A young cellist and medical student will no longer perform his music in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York City</a> Subway stations after being assaulted for the second time in less than a year.
The victim — Iain Forrest, an MD-PhD student studying genetics — was playing his electric cello in the 34th Street–Herald Square station when a female bystander stepped forward, grabbed his metal water bottle, and struck him once on the back of the head before fleeing. Forrest explained in a viral X thread that this was the second assault he&#8217;s endured in under a year, a pattern that he says has prompted him to stop such public performances.
“This marks the second attack I’ve endured in less than a year while performing for New Yorkers in subway stations,” said Forrest. “I don’t think I can do this anymore. I’m suspending subway performances indefinitely.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Yesterday, I was attacked in the NYC subway. At 5:50 pm on February 14th, while performing at 34th St Herald Square station, a woman wearing a mustard jacket, red scarf, and gloves assaulted me by smashing the back of my head with my metal water bottle. <a href="https://t.co/UpSl43yk3x">pic.twitter.com/UpSl43yk3x</a>
— Iain S. Forrest, PhD (@IainSForrest) <a href="https://twitter.com/IainSForrest/status/1757901533549600875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
Forrest reported that his assailant fled into a nearby store following the attack, successfully evading pursuers and police by shedding her outer garments.
New York Police Department (NYPD) Crime Stoppers posted another angle of Forrest’s assailant in which her scarf doesn’t cover her face. NYPD offered a reward of up to $3,500 for <a href="https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tips</a> leading to her arrest and indictment.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨WANTED🚨for an ASSAULT in the mezzanine inside of the 34th Street/ Herald Square station <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/heraldsquare?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#heraldsquare</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/manhattan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#manhattan</a> On 2/13/24 @ 7:47 PM Reward up to $3500 Seen her? Know who she is? Call 1-800-577-TIPS or DM us! Calls are CONFIDENTIAL! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yourcityyourcall?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#yourcityyourcall</a> <a href="https://t.co/gExo1F5JwV">pic.twitter.com/gExo1F5JwV</a>
&mdash; NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPDTips/status/1757735305400983843?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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According to NYPD crime data, transit crimes citywide have <a href="https://compstat.nypdonline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased</a> by nearly 23 percent year to date. Since January, NYPD has reported 138 incidents of grand larceny, 64 felony assaults, 60 robberies, three burglaries, and one murder. In the same time period last year, there were 99 reported incidents of grand larceny, 58 felony assaults, 57 robberies, one burglary, one murder, and one rape.
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New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), which runs the New York City Subway, <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/stats/reports-analysis/transit-bus.page" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> a total of over 4,900 complaints last year: nearly 2,300 of those were <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/analysis_and_planning/transit-bus-crime-reports/2023/complaints-in-transit-report-cy-2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">classified</a> as assaults. There were less than 900 arrests <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/analysis_and_planning/transit-bus-crime-reports/2023/arrests-in-transit-report-cy-2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> for assault last year.
Last year’s totals were an <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/analysis_and_planning/transit-bus-crime-reports/2022/complaints-in-transit-report-cy-2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase</a> from 2022, in which NYCTA reported over 4,700 complaints, with just over 2,000 of those classified as assaults. There were fewer than 700 arrests <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/analysis_and_planning/transit-bus-crime-reports/2022/arrests-in-transit-report-cy-2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> for assault in 2022.
Data from Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), NYCTA’s affiliate, covering felonies across all of its transportation modes — busing and commuter rail, in addition to the subway — <a href="https://data.ny.gov/Transportation/MTA-Major-Felonies/yeek-jhmu/about_data" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that felony assaults increased to 642 last year, up from totals in the prior four years: 586 in 2022, 498 in 2021, 368 in 2020, and 395 in 2019. Murders declined slightly to seven last year from 10 in 2022, though up from six in 2021, five in 2020, and three in 2019. Burglaries remained high at 39 reported incidents last year, up from 22 in 2022 and the same as the totals for 2021 and 2020, all up from the 18 incidents reported in 2019.
Other MTA data specific to the subway revealed that <a href="https://data.ny.gov/Transportation/MTA-Subway-and-Bus-Employee-Assaults-and-Harassmen/2xh4-m2qk/about_data" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assaults</a> on subway workers totaled 80 last year, nearly double the totals for 2022, 2021, and 2020: for all three years, assaults totaled 45.
Other crimes have increased as well. MTA has <a href="https://data.ny.gov/Transportation/MTA-Subway-and-Bus-Vandalism-Beginning-2021/23fs-vfbd/data_preview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> a marked increase in subway vandalism incidents from 2021 (484) to 2022 (755) and 2023 (650).
Subway fires remained fairly consistent, totaling over 1,000 over the last three years, an uptick from the 900 reported incidents in 2020.

Cello

Cellist Med Student Gives Up NYC Subway Performances After Assaulted Twice In One Year

Crime

Music

New York City

Subway

U.S.

Climate initiatives laid out in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) come with a bigger price tag than anticipated: over $400 billion more, per the latest estimates. 
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59710#data">revealed</a> the increased $428 billion cost in its budget and economic outlook for the next decade. The agency admitted that its projections were subject to change, citing variables such as the pace of deployment and use of low-emissions technologies and electric vehicles, as well as the number of taxpayers who have yet to claim certain tax credits enacted in the IRA. 
“The budgetary effects of energy-related tax provisions remain highly uncertain,” stated CBO. 
The CBO originally <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2022-08/hr5376_IR_Act_8-3-22.pdf">estimated</a> in 2022 that the IRA’s climate and energy provisions would cost around $400 billion. However, other corporations and organizations said that number was far too low. 
Shortly after CBO issued its estimate, the global investment banking company Credit Suisse <a href="https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us-news/en/articles/news-and-expertise/us-inflation-reduction-act-a-catalyst-for-climate-action-202211.html">estimated</a> the climate initiatives would cost over $800 billion. That number is closer to CBO’s most recent estimate. 
Other recent, outside estimates have been higher. An August report from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-green-energy-boondoggle-keeps-getting-bigger">predicted</a> that the IRA’s climate and energy provisions would cost taxpayers over $1 trillion.
The CBO explained that technical revisions resulted in the substantially higher projections, most of which ($224 billion) <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-02/59710-Outlook-2024.pdf">arose</a> from clean vehicle tax credits and revenues from excise taxes on gasoline. Of that total, $151 billion came from reductions in projected revenues and $73 billion came from increases in projected outlays. 
Much of the higher projections came from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal last year to impose more stringent vehicle emissions standards beginning with the 2027 model year. 
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The CBO further noted that Treasury guidance determined that credits claimed by businesses for leased vehicles weren’t subject to restrictions applied to credits claimed directly by individuals, such as a buyer’s income, eligible vehicle pricing, critical mineral sourcing locations, battery component manufacturer locations, and final vehicle assembly locations. 
“Dealers and buyers have responded to that guidance by leasing more electric vehicles than [the Joint Committee on Taxation] anticipated when preparing its 2022 estimates,” said CBO. 
Apart from the cost of Biden’s climate initiatives, the CBO report didn’t lend a positive outlook for the nation’s economy.
The CBO projected that the nation’s deficit would steadily mount, reaching $2.6 trillion in 2034 from $1.6 trillion in this fiscal year. In relation to GDP, the deficit is projected to reach 6.1% in 2034. The CBO said that these deficit levels were similar to those experienced during some of the greatest national crises.
“Since the Great Depression, deficits have exceeded that level only during and shortly after World War II, the 2007-2009 financial crisis, and the coronavirus pandemic,” read the report. 
Debt held by the public would increase to 116% of GDP by 2034 ($48.3 trillion) and would continue to grow to 172% of GDP in 2054, up from the 99% projected at the end of this year ($26.2 trillion). 
According to the CBO, that 2034 estimate would mark an all-time historical high for the nation, a record reached due to increases in mandatory spending and interest costs outpacing declines in discretionary spending as well as revenue and economic growth.

Joe Biden

Climate Initiatives In Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act Will Cost Over $400 Billion More Than Initially Expected, CBO Says

Climate Change

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

Inflation Reduction Act

Politics

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia threatened to sue the state over a bill expanding the number of crimes requiring cash bail.
In a <a href="https://www.acluga.org/en/press-releases/press-release-aclu-georgia-sue-if-governor-signs-sb-63-law">press release</a> issued on Thursday, several days after the Georgia General Assembly passed the bill, the ACLU affiliate said it would sue if Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) didn’t veto the bill. The organization claimed that requiring those accused of a crime to remain in jail would endanger the community, and that black individuals would be more likely to be affected by the legislation. 
“[This bill] will dramatically increase the number of Georgians languishing in our jails and make our communities less safe,” stated the organization. “Already, 51% of the people in Georgia’s jails are black, while just 30% of the state’s overall population is black.”
The contested legislation, <a href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20232024/213335">Senate Bill 63</a>, expanded the definition of bail-restricted offenses to 30 new offenses, including fleeing or attempting to elude police, identity fraud, domestic terrorism, and rioting.
ACLU of Georgia’s legal director, Cory Isaacson, said that the bill was an unconstitutional criminalization of poverty and restriction of the First Amendment. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 Georgia Senate Bill 63, which forces people who can’t afford to pay bail to languish in jail, is unlawful and the ACLU of Georgia will sue if the governor signs it into law. <a href="https://t.co/gKXWUoWHUf">https://t.co/gKXWUoWHUf</a> <a href="https://t.co/KlTcmQ8PPB">pic.twitter.com/KlTcmQ8PPB</a>
— ACLU of Georgia (@ACLUofGA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ACLUofGA/status/1755599035891855682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Georgia Lt. Governor Burt Jones praised the bill’s passage. Jones predicted it would remove violent, repeat criminals from the public. 
“Senate Bill 63 protects Georgia families by keeping violent and repeat offenders off our streets,” said Jones.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Senate Bill 63 protects Georgia families by keeping violent and repeat offenders off our streets. I appreciate the House adopting the conference committee report on this legislation. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gapol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gapol</a> <a href="https://t.co/7FqZzvgZF2">https://t.co/7FqZzvgZF2</a>
— Lt. Governor Burt Jones (@LtGovJonesGA) <a href="https://twitter.com/LtGovJonesGA/status/1755224371700834571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Kemp hasn’t issued a comment on the bill’s passage.
State Sen. Randy Robertson, the bill sponsor, explained in the Senate Public Safety Committee <a href="https://vimeo.com/showcase/8821970/video/797482445">hearing</a> on the bill early last year that there was a need to expand cash bail due to a continued rise in crime.
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“[We’re] continuing to put these guardrails up to ensure that we take the revolving doors off the jails and the 159 counties throughout Georgia,” said Robertson. “Being indigent and having no money does not excuse anyone from committing a crime.”
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum testified to the committee that his officers dealt with almost 900 repeat offenders with nearly 29,000 prior arrests between them in 2022. 
A little over 6,000 of those prior arrests were felonies; 33% of those felons were carrying firearms when arrested again, even though state law prohibits convicted felons from owning firearms, and 57% of those repeat offenders were on probation or parole. Well over 200 were gang members.
In response to criticisms that some of the bail-restricted offenses in the bill included “minor” crimes such as criminal trespass, reckless driving, and obstruction of justice, Robertson noted during the committee hearing that those offenses were usually tied to other, more serious offenses, such as domestic terrorism and rioting. Robertson further added that judges had the discretion to set bonds as low as they desired based on the facts of the case. 
“What we found in many of the domestic terrorism cases that we looked at, and many of the cases of the 2020 riots and destruction, not only here in our capital city but around the country, all had those charges associated with them,” said Robertson. 
Additionally, the bill restricted unlimited bail posting to bail bond companies. All others — including Charitable bail funds, nonprofit organizations, and individuals — would be limited to posting bail to three or fewer individuals annually.
The bill also prohibited the release without bond of any individual charged with a bail-restricted offense, as well as individuals with prior felony arrests within the preceding seven years. 
The annual fee for continuing education programs for bail recovery agents was also doubled.

Man In Prison

ACLU Threatens To Sue Georgia Over Cash Bail Bill

ACLU

Georgia

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/utah" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Utah</a> lawmakers advanced a bill this week to prevent the granting of inherent rights to nature, a movement gaining momentum among environmental activists.
<a href="https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/static/HB0249.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Bill 249</a>, the “Utah Legal Personhood Amendments,” declares that only mankind may enjoy the legal rights and obligations of personhood. The Utah House passed the bill on Tuesday; it now faces consideration by the Senate.
The bill expressly prohibits the granting of legal personhood to any artificial intelligence, inanimate object, body of water, land, real property, atmospheric gas, astronomical object, weather, plant, nonhuman animal, and “any other member of a taxonomic domain that is not a human being.”
Republican State Rep. Walt Brooks brought forth the bill amid efforts by environmental activists to leverage current U.S. law to grant legal personhood to the Great Salt Lake.
Brooks <a href="https://le.utah.gov/av/floorArchive.jsp?markerID=124928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a> during the House floor vote on Tuesday that a constituent brought the movement to his attention, a request he believed was in jest until he did his own research. Brooks said the bill was “common sense.”
“I had to explain to my kids that, you go to a dairy, those cows are pregnant because they need to be if they’re going to give milk. But, did anybody get the permission of a cow to get them pregnant?” said Brooks. “So, if they were a person, that would be sexual harassment.”
Democratic State Rep. Joel Briscoe indicated that nonhuman entities and beings should enjoy the legal rights of personhood, since corporations may have legal rights under U.S. law. Briscoe said he wasn’t sure whether granting personhood to the Great Salt Lake would be a good idea or not.
“What I do know is this: before I put into code, and vote to put into code, a prohibition against something that I’m told is dangerous without any examples, I would really love to see some detail[,]” said Briscoe.
In closing, Brooks impressed on the importance of definitions that reflect reality. He compared the hesitation to decline personhood for nature to the ongoing confusion over defining gender.
“What I do know is this: a person is a person, and a tree is not, neither is an animal, neither is a stream, neither is the air,” said Brooks. “I bet you if you went back ten years ago, no one had a question about what a woman was and what a man was, but we do get confused.”
Last month, Brooks <a href="https://www.kuer.org/politics-government/2024-01-23/lawmakers-looking-to-close-the-door-on-legal-personhood-for-the-great-salt-lake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> KUER that assigning personhood to something nonhuman wasn’t an appropriate preservation effort.
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“We value animals. We value our rivers and streams, wetlands, whatever it may be, our lakes, and there&#8217;s ways that we can preserve them and go forward,” said Brooks. “But trying to mix the idea that it&#8217;s actually a human person is not appropriate.”
Environmental activists have already undertaken similar measures in other states.
Last October, Milwaukee County in Wisconsin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/milwaukee-county-passes-resolution-granting-nature-equal-rights-to-mankind" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> a resolution granting nature equal rights to mankind with the aim of securing greater protections for the county’s bodies of water.
The movement to grant inherent rights to nature links back to the 2012 establishment of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
IPBES considers granting inherent rights to nature a significant public policy instrument.
The bill passed out of the Utah House with overwhelming support on Tuesday, with 58 members voting for it and 11 against. Only one Democrat voted for, not against the bill: State Rep. Ashlee Matthews.

Glowing Arch

Utah Lawmakers Advance Bill To Prevent The Granting Of Personhood To Nature

Environmentalism

Nature

Social Issues

Utah

For the first time in history, a sorority may elect a man to be the president of its national organization.
That sorority would be Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG). The revelation came in a new <a href="https://www.iwf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/levang-v-kappa-kappa-gamma-fraternity.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> filed by longtime KKG alumnae over the sorority allowing and enforcing the membership of men who claim to be women.
“The Candidate has currently applied for, and is being considered for, a position in leadership to be voted on through an on-line election in April 2024,” read the lawsuit, filed Thursday. “This position could include being elected to Fraternity Council or even president of KKG. Most members remain unaware that the Candidate is a man.”
The man, Tracy Nadzieja, was elected as district director out of Arizona State University (ASU) in 2022. KKG accepted Nadzieja as an alumna initiate in 2020, becoming the sorority’s first male member.
Nadzieja is no stranger to firsts: he became Arizona’s first trans-identifying judicial officer in 2018 following his appointment to the Maricopa County Superior Court. While attending ASU for his undergraduate degree, Nadzieja was a member of the Sigma Pi fraternity.
Nadzieja is also a board member for one-n-ten, a Phoenix-based nonprofit focused on advancing LGBTQ ideologies in minors and youths. One-n-ten offered a peer support program to children undergoing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pediatric-gender-clinics-scrub-their-websites-amidst-criticism-of-gender-related-treatments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gender transitions</a> at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
In an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRKDYj8sOxs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Greek University, Nadzieja explained that he came out as transgender after 15 years of marriage, leaving behind a wife and children.
“I just have to face it and if that means that I get kicked out of my house, that my marriage is over, that I won’t have a relationship with my kids, I would rather have an authentic life despite losing everything that I had worked for for my whole life,” said Nadzieja.
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Thursday’s lawsuit further alleges that Nadzieja was “fast-tracked” to a KKG leadership position and assigned as an advisor at a university chapter, despite not having met the qualifications laid out by organization bylaws. The lawsuit also alleged that KKG Fraternity Council “deceptively misrepresented” Nadzieja as a woman qualified for a leadership position.
“Fraternity Council intentionally concealed this fact from members to ensure the Candidate was elected,” stated the lawsuit.
The Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC), associated with the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), filed the lawsuit on behalf of KKG alumnae Patsy Levang, Cheryl Tuck-Smith, Susan Jennings, Margo Knorr, Karen Pope, and Ann Witt.
Levang and Tuck-Smith were both KKG alumnae for well over 50 years prior to national leadership <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sorority-terminates-membership-of-two-alumnae-after-they-supported-lawsuit-to-boot-trans-identifying-member" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expelling</a> them last November for daring to speak out against the admission of males. Levang was formerly KKG’s National Foundation President.
In IWLC’s press release announcing the lawsuit, Levang said she felt obligated to fight against KKG’s endangerment of young women.
“The current leadership in Kappa has deliberately engaged in a campaign to undermine the Bylaws of Kappa which harms not only these young women, but the entire organization,” said Levang. “I’m not surprised that they also disregarded the value of lifetime membership and my 56 years of dedication by sending me a removal letter.”
Tuck-Smith remarked that KKG had taken a sudden and harsh departure from its 150 years of promotion of women and high standards.
“It is incomprehensible that current leadership would discard that success by prioritizing men over women,” said Tuck-Smith. “Kappa must remain true to its existing mission, to support and promote women.”
Court documents refer to KKG as a women’s fraternity, since its founding predated the invention of the word “sorority” by several decades. The alumnae’s lawsuit accused KKG officials of violating the organization’s governing rules, engaging in fraudulent activity, violating free speech laws, committing defamation, and breaching contracts.
KKG bylaws, rules, and policies all declare that only women may have membership in the organization, while implementing strict prohibitions against the involvement of men.
IWLC counsel May Mailman said that KKG’s requirement of its members to accept men who identify as women was a violation of their bylaws and basic female freedoms.
“Kappa leadership continues to disrespect its members not only by denying them the single-sex organization they were promised, but by lashing out in hopes of silencing the truth,” said Mailman.
Last March, seven active KKG members <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/women-file-lawsuit-against-sorority-after-it-accepts-man-who-allegedly-watches-them-while-visibly-aroused" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> the fraternity after it allowed the <a href="https://www.uwbrandingiron.com/2022/10/12/kappa-kappa-gamma-first-to-accept-open-transgender-student-in-uw-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admission</a> of a man in 2022, Artemis (formerly Dallin) Langford, who allegedly became physically aroused at the sight of female members going about their day-to-day inside their fraternity house. The lawsuit also accused Langford of asking the women questions about their intimate body parts and romantic attachments. Langford has denied these allegations.
KKG’s allowance of males in membership dates back to 2015, when national leadership issued a statement recognizing the membership of “individuals who identify as women.” IWLC alleged that this was KKG leadership’s way of “unilaterally and deceptively” clearing the path for opening up membership to men without informing its members.
Then, in 2018, the organization formally began allowing the admission of men when it issued its “Guide For Supporting Our LGBTQIA+ Members,” a guide which IWLC declared in Thursday’s lawsuit wasn’t reviewed, debated on, approved, or voted on by KKG members.
In August, a federal judge <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lawsuit-against-man-who-joined-wyoming-sorority-dismissed-by-federal-judge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> the lawsuit challenging Langford’s membership. The court refused to define the word “woman.” That case is now before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals; IWLC <a href="https://www.iwf.org/2024/01/24/independent-womens-law-center-files-final-brief-in-westenbroek-v-kappa-kappa-gamma/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> its final brief in that case on Thursday.
Amid the national controversy over Langford’s membership, KKG featured Nadzieja in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch?ref=search&amp;v=200967152930173&amp;external_log_id=2ef0c9f8-8c97-4704-8450-001bb17c066d&amp;q=kappa%2520district%2520director%2520transgender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promotional video</a> last July encouraging young members to attend a leadership academy.
“It doesn’t make a difference what age you are, we all can learn and progress and advance as leaders and be able to take that back home,” said Nadzieja.

Transgender

Trans-Identifying Man May Become First Male President Of A National Sorority, Says Lawsuit

Arizona State University

Education

Lawsuit

DOD intelligence officials <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3656926/battle-looming-between-ai-and-counter-ai-says-official/">expressed</a> their intentions to employ AI in threat analysis in a Google Defense Forum (GDF) on Thursday. 
Richard Leach, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) intelligence director and Army colonel, said that AI would alleviate decision-makers’ burden by expediting the processing and analyzing a “tsunami of data” received in hundreds or thousands of reports every day.
“Let AI identify key pieces of information and maybe do some of the basic analysis,” said Leach. “Let the analysts focus on the hard problem set so they&#8217;re not wasting time, resources, and people.”
Leach clarified that AI could move at a faster pace than human analysts, citing adversaries’ instantaneous switches between virtual private servers.
“[Adversaries are] moving at ‘lightspeed,’” said Leach. “They&#8217;re on fiber optic networks. They&#8217;re able to bounce from one VPS [virtual private server] to another in an instant, so utilizing AI to try to get ahead of that is going to be essential.”
This year’s GDF was underwritten by Google for Government, and presented by DefenseScoop. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
What a phenomenal day at the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoogleDefense?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoogleDefense</a> Forum! Thank you to all of our speakers, attendees, and our esteemed partners at <a href="https://twitter.com/Google?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Google</a> Public Sector and <a href="https://twitter.com/googlecloud?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@googlecloud</a>. Fueled with inspiration and urgency, we look forward to future innovations. <a href="https://t.co/92NinEumLb">pic.twitter.com/92NinEumLb</a>
— DefenseScoop (@DefenseScoop) <a href="https://twitter.com/DefenseScoop/status/1750613634441506901?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Leach spoke in a panel alongside Jude Sunderbruch, DOD Cyber Crime Center executive director, and Sandra Joyce, Google Cloud Mandiant Intelligence vice president, in discussing AI-driven cyber operations.  
Other GDF panels included pitches from Google executives on bringing commercial cloud parity and new cybersecurity technology to DOD; achieving tactical edge; transitioning to AI for mission outcome; and defending climate readiness as mission readiness.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rachel Ross from the <a href="https://twitter.com/DeptofDefense?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeptofDefense</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/DeborahLoomis8?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeborahLoomis8</a> from the Dept of the <a href="https://twitter.com/USNavy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USNavy</a>, and Kevin Mulligan from <a href="https://twitter.com/googlecloud?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@googlecloud</a> explored how sustainability and climate readiness are integral to mission readiness. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoogleDefense?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoogleDefense</a> <a href="https://t.co/kIn8CQBlMy">pic.twitter.com/kIn8CQBlMy</a>
— DefenseScoop (@DefenseScoop) <a href="https://twitter.com/DefenseScoop/status/1750571197249560668?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2024</a></blockquote>
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DefenseScoop is a brand of Scoop News Group (SNG), a government tech media company founded in 2008 that also offers events for government and industry VIPs and advertising campaigns for major corporations.
SNG’s <a href="https://scoopnewsgroup.com/">lengthy list</a> of clientele represents some of the biggest names across multiple industries, including Adobe, Amazon, CenturyLink, Cisco, Dell, Deloitte, GitHub, Google, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Intel, Lockheed Martin, McAfee, Microsoft, Northrop Grumman, Nvidia, Raytheon, Salesforce, Samsung, Symantec, and Verizon.
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SNG’s relationship with the government apparently affords it access to exclusive tips on certain government initiatives. In November, unnamed government sources <a href="https://defensescoop.com/2023/11/09/new-interim-dod-guidance-delves-into-the-risks-of-generative-ai/">made</a> DefenseScoop aware of interim Pentagon leadership guidance on generative AI.
The tip came several months after DOD launched Task Force Lima to research the integration potential of generative AI within the agency, and after the National Security Agency (NSA) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nsa-announces-new-ai-security-center">established</a> an AI security center consolidating existing AI and security-related activities across the NSA. 
Government reliance on AI, especially for threat analysis, has yielded some troubling results already.
Last summer, Air Force leadership <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usaf-chief-says-ai-drone-killed-human-operator-during-simulation-test-report">warned</a> against heavy reliance on AI after an AI-enabled drone “killed” its human operator in a simulated test. The AI drone turned on its operator after viewing the operator as a hindrance to its mission. 
In December, Sen. Rand Paul’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/barbie-fraud-meth-monkeys-rand-pauls-annual-festivus-report-shows-900-billion-in-government-waste">annual report</a> on government waste revealed that an AI verification system failed to flag individuals who applied for the pandemic Paycheck Protection Program using Barbie dolls for profile pictures.

Department of Defense Podium

Defense Department Officials Plan To Utilize AI To Help Identify Threats

Department of Defense

U.S. Military

America is falling behind in the race to send man to the moon again: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nasa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA</a> has once again delayed its launch dates, this time citing major safety concerns.
NASA delayed the missions in an <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-shares-progress-toward-early-artemis-moon-missions-with-crew/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> last week, citing unresolved issues including a battery, the heat shield, and a circuitry component responsible for air ventilation and temperature control.
The first crewed mission around the moon, Artemis II, was pushed back to September 2025. The first crewed mission to land on the moon since 1972, Artemis III, was pushed back to September 2026. Artemis II was originally scheduled for this November, and Artemis III was originally scheduled for December 2025.
According to NASA, the Artemis IV mission to land astronauts at the Gateway lunar space station remains on track for 2028. Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight, was originally planned to launch in November 2018 but didn’t launch until November 2022.
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In order to safely carry out our upcoming <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Artemis?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Artemis</a> missions to the Moon with astronauts, we are now targeting September 2025 for Artemis II and September 2026 for Artemis III.
Safety is our top priority. <a href="https://t.co/AjNjLo4U6E">https://t.co/AjNjLo4U6E</a> <a href="https://t.co/VE74OtlUr6">pic.twitter.com/VE74OtlUr6</a>
&mdash; NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1744795716013175212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The Artemis mission series has the ultimate goal of preparing for human expeditions to Mars.
NASA officials offered an explanation for the delays in <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?532930-1/nasa-officials-testify-status-return-moon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testimony</a> to the House Science and Space subcommittee on Wednesday.
The subcommittee reiterated the nation’s goal of landing a human crew within the decade, and emphasized the importance of beating other countries in landing the first crew on the moon: the first country there would establish precedence on the conduct and possibility of future lunar activities. Lawmakers called out China specifically.
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William Russell with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) expressed concern that NASA projected a launch of Artemis III within a year after Artemis II.
“One year is not a lot of time to do that learning, turn around and be ready for a September 2026 launch date,” said Russell.
Catherine Koerner, NASA associate administrator for exploration systems development, defended the timeline. Koerner said that America was still leading in the race to the moon.
“We believe that we will be on the surface of the moon before China is, and it’s our intent for that to happen,” said Koerner.
Koerner said that Artemis III vehicle processing would be far enough along prior to the launch date for Artemis II to make it feasible. Koerner noted that NASA’s 11 industry partners signed on to the adjusted launch dates.
“With Artemis, we’re building a capability: not just a launch capability but a capability in cislunar orbit, capability on the surface of the moon over time,” said Koerner.
Michael Griffin, former under secretary of defense for research and engineering for the Department of Defense and former NASA administrator, said that Artemis needed to be restarted in its entirety and would require congressional direction to the executive branch on how to continue. Griffin said that Artemis II was on a realistic schedule, but that Artemis III wasn’t.
“In my judgment, the Artemis program is excessively complex, unrealistically priced, compromises crew safety, poses very high mission risk of completion, and is highly unlikely to be completed in a timely manner to be successful,” said Griffin.
In addition to its testimony on Wednesday, GAO also <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-107249?utm_campaign=usgao_email&amp;utm_content=topic_space&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a report on NASA’s delays and remaining major challenges.
GAO stated that they <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106256" target="_blank" rel="noopener">foreshadowed</a> NASA’s announcement of a delay back in November; they reported that NASA projected an ambitious schedule, had delays to key events, and had a significant amount of remaining technical work.
GAO also noted a lack of transparency with the mission costs: NASA has yet to provide an official cost for Artemis III, despite requesting $6.8 billion in its fiscal year 2024 budget request. Total requests for the upcoming Artemis missions have amounted to at least $38 billion over the next five years. GAO noted that they first reported the lack of fiscal transparency back in 2019, when they discovered NASA didn’t plan on establishing an official cost estimate for Artemis III.
Key partners in the Artemis missions include SpaceX, the company founded and led by X CEO Elon Musk, which is developing a human landing system; and Axiom Space, developing more advanced spacesuits.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Adding a <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> crew arm for <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASA</a> astronauts at launch pad 40 <a href="https://t.co/rQeQiBdE79">pic.twitter.com/rQeQiBdE79</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1721983986883305641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Moon

Challenges Persist In Getting Astronauts To The Moon; NASA Again Delays Launch Date

General

NASA

Outer Space

Science

A Rhode Island woman has sued Panera Bread over its viral caffeinated drink, “Charged Lemonade,” claiming it caused permanent damage to her heart. 
Lauren Skerritt, 28, filed her lawsuit against the restaurant chain on Tuesday, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/19/business/woman-sues-panera-bread-after-drinking-charged-lemonade/">reported</a>. She alleged that the drink caused her permanent cardiac injury, even though she had no underlying medical conditions and was very physically active prior to drinking the lemonade. 
Skerritt reportedly experienced heart palpitations and dizziness that warranted repeated hospital visits after drinking two-and-a-half of the lemonades last April. Since then, per the lawsuit, Skerritt claims that she can no longer exercise as she once did and must take medication to regulate her heart, citing additional ongoing health issues. 
“Lauren continues to experience supraventricular tachycardia with associated shortness of breath, palpitations, brain fog, difficulty thinking and concentrating, body shakes, and weakness,” said the lawsuit, according to the New York Post.
Additionally, Skerritt says that she and her husband have had to delay an attempt at pregnancy because her condition would render it high-risk. 
Panera launched its Charged Lemonades in early 2022, marketing it as a “clean and plant-based” caffeine. 
Initially, the chain <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220616010013/https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/menu/products/mango-yuzu-citrus---with-guarana---caffeine.html">disclosed</a> on its website that its large cups of the lemonade contained nearly 400 milligrams of caffeine, which is the recommended maximum daily intake <a href="https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/spilling-beans-how-much-caffeine-too-much#:~:text=4.,associated%20with%20dangerous%2C%20negative%20effects.">according</a> to the FDA. In recent months, the chain updated the lemonades to reflect a caffeine amount of about 230 milligrams in a large cup. The chain offers unlimited free refills of the drink.
Users online began noticing the lemonade’s high caffeine amounts in the months after it debuted. One user in a <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@sarahebaus/video/7174882353871899947">viral December 2022 video</a> said she had regularly consumed multiple cups of the drink in a day until her husband happened to research the drink&#8217;s contents and she became aware of — and alarmed by — the caffeine amount. 
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“Panera Bread, this drink should come with a warning because it’s delicious and will lead to my cardiac arrest,” said the user, Sarah Baus. 
Two other families have sued the chain through the same <a href="https://www.klinespecter.com/panera-charged-lemonade-lawsuits">firm</a> representing Skerritt, claiming the deaths of their loved ones resulted from drinking the lemonade. 
One of the lawsuits claimed that Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student with Long QT syndrome, experienced two cardiac arrhythmias and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/21-year-old-woman-with-heart-condition-dies-after-drinking-panera-charged-lemonade-family-lawsuit-claims">died</a> shortly after drinking one of the lemonades in September 2022. Her parents sued the chain last October. 
Another suit alleges that 46-year-old Dennis Brown experienced cardiac arrest and died after drinking three cups of Panera’s lemonade. Brown had high blood pressure. His family sued the restaurant chain last month.
Following the Brown family’s lawsuit, Panera <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/panera-breads-charged-lemonade-blamed-second-death-lawsuit-alleges-rcna128036">issued</a> a statement claiming no responsibility for either of the deaths.
“Based on our investigation we believe [Brown’s] unfortunate passing was not caused by one of the company’s products,” the company said. “We view this lawsuit, which was filed by the same law firm as a previous claim, to be equally without merit. Panera stands firmly by the safety of our products.”
The lawsuits contend that Panera didn’t adequately advertise its Charged Lemonade as an energy drink. The lawyer on the cases, Elizabeth Crawford, said the lemonade is “dangerous” and improperly advertised to consumers in a statement to <a href="https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/northwest/ri-woman-claims-paneras-charged-lemonade-gave-her-long-term-heart-issues/">WPRI 12 News</a>. 
“If it is sold, it should have adequate warnings clearly advertising it to consumers as a super energy drink,” said Crawford.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Woman Sues Panera Over ‘Charged Lemonade,’ Claims Permanent Damage To Heart

Minors in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-jersey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Jersey’s</a> biggest city now have the right to vote in certain elections.
The Newark City Council voted on Wednesday to grant voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds for school board elections. The measure, sponsored by Council President LaMonica McIver, passed unanimously; she declared that minors had the right to representation.
“We support expanding our democracy and giving our young people the right to vote,” said McIver.
The <a href="https://newark.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6454487&amp;GUID=C98BC801-7B1E-40F6-AB82-F44D81A18B14">measure</a> declared that 16- and 17-year-olds deserve the right to vote because they may take on certain responsibilities like driving, paying taxes, and working, and civic activities such as political campaign contributions, volunteering in campaigns and at the polls, and attending political rallies.
Following prolonged and divided public remarks over the measure, Councilman Lawrence Crump remarked that minors today were capable of voting because they’re “much more mature, much more advanced” than he and his peers were in their youth.
“I don’t think we should punish children for what we as adults have failed to do, and I think if we don’t support [their right to vote] that’s what we’re doing, we’re punishing them from moving forward because of what we as adults and parents have not done,” said Crump.
Councilman Dupre Kelly said that granting certain voting rights to minors was critical to ensure a healthy democracy, and indicated that granting voting rights in school board elections was just the start.
“If you don’t utilize young people to help you build it, they will be the ones to tear it down,” said Kelly.
Councilwoman Louise Scott-Rountree said that it was Biblical to afford voting rights to minors.
“I think we downplay their wisdom because we think we elders know it all,” said Scott-Rountree.
Only one councilman, Carlos Gonzalez, expressed hesitation for the measure, warning that the next likely step would be policy allowing minors to run for election. Gonzalez also questioned whether the age limit was arbitrary, and if future arguments could be made for lowering the voting age even further.
“I don’t think they have the financial wisdom to handle that responsibility [of a billion-dollar budget],” said Gonzalez. “Where do we stop? I believe that we have to be concerned with the slippery slope of going from 18 to 16 to what?”
Councilman Patrick Council said that struggles with systemic racism and social justices had culminated in the measure. Council said that allowing minors to vote would help mitigate societal issues like gun violence.
Another major issue, the border crisis, was also brought up. Councilman Michael Silva expressed concern that illegal immigrant minors wouldn’t benefit from this new measure.
“My ward is going to be a reflection of a lot of wards the way the country is looking forward, and I think these 16 and 17-year-olds, even though they’re not American citizens, need to have their voices heard as well,” said Silva.
That same day, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy <a href="https://nj.gov/governor/news/news/562024/approved/20240109b.shtml">applauded</a> the measure in his State of the State address. Murphy asked that the state legislature pass similar legislation this session to grant minors voting rights for all local school board elections.
“I know, to some, this proposal may sound unconventional. But voting is a lifelong habit. And studies show that, if a person votes in one election they are more likely to turn out in the next election,” said Murphy. “So, encouraging our young neighbors to engage with democracy, is really about encouraging them to become lifelong voters.”
Last week, Murphy signed a bill allowing 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they turned 18 by the time of the general election.
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Murphy credited the push for minor voting rights to two young activists: Anjali Krishnamurti, a freshman at Harvard University and former campaign volunteer for Murphy, and Yenjay Hu, a high school senior.
“Honestly, when I see young leaders like Anjali and Yenjay, I cannot help but think: is it any surprise that New Jersey has the best public education system in the country?” said Murphy.
Krishnamurti and Hu co-founded Vote16NJ, a state spinoff of a national campaign, Vote16USA, both of which advocate for lowering the national voting age to 16 in local elections.
Vote16USA is a <a href="https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/generation-citizen/%23:~:text=If%2520you%2520are%2520a%2520human,vote%2520in%2520certain%2520local%2520elections.">project</a> of Generation Citizen, a progressive New York-based nonprofit. Among its top funders are the Ford Foundation, Bezos Family Foundation, the Jennifer and Jonathan Allan Soros Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

New Jersey’s Biggest City Grants Voting Rights To Minors

Children

Elections

New Jersey

Phil Murphy

All public high schools in the state of Washington will soon be receiving overdose kits, with state health officials citing the surge in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fentanyl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fentanyl</a> and other synthetic opioids.
In a press release on Wednesday, the Washington Department of Health (WDOH) <a href="https://doh.wa.gov/newsroom/department-health-offers-naloxone-high-schools-combat-youth-opioid-overdoses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the deployment of overdose kits as a means to combat a dramatic rise in opioid-related youth overdose deaths. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, WDOH Chief Science Officer, called the kits a “commonsense strategy” in response to underage recreational drug use.
“Some kids experiment with substances, unaware that just one counterfeit pill can contain enough fentanyl to be fatal,” said Kwan-Gett. “Providing access to naloxone will not only save lives, but also send a powerful message that we care about the health of our youth.”
The kits will contain nasal spray devices filled with naloxone, known by the brand name “Narcan.”
Almost one year ago to date, state health officials <a href="https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/Documents/Pubs/150-127-StatewideStandingOrderToDispenseNaloxone.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a standing order to allow over the counter or pharmacy sales of up to five kits of injectable or nasal spray naloxone to anyone, including minors, with no limit on refills.
As of WDOH’s latest data for 2023, there were nearly 2,000 total overdose <a href="https://doh.wa.gov/data-and-statistical-reports/washington-tracking-network-wtn/opioids/overdose-dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deaths</a> from synthetic opioids: well over twice the amount of deaths from 2020.
WDOH documented 91 synthetic opioid overdose deaths in 2016, 142 in 2017, 224 in 2018, 337 in 2019, 672 in 2020, 1,214 in 2021, and 1,803 in 2022. Out of those deaths, WDOH reported one minor death in 2019, two in 2020, two in 2021, and four in 2022.
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As for hospitalizations, WDOH translated those overdoses into a rate per 100,000 residents. The non-heroin opioid overdose hospitalization rate for minors between the ages of 10 and 17 increased from about three to about five per 100,000 from 2020 to 2022. The overdose hospitalization rate for minors under the age of 10 increased marginally from 2020 to 2021.
Fentanyl constitutes a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tuesday-afternoon-update-trump-tape-leaked-dojs-report-on-epsteins-death-fentanyl-driving-opioid-overdoses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">majority</a> of opioid overdoses.
The state of Washington follows closely behind other states enacting similar initiatives. Last month, Oregon began issuing overdose kits to both middle and high schools. Earlier this month, Arkansas put into effect a law requiring overdose kits in all public high schools and universities.
WDOH acknowledged that this initiative was a direct response to a Department of Education (ED) <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Letter-to-Schools.pdf?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosvitals&amp;stream=top" target="_blank" rel="noopener">request</a> to all schools last October to stock up on overdose kits. The letter followed a series of reports on schools experiencing an increase in drug-related incidents, including a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/school-district-serving-colony-ridge-experiences-surge-in-drug-overdoses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surge</a> in drug overdoses in one southeast Texas school district.
In the letter, ED Secretary Miguel Cardona and Office of National Drug Control Policy Rahul Gupta assured educators that naloxone usage wasn’t harmful, and that access to the overdose kits would only serve to reduce overdoses and not lead to an increase in youth drug use.
“In the midst of this fentanyl overdose epidemic, it is important to focus on measures to prevent youth drug use and ensure that every school has naloxone and has prepared its students and faculty to use it,” stated the letter.
Last November, President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-claims-hes-doing-everything-possible-to-stop-fentanyl-and-people-have-thoughts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assured</a> the public that his administration had a handle on the ever-worsening fentanyl crisis, a danger exacerbated by the ongoing border crisis.

Narcan

All Washington Public High Schools To Get Overdose Kits, Health Officials Cite Fentanyl Surge

Drugs

Fentanyl

Washington

The state of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oregon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oregon’s</a> housing agency lost track of $426 million in federal pandemic-era funds for emergency rental assistance (ERA), according to a new state audit.
In the 43-page audit released Thursday, the Oregon Audits Division revealed that Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) couldn’t definitively say where the millions designated to the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program ended up.
“The agency has no way of knowing how much of the $426 million went to eligible Oregon recipients and how much was sent to landlords, renters and non-eligible recipients in error,” read the <a href="https://sos.oregon.gov/audits/Documents/2024-01.pdf%23page=31" target="_blank" rel="noopener">audit</a>.
OHCS also told auditors that it couldn’t quantify the amount of ERA funds distributed or the number of applicants who received funding. The number of total applicants paid shifted from just over 56,000 to over 67,000 in the auditors’ investigation.
The auditors also determined that Oregon’s ERA Program had deficient financial accounting controls, poor contact administrative practices, shifting oversight, inadequate program staffing, and “a rushed and reactive planning and response approach.” The OHCS “did little” to monitor its contractors to ensure compliance on fraud, eligibility, and financial controls. In fact, auditors found that the agency had no system in place to ensure the eligibility of recipients.
Based on testing of randomly selected payments to program recipients, auditors found a 30 percent error rate. Based on that review, the auditors estimated erroneous payouts to possibly total $11 million. They noted that an attempt to recover at least one incorrect payment caught by their sample review was unsuccessful. Several of the organizations handling payouts to renters didn’t provide requested documentation to the auditors.
Auditors discovered numerous inaccuracies and inconsistencies between the OHCS database, U.S. Treasury reports, and a contractor database.
The audit further noted that OHCS was unable to prove it met federal guidelines in spending the millions due to “limited oversight and controls.” Specifically, the department submitted inaccurate reports to the U.S. Treasury and failed to accurately track administrative costs, which were limited to 10 percent of ERA 1 dollars and 15 percent of ERA 2 dollars.
ERA funds came through two separate <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/emergency-rental-assistance-supporting-renting-families-driving-lasting-reform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">installments</a>: “ERA 1” constituting $25 billion in Congress’ December 2020 COVID-19 relief package, and “ERA 2” constituting $21.5 billion in Congress’ March 2021 relief package.
An estimated 176,000 Oregon renter households were at risk for eviction in September 2020, despite an eviction moratorium imposed by then-Governor Kate Brown that was later extended by the state legislature.
Although OHCS neglected to ensure it met federal guidelines, it took extra steps to implement its desired equity-based system.
Applicants were scored based on their household size, number of months behind rent, 2020 wildfire impact, and whether they resided in a census tract with more low-income renters at risk of experiencing housing instability and homelessness due to COVID-19.
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The department coordinated with Oregon Human Development Corporation to identify and contact Latinos and farmworkers. The department also contracted with community-based organizations to identify and assist certain demographics: those with disabilities, substance abuse disorders, mental health issues; the homeless; and Latinos, African Americans, and Asian/Pacific Islanders.
Oregon’s ERA Program lasted from May 2021 to June 2023. With the ERA Program closed, OHCS was tasked with another emergency declared last year by Governor Tina Kotek: homelessness. Auditors indicated concern, noting that OHCS carried over at least one practice from the ERA Program to the homelessness-oriented program: the Oregon Eviction Diversion and Prevention Program.
In response to the audit, OHCS executive director Andrea Bell defended the department’s quality of work as justified by the pressures and demands of the pandemic. The director agreed to 14 of the 16 recommendations, denying two concerning the implementation of additional oversight: the creation of a permanent ombudsman and an evaluation of their policies and procedures for IT system oversight.

Cash

Oregon Lost Track Of $426 Million In Federal Pandemic Funds For Emergency Rental Assistance

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A Connecticut woman will become Vermont’s first nonresident to die by medically assisted suicide on Thursday.
76-year-old Lynda Bluestein traveled from Connecticut to Vermont on Wednesday to prepare for her scheduled death. Bluestein’s son, Jake Shannon, <a href="https://connecticut.news12.com/exclusive-bridgeport-woman-heading-to-vermont-to-die" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> News 12 Connecticut that Bluestein will take a lethal injection on Thursday morning. 
&#8220;I&#8217;d like to be remembered as someone who never thought that second best was even in the realm of possibility; who always believed that you can make everything better,&#8221; said Bluestein.
Bluestein said the state of Connecticut was “cruel” for not allowing medically assisted suicide. Supporters of assisted suicide also commonly refer to the practice as medical aid in dying (MAID), physician-assisted death, and aid in dying.
“Our state has failed my family and many others. Who can take a calendar and say that&#8217;s the day I&#8217;m going to die?” <a href="https://connecticut.news12.com/bridgeport-womans-journey-to-death-begins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Bluestein. “I was astonished on how cruel that felt.”
In anticipation of her death last month, Bluestein <a href="https://westportlibrary.org/westport-library-to-welcome-wind-phones-a-gift-to-the-community-and-a-lasting-tribute-to-the-remarkable-lynda-bluestein/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donated</a> two “wind phones” to her local library, one of which resides in the children’s section. The phones aren’t connected to anything. Rather, the user carries on a one-way conversation to their deceased loved one as a means of processing grief. The concept originated with an unconnected telephone booth in Japan established in 2010 by a man grieving his cousin’s death. 
Since its legalization in 2013, <a href="https://legislature.vermont.gov/assets/Legislative-Reports/Patient-Choice-Legislative-Report-Final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">200 individuals</a> have died using Vermont’s medically assisted suicide, according to a report from the Vermont Department of Health to the state legislature. Over 150 of those cases sought suicide due to cancer, including Bluestein, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Only those with a terminal illness given six months or less to live qualify for medically assisted suicide, and the individual must self-administer the medication. 
The state classifies the manner of these deaths as natural, with the cause listed as the underlying disease that prompted them to seek medically assisted suicide.  
In addition to Vermont, nine other states and Washington, D.C., allow medically assisted suicide: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and the state of Washington. However, only Vermont and Oregon allow nonresidents to obtain it. 
Bluestein <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/nyregion/connecticut-vermont-medical-assisted-death.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> Vermont in 2022 over its original restriction of the practice to residents only. Last May, the state legislature removed that requirement.
Over the years, Bluestein and groups like the Death With Dignity organization have advocated to legalize medically assisted suicide in Connecticut, but to no avail. Proposed legislation on the matter dating back to the late 1990s initially made it no further than introduction. Legalization gained slight momentum with committee assignments beginning in 2020; however, the bills haven’t advanced out of any committee over the last three legislative sessions. 
In Bluestein’s last testimony <a href="https://www.cga.ct.gov/2023/PHdata/Tmy/2023SB-01076-R000227-Bluestein,%20Lynda,%20Ms-Supports-TMY.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advocating</a> for legalization of medically assisted suicide, she insisted that the majority of Connecticut residents support it. 
“When I, like so many before me, have just wanted ‘to wake up dead,’ I want it to be at home and at peace,” said Bluestein. 
Over 5,000 patients in eight states died from medically assisted suicide from 1998 to 2020, <a href="https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jgs.17925" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to data published in 2022 by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or go to <a href="http://speakingofsuicide.com/resources" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources</a> for a list of additional resources.

Fog settles between hills at daybreak as

Connecticut Woman To Become Vermont’s First Nonresident To Get Medically Assisted Suicide In State

Connecticut Woman Becomes Vermont's First Nonresident To Get Medically Assisted Suicide In State

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Corinne Murdock