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☆ The Met Gala, in Photos
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Every Gala has a dress code, which is tethered to the exhibition. All of which makes it easy to forget this is actually an important fund-raiser for one of New York’s cultural pillars: the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. It was once a free-standing museum, but when it merged with the Met in 1946, part of the deal was that the Costume Institute would have to pay for itself. Hence the gala, which raises all the funds for the institute’s operating budget. The Costume Institute itself has historically been housed in the museum’s basement — a clear statement about its status at the museum.

Persons: you’ve, —, Ballard, Katy Perry, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, ” scrawled, Kandinsky Organizations: Metropolitan Museum, Art’s Costume, Met, Costume Locations: East Coast, Alexandria

☆ Right-Wing Nonprofit Paid Millions to Companies With Ties to Insiders
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( David A. Fahrenthold | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Conservative Partnership Institute, a nonprofit whose funding skyrocketed after it became a nerve center for President Donald J. Trump’s allies in Washington, has paid at least $3.2 million since the start of 2021 to corporations led by its own leaders or their relatives, records show. In its most recent tax filings, the nonprofit’s three highest-paid contractors were all connected to insiders. One was led by the institute’s president, Edward Corrigan, and another by its chief operating officer. At a third contractor, the board members included the group’s senior legal fellow Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who supported Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Persons: Donald J, Trump’s, Edward Corrigan, Cleta Mitchell Organizations: Conservative Partnership Institute Locations: Washington

☆ Met Gala 2024: Everything we know about the theme, hosts and guests
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth and Zendaya will co-chair this year's Met Gala for the exhibition "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion." The first celebrities to appear will be Gala co-chairs Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny and Chris Hemsworth, the last of whom is making his Met Gala debut. What was the first Met Gala theme? Gwyneth Paltrow famously called the Met Gala “un-fun” in 2013 and said she’d “never” go again, but returned in 2017 (and 2019). Met Gala guests have often broken the no-social-media rule to give a more candid glimpse of who is hanging with who and what goes on behind closed doors.

Persons: CNN —, —, Jared Leto’s, Rihanna, J.G, Ballard, Andrew Bolton, Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth, Zendaya, James Devaney, Victor Aubry, Christina House, Neil Mockford, Bad Bunny, Anna Wintour, Wintour, Arturo Holmes, Karl Lagerfeld, Rei Kawakubo, Charles James, Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, Gianni Versace, Angela Weiss, Lagerfeld, Anne Hathaway, Nicole Kidman, Jenna Ortega, Chanel, Fendi, Eleanor Lambert, Diana Vreeland, LaunchMetrics, Calvin Klein, “, ” Cher, Ron Galella, ”, Lady Gaga, Kardashian, Jenners, Donald Trump, James Corden’s, Demi Lovato, Zayn Malik, Tina Fey, Fey, David Letterman ”, backtrack, Gwyneth Paltrow, she’d “, Olivia Wilde, Margaret Zhang, Kevin Mazur, Bella Hadid, Dakota Johnson, Jason Derulo, Jay, Solange, it’s, ” Wilde Organizations: CNN, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute, Los Angeles Times, American Vogue, New York Times, Getty, Super, Hollywood, Vogue, “ Vogue China Locations: New York, British, American, China

☆ The fight over the future of plastics
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Earlier this week in Ottawa, the Vinyl Institute, a major plastic industry group, hosted a reception for delegates who are negotiating what would be the first global treaty to tackle the world’s mounting plastic waste problem. There were cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. And signs with the message that plastics save lives. Scientists have increasingly raised the alarm over the risks that the chemicals used in plastic pose to human health and the environment. Ahead of the latest round of talks, European researchers published a database of more than 16,000 chemicals plastics can contain, many of which have been linked to cancer risks and damage to the human immune system.

Persons: Domenic DeCaria, DeCaria Organizations: Vinyl Institute, Times Locations: Ottawa

Ukraine’s Race to Hold the Line The days of lightning battlefield breakthroughs may be over. N Anti-tank ditch 1 2 Dragon’s teeth 1 mile 3 Trenches This defensive line in southern Ukraine runs a staggering 27 miles. 25 miles KHERSON N Anti-tank ditch 1 Dragon’s teeth 2 1 mile 3 Trenches This defensive line in southern Ukraine runs a staggering 27 miles. 10 miles Anti-tank ditch 1 Dragon’s teeth 2 3 Trenches 15 miles Ditches. 25 miles N 1 Anti-tank ditch 2 Dragon’s teeth 1 mile 3 Trenches This defensive line in southern Ukraine runs a staggering 27 miles.

Persons: Copernicus, Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy, Christopher G, Cavoli, Chasiv Yar, James Rands, Janes, Rands, ” Organizations: U.S . House, Analysts, Infantry, Reuters, LUHANSK UKRAINE New, Institute for, American, Pentagon, Kurakhove, Defenses, “ Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, KHERSON, Wiesbaden, Germany, Kherson, Zaporizhia, LUHANSK UKRAINE, DONETSK ZAPORIZHIA, Russia KHERSON CRIMEA, ZAPORIZHIA, Russia KHERSON, CRIMEA, Avdiivka, Europe, Marinka, UKRAINE, London, “ Ukraine

☆ The consumer is softer but still stable, says BofA Institute’s Liz Everett Krisberg
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe consumer is softer but still stable, says BofA Institute’s Liz Everett KrisbergLiz Everett Krisberg, head of Bank of America Institute, joins ‘Squawk Box’ to break down the Institute’s March Consumer Checkpoint Report, which provides real-time consumer spending and financial health estimates.

Persons: BofA, Liz Everett, Liz Everett Krisberg Organizations: Bank of America Institute

☆ While many flock to see the eclipse, these cultures are doing something different
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —For many people, the upcoming total solar eclipse is a joyous and celebratory occasion. But in other cultures and faith traditions, an eclipse is less spectacle and more spiritual. Having drunk the nectar, Rahu becomes immortal while Ketu dies. Some Christians believe it signals the second coming of ChristPeople visit the Bald Knob Cross near Alto Pass, Illinois, on August 19, 2017 ahead of a total solar eclipse. The New Testament of the Bible contains several mentions of the sky darkening while Jesus was hung on the cross, which some believers associate with a solar eclipse.

Persons: Sanjay Kanojia, Sangeetha Kowsik, Kowsik, Vishnu, Mohini, Ketu, Rahu, Hanuman, ” Kowsik, Ganesha, Lord Hanuman, Fachrul Reza, NurPhoto, Akif Aydin, Muhammad’s, Ibrahim, Aydin, —, Prophet Muhammad, ”, Scott Olson, Jesus Christ, Jesus, Matthew, “, “ Eli, Eli, lema, Joel, Andrea L, Robinson, Brian van der, Evelyn Bahe, ” Bahe, Bahe, Institute’s Nancy C, Maryboy, David Begay, Kristin Fisher Organizations: CNN, Getty, New York University, Atlantic Institute SC, Christ People, Christianity, “, Los Angeles Times, Department of Diné, Sun, Institute’s Locations: Mexico, Canada, Prayagraj, Yamuna, AFP, South India, Lhokseumawe, Indonesia, South Carolina, Alto Pass , Illinois, American, America, it’s, Navajo, Rock , Arizona

☆ Analysis: Europe is trying to fill a US-shaped hole in funding for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Can Europe fill the gap left by the United States in Ukraine? Over the course of the war, European thinking has evolved. Should EU money be spent outside the bloc? So, can Europe fill the funding void in Ukraine left by Washington DC? Yes, Europe can fill the gap left by the US - and in some respects is trying to do just that.

Persons: Donald Trump, Alexander De Croo, Volodymyr Zelensky, Serhii, it’s, –, Vladimir Putin, Jens Stoltenberg Organizations: CNN, European Union, Ukraine, Belgian, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Reuters, NATO, Diplomats, EU, Ukraine’s, Washington DC Locations: United States, Ukraine, European, Europe, Russia, Kyiv, Kiel, Radio Free Europe, EU, Moscow, Brussels, Russian, Zaporizhzhia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Czech, Eastern, Western Europe, Athens, Rome

UnitedHealth is testing the last major system it must restore from last month’s Change Healthcare cyberattack, but it has no date yet for finishing the recovery. The health care giant said Monday that it is testing software for submitting medical claims. Photos You Should See View All 60 ImagesEarlier this month, UnitedHealth said that it restored nearly all of Change Healthcare’s system for processing prescriptions. Late last week, the company restored Change Healthcare’s electronic payments platform, which involves billing and payments between care providers and payers like insurers. UnitedHealth said Monday that it is expanding temporary funding to support doctors and other care providers affected by the attack.

Persons: UnitedHealth Organizations: Healthcare, American Hospital Association, Federal, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP

☆ What a Trump 2.0 Economy Would Look Like
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Tim Smart | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +10 min

Overall, the Biden economic plan draws less than favorable reviews from voters. So, too, are promises of more tax cuts and a sharp curtailment of immigration. Trump was upset in 2019 that Powell was not doing enough to lower interest rates and stimulate the economy. The Trump tax cuts are set to expire in 2025, giving a second Trump administration the opportunity to fight that battle again. “A Trump 2.0 presidency would inherit very large fiscal deficits from the Biden Administration, rising interest expenses and an economy probably more prone to bouts of inflation,” the report said.

Persons: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Trump, There’s, ” Trump, it’s, ”, Patrick Horan, “, Tony Soprano, Patrick Kilbane, ” Kilbane, “ Trump, ” George Calhoun, Calhoun, ” Matt Gertken, Alex Nowrasteh, ” Michael Clemens, Clemens, Jerome Powell, Powell, Xi Jinping, Maria Bartiromo, reappoint Powell, Steve Mnuchin, ” Maxime Darmet, Darmet, Kevin McCarthy Organizations: Manila ”, Trump, CNBC, Monday, White, George Mason University, Ullmann Wealth Partners, Republican Party, Senate, Affordable, Quantitative, Stevens Institute of Technology, TikTok, Democratic, BCA Research, Labor, CATO Institute, Peterson Institute for International, University of Colorado, Federal Reserve, Federal, Biden, Fox Business, Trump Cabinet, House, Allianz Research, Biden Administration, U.S, Allianz Trade, Congress, GOP Locations: Manila, COVID, China, U.S, America, France

☆ This risk assessment tool helped Olivia Munn discover her breast cancer
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The “X-Men: Apocalypse” star, 43, wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday that she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and would not have discovered it if her physician, Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, had not calculated her breast cancer risk score. A breast cancer risk assessment tool uses a statistical model to estimate a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer over the next five years as well as over her lifetime, or up to about age 90, according to the National Cancer Institute. Two models are commonly used as breast cancer risk assessment tools: the Gail Model and the Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Assessment Calculator. An online version of the breast cancer risk assessment tool, using the Gail Model, is available for anyone to take at bcrisktool.cancer.gov. In fact, some women who do not develop breast cancer have higher risk estimates than some women who do develop breast cancer,” according to the National Cancer Institute’s website.

Persons: Olivia Munn’s, Thaïs Aliabadi, Aliabadi, Munn, Gail, Jennifer Plichta, “, ” Plichta, they’re, ”, Plichta, I’ve, they’ve, Otis Brawley, ” Brawley, Larry Norton, Evelyn H, ” Norton, Robert Smith, Ruth Oratz, NYU Langone Health’s, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, ” Oratz Organizations: CNN, National Cancer Institute, National Cancer, Duke Cancer Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Lauder Breast Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, American Cancer Society, US Preventive Services Task Force, NYU, Cancer Center, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, CNN Health Locations: United States, Durham , North Carolina

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's top public health agency is expanding a program that tests international travelers for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Those locations should provide more information about respiratory infections coming out of South America, Africa and Asia, particularly, CDC officials said. But they are given a COVID-19 home test kit to take with them, CDC officials say. That testing is for COVID-19, but CDC officials are evaluating the possibility of monitoring wastewater for other things, Walker said. The CDC program has a current budget of about $37 million.

Persons: ”, Allison Taylor Walker, Walker, Ginkgo Organizations: Disease Control, CDC, Health, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: COVID, Miami, South America, Africa, Asia, Chicago

☆ Tesla Autopilot and similar automated driving systems get ‘poor’ rating from prominent safety group
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which rates cars and SUVs for safety, examined so-called advanced driver assistance systems such as Tesla Autopilot and found them wanting. Of the 14 systems tested by the agency, 11 earned a “poor” rating including Tesla’s Autopilot and so-called Full Self Driving systems. Insurance Institute test drivers also looked at what would happen if the driver became incapacitated with the automated driving system in use. Of the systems tested, only GM’s Super Cruise handled that sort of situation the proper way, according to the Institute. The Insurance Institute will continue to monitor software updates and improvements and will periodically retest the systems, Harkey said.

Persons: ’, David Harkey, Harkey, “, ” Harkey, ” Nissan, Ford, BlueCruise, ” Ford Organizations: CNN, The Insurance Institute for Highway, Ford, Nissan, ”, Insurance, ” Insurance, Traffic, Administration, The Insurance Institute, Institute, The, . Insurance, Cruise, Tesla, GM, Insurance Institute for Highway, Insurance Institute

☆ Lower & middle income consumers are moderating their spending: BofA Institute’s Liz Everett Krisberg
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailLower & middle income consumers are moderating their spending: BofA Institute’s Liz Everett KrisbergLiz Everett Krisberg, head of Bank of America Institute, joins ‘Squawk Box’ to break down the Institute’s February Consumer Checkpoint Report, which provides real-time consumer spending and financial health estimates.

Persons: BofA, Liz Everett, Liz Everett Krisberg Organizations: Bank of America Institute

WASHINGTON (AP) — When a total solar eclipse transforms day into night, will tortoises start acting romantic? They previously detected other strange animal behaviors in 2017 at a South Carolina zoo that was in the path of total darkness. This year’s full solar eclipse in North America crisscrosses a different route than in 2017 and occurs in a different season, giving researchers and citizen scientists opportunities to observe new habits. After the 2017 eclipse, he analyzed data from tracking devices previously placed on wild species to study habitat use. So do feral horses, “probably taking cover, responding to the possibility of a storm out on the open plains.”The last full U.S. solar eclipse to span coast to coast happened in late summer, in August.

Persons: ”, Adam Hartstone, Siamangs, gibbons, “ It’s, Jennifer Tsuruda, Tsuruda, of Alberta's Olav Rueppell, Nate Bickford, “, Andrew Farnsworth, Raffaela Lesch Organizations: WASHINGTON, Fort Worth Zoo, North Carolina State University, University of Tennessee, of Alberta's, Oregon Institute of Technology, Cornell University, University of Arkansas, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Texas, South Carolina, Columbia , South Carolina, Hartstone, Little Rock , Arkansas, Toledo , Ohio, Indianapolis, North America

Amylyx said Friday it would discuss its plans for Relyvrio with patients and the FDA, which “may include voluntarily withdrawing” the drug. The latest company study showed that the drug did not slow the disease compared with a dummy treatment. Amylyx’s medication is part of a string of drugs for deadly, degenerative diseases that have won FDA approval in recent years despite questionable proof that they work. That commitment seemed to reassure FDA's advisers who voted in favor of the drug's approval, despite the questionable data. In the months before the decision the FDA faced intense pressure from ALS patients, advocates and members of Congress.

Persons: Lou Gehrig’s, Amylyx, ”, “, Relyvrio Organizations: WASHINGTON, Drug Administration, Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Relyvrio, FDA, Cambridge, Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S

☆ Australia: Mass coral bleaching event underway at Great Barrier Reef
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

This is the seventh mass bleaching event to hit the vast, ecologically important but fragile site and the fifth in only eight years. Covering nearly 133,000 square miles (345,000 square kilometers), the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef, home to more than 1,500 species of fish and 411 species of hard corals. Severe mass bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef had previously been observed in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2022. Sunrise over the Great Barrier Reef at Lady Elliot island on October 10, 2019. Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket/Getty Images/FileBy continuing on the current pathway, “we risk losing the Great Barrier Reef and the $6 billion sustainable tourism industry,” said Schindler.

Persons: CNN —, El Niño, ”, Tanya Plibersek, Anthony Albanese, Dr, Lissa Schindler, Lady Elliot, Jonas Gratzer, Schindler, “, David Ritter, Derek Manzello Organizations: CNN, Park Authority, Australian Institute of Marine Science, El, Australian Marine Conservation Society, Australian, Australia, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Labor, Oceanic, NOAA, Reuters, Reef Watch Locations: Australia, Lady, Southern, Pacific

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ancient stone tools found in western Ukraine may be the oldest known evidence of early human presence in Europe, according to research published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Archaeologists used new methods to date the layers of sedimentary rock surrounding the tools to more than 1 million years old. The chipped stone tools were likely used for cutting meat and perhaps scraping animal hides, he said. The very earliest stone tools of this type were found in eastern Africa and date back to 2.8 million years ago, said Rick Potts, who directs the Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program. “The oldest humans with this old stone tool technology were able to colonize everywhere from warm Iberia (Spain) to Ukraine, where it's at least seasonally very cold – that’s an amazing level of adaptability,” said Potts.

Persons: ”, Mads Faurschou Knudsen, it's, Roman Garba, Rick Potts, “, Potts Organizations: WASHINGTON, Aarhus University, Czech Academy of Sciences, Smithsonian, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Ukraine, Europe, Korolevo, Denmark, Spain, Africa, Iberia

Ground cinnamon sold by U.S. discount retailers is contaminated with high levels of lead and should be discarded, federal health officials said Wednesday. Cinnamon products included in the agency's safety alert include the La Fiesta brand sold by La Superior and SuperMercados; Marcum brand sold by Save A Lot stores; MK brands sold by SF Supermarket; Swad brand sold by Patel Brothers; El Chilar brand sold by La Joya Morelense; and Supreme Tradition brand sold by Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores. Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores have removed the cinnamon from their store shelves, a company spokesperson said. No illnesses or other health effects have been reported in connection with the new ground cinnamon alert, the FDA said. The FDA monitors foods for lead levels, but the U.S. government doesn’t broadly limit lead in food products.

Persons: Patel, La Joya Morelense Organizations: U.S, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Fiesta, La Superior, SF, Patel Brothers, La, FDA, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S

☆ Opinion: Why a line of dialogue truly can define a film
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Opinion Arash Azizi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“Frankly, I hate dialogue,” Villeneuve told The Times of London. I don’t remember movies because of a good line, I remember movies because of a strong image. This supposed truism is heard everywhere in the film world and even taught to film writers. Cinema has never been a language of “pure image and sound.”Even in the age of silent films, dialogue rendered as inter-titles was critical to cinema. Charlie Chaplin stars in his 1931 silent film, "City Lights."

Persons: Arash Azizi, ”, CNN — Denis Villeneuve, It’s, Zoe Prinds, ” Villeneuve, I’m, Rolling Stone, Federico Fellini, Villeneuve, Fellini, Alexander Steele, ” Josh Brolin, Gurney Halleck, Paul Atreides, Carla Simón’s “, Gorgeously, Ethan Hawke, ” Hawke, “, they’ve, Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Adenoid Hynkler, Adolf Hitler, Institute’s, Quentin Tarantino’s, Jackie Brown ”, Pam Grier, Marlon Brando’s, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola, Merve, Greta Gerwig’s, Bird ”, wouldn’t, Palme d’Or, Jane Campion, David Lynch’s, Golden, Martin Scorsese glowed, ” Scorsese Organizations: Oneworld, CNN, Warner Bros, Times, Gotham Writers, Chalet, Warner Bros ., Sundance, Film Society of Lincoln Center, United, Getty, New York Times, Villeneuve, Janus, Atlanta ”, Derry Girls ”, Cannes Locations: French, Canadian, London, Italian, Cannes, Berlin, Catalonia, Jewish, Iran, cinema’s, “

☆ ‘Two sessions’: China’s key political gathering gets underway as leaders try to repair broken economic confidence
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Xi is under the spotlight as economic pain has sparked growing frustration within China. Xi has also overseen a political shakeup in his own ranks, further marring the start of the new term. Those challenges may not pose a threat to Xi, who is China’s most powerful and authoritative leader in decades. But the two sessions provide an important platform for China’s notoriously opaque government to broadcast its strategy for economic, social and foreign policies and announce key indicators including China’s economic growth target, its budget deficit limit and military spending for the coming year. Analysts widely expect Li to reveal a relatively ambitious growth target of “around 5%,” showing that policymakers are still focused on economic growth, even as challenges pile up.

Persons: —, Xi Jinping, Xi, ”, Chen Gang, Li Qiang, It’s, Xuezhi Guo, Guo, Wang Yi, Qin Gang, Li Shangfu, Li, Qin, Pedro Pardo, Neil Thomas, Premier Li, Asia Society’s Thomas, “ Organizations: Beijing CNN —, Communist, National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute, Getty, of, National People’s, Guilford College, Observers, Washington, Asia Society, Center for Locations: China, Beijing, Chongqing, AFP, Taiwan, China's, Henan, Center for China, Asia

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts headed to the International Space Station on Sunday where they will oversee the arrivals of two new rocketships during their half-year stint. SpaceX’s Falcon rocket blasted off from Kennedy Space Center, carrying NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps and Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin. “When are you getting here already?” space station commander Andreas Mogensen asked via X, formerly Twitter, after three days of delay due to high wind. Epps should have launched to the space station on a Russian rocket in 2018, but was replaced for reasons never publicly disclosed. Flight controllers are monitoring a growing cabin leak on Russia’s side of the space station.

Persons: Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin, “, Andreas Mogensen, Epps, Billy Joel, Dominick, Barratt, ” Barratt, Joel Montalbano Organizations: International, Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX, NASA, Sierra, Ford Motor Co, CIA, Navy, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, U.S, Denmark, Japan, Russia, New York, Syracuse, N.Y, Russian

Surprisingly Weak Ukrainian Defenses Help Russian AdvanceUkrainian trenches Ukrainian trenches Rudimentary Ukrainian trench lines outside Avdiivka, in an area claimed by Russia. But there’s another reason the Kremlin’s troops are advancing in the area: poor Ukrainian defenses. These trench lines lack many of the additional fortifications that could help slow Russian tanks and help defend major roads and important terrain. 2 miles Pavlivs’ke Novofedorivka Robotyne Russian fortifications Russian-claimed control Verbove Russian defenses shown below Held by Russia Novoprokopivka Romanivs’ke 2 miles Pavlivs’ke Novofedorivka Russian-claimed control Russian fortifications Verbove Russian defenses shown below Held by Russia Romanivs’ke Russian-claimed control Pavlivs’ke Novofedorivka Russian fortifications Verbove Russian defenses shown below Held by Russia Romanivs’ke 2 miles Sources: Satellite image from Planet Labs; Russian-controlled territory (as of Feb. 29, 2024) from the Institute for the Study of War with American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project; Russian fortifications based on data from Brady Africk. Satellite imagery from February shows the multilayered Russian defenses to the west of Verbove, with thousands of shell craters visible in the surrounding fields.

Persons: Avdiivka, Soloviove, Berdychi Stepove, Krasnohorivka, Russia Berdychi, Kyiv’s, Russia Novoprokopivka, Pavlivs’ke, Brady Africk, Verbove, “, ”, Serhiy Hrabskyi, They’d, Denys Shmyhal, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky’s, Paroinen, Mr, Hrabskyi, ” Mr, Oleksandra Mykolyshyn Organizations: Planet Labs, The New York Times Russian, Ukrainian Army, Russia Berdychi Stepove, Institute for, American, The New York Times, Black Bird Group, Russian Army Locations: Avdiivka, Russia, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia Russian, Verbove, Russian, U.S, Moscow, Donetsk, Ivano, Frankivsk, shoring

☆ Australia’s Great Barrier Reef suffers ‘extensive’ coral bleaching, as scientists fear seventh mass bleaching event
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The southern Great Barrier Reef is suffering from extensive coral bleaching due to heat stress, the reef’s managers said Wednesday, raising fears that a seventh mass bleaching event could be unfolding across the vast, ecologically important site. Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket/Getty ImagesThe Great Barrier Reef’s managers plan to extend aerial and in-water surveys across the entire reef over the coming weeks. Hotter ocean temperatures caused severe mass bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, 2017 and 2020. Last year, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided not to add the Great Barrier Reef to its list of sites “in danger,” despite scientific evidence suggesting the risk of another mass bleaching event. Greenpeace’s Ritter said that following the decision, “the Australian government promised to do everything it can to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

Persons: Mark Read, Elliot, Jonas Gratzer, ”, Neal Cantin, Maya Srinivasan, ” Srinivasan, ” David Ritter, “, ” Ove Hoegh, Greenpeace’s Ritter Organizations: CNN, Park Authority, Australian Institute of Marine Science, El, James Cook University, Marine Park Authority, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Foundation, Oceanic, UNESCO World Heritage Committee, Labor Locations: Keppel, Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, Cairns, Florida, Caribbean

☆ As Ukraine marks two years since Russia’s invasion, Europe is facing difficult questions
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Arguably most important among those questions: How long can it practically sustain such draining financial support for Ukraine? The United Kingdom, arguably the major security player in the region, has also pledged more than $15 billion to Ukraine since 2022. This is an alarming prospect for European officials who already believe Putin is digging in and trying to wait out the West. In the run-up to the US presidential election, the question of what happens to European security without America will inevitably be asked. Europe simply doesn’t have the manufacturing heft right now to independently serve Ukraine over the next 12 months.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Money, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ursula von der Leyen, Joe Biden, Stefan Rousseau, Donald Trump, White, Trump, Putin, Thomas Peter, ” Organizations: CNN, Ukraine, Bakhmut, European Union, NATO, EU, Kiel Institute, US, Parliamentary, Getty, White House, DC Locations: Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine, Europe, Ukraine, Avdiivka, United States, Kyiv, EU, Kiel, United Kingdom, Ukrainian, AFP, NATO, America, Kramatorsk, Brussels, China, Beijing

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