‘We’re seeing already a lack of familiarity with the process.’
For Black voters in North Carolina, the rate of mail-in ballot rejections is 4 times higher than that of white voters.
Early voting is underway in the state, and many Black residents are seeing their mail-in ballots returned for inconsistencies, such as mismatched signatures or missing witness signature.
Many voters doubt that the ballot review lacks information about race, as state election officials insist.
FiveThirtyEight reporter Kaleigh Rogers notes that “the vast majority of these ballots were rejected because voters made a mistake or failed to fill out the witness information.” These ballots can still be counted, as Rogers writes “North Carolina allows for a process called ‘vote curing,’ where voters are notified that there’s a mistake and given a chance to fix their ballot.”
According to the article, “Black voters have mailed in 13,747 ballots, with 642 rejected, or 4.7 percent. White voters have cast 60,954 mail-in ballots, with 681 — or 1.1 percent — rejected,” Rogers writes.
In the swing state of #NorthCarolina, the mail-in ballots of Black voters are being rejected at 4x the rate of white voters.
If you live in NC, you have a right to CORRECT your ballot if missing a signature / witness signature.
It’s not uncommon for Black and Hispanic voters to frequently have their ballots rejected. Part of the reason is reportedly due to many being first-time voters or not familiar with the requirements.
“We’re seeing already a lack of familiarity with the process, whether it’s signing the ballot or having the witness information completed,” said Michael Bitzer, a political scientist at Catawba College in North Carolina. “There tends to be a greater number from voters who were previously in-person voters. If you look at the numbers [from Sept. 14], the ballots denied due to incomplete witness information, 55 percent of those voters had voted in person in 2016.”
The racial gap in rejected ballots is not unique to North Carolina.
An earlier article on theGRIO stated that research conducted by University of Florida professor Daniel Smith found Black and Hispanic voters in the state were twice as likely to have their ballots rejected as White voters. The data, gathered from the Florida Division of Elections, also found that young voters are also likely to have rejected ballots, CNNreported.
“If you move, you may not even get your ballot, and we know younger voters, racial, ethnic minorities, lower-income voters tend to move more. That’s certainly been the case with the pandemic. That’s going to raise a problem with you getting your ballot in the first place,” Smith said to CNN.
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The president has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the coronavirus.
Twitter will suspend accounts of users who openly hope President Donald Trump dies from the coronavirus.
Just a month before the presidential election, Trump tweeted early Friday morning that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested COVID-19 positive, theGRIO previously reported.
As the day progressed, the White House said Trump was “fatigued” and had been injected with an experimental antibody cocktail for the virus. By Friday evening, officials revealed he will spend the next few days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, citing precautionary reasons. Trump will reportedly work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.
In the meantime, Twitter told Motherboard that users who call for the death of the president will have their accounts removed or put into a “read only” mode, per Vice.com.
“Content that wishes, hopes or expresses a desire for death, serious bodily harm or fatal disease against an individual is against our rules,” Twitter said in a statement.
The company noted that it “won’t take enforcement action on every Tweet” that violates Trump amid his health crisis.
“We’re prioritizing the removal of content when it has a clear call to action that could potentially cause real-world harm,” Twitter said.
Trump has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the virus, rarely wearing a protective mask and urging states and cities to “reopen” and reduce or eliminate shutdown rules.
During Tuesday night’s debate, he mocked Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for regularly wearing a mask in public.
“I don’t wear masks like him,” Trump said of Biden. “Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”
Both Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have tested negative, their campaign said. Vice President Mike Pence has also tested negative for the virus and “remains in good health,” his spokesman said.
In a tweet Friday morning, Biden said he and his wife “send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.”
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More than 32,000 employees have been furloughed by American Airlines and United Airlines.
A flight attendant for American Airlines gave an emotional farewell speech to passengers onboard her final flight.
Breaunna Ross, 29, was travelling from Jacksonville, Florida, to her home city of Dallas, when she lost her composure while making the routine landing announcement during her final shift on September 27.
“As all of you know, the airline industry has been impacted greatly by this global pandemic,” she told passengers while wearing a mask. A colleague filmed her speech and shared it on Facebook.
“For myself and one other crew member on our flight today, this means we’ll be furloughed Oct. 1, and unfortunately, this is my last working flight before that day comes,” Ross continued. “I will never forget seeing your faces today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kindness shown on today’s flight.”
Ross has been working for the company for 2.5 years. She joins the more than 32,000 employees who have been furloughed by American Airlines and United Airlines, after talks for a $25 billion coronavirus aid package failed in Washington, CNBC reports.
Flight attendants across the country this week give tearful goodbyes on their final flights as more than 40,000 airline employees are furloughed today. pic.twitter.com/WQk7YwwpVA
American’s CEO Doug Parker told employees that the airline “will begin the difficult process of furloughing 19,000 of our hardworking and dedicated colleagues.”
In a message to staff, United said “We implore our elected leaders to reach a compromise, get a deal done now, and save jobs. The company will reportedly cut more than 13,000 jobs.
“I am extremely sorry we have reached this outcome,” Parker wrote. “It is not what you all deserve. It is a privilege to advocate on behalf of the hardworking aviation professionals at American and throughout the industry, and you have my assurance that we will continue to do so in the days ahead.”
Parker said American will reverse 19,000 furloughs and recall workers if Washington provides federal aid for airlines.
Flight crew members are hitting up social media to share reactions to the furloughs. Ross’ video has more than 130,000 views on Facebook.
“This job was an escape for me after being unhappy with my job after graduating college,” she said. “It was a job that awarded me many opportunities, a job that I fell in love with.”
In the clip, she also thanked her employer and co-workers.
“To my family at American Airlines, thank you for taking a chance on me two and a half short years ago,” Ross said. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see this big world. To my amazing crew, I wish each of you the best of luck. We were told in training to be like palm trees, and this is the perfect example: We may bend, but we never break.”
The airline industry has taken a hit amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. American Airlines has reportedly lost $5 billion this year, while United Airlines lost $3.3 billion. Every airline has been negatively impacted by the pandemic and facing a grim financial future.
“We are real people,” said Ross in the viral video. “I personally have no kids and am not married, but I know so many of my coworkers who are … Who just bought homes. Who have small children. Who have children in college they have to support. We are a strong group of people and I know everyone will get through this.”
Many passengers reportedly thanked Ross on their way off the plane. In a message on Facebook, she said an individual gave her a handwritten note claiming she inspired them donate to the Make A Wish foundation.
“I don’t know your name, but I know a child’s day will be made better because of you,” the note said.
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“Chad was gifted,” said his brother, Pastor Derrick Boseman, 54, who said when his youngest sibling was a child, he could sit and draw anyone. “He’s probably the most gifted person I’ve ever met.”
Boseman passed away from cancer in August at just 43 years old. He was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2016 and still went on to play the lead in one of the biggest films in history, Black Panther. The actor also played legacy characters like James Brown in Get On Up, Jackie Robinson in 42, and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall.
His last movie role in will be in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom debuting on Netflix Dec. 18.
Chadwick as Levee in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
“A lot of people think making it means becoming an A-list movie star,” said his other brother, Kevin Boseman, 48. “I didn’t force that. I just knew that if Chad wanted to work in the arts, he would find a way and take care of himself.”
Boseman, who hailed from Anderson, S.C, was raised in the church along with his brothers by his parents Leroy and Carolyn in a large, God-fearing, close-knit family. He was always interested in the arts. Kevin was a dancer for Alvin Alley and other dance troupes, inspiring his younger brother who eventually started to pursue theater. Chadwick was initially interested in writing and directing but it was his Howard University professors that encouraged him to act.
Thinking back on his brother’s work ethic, Kevin said, ”His best was incredible.”
Pastor Bosman was praying with his brother in his final days. Chadwick never publicly revealed he was sick, just continued on with his career while keeping up a pace that would have challenged someone 100% healthy.
His brother said he was praying for Chad to get better until he said something that changed his focus.
“Man, I’m in the fourth quarter, and I need you to get me out of the game,” Chadwick told his oldest brother.
“When he told me that, I changed my prayer from, ‘God heal him, God save him,’ to ‘God, let your will be done,’” said Pastor Boseman. “And the next day he passed away.”
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Barack Obama wished Trump a speedy recovery after his coronavirus diagnosis
Former President Barack Obama extended his well wishes to the current commander in chief Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after their coronavirus diagnosis.
The 44th president offered his words of support for the Trumps late Friday during a virtual fundraiser with Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris for the Biden-Harris campaign, according to CNN. He also shared the declaration on social media.
“Let me start by the way, by just stating that we’re in the midst of a big political fight. And we take that very seriously,” Obama said.
“We also want to extend our best wishes to the President of the United States, the first lady … Michelle and I are hopeful that they and others who have been affected by Covid-19 around the country are getting the care that they need, that they are going to be on the path to a speedy recovery.”
Obviously, we’re in the midst of a big political battle right now, and while there’s a lot at stake, let’s remember that we’re all Americans. We’re all human beings. And we want everyone to be healthy, no matter our party.
The sentiment came after Trump was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment for what officials described as “mild symptoms.” Trump, wearing a mask, was seen walking on his own power from the White House to Marine One. He will be hospitalized the next “few days,” on the advice of doctors.
The president released a prerecorded 18 second video on social media before he left for Walter Reed and thanked Americans for their support.
“I want to thank everybody for the tremendous support,” Trump said.
“I think I’m doing very well but we’re going to make sure that things work out,” he added. “The first lady is doing very well. So thank you very much. I appreciate it. I will never forget it.”
Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Harris also extended their sympathies to Trump and his wife. Biden, who participated in the first presidential debate with Trump earlier in the week, has thus far tested negative for COVID-19 after being in close contact.
theGrioreported that Trump shocked the country when he announced in the early hours of Friday that he and the first lady tested positive for COVID-19. The infection came months after the president has flouted social distancing guidelines as he has continued to host rallies and mocked wearing masks.
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Utility shut offs are imminent around the country because COVID-19 shutoff moratoriums are expiring
More than 179 million people around the United States could soon lose their basic necessities like water and electricity due to unpaid utility bills according to The Washington Post.
The publication released a report detailing how the pandemic impacted the blooming crisis, how families are coping, and what the government is doing about it.
When the coronavirus first hit back in the spring, though many folks lost their jobs, states stepped in to help to make sure residents weren’t without basic utilities. But after almost seven months, most of that aid has come to an end. According to the report, only the District of Columbia and 21 other states have continuing bans on disconnecting utilities.
(Adobe stock photo)
“The people who were struggling before are struggling even more,” said the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association executive director, Mark Wolfe. According to the NEADA, electric and gas debt alone is at risk of exceeding $24.3B by the end of the year.
Kenneth Parson, 62, of Griffin, Ga. is a diabetic who lost power in July after falling behind on his payments. Parson needs power in order to refrigerate the insulin he uses to treat his diabetes but his wife says that still didn’t stop the power company from turning off his service.
“They said they couldn’t do nothing for him,” said his wife, Cheryl, 65. “It peeved me off.”
Some states are trying to work with their residents offering payment plans in order to help them keep their utilities on. Lobbyists are calling for states like Pennsylvania to offer payment plans instead of just cutting off service. The state is currently $403M in arrears.
Pennsylvania ultimately decided to continue its scheduled disconnections.
“All the dominoes are about to fall,” said Elizabeth Marx, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project, a company that advocates for low-income residents in need. “When you lift the moratorium, those households that are struggling will be worse off.”
Utah senator Lee revealed today that he’s also tested positive for the virus after a trip to the White House
As the country grapples to respond to President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis, it has now been confirmed that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has also tested positive for COVID-19.
Friday, Lee explained in a statement he took a coronavirus test on Thursday after experiencing symptoms similar to those he has previously experienced due to allergies.
“Unlike the test I took just a few days ago while visiting the White House, yesterday’s test came back positive. On advice of the Senate attending physician, I will remain isolated for the next 10 days,” read the statement.
Seventh U.S. Circuit Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett (L), President Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, meets with Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) as she begins a series of meetings to prepare for her confirmation hearing in the Mansfield Room at the U.S. Capitol on September 29, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
This now makes him the third senator confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19, with his announcement coming just hours after the president disclosed that he and first lady Melania Trump had both tested positive for COVID-19.
Given the timing of their disclosures, many have noted that Lee was at the White House last Saturday. Tuesday, he also met with Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, attended several closed-door GOP caucus lunches, and was present at Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee’s business meeting.
Considering how active he’s been in the Capitol this week, Lee’s COVID diagnosis highlights a need for increased safety protocols for lawmakers.
The Judiciary Committee, which Lee is a part of, is expected to start its hearings for Barrett’s confirmation on Oct. 12. In his statement Lee stated he still planned to be in attendance, explaining, “I have spoken with Leader McConnell and Chairman Graham and assured them I will be back to work in time to join my Judiciary Committee colleagues in advancing the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett in the committee and then to the full Senate.”
Echoing the sentiments of pushing forward even in the face of illness, On Friday, Sen. McConnell made it clear that Coney Barrett’s nomination remains a priority.
“Just finished a great phone call with @POTUS. He’s in good spirits and we talked business — especially how impressed Senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett,” McConnell tweeted. “Full steam ahead with the fair, thorough, timely process that the nominee, the Court, & the country deserve.”
Just finished a great phone call with @POTUS. He’s in good spirits and we talked business — especially how impressed Senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett. Full steam ahead with the fair, thorough, timely process that the nominee, the Court, & the country deserve.
Covid-19's path through the president’s world is an epidemiological mystery. We know why it spread, but not if it spread via a single infectious event.
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DNA testing companies are rolling out algorithm updates, spotlighting the fickleness of ethnicity results, and perhaps reinforcing some troubling beliefs.
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In 2020, we’re all pivoting business strategies, focusing on impact, and finding ways to “do it better and different” (coincidentally, a DataRobot core value.) Organizations across industries have needed to become more resilient and focus on reducing costs and risks, retaining customers, and finding new revenue streams.
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Developing your website from scratch can be a daunting task. It’s time-consuming and expensive if you are planning to hire a developer. An easy way to get your blog or website off the ground
The cp command (which stands for a copy) is one of the commonly used commands on Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems, for copying files and directories. In this guide, we will show how
President Donald Trump announced the news on Twitter early Friday morning
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, the president tweeted early Friday.
Trump’s positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week. Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 200,000 people nationwide.
“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” Trump tweeted.
Trump announced late Thursday that he and first lady Melania Trump were beginning a “quarantine process” after Hicks came down with the virus, though it wasn’t clear what that entailed. It can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test.
Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!
The diagnosis marks a major blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them even as cases continue to rise with less than four months before Election Day. And it stands as the most serious known public health scare encountered by any sitting American president in recent history.
Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most people develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.
Hicks traveled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday night’s first presidential debate in Cleveland.
In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday, Trump said he was awaiting results of a COVID-19 test. “Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don’t know,” he said, adding that first lady Melania Trump was also awaiting results.
Trump had consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened.
“I felt no vulnerability whatsoever,” he said told reporters back in May.
He has instead encouraged governors to reopen their states and tried to focus the nation’s attention on efforts to revive the economy — not a growing death toll — as he seeks another four-year term.
U.S. President Donald Trump poses for the news media with Communications Director Hope Hicks on her last day of work at the White House before he departs March 29, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Some studies suggest COVID-19 patients who are obese may be at higher risk of being seriously sickened by the virus, although it’s unclear whether that’s because they are more likely to have other health conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. In his 2019 physical, Trump met the technical threshold for obesity.
The news was sure to rattle an already shaken nation still grappling with how to safely reopen while avoiding further spikes. The White House has access to near-unlimited resources, including a constant supply of quick-result tests, and still failed to keep the president safe, raising questions about how the rest of the country will be able to protect its workers, students and the public as businesses and schools reopen.
Trump, the vice president and other senior staff have been tested for COVID-19 daily since two people who work at the White House complex tested positive in early May, prompting the White House to step up precautions. Everyone who comes into contact with the president also receives a quick-result test.
Yet since the early days of the pandemic, experts have questioned the health and safety protocols at the White House and asked why more wasn’t being done to protect the commander in chief. Trump continued to shake hands with visitors long after public health officials were warning against it and he initially resisted being tested. He has been reluctant to practice his own administration’s social distancing guidelines for fear of looking weak, including refusing under almost all circumstances to wear a mask in public.
Counselor to the President Hope Hicks walks from Marine One to accompany President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One as he departs Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump is not the only major world leader known to have contracted the virus. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care, where he was given oxygen and watched around the clock by medical workers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel self-isolated after a doctor who gave her a vaccination tested positive for the virus, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau worked from home after his wife fell ill.
The White House got its first COVID-19 scare in early March when at least three people who later tested positive came in close proximity to the president at his private Florida club. That included members of the Brazilian president’s delegation, including the Brazilian chargé d’affaires, who sat at Trump’s dinner table.
In mid-March, as the virus continued to spread across the country, the White House began taking the temperature of everyone entering the White House complex, and in April, it began administering rapid COVID-19 tests to all those in close proximity to the president, with staffers being tested about once a week. The frequent tests gave some staff the false impression the complex was safe from the virus, and few, as a result, followed recommended safety protocols, including wearing masks.
But then the bubble broke.
On May 7, the White House announced that a member of the military serving as one of the president’s personal valets tested positive for the virus, followed a day later by a positive diagnosis for Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary.
U.S. President Donald Trump participates in the first presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio.(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Even then, Trump said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. But officials again stepped up safety protocols for the complex, directing everyone entering the West Wing to wear a mask.
“I think it’s very well contained, actually,” Trump told reporters on May 11.
But by June, concerns at the White House had dissipated once again, with few staffers bothering with masks even as more and more people tested positive for the virus, including campaign staffers preparing for a Tulsa rally and Secret Service agents.
On July 3rd, Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is dating Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tested positive in South Dakota before an Independence Day fireworks show at Mount Rushmore. Guilfoyle, a former Fox News personality who works for Trump’s campaign, had not flown on Air Force One and had not been in direct contact with the president, though she had had contact with numerous top GOP officials.
In July, Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, tested positive.
While there is currently no evidence that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test also raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness. The Constitution’s 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which a president can declare themselves “unable to discharge the powers and duties” of the presidency. If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted “a written declaration to the contrary.”
The vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law, can also declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would “immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President” until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.
___
Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
‘When I say ‘hut,’ you get that motherf—ing ball and you run!’
Ciara shared a new video on Instagram of herself, Vanessa Bryant and her 17-year-old daughter Natalia, and La La Anthony playing a fun game of football.
“Let’s go QB,” Ciara said to Anthony in the video. “So I’m about to go ‘danger, danger,’” the TV personality, 39, explained to Natalia and the R&B singer. “When I say ‘hut,’ you get that motherf—ing ball and you run!”
Bryant is not seen in the clip, as she may have been the one recording the excitement. Her youngest child, 15-month-old Capri, can be seen watching the game play out on a sprawling lawn.
The clip features the song “California Love” by Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre — check it out below. The video comes a day after Ciara shared a very candid photo of herself and Bryant breastfeeding their babies.
theGRIO previously reported, both women are draped with a blanket in the pic, as Bryant cradles her 15-month-old daughter Capri while Ciara is holding her 2-month-old son Win Harrison Wilson. The multi-platinum artist captioned the moment, “Got Milk?:)” along with the hashtag #MomLife.
Ciara and her NFL star hubby Russell Wilson welcomed their son on July 23. The couple are also parents to 3-year-old daughter Sienna, and the Grammy winning songstress shares 6-year-old son Future with her famous ex of the same name.
“There was a lot of love and thought put into it. Russ, we would talk about names, and Russ kind of always had this name Win in the rotation, years ago, before we knew we were having a girl,” she said. “He had all the good names and Win won. So Win is the name and he’s so cute. He’s so precious.”
On Tuesday, Bryant took to Instagram to share an adorable photo of her cuddling with Ciara’s baby boy.
“Sweet Baby, Win,” Bryant captioned the image. In the comment section, Ciara called Kobe Bryant’s widow “Auntie V,” while Wilson described the pic as “the sweetest.”
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This week, MIT began piloting a wastewater testing program as a new tool to help keep the campus community safe this semester. In a project that will run through the fall semester, wastewater from seven buildings on campus will be tested each day for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
The project is designed to determine if wastewater testing can be an effective early warning system for Covid-19 outbreaks on campus, and is being evaluated as a complementary tool in the Institute’s response to the pandemic, along with clinical testing, contact tracing, and other measures.
Results of the wastewater testing will be communicated to MIT’s Covid Monitoring Team, a cross-Institute collaboration that looks at health trends on campus and makes recommendations to the Covid Decision Team, which is made up of MIT’s senior leadership, to determine next steps. Buildings will not be quarantined on the basis of the test results, but people in the buildings where the virus is detected may be asked to get tested at MIT Medical sooner than otherwise scheduled. The project team members stress that the sampling data is aggregate and cannot be used to identify individuals.
“We view the wastewater treatment data as a part of [the larger portfolio of data] that goes to the Covid Decision Team that helps make strategic choices about campus operations,” MIT Medical Chief of Staff Brian Schuetz says. “It gives us interesting insight into populations, which is really what we’re focused on. [Responding to Covid-19] is a population health initiative, and this fits into that.”
Wastewater testing offers complementary advantages to clinical testing because it reflects health at the community level, is not limited by clinical testing availability, and sheds light on both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections. The lab of biological engineering Professor Eric Alm, which has been testing municipal wastewater for Covid-19 around the country since March, has shown that at the population level, wastewater data precede clinical observations of Covid-19 by four or more days.
“It makes a lot of sense when you think about the fact that there’s a lag between the time somebody gets sick and starts shedding the virus, and the time when they’re symptomatic enough to seek care and get a clinical test,” says Katya Moniz, a research scientist in the Alm Lab.
Wastewater testing is already being used at a number of colleges across the country. In one case, at the University of Arizona, wastewater testing helped detect an outbreak among asymptomatic individuals and officials were able to take precautionary measures before the virus spread.
At MIT, the following buildings have been selected for sewage testing during the pilot:
· MIT Sloan School of Management (E62)
· Random Hall (NW61)
· Sidney-Pacific (NW86)
· McCormick Hall (W4)
· Simmons Hall (W79)
· Tang Hall (W84)
· Westgate (W85)
Sampling ports installed on the sewage exit lines of each building will extract a small amount of wastewater from the pipes every two minutes. A subsample of that wastewater will be tested each day by the Alm Lab. The test results will then be sent to MIT’s Covid Monitoring Team.
“The goal of this pilot is to build this infrastructure for a subset of buildings on campus and use that data to decide if this is an effective method of monitoring Covid-19 outbreaks on campus,” says Moniz.
The wastewater-based testing project team has met with the faculty, student, and staff leaders of the buildings where the initiative is being piloted, explaining how wastewater-based testing monitors pathogens and guides interventions. The team members also explained that they will only be testing for Covid, and that detection will be aggregate — it will not identify individuals.
The program, which has been approved by the Legal, Ethical, Equity Committee for MIT Campus Planning, is part of a collaboration between MIT Facilities, the Environment, Health, and Safety Office, Housing and Residential Services, and the Alm Lab.
For more information, contact wb-pilot@mit.edu.
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It’s an amazing moment when a topic learned in the classroom comes to life. For senior Darya Guettler, that moment came on a sweltering day while installing solar panels in low-income communities in Los Angeles, alongside workers who had been previously incarcerated.
Guettler was volunteering with an MIT Energy Initiative program called Solar Spring Break, which had partnered with Homeboy Industries, an organization that supports formerly incarcerated individuals through career opportunities in green energy. Drilling the panels into the roofs while sweat dripped down her neck, Guettler finally got a chance to see the utility of solar panels in action. When the volunteers switched on the lights, the members of the community got together and celebrated.
“I’ve never done that before, and it was a very unique experience,” Guettler says, recalling the internship. “As students, we’re usually designing the solar panels. Actually installing them and then turning the power on — it’s like all these families now have power for free and can finally run their air conditioning during the day. It made it all feel real.”
Guettler’s fascination with renewable energy began back in high school geography class. Listening to lectures on fuel scarcity, she wondered why renewable energy sources weren’t more widely implemented. Her curiosity encouraged her to research solar panel efficiency and galvanic cell temperature concentrations.
She arrived at MIT with the goal of mitigating climate change through technological innovation, and soon joined the MIT Undergraduate Energy Club, where she says she met inspiring and equally passionate students. Over time, they helped to shape her mindset about what her role could be in helping with the climate crisis. Now the club’s president, Guettler has been working to expand the club’s education outreach programs and encourage kids to get excited about ways they can use engineering to help the planet.
Although Guettler had long understood the need to improve solar technologies, it wasn’t until her Solar Spring Break experience that she made the connection between climate change and the need to involve many different parties in putting together solutions.
“After that, I was kind of hooked on the policy side as well, because I saw that there’s really a space for combining all these things,” she says. “Now all of a sudden it wasn’t just about employing the technology, which I had always been interested in, but also about who was going to be employing it, where it was going to be placed, and how we could make that process as equitable as possible.”
Guettler decided to combine her mechanical engineering major with a degree in political science and has gravitated to classes focused on the intersection of sustainable technologies and climate policy.
“They’re really interesting classes. I’ve got a class about engineering democratic development, one about election modeling, and one in energy storage,” she says. “Honestly, sometimes it’s hard to pick. There’s so many I want to take!”
But of all her classes, one that Guettler is most looking forward to now is her capstone for mechanical engineering, 2.s009 (Explorations in Product Design). The class — which this year challenges students to create social impact projects centered around kindness — begins by placing students into groups and giving them a budget. The groups then design a product and come up with a prototype and a business pitch for it.
“The kindness aspect is pretty much up to the group to decide,” Guettler explains. “It can a project centered around climate change, environmental protection, helping people with disabilities, assisting marginalized communities — I’m super excited to see what people come up with.”
Guttler spent the past summer working in consulting, and in her spare time taught middle and high school students about climate change from her remote cabin in Maine. The classes were taught through MIT Splash, which allows MIT students to teach any topic of their choice to interested younger students.
“It was all online, but it was really fun,” she says. “We just kind of talked about climate models and used this cool tool where you can adjust different policy factors and just see what happens. The kids had so many questions, and I loved getting to build their interest and talk about it with them.”
Talking with people of all ages and backgrounds about ways we can develop a more sustainable future has been a consistent theme throughout Guettler’s experience at MIT. Last year, she visited West Point for the Student Conference on U.S. Affairs, where she spoke with military advisors and generals about the concerns of climate change from a national security perspective.
“I was really interested to see that climate change is also a really big issue to them too, since there’s a lot of bases near coastal waters that will be under threat when sea levels rise,” she says. “There’s definitely been a wide range of people I’ve interacted with about the climate change crisis, but at the end of the day, it’s always the same core concepts. I love hearing people’s different ideas, because more people means more potential solutions, and honestly, at this point, we need any solutions we can get.”
As an elected student to the MIT Committee on Outside Engagements, as well as a founding member of MIT Divest, Guettler hasn’t been shy about the importance of holding political leaders and officials accountable for their decisions.
“I was talking a lot with students to see what they held as important values and what they wanted MIT to represent. Climate action kept on coming up, which led to a bigger discussion of who MIT engages with.”
Her experience so far has been positive overall, and she notes that student representatives have been given a seat on MIT’s Climate Action Advisory Committee, as well as been able to contribute to the MIT Climate Action Plan. The inclusion has allowed students to advocate for ways MIT can take initiative to reduce and offset their energy emissions.
While Guettler recognizes that major institutions have the largest immediate impact on improving the climate crisis, she still wants everyone to recognize the importance of individual actions as well.
“My message to everyone right now is just go and vote, just please go and do that. I’ve been phone banking for different state races right now and people have been hanging up in my face or cursing me out, saying it’s not that serious. I’m like, are you serious?” she laughs. “I honestly think voting right now is the best thing you can do for the climate. Even if you’re feeling overwhelmed, even if you don’t feel like you can make an impact — you have an important decision that you can make. Now just go and vote for it!”
from MIT News https://ift.tt/2Si1rvh
via Gabe's Musing's
