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A28 u.s. news
Diaranson 16 Maart 2022

Idaho hospital locks down amid far-right call for protest

workers, law enforcement officers
Bundy later released another video and others involved in the protection
telling people that child protection case.
workers were poised to move the
baby from the hospital to a foster “I’m not OK with any of this — to be
home, and telling them to show up at honest with you if justice was to be
the facility immediately. served, we would go into the hospi-
tal, take that baby and we would give
The baby was temporarily removed it back to their mother,” Bundy said.
from from family custody last Fri-
day after officials determined the He added: “And if we were further to
10-month-old was “suffering from administrate justice, we would find
severe malnourishment” and at risk those that are accountable and we
of injury or death, according to a would prosecute them, and uh, you
statement from police in the city of know, make them pay for the damag-
Meridian near Boise. es that they caused for this family and
assure that this never happened again.
The baby’s parents had refused to let That’s what should happen.”
(AP) — A major Boise hospital Several police cars from the Idaho officers check on the child’s welfare
went on lockdown for about an State Police and Boise Police Depart- after the family canceled a medical Still, he said people should wait until
hour Tuesday after far-right ac- ment responded to the hospital for appointment, the police statement after a hearing scheduled for 1 p.m.
tivist Ammon Bundy urged sup- the protest. said. that was expected to determine if
porters to go the facility in pro- the child could immediately return
test of a child protection case in- A few dozen protesters stationed Bundy, who is well-known for par- home.
volving one of his family friends. themselves outside various hospital ticipating in armed standoffs with law
doors and buildings, some speculat- enforcement, was arrested the fol- “This judge, if he doesn’t return this
St. Luke’s Health System put the Boi- ing on social media about whether lowing day on a misdemeanor tres- family back, knowing and seeing the
se Medical Center on lockdown and the facility could be accessed via un- passing charge after he protested at a information that is out there ... if he
began diverting incoming patients at derground tunnels. The protesters different hospital where he believed doesn’t straighten this out, then we
about 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. appeared to mostly stay on sidewalks, the baby was being treated. may have to straighten it out for him,”
however, and the lockdown was lifted Bundy said. “And that’s not going to
“Safety is our top priority,” the hospi- shortly before 3 p.m. Bundy’s People’s Rights group has be pretty. It’s going to be difficult.”
tal said in a statement. “At this time, characterized the intervention as
anyone in need of care should seek Earlier in the day, Bundy released a “medical kidnapping” and “child traf- In the video made later that day, Bun-
alternative health care providers and statement on YouTube warning that ficking” on social media platforms. dy characterized the situation as an
options. We ask that people please if an acquaintance’s young child was “emergency” and directed people to
avoid the area near the Boise hospital not returned to the family after a In an earlier YouTube video, Bun- the Boise hospital because he said the
until further notice.” hearing Tuesday afternoon, that “Pa- dy asked followers to protest at the baby was going to be taken to a foster
triot groups” would take action. homes of child protection service home.

Watchdog has concerns with projects at US nuclear repository

(AP) — There’s no way of know- Department’s needs for disposing of Without the updates, Energy De- New Mexico regulators also have yet
ing if cost increases and missed tons of Cold War-era waste left be- partment officials may not be able to approve permit changes and other re-
construction deadlines will con- hind by decades of bomb making and meet their waste disposal schedule, quests from the Energy Department,
tinue at the only U.S. under- nuclear research. “which could in turn create shipping and it’s unclear how long that will
ground nuclear waste repository, delays and cost increases for the sites take.
according to independent federal But the Government Accountability that are generating the waste,” the ac-
investigators, according to re- Office report stated that the Energy countability office’s report said. Department officials in a response
sults of a federal watchdog report Department faces construction and to the report agreed with the recom-
made public Tuesday. regulatory risks that might delay its The report reiterated that the reposi- mendations aimed at addressing the
plans. tory is running out of permitted space root causes of the cost increases and
The Government Accountability Of- for waste and that the Energy Depart- construction delays to ensure “that
fice outlined the concerns in its re- According to Energy Department ment has a large amount of “transura- DOE projects benefit taxpayers while
port, noting that the U.S. Energy De- documents, the ventilation project as nic waste” — which typically consists reducing the risk to human health
partment is not required to develop a of last fall was projected to cost about of lab coats, rubber gloves, tools and and the environment.”
corrective action plan for addressing $486 million, nearly 70% more than debris contaminated with plutonium
the root causes of challenges at the originally planned. The project also and other radioactive elements — at Nuclear watchdog groups have been
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in south- is about three years behind sched- sites around the country that still re- critical of the Energy Department.
ern New Mexico. ule, with a new estimated completion quires disposal. They have raised concerns about
date of January 2026. the repository’s future, citing the in-
A multimillion-dollar project is un- The repository was carved out of an crease in defense-related waste that
derway at the underground facility The Energy Department had blamed ancient salt formation about a half- will need to be disposed of when pro-
to install a new ventilation system so significant cost overruns and delays mile (0.8 kilometer) below the sur- duction of key components for the
that full operations can resume, fol- on the contractor’s inexperience and face, with the idea that the shifting country’s nuclear arsenal ramps up at
lowing a radiation leak in 2014 forced difficulties in attracting workers to salt would eventually entomb the ra- Los Alamos National Laboratory in
the repository’s closure for nearly the area, an expansive desert that is dioactive waste. New Mexico and the Savannah River
three years. also home to one of the most produc- Site in South Carolina.
tive oilfields in the world. Its current footprint includes eight
Operations after it reopened had to panels, which the Energy Depart-
be throttled back because parts of the While some corrective measures were ment estimates will be filled in 2025.
facility were contaminated and air- taken, department officials told the There are plans for two new panels
flow was reduced. Government Accountability Office in the short term, but the report not-
that they have not updated an internal ed that it’s unclear whether the new
Federal officials have said that the system that is meant to track risks and space will be ready in time to prevent
construction project will ensure that mitigation measures. an interruption of disposal opera-
the repository can meet the Energy tions.