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Major climate report says entire US impacted hard by climate change

November 14, 2023
Climate change, global warming and climate crisis are all buzzwords sparking increased polarization in Washington, D.C., but scientists have been raising the alarm about these buzzwords for years. A newly released federal report shows that the effects of climate change are already being felt across the country, particularly by families living below the poverty line.

According to the Straight Arrow News Media Miss™ tool, this story is a Media Miss for the right. The Media Landscape indicates that while left-leaning and center-oriented outlets are covering this story, fewer right-leaning outlets are reporting on the topic.

https://twitter.com/BlakeBrownWx/status/1671753486499827715?s=20

As of August 2023, extreme weather events reportedly cost the U.S. more than $39 billion. According to the National Weather Service, that total ranks just behind 2021 for the highest total damage toll through seven months.

The peer-reviewed congressionally mandated report marks the fifth of its kind since 2,000. Researchers said climate change continues to encroach on Americans’ mental and physical health, along with their wallets, as insurance costs, food prices, and medical costs go up.

According to the report, scientists are more confident that climate change has made rainstorms, hurricanes, and wildfires stronger and more frequent and heat more deadly.

Looking into the future, scientists said, it is only going to get worse.
While warming pollution has slightly decreased in the U.S., it is not moving fast enough to hit the country’s carbon goals or the U.N. initiative to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius or below.

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The hope is that the report helps policymakers make fact-based decisions regarding climate change at the federal and local levels.

On Tuesday, Nov. 14, President Joe Biden announced $6 billion in funding for climate resilience projects in the U.S. and spoke on what this report means for the American people.

“This assessment shows us in clear scientific terms that climate change is impacting all regions, all sectors of the United States,” Biden said. “It warns that more action is still badly needed. We can’t be complacent.”

Straight Arrow News strives to provide unbiased, fact-based news in addition to offering a comprehensive look at how the media is covering stories that matter most. Learn more about the Media Miss™ tool and decide for yourself.
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WMO warns of heat wave as record heat hits Phoenix, Greece wildfires rage

July 18, 2023
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said it is monitoring a heat wave through much of the Northern Hemisphere, exemplified by a soon-to-be record-long stretch of heat in Phoenix and raging wildfires in Greece. According to the WMO, the heat wave is expected to intensify this week throughout “the southern United States, Mediterranean, North Africa, Middle East and some countries in Asia, including China.”

“If there are any new extreme temperature records during the ongoing heatwaves, we will issue a quick preliminary assessment and then start detailed evaluations as part of our painstaking verification process,” WMO Weather and Climate Extremes Rapporteur Randall Cerveny said in a statement. “Climate change and temperature increase has spurred a surge in reports of record weather and climate extremes, especially for heat. We have to make sure that these records are verified for the sake of scientific understanding and accuracy.”

Tuesday, July 18, was expected to be the 19th straight day the city of Phoenix sees temperatures soar to 110 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. The record of 18 days above 110 that was tied Monday, July 17, was first set in 1974. It looks like it will be shattered, with temperatures in Phoenix forecasted to stay above 110 through the end of the week.

Nighttime has offered little relief from the brutal temperatures. Phoenix’s low of 95 degrees on Monday was its highest overnight low ever, toppling the previous record of 93 degrees set in 2009. Monday marked the eighth straight day of temperatures not falling below 90 degrees, another record.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), record-breaking heat is expected to continue in the Southwest, the lower Mississippi Valley, and parts of Florida.

“Daytime highs will reside in the triple digits in the Desert Southwest and Texas. The Gulf Coast and Mid-South can expect daytime highs in the upper 90s that coincide with oppressively high dew points, resulting in sweltering heat indices between 105-115. Daily low temperatures will remain quite warm, breaking record warm daily minimums in some areas, allowing for minimal relief from the heat overnight,” the NWS said Tuesday. “An expansive area of Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories remains in the Southwest, Southern Plains, western and central Gulf Coast, and even parts of South Florida where well above normal sea surface temperatures and lighter than normal winds are contributing to stifling heat.”

While Phoenix deals with the heat, a fire swept uncontrolled through Greece Tuesday, one of several wildfires in the country in recent days. While Firefighters managed to contain blazes southeast and west of Athens, residents north of the Greek capital were urged to evacuate as another fire was still active.

Those not in the path of Greece’s wildfires still had to contend with a heat wave in the country. The famous Acropolis areological site was temporarily closed last week due to the heat.

“The truth is that we had many incidents today, for sure more incidents today than yesterday, we had fainting, people feeling dizzy, and some elderly people that couldn’t walk well, they needed shade and we tried to provide them with everything they needed at that moment,” Red Cross officer Stella Katsoulopoulou said Friday, July 14.

In addition to monitoring for record heat, the WMO issued a warning that said heat could lead to an increased risk of heart attacks and deaths. The organization focused on record nighttime temperatures, calling it “particularly dangerous for human health, because the body is unable to recover from sustained heat.”

“While most of the attention focuses on daytime maximum temperatures, it is the overnight temperature which will have the biggest health risk,” extreme weather and climate specialist John Nairn said Tuesday. “The recently declared El Nino is only expected to amplify the occurrence and intensity of extreme heat events. So we’re in for a bit of a ride, I’m afraid, and they will have quite serious impacts on human health and livelihoods.”
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‘Internet apocalypse’: Increased solar activity fuels internet blackout rumors

June 30, 2023

Solar activity is ramping up at a rate faster than scientists predicted, fueling speculation of a potential global internet blackout. Social media users are abuzz with discussions about a looming “internet apocalypse.”

While experts assert that fears of an impending blackout are exaggerated, the concerns are not entirely fiction.

Since 2019, the sun has been in a phase known as “Solar Cycle 25.” During these cycles, scientists monitor events occurring in the sun’s atmosphere.

At the commencement of the current cycle, the National Weather Service predicted that peak sunspot activity would happen in 2025, with the overall activity of the cycle being “fairly weak”. However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently reported that the cycle has escalated at a much faster pace than initially predicted.

Solar activity can have a direct impact on Earth and that’s why experts track it.

“Tracking and predicting the Sun’s solar cycles gives a rough idea of the frequency of space weather storms of all types – from radio blackouts to geomagnetic storms and solar radiation storms – and it’s used by many industries to gauge the potential impact of space weather on Earth,” NOAA explains.

NOAA says that extreme geomagnetic storms could result in complete collapse or blackouts in certain grid systems, reports CBS.

While this raises concerns about the possibility of an internet apocalypse, the term is not officially used by NOAA or NASA. Rather, it seemingly originates from a 2021 research paper authored by a computer science professor in California.

The research paper examined solar superstorms capable of causing widespread internet outages across the globe. The paper describes these events as “one of the greatest dangers facing the internet.”

Nevertheless, the paper noted the likelihood of an extreme space weather event directly impacting Earth ranges from 1.6% to 12% every decade. It is a statistical analysis that has seemingly contributed to heightened concerns amidst reports of increased solar activity.

Researchers emphasize that Solar Cycle 25, which we are currently experiencing, is expected to be average to solar cycles in the past century.

The most significant solar storm ever recorded, known as the Carrington Event in 1859, wreaked havoc on telegraph systems worldwide. NASA reports that the event literally shocked telegraph operators and set telegraph paper on fire.

“What Carrington saw was a white-light solar flare—a magnetic explosion on the sun,” explains David Hathaway, solar physics team lead at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

If a similar event were to occur today, NOAA says it could inflict severe damage on satellites, disrupt communication systems encompassing telephones, radios, and televisions, and trigger widespread electrical blackouts that could take weeks or longer to fix.

Despite social media users propagating these doomsday predictions, events of such magnitude are thought to occur only once every 500 years.

In 2018, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe, a mission aimed at studying our fiery star up close. The probe has been journeying through the sun’s atmosphere, collecting data on solar winds, particles, and other pertinent phenomena. The agency says the information has the potential to enhance our comprehension of the sun and aid in predicting future space weather events.

Tags: NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service, Social Media
Severe weather leads to canceled flights, United blames FAA: June 28 rundown

June 28, 2023

The CEO of United Airlines called out the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after flights across the country were canceled, and Ford is set to make more job cuts. These stories and more highlight the rundown for Wednesday, June 28, 2023.

United Airlines CEO blames FAA for thousands of flight cancellations

Hundreds of flights have been canceled Wednesday following thousands of cancellations on Tuesday, June 27. In airports across the Northeast, thousands of passengers were waiting for hours to reach their destination. 2,000 flights were canceled and 7,000 flights were delayed on Tuesday as severe storms struck the Northeast.

United Airlines said 150,000 of its customers had been impacted. In a memo to employees, United CEO Scott Kirby slammed the FAA over canceled flights in the Newark region claiming the severe weather is something the FAA has historically been able to manage.

This comes as the FAA faces new scrutiny after a government audit released last week revealed a “critical shortage” of employees in air traffic control facilities. The audit claims the staffing issue poses a risk to flight operations with a busy summer travel season approaching.

Chicago, Detroit ranked worst air quality in world due to wildfire smoke

The National Weather Service warned more smoke from the Canadian wildfires will likely move into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic Wednesday, potentially impacting more flight schedules across the region. Chicago and Detroit ranked as having the worst air quality in the world Tuesday due to the wildfire smoke looming over the city.

More than 80 million Americans from the Midwest to the East Coast were under air quality alerts Wednesday. Canada is seeing its worst fire season on record with hundreds of wildfires burning out of control.

U.S. to house migrant children at former boarding school

The Biden administration plans on housing up to 800 unaccompanied migrant children at a repurposed boarding school in Greensboro, North Carolina. The former American Hebrew Academy will house boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 17 who entered U.S. border custody without their parents or legal guardians. The 800 available beds will make the former boarding school the government’s largest active housing facility for unaccompanied minors.

Another facility in Texas currently has the capacity to house up to 500 additional migrant children. However, the Department of Health and Human Services has tried to reduce the use of the facility following reports of substandard conditions and child depression.

Spacey sex assault trial gets underway

Actor Kevin Spacey’s sexual assault trial began Wednesday. The two-time Oscar winner is charged with sexually assaulting four men between 2001 and 2013 while he was the artistic director of London’s Old Vic theater.

The trial is expected to last four weeks. If convicted, Spacey could face prison time. If he is acquitted, it could lead to a revival of an acting career that’s largely been on ice since the allegations surfaced.

“There are people right now who are ready to hire me the moment i am cleared of these charges,” Spacey said in an interview with a German magazine earlier in June. He added that the media has turned him into a monster.

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett dead after apparent drowning

Former Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, who went on to have a seven-year career in the NFL, died Tuesday in an apparent drowning incident at a Florida beach. Mallet’s sudden passing has stunned the NFL community, who offered an outpouring of support for the former New England Patriots backup quarterback. .

Mallet also played for the Houston Texans, where he made his first career touchdown pass to defensive end J.J. Watt. Mallet was most recently the head football coach at White Hall High School in his home state of Arkansas. He was 35 years old.

Ford to cut another 1,000 jobs in EV push

Ford plans to lay off at least 1,000 salaried employees and contract workers in North America. The move is the latest effort to cut company costs in order to better afford their new focus on electric vehicles.

A chunk of the layoffs will be white-collar jobs, including hundreds of engineers in the U.S. and Canada. Ford has made several rounds of global layoffs over the past year, nixing 3,000 jobs in the U.S. in the summer of 2022 and conducting an even larger layoff in Europe earlier in 2023.

Volvo to adopt Tesla’s charge port

Another automaker has announced it will start using Tesla’s charging standard port in its electric cars starting in 2025. Volvo is joining Ford, General Motors, and Rivian in using Tesla’s technology so drivers can use Tesla’s broad charging network across North America.
Morning rundown: Military emails leaked; Ramaswamy running for president

February 22, 2023

The U.S. military is investigating a leak of emails from a Pentagon server; a new candidate enters the 2024 presidential contest; a fourth train derailment within a month; and a massive winter storm is coming. These stories and more highlight the daily rundown for Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023.

U.S. military email server exposed

The U.S. Military’s Special Operations Command is investigating a report from a cyber security researcher that suggests a U.S. military email server was left exposed for two weeks, allowing internal emails to leak.

According to TechCrunch, anyone who knew the IP address of the server could access the data without a password until the server was secured on Monday.

A military spokesman told TechCrunch that there are no signs anyone hacked their system. TechCrunch said the server housed data that contained sensitive information but not classified material.

Ramaswamy announces presidential bid

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy announced he is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He joins Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump.

Ramaswamy is a biotech and health care entrepreneur. The multi-millionaire describes himself as an “anti-woke” activist.

“That is why today, I’m announcing my run for president of the United States. This isn’t just a political campaign, this is a cultural movement to create a new American dream for the next generation,” Ramaswamy said during his announcement.

In a Twitter post hours after his announcement, Ramaswamy said he would repeal federal affirmative action mandates on day one.

Ramaswamy’s early campaign has included talks of addressing a national identity crisis. He says faith, patriotism, and hard work have been replaced by gender ideology, a focus on climate change, and “COVID-ism.”

Our business correspondent Simone Del Rosario has an in-depth report on Ramaswamy’s place in corporate America. You can find that story here.

Train cars derail in Nebraska

The Union Pacific Railroad has confirmed that one of their trains carrying coal derailed Tuesday in Nebraska. More than 30 train cars were involved in the derailment. Union Pacific said there was no hazmat situation at the wreckage site. And we’re learning train derailments in this area have happened before, with four derailments occurring within the last nine months.

This is just the latest in a string of derailments that prompted Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to announce a list of rail safety reforms yesterday.

The Nebraska incident marks the fourth high profile derailment in the U.S. in less than a month. A train derailed Monday in Sacramento. Another derailed last week outside of Detroit. These follow the derailment in Ohio earlier this month that led to a hazmat situation, toxic chemical release, and evacuation. And before that, in Louisiana, a train derailment led to a chemical spill and evacuation.

Texas bill aims to ban polls at schools

Last week, Texas state Rep. Carrie Isaac, R, introduced a bill to bar polling places at any institution of higher education. Now she’s working on a bill to bar polling places at K-12 public and charter schools in the state too. The state legislator introduced the bill in the name of school safety and security.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats have advocated for legislation to mandate polling sites on larger college campuses to allow more voter accessibility.

Number of strikes double in 2022

The number of strikes across the country more than doubled in 2022. And the number of workers involved jumped 60% year-over-year. That’s according to a new labor action tracker.

About 224,000 total people walked off the job in 424 strikes. That is up from 279 strikes in 2021.

Fast food workers with the “Fight for $15” campaign, and Starbucks baristas organized over 100 strikes, making up about a quarter of all strikes in the U.S. But the majority of strikes came from the education sector. About 60% of the workers striking in 2022 were educators.

More strikes occurred last year than ever before as workers exert leverage in tight labor market conditions.

Winter storm threatens parts of the U.S.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm, blizzard and high-wind advisories throughout the western and north-central U.S., with up to two feet of snow expected through Thursday.

Wind gusts could also reach 50 mph, with wind chills expected to reach -50 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota, according to the Weather Service.

Schools across the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin are closed today in preparation for a storm, which is expected to bring white out conditions.
Morning rundown: Congress avoids shutdown; defense bill passes

December 16, 2022

Congress avoids a government shutdown; the military vaccine mandate gets dropped as defense bill passes; a massive winter storm surges on; and nearly half of young adults are living with their parents. These stories and more highlight the morning rundown for Thursday, Dec. 16, 2022.

Congress averts government shutdown

The Senate and the House have both voted to keep the government open long enough to try and come to a compromise on a long-term spending bill. The two chambers will now debate how to divvy up funds to federal agencies that would last through September of 2023.

“I’m optimistic that we will enact a strong omnibus next week. On Tuesday, as you know, a bicameral, bipartisan framework was announced. This crucial step puts us on a path to a yearlong government spending bill,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

It’s projected to be a massive package at around $1.7 trillion, if the politicians can agree on how to spend it and pass it by next Friday.

Defense bill passes

It was a busy night in the Senate Thursday as lawmakers also passed the Defense Authorization bill. It now goes to President Joe Biden for signature. The $858 billion defense bill had bipartisan support.

It drops the U.S. military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, includes a 4.6% pay-raise to service members, and bolsters support for Ukraine and Taiwan.

DHS plan once Title 42 ends

The Biden administration has unveiled its plan on how to handle an expected immigration surge once Title 42 is lifted next week. The Department of Homeland Security will add more personnel at the U.S.-Mexico border, including processing coordinators. They will add more holding facilities and add hundreds of flights and bus routes to take migrants to other less crowded facilities.

While Title 42 is set to end Wednesday, a judge ruled Thursday the Trump-era remain-in-Mexico policy will remain on hold while other legal challenges play out. President Biden wants to end the policy while Republicans have fought to reinstate it.

The policy requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico until their hearings in U.S. immigration court.

Winter storm threatens Northeast

Although the winter season technically doesn’t begin until next week, the weather that blanketed our country this week was an unwelcoming early start. Mounds of snow have piled up in the Midwest, as blizzard warnings now cover most of the Northeast. Heavy snow and a significant amount of ice are expected to come down on 15 million Americans.

Ice storms threaten electricity and power with unbearable freezing temperatures outside. The winter storm threat is expected to last in the Northeast through the weekend.

Twitter suspends journalists’ accounts

Elon Musk went on a suspension spree of Twitter accounts belonging to half a dozen journalists. Including journalists from CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.

It came a day after Musk suspended a Twitter account that was posting real-time location data of his private jet, which a stalker allegedly used to follow his children.

Musk said any Twitter user posting live-location information will disappear from the platform. He added that the journalists continued to post that information, calling it “basically assassination coordinates” for him and his family.

Nearly half of young adults living with parents

A new study shows nearly half of young adults are still living with their parents: 48% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are living at home with their parents.

Ninety percent of those living at home say it’s to save money or they can’t afford living on their own.

Of the young adults living at home, only one in five are paying rent to their parents. And most of them are paying less than $500 to cover their living expenses.
Snowstorm dumps multiple feet of snow over western New York

November 18, 2022

A lake-effect snowstorm lead to school closures and transportation cancellations throughout parts of western and northern New York. By midmorning Friday, more than two feet of snow had fallen in many places along the eastern end of Lake Erie. Two feet of snow had also accumulated in Orchard Park, home of the Buffalo Bills NFL team, by midmorning.

“Due to public safety concerns and out of an abundance of caution in light of the ongoing weather emergency in western New York, Sunday’s Cleveland Browns-Buffalo Bills game will be moved to Ford Field in Detroit,” the Bills said in a Thursday news release. “The decision to move the game from Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York was done in consultation with the Buffalo Bills and local and state authorities as the region prepares for the storm.”

As for transportation, dozens of Amtrak stations in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Depew closed Thursday and will stay closed Friday. Dozens of flights in and out of Buffalo Niagara International Airport were canceled Friday. Even for those in cars, the National Weather Service warned early Friday morning of “near zero visibility” and “nearly impossible travel.”

“Our car got stuck after our 4:30 a.m. live shot. Then, at one point about six people gathered together to help us out,” Buffalo news reporter Alexandra Rios tweeted Friday morning. “I asked why. They say, ‘It’s a Buffalo thing, we may not always get along year round, but we always come together when someone is in need.’”

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) declared a state of emergency Thursday for parts of western New York due to the snowstorm, including communities along the eastern ends of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Hochul’s state of emergency covers 11 counties, with commercial truck traffic banned from a stretch of Interstate 90.

The snowstorm’s severity was expected to vary widely due to the peculiarities of lake-effect storms. The most intense snowfall was expected to last through Friday evening, with more falling on Saturday into Sunday.

“Additional accumulations of 2-3 feet of snow are expected downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario while 8-12″ are likely downwind of the other 3 lakes by Sunday morning,” the National Weather Service said Friday. “Historic snowfall exceeding 4 feet is likely around Buffalo.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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