Youngstown

How it happened: Inside Biden's search for a running mate

Gretchen Whitmer wanted out. The Michigan governor had caught the interest of Joe Biden and his vice presidential vetting committee, who were drawn to her prominence in a crucial battleground state and her aggressive response to the coronavirus outbreak there. Whitmer sent word to Biden’s team that while she was flattered, she no longer wanted to be considered for the running mate slot, according to a high-ranking Democrat familiar with the process.

Russia vaccine claim faces scepticism as nations renew virus battle

Russia claimed Tuesday it has developed the world's first vaccine offering "sustainable immunity" against the coronavirus, despite mounting scepticism about its effectiveness as fears grow over a second wave of infections across the globe. President Vladimir Putin said the vaccine was safe and that one of his own daughters had received the inoculation, dubbed "Sputnik" after the pioneering 1950s Soviet satellite. "I know that it is quite effective, that it gives sustainable immunity," Putin said of the vaccine developed by the Gamaleya research institute in coordination with Moscow's defence ministry.

1000s of Korean laborers still lost after WWII, Cold War end

Shin Yun-sun describes her life as a maze of dead ends. The South Korean has spent many of her 75 years pestering government officials, digging into records and searching burial grounds on a desolate Russian island, desperately searching for traces of a father she never met. Shin wants to bring back the remains of her presumed-dead father for her ailing 92-year-old mother, Baek Bong-rye.

Enoch Adeboye sexism row: Why the Nigerian pastor is popular

Enoch Adeboye riles social media critics with his views on women, but this has not dented his standing.

Fauci says he has serious doubts Russia's COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective

Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC News' Deborah Roberts that he seriously doubts the Russian-made COVID-19 vaccine, dubbed Sputnik V and touted by President Vladimir Putin, has been proven safe and effective. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, shared the comments exclusively with National Geographic in a virtual panel discussion moderated by Roberts. "I hope that the Russians have actually, definitively proven that the vaccine is safe and effective," Fauci said.

Russia's vaccine could complicate talks about coronavirus treatment. Here's why.

Russia has a coronavirus vaccine. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Russia had approved a coronavirus vaccine, becoming the first country to do so. The news has been met with strong skepticism, with experts raising concerns that the experimental vaccine has yet to complete clinical trials designed to test its safety and effectiveness.

'If not now, when?': Black women seize political spotlight

“Are you Charisse Davis?” the fourth grader asked. The milestone comes after years of political work across America, where Black women have been running and winning elections in historic numbers, from Congress to county school boards.

US contractor told Lebanese port official of chemicals risk

About four years before the Beirut port explosion that killed dozens of people and injured thousands, a U.S. government contractor expressed concern to a Lebanese port official about unsafe storage there of the volatile chemicals that fueled last week's devastating blast, American officials said Tuesday. There is no indication the contractor communicated his concerns to anyone in the U.S. government. The cable, labeled sensitive but unclassified, dealt largely with the Lebanese responses to the blast and the origins and disposition of the ammonium nitrate, which ignited to create an enormous explosion.

Russian President Putin announces approval of coronavirus vaccine before completion of clinical trials

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he’s approved the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, calling it a cutting-edge answer to the fast-spreading disease ripping its way across the globe. Putin made the announcement on state TV despite the fact that the wonder vaccine is barely out of phase 1 testing. This is not how you do vaccine approval experiments.

A Global Race And Safety Fears, After Russia Approves COVID-19 Vaccine

Health and security experts are questioning the validity of the world’s first registered COVID-19 vaccine — after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that his country has approved use of the treatment. "This is, in essence, the Russians cutting corners, disregarding the normal standard scientific protocols for determining whether a vaccine is safe and effective, and pushing ahead," says J. Stephen Morrison, senior vice president and director of the global health policy center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Critics are pointing out that in the rush, the drug hasn't gone into phase three human trials, after undergoing small-scale clinical trials with primarily Russian military members just weeks ago.

What's keeping Washington from a virus deal, explained

Hopes that talks on a huge COVID-19 relief deal would generate an agreement soon are fizzling, with both the Trump administration negotiating team and top congressional Democrats adopting hard lines and testy attitudes. Now that President Donald Trump has issued a series of executive edicts and the national political conventions are set to begin, consuming the attention of both Trump and top Democrats, the talks seem to be on an indefinite pause. The urgency has evaporated now that rank-and-file lawmakers have been set free for the August recess, and while both sides still want an agreement — and pressure is likely to remain high — it’s looking more like a September legislating effort than an August one.

Biden picks Kamala Harris as running mate, first Black woman

Joe Biden named California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate on Tuesday, making history by selecting the first Black woman to compete on a major party’s presidential ticket and acknowledging the vital role Black voters will play in his bid to defeat President Donald Trump. In choosing Harris, Biden is embracing a former rival from the Democratic primary who is familiar with the unique rigor of a national campaign.

Art, artifacts back on display for Israel Museum reopening

The Israel Museum on Tuesday pulled the priceless Dead Sea Scrolls out of a heavily fortified vault ahead of its reopening to the public following a five-month shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. The museum, Israel's largest cultural institution, closed down in March as the country entered lockdown. Most of the museum's 500 employees have returned from months of furlough ahead of Thursday’s reopening, which will also see the return of other treasured artworks and artifacts.

Cosby sex assault appeal takes on non-prosecution deal

Bill Cosby’s lawyers argued in an appeals filing Tuesday that it was “fundamentally unfair” to let prosecutors use Cosby’s damaging deposition from a sex accuser’s lawsuit against him at trial. Cosby believes he had a binding promise from a prosecutor that he could never be charged in the case, and said testimony from five other accusers about encounters that took place years — or even decades — earlier had improperly prejudiced the jury against him. A spokeswoman for the Montgomery County district attorney's office declined comment but said prosecutors would file a response in the coming month.

The Russian vaccine is terrifying

Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is releasing a rushed COVID-19 vaccine, but the treatment has not undergone typical safety trials.

After multiple crises, this time Lebanese feel broken

For nearly a week, Mona Zahran had to sleep on a couch pulled across her apartment's front door. Beirut’s massive explosion knocked her doors off their hinges and shattered her windows, and she feared looters would take advantage of the chaos that has hit the Lebanese capital since. A few months ago, Zahran lost her last income as a seamstress because of the combination of anti-government protests, Lebanon’s economic collapse and coronavirus restrictions.

Police face new lawsuit, probes after Elijah McClain's death

A police department in suburban Denver faced a new set of investigations and legal problems Tuesday as scrutiny mounts over the death last year of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man put into a chokehold by officers, and other run-ins with people of color. McClain's parents sued the Aurora Police Department and paramedics who injected their son with a sedative, saying they were seeking both accountability for the loss of a “beautiful soul” and to send a message that “racism and brutality have no place in American law enforcement.” The office of Attorney General Phil Weiser said it's been looking into whether Aurora officers have been depriving people of their constitutional rights for several weeks and it's separate from a probe into McClain’s death, which Gov. Jared Polis ordered in June.

Susan Rice: The foreign policy expert whose role in Benghazi attacks may come back to haunt Biden campaign

Susan Rice, the potential Democratic pick for vice president, is considered one of the country’s leading experts on foreign policy. But while her experience will count in her favour, it will also give Republicans a clear plan of attack leading up to the election in November.The foreign policy expert was nominated as the ambassador of the United Nations by President Barack Obama, a nomination the Senate at the time unanimously confirmed.

President Trump Wants to Hold the G-7 Summit After Election

President Donald Trump says he'll look to postpone the G-7 summit until after the election. The meeting was already delayed due to coronavirus concerns. On Monday, President Trump said he'd invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the meeting because he's an "important factor," even though Russia was kicked out of the group when it annexed Crimea.

President Trump Wants To Push The G-7 Summit Until After The Election

President Donald Trump says he'll look to postpone the G-7 summit until after the election. The meeting was already delayed due to coronavirus concerns. On Monday, President Trump said he'd invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the meeting because he's an "important factor," even though Russia was kicked out of the group when it annexed Crimea.

'It's risky': Russians are divided about its poorly-tested new COVID-19 vaccine, with some convinced it will work while others worried about side effects

President Putin just announced that Russia approved a COVID-19 vaccine for mass production. Insider asked people in the country if they would take it.

Somalia prison: Deadly shootout after al-Shabab militants attempt escape

At least 20 people are killed in a heavy shootout at a jail in Mogadishu, officials say.

Trump: If Biden wins, Americans will have to learn Chinese

Duolingo stockholders, rejoice!If you've been wondering how to fill your spare time in quarantine, might we suggest taking up Chinese — because according to President Trump, there's a chance you'll have to learn it come November.In an interview with conservative talk-show host Hugh Hewitt, Trump repeatedly blasted China, saying the country is pulling for a win from former Vice President Joe Biden."If I don't win the election, China will own the United States," Trump claimed. "You're gonna have to learn to speak Chinese."Trump, who once had a self-described "great" relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, said he is "no longer very good" with the leader "because of what they did with the China virus," by which he means the coronavirus. The president also asserted China has had "the worst year in 67 years" because the U.S. "tariffed the hell out of them."U.S. intelligence officials did say last week that Russia and China have lined up on opposite sides of the upcoming presidential election, with the latter reportedly hoping "that President Trump — whom Beijing sees as unpredictable — does not win re-election." On the flip side, Russia is reportedly using a "range of measures" to take down Biden. Luckily, Duolingo carries Russian, too.The rest of the interview contained similar grumbling, with the president bashing the "nasty" NBA, baselessly claiming we're "getting to an end" on coronavirus, and suggesting Biden is the "dumbest" U.S. senator.More stories from theweek.com Donald Trump is trying to steal the election Trump campaign tweets mugshots of alleged criminals, all of them Black, to claim Biden is pro-crime Colorado AG announces broad investigation into policies of Aurora Police Department

Cannabis Law Expert Bob Hoban Explains How To Succeed In Cannabis Law

By Natan Ponieman and Javier Hasse.Bob Hoban is recognized as one of the world's top leaders in cannabis policy. His firm, the Hoban Law Group, has been at the epicenter of the commercial expansion of cannabis as a legitimate business worldwide.Benzinga recently spoke with Hoban, who recalled his first steps in the industry and explained how he managed to nurture and turn his firm into a go-to consultancy for cannabis businesses, policy-makers and international governments.Early Beginnings Since 2008, Hoban has worked with more than 35 different countries in developing public policy solutions for the legislation and regulation of commercial cannabis. The Rutgers University alum spent most of his life in the Northeast and eventually moved to the West in 2008. He started a law firm focused on representing medium-sized businesses.Less than a year later, the firm was solely focused on cannabis companies.Hoban was a cannabis consumer, but had no connections to advocacy groups or cannabis ventures. As the cannabis industry started to develop in Colorado, he saw an opportunity.Related content: Colorado Has Done The Right Thing With HB 20-1424 Social Equity LicenseThat there was a side to cannabis law that was not being covered. Most activists and advocates had focused on making cannabis legal, but not many businesses or jurisdictions knew what to do after that."Once a country legalizes something, what comes next?" Hoban asked. "And I always said, well, that's the opportunity."Since its early beginnings, the Hoban Law Group was focused on providing the answer to that question."The industry then needs professional leadership," he added. "It needs advisors, it needs lawyers that are skilled in much more than just policy advocacy."Being A Part Of The Cannabis Boom Hoban's firm provided part of the fuel that fed the industry's growth.Winning the Cannamart case in late 2009 put Hoban at the center of attention. His firm managed to stop a local jurisdiction from shutting down a cannabis business on account of the request being unconstitutional.Hoban never described himself as a grassroots cannabis activist, even though he has been involved in numerous causes over time. He explains his role as a necessary evolution in the cannabis space."We were not the ones that were advocating for the legal change. But once the legal change occurred, we were the ones that brought it into a commercial environment," he explains.Related content: Investing In Cannabis During A Crisis: What To Know About Stocks, Debt, Equity, M&AIn 2011, Hoban began teaching cannabis policy at the University of Denver. Backed by the university's status, he became the point-person for national governments looking for advice on developing a cannabis policy program.Despite its strong focus on policy development, Hoban has always liked to define his firm as an ally of cannabis businesses.In 2010, when the CBD industry was taking its baby steps, the Hoban Law Group developed a growth strategy for CannaBest, a Southern California CBD company. With Hoban's assistance, the company went from $500,000 of CBD sales to $5 million in less than three months, kickstarting the subsequent CBD craze that soon followed.Finding Success In A Business Approach To Law For Hoban, his firm's success stemmed from a clear vision: he needed to steer the firm as any other business."If you look at any large 'Am Law 200' law firm, the only reason those firms exist is because their initial partners said: 'Look, we want to create a clearinghouse for really, really great lawyers, but we want to build it like a business.' Law firms don't become businesses, except if you execute specifically towards that target."Part of the business strategy of any company that connects to an industry in an ancillary fashion is to drive commercial success for its clients. Hoban describes his firm's personnel as guides who help cannabis businesses navigate the industry."We are guides first, we are industry experts second, and we are top quality lawyers third," he said.Related content: CBD, Amazon Distribution Channel And Trademarks: What You Need To KnowFor Hoban, the commercial aspect of the industry is as important as the legal side because it drives growth. The cannabis industry, no matter the location, can and should be regulated into four lanes: * First, an industrial lane, which describes industrial hemp and its applications. * Second, an over-the-counter marijuana lane, which encompasses the dispensary system. * The wellness and nutraceuticals lane comes third. These are CBD and hemp-derived products which are non-psychoactive. * Lastly, there's the pharmaceutical lane, which encompasses formulas for specific conditions.In his lectures, which involve multiple talks at the United Nations, and other international bodies, Hoban advises jurisdictions to regulate cannabis according to these four business verticals.Courtesy photoSee more from Benzinga * Green Rush Podcast: 4Front Ventures CEO Says Operational Efficency Will Determine Winners Of U.S. Cannabis * Today 2pm ET: Benzinga Cannabis Hour Live With Andrew Schweibold, Chuck Smith, Jen Drake, Randy Buchmann * MI's Longest-Serving Non-Violent Cannabis Offender Hospitalized For Presumed COVID-19: How To Help(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Stilton drives wedge between UK-Japan Brexit deal

Stil-tons to do as talks over blue cheese become an unlikely obstacle to a post-Brexit trade agreement.

Russia Doesn’t Really Know Whether Its Covid Vaccine Works

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Russia is prematurely declaring victory in the race for a vaccine against Covid-19, with potentially dangerous consequences for the Russian population.President Vladimir Putin says his government has approved a vaccine and will start inoculating teachers and medical workers this month, before embarking on a mass vaccination effort in the fall. Yet the shot is not backed by evidence from a complete phase 3 trial, the gold standard for confirming safety and efficacy. Deciding to move ahead without this proof stands to hamper rather than help Russia’s Covid-19 response.“It works effectively enough, forms a stable immunity and, I repeat, it has gone through all necessary tests,” Putin said at a cabinet meeting Tuesday. What little we know about Russia’s vaccine effort suggests he has limited ground for these claims; the vaccine has reportedly completed only early-stage trials, and data hasn’t been made available for independent scientific review. According to Russia’s Association of Clinical Trials Organizations, fewer than 100 people had received the vaccine as of early August.The human immune system is enormously complicated and varies significantly from person to person, based on age and many other factors. As a result, people experience a range of reactions to a vaccine. Some shots may work well in certain parts of a population yet be harmful or ineffective in others. Safety signals aren’t always obvious or immediately apparent in trials; in rare cases, a vaccine can cause someone’s immune system to overreact, leading to a severe form of the illness the drug is meant to prevent.Beyond missing these essential nuances, Russia is taking an enormous chance on whether the vaccine works safely. A significant amount of data from thousands of people in a real-world setting is needed to prove that a shot is protective or broadly tolerable.Perhaps Russian scientists have great animal models or lab data from early participants. They haven’t been forthcoming with details. But such data would not appreciably improve the picture. Scientists have had less than a year of experience with the novel coronavirus itself and even less with immunity to Covid-19.Putin noted Tuesday that one of his daughters took the vaccine and then registered high antibody levels. At this point in the scientific process, however, secondary measures such as antibody levels do not confirm that a vaccine is effective.It’s not hard to see why Putin’s government might be willing to gamble on an inadequately tested vaccine. If it works, the country could get back to normal more rapidly. And a win in the vaccine race could burnish Putin’s reputation at home and abroad. But the potential to lose this bet is enormous, and the cost may come in lives.If the vaccine turns out to offer minimal, transient or variable protection, then it may give the Russian people a false sense of security. They may interpret getting a shot as a license to behave as if the virus has gone away, allowing the germ to spread more widely than it otherwise would. If that happens, or if people suffer significant side effects, it will undermine confidence in the government and in vaccination generally. Like the rest of the world, Russia will remain in Covid uncertainty for a long time.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Max Nisen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering biotech, pharma and health care. He previously wrote about management and corporate strategy for Quartz and Business Insider.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

March on Washington reconfigured to comply with virus rules

Amid widespread protests and unrest over the police killings of Black Americans, a national commemoration of the 1963 civil rights March on Washington is being reconfigured to comply with coronavirus protocols in the District of Columbia. Although many marchers will arrive via charter buses from surrounding communities on Aug. 28, the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the organizers, will ask some to join satellite marches planned in states that are considered hot spots for COVID-19. “We’re following protocol,” Sharpton told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.

Israeli PM's uneasy alliance seems headed toward collapse

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival, Benny Gantz, agreed to form an “emergency” government in May after three bitter and deadlocked election campaigns, the goal was to stabilize Israeli politics in the face of a global pandemic. With little common ground and a severe lack of trust, the uneasy alliance now has just two weeks to reach a budget deal or plunge the nation into its fourth election since last year.

New Russian virus vaccine one among many

With Russia's announcement Tuesday that it had become the first country to approve a vaccine against COVID-19, here is a look at the more than two dozen other candidates currently in development. Russian President Vladimir Putin shocked the international community by claiming the new vaccine -- dubbed "Sputnik V" after the Soviet satellite -- conferred "sustainable immunity" against the novel coronavirus. A vector vaccine -- meaning it employes another virus to carry the immune response into human cells -- Sputnik is based on similar technology to a Chinese prototype.

Trump claims love affair with China’s Xi is over

Trump and Xi are not BFFs. President Trump claimed Tuesday that he “no longer has a very good relationship” with China’s Xi Jinping -- after lavishing praise on the strongman for his leadership on the coronavirus pandemic. Trump made the startling reversal in an interview with sports radio host Clay Travis.

A week after blast, Beirut pauses to remember the dead

The shattered city of Beirut on Tuesday marked a week since the catastrophic explosion that killed at least 171 people, injured thousands and plunged Lebanon into a deeper political crisis. Elsewhere in the city, burials of the dead continued.

Coronavirus: health secretary Alex Azar expects US vaccine by December

* Azar plays down significance of Russian vaccine progress * Health secretary predicts ‘tens of millions of doses’ by year’s endThe US health secretary, Alex Azar, said on Tuesday morning that America hopes to have a coronavirus vaccine approved by December and tamped down Russia’s celebrations over unveiling its own vaccine after rapid development.“The point is not to be first,” Azar said. “The point is to have a vaccine that is safe and effective for the American people and the people of the world.”Russia approved a controversial Covid-19 vaccine for widespread use after less than two months of human testing, including a dose administered to one of Vladimir Putin’s daughters.Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the country’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund, said the vaccine would be marketed abroad under the brand name Sputnik V with international agreements to produce 500m doses and requests for 1bn from 20 countries.The development was hailed by Putin as evidence of Russia’s scientific prowess, but the truncated testing regime has raised eyebrows elsewhere for skipping so-called phase 3 large-scale safety trials, which usually take months. Instead, phase 3 trials will be conducted in parallel with mass production of the vaccine, including in Brazil.Azar said on Tuesday that: “We need transparent data, it’s got to be phase 3 data that shows that the vaccine is safe and effective and that’s what President Trump is leading with Operation Warp Speed.”The project is the public-private partnership that is coordinating vaccine trials in the US. Azar told ABC’s Good Morning America show that six vaccines were in development and “we believe that we are on track towards having tens of millions of doses by December of FDA [Food and Drug Administration] gold-standard and hundreds of millions as we go into the new year”.The top US public health expert Anthony Fauci, who sits on the White House coronavirus taskforce, has said he is “cautiously optimistic” about trials under way, but the trials would have to have their results before scientists will know if the US has a viable vaccine.Azar was challenged by ABC on reports from analysts looking at the work of Moderna, one of the US companies with a vaccine in phase 3 trials, and concluding that trials will not show results until early 2021.Azar said it depended on the speed with which people could be enrolled for the ongoing trials.Azar spoke to the TV network from Taiwan, where he is on a rare official visit by a US government figure and has praised the country’s handling of coronavirus, which contrasts sharply with the situation in the US where the pandemic is out of control.He met the Taiwanese president on Monday, with the visit threatening to escalate worsening tensions between Washington and Beijing.The People’s Republic of China claims Taiwan, the Republic of China, is part of its territory and takes issue with any acknowledgment of Taiwan’s status as a sovereign state.Trump on Tuesday told Fox Sports Radio that he used to have a very good relationship with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, but that changed after the pandemic and that he has not spoken to his Chinese counterpart in a long time.Azar in the TV interview praised Taiwan’s transparency over its public health plans, while saying “China has not been transparent and has not been collaborative”.Meanwhile, Trump will be briefed on US vaccine efforts later on Tuesday and will probably give a public update, the White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News.Reuters contributed reporting

Fauci has questioned whether Russia's coronavirus vaccine is safe amid concerns nations are cutting corners to win the vaccine race

President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia had approved a COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday. Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke of his concerns on July 31.

What do the kids say? K-12 students sound off on school

Many said they’re most worried about fellow students breaking the rules on wearing masks and keeping their distance, especially in areas that are hot spots for the coronavirus. “We'll be home in a month,” said a skeptical Peter Klamka, an eighth-grader in Las Vegas, in a county that logged 95% of new coronavirus cases reported in Nevada early last week. Not yet 5, kindergartner Rivington Hall in Westport, Connecticut, will begin her first big-kid year in September, at least in part on Zoom after finishing preschool at home.

Putin says Russia registers first coronavirus vaccine without providing evidence

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Russia has registered the world's first coronavirus vaccine with state regulators for use. While Putin said it had “proven efficient” and “passed all the necessary tests,” no data has been published by researchers for peer review and the long-term effects of the treatment remained unclear. “As far as I know, this morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against a new coronavirus infection has been registered," Putin told a meeting of government ministers.

'As the tundra burns, we cannot afford climate silence': a letter from the Arctic

I study the Arctic. The decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord is reprehensible – but we can’t give up hope When you stand facing an exposed edge of permafrost, you can feel it from a distance.It emanates a cold that tugs on every one of your senses. Permanently bound by ice year after year, the frozen soil is packed with carcasses of woolly mammoths and ancient ferns. They’re unable to decompose at such low temperatures, so they stay preserved in perpetuity – until warmer air thaws their remains and releases the cold that they’ve kept cradled for centuries.default I first experienced that distinct cold in the summer of 2016. I was traveling across Arctic Europe with a team of researchers to study climate change impacts. We were a few hours past the Finnish border in Russia when we stopped to first set foot on the tundra. The ground was soft but solid beneath our feet, covered with mosses and wildflowers that stretched into the distance until abruptly interrupted by a slick, towering wall of thawing permafrost.As we stood facing the muddy patch of uncovered earth, the sensation of escaping cold felt terrifying.The northern hemisphere is covered by 9m sq miles of permafrost. This solid ground, and all the organic material it contains, is one of the largest greenhouse gas stores on the planet. Frozen, it poses little threat to the 4 million people that call the Arctic home, or to the 7.8 billion of us that call Earth home. But defrosted by rising temperatures, thawing permafrost poses a planetary risk.When the organic material begins to decompose, permafrost thaw can destabilize major infrastructure, discharge mercury levels dangerous to human health and release billions of metric tons of carbon. We witnessed small-scale damage in Russia that summer through slumped landscapes and uneven roads. At the time, the larger, more dramatic changes were predicted to unfold over the course of this century.Four years later, those changes are happening much sooner than scientists predicted. The carbon-laden cold of the Arctic’s permafrost is leaking into Earth’s atmosphere, and we are not ready for the consequences.In June, the Russian Arctic reached 100.4F, the highest temperature in the Arctic since record-keeping began in 1885. The heat shocked scientists, but was not a unique or unusual event in a climate-changed world. The Arctic is warming at nearly three times the rate of the global average, and June’s single-day high was part of a month-long heatwave. This relentless heat has melted sea ice and made traditional subsistence dangerous for skilled Indigenous hunters. It’s fueled costly wildfires, some of which are so strong they now last from one summer to the next. And it’s sped up permafrost thaw, buckling roads and displacing entire communities.Watching the heat of 2020 devastate the Arctic, I think back to the fear we experienced while watching that permafrost thaw in 2016, but I also remember feeling hopeful.Just weeks before our expedition began, 174 countries had signed the Paris agreement on the first day it opened for signatures. Barack Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping released a joint statement of climate commitments for the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters. It seemed like every world leader had finally dedicated themselves to climate action. Throughout our trip across the Arctic, my colleagues and I discussed the difficulties of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, but, with the momentum of Paris, we agreed that it was still possible to contain a climate catastrophe.It is much harder to find hope today than it was four years ago – but it’s not impossible.The Arctic’s skies are blackened with wildfire smoke and we are not even halfway through summer. The Trump administration has reversed 100 environmental rules and stands on the precipice of pulling the US out of the Paris agreement in November 2020.Things may seem hopeless, but we are not helpless.Every individual has a skill, a voice, a career to wield as a tool to address climate change. Ultimately, climate action is not powered by the Paris agreement – it’s powered by people. From presidents to protesters, we each have a part to play in limiting the devastation of the climate crisis.Climate change cannot be stopped. The Arctic’s ice will melt and large swaths of frozen ground will thaw. Climate change is already causing devastating loss of life, destroying irreplaceable cultural heritage and inundating the places we hold dear. With every degree we allow our world to warm, the more we lose. But by demanding climate action from our governments, and demanding climate action from ourselves, we can work today to avert the worst damage and adapt to the impacts we can no longer avoid.As the Arctic burns, we cannot afford climate silence from anyone. The cost of inaction is too high. * Dr Victoria Herrmann is the president and managing director of the Arctic Institute