August 28, 2021

Hopkins: North Dakota's blue hydrogen will be green

A recent study out from Stanford and Cornell universities claims that blue hydrogen production releases more greenhouse gases than simply burning natural gas. But the study looks at an out-dated process for producing blue hydrogen, the CEO of a company that plans to start a blue hydrogen hub in North Dakota says.

“Not many companies that are actually intending to do clean hydrogen from natural gas want to use steam methods,” Bakken Energy CEO Mike Hopkins told the Williston Herald’s Energy Chaser. “It’s a very old process. It does have absolute limitations as to just how much carbon you can capture. And it’s quite energy inefficient. So it’s got the two burdens of being energy efficient and very limiting in the ability to capture carbon.”

North Dakota’s hydrogen hub, on the other hand, will use an entirely different and newer process, auto thermal reforming.

“It’s not commonly used for the production of clean hydrogen because of the capital costs,” Hopkins explained. “It’s not so much the capital cost of the authothermal reforming. It’s the fact that you’d need an air separation unit. In the case of the Dakota Gasification plant, because of how it has operated as a gasification plant, it already has a perfectly good air separation unit.”

Read more: https://www.willistonherald.com/news/oil_and_energy/hopkins-north-dakotas-blue-hydrogen-will-be-green/article_510ced1c-05be-11ec-bdd4-f7a67700c692.html

August 28, 2021

Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Is a Huge Win for North Dakota

The bipartisan infrastructure deal is a historic win for North Dakota. The bill designates $2 billion to improve our state’s roads and bridges, expand clean manufacturing, and equip North Dakota farmers and business owners with the tools they need to succeed in the 21st century. From growing regional economies to creating jobs and expanding reliable internet access, this legislation will be a game-changer for rural, tribal, and urban communities alike.

For years, North Dakota’s transportation infrastructure has been neglected. Hundreds of miles of our state highways are in desperate need of repair, and the U.S. Department of Transportation ranks fewer than two-thirds of North Dakota’s bridges in “good” condition. The bipartisan infrastructure bill contains provisions to make roads and bridges safe and resilient, particularly in the face of extreme weather events that increase the likelihood of deadly accidents. In addition to roadway improvements, this infrastructure bill includes the largest federal investment in public transportation ever, which will reduce auto emissions, improve air quality, and shorten lengthy commute times for many North Dakotans.

Road repair needs are disproportionately high in rural areas, where fatal car crashes occur twice as often as on urban roads. Rural residents need access to safe highways to reach far-away emergency services, which are urgently needed as COVID-19 resurges in small towns and agricultural communities. Further, fixing rural transportation networks will help grow local economies and lift the quality of life in rural areas across the state. Modernizing transportation infrastructure is key to attracting new businesses and industry, as well as expanding access to markets for farmers and small business owners.

High-speed internet is rapidly becoming a necessity for accessing health care, enhancing learning and workforce training, and ensuring North Dakota businesses remain competitive in 21st-century markets. However, high costs and a lack of broadband infrastructure are often barriers to reliable internet service. A national digital divide is particularly acute between rural and urban communities – 39% of rural Americans and 32% of tribal populations lack access to high-speed broadband service, compared to just 4% of urban Americans. The infrastructure bill will deploy investments in broadband expansion projects to our country’s Heartland and help connect all underserved North Dakotans to the resources they need to succeed in the modern economy.

Read more: https://ndxplains.com/2021/08/25/gould-bipartisan-infrastructure-deal-is-a-huge-win-for-north-dakota/

August 28, 2021

Medina ISD announces school closure due to coronavirus outbreak

SAN ANTONIO – A coronavirus outbreak has resulted in a weeklong closure at a Hill Country school district.

Medina ISD Superintendent Kevin Newsom notified parents of the school’s closure on Thursday after the virus sidelined “several key members” in the staff and leadership team. Roughly 260 students attend Medina School northwest of Bandera.

The school district reported a dozen active COVID-19 infections. Six of those infected were students, while the rest were school district staff. Several other students and staff members are also out due to quarantine protocols, district officials said.

“I had hoped and prayed I would never have to send out a letter like this again but in reality when you lose teachers, staff and key members of your administration team it is hard to operate in a manner we consider safe,” Newsom wrote in a letter to parents. “We will use this closure time to disinfect and clean every inch of our facilities.”

Read more: https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/08/27/medina-isd-announces-school-closure-due-to-coronavirus-outbreak/

August 28, 2021

UT researchers create new technology to study tumor evolution

UT researchers have helped to better understand how tumor cells evolve to resist cancer treatments by developing ClonMapper, a new technology that tags the cells’ nucleic acid with a type of barcode.

By tagging the cells’ DNA with barcodes, lead researcher Aziz Al’Khafaji said researchers can now identify specific clones of cells to apply and test different drugs. He said researchers can then see how the cells react and monitor how they change.

“ClonMapper is this multifunctional tool that allows us to tag and track cancer cells and track their abundances over time,” Al’Khafaji said, “We can tell which particular clones or individual cancer cells that are more therapeutically resistant versus those that are susceptible to cancer treatment.”

Amy Brock, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, said ClonMapper has extreme potential because researchers can apply it to various tumors, such as acute biological leukemia, a cancer of blood cells, and cell types the team investigated.

Read more: https://thedailytexan.com/2021/08/26/ut-researchers-create-new-technology-to-study-tumor-evolution/


Juleanna Culilap

August 28, 2021

UT faculty petition for mask mandates in class to ensure greater safety measures

Almost 800 University faculty signed a petition to allow for a mask and vaccine mandate on Aug. 11, after UT announced faculty could switch their classes partially or completely online just weeks before the first day of school.

Patricia Maclachlan, who was one of the main creators of the petition, said she and other faculty members felt frustrated with the administration’s abrupt introduction of hybrid and virtual classes for the first three weeks of school. She said if they were allowed to enforce mask mandates, the teaching modes wouldn’t need to be changed.

“I started receiving messages from the provost office about reduced-capacity teaching, and it just got me thinking that all of these efforts to give students an in-class experience (and) the acrobatics that we had to go through, were unnecessary if we were allowed to require our students to be masked,” Maclachlan, a government and Japanese studies professor, said.

Maclachlan said she wrote to the president and provost before starting the petition but did not receive any acknowledgement in response to her concerns. She said that having to create plans for virtual and in-person learning that will resume three weeks into the school year is difficult for faculty.

Read more: https://thedailytexan.com/2021/08/25/ut-faculty-petition-for-mask-mandates-in-class-to-ensure-greater-safety-measures/

August 28, 2021

UT students protest 'The Eyes of Texas' at Gone to Texas event

About two dozen students protested for the removal of “The Eyes of Texas” as UT’s alma mater at Tuesday night’s Gone to Texas event welcoming new students.

The protesters stood next to the Longhorn Band at the steps of the UT Tower and held a large banner that said, “Students & Workers Demand Cops Off Campus.” The protesters chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, ‘The Eyes of Texas’ has got to go,” as the band played over them.

Logan Rogers, a UT student who helped organize the protest, said the group is also demanding the removal of various racist symbols on campus and to start a divestment campaign of support from campus police and military research at UT.

UT spokesperson J.B. Bird declined to comment on the protest.

The protesters included people from multiple student organizations such as Cops Off Campus, Underpaid at UT, UTexas Direct Action and Liberation Coalition UT-Austin, said Rogers, an architecture senior.

Read more: https://thedailytexan.com/2021/08/25/ut-students-protest-the-eyes-of-texas-at-gone-to-texas-event/

August 28, 2021

That Grand Prairie Cobra Is Still Out There

I’m here to report that there’s nothing new to report on the West African Banded Cobra that escaped from a home in Grand Prairie several weeks ago. The beast remains at large.

A spokesman for the Grand Prairie Police Department says a professional wildlife management company put out 100 snake traps to try and catch the six-foot-long, venomous snake just south of I-30, near Lone Star Park. But that was on Day 2, “so really nothing new.”

The snake’s owner told Channel 11 earlier this month he thinks the cobra is probably dead, and no threat to the public either way.

I for one will remain vigilant until the dreaded creature is found, dead or alive.

https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2021/08/that-grand-prairie-cobra-is-still-out-there/?ref=mpw


Ted Cruz or King Cobra?

August 28, 2021

Dr. Hotez: 'Pediatric hospitalizations are at an all-time high across the southern U.S.'

HOUSTON — More than 4,000 people are testing positive for COVID-19 every day in the Houston area. Thirty percent of them are kids.

Most cases are mild, but right now, more than 50 children are battling COVID-19 at Texas Children’s Hospital.

“Pediatric hospitalizations are at an all-time high across the southern United States,” Dr. Peter Hotez, Baylor College of Medicine, said.

Infectious diseases expert Dr. Hotez said we have yet to see the results of Texas schools returning to 100 percent in-person learning.

Just this week, the City of Houston reported the first child with no underlying conditions has died of COVID-19.

Read more: https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/children-covid-hospitalizations-houston/285-edc397f6-c69c-41fa-b33d-a1925ea1a055

August 28, 2021

'Demand is outpacing capacity' -- HFD responds to unprecedented number of 911 calls, majority COVID

'Demand is outpacing capacity' | HFD responds to unprecedented number of 911 calls, majority COVID-19 symptom-related


HOUSTON — COVID-19 continues to spread across the area, and Houston's Fire Department is especially feeling the brunt of this latest delta surge.

First responders are stretched thin right now, and it's starting to be felt across the city.

"They are battle weary," said HFD Chief Sam Peña. "It's essentially a sustained hurricane response for a year and a half, putting pressure on our ability to maintain operations."

Peña said this latest COVID-19 surge is the worst one yet. 60 firefighters are currently out with COVID. Another 40 to 50 are out dealing with lingering effects from the virus.

"Even though they aren't positive, we don't have them available for staffing," Peña said.

Read more: https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/hfd-responds-unprecedented-number-911-calls-majority-covid-19-symptom-related/285-f9fbc31a-43de-4dc5-a3b7-7b410ab63903

August 28, 2021

Iowans sue Gov. Kim Reynolds over canceled federal unemployment benefits

A group of Iowans are suing Gov. Kim Reynolds over her decision to end a set of federal unemployment benefit programs early, saying they — and other eligible Iowans — should be paid the money.

Reynolds, a Republican, ended Iowa's participation in three federal pandemic unemployment programs in June — nearly three months before they were supposed to expire.

Those programs extended unemployment to more workers and provided an extra $300 per week to unemployed workers like Crystal Marciniak, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Marciniak worked at a northern Iowa hog farm for five years before taking time off for carpal tunnel surgery in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, according to the lawsuit. When COVID-19 delayed her return to work, she started receiving the federal unemployment benefits, which are administered by the state.

Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2021/08/25/gov-kim-reynolds-sued-ending-federal-unemployment-benefit-programs-iowa-class-action-cares-act/5574521001/