Do our “compostable” bags, utensils and containers really return to nature? Hailed as a solution to the plastic problem, a growing number of new materials — marketed as biodegradable, sustainable, earth-friendly, decomposable or plant-based — promise to break down naturally in compost, easing our conscience about waste. But the truth depends on where you live. In California, each community decides on the materials it will accept in its curbside collection program, based on the contract and capabilities of its waste processor. ​”It’s complicated ​and confusing,” said Mark Murray, executive​ director ​of the nonprofit Californians Against Waste , which advocates for waste prevention and recycling policies. The Bay Area’s patchwork of local policies determines whether these materials will help fertilize a farm — or be dumped into a landfill. If you live in San Francisco , Berkeley or Palo Alto , for example, certified “compostables” go in the green bin. If you live in Santa Cruz , they go in your trash bin. In San Jose , they also go in the trash bin, but they’re later pulled out and processed. That’s because cities negotiate different contracts with the region’s dozen or so compost facilities. It’s more expensive to process “compostables” than organic waste. And only a few facilities have the sophisticated equipment necessary to do the job. To add to the complexity, not all items are created equal. An uncoated fiber to-go container or bamboo fork, for instance, can often be treated like the leftovers from last night’s dinner. “Compostable” plastic is much more restricted; some facilities accept it only if it meets strict criteria , so green-bagged food scraps are often diverted to landfills. A “biodegradable” item will simply decay over time; it can’t be composted. To help consumers, California law prohibits the sale of products labeled “compostable” or “home compostable” unless they’ve been certified by an accredited group like the Biodegradable Products Institute . But that doesn’t mean all such certified items can just be tossed in your green bin. While certified fiberware will compost, most certified plastic is screened out, according to Jeanine Sidran of StopWaste, a public agency that reduces waste in Alameda County. “We all want a ‘compostable’ to be the magic wand that it’s marketed as,” said Melissa Valliant of Beyond Plastics, an advocacy group urging the federal government to update and expand its guidance on these materials. “But, unfortunately, it’s not.” A plastic bag mixed with compost at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. Plastic and other non compostable items are removed from the compost at multiple sorting stages. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) A worker uses heavy equipment to move compost material at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Recology employee Robert Reed sifts through a mound of compost at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Recology employees work to move compost material at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Food items decompose in a mound of compost at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) A Recology employee pulls non compostable items from a conveyor belt at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Steam rises from rows of compost at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) A small piece of plastic mixed with compost at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. Plastic and other non compostable items are removed from the compost at multiple sorting stages. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) A Recology employee sorts through non compostable items at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) A plastic bag mixed with compost at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. Plastic and other non compostable items are removed from the compost at multiple sorting stages. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) The global market for compostable packaging , made from a combination of recycled and plant-based materials, has exploded, increasing from $95.73 billion last year to a projected $167.29 billion by 2030. Compostable bags offer a tidy way to line the waste pail in our kitchens or collect vegetables in the produce aisle of a grocery. To-go containers are popular at restaurants; utensils are trendy at picnics with friends. Companies like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods increasingly use “compostable” packaging. Someday these products might have the potential to be better for the planet — but right now, they face many challenges, say experts. The major problem, they say, is that available equipment can’t keep up with demand. “Compostables” demand more heat to break down than food scraps, yard waste and other organic materials, said Murray. And they take longer. “Nobody wants to see flecks of stuff in their compost,” he said. Composting facilities are finicky. Their major customers are organic farms — and U.S. Department of Agriculture rules say these farms can’t use compost derived from compostable bioplastic packaging, for instance, due to concerns about chemical contamination and debris. They only accept materials that they know will truly break down. The most advanced facilities, like the GreenWaste San Jose Material Recovery Facility and Recology’ s facility east of Livermore, have sophisticated sorting. But many other facilities can’t distinguish between compostable and noncompostable packaging, so simply remove everything, sending it to landfill, Murray said. America would “need a five, maybe 10 time, increase” in infrastructure to handle all the compostables and food waste residents generate, said Eric Hudiburgh of the U.S. Composting Council. Faced with such limits, each community must make policies based on the materials its composting facility will accept, according to Lance Klug of the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery . Santa Cruz , for instance, doesn’t utilize compost processing, so only food scraps are allowed in the green bin. In Oakland , food vendors are prohibited from using “compostable” plastic foodware and residents must put such items in the trash, according to Recycling Program Specialist Etienne Lugo. Residents can line their compost pails with paper bags or newspaper, or place compost in cereal boxes, she said. In contrast, San Francisco and Berkeley will accept anything certified as “BPI-compostable,” including bags. GreenWaste , which serves San Jose, Portola Valley, Palo Alto, Atherton, Los Altos Hills and Woodside, instructs residents to put all “compostables” in the black trash bin; once picked up, it gets sorted and composted. Because San Mateo County relies on several different waste companies, there are slightly different rules for what they accept, said Karen Wang of San Mateo County’s Sustainability Department . For example, South San Francisco Scavenger Co. does not accept biodegradable green bags. But other haulers do. Backyard compost piles rarely reach the 100 – 140 degrees needed to break down these products. There’s another alternative: Throw away less stuff. “A clever person solves a problem; a wise person avoids it altogether,” said Robert Reed of Recology . Reed lines his kitchen compost with a paper towel and shops at his local farmer’s market carrying two five-gallon tubs. No plastic required. “What did your grandparents do? What did your parents do? They had a metal fork and a metal knife and they washed them,” he said.Unique among ‘Person of the Year’ designees, Donald Trump gets a fact-check from Time magazinesg7772 。

An Iranian government-linked cybercriminal crew used custom malware called IOCONTROL to attack and remotely control US and Israel-based water and fuel management systems, according to security researchers. While IOCONTROL is a custom-built backdoor for hijacking IoT devices, it also has a "direct impact" on operational technology (OT) including fuel pumps used in gas stations, according to Claroty's Team82. The threat intel group analyzed a sample deployed on a Gasboy fuel management system during an attack attributed to CyberAv3ngers, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated group. The malware was embedded in Gasboy's Payment Terminal, called OrPT, which means that the attackers could have fully shut down fuel services and potentially stolen customers' payment information, or so we're told. "We've assessed that IOCONTROL is a cyberweapon used by a nation-state to attack civilian critical infrastructure," Team82 asserted in a December 10 report. Affected devices include routers, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), firewalls, and other Linux-based IoT/OT platforms made by Baicells, D-Link, Hikvision, Red Lion, Orpak, Phoenix Contact, Teltonika, Unitronics, and other vendors. The FBI and other federal agencies last December blamed CyberAv3ngers for "multiple" attacks against Unitronics PLCs used in water and other critical infrastructure systems across the US. At the time, the Feds only mentioned the crew was targeting Israel-made devices in US facilities. Team82's research suggests the scope extended beyond that. One of the attacks compromised "several hundred" fuel management devices made by Orpak Systems and Gasboy in America and Israel, according to the security shop. Orpak gear is made in Israel, while Gasboy is made in the US. Cyberav3ngers previously bragged on its Telegram channel about attacking 200 gas stations in Israel and the US by targeting Orpak systems. While this particular wave of attacks spanned mid-October 2023 to late January 2024, the IOCONTROL sample that Team82 obtained from VirusTotal indicated that the Iranian gang launched another campaign in July and August that hit multiple IoT and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. The malware uses the MQTT IoT messaging protocol for communications. This apparently makes it easier for the attackers to disguise malicious traffic to and from their command-and-control (C2) infrastructure. It also uses Cloudflare's DNS over HTTPS (DoH) service to translate hostnames into an IP addresses, which also helps the attackers evade detection. Instead of sending a clear-text DNS request, "they used an encrypted protocol (HTTPS), meaning that even if a network tap exists, the traffic is encrypted so they won't be discovered," Team82 wrote. Before connecting to the C2 infrastructure to receive its instructions, IOCONTROL drops a backdoor on the infected device, allowing its masterminds to maintain control over the equipment. Commands that can be issued to the malware include arbitrary code execution, self-delete, and port scan, among others. "This functionality is enough to control remote IoT devices and perform lateral movement if needed," the researchers noted. ®'A ballroom of activity': How Black Friday is hitting those closer to homePolice and Fire Games legacy program to benefit local youthFormer President Jimmy Carter was remembered for his leadership and commitment to public service following his death. Carter died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 100. RELATED STORY | Former President Jimmy Carter dies at age 100 Bill and Hillary Clinton: Hillary and I mourn the passing of Jimmy Carter and give thanks for his long, good life. Guided by his faith, President Carter lived to serve others—until the very end. Statement from President Clinton and Secretary Clinton on the Passing of President Jimmy Carter pic.twitter.com/1Ejol6yjav — Angel Ureña (@angelurena) December 29, 2024 Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: President Carter's faith in the American people and his belief in the power of kindness and humility leave a strong legacy. He taught us that the strength of a leader lies not in rhetoric but in action, not in personal gain but in service to others. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: President Carter served during times of tension and uncertainty, both at home and abroad. But his calm spirit and deep faith seemed unshakeable. Jimmy Carter served as our commander-in-chief for four years, but he served as the beloved, unassuming Sunday school teacher at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia for forty. And his humble devotion leaves us little doubt which of those two important roles he prized the most. U.S. Sen. Jon Osoff (D-GA): Among his lifetime of service and countless accomplishments, President Carter will be remembered for his commitment to democracy and human rights, his enduring faith, his philanthropic leadership, and his deep love of family U.S. Sen. Rafael Warnock (D-GA): President Carter was one of my heroes. His leadership was driven by love, his life’s project grounded in compassion and a commitment to human dignity. For those of us who have the privilege of representing our communities in elected office, Jimmy Carter is a shining example of what it means to make your faith come alive through the noble work of public service. U.S. Sen. John Thun (R-SD): President Carter dedicated his life to serving the people of Georgia and our great country – as a naval officer, a governor, and as the 39th President of the United States. From peanut farming to the presidency and every step in between, his wife Rosalynn was by his side. House Speaker Mike Johnson Because of his work in brokering the Camp David Accords and his advocacy with Habitat for Humanity, the world is a more peaceful place, and more Americans have a place to call home. No one can deny that President Carter led an extraordinary life of service to his country. May he rest in peace.

‘End of an era’: What’s next for Matt Gaetz?

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — De'Vondre Campbell's decision to quit on his team in the middle of a game overshadowed the bigger issues for the San Francisco 49ers. An offense that was one of the most dynamic in the NFL during a run to the Super Bowl last season has been just ordinary for most of 2024 and was downright bad in a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night that just about ended San Francisco's playoff hopes. San Francisco (6-8) was held to its fewest yards (191) in a regular-season game in eight seasons under coach Kyle Shanahan and its fewest points since Shanahan's debut in 2017 on a rainy night that will be remembered mostly for Campbell walking off the field in the middle of the game with a towel draped over his head. The game also featured San Francisco going three-and-out on four drives as Brock Purdy struggled to connect with his receivers. Deebo Samuel dropped a potential touchdown pass after complaining earlier in the week about a lack of touches. Purdy then missed Ricky Pearsall on an underthrown deep shot in the fourth quarter before throwing an interception into the end zone that ended the Niners' comeback attempt. “I just feel like I had a lot of plays left out there that I could have made for our team,” Purdy said. “I thought the defense and special teams played so good. That’s what’s hurting me is I just feel like I failed the team. I could have been better for our offense and we could have put up more points.” Scoring has been an issue this season for the 49ers, who have been missing key playmakers like Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk for much of the season. San Francisco is scoring 8.5 fewer points per game on offense than the Niners did through 14 games last season. What’s working Red-zone defense. After allowing touchdowns on 13 consecutive red-zone drives over the previous four games, the 49ers kept the Rams out of the end zone on all three drives that went inside the 20. What needs help Receivers. The 49ers failed to get much production from their wide receivers with Purdy going 6 for 20 for 63 yards with an INT and a 19.4 rating when targeting wideouts. Samuel had 16 yards on seven targets with the key drop. Jauan Jennings had two drops and was the target on the interception. Pearsall had one catch for 16 yards on four targets. Stock up LB Dre Greenlaw returned for the first time since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season's Super Bowl. Greenlaw had eight tackles in the first half as he brought needed intensity and physical play that had been missing for much of the season. Stock down Campbell. The 49ers are deciding whether to waive or suspend Campbell, who lost his starting job when Greenlaw returned and then refused to play when he was needed. “His actions from the game just is not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still expect to be a part of our team,” Shanahan said. “We’re working through exactly the semantics of it right now, but we’ll handle the situation appropriately.” Injuries Greenlaw came out of the game feeling OK after leaving with soreness in his knee and Achilles tendon. He is day to day. ... S Ji’Ayir Brown (groin) and LB Dee Winters (neck) are also day to day. ... LT Trent Williams (ankle) is still trying to get back to play after missing the last four games. Shanahan said Williams' recovery has been "a lot slower than anticipated.” Key number 0 — The Niners didn't reach the red zone once all game, with their deepest penetration into Rams territory being when they reached the 27 on a third-quarter field goal drive. This marked the first time since Week 11 in 2010 that the 49ers didn't run a single play inside the opponent's 25. What’s next The 49ers visit Miami on Dec. 22. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

‘End of an era’: What’s next for Matt Gaetz?UCF coach Gus Malzahn reportedly resigning to take Florida State OC jobIn today's politically polarized United States, food choices are among the many things that can become part of identity politics. Healthy eating is viewed with suspicion in some MAGA circles. But in an article published on December 13, NOTUS reporters Evan McMorris-Santoro and Ben T.N. Mause describe a trend of "granola conservatives" or "granola Republicans" who, they say, are growing in numbers. "One of the toughest tension points in the incoming GOP trifecta could be the Republican identity crisis when it comes to food," the journalists explain . "A growing number of Republicans who, for decades, have been staunch allies of the corporations who create and market what we eat are starting to feel like it's up to them to regulate what those corporations sell." READ MORE: 'The next recession starts here': Trump team weighs abolishing bank regulators Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) told NOTUS , "It’s not a fad. It’s a growing trend. People are taking their own health into their own hands. They're learning more about nutrition, educating themselves. And so, my wife and my two daughters and their families, they are very into it." McMorris-Santoro and Mause cite Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) as a Republican who has "introduced bills to ban certain food dyes and high-fructose corn syrup in food." The reporters not e, "She's about as conservative as they come, but she sounds like a Prius owner in line at Whole Foods when it comes to warnings about food regulations." NOTUS asked Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) if the "granola conservative movement" is "growing," and he responded, "It’s hard to give a short answer to that. but yes." READ MORE: Millions will see rise in health insurance premiums if federal subsidies expire Read the full NOTUS article at this link .

'Democracy And Freedom': Jimmy Carter's Human Rights Efforts In Latin AmericaShort Interest in Direxion Daily AAPL Bull 2X Shares (NASDAQ:AAPU) Decreases By 25.8%Unique among ‘Person of the Year’ designees, Donald Trump gets a fact-check from Time magazine