying "Moorish Science."

That website, "Rise of the Moors," explains that Moors are not "sovereign citizens" because "sovereignty does not stand alone," but can rather be considered synonymous with "nationality."

"The record show that the Moors are the organic or original sovereigns of this land — America," the FAQ says. "When we declare our nationality as Moorish Americans we are taking back the position as the aboriginal people of the land, to which the sovereign power is vested in."

Bey's group may be associated with the Moorish sovereign citizen movement, which the Southern Poverty Law Center characterizes as an offshoot of the antigovernment sovereign citizens movement. Moorish sovereigns "have come into conflict with federal and state authorities over their refusal to obey laws and government regulations," SPLC writes.

"The Moorish Sovereign movement is a rapidly growing group of people who believe that they belong to a sovereign nation that has a treaty with the US but otherwise operates outside of the federal and state laws," JJ MacNab, a fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism, explained on Twitter.

"They rely on an alternative history that borrows from Moorish Science Temple, Black Hebrew Israelism, Nation of Islam, UFO theories, phony Native American tribes, and the pseudo-legal arguments crafted by white supremacist 'patriot' groups in the 1970s," MacNab said.

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

Crews searching the building collapse site in Surfside, Fla., have discovered four more victims since Monday, bringing the death toll to 32. Authorities have identified 26 of the bodies.

Another 113 people were unaccounted for, though local officials said they had only been able to confirm that about 70 of those people were in the building at the time of the collapse nearly two weeks ago.

Detectives are continuing to follow up on reports submitted about possible victims in the partial collapse, but in some cases they have been unable to reach those who submitted the tips in the first place.

"People call anonymously. People call and don't leave return phone numbers. People call with partial information, not enough to really secure whether that person may or may not have been in the building," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters on Tuesday.

Some of the reports of possible victims are also incomplete, she said, including a name but no apartment number or no date of birth.

Levine Cava urged people who are missing loved ones to communicate with local authorities. She said there may also be victims of the collapse who have not been reported missing.

The rescue effort stopped briefly overnight due to lightning from a passing storm. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said high winds were hampering the cranes moving heavy debris from the collapse site.

Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez said Florida has declared a state of emergency ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa, which is expected to reach hurricane strength before making landfall Wednesday morning on the state's west coast.

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

Supporting this massive surge, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an entity for operating retail payments and settlement systems, has provided the backbone and the infrastructure to help in the faster adoption of digital systems that has deepened financial inclusion.

“The technology services industry, at some level, is recession proof,” Premji said at the company’s 76th annual general meeting on Tuesday. “In good times, clients spend on new initiatives and business transformation and serving customers digitally. They focus on reducing costs when times are not so good,” he said addressing a question on inflation concerns.

Many business users have approached generative AI technology more cautiously because it can make up untrue facts and be tricked into saying unsettling things. Oracle's human resources software is used by big businesses for hiring new employees and providing performance evaluations, among other things. Oracle will put a button on many of the fields in the software that will automatically generate draft text for things like job listings or performance goals.

Family Builders, the adoption service of Catawba County Social Services, can now help adult adoptees, birth parents and their close relatives find each other. Not all counties in North Carolina offer this service, which is called Confidential Intermediary Services. Until recently all adoption records were sealed under North Carolina state law. In 2008, a new law took effect that allowed the release of certain records to adult adoptees and birth parents, if both parties agreed.

A new Seniors Morning Out location has opened at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Claremont. This program, which is operated by Catawba County Social Services, provides a nutritious lunch, plus social activities, for persons age 60 or older.

Catawba County Library System has hired a librarian to serve both the Conover and Claremont branches. Siobhan Loendorf will add preschool Ready to Learn sessions, computer classes and adult programming for Conover and Claremont branch libraries.

The expansion will more than double clinic space. It will allow the clinic to provide routine dental services, such as cleanings, fillings, sealants, and extractions, to an additional 1,500 children and young adults. During the renovation, the current dental practice will remain open and operate under current hours

Used cooking oil will be accepted only at the Blackburn Solidwaste Convenience Center at 3864 Rocky Ford Road, Newton, NC 28658. No business waste accepted. The Blackburn Solidwaste Convenience Center is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., headquartered in Union NJ, has chosen to locate one of its data center facilities in Claremont, Catawba County. The company will locate the data center in the 48,000 square foot Center Point shell building in the Claremont International Business Park on Kelly Drive. Bed Bath & Beyond�s investment is expected to equal or exceed $36,800,000 and the new facility will create a minimum of 7 new jobs by the end of 2018.

The agreement would substantially increase the number of items collected for recycling across Catawba County, with further expansion of items collected as needed over time; begin �single stream� collection of recyclable commodities so recycled materials would no longer be required to be separated at curbside; increase Republic Services� investment in Catawba County by $13 million; and protect more than 150 local jobs.

A new State law will soon shift collection of motor vehicle taxes from counties to the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles.

A new County Solid Waste Franchise with Republic Services (formerly known as GDS), effective July 1, is bringing expanded recycling, new fee schedule, services.

Catawba County offers electronics and paint recycling, year round, at Blackburn Landfill during regular landfill operating hours, as of July 1.

Article by Catawba County Public Health School Nurse Margaret Sides on vision screenings for students is published nationally.

Many Catawba County residents will be able to recycle more items beginning November 4.

Marijuanas active components are potentially effective in treating pain, nausea, the anorexia of AIDS wasting, and other symptoms, and should be tested rigorously in clinical trials.

Focused attention by world leaders is needed to address the substantial challenges posed by disposal of spent nuclear fuel from reactors and high-level radioactive waste from processing such fuel for military or energy purposes.

By expending too many resources to inspect cleaner low-emitting vehicles, coupled with a lack of effective ways to deal with the dirtiest ones, states are missing opportunities to reduce air pollution.

The United States should ban human reproductive cloning aimed at creating a child.

Police officers are perhaps the most visible faces of the law, and one of the few groups authorized to use force when dealing with the public. But despite the pivotal role that officers play in preventing and controlling crime, and in promoting justice, the science base is often inadequate regarding the value, fairness, and legitimacy of police practices and policies.

Long-term population trends for some North American pollinators -- bees, birds, bats, and other animals and insects that spread pollen so plant fertilization can occur -- are demonstrably downward, says a new report from the National Research Council.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) today released SCIENCE, EVOLUTION, AND CREATIONISM, a book designed to give the public a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the current scientific understanding of evolution and its importance in the science classroom.