Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 214

Curry, Lillard battle as Warriors pick up win over Bucks

MILWAUKEE — It’s only been two games with Jimmy Butler, but the Warriors already look like a different team: one that can mount a comeback and pull away.

Also one that might have trouble slowing down dynamic scoring guards.

The Warriors had no answer for Damian Lillard, who scored 38 on 12-for-20 shooting, but nevertheless closed out the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks by taking control of the fourth quarter in a 125-111 win. It was the second straight success of the Butler-Steph Curry pairing.

“Every possession just doesn’t seem as hard,” Curry said postgame. “You still see attention, you still see defenses, but you have to worry about something else. We’re just putting people in the right spots. Obviously, I want to be aggressive. I think earlier in the year, that aggression didn’t necessarily lead to anything as consistently as it has the last two games.”

Curry (38 points, six rebounds, four assists) countered Lillard with his fourth straight 30-point game, his first such streak since 2021. Butler registered 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Quinten Post hit big shots late while both Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody — slotted into more appropriate roles — made impressive two-way contributions.

The Warriors started small, with Draymond Green at center, but still dominated the rebounding battle, 47 to 36. By generating 17 more shots via boards and forcing 20 turnovers, the Warriors’ poor shooting night didn’t matter.

Butler’s presence allows Curry to return closer to his traditional substitution pattern, playing the first 10 minutes of the first and third quarters and the last six-plus of the half and game. Butler’s ability to manufacture offense with Curry off the court gives the Warriors more confidence in sitting him for longer stretches.

Curry used the opportunity to strike a rhythm early, sinking a trio of first-quarter 3s. When he’s aggressive early, defenses seem to overreact even more to him, opening up chances for his teammates.

Curry dropped 11 points in the first quarter, which Oakland native Damian Lillard nearly matched. Lillard went for 43 points and eight assists the night before, cooking as his team needs him to shoulder the load without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf).

Lillard hit shots in 1-on-1 situations against Curry, Butler and anyone else who tried to check him. It was the first time the Warriors played against a lethal on-ball creator without Andrew Wiggins, who was their best point-of-attack defender before heading to Miami in the Butler trade.

Golden State’s offense made up for it, though, with a steady diet of paint looks and foul shots. Butler broke Milwaukee’s zone by playing at the free throw line, pivoting and making smart decisions. To beat the halftime buzzer, he caught the ball in the short roll and found Draymond Green underneath for a layup.

Milwaukee took its first lead since the opening frame on an AJ Green corner 3 as the Warriors’ offense clogged up to start the third.

Curry, sensing the need for his scoring, snaked his way into an and-1 to reach 27 points. Butler carried the team as he sat, finding Quinten Post for a jam, facing up Pat Connaughton for a bucket, bruising his way to the line and sinking a baby baseline jumper.

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Eighteen seconds into the fourth, Green picked up his fourth foul. His replacement, Post, drilled back-to-back triples to push the Warriors ahead by eight. For the second straight game, the Warriors surged as Curry sat to begin the fourth quarter.

In that span, Butler became the first Warrior since Kevin Durant in 2018 to take at least 13 foul shots in consecutive games.

Count that as another way the Warriors are suddenly different.

Butler has scored 45 points and gotten to the line for 27 foul shots in two games as a Warrior — even while he’s admittedly out of game shape and doesn’t know the Warriors’ plays yet.

“I can’t wait until I’m back in basketball shape the way that I’m used to being,” Butler said. “Don’t miss free throws as much, I don’t have any lift on my jump shot. Right now, I’m just gassed.”

Post later added a third 3 and Curry gave Brandin Podziemski a big hug after the young guard took a charge and drew a foul on a moving screen while pressuring Lillard in the back court.

Butler gives the Warriors belief that they can win at a higher level now. The two games with him — albeit against weak or depleted opponents — have validated that faith.

Trump once again slaps taxes on foreign steel, aluminum, a move that proved costly in his first term

By PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is hitting foreign steel and aluminum with a 25% tax. If that sounds familiar, it’s because he did pretty much the same thing during his first term.

Trump’s original metals tariffs gave America’s struggling steel and aluminum producers some relief from intense global competition, allowing them to charge higher prices. In anticipation of the new tariffs, shares of steel and aluminum producers climbed Monday. Nucor rose 5.6%, Cleveland-Cliffs jumped 17.9% and Alcoa ticked up 2.2%.

But the tariffs took a toll last time, too, damaging U.S. relations with key allies and driving up costs for “downstream’’ U.S. producers that buy steel and aluminum and use them to manufacture goods.

Timothy Zimmerman is CEO of one of those downstream companies: Mitchell Metal Products in Merrill, Wisconsin. And he still has bad memories of those times.

“We were significantly impacted,’’ he said. “The challenges we faced were unprecedented — rapid inflationary impacts from domestic steel producers. We saw steel prices rise within a few months about 70% over what they had been … Our (steel) suppliers simply broke contracts and gave us an option: Take this or take nothing.’’

But Mitchell Metal Products was locked into contracts with its own customers — a wide range of businesses from furniture makers to telecommunications firms — that didn’t allow it to pass along all or part of the higher cost. His company’s profit margins were squeezed, and it ended up losing business to European rivals that didn’t have to contend with the fallout from Trump’s steel tariffs.

The overall economic impact on the United States was limited then – and is likely to be limited again — because steel and aluminum imports amount to barely a ripple in the almost $30 trillion U.S. economy.

Still, the new taxes on foreign steel and aluminum and Trump’s other import tax plans – including his promise to raise American tariffs to match those charged by other countries — are likely “to boost U.S. inflation and weigh on global growth this year,’’ Jennifer McKeown and Hamad Hussain of Capital Economics wrote Monday.

Tariffs would hit American allies — again

The steel and aluminum tariffs would hit U.S. allies. Canada is the No. 1 supplier of foreign steel and aluminum to the United States. Mexico is the No. 3 steel supplier, and Japan and South Korea are also major steel exporters to the U.S.

China is widely seen as source of the world steel industry’s problems. Chinese overproduction has flooded the world with steel and kept prices low, hurting steelmakers in the United States and elsewhere. But the U.S. already uses trade barriers to keep out all but a trickle of Chinese steel. China accounted for less than 2% of U.S. steel imports last year, making it the No. 10 supplier of steel to the U.S., according to the American Iron and Steel Institute, a trade group.

In slapping duties on steel and aluminum nearly seven years ago, Trump reached into the federal government’s tariff toolkit and pulled out Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Section 232 gives the president the power to impose tariffs on other countries national security grounds.

The 2018 tariffs — 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum — provoked outrage in Canada and Mexico, U.S. neighbors and allies that resented being hit with trade sanctions and labeled as threats to U.S. national security.

The steel and aluminum tariffs also drew retaliation as U.S. trading partners hit back with taxes on U.S. exports from Kentucky bourbon to Levi’s jeans.

Trump’s first-term tariffs proved costly

By making foreign steel costlier, the tariffs allowed U.S. steelmakers to raise prices and encouraged them to keep mills running and to invest in new capacity.

But the tariffs hammered downstream businesses like Zimmerman’s that had to pay the higher prices. In 2021, production at downstream companies dropped by nearly $3.5 billion because of the tariffs, canceling out the $2.3 billion uptick in production that year by aluminum producers and steelmakers, according to a 2023 study by the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency that investigates trade disputes.

In 2020, researchers from Harvard University and the University of California, Davis, found that the tariffs created 1,000 jobs – but reduced employment elsewhere by 75,000. When the tariffs hit seven years ago, Mitchell Metal Products employed a peak of 102 workers. It had to cut its payrolls by leaving openings unfilled and weeding out some workers. The company now employs about 75 people.

Gary Hufbauer, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said that Trump’s first-term trade wars, including his tariffs on most Chinese imports, were costly to American industry.

“The net effect of all these tariffs at that time — on China, aluminum, steel, plus retaliation — was to reduce U.S. manufacturing unemployment,’’ he said. “I’m expecting the same thing this time around.’’

The 2018 metals tariffs were partially eased. For some countries, they were dropped. For some, they were replaced with import quotas. On Monday, Trump removed all exceptions and exemptions on the original tariffs and upped the levy on aluminum from 10% to 25%.

Zimmerman is bracing for the new tariffs to hit. “Already last week several large (steel) mills operating in the United States announced price increases in anticipation of the tariffs, not due to increased demand,’’ he said. “I think the domestic producers will work to do the same thing, or very close to the same thing, as what happened in 2018.’’

This time, he said, Mitchell Metal Products will seek to be more pro-active in getting its customers to absorb some of the higher costs. Otherwise, he said, “It’s not a healthy place to be as a company.’’

Former Warrior Wiggins scores 11 in Miami debut as Heat fall 103-85 to Celtics

By Tim Reynolds | The Associated Press

MIAMI — Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 17 and the Boston Celtics ruined Andrew Wiggins’ Miami debut as they rolled past the Heat 103-85 on Monday night.

The former Warrior Wiggins had 11 points while shooting just 3 of 12 as Miami shot 33.7% and has now been held under 90 points in each of its last five games against Boston.

Miami’s new faces acquired in the Jimmy Butler trade — Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and former Warrior Kyle Anderson — shot a combined 5 for 25 from the field, 2 for 13 from 3-point range. Wiggins and Mitchell were both in the starting lineup for their Miami debuts.

Al Horford scored 16 points, Sam Hauser had 15 and Derrick White added 13 for the Celtics. Boston took 53 3-pointers in the game and only 32 2-pointers.

Bam Adebayo scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Miami, which was without Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. — both sidelined by illness.

Including playoffs, Boston has now won five straight meetings with Miami, each of them one-sided — 104-84, 102-88 and 118-84 in the last three games of the 2024 first-round series, 108-89 on Dec. 2 and now this 18-point win.

Takeaways

Former Cal star Jaylen Brown missed the game for Boston with swelling in his right knee and Jrue Holiday was out with a right shoulder issue. Asked before the game if he was concerned about injury issues, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said they’re not issues. “They’re opportunities,” he said.

Key moment

Miami led 24-13, and Boston went on a 26-5 run over the next seven minutes. The Celtics kept control the rest of the way.

Key stat

It was the 69th time in Heat history that they shot less than 35% in a regular-season game. They’re now 2-67 in such contests.

Up next

Boston finishes its pre-All-Star schedule Wednesday at home against San Antonio. Miami plays at Oklahoma City on Wednesday and Dallas on Thursday.

US cyber agency puts election security staffers who worked with the states on leave

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY

ATLANTA (AP) — Staffers at the nation’s cybersecurity agency whose job is to ensure the security of U.S. elections have been placed on administrative leave, jeopardizing critical support provided to state and local election offices across the country.

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Ten of those employees are regional election security specialists hired as part of an effort to expand field staff and election security expertise ahead of the 2024 election. The regional staffers were told the internal review would examine efforts to combat attempts by foreign governments to influence U.S. elections, duties that were assigned to other agency staff, according to the person.

All were former state or local election officials who were brought in to build relationships across all 50 states and the nation’s more than 8,000 local election jurisdictions. They spent the past year meeting with election officials, attending conferences and trainings, and ensuring officials were aware of the agency’s various cybersecurity and physical security services.

A request for comment Monday to a CISA representative and a representative of the Department of Homeland Security was not returned.

State election officials of both political parties have defended CISA’s work to help secure election offices from a range of cybersecurity and physical threats.

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a Republican, said the agency’s work had been particularly valuable for county clerks in his state.

“The most value that we’ve got from CISA has been the people that they have on the ground in our state that build direct relationships, not just with us but with the individual county clerks,” Adams said during an interview late last month. “They’re teaching them and helping them check their physical security and their cyber hygiene, and that’s been extremely popular.”

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said during an interview in late January that the agency had been a critical partner for state and local election officials.

“And I hope that leaders in the federal government who claim to care about election integrity will recognize that,” she said.

The other staffers placed on leave are current or former members of the agency’s Election Security and Resilience team, who were told the review was looking into agency efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation campaigns, according to the person familiar with the situation. The 10 election security specialists who worked with state and local election officials reported to a different team at CISA, the field operations division.

The personnel moves come as questions have been swirling about the future of the agency in the face of sustained criticism from Republicans and key figures in the Trump administration. President Donald Trump’s new homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said during her Senate confirmation hearing last month that CISA had strayed “far off mission” and she pledged to work with senators “should you wish to rein them in.”

Trump has not named a replacement for former CISA Director Jen Easterly, and agency leadership was noticeably absent from recent meetings of state election officials in the nation’s capital.

CISA was formed in 2018 during the first Trump administration and is charged with protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure, from dams and nuclear power plants to banks and voting systems. While CISA is under the Department of Homeland Security, it’s a separate agency with its own Senate-confirmed director.

Trump and his allies remain angry over the agency’s work to counter misinformation about the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agency officials have said CISA was never engaged in censorship. During the 2020 election, CISA officials worked with states to help them notify social media companies about misinformation spreading on their platforms, but they have said they never instructed or sought to coerce those companies to act.

For the 2024 election, CISA and other federal agencies alerted the public to various foreign misinformation campaigns, including three fake videos linked to Russia purporting to show election misconduct in battleground states.

A spokesperson with the National Association of State Election Directors said Monday the group could not comment on CISA’s personnel decisions and looks forward to hearing from agency officials about the organization’s plans for election-related work.

Maria Benson, a spokeswoman with the National Association of Secretaries of State, said the group had requested a staffing update from CISA. She said CISA “has relayed to NASS that all cybersecurity and physical security services are expected to be available to state and local election officials.”

Labor unions sue to block DOGE access to sensitive information at US agencies

By COLLIN BINKLEY

WASHINGTON (AP) — A coalition of labor unions filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal court to stop Elon Musk’s team from accessing private data at the Education Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management.

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It’s the latest in a flurry of legal challenges to Musk’s growing influence over federal agencies he has promised to slash or dismantle. A federal judge in New York blocked Musk’s team from a Treasury Department system on Saturday after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued over privacy concerns.

The AFT suit warns of safety risks to personal data that has been shared with Musk’s team, including an Education Department system housing information on more than 40 million Americans with federal student loans. The database includes Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, home addresses and more.

Also Monday, DOGE cut about $900 million in Education Department contracts after concluding they were a waste of taxpayer money, a department spokesperson said. The cuts spanned 90 contracts at the Institute of Education Sciences, a research branch of the federal agency. The department did not immediately release additional details.

The cuts will not affect core operations at IES, including the NAEP exam, known as the nation’s report card, and the College Scorecard, which provides data about the cost and outcomes of U.S. universities, the department said.

“The Department is effectively one of America’s biggest banks — if there was a breach of this magnitude in the private sector, it would rightly be a national scandal,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT.

The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of handing over sensitive data for reasons beyond its intended use, allegedly violating the Privacy Act. Instead of carrying out the functions of the federal student loan program, the lawsuit says DOGE has been accessing loan data “for purposes of destroying” the Education Department.

President Donald Trump has vowed to close the Education Department and turn over its authority to states and schools. Musk on his social media site X said Friday that the department “doesn’t exist,” responding to Democrats in Congress who attempted to visit the agency’s headquarters but were turned away by security.

The suit asks a federal court to stop Musk’s team from accessing that data along with Treasury systems and an OPM database with sensitive information on all 2.3 million federal employees. It also seeks the destruction of any records that were already disclosed.

“Steamrolling into sensitive government record systems has led to a massive data breach that threatens to upend how these critical systems are maintained and compromises the safety and security of personal identifying information for Americans all across the country,” according to the suit.

One of the nation’s largest teachers unions, the AFT says it represents 1.8 million workers in education, health care and government. Also joining the suit are six people with sensitive information stored in federal systems, including military veterans who received federal student loans and other federal benefit payments.

The suit also is backed by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

On Friday, a separate lawsuit on behalf of the University of California Student Association asked a federal judge in Washington to halt Musk’s access to Education Department systems. The plaintiffs in that case filed for an emergency restraining order on Monday seeking to block DOGE from sensitive data.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

With firings and lax enforcement, Trump moving to dismantle government’s public integrity guardrails

By ERIC TUCKER, MICHELLE L. PRICE and ZEKE MILLER

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the first three weeks of his administration, President Donald Trump has moved with brazen haste to dismantle the federal government’s public integrity guardrails that he frequently tested during his first term and now seems intent on removing entirely.

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It’s all being done with a stop-me-if-you-dare defiance by a president who the first time around felt hemmed in by watchdogs, lawyers and judges tasked with affirming good government and fair play. Now, he seems determined to break those constraints once and for all in a historically unprecedented flex of executive power.

“It’s the most corrupt start that we’ve ever seen in the history of the American presidency,” said Norm Eisen, a former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic who was a legal adviser to Democrats during Trump’s first impeachment.

“The end goal is to avoid accountability this time,” said Princeton University presidential historian Julian Zelizer. “Not just being protected by his party and counting on the public to move on when scandals or problems emerge, but this time by actually removing many of the key figures whose job it is to oversee” his administration.

Zelizer added: “It’s a much bolder assertion than in his first term, and if successful and if all these figures are removed, you’ll have a combination of an executive branch lacking independent voices that will keep their eye on the ball and then a congressional majority that at least thus far isn’t really going to cause problems for him.”

To some degree, Trump’s early actions reflect a continuation of the path he blazed in his first term, when he dismissed multiple key inspectors general — including those leading the Defense Department and intelligence community — and fired an FBI director and an attorney general amid a Justice Department investigation into his ties between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

This time, though, his administration has moved much more swiftly in reprisal against those he feels previously wronged him — or still could.

His Justice Department last month fired more than a dozen prosecutors involved in two separate investigations — one into his hoarding of classified documents, the other into his efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election — that resulted in since-abandoned indictments after he left office. It’s also demanded a list of all agents who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, with Trump saying Friday that he intends to quickly and “surgically” fire some of them.

The actions reflect the administration’s intent to keep a tight grip on the Justice Department and even purge it of investigators seen as insufficiently loyal, even though career civil servants are typically not replaced by new presidents. Trump’s actions are in keeping with the dramatic dismissal on his first Friday night in office of nearly 20 inspectors general in a broad cross-section of government agencies, all in seeming violation of a law requiring that Congress be given 30-day advance notice of such firings.

The latest moves came Monday, when the recently fired head of the Office of Special Counsel, which processes whistleblower complaints and handles the Hatch Act that prohibits federal employees from partisan activities on the job, sued over his dismissal days earlier. Trump separately fired the head of the Office of Government Ethics.

Trump’s administration on Monday also wiped away two high-profile public integrity cases of elected officials. Trump pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted on political corruption charges that included seeking to sell an appointment to then-President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. Hours later, Trump’s Department of Justice ordered federal prosecutors to drop charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams who was accused of accepting bribes of free or discounted travel and illegal campaign contributions.

“I think Trump has sent an unmistakable message that corruption is welcome in his new administration,” said Eisen, who now works with State Democracy Defenders Fund, a nonprofit watchdog group that says it fights “election sabotage and autocracy,” and has been filing lawsuits against Trump’s administration.

“Together, these actions will streamline any efforts he and his administration make to personally profit, install loyalists and avoid oversight of corruption and waste,” Donald Sherman, the executive director and chief counsel for the good-government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said in a statement. “By all indications, Trump is planning to run a lawless administration and these unprecedented moves are an alarming first step to put those plans into action.”

Trump has portrayed the cases the same way he labeled his own investigations: as politically motivated witch hunts.

Trump, who in 2016 campaigned on a pledge to rid Washington of corruption with his “drain the swamp” refrain, has also taken aim at ethics and watchdog rules when it comes to business. On Monday, he paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a 1977 law that prevents U.S. companies from paying bribes to foreign government officials to win business, until new Attorney General Pam Bondi can design new rules.

The White House said the action was needed because American companies “are prohibited from engaging in practices common among international competitors, creating an uneven playing field.”

“It sounds good on paper but in practicality it’s a disaster,” Trump said at the White House.

On his first day in office last month, Trump signed an executive order that rescinded one issued by former President Joe Biden that had prohibited executive branch employees from accepting major gifts from lobbyists and bans people jumping from lobbying jobs to executive branch jobs, or the reverse, for two years. The bans were aimed at curbing the “revolving door” in Washington, where incoming government workers could bring a minefield of ethical conflicts and later find lucrative lobbying jobs.

The move came as Trump returned to power with fresh overlaps between his personal and business interests, including his launch of a new cryptocurrency token.

His family business, the Trump Organization, meanwhile, adopted a voluntary agreement that bars it from making deals with foreign governments but not with private companies abroad, a significant change from the company’s ethics pact in the first term.

The Trump Organization has in recent months struck deals for hotels and golf resorts in Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Government ethics experts have raised concerns that the president’s personal financial interests in the deals could influence the way he conducts foreign policy.

Price reported from New York.

‘Back to plastic’: Trump pushes for plastic straws as he declares paper ones ‘don’t work’

By MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is moving to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, declaring that paper straws “don’t work” and don’t last very long.

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The move by Trump — who has long railed against paper straws, and whose 2019 reelection campaign sold Trump-branded reusable plastic straws for $15 per pack of 10 — targets a Biden administration policy to phase out federal purchases of single-use plastics, including straws, from food service operations, events and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035.

Trump declared President Joe Biden’s policy “DEAD!” in a social media post over the weekend.

While plastic straws have been blamed for polluting oceans and harming marine life, Trump said Monday that he thinks “it’s okay” to continue using them. “I don’t think that plastic is going to affect the shark very much as they’re … munching their way through the ocean,” he said at a White House announcement.

Several U.S. states and cities have banned plastic straws, and some restaurants no longer automatically give them to customers. But plastic straws are only a small part of the problem. The environment is littered with single-use plastic food and beverage containers — water bottles, takeout containers, coffee lids, shopping bags and more.

Around the world, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic enters the ocean every minute from a range of sources, including plastic bags, toothbrushes, bottles, food packaging and more, experts say. As those materials break down in the environment, microplastics are turning up in the stomachs of fish, birds and other animals, as well as in human blood and tissue.

And plastic manufacturing releases planet-warming greenhouse gases and other dangerous pollutants. More than 90% of plastic products are derived from fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, and millions of tons of plastic waste enter the world’s oceans every year. Many multinational companies have moved away from plastic straws and have made reducing plastic use across their operations central to their sustainability goals, making Trump’s decision an outlier in the business world.

Trump’s order is “more about messaging than finding solutions,″ said Christy Leavitt, plastics campaign director for the environmental group Oceana, noting that most U.S. voters support requiring companies to reduce single-use plastic packaging and foodware.

“President Trump is moving in the wrong direction on single-use plastics,” Leavitt said. “The world is facing a plastic pollution crisis, and we can no longer ignore one of the biggest environmental threats facing our oceans and our planet today.”

The plastic manufacturing industry applauded Trump’s move.

“Straws are just the beginning,” Matt Seaholm, president and CEO of the Plastics Industry Association, said in a statement. “‘Back to Plastic’ is a movement we should all get behind.”

FILE – Wrapped plastic straws are seen at a bubble tea cafe in San Francisco, July 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

More than 390 million straws are used every day in the United States, mostly for 30 minutes or less, according to advocacy group Straws Turtle Island Restoration Network. Straws take at least 200 years to decompose and pose a threat to turtles and other wildlife as they degrade into microplastics, the group says.

“To prevent another sea turtle from becoming a victim to plastic, we must make personal lifestyle alterations to fight for these species,” the group said in a statement.

Every year, the world produces more than 400 million tons of new plastic. About 40% of all plastics are used in packaging, according to the United Nations.

Globally, nations are creating a treaty to address plastic pollution. Leaders met for a week in South Korea late last year but didn’t reach an agreement. Talks resume this year as more than 100 countries pursue a pact that limits plastic production as well as tackles cleanup and recycling.

The U.S., China and Germany are the biggest players in the global plastics trade. U.S. manufacturers have asked Trump to remain at the negotiating table, and to revert to Biden’s previous position that focused on redesigning plastic products, recycling and reuse.

White House staff secretary Will Scharf, who presented the executive order to Trump, told him the push for paper straws has cost the government and private industry “an absolute ton of money and left consumers all over the country wildly dissatisfied with their straws.”

The order directs federal agencies to review procurement processes to allow use of plastic straws. “It really is something that affects ordinary Americans in their everyday lives,” Scharf said.

Associated Press writer Jennifer McDermott in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this story.

Clipboard: Expectations raised in softball for Rey at Central Florida

Having gathered unanimous All-Big 12 Freshman team honors last year, Notre Dame of Salinas grad Samantha Rey is expected to have an even bigger role for the Central Florida softball team this spring.

The left-handed hitting Rey hit .321 in 56 official at-bats, scoring 15 runs in 41 games, earning 20 starts in the infield and outfield.

Rey compiled a .935 fielding percentage, with just four errors in 62 chances.

A two-time Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division Most Valuable Player for the Spirits, Rey hit over .600 in 2023, leading them to a CCS Division I title and into the Northern California DII finals.

Rey’s older sister Victoria, will begin her junior season at Weber State, having started 44 games last spring in the outfield.

Victoria Rey has appeared in 89 games over her first two years at Weber State, having started 69. She scored 10 runs last year, while driving in five.

Rey’s glove in the outfield is among the best in the conference, having committed just three errors in 132 career chances.

Monterey Bay FC signs Paul

The retooling of Monterey Bay FC continues after the fourth-year franchise signed former Real Salt Lake forward Ilijah Paul to a one-year contract with an option for 2026.

The seventh overall selection in the 2023 Major League Soccer SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake, the 22-year-old spent two seasons with the organization, producing eight goals and two assists for the club’s MLS NEXT Pro side team.

Paul made nine appearances with Real Salt Lake, and was put on loan on two occasions, including to Ventura County FC, where he scored two goals and added an assist in eight matches.

“Ilijah is a dynamic talent with great pace, strong technical ability, and a keen eye for goal,” Monterey Bay FC coach Jordan Stewart said. “He plays with a lot of energy, creativity and versatility. He’ll be a key player in attack and creating chances.”

Last season Monterey Bay FC finished as the third-worst team in the United Soccer League Championship in scoring, missing the postseason for the third straight year.

The Union will open the regular season on March 8 at San Antonio.

Paul played two seasons at the University of Washington, where he led the Pac 12 in goals with 11, collecting four assists in being named the 2022 Pac 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He was also a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy.

Amaral set for breakout season

Fully healthy for the first time since arriving at the University of San Francisco, JT Amaral will look to make an impact this spring for the baseball program.

The junior outfielder showed flashes last season for the Dons, starting 12 games before suffering a season-ending injury.

A former multi-sport standout at Palma, Amaral homered and was hit by a pitch seven times in 12 games, producing a .340 on-base percentage.

In 38 career games for the Dons, Amaral has homered twice and driven in nine runs. He’s also scored 13 runs and been hit 12 times. He has committed just one error in 39 chances.

Amaral excelled in football and baseball at Palma, leading the baseball team to a spot in the CCS finals in 2021.

Schreiber to have bigger role

Sebastian Schreiber is expected to have an enhanced role this spring for the Santa Clara University pitching staff.

The former Hartnell College hard-throwing hurler appeared in 18 games last season for the Broncos, striking out 14 in 18 innings of work, recording one save.

The 6-foot-3 left-handed Schreiber made one start for Santa Clara, compiling a 5.79 earned run average.

Schreiber started 14 games for Hartnell during his freshman season, striking out 75 in 65 innings of work, holding opponents to a .230 batting average.

Having prepped at Alisal, Schreiber was the 37th-ranked left-handed high school pitching prospect out of California by Perfect Game.

Martorella finding her niche

Having hit 60 points higher as a sophomore last spring, Marie Martorella forced Santa Clara to find more at-bats for her.

Platooning at catcher last year, Martorella also started 17 games as the Broncos designated hitter, where she led the team in sacrifice flies with four.

A Salinas High graduate, Martorella hit her first collegiate home run last year, driving in 11 runs, while scoring 13 – all career highs.

Producing three multiple-hit games, the right-handed Martorella also stole four of five base attempts. She has yet to commit an error behind the dish in two seasons for the Broncos.

Martorella helped Salinas to a league title in 2021, and a spot in the Central Coast Section Division III finals in 2022.

Coaches needed

Marina is looking for a varsity swim coach, and a JV boys volleyball coach. Go to jcisneros@mpusd.net

Seaside is looking for head coaches for varsity baseball, and boys and girls swimming. Contact athletic director Steven Vasquez at stvasquez.mpusd.k.12.ca.us

Alvarez is looking for coaches for flag football and girls’ tennis. Go to brian.vazquez@salinasuhsd.org

Salinas is looking for a head coach in field hockey. Go to https://salinashscowboysathletics.com

Monterey is looking for an assistant baseball coach. Contact cventimiglia@mpusd.net. Monterey is also looking for a head JV football coach. Email abesaw@mpusd.net

Gonzales is looking for a baseball coach. Contact mdaniels@gonzalesk12.ca.us

Officials needed

Peninsula Sports Incorporate is looking for high school and middle school officials for all sports this season. Varsity officials are paid $100 a game.

There is an immediate need for officials and umpires in the spring for boys’ volleyball, baseball, softball and boys’ and girls’ lacrosse. Training is provided. Call Tom Emery at (831) 241-1101.

Celebrating the next generation of sea stars

MOSS LANDING >> Sunflower sea stars are nearly extinct in Monterey Bay. But at the Sunflower Star Lab in Moss Landing, a group of 1-year-olds are growing and thriving.

On Valentine’s Day 2024, the “Cupid Cohort” of sunflower stars was spawned at Birch Aquarium in San Diego before moving into the Sunflower Sea Star Laboratory in Moss Landing. Now, the lab is gearing up to celebrate the first birthday or “Spawniversary” of the 72 babies with an art fair and guided tours of the lab space on Friday.

With the current Cupid Cohort, lab staff have been able to research more about these keystone species. Eventually, the team hopes for a return of these stars to Monterey Bay, where they can help maintain kelp forests, which are declining at a fast pace.

The event, which takes place from 3-6 p.m. at 10930 Salmon Way in Moss Landing,  is a chance for sunflower star fans to celebrate their favorite echinoderms. The free event will feature art and photography by artists who have supported the lab, as well as tours to see the baby sea stars. Signups for lab tour time slots are available online at  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/secure-your-time-to-visit-the-stars-of-the-show-tickets-1236792422429?aff=oddtdtcreator.

“Make sure that you come early,” said Ashley Kidd, conservation aquaculture project manager at the lab. The lab will take signups for lab tours on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Sunflower Star Lab in Moss Landing. (Caroline Hemphill — Herald Correspondent)

The event will celebrate not only the stars, but the community that has formed around them. “We’ve been driven by an outpouring of support,” said Kidd. Most of the lab’s funding has come from small private donations. Volunteers and artists have also lent their time and work to the project. Enthusiasm for sunflower stars has spread among the ocean enthusiasts that Moss Landing already attracts. Fans sport stickers, shirts and hats featuring the many-legged invertebrate, Kidd said.

“We just want to give an opportunity for the community to check (the stars) out,” Kidd said. “And maybe we can rub off our nerdy excitement.”

Sunflower stars can live for up to 65 years, according to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. The largest of the Cupid Cohort is only 10 centimeters across — adults can grow to be a meter wide.

For Kidd and Vince Christian, the lab manager,  the one-year milestone is proof that this project can really work. “California has the capacity and institutional knowledge to do this,” Kidd said.

Sunflower stars weren’t heavily researched before they began to disappear in 2014. Together with collaborators like the Aquarium of the Pacific and the San Diego Zoo, the lab had to figure out how to tell males and females apart, how to prompt the stars to spawn and how to care for them in their larval and then juvenile stages. The process was “like throwing spaghetti at a wall,” Kidd said. Now, the lab is learning how to control the stars’ growth and gaining insights on their behavior. As they collaborate with marine researchers and aquariums across California, they hope to develop resources to grow sunflower stars at a larger scale.

Despite the lack of knowledge about sunflower stars when the lab began, the past year of keeping the stars happy has been relatively smooth sailing, Christian said. The lab had a scare when the larval stars began devouring their siblings. But after separating them, they have remained happy. “I’m always nervous,” Christian said. He worried that a pontoon explosion that shattered the lab’s skylights or the recent battery plant fire right across the street would affect the animals. Even after these disasters, the stars, which are kept individually in small tanks, are doing fine. “They’re pretty hardy,” Christian said.

Before 2014, Sunflower sea stars were thriving in Monterey Bay. “I’ve been diving here for the last 30, 35 years and I witnessed them first hand disappear,” Christian said. “You used to see them every single dive and then all of a sudden they’re gone.” The mysterious disease, called sea star wasting disease, has persisted at low levels in most areas in Monterey Bay and continues to kill sea stars. Sunflower sea stars prey on urchins, helping maintain a healthy kelp ecosystem.

Since 2013, the sea stars have almost gone extinct in the oceans, causing the sea urchin to overgraze the kelp forests, leading to its decline. “Some of my favorite dive sites were these beautiful, healthy kelp forests,” Christian said. Now, many of those areas are urchin barrens: Rocks covered in urchins that have gobbled up all the kelp. Most predators won’t touch these undernourished urchins — except sunflower stars.

Kelp forests provide home to thousands of different marine species. Now, after a year of a successful maintenance of the sea stars in the laboratory Kidd said, “We are doing this all in service of the ecosystem restoration efforts, we are not just trying to restore a species, but a part of a greater kelp forest restoration initiative.”

It will be a long time before any of the lab’s stars are put back into the wild, though. For one, scientists still don’t know much about sea star wasting disease, and thus, how to protect sunflower stars from it in the wild. Plus, the Cupid Cohort are all siblings. If they were to be released, the sunflower star population would lack genetic diversity, leading to even more complications. Still, someday, all of the lab members would love to see the stars in the sea once again.

“It would be heartwarming to see them crawling across the kelp cove,” Christian said.

Along with private donations, the lab is also supported through the NOAA Transformational Habitat and Coastal Resilience Restoration Program and the Nature Conservancy’s  Pacific Coast Ocean Restoration Initiative, of which the Sunflower Star Lab is one of 13 sub-awardees.

Monterey Bay is a huge tourist attraction for ocean lovers of all types. “We’ve integrated really well into this community,” Kidd said. “We’re just another interesting nerdy aspect of that ocean appreciation that people come here for.”

“The thing I’m most proud of about this whole project, is that it truly is a community project,” Christian said. Together, through science, art, and community, the lab is not just restoring a species but rebuilding an ecosystem, one tiny sea star at a time.

Is it too late to order a flower arrangement online for Valentine’s Day?

Tips for buying Valentine’s flower arrangements online

Flowers go with Valentine’s Day like hearts go with love, so a beautiful bouquet is always a welcome gift. While delays and shortages are possible due to supply chain issues, online retailers are dedicated to delivering arrangements in time for the big day.

From crimson long-stem roses to springlike pastel blooms, there are options available online that will impress all types of sweethearts. The following tips and suggestions will help you choose the perfect arrangement for your valentine.

How to select a Valentine’s Day flower arrangement online

Whether your relationship is new or you’ve been married for years, the perfect flowers are available online for that special person in your life.

Assess your budget

Although thinking about dollars before spending on a Valentine’s Day gift may not be romantic, it is essential. Fortunately, beautiful floral arrangements are available at different price points. Additionally, one of the benefits of shopping online is that you’ll be able to see the prices of available bouquets, as well as any fees associated with delivery.

Think about the type of flowers

When it comes to picking flowers for Valentine’s Day, chances are that red roses are the first blooms that come to mind. The vibrant beauties are the most classic option for expressing feelings of love. However, if your relationship is new or you want something a bit different, keep in mind that roses come in numerous colors.

If roses aren’t a good fit for your valentine, other types of flowers are just as meaningful. Carnations, lilies, irises and other blooms also make nice arrangements. Many bouquets include a variety of favorite flowers for gorgeous multicolor displays. Although unconventional, lasting artificial bouquets are also available.

Consider the recipient’s preferences

Thinking about your partner’s preferences can also help you select a Valentine’s bouquet. A favorite color will narrow down your options. If your special someone has a favorite flower, selecting an arrangement that includes it is especially thoughtful.

Choose the arrangement size

Arrangements of flowers in a wide range of sizes are available online. In fact, many displays come in a choice of small, medium or large options. Long-stem roses are often available in quantities of 12, 18, 24 and more.

Check for extras

If you’d like to give your favorite Valentine more than flowers, look for online displays that come with accessories or other gifts. Vases, plush animals and candy are often offered along with select arrangements.

Make sure they’ll arrive on time

It’s not too late to order a flower arrangement for your valentine. However, the arrival time can make or break the special moment. Online florists understand this and provide information about availability and what to expect of the delivery process and fees based on the ZIP code.

Hedge your bets and set your flower delivery at least 5 days in advance, as holiday weekend orders and expedited shipping can cost extra. But online services like 1-800-Flowers and Bouqs even offer day-of delivery if you wait until the last minute.

Best Valentine’s Day flower arrangements

Valentina

This stunning arrangement of two dozen roses in white, pink and lavender comes with a gorgeous pink vase with white hearts on it — perfect for showing your love.

Benchmark Bouquets Two Dozen Red Roses with Vase

With two dozen long-stem red roses, this arrangement is a classic Valentine’s Day gift. A clear glass vase is included with the purchase.

Straight From the Heart

In addition to a contemporary glass vase, this cheerful bouquet comes well-stocked with a variety of flowers in purple and pink hues. A matching purple bow adds the perfect finishing touch.

Ultimate Elegance Long Stem Assorted Roses

With a choice of two, three or four dozen multicolored roses and a glass vase, this enormous arrangement is an amazing Valentine’s surprise that will leave a lasting impression.

Benchmark Bouquets 20-Stem Mini Carnations with Vase

This affordable bouquet comes with 20 mini carnations in red, pink and white. It includes a glass vase, too.

Passion Fruit

This orange and pink bouquet of roses, carnations and a lily is a surefire way to show your love and devotion. You can order it with your choice of a Mason jar vase, a gold vase or a white vase for an additional fee.

Good Day Bouquet

We love that this arrangement comes with a variety of colorful blooms, including bright pink roses. The smiley face container will serve as a fun reminder of Valentine’s Day 2025.

Love Pup

Roses, carnations and Peruvian lilies make up this adorable pup-inspired display. It comes nicely arranged in a keepsake basket.

Romantic Red Roses

You can customize this bouquet of 24 beautiful red roses with a choice of additions such as a red vase and chocolates.

JUSTOYOU 10-Piece Artificial Red Roses

Made of silk with plastic stems, these 10 roses will last year after year. They are crafted using a unique technique that makes them durable and gives them a realistic appearance.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

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