JANUARY 24, 2019

NEWS AND VIEWS

PELOSI WINS THIS ROUND. SHE REFUSED TO GIVE HIM HIS FREE PUBLICITY, AND HE SAID HE WOULD WAIT UNTIL THE GOVERNMENT IS OPEN. CAN AND WILL THE HOUSE GO FURTHER? SEE BELOW.

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/24/688151634/trump-backs-down-but-will-he-make-a-deal
ANALYSIS
Trump Blinked. Could A Shutdown Deal Be Next?
January 24, 2019 10:44 AM ET
DOMENICO MONTANARO

PHOTOGRAPH -- President Trump appears at the White House on Wednesday as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked him from delivering the State of the Union at the Capitol. Trump agreed to postpone while the shutdown goes on.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP

In this game of who would blink first in this shutdown showdown, it was, perhaps surprisingly, President Trump.

Late Wednesday night, the president tweeted saying he would defer to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and not deliver a State of the Union address until the government is back open.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative - I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an....

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11:12 PM - Jan 23, 2019
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Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
....alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber. I look forward to giving a “great” State of the Union Address in the near future!

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It was a remarkable concession from this president, who at nearly every turn since he's been on the national stage has not backed down. It comes on a day that the Senate is voting on two measures that were expected to fail as soon as they were introduced — Trump's proposal made in a speech on Saturday for $5.7 billion in border wall funding for temporary protections for immigrants and a Democratic bill that would open the government for a few weeks as negotiations continue on border security.

Trump's concession could signal an openness to getting the government back open, especially as Democrats show no sign of giving in on the wall and as the shutdown takes a political toll on this president.

RELATED --
Trump: Short-Term Deal To End Shutdown OK If It Has 'Prorated Down Payment' On Wall
POLITICS -- Democrats To Offer Deal On Border To End Shutdown

Democrats are poised to offer a counterproposal of a significant purse of money for border security. That will not include money for a wall, but there's talk of a "smart wall" — a new framing alluding to the president's demand — with technology and manpower that Democrats are willing to fund.

Pelosi and other Democrats were saying Wednesday that they felt they had to "hold the line" against wall funding in the midst of a shutdown, so as to not encourage Trump to try it again. After all, most estimates put the cost of a wall along the entire border at far higher than $5.7 billion.

Instead of arguing over the specifics of border security, which some Democrats disagree on — including freshmen who delivered the party a majority by flipping swing districts in 2018 — Pelosi has held her caucus together by focusing on the president's tactics, which they all can oppose.

"There is serious and justified concern that this president would shut down the government any time he does not get his way legislatively," Pelosi said Wednesday. "That is why we must hold the line on this shutdown."

POLITICS -- Trump Defers To Pelosi And Delays State Of The Union Address

The next question is how the White House will respond to the Democrats' offer, since Trump has stopped negotiating to end the shutdown. In recent days he has been talking solely with Republicans, didn't consult with Democrats before his speech Saturday to see if elements of what he was proposing would be acceptable, and he has been lobbying Republicans to vote for his legislation.

But what happens when not only his legislation fails, but if some Republicans vote in favor of the Democratic bill? What then? Does he retrench?

POLITICS -- White House Wants Democrats To Come To The Table, Spokeswoman Says

Mercedes Schlapp, a White House spokeswoman, notably did not mention the wall when asked by NPR's Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition Thursday if the president could accept, for example, $5.7 billion for border security, but not for a wall.

"Well, why don't we have the Democrats come over and propose that over to the president?" Schlapp said.

A trio of polls out Wednesday showed bad news for the president. Majorities are blaming him for the shutdown, and his approval rating is suffering. The most dramatic result was from The Associated Press and NORC, which showed Trump's approval rating at a low for his presidency in that poll: 34 percent, down from 42 percent last month. Two-thirds of people said they disapproved of the job he's doing. That included a whopping 69 percent of independents.

A CBS news poll found that 71 percent of Americans do not think a border wall is worth a government shutdown. And a Fox News poll found three-quarters of Americans think the shutdown is an emergency or major problem, higher than the number who say that about the situation at the border.

RELIGION -- Provoked By Trump, The Religious Left Is Finding Its Voice

It's easy to dismiss one poll or cherry pick from another, but it's almost impossible to not notice when a confluence of polling is all saying essentially the same thing.

Undoubtedly, the polls are on Democrats' side right now, but they also have to be wary of going too far. While more people in the CBS poll said they think Trump should compromise, a majority also believes Democrats should accept a budget with at least some wall funding.

It is a sign that "no" will probably not be an acceptable answer for long. Democrats knew that after Trump made his speech and proposal Saturday — and now are prepared to make their counteroffer.

As the political pressure grows, it seems there could be, for the first time since this longest partial shutdown in U.S. history began in December, a light at the end of the tunnel.

There is an opening, but the reality remains that no one, even those close to this president in the White House and his administration, knows exactly what he would sign off on.


WHAT CAN THE HOUSE DO TO FUND THE GOVERNMENT WITHOUT THE PRESIDENT’S SIGNATURE?

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/verify-yes-congress-can-end-the-government-shutdown-without-president-trump/65-6f80e670-9095-4f2f-88bc-1022a6d54fcc
VERIFY: Yes, Congress can end the government shutdown without President Trump
The Framers gave Congress the power to override a president's veto, should he refuse their spending bill
Author: Eliana Block
Published: 11:25 AM EST January 11, 2019
Updated: 11:29 PM EST January 11, 2019

WASHINGTON — QUESTION:

Can Congress pass a spending bill to end the shutdown without the President?

ANSWER:Yes.

SOURCES:
Amanda Frost- Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law
Erwin Chemerinsky- Dean of Berkeley Law School
Laurence Tribe- Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School
Cristina Rodriguez- Professor of Law at Yale Law School


https://qz.com/1530198/a-new-senate-vote-pits-shutdown-weary-republicans-against-trump/
DESPERATE TIMES
To end the shutdown the Senate will try a Hail Mary and a lost cause
By Heather Timmons
January 22, 2019

PHOTOGRAPH -- REUTERS/JIM YOUNG
Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell.

The US Senate will vote Thursday (Jan. 24) on a proposal that could end the stalemate over funding for a wall on the border with Mexico that has kept parts of the US government closed for 32 days.

On Tuesday afternoon, Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat, introduced a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government. It would allow agencies to be funded and workers to collect back pay, but doesn’t address the wall issue at all. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell will allow a vote on the floor on the measure.

The US government has been partially shut for 32 days, a record, as Trump and Republicans battle with Democrats over funding for the border wall. A new crop of House Democrats who were elected on promises to curb Trump’s actions on immigration have so far refused to approve the money. The upcoming Senate vote is the first sign Republicans might be ready to compromise.

The resolution has already passed the House; if it passes the Senate, it could still be vetoed by Trump, who has said he would turn down any measure that doesn’t fund the wall.

A temporary fix

Schumer’s proposal would fund the government through February 6. It is one of multiple measures the House has already approved that would end the shutdown, including one that passed during the Senate’s previous session last year. After Congress reconvened in January, McConnell blocked those from a vote, saying the Senate wouldn’t “participate in something that doesn’t lead to an outcome,” meaning something the president would not sign.

It is unclear what, exactly, changed McConnell’s mind today. His office referred strategy questions to the White House, which didn’t respond. There is no change in Trump’s opposition to a short-term reopening of the government, a spokesman for McConnell told Bloomberg.

Senate Republicans who support the short-term measure are likely to face Trump’s ire; if it passes and Trump vetoes it, his decision can be overturned by a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate.

“For the first time we will get a vote on whether to open up the government without any decision on border security,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. Republicans have been circulating a letter that proposes a similar fix, he noted. “If you were looking for a way to open up the government, this is the way.”

A “dead on arrival” Trump bill

Senators will also be voting on Trump’s preferred bill on Thursday, but the odds of it passing are slim. The “End the Shutdown and Secure the Border Act” follows the president’s latest proposal to restart the government by offering temporary protections for about one million US residents his administration earlier tried to deport, including “Dreamers,” or young adults brought to the US illegally as kids, and people who fled emergencies in their home countries.

But it also adds $5.7 billion for the border wall, as well as harsh new anti-immigrant measures that Democrats and some moderate Republicans are likely to reject. They include capping the number of Central American minors who can request asylum to 15,000 a year, removing some judicial protections for immigrants, and establishing onerous new requirements for “DACA” recipients, like forcing them to prove that they’ve never been in a gang.

The new measures are drawing sharp criticism from human rights groups and immigration experts. The bill “eviscerates protection for people fleeing for their lives, particularly children,” advocacy group Human Rights First said; the American Civil Liberties Union, meanwhile, called it a “sham ‘compromise’” that “would weaken the asylum system.”

Even though the bill has Trump’s support, as McConnell pointed out when he introduced it today, it’s hard to see how Republicans could get the 60 votes they need to pass it. They only have 53 seats in the Senate.

A test for Trump

The length of the shutdown makes any Trump maneuvering more complicated. Though he claimed this afternoon that Republicans are united on the border wall issue, some, including senator Susan Collins of Maine, were earlier pushing for the Senate to just fund the government first.

In the meantime, some Republicans are hoping that Trump will slash what they view as unnecessary government jobs while workers are furloughed. “I don’t know,” said one GOP strategist who works with a pro-Trump political action committee, when asked what his party’s strategy is. “I’m sitting back with my popcorn enjoying the show and hoping the President starts firing (“Reduction In Force”) all the non-essential employees to help balance the budget.”

Unless one of the Senate bills passes, 800,000 government employees will miss their second paycheck on Friday.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-votes-bills-reopen-government-today-2018-01-24-live-updates/
Senate takes up competing bills aimed to reopen government — live updates
UPDATED ON: JANUARY 24, 2019 / 2:15 PM / CBS NEWS

The Senate is taking up two bills Thursday afternoon in an attempt to reopen the federal government. Neither is expected to pass.

One bill is a version of the president's proposal to give $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall in exchange for temporary protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients.

The other bill would temporarily reopen the agencies that are shuttered into early February. That bill does not contain funding for the president's border wall.

Either measure needs 60 votes to pass.

It's unclear what Mr. Trump, who says he won't give a State of the Union address until the shutdown ends, will do next. The president has been insisting on funding his border wall before opening up government.

Roughly 800,000 federal workers are going unpaid during the longest shutdown on record.

First published on January 24, 2019

© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


THIS IS ANOTHER BLACK CHURCH. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT BLACK PEOPLE ARE GRAVITATING CLOSER TO HIM NOW? I DO HOPE SO.

https://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2019/01/23/bernie-sanders-draws-a-crowd-and-gets-a-standing-ovation-in-north-charleston-on-tuesday
Bernie Sanders draws a crowd and gets a standing ovation in North Charleston on Tuesday
Crowd chanted "Run, Bernie, Run" as the senator left the stage
Posted by Adam Manno on Wed, Jan 23, 2019 at 1:59 PM

PHOTOGRAPH -- Adam Manno
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont delivered something very close to a campaign speech at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston on Jan. 22, 2019.

Bernie Sanders appeared as spirited as ever during a speech at a church banquet hall in North Charleston Tuesday afternoon.

Over the course of 20 minutes, Sanders railed against the federal government shutdown, President Donald Trump, and the political influence of "oligarchs" and "billionaires" like the Koch brothers, who are known to pour their vast fortune into conservative, corporate-friendly causes.

"We have a president who is a pathological liar," Sanders said. "This is a president who is intentionally and purposefully trying to divide our people up based on the color of their skin, where they were born, their sexual orientation."

The Vermont senator has served an independent since he was first elected to Congress in 1991, but caucuses with Democrats in the Senate. He previously served as the mayor of Burlington, Vt. for eight years.

On Tuesday, Sanders criticized Trump's standoff with Congress over funding for a border wall, which has forced much of the federal government to stay home or work without pay for a month.

"They got kids they gotta feed," Sanders said of federal workers. "They got mortgages they gotta pay. You do not deny a paycheck to 800,000 workers and their families. That is not being a friend of working families."

Sanders delivered a litany of goals, ideals, and grievances that echo his platform in the 2016 Democratic primary race. The democratic socialist lost the presidential nomination to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after capturing just 43 percent of the national Democratic vote, but only 26 percent in South Carolina.

South Carolina is a key early primary state where, in 2016, non-white voters made up 66 percent of the Democratic primary electorate, according to the State Election Commission.

Sanders' trip to the state is just one of a few being made by potential 2020 contenders.

On Monday, the senator attended Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances in Columbia. Earlier on Tuesday, Sanders visited Benedict College, a historically black college in Columbia, and spoke to state lawmakers including the Legislative Black Caucus.

"Each member of each caucus was really moved because they felt he stuck to his message," said state Rep. Wendell Gilliard of Charleston. "He hadn't changed or wavered."

Tuesday's event at Royal Missionary Baptist Church was organized by the political action committee Friends of Bernie Sanders along with Our Revolution S.C., Sanders' 2016 campaign arm in South Carolina. Before the senator took the stage, organizers asked members of the media to leave the "closed event." The press was eventually allowed to stay.

The event was promoted as a "meet-and-greet," though the senator had a plane to catch and left after shaking just a few hands near the stage.

Ultimately, the 77-year-old senator from Vermont did not announce any plans for the 2020 race.

"I'm hoping he'll run," said Veronica Polite, a Ladson resident and a member of Royal Missionary. "Age shouldn’t be a factor like everybody says."

"Personally, I hope he would announce," Gilliard added.
Tags: Bernie Sanders, campaign, 2020, rally, 2020 primary, Image


FROM 2016, THE USA HAS DECLINED FROM 17TH TO 27TH ON THE ATTRIBUTE OF “TRUSTWORTHINESS.” ARE YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE “MAKING AMERICA GREAT,” MR. PRESIDENT?

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2019-01-23/switzerland-japan-are-the-worlds-best-countries
Switzerland and Japan Are the World's Best Countries
The global view of the U.S. as a trustworthy nation drops for the third consecutive year in the Best Countries survey assessing 80 nations.
By Kevin Drew Assistant Managing Editor
Jan. 23, 2019, at 12:01 a.m.

PHOTOGRAPH -- People visit the the "Lac Bleu" or blue lake, on a warm autumn day near Arolla, in western Switzerland.(FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

GROWING ANXIETIES ABOUT possible economic slowdowns. The possibility of a future trade war between the world's two largest economies. Rising public anger at tech conglomerates and governments about digital security. The accelerating pace of global warming that is exceeding scientists' predictions. Continued wars, record numbers of refugees, growing levels of inequality and the looming Brexit.

As 2019 begins, there are plenty of reasons to believe the world is on the cusp of coming apart.

[MORE: 5 Global Risks to Watch in 2019]

Those worries and more may best explain this year's results of an annual global study showing that the most strongly held convictions by people center around the desire for certainty, rights, diversity and free trade.

Switzerland maintains its No. 1 overall position in the rankings for the third consecutive year in the 2019 Best Countries rankings, the annual report based on a worldwide survey of more than 20,000 people. Japan now ranks No. 2 overall, a move up of three positions from 2018. Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom round out the top five, followed by Sweden, Australia, the United States, Norway and France.

[MORE: The Top 25 Countries in the World]

In one of the most notable findings, the world's level of trust in the U.S. has declined for the third consecutive year.

The trustworthiness of a country is one of the survey questions used to develop the Best Countries' citizenship sub-ranking, a measure of how well a country is seen to care about various values such as human rights, gender equality, religious freedom and the environment. When the Best Countries rankings debuted in 2016, the U.S. ranked 17th in the attribute, and has since fallen each year to its current ranking at 27th.

[MORE: See How the U.S. Compares With the Most Trustworthy Countries]

The Best Countries rankings are formed in partnership between U.S. News & World Report, BAV Group (a unit of global marketing communications company VMLY&R) and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The rankings are based on a study that surveyed people about their views of 80 countries on 75 different metrics.

Notable findings from the Best Countries report include:

The Nordic model remains highly regarded: Nordic nations dominate in "soft power" attributes, with Norway, Sweden and Finland in the top five for citizenship, and Sweden, Denmark and Norway in the top five for quality of life.

Anxieties over digital privacy: About 77 percent believe their "internet privacy is at risk" and 83 percent would like a global set of internet standards. Just over half say that they trust private companies to keep their personal data safe.

Fake news?: About 63 percent of respondents say there no longer are objective news sources for the public.

A divisive internet: About two-thirds of global respondents, 66 percent, say internet news and content is dividing us rather than uniting us.

Business leaders and civic responsibility: Roughly 5 out of 6 respondents, 84 percent, say CEOs and business leaders should be vocal and transparent about their views on societal issues and how to help solve them.

Safety: Just 35 percent of respondents believe that "the world is safe." The belief in a safe world is lowest among people 55 and older – just 24 percent.


Why Switzerland is No. 1

Switzerland is seen as excelling in many areas in the Best Countries report, such as business-oriented metrics, providing a high quality of life and being a leader in innovation. Respondents in the Best Countries survey consider Switzerland the top country in terms of economic stability, access to capital, a strong legal framework and prestige.

With a history of neutrality stretching centuries, the country has four official languages, reflecting its geographic crossroads. "It's had to, over the centuries, develop a way that cultures can work together," says Dan Hamilton of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

[MORE: Learn More About Switzerland]

The country ranks highly in other international studies that examine countries and their citizens' sense of well-being. Those attributes, as well as being seen as a neutral, stable place, resonate internationally in today's age.

"It's carved out a brand internationally, one of quality and impartiality," says Hamilton, who holds the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Professorship at SAIS. "It plays a major mediation role, hosts several U.N. agencies and is influential culturally."

Switzerland has developed what Hamilton calls an "innovation economy," one that in large part succeeds because, like Germany and Scandinavian nations, it does a good job of channeling its education system into employment, no matter the level of schooling.

[MORE: Why Countries Care About Being Innovative]

Switzerland does, however, face challenges. The country's innovation model depends on the free flow of ideas internationally, especially since its institutions outsource much of its research and development to agencies in the U.S.

Right-wing politics have grown in popularity, as public worries grow over immigration. The country has a decentralized political system among its 26 cantons, and one study has found that among developed countries Switzerland reports the lowest percentage of voting-eligible people who cast ballots in a national election.

Even the Swiss-made watch, an iconic symbol of the country, faces new threats from competitors such as the tech giant Apple, which is selling more watches. And as 2018 wound down, Swiss officials warned that the country's institutions were facing threats of cyberattacks from Russia.

Japan: A Sun Rising in the East

Japan's rise in the Best Countries report is due in large part to how highly regarded it is for its sense of entrepreneurship, the most heavily weighted component of the Best Countries rankings. The country ranks at the top of that metric, and also is considered the most forward-looking country in the world.

[MORE: Japan, Hong Kong Score Highest for Sense of Well-Being]

Elsewhere, the world regards Japan highly for providing a healthy environment for its people, for having an economy on the rise and for being generally influential, particularly through its distinctive culture.

The coming year will be critical for Japan, says professor Takahara Akio, the dean of the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo. The U.S. is the country's most important ally, yet uncertainty over Washington's foreign policy, particularly its economic relationship with China, is stirring anxiety among Japan's leaders, Akio says.

[MORE: The Lessons Japan Provides on Countries and Branding]

Tokyo is concerned about China's military rise in Asia, and those worries have led to a shifting of power dynamics around the Pacific Rim as the U.S. is seen to be retreating from its prominent leadership role, says T.J. Pempel, a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in East Asia.

More steps will be taken by Japan and China this year to overcome their historical enmity and increase ties, Pempel says. "Abe's hedging (on U.S. relations) by improving relations with China."

Adds Akio: "There's a ray of hope – a feeling that we have to do something to increase mutual trust."

Any increased trade battle between the U.S. and China will adversely affect a Japanese economy that is seeking to boost its shrinking workforce by changing immigration rules to attract international workers. Those workers will bring new challenges for a relatively homogenous society, Akio says.

"We're not used to so many foreigners … the possible social problems, the way they can integrate in the society, those all need to be managed. The local autonomous governments must be prepared."

[MORE: Japan Opens Its Gates to Foreign Workers]

Elsewhere, Japanese leaders are preparing to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, and public anticipation is growing over the April abdication by Emperor Akihito, stepping down from the throne of the world's oldest continuing monarchy. The 85-year-old Akihito will hand over the throne to his son, Crown Prince Naruhito. It is the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in 200 years.

"Since this doesn't happen so often – the emperor is a symbol of national unity – the significance is rather big," Akio says.

What Matters Most to People

Five new countries enter the rankings this year: Belgium, Estonia, Iraq, Lithuania and Slovakia. Belgium ranks highest of those countries at No. 17, benefiting from how the world views its citizenship and quality of life.

[MORE: Learn More About the 5 New Countries]

Each year, countries shift positions in the Best Countries rankings, which are developed by surveying people around the world to find out how closely they associate countries with a set of attributes, or descriptive terms that are relevant to the success of a modern nation.

[MORE: Learn How the 2019 Best Countries Were Ranked]

Additional questions gauge perceptions of the state of the world today. Among the statements in the survey drawing the highest level of agreement among survey respondents:

Women should be entitled to the same rights as men – 90 percent;
It's important to promote diversity and tolerance – 86 percent;
Free trade is important for the global economy – 86 percent;
Free trade is important for my country's economy – 86 percent.
The gap between the rich and poor in my country is growing – 85 percent;
For 10 interesting facts from the Best Countries survey, click here.


I THOUGHT THE ENVIRONMENTAL LEAD ISSUE WAS SOLVED, OR AT LEAST BEING WATCHED. THIS TIME, THOUGH, IT IS LEAD WATER PIPES INSTEAD OF PAINT. OLD AND CRUMBLING HOUSING IS THE KEY, AND THE POOR ARE STILL LIVING IN DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. LIKE FLINT, MICHIGAN, THOUGH I DON'T THINK IT WAS LEAD THAT TIME, BUT IT WAS CORROSION OF THE WATER PIPES. THE REASON WE HAVE SO MUCH OF THESE KINDS OF THINGS IS THAT SO MANY PEOPLE JUST DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO OTHERS, AND DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES. DO THEY READ AND WATCH THE NEWS? OFTEN NOT. WITH SO MUCH IGNORANCE, STUPIDITY ISN'T NECESSARY TO BRING DISASTER.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324274.php
Researchers reveal new risk factor for poor mental health
Published JANUARY 24, 2019 2 hours ago By Maria Cohut
Fact checked by Paula Field

A new study has found that some people exposed to a certain toxic metal as children may face poor mental health as adults. This finding may have far-reaching implications for all populations exposed to this risk factor.

ART -- Person reflected in a puddle

Lead exposure during childhood may influence mental health in adulthood, a new study suggests.

Lead is a type of metal that people throughout the world have used in the construction of water pipes, added into paint to prevent corrosion, and put into gasoline to maintain engine durability.

However, over the years, researchers have concluded that lead is toxic and can be extremely dangerous.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "there is no known level of lead exposure that is considered safe." In time, ingested lead particles tend to accumulate in a person's bones, brain, and other organs, increasing the risk of health problems, including high blood pressure, and damage to the kidneys.

Lead that accumulates in the body can also disrupt the central nervous system, and some studies have linked lead exposure during childhood with behavioral and intelligence deficits.

Now, new research from Duke University in Durham, NC, also suggests that exposure to lead during childhood can affect how an individual's personality develops and predispose them to mental health problems in adulthood.

The research findings, which appear in JAMA Psychiatry, indicate that people who had high levels of lead in their blood when they were young are more likely to experience mental health issues by the time they turn 38. The study also indicates that they are also more likely to have developed unhealthy personality traits, such as neuroticism.

'High lead levels were viewed as normal'

The research team looked at the data of 1,037 participants, all born in born in 1972 and 1973 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Then, New Zealand was one of the countries who added the highest levels of lead to gasoline.

Of the total number of participants, 579 children received blood tests to measure their level of exposure to lead when they were 11 years old. The results showed that 94 percent of these children had lead levels higher than 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood (ug/dL).

Nowadays, when a child has blood lead levels of 5 (ug/dL), they will immediately receive a referral for special medical attention. However, this did not use to be the case decades ago.

RELATED -- Have researchers found a new risk factor for schizophrenia?
A newly identified factor may have a role to play in the development of schizophrenia.

"These are historical data from an era when lead levels like these were viewed as normal in children and not dangerous, so most of our study participants were never given any treatment for lead toxicity," says the study's senior author, Terrie Moffitt.

Throughout the study, the participants also took part in regular mental health assessments, with the most recent assessment taking place when the volunteers were 38 years old.

The researchers assessed the participants' psychopathology factor (p-factor), which is a mental health measurement. They determined the factors by looking at 11 disorders: alcohol misuse, dependence on cannabis, tobacco, and hard drugs, conduct disorder, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, mania, and schizophrenia.

After looking at the p-factor in conjunction with blood lead levels, the researchers concluded that, while lead exposure's impact on mental health may be modest, it may have far-reaching effects.

Lead exposure's "effects really can last for quite a long time, in this case, 3 to 4 decades," according to study coauthor Jonathan Schaefer.

"Lead exposure decades ago may be harming the mental health of people today who are in their 40s and 50s," Schaefer warns.