Short Takes – 9-11-23

House reconvenes with government funding, impeachment inquiry top of mind. TheHill.com article. The first day back for the House is tomorrow. Pull quote: “In the House, lawmakers are scheduled to consider a measure to fund the Department of Defense. If passed, it will be the second appropriations bill the House has cleared. The chamber approved one measure before breaking for recess, but GOP leadership had to punt a vote on another bill amid internal disagreements over spending levels and a provision pertaining to an abortion pill.”

F.A.A. Spells Out Needed Fixes for SpaceX’s Starship Rocket. NYTimes.com article. Pull quote: “None of the 63 corrective actions will be a surprise to SpaceX because the company conducted the investigation, identifying the causes of the failures that occurred during the April launch and what needed to be fixed. The F.A.A. reviewed the SpaceX report and concurred with the company’s findings and closed the investigation.”

Unraveling long COVID: Here's what scientists who study the illness want to find out. NPR.org article. Pull quote: “In Santa Fe, UCSF's Peluso outlined how his team had just launched a small trial using monoclonal antibodies to target the coronavirus spike protein in long COVID patients — one vehicle for testing whether viral persistence is the underlying cause of at least some patients' symptoms. Meanwhile, Iwasaki and Krumholz, both at Yale, have started a clinical trial testing whether a 15-day course of Paxlovid can help alleviate symptoms.”

Virgin Galactic notches fourth spaceflight in four months. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “Virgin Galactic meanwhile plans to press ahead with monthly commercial spaceflights. It has sold around 800 tickets—600 between 2005 and 2014 for $200,000 to $250,000, and 200 since then for $450,000 each.”

Trade groups lobby Senate for renewal of anti-terrorism program to secure hazardous chemicals. OpenSecrets.org article. Look at the industry lobbying for CFATS reinstatement. Pull quote: ““When authorized, the CFATS program promotes security by providing facility risk assessments, guidance to companies about their security plans and policies, and vetting personnel against the terrorist screening database,” the coalition letter notes, adding that the coalition’s “members will continue to make investments and decisions to strengthen facility security to the best of their knowledge and ability. However, these efforts are much stronger with CFATS, which allows the private sector and federal partners to work together.”

From Tragedy to Responsibility: How 9/11, CFATS and Responsible Care® Shape Chemical Facility Security. AmericanChemistry.com article. Pull quote: “We recognize it takes a commitment from all stakeholders, public and private, to keep our country safe from those who would threaten it. That’s why ACC and our members were disappointed that Congress, despite strong bipartisan support for the program, failed to reauthorize CFATS before a July deadline. The program’s expiration has suspended the valuable resources and tools that the program provided our industry.”