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CURRENT EVENTS - TAX DAY - April 20
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Minor as a news item in the grand scheme except that’s quite a mug for a former political Spox
Bluesky
bsky.app
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Interior Secretary Doug Burgum halted work on the Empire Wind project, which was fully permitted and under construction.
“… While Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office halting all approvals for offshore wind projects, industry executives had speculated that fully permitted projects such as Empire Wind 1 would not be affected.
Burgum posted on social media that he directed staff to “immediately halt all construction activities on the Empire Wind Project until further review of information that suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.”
… Construction related to Empire Wind began in 2024 to revamp a neglected marine terminal in South Brooklyn, employing more than 1,500 workers, and offshore work was set to begin this year.
… “Doubling back to reconsider permits after projects are under construction sends a chilling signal to all energy investment,” said Jason Grumet, head of the American Clean Power Association, a trade group.
“These political reversals are bad policy, whether applied to pipelines or wind farms.”
It also denies New York City, with its massive and growing demand for electricity, a potential source of power, according to Climate Jobs New York, a coalition of labor unions. …”
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Astronomers Detect a Possible Signature of Life on a Distant Planet
Further studies are needed to determine whether K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light-years away, is inhabited, or even habitable.
Astronomers Detect a Signature of Life on a Distant Planet
Further studies are needed to determine whether K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light-years away, is inhabited, or even habitable.
“…
A repeated analysis of the exoplanet’s atmosphere suggests an abundance of a molecule that on Earth has only one known source: living organisms such as marine algae.
“It is in no one’s interest to claim prematurely that we have detected life,” said Nikku Madhusudhan, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge and an author of the new study, at a news conference on Tuesday. Still, he said, the best explanation for his group’s observations is that K2-18b is covered with a warm ocean, brimming with life.
“This is a revolutionary moment,” Dr. Madhusudhan said. “It’s the first time humanity has seen potential biosignatures on a habitable planet.”
… These planets, known as sub-Neptunes, are much bigger than the rocky planets in our inner solar system, but smaller than Neptune and other gas-dominated planets of the outer solar system.
… On Earth, the only known source of dimethyl sulfide is life. In the ocean, for instance, certain forms of algae produce the compound, which wafts into the air and adds to the sea’s distinctive odor.
… No matter how the scientists revisited their readings, the signal stayed strong. They concluded that K2-18b may in fact harbor a tremendous supply of dimethyl sulfide in its atmosphere, thousands of times higher than the level found on Earth. This would suggest that its Hycean seas are brimming with life.
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In a paper posted online Sunday, Dr. Glein and his colleagues argued that K2-18b could instead be a massive hunk of rock with a magma ocean and a thick, scorching hydrogen atmosphere — hardly conducive to life as we know it.
Scientists will also need to run laboratory experiments to make sense of the new study — to recreate the possible conditions on sub-Neptunes, for instance, to see whether dimethyl sulfide behaves there as it does on Earth. …”
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“… The plan calls for steep cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which would see its budget reduced by more than 40% under the administration’s proposal.
It also eliminates CDC’s global health center and programs focused on chronic disease prevention, and domestic HIV/AIDS prevention. While some of the agency’s work would be moved into new AHA centers, programs on gun violence, injury prevention, youth violence prevention, drowning, minority health and others would be eliminated entirely.
… While the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Institute on Aging would be preserved. Institutes researching childhood illnesses, mental health, chronic disease, disabilities and substance abuse would be shuffled into five new entities: the National Institute on Body Systems, National Institute on Neuroscience and Brain Research, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Institute of Disability Related Research and National Institute of Behavioral Health.
The budget also assumes that the administration’s earlier attempt to cap indirect payments to universities at 15%, blocked by a court, would be in effect. Many of these payments have traditionally helped fund medical research. …”
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Trump Ousts Democrats From NCUA Board In Latest Purge
Trump Ousts Democrats From NCUA Board In Latest Purge - Law360
The National Credit Union Administration's two Democratic board members said Wednesday that President Donald Trump has fired them from the agency, a purge they are slamming as politically motivated and a threat to regulatory independence.
www.law360.com
"The National Credit Union Administration's two Democratic board members said Wednesday that President Donald Trump has fired them from the agency, a purge they are slamming as politically motivated and a threat to regulatory independence.
Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka, whose terms on the credit union regulator's governing board were not set to expire until 2027 and 2029, respectively, announced the firings in a pair of statements issued by the office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Their removal leaves NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman, a Republican, as the sole member of the agency's three-person bipartisan board. An NCUA spokesperson declined to comment Wednesday.
...The White House confirmed the firings of Harper and Otsuka to Law360 on Wednesday.
"President Trump is the chief executive of the executive branch and reserves the right to fire anyone he wants," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. ..."
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"...It was also not immediately clear what prompted Trump to fire them. Harper was in fact originally put on the NCUA board by Trump in 2019. Although President Joe Biden made him chairman in 2021, Harper stepped aside [as chair] in January so that Trump could pick a new chair.Trump Ousts Democrats From NCUA Board In Latest Purge
Trump Ousts Democrats From NCUA Board In Latest Purge - Law360
The National Credit Union Administration's two Democratic board members said Wednesday that President Donald Trump has fired them from the agency, a purge they are slamming as politically motivated and a threat to regulatory independence.
"The National Credit Union Administration's two Democratic board members said Wednesday that President Donald Trump has fired them from the agency, a purge they are slamming as politically motivated and a threat to regulatory independence.
Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka, whose terms on the credit union regulator's governing board were not set to expire until 2027 and 2029, respectively, announced the firings in a pair of statements issued by the office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Their removal leaves NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman, a Republican, as the sole member of the agency's three-person bipartisan board. An NCUA spokesperson declined to comment Wednesday.
...The White House confirmed the firings of Harper and Otsuka to Law360 on Wednesday.
"President Trump is the chief executive of the executive branch and reserves the right to fire anyone he wants," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. ..."
Otsuka, meanwhile, was a Biden pick for the NCUA board, but she received bipartisan, unanimous U.S. Senate confirmation at the end of 2023...."
lawtig02
Inconceivable Member
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The main lesson we're already learning from this administration is the basic principle of physics, that it takes moments to destroy what has taken eons to build. The First Temple in Jerusalem was built over several decades but was likely destroyed by the Babylonians in a matter of days. The Second Temple was rebuilt, also over several decades, but was again likely destroyed in a matter of days by the Romans. It has never been rebuilt.
Likewise, the American Experiment built upon itself for almost 80 years before the rot in its foundation caused its near collapse. Like the Israelites returning from exile, though, we built a stronger and more just America, with plenty of fits and starts. But MAGA fears strength and justice even more than the Romans did, and with the aid of their propaganda machine, they convinced 49% of America that the new temple must be torn down as well. So here we are, 88 days in, and the stones are already being thrown down, day by day, into the Kidron Valley.
I am trying to remain optimistic that when we get to the end of this dark, dark time in America's history, we'll have the courage and strength to start rebuilding again. My children, my grandchildren, the people of the world all depend on us doing so. But I will never, ever forget how we got to this point. I've said it many times now but I'll say it again -- we had a chance. We could have set in motion another 100+ years of Pax Americana. But Silence (from Moscow) and Ramrouser (from Buckhead) are more concerned about who's whizzing beside them in the restroom than they are about what truly makes America exceptional.
Likewise, the American Experiment built upon itself for almost 80 years before the rot in its foundation caused its near collapse. Like the Israelites returning from exile, though, we built a stronger and more just America, with plenty of fits and starts. But MAGA fears strength and justice even more than the Romans did, and with the aid of their propaganda machine, they convinced 49% of America that the new temple must be torn down as well. So here we are, 88 days in, and the stones are already being thrown down, day by day, into the Kidron Valley.
I am trying to remain optimistic that when we get to the end of this dark, dark time in America's history, we'll have the courage and strength to start rebuilding again. My children, my grandchildren, the people of the world all depend on us doing so. But I will never, ever forget how we got to this point. I've said it many times now but I'll say it again -- we had a chance. We could have set in motion another 100+ years of Pax Americana. But Silence (from Moscow) and Ramrouser (from Buckhead) are more concerned about who's whizzing beside them in the restroom than they are about what truly makes America exceptional.
Some time there should be a debate on whether religious fundamentalism of any nature and true civilization can really coexist. When you can't do the right thing for people because of ancient superstitions dating back to when people had no idea of science, the universe or much of anything else, it leaves you in a hell of a fix. It's almost the sole cause for the lack of respect for professionalism and expertise.
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American doctor receives email from immigration officials telling her to leave the country immediately
Dr. Lisa Anderson, 58, was born in Pennsylvania and is a U.S. citizen.
www.nbcnews.com
“… Lisa Anderson, a physician from Cromwell, Connecticut, told NBC Connecticut on Wednesday that she recently received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security telling her, “It is time for you to leave the United States."
Immigration authorities have been pushing noncitizens to leave of their own volition, or “self-deport,” as the number of deportations remains at similar levels to last year.
But Anderson, 58, was born in Pennsylvania and is a U.S. citizen.
"The language seemed pretty threatening to whomever it might actually apply to," she said. …”
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“…
American doctor receives email from immigration officials telling her to leave the country immediately
Dr. Lisa Anderson, 58, was born in Pennsylvania and is a U.S. citizen.
“… Lisa Anderson, a physician from Cromwell, Connecticut, told NBC Connecticut on Wednesday that she recently received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security telling her, “It is time for you to leave the United States."
Immigration authorities have been pushing noncitizens to leave of their own volition, or “self-deport,” as the number of deportations remains at similar levels to last year.
But Anderson, 58, was born in Pennsylvania and is a U.S. citizen.
"The language seemed pretty threatening to whomever it might actually apply to," she said. …”
The email to Anderson comes days after a Boston immigration attorney — who is also a U.S. citizen — received the same email from DHS, telling her to leave the country within seven days. The attorney, Nicole Micheroni, told MSNBC that as of Tuesday, federal officials had not followed up.
Pointing to the Boston email, Anderson said that she does not "have anything to do with immigration."
Anderson has been carrying her U.S. passport on her at all times since receiving the email and is seeking an immigration attorney.
“It does make me concerned there’re a lot more people out there like me who probably also thought this was spam, who probably didn’t realize, ‘I have a problem,’” she said.“
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“… Trump Media & Technology Group [DJT 10.59%increase; green up pointing triangle], the company behind Truth Social, on Thursday said the allegedly suspicious trading activity is tied to a U.K.-based hedge fund named Qube Research & Technologies.
Trump Media said that on April 10 Qube disclosed in Germany a nearly six-million share short position in Trump Media and that Nasdaq, NYSE Texas, or any other source has not been able to confirm when the trades disclosed by Qube were conducted or if they were ever conducted.
“We urge you to immediately investigate this suspicious trading and report your findings back to TMTG and any relevant civil and criminal authorities,” Trump Media & Technology Group said.
Trump Media shares rose 4% to $20.53 in morning trading. The stock has fallen around 40% year to date. …”
StrangePackage
Iconic Member
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I think the goal of any human being should be to avoid a scenario where their death is greeted with a scene like when the Death Star blows up in Return of the Jedi.
I can't wait to Yub Nub.
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Trump Team Eyes Politically Connected Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Program
A little-known firm with investors linked to JD Vance, Elon Musk and Trump could get a piece of the federal expense card system — and its hundreds of millions in fees. “This goes against all the normal contracting safeguards,” one expert said.
Trump Team Eyes Politically Connected Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Program
A little-known firm with investors linked to JD Vance, Elon Musk and Trump could get a piece of the federal expense card system — and its hundreds of millions in fees. “This goes against all the normal contracting safeguards,” one expert said.
“… GSA is eying Ramp to get a piece of the government’s $700 billion internal expense card program, known as SmartPay. In recent weeks, Trump appointees at GSA have been moving quickly to tap Ramp for a charge card pilot program worth up to $25 million, sources told ProPublica, even as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency highlights the multitudes of contracts it has canceled across federal agencies.
…
Founded six years ago, Ramp is backed by some of the most powerful figures in Silicon Valley. One is Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist who was one of Trump’s earliest supporters in the tech world and who spent millions aiding Vice President JD Vance’s Ohio Senate run. Thiel’s firm, Founders Fund, has invested in seven separate rounds of funding for Ramp, according to data from PitchBook. Last year Thiel said there was “no one better positioned” to build products at the intersection of AI and finance.
To date, the company has raised about $2 billion in venture capital, according to startup tracking website Crunchbase, much of it from firms with ties to Trump and Musk. Ramp’s other major financial backers include Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures; Thrive Capital, founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner; and 8VC, a firm run by Musk allies.
The special attention Gruenbaum paid to Ramp raised flags inside and outside the agency. “This goes against all the normal contracting safeguards that are set up to prevent contracts from being awarded based on who you know,” said Scott Amey, the general counsel with the bipartisan Project on Government Oversight. He said career civil servants should lead the process to pick the best choice for taxpayers. …”
