Latest news with #McNutt
Politico
2 days ago
- Health
- Politico
A plan to preserve U.S. science leadership
PROBLEM SOLVERS National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt made a plea to the nation's science research community during her second annual State of the Science address in Washington on Tuesday: Course-correct or lose to China. We're in the midst of a 'radical new experiment,' McNutt explained, in which the U.S., by pursuing budget cuts, canceling grants and adopting restrictive research policies, serves as the treatment group, while China is the control. Unforced errors made during the pandemic eroded many Americans' trust in science. But there's still at least one point of agreement: 'Everyone, whether it's scientists or nonscientists alike, wants U.S. science to be the world leader.' To remain a world leader in science innovation, McNutt laid out a plan. Among her key suggestions: — Build on a culture of innovation. McNutt worries that budget cuts will fuel overly conservative project selection and lead to less funding for high-risk, high-reward research. To course-correct, the U.S. should do a data-informed analysis of various peer-review approaches to ensure 'truly innovative' proposals succeed. — Create a national research strategy. 'No sensible business person would attempt to run a multibillion-dollar enterprise without a strategy, and yet that is exactly what we are doing with our research enterprise,' she said. In McNutt's view, relying on Congress to tinker with budgets isn't a strategy. Countries like China, Germany, Japan and Norway maximize research and development investment through strategic planning, primarily with apolitical non-government organizations, McNutt added. — Improve science education. The U.S. is already failing to produce enough STEM students to fill available jobs in science. The Trump administration's clampdown on visas will make it even more difficult for immigrants to fill those jobs. Beyond filling jobs, having science-literate lawyers, politicians and workers in manufacturing and transportation strengthens the nation's scientific enterprise. — Don't retreat from international collaboration. Some cutting-edge research facilities require resources from more than one nation. And when international students return home, their U.S. connections drive further international collaboration. 'We squander opportunities by not taking advantage of the fact that international colleagues want to work with us, and we only disadvantage ourselves,' McNutt said. — Cut red tape. Regulations divert time and money away from science, McNutt argues. And since the Trump administration has prioritized reducing regulations, McNutt hopes that push extends to research regulations. Still, in the Department of Government Efficiency era, that's not a given. 'I worry that the emphasis right now on waste, fraud and abuse only leads to more regulations, as everyone is assumed guilty until proven innocent.' The elephant in the room: The National Academy of Sciences is 'preparing for a fairly radical downsizing' amid the Trump administration's science cuts, McNutt told Stat News last month. A budget shortfall of roughly $40 million resulting from terminated contracts means the organization might have to lay off 250 employees in addition to the 50 members of the 1,000-person staff who have already been let go. WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Pope Leo XIV wants to stop artificial intelligence from playing God. Like his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, who promoted workers' rights during the industrial revolution, the new pope is positioning himself as a guardian in the face of unchecked modern technology, POLITICO's Hannah Roberts reports. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Danny Nguyen at dnguyen@ Carmen Paun at cpaun@ Ruth Reader at rreader@ or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@ Want to share a tip securely? Message us on Signal: Dannyn516.70, CarmenP.82, RuthReader.02 or ErinSchumaker.01. WORLDVIEW England's National Health Service has launched an internal review into an artificial intelligence model being trained on data from 57 million patients in England, our POLITICO colleagues across the pond scooped. Called Foresight, the generative AI model was touted as a 'world-first pilot project' to pinpoint high-risk patient groups and facilitate early interventions. Foresight was trained on de-identified data from millions of people in England, including a large-scale dataset called the General Practice Extraction Service Data for Pandemic Planning and Research. But doctors have serious misgivings about the model being trained on their patient records without proper authorization. What the docs say: Last month, representatives from the British Medical Association and Royal College of General Practitioners wrote to Ming Tang, chief data and analytics officer at NHS England, expressing 'serious concerns about the lawfulness of the data use and the apparent absence of strict governance arrangements,' according to an email seen by POLITICO. The bone of contention is whether NHSE took patient data solely intended for Covid-19 research and incorporated it into an all-purpose AI model. NHSE's guidelines state that applications for accessing patient data must undergo additional review by its Professional Advisory Group. The advisory group approved the British Heart Foundation consortium's use of the primary care data specifically for Covid-related research during the pandemic but was never consulted about large language model training. The official line: An NHSE spokesperson said: 'Maintaining patient privacy is central to this project, and we are grateful to the Joint GP IT Committee for raising its concerns and meeting with us to discuss the strict governance and controls in place to ensure patients' data remains secure.' What's next: The Joint GP IT Committee, which advises on IT matters related to general practice medicine, plans to write to the Information Commissioner directly, a person familiar with the situation told POLITICO. In addition to demanding that the British Medical Association be called as a witness to the Information Commissioner, the joint commission wants 'explicit governance' over future uses of AI and an undertaking that any future emergency measures permitting the use of general practitioners' data contain a sunset clause if doctors haven't been consulted, the person said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Rainfall in May and returning heat is perfect environment for thousands of mosquitoes in Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – If you've had any BBQ's or bonfires outside lately, you may have noticed them. Pesky mosquitoes come back every summer, but this year it may be worse. According to the insect repellent company 'Off', Arkansas is under a high mosquito risk for May 30 – June 2, with a severe level expected by Monday and Tuesday. Andrea McNutt is one of many Arkansans feeling the effects of the Natural State's persistent rainfall from May. 'Like, I'm some kind of mosquito magnet or something,' McNutt said. Arkansas Storm Team Blog: Mosquito Mayhem Ahead for Arkansas While the sun has returned, some lingering puddles of water have become the new home to thousands of mosquitoes. One woman said it's becoming unbearable. 'They're horrible. I can't even sit out on my porch and drink my coffee. Within five minutes I'm swarmed,' Holly Hipple said. But there are some ways to try and keep mosquitoes from biting. Of course, one example is mosquito repellent. 'I don't like to go out a whole lot. And if I do, I'm spraying down with 'Off',' McNutt said. Philippine village battles dengue by offering bounties for mosquitos — dead or alive Other ways to try and avoid mosquitoes are clearing out clogged gutters and drains, and keeping your pool treated or covered and making sure nothing in your yard is holding standing water. This, mixed with the returning heat, can quicken a mosquito's life cycle. 'I had to dump my bird bath the other day. It was full and we left the tractor bucket up and it was full of mosquito larvae,' Hipple said. But the return of warmer weather is something these insects are going to have to share. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Potential cuts spark conversation on Essential Air Service
L.M. Clayton Airport (City of Wolf Point photo) Federal spending cuts could be coming to rural airports across the country, with a national program utilized by seven Montana airports facing a $300 million downturn. In early May, Russell Vought, Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget, sent a letter detailing federal cuts the executive branch wants to make in the fiscal year 2026 budget. The letter included cutting $308 million from the Essential Air Service, or EAS, a program that directs federal money to air carriers operating in rural environments. 'The EAS program funnels taxpayer dollars to airlines to subsidize half-empty flights from airports that are within easy commuting distance from each other, while also failing to effectively provide assistance to most rural air travelers,' the document reads. It is unclear what impact any cuts would have on Montana, but the proposal would effectively halve the program's budget. Montana has seven airports that receive money through EAS — Butte, West Yellowstone, Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Sidney and Wolf Point. Five of those — Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Sidney and Wolf Point — are run through Cape Air and the federal funding subsidizes direct flights to Billings. Montana has a group dedicated to EAS, helmed by Walt McNutt, the state's EAS Task Force Chairman. Along with working with elected officials, the task force is also part of the contract process with airlines like Cape Air, which inked a four-year contract with the five airports doing Billings runs in 2023. The four-year deal with those five airports totals about $75 million. McNutt has seen attempted cuts to the service before, which haven't always come to fruition. 'I could have had a heart attack probably 10 times in 30 years over it if I let myself,' McNutt said to the Daily Montanan. 'There's going to be a lot of dialogue, a lot of information. You know, unfortunately, you probably had a Senator or a Representative get on an EAS flight that was half full and go berserk. 'When they do the final analysis of it, really looking at the facts and the boardings in the service, a lot of minds get changed pretty quickly.' The four members of Montana's Congressional Delegation did not return a request for comment. All four of Montana's delegations are Republican. McNutt, Dawson Airport Manager Craig Hostetler and Sidney Airport Manager Ryan Huotari all pointed to one of the main benefits of the program, connecting people with larger cities that don't have a lot of options to get there. It's a problem public transportation advocates pointed to repeatedly during the 2025 Legislative session. 'We're kind of an older community, and a lot of med flights,' Hostetler said. 'People are using it to get to Billings in order to take care of the medicals and such. A lot of people use it for connecting flights, because Billings is a small hub and we can get on the bigger airlines there. So it gets used by a variety of different people.' According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Montana had 2.87 million 'enplanements,' an aviation term meaning a passenger boarding a plane, in 2023. About 2.5 million of those boardings came from airports in Bozeman, Missoula, Kalispell, and Billings. Bozeman led the way with 1.2 million. Butte and West Yellowstone received about $2.5 million combined through the EAS program in 2023 for SkyWest to operate flights to Denver and Salt Lake City out of both airports. West Yellowstone had 8,750 passengers in 2023, an increase of 19.11% more than the previous year. Butte had slightly more than 16,000 passengers in 2023. Sidney had 8,000 boardings — a 22% increase more than 2022 — with Wolf Point, Havre and Glasgow each having around 3,000 boardings. Glendive had 2,177 boardings in 2023. 'It's vital,' McNutt said. 'We don't have an interstate, we don't have a bus, we don't have a train, we don't have anything in eastern Montana except the airlines.' DOT-OST-1997-2605-0293_attachment_1
USA Today
20-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Kingston Lopa says 5-star freshman Trey McNutt will ‘be a dude' for Oregon
Kingston Lopa says 5-star freshman Trey McNutt will 'be a dude' for Oregon The days of freshmen coming into a football program wide-eyed and green around the gills are long over. Many freshmen now enroll early, fully participate in spring practice and are expected to perform immediately. In short, they're more prepared to play now than ever before and one of those freshmen for the Oregon Ducks in defensive back Trey McNutt. According to redshirt freshman defensive back Kingston Lopa, McNutt is even more prepared to play than he was at this time last year. 'Man, Trey McNutt, he's gonna be a dude. For sure, he's gonna be a dude," Lopa said. "He's young, but I kind of look at it, I kind of see myself in him from last year. So that's why I really try to help him and try to make sure, like because he's ahead of where we were, where a lot of us freshman last year were like around this time, so he's really trying to get him to be at the level that we're trying to be at.' Lopa didn't play a whole lot last season, as he retained his redshirt status from his freshman year, but he did play in the Big Ten Championship Game and gain valuable experience that will help him this season with a young, but talented, defensive unit. McNutt, out of Cleveland, was rated the No. 21 recruit nationally and the top safety in the country by Rivals and with as young as the defensive back room is at Oregon, he could see some significant time on the field in 2025 if McNutt shows he's capable of handling it. He might be that "dude" sooner rather than later. Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
