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☆ NASA now has an instrument orbiting Earth that can see major air pollutants across North America, tracing them down to an exact neighborhood
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NASA released test scans from TEMPO, a new Earth-orbiting instrument that measures pollution levels. It takes hourly scans of North America, tracking air pollutant levels down to the neighborhood. NASA has now revealed the first images from a new instrument launched alongside the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory that can track pollution levels with unprecedented precision. Thanks to the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution instrument, called TEMPO, NASA can now track air pollution across North America with enough detail to pinpoint pollutant levels in exact neighborhoods, according to a NASA press release. Credits: Kel Elkins, Trent Schindler, and Cindy Starr/NASA's Scientific Visualization StudioTEMPO will be especially helpful for improving studies on rush-hour traffic pollution, according to researchers.

Persons: Kel Elkins, Trent Schindler, Cindy Starr, Kelly Chance, Chance, Kevin Daugherty Organizations: NASA, Service, Smithsonian Astrophysical, Northeast, SpaceX Locations: America, Wall, Silicon, North America, Northeast United States, Angeles, Las Vegas, United States

☆ A First Look From NASA’s New Air Pollution Satellite
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Delger Erdenesanaa | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When scientists switched on the instrument aboard a new satellite this summer, they got a preview of what will soon be the nation’s first continuous record of air pollution. The satellite will stay parked above North America and provide scientists with hourly daytime updates on air pollution nationwide. The satellite instrument, called TEMPO, will be able to measure several other pollutants as well. The images come during a summer of exceptionally bad air quality for the United States, with smoke from wildfires blanketing multiple cities and regions. But even before this summer, over the past decade or so, the gains in air quality Americans have enjoyed since the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970 had started to plateau.

Persons: “, ”, Xiong Liu Organizations: Center, Astrophysics, Harvard University, Smithsonian Institution Locations: America, United States

☆ India's moon landing made history at a low cost
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

ISROThe list is grim reading: Stuck, failed, missed, failed, failed, stuck, failed, crashed, missed, crashed, crashed. Even in the modern era — with nine lunar landing attempts since 2013 — the track record is still shaky. Before India's success Wednesday, missions by China, India, Israel, Japan and Russia were three for eight in the past decade. School students watching the live telecast of Chandrayaan-3 landing on the Moon at Sector 20 Brahmananda Public School on August 23, 2023 in Noida, India. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of India's moon landing is the shoestring budget — by government standards — with which the country achieved the mission.

Persons: Jonathan McDowell, Sunil Ghosh, Jim Bridenstine, Bridenstine, They've, who's Organizations: ISRO, Soviet Union's, Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Gravity, India, School, Hindustan Times, NASA, CNBC, Indian Space Research Organization, U.S, Payload Services, Space Foundation Locations: China, India, Israel, Japan, Russia, Noida, U.S, India's, United States

☆ Neptune’s disappearing clouds linked to solar cycle
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The findings are “extremely exciting and unexpected, especially since Neptune’s previous period of low cloud activity was not nearly as dramatic and prolonged,” Chavez added. The findings also contradict the idea of the clouds being affected by Neptune’s four seasons, which each last about 40 years. Additionally, Neptune storms rising from the deep atmosphere do influence the planet’s cloud cover — but aren’t related to clouds formed in the upper atmosphere. That variable could interfere with studies looking at correlations between photochemically produced clouds and the solar cycle. More research could also suggest how long the near absence of clouds on Neptune might last.

Persons: ”, Imke de Pater, Neptune brightened, Erandi Chavez, ” Chavez, Neptune, Patrick Irwin, wasn’t, Irwin, Carlos Alvarez, ” Irwin, “ Organizations: CNN —, University of California, NASA, Hubble, Keck, Lick, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, JPL, Caltech, University of Oxford, Keck Observatory Locations: Berkeley, Hawaii, California

[1/2] Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama April 19, 2023. The Panama Canal Authority has reduced maximum ship weights and daily ship crossings in a bid to conserve water. Container ships are the most common users of the Panama Canal and transport more than 40% of consumer goods traded between Northeast Asia and the U.S. East Coast. Some shipping executives are bracing for more reductions later this year, noting that in 2020 a less severe drought prompted canal operators to reduce crossings to 27 per day. "The Panama Canal is just the latest example."

Persons: Aris Martinez, Max, Drew Lerner, Peter Sand, Steve Ferreira, STRI's Steven Paton, Paton, Brian Bourke, Lisa Baertlein, Marianna Parraga, Elida Moreno, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Deepa Babington Organizations: Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER, REUTERS, ANGELES, Evergreen Marine, Pacific, Panama Canal Authority, Northeast, U.S ., Smithsonian Tropical Research, El Nino, Central American, Canal Authority, SEKO Logistics, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, HOUSTON, China, U.S, Northeast Asia, U.S . East Coast . U.S, United States, Chile, Brazil, Suez, Gatun Lake, El, U.S . East Coast, Los Angeles, Houston, Copenhagen

☆ Opinion: A powerful weapon for prosecutors is now in the hands of Fani Willis
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. In the US, prosecutors are given enormous power to apply the law as they see fit, choosing who to charge and what to charge them with. Evidence of their misdeeds can secure convictions and allow for strict sentences that otherwise couldn’t be imposed. Bill Bramhall/Tribune Content AgencyThe 97-page indictment unveiled by Willis last week cites a lot more evidence than could be arrayed against a sandwich served at lunch. “We are the chief law enforcement officers in each jurisdiction, with the weighty power to deprive others of their freedom,” Aronberg observed.

Persons: CNN — Caesar Enrico “ Rico ” Bandello, Caesar, ”, Edward G, Robinson, Rico, Rudolph Giuliani, Fani Willis, Willis, Giuliani, Donald Trump, Sol Wachtler, Bill Bramhall, Jennifer Rodgers, “, Trump, Ruby Freeman, Shaye Moss, Dave Aronberg, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Aronberg, Jack, Smith, ” Aronberg, Trump Walt Handelsman, James Antle III, ” Antle, ” Trump, Biden, Dean Obeidallah, Clay Jones, Tucker Carlson, Ron DeSantis, Lanhee Chen, Joe Biden, DeSantis, David Axelrod, Axelrod, Vivek Ramaswamy, Rich Lowry, “ Ramaswamy, … ”, Lowry, ” Carrie Sheffield, ” Lisa Benson, GoComics.com, ‘, Julian Zelizer, Jeff Zelevansky, Sandra Bullock, Leigh Anne Tuohy, Jill Filipovic, “ it’s, Michael Oher, Sean, Leigh Anne Tuohy —, … Oher, …, Facebook Filipovic, “ Oher, ” Bradley Cooper’s, ’ “, Leonard Bernstein —, Bradley Cooper, ’ —, David M, Perry, Bernstein, Felicia Montealegre, Carey Mulligan, Cooper, ‘ Maestro, ’, Joel Pett, Agency “, Celia Wexler, Joan Meyer, ” Wexler, Don’t, Ric Ward, Sigrid Fry, Alden Wicker, Jay Michaelson, Al Gore, Lauren Hersh, Rebecca Zipkin, David Andelman, Africa —, Michael Coren, Elsie Robinson, UC Berkeley Elsie Robinson, “ Robinson, Allison Gilbert, ” Gilbert, — Organizations: CNN, ”, New, Appeals, New York Daily News, Department, Electoral, Palm, Manhattan, Attorney, “, White House, of Justice, Trump, Agency, GOP, Republicans, Florida Gov, Republican, Fair, Politico, Hawaii, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, NFL, Oher, Twitter, Netflix, Rican, ” Press, Marion County, Russia, Hearst, San Francisco Examiner, Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley, Google, Smithsonian Locations: Rico, Fulton County, Atlanta, county’s, Georgia, Coffee County, Palm Beach County , Florida, “, Milwaukee, Iowa, GoComics.com Maui, Maui, Delaware, Hawaii, Tennessee, Costa, Rican American, Marion, The Kansas, Revere, Africa

☆ Russia’s Luna 25 lunar lander has ‘emergency situation’ during moon approach
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Luna 25 spacecraft reported an “emergency situation on board,” Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, said on Saturday. Russia’s Luna 25 lander mission marked the country’s first attempt at landing a spacecraft on the moon since the Soviet era. The last lunar lander, Luna 24, landed on the lunar surface on August 18, 1976. Luna 25’s trajectory allowed it to surpass India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander, which launched in mid-July, on the way to the lunar surface. Safely landing a spacecraft on the lunar surface would mark a huge step for Russia’s space program.

Persons: ” Roscosmos, It’s, Russia’s, India’s, Jonathan McDowell, ”, Victoria Samson Organizations: CNN, Vostochny, Soyuz, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Roscosmos, Luna, Secure World Foundation Locations: “, Soviet, Russia’s, Oblast, India, Russia, Washington

☆ Mystery surrounds 19th century 'vampire' found buried in New England with his thigh bones crossed over his chest
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But in recent years, DNA analysis has helped scientists uncover the tale behind the "vampire's" remains. An annotated image shows the placement of the "Connecticut vampire" skull and bones in the grave. The "Connecticut vampire" likely died of tuberculosisFor decades, the "Connecticut vampire" was known only as "JB55," after the initial "JB" that had been carved into the brass tacks used to close the coffin. A 3D-scan of Barber's skull was combined with DNA analysis to estimate John Barber's features, shown here in an artist's illustration. Not everybody agrees, however, that this burial site qualifies as a bona fide "vampire" burial site.

Persons: John Barber, —, Jolly Roger, I'd, Nick Bellantoni, he'd, Michael Ross, Daniels, Ellen Greytak, John Baker, Baker, It's, Parabon NanoLabs, John Barber's, Parabon, Barber's, sickles, Scott, Matteo Borrini Organizations: Service, Smithsonian, Smithsonian Magazine, Armed Forces DNA, Inc, Liverpool John Moores University Locations: Connecticut, Wall, Silicon, Griswold , Connecticut, Virginia, New England

☆ Egyptian scientists discovered a diminutive 41-million year old whale and named it after King Tut
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Egyptian paleontologists found a new, extinct whale species, about the size of a bottlenose dolphin. It is the smallest known whale of the extinct basilosaurids family, says the scientists' new study. The species is named "Tutcetus rayanensis," after King Tutankhamun, an ancient Egyptian Pharoah. It's named in part "Tut" for the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun or "King Tut," who died at 19, since researchers believe the specimen found had also not yet reached full maturity. Antar and the MUVP did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: King Tutankhamun, It's, Tutankhamun, Tut, rayanensis, Mohammed S, Antar, doesn't, Erik R, CNN there's, Seiffert Organizations: Service, Biology, Smithsonian, Vertebrate Paleontology, CNN, University of Southern Locations: Wall, Silicon, Egypt, University of Southern California

☆ Fossil discovery may be one of the oldest, smallest aquatic whales found in Africa, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Jenna Schnuer Cnn | Jenna Schnuer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The find is also the oldest fully aquatic whale found in Africa, according to a new study. Tutcetus rayanensis is a member of the extinct family of early whales known as basilosauridae — the first widespread group to become fully aquatic. The discovery of the whale fossil led to the establishment of a new genus within the basilosauridae family. The area is one of the world’s “most productive fossil whale sites,” according to the study. Tutcetus rayanensis is the second whale species, following Phiomicetus anubis, to be discovered, described, and named by Egyptian paleontologists,” Antar said via email.

Persons: Pharaoh Tutankhamen, rayanensis, ”, Mohammed S, Antar, ” Antar, paleobiologist Nicholas Pyenson, wasn’t, Abdullah Gohar, Mohamed Sameh, Hesham, Whales, Erik R, Seiffert, Carlos Mauricio Peredo, Hesham Sallam Organizations: CNN, Communications, Vertebrate Paleontology, Smithsonian National Museum of, Egypt's, University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, Miami University in, American University Locations: Egypt, Africa, Washington , DC, Mansoura, Wadi, Miami University in Oxford , Ohio, Cairo

☆ How Cooking Videos Took Over the World
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Priya Krishna | Umi Syam | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

Cooking videos have never been more persuasive, more inescapable, more addictive, more entertaining. How Cooking Videos Took Over The WorldVideos on TikTok with the #foodtok hashtag have been viewed more than 64 billion times. But cooking videos are not only an unavoidable part of being online — they’ve also infiltrated physical spaces. That is what makes these videos so engaging.”Today, there isn’t just one way to make a successful cooking video. But the evolution of cooking videos represents a broader shift: Algorithms and artificial intelligence increasingly drive everyday behaviors and can stifle creativity.

Persons: they’ve, Julia Child, Joyce Chen, ”, Ashley Rose Young, —, John Gara, … TikTok, Covid, Sunny Xun Liu, “, Bennett, Hetal Vasavada, soothingly, Althea Brown, Frankenfood, Gara, Bacon, Ahmad Alzahabi, Liu, Vasavada, that’s, they’re Organizations: Department of Motor Vehicles, Smithsonian Institution, Food Network, “ East, YouTube, Facebook, Stanford Social Media, “ Locations: New York City, United States, TikTok, Denver

☆ DNA of enslaved iron workers illuminates African American history
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A view of the site of the Catoctin Furnace, an iron forge where enslaved people of African descent once worked, in Cunningham Falls State Park in Maryland, U.S., in this undated photograph. The site now also is providing unique insight into African American history thanks to research involving DNA obtained from the remains of 27 individuals buried in a cemetery for enslaved people at Catoctin Furnace. For African American and United States history, revealing these stories and family legacies is important to understanding and acknowledging who we are, where we came from and how we are connected to each other today," Bruwelheide added. Enslaved people of African descent were forced to work in agricultural, industrial and domestic settings in parts of the United States. In a first-of-its-kind analysis, the researchers examined historical DNA alongside genetic testing company 23andMe's personal ancestry database to identify 41,799 Americans related to the 27 individuals, including 2,975 close relatives.

Persons: Aneta, Camp David, Kari Bruwelheide, Bruwelheide, Éadaoin Harney, Andy Kill, enslavers, Kathryn Barca, Barca, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Smithsonian Institution, Democratic, Smithsonian's National, of, United, Workers, Catoctin, Smithsonian, Thomson Locations: Cunningham Falls, Park, Maryland, U.S, Handout, REUTERS WASHINGTON, Camp, Catoctin, West, Central Africa's, Senegal, Gambia, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa, Americas, Washington, United States, Civil

☆ Remarkable fossils reveal jellyfish that lived 505 million years ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The oldest examples of swimming jellyfish, which lived in Earth’s oceans 505 million years ago, have been discovered high within the Canadian Rockies. The multitude of Burgessomedusa phasmiformis fossils at the site showed that large, swimming bell-shaped jellyfish evolved more than 500 million years ago. The Burgess Shale was first discovered in 1909 by Charles D. Walcott, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The more that researchers study fossils from the Burgess Shale, the more complex the ancient food chain becomes. “This adds yet another remarkable lineage of animals that the Burgess Shale has preserved chronicling the evolution of life on Earth.”

Persons: Burgess, Jean, Bernard Caron, Medusozoans, ”, Joe Moysiuk, Desmond Collins, Raymond Quarry, Charles D, Walcott, Royal Ontario Museum’s Richard Ivey Organizations: CNN, Canadian Rockies, Royal Ontario Museum, Royal Society, University of Toronto, Royal Ontario, Smithsonian Institution Locations: Burgess, Canada's, British Columbia, Washington ,

☆ This Ancient Whale May Have Been the Heaviest Animal Ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Carl Zimmer | More About Carl Zimmer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Paleontologists on Wednesday unveiled the fossilized bones of one of the strangest whales in history. The 39-million-year-old leviathan, called Perucetus, may have weighed about 200 tons, as much as a blue whale — by far the heaviest animal known, until now. While blue whales are sleek, fast-swimming divers, Perucetus was a very different beast. Some experts cautioned that more bones would have to be discovered before a firm estimate of Perucetus’s weight could be made. “It’s clear from this discovery that there are so many other ways of being a whale that we have not yet discovered.”

Persons: Perucetus, ”, Nicholas Pyenson Organizations: Wednesday, Smithsonian National Museum of

☆ A history of the Mar-a-Lago club, the site at the center of Donald Trump's confidential documents case
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

When the White House refused it, citing high maintenance costs, Donald Trump purchased the estate. The 20-acre Mar-a-Lago property, meaning "Sea to Lake" in Spanish, is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth. While in office, he referred to the estate as the "Winter White House." Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham alleges Trump casually presented some of the documents to guests of the estate. Tuesday, Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee, will preside over Trump's first pretrial hearing for the case.

Persons: Donald Trump, Donald Trump's, Marjorie Merriweather, Michael Luongo, Trump, Xi Jinping, Shinzo Abe, Stephanie Grisham, Aileen Cannon, Trump's Organizations: White, Service, Lago, Postum Cereal Company, NPR, Smithsonian Magazine, Palm, Post, Mar, Country, Town, White House Press, Trump Locations: Lago, Wall, Silicon, Lake Worth, Palm Beach, Florida, Syria, Mar, Palm

☆ Chien-Shiung Wu, a nuclear physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project, spent her career fighting for gender equality in science
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Yoonji Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Chien-Shiung Wu was a Chinese physicist who was instrumental to the Manhattan Project. Chien-Shiung Wu is a physicist who broke through both gender and racial barriers in 1940s America, wowing the science community with her significant contributions to the Manhattan Project. Like many other scientists involved in the project, Wu later distanced herself from the Manhattan Project due to its destructive outcome. Robert W. Kelley/Contributor/Getty ImagesWu's legacyAfter the Manhattan Project, Wu continued to advance the science community's understanding of nuclear physics. Wu was later awarded the first Wolf Prize, considered the second most prestigious award after the Nobel Prize, in 1978.

Persons: Wu, Wolf, Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Wu's, Madame Curie, Ernest Lawrence, J, Robert Oppenheimer, weren't, Lawrence, Wu —, Emilio Segrè, Marie Curie, Luke Yuan, East Coast . Wu, Brode, Wallace Brode, Enrico Fermi, Robert W, Kelley, —, Y.K, Lee, Bettmann Organizations: Manhattan, Physics, Service, University of Michigan, University of California, Princeton University, Science, Smithsonian Institution, Manhattan Project, Columbia University, Los Alamos, Columbia Locations: Chinese, Wall, Silicon, America, Jiangsu, China, Republic of China, United States, Michigan, Berkeley, Italian, East Coast ., Los, Manhattan

☆ Tony Bennett, crooner who sang ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco,’ dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Catherine E. Shoichet | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —Legendary singer Tony Bennett, best known for singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” has died, according to his longtime publicist, Sylvia Weiner. From Tony Bennett Bennett was discovered by Bob Hope while performing at a New York City club in 1949. In 1963, his recording of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" won Grammy Awards for record of the year and best solo vocal performance. ABC Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television/Getty Images Bennett and San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein hang onto the outside of a San Francisco cable car before taking a test ride in 1984. His performance of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” won Grammys for best record and best male vocal performance.

Persons: Tony Bennett, “, ”, Sylvia Weiner, Bennett, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga, ” Bennett, he’d, CNN’s Larry King, Susan Benedetto, Danny, Dae Bennett, Johanna Bennett, Antonia Bennett, Paul McCartney, Larry Busacca, Anthony Benedetto, Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto, Hope, ‘, ’, ‘ Anthony Dominick Benedetto, ’ ” Tony Bennett, Virginia Sherwood, Anthony Dominick Benedetto, John, Mary, John Jr, Tony Bennett Bennett, Bill Randall applauds, Patricia, D'Andrea, Daegal, Pat, collie, David McLane, Sammy Davis Jr, David Redfern, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Ley, Sandra, Malcolm MacNeil, Mirrorpix, Joanna, Howard Cosell, Dianne Feinstein, Feinstein, Jeff Reinking, David Letterman, Richard Drew, Patti LaBelle, Hans Deryk, Mark J, Terrill, Elton John, Scott Gries, Madame Tussaud's, Kevork, Tim Mosenfelder, Fernando Leon, Tina Turner, Robert Redford, Julie Harris, Suzanne Farrell, Scott Suchman, Kevin Winter, Billy Joel, York's Shea, Kevin Mazur, Duke Ellington, Brendan Hoffman, Stevie Wonder, Shahar Azran, Amy Winehouse, Kevork Djansezian, Susan, Michael Loccisano, Sean Zanni, Ball, Tony, San Francisco ”, …, ’ ” Bennett, NPR’s Terry Gross, it’s, Clinton, JP Yim, you’re, “ It’s, Danny Bennett, kd, Elvis Costello, “ Tony Bennett, Jack Benny, Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney, Gary Gershoff, –, Sinatra, Jon Bon Jovi, Bono, ” Sinatra, “ Larry King, Ella Fitzgerald, Ella, Bing Crosby, “ Cheek, Cheek, Alzheimer’s Organizations: CNN, MTV, Recording Academy, Los Angeles Convention Center, Paramount, NBCU, Bank, Getty, Facebook, Columbia Records, Bettmann, Patrick's, NY, Smithsonian, Daily, Hulton, ABC, Walt Disney Television, San Francisco, United Nations, Super, Rainforest Foundation, New York's Carnegie Hall, San Francisco Giants, Kennedy, Apollo, New York's Radio City Music Hall, American Ballet, Children's Diabetes Foundation, Children's Diabetes, Radio City Music Hall, San, Clinton Global, New York Times, New York’s High, of Industrial Art, Kennedy Center, ”, AARP, Radio City Music, CBS Locations: San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Astoria , New York, Greenwich Village, New York City, Cleveland, St, Manhattan, Redferns, Washington , DC, View , California, Washington, Lady

☆ Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

US singer Tony Bennett (Anthony Dominick Benedetto) performs on stage during an invitation only concert at the newly opened Encore Boston Harbor Casino in Everett, Massachusetts on August 8, 2019. "No country has given the world such great music," Bennett said in a 2015 interview with Downbeat Magazine. The evening's performance resulted in the album, "Tony Bennett: MTV Unplugged," which won two Grammys, including album of the year. Bennett would win Grammys for his tributes to female vocalists ("Here's to the Ladies"), Billie Holiday ("Tony Bennett on Holiday"), and Duke Ellington ("Bennett Sings Ellington — Hot & Cool"). He also won two Emmy Awards — for "Tony Bennett Live By Request: A Valentine Special" (1996) and "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" (2007).

Persons: Tony Bennett, Anthony Dominick Benedetto, Bennett, Antonia Benedetto, Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga, Sylvia Weiner, Bennett didn't, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Sinatra, Sinatra's, Cheek, Gaga, Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse, Winehouse, Oscar, Amy, Porter, George Gershwin, George Cory, Douglass Cross, Ralph Sharon, Ralph, Danny, David Letterman, Fred Astaire, Elvis Costello, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, — Bennett, Louis Armstrong, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Long, Susan Crow Benedetto, Anthony, Anna, James Infirmary, Bel, Miriam Spier, you'll, it's Bing Crosby, Art Tatum, Lester Young, Stan Getz, Joe Bari, Rosemary Clooney, Arthur Godfrey's, Pearl Bailey, Bob Hope, Mitch Miller, Hank Williams, Miller, Chuck Wayne, Chico Hamilton, Art Blakey, Count Basie, Harry Belafonte's, Martin Luther King Jr, Selma, Bennett's, Johnny Mandel's Oscar, Clive Davis, Tony, Bill Evans, Patricia Beech, Sandra Grant, Susan, Johanna, Antonia, Dae, —, Benedetto — Organizations: Associated Press, American, MTV, Ellington, New, Frank Sinatra School of, Arts, Armed Forces Network, Armed Forces Radio, American Theater, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, Greenwich Village, Paramount Theater, Sinatra, Columbia Records, Count Basie Orchestra, Army, Civil Rights Movement, Carnegie Hall, Columbia, IRS, Kennedy, National Endowment, Arts Jazz, Smithsonian Museum of American Locations: Everett , Massachusetts, Francisco, New York, San Francisco, Little Rock , Arkansas, Astoria, New York City, Queens, Italian, Germany, Greenwich, Montgomery, Los Angeles

☆ A space race on the Korean Peninsula
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +13 min

It was not until 2013 that it became the first South Korean rocket to place a satellite in orbit. SPACE CENTRES Russia also helped South Korea build its Naro Space Center while training and launching the first South Korean astronaut on a mission to the International Space Station. In his first summit with former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to dismantle Sohae, but as talks stalled, North Korea expanded the site. North Korea faces the same challenges, and must avoid flying over South Korea. “The road from South Korea to space has opened now,” President Yoon Suk Yeol said after the 2022 Nuri launch.

Persons: Kim Jong, Moon Jae, Nuri, Jonathan McDowell, Markus Schiller, Schiller, “, ”, ” Schiller, Robert Schmucker, Pyongyang’s, McDowell, KARI, Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un, Dave Schmerler, James Martin, “ Sohae, ” McDowell, Korea’s Nuri, Yoon Suk Yeol Organizations: North, South Korean, U.S, Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, REUTERS, Elon, SpaceX, South, Soviet, Federation of American Scientists, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Space Center, International Space, Korea Aerospace Research, James, James Martin Center, Nonproliferation Studies, International Maritime Organization Locations: Seoul, Pyongyang, South Korea, North Korea, Korean, Japan, China, Korea, Washington, United States, Russia, Naro, Europe, U.S, Britain, Switzerland, Soviet Union, Soviet, Cholsan County, South Korean, South, Tonghae, North Korea’s, Sohae, Indonesia, Philippines, Okinawa

☆ Scientists identify which butterflies are most at risk as the climate warms
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Jenna Schnuer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But when things really heat up, they adjust their body temperature in relation to the air temperature through strategies called thermal buffering and thermal tolerance. Thermal buffering includes physical acts like moving into a cooler, shadier area or slanting wings out of the direct path of sunlight. “These are molecules that many animals, butterflies and humans included, produce to protect themselves from high temperatures,” Ashe-Jepson said. For the thermal buffering test, the researchers caught, tested and released 1,334 butterflies representing 54 species from six butterfly families. To test thermal tolerance, a smaller group of the captured butterflies was put to work one more time.

Persons: —, ”, Esme Ashe, Jepson, ” Ashe, “, Ashe, Akito Kawahara, they’ll, ” Kawahara Organizations: CNN, University of Cambridge, Smithsonian Tropical Research, McGuire, University of Florida Locations: United Kingdom, Panama, Biodiversity, Gainesville

☆ Is It Ever Morally Acceptable to Visit a Confederate Historical Site?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Kwame Anthony Appiah | More About Kwame Anthony Appiah | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I recently moved back home to Biloxi, Miss., and I’m wondering about visiting the lavish grounds of Beauvoir, the historical site and home of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America. I also enjoy history and historical sites, however, and Beauvoir is the biggest one in the area by far. Is it ethical to pay an admission fee and visit this historical site? — JacobFrom the Ethicist:What can you say about the Sons of Confederate Veterans? But at Brierfield and at the White House of the Confederacy, Davis appears to have believed that he was a benevolent master to the Black people he considered property.

Persons: Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis, ” Jefferson, Jacob, Nathan Bedford Forrest, ”, It’s, Davis, “ Organizations: Confederate Veterans, “, Confederate, Ku Klux Klan, National Confederate Museum, White, Confederacy, Smithsonian Locations: Biloxi, Miss, Confederate States, America, Mississippi, Columbia, Tenn, Beauvoir, Brierfield

When you think of cat food, coral reef restoration may not be the first thing that comes to mind. More coral today, more fish tomorrowIn 2019, the SHEBA brand began its work on Hope Reef, part of a global movement to help restore coral reefs around the world. Unveiled in 2021, Hope Reef — located off the coast of Sulawesi in Indonesia — is one of the world's largest repaired coral reefs. For Kuleana Coral Reefs, responsibility is even in the name. Thanks in part to the SHEBA brand's support, Kuleana Coral Reefs is restoring damaged coral reefs throughout the Hawaiian archipelago so they can persist naturally and without further human intervention.

Persons: Hope, SHEBA, one's Organizations: Google, National Ocean Service, Smithsonian, Global Seafood Alliance, SHEBA, Insider Studios Locations: Hope, Sulawesi, Indonesia, United States

☆ A Fossil Dream as Big as Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Asher Elbein | Nina Riggio | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Most people come to Ox Ranch — an 18,000-acre property outside Uvalde, Texas — for the thrill of hunting exotic animals in the Hill Country. Mr. LuJan is a commercial paleontologist, bald and often dressed in dinosaur-themed shirts and socks, who collects fossils and assesses their value for private clients. Such arrangements are not unusual in the vast and wealthy state, which is in the middle of a paleontological renaissance. That won’t be the case with Ox Ranch, and Mr. LuJan has bigger ambitions. But Mr. LuJan sees a paleontological void in the state, which has no public museum devoted solely to its fossil treasures.

Persons: Brent C, Oxley, Andre LuJan, LuJan Organizations: Uvalde , Texas — Locations: Uvalde , Texas, Texas

☆ 27,000-year-old pendants crafted from the skin of extinct giant sloths could help rewrite the human history of the Americas
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Researchers found what appeared to be pendants made from the now-extinct giant sloth. It suggests humans lived in South America thousands of years earlier than previously thought. "It's very likely that multiple waves of people came to Americas," she said, according to The AP. Giant ground sloths could reach 13 feet long, weighed more than a thousand pounds and were equivalent in size to an Indian elephant. It walked on all fours and was one of the largest creatures in South America, per the report.

Persons: Mirian Liza Alves Forancelli Pacheco, Jeffrey Greenberg, Briana, paleoanthropologist Organizations: Service, Royal Society B, Royal, North America, Federal University of Sao, Associated Press, Universal, AP, Smithsonian Institution's National, of Locations: South America, Wall, Silicon, Siberia, Alaska, South, North, Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil, Florida, Americas, Washington

The male cheetah, named Tejas, was one of 12 that were relocated from South Africa earlier this year, CNN News18 said. The relocation was part of a historic project to reintroduce cheetahs to India after they went extinct in the country 70 years ago. In March, Namibian cheetah Sasha died of kidney disease, and in April, South African cheetah Uday died due to cardiac failure. Just weeks later, South African cheetah Daksha died after a violent encounter with male cheetahs during a mating attempt. One Namibian cheetah relocated to India as part of a reintroduction program died from kidney infection.

Persons: CNN — India’s, CNN News18, Sasha, Uday, Daksha, Bhupender Yadav, ”, It’s, ” Yadav, Eli Walker Organizations: CNN, CNN News18, Tejas, India’s, Times, Cheetah Conservation, Cheetahs, Cheetah Conservation Fund Locations: Madhya Pradesh, South Africa, India, Namibia, Namibian, East, Saharan Africa, Africa

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