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☆ Microsoft says it restored cloud services after global outage
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft's cloud services have been restored after suffering an outage, the company said on Friday. The U.S. tech giant said late on Thursday that customers in the Central U.S. region may experience issues with multiple Azure services and its Microsoft 365 suite of apps. Reuters on Friday reported that the Microsoft cloud outage led to some airlines grounding flights. U.S.-based Frontier Airlines said on Friday that its systems were impacted by the Microsoft outage. In January, Microsoft cloud suffered an outage globally that impacted services from Outlook to Teams.

Organizations: Microsoft Times, Microsoft, Reuters, Frontier Airlines Locations: New York City, U.S, Central U.S

☆ How a software update caused one of the world's biggest IT blackouts
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

On Friday, the cybersecurity firm experienced a major disruption following an issue with a software update. CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity vendor that develops software to help companies detect and block hacks. In the case of Friday's outage, machines running Microsoft's Windows operating system crashed due to a fault in the way a software update issued by CrowdStrike interacted with Windows. We approximate impact started around 19:00 UTC on the 18th of July," Microsoft said in an update at 5:40 a.m. Unless Microsoft and CrowdStrike (if they are involved) pull something miraculous out of the bag, this could be painful to recover from."

Persons: George Kurtz, Patrick T, CrowdStrike, —, Kurtz, Andy Grayland, They'd Organizations: CrowdStrike Inc, Montgomery Summit, Fallon, Bloomberg, Getty, TV, CNBC, Fortune, Windows, Machines, Microsoft, CrowdStrike, Linux Locations: Santa Monica , California, Texas, U.S

Cornish, a professor at Ohio State University who studies rubber alternatives, isn't the only one pouring energy into alternative crops like that desert shrub, guayule, or the rubber dandelions that bloom with yellow petals in the greenhouse where Cornish works. And in Nebraska and other parts of the central U.S., green grasses of sorghum spring up, waving with reddish clusters of grains. Instead, they're crops that many companies, philanthropic organizations and national and international entities tout as promising alternatives to fight climate change. Most rubber processing happens overseas, and the U.S. isn't prepared to process rubber domestically. That's why specialty markets will be critical if these crops have any hope of taking off here, Cornish said.

Persons: Katrina Cornish, guayule, isn't, Cornish, Nate Blum, Blum, James Gerber, Gerber, there's, It’s, ”, Tesla, Guayule, Bill Niaura, “ You’re, Curt Covington, Covington, Joshua A . Bickel, Ross D, Franklin, Melina Walling Organizations: Ohio State University, Bridgestone, U.S, Agriculture Organization, AgAmerica, Farmers, Associated Press Locations: United States, Arizona, Nebraska, U.S, India, Saharan Africa, South Asia, Americas, Colorado, Wooster , Ohio, Eloy , Arizona, AP.org

Portland General Electric warned that the threat of freezing rain Tuesday could delay restoration efforts. Freezing rain and sleet was expected continue across portions of the Southeast into Tuesday morning. Monday night saw temperatures drop as low as 10 degrees (minus 12.2 C) in Olive Branch, Mississippi, and Jackson, Tennessee. Temperatures dipped to minus 3 degrees (minus 19.4 C) in Des Moines, with the wind chill making it feel far colder. The flight tracking service FlightAware reported about 2,900 cancellations Monday within, into or out of the United States.

Persons: Donald Trump Organizations: Rockies, Portland General Electric, NFL, Buffalo Bills, Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, AFC Locations: BUFFALO, N.Y, Great Plains, Midwest, U.S, Oregon, Portland, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Fort Worth, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Alabama, Franklin County, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Olive Branch , Mississippi, Jackson , Tennessee, Orchard Park , New York, Iowa, Des Moines, United States, Northern Plains

☆ Atlanta is the No. 1 U.S. city for single people, new study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

1 U.S. city for singles: AtlantaAtlanta, Georgia, topped the list as the best city for singles. According to the report, over 57% of Atlanta's population is single and the city ranked in the top five in the entertainment and restaurant categories. Atlanta is the best U.S. city for singles, according to Zumper. Madison, Wis. Washington, D.C. Orlando, Fla. Salt Lake City, UT Richmond, VA Pittsburgh, PA St. Louis is the second-best city for singles. 3 best city for singles.

Persons: Zumper, Sean Pavone, Hartsfield –, Louis, Wager, Saint Organizations: Atlanta, Istock, . Census Bureau, Hartsfield, Hartsfield – Jackson Atlanta International Airport, GA St, MN, UT, Anheuser, Busch, Emerson Electric, Saint Louis Locations: United States, U.S, Atlanta Atlanta , Georgia, Atlanta, Louis , MO Minneapolis, MN Boston, Mass, Madison, Wis . Washington ,, Orlando, Fla, Salt Lake City, UT Richmond, VA Pittsburgh, PA, St, New York, Minneapolis , Minnesota, Minneapolis

☆ How El Niño will affect the weather this winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Vehicles drive on the flooded Freeway 5 after an El Niño-strengthened storm brought rain to Los Angeles on Jan. 6, 2016. Lucy Nicholson | ReutersThe El Niño weather pattern is still active heading into the winter this year and it will mean the northern and far west portions of the U.S. will have a warmer-than-usual winter. El Niño, meaning "little boy" in Spanish, and La Niña, meaning "little girl" in Spanish, are opposite weather patterns driven by a change in the trade winds in the Pacific Ocean. This is the first time in four years that El Niño has been active as winter begins, according to the NOAA. While El Niño rains will alleviate ongoing droughts in some regions, it may also drive the development of drought conditions in the Pacific Northwest.

Persons: El, Lucy Nicholson, El Niño, Jon Gottschalck, Brad Pugh, Pugh Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Rockies Locations: Los Angeles, El, U.S, Alaska, Pacific Northwest, New England, Gulf, Mississippi, Great Lakes, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana

“The ground is already really dry — it doesn’t take much for the heat to kind of just build up over there,” said Paul Pastelok, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “And that’s what makes it a bigger heat dome that we’re seeing right now.”In the Minneapolis area, better known for its foreboding winter conditions, forecasters said daily temperature records could fall on both Tuesday and Wednesday, with readings of 99 or 100 degrees possible. Meteorologists said high temperatures were forecast to reach up to 20 degrees above average throughout Iowa and neighboring states over the next few days. The humidity will make it feel even more oppressive, with heat indexes that could approach 120 degrees. Forecasters have issued heat alerts, ranging from advisories to excessive heat warnings, for roughly 100 million people across 22 states.

Persons: ”, Paul Pastelok, Tyler Hasenstein, Amy Heinz Organizations: National Weather Service Locations: Minneapolis, Minnesota, Iowa, Adel , Iowa

NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub have risen to their highest in two years, as outages at Midwestern refiners crimp demand and higher flows from Canada add to supply. Stockpiles at Cushing, the delivery point for U.S. crude oil futures, have climbed for eight consecutive weeks after falling earlier this year. Overseas demand for U.S. crude and an end to refinery outages should reverse the build, said analysts. "We're going to be sending more (oil exported) abroad," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group. Canadian crude may have been sent toward Cushing as feedstock for a restart of the Toledo refinery, which had a fire last year, said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst for the Americas at Kpler.

Persons: Phil Flynn, Hillary Stevenson, Cushing, Stevenson, Enbridge, Flanagan, John Coleman, Wood Mackenzie, Matt Smith, Stephanie Kelly, Nia Williams, Arathy, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: YORK, Cushing, Price Futures, Energy, IIR Energy, BP, Phillips, North, Americas, Kpler, Thomson Locations: Oklahoma, Canada, Cushing, U.S, Toledo, Ohio, Texas, Wood

☆ Remote jobs are moving overseas and to smaller U.S. cities: ‘The same skills for 60% of the cost'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Remote jobs aren't disappearing — they're just moving out of expensive coastal metros like New York and San Francisco. Faced with labor shortages and rising wages, companies are hiring for more remote jobs overseas and in smaller U.S. cities. Where remote jobs are goingRemote hiring is expanding beyond its traditional strongholds, like India, creating new "Zoomtowns" overseas and in pockets of the U.S. Midwest. The number of North American companies with remote workers in Central America and the Caribbean, for example, has grown 300% between 2020 and 2023, according to new research from Lightcast. How to stand out in a more competitive remote job market

Persons: Nicholas Bloom, Kim Rutledge, Rutledge, George Denlinger, Robert Half, Layla O'Kane, Bloom Organizations: Companies, U.S . Midwest, Stanford, U.S, U.S ., Lightcast Locations: New York, San Francisco, Phoenix, Asheville, Boise, India, U.S, Mexico, Philippines, Central America, Caribbean, Lightcast, Austin, Monterrey, Bengaluru, California, Robert Half . Illinois , Ohio, Nebraska, Denlinger

☆ Two killed as tornadoes, storms rip through Oklahoma
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 20 (Reuters) - At least two people were killed in McClain County, Oklahoma, as severe thunderstorms and tornadoes swept through several regions of Central U.S. late on Wednesday, local authorities said. The storms resulted in at least two fatalities with crews responding to several people injured and trapped in their homes, McClain County Emergency Management said in a Facebook post, urging residents to stay out of the affected areas. The National Weather Service (NWS) had issued warnings for severe thunderstorms, hail, and tornadoes for Wednesday into the night across parts of the Central U.S. including Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa. Strong thunderstorms with severe weather potential were forecast for Thursday morning into the afternoon, according to the NWS. Almost 20,000 customers in Oklahoma remained without power as of early Thursday due to the storms, according to the website poweroutage.us.

☆ Storm System Kills at Least 10 People Across Central U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Ginger Adams Otis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

One person was killed in Belvidere, Ill., when the roof of a theater collapsed in a suspected tornado. A powerful storm system barreled across the central U.S. Friday, killing at least 10 people and unleashing reports of at least 60 tornadoes recorded across six states. Powered by a series of so-called supercells, the rotating thunderstorms that can spawn tornadoes, the system battered homes, downed trees and power lines and flipped cars and RV campers, with some landing in the Mississippi River.

☆ Storm System Kills at Least 12 People Across Central U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Ginger Adams Otis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

At least four people were killed in Wynne, Ark., when a suspected tornado spawned by a supercell hit the cityA powerful storm system barreled across the central U.S. Friday, killing at least 12 people and unleashing reports of at least 60 tornadoes recorded across six states. Powered by a series of so-called supercells, the rotating thunderstorms that can spawn tornadoes, the system battered homes, downed trees and power lines and flipped cars and RV campers, with some landing in the Mississippi River.

☆ Storm System Kills at Least 22 People Across Central U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Ginger Adams Otis | Adolfo Flores | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—A powerful storm system barreled across the central U.S. Friday, killing at least 22 people and unleashing reports of at least 69 tornadoes recorded across at least eight states. Fueled by a series of so-called supercells, the rotating thunderstorms that can spawn tornadoes, the system battered homes, downed trees and power lines and flipped cars and RV campers, with some landing in the Mississippi River.

☆ Large Tornado Hits Little Rock, Ark., as Central U.S. Braces for Severe Weather
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Talal Ansari | Ginger Adams Otis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Arkansas’ governor said the damage in the central part of the state was significant. A large tornado touched down Friday in Little Rock, Ark., part of a major storm system forecast to bring severe weather across the central U.S. The National Weather Service said it had received reports of downed trees and power lines as well as damaged homes around the city. There were no immediate reports of fatalities, the agency said.

☆ Looming spring storm to spawn blizzards, ice, tornadoes across central U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Other cities potentially in harm's way but at lower risk for tornadoes included Chicago, Nashville, Tennessee, St. Louis, Missouri, Madison, Wisconsin and Des Moines, Iowa. "There's a potential for some very strong tornadoes and some tornadoes that could be on the ground for quite some time, especially in northern Arkansas and western Tennessee," said John Feerick, senior meteorologist at private forecasting service AccuWeather. Feerick said the storm system would intensify through Friday as the sprawling low-pressure system at its core moves farther eastward, drawing up greater moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Dust storm warnings were in effect for portions of the Southern Plains. Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ From L.A. to Minneapolis, U.S. bashed by severe winter storms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Resident Martin Sherwin is framed by trees while clearing snow during a winter storm in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, U.S., February 22, 2023. The broad swath of the northern United States - from Washington state to New England - remained under winter weather advisories. In Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and New York, high winds and freezing rains left some 900,000 homes and businesses without power on Thursday morning, according to Poweroutage.us. A separate storm spawned unusual weather in California, where much of the state was under high wind and winter storm warnings. "Big-time flakes coming down here," storm chaser Aaron Jayjack said in a video he posted on Twitter from Minneapolis.

☆ Over 1,400 flights canceled as major winter storm threatens to produce historic snowfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | David K. Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Rush hour traffic travels southbound on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis as a winter storm hit the Twin Cities Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. The National Weather Service issued winter storm, blizzard and high-wind advisories for swaths of the western and the north-central U.S., with up to 2 feet of snow expected in some areas through Thursday. 'Numerous weather hazards'Residents warned to 'limit travel'"We're working to ensure we're ready — and Minnesotans have a part to play, too. Schools across the state also announced closures, with Minneapolis Public Schools saying on its website that all its buildings would be closed "due to the upcoming winter storm." Heavy winds and power outagesCalifornia is also facing winter weather, with winds that began Tuesday expected to bring possible rain, snow and hail to parts of the state.

Balloons get less attention as tools of possible Chinese espionage than cyber theft and paid informants. But outfitted as floating monitoring stations, they shed an image as old-fashioned vehicles. The flight path of a high-altitude Chinese balloon spotted this week over the Western and Central U.S. put into stark relief hardening views in Washington that Beijing is America’s top spying threat.

The tornado struck Pasadena, southeast of Houston, seriously damaging homes and other buildings and knocking out power to thousands in the city and its surrounding areas. More than a dozen other tornado sightings were reported as the storm moved across the Gulf Coast, although they have yet to be confirmed by the National Weather Service. The spate of reported tornadoes adds to changes that experts have been observing in recent years — specifically, that where and when tornadoes occur has begun to shift. Historically, tornadoes were most likely to strike within a column of the central U.S. that was nicknamed “Tornado Alley.” The area includes parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. In areas with tightly packed cities, lots of trees and less open space, for example, a tornado can cause more catastrophic damage.

☆ Reported tornado causes damage east of Houston
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Strong winds damaged commercial buildings, homes and power lines in nearby Pasadena, a city southeast of Houston. Utility poles and power lines were downed, and several vehicles, including a trailer, were damaged or flipped over in a parking lot. A home is damaged in Pasadena, Texas, where a tornado was reported to have passed Tuesday. In Baytown, there were downed power lines and damage to homes and businesses, but no reports of serious injuries, said Baytown spokesperson Jason Calder. People cross under downed power lines where a tornado was reported on Jan. 24, 2023, in Pasadena, Texas.

The U.S. teen birth rate hit a record low in 2019, the NCHS report shows, with fewer than 1.7 births per 100 teen girls ages 15 to 19. The overall fertility rate in the U.S. declined from 2015 to 2020, additional NCHS data shows, reaching a low of fewer than 6 births per 100 women ages 15 to 44. Guzzo said birth rates never fully recovered after the Great Recession, likely due to factors such as student loan debt, high housing prices and a shortage of full-time jobs. Fertility rates vary by region, though: States in the central U.S. have higher rates than in other parts of the country. "It could be that the overturning of Roe v. Wade will act against the continued decline in birth rate," he said.

PepsiCo, which ordered the Semis in 2017, is the first company to experiment with them as a way of cutting its environmental impact. PepsiCo is deploying 36 electric trucks from Tesla, with 15 in Modesto and 21 in Sacramento, so far. When Tesla starts building them, PepsiCo "will rotate those up" into its fleet, he said. PepsiCo declined to share details on the price of the trucks, a figure that Tesla has kept quiet. O'Connell said that a 425-mile (684-km) trip carrying Frito-Lay products brings the Semi's battery down to roughly 20%, and recharging it takes around 35 to 45 minutes.

WASHINGTON, Kansas, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Emergency crews on Friday were preparing to labor through the weekend to clean up the largest U.S. crude oil spill in nearly a decade, with workers descending on this farming community from as far away as Mississippi. This is the third spill of several thousand barrels of crude on the pipeline since it opened in 2010. U.S. regulator Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration said the company shut the pipeline seven minutes after receiving a leak detection alarm. Workers quickly set up a containment area to restrict oil that had spilled into a creek from flowing downstream. Even once the pipeline starts operating again, the affected area will have to flow at reduced rates pending PHMSA approval.

In one of the most high-profile and potentially explosive cases to come to the WTO, the three-person adjudicating panel said the U.S. measures were inconsistent with WTO rules and recommended the United States bring them into conformity. The United States said it strongly rejected the "flawed" interpretation and conclusions of the panel. Trump imposed 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on aluminium in 2018, using Section 232 of a 1962 act that allows the president to restrict imports if they are threatening national security. The case hinged on the exemption from global trade rules the WTO allows in cases of national security. The central U.S. argument was that national security is for countries themselves to judge and certainly not something to be assessed by three WTO adjudicators sitting in Geneva.

Extreme fall dryness is more concerning for the U.S. winter wheat crop since there is less recovery time. However, the recent spread of dryness is alarming, as Midwest drought coverage was just 10% in mid-September versus 43% this week. Summer weather was largely supportive, and Nebraska’s 2021 corn yield was an all-time high. Fall of 2003 was one of the driest on record, and the 2004 corn yield was among the most impressive ever. And despite the terribly dry finish to 2012, the 2013 U.S. corn yield was respectable given the circumstances.

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