Brigham president had sold more Moderna stock before she resigned from biotech’s board
Jonathan Saltzman Updated August 4, 2020
Dr. Elizabeth Nabel's stock sales have infuriated a number of Brigham and Women’s employees.ELISE AMENDOLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The head of Brigham and Women’s Hospital sold nearly $2 million worth of Moderna stock in May, just as the institution she led was preparing cost-cutting due to COVID-19, bringing her total earnings from the biotech company to $8.5 million this year.
The Globe reported last week that Dr. Elizabeth Nabel sold 73,975 Moderna shares worth $6.5 million on July 15, after the company’s stock nearly quadrupled this year on news of early success with its experimental COVID-19 vaccine. Nabel resigned from the Cambridge biotech’s board of directors Thursday amid concerns that her position there might conflict with the hospital’s role in a large study of the vaccine.
But a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows that on May 12 Nabel also sold 30,000 shares of Moderna stock worth $1.98 million.
After Nabel announced her resignation from the Moderna board on Thursday, the Globe asked whether she intended to keep the $6.5 million from her July 15 stock sale. Erin McDonough, the hospital spokeswoman, said, “Dr. Nabel is considering a number of options, including charitable contributions.”
As of Tuesday, however, Nabel appeared to still be considering what to do with the money. “Dr. Nabel will make a charitable contribution to a non-profit charity of her choice” when she sells the rest of her investments in Moderna, the Brigham spokeswoman said in a statement.
Nabel had served on Moderna’s board since 2015. She still has 109,237 options to buy Moderna stock at a predetermined price, according the hospital. She received $425,000 in stock option awards from Moderna last year, as well as $62,500 in payment, according to an SEC filing.
Moderna’s share price has jumped this year amid widespread coverage of its effort to develop the first vaccine for COVID-19.
“The Brigham board and Dr. Nabel have agreed that she will pursue a plan of divestiture of her financial interest in Moderna as soon as possible,” the hospital said in its statement Tuesday.
Under SEC rules, McDonough said, Nabel has to wait until the next “open trading window” before she can sell stock options she obtained as a Moderna board member.
As long as Nabel retains those remaining shares, she still has a potential conflict of interest, according to Sunita Sah, a professor of management studies at Cambridge University in England and Cornell University who is considered an expert on such conflicts.
Sah said Nabel’s actions have implications for other Brigham employees.
“The hospital president sets the tone on conflicts of interest in general,” she said.
Medical ethics experts said last week that it was worrisome that the head of the Harvard-affiliated teaching hospital had a major financial stake in the vaccine, particularly given that many people are already skeptical of vaccines. Recent public opinion polls show up to half of Americans would be reluctant to get a COVID-19 vaccine if one is approved. To give people another reason to doubt a vaccine could be dangerous, the experts said.
Fish said in a statement Tuesday that although Brigham trustees had approved Nabel’s position on Moderna’s board and concluded she followed all requirements, “we fully support Dr. Nabel’s decision to step down from the Moderna board and divest her financial interests.”
Nabel continues to serve on the board of directors of a multinational medical technology company, Medtronic, a position she has held since 2014. Last year Medtronic paid her more than $407,000 while the firm did business with her hospital, according to a database maintained by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
However, McDonough said Nabel’s actual compensation from Medtronic was $264,000. Nabel, she said, never saw the remaining $143,000, which paid for flights to Dublin, where Medtronic has its headquarters, lodging, and other expenses.
McDonough, the Brigham and Women’s spokeswoman, said Nabel’s involvement with Medtronic was governed by the Mass General Brigham Professional Institutional Conduct Committee, which requires she recuse herself from discussions about business between the firm and her hospital.
The Globe reported last year that as Brigham’s president, Nabel received about $2.6 million in total compensation in 2017.
This is not the the first time that Nabel’s multiple roles have raised concerns.
In 2016, a congressional committee report said she was part of a National Football League effort to “steer funding” for a landmark concussion study away from a group of respected brain researchers at Boston University who have helped to establish a link between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, long-term brain damage.
The report found that the NFL “inappropriately attempted to influence” the NIH’s grant selection process through Nabel, who was serving as the league’s chief health and medical adviser. Nabel knows NIH well, having directed its National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute from 2005 to 2009. When the report was issued, she said she “had no intention of influencing” the NIH process. The agency stuck with its decision to award the grant to BU researchers, but ended up using internal funds, not NFL money, to pay for it.
Nabel, a cardiologist and professor at Harvard Medical School, stopped working as the health adviser to the NFL in 2017, according to Brigham’s spokeswoman.
Dr. Lindsey Baden, an infectious diseases specialist, is running the vaccine trial at the hospital and serves as one of three co-principal investigators for the study nationwide. Before Nabel resigned, he told the Globe she would play no role in the trial, which is expected to start soon at the hospital. He said he planned to report the results to Moderna, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ― which helped develop the experimental vaccine ― and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
Nabel’s recent sales of Moderna stock weren’t the first by company insiders to draw public attention.
Several Moderna executives and board members have sold millions of dollars worth of stock, including chief executive officer Stephane Bancel and chief medical officer Tal Zaks. Some trades were preprogrammed, company officials have said. But critics have questioned whether the insiders may have gained an unfair trading advantage by timing transactions with the release of market-moving data on the experimental vaccine’s progress.
BACK TO SCHOOL? — The first day of school is right around the corner, and the fast-changing dynamics around the coronavirus pandemic are making the next several weeks hard to predict.
Right now, there's no one-size-fits-all option for reopening schools. The choices are in-person instruction, an online-only approach, or a hybrid model, where students complete part of their instruction in person and the rest online. Two of the state’s largest teachers unions are calling for remote instruction, while Education Commissioner Jeff Riley is pushing for in-person learning.
Somerville made waves when it announced students would begin the school year withremote learning yesterday. The decision wasn't entirely a surprise — the city hasdelayed entering Phase 3 of the state's reopening, which most of Massachusetts began in early July. In the western part of the state, one elementary school is proposing an online model after three employees became ill from Covid-19. In Weston, the superintendentcouldn't attend a meeting on school reopening last week because she was ill from the virus. Weston is recommending a hybrid model.
The bottom line: There's a lot of uncertainty . The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education raised eyebrows this week when a spokesperson said the department was not formally tracking Covid-19 outbreaks, according to aBoston Herald report. Gov. Charlie Baker said on Tuesday the state is working on a mobile testing program for schools.
Not to mention, Covid-19 cases are slowly rising, according to state data. And if numbers continue to creep upward, Baker could tighten some reopening rules, which may mean a lower cap on gatherings or a return to other restrictions from earlier this year.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: BURNS, BENNET AND NARAL WEIGH IN — A cast of big-name endorsers are throwing their support behind Democratic candidates ahead of the Sept. 1 primary.
Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is endorsing Sen. Ed Markey today in his reelection campaign against Rep. Joe Kennedy III. Burns calls Markey a "visionary and prolific legislator" in a newendorsement video. He'll host a virtualfundraiser for Markey on Aug. 21. Suggested contributions range from $100 to $2,800.
In the crowded race to replace Kennedy, NARAL Pro-Choice America is backing Jesse Mermell, a former aide to Gov. Deval Patrick. The reproductive rights advocacy group pointed to Mermell's past work at Planned Parenthood and her support of the ROE Act on Beacon Hill as reasons for the endorsement.
State Sen. Cynthia Creem is backing Newton City Councilor Becky Grossman in her bid to replace Kennedy. Creem represents Newton, Brookline and parts of Wellesley, the hometowns of all nine Democrats in the race.
A former presidential candidate is also throwing his support behind a 4th District candidate today. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet is backing City Year co-founder Alan Khazei. Bennet met Khazei when he was superintendent of schools in Denver a decade ago, he says in a90-second endorsement video.
And Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss has nabbed another endorsement from the southern part of the district. Ironworkers Local 37, which represents workers in southeastern Massachusetts, and Cape Cod and the Islands, will announce its support today.
ONE MORE THING TO WATCH — The National Association of Realtors is about to jump into two primary races.
The trade association's super PAC filed with the FEC yesterday to spend for or against House Ways and Means chair Richard Neal, who is facing a primary challenge from Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, and Newton City Councilor Becky Grossman, who is running for Congress to replace Rep. Joe Kennedy III. The group reported $71,400 in independent expenditures, mostly on digital ads.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Rep. Lori Trahan tours the newly-reopened Concord Museum. Rep. Seth Moulton debates his primary challengers Angus McQuilken and Jamie Belsito. Rep. Ayanna Pressley hosts a listening session on school reopening with students in her district. Rep. Joe Kennedy III visits Worcester Community Healthlink, Inc.
LAUNCHING TODAY: THE FIFTY is a new series from POLITICO that examines the roles mayors and governors are playing amid the pandemic, the economic crisis and a national reckoning on race. The Fifty collects our best reporting on the governors and mayors shaping policy and driving politics, and looks at the people and power players outside of Washington. UP NOW:“The best job in America — or a living nightmare?” by Anna Gronewold and Shia Kapos … Q&Awith Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
TUNE OUT THE NOISE AND TUNE INTO THE NEWS: It's getting tougher to keep up with so much going on in the world around us. From the latest on the 2020 election to updates on the race for a vaccine and an economy fighting its way back, POLITICO Dispatch is our short, daily podcast that cuts through the daily clutter and keeps you up to speed on the day's essential news. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.
– “Baker warns if coronavirus cases go in wrong direction, he could slow down reopening,” by Travis Andersen and Jaclyn Reiss, Boston Globe: “Governor Charlie Baker warned Tuesday that Massachusetts may have to scale back its reopening efforts if positive coronavirus cases continue to creep up. ‘Over the past several days, we’ve seen a modest uptick in the percentage of new positive cases, and we continue to closely monitor and analyze the data to determine the factors that are driving that,’ Baker said during his regular briefing following a tour of the Boston MedFlight facility in Bedford.”
– “Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signs 3-month budget, sends back provisions that would keep funding levels at or above 2020,” by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a proposed three-month interim budget into law Tuesday but nixed a portion of the bill that would have required his administration to fund departments and services at least at fiscal 2020 levels.”
– “What would trigger a second lockdown in Mass.? The state still hasn’t laid out clear guidelines,” by Dasia Moore, Boston Globe: “As epidemiologists and doctors continued to sound alarms — some urging a return to more restrictive state guidelines on gatherings and businesses — Baker resisted laying out the state’s standards for reversing course on reopening. The state plan released in May identifies six key indicators guiding reopening, but it does not describe what specific set of conditions would trigger a reversal.”
– “Galvin Says He Is 'Disappointed' With Boston's Census Efforts,” by Jenifer B. McKim, WGBH News: “Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin on Tuesday said he is ‘disappointed’ by Boston city efforts to count residents for the United States census. While the state has counted about 65 percent of households, Boston’s response rate is just over 53 percent, according to data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.”
– “Political Notes: Rep. Sarah Peake takes lead on hazard pay,” by Geoff Spillane, Cape Cod Times: “State Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown, has taken a lead role in advocating for Stop & Shop to reinstate hazard pay for front-line grocery workers during the coronavirus pandemic. Stop & Shop instituted a 10% pay increase in March to recognize and compensate workers for additional risks they take in doing their jobs during a public health crisis, but the extra pay was discontinued July 4.”
– “Ed Commissioner Jeff Riley pushes in-person learning,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley is strongly urging local schools to open in person this fall, pushing back against state teachers’ unions who are calling for the school year to begin remotely.”
FROM THE HUB
– “Boston City Officials Express Concerns Over University Students Returning To Campus,” by Walter Wuthmann, Jamie Bologna and Carrie Jung, WBUR: “Northeastern and Boston University — the two largest universities in the city — plan to bring thousands of students back to campus in the fall for on-campus instruction. But as coronavirus cases continue to spike in states around the country, those plans are worrying some city officials.
– “Cambridge’s police chief said the city doesn’t get ‘military equipment.’ An inventory says the department has 64 M4 rifles,” by Hanna Krueger, Boston Globe: “In early June, as a wave of Black Lives Matter protests swept the nation and police departments faced renewed scrutiny, the Cambridge police commissioner stood before the City Council and made a declaration: ‘We don’t get military equipment. We don’t have any at all,’ said Branville Bard Jr. ‘We don’t have tanks, we don’t have anything like that.’ The statement set off a firestorm, particularly from City Councilor Quinton Zondervan, who lambasted the commissioner for peddling ‘not factually correct’ statements.”
– “Somerville Public Schools will start fall with all remote learning amid coronavirus,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “Somerville Public Schools will start the school year with all remote learning amid the coronavirus pandemic. Somerville, the state’s most densely populated city and one that has decided against moving into Phase 3 of the Bay State’s coronavirus reopening plan, made the decision on Tuesday to begin the 2020-2021 school year with full remote learning.”
– “Will Massachusetts teachers strike this fall? One local union is sounding an alarm,” by James Vaznis, Boston Globe: “In a sharp rebuke, teacher union leaders in Quincy decided against endorsing the Massachusetts Teachers Association’s resolution to continue with remote learning at the start of the school year, accusing the state’s largest teachers union of potentially orchestrating a strike.”
– “Brigham president had sold more Moderna stock before she resigned from biotech’s board,” by Jonathan Saltzman, Boston Globe: “The head of Brigham and Women’s Hospital sold nearly $2 million worth of Moderna stock in May, just as the institution she led was preparing cost-cutting due to COVID-19, bringing her total earnings from the biotech company to $8.5 million this year.”
– “Employers lose confidence; but see Massachusetts recovery outpacing national economy during COVID-19 pandemic,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “Business confidence fell in July, four months after the index suffered the largest one-time decline in its history a coronavirus hit followed by a modest spring recovery, Associated Industries of Massachusetts said Tuesday.”
PRIMARY SOURCES
– “Why Is Joe Kennedy Doing This?” by Russell Berman, The Atlantic: “The words tumble out of Joseph Patrick Kennedy III so quickly that the sense of urgency, even an unintended hint of impatience, is impossible to miss. The red-haired representative from Massachusetts—Joe, to just about everybody—is an extremely fast talker. The characteristic might be beyond his control, but it also seems to fit the moment.”
– “Senate candidates address evolving views during criminal justice forum,” by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: “Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III showed a few distinct differences in how they approach the major concern of the day– how do you reform a broken criminal justice system? And who gets to have a say? While both lean heavily toward making life easier for prisoners, their visions, – and track records, are not identical.”
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
– “‘We don’t have the capacity, nor should we be enforcing this'; Officials question how Mass. travel order, fines will be carried out,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “Now that Gov. Charlie Baker’s travel order is in effect, out-of-state visitors will face a choice: quarantine until they get cleared by a negative coronavirus test result or face a $500 a day fine — a hefty price to pay for vacationers who might be willing to splurge a little bit during the economic downturn.”
DAY IN COURT
– “What would a new Tsarnaev trial look like, five years later?” by Dugan Arnett, Boston Globe: “For three long months in 2015, victims and their families were forced to endure the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, an emotionally devastating proceeding that concluded with an unremorseful Tsarnaev being sentenced to death for his role in a plot that left three dead and wounded hundreds. Now, they might have to do it all over again.”
– “New coronavirus recommendations for jury trials during pandemic,” by Marie Szaniszlo, Boston Herald: “A committee of the Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday released recommendations on the resumption of state court jury trials, which have been postponed since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.”
TRUMPACHUSETTS
– “Auchincloss’s vote on Trump impeachment contradicts his campaign claims,” by Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe: “To combat criticism that he’s less progressive than his Democratic primary opponents, Jake Auchincloss has been emphasizing his opposition to President Trump. His campaign brochure says he was ‘one of the first Democrats to call for Donald Trump’s impeachment’ and someone who ‘stands out as the leader most ready to fight back against Donald Trump.’ But those claims contradict Auchincloss’s record as a Newton city councilor. On that panel of two dozen local officials, he distinguished himself as one of the few who refused to call for Trump’s impeachment.”
MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND
– “Rhode Islanders must quarantine beginning Friday as coronavirus cases there surge,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “Rhode Island is now considered a high-risk state and anyone traveling to or from the Ocean State will be required to quarantine for two weeks, produce a negative test result or face fines beginning on Friday, state health officials announced.”
ABOVE THE FOLD
— Herald: “VIRTUAL REALITY," "RHODE RAGE,”—Globe: “Brigham chief had sold more Moderna stock," "State's standards for rollback still unclear.”
FROM THE 413
– “Principal recommends remote learning plan,” by Jacquelyn Voghel, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Last month, officials at New Hingham Regional Elementary School were hopeful that they could safely welcome students back to school for in-person learning this fall. But as COVID-19 cases appear in recently repopulated U.S. schools, and after three New Hingham staff members, one of whom was placed on a ventilator, became ill with the virus, Principal Jesse McMillan is recommending a fully remote learning plan through at least Oct. 1.”
THE LOCAL ANGLE
– “Hermitage nursing home plans to appeal state termination notice,” by Cyrus Moulton, Telegram & Gazette: urprised and disappointed’ them.”“The Hermitage HealthCare senior care center will appeal MassHealth’s decision to begin the process of revoking the nursing home’s participation in thestate’s Medicaid program, saying the decision ‘s
– “Kingston elects selectwoman active in recall movement,” by Johanna Seltz, Boston Globe: “Voters elected Sheila Marie Vaughn – who was active in the recall movement that led to two selectmen losing their seats in June – to fill another opening on the Board of Selectmen. Vaughn, who is vice chairwoman of the Kingston School Committee, defeated Peter Boncek, 880 to 325, in the Aug 1. special election.”
– “Major Halloween events called off due to COVID-19,” by Dustin Luca, The Salem News: “Official, city-run events tied to Halloween are effectively on hold this year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to escalate around the country. In an announcement issued Tuesday afternoon, the mayor's office announced that several of the official, city-run events held in most years have been called off for 2020.”
– “2 more laid off Methuen officers brought back,” by Breanna Edelstein, Eagle-Tribune: “Two of five Methuen police officers at risk of losing their jobs because of shortfalls in the FY2021 budget have been spared layoffs after a City Council vote Monday night. That brings the total to four officers returned to duty through similar financial moves within the budget, according to Mayor Neil Perry.”
MEDIA MATTERS
– “Layoffs reported at NBCUniversal's Boston stations,” by Don Seiffert, Boston Business Journal: “At least 20 employees at NBC10 Boston and NBC Sports Boston were reportedly laid off Tuesday as part of a nationwide effort to cut costs during the coronavirus pandemic. A spokeswoman for NBCUniversal confirmed that layoffs were occurring in Boston but declined to say how many.”
TRANSITIONS – Tara Spann joins MENTOR as the organization's first-ever chief people and strategy officer.
– David Todisco is now Rep. Lori Trahan’s digital director and press secretary.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former ambassador and MA-03 candidate Rufus Gifford, who is 46; Christina Pacheco, deputy state director for Sen. Ed Markey; and Jim Puzzanghera, Boston Globe D.C. bureau chief.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY – to Casey Liston, who celebrated Tuesday.
NEW EPISODE: THE ENDORSE RACE – On this week’s Horse Race podcast, host Jennifer Smith and guest host Katie Lannan discuss what’s happening on Beacon Hill, and Stephanie Murray weighs in on the race between Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.
Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
POLITICO'S "FUTURE PULSE" - THE COLLISION OF HEALTH CARE AND TECHNOLOGY : As the United States remains stuck in a screening crisis, a worldwide competition has been launched to find the top Covid-19 rapid testing solutions. The contest aims to find a system with a painless sample and quick turnaround for results. When will a breakthrough come? From Congress and the White House, to state legislatures and Silicon Valley, Future Pulse spotlights the politics, policies and technologies driving long-term change on the most personal issue for voters: Their health. SUBSCRIBE NOW.
Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is battling to get access to eight years of financial records related to Trump and his business empire. (photo: Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)
Manhattan DA Cites Reports of "Protracted Criminal Conduct" at Trump Organization in Bid for Records Melissa Quinn, CBS News Quinn writes: "Lawyers for Manhattan's chief prosecutor, who is fighting to obtain troves of President Trump's tax returns and business records,"defended the scope of his office's subpoena for the documents in a new filing Monday, referencing public reports "of possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization."
In thefilingwith the federal district court in New York City, where the dispute between Mr. Trump and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance was sent following aSupreme Court rulinglast month, New York prosecutors suggested the grand jury investigation into Mr. Trump and his business dealings extends beyond hush-money payments made to an adult film actress and model before the 2016 presidential election. The two women claim that they had affairs with Mr. Trump more than a decade ago, which he denies.
In rebutting an argument from Mr. Trump that the subpoena to Mazars USA, his longtime accounting firm, is too broad, prosecutors with the district attorney's office said it "rests on the false premise" that the probe is limited to the payments funneled through Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump's former personal attorney, to Stormy Daniels, the actress, and Karen McDougal, the model.
Mr. Trump, they wrote, "goes so far as to declare that these payments — and these payments alone — are what the 'grand jury claims to be investigating,' and thus the Mazars subpoena is overbroad because it seeks documents dating back to 2011. But this Court is already aware that this assertion is fatally undermined by undisputed information in the public record."
The prosecutors go on to say that public reporting shows the district attorney's office "had a valid basis for requesting each category and timeframe of document listed in the Mazars subpoena."
"As this reporting makes clear, at the time the Mazars subpoena was issued, there were public allegations of criminal activity at [Trump's] New York County-based Trump Organization dating back over a decade," the New York prosecutors wrote.
In a footnote, Vance's lawyers cited aMarch 2019 articlein the Washington Post that detailed alleged efforts by Mr. Trump to inflate his net worth to financial institutions, as well as aFebruary 2019 reportin the Wall Street Journal about the $130,000 payment to Daniels. The filing from New York prosecutors also cited athird articlefrom the Washington Post, published in October 2018, about the president's expansion of his real estate empire.
"This possible criminal activity occurred within the applicable statutes of limitations, particularly if the transactions involved a continuing pattern of conduct," the New York prosecutors said, adding that the reports detail "possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization."
Vance's attorneys are urging the court to dismiss the president's amended lawsuit challenging the grand jury subpoena for eight years of his accounting and personal records.
Mr. Trump's "recycled claims rest on unsupported and speculative assertions — not the sort of factual allegations that can overcome the legal presumptions of regularity," the prosecutors wrote.
The Supreme Court sent the dispute between Mr. Trump and Vance back to the lower court last month in a ruling that rejected the president's claim of "absolute immunity" from state criminal subpoenas.
In its amended lawsuit, the president's lawyers again claim that the subpoena to Mazars was issued in bad faith and is overbroad.
Worries About 2020 Census' Accuracy Grow With Cut Schedule Mike Schneider, Associated Press Schneider writes: "The U.S. Census Bureau is cutting its schedule for data collection for the 2020 census a month short as legislation that would have extended the national head count's deadlines stalls in the U.S. Senate." READ MORE
Tianna Spears joined the State Department in 2018, looking forward to the promise of a fulfilling career. She left after less than two years, and is one of a growing number to speak out recently about the special challenges faced by minority foreign service officers. (photo: Kennedi Carter/NPR)
'I Was Asked if I Stole My Car': Black Diplomats Describe Harassment at US Borders Jackie Northam, NPR Northam writes: "In April 2018, Tianna Spears joined the State Department, looking forward to the promise of a fulfilling career. Then 26, she had spent three years learning Spanish in the Dominican Republic and Spain to help land a position in the Foreign Service." READ MORE
The National Football League did not support (from left) Eli Harold, Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid and other players who kneeled during the playing of the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial injustice. (photo: Mario Jose Sanchez/AP)
he US Navy SEALs said Sunday that they were investigating a video that appeared to show a military dog demonstration using a "Colin Kaepernick stand-in" at the National Navy SEAL Museum in Florida last year.
Videos of the event were posted by an Instagram user in January 2019, but they received widespread attention on social media after filmmaker Billy Corben shared them on his Twitter account on Sunday.
The videos appeared to show several military dogs attacking a "target" wearing a Kaepernick jersey during the demonstration at the museum in Fort Pierce.
In a statement on Twitter, the US Naval Special Warfare Command said the agency first became aware on Sunday of the video showing a "military working dog demonstration" held at the National Navy SEAL Museum last year.
In the demonstration, the "target" is wearing Kaepernick's jersey, the agency confirmed.
The US Navy SEALs said there were "no active duty Navy personnel or equipment" involved with "this independent organization's event."
"The inherent message of this video is completely inconsistent with the values and ethos of Naval Special Warfare and the US Navy," the statement said. "We are investigating the matter fully."
The National Navy SEAL Museum did not respond to a request for comment.
Kaepernick, who is currently a free agent, played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers before he began taking a knee during the national anthem to protest systemic police brutality and racial inequality in the US.
His protest has encouraged many athletes in the US and across the world to do the same and has also prompted backlash from NFL owners, sports fans, and President Donald Trump.
Terry Merlo, who originally posted the videos on his Instagram account on Jan. 27, 2019, wrote in the caption: "Colin Kaepernick stand in attacked by 5 Navy SEAL attack dogs at fundraiser for the Navy SEAL Museum in Ft Pierce. Awesome! Stand for the National Anthem!"
Merlo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the video, a man yells out to the crowd, "You guys want to see Josh get bit again?"
Several dogs are then released one by one to "target" the man identified as Josh, who is wearing Kaepernick's jersey.
Another video posted by Merlo and reposted by Corben on Twitter shows the target on the ground as a crowd of onlookers cheer.
The Bicentenario-Los Pilares dam across the Mayo River in Sonora, Mexico, in a photograph from the local council. (photo: San Bernardo Álamos council)
Mexican Dam Poised to Displace Living and Flood Ancestors' Graves Analy Nuno, Guardian UK Nuno writes: "High in the Sierra de Alamos of Mexico's northern Sonora state, towering pillars of rock loom above thermal springs where for thousands of years, the indigenous Guarijío people would gather to commune with their ancestors."
Experts say indigenous group has been pressured and cheated into surrendering its land
Now the springs – and the land around them – have been submerged beneath rising waters trapped behind an enormous dam across the Mayo River. The 25-storey Bicentenario-Los Pilares barrier threatens to displace the living, and leave the graves of their forefathers deep under water.
“The government are leaving us with nothing,” said Wilfrido, a member of the Guarijío community in the village of Macarahui, and the leader of one of 53 families who are resisting the dam. “They’re not taking us into account. They say that negotiations should be government-to-government – but they’re not talking to our traditional leader.”
The Sonora state government first presented the plan in 2011: an ambitious project that would involve building a 78-meter-high barrier and would flood nine villages.
Local residents say that the government and other supporters of the project pressured them to hand over their lands, creating fierce divisions among the 3,000-strong Guarijío community. Some have supported the dam, but the group’s traditional leaders remain opposed to the project.
Despite the opposition, work began at the site in 2013, with an initial investment of some US$67m. The Guarijíos launched a legal attempt to block the project, arguing that their collective rights had been violated and that the dam threatened the group’s survival, but construction continued.
Opponents of the dam had hoped that the election of a leftwing president could change things: whenAndrés Manuel López Obradortook power in December 2018, 68 indigenous groups awarded him a ceremonial staff, in an unprecedented vote of confidence in the leader.
But the president, popularly known as Amlo, has thrown his support behind a string of controversial megaprojects on or near indigenous land, including highways, reservoirs, mining projects, oil refineries, housing projects and a 1,460km “Mayan Train” railway which critics say threatens unique jungle ecosystems in southern Mexico.
After a six-year legal fight, opponents of the dam won a court ruling in their favour in February 2019, but three months later, Amlo declared that federal funding would be released in order to finish the dam “as soon as possible”.
In October, Amlo announced a consultation process with the Guajiríos – but also released 600m pesos of funding for the project and said the government would approve the necessary licenses to complete it.
Speaking at an event titled Dialogues with the Indigenous Peoples, Amlo said: “This will all depend on you, the Guarijíos, because nothing will be imposed,” before quoting Mexico’s only indigenous president, Benito Juárez: “Nothing by force, all by reason and law.”
But the only Guajiríos invited to the event were those who already supported the project; opponents of the project were left protesting outside.
“The whole process has been riddled with irregularities,” said the anthropologist Armando Haro, an advisor to the Guarijíos since 2011. “The Guarijíos have been pressured and cheated into surrendering their land rights and signing sales contracts through promises which have not been kept.”
Speaking by telephone from the village of Macarahui, Wilfrido, 49, a farmer with four children, said local residents were under pressure not to speak out against the project. “We’ve had threats; they say they’re going to run us out of here. People are scared to stay here.”
Some 3,000 Guarajíos live in a handful of remote villages scattered across the Sierra Madre Occidental. They have survived conquest, drought, hunger, government neglect and incursions by drug traffickers who cultivate marijuana in the deep valleys of the mountain range.
But the dam is perhaps the greatest challenge they have faced so far.
“We want the president to listen to our traditional governors – to hear what state this megaproject will leave us in,” said Wilfrido. “If they set out to destroy us, they’re already succeeding. They’re destroying our land, our culture, our people.”
As the tribe waited for a response from the government, work on the dam continued, and the floodgates on the dam were closed in early July. On Thursday, Amlo will head to Sonora, where first he will officially apologize to the indigenous Yaqui people who were subjected to a genocide in the 19th century – and then to officially inaugurate the Bicentenario-Los Pilares dam.
The rising water has already cut off the Guajiríos’ route to their herds of cattle and nearby roads.
But alongside farmland and homes, the Guarijíos history and heritage also faces obliteration: pre-Columbian petroglyphs, ceremonial sites and a swathe of riverside territory rich in medicinal plants will all be lost beneath the rising waters.
“Our holy places have already been flooded,” said Wilfrido. “Our village is dying, our culture is dying – and our hope is dying.”
A whale shark swims in the Egyptian Red Sea. (photo: Derek Keats/Wikimedia Commons)
Sharks Are Widely Misunderstood Gavin Naylor, The Conversation Excerpt: "Sharks elicit outsized fear, even though the risk of a shark bite is infinitesimally small. As a marine biologist and director of the Florida Program for Shark Research, I oversee the International Shark Attack File - a global record of reported shark bites that has been maintained continuously since 1958."
We are careful to emphasize how rare shark bites are: You are 30 times more likely to be struck by lightning than be bitten by a shark. You are more likely to die while taking a selfie, or be bitten by a New Yorker. In anticipation of the anxiety that's typically generated by the Discovery Channel's Shark Week programming, here are a few things about sharks that are often overlooked.
A Big, Diverse Family
Not all sharks are the same. Only a dozen or so of the roughly 520 shark species pose any risk to people. Even the three species that account for almost all shark bite fatalities – the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) and bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) – are behaviorally and evolutionarily very different from one another.
The tiger shark and bull shark are genetically as different from each other as a dog is from a rabbit. And both of these species are about as different from a white shark as a dog is from a kangaroo. The evolutionary lineages leading to the two groups split 170 million years ago, during the age of dinosaurs and before the origin of birds, and 110 million years before the origin of primates.
Yet many people assume all sharks are alike and equally likely to bite humans. Consider the term "shark attack," which is scientifically equivalent to "mammal attack." Nobody would equate dog bites with hamster bites, but this is exactly what we do when it comes to sharks.
So, when a reporter calls me about a fatality caused by a white shark off Cape Cod and asks my advice for beachgoers in North Carolina, it's essentially like asking, "A man was killed by a dog on Cape Cod. What precautions should people take when dealing with kangaroos in North Carolina?"
Know Your Species
Understanding local species' behavior and life habits is one of the best ways to stay safe. For example, almost all shark bites that occur off Cape Cod are by white sharks, which are a large, primarily cold-water species that spend most of their time in isolation feeding on fishes. But they also aggregate near seal colonies that provide a reliable food source at certain times of the year.
Shark bites in the Carolinas are by warm-water species like bull sharks, tiger sharks and blacktips (Carcharhinus limbatus). Each species is associated with particular habitats and dietary preferences.
Blacktips, which we suspect are responsible for most relatively minor bites on humans in the southeastern United States, feed on schooling bait fishes like menhaden. In contrast, bull sharks are equally at home in fresh water and salt water, and are often found near estuaries. Their bites are more severe than those of blacktips, as they are larger, more powerful, bolder and more tenacious. Several fatalities have been ascribed to bull sharks.
Tiger sharks are also large, and are responsible for a significant fraction of fatalities, particularly off the coast of volcanic islands like Hawaii and Reunion. They are tropical animals that often venture into shallow water frequented by swimmers and surfers.
Humans Are Not Targets
Sharks do not "hunt" humans. Data from the International Shark Attack File compiled over the past 60 years show a tight association between shark bites and the number of people in the water. In other words, shark bites are a simple function of the probability of encountering a shark.
This underscores the fact that shark bites are almost always cases of mistaken identity. If sharks actively hunted people, there would be many more bites, since humans make very easy targets when they swim in sharks' natural habitats.
Local conditions can also affect the risk of an attack. Encounters are more likely when sharks venture closer to shore, into areas where people are swimming. They may do this because they are following bait fishes or seals upon which they prey.
This means we can use environmental variables such as temperature, tide or weather conditions to better predict movement of bait fish toward the shoreline, which in turn will predict the presence of sharks. Over the next few years, the Florida Program for Shark Research will work with colleagues at other universities to monitor onshore and offshore movements of tagged sharks and their association with environmental variables so that we can improve our understanding of what conditions bring sharks close to shore.
More to Know
There still is much to learn about sharks, especially the 500 or so species that have never been implicated in a bite on humans. One example is the tiny deep sea pocket shark, which has a strange pouch behind its pectoral fins.
Only two specimens of this type of shark have ever been caught – one off the coast of Chile 30 years ago, and another more recently in the Gulf of Mexico. We're not sure about the function of the pouch, but suspect it stores luminous fluid that is released to distract would-be predators – much as its close relative, the tail light shark, releases luminous fluid from a gland on its underside near its vent.
Sharks range in form from the bizarre goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni), most commonly encountered in Japan, to the gentle filter-feeding whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Although whale sharks are the largest fishes in the world, we have yet to locate their nursery grounds, which are likely teeming with thousands of foot-long pups. Some deepwater sharks are primarily known from submersibles, such as the giant sixgill shark, which feeds mainly on carrion but probably also preys on other animals in the deep sea.
Sharks seem familiar to almost all of us, but we know precious little about them. Our current understanding of their biology barely scratches the surface. The little we do know suggests they are profoundly different from other vertebrate animals. They've had 400 million years of independent evolution to adapt to their environments, and it's reasonable to expect they may be hiding more than a few tricks up their gills.
