In December, scientists said global warming had helped intensify Cyclone Chino to a Category 4 storm as it collided head-on with Mayotte, devastating France’s poorest overseas territory. DROUGHTS AND WILDFIRES Some regions may be wetter as climate change shifts rainfall patterns, but others are becoming drier and more vulnerable to drought. The Americas suffered severe drought in 2024 and wildfires torched millions of hectares in the western United States, Canada, and the Amazon basin – usually one of Earth’s wettest places. Between January and September, more than 400,000 fires were recorded across South America, shrouding the continent in choking smoke.…
Author: Team_Benjamin Franklin Institute
The actor sued his ex-wife for defamation after she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post.As part of his defense, Johnny Depp testified during the trial, a move his lawyers were reportedly worried about due to fears he might lose his temper on the stand.Article continues below advertisementJohnny Depp’s Lawyers Were ‘Concerned’ He Could ‘Lose His Temper’MEGASpeaking on A&E’s “Interrogation Raw: Celebrity Under Oath,” two lawyers who helped Johnny Depp win his defamation case against Amber Heard admitted they were initially scared they had made the wrong decision by…
Parker Solar Probe is operating normally after passing just 6.1 million kilometres above the Sun’s surface, NASA says.The United States space agency has confirmed its Parker Solar Probe is safe after making the closest approach to the Sun ever recorded by a human-made object. The probe passed just 6.1 million kilometres (3.8 million miles) above the Sun’s surface on December 24, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said early on Friday. It flew into the Sun’s outer atmosphere — known as the corona — “at a blazing 430,000 miles per hour [692km/h] — faster than any human-made object has…
The New York Yankees have another area to add to their offseason shopping list.The Detroit Tigers announced they signed second baseman Gleyber Torres to a one-year contract. Jesse Rogers from ESPN reported that the contract is worth $15 million.Torres shook off a slow start to put together a respectable showing in 2024. He produced a .257/.330/.378 batting line in his 665 plate appearances, hitting 15 homers and 26 doubles. He took over as the Yankees’ leadoff hitter down the stretch, his bat catching fire as he helped lead the Yankees to the World Series. The Yankees had an extensive shopping…
Bottlenose dolphins have teeth unlike those of many other mammalsJeff Mondragon/Alamy Stock Photo A study of dolphin jaw anatomy suggests their teeth might act as antennae for sound waves, potentially helping to explain how they hear and use echolocation underwater. “Our findings support the hypothesis that dolphins utilise their teeth as part of an advanced sound reception system,” says Ryo Kodera at Tsurumi University in Japan. “This finding provides insight into how dentition may be helpful for dolphins’ underwater life.” Scientists have long known that dolphins and other… Source link
Every graduating student present at the May 16 commencement for the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth (UMass) received an unexpected bonus when they got their degrees: a $1,000 cash gift from billionaire Robert Hale Jr, the founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications.There were two requirements though — the student had to be there, in person, at the commencement ceremony to receive the money. They also had to give half of the gift away to a charitable organization.However, not all graduates were present at the commencement ceremony. A New York Times article published earlier this week noted that about 20% of…
In September 2022, the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who died in police custody after she was detained by the morality police for wearing a hijab “improperly,” sparked widespread protest around Iran. Authorities claimed Amini died of a heart attack while in custody, while her family said she was beaten. The demonstrations over her death quickly morphed into wider discontent with the regime.In the six months since, Iranian security forces have routinely used draconian tactics to try to suppress protests, going so far as to arrest children. In a report released Thursday, Amnesty International found children arrested during…
Getty ImagesMorrisons has apologised after tech problems affected discounts and online deliveries across the UK.Customers were unable to redeem discounts on their loyalty cards and had Christmas deliveries postponed at short notice on Monday morning.Morrisons said it was investigating the issues in store and online but did not give any information on the causes of the outage. All stores were back to normal by Monday evening, the BBC understands.In response to the problems at the tills, the supermarket chain has applied some loyalty discounts to all customers.It is making its top 100 More Card prices the regular price for all…
This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters hereGood morning. Today I’ll be covering:The deal drought squeezing private equity payoutsRussia’s Christmas Day attack on UkraineAmerica’s vanishing drugstoresAnd why young Canadians are steering clear of ice hockeySales of electric vehicles are set to overtake traditional cars in China for the first time next year, putting the country miles ahead of Europe, the US and Japan, where competition weighs on national manufacturing champions and domestic EV…
Credit: Screenshot via Andy Ngo X Some alleged shoplifters in California were surprised to learn that shoplifting is now classified as a felony due to new laws. Well, to be fair, one of them seemingly knew they were facing more dire repercussions and went about lifting a total of around $1,000 from an Ulta Beauty store and a Kohl’s anyway. The other had no clue. She thought stealing was just a misdemeanor. She got slapped with reality in the back of a police car when her accomplice informed her of the bad news. The following conversation is borderline Shakespearean in…