At conference short on GOP voices, Biden says US can end hunger
President Joe Biden told several hundred people Wednesday that he envisions a U.S. with fewer deaths from diet-related diseases and parents better able to put food on the table.
“In America, no child should go to bed hungry. No parent should die of disease that can be prevented,” said Biden, who opened the daylong White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
Biden said work toward the conference goals of ending hunger by 2030 and reducing the prevalence of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and other diet-linked illnesses started with the release Tuesday of a national strategy and the unveiling Wednesday of wide-ranging commitments to advance change from the private and nonprofit sectors that the administration valued at $8 billion.
“These goals are within our reach,” Biden said. “I believe America is at an inflection point.” Administration officials said ways to measure progress on the commitments will be developed probably with the CDC Foundation, which Congress created to manage philanthropic and private-sector funding to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—CQ-Roll Call
University of Idaho memo tells employees not to promote abortion
BOISE, Idaho — The University of Idaho in a memo last week warned employees against promoting abortion or services for the “prevention of conception” and recommended limits on discussions of abortion in the classroom.
In the memo sent to employees Friday, the university’s Office of General Counsel outlined guidelines for how the state’s abortion laws could impact university employees.
“In this new and evolving landscape, how these laws will be enforced remains unclear,” the memo said. “Accordingly, the university and its employees should be aware of the potential risks and penalties associated with conduct that may be perceived to violate the laws.”
According to the email, state law prohibits university employees, while doing their jobs, from promoting abortion, providing or performing an abortion, counseling in favor of abortion, referring people for abortions or providing facilities for an abortion. Employees also can’t dispense emergency contraception, contract with abortion providers or advertise or promote services for abortion, the memo said.
—Idaho Statesman
Low Lake Mead reveals prehistoric volcanic ash, potential risks, study says
LAS VEGAS — Boats and bodies aren’t the only things revealing secrets at Lake Mead. Newly exposed rock at Lake Mead has revealed that the Las Vegas Valley could be impacted by volcanic ash from neighboring states.
A UNLV study published in the Geological Society of America found that the exposed rock, which hasn’t been visible since the 1930s, contains ash from volcanoes in Wyoming, California and Idaho from 12 million to 32,000 years ago.
While that may seem like a long time ago, researchers says there is still a possibility that volcanic activity may one day impact the valley.
Eugene Smith, a UNLV emeritus professor of geology, said volcanic ash that reaches the valley in the future could cause safety issues like fallen power lines, blocked roadways and health problems.
“(Ash) is easily remobilized by wind and water,” Smith said in a news release. “When inhaled, the incredibly tiny but sharp glass grains in the ash can cause significant, chronic lung conditions such as silicosis.”
—Las Vegas Review-Journal
For Iranian protesters, a digital double-edged sword
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s anti-government protests, which were sparked by the death of a young woman in police custody, have gone viral, and then some.
The internet is an essential tool for these demonstrators. For more than a week, millions have shared wrenching videos and vivid online images of confrontations between protesters and Iranian authorities. They’ve topped news broadcasts and ricocheted across the globe.
The hard-line government in Tehran has deployed digital trackers and waged an all-out media war against protesters and their supporters — a strategy it used in 2019 to quash protests in just three days. Back then, authorities took control of the internet and unleashed a violent crackdown that resulted in thousands of arrests and as many as 1,500 deaths.
This time is different. The protests are well into their second week and show little sign of waning.
—Los Angeles Times
