Month: August 2022

Categories
US

Democrats propose legislation to block Trump’s Schedule F plans

Democrats propose legislation to block Trump's Schedule F plans

Six Democratic senators introduced legislation preventing federal civil service positions from being reclassified outside of a merit-based system, protecting tens of thousands of federal employees.

Why it matters: It follows reporting from Axios’ Jonathan Swan on former President Trump’s plans to replace huge chunks of government employees with his own army of tens of thousands of loyalists by establishing a new Schedule F employment category for federal employees.

The details: The new bill would prevent any position in the federal civil service from being reclassified outside of merit system principles without the express consent of Congress.

  • The bill, led by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), is also co-sponsored by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D- Md.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.).

In the House, Rep. Gerry Connelly (D-Va.) introduced legislation co-sponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) that was passed this month.

  • Connelly has consistently raised alarm about the need to protect the civil service. “Congress must assert itself and ensure no future president can repeat what Trump has already tried to do once, and now is reportedly planning to do again,” Connelly wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece citing Axios reporting.

What they’re saying: “Our civil service plays an invaluable role in everything from our national security to the administration of Social Security benefits, and it’s in Americans’ best interest that those positions be filled with the most qualified applicants,” Kaine said in a statement.

  • “Workplace protections for federal workers exist for a reason: so any one administration cannot fire career employees and install their own political appointees,” Feinstein said in a statement.
  • The last thing we need is for a president to fire dedicated and experienced public servants and replace them with sycophants and grifters without the skills to carry out the functions of government within the rule of law,” Cardin said in a statement.
  • “Keeping partisan politics out of our civil service is crucial to upholding its integrity and maintaining an efficient and effective federal government,” Van Hollen said in a statement.

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Categories
Technology

Apex Legends adds laser sight attachments for SMGs, pistols

Apex Legends adds laser sight attachments for SMGs, pistols

If you’ve played Apex Legends for any length of time in the past, you’re probably well aware of how dominant shotguns and SMGs were in the meta. Over time, however, the map began to grow, leading players to start using mid and long-range weapons, such as sniper rifles and assault rifles, leaving many to wonder why anyone would use an SMG if they didn’t have to.

That’s fixing to change with the new season. In Season 14: Hunted, new attachments for SMGs and pistols are on their way. This attachment, a laser sight, will reduce bullet spread when players fire from the hip — which is the intended way to use such short-range weapons. These laser sights will replace the barrel stabilizer in-game for the barrel attachment slot.

For colourblind players or players that like to change things up, you’re able to change the color of the laser pointer in your game settings. A welcome inclusion, as I can’t imagine light red against green grass is easily visible in the heat of battle.

In addition to this change, Kings Canyon has been reworked heavily. New areas, new routes, new points of interest and more were designed to encourage close-range combat and shift away from the sniper and rifle-heavy meta of previous seasons.

The new Season starts off August 10th, featuring plenty of changes alongside a new Legend — Vantage. We’ll have plenty of info about her in future articles.

Be sure to hit up our Apex Legends – Season 14 hub for more on the new Season: Hunted.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF.

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Categories
Australia

Parliament to debate climate change bill as Greens prepare to reveal stance on crucial vote

Chris Bowen pointing his finger while making a speech.

The Greens are set to reveal their stance on the federal government’s proposed climate change bill as parliamentarians on all sides have their say on the legislation.
The government’s proposal enshrines an emissions reduction target of 43 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050, and will also require the minister of the day to report annually to parliament on the nation’s progress toward that goal.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt will reveal the outcome of a party meeting on Tuesday night, when members debated the proposal, at an address to the National Press Club on Wednesday.

Negotiations between Mr Bandt and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen have been ongoing after the Greens expressed initial concerns with the bill.
Labor needs the support of all 12 Greens senators plus one crossbencher in order to pass the upper house. While emissions reductions targets were important, it was more important to introduce policies to uphold them, Mr Bowen said.
“The other thing that’s important to get investment in renewable energy and to get the targets underway is certainty and policy frameworks being legislated,” he told parliament on Tuesday.
“Not only does Australia now have a government that gets it, we have a parliament that gets it too and will provide that policy certainty and framework for investors right around the world.”
Independent MPs Helen Haines and Kate Chaney are absent from parliament this week after testing positive to COVID-19, but other crossbenchers will propose amendments in their names.
Ms Chaney’s amendment would ensure the bill clearly states that its intention is to actually drive climate action and is linked to science.
“The science shows a target of at least 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 is needed,” she said in a statement.
“But I am keen to lock in this progress and continue to work with the government to pursue the opportunities presented by this necessary shift in our economic activity.”
Dr Haine’s amendments would ensure regional Australia benefits from action on climate change.
A meeting of Liberal and Nationals MPs and senators on Tuesday affirmed their opposition to the bill.

The coalition will develop its own climate policy in time for the next election which will include updated targets beyond their existing 26 to 28 per cent reduction proposal.

Categories
US

Port of New York and New Jersey battles a shipping container pile-up

Port of New York and New Jersey battles a shipping container pile-up

The Port of New York and New Jersey announced new tariffs on Tuesday related to empty containers and export volume in its battle to decrease container congestion. Both loaded and empty containers that are considered long-dwelling will be subject to a quarterly “container imbalance fee.” The tariff will be effective as of September 1, pending the mandatory federal 30-day notice.

The Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest port on the East Coast and the third-largest in the nation. Products that were recently processed through customs in July range from BMW motorcycles and dresses for David’s Bridal out of China, parts for Plug Power, a gas cooker for Tractor Supply, and a “12 Days of Beauty Box” for Target.

But just like other ports, the Port of New York and New Jersey has processed record volumes of import containers during the pandemic and has seen these import containers wait longer at the terminals. These containers have clogged land capacity and slowed down port productivity. As a result, more vessels wait at anchor.

Under the new tariff, ocean carriers who do not move empty containers out of the port will be charged $100 per container. The port’s new container export levels mandate that export volumes must equal or exceed 110% of an ocean carrier’s incoming container volume during the same period. If that benchmark is not met, the ocean carrier will be assessed a fee of $100 per container for failing to hit this benchmark. Both loaded and empty containers are included in the import container count. Rail volume is excluded.

Record cargo volume, excess containers

Surrounding land is also being used by the port to make room for the excess containers. The port created temporary storage for both empty containers and long-dwelling import containers in a 12-acre lot within the Port Newark and the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal. The port is also in negotiations and researching additional areas that could be used for storage space.

“As we continue to manage record cargo volume and work with our tenants and port stakeholders for the removal of empty containers in a timely manner, we call on all industry stakeholders to find sustainable, long-term solutions to an industrywide problem affecting many US ports ,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole.

The decrease in productivity can be seen in the increased travel time of vessels. The increased anchorage times can be tracked in the vessel transit time from China to the Port of New York and New Jersey.

“The Port of New York and New Jersey is facing record import volumes, leading to empty containers accumulating in and around the port complex that are now affecting the regional supply chain that is already under stress from various sources across the country,” said Bethann Rooney , director of the Port Department at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “We emphatically encourage ocean carriers to step up their efforts to evacuate empty containers quicker and at higher volumes to free up much needed capacity for arriving imports in order to keep commerce moving through the port and the region.”

European goods and German port stresses

East Coast ports like New York receive a lot of goods from Europe, where trade has been severely impacted by ongoing labor strife at both ports and rails. Exports bound for the United States are at least two months late.

Among the thousands of containers that were imported into the Port of New York and New Jersey in the month of July, according to a review of customs data using ImportGenius, there was wine from Spain, pasta, Prosecco and Giorgio Armani suits from Italy, and furniture from France.

Planet, a new contributor to the CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map, captured photos to show the impact of the rail strikes that have left a crush of containers at the rail terminals in Hamburg. Because of extensive cloud cover in July, the comparisons are between May 15, 2022 and June 11, 2022. The buildup of containers can clearly be seen. With the labor strife continuing, the number of containers has grown, according to logistics experts, and that is slowing down trade.

Hamburg rail terminal comparisons

Planet

“The rail situation in the Ports of Germany, especially in Hamburg, remains stressed and the congestion is increasing,” said Andreas Braun, Europe, Middle East, and Africa ocean product director of Crane Worldwide Logistics.

Rail operators constantly miss their normal delivery and pick up windows, and can still not deliver laden containers to the terminal earlier than seven days prior to loading. Due to the summer passenger schedule, container train operators have to give right of way to the increased amount of passenger trains, which additionally contributes to the delays.

“At least one week of delays is normal by now however, that can go up to two weeks and the constant threat that you miss the vessel,” Braun said.

The CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map data providers are artificial intelligence and predictive analytics company Everstream Analytics; global freight booking platform Freightos, creator of the Freightos Baltic Dry Index; logistics provider OL USA; supply chain intelligence platform FreightWaves; supply chain platform Blume Global; third-party logistics provider Orient Star Group; marine analytics firm MarineTraffic; maritime visibility data company Project44; maritime transport data company MDS Transmodal UK; ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform Xeneta; leading provider of research and analysis Sea-Intelligence ApS; Crane Worldwide Logistics; and air, DHL Global Forwarding; freight logistics provider Seko Logistics; and Planet, provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions.

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Categories
Technology

Street Fighter developer breaks sales milestones with multiple titles

Street Fighter developer breaks sales milestones with multiple titles

Capcom, the developer and publisher of several popular titles like Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, and Resident Evil, recently updated its list of “Platinum Titles” — titles that have sold over one million copies. These numbers are recent as of June 30, 2022.

While Capcom publishes regular updates to its Platinum Titles, several of the updates included in the recent filing include huge milestones for popular titles, such as Monster Hunter Rise and Resident Evil Village.

Here is a list of the biggest updates:

• Monster Hunter Rise (Switch/PC) sold 10.3 million units, with an additional 1.3 million units since March 31.

• Devil May Cry 5 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) sold 5.7 million units, with an additional 700,000 since March 31.

• Resident Evil Village (PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, PC) sold over 6.4 million units, with an additional 300,000 since March 31.

• Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (PS4, Xbox One, PC) has sold over 9.5 million units, adding 300,000 since March 31.

• Resident Evil 3 (Remake) (PS4, Xbox One, PC) sold over 5.4 million units, adding only 200,000 since March 31.

• Resident Evil 2 (Remake) (PS4, Xbox One, PC) sold over 9.8 million units, adding only 200,000 since March 31.

• Resident Evil 7 biohazard (PS4, Xbox One, PC) broke the 11 million unit threshold, adding 200,000 sales since March 31.

• Devil May Cry HD Collection (PS4, Xbox One, PC) finally entered the Platinum Title list, selling over 1.1 million copies.

While it shows that Resident Evil 2 (Remake) reached 9.8 million units, in the month since June 30, it was confirmed that the title pushed over the 10 million copies sold hurdle.

While these numbers are fantastic for Capcom’s game division, not everything is sunshine and roses. Resident Evil fans are not happy about the recent Netflix series that launched a few weeks ago, as it only tangentially relates to the existing franchise. Capcom is also set to reveal new information about its upcoming fighter, Street Fighter 6, at this weekend’s fighting game world championship Evo.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF.

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Categories
Sports

Kyle Chalmers wins ‘bittersweet’ 100 meters freestyle gold at the Commonwealth Games, father Brett calls out media ‘bullying’

Kyle Chalmers wins 'bittersweet' 100 meters freestyle gold at the Commonwealth Games, father Brett calls out media 'bullying'

Kyle Chalmers said it took all his strength and courage to win his third gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the men’s 100m freestyle.

It wasn’t his fastest swim, but he said it was “bigger than just me racing”.

“It’s very, very bittersweet. It’s been the most-challenging, probably 48 hours of my swimming career,” Chalmers said.

“And, as much as it’s nice to win, it’s probably just a big sense of relief, rather than the satisfaction that I thought I’d feel and want to feel after a performance like that.”

Chalmers has been the center of intense scrutiny over his personal life, and it came to a head at the Sandwell Aquatics Center a couple of nights ago, where he faced more questioning over unsourced rumors about rifts in the team after winning the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay .

The 24-year-old considered walking away, and admitted he barely slept ahead of the 100m freestyle heats.

But I have pushed on to send a message.

Kyle Chalmers holds a finger to his lips in the Commonwealth Games pool.
Gold medalist Kyle Chalmers sent a message to the media after weeks of intense scrutiny.(AP: Kirsty Wigglesworth)

“I’ve definitely had big battles with mental health over a long time, and it’s one of the most-challenging things that I’ve had to face and see my teammates face and family face,” he said.

“I think it’s important that people have the courage to stand up and speak about it.

“I’ve been around for a while and I need to create the conversation and try to help people going through similar things and just make it more normal.

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Categories
Australia

Prominent business figure resigns after racially insensitive comments

Prominent business figure resigns after racially insensitive comments

The Property Council of Australia is one of Australia’s pre-eminent bodies representing property developers and builders.

The Victorian division has been destabilized by the controversy, which was first reported in The Age last week. Senior managers from the national office in Sydney flew to Melbourne two weeks ago to speak to staff about the matter.

Council chief executive Ken Morrison wrote to property companies affiliated to the peak body arguing it was “completely inaccurate” to suggest that the complaint was handled slowly or inappropriately. However, he admitted it would have been optimal to communicate with member organizations before media outlets reported the incident.

“I want to make clear from the very outset that we have taken this matter very seriously,” Morrison said in an email obtained by The Age. “Danni has taken responsibility for the impact of her conduct on her and has provided a full apology, and I have also applied a number of other strong and appropriate consequences.

“The person who raised the matter was at all times treated with respect… We are also supporting Danni, who is currently on leave.”

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Council sources said some staff in the Victorian branch felt the organization lacked cultural sensitivity and accepted casual racism in everyday conversation.

There has been a considerable staff turnover at the Victorian branch recently, including the departure of two of Hunter’s deputy executive directors to rival organisations. The turnover is unrelated to Hunter’s comments on him.

Hunter, who worked for Opposition Leader Matthew Guy when he was planning minister in the Baillieu-Napthine government, has been touted as a future Liberal Party MP.

The corporate figure rose to one of the most high-profile peak body leadership positions at a relatively young age.

Her relationship with the Andrews government deteriorated during the pandemic when she was a forceful critic of some government lockdown policies that contributed to financial losses for the council’s member companies deprived of rental income as people worked from home.

The relationship reached its nadir during a debate over a Victorian government proposal to tax developers to pay for public housing in exchange for speedier planning approvals.

Premier Daniel Andrews punished Hunter and accused her of reneging on an agreement to publicly support the tax. Hunter denies any such agreement existed.

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Categories
US

Liz Cheney touts Kevin Costner’s endorsment in a tweet

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., vice chair of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 US Capitol insurrection, delivers her "Time for Choosing" speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in Simi Valley, Calif. The speech is part of a series focusing on the conservative movement to address critical questions facing the future of the Republican Party.

Categories
Business

City chief: Market Square ‘a feasting sore’

City chief: Market Square 'a feasting sore'

Market Square UK 2022Geelong’s Market Square shopping center and Busport transport interchange have been described as “festering sores” in an extraordinary speech by the City of Greater Geelong’s highest ranking officer.

The outburst took many city councillors by surprise, with a source telling Geelong Broadcasters the CEO’s frank comments were certain to be discussed at tonight’s scheduled meeting.

Martin Cutter’s address to a business luncheon last week included criticisms of what he views as the city’s dependence on cars at the expense of “active transport” options such as bicycles.

According to the Geelong Advertiser Mr Cutter, who will finish up next month after cutting his contract short, laid bare his intense dislike for the bus exchange.

“I hate it. I think we all hate it,” he reportedly said.

“It needs to go, it needs to be shifted – it needs to be improved.”

Martin Cutter credit CoGGCouncilor Eddy Kontelj told Geelong Broadcasters he agreed that the bus terminal was problematic.

“We should be doing something about it and the state government should be doing something about it,” Cr Kontelj said.

“I just wish that Martin had used his voice earlier on to express the concerns that we have around that issue.”

Cr Kontelj was more guarded about his thoughts on the privately-owned Market Square, saying the city needed to be “in the tent” with the facility’s owners and trying to forge a way forward.

“What we can’t do is be just throwing blows through the media. What we need to be doing is working with the owners of the property to try and find a solution.”

Mr Cutter pointed to Melbourne’s Emporium as an example of what shopping center improvements can achieve.

“It’s easy for me to say, I don’t have the investment funds, council doesn’t have the investment funds, but it’s not working, something needs to be done in the area to lift that,” he told the event, which was hosted by the Urban Development Institute of Australia.

He also took aim at overwhelming criticism of the city’s controversial bike lanes.

“We all have an opinion about bike lanes. We can all be critical about the way they look and what they do, but if we’re going to make Geelong different we need to invest in active transport.

“We can’t keep making more roads, it will not fix what our problems are – it’s about being visionary, about looking to the future and deciding what we want Geelong to look like and not just asking for more cars to come into the center of the city.”

Mr Cutter announced his resignation in early July, saying he wanted to focus on ‘personal pursuits’ and spend time with his family.

Image: (top) Market Square [Geelong Broadcasters]; (middle) outgoing CoGG CEO Martin Cutter (City of Greater Geelong)

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Categories
Technology

Bacteria powering truly green revolution in personal electronics

Bacteria powering truly green revolution in personal electronics

AMHERST, Mass. – Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently announced that they have figured out how to engineer a biofilm that harvests the energy in evaporation and converts it to electricity. This biofilm, which was announced in Nature Communications, has the potential to revolutionize the world of wearable electronics, powering everything from personal medical sensors to personal electronics.

“This is a very exciting technology,” says Xiaomeng Liu, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering at UMass Amherst’s College of Engineering and the paper’s lead author. “It is real green energy, and unlike other so-called ‘green-energy’ sources, its production is totally green.”

That’s because this biofilm—a thin sheet of bacterial cells about the thickness of a sheet of paper—is produced naturally by an engineered version of the bacteria Geobacter sulfurreducens. G. sulfurreducens is known to produce electricity and has been used previously in “microbial batteries” to power electrical devices. But such batteries require that G. sulfurreducens is properly cared for and fed a constant diet. By contrast, this new biofilm, which can supply as much, if not more, energy than a comparably sized battery, works, and works continuously, because it is dead. And because it’s dead, it doesn’t need to be fed.

“It’s much more efficient,” says Derek Lovley, Distinguished Professor of Microbiology at UMass Amherst and one of the paper’s senior authors. “We’ve simplified the process of generating electricity by radically cutting back on the amount of processing needed. We sustainably grow the cells in a biofilm, and then use that agglomeration of cells. This cuts the energy inputs, makes everything simpler and widens the potential applications.”

The secret behind this new biofilm is that it makes energy from the moisture on your skin. Though we daily read stories about solar power, at least 50% of the solar energy reaching the earth goes toward evaporating water. “This is a huge, untapped source of energy,” says Jun Yao, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UMass, and the paper’s other senior author. Since the surface of our skin is constantly moist with sweat, the biofilm can “plug-in” and convert the energy locked in evaporation into enough energy to power small devices.

“The limiting factor of wearable electronics,” says Yao, “has always been the power supply. Batteries run down and have to be changed or charged. They are also bulky, heavy, and uncomfortable.” But a clear, small, thin flexible biofilm that produces a continuous and steady supply of electricity and which can be worn, like a Band-Aid, as a patch applied directly to the skin, solves all these problems.

What makes this all work is that G. sulfurreducens grows in colonies that look like thin mats, and each of the individual microbes connects to its neighbors through a series of natural nanowires. The team then harvests these mats and uses a laser to etch small circuits into the films. Once the films are etched, they’re sandwiched between electrodes and finally sealed in a soft, sticky, breathable polymer that you can apply directly to your skin. Once this tiny battery is “plugged in” by applying it to your body, it can power small devices.

“Our next step is to increase the size of our films to power more sophisticated skin-wearable electronics,” says Yao, and Liu points out that one of the goals is to power entire electronic systems, rather than single devices.

This research was nurtured by the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) at UMass Amherst, which combines deep and interdisciplinary expertise from 29 departments to translate fundamental research into innovations that benefit human health and well-being.

/PublicRelease. This material from the originating organization/author(s) may be of a point-in-time nature, edited for clarity, style and length. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s).