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☆ What it’s really like to live in Antarctica
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The Minnesota native first went to the White Continent in 2007 to work as a janitor at McMurdo Base, one of the three US outposts there. She was one of half-a-dozen people staffing the world’s southernmost post office, UK-administered Port Lockroy. Counting penguins is one of the roles Port Lockroy staff have during their time in Antarctica. Once you get the Antarctica bug, Long and Nelson say, it’s pretty hard to get rid of. In a fast-paced globalized world where everyone is on their phones all the time, Antarctica offers a rare opportunity to live a different kind of life.

Persons: United States –, Keri Nelson, Amundsen, ” Nelson, “, McMurdo, Palmer, Evan Townsend, ” Keri Nelson, ”, Nelson, Scott Base, –, Scott, Keri Nelson “, Chris Long, Long, Laura Bullesbach, Bridie Martin, Laura Bullesbach doesn’t, you’re, You’re, Port Lockroy, Bullesbach, Clare Ballantyne, ” Long, Keri Nelson Long, he’s, vacationer, ” Klaus Dodds Organizations: CNN, United, Antarctic, Minnesota, Base, Scott, Palmer, grownups, McMurdo Base, McMurdo, US, Geographic, Pole, Ocean, Scott Base, Port, Lockroy, Port Lockroy, Electronics, University of London Locations: Antarctica, Chile, Japan, Australia, United States, McMurdo, New, Ross, Amundsen, New Zealand, Russian, South America, Port Lockroy, Lockroy, Port, Denver, China

☆ Pluto’s heart was likely created by an ancient collision
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A deep basin called Sputnik Planitia, which makes up the “left lobe” of the heart, is home to much of Pluto’s nitrogen ice. The New Horizons spacecraft took an image of Pluto's heart on July 14, 2015. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/NASAThrough new research on Sputnik Planitia, an international team of scientists has determined that a cataclysmic event created the heart. The teardrop shape of Sputnik Planitia is a result of the frigidity of Pluto’s core, as well as the relatively low velocity of the impact itself, the team found. The researchers believe that the new theory regarding Pluto’s heart could shed more light on how the mysterious dwarf planet formed.

Persons: Clybe Tombaugh, Pluto, it’s, ”, Harry Ballantyne, Erik Asphaug, ” Asphaug, “ That’s, Sputnik Planitia, Martin Jutzi, Kelsi Singer, ” Singer Organizations: CNN, Regio, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Research Institute, NASA, Sputnik, Pluto, University of Bern, University of Arizona’s, Laboratory, University of Bern’s Physics, Kelsi, Southwest Research, New Locations: United States, Switzerland, Boulder , Colorado

☆ A Massachusetts city is giving families at risk of losing their homes $750 a month, no strings attached
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Allie Kelly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewA Massachusetts city is giving low-income families $750 a month, no strings attached. The guaranteed basic income program will focus on residents who are in danger of losing their homes. The Somerville GBI Pilot will serve about 200 low-income families currently experiencing housing insecurity. Related stories"My life was always just a couple hundred dollars short," a participant in San Antonio's income program told BI. St. Louis, Missouri recently distributed $500 monthly payments to low-income families, and Flint, Michigan is offering funds to new mothers.

Persons: —, Boston —, Somerville, Katjana Ballantyne, Ballantyne, Joe Biden's, hasn't, John Gillette Organizations: Service, Somerville, Business, Greater Boston Area, Boston, ARPA, The University of Massachusetts, Republican Locations: Massachusetts, —, Boston, San Antonio, Austin, Minneapolis, Durham , North Carolina, Denver, Antonio's, City, Somerville, Greater Boston, Arizona , South Dakota , Iowa, Texas, Arizona, Louis , Missouri, Flint , Michigan, Atlanta

☆ Fiji PM: China likely to collaborate on key port, shipyard project
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Lincoln Feast/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told parliament on Wednesday the Pacific Islands nation was likely to collaborate with China on a key port modernisation and shipyard project, after discussing it in a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping. Fiji previously sought Australia's involvement to build a modern ship-building facility at Lautoka, officials and a consultant to Rabuka on the project told Reuters. Rabuka told Fiji's parliament on Wednesday his government was focused on upgrading infrastructure, "particularly the modernisation of port facilities and shipyards". An Australian-based ship design company said Rabuka had earlier sought the involvement of Australia, Fiji's largest aid donor, in the shipyard project. China has been pushing for greater security and trade ties with Pacific Islands countries.

Persons: Sitiveni Rabuka, Xi Jinping, Rabuka, Xi, Stuart Ballantyne, Ballantyne, Vajira Piyasena, Kirsty Needham, Lincoln, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Lincoln, Rights, Fiji Prime, Wednesday, Reuters, APEC, Wednesday Fiji, Fiji Ports, Fiji Ships, Heavy Industry, Pacific, Thomson Locations: Fiji, Suva, China, Lautoka, Australia, San Francisco, Australian, tradespeople, Pacific, Solomon Islands, United States, Papua New Guinea

REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 6 (Reuters) - Lyft's (LYFT.O) price cuts may have helped the ride-hailing firm make a small dent in Uber's (UBER.N) U.S. market share, but not enough to prevent the bigger rival from reporting its second quarterly operating profit. Reuters GraphicsFor Lyft, which under new boss David Risher has signaled a more aggressive pricing strategy, market share wins have been slow. Lyft's share has risen just 200 basis points to 29% since January, when the price war started, YipitData said. "If Uber wants to take more market share quicker from Lyft, it could lower prices. Reuters GraphicsBut Uber's growth has slowed.

Persons: Mike Blake, Lyft, David Risher, YipitData, Uber, Adam Ballantyne, that's, Christopher Vandergrift, Akash Sriram, Shinjini Organizations: San Diego State University, REUTERS, Reuters, Cambiar Investors, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Thomson Locations: San Diego , California, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ VCs Marc Andreessen, John Doerr among attendees at Schumer's next AI forum
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Technologists and advocates are again set to visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday to discuss with Senate leaders the perils and promises of artificial intelligence. Venture capitalists Marc Andreessen, co-founder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz, and John Doerr, chair of Kleiner Perkins, will be among the 21 attendees at the second AI Insights Forum hosted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., according to a spokesperson for his office. The session is a continuation of the Majority Leader's effort to get the chamber up to speed on AI to determine how best to approach AI regulation. For example, Future of Life Institute President Max Tegmark is also set to attend. Other tech leaders such as Micron Executive Vice President Manish Bhatia, Revolution CEO Steve Case, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison and Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez will be in attendance.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins, Chuck Schumer, Andreessen, Max Tegmark, Elon Musk, Manish Bhatia, Steve Case, Patrick Collison, Aidan Gomez, Derrick Johnson, Amanda Ballantyne, Satya Nadella, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Sam Altman Organizations: Capitol, Senate, China, Life, Life Institute, Tesla, Space X, Micron, NAACP, AFL, Technology, Microsoft, Google, CNBC, YouTube Locations: coders, India

☆ Opioids may not work for back pain, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The authors found that in terms of effects on back and neck pain, opioids weren’t any more helpful than the placebo. More people in the opioid group had ongoing pain at weeks 26 and 52 than in the placebo group. The opioid group had worse mental health scores and more reports of nausea, dizziness and constipation than the placebo group. Opioids and painThe study authors and experts who weren’t involved in the new study have theories on why opioids weren’t found to be more helpful than the placebo. “The good news is most people with acute low back pain and neck pain recover within 6 weeks naturally.”The authors studied nonspecific back or neck pain, which is pain with an unknown cause.

Persons: haven’t, ”, Christine Lin, Lin, Naloxone, ” Lin, weren’t, Mark D, Sullivan, Jane C, Ballantyne, ” Sullivan, ” Dr, John Finkenberg, wasn’t, don’t, Finkenberg, ” Finkenberg Organizations: CNN, American Spine Society, University of Sydney, University of Washington Locations: Australia, Sydney, San Diego

‘Living on top of each other’Mission Antarctica: Each year, the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust sends a crack team to run one of the world's most remote post offices. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust Shovel your way in: It was a tough start. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust Food reserves: Unsurprisingly, fresh food is in short supply, other than what comes their way via visiting cruise ships. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust Kitted out: Those sunglasses are crucial if you don't want to risk snow blindness. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust The post office at the end of the world Prev NextThe chosen candidates beat out odds of one in a thousand – but this is not a cozy posting.

Persons: They’d, Clare Ballantyne, it’s, Ballantyne, Lucy Bruzzone, Mairi Hilton, Natalie Corbett, Camilla Nichol, Nichol, “, ”, Vicky Inglis, ‘ Cheeriness, Cheeriness, They’ll, aren’t, Says Nichol Organizations: CNN, Britain’s Royal Navy, Port, Antarctic Heritage Trust, Base, Antarctic Heritage Trust Food, Antarctic Heritage, British Antarctic Survey, International Association of Antarctica Locations: there’s, Antarctica, Inglis, Montreal, Antarctic

☆ I lived and worked in Antarctica for 5 months without WiFi or running water. It didn't feel as remote as I expected.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Lucy Bruzzone is one of several women who spent the last five months working in Antarctica. Bruzzone found it surprisingly easy to adjust to life on the peninsula and said it didn't feel as remote as she expected. Historically, Antarctica has been an extremely male-dominated place; Port Lockroy didn't have its first female team member until 2001. The team spent five months in Antarctica through the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. Between ship visits, we'd grab a quick lunch, restock the shop, cancel stamps on any postcards we'd received, and monitor the penguins on alternate days.

☆ Ken Loach at Cannes: 'don't know' if 'The Old Oak' will be last film
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Hanna Rantala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] The 76th Cannes Film Festival - Screening of the film "The Old Oak" in competition - Red Carpet Arrivals - Cannes, France, May 26, 2023. Director Ken Loach and wife Lesley Ashton, Screenwriter Paul Laverty, Producer Rebecca O'Brien, and cast members Ebla Mari and Dave Turner pose. REUTERS/Yara... Read moreCANNES, May 26 (Reuters) - Ken Loach said on Friday he does not know if "The Old Oak," the 86-year-old British director's attempt to win the Cannes Film Festival's top prize for a third time, would be his last. "Oh, I don't know, I live day by day," said Loach, who turns 87 in June. Loach told The Hollywood Reporter last month that "The Old Oak," which premiered on Friday, was likely his last feature.

☆ I lived and worked in Antarctica for 5 months without WiFi or running water. Here's what surprised me.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Lucy Bruzzone is one of several women who spent the last five months working in Antarctica. I've always been fascinated by ice and the polar regions and I'd been exploring opportunities to visit Antarctica for many years. At the same time, changes in Antarctica affect our lives at home, destabilizing systems we depend on for food, water, and security. Lucy Bruzzone spent five months in Antarctica. Work was more physical day-to-day, but I still spent a lot of time working at a laptop for someone in Antarctica!

☆ British embassy guard who spied for Russia filmed "secret" letter to PM, London court told
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Morgan said Smith sent a letter containing "highly sensitive information about the British embassy and those who worked within it" to General Major Sergey Chukhrov, the Russian military attaché to Berlin, in November 2020. She added that the discovery of Smith's letter to Chukhrov prompted a joint investigation between British and German authorities. Covertly recorded footage was played in court showing Smith filming CCTV footage of "Dmitry" from within the embassy's security kiosk. Smith was later approached by "Irina", who told him that she needed assistance as someone had "passed information to the British and the information could be damaging to Russia". In hidden camera footage played to the court, "Irina" asks if Smith can help and he replies: "Well, like what?"

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