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Clocks may have to skip a second — called a “negative leap second” — around 2029, a study in the journal Nature said Wednesday. “We are headed toward a negative leap second," said Dennis McCarthy, retired director of time for the U.S. Without the effect of melting ice, Earth would need that negative leap second in 2026 instead of 2029, Agnew calculated. In 2012, some computer systems mishandled the leap second, causing problems for Reddit, Linux, Qantas Airlines and others, experts said. Then add in the “weird” effect of subtracting, not adding a leap second, Agnew said.

Persons: ”, Duncan Agnew, “ It’s, Agnew, Dennis McCarthy, Judah Levine, McCarthy, timekeepers, ” Levine, ” McCarthy, Levine, “, It’s, it’s, ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: Nature, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, U.S . Naval, National Institute of Standards, Technology, “, Linux, Qantas Airlines, Tech, Google, Amazon, Associated Press Locations: San Diego, AP.org

☆ Polar ice is melting and changing Earth’s rotation. It’s messing with time itself
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Laura Paddison | Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself. The hours and minutes that dictate our days are determined by Earth’s rotation. But after a long trend of slowing, the Earth’s rotation is now speeding up. Melting polar ice is slowing the impact on Earth’s rotation and has delayed the date by three years, pushing it from 2026 to 2029, the report found. Changes in Earth’s rotation over the long term have been dominated by the friction of the tides on the ocean floor — which has slowed down its rotation.

Persons: Patrizia, ”, Duncan Agnew, Agnew, Ted Scambos, ” Agnew, “, Olivier Morin, Scambos Organizations: CNN, Time Department, International Bureau, University of California San, University of Colorado Boulder Locations: France, University of California San Diego, Scoresby Fjord, Greenland, AFP

☆ A Great Lakes Pipeline Tangles Politics in Two Battleground States
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Rebecca Halleck | Dionne Searcey | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An icy crust on the Straits of Mackinac is melting into slush atop a shimmering, narrow waterway prized for its beauty and its role in supporting the local economy. The fight over Line 5 in both Michigan and Wisconsin, where another section of the pipeline crosses the Bad River Reservation, could have sweeping implications for the power of states to regulate fossil fuels, for tribal sovereignty and for U.S.-Canada relations. Some or all of these issues are bound to surface in the upcoming presidential election. Both Wisconsin and Michigan are battleground states. And in either place the debate over Line 5 could complicate election-year politics, particularly as candidates compete to eke out any advantage with voters they can find, whether on environmental issues, fossil fuel reliance or jobs.

Organizations: U.S Locations: Mackinac, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Wisconsin, Canada

☆ The Fed is going to make inflation worse with rate-cut promises, former central banker says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Fed could be making inflation even hotter with its promises of rate cuts. That's according to former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, who says the central bank is "goosing" the economy. AdvertisementThe Federal Reserve could be mucking up the economy with its promises that it will cut interest rates later this year, according to former central banker Kevin Warsh. Related stories"The Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve … are goosing this economy," Warsh said. "A Fed promising to cut rates even as asset prices are melting up."

Persons: Kevin Warsh, —, Warsh Organizations: Service, CNBC, Federal Reserve, Fed, Treasury Department, Federal

☆ ChatGPT’s boss claims nuclear fusion is the answer to AI’s soaring energy needs. Experts say not so fast
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Yet according to Sam Altman, head of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, there is a clear solution to this tricky dilemma: nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion — the process that powers the sun and other stars — is likely still decades away from being mastered and commercialized on Earth. A section of JT-60SA, a huge experimental nuclear fusion reactor at Naka Fusion Institute in Naka city of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, on January 22, 2024. The sector was responsible for around 2% of global electricity demand in 2022, according to the IEA. But, he cautioned, this doesn’t necessarily mean AI’s electricity demand will fall.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Altman, “, Lex Fridman, ” Altman, —, Alex de Vries, ”, Aneeqa Khan, ” Khan, Philip Fong, Vries, ” de Vries, Michael Khoo, “ We’re, Khoo, Yiannis Kourtoglou, Sen, Ed Markey, ” Markey, ” Khoo Organizations: CNN, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Manchester, “, JT, Naka Fusion, Getty, International Energy Agency, Boston Consulting, Reuters, Microsoft, OpenAI, Boston Consulting Group, Google, Princeton, ” Locations: “, Naka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, AFP, Pascal, Nicosia, Cyprus

☆ Flying is getting scary. But is it still safe?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Another Boeing jet plunged so severely that passengers were thrown onto the ceiling of the cabin, leaving dozens so injured they need to be hospitalized upon landing. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images/FileHowever, other forms of flying are not nearly as safe. “Taking the Max out of the equation, (flying has) been proven to be pretty darn safe,” he said. A year ago, the discussion about air safety wasn’t focused on Boeing planes. “The gold standard is melting down, because we continue to try to downplay everything and talk about how safe the system is.

Persons: Kardashian, ”, Anthony Brickhouse, “, it’s, Carlos Avila Gonzalez, Ed Pierson, Max, Pierson, ” Brickhouse, We’ve, That’s, Brickhouse Organizations: New, New York CNN, Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Japanese Coast Guard, Embry, Riddle Aeronautical University, Asiana Airlines, San Francisco International, San Francisco Chronicle, Railroads, Amtrak, Foundation for Aviation Safety, Max, Alaska Air, National Transportation Safety Board, FedEx, an Air Canada, San Francisco International Airport, NTSB, Air Canada, “ Pilots Locations: New York, Tokyo, Buffalo , New York, United States, San Francisco, Southwest, Alaska, “, Hawaii

Still, we're here to guide our children in a compassionate way through difficult moments at all stages of development. As child psychologists, we've developed an acronym that can assist us all through this process, regardless of our child's age: H.E.L.P. Whatever their action, before you react, it's smart to stop and ask yourself: Where is their behavior coming from? An underdeveloped thinking brain, an overactive emotional brain, and a lack of perspective leads to chaos and poor decision-making. Or is my reaction a reasonable response to my child's behavior, like if my child yelled "I hate you," and my feelings are hurt?

Persons: we've, Lean

☆ The Orfali Bros Bistro is the best restaurant in the Middle East and North Africa — again
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

We love food, and we love people who love food,” says Orfali. Orfali Bros BistroA multicultural menuOrfali left Syria in 2006, relocating to Dubai a year later, and his brothers followed. “Different nationalities, different colors, different languages, different accents. Orfali Bros BistroA “flourishing” food sceneDubai’s restaurant scene has, until recently, been dominated by celebrity chefs and international franchises. “We build a relationship between us and the guests, and we make it family,” Orfali says.

Persons: CNN —, Mohamad Orfali, Treet Bel Laban ” —, ”, Orfali —, Mohamad, Omar, We’re, Orfali, “, Mohammad, barak, they’ve, Orfali Bros, Eclair, Samantha Wood, “ Mohamad, Wood, Chez Wam, ” Orfali, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Michelin, ”, Orfali, UAE, Dubai, “, Bros Locations: Aleppo, Syria, Dubai, East, North Africa, Orfali’s, UAE, Lebanese, Sichuan, , “ Dubai, Hokkaido, Turkish

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. weather agency is sounding a “red alert” about global warming, citing record-smashing increases last year in greenhouse gases, land and water temperatures and melting of glaciers and sea ice, and warning that the world's efforts to reverse the trend have been inadequate. “The latest State of the Global Climate report shows a planet on the brink. Fossil fuel pollution is sending climate chaos off the charts.”The latest WMO findings are especially stark when compiled in a single report. WMO said the impact of heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires and tropical cyclones, exacerbated by climate change, was felt in lives and livelihoods on every continent in 2023. And so, nothing gets done.”___Borenstein reported from Washington, D.C.___The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations.

Persons: ”, Celeste Saulo, “, ” U.N, Antonio Guterres, Topping, Jonathan Overpeck, wasn’t, Saulo, Kathy Jacobs, Andrew Weaver, ’, ___ Borenstein Organizations: GENEVA, World Meteorological Organization, WMO, Service, University of Michigan School for Environment, Sustainability, University of Arizona, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Washington , D.C, Associated Press Locations: “ State, Paris, Copenhagen, British, Washington ,, AP.org

☆ Meet Europeans who moved to the US and say there’s no going back
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

We spoke with a handful of Europeans who are embracing American life about what brought and ties them to the United States. “I was always a career hunter, super career-focused,” says Herrmann, who eventually started his own tourism marketing business in the United States, Herrmann Global. “You have to have a certain level of cynicism and criticism because that’s what makes you smart.”She says she gets very upset when she sees Europeans “pooh-poohing” the United States. That said, she does find the “constant quest to be better, more efficient and more relevant” in the United States exhausting at times. She says living in the United States has afforded her the privilege to get to know and befriend people of many different ethnicities.

Persons: adieu, who’ve, they’ll, expats, ’ Florian Herrmann, “, ”, Herrmann, ’ ”, ‘, I’m, Gabriele Sappok, she’s, Sappok, Andreas, Gabriele Sappok “, it’s, ” Sappok, “ didn’t, Laurence Noguier, Jason W, Noguier, ” Noguier, Lawless, Clodagh Lawless, didn’t, she’ll, Lorna MacDonald, Lorna MacDonald Lorna MacDonald, MacDonald, she’d, Augustine, It's, Terry Ward Organizations: CNN, CNN Travel, Herrmann Global, Dubai Locations: United States, France, decamped, Italy, Portugal, Europe, Munich, Germany, California, Wyoming, America, German, Lander , Wyoming, “, New York City, Stuttgart, Washington , DC, Chicago, ” France, Dearborn, Galway, Ireland, American, Florida, Penzance, England, Australia, Singer Island , Florida, Augustine , Florida, St, ” Florida, Tampa

☆ US Marines don skis in joint NATO exercises in the critical Arctic battleground
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Last month, II MEF attended a 10-day training course in the hills near the Norwegian town of Setermoen. "I think that's one of the things that we see with our marines and sailors in this training," said II MEF commander, Lt. AdvertisementThe II MEF, the US military's rapid response group, was ordered to delay the hypothetical enemy so that "reinforcements" had time to arrive. The Arctic is a key locationThe Arctic itself is already a critical region for Russia and NATO. AdvertisementPutin has snapped back at the West following French President Emmanuel Macron's suggestions that NATO could send troops to Ukraine.

Persons: —, Ted Driscoll, David A, JONATHAN NACKSTRAND, Grant Schapps, Pål Jonson, Mark Stephens, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Emmanuel Macron's, Sergei Naryshkin, General Carl, Johan Edstrom, it's Organizations: Service, US Marines, Marine Expeditionary Force, NATO, Marines, Business, NBC News, Nato Nordic, Getty, Reuters, NBC, Norwegian Communication Authority, Brookings Institution, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, BBC Locations: Alaska, Norway, Norwegian, Setermoen, Iraq, Afghanistan, AFP, Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Sweden, North America, Europe, Russian

☆ Inside chef Duff Goldman's fridge, from the salads helping him lose 47 pounds to his current Costco buys
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Lizzy Briskin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Celebrity chef Duff Goldman lives with his wife and 3-year-old daughter in California. A peek inside Duff Goldman's fridge. Chilling cookie doughIt's no surprise to find cookie dough in Duff Goldman's fridge. Toom garlic dipToom is one of Duff Goldman's go-to dips. Toom Garlic Dip, Tyler Le/BIA bit hidden in Goldman's fridge is a highlighter-yellow tub of Toom garlic dip.

Persons: Duff Goldman, Goldman, —, you've, Johnna, Duff, Jennifer Aniston, he's, I've, Tyler Le, yolks, — Goldman, Duff Goldman's, Kirkland Organizations: Service, Charm, Goldman, Costco, Kirkland Locations: California, Ventura County , California, Italian, West Coast, Buffalo

☆ The US Army has its eyes on the Arctic and is readying soldiers for the cold, unforgiving wastes that could be their next battlefield
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

AdvertisementThe two-week JPMRC Alaska training exercise involved over 8,000 troops from the 11th Airborne Division, as well as international allies and partners. Brandon VasquezBack in 2021, the US Army released its new strategy on regaining Arctic dominance, leading to the reorganization of its Alaskan forces and priorities. AdvertisementAll Arctic nations are keeping an eye on what could be seen as increased access to energy, minerals, and resources in the Arctic. AdvertisementU.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 11th Airborne Division patrol on snow machines during the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 24-02 exercise at Donnelly Training Area, Alaska, Feb. 17, 2024. For that reason, the Army appears to be encouraging its Arctic soldiers to be creative and able to adapt to whatever conditions or situations they might encounter.

Persons: —, Col, Sean Lucas, JPMRC, Brandon Vasquez, Spc.Wyatt Moore, Abreanna Goodrich, China —, I've, Zachary Burns, Sammantha Ohm, Joseph Gaskin Organizations: US, Army, Service, US Army Pacific's, Pacific Multinational Readiness Center, Business, 11th Airborne Division, U.S ., 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Airborne Division, Pacific Multinational Readiness, U.S, US Army, U.S . Army, 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne, Donnelly Training, Public Affairs Detachment, National Intelligence, Spc, Department of Defense, Army Spc, 5th Squadron, 1st Calvary Regiment, Delta Co Locations: Russia, China, Fairbanks , Alaska, Alaska, Hawaii, U.S, Utqiagvik, Soviet Union, Canada, Denmark, Russian, JPMRC

☆ This market rally is taking out funds that hedged against recent investor fears
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Simplify Tail Risk ETF , which trades under the cheeky ticker "CYA," is headed for liquidation later this month after a brutal money-losing stretch. CYA 1Y mountain Simplify's Tail Risk ETF has been beaten down by the market rally. "Tail protection, which was heavily desired in 2020, has no bids right now. And that way if you're losing money on it, and it's a tail risk ETF where you're buying a put [option], then you understand why that's happening," Armour said. "A tail risk ETF is going to go potentially over a decade without working, and that's okay.

Persons: Michael Green, Green, subpar, Bryan Armour, Armour, CYA, Philip Toews, Vix, Toews Organizations: CNBC, Fidelity, North, Asset Management Locations: North America

☆ Scientists want to build 62-mile-long curtains around the 'doomsday glacier' for a $50 billion Hail Mary to save it
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

That's what would happen if the Thwaites glacier, nicknamed the 'doomsday glacier,' collapsed. Icebergs from the Ilulissat (Jakobshavn) Glacier melting in Disko Bay, Ilulissat, Greenland. AdvertisementAlready, the melting Thwaites contributes to 4% of global sea level rise. AdvertisementThe River Cam, where University of Cambridge researchers plan to test their Sea Curtains prototype. AdvertisementA race against timeData shows that the Thwaites glacier, and others like it, are melting at unprecedented rates due to climate change.

Persons: Paul Souders, Thwaites, John Moore, Moore, They're, they've, there's, et Organizations: Service, Business, University of Lapland, University of Cambridge, Climate Locations: New York, Miami, New Orleans, Disko Bay, Ilulissat, Greenland, Cam, Norwegian, Amundsen, New York City, Pine

☆ Nasdaq 100 futures rise after Tuesday's sell-off, investors await Powell's testimony: Live updates: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., February 29, 2024. Futures linked to the Nasdaq 100 rose on Tuesday night, following a sharp sell-off for all three major averages. S&P 500 futures added 0.05%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures inched higher by 19 points, or 0.05%. Investors dumped large-cap tech names, fueling Tuesday's losses and notching the worst day since Jan. 2 for the tech sector. While the market will likely react to Powell's commentary, Hatfield thinks that his remarks should not come as a surprise to investors.

Persons: Nordstrom, Jay Hatfield, It's, Hatfield, it's Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial, Dow, Investors, Apple, Counterpoint Research, Microsoft, Infrastructure Capital Advisors, Financial Services Committee Locations: New York City, U.S, China

☆ At Flamenco Festival, Molting Into a New Idea of Spanish Dance
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Marina Harss | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For Olga Pericet, flamenco is an invitation: to play and to explore the limits of her imagination onstage. Pericet, who comes from a family of flamenco dancers and teachers, has a deep respect for the traditions of the form. Over the years the Flamenco Festival, which arrives in New York each spring, has offered a window on its evolution. This year the festival has three dance programs at City Center, beginning March 8, each invoking a range of associations: to past dance forms, to flamenco auteurs, and to the central role of the flamenco guitar. Pericet’s “La Leona,” takes its inspiration from a 19th-century guitar prototype that produced the rich, resonant sound we now associate with flamenco music.

Persons: Olga Pericet, “, ”, Pericet, Quentin Tarantino’s, Martha Graham, Pericet’s “ La Leona Organizations: Flamenco, City Center, Ballet Nacional Locations: Madrid, Roma, Spain, New York

☆ Opinion | The Fires Sweeping Across Texas Offer a Terrifying Warning
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( John Vaillant | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The snowstorm has passed, but the fire — one among several major blazes active in Texas — keeps burning. As of Friday, the Smokehouse Creek Fire had affected more than a million acres, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history, and one of the biggest in the history of the country. Texans know that fires aren’t uncommon in the Panhandle this time of year, and neither is snow. But huge, lethal fires like Smokehouse Creek represent something different. Two weeks before the Smokehouse Fire broke out, I flew to Seattle from Cincinnati over a landscape I know well.

Organizations: Texas Panhandle, Texans, Rockies Locations: Great, Amarillo, Texas, Oklahoma, Seattle, Cincinnati, Ohio

☆ It's becoming insane again in venture capital: A tiny AI startup wants investors to pay $100 to book a meeting with its founder.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A couple of days ago, startup founder Dan Siroker set his sights on meeting new investors. Siroker closed the process with 170 bids to sift through. Siroker told Business Insider this week that he isn't actively fundraising. Advertisement"When deals get hot, there is extreme interest," Ben Lerer, managing partner of Lerer Hippeau, an early-stage venture firm, told Business Insider's Ben Bergman late last year. "If you're not there long before the raising, you're not part of the conversation."

Persons: —, Dan Siroker, clamoring, whittle, Siroker, isn't, Andreessen Horowitz, they'd, Pavlo Gonchar, Ben Lerer, Lerer, Insider's Ben Bergman, there's, Dick Costolo, they're, Costolo, he'd Organizations: Service, Business, Getty, Twitter, Google, Nvidia, Boys & Girls Locations: haves, Silicon Valley

☆ California’s biggest snowstorm of the year will paralyze travel with blizzard conditions
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —An extremely-dangerous winter storm has arrived in California and will unload feet of snow, powerful winds and rare blizzard conditions in the mountains through the weekend. As snow continues to spread across California, so will strong winds and blizzard conditions. Snowfall rates are expected to reach extreme levels of 3 to 5 inches an hour from Friday through Saturday – especially along the Sierra Nevada. Heavy snow and roaring winds are expected to combine to produce rare and long-lasting blizzard conditions for much of the Sierra and parts of the northern ranges. Storm will provide much-needed boost to critical snowpackCalifornia’s Sierra Nevada snowpack got off to a slow start this winter.

Persons: ” Snow, We’ve, Edan, Lindaman Organizations: CNN, National Weather Service, Pacific Northwest, Sierra, Yosemite, National Park Service, Rockies, Storm, Sierra Nevada snowpack, California’s Department of Water Resources, US Environmental Protection Agency Locations: California, Reno , Nevada, Pacific, Klamath, Sierra Nevada, Northern California, Sierra, Reno

☆ Europe snow: At a mountain resort with no snowfall, skiing faces a total wipe-out
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | Photography Fiona Sibbett | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In the midst of an exceptionally warm winter, resorts like Campo Felice have a major problem: there’s no snow. And a long-running drought means there isn’t enough water to make the amount of artificial snow needed to paint its slopes white. And with a lack of rain and record-breaking heatwaves, the lakes that normally provide water for artificial snow have run dry. Across all of Italy’s ski resorts, nearly 90% use artificial snow to some degree, according to Carlo Carmagnola, a snow expert with Météo France who studies the impact of climate change on ski resorts. These changes have been hard not just on the Lallini brothers, but their employees, which usually number 250 in the ski season.

Persons: Campo, Italy CNN —, Campo Felice, Niño, Andrea Lallini, It’s, hasn’t, “, ”, Fiona Sibbett, Carlo Carmagnola, Météo, it’s, Carmagnola, There’s, Lallini, Luca Lallini, we’d, ” Lallini, bianca, Gennarino Di Stefano, Isidoro Francesi, ” CNN’s Camille Knight, Antonia Mortensen Organizations: Campo Felice, Italy CNN, CNN, Northern, Campo, ” CNN, Rocca, Cambio Locations: Italy, Rome, Météo France, Austria, Paris

☆ Surrealism Is 100. The World’s Still Surreal.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Nina Siegal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It’s a fish in the shape of a piano, floating in a clear blue sky, seen through a keyhole. Surrealism, the art movement that gave us disembodied eyeballs, melting clocks and animals with mismatched parts, was born in 1924 when the French poet André Breton published a treatise decrying the vogue for realism and rationality. Breton argued instead for embracing the “omnipotence of dreams” and exploring the unconscious and all that was “marvelous” in life. “The mere word ‘freedom’ is the only one that still excites me,” Breton wrote in his “Surrealist Manifesto.”It was a literary idea that became an art movement and revolutionized nearly all forms of cultural production. It’s now commonplace to call pretty much any weird experience “surreal.”

Persons: André Breton, Breton, ” Breton Locations: French

☆ In Chicago, It’s Summer in February
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Julie Bosman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

February is usually frigid perfection for the ice rink at Millennium Park in downtown Chicago, a favorite winter stop for tourists and local families that stands in the shadow of the reflective sculpture known as the Bean. Under an intense sun and 70-degree air temperatures, water slowly trickled out of the empty rink, flooding the surrounding concrete. Winter in Chicago — or the lack of it — reached an unnerving peak on Tuesday, when meteorologists predicted that the city could break a 48-year-old high-temperature record. Around the city, it looked like summer: Apartment windows were pushed open to catch the warm breeze. Restaurants set up tables and chairs on sidewalks for al fresco lunch service, a rare sight in a Chicago February.

Persons: Bean, — Locations: Chicago

☆ Some shoppers are spending big money on 'craft ice' fridges and high-tech washing machines, Lowe's exec says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

While most shoppers are more budget-conscious, Lowe's execs say some are spending big on appliances. One smart LG fridge that makes "craft ice" is a "top-seller despite retailing for over $2,500," one exec said. This fridge makes really nice ice. Lowe'sIndeed, one model in the LG line that makes the fancy ice has a list price of a whopping $4,299. "They're not afraid to invest in, for example, the GE Profile all-in-one washer-dryer combination that retails for over $2,500," Boltz said.

Persons: —, Lowe's, Marvin Ellison, They're, Bill Boltz, that's, Boltz, Katie Notopoulos, Notopoulos Organizations: LG, Service, Home Depot, GE, Wall Street Journal

☆ The ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is rapidly melting. Scientists now have evidence for when it started and why
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

They have discovered it started retreating rapidly in the 1940s, according to a new study that provides an alarming insight into future melting. The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica is the world’s widest and roughly the size of Florida. “Once an ice sheet retreat is set in motion it can continue for decades, even if what started it gets no worse,” he told CNN. While similar retreats have happened much further back in the past, the ice sheet recovered and regrew, Smith said. “Further events arising more from the warming climate trend took things further, and started the widespread retreat we’re seeing today,” he told CNN.

Persons: Antarctica’s, Thwaites, Joshua Stevens, Julia Wellner, that’s, ” Wellner, you’re, James Smith, “, ”, Smith, ” Thwaites, Jeremy Harbeck, NASA Ted Scambos, Martin Truffer, Truffer, — Organizations: CNN —, National Academy of Sciences, El, West, NASA, Observatory, University of Houston, CNN, British Antarctic Survey, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Alaska Locations: West Antarctica, Florida, Pine, Antarctica, University of Alaska Fairbanks, “

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