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Toyin Ojih Odutolas Visions of Power – The New Yorker

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A woman stands in an otherworldly landscape, looking out. The landscape is sublime, though not the European sublime of cliffs, peaks, and mist. Here the sublime is African. It has many texturesconglomerations of stone, waterfalls, verdant grasslandsand may remind Nigerians of their own Jos Plateau. The woman stands with her left leg raised, surveying it all, with no sense of urgency; indeed, she appears to be in a state of philosophical contemplation. She seems assured both of her mastery over this land and of her natural right to it. This sovereignty is expressed primarily by her bodythe fabrics she wears, the pose she strikes, all of which find their reflection in the land around her. The same dark lines tracing her impressive musculature render the rippling rocks; the ridges of her bald head match the ridges in the stone; the luxurious folds of the fabric are answered by the intricate layering of the earth beneath her feet. Toyin Ojih Odutolas The Ruling Class (Eshu) appears, at first glance, to be a portrait of dominion. For to rule is to believe the land is made in your image, and, moreover, that everyone within it submits to you. Structurally, it recalls Caspar David Friedrichs depiction of Enlightenment dominion, Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog: the same raised left leg, the same contemplation of power in tranquillity, the echoes of hair, pose, and fabric in the textured landscape. But the red-headed man with the cane and his back to us has been replaced by a black woman with a staff, facing forward. The script has been flipped.

The show containing this image is called A Countervailing Theory. Countervail: to offset the effect of something by countering it with something of equal force. The word could not be more apposite. We are in a cultural moment of radical countervailing, perhaps as potent as that experienced in the sixties, when what was offered as counter to the power of the gun, for example, was a daisy placed in its barrel. A period of hierarchical reversal, or replacement, of this for that. And The Ruling Class might seem wholly part of this countervailing movement, oppositional and constructed of opposites: black replacing white, by way of a restricted black-and-white palette of charcoal, chalk, and pastel. A picture that offers a new image of power as counter to an old one.

But thats not the whole story. And Ojih Odutolawho was born in 1985, in Ife, Nigeriais an unusually story-driven visual artist. Her 2017 breakout show, at the Whitney Museum, To Wander Determined, with its depiction of two imagined Nigerian dynasties united in marriage, involved world-building equal to that of any novel, and in A Countervailing Theory the story, as the title implies, is not merely a flipped script but also a theory concerning countervailing itself. The forty pictures in the show are hung on a curving wall at the Barbican, in London, and unfold sequentially, like a Chinese scroll. Together, they lead us deep into the wilderness of our present ideas about powerwho should have it, how it should be wieldedand then out again, a journey as much philosophical as visual. What are the possibilities and the limits of countervailing, as a political or an aesthetic project? Is it sufficient merely to counter? Or might a higher synthesis be conceivable?

The project started, according to Ojih Odutola, with a wandering charcoal line, which she followed, rather blindly, letting my mark making guide me... to see what aesthetic characteristics and proclivities recur and how to incorporate these as motifs in the work. (Though Ojih Odutolas images are often mistaken for painting, she has so far worked exclusively in pen, pencil, charcoal, and pastel.) Following this line, she arrived at an unexpected destination, framed as a question. What would it look like if women were the only imperialists in known histories across the globe? Which led to another: If the powerful women she was drawing were the masters, over whom did they have mastery? The story developed:

My initial aim was to tell a tale of two beings, one born, another made/manufactured, who exist within a system that enterprises and stratifies war, imperialism and hierarchiesand how these two mitigate their respective lives within it to, ultimately, cross over and come together to bring the whole system down. But they fail.

The two beings are Akanke, who is a member of the Eshuthe ruling class of womenand Aldo, one of the Koba, male humanoids manufactured to work for the Eshu, mining and cultivating food. The Koba far outnumber the Eshujust as slave populations usually dwarf their overseersbut, like slaves, their lives are not their own and they live in fear that their masters will decommission them at any time, for any reason. The first eight pictures give us an idea of what it is to be Aldo. Like all Koba, seams run through his body, etched into the skin, through a process implemented, as another image, This Is How You Were Made; Final Stages, suggests, by the Eshu. And, as is true for all beings, Aldos own existence seems to be a puzzlement to him, although perhaps, as an oppressed being, he puzzles over it more intensely than the ruling class, who, in their tranquillity, tend to think only of their own power. In Introductions: Early Embodiment (Koba), this existential anxiety is expressed through the depiction of hard-to-parse liminal spaces, for Koba seem to come into being in a zone somewhere between the bardo, the depths of a mine, and a penal colonyamid circles, lines, waves, and shadows, where it is difficult to say what is floor or ceiling, ground or sky. In this strange, transitional place, Koba avert their eyes; they seem fearful; each grips his own naked body, which appears to be his only possession.

The contrast with what we glimpse, in Unsupervised Education, of Eshu childhood is striking. Young girls, future rulers, roam their environment freely, evidently curious, touching and examining the land, even breaking off pieces of it, at ease within their surroundings and never doubting that ease. When Ojih Odutola was asked about some of her sources of inspiration for Eshu society, she offered a line of Camille PagliasSociety is a system of inherited forms reducing our humiliating passivity to natureand also the geometric costumery of the Dutch designer Iris van Herpen. It is easy to see, in the imperious Eshu, the ways in which this feared vulnerability is systemically disguised and obscured, by staffs and helmets, by bodies trained to show no sign of weakness or potential decay, and by clothing that, like van Herpens, mimics the patterns of nature and aspires to natures authority of form.

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Toyin Ojih Odutolas Visions of Power - The New Yorker

Red XIII Should Have a Much Bigger Role in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 – GameRant

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While Red XIII wasn't fully introduced in Final Fantasy 7 Remake's first outing, he'll likely be redeemed in the next episode.

Red XIII unfortunately got the short-end of the stick this year inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake. While the red lion was one of the central characters players meet at the beginning ofFinal Fantasy 7, he was not playable in the first episode of the remake. Instead, he served as an additional AI teammate that players were unable to control or equip any materia. But according to the game's co-director Naoki Hamaguchi, Red XIII will almost certainly become a playable party member inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake's part 2. NOTE: This article contains spoilers from the original FF7 that could appear in part 2.

Of course, for fans of the original game, this would've seemed obvious. Not only is Red XIII a very strong member of the main party in the originalFinal Fantasy 7, but his presence in the story is also arguably more important. The lineage of Nanaki and his connection to the overarching storyis central toFinal Fantasy 7, and will likely remain the same inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake. For fans who were disappointed by Red XIII's appearance in the first episode, his character will be far more prominent inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake's second episode.

RELATED:Final Fantasy 7 Remake Devs Explain Why Red XIII Isn't Playable

At a bare minimum,Red XIII should absolutely become a core member of the party inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake's next episode. While he was relegated to an unplayable teammate and assistant for a platforming section, Red XIII should join the roster with his unique four-legged fighting style. Some fans got a glimpse of how the character may play in the next episode through aFinal Fantasy 7 Remake save editor, but obviously the restrictive nature of an NPC means there's not much to him. The main idea behind making him a sort-of "guest" character was because Red XIII would've been introduced as a party member far too late into the story for it to reasonably make sense.

However, in the second episode ofFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, the fully designed and animated Red XIII should be a core party member for the rest ofRemake's story. Of course, designing a non-humanoid playable character comes with its own challenges, butRed XIII's original design in particular could be harder to adapt forRemake. Red XIII's battle characteristics functioned more as an all-rounder, similar to Kimahri fromFinal Fantasy 10. While Red XIII has a particularly high speed stat and strong magic builds in the original game, he was still very adaptable and could be successful in any combat role. Remakecould make him a fast brawler with solid magic affinity, but his balanced stat distribution from the original game may make his design a bit harder to realize inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake's combat system.

Outside of his battle capabilities,Red XIII's origin story and his connection to the story ofFinal Fantasy 7are far more prominent in the events after the Midgar escape. While in pursuit of Sephiroth, Cloud and the party eventually end up in Red XIII's home of Cosmo Canyon. Here is where players learn off Red XIII's legacy, along with the history of the planet as told by the elder of Red XIII's tribe, Bugenhagen. Players learn all of the details about the Lifestream and how Shinra's Mako harvestation is destroying the planet from Bugenhagen's observatory. This is also where players learn about Red XIII's origins as a spiritual warrior, as Red XIII discovers things even he didn't know.

Initially, Red XIII resents his father Seto because he believes he died a coward who wasn't able to defend Cosmo Canyon from a rival tribe. This is where Cloud and the party learns of Red XIII's lineage, and how his father actually sacrificed himself to stop the rival Gi tribe from overtaking Cosmo Canyon. After exploring the Cave of the Gi, Red XIII discovers his dead father Seto, who has been immortalized in stone after being killed by petrified arrows. Upon learning Seto's true demise, Red XIII vows to protect the planet in the name of his father's sacrifice. It's a touching character moment that, while only tangentially related toFinal Fantasy 7's main conflict, is one of the best moments and character growths throughout the entire originalFinal Fantasy 7.

RELATED:New Party Members Likely to Appear in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2

Based on what's been seen of Red XIII so far,Final Fantasy 7 Remake appears to be emphasizing his more spiritual warrior personality.Red XIII's character adaptation is one of a calm and intelligent warrior, full of knowledge about the planet's spiritual entities like the Whispers. He's a tough warrior who doesn't mince words, but he does occasionally give off a subtle charm when butting heads with Barret. ThroughoutFinal Fantasy 7 Remake's subsequent episodes, Red XIII will likely be recurring source of information about things like the Lifestream and perhaps even more specific information like the Cetra.

Red XIII's appearance throughout the rest ofFinal Fantasy 7 Remake should be fascinating, especially with how Square Enix's reimagining will tell his origin story. The iconic red lion has one of the most interesting character growths among all the other supporting cast members inFinal Fantasy 7. His knowledge of the planet and the Whispers will almost certainly come in handy later on.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2is reportedly in development.

MORE:Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2's Cait Sith May Be Another Red XIII Situation

Red Dead Redemption 2 Fan Creates Model of In-Game Location Out of Matchsticks

Not actually a distant relative of Bob Dole, Rob Dolen is a Features Writer for Game Rant. Big fan of expansive lore and game analysis, video games are cool. Freedom Fighters is underrated. Probably not good at competitive Halo anymore.

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Red XIII Should Have a Much Bigger Role in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 - GameRant

You Cant Avoid Death, but You Can Make It Easier – The New York Times

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LIFE EVENTSBy Karolina Waclawiak

Do you know how to euthanize a bird? If not, you will just a few pages into Life Events, Karolina Waclawiaks astute and distressing new novel.

Technically, euthanizing a bird isnt that hard. All you need to do is make a concoction of simple syrup, a crushed anti-inflammatory pill and a crushed anti-anxiety pill, and administer it via an eyedropper. But as the protagonist, Evelyn, discovers, the agony was in the waiting. She has to sit by him for hours, watching him die after dropping the mixture onto his tongue, hoping he would take the sip that would finally dull his pain.

We meet Evelyn at 37, aimless, jobless, in the last stages of her dying marriage and consumed with grief over her parents impending death. Its in this state that she notices a hummingbird in distress on the patio of her Los Angeles apartment, and resolves to put it out of its misery.

A few weeks later, Evelyn enrolls in a program for so-called death doulas, or people who come to patients homes to prepare them for euthanasia and be with them until the end. The narrative follows her training and then her work with three very different patients. Evelyn approaches the job with true devotion, but she fails at detachment a requirement in this position. Evelyn is too present, too involved, too reckless to the point of having to seek a Plan B pill after an encounter with one of the patients.

The job wouldve been unbearable if not for the alcohol and anti-anxiety pills that Evelyn takes to dull her own pain. Waclawiak accomplishes a brilliant feat here, creating an atmosphere of almost palpable, effortful dullness that presides over the entire novel. With so much opportunity for raw emotion, the author seems to avoid it at all cost, going for exceptional clarity instead.

In the absence of any real emotional attachment to the characters, the reader is forced instead to engage intellectually, to actually face the tough questions about our own inevitable death.

In the novel, the death doulas have to make sure that their patients make an informed decision rather than an emotional one; so as part of their training, they have to fill out the same questionnaires they give to their patients. In these passages the reader cant help pausing and applying the questions to herself. One of the toughest questions asks what degree of livelihood constitutes a life worth living, on a scale from 100 percent (full health) to 0 percent (death). By 60 percent, mobility was reduced and disease was significant, Evelyn explains with clinical matter-of-factness. Consciousness could waver between full, drowsy and confused.

Imagining yourself functioning at 60 percent is scary enough, but its fully terrifying to think what will happen to you at 30 percent or below. An easier option would be to just keep your head in the sand and not think about death at all. And this is exactly what a majority of Americans are doing.

The health crisis we are living through has exposed many uncomfortable truths about our collective state of denial. Most people have reacted to the threat of Covid-19 as if this were the only possible cause of death, as if theyd never before fully considered their mortality. Tallying the pandemics daily fatalities with fanatical persistence, these individuals and public health officials are ignoring all the other deaths, praying for a vaccine that will allow them to finally relax, as if the prevention of one specific disease could render one immortal.

And even before Covid-19, our medical and cultural institutions would put so much effort into defeating death, which actually means prolonging life by just weeks or days at the cost of horrible suffering. Meanwhile, so little effort is put into helping patients accept their eventual death, effectively encouraging them to ignore mortality.

Waclawiaks Life Events provides a powerful argument against that attitude. The novel offers you a hand, gently helping you pull your head out of the sand to accept the inevitable.

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You Cant Avoid Death, but You Can Make It Easier - The New York Times

PCB Cleanup Makes Uneven Progress – The Southern Maryland Chronicle

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DC prepares to tackle hotspots, but in Gunpowder River little is to be doneby Timothy B. Wheeler, BayJournal.com

Its been a slog, but efforts are making headway to rid the Anacostia River of long-banned toxic chemicals that make it unsafe to eat many locally caught fish.

After years of sampling and studies, District of Columbia officials have proposed tackling 11 hot spots of contamination in the lower Anacostia, which flows through DC before joining the Potomac River. The sediments in those places are laden with PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, a pernicious family of synthetic chemicals still making their way into fish more than four decades after being outlawed because of their risks to human health and wildlife.

We are making real progress, Tommy Wells, director of the districts Department of Energy and the Environment, said at a cleanup planning meeting in June. The departments early action plan, unveiled late last year, calls for a combination of dredging, capping, and treatment of the PCB-tainted sediments. The projected $30 million costs is nevertheless only a down payment on dealing with the full mixture of toxic wastes, pesticides, and other harmful substances fouling the river.

But officials hope that by addressing these hot spots, they can at least reduce the health risks from eating locally caught fish. After reviewing hundreds of comments on the plan, they intend to announce Sept. 30 how theyll proceed.

I have to temper my desire to have it all done yesterday, said Jim Foster, president, and CEO of the Anacostia Watershed Society. But it seems as if we are finally on a trajectory to get it done.

Elsewhere, theres far less getting done about the PCB contamination thats widespread throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. In the Gunpowder and Bird rivers north of Baltimore, Maryland regulators have concluded theres little they can do to reduce the PCBs that are responsible for fish consumption advisories there on channel catfish, carp, and white and yellow perch, among other species.

Anglers hoping to eat uncontaminated catch from those two linked rivers may have to wait for PCB levels to decline on their own, state officials said. But it could be a long wait for the persistent chemicals to break down naturally or become buried under cleaner sediment. In the Gunpowder, that could take 49 years, officials project; in the Bird, 93 years.

Theaux Le Gardeur, the Gunpowder Riverkeeper, finds that intolerable. In many cases, thats three generations of Marylanders subject to fish consumption advisories due to PCBs, he said. Le Gardeur runs a fly-fishing shop and fishing guide service that focuses on the Gunpowder.

On July 29, the riverkeeper filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency challenging the federal agencys approval of what Le Gardeur contends is an inadequate state study of what can be done about PCBs contaminating the rivers.

In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, he complains that the Maryland Department of the Environment didnt sample enough and didnt propose to do anything about the main source of PCBs contaminating fish the bottom sediments. EPA neglected its duty under the Clean Water Act by signing off on the states plan, the suit contends.

Still a widespread problem

The Anacostia and the pair of Baltimore County rivers illustrate the challenges Bay watershed communities face in dealing with problems posed by PCBs and other toxic contaminants.

While Bay watershed states, localities and federal agencies have focused on reducing water pollution from nutrients and sediment, theyve done much less to deal with PCBs, mercury, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and toxic metals in sediment, water, and fish.

According to the state-federal Chesapeake Bay Program, 82% of the Bay and tidal waters of its tributaries are considered either fully or partially impaired by toxic contaminants.

In 2014, all six watershed states, the district, and the EPA pledged to make the Bay and its rivers free of effects of toxic contaminants on living resources and human health. They agreed specifically to go after PCBs.

Once widely used as coolants or insulators in electrical equipment and other products, PCBs were banned by the EPA in 1979 amid research linking exposure to cancer and other health effects. They break down very slowly, however, so have continued to contaminate many waterways, where they tend to collect in bottom sediments.

PCB concentrations in water and sediment have declined some since being banned. But PCBs bioaccumulate, meaning that seemingly minuscule doses build up in the fatty tissue of fish when they ingest the chemicals. The contamination is passed up the food chain as predators, including humans, consume tainted fish.

PCBs are the basis for many of the fish consumption advisories in effect throughout the Bay and its tributaries. Anglers are urged to limit or even avoid eating much locally caught fish including, in some places, the highly prized striped bass.

Over the last two decades, the Bay watershed jurisdictions, under EPA supervision, have developed pollution-reduction strategies, known as total maximum daily loads, for eliminating PCB contamination in dozens of tidal waterways.

The District worked with Maryland, Virginia, and the EPA to develop a PCB-reduction strategy for its stretch of the Anacostia and Potomac in 2007. The plan unveiled by the district last December came after years of studies.

District officials say the measures theyre considering for dealing with hot spots in the lower Anacostia should reduce health risks from eating fish caught there by 90%. Some dredging is proposed, but in other areas, the district is weighing sequestering contaminated silt under a layer of clean sediment or treating it on the river bottom.

Upal Ghosh and Kevin Sowers, a pair of researchers at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, have shown that depositing activated carbon pellets on contaminated sediment can lock-up the PCBs and dramatically reduce whats getting into the water. Coating the pellets with certain naturally occurring bacteria can even speed up the normally slow breakdown of the chemicals from decades to months, according to Sowers.

Fresh sources of PCBs

But cleaning up legacy contamination in sediment wont be enough as long as more PCBs are getting into the river, as studies have shown, Ghosh said.

A 2019 report by the U.S. Geological Survey concluded that lower Beaverdam Creek is the dominant source of fresh PCBs to the lower Anacostia. A study that Ghosh and other researchers presented to the district earlier this year found dissolved PCB levels in the creek to be screaming high, as he put it up to 20 times the levels measured in the river.

In March, Maryland regulators reported finding elevated PCBs in both sediment and water in two stretches of the creek in Prince Georges County. One is by the Landover Metrorail Station, they said.

Sherry Lin, a spokesperson for the transit agency, said Metro has cooperated with MDE investigators. Metro conducts annual inspections of all rail station outfalls and has programs in place to detect and prevent stormwater contamination, she said.

The other PCB-laden stretch of the creek is near its confluence with the Anacostia, the MDE reported. It flows there through a metal recycling facility owned by Joseph Smith & Sons. The MDE said PCB levels in creek sediment spike rapidly at this location, indicating that there may be legacy contamination on land there.

State inspectors last year sampled a retention pond at the 16-acre scrapyard and found PCBs in the water, according to information supplied by the MDE.

Dale Mullen, a lawyer representing the company, said it is voluntarily cooperating with the state and has taken steps to address the situation, including building a new concrete wall to prevent runoff or seepage to the creek. The company is also installing a new stormwater treatment system capable of removing PCBs and other contaminants. In the meantime, he noted, all stormwater outfalls from the site have been closed for now.

The next steps in the investigation, MDE officials said, include checking storm drains for PCB-tainted sediment that may be flushed out when it rains as well as other possible sources of runoff and seepage from tainted soil.

Elsewhere, theres not been as much activity. Maryland has produced PCB-reduction strategies for 31 of its rivers. But nearly half of those, including the one for the Gunpowder and Bird rivers, dont identify any local sources of contamination to be remediated.

State officials say thats because water sampling and computer modeling indicates the vast majority of PCBs in those rivers come from other water bodies the Susquehanna River, in the case of the Gunpowder and Bird. PCBs from there are flowing into the Bay, they say, where currents and tides carry them into the tributaries.

To see meaningful progress, you would need to change whats flowing in from the Chesapeake, said Lee Currey, director of MDEs water and science administration. The agency is working on a strategy for reducing PCBs in the lower Susquehanna, including in the sediments built up behind the Conowingo Dam.

Problems on the Gunpowder

But Le Gardeur, the Gunpowder Riverkeeper, contends that the states PCB reduction strategy for the Gunpowder and Bird rivers doesnt address the major source: chemicals already in the sediments, which can get back into the water to be ingested by fish.

Le Gardeur argues that the state also overlooked potential local sources of PCBs, such as Aberdeen Proving Ground, where the Army tests munitions and at one time tested chemical warfare agents. The entire base is a federal Superfund site undergoing multiple cleanups as a legacy of past releases and the burial of hazardous and explosive materials.

In developing its strategy, the MDE said a review of its records didnt find any legacy PCB contamination in the areas of the proving ground that drain into the Gunpowder.

But a 2016 consultants report measured high levels of PCBs, along with other contaminants, in upper Canal Creek, which drains into the Gunpowder from the proving grounds Edgewood area. The Army is studying the feasibility of options for remediating the PCBs in Canal Creek, according to Bethani Crouch, a base spokesperson.

MDE spokesman Jay Apperson acknowledged the PCB contamination in Canal Creek and said it will be considered in any future revision to the rivers cleanup strategy.

Le Gardeur questioned why the MDE didnt consider dredging or treating contaminated sediments in the rivers, as was done in waters just south of the Gunpowder. From 2016 through 2018, Lockheed Martin Corp., which for decades has produced aircraft and aviation electronics on Middle River, removed PCB-laden sediment from two of its tributaries, Darkhead Cove and Cowpen Creek. The company also treated an undredged portion of the bottom with activated carbon to keep the chemicals there from getting back into the water.

The MDE has said it generally doesnt favor dredging because it could stir up contaminated sediments and harm aquatic life. In Middle River, Currey said the agency approved dredging and treatment of the bottom because it was a relatively small area with documented high levels of the chemicals.

Brady Locher, deputy director of Baltimore Countys Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability, said the county has worked diligently to address PCB contamination, which impairs Back River and Baltimore Harbor in addition to the Gunpowder and Bird.

The county partnered with state regulators and the UMBC researchers to assess PCB levels in fish tissue, aquatic insects, sediment and water in Back River. County officials are now looking to contract with an external laboratory capable of analyzing contaminant concentrations.

Because PCB remediation is so expensive, it is crucial that we base our actions on reliable and comprehensive monitoring results, Locher said.

The county is preparing to dredge more than 50 acres of the Bird River but to improve boater access, not remove PCBs. The MDE is reviewing the countys plan. Apperson said a study of dredging in Baltimore Harbor, where contamination is worse, indicated the activity would have only limited impact on fish tissue levels.

Meanwhile, the county should soon have more resources for combating PCBs. Officials expect to get more than $7.5 million from a federal class-action lawsuit against Monsanto Corp., which at one time made PCBs. The company agreed to pay a total of $550 million to settle water contamination claims by nearly 2,000 towns, cities, counties, and port districts. The District of Columbia is slated to get $52 million from that settlement to put toward cleaning up the Anacostia and Potomac rivers.

Le Gardeur said he didnt want to file a lawsuit, but felt he had little choice given the lack of action proposed for the Gunpowder and Bird rivers. He owns a fly-fishing shop and runs a fishing guide service that caters to anglers fishing the Gunpowder, he noted in the legal complaint, so the contamination directly affects his livelihood. Similar lawsuits alleging inadequate cleanup plans have on occasion led to revisions that strengthened them.

A spokesperson for EPAs mid-Atlantic regional office said the agency and the Justice Department are currently reviewing the riverkeepers lawsuit.

The tidal Gunpowder and Bird are used by boaters and swimmers, the riverkeeper noted. Theyre also popular for fishing and crabbing.

Bill Temmink, a local angler, said he doesnt eat what he catches in the Gunpowder, but he knows of a bunch of people who are out here three and four times a week and keep the fish.

Of the projected date when the MDE said the rivers fish should be free of PCB contamination, Temmink said, 50 years is a long time.

This article originally appeared on the BayJournal.com on August 5, 2020 and is republished with permission from Bay Journal Media

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PCB Cleanup Makes Uneven Progress - The Southern Maryland Chronicle

Light in the darkness: After 7 days, Eversource makes significant progress in power restoration – Journal Inquirer

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Almost a week after Tropical Storm Isaias ravaged the state, knocking out power that left more than 800,000 customers in the dark for days on end, Eversource has made significant progress and as of this morning had only about 87,500 customers remaining without electricity.

That number is an improvement over the 138,000 customers in the state that were without power Sunday afternoon.

We know how frustrated our customers who still dont have power are, and we have thousands of utility workers repairing the extensive damage across the state today who are relentless in their determination to restore power for all customers, Craig Hallstrom, Eversources president of regional electric operations, said in a statement. We hear our customers and community leaders, and we will not rest until this massive restoration effort is complete.

According to the most recent updates, power is expected to be restored to Andover, Coventry, South Windsor, and Tolland tonight at 6 p.m. and Windsor at 9 p.m.

For Tuesday, power is expected to be restored in Bolton, Hebron, and Stafford at 6 a.m.; Glastonbury and Somers at noon; Suffield at 6 p.m.; and Ellington at midnight.

Power restoration in East Hartford, East Windsor, Enfield, Manchester, Vernon, and Windsor Locks is substantially completed, as just less than 1 percent of all customers in the respective municipalities are still without power.

Eversource spokesman Mitch Grossman said the vast majority of customers are expected to have power by midnight on Tuesday, clarifying that doesnt mean all customers will have power by then but most will.

Despite that, many customers have spoken out about their growing frustrations over the time it is taking Eversource to restore their power.

Both town and state officials alike have criticized the utility companys preparedness when it came to the storm, with Gov. Ned Lamont declaring an investigation will look into how Eversource and United Illuminating Co., the other major utility company in the state, have spent their money which comes from ratepayers over the past 10 years to prevent widespread power outages.

In response, Grossman said the utility was prepared for the storm based on the best information that was available at the time.

Storms often change, and this one did, as far as strength and track, causing extensive damage across the state, Grossman said.

He said Eversources major focus right now is restoring power to those without it, and any reviews or investigations will be conducted at a later date.

Grossman added that Eversource line and tree crews continue working around-the-clock to repair the extensive damage caused during Tropical Storm Isaias, with more than 2,300 line, tree, and support crews, from as far away as Canada, working in the state.

With primaries a day away, the Office of the Secretary of the State has been focusing on restoring power and connectivity to key points of elections infrastructure, the 748 polling places and the 169 town halls statewide.

Utility and telecommunication companies have been asked to prioritize power and connectivity to those locations.

As of noon on Sunday, there were less than 75 of the 748 polling places statewide that still required power restoration, and eight town halls still didnt have connectivity to the Central Voter Registration System.

Grossman said Eversource has been in contact with the Office of the Secretary of the State to ensure all polling places will have electricity for Tuesdays primary while simultaneously pushing for the remaining customers to have power restored as well.

In a statement, Secretary of State Denise Merrill said that nothing was more important than ensuring every voter is able to cast their ballot in the manner of their choosing.

In Connecticut voting goes on in the face of the October Snowstorm, Hurricane Sandy, and now Tropical Storm Isaias polls are open on Election Day and voters will be able to cast their ballots, she stated.

After 7 days, Eversource makes significant progress in power restoration

Almost a week after Tropical Storm Isaias ravaged the state, knocking out power that left more than 800,000 customers in the dark for days on end, Eversource has made significant progress and as of this morning had only about 87,500 customers remaining without electricity.

That number is an improvement over the 138,000 customers in the state that were without power Sunday afternoon.

We know how frustrated our customers who still dont have power are, and we have thousands of utility workers repairing the extensive damage across the state today who are relentless in their determination to restore power for all customers, Craig Hallstrom, Eversources president of regional electric operations, said in a statement. We hear our customers and community leaders, and we will not rest until this massive restoration effort is complete.

According to the most recent updates, power is expected to be restored to Andover, Coventry, South Windsor, and Tolland tonight at 6 p.m. and Windsor at 9 p.m.

For Tuesday, power is expected to be restored in Bolton, Hebron, and Stafford at 6 a.m.; Glastonbury and Somers at noon; Suffield at 6 p.m.; and Ellington at midnight.

Power restoration in East Hartford, East Windsor, Enfield, Manchester, Vernon, and Windsor Locks is substantially completed, as just less than 1 percent of all customers in the respective municipalities are still without power.

Eversource spokesman Mitch Grossman said the vast majority of customers are expected to have power by midnight on Tuesday, clarifying that doesnt mean all customers will have power by then but most will.

Despite that, many customers have spoken out about their growing frustrations over the time it is taking Eversource to restore their power.

Both town and state officials alike have criticized the utility companys preparedness when it came to the storm, with Gov. Ned Lamont declaring an investigation will look into how Eversource and United Illuminating Co., the other major utility company in the state, have spent their money which comes from ratepayers over the past 10 years to prevent widespread power outages.

In response, Grossman said the utility was prepared for the storm based on the best information that was available at the time.

Storms often change, and this one did, as far as strength and track, causing extensive damage across the state, Grossman said.

He said Eversources major focus right now is restoring power to those without it, and any reviews or investigations will be conducted at a later date.

Grossman added that Eversource line and tree crews continue working around-the-clock to repair the extensive damage caused during Tropical Storm Isaias, with more than 2,300 line, tree, and support crews, from as far away as Canada, working in the state.

With primaries a day away, the Office of the Secretary of the State has been focusing on restoring power and connectivity to key points of elections infrastructure, the 748 polling places and the 169 town halls statewide.

Utility and telecommunication companies have been asked to prioritize power and connectivity to those locations.

As of noon on Sunday, there were less than 75 of the 748 polling places statewide that still required power restoration, and eight town halls still didnt have connectivity to the Central Voter Registration System.

Grossman said Eversource has been in contact with the Office of the Secretary of the State to ensure all polling places will have electricity for Tuesdays primary while simultaneously pushing for the remaining customers to have power restored as well.

In a statement, Secretary of State Denise Merrill said that nothing was more important than ensuring every voter is able to cast their ballot in the manner of their choosing.

In Connecticut voting goes on in the face of the October Snowstorm, Hurricane Sandy, and now Tropical Storm Isaias polls are open on Election Day and voters will be able to cast their ballots, she stated.

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Light in the darkness: After 7 days, Eversource makes significant progress in power restoration - Journal Inquirer

Midwest Derecho in Progress: Widespread Damaging Winds Race Eastward – The Weather Channel

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Severe Thunderstorm Forecast

Severe thunderstorms are producing widespread damaging winds across a part of the Midwest today as a derecho races eastward.

The complex of storms has knocked out power and caused tree damage from around Omaha, Nebraska, to central Iowa. Winds gusted up to 99 mph as these storms passed through Marshalltown, Iowa. Nearly 190,000 homes and businesses have lost power in Nebraska and Iowa, according to poweroutage.us.

The severe thunderstorms are expected to track eastward through the eastern half of Iowa to northern Illinois, far southern Wisconsin, northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan into the afternoon and early evening hours.

Tree damage, power outages and some structural damage will occur along the path of these thunderstorms, particularly in the purple-shaded areas of the map above. This includes the Chicago metro area by later this afternoon.

A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 7 p.m. CDT from eastern Iowa into southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center says this is a "particularly dangerous situation" and that wind gusts could top 80 mph in some locations.

Current Radar, Watches and Warnings

The Weather Companys primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Companys primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

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Midwest Derecho in Progress: Widespread Damaging Winds Race Eastward - The Weather Channel

Ivanhoe Issues Second Quarter Financial Results and Review of Mine Construction Progress and Exploration Activities – Yahoo Finance

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Development of the flagship Kakula Copper Mine continues to exceed expectations; with initial production well on track for third quarter of 2021

Definitive Feasibility Study for the Kakula Mine, and an updated Integrated Development Plan for multiple expansions of the entire Kamoa-Kakula mining licence, nearing completion

Mine development work at the Platreef PGMs-gold-nickel-copper mine now focused on preparing Shaft 1 for initial production; updated Definitive Feasibility Study and phased-development plan to be issued in September

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 10, 2020) - Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) today announced its financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2020. Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company advancing its three mining projects in Southern Africa: the Kamoa-Kakula copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); the Platreef palladium-platinum-nickel-copper-gold-rhodium discovery in South Africa; and the extensive upgrading of the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-silver-lead-germanium mine, also in the DRC.

The company also is exploring for new copper discoveries on its wholly-owned Western Foreland exploration licences, adjacent to the Kamoa-Kakula mining licence. All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.

The Kamoa-Kakula Project, a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining, has been independently ranked as the world's fourth-largest copper deposit by international mining consultant Wood Mackenzie. The project is approximately 25 kilometres west of the town of Kolwezi and about 270 kilometres west of Lubumbashi.

Ivanhoe sold a 49.5% share interest in Kamoa Holding Limited (Kamoa Holding) to Zijin Mining in December 2015 for an aggregate consideration of $412 million. In addition, Ivanhoe sold a 1% share interest in Kamoa Holding to privately-owned Crystal River for $8.32 million - which Crystal River will pay through a non-interest-bearing, 10-year promissory note. Since the conclusion of the Zijin transaction in December 2015, each shareholder has been required to fund expenditures at the Kamoa-Kakula Project in an amount equivalent to its proportionate shareholding interest in Kamoa Holding.

A 5%, non-dilutable interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project was transferred to the DRC government on September 11, 2012, for no consideration, pursuant to the 2002 DRC mining code. Following the signing of an agreement with the DRC government in November 2016, in which an additional 15% interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project was transferred to the DRC government, Ivanhoe and Zijin Mining now each hold an indirect 39.6% interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project, Crystal River holds an indirect 0.8% interest and the DRC government holds a direct 20% interest. Kamoa Holding holds an 80% interest in the project.

At the end of June 2020, the Kamoa-Kakula Project reached 4,704,185 work hours free of a lost-time injury. The project continues to strive toward its workplace objective of zero harm to all employees and contractors.

The project had to adapt its activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In accordance with new health guidelines from the DRC government reflecting the improving COVID-19 situation in the Lualaba Province, DRC, Kamoa-Kakula lowered its quarantine and lockdown measures from level 3 to level 2 on July 27th. This means that the mine's Congolese workforce have gone back to normal rotation. Most activities on site are proceeding as normal with some delays being experienced due to reduced staff numbers and skills on-site. Rigorous testing, physical distancing, wearing face masks, frequent hand washing and contact tracing measures are still in place to protect the safety and health of the workforce and community members. All expatriate employees are still required to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival at Kamoa-Kakula.

As part of Kamoa-Kakula's COVID-19 readiness initiatives, the project has procured a polymerize chain reaction (PCR) device from German-based Bosch (similar device to the GeneXpert). The device arrived in July, with an initial supply of 500 tests. The device's capacity is 15 tests per 24-hour period.

PCR tests are used to directly detect the presence of an antigen, rather than the presence of the body's immune response, or antibodies. By detecting viral RNA, which will be present in the body before antibodies form or symptoms of the disease are present, the tests can tell whether or not someone has the virus very early on.

Early detection of potential cases based on symptoms and contact tracing is imperative. PCR tests will give the project's medical team a good indication of who is infected. This allows for fast isolation, and contact tracing of potential additional cases for quarantine.

The project has established a COVID-19 isolation facility at the Kamoa camp. Any suspected or symptomatic cases are moved to this facility, where they are isolated, treated and tested. Once the patient has recovered and is deemed no longer infectious, they can return to work only after an additional quarantine period determined by the project's medical staff. As the pandemic evolves, the medical team at Kamoa-Kakula is purposefully reviewing and updating its risk mitigation protocols.

Definitive Feasibility Study nearing completion for the Kakula Mine

An independent definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Kakula Mine is well advanced and is expected to be finalized shortly. At the same time, Ivanhoe expects to issue an updated Integrated Development Plan for the entire Kamoa-Kakula mining complex, which will include details on the planned expansion phases for the greater Kamoa-Kakula mining complex, incorporating updates for mineral resources, production rates and economic analysis.

A separate study for an on-site smelter has been completed in parallel to a feasibility level of detail and will be incorporated into the integrated Kamoa-Kakula PEA.

An expansion in initial plant capacity from 3.0 Mtpa to 3.8 Mtpa is planned, which requires increasing the underground mining crews in 2020 from 11 to 14 to ensure sufficient mining operations to feed the expanded plant throughput. This would have the benefit of producing a larger surface stockpile of ore before the scheduled commissioning of the processing plant, as well as accelerating the mine development schedule, providing the opportunity to bring forward the commencement of the second phase of development at Kakula. The second 3.8 Mtpa plant module will be primarily fed from the Kakula Mine at a planned full production mining rate of 6 Mtpa. It is envisaged that an additional 1.6 Mtpa will be sourced from the Kansoko Mine, or elsewhere, to maximize the full milling capacity of 7.6 Mtpa.

There are currently 10 mining crews (three owner crews and seven contractor crews) at Kakula and one mining crew at Kansoko. The project will continue to add additional crews over the next 12 months to further accelerate development. One crew is currently being trained at the Kamoa training centre.

Figure 1: Underground development completed to the end of July (in black) and scheduled development (green, brown, blue & black) until September 30, 2020. Shown are the 3%, 5% and 8% copper contours and the location where the northern and southern access drives are scheduled to join in Q4 2020.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_005full.jpg

Figure 2: The eastern portion of Kakula Mine representing less than half of the overall 13.3-kilometre-long Kakula Deposit overlain on southern Manhattan Island to give a sense of the enormous scale of the underground operations.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_006full.jpg

Figure 3: Aerial view of the Kakula Mine showing the tonnes and grade of the main pre-production stockpiles at the northern declines. The high-grade stockpile currently contains approximately 116,000 tonnes grading 6.08% copper, and the medium-grade stockpile currently contains approximately 325,000 tonnes grading 2.94% copper.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_007full.jpg

Figure 4: Geologist Kally Mbumba showing ultra-high-grade, chalcocite-rich ore at Kakula Mine. Chalcocite has the greatest percentage of copper of all the common sulphide-copper-bearing minerals almost 80% copper by weight.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_008full.jpg

Kakula crews are currently mining and stockpiling ore with an average grade between 3% and 8% copper. At the end of June 2020, Kakula's high-grade, pre-production ore stockpile contained 67,553 tonnes grading 5.90% copper, the medium-grade ore stockpiles, including satellite stockpiles at Kakula South and Kansoko, contained an additional 394,119 tonnes at 2.71% copper. This has been increased to a high-grade, pre-production ore stockpile containing approximately 116,000 tonnes grading 6.08% copper and medium-grade ore stockpiles containing an additional 446,000 tonnes at 2.73% copper at the end of July 2020. The high-grade stockpile is projected to significantly expand in the coming months as the majority of Kakula's underground development will be in mining zones grading +5% copper.

Basic engineering design and costing for the expansion from 3.8 Mtpa to 7.6 Mtpa is complete. The scope of facilities includes underground expansion at Kakula to reach an annual production rate of 6 Mtpa, the commencement of mining operations at Kansoko at a steady-state 1.6 Mtpa, a second 3.8 Mtpa concentrator module at Kakula as well as associated surface infrastructure to support the expansion at the various sites.

Figure 5: Ongoing construction of the flotation section of Kakula's 3.8 Mtpa processing plant.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 5, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_009full.jpg

Figure 6: Ongoing construction of the flotation section of Kakula's 3.8 Mtpa processing plant.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 6, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_010full.jpg

The current estimate of the project's initial capital costs is approximately $1.3 billion as of January 1, 2019, which assumes commissioning of the first processing plant module in Q3 2021 and includes expanded plant capacity and pre-production ore stockpiles.

The capital costs incurred by the Kamoa-Kakula joint venture in 2019 amounted to $309.1 million, of which $125.2 million was spent on the Kakula declines and mine development. A further capital cost of $242.7 million, that includes the costs allocated to the pre-production ore stockpiles, has been incurred in the six months ended June 30, 2020. Ivanhoe's share of the capital costs incurred in the six months ended June 30, 2020, was $120 million, representing its share of approximately 40% of the initial capital costs, plus its share of capital associated with the 20% carried interest owned by the Government of the DRC, which will be repaid through future cash flows from the project. Ivanhoe has budgeted $257 million for its proportionate funding of approximately 50% for the Kamoa-Kakula Project for the remainder of 2020. As of June 30, 2020, the joint venture had an estimated $750 million of capital costs remaining until initial production.

Ivanhoe expects that it will continue to have sufficient cash resources or financing options available to cover its proportionate share of the remaining initial capital costs.

More than 18.7 kilometres of underground development now completed as the project tracks towards first production in Q3 2021

A total of 17.1 kilometres of underground development was completed by the end of June 2020, which was 5.2 kilometres ahead of plan. A record of 1.87 kilometres development was achieved in May 2020. At the end of July 2020, more than 18.7 kilometres had been completed.

Mine access drives 1 and 2 (interconnected, parallel tunnels that will provide access to ore zones) continue to advance towards the southern portion of the orebody and are currently developing through the 3% - 5% copper zones. Development also is well advanced on the eastern perimeter drives, western perimeter drives and the room-and-pillar mining area.

Development along south access drives 1 and 2 is progressing well and has reached the 3% - 5% copper zones, with mining crews working to establish the connection of these drives with mine access drives 1 and 2 from the north side of the orebody, this is scheduled to occur in November 2020.

Engineering, procurement and construction advancing well

Project engineering and procurement activities are nearing completion with the focus currently on logistics and construction. The current primary construction focus that runs through the project's critical path is the construction of the processing plant and the electrical high-voltage infrastructure installation.

Construction of the underground rock handling system is complete with the first rock being conveyed to surface in June 2020.

The civil construction of Ventilation Shaft 2 is underway with fan delivery scheduled in September 2020; the system is expected to be operational before the end of the year. Reaming of Ventilation Shaft North East is expected to start shortly after the completion of the pilot hole. The fan is scheduled to be operational by Q1 2021. Additional material is being procured ahead of the relocation of Ventilation Fan 1 to the North West 1 location.

Figure 7: One of Kakula's high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) for the processing plant being offloaded at the port of Durban, South Africa, for transport to Kamoa-Kakula by truck.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 7, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_011full.jpg

Figure 8: Surveyor, Betty Kabey, scanning the East Spiral drive at the Kakula Mine.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 8, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_012full.jpg

The construction of the dams in the room-and-pillar mining area and the south ventilation shaft central transfer dam is underway; and both of these dams will be complete in Q3 2020.

Civil construction of the process plant is progressing, with over 16,000 cubic metres of concrete already poured. A number of work areas have been completed and handed over for the erection of steel and the installation of mechanical equipment. Steel fabrication in China is nearing completion with the bulk of the steel either delivered to site or being transported. Steel erection has started at the flotation and thickener areas. Fabrication of plate work and piping is well advanced with some material being transported to site.

Manufacture of all long-lead mechanical items is complete with the crushers, low entrainment flotation cells and concentrate filter already delivered to site. Final deliveries for the mills, high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR), flotation cells and thickeners are expected to arrive on-site before the end of August.

Figure 9: Underground pumping station and water dam at Kakula's 1,050 level. Construction of a second permanent underground water-handling system is progressing well and commissioning is expected this month. The new system will add 800 litres per second of underground pumping capacity, bringing the total installed capacity to 1,400 litres per second.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 9, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_013full.jpg

Figure 10: Mukalayi Masengo, Technician, installing bolts on steel support structures for the surface conveyor that will transport ore from the surface stockpiles to the processing plant.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 10, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_014full.jpg

The mine is receiving hydro-generated electrical power for the Kamoa 120kV overhead line via the 18MW mobile substation, which is connected to the national grid. The mobile substation was recently relocated to the Kakula Mine from the Kansoko Mine to increase transmission capacity to Kakula. Construction of the permanent 220-kilovolt overhead power line, the electrical switching substation (NRO substation) and the Kamoa Consumer Substation are underway. The objective is to energize the mine on 220kV grid power early in 2021.

All the newly built accommodation at the Kakula camp has been completed and is occupied. Construction of the kitchen, mess area and laundry will be completed shortly.

Ongoing upgrading work enables Mwadingusha hydropower station to supply clean, sustainable electricity

Ongoing upgrading work at the Mwadingusha hydropower plant in the DRC has significantly progressed. The two main activities remaining are the final installation of the turbines and the completion of the penstock replacement.

Current activities include the installation of the turbine cooling and electrical systems as well as the welding of the valve chambers in the penstocks. Delays were experienced due to some of the European engineers leaving site at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, however these engineers now are returning to site.

The progressive re-commissioning of the turbines is underway with three turbines expected to be in operation by December 2020 and the three remaining turbines in Q1 2021. The refurbished plant is projected to deliver approximately 72 megawatts (MW) of power to the national grid.

The work at Mwadingusha is being conducted by engineering firm STUCKY of Lausanne, Switzerland, under the direction of Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining, in conjunction with the DRC's state-owned power company, La Socit Nationale d'Electricit (SNEL SA).

The Kansoko Mine, Kakula Mine and Kamoa camp have been connected to the national hydroelectric power grid since the completion of a 20-kilometre long, 120-kilovolt, single-circuit power line between Kansoko and SNEL SA's high voltage national grid in September 2016. A 12-kilometres long, 120-kilovolts, dual-circuit power line between Kansoko and Kakula was completed in December 2017. The design of permanent, 11-kilovolt reticulation to the ventilation shafts and mine has started, which includes substations, overhead lines and surface cables.

Figure 11: The dam at the Mwadingusha hydropower station that will supply clean, sustainable electricity to the DRC national power grid.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 11, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_015full.jpg

Continued focus on enriching communities through sustainable development

The Kamoa-Kakula Sustainable Livelihoods Program is committed to sustainable development in the communities within the project's footprint. The main objective of the livelihoods program is to enhance food security and living standards of the people who reside within the project area. The program consists primarily of fish farming, poultry production, beekeeping and food crops; including the farming of maize (corn), vegetables and bananas. With the increase in development activities at the project, a significant number of employment opportunities have also been made available to residents of the local communities.

The Sustainable Livelihoods Program started in 2010 in an effort to strengthen food security and farming capacity in the host communities near Kamoa-Kakula by establishing an agricultural training garden and support for farmers at the community level. Today, approximately 350 community farmers are benefiting from the Sustainable Livelihoods Program, producing high-quality food for their families and selling the surplus for additional income.

Additional non-farming related activities for Q2 2020 included education and literacy programs, the continuation of a community brick-making program and the supply of fresh water to a number of local communities using solar powered boreholes.

Construction of resettlement houses for the second phase of the relocation program is underway. The survey for the final phase of relocation has been completed and crop compensation has commenced, with only five permanent structures being identified. The entire Kakula Mine area, including the tailings dam area, will be secured once these relocation phases are complete.

Figure 12: A farmer weeding in his vegetable nursery. The Livelihoods Program at Kamoa-Kakula has developed into a large-scale operation, with hundreds of beneficiaries raising fish; growing maize and vegetables; and selling poultry and honey.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 12, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_016full.jpg

Figure 13: Construction of a community clinic at the local village of Muvunda, a Kamoa-Kakula Livelihoods Program initiative.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 13, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_017full.jpg

2. Platreef Project 64%-owned by Ivanhoe MinesSouth Africa

The Platreef Project is owned by Ivanplats (Pty) Ltd (Ivanplats), which is 64%-owned by Ivanhoe Mines. A 26% interest is held by Ivanplats' historically-disadvantaged, broad-based, black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) partners, which include 20 local host communities with approximately 150,000 people, project employees and local entrepreneurs. Ivanplats reached Level 4 contributor status in its most recent verification assessment on the B-BBEE scorecard. A Japanese consortium of ITOCHU Corporation, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation; and Japan Gas Corporation, owns a 10% interest in Ivanplats, which it acquired in two tranches for a total investment of $290 million.

The Platreef Project hosts an underground deposit of thick, platinum-group metals, nickel, copper and gold mineralization on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in Limpopo Province - approximately 280 kilometres northeast of Johannesburg and eight kilometres from the town of Mokopane.

On the Northern Limb, platinum-group metals mineralization is hosted primarily within the Platreef, a mineralized sequence that is traced more than 30 kilometres along strike. Ivanhoe's Platreef Project, within the Platreef's southern sector, is comprised of two contiguous properties: Turfspruit and Macalacaskop. Turfspruit, the northernmost property, is contiguous with, and along strike from, Anglo Platinum's Mogalakwena group of mining operations and properties.

Since 2007, Ivanhoe has focused its exploration and development activities on defining and advancing the down-dip extension of its original discovery at Platreef, now known as the Flatreef Deposit, which is amenable to highly mechanized, underground mining methods. The Flatreef area lies entirely on the Turfspruit and Macalacaskop properties, which form part of the company's mining right.

As part of the company-wide cost-cutting measures announced on April 27, 2020, Ivanhoe's board of directors allocated a reduced total budget for 2020 of $41.7 million for the Platreef Project, of which $23.4 million remains for the balance of the year. The sinking of Platreef's Shaft 1 has recently been completed, enabling Shaft 1 to be configured for permanent rock hoisting.

Health and safety at Platreef

At the end of Q2 2020, the Platreef Project reached a total of 119,686 lost-time, injury-free hours worked in accordance with South Africa's Mine Health and Safety Act, and Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The last lost-time injury (LTI) occurred on May 18, 2020. The Platreef Project has noted an 80% improvement in the total recordable injury frequency rate (TRIFR) year on year with only one Recordable Injury for 2020.

In response to the country-wide lock down imposed by the South African Government due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Platreef temporarily suspended its shaft-sinking operations on March 26, 2020. During the suspension, the project kept a small workforce to keep the operation ready for when development resumed. Since April 21, 2020, following the announcement of amended regulations authorizing South African mines to operate at a workforce capacity of 50%, site activities resumed under strict mitigation controls.

One employee tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-July and was immediately placed in the project's quarantine facilities that have been set up in close proximity to the minesite. Contact tracing also was performed with direct contacts also being isolated.

Platreef phased development plan and update of Definitive Feasibility Study

Ivanhoe is investigating a phased development plan for the Platreef Project, targeting significantly lower initial capital, to accelerate first production by using Shaft 1 as the mine's initial production shaft. This plan will focus on initially targeting the development of mining zones accessible from Shaft 1 and maximizing the hoisting capacity of this shaft, followed by expansions to the production rate as outlined in the 2017 DFS.

Concurrently, Ivanhoe is updating the Platreef Project's DFS to take into account development schedule advancement since 2017 when the DFS was completed, updated costs and refreshed metal prices and foreign exchange assumptions. This update, together with the study on the phased development plan, is scheduled for completion in Q3 2020.

Shaft 1 successfully completed down to the final depth of 996 metres

Shaft 1 reached the top of the high-grade Flatreef Deposit (T1 mineralized zone) at a depth of 780.2 metres below surface in Q3 2018 and has since been extended to its final depth of 996 metres below surface. The thickness of the mineralized orebody (T1 and T2 mineralized zones) at Shaft 1 is 29 metres, with grades of platinum-group metals ranging up to 11 grams per tonne (g/t) 3PE (platinum, palladium and rhodium) plus gold, as well as significant quantities of nickel and copper. The 29-metre intersection yielded approximately 3,000 tonnes of ore, estimated to contain more than 400 ounces of platinum-group metals. The ore is stockpiled on surface for further metallurgical sampling.

Figure 14: Members of the Platreef team celebrate the completion of sinking Shaft 1 to a final depth of 996 metres below surface. Shaft 1's headframe is in the background.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 14, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_018full.jpg

Figure 15: Schematic section of the Platreef Mine, showing Flatreef's T1 and T2 thick, high-grade mineralized zones (red and dark orange), underground development work completed to date in shafts 1 and 2 (white) and planned development work (gray).

To view an enhanced version of Figure 15, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_019full.jpg

The 750, 850 and 950-metre-level station developments have been completed. The three development stations will provide initial, underground access to the high-grade orebody. Shaft 1 changeover detailed designs are nearing completion and will enable Shaft 1 to be configured for permanent rock hoisting.

Underground mining to incorporate highly-productive, mechanized methods

The mining zones in the current Platreef mine plan occur at depths ranging from approximately 700 metres to 1,200 metres below surface. When completed, Shaft 2 is expected to provide primary access to the mining zones; secondary access is expected to be via Shaft 1. During mine production, both shafts also are expected to serve as ventilation intakes. Three additional ventilation exhaust raises are planned to achieve steady-state production.

Planned mining methods will use highly-productive, mechanized methods, including long-hole stoping and drift-and-fill mining. Each method will utilize cemented backfill for maximum ore extraction. The ore will be hauled from the stopes to a series of internal ore passes and fed to the bottom of Shaft 2, where it will be crushed and hoisted to surface.

Figure 16: In June, Platreef's shaft-sinking team drilled the final round to a depth of 996 metres below surface.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 16, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/61360_2569658254345a27_020full.jpg

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Ivanhoe Issues Second Quarter Financial Results and Review of Mine Construction Progress and Exploration Activities - Yahoo Finance

Axsome Therapeutics Announces Further Progress in AXS-05 Depression Clinical Program – GlobeNewswire

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Enrollment complete in the COMET Phase 3 long-term safety trial of AXS-05 in MDD; NDA filing on track for 4Q 2020

Results from three Phase 2 open-label efficacy trials of AXS-05 in TRD, antidepressant unresponsive MDD, and suicidal ideation, expected in 4Q 2020

MERIT Phase 2 placebo-controlled trial in TRD initiated; topline results expected in 1H 2021

NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXSM), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for the management of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, announces continued progress toward NDA filing of AXS-05 in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), and the generation of new clinical data to further characterize the antidepressant profile of AXS-05 across a broad spectrum of patients with MDD.

Enrollment has been completed in the COMET (Clinical Outcomes with NMDA-based Depression Treatment) Phase 3open-label, long-term safety trial to support the planned NDA filing of AXS-05 in MDD. In addition, the required number of patients treated for 6 months has been reached. Filing of the NDA remains on track for the fourth quarter of 2020.

Axsome is also conducting three Phase 2 open-label efficacy sub-studies of the COMET trial which will evaluate the efficacy and safety of AXS-05 in three clinically pertinent MDD patient populations: the COMET-TRD trial in treatment resistant MDD (TRD), the COMET-AU trial in antidepressant unresponsive MDD, and the COMET-SI trial in MDD with suicidal ideation. Efficacy results from these studies are expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Further, Axsome has initiated the MERIT (Mechanistic Evaluation of Response in TRD) trial, a Phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized withdrawal study in patients with TRD. Results from the MERIT trial, which are expected in the first half of 2021, along with results from the COMET-TRD trial, which are expected in the fourth quarter of 2020, will provide clinically useful information with AXS-05 in this treatment resistant MDD population.

Depression Clinical Program Update

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) NDA

Treatment Resistant MDD (TRD)

Antidepressant Unresponsive MDD

MDD with Suicidal Ideation

About Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating, chronic, biologically-based disorder characterized by low mood, inability to feel pleasure, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, low energy, and other emotional and physical symptoms, and which impairs social, occupational, educational, or other important functioning. In severe cases, MDD can result in suicide. According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated 7.1% of U.S. adults, or approximately 17 million, experience MDD each year1. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease2. Nearly two thirds of diagnosed and treated patients do not experience adequate treatment response with currently available first-line therapy3, highlighting the need for additional therapies with new mechanisms of action. The majority of initial failures also fail second-line treatment. Patients diagnosed with MDD are defined as having treatment resistant depression (TRD) if they have failed to respond to two or more antidepressant therapies.

About AXS-05

AXS-05 is a novel, oral, patent-protected, investigational NMDA receptor antagonist with multimodal activity under development for the treatment of major depressive disorder, Alzheimers disease agitation, and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders. AXS-05 consists of a proprietary formulation and dose of dextromethorphan and bupropion and utilizes Axsomes metabolic inhibition technology. The dextromethorphan component of AXS-05 is a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, also known as a glutamate receptor modulator, a sigma-1 receptor agonist, an inhibitor of the serotonin and norepinephrine transporters, a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, and an inhibitor of microglial activation. The bupropion component of AXS-05 serves to increase the bioavailability of dextromethorphan, and is a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor, and a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist. AXS-05 is covered by more than 42 issued U.S. and international patents which provide protection out to 2034. AXS-05 has been granted U.S. Food and Drug Administration Breakthrough Therapy designation for major depressive disorder, Fast Track designation for treatment resistant depression, and Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track designations for Alzheimers disease agitation. AXS-05 is not approved by the FDA.

About Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.

Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for the management of central nervous system (CNS) disorders for which there are limited treatment options. For the many people facing unsatisfactory treatments for CNS disorders, Axsome accelerates the invention and adoption of life-changing medicines. Axsomes core CNS product candidate portfolio includes five clinical-stage candidates, AXS-05, AXS-07, AXS-09, AXS-12, and AXS-14. AXS-05 is being developed for major depressive disorder (MDD), treatment resistant depression (TRD), Alzheimers disease (AD) agitation, and as treatment for smoking cessation. AXS-07 is being developed for the acute treatment of migraine. AXS-12 is being developed for the treatment of narcolepsy. AXS-14 is being developed for fibromyalgia. AXS-05, AXS-07, AXS-09, AXS-12, and AXS-14 are investigational drug products not approved by the FDA. For more information, please visit the Companys website at axsome.com. The Company may occasionally disseminate material, nonpublic information on the company website.

References

1. National Institute of Mental Health. (2017). Major Depression. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression.shtml.

2. World Health Organization. Fact Sheets: Depression, accessed October 9, 2018, http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression.

3. Rush AJ, et al. (2007) Am J. Psychiatry 163:11, pp. 1905-1917 (STAR*D Study).

Forward Looking Statements

Certain matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. We may, in some cases, use terms such as predicts, believes, potential, continue, estimates, anticipates, expects, plans, intends, may, could, might, will, should or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. In particular, the Companys statements regarding trends and potential future results are examples of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the success, timing and cost of our ongoing clinical trials and anticipated clinical trials for our current product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of initiation, pace of enrollment and completion of the trials (including our ability to fully fund our disclosed clinical trials, which assumes no material changes to our currently projected expenses), futility analyses and receipt of interim results, which are not necessarily indicative of the final results of our ongoing clinical trials, and the number or type of studies or nature of results necessary to support the filing of a new drug application (NDA) for any of our current product candidates; our ability to fund additional clinical trials to continue the advancement of our product candidates; the timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other regulatory authority approval of, or other action with respect to, our product candidates (including, but not limited to, FDAs agreement with the Companys discontinuation of the bupropion treatment arm of the ADVANCE-1 study in accordance with the independent data monitoring committees recommendations); the potential for the MOMENTUM clinical trial to provide a basis for approval of AXS-07 for the acute treatment of migraine in adults with or without aura, pursuant to our special protocol assessment; the potential for the ASCEND clinical trial, combined with the GEMINI clinical trial results, to provide a basis for approval of AXS-05 for the treatment of major depressive disorder and accelerate its development timeline and commercial path to patients; the Companys ability to successfully defend its intellectual property or obtain the necessary licenses at a cost acceptable to the Company, if at all; the successful implementation of the Companys research and development programs and collaborations; the success of the Companys license agreements; the acceptance by the market of the Companys product candidates, if approved; the Companys anticipated capital requirements, including the Companys anticipated cash runway; unforeseen circumstances or other disruptions to normal business operations arising from or related to COVID-19; and other factors, including general economic conditions and regulatory developments, not within the Companys control. The factors discussed herein could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstance.

Axsome Contact: Mark JacobsonChief Operating OfficerAxsome Therapeutics, Inc.22 Cortlandt Street, 16th Floor New York, NY 10007Tel: 212-332-3243Email: mjacobson@axsome.com http://www.axsome.com

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Axsome Therapeutics Announces Further Progress in AXS-05 Depression Clinical Program - GlobeNewswire

Points of Progress: Urban rooftop farm bears fruit, and more – The Christian Science Monitor

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1. United States

The Navy welcomed its first Black female tactical jet pilot last month after Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle completed her final undergraduate flight. In the 1980s, Brenda Robinson became the first African American woman to serve as a Navy flight instructor and VIP transport pilot, but she did not fly fighter jets.

Lt. J.G. Madeline Swegle exits a T-45C Goshawk training aircraft following her final flight to complete the undergraduate Tactical Air (Strike) pilot training syllabus in Kingsville, Texas, on July 7, 2020.

In the years since, the Navy has often been criticized for its lack of diversity, especially among fighter units. A 2018 investigation found that of 1,404 Hornet pilots, only 26 were Black and 33 were female. The Navys Tactical Air (Strike) aviator program prepared Lieutenant Swegle to fly several tactical jets, including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.(CNN)

Conservationists are training ex-combatants to help preserve Colombias biodiversity. Researching the countrys wildlife was a challenge during the decadeslong civil war, but since the 2016 peace agreement, expeditions in former conflict zones have discovered more than 150 new animal and plant species. Experts say ex-guerrilla fighters, who once occupied the most remote parts of Colombias jungles, forests, mountains, and savannas, are uniquely prepared to aid scientists with ongoing conservation efforts.Wildlife geneticist Jaime Gngora visits Colombia several times a year to conduct workshops training former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in various conservation skills, including taking biodiversity inventories. The project isnt just helping scientists a recent survey of 10,000 former FARC members found that 84% were interested in terrestrial and river environmental restoration work now that the war has ended. This is a vital step to enable them to contribute to environmental projects, improve their livelihoods, and reincorporate into society, says Mr. Gngora. (Science, The Conversation)

Kick4Life Football Club became the worlds first top-tier soccer club to fund mens and womens teams equally, a decision the club hopes will inspire other leagues to step up on behalf of womens sports. Since Kick4Lifes womens team was founded in 2010, it has rapidly grown into a competitive soccer team while challenging gender stereotypes in Lesotho and beyond. When coach Puky Ramokoatsi joined as a player a decade ago, Kick4Life helped her rethink her own biases and overcome violence from her past, she says.The decision to match funding for the mens and womens teams is especially poignant as the pandemic has put a financial strain on global sports. These pressures are no reason to hold back, says co-founder Steve Fleming. Quite the opposite; the same crisis has given rise to an epidemic of gender-based violence here and elsewhere. The responsibility of football is to inspire positive change. (The Guardian)

The worlds largest urban rooftop farm, called Nature Urbaine, has started bearing fruit. On one day recently, young farmers atop Paris Expos Pavilion 6 picked 3,000 lettuces and 150 pints of strawberries from aeroponic growing towers plastic columns that are soil-free, use little water, and take up less space than traditional garden beds. The roof is the size of two soccer fields, but only a third has been planted. When its all in use, staff could harvest more than a ton of fruits and vegetables every day.Pascal Hardy, the engineer behind the garden, says his urban agriculture consultancy is fielding inquiries from around the world. [This farming method] is a clean, productive, and sustainable model of agriculture that can in time make a real contribution to the resilience social, economic, and also environmental of the kind of big cities where most of humanity now lives, said Mr. Hardy. And look, it really works. (The Guardian)

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Red kites are thriving in England after one of the worlds most successful reintroduction projects. The fork-tailed bird of prey was protected by royal decree throughout the Middle Ages, but became a target for taxidermists and egg collectors in the centuries that followed. In the 1980s, anyone wanting to see a red kite had to make a special pilgrimage to a handful of sites, said Jeff Knott, an operations director with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Today it is a daily sight for millions of people.

A red kite flies over a Leeds, England, cricket ground, May 31, 2015. Sightings of the once-rare bird are now common.

In July 1990, 13 raptors flown in from Spain took their maiden flight across England. Thirty years later, there are an estimated 1,800 breeding pairs across England, and red kites are regularly seen flying through most counties. The United Kingdom is now home to almost 10% of the global red kite population. (The Guardian)

Pakistan has met United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 to take urgent action to combat climate change a decade before the deadline. The early achievement shows that progress is possible even for countries with limited resources.Pakistan met the target well before 2030 through a series of environmental programs launched over the last decade. These include the Billion Tree Tsunami project, a nationwide reforestation effort started by Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2014, and the Clean Green Pakistan Index, which ranks cities and townships based on residents access to clean water and green spaces. Pakistan has consistently ranked in the top 10 countries most vulnerable to extreme weather caused by climate change. (VOSA)

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Points of Progress: Urban rooftop farm bears fruit, and more - The Christian Science Monitor

Chiefs Andy Reid: Thornhill, Rankin making good progress to return – Arrowhead Pride

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Saying the Kansas City Chiefs had turned in a good practice on Sunday morning, head coach Andy Reid then met with reporters through a Zoom conference call first fielding a question about when injured second-year safety Juan Thornhill would be ready to play.

Well have to see how and when that hes there, replied Reid. He is doing well at this time. Once we get into that phase where were moving him around the trainers are moving him around a little bit more well be able to tell. But hes not ready obviously right now.

Reid said he would say the same thing about offensive lineman Martinas Rankin, who is on the preseason physically-unable-to-perform list with Thornhill.

Theyre all making good progress, said Reid. Its just a matter of when they can come back. As we ramp them up the trainers well see. But neither one is ready to go right now.

But with regard to Rankin, Reid appears to be unconcerned at least for now.

I thought Brett Veach did a nice job of bringing a couple of veteran guys, said the head coach. So weve got numbers there. Weve got some young guys [and] these couple of veteran guys that are added into the mix. So I think well be OK number-wise as we go forward.

Besides, Reid said, there are 14 padded practices yet to come (beginning this Friday) where the team will be able to evaluate how the line fits together.

You know how [offensive line coach] Andy Heck does, anyways: he rotates everybody. They all play the different positions inside and outside.

So Thornhills status remains up in the air and us we have come to expect from the Chiefs during Reids tenure, the precise makeup of the line may remain unknown until the team lines up for the first offensive snap against the Houston Texans on Thursday, September 10.

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Chiefs Andy Reid: Thornhill, Rankin making good progress to return - Arrowhead Pride

UNICEF EAPRO COVID-19 Education Response: Snapshot of Gaps, Needs and Progress (05 August 2020) – World – ReliefWeb

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Update

UNICEF continues to support governments with their back to school campaigns. So far, 21 countries in the East Asia and Pacific region have started the gradual reopening of schools. In Malaysia and Vietnam,UNICEF supports the implementation of safe school protocols in over 54,000 schools. At the same time, schools in 6 countries remain fully closed impacting more than 28 million children. In countries where schools are not fully open, UNICEF supports the continued learning of over 68 million distance learner.

Situation overview

17 of 27 countries in the East Asia and Pacific region with schools completely or partially closed due to COVID-19

78% (121m) of enrolled children (excluding China) currently not or only partially attending face-to-face learning in the region

128 days on average schools are currently expected to stay closed in countries in the region (excluding Pacific islands)

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UNICEF EAPRO COVID-19 Education Response: Snapshot of Gaps, Needs and Progress (05 August 2020) - World - ReliefWeb

Saugus fire that grew to 130 acres has ‘progress halted’ – Los Angeles Times

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The Texas fire in Saugus, which started about 2 p.m. Thursday, has grown to 130 acres but has not caused any structural damage and forward progress has been stopped as of 4:30 p.m., officials said.

John Clearwater, a public affairs officer with the Angeles National Forest, said the fire, which began near Texas and Bouquet canyons on forest land, is 10% contained with 115 firefighters on the scene.

The flames have been boxed in by fire retardant, Clearwater said.

The firefighters are being aided by seven helicopters and three air tankers. A 747 VLAT, or very large air tanker, was also en route from San Bernardino.

No cause for the fire has been determined, but an investigation is underway.

The fire burned up the hillside and grew quickly with winds behind it, Clearwater said. It has pushed into the hill country, and firefighters on scene are working hard to protect structures.

The fire grew quickly from early reports of three aces to 130 acres within two hours.

Most structures in danger are homes, though Clearwater said that structures in the forest might also include barns or sheds. He added that no power lines had been affected.

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Saugus fire that grew to 130 acres has 'progress halted' - Los Angeles Times

Progress continues on the Regional Connector Transit Project – metro.net

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Construction activities continue to progress on the Regional Connector Transit Project. As part of the Federal governments Coronavirus Guidance for America, transportation infrastructure is considered an Essential Critical Infrastructure. Metros contractors are following safety precautions during the pandemic, including implementing social distancing when applicable and the use of masks and other PPE.

The above video shows some of the construction work thats taken place in DTLA recently. As you can see, the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station for the project is being built underground, which means the existing aboveground station, currently served by the L Line (Gold), will eventually be demolished as we near completion of the project. This station work is being completed ahead of the upcoming L Line (Gold) closure + bus shuttle activity set to take place this fall. We will have more information on that in the coming weeks.

The Regional Connector is a pair of 1.9-mile rail transit tunnels under downtown Los Angeles that will tie together the A Line (Blue), E Line (Expo) and L Line (Gold) to provide faster trips to and through DTLA with fewer transfers for riders. The project is scheduled to open in 2022. You can view additional project updates hereand sign up for email notifications.

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Progress continues on the Regional Connector Transit Project - metro.net

Does Progress-Werk Oberkirch (ETR:PWO) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet? – Simply Wall St

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Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that Volatility is far from synonymous with risk. When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. As with many other companies Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG (ETR:PWO) makes use of debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company cant easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first step when considering a companys debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Progress-Werk Oberkirch

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Progress-Werk Oberkirch had 119.7m of debt in June 2020, down from 145.3m, one year before. However, it also had 18.6m in cash, and so its net debt is 101.1m.

The latest balance sheet data shows that Progress-Werk Oberkirch had liabilities of 137.0m due within a year, and liabilities of 127.6m falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of 18.6m as well as receivables valued at 87.2m due within 12 months. So its liabilities total 158.9m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

This deficit casts a shadow over the 52.2m company, like a colossus towering over mere mortals. So wed watch its balance sheet closely, without a doubt. After all, Progress-Werk Oberkirch would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.

In order to size up a companys debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

While Progress-Werk Oberkirchs debt to EBITDA ratio (2.9) suggests that it uses some debt, its interest cover is very weak, at 2.0, suggesting high leverage. In large part thats due to the companys significant depreciation and amortisation charges, which arguably mean its EBITDA is a very generous measure of earnings, and its debt may be more of a burden than it first appears. So shareholders should probably be aware that interest expenses appear to have really impacted the business lately. Even worse, Progress-Werk Oberkirch saw its EBIT tank 36% over the last 12 months. If earnings continue to follow that trajectory, paying off that debt load will be harder than convincing us to run a marathon in the rain. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Progress-Werk Oberkirch can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Over the last three years, Progress-Werk Oberkirch actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT. That sort of strong cash generation warms our hearts like a puppy in a bumblebee suit.

On the face of it, Progress-Werk Oberkirchs EBIT growth rate left us tentative about the stock, and its level of total liabilities was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. But on the bright side, its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow is a good sign, and makes us more optimistic. Were quite clear that we consider Progress-Werk Oberkirch to be really rather risky, as a result of its balance sheet health. For this reason were pretty cautious about the stock, and we think shareholders should keep a close eye on its liquidity. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Case in point: Weve spotted 4 warning signs for Progress-Werk Oberkirch you should be aware of, and 1 of them is significant.

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that dont even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

PromotedIf youre looking to trade Progress-Werk Oberkirch, open an account with the lowest-cost* platform trusted by professionals, Interactive Brokers. Their clients from over 200 countries and territories trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds worldwide from a single integrated account.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. *Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

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Does Progress-Werk Oberkirch (ETR:PWO) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet? - Simply Wall St

Stimulus Talks Drag OnWith Little ProgressAfter Another Week Of Lapsed Unemployment Benefits And Eviction Protections – Forbes

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TOPLINE

One day before a Friday deadline to reach a deal on the next round of stimulus legislation, top policymakers in Washington are facing deep divisions and making little progress on the package.

U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks to members of the press as Senate Minority ... [+] Leader Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) listens at the U.S. Capitol August 4, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Though it looks like the GOP may be willing to make some concessions, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday evening that the Trump Administration and top Democrats are still trillions of dollars apart on a deal.

That multi-trillion dollar gulfRepublicans want to keep the new bill under $1 trillion, while the Democratic plan is three times more expensivehas some leaders in the GOP expressing doubt over whether a deal will happen at all.

Even though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that well certainly be in next weekmeaning that the Senate will stay in session instead of leaving for a scheduled recessmost Senators are headed home anyway on Thursday to await news of a deal, Politico reported Thursday.

President Trump, who along with McConnell has been absent from the negotiating table, doubled down on his threat Wednesday to bypass Congress by using executive orders to address eviction protections, unemployment benefits, and a term-limited payroll tax cut suspension.

I feel optimistic that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but how long that tunnel is remains to be seen, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday evening.

5.4 million. Thats how many Americans will be unable to cover their basic expenses this month without the CARES Acts $600-per-week federal unemployment supplement, according to a new Morning Consult poll. The studys authors also emphasized that its unlikely that these payments discourage workers from returning to their jobs, and that slashing the paymentsa major priority for the GOPprobably wont boost overall employment numbers. It is unlikely the decrease in [unemployment insurance] benefit payments in August will drive an increase in employment, the study says.

A critical meeting between Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is scheduled for Thursday evening. The meeting could be the determining factor in whether the negotiators have a deal tomorrowthe deadline they imposed for themselves earlier this weekor not.

McConnell Says Senate Will Delay Recess To Negotiate, But Some GOP Leaders Dont Think A Deal Is Coming (Forbes)

Second Stimulus: Heres What It Looks Like It Will Include (Forbes)

McConnell: Im Prepared To Support A Coronavirus Stimulus Bill That Includes $600 Unemployment Checks (Forbes)

A New Small Business Relief ProposalEven Bigger Than The PPPCould Be Part Of The Next Stimulus Bill (Forbes)

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Stimulus Talks Drag OnWith Little ProgressAfter Another Week Of Lapsed Unemployment Benefits And Eviction Protections - Forbes

Tesla Giga Austin Surprises With Fast Pace Of Progress: August 7, 2020 – InsideEVs

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We are accustomed to the fact that Tesla's gigafactory projects are massive and get built very fast, but work at the Tesla Giga Austin in Texas might raise the bar even higher.

It seems that the company has contracted a high number of people and equipment to clear the plot and prepare the site for construction. Things are changing quickly on a large scale, despite there being some serious swamps that have to be reclaimed. It's probably not the best ground to build on, but after removing the topsoil and then building up layer by layer, it should be fine to build massive structures.

Here we have two new videos, first from Terafactory Texas (record on August 7) and the second from Jeff Roberts (recorded on August 6), which both revealed huge progress compared to just several days ago.

The work has to progress at such a quick pace if Tesla really wants to produce Semi and Cybertruck before the end of 2021.

Tesla Gigafactory 5 in Austin, Texas - summary:

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Tesla Giga Austin Surprises With Fast Pace Of Progress: August 7, 2020 - InsideEVs

Seahawks targeting Clay Matthews, Everson Griffen after no progress on Jadeveon Clowney talks, per report – CBS Sports

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Watch Now: Pete Carroll 'Open' to Josh Gordon Coming Back (2:40)

Safety might not be the only position getting a big-name addition in Seattle. Months after allowing star pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney to hit free agency, the Seahawks "appear to have moved on" from their 2019 trade acquisition, according to NFL Network's Mike Silver. And they've got two names on their radar as potential replacements, per Silver: Clay Matthews and Everson Griffen.

Reports have long indicated that Clowney, who remains unsigned, turned down a sizable offer from the Seahawks to stay in Seattle. Silver indicates that deal would have paid him more than $15 million in 2020 -- a sign that the former No. 1 overall pick hasn't dropped his initial asking price as much as anticipated. Upon hitting the open market, Clowney was reportedly seeking upwards of $20 million per season, though some believed that demand fell to between $17-18 million early in free agency.

Either way, as has been speculated before, the Seahawks don't appear anywhere close to reuniting with the defensive lineman, hence their reported interest in Matthews and Griffen.

Griffen, the longtime Minnesota Vikings starter, has reportedly been on Seattle's wish list since March. The 32-year-old four-time Pro Bowler hasn't ruled out a return to Minnesota but reportedly elected not to sign with any team until the NFL finalized COVID-19 protocols and permitted him to physically visit team facilities.

Matthews, meanwhile, has had a quiet market since the Los Angeles Rams released him in March. A six-time Pro Bowler best known for his days with the Green Bay Packers, the 34-year-old has more experience standing up as a pass rusher and has played a full season just once in the last four years. But he's also fresh off an eight-sack season and would instantly give the Seahawks' defense another experienced front-seven presence.

The Seahawks are estimated to have just under $10 million in salary cap space entering the 2020 season.

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Seahawks targeting Clay Matthews, Everson Griffen after no progress on Jadeveon Clowney talks, per report - CBS Sports

New appointees to Franciss financial powerhouse signal progress of women – Crux: Covering all things Catholic

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ROME Pope Francis has long advocated for a more incisive presence of women in positions of authority and leadership in the Vatican, and while some have complained about the pace at which changes are being made, the recent appointment of six women to the Vaticans chief financial office has jolted things into warp drive.

On Thursday, the Vatican announced that Francis had named two women each from Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom to his 15-member Council for the Economy.

He also named one Italian layman and replaced six of the original eight cardinals on the council, naming Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark as the only American, and leaving in place German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich as the bodys coordinator.

Established by the pope in 2014 with a 5-year term for members, the body oversees Vatican finances. The bodys statutes stipulate that the majority of members must be either cardinals or bishops, who are always male, however, until yesterday no woman has ever been named to the council.

Last year rumors went out that the Vatican was searching for a woman to take the place of Australian Cardinal George Pell, who at the time was jailed on charges of historical sexual abuse but who has since been acquitted, as head of the Vaticans Secretariat for the Economy. However, in November 2019 Francis appointed Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero to the post.

The appointment of six women to the Council of the Economy now marks one of the most significant moves Pope Francis has made in making good on his many affirmations of the importance of women and their input.

In his speech to the Roman Curia right before Christmas in December 2016, Francis said that of great importance in Vatican reform is an enhanced role for women and lay people in the life of the Church and their integration into roles of leadership in the dicasteries, with particular attention to multiculturalism.

In a speech to consultants of the Vatican office for Laity, Family and Life in November 2019, he stressed that the Church must not be afraid to include women in advisory positions, also in governance.

At the time, he stressed that women are not mere functionaries, but that their advice is very important.

In 2017 Pope Francis named Barbara Jatta, an Italian art historian, as head of the Vatican Museums. Earlier this year, he appointed Francesca Di Giovanni, who has long been on staff at the Vaticans Secretariat of State, as an undersecretary in that office.

Francis has also appointed two laywomen, Gabriella Gambino and Linda Ghisoni, as undersecretaries for the Vatican office for Laity, Family and Life.

Women named to the Council for the Economy include German Professor Charlotte Kreuter-Kirchhof, a professor of law at Heinrich-Heine University Dusseldorf and chairperson of the Hildegaris Association, an organization of Catholic women in Germany dedicated to assisting female students in need, and Marija Kolak, a mother of three who currently serves as president of The National Association of German Cooperative Banks.

Members from Spain include Maria Concepcion Osacar Garaicoechea, a founding partner of the Azora Group assent management company and is a trustee of the Official credit Institute Foundation and a member of the Governing Board of the Association of management progress. A mother of two, Osacar Garaicoechea has also held numerous positions with banks and other investment companies.

Also from Spain is Eva Castillo Sanz, who holds a degree in Law and Business Studies from the Pontifical University of Comillas in Madrid, and who sits on the board of directors for Spanish Bank Bankia S.A., and for the Zardoya Otis S.A. company developing equipment such as elevators, escalators and moving walkways.

She has held numerous other positions, including director of Merrill Lynch Private Banking for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and she also served as president of Merrill Lynch Spain and Portugal.

Ruth Mary Kelly, who served as the UK Secretary of State for Education from 2004-2008 before joining the HSBC Global Asset Management company as Global Head of Client Strategy is also a new member. Kelly is currently Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at St. Marys University, Twickenham in south-west London.

The last woman to be named to the council is also from Great Britain: Harvard-educated Lesile Jane Ferrar, who served as treasurer for Prince Charles from 2015-2017.

In addition, Italian layman Alberto Minali, who holds a degree in Political Economy from the Bocconi University in Verona and has held numerous positions at financial and insurance companies, has also been named to the council.

Aside from Tobin, new members of the hierarchy who were named include Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo of Budapest; Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer of Sao Paolo; Canadian Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix of Quebec; Swedish Cardinal Anders Aborelius of Stockholm; and Italian Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi of LAquila.

While Francis has closed the door to womens priestly ordination and has punted on the question of women deacons, he has continued to speak out about the need for women in leadership, and has acknowledged the abuse of women religious at the hands of male clergy.

In a recent interview SomosCONFER, the official publication of the Conference of Spanish Religious, an umbrella organization for religious congregations in Spain, Brazilian Cardinal Braz de Aviz criticized what he said is a state of dominance that men often hold over women in the Catholic Church.

RELATED: Vatican official laments system of dominance, submission for women religious

In the interview, Braz de Aviz noted that, In many cases, the relationship between consecrated men and women represents a sick system of relations of submission and dominance that takes away the sense of freedom and joy, calling the dynamic, a misunderstood obedience.

In an interview published in the May edition of the Vatican newspapers monthly womens insert, Woman, Church, World, Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet said there is a dysfunctional relationship between men and women in the Church, and called for more women to be involved not only in positions of leadership, but also priestly formation.

RELATED: Female theologians back Ouellet: Seminaries need women involved in formation

The real danger, are men who do not have a balanced relationship with women. This is what we must radically change, he said, insisting that frequent exchanges with women help seminarians interact with them in a natural way, and to face the challenges represented by the presence of women.

This must be taught and learned from the beginning, not isolating priests who then find themselves brutally in reality, [because] then they can lose control, he said.

Follow Elise Ann Allen on Twitter:@eliseannallen

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New appointees to Franciss financial powerhouse signal progress of women - Crux: Covering all things Catholic

Artist Abel Azcona Calls on His Native Spain to Atone for Its Colonial Legacy – Artsy

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Espaa os pide perdn has now become a collaborative project, where artists from over 20 Latin American cities so far have volunteered to place the posters in their countries of residence. The plan is to continue the installations journey through more cities until 2022. So far, the project includes Havana, Cuba; Mexico City, Mexico; Lima, Peru; Caracas, Venezuela; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago de Chile, Chile; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Montevideo, Uruguay; La Paz, Bolivia; Panama City, Panama; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and Quito and Cuenca, Ecuador. Each group of collaborators has the freedom to decide exactly where to place the posters, often using strategic public spaces like historic monuments.

The ephemerality of the posters are preserved through photographs, which are widely shared on social media. By engaging both physical and online spaces, Azcona conceptualizes the piece as a collective performance where the audience becomes an active participant every time someone reacts or comments in real life, as well as on the internet.

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Artist Abel Azcona Calls on His Native Spain to Atone for Its Colonial Legacy - Artsy

The Coronavirus Could Be Controlled by October With the Right Steps – The New York Times

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Six to eight weeks. Thats how long some of the nations leading public health experts say it would take to finally get the United States coronavirus epidemic under control. If the country were to take the right steps, many thousands of people could be spared from the ravages of Covid-19. The economy could finally begin to repair itself, and Americans could start to enjoy something more like normal life.

Six to eight weeks. For proof, look at Germany. Or Thailand. Or France. Or nearly any other country in the world.

In the United States, after a brief period of multistate curve-flattening, case counts and death tolls are rising in so many places that Dr. Deborah Birx, the Trump administrations coronavirus response coordinator, described the collective uptick as a sprawling new phase of the pandemic. Rural communities are as troubled as urban ones, and even clear victories over the virus, in places like New York and Massachusetts, feel imperiled.

At the same time, Americans are fatigued from spending months under semi-lockdown. Bars and restaurants are reopening in some places, for indoor service and debates are underway over if and when and how to do the same for schools even as the virus continues to spread unchecked. Long delays in testing have become an accepted norm: It can still take up to two weeks to get results in some places. As the national death toll climbs above 160,000, mask wearing is still not universal.

Its no mystery how America got here. The Trump administrations response has been disjointed and often contradictory, indifferent to science, suffused with politics and eager to hand off responsibility to state leaders. Among the states, the response has also been wildly uneven.

Its also no surprise where the country is headed. Unless something changes quickly, millions more people will be sickened by the virus, and well over a million may ultimately die from it. The economy will contract further as new surges of viral spread overwhelm hospitals and force further shutdowns and compound suffering, especially in low-income communities and communities of color.

The path to avoiding those outcomes is as clear as the failures of the past several months.

Scientists have learned a lot about this coronavirus since the first cases were reported in the United States earlier this year. For instance, they know now that airborne transmission is a far greater risk than contaminated surfaces, that the virus spreads through singing and shouting as much as through coughing, and that while any infected person is a potential vector, superspreading events as in nursing homes, meatpacking plants, churches and bars are major drivers of the pandemic. By most estimates, just 10 to 20 percent of coronavirus infections account for 80 percent of transmissions.

Experts have also learned a lot about what it takes to get a coronavirus outbreak under control. Most of the necessary steps are the same ones public health experts have been urging for months.

Just because America has largely bungled these steps so far doesnt mean it cant turn things around. The nation can do better. It must.

President Trump and his closest advisers have repeatedly contradicted the scientific evidence, and even themselves, on the severity of the pandemic and the best ways to respond to it. Theyve sown confusion on the importance of mask wearing, the dangers of large gatherings, the potential of untested treatments, the availability of testing and the basic matter of who is in charge of what in the pandemic response.

That confusion seems to have bred a national apathy and a dangerous partisanship over public health measures that will be difficult to undo. But leaders at every level can improve the situation by coordinating their messaging: Masks are essential and will be required in all public places. Social distancing is a civic responsibility. The virus is not going away anytime soon, but we can get it under control quickly if we work together.

Such messaging works best when it comes from the very top, but state and local leaders dont have to wait for federal leaders to step up.

As Dr. Tom Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has noted: The United States has a glut of data and a dearth of information.

Data on who is getting sick and where is not being used to guide interventions, and crucial figures like test result times and the portion of new cases that were found through contact tracing are not consistently or routinely reported. If scientists had better access to such figures, they could use it to forecast Covid-19 conditions the same way they forecast the weather: warning when a given outbreak is spreading and advising people to adjust their plans accordingly. State and local leaders can make all their data public, and the C.D.C. ought to help them get that data into a usable form.

In places like Melbourne, Australia, and Harris County, Texas, health officials have created numerical and color-coded threat assessments that tell officials and citizens exactly what to do, based on how extensively the coronavirus is spreading in their communities. The highest alert levels call for full-on shelter in place, while the lowest call for careful monitoring of high-risk establishments.

It would behoove the C.D.C. to create a similar, evidence-based scale and work with state and local leaders to employ it in individual communities. In places where the virus is still rampant, that would mean much more aggressive shutdowns than have been carried out in the past. (The United States has not had a true national lockdown, shuttering only about half the country, compared with 90 percent in other countries with more successful outbreak control.)

Smarter shutdowns may also mean closing bars and indoor dining in many places so schools there can reopen more safely; closing meat processing plants until better protections are in place; and tightening state borders in a sensible, as-needed fashion.

The most consistent mantra of experts trying to get the coronavirus pandemic under control has been that the nation needs much better testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine protocols. Despite examples across the globe for how to achieve all four, the United States has largely failed on these fronts. Testing delays make contact tracing not to mention isolation and quarantine impossible to execute.

To resolve the crisis, federal officials need to commandeer the intellectual property of companies that have developed effective rapid diagnostics and utilize the Defense Production Act to make and distribute as many of those tests as possible. As testing is brought up to speed, officials also need to expand contact tracing and quarantine programs so that once outbreaks are brought under control, states are prepared to keep them in check.

The causes of Americas great pandemic failure run deep, exacerbated by innumerable longstanding problems, from a weak public health infrastructure to institutional racism to systemic inequality in health care, housing and employment. If the pandemic forces the nation to meaningfully grapple with any of those issues, then perhaps all this suffering will not have been in vain. But that work cant really begin until Americans solve the problem thats right in front of them, with the tools that are already at their disposal.

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The Coronavirus Could Be Controlled by October With the Right Steps - The New York Times