try out jili TOKYO — A frog holding a taro-leaf umbrella. A parade of frolicking animals. An Ukiyo-e style Mount Fuji. Giant waves. A Japanese artist who goes by the name Lito carves these delicate designs on fallen leaves, giving life back to them. The world of Lito’s delicate art, which he began in 2020 and posts on social media almost daily, has won fans from around the world. The leaf art has also given him solace after earlier struggles with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a purpose in life — the joy of making people happy with his art. He enjoys working at night. From a pile of leaves treated with a wrinkle-free chemical, he picks one and places it on a cutting board. First, he outlines the design on the leaf with a pen in his right hand. Then he takes a design knife in his left hand and starts cutting the leaf carefully. Slowly, the leaf begins to take the shape of a frog carrying an umbrella — a simple design he demonstrated in a recent interview with The Associated Press. More complex, highly intensive work on a single leaf can take more than eight hours to complete. His leaf-cutting works include titles such as “Scrolls of Frolicking Animals,” “Leaf Aquarium,” and “Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji: The Great Wave off Kanagawa.” Each piece includes his own twists, and often uses animals. “I would rather finish it in one go when I am focused,” Lito, 38, said. He didn’t want to disclose his real name for personal reasons. Since his childhood, Lito says he has had high levels of concentration and patience. But he had trouble fitting into what was considered the norm at school or at work, despite all his efforts. He struggled to interpret others’ feelings and to avoid confrontations. After years of difficulty, he went to a hospital at age 30 and was told he has ADHD, a diagnosis that he felt explained why he has always done things differently. He saw no point in forcing himself to do things the same way as other people, and began to adjust his life. In early 2020, Lito came across the art of leaf cutting. He saw it as the perfect use of his patience and concentration. Word of his skills has spread across social media, and he has published books on his leaf-cutting work. He holds a near monthly solo exhibition in various places in Japan. “If I can make people happy by doing what I am doing, I want to do more. That’s my driving force for what’s next,” Lito says.

This Energy Stock Rocketed More Than 100% in 2024. Does It Have the Fuel to Continue Rallying in 2025?

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, died Sunday at the age of 100 , the Carter Center confirmed. Though he served only one term in office, he went on to a distinguished second act of humanitarian work, and he lived long enough to become the oldest former president in U.S. history. No details on the cause of death were given. The former president had been receiving hospice care at his home for more than a year following a series of short hospital stays. According to a statement from The Carter Center in February 2023, the former president "decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention." Carter remained active well into his 90s , continuing his work with Habitat for Humanity and The Carter Center and teaching Sunday school at his church in Plains, Georgia, even as his health began to falter. Both in and out of office, Carter built a legacy as a tireless champion for peace and humanitarian causes. He brokered the landmark Camp David Accords in 1978, establishing a framework for peace in the Middle East, and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his decades of work in advancing international peace, democracy and human rights. While Carter had his share of accomplishments as president, his time in the White House, from 1977 to 1981, was tumultuous. His one term in office included the U.S. energy shortage and the Iran hostage crisis. Carter rose on the national stage after Watergate, at a time when voters were looking for a change in politics. "They didn't want Ed Muskie or Hubert Humphrey or Scoop Jackson or George Wallace," presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said. "They were tired of those people that had been in the national spotlight for so long. So, he came at America as a fresh new face." James Earl Carter Jr. was born on Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains. The son of a peanut farmer, he loved books and his Baptist faith. At the U.S. Naval Academy, he studied nuclear science and graduated with distinction in 1946. That same year, he married a young woman named Rosalynn Smith — a marriage that would last for more than seven decades. They celebrated their 77th anniversary on July 7, 2023, the longest-married presidential couple in American history, and she died only months later , on Nov. 19, 2023, at age 96. Carter completed submarine training and served in the Navy for seven years before moving home to Georgia to run the family peanut farm. He and Rosalynn raised four children while his career focus shifted from farming to politics. After eight years in state offices, Carter, a Democrat, was elected governor of Georgia in 1970. It was clear he was a new kind of Southern leader, one who emphasized racial equality and traditional values, at a time when the nation was in need of stability. In 1976 — America's bicentennial year — he defeated President Gerald Ford to become the 39th president of the United States. The Carters conveyed that they were of the people when they marched in the open air on the inaugural parade route. "His greatest asset as a candidate was his outsider status," Brinkley said. "And his greatest failing as a president was the fact that he remained an outsider, when you must be an insider in Washington if you're going to be an effective president." He struggled to cultivate relationships in Washington and feuded openly with Democratic leaders in Congress. As oil prices and inflation soared, his popularity sank. But there were accomplishments along the way. Carter created the departments of Energy and Education. He established formal diplomatic ties with China and returned control of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians. Perhaps his greatest achievement was a historic peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, known as the Camp David Accords. "Let history record that deep and ancient antagonism can be settled without bloodshed and without a staggering waste of precious lives," Carter said at the signing of the peace treaty on March 26, 1979. On Nov. 4, 1979, Iranian militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. A U.S. military attempt to free them ended in disaster, with eight American servicemen killed in a crash. The crisis dominated Carter's reelection campaign, while the economy continued to struggle and inflation topped 18%. In the final days of his administration, the president and his team negotiated freedom for the hostages. They were released on Ronald Reagan's Inauguration Day. In the years after leaving the White House, the Carters established The Carter Center in Atlanta, with a mission to work toward advancing peace and global health. "We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes — and we must," he said in 2002 as he formally accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of humanitarian work. He and Rosalynn built houses with Habitat for Humanity, dedicating their efforts to the group for more than 30 years, and he penned more than 20 books. He sparked controversy with his 2006 book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," in which he characterized Israel's treatment of Palestinians as oppression. He later issued an open apology to the Jewish community, saying that suggestions for improvement should not stigmatize Israel. In 2007, Carter spoke at the funeral of his former political rival turned close friend and confidante, former President Ford. "One of my proudest moments was at the commemoration of the 200th birthday of the White House, when two noted historians both declared that the Ford-Carter friendship was the most intensely personal between any two presidents in history," Carter said. Carter announced in August 2015 that he had been diagnosed with cancer , a form of melanoma that had spread to his liver and his brain. Though he curtailed his activities with The Carter Center, he continued to fundraise for the organization, and also continued teaching Sunday school classes in Plains, a tradition he started in his teens. Carter was treated with a new immunotherapy drug and made a remarkable recovery , sharing the news six months later that an MRI showed no signs of cancer . In May 2019, he suffered another health setback, falling and breaking his hip . He went home from the hospital to recover and was soon back to teaching his Sunday school class. Carter suffered two more falls in October 2019 and was hospitalized for a fractured pelvis . A month later, he was admitted to a hospital in Atlanta for a surgical procedure to relieve pressure on his brain. The Carter Center said in May 2023 that Rosalynn had been diagnosed with dementia ; she continued to live at home with her husband until her death that November. They are survived by their four children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. During his many years after the White House, Carter planted seeds of peace, and sometimes seeds of controversy. But as one of the most active former presidents in history, many believe he defined the role for those who would follow.

Primo Brands ( NYSE:PRMB – Get Free Report ) is one of 18 public companies in the “Bottled & canned soft drinks” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Primo Brands to related companies based on the strength of its valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and institutional ownership. Risk and Volatility Primo Brands has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Primo Brands’ competitors have a beta of 0.90, indicating that their average stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Earnings & Valuation This table compares Primo Brands and its competitors revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Insider & Institutional Ownership 87.7% of Primo Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.3% of shares of all “Bottled & canned soft drinks” companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of Primo Brands shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.5% of shares of all “Bottled & canned soft drinks” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Dividends Primo Brands pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Primo Brands pays out 22.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Bottled & canned soft drinks” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.0% and pay out 19.1% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Analyst Recommendations This is a summary of current ratings for Primo Brands and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com. Primo Brands presently has a consensus target price of $33.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.94%. As a group, “Bottled & canned soft drinks” companies have a potential upside of 26.02%. Given Primo Brands’ competitors higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Primo Brands has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors. Profitability This table compares Primo Brands and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Summary Primo Brands competitors beat Primo Brands on 8 of the 15 factors compared. About Primo Brands ( Get Free Report ) Primo Water Corporation is a leading pure-play water solutions provider in North America and Europe. Primo operates largely under a recurring razor/razorblade revenue model. The razor in Primo’s revenue model is its industry leading line-up of sleek and innovative water dispensers, which are sold through major retailers and online at various price points or leased to customers. The dispensers help increase household penetration, which drives recurring purchases of Primo’s razorblade offering. Primo’s razorblade offering is comprised of Water Direct, Water Exchange, and Water Refill. Primo’s water solutions expand consumer access to purified, spring and mineral water to promote a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle while simultaneously reducing plastic waste and pollution. Primo is committed to its water stewardship standards and is proud to partner with the International Bottled Water Association in North America as well as with Watercoolers Europe. Receive News & Ratings for Primo Brands Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Primo Brands and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

Chrissy Teigen took to Instagram to honour her husband, John Legend, on his 46th birthday with a heartfelt tribute. The model and cookbook author gushed about the All of Me singer. She called him the “soul of our home” in a post filled with love and admiration. JOHN LEGEND IN LONDON Teigen shared a photo of Legend sitting at London’s Bubble Planet Experience, according to The Argus. “To our everything, the soul of our home (I’m the heart), we love you so much,” she wrote. “Happy 46th birthday. You spent it taking the kids to the bubble experience in London at 8am. Now we are heading to The Devil Wears Prada musical because you’re up for any kind of date night you can get, ever.” She ended her message with: “I love you so much, we love you so much. Happy birthday.” JOHN LEGEND AND FAMILY TIME The couple marked the occasion with a night out at London’s Dominion Theatre to see The Devil Wears Prada , according to the Bolton News. Teigen shared a glimpse of their evening on Instagram Stories, showing off their excellent view of the stage. Legend and Teigen share four children—Luna (8), Miles (6), Esti (23 months), and Wren (18 months). They have been enjoying a festive family holiday in London. THE FESTIVE SEASON Just days before, they celebrated Christmas in style, with Teigen sharing adorable photos of their brood on Instagram, according to People. “Christmas morning in London! Merry Christmas, guys. We love you so much,” Teigen wrote. She then posted a picture of the family gathered around a beautifully decorated tree. Legend sported a cheerful festive jumper, while the kids donned matching plaid pyjamas. Another photo captured a closer look at the family’s stockings, stuffed with goodies and hanging along a cosy fireplace. BALANCING, WORK, FAMILY, AND FUN Legend shared similar snaps, adding an image of Luna and Miles eagerly kneeling by stacks of wrapped presents. “Have a Merry Merry Christmas!” he captioned. The Teigen-Legend family’s trip to London offers a relatable glimpse into balancing work, family, and fun. JOHN LEGEND AND CHERISHING MOMENTS South Africans, are often known for their love of big family gatherings. They can surely appreciate the warmth and joy Teigen and Legend bring to their holiday moments. Legend, who is beloved worldwide for his music, is no stranger to London’s stages. Teigen’s tribute and the family’s celebrations are reminders of the importance of treasuring moments with loved ones. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FAMILY TRADITION DURING THE HOLIDAYS? Let us know by clicking on the comment tab below this article or by emailing info@thesouthafrican.com or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. You can also follow @TheSAnews on X and The South African on Facebook for the latest news.BEIRUT (AP) — Insurgents' stunning march across Syria accelerated Saturday with news that they had reached the gates of the capital and that government forces had abandoned the central city of Homs. The government was forced to deny rumors that President Bashar Assad had fled the country. The loss of Homs is a potentially crippling blow for Assad. It stands at an important intersection between Damascus and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus — the Syrian leader’s base of support and home to a Russian strategic naval base. The pro-government Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third-largest city, without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies have withdrawn from the city, adding that rebels have entered parts of it. The capture of Homs is a major victory for insurgents, who have already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama , as well as large parts of the south, in a lightning offensive that began Nov. 27. Analysts said Homs falling into rebel hands would be a game-changer. The rebels' moves around Damascus, reported by the monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. For the first time in the country’s long-running civil war, the government now has control of only three of 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Latakia and Tartus. The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations. In their push to overthrow Assad's government, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian army. The rapid rebel gains, coupled with the lack of support from Assad's erstwhile allies, posed the most serious threat to his rule since the start of the war. The U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.” Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad's chief international backer, said he feels “sorry for the Syrian people.” In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands went to Syria's border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country. Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told The Associated Press, and those still open ran out of staples such as sugar. Some were selling items at three times the normal price. “The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions. “People are worried whether there will be a battle (in Damascus) or not.” It was the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a yearslong siege. The U.N. said it was moving noncritical staff outside the country as a precaution. Assad's status Syria’s state media denied social media rumors that Assad left the country, saying he is performing his duties in Damascus. He has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia, is busy with its war in Ukraine . Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad's forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria. Pedersen said a date for talks in Geneva on the implementation a U.N. resolution, adopted in 2015, and calling for a Syrian-led political process, would be announced later. The resolution calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with U.N.-supervised elections. Later Saturday, foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, along with Pederson, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha Summit to discuss the situation in Syria. In a statement issued late Saturday, the participants affirmed their support for a political solution to the Syrian crisis “that would lead to the end of military activity and protect civilians.” They also agreed on the importance of strengthening international efforts to increase aid to the Syrian people. The insurgents' march Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were marching toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he added. A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus. HTS controls much of northwest Syria and in 2017 set up a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s image, cutting ties with al-Qaida, ditching hard-line officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance. The shock offensive began Nov. 27, during which gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central city of Hama , the country’s fourth largest city. Opposition activists said Saturday that a day earlier, insurgents entered Palmyra, which is home to invaluable archaeological sites had been in government hands since being taken from the Islamic State group in 2017. To the south, Syrian troops left much of the province of Quneitra including the main Baath City, activists said. Syrian Observatory said government troops have withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces. The Syrian army said in a statement that it carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists." The army said it was setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area,” apparently to defend Damascus from the south. The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since conflict broke out in March 2011. Diplomacy in Doha The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey, meeting in Qatar, called for an end to the hostilities. Turkey is a main backer of the rebels. Qatar's top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to take advantage of the lull in fighting in recent years to address the country’s underlying problems. “Assad didn’t seize this opportunity to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people,” he said. Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised by how quickly the rebels have advanced and said there is a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity.” He said the war could “damage and destroy what is left if there is no sense of urgency” to start a political process. ____ Karam reported from London. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; and Josef Federman and Victoria Eastwood in Doha, Qatar, contributed to this report. Bassem Mroue And Zeina Karam, The Associated Press

North Macedonian political party demands ban on TikTok after at least 17 students injuredIn early 2000, scientists at 3M, the Maplewood-based chemicals giant, made a startling discovery: High levels of PFAS, the virtually indestructible “forever chemicals” used in nonstick pans, stain-resistant carpets and many other products, were turning up in the nation’s sewage. The researchers were concerned. The data suggested that the toxic chemicals, made by 3M, were fast becoming ubiquitous in the environment. The company’s research had already linked exposure to birth defects, cancer and more. That sewage was being used as fertilizer on farmland nationwide, a practice encouraged by the Environmental Protection Agency. The presence of PFAS in the sewage meant those chemicals were being unwittingly spread on fields across the country. 3M didn’t publish the research, but the company did share its findings with the EPA at a 2003 meeting, according to 3M documents reviewed by the New York Times. The research and the EPA’s knowledge of it have not been previously reported. Today, the EPA continues to promote sewage sludge as fertilizer and doesn’t require testing for PFAS, despite the fact that whistleblowers, academics, state officials and the agency’s internal studies over the years have also raised contamination concerns. “These are highly complex mixtures of chemicals,” said David Lewis, a former EPA microbiologist who in the late 1990s issued early warnings of the risks in spreading sludge on farmland. The soil “becomes essentially permanently contaminated,” he said in a recent interview from his home in Georgia. The concerns raised by Lewis and others went unheeded at the time. The country is starting to wake up to the consequences. PFAS, an abbreviation for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, has been detected in sewage sludge, on land treated with sludge fertilizer across the country, and in milk and crops produced on contaminated soil. Only one state, Maine, has started to systematically test its farms for PFAS. Maine has also banned the use of sludge on its fields. In a statement, 3M said the sewage study had been shared with the EPA, and was therefore available to anyone who searched for it in the agency’s archives. The agency had sought 3M’s research into the chemicals as part of an investigation in the early 2000s into their health effects. 3M also said it had invested in “state-of-the-art water treatment technologies” at its manufacturing operations. The company is on track to stop PFAS manufacturing globally by the end of 2025, it said. The EPA did not respond to detailed questions for this article, including about the 3M research. It said in an earlier statement that it “recognizes that biosolids may sometimes contain PFAS and other contaminants” and that it was working with other agencies to “better understand the scope of farms that may have applied contaminated biosolids” and to “support farmers and protect the food supply.” Farmland contamination has become a contentious environmental issue in red and blue states. In Oklahoma, Republican voters ousted a longtime incumbent in a state House primary in August after the lawmaker drew criticism for the use of sewage sludge fertilizer on his fields. The victor, Jim Shaw, said he planned to introduce legislation to ban sludge fertilizer across the state. “There are other ways to dispose of excess waste from the cities,” Shaw said in an email. “Contaminating our farmland, livestock, food and water sources is not an option and has to stop.” This year the EPA designated two kinds of PFAS as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, and it mandated that water utilities reduce levels in drinking water to near zero and said there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS. It also designated PFAS as “an urgent public health and environmental issue” in 2021, and has said it will issue a report on the risks of PFAS contamination in sludge fertilizer by the end of the year. The decades-old research by 3M and the record of the company’s interaction with the EPA were found by the Times in a cache of tens of thousands of pages of internal documents that the company released as part of settlements in the early 2000s between the federal government and 3M over health risks of the chemicals. Reusing human waste to fertilize farmland, a practice that dates back centuries, keeps the waste from needing other ways of disposing of it, such as incineration or landfill dumping, both of which have their own environmental risks. But the problem, experts say, is that sewage today contains a host of chemicals, including PFAS, generated by businesses, factories and homes. The federal government regulates certain heavy metals and pathogens in sludge that is reused as fertilizer; it has no limits on PFAS. “There’s absolutely enough evidence, with the high levels of contaminants that we see in the sludge, for the EPA to regulate,” said Arjun K. Venkatesan, director of the Emerging Contaminants Research Laboratory at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. ‘It’s insidious’ The turn of the century was a turbulent time for 3M. After decades of hiding the dangers of PFAS — a history outlined in lawsuits and peer-reviewed studies based on previously secret industry documents — in 1998 it alerted the EPA about the potential hazards. The company had already found high levels of PFAS in the blood of its employees, and was starting to detect the chemicals in the wider population. It had also long tracked PFAS in wastewater from its factories. Then in a 2000 study, 3M researchers noticed something alarming. While testing for PFAS in cities with “no known significant industrial use” of the chemicals, including Cleveland, Tennessee, and Port St. Lucie, Florida, they found surprisingly high concentrations in sewage sludge. A question weighed on the researchers’ minds: If there were no PFAS manufacturers present, where were the chemicals coming from? Hints lay in 3M’s other research. The company had been studying how the chemicals could be released by PFAS-treated carpets during washing. And they were also studying how PFAS could leach from food packaging and other products. In an interview, Kris Hansen, a former chemist at 3M who was involved in the research, said the presence in sludge “meant this contamination was probably occurring at any city” that was using 3M’s products. The study showed, moreover, that PFAS were not getting broken down at wastewater treatment plants. “It was ending up in the sludge, and that was becoming biosolids, being mixed into soil,” Hansen said. “From there it can run into the groundwater, go back into people. It’s insidious.” In September 2003, 3M officials met with the EPA to discuss the company’s study of sludge contamination and other research, according to the internal records. At the end of the meeting, the EPA requested “additional background information supporting this monitoring data,” the records show. Sewage sludge has now been spread on millions of acres across the country. It’s difficult to know exactly how much, and EPA data is incomplete. The fertilizer industry says more than 2 million dry tons were used on 4.6 million acres of farmland in 2018. And it estimates that farmers have obtained permits to use sewage sludge on nearly 70 million acres, or about a fifth of all U.S. agricultural land. “If we really wanted to figure this problem out because we believe it’s in the interest of public health, we really needed to share that data widely,” said Hansen, who has become a whistleblower against 3M. “But my memory is that the corporation was kind of caught up in the, ‘Oh my gosh, what do we do about this?’” Early warning, unheeded Lewis was a rising star in the late 1990s as a microbiologist at the EPA. He discovered how dental equipment could harbor HIV, winning him kudos within the scientific community. Then he turned his attention to sewage sludge. The EPA was encouraging farmers to use sludge as fertilizer. Humans had used waste to fertilize the land for millennia, after all. But, as Lewis pointed out with his research, modern-day sewage most likely contained a slew of chemicals, including PFAS, that made it a very dangerous fertilizer. He collected and examined sewage samples. He investigated illnesses and deaths he said could be linked to sludge. He started presenting his findings at scientific conferences. “The chances that serious adverse effects will occur from a complex and unpredictable mixture of tens of thousands of chemical pollutants is a virtual certainty,” he said at the time. His research prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue guidelines protecting workers handling processed sewage sludge. The EPA eliminated his job in 2003. He was a prominent voice on the issue at the time, but not the only one. Rolf Halden, a professor at the School of Sustainable Engineering at Arizona State University and an early researcher of contamination in biosolids, met with EPA officials at least nine times since 2005 to warn about his own research, according to his records. “The history of biosolids is that it was a toxic waste,” he said. For decades, he noted, sludge from New York City “was loaded on trains and shipped to the back corners of the country,” he said. Farmers often took the sludge without knowledge of its possible contamination. In 2006, an EPA contractor offered him samples of municipal sewage sludge left over from earlier agency testing. The EPA had been about to throw them out. Those samples led to a study that confirmed elevated PFAS levels in sludge nationwide. (The early research into sewage samples eventually led to wastewater testing that has helped researchers track the virus that causes COVID-19.) Another researcher, Christopher Higgins, was starting his academic career in the early 2000s when he began looking at sludge. He presented his work to EPA officials, he said, and was left with the impression that it wasn’t a priority. “I was really surprised by how few people were working for EPA on the topic,” said Higgins, who is now a professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Betsy Southerland, a former director of science and technology in the EPA Office of Water, which oversees biosolids, said the program had been hurt by staffing shortages as well as an arduous process for setting new restrictions. Action has been slow, she said, even though EPA’s surveys of sludge had shown “all kinds of pollutants — flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, steroids, hormones,” she said. “It’s the most horrible story,” she said. A 2018 report by the EPA’s inspector accused the agency of failing to properly regulate biosolids, saying it had “reduced staff and resources in the biosolids program over time, creating barriers.” The Biden administration has said it would publish a risk assessment of PFAS in biosolids by the end of 2024. That would be a first step toward setting limits on PFAS in sewage sludge used as fertilizer. There is another solution, experts say. Under the Clean Water Act, wastewater treatment plants have a legal authority to limit PFAS pollution from local factories. It’s known as the Clean Water Act “pretreatment program,” preventing chemicals from reaching sewage in the first place. In the past two years, two cities — Burlington, North Carolina, and Calhoun, Georgia — have ordered industries to clean up the effluent they send to wastewater treatment plants. In one instance, a textile producer decided to stop using PFAS entirely. Those actions came after a local environmental group sued the cities. “Industry is in the best position to control their own pollution, rather than treating wastewater treatment plants like industrial, toxic dumping grounds,” said Kelly Moser, an attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, which filed the lawsuits. The National Association of Clean Water Agencies, which represents wastewater treatment plants, said more than 1,600 utilities already had pretreatment programs in place, though not necessarily for PFAS. (The group also said research showed that the chemicals were coming from household waste, including human waste, not just factories.) Adam Krantz, the group’s CEO, said many utilities were waiting for the EPA to set standards. That would strengthen treatment plants’ ability to hold the ultimate polluters responsible, he said. “If these chemical companies were aware of PFAS’ potential dangers and kept it quiet,” he said, “then these polluters have to pay.”Democrats say they'll avoid election challenges on Jan. 6