Three Things for February 18
1. Daycare worker admits to drinking on the job, no cause found for fire
The Cleveland Fire Department and Cleveland Sheriff Department are continuing their investigation on the Little Lambs daycare fire.
On Feb. 10, the daycare caught fire with several children and daycare attendants inside. Daycare employee James Carpenter Jr. was later arrested and now faces 27 counts of child neglect.
Investigators are waiting on several labs and fingerprint results before any cause can be officially confirmed.
According to Local 3 News, the children were evacuated despite the owner’s initial hesitancy.
According to Carpenter's arrest warrant, the building owners told a woman assisting with the evacuation they would not evacuate the building “because it was the children's nap time.”
“If he was drinking on the job and the kids were not properly evacuated because he was drinking on the job, then I’ve got negligence because of the improper evacuation," said Mark Warren, a lawyer representing several of the families involved.
2. United States temporarily bans avocados from Mexico
The U.S. is putting a temporary ban on all avocado importation from Mexico due to multiple threats made against employees for the United States Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service working in Mexico.
The ban will “remain in place for as long as necessary to ensure the appropriate actions are taken, to secure the safety of APHIS personnel working in Mexico,” said the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Roughly 80% of the avocados consumed in the US come from Mexico while the other 20% come from California.
According to the New York Times, avocado prices are up 11% from last year’s average, meaning this ban could cause more stress to the market.
Details of the threats made to APHIS employees have not been made public by the U.S. government.
The Association of Avocado Exporting Producers and Packers of Mexico, a union representing 29,000 avocado farmers and 65 packing houses, has made a statement in which they claim to be talking with both the Mexican and American governments in order to review security plans and protocols.
3. United Nations contemplating stricter emissions standards for aircraft
On Thursday, Feb. 17, experts from the United States and several European nations discussed toughening emission standards for commercial aircraft.
According to Reuters, support for these new emission standards could put increased pressure on manufacturers to begin out-phasing their less fuel-efficient models.
The International Civil Aviation Organization agreed to begin drafting new regulations which could go into effect as early as 2025. These regulations would update rules for aircraft noise and emissions.
ICAO already has pre-existing regulations which will go into effect in 2023, and be phased in with a cut-off date for 2028. As a result, Boeing has been looking into an exemption for the 767-300F which would have to be taken out of production in 2028.
Aircraft manufacturers would also like new noise and engine emissions standards for supersonic jets to aid the relatively new technology.
