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☆ Power Outages, Travel Warnings Mark Weekend of Intense Weather
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Ginger Adams Otis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Waves crashed over a sea wall in Revere, Mass., on Saturday as officials warned of possible flooding in low-lying areas. Photo: joseph prezioso/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesRoughly 400,000 homes were without power in the U.S. on Saturday as heavy snow and ice caused major disruptions on both coasts, ahead of a creeping front of Arctic cold that threatens to bring record-low temperatures to much of the country. Parts of the upper Midwest, particularly around the Great Lakes region, got a second day of pelting snow and blizzard-like conditions, while areas in New England and the East Coast dealt with rain and scattered flash flooding, the National Weather Service said.

Persons: joseph prezioso Organizations: Agence France, National Weather Service Locations: Revere , Mass, U.S, Midwest, New England

☆ Why a Wisconsin county is dumping cheese brine on its roads this winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some counties in Wisconsin have been using cheese brine or a beet juice blend instead. A few counties across the state have used cheese brine to melt icy roads in the winter. Green County is lucky enough to have a functioning cheese factory where it gets its cheese brine for de-icing. Other counties, like Polk County and Burnett County, have used cheese brine in the past but stopped when the local cheese factory halted operations. Bastian Parschau/Contributor/Getty ImagesIf you don't have access to cheese brine, then beet juice is a popular alternative, though it's not as cost-effective as cheese brine, Josh Kelch, the highway commissioner for Burnett County, told BI.

Persons: —, Andrea Bill, Bill, There's, Chris Narveson, Bastian Parschau, it's, Josh Kelch, Pat Gavinski, Gavinski Organizations: Service, University of Wisconsin's Traffic, Safety Laboratory, Anadolu, US Environmental Protection Agency, University of Minnesota, EPA, Green County Locations: Wisconsin, Green, Polk County, Burnett, Burnett County, Sauk, Sauk County

☆ Staff at Pure Barre and other boutique gyms say a major franchisee stiffed them on pay, sent bizarre emails, and talked about drinking his own urine
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Jake Swearingen | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Staff at some Pure Barre, CycleBar, Row House, and other high-end fitness studios aren't being paid. Outposts of CycleBar, Row House, and other pricey fitness studios have also shut their doors, suddenly and sometimes without explanation. In one call reviewed by Business Insider, Brown spoke about drinking his own urine. In his November 8 email to all studio staff, Brown wrote that he "failed all of you." And unlike the fitness studio employees, they didn't find the message or tone of Brown's November 8 email surprising.

Persons: Mitch Brown, —, Brown, Amy, Xponential, Jaime Miettinen, Miettinen, Mitch, Jason Whitman, Stride, hollowing, we're, Pamela Chatman, CycleBar, Subreddits, Chatman Organizations: Service, Staff, Business, Midwest, Professional Holdings, Employees, Xponential, Research, Holdings, Fitness, Pure Locations: Barre, CycleBar, Pure Barre, Detroit, California, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Brown

NEW YORK (AP) — From auto production lines to Hollywood, the power of labor unions is back in the national spotlight. The tightest U.S. labor market in decades is adding to leverage workers feel they have to challenge their employers. UNION RATES HAVE BEEN FALLING FOR DECADES. That came around the same era that states also began to pass labor laws for their own public workers. Generally, states in the Northeast, upper Midwest and West Coast adopted more expansive collective bargaining laws — reaching all different categories of public employees, Vachon explains.

Persons: ” Alexander Colvin, Johnnie Kallas, ”, Eunice Han, Todd Vachon, Taft, Hartley, Vachon, Ronald Reagan, “, John F, Kennedy, ” Vachon, Han, Colvin, ” Colvin Organizations: Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Associated Press, Cornell University’s Labor, P Global Market Intelligence, Labor, University of Utah, U.S . Federal Reserve, Rutgers School of Management, Labor Relations, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Labor Relations, West Coast, Starbucks, Gallup Locations: Hollywood, Union, U.S, United States, Midwest, West

Those smaller suppliers have only recently recovered from the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting global shortage of semiconductors. Now, they're coming under pressure to increase their own workers' wages — in an environment where higher interest rates have made it more costly to borrow money — and staring down the threat of ongoing auto workers' strikes. Members of the United Auto Workers union picket outside the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, on Sept. 26, 2023. Supplier layoffsIn the face of prolonged strikes, some smaller suppliers are already cutting workers or announcing plans to do so. Michael B. Thomas | Getty ImagesAs of Tuesday, two additional Detroit-area auto suppliers had already filed notices of potential layoffs with the state of Michigan.

Persons: Bill Pugliano, Patrick T, Fallon, Dennis Devaney, Devaney, Joe Biden, Matthew Hatcher, MEMA, Biden, Michael B, Thomas, Mary Barra, We've Organizations: United Auto Workers, Getty, Ford Motor, General Motors, U.S . automakers, American Automotive, Council, UAW, Chrysler, Parts Distribution, AFP, GM, Ford, National Labor Relations Board, Equipment Manufacturers Association, White House, Plant, Small Business Administration, LM Manufacturing, Ford Bronco, Manufacturing, Canadian, Magna International, Union, General Motors Wentzville, CIE, Spain's CIE Automotive, Eagle Industries, CNBC, Publicly Locations: Auburn Hills , Michigan, Chrysler Los, Ontario , California, Detroit, Covid, Michigan, Wayne , Michigan, U.S, Wentzville , Missouri

☆ Opinion | The U.S. Is Pulling Back From China. How Far Is Too Far?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Many Americans, even once-ardent proponents of globalization, have soured on trade with China. But there is a growing danger that as the United States tries to address its difficulties with China, it will pull back too far, severing economic ties that benefit American families and contribute to global peace and prosperity. Soybean farmers in the Upper Midwest sold a record $16.4 billion of their beans to China, mostly for pig feed. Hundreds of millions of Chinese have come out of poverty thanks to global trade, and have become consumers of U.S. goods and services. Amid the harsh talk, the dollar value of American trade with China — Americans buying Chinese products and the Chinese buying American products — rose to a record in 2022.

Persons: flagrantly, Ukraine —, Mike Gallagher, ”, Jon Mills, Alexandra Stevenson Organizations: United States, Wisconsin Republican, Strategic, Chinese Communist Party, The Washington Post, Intel, Cummins, China — Locations: China, United, United States, Ukraine, Washington, The, Upper Midwest, America, U.S, Indiana

REUTERS/Bianca Flowers Acquire Licensing RightsSept 22 (Reuters) - Jeffrey Aznavorian has already cut output about 6% at his small auto parts factory outside Detroit due to the United Auto Workers strike. If the strike expands, it would only be a matter of weeks before some smaller suppliers faltered, said Marick Masters, a professor of business at Wayne State University. He estimates 30% of smaller suppliers carry too much debt to survive a long strike. Other measures also point to a supply base that was strained even before the strike. RapidRatings calculates "core health scores" for privately owned auto parts companies - based on a 100-point scale - which looks at their returns, cost structures, and capital structure.

Persons: Bianca Flowers, Jeffrey Aznavorian, Pittsburgh steelmaker, Laurie Harbour, Marick, James Gellert, Gellert, Timothy Aeppel, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Ford UAW, Detroit, REUTERS, United Auto Workers, Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, GM, Anderson Economic, Auto, CIE, Spain’s CIE Automotive, . Steel, Pittsburgh, Reuters, Harbour, Inc, Wayne State University, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Detroit, Michigan, Midwest, Illinois, Southfield , Michigan, Plymouth , Michigan

☆ Opinion | The American Renaissance Is Already at Hand
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( David Brooks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A forecast from Bloomberg Economics now projects that the size of the Chinese economy will not successfully surpass the size of the American economy — despite its vastly greater population. But the core problems are endemic to the regime: Centralized authoritarian control is incompatible with a wide-open, innovative, free-flowing modern economy. Open information flow is crucial to any nation; when the state suppresses information unflattering to the regime, then everything is bound to sink into mediocrity. Since late 2021, investment in the construction of manufacturing facilities has more than doubled. Chips, electric vehicles, renewable energy sources and batteries are being manufactured in places like Michigan, Kentucky, Minnesota and Arizona.

Organizations: Bloomberg Economics, . Locations: China, America, Midwest, Michigan , Kentucky, Minnesota, Arizona

☆ One year out, here’s what we know about how the presidential race will look on Labor Day 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

CNN —Much remains unknown of course about the presidential general election whose traditional kick-off will come one year from today on Labor Day, 2024. Twenty states have likewise voted for the GOP presidential nominee in all four of those contests. That means 40 of the 50 states, or 80%, have voted the same way in four consecutive presidential elections. In the presidential elections of 2012, 2016 and 2020, though, the states where the margin of victory landed within four points of the national vote total dwindled. Eventually a Democratic choice to write off Florida and Ohio could provide a tactical benefit for the GOP presidential nominee.

Persons: ”, Doug Sosnik, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama’s, Joe Biden’s, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Trump, hasn’t, Obama, Kyle Kondik, Ball, Kondik, Amy Walter, Biden, Crystal Ball, Cook, Trump’s, headwinds, Republican Sen, Ron Johnson, Roy Cooper, Erika Franklin Fowler, “, George W, Bush’s, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, I’ve, Steve Schale, Schale, don’t, it’s, “ Biden, Ben Tulchin, Fowler Organizations: CNN, Labor, White, Democratic, GOP, University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, Electoral College, Trump, Democrats, Crystal Ball, New Hampshire, Republican, White House, Biden, Pennsylvania Senate, Democratic Gov, Wesleyan Media Project, Wesleyan University, Electoral, Republicans, ”, Wisconsin, District, New, New York City, Sunshine Locations: Indiana , Iowa , Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Arizona , Georgia, New, dislodging Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, New York, Minnesota, New Hampshire , Virginia, Oregon, Texas

☆ Labor Day weekend forecast: Sizzling heat to impact two-thirds of US
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Labor Day weekend may mark the unofficial end to summer for many, but Mother Nature didn’t get the memo this year. July-like heat sends temperatures skyrocketingTemperatures 10 to 20 degrees above normal levels for September could break or tie close dozens of records as heat builds over Labor Day weekend and into Tuesday. By Sunday, sweltering heat will expand across much of the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and even portions of the mid-Atlantic. On Labor Day Monday, conditions will feel more like July across nearly two-thirds of the US. Places like Los Angeles and San Francisco may have the best weather in the country for Labor Day weekend.

Persons: Nature didn’t, Idalia Organizations: CNN, Labor, Miami, Orlando, National Weather Service, Hurricane Franklin, Southwest, Rockies, Weather, Idaho and Locations: United States, Upper, Omaha , Nebraska, Sioux Falls , South Dakota, Lakes, Ohio Valley, Atlantic . Minneapolis, Philadelphia, East Coast, Chicago , Washington, New York City, Gulf Coast, Texas, Florida, Houston , New Orleans, Tampa, Alabama, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Arizona , Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Idaho and Wyoming, Northwest, California, Seattle, Portland, Portland –, Los Angeles, San Francisco

In Des Moines, school bus drivers received medical aid at the end of sweltering shifts. A marching band instructor outfitted students with water backpacks to prevent them from passing out from the heat — at 7:30 a.m. The scorching temperatures and high humidity that dogged millions of Americans from the upper Midwest to the Southeast added to the challenges of the first days of the new school year. It was a stark reminder, education experts and parents said, of the urgent need to make schools more resilient to climate change. “As the climate continues to change and warm, we have to modernize school buildings or we are putting students in danger.”

Persons: ”, Karen White Organizations: National Education Association, “ Locations: Des Moines, Chicago, Midwest

CNN —Smoke from more than 1,000 wildfires burning across Canada has wafted over the northern US, bringing poor air quality and pollution that threaten residents’ health to northern US cities including Chicago, Illinois, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The bulk of the country’s wildfires are burning in British Columbia, where more than 460 fires are ongoing, the agency reports. The EPA in Illinois has declared an “Air Pollution Action Day” through Tuesday due to the “persistent” wildfire smoke causing elevated air pollution in the region. Wildfire smoke is packed with tiny pollutants – known as particulate matter – that can infiltrate the lungs and blood stream if inhaled. Hundreds of British Columbia’s fires have been ignited by lightning strikes from thunderstorms, according to the British Columbia Wildfire Service.

Persons: Wednesday – Organizations: CNN, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire, National Weather Service, Wednesday, US Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Canada, British Columbia, Canadian Armed Forces, Public Safety Canada, British Columbia Wildfire Service Locations: Canada, Chicago , Illinois, Minneapolis , Minnesota, Chicago , Minneapolis, Detroit , Michigan, Great, British Columbia, Michigan, Minnesota , Wisconsin , Illinois, Indiana, Montana, Vermont, Alabama, Midwest, Minneapolis, Chicago, Illinois, Wisconsin, Europe, Australia, Brazil, British

☆ Canada wildfire smoke drifts into US and triggers new air quality alerts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Eric Zerkel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A recent outbreak of wildfires in western Canada is again sending a plume of unhealthy smoke into the United States. The smoke could also cause issues in Iowa and Illinois, including Chicago, which experienced some of the worst air quality in the world amid heavy smoke in late-June. On Friday, the encroaching smoke dropped air quality in parts of Montana and North Dakota to code red, or unhealthy levels on the Air Quality Index, and to code orange, or unhealthy for sensitive groups, in Minnesota, according to airnow.gov. One firefighter died Thursday responding to one of the blazes near Revelstoke, British Columbia, a press release from the firefighter’s union said. “The news from British Columbia – that one of the firefighters bravely battling wildfires has lost her life – is heartbreaking,” Trudeau said.

Persons: Pete Laing, Justin Trudeau, “, –, ” Trudeau, ” Organizations: CNN, Montana and, Centers for Disease Control, BC Wildfire Service, Indiana ., Indiana . British Columbia, Canadian, Twitter, British Columbia Locations: Canada, United States, Midwest, Minnesota , Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Chicago, Canadian, Quebec, New York, Montana, Montana and North Dakota, Minnesota, Kamloops , British Columbia, Canada’s province, British Columbia, Indiana . British, Revelstoke , British Columbia, British

☆ The sun’s activity is peaking sooner than expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Every 11 years or so, the sun experiences periods of low and high solar activity, which is associated with the amount of sunspots on its surface. Over the course of a solar cycle, the sun will transition from a calm to an intense and active period. During the peak of activity, called solar maximum, the sun’s magnetic poles flip. A solar activity spikeThe current solar cycle, known as Solar Cycle 25, has been full of activity, more so than expected. The solar storms generated by the sun can affect electric power grids, GPS and aviation, and satellites in low-Earth orbit.

Persons: ”, Mark Miesch, “, Alex Young, ” Miesch, Scott McIntosh, Robert Leamon, Leamon, Miesch, Young, auroras, Bill Murtagh, ” Murtagh, NASA’s Parker, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, National Oceanic, Prediction, NASA's Solar Dynamics, NASA, SpaceX, Heliophysics, Goddard Space Flight, GPS, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Goddard Planetary Heliophysics, University of Maryland, College Park, American University, Dynamics, Geological Survey, Probe Locations: Boulder , Colorado, Greenbelt , Maryland, Baltimore County, New Mexico , Missouri, North Carolina, California, United States, England, United Kingdom, Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Scandinavia, Michigan, Upper Midwest, Pacific, Quebec

Washington, DC CNN —Florida is America’s inflation hotspot, thanks to a persistent problem with sky-high housing costs. The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area has the highest inflation rate of metro areas with more than 2.5 million residents, with a 9% inflation rate for the 12 months ended in April. Urban Hawaii had the second lowest inflation rate at 2% — mirroring the Federal Reserve’s target for its preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index. A vexing inflation problem in the Sunshine StateIn Florida, the state’s growing population has been pushing up inflation — particularly via housing costs. Even though the Twin Cities’ inflation rate is currently the lowest among major cities, it might not feel that way to residents, Schipper said.

Persons: That’s, ”, Amanda Phalin, Phalin, “, ” Phalin, Paul, Tyler Schipper, Thomas, Schipper, “ You’re, Latoya Rogers, Kaiji Chen Organizations: DC CNN, Fort, Consumer, Labor Department, Urban, Sunshine State, University of Florida, Labor, Tampa, University of St, of Labor Statistics, CPI, Twin, Federal Reserve Bank of, Fed, Cub, Costco, Sam’s, Atlanta, Emory University Locations: Washington, Florida, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Tampa, St, Petersburg, Clearwater, Minneapolis, Urban Hawaii, Sunshine State In Florida, New York, Tampa Bay, “, Twin Cities, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis ’, Midwest, Minnesota, Cities, Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Roswell, —

☆ Why the US ‘does not get to assume that it lasts forever’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

“We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government,” Greene said in a tweet on President’s Day this year. Blue state governors, legislatures and mayors might respond to such an offensive in forceful ways difficult to predict today. The Republican-appointed majority on the US Supreme Court has encouraged the red state social offensive with decisions that stripped away national rights – most prominently on abortion and voting. “Given the make-up of the courts, it’s difficult for blue states to be hopeful about this,” says Kettl. “The United States does not get to assume that it lasts forever.”

Persons: we’ve, ”, Donald Kettl, Donald Trump, I’ve, ’ “, Trump, Daniel Cox, Alan Wolfe, Wolfe, ” Wolfe, “, Joe Biden, Trump –, Abraham Lincoln, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kevin McCarthy, ” Greene, Susan Stokes, Stokes, he’s, Biden, Jim Crow, Cox, Michael Podhorzer, what’s, MAGA, Eric Liu, Liu, Richard Nixon’s, Liu’s, ” Liu Organizations: CNN, America, University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, Republican “, American Enterprise Institute, Boston University, Republican, Democratic, Chicago Center, Democracy, University of Chicago, CBS, Trump, National Guard, Fugitive, “, US, GOP, White House, AFL, Citizen University Locations: United States, States, America, Black, Confederate States, Georgia, Midwest, Heartland, Great, New York, Memphis, Austin, Blue, Michigan , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona

☆ This could be the peak of tick season – and tick-borne diseases are on the rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —An especially bad tick season in the United States is probably hitting its peak, and experts are stressing the importance of taking personal precautions to protect against rising cases of tick-borne disease. Cases of the tick-borne disease – which can cause fever, muscle and joint pain and headache, and which can be fatal – grew 25% from 2011 to 2019. A variety of factors are raising the risk for tick-borne disease, experts say. The deer tick is spreading to the north and west, farther into the Northeast and Midwest. Increased awareness of tick-borne disease could also account for some of the rise in Lyme diagnoses, but experts encourage both doctors and patients to pay close attention to their symptoms.

Persons: ”, Emily Mader, Lyme, Robert Smith, ” Mader, –, ATtrY7YFoS, “ It’s, it’s, ” Smith, Dr, Sanjay Gupta Organizations: CNN, Northeast Regional Center, Excellence, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC, The, Star, Tufts University, — CDC, Get CNN, CNN Health Locations: United States, athenahealth, Lyme, Midwest, Pacific Coast

☆ Air Quality Is Terrible in Parts of the U.S. Here’s What to Know About Your Health and Safety.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wildfire smoke from Canada has returned to the U.S., this time striking the upper Midwest. Such smoke poses health risks to millions of Americans, especially those with underlying conditions in affected regions. Air quality reached unhealthy levels Tuesday and alerts were issued in major cities like Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis. These poor air-quality alerts are expected to remain in effect through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Organizations: National Weather Service Locations: Canada, U.S, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis

☆ The Crises of Heat and Smoke Share a Common Thread: Climate Change
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Raymond Zhong | Delger Erdenesanaa | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Between the dangerous heat baking Texas and the Southeast, and the wildfire smoke filling the skies throughout the Upper Midwest and into the Mid-Atlantic, people across a huge part of the United States have been seeking relief from the outside world in recent days. The two threats this week aren’t connected directly. But a common factor is adding to their capacity to cause misery. Human-caused climate change is turning high temperatures that would once have been considered improbable into more commonplace occurrences. And it is intensifying the heat and dryness that fuel catastrophic wildfires, allowing them to burn longer and more ferociously, and to churn out more smoke.

Locations: Texas, Midwest, United States

☆ Relentless heat wave scorches US South, air quality deteriorates over Midwest
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Meanwhile, in Chicago, children, the elderly and people with respiratory diseases were being cautioned to stay indoors for a wholly different reason: polluted air. "It is essential to have a way to cool down and interrupt your heat exposure." The stationary high pressure system across the South that is trapping the heat and humidity, known as a heat dome, has been lingering for the last few weeks, causing the sweltering weather. The heat wave claimed the life of a 14-year-old boy who was hiking in the Big Bend National Park in Texas on Friday when the temperature reached 119 degrees. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Callaghan, LaToya Cantrell, Brendan O'Brien, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter Organizations: U.S, National Weather Service, NWS, REUTERS, New, Big, Thomson Locations: Chicago, Arizona, Texas, Florida's, Dallas, New Orleans, Mobile , Alabama, Houston , Texas, U.S, Canada, United States, Arkansas , Tennessee, Oklahoma

☆ Smoky Air From Canadian Wildfires Blankets Midwestern Skies
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Julie Bosman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Chicago and much of the Upper Midwest were blanketed with a smoky haze from Canadian wildfires on Tuesday, leaving many residents of the nation’s third-largest city startled by the sudden decline in air quality and donning masks when they ventured outside. Chicagoans were largely spared severe effects from wildfires earlier this month, when dangerous smoke affected the Northeast and pockets of the Midwest for days on end. But they had no reprieve on Tuesday, when the authorities classified the air as unhealthy in the city and in other parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota. In Chicago, the Air Quality Index reached 209 by noon, the worst reading of any major city in the world for the day, according to IQAir, a Swiss air-quality technology company. Any reading above 100 on the index is a warning to people with respiratory conditions to take precautions.

Locations: Midwest, Chicagoans, Illinois , Wisconsin , Indiana , Michigan, Minnesota, Chicago, Swiss, Green Bay, Wis, Grand Rapids, Mich

☆ Billions in federal infrastructure spending could be wasted due to outdated government rainfall models
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The government's precipitation expectation model from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, is called Atlas 14. "It leverages the best available historical precipitation data that was available the time that the study was performed." It is not the only state using Atlas 14 to inform its infrastructure projects. "I can't speak to how some of those engineering decisions are made," Salas said when asked if Atlas 14 should still be used. There are multiple climate risk modeling firms with vast precipitation forecasting data, but most charge for it, and states already have the Atlas 14 data.

Persons: it's, Matthew Eby, Fernando Salas, Salas, Eby, Stephen Schapiro, " Salas Organizations: Biden administration's Infrastructure Investment, Jobs, First Street Foundation, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Geo - Intelligence Division, National Weather Service, ., Infrastructure, state's Department of Transportation, New, New Jersey Department of Transportation, NJ Department of Environmental Locations: United States, Upper Midwest, New Jersey

"Much of the (Midwest) region did not see appreciable rainfall. As of June 20, 58% of the Midwest was in moderate drought or worse, the broadest area since 2012, the Drought Monitor data showed. 2 soybean producer in moderate drought or worse. In Illinois, the largest soy grower and second-largest corn producer, moderate drought or worse spanned 82% of the state. Conditions worsened across the eastern half of the High Plains, with 34% of the region in moderate drought or worse.

Persons: climatologists, Karl Plume, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . Drought, Drought, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Chicago, of Trade, USDA, Weather, Thomson Locations: North Dakota, Kansas, U.S, Midwest, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Southern Plains, Chicago

☆ Canadian Wildfire Smoke Descends in an Unhealthy Haze Over Minnesota
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Anna Betts | Ernesto Londoño | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As a gray cloud and a pungent smell moved through the Twin Cities on Wednesday, normally bustling bike lanes and running trails were largely deserted. The air quality reached unhealthy levels in Minneapolis, St. Paul and much of Minnesota on Wednesday, as the Upper Midwest became the latest pocket of the country to have its air fouled by smoke drifting south from wildfires that have been burning across Canada for weeks. As in New York and much of the East Coast last week, Minnesotans were looking to the skies and to the Air Quality Index to make sense of what was going on around them. On Wednesday, Minneapolis and St. Paul recorded Air Quality Index readings above 250, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advises is “very unhealthy” for most people. The smoke spread across other parts of the Upper Midwest, too.

Persons: Paul Organizations: Twin, Air, . Environmental Protection Agency, N.D Locations: Twin Cities, Minneapolis, St, Minnesota, Upper Midwest, Canada, New York, East, Midwest, Eau Claire, Wis, Fargo

☆ Wildfire smoke from Canada disrupts New York, Philadelphia flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 7 (Reuters) - Some flights into the New York City area and Philadelphia on Wednesday were delayed and others briefly halted because of reduced visibility from wildfire smoke from Canada. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was slowing traffic but lifted a groundstop on flights from the upper Midwest and East Coast bound for New York LaGuardia International Airport on Wednesday afternoon. The FAA said it had also begun slowing traffic from the East Coast and Midwest bound for Philadelphia International Airport due to reduced visibility from wildfire smoke. Hundreds of forest fires in Canada have led to a blanket of smoky air, triggering health alarms in U.S. cities. Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese, Lisa Shumaker and Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: David Shepardson, Chris Reese, Lisa Shumaker, Deepa Babington Organizations: New, Federal Aviation Administration, New York LaGuardia International Airport, FAA, Philadelphia International, LaGuardia, Newark, Thomson Locations: New York City, Philadelphia, Canada, Midwest, East Coast, Newark, Delta, United States, Washington

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