A thunderous explosion at a nursing home just outside Philadelphia killed at least two people, collapsed part of the building, sent flames shooting out and left people trapped inside, authorities said.Video above: Neighbor describes sound of nursing home explosionPennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a news conference several hours after the explosion that at least two had been killed.The explosion happened at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township, just as a utility crew had been on site looking for a gas leak, although the cause of the explosion was unclear several hours later, as was the extent of the casualties.A plume of black smoke rose from the nursing home, as emergency responders, fire trucks and ambulances from across the region rushed there, joined by earthmoving equipment.Police Lt. Sean Cosgrove said he didn’t know if anyone was missing, and that residents had been evacuated by emergency responders, bystanders and staff.“A lot of the details at this point are still unknown,” he told reporters at the scene.Bucks County emergency management officials said they received the report of an explosion at approximately 2:17 p.m. and said a portion of the building was reported to have collapsed. Ruth Miller, a Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokesperson, said her agency had been informed that people were trapped inside.Willie Tye, who lives about a block away, said he was sitting at home watching a basketball game on TV when he heard a “loud kaboom.”“I thought an airplane or something came and fell on my house,” Tye said.He got up to go look and saw “fire everywhere” and people escaping the building. The explosion looked like it happened in the kitchen area of the nursing home, he said. Tye said some of the people who live or work there didn’t make it out.“Just got to keep praying for them,” Tye said.The cause of the explosion was unclear.The local gas utility, PECO, said its crews had responded to reports of a gas odor at the nursing home shortly after 2 p.m.“While crews were on site, an explosion occurred at the facility. PECO crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents,” the utility said in a statement.Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, press secretary at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, said investigators from the safety division were headed to the scene.Hagen-Frederiksen said first responders and emergency management officials were describing it as a gas explosion, but that won’t be confirmed until his agency can examine the scene up close.Musuline Watson, who said she was a certified nursing assistant the facility, told WPVI-TV that over the weekend, she and others there smelled gas, but “there was no heat in the room, so we didn’t take it to be anything.”The nursing home is about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. Its owner, Saber Healthcare Group, said it was working with local emergency authorities. The facility had been known until recently as Silver Lake Healthcare Center.Jim Morgan, president of the Bristol Township School Board, said district buses would take people from the nursing home to a reunification center at Truman High School. He said officials were working on setting up beds and providing water and other needs to residents.“This is just something that is sad for everybody and the families and the workers that are there,” Davis said.According to Medicare.gov, the 174-bed facility underwent a standard fire safety inspection in September 2024, during which no citations were issued. But Medicare’s overall rating of the facility is listed as “much below average,” with poor ratings for health inspections in particular.
BRISTOL, Pa. (Video above: WPVI via CNN Newsource) —
A thunderous explosion at a nursing home just outside Philadelphia killed at least two people, collapsed part of the building, sent flames shooting out and left people trapped inside, authorities said.
Video above: Neighbor describes sound of nursing home explosion
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a news conference several hours after the explosion that at least two had been killed.
The explosion happened at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township, just as a utility crew had been on site looking for a gas leak, although the cause of the explosion was unclear several hours later, as was the extent of the casualties.
A plume of black smoke rose from the nursing home, as emergency responders, fire trucks and ambulances from across the region rushed there, joined by earthmoving equipment.
Police Lt. Sean Cosgrove said he didn’t know if anyone was missing, and that residents had been evacuated by emergency responders, bystanders and staff.
“A lot of the details at this point are still unknown,” he told reporters at the scene.
Bucks County emergency management officials said they received the report of an explosion at approximately 2:17 p.m. and said a portion of the building was reported to have collapsed. Ruth Miller, a Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokesperson, said her agency had been informed that people were trapped inside.
Willie Tye, who lives about a block away, said he was sitting at home watching a basketball game on TV when he heard a “loud kaboom.”
“I thought an airplane or something came and fell on my house,” Tye said.
He got up to go look and saw “fire everywhere” and people escaping the building. The explosion looked like it happened in the kitchen area of the nursing home, he said. Tye said some of the people who live or work there didn’t make it out.
“Just got to keep praying for them,” Tye said.
The cause of the explosion was unclear.
The local gas utility, PECO, said its crews had responded to reports of a gas odor at the nursing home shortly after 2 p.m.
“While crews were on site, an explosion occurred at the facility. PECO crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents,” the utility said in a statement.
Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, press secretary at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, said investigators from the safety division were headed to the scene.
Hagen-Frederiksen said first responders and emergency management officials were describing it as a gas explosion, but that won’t be confirmed until his agency can examine the scene up close.
Musuline Watson, who said she was a certified nursing assistant the facility, told WPVI-TV that over the weekend, she and others there smelled gas, but “there was no heat in the room, so we didn’t take it to be anything.”
The nursing home is about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. Its owner, Saber Healthcare Group, said it was working with local emergency authorities. The facility had been known until recently as Silver Lake Healthcare Center.
Jim Morgan, president of the Bristol Township School Board, said district buses would take people from the nursing home to a reunification center at Truman High School. He said officials were working on setting up beds and providing water and other needs to residents.
“This is just something that is sad for everybody and the families and the workers that are there,” Davis said.
According to Medicare.gov, the 174-bed facility underwent a standard fire safety inspection in September 2024, during which no citations were issued. But Medicare’s overall rating of the facility is listed as “much below average,” with poor ratings for health inspections in particular.
The paramedic who was injured in a medical helicopter crash on Highway 50 in Sacramento earlier this month has been released from the hospital, according to the Sacramento Fire Department. (Previous coverage in the video player above.)Paramedic Margaret “DeDe” Davis was among the three crew members on board the REACH Air Medical Services helicopter when it crashed on the highway on Oct. 6. On Friday, she was transferred to a rehabilitation facility. The nurse on board the flight, Suzie Smith, died from her injuries last week. The pilot, Chad Millward, remains in the hospital on Friday. A family member told KCRA 3 on Thursday that Millward is making good progress in his recovery.The Sacramento Fire Department said it had crews on hand as Davis was released from UC Davis Medical Center. A family member of Davis told KCRA 3 on Thursday that they are grateful to the hospital staff for their help in her recovery.REACH Air Medical Services shared this statement following Davis’ release from the hospital: “We extend our heartfelt gratitude for the tremendous support shown to our team following the October 6 REACH Air Medical helicopter accident on Highway 50 in Sacramento. The compassion and concern from our community have meant so much to all those affected, and we are deeply appreciative of everyone keeping our crew and their families in their thoughts and prayers. We are encouraged to share positive news regarding our crew members: Chad Millward (pilot) and Margaret “DeDe” Davis (paramedic) continue to make meaningful progress in their recovery. Chad remains in the ICU, but his condition has stabilized. DeDe has been discharged from the hospital and has begun the next important phase of her journey to recovery. She is now in an inpatient rehabilitation program, where she’ll receive specialized care and support as she continues to heal. We deeply mourn the loss of Susan “Suzie” Smith, whose dedication and compassion touched countless lives. As we celebrate the ongoing recovery of Chad and DeDe, we honor Suzie’s memory and her significant contributions to our community.”The cause of the helicopter crash remains under investigation.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
Paramedic Margaret “DeDe” Davis was among the three crew members on board the REACH Air Medical Services helicopter when it crashed on the highway on Oct. 6. On Friday, she was transferred to a rehabilitation facility.
The pilot, Chad Millward, remains in the hospital on Friday. A family member told KCRA 3 on Thursday that Millward is making good progress in his recovery.
The Sacramento Fire Department said it had crews on hand as Davis was released from UC Davis Medical Center. A family member of Davis told KCRA 3 on Thursday that they are grateful to the hospital staff for their help in her recovery.
REACH Air Medical Services shared this statement following Davis’ release from the hospital: “We extend our heartfelt gratitude for the tremendous support shown to our team following the October 6 REACH Air Medical helicopter accident on Highway 50 in Sacramento. The compassion and concern from our community have meant so much to all those affected, and we are deeply appreciative of everyone keeping our crew and their families in their thoughts and prayers.
We are encouraged to share positive news regarding our crew members: Chad Millward (pilot) and Margaret “DeDe” Davis (paramedic) continue to make meaningful progress in their recovery. Chad remains in the ICU, but his condition has stabilized. DeDe has been discharged from the hospital and has begun the next important phase of her journey to recovery. She is now in an inpatient rehabilitation program, where she’ll receive specialized care and support as she continues to heal.
We deeply mourn the loss of Susan “Suzie” Smith, whose dedication and compassion touched countless lives. As we celebrate the ongoing recovery of Chad and DeDe, we honor Suzie’s memory and her significant contributions to our community.”
The cause of the helicopter crash remains under investigation.
The Orlando Magic signed undrafted free agent guard Johnell Davis and waived small forward Justin Minaya to keep their roster at 21 players on Sunday night.
The Magic did not disclose terms for Davis, who signed a one-year, non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, per the Orlando Sentinel, that can be converted into a two-way deal with their G League affiliate, the Osceola Magic, before the start of the regular season.
Minaya, 26, played in 57 games (one start) for the Portland Trail Blazers over parts of the past three seasons, including 19 games in 2024-25. He has averaged 1.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 10.0 minutes per game. He spent much of last season in the G League and was signed as a free agent by the Magic on Sept. 2.
Davis played his final college season in 2024-25 at Arkansas, where he appeared in 34 games (29 starts) and averaged 12.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 31.7 minutes.
His first four seasons were at Florida Atlantic University (2020-24), where he averaged 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 22.9 minutes in 128 games (53 starts). Davis was the American Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Year in 2023-24 and an All-Conference USA first-team pick and the C-USA Sixth Man of the Year in 2022-23.
In a series of now-viral videos posted to TikTok, entrepreneur Sean Davis alleged that a luxury short-term rental in Joshua Tree sent him the five-figure bill after someone in his party took a photo in the bathroom and tagged a brand on social media. Tabloids ran with the tale.
But it’s not exactly true, according to the owners of the mirror-walled monolith that’s known as the Invisible House. They say they charged Davis production fees after he was caught staging an unpermitted photoshoot for his clothing company on the trademarked property back in June of 2021.
“His intention was to shoot some stuff there and he thought he could get around calling it a production,” said owner Chris Hanley, a film producer whose credits include cult classics “American Psycho” and “The Virgin Suicides.” He spoke by phone from another architectural property he owns on Lamu Island in Kenya.
Davis said he was surprised his videos generated so much attention, given his modest following. The co-founder of John Geiger clothing and footwear said he reserved the Invisible House for a company retreat but had hoped to make the most of the booking by also shooting content in the surrounding environs.
During his stay, Davis and three others — a business partner, a photographer and a model — walked away from the home into what they thought was open desert to take photos. They didn’t realize the house sits on 90 acres and unpermitted commercial activity is forbidden anywhere on the property, he said.
“If you’re respecting the house, why is it a problem if you go use the desert to shoot content with four people and a camera?” Davis said. “It’s not like it’s a huge production.”
That’s the crux of the dispute: Was it a few innocent photos or an unauthorized production?
Hanley and his wife Roberta, a screenwriter and director, built the Invisible House in 2019. Part abode, part modern art installation, it has been featured in Architectural Digest and served as the backdrop for more than 100 productions, including campaigns for Hermes and BMW, Hanley said, noting that famed photographer Annie Leibovitz has shot there for Vogue. Some of those shoots have also taken place outside the home — the natural landscape of the property is its own unique work of art, he said.
The home can be reserved as a short-term rental for roughly $3,000 a night or it can be booked for commercial activity for about $1,000 an hour plus additional costs associated with film permits and site management, Hanley said. Commercial activity also requires paperwork allowing a brand to use the property’s copyrights and trademarks, he said.
“Everyone knows that you’re not allowed to just shoot there,” Roberta Hanley said. “The house is copyrighted as a visual — the whole place, the whole concept.”
Although Davis booked the property through a short-term rental platform, security cameras captured him conducting a photoshoot outside, the Hanleys said. He also brought a drone into the house without permits or a licensed pilot, which could have caused damage, they said.
And while Davis said in his videos that he was billed $10,000 for the accommodations and another $10,000 in fees associated with the photoshoot, the Hanleys provided documents stating he was charged $9,000 in total — $3,000 for the booking, $2,500 in a forfeited security deposit and $3,500 upon signing a separation agreement and release of claims.
The Hanleys also took issue with Davis’ claim that a selfie triggered the charges. “I’ve had clients call me up saying, ‘you’re not gonna charge me $10,000 if I take a selfie, are you?’ and it’s like ‘What?’ ” Chris Hanley said. “I mean, if you’re just taking a photo of yourself and not promoting a product, that’s fine.”
But according to Davis, the rental’s management company only checked security footage at the house and realized he’d taken pictures for his brand after a friend’s girlfriend uploaded a photo of her outfit to social media and tagged a different clothing brand. That brand then reposted the content and tagged the Invisible House, he said.
Davis said he respects the Hanleys and their “sick” home. He also questioned the precise difference between someone posting content to their personal social media account and promoting a brand, saying that it’s become difficult to know where to draw the line. “Most people rent places for content now,” he said, adding that he’s taken photos in and around other short-term rentals without issue.
But the Hanleys said the rules governing the use of their property are made clear to guests both before and upon booking. And Davis is a good example of why they charge for commercial activity, they said, pointing out that his TikTok account has a couple hundred followers but a post on the controversy received 1.5 million views.
“It’s impressive, the explosion of excitement he was able to get for himself,” Roberta Hanley said.
“Maybe we should collaborate on Invisible House sneakers,” her husband quipped.
A World War II veteran recently took to the sky to show everyone that age is just a number. Last week, Jimmy Hernandez jumped out of a plane on his 100th birthday.“I’ve been waiting for a long time for this,” Hernandez said.Hernandez first wanted to skydive when he was 96, but his family talked him out of it.”I was like, really,” son Mark Hernandez asked, “Is that what he just said? I was like, ‘No, that cannot happen.’”The family told Jimmy that if he made it to 100, they would give them their blessing.”I want to get this out of my system,” Jimmy said.Well, Jimmy made it.Jimmy decided to make a tandem jump with an instructor at SkyDance SkyDiving in Davis, California. His son and his grandson also decided to jump.Hernandez has 13 children and dozens of grandchildren. His family gathered at the landing spot, cheering him on.
A World War II veteran recently took to the sky to show everyone that age is just a number. Last week, Jimmy Hernandez jumped out of a plane on his 100th birthday.
“I’ve been waiting for a long time for this,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez first wanted to skydive when he was 96, but his family talked him out of it.
“I was like, really,” son Mark Hernandez asked, “Is that what he just said? I was like, ‘No, that cannot happen.’”
The family told Jimmy that if he made it to 100, they would give them their blessing.
“I want to get this out of my system,” Jimmy said.
Well, Jimmy made it.
Jimmy decided to make a tandem jump with an instructor at SkyDance SkyDiving in Davis, California. His son and his grandson also decided to jump.
Hernandez has 13 children and dozens of grandchildren. His family gathered at the landing spot, cheering him on.
Thunderstorms moved across Northern California Tuesday morning, bringing lightning strikes across the region that are suspected of sparking fires.
KCRA 3 viewers shared photos and videos of the captivating light shows. Meanwhile, a powerful wind event knocked out power to thousands in parts of Sacramento County.
More thunderstorms capable of producing heavy rain, frequent lightning and small hail are possible on afternoons in the Sierra and Foothills through Thursday, Meteorologist Kelly Curran said.
UPS is investigating after one of its drivers was accused of leaving opposing political signs on the lawn of a woman’s home while working.It happened last Thursday and Shelly Bailes’ surveillance cameras caught his actions on video. “He was not delivering a package to my house,” Bailes said. “I saw that he put something on my lawn.”When Bailes checked her lawn, she found nearly a dozen small flags supporting former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign. “I was very surprised when I saw them. I was upset,” Bailes said. The video shows the driver delivering packages across the street from Bailes’ home and then placing the flags on her lawn before taking off. “He really has no right. He’s trespassing on my lawn,” Bailes said. In a statement to sister station KCRA, UPS said, “We respect the right of all Americans to support their chosen candidate, however, we ask our employees to express their political views on their own time.”UPS is investigating the incident. As Election Day approaches, Bailes said she hopes voters can respect each other. “I have no idea why he did it,” Bailes said. “I can’t imagine what he thought he’d gain by these little signs.”
DAVIS, Calif. —
UPS is investigating after one of its drivers was accused of leaving opposing political signs on the lawn of a woman’s home while working.
It happened last Thursday and Shelly Bailes’ surveillance cameras caught his actions on video.
“He was not delivering a package to my house,” Bailes said. “I saw that he put something on my lawn.”
When Bailes checked her lawn, she found nearly a dozen small flags supporting former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.
“I was very surprised when I saw them. I was upset,” Bailes said.
The video shows the driver delivering packages across the street from Bailes’ home and then placing the flags on her lawn before taking off.
“He really has no right. He’s trespassing on my lawn,” Bailes said.
In a statement to sister station KCRA, UPS said, “We respect the right of all Americans to support their chosen candidate, however, we ask our employees to express their political views on their own time.”
UPS is investigating the incident.
As Election Day approaches, Bailes said she hopes voters can respect each other.
“I have no idea why he did it,” Bailes said. “I can’t imagine what he thought he’d gain by these little signs.”
(FOX40.COM) — Thousands of people throughout the Sacramento region were affected by power outages on Wednesday, according to PG&E’s outage map.
Around 8 p.m. on Wednesday, the utility’s outage map shows over 4,000 people without power in Davis (4,086) and over 3,000 without power in Stockton (3,295).
Over 3,000 Stockton residents were affected by power outages on Wednesday, according to PG&E’s outage map.
PG&E said the outages in Davis were reported around 5 p.m. and the outages in Stockton were reported around 7 p.m.
The utility added that crews are currently working to restore power in both cities and that restoration efforts should be completed around 10:30 p.m. in Davis and just after midnight in Stockton.
At 9:45 p.m., all outages in Davis had been resolved, and the number of outages in Stockton had gone from over 3,000 to a little more than 1,000 people.
It has not been made clear what caused the power outages.
50 PG&E customers still without power in Davis after Tuesday outage
Updated: 7:03 AM PDT Jun 5, 2024
About 50 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers in Davis remain without power after an outage Tuesday night, according to the utility. The outage was described as unplanned on PG&E’s outage map. PG&E spokesperson J.D. Guidi said the outage started at 7:23 p.m. and originally involved 3,329 customers. That number dropped to 2,840 late Tuesday evening.The cause is still under investigation, and the estimated time of restoration for all customers is 3 p.m., according to the utility’s outage map.This story is developing. Stay with KCRA 3 for updates.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
DAVIS, Calif. —
About 50 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers in Davis remain without power after an outage Tuesday night, according to the utility.
PG&E spokesperson J.D. Guidi said the outage started at 7:23 p.m. and originally involved 3,329 customers. That number dropped to 2,840 late Tuesday evening.
The cause is still under investigation, and the estimated time of restoration for all customers is 3 p.m., according to the utility’s outage map.
This story is developing. Stay with KCRA 3 for updates.
It was a choice few relished, in a dismal election season.
The incumbent was deeply unpopular, spending his entire campaign on the defensive as he struggled to sell voters on his accomplishments.
His opponent, a wealthy businessman, was equally disliked. At one point during the contest he was dragged into court to face fraud charges.
The year was 2002, and Democrat Gray Davis was struggling mightily to win a second term as California governor.
“The night before the election, his favorability was only 39%,” his campaign manager, Garry South, recollected. “That’s something you don’t forget.”
Strategists for Joe Biden can no doubt relate. For the past many months, the president has dwelled in similarly abysmal polling territory. The latest aggregation of nationwide surveys pegs his approval rating at 38%.
No two elections are alike. But there can be striking similarities, like the parallels between that surly California contest 22 years ago and Biden’s tough reelection fight.
Even strategists for Davis can’t agree on the lessons gleaned from the Democrats’ uphill reelection effort.
South said that campaign convinced him Biden will ultimately prevail. “I’ve gone through this before,” he said.
Paul Maslin, the pollster for Davis’ 2002 race, is less certain. He makes no predictions beyond his expectation the presidential race will be close. The only similarities Maslin sees between then and now are the candidates’ lousy approval ratings and voters’ sour mood.
But even if past experience is no guarantor of future results, history can inform the way we view existing circumstances — which suggests that, as difficult as things look today for Biden, the president can’t be counted out.
Mainly because of who he’s running against.
“It’s a binary choice,” said South. “Yes, there are other candidates in the race. But in the final analysis, it’s between Biden and Trump.”
David Doak, the chief ad-maker for Davis’ reelection campaign, agreed. He, too, tends towards a glass-half-full assessment of Biden’s chances, suggesting a race between two disliked candidates “is a very different equation than if you’re lined up against someone popular.”
In 2002, Davis faced Republican Bill Simon Jr. The political neophyte was a bumbling candidate who ran a terrible campaign. Compounding his difficulties, Simon was slapped just a few months before election day with a $78-million fraud verdict. (The case involved his investment in a coin-operated telephone company, which, even then — five years before the iPhone was introduced — was a head-scratcher.)
Though the verdict was overturned after just a few weeks, the political damage was done and Davis limped past Simon to a narrow victory.
As it happens, Trump has also been tied up in court. He’s spent the last several weeks gag-ordered and squirming as his salacious behavior is examined in forensic detail at a hush-money, election-fraud trial in New York.
But Maslin, the number-cruncher for Davis’ campaign, warned against getting too carried away with comparisons.
For starters, he pointed out, California was a solidly Democratic state, giving Davis a considerable advantage even as his support flagged amid a recession and rolling blackouts. Biden doesn’t have that partisan edge in the roughly half-dozen toss-up states that will decide the presidential race.
Moreover, Maslin noted, Simon was a little-known commodity, which left the Davis campaign free to define him in harshly negative terms. Trump, by contrast, has been America’s dominant political figure for nearly a decade. His reputation, for good and ill, is firmly fixed; there are plenty of voters who won’t be dissuaded — by rain, sleet, snow, a sexual-assault verdict,multiple criminal indictments — from voting for Trump come November.
Perhaps most significant, Biden is the oldest president in American history and, at 81, very much looks it. Davis’ age — he was 59 when he sought his second term — was never remotely a campaign issue.
“There are many millions of voters who, even if they appreciate Biden’s achievements, still question his ability to serve on the job, much less for four more years,” Maslin said. “I’m not saying that’s accurate, but that’s what they’re thinking.”
Davis, for his part, expects Biden to be reelected, given his record and the contrast he offers to the wayward, unprincipled ex-president. Biden, he noted, has been repeatedly underestimated.
“I experienced that when I ran for governor,” said Davis, who was considered an exceeding long-shot before he romped to victory in the 1998 Democratic primary. “Everyone told me I had no chance to make it, so I know the fire that burns inside you when people say that.”
He’s loath to offer the president advice — “he’s got access to the best minds in the world” — but Davis had this to say to hand-wringing Democrats: “We have a winner. Stick with him. Get excited about him.”
“Because,” the former governor added, “another four years of Trump and you’re not going to recognize this country.”
io9 is proud to present fiction from LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE. Once a month, we feature a story from LIGHTSPEED’s current issue. This month’s selection is “A Pedra” by Endria Isa Richardson. You can read the story below or listen to the podcast.
James Gunn on Feeling Pressure to Add Adam Warlock to Guardians of the Galaxy | io9 Interview
A Pedra
I believe that if we have any notion at all of what has generally been called human nature, it is because History, like a mirror, holds up for our contemplation, an image of ourselves.
—-Edgardo Rodríguez Juliá
Audio Recording, “Lydia and Ecco at Insight,” February 3, 2134
I didn’t run.
If the boy had not called to you, you would have run.
I would not have run.
mãe,
There are few moments that I remember with clarity. From those early days, I recall mostly a vast, pervading numbness. Profound dissociation. I remember Salt. I remember Hog.
At night, I would curl between them. With my eyes closed, I would try to see them as they were just in that moment. I would block out what I knew would be. I would see Salt’s ruddy cheeks and puffy brown hair. His shoulders, just beginning to broaden with muscle. His pale forearms already ropey from physical training. Hog’s deep brown eyes and chapped, gentle lips. The soft tufts of his hair brushing against my cheek as he moved about inside a dream.
You will never meet either of them. You will never meet our child. Your grandchild.
If I still couldn’t sleep, I would look for you. Of course I never found you. If you were in my future, I would have already known.
Once, I told Salt and Hog that I had known a mother. A home. What I thought was a family. They were thrown away by their parents, addicts like you, as infants. At school, we were not supposed to say, “thrown away.” We were supposed to say, “offered to the future.” But I am not at school any longer. So, they were thrown away by their parents, eaten by Kismet to mine the one true future. They assumed the same was true for me, until I told them that I lived with you until I was eleven. But ah, puberty, eh? The bitch. She came, and broke us. You could not handle me anymore. The aunties and uncles and cousins who had helped grow me, who had (I thought) loved me, raised their machetes and told you—-take care of her, or we will. I still remember the certainty of your voice when you said, “I will do it myself.” You took auntie’s blade. You marched me out of the only home I had ever known. You raised your hand to me, who had never known violence. You said, “Run, Lydia, meu coração, run.”
TIME, November 13, 2134
THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN’S PLAN TO OPEN THE FUTURE
The story of Insight’s first year was one of relentless forward motion: an underground research facility constructed in an undisclosed location, patents filed for what Insight billed as “a safer alternative to the drug kite,” an “army corps of scientists” hired, trained, and housed entirely on campus. In the intervening years, however, both Insight and XO seemed to vanish.
This is the first appearance XO has made since then. During this interview, as in our last, XO does not share his image or voice. We meet virtually. His avatar is a slightly built Southeast Asian man clothed in a slim-cut dark blue velour tracksuit. Sunglasses veil his eyes. “I am not a terrorist,” he begins. He laughs, and it’s jarring. “I am interested in terror as a mind-, and therefore time- expanding substance.”
I ask him to clarify what he means.
“What can heightened emotions, like terror, teach us about the pliability of time? There are ancient wisdom traditions that suggest that when we confront the unimaginable, and for most people that is something horrifying, that is when we truly are free. Unlocking all futures, not only the ones that are palatable to us, requires absolute freedom.”
When I ask him to share the most horrible thing he has ever confronted, he confesses, in a moment of unexpected vulnerability. “My mother abandoned me when I was very young. Deep down, I had feared that separation my whole short life. Once it happened, I realized I no longer needed to fear anything. I could be free. I could suddenly imagine many possible futures for myself. My future no longer relied on something I could not control, another person’s presence or absence. I want that freedom for everybody.”
mãe,
This is how my story begins, if you can call it a beginning. With our plan to escape.
Many of us at school never made it past our first year. We overdosed on kite or any one of the other street drugs, or died because we couldn’t source clean drugs, or the bleak reality that our lives were completely fucking pointless drove us mad. If we made it far enough, we were placed. We tried, for some more years, not to kill ourselves or anyone else. Until then, it was best to find something, or someone, that could anchor us—-in one body, in one time—-and focus hard on that. Otherwise, we tried not to focus at all. Floated somewhere between present and future. Drank until we had to take a break from drinking. Drugged ourselves into the stratosphere. Fucked. Got angry. Messed around. Me and Hog had a serious fling. Then me and Salt. Then me, Salt, and Hog. As good a way to pass the time as any. Then Hog got called in for early placement, and came back quiet. After that, it was mostly me and Salt.
That was about when we decided to do something we had not seen ourselves do. Do you understand? We decided to cheat the future.
It cheated us instead.
The day Ecco came for me, I was hurrying through the main corridor back to Salt’s room. Someone called out to me from inside the Head’s office. I got ready to lie my way out of anything—-I swear, that half-full bucket of prune liquor me and Hog have brewing in the dormer is only for educational and scientific purposes—-but stopped short at the door.
The man standing in Head’s office was short. Only a few inches taller than me. And brown-skinned and wide. Good and stocky, a nice soft fatness wrapped around a solid frame. At the time, I probably thought he was attractive. There weren’t many of us blacks at the school. I was one. Hog was half of another. (Salt was Jewish. They were even more of a pariah).
At that point, I still believed that I knew everything. Will that sound arrogant to you? It’s not. It was brutal. I didn’t know facts and figures or theoretical physics. But I believed I knew everything of consequence that would ever happen to me.
(And to Hog.)
(And to Salt.)
(And to anyone who had, for training or for contract, required me to rip apart the fabric of time, extend my mind, like a finger, into its gap, shine my awareness . . . And see the bloody gems inside.)
We had not seen our plan. We hadn’t seen it fail, we hadn’t seen it work. We were desperate enough to try, anyway.
I had not seen this man, either. Not in time, and not in life. I should have known, then. I should have known to run, to grab Salt and Hog and run. But I was curious.
After a while, I asked, “Who are you?”
“Ecco,” he said, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Lydia.”
Many things happened, more or less in sequence immediately after that. There was the first explosion, and that also surprised me. You have to understand, surprise was not an experience I knew well until that point. Mostly, I already knew. Mostly, I had already seen. Not this. The bombs, improvised molotov cocktails, weren’t supposed to be lit for several more hours. I was supposed to light one, Salt and Hog would light two others. A good amount of chaos, running and screaming in the halls, ensued. Then, a blow to my head and darkness.
I woke. Later, elsewhere. I shouted (several times) from the pain in my head. No one came. I explored the room I had found myself in. It was blank, unrevealing, an infuriating beige-nothing. There was no bed, no furniture. There was no discernible door. The walls were soft, pliant. I seemed to be in some kind of sophisticated cage. It blocked me from seeing out of the present moment. I could not think, could not question. I could not rationalize. I curled up on the floor, and slept.
When I next woke up, Ecco was standing above me. He handed me pills—-pain, and what I assumed was kite. I asked him many questions. He answered three. It was 13 August 2133, so three days had passed since the explosions at school. I was at a research lab called Insight. And, he said, I had been brought there to liberate the future.
This began the next phase of my life. Ecco was my abductor, my captor, and later, my torturer. He was also the only person I saw, spoke to. I did, in those early days, feel something like sorrow for him. He would always begin our sessions with a series of “what if” questions: What if there were many, perhaps infinite, futures? What if there was a way to unlock time itself? What if we could move in time, not only see it stretched out, frozen, before us?
He called it running.
“You will run time, Lydia,” he told me. “Once you lose your fear.”
The First Hundred Years of Kinsight: From the Early 22nd Century to the Present, Chapter 3
By the time Insight Unlimited arose in the early 2130s, Kismet Corporation had already become the largest sole employer across the continents. In the Global North alone, Kismet contracted the services of at least 300,000 KIDS (Kismet Indentured Servants) in the first half of 2133, and was set to expand to half a million by 2134. Until Insight’s rise, the only challenges to Kismet came from fringe human rights organizations and activists sheltering in so-called “Dark Towns” (towns which had not converted to Kismet-time, and which often harbored absconded servants).
Challenges grew in later years. Over the course of the latter 22nd century, Insight would destabilize Kismet’s stranglehold on the global economy by seeking to control the company’s indentured workforce. Seers, trained to locate resources in the future, were highly valuable to Kismet. In later decades, Insight’s poaching and re-training of Seers gave rise to a new class of workers.1 Runners were able to directly collect advanced technology, materials, and intellectual property from as far as millennia into the future, and return with them to the corporation. It is estimated that nearly half of all early runners were lost on their travels. A small number of highly sensitive Seers would later work for Insight and their subsidiaries, providing a range of services that included the location and extraction of missing runners.
In the early 2100s, Insight began to seek control of those Seers whose unique skills they believed could disrupt Kismet’s control of the future. The wars between Insight and Kismet, waged largely between seers, runners, and dark towns, marked the beginning of a brutal century. However, the resulting liberation of trans-temporal commercial trade and merger of Insight and Kismet into Kinsight is inarguably among the greatest achievements of humankind.
mãe,
I remember the first time Ecco took the drug kite from me. I had not been fully without it since I arrived at school, nauseated and time-sick, barely able to stand. The third week I was at Insight, Ecco undosed me.
I remember bracing for the rock of nausea. It came.
Hog, prismed, leered at me from a thousand eyes. He shattered.
“Hog?” I asked.
Ecco stood once more across the room. “Ecco,” he said. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Lydia.”
“What do you want?” I asked. “What do you want from me anyway?”
I came, shuddering against Salt, and bit his shoulder.
“Lydia,” someone cried. “Sai daqui!”
I dropped from a tree in the dark, felt my arm crack. Screamed.
I screamed in the room.
I leaned over a toilet and vomited; flecks of bile and water hitting my cheeks.
I fingered a smooth, black knife.
I saw a brown face, like mine, but older. “Pedra,” I said.
“Yes, yes,” said Ecco, coaxing, caressing my cheek.
I found a brown hand in mine; clasped it. I let it pull me into darkness studded with bright crystal lozenges. Oblong mirrors, blinking on/off/on as the light in my mind caught their strange fractals.
“Mãe?” I called. “Mãe?”
Hog’s body fell to the mats.
Salt’s chest exploded.
Lozenges winked as I cast my mind about, seeking elsewhere. Inside of time, I saw futures. Not lozenges, not mirrors—-oh god, mamãe. How could I have thought they were mirrors. They opened. I was pulled forward, the nails of that hand digging in my flesh.
“Mãe? Mãe?”
I heard the boy’s voice behind me. I threw myself backwards, toward him.
Audio Recording: “Lydia and Ecco at Insight” November 3, 2134
Tell me about your mother.
The whore who sold me to Kismet?
“Papagaio come milho, periquito leva fama.”
I don’t know what that means.
I thought all you young people spoke Português. Eh? It means you are ungrateful to your mother. “Ao menino e ao borracho, põe-lhes Deus a mão por baixo.” God puts his hand under the boy and the young pigeon.
Easy for you to say, who will never fly. If I felt God’s hand beneath me, I would spit on it. “Pimenta nos olhos dos outros é refresco.” Pepper in the eye is a pleasure to you, eh?
Eh, não pimenta, mas pedra. Stone in the eye is a pleasure to me. Have you never tried to see her, Lydia? To understand why she abandoned you?
I have tried.
But you can’t?
No.
But you talk to her, when you are gone in your visions.
mãe,
The first time I was undosed from kite, I began to understand what Ecco meant with his talk of liberated futures. With his talk of running. I had been inside of some terrible material. I had felt the dark stuff move around me. Its currents were strong. I could feel some alive presence just beyond my skin tugging where it wanted me to go.
I think Ecco comes from that place. Or he came from that place. Something about him feels the way it felt. Empty. Hungry.
I tell him to run his futures by himself. He says I just need to discover the key to freedom. What will make me unafraid to enter the infinite future.
Sometimes I think he is just lonely.
Audio Recording: “Lydia and Ecco at Insight” March 3, 2135
Are you ready to try again today? To run?
I’d rather die.
Die then. Kill yourself.
I can’t. I don’t.
See if you can. See if you do.
I know how I end. I know how I continue. I know everything.
Everything. What arrogance. You didn’t even know me.
mãe,
I never named him. I call him meu caração, my little boy, meu amor. I have been able to survive here because of him.
It’s been five months since I last saw him. The first five months that I have been completely alone, in my life. I was already pregnant when Ecco took me from school. A child of Salt, or a child of Hog? I like to think, a child of both. I birthed him here, at Insight. Until August, they let him stay with me. We lived a strange, captive life, but we lived it together. Then Ecco took him. He said it was my own fault. My own choice.
I don’t move. I don’t speak. Ecco gives me more kite now, triple what I used to take. I close my eyes and fly. I see everything, all of time rippling beneath me like waves, diamond-studded, glinting, on, off, on.
But now I know. They are not mirrors, they are not diamonds. They are mouths.
That is the difference between seeing and running.
Sometimes, I let myself wonder whether Salt or Hog ever made it to you.
That was our whole, foolish plan. Run to you, mamãe, like little children, and beg you to shelter us as you could not shelter me before. When there is no one left, no hope, we always turn to our mothers, eh, no matter how angry we are.
I don’t think you will ever receive these little notes.
ecco tells me that the secret to running is losing your mother.
ecco tells me that if I want to find the boy, i’ll have to run him down myself.
i tell him that i have been trying.
something is not right
not right
i have started talking to myself, to hog, to salt, even to you. sometimes i wake as though from the middle of a dream, and i am talking to someone else—-but no one i know, or have known. i am the only one here. i am the only one here. i’ve been here for too long
too long
Audio Recording: “Lydia” April 2, 2135
What do you remember from your first days at Insight, Lydia?
I was dopesick. In pain. I hadn’t been without kite in years. I could barely stand. Couldn’t walk.
You were lost in many simultaneous futures, without the drug that stabilized your vision in the world and its one future.
Yes.
You saw me.
Yes.
And what did you think, that first time?
That you were my mother.
(Soft laughter.)
they took my eyes
they took my eyes
they took my eyes
Journal of Time and Sight, Vol. IV, Winter 2324
APPLYING ENUCLEATION TO ADDRESS THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF HYPER-STEREOPSIC PARALYSIS IN KISMET-TRAINED SEERS
Interest in the procedure of enucleation (removal of the eyes) as an intervention gained prominence in the late 22nd century, after it was performed with some success by the liberatory research group, Insight Unlimited. Numerous studies have investigated the subject since the embargo against eye-removal was lifted in 2135.
At that point, the early Theory of Time Sight posited that children treated with the drug dimethylcathinone (“kite”) could be trained to see in four and possibly five, six, or seven dimensions. Davis and Shutter continued the theory, positing that time-paralysis (inability to move through time) exhibited in Kismet-trained Seers was a psychological, rather than physical, limitation. All children treated from an early age with dimethylcathinone should theoretically be capable of movement and not only sight. Hyper-reliance on world-sight, they hypothesized, might prohibit Seers from “flattening” time to one-dimension, a technique achieved by so-called “time runners.”
Following the use of double obsidian implants after eye-removal in one subject, L. Peres, research into the procedure was halted due to undisclosed complications.
The Los Angeles Times, August 10, 2135
TWO MEN SENTENCED IN TERRORIST PLOT AGAINST KISMET
Two men convicted of thirteen counts of murder in the first degree were handed six and three consecutive life sentences, respectively, this morning. The two men, Adam Hogkins, twenty-one, and Terrence Salz, nineteen, were convicted in July for their roles in aiding in the terrorist attacks on the Kismet Headquarters in Northern California in 2133, as part of a third-wing backlash over the use of “indentured servants” by the Kismet Corporation. The men, both students at the Kismet Training Academy, were found guilty of planning and providing material support for terrorist acts and illegal gang membership.
The trial was one in a series of cases that arose out of what authorities determined was a sprawling terrorist plot orchestrated by an activist organization known as “Quilombo Sombrio,” and carried out with the cooperation of one other student, Lydia Davis Peres, the daughter of a well-known Quilombo member. Peres has been missing since the attack on the Kismet Headquarters.
Normally relegated to one-time guerilla attacks, the incidents—-the bombing of a school and kidnapping of a student on August 10, 2133; the subsequent August 14th, 2133 bombings, and the largest escape of “indentured servants” at three Kismet locations—-underscore the growing threat of mainstream dissatisfaction with, and potential of violence toward, the company that “controls the future,” Kismet Unlimited.
Human rights groups decried the lack of evidence against either defendant in the July trial, and are petitioning for appeals. Judge Julius Johnson sentenced Mr. Salz to a minimum of ninety-six years in prison, and Mr. Hogkins to a minimum of 192 years in prison. The younger Mr. Salz was escorted out of the courtroom by the bailiff. Mr. Hogkins appeared to be transferred to another authority, representatives of whom waited outside of the courtroom. He was transported to an unknown location in an unmarked car.
Audio Recording: “Lydia and Ecco” August 15, 2135
Do you know what I have for you?
I can’t see.
Here. (forty-five-second interval.) Pick it up.
hnh. hnh. hnhh. hauh. Hau. Hau. Hau. Hauh. Haugh. How. How. Hough. Hog.
It is the head of your Hog.
(screaming)
i am the only one here. She is not the only one here.
Audio Recording: “Lydia and Ecco” (undated)
Who do you talk to at night? The boy?
I talk to Lydia.
You are Lydia.
No.
She wants to run, but she is still afraid. Why? (She still has hope, even after holding Hog’s head in her hands).
I whisper to Lydia in the dark. “Acalme-se.” Quiet yourself. I know our mother’s tongue. It passed to me along dark currents that human eyes will never see, human limbs will never wade through. (I have waded through the dry fields, rippled by dry wings that beat over sun-chapped skulls. I have waded through the salted sea currents. I have been worn away and dismantled. And still, I am).
“You cannot change the past, meu coração.” My heart. “Only accept with wonder what the future may make of you.”
“I know your voice,” she whispers.
I laugh. “Of course you know my voice.”
“Who are you? Who let you in?” Her hand gropes in darkness.
I take her hand in mine. I make quieting noises with my tongue. “I simply come,” I say. “I walk through walls.”
She feels my fingers with hers. I place her hand on my face, let her trace the ridges of my eyes. I do not let her flinch or pull back her hand when her fingers slip and touch my eyes. They are smooth as silk, and very cold. “See?” I tell her. “There is nothing to fear. It is just stone.”
“I hate it,” she says, as though she were a child.
“You fear it,” I say patiently, as though she were a child.
“It is not me.”
“It is us,” I tell her.
“I need to leave,” she says. I feel her stand.
“Leave.”
“I have a child,” she says.
“Find him.”
She searches inside of herself for a feeling that has always been solid certainty, and now is so much fog. She pulls on air, says, “I will not survive.”
“Look at me,” I tell her. I take her fingers again, bring them to my face. “And see that you survive.”
The São Francisco Times, October 10, 2135
KISMET STUDENTS FOUND
A police raid was led on the dark town known as Quilombo Sombrio early this morning, located in a northern area of the state that has been largely uninhabited since flooding in the late 21st century gutted the cities and towns nearby. “We were able to collaborate with a private company that had obtained intelligence about the coordinates of the town, located in the foothills of Cruz Sagrada. We have long had reason to believe that the town was harboring fugitives belonging to the Kismet Group. We were able to relocate a number of the missing students. There were some casualties on both sides.”
She asks me how.
“You think of yourself as a peça. The piece. The slave. But we call ourself a pedra, the stone. Time cuts us, we do not cut time. We submit to time, allow it to move us. It will move us toward him. Our filho de pedra. Our endless echo. He who will cross all futures to create me, and destroy you.”
Audio Recording: “Lydia and Ecco” September 30, 2135
Quilombo Sombrio.
Quilombo?
A dark town in the Northwest. That’s where we must go.
Why?
To find my mother.
I arrive at Quilombo after the police have gone, after the fires have burned themselves out. Ecco warned me that the town had been razed. The seers collected, taken back to Insight to readjust to the light of time after their years living in darkness. “It will be good for you,” he said.
I marvel at what is here, what has been here, evading time. Inside of me, Lydia remembers the trees. I touch a giant that towers to my left—-wide plates of bark, roughly threaded, that smelled like vanilla and sugar. I touch my arm and remember a break she had received, falling from a tree as a child.
I sense movement. Survivors, coming out from the forest to collect their dead. Amongst them, I know, is Lydia’s mother. I do not see her with my eyes. I see her within time. She floats to me on its black river.
“Mamãe de Lydia,” I say, holding out my hands.
Her fingers are rough and warm. She traces the ridges of my eyes.
“O que é que você fez?” What have you done?
“Survived,” I answer.
“O que eu fiz para você?” What have I done to you?
Lydia, the child, the slave, reaches to her. “Mamãe,” she yells, deep within my head. “Save me.”
She still does not know that I am the one who will save her.
Mamãe buckles and falls. Her hands grab at my face, my shoulders, my arms, my shirt.
I pull my knife from her ribs, and wipe its blood on the tree.
“You told me to run.”
I am no longer afraid. There is nothing to hold me anywhere.
The future beckons with all its glistening teeth. I turn my eyes (my stones) and see vents gaping open, closed, open, open, open. Until each is as wide as each, and running is only a matter of stepping from one open mouth to another.
I run.
and the thing that is inside me the thing iam inside of—-spins me like a pebble on its tongue—-swallows me whole (iam swallowed)—-iam in its one long throat—-it is the length of the universe—-i am passed by smooth muscle—-into its belly—-bright and white as the sun—-if i look too closely, i will die—-i am swallowed into the one true future—-burning—-but i who have no eyes cannot see—-and oh god, i cannot die
everything leads here, ecco, you have seen this noplace too—-knowing this, isee you—-not the you that moves outside of time; the you that is being eaten alive (unending, it does not end) by the future—-
isee you, meu filho, the one inever named, you and iboth know that there is nowhere to run—-
I open my eye. I see the Ecco who stands outside of time.
“Mamãe,” he says, and takes my hand.
He is no longer the sound, he is the echo. I am no longer the slave, I am the stone.
We have nothing, we are nothing, we can go everywhere.
Time moves us.
1. Research into the emergent phenomenon of runners found no biological basis for the tendency of Black children to become runners. Johnson, Edgar et al, “‘Running from Loneliness’: Assessing psychological trauma present in Kismet-trained time-runners.” 2156 November 11. Johnson posited running as a conditioned response to an underlying trauma disorder—a literal flight response.
About the Author
Endria Isa Richardson is a writer based in Oakland, California. Her essays have appeared in Black Warrior Review, Alpinist, and Bay Nature magazines, and her speculative fiction is in Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, FIYAH, Nightmare, and others. Her work has received notable mentions in Best American Essays and Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the runner-up award from the Black Warrior Review nonfiction contest. Endria holds a JD from Stanford Law School, and is currently a PhD student in African American Studies at UC Berkeley.
Please visit LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINEto read more great science fiction and fantasy. This story first appeared in the April 2024 issue, which also features work by Mitchell Shanklin, Modupeoluwa Shelle, David Anaxagoras, David Marino, Susan Palwick, Vandana Singh, Rich Larson, and more. You can wait for this month’s contents to be serialized online, or you can buy the whole issue right now in convenient ebook format for just $3.99, or subscribe to the ebook edition here.
Newswise — As per a study conducted by the University of California, Davis in Richmond, California, coal trains and terminal operations are found to be major contributors of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution to urban areas. It has been observed that they contribute more significantly to this pollution as compared to other freight or passenger trains.
According to a study published in the journal Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, it is the first research conducted in a U.S. urban area that examined particulate pollution caused by coal trains. The study is also the first of its kind to utilize artificial intelligence technologies to verify that the air pollution detected has originated from coal.
The study revealed that coal-carrying trains passing through an area contribute an average of 8 micrograms per cubic meter of air (ug/m3) to the existing ambient PM2.5 pollution. This amount is 2 to 3 ug/m3 more than the pollution contributed by freight trains. Furthermore, even empty coal cars were found to add about 2 ug/m3 of coal dust traces to the air. In certain wind conditions, the concentrations of PM2.5 reached up to 25 ug/m3.
Environmental justice concerns
The authors of the study recently released a comprehensive report to the California Air Resources Board. The report includes additional measurements of coal and petroleum coke emissions (a byproduct of oil refining), which show that the storage and handling of these materials at shipping terminals and train holding yards also contribute to the emission of PM2.5. Furthermore, the report demonstrated that this particulate matter pollution from coal and petroleum coke reaches residential communities, thereby impacting public health.
As per the study conducted by the University of California, Davis in Richmond, California, coal trains and terminal operations contribute a substantial quantity of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution to urban areas. The study suggests that their contribution to this pollution is more significant than other types of freight or passenger trains.
According to a research paper published in the journal Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, it is the first-ever study of coal train particulate pollution conducted in a U.S. urban area. The study is also the first to leverage artificial intelligence technologies to verify that the detected source of air pollution is from coal.
The study revealed that passing trains carrying coal contribute an average of 8 micrograms per cubic meter of air (ug/m3) to ambient PM2.5 pollution. This amount is 2 to 3 ug/m3 more than the pollution caused by freight trains. Interestingly, even empty coal cars were found to add around 2 ug/m3 of coal dust traces to the air. Under certain wind conditions, these concentrations of PM2.5 reached up to 25 ug/m3.
Environmental justice concerns
The authors of the study have recently submitted a complete report to the California Air Resources Board. The report includes additional measurements of coal and petroleum coke emissions (a byproduct of oil refining). It clearly shows that the storage and handling of these materials at shipping terminals and train holding yards also release PM2.5 emissions, and that this pollution travels to residential communities. This suggests that the adverse effects of coal-related pollution are not just limited to the areas near coal mines or power plants but also extend to urban areas where coal transport and storage occur.
In addition to providing more measurements of coal and petroleum coke emissions, the report also discusses the health and environmental justice implications of coal-related pollution for residents living in Richmond and nearby Oakland. This is particularly relevant as a proposal for a coal terminal is currently under discussion in Oakland. The report suggests that such a proposal would have significant negative impacts on the air quality and health of the surrounding communities.
The study involved placing a monitor along train tracks in Richmond, a city located in the San Francisco Bay Area, between May 2022 and October 2022. Richmond is home to a racially diverse population of approximately 115,000 people, with high rates of asthma and heart disease. The study also involved monitoring in other locations over the past two years.
The authors found that coal transport, storage and handling significantly increase community exposure to ambient PM2.5.
According to Spada, the lead author of the study, the scale of the project motivated the team to experiment with computer-learning techniques. As a result, they developed a state-of-the-art system that allowed for the classification of several thousand trains observed during the study with a high degree of confidence. This included various types of trains, such as passenger, freight, and both unloaded and full coal cars. The success of this approach highlights the potential of artificial intelligence in environmental research.
The researchers noted that an unforeseen benefit of using computer-learning techniques to classify train types based on their pollution emissions was that this technology can also be applied to help identify the sources and levels of pollution in other air pollution concerns. For instance, the same approach could be used to analyze emissions from refinery flaring, construction dust, and activities such as unloading and loading at shipyards. This demonstrates the potential for this technology to be used in a broader range of environmental research and monitoring efforts.
No safe level
The World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have stated that there is no known safe level of PM2.5 pollution. A recent study on the global burden of disease estimates that fine particulate matter pollution is a contributing factor in 6.7 million deaths worldwide each year.
The authors noted that the negative effects of air pollution are disproportionately experienced by vulnerable populations, such as infants, children, the elderly, people of color, those with low incomes, and those with underlying health conditions.
According to the scientists, the study did not measure ultrafine or coarse particles (PM10), which are also produced along with PM2.5. This suggests that the study probably underestimates the true health risks posed by passing coal trains.
The study was funded by the California Air Resources Board Community Air Monitoring Grant Program.
Newswise — An estimated 53 million people in the U.S. turned to food banks and community programs for help putting food on the table in 2021. In recent decades, food banks have adopted policies and practices to make sure people not only have access to food but also healthy and nutritious food.
But until now, food banks have had few ways to evaluate those initiatives.
University of California, Davis, Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension Cassandra Nguyen led a team of researchers to develop the Food Bank Health and Nutrition Assessment to address that concern. Their findings were published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
“This tool will allow food banks to reflect on their current practices and determine whether they can adopt additional strategies to promote nutrition and health. It also serves as a benchmark, which they can use to track their progress over time,” said Nguyen, with the UC Davis Department of Nutrition.
Nutrition policy is more than what’s on the shelf
Food banks face some common challenges in promoting nutrition, health and equity. While food banks could assess the nutritional quality of their inventory, Nguyen said promoting nutrition requires more than knowing the types of food on the shelf.
“Food banks can have nutrition policies that outline where they source food and which foods they prioritize when funding is available. They can also ensure that food pantry clients are either represented on advisory boards or are able to provide feedback about foods they would like to receive,” Nguyen said.
Additionally, food banks can take steps to make sure nutrition education materials and information about federal assistance programs for health and nutrition are available in languages spoken by recipients.
Partnerships with outside organizations and local farmers can also increase the variety and availability of nutritious foods. Food banks with diverse connections may also adapt better to unexpected spikes in need, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Food Bank Health and Nutrition Assessment was designed to evaluate these and additional objectives so food banks can identify areas of success as well as potential strategies they hadn’t considered before.
Importance of data
“By having data from this assessment to show that some practices to promote nutrition and health may be difficult to implement, several food banks can raise their voices to advocate for policy changes,” Nguyen said.
Food banks with Feeding America and the Midwest Food Bank in four Midwestern states participated in the initial development of the Food Bank Health and Nutrition Assessment. In this small initial sample, most food banks asked food recipients about their preferences or whether diet-related diseases (for example, diabetes) were common, but few had current or former charitable food recipients on advisory boards.
The assessment is available for free through Feeding America, the largest nonprofit organization supporting the charitable food system, and online through the University of Illinois Extension. Food bank staff and partnering community-based professionals such as extension staff can use the assessment to improve promotion of nutrition and health.
Other authors include Caitlin Kownacki, Veronica Skaradzinski, Kaitlyn Streitmatter, Stephanie Acevedo and Jennifer McCaffrey with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Stephen D. Ericson with Feeding Illinois; and Jessica E. Hager with Feeding America.
Funding for the research was supported by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education, or SNAP-Ed, in Illinois.
Newswise — Location, location, location is the key for psychedelic drugs that could treat mental illness by rapidly rebuilding connections between nerve cells. In a paper published Feb. 17 in Science, researchers at the University of California, Davis show that engaging serotonin 2A receptors inside neurons promotes growth of new connections but engaging the same receptor on the surface of nerve cells does not.
The findings will help guide efforts to discover new drugs for depression, PTSD and other disorders, said senior author David E. Olson, associate professor of chemistry, biochemistry and molecular medicine and director of the Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics at UC Davis.
Drugs such as LSD, MDMA and psilocybin show great promise for treating a wide range of mental disorders that are characterized by a loss of neural connections. In laboratory studies, a single dose of these drugs can cause rapid growth of new dendrites – branches – from nerve cells, and formation of new spines on those dendrites.
Olson calls this group of drugs “psychoplastogens” because of their ability to regrow and remodel connections in the brain.
Earlier work from Olson’s and other labs showed that psychedelic drugs work by engaging the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR). But other drugs that engage the same receptor, including serotonin, do not have the same growth effects.
Maxemiliano Vargas, a graduate student in Olson’s lab, Olson and colleagues experimented with chemically tweaking drugs and using transporters to make it easier or harder for compounds to slip across cell membranes. Serotonin itself is polar, meaning it dissolves well in water but does not easily cross the lipid membranes that surround cells. The psychedelics, on the other hand, are much less polar and can easily enter the interior of a cell.
They found that the growth-promoting ability of compounds was correlated with the ability to cross cell membranes.
Drug receptors are usually thought of as being on the cell membrane, facing out. But the researchers found that in nerve cells, serotonin 2A receptors were concentrated inside cells, mostly around a structure called the Golgi body, with some receptors on the cell surface. Other types of signaling receptors in the same class were on the surface.
The results show that there is a location bias in how these drugs work, Olson said. Engaging the serotonin 2A receptor when it is inside a cell produces a different effect from triggering it when it is on the outside.
“It gives us deeper mechanistic insight into how the receptor promotes plasticity, and allows us to design better drugs,” Olson said.
Additional authors on the paper include: from UC Davis, Lee Dunlap, Chunyang Dong, Samuel Carter, Robert Tombari, Lin Tian, John Gray, Shekib Jami, Seona Patel, Lindsay Cameron and Hannah Saeger; Joseph Hennessey and John McCorvy from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. The work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, and by a sponsored research agreement with Delix Therapeutics.
Newswise — While social media platforms are the primary source of political information for a growing number of people, a majority of Twitter users do not follow either members of Congress, their president or news media, a new study suggests.
They are much more likely to follow Tom Hanks or Katie Perry than an elected official.
“Those users who do follow political accounts on Twitter, however, stick to insular online communities and mostly follow and share information from their political in-group,” said Magdalena Wojcieszak, lead author and professor of communication at the University of California, Davis, and the University of Amsterdam.
In other words, speaking to ongoing debates about so-called “echo chambers” on social media platforms, the small group of users who do follow political elites display clear political biases and engage with these elites in a very one-sided way.
The findings come after researchers from UC Davis and New York University analyzed four years’ worth of data from a sampling of 1.5 million Twitter users.
Researchers concluded that even though the group of social media users who display political biases in their online behaviors is small, it is nevertheless consequential. These users are much more vocal, participatory and active online, thus amplifying the general perception of unprecedented polarization.
The study was published Friday (Sept. 30) in Science Advances.
“In this project, we focus on national political elites due to their visibility and national-level influence on public opinion and the political process,” Wojcieszak said. Yet, despite the prominence and impact of presidents, congressmen, journalists, pundits and the news media, researchers found that only 40% of Twitter users follow one or more political “elites.” The remaining 60% follow no political actors at all.
“Given that we analyzed over 2,500 American political elite accounts including Donald Trump, Joe Biden, prominent pundits including Rachel Maddow and Sean Hannity, and the most popular media outlets such as MSNBC and Fox News, the fact that only 23% of the representative sample of over 1.5 million users follow three of more of such elite accounts is revealing,” Wojcieszak said.
The authors found that those users who do follow politicians, pundits and news media follow their political in-group at much higher rates than out-group elites (around 90% vs. 10%) and share tweets from in-group elites overwhelmingly more frequently than out-group tweets (at about a 13:1 ratio). And when users share out-group tweets, they tend to add negative comments to these reshares, further reinforcing ideological biases online.
The research also reveals important ideological asymmetries: conservative users are roughly twice as likely as liberals to share in-group versus out-group content, as well as to add negative commentary to out-group shares.
Surprising findings
“Overall, the majority of American Twitter users are not sufficiently interested in politics to follow even a single political or media elite from our list,” Wojcieszak said. Researchers wrote that they found this surprising, since it is generally believed that Twitter users are more politically engaged than the general population.
Given a growing radicalization in America, decreasing support for democratic norms, and rising support for political violence, concerns about political biases on social media platforms are valid, no matter how small the groups displaying those biases may be.
“At the same time,” Wojcieszak said, “we have to remember that these political biases are far removed from the everyday online behaviors of most politically disinterested Americans, who simply don’t care and prefer to immerse themselves in entertainment or sports. Our findings should help us all keep in perspective the concerns about the so-called ‘echo chambers’ online.”
Co-authors of the study include: Andreu Casas, Free University of Amsterdam; Xudong Yu, former doctoral student at UC Davis, now University of Amsterdam; and Jonathan Nagler and Joshua A. Tucker, New York University Center for Social Media and Politics.
The Center for Social Media and Politics at New York University is supported by funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Charles Koch Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Siegel Family Endowment, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Science Foundation.
