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An epic, 18-inning win for the Astros produces only pain in Seattle

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An epic, 18-inning win for the Astros produces only pain in Seattle

The zeros on the T-Mobile Park scoreboard, which lasted into the 18th inning Saturday, did not reflect boredom and inaction. Those were little circles of stress, containing 6 hours 22 minutes of playoff baseball tension, the weight of an elimination game that the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners carried into deep exhaustion on an abnormally smoky October afternoon in the Pacific Northwest.

For the first time in 21 years, the Mariners hosted a postseason game, and it seemed like 21 more years would pass before it concluded. Then, at 7:12 p.m. Pacific time, more than six hours after the first pitch, Houston shortstop Jeremy Peña hit a four-seam fastball from Seattle reliever Penn Murfee over the fence in left-center. A run, finally. For the Mariners, it would signal the conclusion of a resurgent season that they fought for as long as possible not to see end. And for the Astros, playoff regulars who continue to prosper, that persistence was about to be rewarded with a sixth straight appearance in the American League Championship Series.

With its 1-0 victory, Houston completed a three-game division series sweep by the thinnest of margins. Over the past decade, the Astros have won bigger games on bigger stages. They have endured plenty, including their own shame. But for a championship-caliber team that just won’t go away, this 18-inning triumph symbolized an undervalued part of why they endure as a contender.

“This is some team,” Manager Dusty Baker said afterward. “These guys, they grind and grind and grind, and sooner or later, they break through.”

They needed to play a game that matched the longest postseason contest in Major League Baseball history, but they advanced. It was just the fourth time a playoff game had gone 18 innings. The teams combined to use 18 pitchers, throw 498 pitches and strike out 42 batters while issuing only four walks. The lineups combined for only 18 hits. Mariners starter George Kirby and Houston’s Lance McCullers Jr. set the tone. Kirby, a rookie making his first postseason start, threw seven innings and allowed six hits. He was able to stay composed during fidgety situations, and he stranded seven Astros. McCullers allowed just two hits and two walks over six innings.

After Julio Rodríguez flied out to center field to end it, the Astros huddled near the pitcher’s mound and shared hugs. Some of them probably needed the embraces to stay upright.

“I’m tired,” Peña said. “That was a long game.”

For all that Houston has won over the years, winning this way still felt like a big deal. Everything about this sweep was difficult. In Houston, the Astros delivered heartache to the Mariners in the first two games, seemingly breaking their spirit by rallying from a four-run deficit in the final two innings of an 8-7 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday and then outlasting Seattle during a 4-2 triumph Thursday. In both games, Yordan Alvarez hit a game-winning home run, the first a devastating three-run walk-off shot against Robbie Ray, the 2021 Cy Young Award winner who had made a surprise appearance out of the bullpen to try to close the game.

In all three games of the series, Peña played a key role in the decisive innings. Before the season, the rookie shortstop replaced a long-standing star, Carlos Correa, who left for Minnesota in free agency. He played well in the regular season and earned Baker’s trust. The manager sensed he had the poise and approach to come through in clutch postseason situations. But he couldn’t have known he would shine like this.

On Saturday, Peña was hitless in his first seven at-bats. But when he came to the plate for the eighth time, he was ready.

“You could tell by the brightness in his eyes, the alertness that he has, that he would be ready,” Baker said. “He wasn’t scared or fazed. He’s been a godsend for us after we lost Carlos. It could’ve been a disastrous situation.”

Two pitches — and two prodigious swings by Alvarez — kept Houston from being another favorite to find trouble early in a postseason that has been harsh for the best regular season teams. And then a third powerful swing, this time from Peña, sent them back to the ALCS. The Astros embraced the challenge and the discomfort. Before a crowd of 47,690 in Seattle, they didn’t just face a hungry, raucous audience. They were on trial for their old cheating sins again.

“This team is probably as prepared as any,” Baker said before the game, “[after] all of the boos and scorn we’ve had the last three years.”

It’s quite the task, going pitch for pitch and situation for situation with the Astros. They have seen it all by now. They have been it all, too: champions, cheaters, resilient winners, oh-so-close also-rans. They have forced you to hate them, tempted you to admire them and made you fear them. This is their sixth straight playoff appearance and seventh in the past eight seasons. They have won a World Series and finished runner-up two other times. They have advanced at least as far as the ALCS every year since 2017.

The sign-stealing scandal tarnished their success, but their run has lasted so long — and they have continued winning at the same level since being exposed — that it isn’t fair to ignore all they have accomplished as fraudulent. There is no dismissing them. There is no rattling them. You have to beat them, and sometimes that means outlasting every bit of them.

Pitching and defense couldn’t make up for all that Game 3 lacked in offense. As the scoreless anxiety ventured into extra innings, the experience went from riveting to exhausting. Hitters stopped grinding through at-bats and tried to end it with one swing. The game’s first three hours included enough high-pressure moments for edge-of-your-seat fascination, but even as the teams went deep into their bullpens, the threat of offense diminished. The Astros weren’t rattled.

“People are discounting experience sometimes, not just in baseball — in the world,” Baker said.

Peña had no experience. It didn’t matter. By the end of the night, it seemed he had been with the Astros the whole time.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

500 days later, it is clear that fear of a free Ukraine fuelled Putin’s war fever

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500 days later, it is clear that fear of a free Ukraine fuelled Putin’s war fever

As the world marked a tragic milestone on Saturday, we should remind ourselves that Ukraine’s progress as a full-fledged democracy shook the seat of power in Moscow to its core, Aleksandar Đokić writes.

On Saturday, the world marked a tragic milestone: the 500th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an all-out escalation of the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine that has been taking place since 2014, when Moscow troops first entered Crimea and then the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Even after all this time, some Europeans still struggle to understand the reasons for Vladimir Putin’s act of aggression.

Yet, the main driving force is clear: Ukraine’s progress towards a full-fledged democracy had shaken the seat of power in Moscow to its core.

NATO enlargement was never the issue

Some might recall that, in an ominous essay published on 12 July 2021, Vladimir Putin himself labelled Ukraine as an “anti-Russia”.

The essay itself, mostly disregarded at the time, turned out to have been the ideological and conceptual blueprint for the invasion which would follow only half a year later.

The main argument that Putin made — and that became the framework for his justification of the invasion — was that Ukraine was being prepared as a “staging ground against Russia” by NATO and the collective West.

The “Ukraine is ‘anti-Russia'” trope was then reiterated many times by Russia’s high-ranking officials since the onset of the 2022 invasion.

This is where some Western adherents to Cold War realism — a school of thought which is a part of international relations, a subdiscipline of political science — would argue that the war is all about NATO enlargement.

In their opinion, Putin was convinced of an actual military staging ground being prepared in Ukraine, which Russia, as a rational actor, would find most distressing, as this process of arming Kyiv was taking place right on Russia’s borders.

In reality, there was never any possibility or desire either by Ukraine or NATO to attempt to endanger Russia in military terms.

If anything, Western actors have, by and large, attempted to appease Putin through diplomatic means, even when it was clear that Moscow forces were on their way to take control of Kyiv and Ukraine back in February 2022.

We can observe this desire to tread carefully even after 500 days of the all-out war, with the US weighing every new arms supply to Ukraine against the possibility of the war escalating any further.

In Putinspeak, ‘Anti-Russia’ means not being an imperialistic mafia state

Putin was, however, right — but in a completely different sense. Ukraine was gradually indeed becoming an “anti-Russia” by means of the democratic, freedom-loving spirit of its people.

By 2014 and following the events of Euromaidan, the citizens of Ukraine had opted for a political and economic transition that would lead them away from the grips of the Kremlin and root their country deep within the more politically and economically advanced part of Europe.

With Russia being an autocratic, imperialistic, geriatric mafia state, Ukraine decided to become the opposite.

Ukraine was set on its way to becoming a modern liberal democracy with functioning laws and institutions, where human rights are respected, foreign investment capital is attracted, and the ruling government can be replaced in free elections.

Then Russia started the war back in 2014, annexing Crimea and aiding and abetting the parastates in the Donbas.

Can you imagine Russians having such a free, progressive, prosperous neighbour on their own border and, by their own worldview, within their cultural sphere, and not wanting a better life for themselves, too?

Putin knew that. And he understood he had too much to lose.

A successful Ukraine is a direct threat to Putin’s regime

Most ordinary Russians do not feel that Ukraine or Belarus are actual foreign countries — a belief shared by the ruling circles in Moscow.

If it weren’t for the war against Ukraine raging on for nine years straight, this feeling could be taken as benign cultural closeness. Yet, ever since 2014, this sentiment has grown into an outright imperialist desire to occupy and rule by hook or by crook.

This terrifying sense of “closeness at all costs” is exactly the reason why Ukraine, as a successful democratic and economically developed nation, would pose a direct threat to Putin’s regime, first and foremost.

It has nothing to do with the fact that Russia borders Ukraine because Russia also borders Finland or the Baltic states; Russians do not consider these countries to be “one of their own”.

The same goes for Poland, which has had great economic success in the past few decades after it freed itself from Moscow’s domination. Yet, in the eyes of ordinary Russians and the Kremlin establishment, it is still a foreign country.

At the same time, Russian society is accustomed to the rest of Europe being freer and further developed than their own country.

Ukraine’s successful EU path is a death sentence to the regime in Moscow

Ukraine and Belarus, however, have always been looked down upon with a sense of superiority. The two were viewed as Russia’s “younger sisters”, meaning, permanently less developed and on a lower cultural level. Russia was the centre, and Ukraine and Belarus were the provinces.

Belarus has been captured by Alyaksandr Lukashenka in a unique 1990s-style post-communist dystopia for the last three decades and, as such, poses no threat to Putin’s regime.

But Kyiv went down a completely different path, despite all the obstacles. This is why Ukraine’s progress towards democracy and growing closeness to the rest of Europe was seen as an existential threat number one.

NATO isn’t the primary issue here: Ukraine’s accession to the EU would be even more damaging to the Kremlin.

For instance, Ukraine’s NATO membership prior to 2014 would have ensured one thing — that Putin wouldn’t be in a position to invade it.

Ukraine joining the EU and reforming its political and economic system would have been — and still can be — a direct challenge to Putin’s autocratic and crony capitalism form of government and economic organisation.

In that sense, Ukraine would have truly become the kind of country which ordinary Russians envy in desperation. And although the initial invasion in 2014 was meant to put a stop to Ukraine’s progress, it succeeded in speeding up the process instead.

A democratic Russia is the only solution

As repetitive as it may sound, it has to be said once more: Russia’s national security interests were at no point threatened either by Ukraine or NATO.

The stability of Putin’s regime, on the other hand, is now potentially threatened if Ukraine continues to develop into a politically and economically advanced country in comparison to Russia.

Fast forward to 2022: the all-out invasion was merely a final attempt to remove the threat from rival Ukraine once and for all.

Rebuilding the empire or exploiting Ukraine’s economic resources as a motivation for war also play a significant part in Moscow’s logic, but they are welcome bonuses to the existential need of Putin’s regime to stunt the neighbouring country’s growth.

Conversely, a democratically ruled Russia would have no such necessity, as its ruling elite could be cyclically and willingly replaced, thus separating the fate of the regime from that of the state.

A democratic Russia would be glad to find a strong and developed partner in Ukraine. And the rest of Europe and the world would be pleased to wake up to the news of a democratic Russia.

Source: www.euronews.com

Sea lions are sick and dying along Southern California’s coast. Here’s what to know

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Sea lions are sick and dying along Southern California’s coast. Here’s what to know

It looked like something out of an apocalyptic movie.

Over the past few weeks, droves of sick and dying sea animals have been washing up along the coast of Southern California, including beaches in Santa Barbara and Ventura.

The devastation has been caused by an outbreak of toxic algae on a scale never before seen in the region, according to NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast branch.

As of last week, local officials had estimated that over 100 dolphins and over 500 sea lions had been killed by the algal bloom. It appears that the toxins are slowly spreading to Northern California.

Samuel Dover, who leads Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute, has witnessed six algal blooms during his career and described the current one as the worst yet.

“The bloom is so much larger,” he told NPR. “This time, it’s in the center of the channel, where a lot of animals are.”

What is an algal bloom?

Algae are usually benign plants, commonly seen in the form of pond scum or kelp. But under certain conditions, they can grow out of control and generate deadly toxins.

When that happens, it is known as a bloom. It tends to be a problem for U.S. states near the country’s coast and the Great Lakes. Over the years, algal blooms have contaminated tap water, forced beaches to close, discolored coastal waters and led to the demise of countless animals.

Although algal blooms are considered a natural phenomenon, climate change and human activities do play a role in their frequency and intensity.

In California, the algae outbreak is believed to have resulted from wind pushing water full of nutrients toward algae, making them grow. That process is not typically related to climate change, but it does not rule it out as a factor either, according to scientists at NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast branch.

What are algae doing to the sea lions in California?

The bloom in California is producing domoic acid, which generally doesn’t affect humans but is poisonous to animals.

When a sea creature suffers from domoic acid poisoning, it affects the animal’s brain and causes seizures, erratic behavior, bulging eyes and foaming at the mouth. Beachgoers have been warned to stay at least 50 feet away from sick animals in case they turn aggressive.

There is no antidote or specific remedy for domoic acid poisoning. Veterinarians have been giving some animals antiseizure medicine and keeping them hydrated in hopes that the toxins will flush out of their bodies. The problem is that the longer the toxins are in an animal’s system, the more difficult it becomes to treat the poisoning.

Adult pregnant sea lions have been the most severely affected by the outbreak, according to Dover, of Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute.

When will it get better?

When Southern California was struck by an algal bloom last year, it lasted about six weeks, Dover said.

Similarly, the current outbreak, in its eighth week, appears to be improving, and fewer sick animals are appearing on shores.

To compare, Dover said lately his volunteer group has been receiving about 40 to 50 reports of sick animals per day. A month ago, they were receiving 40 to 50 reports per hour, though many reports tend to be duplicates of the same animal.

While that is a good sign, not much can be done to speed up the process. Harmful algal blooms are nearly impossible to clean, especially at the scale that has emerged near California.

source: www.npr.org

Over 460 victims lost at least $480k to concert ticket scams since January

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With popular performers such as Taylor Swift and Coldplay coming to Singapore, there has been a resurgence of scams involving the sale of concert tickets, with at least 462 people losing no less than $480,000 since January.

The police said on Thursday that after coming across advertisements for concert tickets on platforms such as Carousell, Facebook, Telegram, Twitter and Xiaohongshu, victims would contact the scammers via the platform’s messaging system.

In some cases, they would be told to continue communicating via messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and WeChat to buy the tickets.

The scammers would provide screenshots and videos of fake tickets or receipts when their targets asked for proof of authenticity, and would urge them to pay quickly by claiming that the deal was time-sensitive or that there were limited tickets, said the police.

The scammers would promise to e-mail or transfer the tickets to the victims’ Ticketmaster account after successful payment, and might request additional payments, claiming that they had not received any payment yet.

Ticketmaster is the ticketing agent for the Coldplay and Taylor Swift concerts, among others.

Victims who received fake electronic tickets would realise they were invalid on the day of the concert, or when the scammers refused to provide physical tickets.

The police urge the public to be careful when shopping online, especially when buying concert tickets from online third-party resellers, and advised people to take the following precautions:

  • Add security features such as the ScamShield app on the phone and enable two-factor authentication for banks, as well as set transaction limits on internet banking transactions.
  • Do not buy tickets from third-party resellers and use escrow payment options that protect buyers by releasing payment to the seller only upon delivery.
  • Avoid making advance payments or direct bank transfers as this method does not offer any protection to buyers.
  • Buy only from authorised sellers and legitimate ticket marketplaces/resellers, such as Ticketmaster.
  • Check for potential signs of a scam and with official sources such as the Scam Alert website at www.scamalert.sg or by calling the Anti-Scam helpline on 1800-772-6688.
  • Arrange for a physical meeting with the seller to verify the authenticity of the tickets prior to making payment. Bear in mind that the party you are dealing with online is a stranger.
  • Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report the fraudulent advertisements to the social media and e-commerce platforms.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

US Slowed Hiring But Still Added a Solid 209,000 Jobs in June in Sign of Economy’s Resilience

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US Slowed Hiring But Still Added a Solid 209,000 Jobs in June in Sign of Economy’s Resilience

America’s employers pulled back on hiring but still delivered another month of solid gains in June, adding 209,000 jobs, a sign that the economy’s resilience is confounding the Federal Reserve’s drive to slow growth and inflation.

The latest evidence of economic strength makes it all but certain that the Fed will resume its interest rate hikes later this month after having ended a streak of 10 rate increases that have been intended to curb high inflation.

The June hiring figure reported by the government Friday is the smallest in 2 1/2 years. But it still points to a durable labor market that has produced a historically high number of advertised openings. The unemployment rate fell from 3.7% to 3.6%, near a five-decade low.

Most of the details in the report underscored the job market’s durability. The length of the average work week edged up, a sign that customer demand is strong enough to keep employees busy. And wage growth accelerated: Hourly pay is up 4.4% from a year ago. Wages are now growing faster than year-over-year inflation, which amounted to 4% in May.

The wage data may raise concerns at the Fed, which is worried that faster pay gains will perpetuate inflation by leading companies to raise prices to offset their higher labor costs. The Fed wants to see hiring and wage increases slow before halting its rate hikes.

“This is kind of a Goldilocks report,” said Julia Coronado, president of MacroPolicy Perspectives, an economic research firm. “It’s a resilient labor market — not too hot, not too cool.”

Friday’s data contained some evidence of a slower pace of hiring, which could reassure the Fed that the economy is moderating. Most of the job growth came from state and local governments, health care companies and private education, which together added 133,000 jobs. Because those sectors don’t depend on robust consumer spending as much as the rest of the economy does, their hiring gains don’t really reflect rising consumer demand — the main fuel for inflation.

Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic Policy Research, noted that excluding government hiring, private-sector job gains totaled 149,000 in June, a pace that does not point to an overheating economy that might alarm the Fed.

“It’s hard to say that’s too fast,” Baker said. “That’s pretty much sustainable.”

The government on Friday also downgraded its estimate of job growth for April and May combined by a substantial 110,000, another sign that hiring has eased from last year’s breakneck pace.

The economy has been beset by high interest rates, elevated inflation and nagging worries about a possible recession resulting from the Fed’s ever-higher interest rates. Even so, many industries keep adding jobs to keep up with consumer spending and restore their workforces to pre-pandemic levels.

The solid pace of hiring and rising wages have enabled consumers to keep spending on services, from traveling to dining out to attending entertainment events. While economists have repeatedly forecast a recession for later this year or next year, a downturn is unlikely as long as companies keep steadily filling jobs.

The Fed has jacked up its key interest rate by a sizable 5 percentage points — the fastest pace of rate hikes in four decades. Those increases have made mortgages, auto loans and other forms of borrowing significantly more expensive.

Some Fed officials have said they are looking for signs of what they describe as better balance in the job market, by which they mean the supply and demand for workers would become more equal. After the economy emerged from the pandemic, the number of available jobs surged above 10 million — the highest level on record.

The burgeoning demand for labor coincided with millions of Americans dropping out of the workforce to retire, avoid COVID, care for relatives or prepare for new careers. With companies struggling to fill openings, many offered sharply higher pay and better benefits to attract or keep employees.

There has been some progress toward a better alignment of supply and demand: More people have started looking for work in recent months, and most of them have found jobs. As the supply of workers has improved, businesses have said they’re seeing more people apply for open positions. The number of job openings dropped in May, a sign that demand for workers is gradually cooling, though it remains above pre-pandemic levels.

In a sign of a potential slowdown in the job market, fewer Americans are quitting their jobs to seek new positions. Quits had soared after the pandemic. Millions of Americans had sought more meaningful or better-paying jobs, stoking the pressure on companies to raise pay to keep their employees. In May, about 4 million Americans left their jobs, up from April’s figure but below a peak of 4.5 million reached last year.

Still, other recent reports suggest that the economy has continued to expand and that demand for workers remains high. On Thursday, a survey of service providers — including banks, restaurants and shipping companies — found that the sector expanded at a healthy clip in June and that services companies accelerated their hiring compared with May.

Source: www.voanews.com

Donald Trump no le pasa una a Ron DeSantis; hasta le recordó un apodo ofensivo

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Donald Trump no le pasa una a Ron DeSantis; hasta le recordó un apodo ofensivo

La lucha por ganar la presidencia de Estados Unidos en en el Partido Republicano cada vez se pone más caliente, sobre todo cuando Donald Trump se dirige a sus seguidores.

En esta ocasión el exmandatario estadounidense criticó en un evento realizado en Las Vegas a su rival por la presidencia republicana, Ron DeSantis, por apoyar hace unos años un plan federal que consistía en almacenar los desechos nucleares de la nación en la cadena montañosa Yucca Mountain, un tema polémico que se está desarrollando en las primeras primarias del estado de Nevada.

“Si no le importa arrojar desechos nucleares en su patio trasero, le sugiero que vote por Ron DeSanctimonious”, dijo Trump, refiriéndose de manera ofensiva con un apodo contra el gobernador de Florida, el cual ha usado durante mucho tiempo, según informó Bloomberg.

Como la mayoría de los republicanos de la Cámara, DeSantis votó a favor en un proyecto de ley de 2018 que habría autorizado el almacenamiento de desechos nucleares en Yucca Mountain, montañas que se encuentran a 130 kilómetro al noroeste de Las Vegas. La propuesta tiene la oposición de una gran mayoría de ciudadanos del estado de Nevada en las encuestas y sigue estancada.

Cuando Trump fue presidente, intentó reiniciar el proyecto hasta 2020, sin embargo, se retractó y en aquella ocasión publicó en su cuenta de Twitter: “Nevada, te escucho en Yucca Mountain”, asegurando que su administración no seguiría adelante con el proyecto y que exploraría alternativas.

El pasado viernes 7 de julio, Trump también criticó a DeSantis por su apoyo anterior a los esfuerzos para poner fin al Estándar de Combustible Renovable, que exige el uso de etanol, apoyado durante mucho tiempo por los agricultores de maíz en el estado de votación anticipada de Iowa.

DeSantis también ataca a Trump

En medio de una visita al estado de New Hampshire, DeSantis decidió dar el primer golpe en contra del expresidente Trump, al afirmar que en medio de la estrategia antimigratoria que ha de poner en marcha Estados Unidos, es necesario deponer el modelo que se dirige desde Washington como centro de poder, y tomar las decisiones necesarias para “asegurar la frontera sur del país”.

Así, DeSantis afirmó que su propósito, de llegar a la Casa Blanca, sería lograr ‘tener éxito’ en aquellas áreas en las que su principal contrincante en el camino republicano, el expresidente Trump, falló durante su paso por la Presidencia.

De tal forma, en uno de los estados en los que primero se votarán las primarias, New Hampshire, DeSantis presentó un largo discurso sobre la propuesta de política de inmigración que se debe poner en marcha, y cuya idea inicial ya había desbosado recientemente durante su visita al estado de Texas.

En ese sentido, el gobernador de Florida, segundo en las intenciones de voto de su partido por detrás de Trump, ha apostado por el tema migratorio como estandarte, buscando ganarse la simpatía de los electores republicanos, un discurso que tiene amplia cabida, incluso en aquellos que no sufren directamente los lastres del fenómeno al ubicarse en estados que no sufren tanto por este problema.

Buscando diferenciarse de Trump, el candidato señaló que su propuesta sería ‘bloquear’ toda la frontera con México, advirtiendo que tiene claro que un error sería ‘quedarse corto’, como le sucedió a Trump.

“Vamos a construir el muro”, afirmó DeSantis, añadiendo que su propósito es no quedarse en promesas grandiosas y grandilocuentes, sino simplemente lograr ‘resultados reales’, lo que ha sido tomado por medios locales en Estados Unidos como una ‘pulla’ a la gestión de Trump y su otrora promesa del muro, la misma que no pudo llevar a cabo.

Source: www.semana.com

A sprawling dome of heat will engulf most of the southern U.S. this week. What to know.

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A sprawling dome of heat will engulf most of the southern U.S. this week. What to know.

Nearly 50 million Americans are set to face triple-digit temperature this week amid a sprawling dome of heat that will engulf most of the southern United States. Heat advisories are in effect in Florida, Texas and New Mexico, while excessive heat watches and warnings blanket much of Arizona, Southern California and Nevada.

In addition to its magnitude, which will be dangerous for some, the heat will be notable for its longevity. Phoenix, for example, has already logged 10 days in a row at or above 110 degrees — the seventh-longest streak on record — and the forecast calls for highs in the 111-to-117-degree range until further notice. That could catapult the heat-prone city into its longest ever streak above that level.

The heat will be dry yet punishing in the Southeast, while the south-central U.S. and southern Plains will contend with humidity drawn in from the Gulf of Mexico. That will overlap with the hot temperatures to push heat indexes — measures of how hot it feels, taking into account temperature and humidity — into hazardous territory.

What’s happening right now?

  • A heat dome — or a ridge of high pressure bringing hot, dry, sinking air — is growing in size over New Mexico. In the coming days, it will reach from California and Mexico’s Baja Peninsula to the Deep South. That will force the jet stream, and any cooler or inclement weather, across Canada or the northern United States. Across the southern and central states, temperatures will bake.
  • That heat dome will intensify into the weekend, with temperatures increasing each day.
  • “Extreme heat will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities,” warned the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. It also noted that river valleys — where most people venture for hiking, water sports or other outdoor recreation — are usually the hottest.
  • The heat scorching the Lower 48 is occurring amid the hottest weather ever reported on the planet. On Monday morning, the World Meteorological Organization declared that last week was the planet’s hottest on record, according to preliminary data.
  • In the Southwest, the hottest temperatures will be found in California, Arizona and New Mexico. California’s Death Valley is forecast to hit 127 degrees on Sunday, coming after a week of highs steadily climbing from the upper 110s through the 120s. It’s possible the furnace-like valley could flirt with 130 degrees. If that happens, it would be among the highest temperatures ever reliably measured on the planet. Phoenix is predicted to hover in the 110s, with overnight lows failing to drop below 90. By late week, the extreme heat will spread into the San Joaquin Valley and Mojave Desert, with highs of 105 to 115 degrees possible. The hot, dry weather is also fueling fires, with 11 large blazes burning in New Mexico and Arizona.
  • In Texas, the heat will overlap with sultry, steamy humidity. While actual air temperatures may not break records, with most of the Lone Star State sitting around 100 degrees, the humid conditions will exacerbate heat risk. Heat indexes of 105 to 110 degrees are expected much of the week in cities like Dallas, San Antonio, Waco, Austin and Houston, while far South Texas could see heat indexes closer to 115 degrees.
  • For Florida, highs in the 90s and excessive humidity will again spike heat indexes well into the triple digits. Miami has seen a heat index of 104 degrees each of the past seven days, and that streak could continue. The heat index has made it to 100 degrees or higher every day for the past four weeks. There appears to be no end in sight, with hot, dry air from the Sahara yielding clear skies overhead and allowing sunshine to pour down. Moreover, extremely hot water temperatures in the lower to mid-90s off the Southwest Florida coastline are adding copious moisture into the air.

    Why this heat wave is dangerous

    • In the Southwest, the heat is dangerous because it can dehydrate people. With bone-dry relative humidity, any sweat will evaporate before it can gather on someone’s skin. That means that, by the time someone realizes they’re dehydrated, it may be too late. That’s why it’s easy to fall victim to a “dry heat.”
    • For Texas and the Southeast, meanwhile, heavy humidity will prevent sweat from evaporating into the air, meaning we lose the cooling effect of that evaporation (that’s the whole reason mammals sweat). Without that mechanism, people outside won’t be able to naturally cool themselves, leading to a greater heat stress on the body.
    • In many areas, overnight lows won’t dip below the mid-80s. While cooling shelters are often open during the daytime, comparatively few are available to residents 24 hours a day. Warm overnight lows can be especially dangerous to the elderly and other vulnerable populations, since it prevents the body from achieving a natural nocturnal cool-down period.
    • The prolonged nature of the heat will compound vulnerability, particularly for those who work or live outside or struggle to afford the electricity costs of cooling.

    What to know about heat waves

    • Extreme heat kills more people than any other weather hazard in the United States. We’re monitoring dangerous heat waves across the country — you can look up the heat risk in your area with our tracker.
    • Heat domes, which create sprawling zones of strong high pressure, are a key component of heat waves. Here’s a look at the science of heat domes and how they work.
    • The intensity and longevity of heat domes is growing as human-induced climate change tips the scales toward more extreme events.

    Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Escuela Comunitaria con Matricula Gratuita en Pasadena

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Escuela Comunitaria con Matricula Gratuita en Pasadena

Nearly half of US drinking water may contain toxic ‘forever chemicals’

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Nearly half of US drinking water may contain toxic ‘forever chemicals’

Nearly half of U.S. tap water samples contain toxic “forever chemicals,” substances used in hundreds of household items from cleaning supplies to pizza boxes to which broad exposure can carry serious health risks, according to a new study.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study tested tap water samples from more than 700 residences, businesses and drinking-water treatment plants across the country for the presence of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl chemicals known as PFAS.

At least one such synthetic chemical was detected in 45% of the samples at levels exceeding benchmarks and U.S. proposed regulations, the researchers said.

PFAS are water resistant, meaning they do not break down in the environment and last in human bodies for years. Developed in the 1940s with the creation of Teflon, a non-stick cookware coating, today they are used in everything from clothing to plastic products.

Previous studies have measured PFAS in ground water, reservoirs and water treatment plants. But analyzing tap water allows for a more accurate assessment of what people are drinking, said Kelly Smalling, a USGS hydrologist who led the research.

Exposure to high levels of PFAS can disrupt hormones, disturb liver function, increase the risk of kidney or testicular cancer, reduce birth weight in infants and compromise the health of pregnant women, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tests exist for a fraction of the 12,000 known types of PFAS. The study samples, which came from public supplies and private wells between 2016 and 2021, were tested for 32 types.

There was no difference in PFAS exposure between samples from private wells and the public supply, which “was very surprising,” Smalling said.

Public water supplies are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency while private wells are not.

Compared with people in rural areas, those in urban areas are at higher risk of exposure to PFAS in drinking water, the study found.

In March, the EPA proposed the first-ever national drinking water standard for six PFAS. It would require monitoring of public water systems and disclosure when PFAS levels exceed limits.

Almost $10 billion was directed to help communities reduce PFAS and other chemical contaminants as part of the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Source: www.reuters.com

Twitter vs Threads: ¿Cuáles son las diferencias entre cada una?

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Twitter vs Threads: ¿Cuáles son las diferencias entre cada una?

La nueva red social de Meta, Threads, competirá directamente con Twitter, que en los últimos días realizó modificaciones a los usuarios.

El lanzamiento estuvo acompañado de millones de descargas, pero también algunas fallas reportadas durante las primeras horas, entre ellas que las publicaciones aparecían como “no disponibles”.

Al ser propiedad de Meta, las publicaciones se pueden compartir en Instagram y se incluyen fotos, vínculos y videos de hasta cinco minutos.

¿Cuáles son las funciones de Thread?

En Threads, los usuarios preexistentes de Instagram pueden acceder a una “aplicación de conversación basada en texto“.

Se parece a Twitter en su formato, dinámica e incluso nombre: los “hilos” en Twitter son una serie de tweets conectados de una cuenta. No es sorprendente que Meta se haya abierto a desafiar la adquisición más reciente de Musk, con Zuckerberg afirmando que “no lo ha logrado”.

Tal como ocurre en otras aplicaciones de redes sociales, será posible seguir, bloquear o restringir algunos perfiles. El usuario que esté bloqueado en Instagram también lo estará en Threads, de forma automática. Otras de las diferencias son:

Las publicaciones en Threads serán de hasta 500 caracteres a diferencia de Twitter que admite 280. En ambos se incluyen links, fotos y videos, aunque en Twitter el límite permitido es de 2 minutos con 20 segundos.

Elon Musk busca que se realice un pago para verificar la cuenta, mientras que en Threads la verificación llegará si la cuenta de Instagram también incluye esta característica.

En ambas plataformas se pueden borrar las publicaciones debido a que no permite editarlas, mientras que Facebook sí tiene esta función.

En Twitter se habilita la posibilidad de que un usuario reciba mensajes directos, en Threads no es posible hacerlo.

Entre las características principales de Twitter están que muestra las tendencias e historias destacadas sobre dichos temas, las cuales se siguen por medio de hashtags mientras que Threads todavía no incluye ninguna de estas funciones.

La nueva aplicación ha agregado más de 30 millones de usuarios en sus primeras horas, según Meta, pero es un trabajo en progreso.

El director ejecutivo de Instagram, Adam Mosseri, publicó en Threads que muchas características básicas como hashtags, mensajes directos y anuncios se pueden agregar más adelante.

Source: www.elfinanciero.com

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