0925 OR No Cryptosporidium in Portland Water
A news release from the Portland Water Bureau on Monday says that no cryptosporidium has been detected in the city’s drinking water since April 10th.
Small numbers of the parasite have been found in Portland’s water since 2017.
The water bureau has since increased efforts to protect the city’s main source of drinking water, the Bull Run watershed.
this includes keeping people out of the watershed, keeping human sewage away from water sources, and increasing inspections of high-risk areas.
The state of Oregon also requires the water bureau update the public on a quarterly basis.
Currently, Portland does not treat its water for cryptosporidium but is in the process of building a filtration system.
The city hopes to have it installed by 2027.
cryptosporidium can cause diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and stomach pain. Most get better without medical treatment but those with weakened immune systems could face life-threating illness.
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0925 INT Swedish Prime Minister Ousted
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven lost a no-confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday essentially being ousted from the position.
Lofven heads the center-left Social Democrats party and has been Prime Minister of Sweden since 2014.
In the no-confidence vote, two-hundred four parliamentarians voted against him while one-hundred forty-two voted for him and three abstained.
In current talks, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats are threating to block any new government unless they are given a say in policy.
The Sweden Democrats party has its roots in the white supremacist fringe movement.
The rise of the far right in Europe has forced many traditional parties to share power or reach out to other opponents.
Sweden’s center-left and center-right blocs are now evenly balanced after the September 9th election.
Lofven’s center-left bloc won 144 seats in the election, just one more than the center-right opposition Alliance.
The far-right Sweden Democrats won 62 seats.
A new government could take weeks or months to develop and the parliament speaker will begin discussions with party leaders on Thursday.
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0925 INT India Floods
Torrential monsoon rains have caused flash flooding in the Northern Indian states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
Many districts in the states are affected by the floods and consequent landslides.
The rains led to rising river water levels, stranding locals in remote villages.
As many as eleven people have already been killed by the floods.
On Sunday, a bus was washed away in the town of Manali.
The National Disaster Response Force has been dispatched after nineteen people had to be rescued from the area.
Drier weather is expected over the next few days in central and northern India, but Eastern and Southern regions are expected to see continued rain.
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0925 INT Swedish Prime Minister Ousted
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven lost a no-confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday essentially being ousted from the position.
Lofven heads the center-left Social Democrats party and has been Prime Minister of Sweden since 2014.
In the no-confidence vote, two-hundred four parliamentarians voted against him while one-hundred forty-two voted for him and three abstained.
In current talks, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats are threating to block any new government unless they are given a say in policy.
The Sweden Democrats party has its roots in the white supremacist fringe movement.
The rise of the far right in Europe has forced many traditional parties to share power or reach out to other opponents.
Sweden’s center-left and center-right blocs are now evenly balanced after the September 9th election.
Lofven’s center-left bloc won 144 seats in the election, just one more than the center-right opposition Alliance.
The far-right Sweden Democrats won 62 seats.
A new government could take weeks or months to develop and the parliament speaker will begin discussions with party leaders on Thursday.
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0925 US Kavanaugh hearing set for Thursday
Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who is increasingly beset by accusations that he sexually assaulted women in high school and college, will appear before the Senate for further confirmation hearings this coming Thursday.
He is now facing a second and possible third accuser, but the Thursday hearing will only involve Doctor Christine Blasey-Ford, a research psychologist in California, who has said that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her at an off-campus party, when she was only fifteen.
Debra Ramirez, who has also brought forth accusations against Kavanaugh, is being asked by committee lawyers as to whether she has any additional evidence.
The scene has led to comparisons to the confirmation hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas twenty-seven years ago, in which Anita Hill accused the then would-be Justice of inappropriate sexual aggression.
Speaking on NPR, Hill said this week that the hearing with Blasey-Ford on Thursday QUOTE “cannot be fair and thorough.”
She said that the hearing as it is configured cannot provide the Senators with QUOTE “enough information to reach a reasonable conclusion.”
The Democrat and Republican members of the committee do not agree on whether a second accuser should be included in the hearing.
Kavanaugh, meanwhile, has appeared on Fox News, to deny the accusations.
He said QUOTE "The truth is I've never sexually assaulted anyone in high school or otherwise… I am not questioning and have not questioned that perhaps Dr. Ford at some point in her life was sexually assaulted by someone at some place, but what I know is I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone.”
The chairman of the Committee confirmed Tuesday that the panel has hired an outside counsel, widely believed to be a female attorney, to question Brett Kavanaugh and the woman who accuses him of attempted rape.
Anticipating the hearing, hundreds of women protested outside Capitol Hill yesterday, and one hundred twenty-eight were arrested.
They are calling for demonstrations nationwide this Thursday, asking protesters to wear black, and to write “I believe” on their palms.
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0925 US Bill Cosby Sentenced
Bill Cosby has been sentenced to three to ten years in prison for sexual assault.
Cosby was convicted in April of aggravated indecent assault and declined to speak to the court prior to sentencing.
Judge Steven T. O’Neill said, QUOTE “Nobody is above the law because of where they live, who they are, wealth, fame celebrity, or even philanthropy.”
Cosby was sentenced to the time in state prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home fourteen years ago.
The actor will also be required to pay twenty-five thousand dollars as well as the cost of prosecution.
He will be held in confinement in a state facility and will be required to take a sex offenders program.
Cosby will also be classified as a sexually violent predator which requires a lifetime registration and sex offender counseling.
The defense motioned for discretionary release or bail but the judge denied the application due to the seriousness of the crime.
Cosby was booked into Montgomery County Correctional Facility and will be temporarily transferred to S-C-I Phoenix, a state prison in Pennsylvania.
According to Amy Worden, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Cosby will be processed the same as any other inmate.
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