Harvey Weinstein diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia: Sources
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(NEW YORK) — Harvey Weinstein has been diagnosed with a form of bone marrow cancer, sources told ABC News.
Weinstein has been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, sources said, adding that the former Hollywood producer is receiving treatment while jailed.
Weinstein’s authorized legal healthcare representative in New York, Craig Rothfeld, declined to comment, saying, “Out of respect for Mr. Weinstein’s privacy, we will offer no further comment.”
According to the American Cancer Society, chronic myeloid leukemia is a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and invades the blood. The organization says approximately 15% of leukemias in adults are CML.
Weinstein is currently in prison on Rikers Island in New York, where he has experienced a slew of health issues amid his ongoing sexual assault trials.
In September, Weinstein was rushed to Bellevue Hospital for emergency heart surgery after experiencing chest pains, his representatives told ABC News, at the time.
In July, Weinstein’s representatives said he was hospitalized for a “myriad of health conditions,” including COVID-19 and double pneumonia.
Weinstein was also suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, fluid on his heart and lungs, and various other conditions, he representatives said at the time.
The former movie mogul is being prosecuted again for sex crimes after his New York conviction was overturned on appeal.
On Sept. 19, while he was recovering from his procedure, Weinstein pleaded not guilty to criminal sex act in the first degree, based on the allegations of a woman who said he sexually assaulted her on one occasion in 2006 at a Manhattan hotel.
The latest indictment came months after the New York Court of Appeals overturned his 2020 sex crimes conviction. He had been found guilty of criminal sexual assault and third-degree rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Weinstein has denied all claims of sexual misconduct, saying his encounters were consensual.
(NEW YORK) — One person is dead and nearly two dozen others were rescued Thursday after being stuck underground due to an equipment failure in a Colorado gold mine, officials said.
The individuals were part of a tour group and became stuck near the bottom of Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Cripple Creek around noon MDT on Thursday, according to officials.
Teller Counter Sheriff Jason Mikesell said one person had died in the incident, and that 23 people had been stuck in the mine shaft.
“I am relieved that 12 of the people trapped in the Mollie Kathleen Mine have been safely rescued,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Thursday night.
“Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the individual lost in this incident,” he added.
Eleven others were rescued earlier in the day Thursday, including two children, officials said.
They were able to bring up the trapped adults four at a time to get the remaining 12 rescued, County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said during a presser after the rescue.
The death was related to the elevator malfunction but no further details were available, Mikesell said.
To begin the rescue, engineers had to repair at the elevator stuck at 500 feet, check the cables and then run a test round by sending it down to the 1000-foot level and back up.
After that was successful, the rescue began, according to Mikesell.
Local hospital UCHealth said they had received seven patients, all of whom were treated and released after the incident.
Elevator and mine safety experts went to the site to inspect the elevator’s safety before it was used to bring those trapped up to ground level, according to Mikesell.
There were three plans in total, Mikesell said, but being able to repair the elevator was plan A.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety will investigate the incident.
As the individuals were stuck, Mikesell said there was no concern about oxygen running out, adding that they had water, chairs and blankets and were able to communicate with rescuers.
The mine, which is about 1,000 feet deep, is a popular tourist destination.
They haven’t had an incident like this since 1986, Mikesell said.
Multiple agencies, including search and rescue teams, responded to the incident with heavy equipment.
In a statement Thurasday afternoon, Gov. Polis said he was monitoring the situation and sending state resources to assist in rescue efforts.
“I have spoken to the Teller County Sheriff and County Commissioners and will stay in touch through the course of this rescue effort,” Polis said at the time. “The state is assisting Teller County and sending resources to rescue those inside the mine.”
“We will do everything possible and assist the county to ensure a speedy and safe resolution of the situation,” Polis added.
(NEW YORK) — Texas has the potential to become a major producer of green hydrogen due to its existing energy infrastructure, according to researchers.
That infrastructure is making Texas a “valuable case study” in decarbonizing states that currently produce a high volume of fossil fuels, a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found.
The Lone Star State already has an operational infrastructure for green hydrogen – a clean energy source made through electrolysis, a process that involves splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen without producing harmful carbon emissions – according to Michael McElroy, a professor of environmental studies at Harvard University and author of the study. Green hydrogen has the potential to decarbonize up to 25% of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
“Hydrogen itself could be a really important component to a green transition,” Jessika Trancik, a professor of energy systems for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was not involved with the study, told ABC News.
In addition, Texas has an established demand for hydrogen and already has ample renewable electricity resources, the PNAS study found. For example, Texas is the highest producer of wind power in the U.S., generating 26% of the country’s wind-sourced energy, according to state officials. It also has ample solar resources, according to Trancik.
“Texas is very well situated in terms of its renewable resources,” Trancik said, adding that they’re “very extensive and high quality” and include an existing infrastructure that could easily also incorporate green hydrogen production.
Upon winning the 2020 presidential election, President Joe Biden vowed to make green hydrogen more accessible as part of his clean energy plan, promising that the U.S. would be able to access green hydrogen at the same cost as conventional hydrogen within a decade.
By 2030, Texas could produce more than 50 million tons of green hydrogen at a cost at about $1.50 per kilogram, the PNAS study found. That low production cost will result from integrating the water electrolysis process with the existing renewable electricity grid, according to the study, and will also enhance grid reliability and “significantly” influence decarbonization in the state.
It would also position Texas to become a major supplier of green hydrogen for both domestic and international needs, the PNAS study found. Hydrogen demand is expected to “grow at a moderate, steady pace” over the next six years and then accelerate significantly, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Additionally, the cost of producing hydrogen from renewable electricity could fall 30% by 2030 due to the declining costs of renewables and the upscaling of hydrogen production, according to the International Energy Agency.
Green hydrogen is forecast to meet global energy needs that will not be easily satisfied by battery, wind or solar power, Gregory Nemet, professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin’s Energy Institute, told ABC News in 2021. Batteries, for example, currently can take up a lot of space and also weigh a lot, making their use an issue for air travel and long-haul trucking. Hydrogen, by contrast, doesn’t include those challenges and also stores better long-term.
In addition, the infrastructure to transport green hydrogen – which needs to pressurized – is already in place, whether it be through pipelines, shipping or trucking, Nemet said. In Texas, a lot of the required infrastructure that will next be built will be for storage, Trancik said.
Hydrogen City, an integrated green hydrogen production hub located in southern Texas near the Port of Corpus Christi, is already producing about 280,000 metric tons of green hydrogen per year. But green hydrogen alone won’t be enough to meet anticipated future green energy demands, according to Trancik.
It will take “different clusters or combinations of technologies” to combat climate change on all fronts, which is where energies like green hydrogen and nuclear come in, Trancik said. “There’s a lot of efforts to try to grow that industry and take it in new, innovative directions.”
