May 30, 2020

Sale of shut Philly refinery to real estate developer delayed

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The closing of a $252 million sale of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) oil refinery to a Chicago-based real estate developer has been delayed, a city official and source with knowledge of the agreement said on Friday.

Hilco Redevelopment Partners won an auction in January to purchase the 1,300-acre site along the Schuylkill River in south Philadelphia. The companies were scheduled to close on the purchase agreement by the end of this month.

City of Philadelphia officials were told the closing was delayed, a city spokesman said by email. He did not offer additional details. Another source with knowledge of the deal said it was postponed this week.

Hilco and PES did not respond to requests for comment about the cause and duration of the delay.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pes-bankruptcy-sale/sale-of-shut-philly-refinery-to-real-estate-developer-delayed-idUSKBN235397

May 30, 2020

Quest for COVID-19 vaccines: Where they stand

May 29 (UPI) -- As the worldwide death toll from the novel coronavirus continues to rise, scientists across the globe are racing to find a vaccine.

It often takes years to secure funding, research and develop a vaccine candidate, test it on humans and get regulatory approval. And that's all before pharmaceutical companies can begin the task of actually manufacturing millions of doses for distribution.

A New York Times analysis indicates that under a normal timeline, a COVID-19 vaccine wouldn't be ready for distribution until May 2036.

But with more than 360,000 people dead worldwide, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker, and the global economy struggling under mitigation efforts, world leaders are eager to speed up the process.

Read more: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2020/05/29/Quest-for-COVID-19-vaccines-Where-they-stand/5111590522698/

May 30, 2020

American ruling class exploits the pandemic to escalate assault on jobs and wages

Another 2.1 million workers in the United States filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to the US Labor Department. This brings the total number of workers filing for jobless benefits to 40.8 million in the ten weeks since the pandemic led to the closure of much of the country’s economic activity in mid-March.

This number, which substantially understates the real scale of joblessness, is still a shocking 24.7 percent of the country’s labor force of 164.5 million people. Economists expect that May’s official unemployment rate, which will be released next Friday, will hit 20 percent, up from 14.7 percent in April.

Estimates of the real jobless rate exceed the historic record of 24.9 percent set in 1933 during the depths of the Great Depression. Millions of jobless workers are not counted in the official toll because they are undocumented immigrants, self-employed or so-called gig workers. Others not counted include those working part-time jobs and those who have given up looking for non-existent jobs. In addition, millions are not counted as unemployed because overwhelmed state agencies have not processed their claims, depriving them of any jobless benefits.

Nevertheless, several states have staggering official jobless levels, including Washington (31.2 percent), Nevada (26.7), Florida (25.0), Hawaii (23.4), Michigan (23.1), California (20.6) and New York (19.9).

Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/29/pers-m29.html

May 29, 2020

Why cellphone videos of black people's deaths should be considered sacred, like lynching photographs

As Ahmaud Arbery fell to the ground, the sound of the gunshot that took his life echoed loudly throughout his Georgia neighborhood.

I rewound the video of his killing. Each time I viewed it, I was drawn first to the young black jogger’s seemingly carefree stride, which was halted by two white men in a white pickup truck.

Then I peered at Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Trevor, 34, who confronted Arbery in their suburban community.

I knew that the McMichaels told authorities that they suspected Arbery of robbing a nearby home in the neighborhood. They were performing a citizen’s arrest, they said.

Read more: https://theconversation.com/why-cellphone-videos-of-black-peoples-deaths-should-be-considered-sacred-like-lynching-photographs-139252

May 29, 2020

I never thought I would be asking this in 2016...

...but has the United States become one of the shithole countries under Trump?

I'm still holding out hope that Biden can fix it.

May 29, 2020

Gold rush, mercury legacy: Small-scale mining for gold has produced long-lasting toxic pollution,

Gold rush, mercury legacy: Small-scale mining for gold has produced long-lasting toxic pollution, from 1860s California to modern Peru


Gold is everywhere in modern life, from jewelry to electronics to smartphones. The global electronics industry alone uses 280 tons annually. And that demand keeps growing.

But most people know little about the environmental impacts of gold mining. About 15% of world gold production is from artisanal and small-scale mining in over 70 countries throughout Asia, Africa and South America. These operations employ 10 to 19 million workers. They often are poorly policed and weakly regulated.

Artisanal mining might sound quaint, but it is usually criminal activity and results in widespread environmental damage. It also is the largest source of mercury pollution in the world today, far exceeding other activities such as coal combustion and cement manufacturing. While mercury is an element that occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust, it has many toxic effects on humans and animals, even at very low exposure levels.

We have studied mercury pollution from artisanal gold mining for the past five years. The extraction methods that these operations use today are not drastically different from processes that miners employed in the California gold rush in the mid-1800s. Today we see history repeating itself in places like the Peruvian Amazon, where small-scale gold mining threatens to leave behind long-lasting social, economic and environmental consequences.

Read more: https://theconversation.com/gold-rush-mercury-legacy-small-scale-mining-for-gold-has-produced-long-lasting-toxic-pollution-from-1860s-california-to-modern-peru-133324

May 29, 2020

Jordan Cove pipeline moves forward, despite Oregon's opposition

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden vowed Friday to fight the Canadian company behind a proposed liquified natural gas export terminal as it begins to try to take the land of locals who oppose Jordan Cove.

Meanwhile, the company’s boosters plan a full-page ad in the Sunday Oregonian telling Oregon Governor Kate Brown the pipeline will help Oregon recover economically from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Federal Energy Regulatory commission released an order Friday refusing to revisit its decision to approve the Jordan Cove Liquified Natural Gas Terminal and 229-mile Pacific Connector Pipeline.

In its order, FERC denied requests for rehearing on a wide range of concerns from Oregon, tribal governments, environmentalists and landowners who pointed to the project’s expected harm to spotted owls, snowy plovers, marbled murrelets, salmon, whales, wetlands and the eel grass beds that serve as tidal nurseries for countless ocean species.

Read more: https://www.hcn.org/articles/energy-industry-jordan-cove-pipeline-moves-forward-despite-oregons-opposition
(High Country News)

May 29, 2020

'Show Us the Flynn Tapes or Buzz Off': Dem Rep. Swalwell Destroys Trump's Former DNI in Epic Twitter

‘Show Us the Flynn Tapes or Buzz Off’: Dem Rep. Swalwell Destroys Trump’s Former DNI in Epic Twitter ‘Bloodbath’


Right now there is an online Twitter battle between California’s Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell and President Donald Trump’s former acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Richard Grenell. Swalwell is winning, handily.

It all started last week when Rep. Swalwell said he didn’t trust Grenell, who was stepping down both as Trump’s Ambassador to Germany and as his acting DNI, after the Senate confirmed now-former Congressman John Ratcliffe. (Ratcliffe is legally ineligible to hold that position, but Senate Republicans confirmed him anyway.)

https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1263860933081870338

Grenell fought back:

https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1263863419071090691

And Swalwell slammed him for not doing his job, and taunted him for not releasing trump’s first National Security Advisor Mike Flynn’s transcripts/calls with Russian agents.

https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1263865225973030912

Read more: https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2020/05/show-us-the-flynn-tapes-or-buzz-off-dem-rep-swalwell-destroys-trumps-former-dni-in-epic-twitter-bloodbath/

May 29, 2020

O'Neill greenhouse is fined for its role in conspiracy to harbor undocumented workers

A tomato greenhouse and packing plant in O’Neill, Nebraska, was fined Wednesday for its role in a conspiracy to harbor undocumented workers.

O’Neill Ventures Inc. was sentenced to pay $400,000, due immediately. The company agreed to the fine in February as part of a plea deal.

The fine exceeded the recommended sentencing guidelines range of $70,000 to $140,000. Chief U.S. District Court Judge John Gerrard said that the higher amount was warranted because of the conditions workers experienced at the tomato plant.

The August 2018 raid of the plant and other businesses in the O’Neill area was one of the largest ever by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. More than 130 workers were detained and 17 people arrested in connection with an illegal employment service run by Juan Pablo Sanchez-Delgado, who took a cut of the undocumented workers’ paychecks and failed to pay taxes.

Read more: https://www.omaha.com/news/crime/oneill-greenhouse-is-fined-for-its-role-in-conspiracy-to-harbor-undocumented-workers/article_005cc414-3171-53d0-9a14-2039eb91ab1c.html

May 29, 2020

Eastman secures backing from national Democrats for Omaha-area House race

Omaha Democrat Kara Eastman is securing help today from the national party — more than two months earlier than she did in 2018, The World-Herald has learned.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is adding Eastman to its 19-candidate “Red-to-Blue” list, which shows donors which races the party thinks more money might help them win.

In practical terms, Eastman campaign manager Dave Pantos said, that should mean more people to make phone calls and, if allowed, to campaign door to door. It means more direct mail, more TV ads and better research.

Eastman, who lost the Omaha-area House race by about 5,000 votes in 2018, said the DCCC’s quicker decision this time shows she can beat U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.

Read more: https://www.omaha.com/news/local/eastman-secures-backing-from-national-democrats-for-omaha-area-house-race/article_48453f25-7633-5fff-b8ff-c2b81f0c3a61.html