Tag: building

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Entertainment

‘Adopting Audrey’ Assessment: Constructing a New Dwelling Out of Nothing

‘Adopting Audrey’ Review: Building a New Home Out of Nothing

“Adopting Audrey,” the second feature film from the director M. Cahill (“King of California”), resembles many of the quirky domestic dramas that have populated the film festival circuit since “Little Miss Sunshine.” There’s a wayward young woman (Jena Malone) searching for guidance, and a gruff patriarch, Otto (Robert Hunger-Bühler), in need of human connection to soften his heart. There’s an absurd twist to this stock premise, however: The wayward adult, Audrey, would like to be adopted, which is how she meets Otto and his forlorn wife, Sunny (Emily Kuroda).

As presented in the film, it’s a little too outlandish to get behind. While the film is based on a true story, the stilted dialogue and hackneyed attempts at drama make it difficult to suspend disbelief for this fictionalized version.

Audrey draws suspicion from Otto’s adult children, John (Will Rogers) and Gretchen (Brooke Bloom), who suspect their relationship is sexual in nature, but that plotline ends abruptly with a sudden freak accident. Sunny’s misery is treated as a shrug at best and a punchline at worst. And Cahill’s attempt to characterize Audrey’s neuroses — her watching puppy videos on her phone for hours on end — might be the laziest effort at capturing millennial malaise.

The one bright spot of “Adopting Audrey” is the acting from Malone and Hunger-Bühler, who imbue their characters with more pathos than they probably deserve. Malone especially has made a welcomed return to a protagonist role — hopefully one she can replicate with more substantial material.

Adopting Audrey
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 32 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.

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Health

NIH director says new Israel information is constructing case within the U.S.

NIH director says new Israel data is building case in the U.S.

New data from Israel on the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines over time is causing U.S. health leaders to rethink their position on vaccine booster shots in the U.S., National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said Tuesday.

“The people who got immunized in January are the ones that are now having more breakthrough cases,” Collins said during an interview on “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” referring to Covid infections in fully vaccinated individuals. Israel released new data Monday showing a reduction in the effectiveness of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine against severe illness among people 65 and older who were fully vaccinated in January or February.

NIH Director Fr. Francis Collins holds up a model of the coronavirus as he testifies before a hearing looking into the budget estimates for National Institute of Health (NIH) and the state of medical research on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on May 26, 2021.

Sarah Silbiger | AFP | Getty Images

Collins said the rise in so-called breakthrough cases in Israel is likely due to a combination of the highly contagious delta variant and Covid vaccine protection waning over time.

“Mostly, of course, these are symptomatic, but not serious,” he said. “But you’re starting to see a little bit of a trend toward some of those requiring hospitalization.”

Collins’ comments come as federal health officials are expected to recommend that most people in the U.S. who are eligible for Covid vaccinations should get booster shots eight months after their second doses.

The federal guidance, which would apply only to the two-shot Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, could go into effect as early as mid-September, pending FDA authorization, a person familiar with the discussions told CNBC.

The New York Times reported Monday that federal health officials are particularly concerned about data from Israel, where Covid vaccinations began ahead of many other countries. The data reportedly showed that for people vaccinated in January who are age 65 and older, the Pfizer vaccine was less than 55% effective against severe disease and hospitalization.

Collins said Tuesday that federal officials are starting to see the same thing in U.S. data.

“Although right now, it still as if our vaccine protection is working really well,” he said. “But we don’t want to wait until it’s like oh, too late. So that’s why we’re looking at the data.”

Up until now, federal officials haven’t recommended booster doses for the general public. On Friday, they approved administering Covid booster shots of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines to Americans with weakened immune systems, which includes cancer and HIV patients and people who have had organ transplants.

Covid vaccine makers, including Pfizer and Moderna, have repeatedly contended that everyone will eventually need a booster shot and potentially extra doses every year, just like for the seasonal flu.

The NIH, Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a joint statement Tuesday saying they have a “rigorous process” to determine when boosters would be necessary.

“This process takes into account laboratory data, clinical trial data, and cohort data – which can include data from specific pharmaceutical companies, but does not rely on those data exclusively,” the agencies said. “We continue to review any new data as it becomes available and will keep the public informed.”

On Monday, Pfizer and BioNTech said they have submitted early stage clinical trial data to the FDA as part of their U.S. application seeking authorization of a Covid vaccine booster for everyone 16 and older. The companies said they would seek approval for a booster dose via a supplement to their application once the agency grants the vaccine full approval.

If the booster shots are approved, the U.S. would likely vaccinate nursing homes, health-care providers and the elderly first, Collins said Tuesday. He said “ideally” people should stick with the same manufacturer they got their first two doses from.

“But if for some reason you don’t have access to it, well, then get the other one,” he said. “Again, I’d feel more comfortable as a scientist fixing our plans on real data, and that means sticking to the same kind of vaccine that you got to begin with.”

–CNBC’s Tom Franck contributed to this report.

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Health

Moderna, Canada agree on constructing manufacturing plant

Moderna, Canada agree on building manufacturing plant

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, listens during a press conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on Friday June 4, 2021. Trudeau said 65% of eligible Canadians received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

David Kawai | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Moderna said Tuesday it had reached an agreement with the Canadian government to build a “state-of-the-art” manufacturing facility in Canada to manufacture Covid vaccines and possibly vaccines for other respiratory viruses after the country suffered from supply shortages earlier this year.

The facility is designed to give Canadians access to domestically manufactured mRNA vaccines against respiratory viruses, including Covid, seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and possibly other vaccines, pending approval, the U.S. drugmaker said.

It is also to be used “urgently” to aid the country with health emergencies with direct access to vaccines, the company said.

Moderna said it was in talks with other governments about similar collaborations.

“We are very excited to expand our presence and continue our long-term relationship with Canada,” said Patricia Gauthier, Moderna’s head of Canadian business, in a statement. “With our industry-leading mRNA technology platform and rapid drug development capabilities, we look forward to being an active participant in Canada’s robust life science ecosystem.”

Canada has suffered repeated delays and supply shortages of Covid vaccines this year as it struggled to get the vaccines from other countries that manufactured them. The problem forced the government to postpone the second vaccinations for up to 16 weeks and advise residents to “mix and match” vaccines.

The Biden government, under pressure from allies worldwide to share vaccines, announced plans in March to ship about 4 million doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine that it was not using to Mexico and Canada.

Vaccine supplies and the pace of vaccinations have increased since then, Canadian health officials said, and residents have since received their second doses.

Moderna shares fell about 3% on Tuesday just before the announcement. The stock is up more than 360% since the beginning of the year.

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World News

Constructing moral AI merchandise can put companies at aggressive benefit

Building ethical AI products can put businesses at competitive advantage

An Ubtech Walker X Robot plays Chinese chess during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2021 at the Shanghai World Expo Center on July 8, 2021 in Shanghai, China.

VCG | VCG via Getty Images

SINGAPORE – Ensuring that AI-powered services and products are ethical and trustworthy could become a competitive strength for businesses, experts said on Wednesday.

Artificial intelligence systems are already changing companies. You’ll be able to automate repetitive tasks, analyze large amounts of data, recommend content, translate languages, and even play games.

But the current scope of things AI can do is relatively narrow. Some experts say the technology is far from becoming what is known as artificial general intelligence, or AGI – which indicates the AI’s hypothetical ability to understand or learn any human intellectual task.

However, others have pointed out that despite its current limited capabilities, AI raises a number of ethical questions – such as whether the data fed into AI programs is unbiased and whether AI can be held responsible if something goes wrong.

To build trustworthy AI systems, countries and various stakeholders need to work together, said Wonki Min, a former vice minister in South Korea’s science and technology ministry who spearheaded the country’s national AI strategy.

That means working with neighboring countries as well as industry experts, academics and ordinary people who use these technologies, Min said during a panel discussion on AI governance at the Asia Tech x Singapore conference.

Requirements for building trust

Experts previously warned that inherently biased AI programs can create serious problems and compromise people’s trust in these systems. For example, facial recognition software can contain accidental racial and gender biases that can pose a threat to a specific group of people.

Trust is fundamental to getting a technology up and running to its fullest, said Andrew Wyckoff, director of the science, technology and innovation directorate at OECD who was part of the panel.

Artificial intelligence creates competitive strength for industry.

Ieva Martinkenaite

Vice President at Telenor Research

He pointed out that there are several “essential” elements to building trust in AI systems. These include: being able to transparently explain how a program works, ensuring that the program is robust, secure, secure and accountable.

Regulators are faced with the daunting task of finding a balance to encourage further AI developments and manage the risks involved. Some researchers say it is too early for politics to impose new strict rules on technology.

For their part, the OECD Principles on AI promote artificial intelligence that is “innovative, trustworthy and respects human rights and democratic values” and makes recommendations to policy makers and other stakeholders.

A competitive advantage

According to Hiroaki Kitano, President and CEO of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, building trustworthy and ethical AI systems and the governance that surrounds them could potentially become a competitive strength for companies.

The Japanese conglomerate uses AI in a variety of its products, including cameras.

For Norwegian telecommunications giant Telenor, ethical AI is “a responsible business emerging” according to Ieva Martinkenaite, Vice President at Telenor Research. She pointed out that many of the next generation telecommunications networks will be powered by AI-embedded software and that technology will be critical to new growth opportunities.

According to Martinkenaite, this requires a set of global rules and trust principles built on top of AI that are followed not only by telecommunications companies but also by global providers to whom they outsource parts of their operations. Vendors can include stakeholders such as device vendors, software companies and service companies, he added.

“Artificial intelligence creates competitive strength for the industry,” she said.

Wonki Min, currently president of the State University of New York, Korea, added that if companies fail to meet ethical standards surrounding AI, they will not survive in the marketplace. Unless governments can create a trustworthy AI environment, they would not be maximizing the benefits of the technology.

“This is why building trustworthy AI is important in order to maximize the potential benefits of AI technology, and the way we should be doing this is a global, multi-stakeholder approach,” said Min.

Categories
Politics

Trump Holds Rally in Florida, Throughout State From Constructing Catastrophe

Trump Holds Rally in Florida, Across State From Building Disaster

Former President Donald J. Trump held a Fourth of July-themed rally on Saturday night in Sarasota, Fla., across the state from where a tragedy has been unfolding for more than a week as firefighters, search dogs and emergency crews search for survivors in the collapse of a residential building just north of Miami Beach.

The political rally in the midst of a disaster that has horrified the nation became a topic of discussion among aides to the former president and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a Trump ally whose growing popularity with the former president’s supporters is becoming an increasing source of tension for both men, according to people familiar with their thinking.

After officials from the governor’s office surveyed the scene of the condominium collapse in Surfside, Fla., Adrian Lukis, chief of staff to the governor, called Michael Glassner, a longtime Trump aide who is overseeing the Florida event, according to people familiar with the discussion. In a brief conversation, Mr. Lukis inquired whether the former president planned to continue with the event given the scale of the tragedy, two people said.

He was told there were no plans to reschedule.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, Liz Harrington, said that the rally in Sarasota was “three-and-a-half hours away, approximately the same distance from Boston to New York, and will not impact any of the recovery efforts.”

She added that the former president “has instructed his team to collect relief aid for Surfside families both online and on-site at the Sarasota rally.”

After a brief moment of silence for the victims and families of the tragedy as he took the stage, Mr. Trump quickly launched into a castigation of cancel culture and of the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

He dismissed charges filed this week against his business, the Trump Organization, by the Manhattan district attorney’s office as “prosecutorial misconduct.” And while he appeared to deny knowledge of any possible tax evasion on benefits, he also seemed to acknowledge that those benefits occurred.

“You didn’t pay tax on the car, or the company apartment,” he said, adding, “Or education for your grandchildren. I don’t even know, do you have to put, does anyone know the answer to that stuff?”

Much of what followed was a familiar list of his grievances, but he drew an enthusiastic crowd that waited for hours in pouring rain to hear him speak.

Mr. DeSantis, who met on Thursday with President Biden when the president visited the site of the disaster, originally wanted to attend the rally but ultimately decided he could not go. “He spoke with President Trump, who agreed that it was the right decision, because the governor’s duty is to be in Surfside,” his press secretary, Christina Pushaw, said, adding, “Governor DeSantis would have gone to the rally in normal circumstances.’’

In an interview with Newsmax ahead of the rally, Mr. Trump said he told Mr. DeSantis not to come. But during the rally, when he thanked local Republican leaders in Florida, he notably did not mention Mr. DeSantis.

The governor, an early supporter of Mr. Trump, has been eager to play down any perceived tension with the former president, who endorsed his campaign for governor in 2018 and could cause him a political headache if he turned against him.

“Governor DeSantis is focusing on his duties as governor and the tragedy in Surfside, and has never suggested or requested that events planned in different parts of Florida — from the Stanley Cup finals to President Trump’s rally — should be canceled,” Ms. Pushaw said after The Washington Examiner reported that Mr. DeSantis had pointedly asked Mr. Trump to delay his rally.

The recent conversation between Mr. Lukis and Mr. Glassner was not the first time Mr. DeSantis’s staff had expressed reservations about the timing of Mr. Trump’s event. Before the condominium collapse, Mr. DeSantis’s office had suggested to the Trump team that the fall was better timing for a rally, given the perils of hurricane season in Florida, two people familiar with the conversation said.

Mr. Trump ignored the suggestion. Shut out of Facebook and Twitter, Mr. Trump has been eager for an outlet to have his voice heard and has been chomping at the bit to return to the rally stage, aides said.

Mr. DeSantis is seen as a top-tier Republican presidential candidate for 2024, and may end up in a political collision with the former president, who himself has hinted that he is considering a third try for the White House.

People close to Mr. Trump said he had become mildly suspicious of a supposed ally. He has grilled multiple advisers and friends, asking “what’s Ron doing,” after hearing rumors at Mar-a-Lago that Mr. DeSantis had been courting donors for a potential presidential run of his own. He has asked aides their opinion of a Western Conservative Summit presidential straw poll for 2024 Republican presidential candidates, an unscientific online poll that showed Mr. DeSantis beating Mr. Trump.

Categories
Politics

Miami-Dade mayor indicators order to demolish remainder of constructing

Miami-Dade mayor signs order to demolish rest of building

An aerial view of the site during a rescue operation of the Champlain Tower, which partially collapsed on July 1, 2021 in Surfside, Florida.

Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava signed an emergency ordinance on Friday authorizing the demolition of a 12-story residential complex that partially collapsed more than a week ago.

Engineers will evaluate all possible impacts of the demolition before setting a specific start date, said Levine Cava, which will likely take a few weeks.

“The building poses a threat to public health and safety and it is important to demolish it as soon as possible to protect our community,” Levine Cava said during a news conference on Friday night, adding that the search and bailouts remain the first priority of the authorities.

Levine Cava also announced that two more bodies were found, bringing the death toll to at least 22 while 126 people are still missing.

Levine Cava and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez discovered Friday that one of the bodies found was from a seven-year-old child whose father works for the Miami Fire Department.

“It was really different and more difficult for our first responders,” Levine Cava told reporters.

“These men and women pay an enormous human toll every day, and I ask all of you to keep them all in your thoughts and prayers. They truly represent the very best in all of us, and we have to be.” there for you as you are there for us. “

Levine Cava also announced that a building in North Miami had been found unsafe after being checked by authorities and found that it would not have been recertified. According to the Associated Press, authorities have ordered an evacuation of the building.

Kevin Guthrie, Florida Emergency Management Director, thanked the federal government and private sector providers for their support.

Following his visit to Surfside yesterday, President Joe Biden officially authorized the federal government on Friday to begin November 24th.

The Royal Caribbean Group is providing free accommodation and resources to search and rescue teams on one of their ships docked in PortMiami. Amazon has also assisted search and rescue teams by donating 500 laundry bags, 2,000 laundry capsules, and 2,000 dryer sheets, he added.

“The support we have seen for our first responders has been absolutely incredible,” said Guthrie.

Governor Ron DeSantis provided additional updates on Hurricane Elsa, noting that South Florida could see tropical storm winds as early as Sunday night. Authorities are currently watching for the potential impact on Miami-Dade County.

Charles Cyrille, director of the Department of Emergency Management, urged citizens to begin preparing evacuation plans, which include three to seven days of supplies for each member of a household. Cyrille added that homes should also be prepared for impact by securing items like trash cans and patio furniture that can easily be blown away by a hurricane.

“It is critical that these preparatory activities begin today,” said Cyrille.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett also briefed on the previous Friday about the Champlain Towers North, the sister property of the collapsed condominium building. Burkett said arrangements have been made to relocate residents while experts prepare to conduct a forensic study on the structure to assess their safety.

Search and rescue operations were resumed on Thursday evening after a day-long standstill, with authorities hoping to safely expand the search area.

DeSantis added that search and rescue teams for Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey will assist the state emergency response teams and prepare for Hurricane Elsa.

The suspension of search and rescue operations Thursday morning was due to structural concerns identified by subject matter experts, according to Alan Cominsky, chief of fire in Miami-Dade.

The investigation into the cause of the collapse is still ongoing.

Recent evidence suggests the 40-year-old condominium building showed signs of major structural damage as early as 2018, with one report citing problems with waterproofing under the pool and cracks in the underground parking garage.

A video that was recorded the night of the collapse has also come to light showing water flowing into the building’s parking garage.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, announced Wednesday evening that it had initiated a state investigation into the cause of the collapse and developed improved building codes.

Former NIST director Dr. Walter Copan, who ran the agency under then-President Donald Trump until January 2021, told the Miami Herald that it could only be a few months for NIST to provide new facts from the investigation.

“Typically there will be an initial summary within three to six months to provide the public with a status update,” said Copan, according to the Herald.

“NIST’s primary role is to provide the public with regular updates on NIST’s technical analysis and the cause of the failure.”

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Business

Telesat constructing $5 billion Lightspeed international satellite tv for pc web

Telesat building $5 billion Lightspeed global satellite internet

A representation of the broadband constellation in Telesat’s near-earth orbit

Telesat

Canadian telecommunications satellite operator Telesat announced Tuesday that Franco-Italian space hardware maker Thales Alenia Space will build its next-generation broadband satellite network called Lightspeed.

Lightspeed will focus on delivering high-speed fiber-like Internet to Telesat’s customers around the world. The network, known in the industry as the Constellation, will consist of 298 next-generation satellites orbiting the Earth at an altitude of approximately 1,000 kilometers, or just over twice the altitude of the International Space Station.

“We’re not a start-up. This is not a new business for us. It’s the same old customers and the same old markets, but with an architecture that is better and more disruptive,” said Dan Goldberg, CEO of Telesat, to CNBC.

The company is primarily focused on business-to-business customers and expects the Lightspeed constellation to cost $ 5 billion, including the cost of the satellites, the purchase of rocket launches, the construction of the ground infrastructure and development of software platforms for the operation of the network. The cost of the satellites makes up most of that figure, as Goldberg said the contract with Thales Alenia Space is worth about $ 3 billion.

In particular, Goldberg made it clear that Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation is not designed to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink or Amazon’s Kuiper direct-to-consumer networks.

“This is not a broadband game for consumers,” Goldberg said. “We’re one of the largest satellite operators in the world today, and we’ve been for 50 years. But we’ve always been a service provider to businesses … we know this customer base, we know this customer base. We worked with these customers when we imagined this opportunity and designed this constellation. “

The headquarters of the company.

Telesat

Goldberg stated that Telesat Lightspeed’s customers include cruise lines, airlines and rural communities. The network’s anchor customer, according to Goldberg, will be the Canadian government, which has committed to using Lightspeed to “create a capacity pool that is being sold at very attractive prices to local authorities and truly rural broadband providers.”

“It’s orders of magnitude better than what exists today and even what a lot of people are planning,” said Goldberg. “This is about delivering a low cost per bit to the market.”

Telesat plans to begin launching the first speed of light in 2023. The first satellites will be launched by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin on his New Glenn rocket. Goldberg said he has been “following” the development of New Glenn as the rocket is scheduled to launch next year, but is confident that “it will be ready” when Telesat launches in two years. Telesat will also “announce other launch providers in the coming months”.

Telesat has selected our powerful New Glenn rocket to launch Telesat’s innovative LEO satellite constellation into space.

Telesat

One of the key technologies that Goldberg says Lightspeed satellites will use is intersatellite links, which allow satellites to establish data links with one another rather than individually connecting to points on the ground.

“We are basically running a large space-based mesh IP network, which means that all of our satellites are always online and generating revenue and can be connected to a user,” said Goldberg.

Inter-satellite links are key to reducing the number of points on the ground that the satellite constellation must connect to, as well as increasing the overall speed of the global network. Goldberg said Telesat plans to deploy around 30 ground stations around the world “because we don’t need that many” and it will help “minimize capital investments and on-site expenses”.

Telesat also worked to reduce the reflectivity of its Lightspeed satellites after SpaceX’s Starlink was hit by a public outcry from astronomers that hundreds of satellites were appearing as bright streaks on images captured by telescopes. Goldberg noted that the Lightspeed satellites will be about twice the height of the Starlink satellites, while also being a fraction of the number in the overall constellation. Telesat’s Lightspeed satellites are also designed to last 10 to 12 years each, so the company doesn’t have to replace them too often.

“We have been using space for 50 years – we are a responsible industrial user of space. We were very careful to ensure that it did not have such negative externalities,” said Goldberg.

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Categories
Politics

In Images: Mob Storms U.S. Capitol Constructing

In Photos: Mob Storms U.S. Capitol Building

Rioters climb the United States Capitol, marching with Confederate flags and riot gear.

The legislature scurries off the floor of the Senate and crouches for security reasons.

Capitol police officers standing near a barricaded door, guns drawn, guarding the chamber of the house.

These are some of the most breathtaking images from a historic day when a crowd of people loyal to President Trump broke into the Capitol to prevent lawmakers from confirming the electoral college count to the president-elect’s victory Joseph R. Biden Jr. to confirm.

The chaos, which lasted more than three hours and was seen all over the world, was another reminder of the challenges Mr Biden will inherit in two weeks’ time: an extraordinarily divided country, the political fabric of which has been affected by an economic crisis, a deadly pandemic and Frayed four years of Mr. Trump’s fire reign.

Insurgents acting on behalf of the President destroyed the office of Spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, broke windows, looted art and briefly took control of the Senate Chamber, where they took turns with their fists on the podium, on which Vice President Mike Pence a few minutes earlier Presided, posed for photos. They erected a gallows in front of the building, pierced the tires of a police SUV and left a note on the windshield that read “PELOSI IS SATAN”.

“This is what the president caused today, this riot,” said Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, when he and other senators were taken to a safe location.

It required the reinforcement of other law enforcement agencies, including the city’s Metropolitan Police Department, to restore order. At least 52 people were arrested, including five on gun charges and at least 26 on the US Capitol grounds, according to Chief Robert J. Contee III of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Pipe bombs were found at the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees, and a cooler with a long gun and Molotov cocktails was discovered on the Capitol grounds, the chief said.

The mob swarmed past the police and barriers with relative ease, with some chemical agents spraying officers. The Capitol Police seemed outnumbered and unprepared for the attack, despite being openly organized on social media sites such as Gab and Parler.

The police response has been criticized by law enforcement experts and members of Congress. Activists who took part in demonstrations against racial injustice that summer condemned what they viewed as double standards. Many indicated that they had been hit with rubber bullets, mistreated, surrounded and arrested while they were peaceful.

The Capitol was liberated by pro-Trump extremists on Wednesday evening, and Congress confirmed Mr Biden’s victory early Thursday morning.

In a statement shortly before 4 a.m. on Thursday, the president finally confirmed his loss and said: “Even if I disagree with the election result and the facts confirm me, there will still be an orderly transition on January 20th.”

Even before losing the November 3rd election, Mr Trump warned his supporters that the election would be rigged against him and encouraged them to physically prevent it.

On Wednesday, as thousands of his supporters gathered in Washington, Mr. Trump told them at a rally near the White House to “go down to the Capitol” and say, “You will never retake our country with weakness.”

That afternoon, Republican lawmakers loyal to Mr Trump attempted to dismiss the presidential election results by falsely saying the election was stolen, an allegation that was rejected by every court that examined the evidence.

Shortly after 2 p.m., the gathering turned violent and chaotic when Trump supporters flooded the Capitol and broke through metal gates that had been placed around the building. Then they climbed the outside of the Capitol and broke through the front doors.

The transition of the president

Updated

Jan. 7, 2021, 1:18 p.m. ET

Some wore military-style helmets and protective vests. Many took selfies as they broke into the home of American democracy and proudly shared the pictures on social media.

Some waved banners announcing their loyalty as they entered the Capitol, including giant yellow “Don’t step on me” flags popular with libertarians and limited government supporters. Others marched through the halls waving American flags covered in pro-Trump messages (technically a violation of the way the government says the American flag should be treated). Several people waved the Confederacy flag.

Legislators from both parties denounced the break-in as they crouched for security reasons.

For a time, senators and members of the House were locked in their respective chambers. Security officials there instructed members to reach under their seats and put on gas masks after tear gas was used in the Capitol rotunda.

While they were in hiding, some lawmakers asked Mr Trump to tell his supporters to back off.

Representative Steve Cohen, Democrat of Tennessee, shouted to Republicans on the floor of the house, “Call Trump, tell him to cancel his revolutionary watch.”

Guns were drawn as members of the mob attempted to break into the Chamber of the House where just moments before lawmakers went through the normally uneventful task of certifying the presidential election winner.

A woman was fatally shot by a police officer in the Capitol, Chief Contee said Wednesday night. Another woman and two men died near the Capitol after “apparently suffering from separate medical emergencies,” he said.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a curfew for the city starting at 6 p.m. Chief Contee said, “It was clear that the crowd intended to harm our officials by adding chemical irritants to the police in order to force entry into the United States Capitol.”

Wednesday’s chaos was not spontaneous, but came after months of efforts to delegitimize the elections and a year-long crusade by Mr Trump to undermine any opposition.

Calls for violence against lawmakers and talk of taking over the Capitol have been circulating online for months.

The organization for this takeover attempt took place on social media sites like Gab and Parler, platforms whose unwillingness to limit fake news or threatening news popularized them among far-right and supporters of Mr. Trump.

Participants exchanged messages on these websites about which streets to use to avoid the police and which tools to bring with them to make opening doors easier.

As images of lawmakers scrambling for safety circulated around the world, Trump’s aides urged him to call for an end to the violence. Mr Trump issued a tweet shortly after 3 p.m. that appeared to have no effect.

Mr Biden appeared at a press conference calling on Mr Trump to go on national television, condemn the chaos and urge the people of the Capitol to withdraw immediately.

At 4:17 pm, Mr. Trump posted a minute-long video on Twitter falsely claiming the election had been “stolen” and telling the people who stormed into the Capitol to leave peacefully. “We love you,” he said. “You are something special.”

Twitter immediately flagged the video for misleading content and “risk of violence”.

It took the police more than three hours to regain control of the Capitol. They used combat equipment, batons and shields to push the invaders back.

When the legislature went into hiding for security reasons and the police tried to gain control, rioters roamed the halls.

They eventually broke into the Senate Chamber. Some cheerfully posed for pictures in the seats and offices of the lawmakers they had just evicted.

The office of Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who has led political opposition to Mr Trump’s agenda as spokeswoman for the House of Representatives, was also broken into.

The rioters who said they were trying to protect democracy were sometimes happy about their ability to move freely around the Capitol.

At around 5:40 p.m., Capitol security officials announced that the building was safe. Twenty minutes later, the city’s curfew went into effect.

Police confiscated five weapons and arrested at least 13 people during the violent protest, Chief Contee said.

Marie Fazio contributed to the reporting.

Categories
Health

A New Software in Treating Psychological Sickness: Constructing Design

A New Tool in Treating Mental Illness: Building Design

Residents of the Pigeon Pavilion in Mountain View, California wake up in private rooms with views of the forested Santa Cruz Mountains, have breakfast in airy communal spaces, and relax in landscaped courtyards throughout the day.

It may sound like a resort, but the Pigeon Pavilion is a $ 98 million mental health facility that opened in June as part of El Camino Hospital. The 56,000-square-foot building was designed by WRNS Studio and is part of a new wave of facilities that dwarfs outdated institutional models.

Mental hospitals have been a grim environment for decades, with patients being pushed into common rooms during the day and dormitories at night. However, new research into the health effects of our surroundings is driving the development of facilities that feel more homely, with inviting entrances, smaller units in larger buildings, and a variety of meeting rooms. Nature plays a major role: windows offer a view of the greenery, landscapes adorn walls and outdoor areas offer patients and staff access to fresh air and sunlight.

The new approach promoted as healing and therapeutic has resulted in environments that are more calming and supportive. And it feels especially timely, given the rise in mental health problems caused by the pandemic.

“We’ve been talking about it for a long time,” said Mardelle McCuskey Shepley, chair of the design and environmental analysis department at Cornell’s College of Human Ecology. “Only now is it gaining momentum.”

Even before the pandemic, the number of Americans affected by mental illness was at a new high. One in five adults had depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress, or another illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. The rates were significantly higher in adolescents (approx. 50 percent) and young adults (approx. 30 percent).

Almost a year after the pandemic started, more people are suffering. Young adults and blacks and Latinos of all ages report increased levels of anxiety, depression and substance abuse, according to a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A recent Gallup poll found Americans felt their mental health was “worse than it has ever been in the past two decades.”

The demand for treatments has increased, and the construction of mental health facilities has surpassed the construction of other specialty hospitals. Last year, 40 percent of specialty hospitals under construction were psychiatric hospitals and behavioral health centers, according to the American Society for Health Care Engineering.

Architecture and interior design firms with expertise in healthcare buildings have reported an increase in activity. Architecture + design firm in Troy, NY typically has a major mental health facility or two in the pipeline. The total construction cost for these projects is approximately $ 250 million per year, said Francis Murdock Pitts, principal and founding partner. Over the past year, the company worked on 16 major mental health projects totaling approximately $ 1.9 billion.

His company and others who like it have medical planners on staff to help translate research into “evidence-based” designs. “This is not all about being warm and hazy,” said Pitts.

For example, exposure to nature has been shown to lower cortisol levels, a measure of stress. Adding medicinal gardens and other greenery can help calm agitated patients and give staff a place to decompress.

Research specifically related to mental health care also comes into play. Studies have shown that reducing the crowd by providing private rooms and multiple common areas can reduce stress and aggression from patients and staff. Noise reduction – for example, the unnecessary beeping of medical equipment – can also help. When patients are less stressed, they can make faster, more sustained progress during treatment, experts say.

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Jan. 5, 2021, 11:06 p.m. ET

However, because mental health issues vary widely, there is no one-size-fits-all design solution. And safety – for both patients and staff – continues to come first.

Codes and guidelines refined over many years have sought to remove spatial features that patients have used to harm themselves and others. Window glazing is made from polycarbonate compounds to reduce breakage. The doors are hung on quick release hinges so that staff can enter a room if a patient is barricaded. Plumbing and other fixtures are designed to prevent the possibility of hanging or strangling.

Such security measures are vital, but “You don’t want them to get to where they look like a prison,” said Shary Adams, principal at HGA, a national design firm. While the built environment must be designed to ensure safety, there is also a measure to give patients some control over their surroundings. With manual thermostats, for example, patients can set the temperature in their rooms, and with dimmer switches they can modulate the light.

The location of the psychiatric facilities is also changing. Psychiatric facilities used to be hidden, now they are likely part of hospital grounds or otherwise conveniently located. They often combine inpatient rooms for those in need of 24/7 surveillance and areas for outpatient services so patients can move to less intensive care in the same building.

A state-of-the-art center for young people in Monterey, California illustrates the new approach. Montage Health, a non-profit provider, laid the foundation stone for the 55,600 square meter building in November.

Called Ohana, a Hawaiian word for an expanded family concept, the facility will provide young patients with psychiatric treatment, sometimes involving their parents and siblings. Early care is crucial with half of all lifelong mental illnesses showing up by age 15 and 75 percent by age 24, said Dr. Susan Swick, Ohana Senior Medical Officer.

She asked NBBJ architects to come up with a design that contained the wonder of a children’s museum or public library – “a place you walk makes you feel like you have the opportunity”.

The building will wrap itself around beautiful old oak trees on the hillside overlooking a green valley. It will house inpatient rooms, an outpatient treatment wing, several classrooms and a large number of rooms for group and individual therapies.

The grounds offer areas for yoga and informal gatherings. The paths are lined with cedar and pine, rosemary and lavender – plants whose scents activate “natural killer cells” that can boost immunity, said Richard Dallam, managing partner at NBBJ and head of health practice for the company.

“It’s not just pretty; it’s functional, ”he added.

With its swoops and turns, Ohana looks like a complicated building to construct, but it is constructed from cross-laminated timber in modules that can be assembled off-site, reducing costs and speeding up construction. Its price tag: $ 50 million, which is covered by a $ 106 million donation that also provides funding for clinical services.

Still, not every hospital system has an angel investor, and buildings with these new designs are more expensive to build – private rooms alone add to the cost.

Proponents say, however, that upfront spending can lead to savings later and improve employee retention, for example because employees are less prone to burnout and need to be replaced with new employees who need training.

“We try to use evidence-based design to help clients connect to other things on their balance sheet,” said Angela Mazzi, director at GBBN and president of the American College of Healthcare Architects, a certification organization. “If you invest in some of these things that aren’t directly part of the clinical field, you get different results and a different kind of payback.”

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Health

Unwanted effects are indicators shot is constructing safety, says ex-FDA chief

Side effects are signs shot is building protection, says ex-FDA chief

Covid-19 vaccine side effects are signs that the shots are helping to protect against the disease, said former FDA chief Dr. Margaret Hamburg on Thursday opposite CNBC.

“The data tell us that this vaccination produces a fairly routine response at the time of administration, but it is noteworthy when you receive the vaccine,” she said on Squawk Box. “You will know when you will receive the vaccine, but that will also show you that it works and that your body is reacting,” added Hamburg, who headed the regulator in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2015.

The Hamburg statements come when the vaccine committee of the Food and Drug Administration meets on Thursday whether Pfizer and German partner BioNTech should vote for the emergency approval of the Covid-19 candidate. The non-binding decision by the panel of experts is a final step before the FDA is expected to approve the vaccine for limited use.

The agency will meet next week at the request of Massachusetts-based Moderna to obtain the same approval. The vaccine is similar to Pfizer’s in that they both take a new approach that uses genetic material to trigger an immune response.

Pfizer’s vaccine was approved by regulators in the UK last week, where the first shots for non-trial participants were given on Tuesday. However, the two allergic reactions reported by UK health workers prompted UK regulators to advise people with a history of “significant” allergic reactions to abstain from the vaccine for the time being.

Coronavirus vaccine development deadlines have been hastened this year by drug makers and governments alike in hopes of finding a solution to the devastating pandemic that killed at least 1,571,890 people worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. The US recorded a record 3,124 deaths on Wednesday.

Both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines were shown to be more than 94% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19, according to data from large-scale clinical trials.

Some of the reported side effects are “local swelling, irritation, pain, fatigue, sometimes headache,” said Hamburg. “A percentage of the patients had chills and a slight fever.”

Dr. Moncef Slaoui, who leads the Trump administration’s vaccine development efforts, has defended the safety of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. He said earlier this month that “significantly noticeable” side effects from the admissions were reported in only 10% to 15% of study participants, which may lasted up to a day and a half.

Both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines require two doses. Some doctors have tried to raise awareness of the side effects so that vaccine recipients aren’t deterred from getting the second shot.

“We really need to make patients aware that this is not going to be a walk in the park,” said Dr. Sandra Fryhofer of the American Medical Association in November at an advisory panel meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “You will know you had a vaccine. You probably won’t feel wonderful. But you have to come back for that second dose.”