Новости за 19.08.2023

The summer of 2023 may be drawing to a close, but the extreme heat is not. More record-shattering temperatures — this time across Texas — are expected Saturday and Sunday as the U.S. continues to bake. Highs of 109 degrees Fahrenheit forecast for Saturday and 110 F on Sunday in Dallas would break the current record of 107 F each day, both set in 2011, and would come after a high of 109 F on Thursday broke a record of 107 F set in 1951. That is according to National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Bradshaw. Читать дальше...

Nissan is recalling more than 236,000 small cars in the U.S. because the tie rods in front suspension can bend and break, possibly causing drivers to lose steering control. The recall covers certain Sentra cars from 2020 through 2022. Tie rods help vehicles move the wheels for steering. Nissan says in documents posted Saturday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that if tie rods become bent, they can break and affect the steering, increasing the risk of a crash. Owners should contact... Читать дальше...

A fast-moving wildfire in eastern Washington state has destroyed at least 185 structures, closed a major highway and left one person dead. The blaze began shortly after midday Friday on the west side of Medical Lake, a town west of Spokane. A Washington State Department of Natural Resources spokesperson says the fire grew to nearly 15 square miles by Saturday morning, with zero containment. The burned structures were a mix of homes and outbuildings. Spokesperson Isabelle Hoygaard said Saturday that... Читать дальше...

Communities across New England were picking up Saturday a day after a spate of tornadoes swept through the region. Four tornadoes were confirmed Friday in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and the National Weather Service was investigating a possible fifth in eastern Connecticut. Friday's strong winds knocked down trees, damaged homes, flooded roadways and in one case, lifted a car off a highway in Rhode Island. There were no injuries reported. Rhode Island residents were cleaning up debris Saturday... Читать дальше...

General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle unit has agreed to cut its fleet of San Francisco robotaxis in half as authorities investigate two recent crashes in the city. The state Department of Motor Vehicles asked for the reduction after a Cruise vehicle without a human driver collided with an unspecified emergency vehicle on Thursday. The DMV said Cruise will have no more than 50 driverless vehicles in operation during the day and 150 in operation at night. The development comes just over a week... Читать дальше...

Former Minnesota Gov. Al Quie, a moderate Republican known for working across the aisle as both governor and as a congressman, has died. He was 99. His son, Joel Quie, says he died of natural causes late Friday at his home in Wayzata. Al Quie represented southern Minnesota’s 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1958 to 1979. He returned home and defeated Democrat Rudy Perpich in the 1978 gubernatorial race. But his single term turned rocky amid a budget shortfall in the early 1980s, and he opted not to seek reelection. Читать дальше...

Experts say a central Kansas police chief was on legally shaky ground when he ordered the raid of a weekly newspaper. A former federal prosecutor added Friday that the raid may have been a criminal civil rights violation and he'd probably have the FBI look into it. Some legal experts believe the Aug. 11 raid on the Marion County Record’s offices and its publisher's home violated a federal privacy law that protects journalists from newsroom searches. Some believe it violated a Kansas law that makes... Читать дальше...

Opponents of a sweeping Texas bill blocking local governments from enforcing their laws say it would deprive workers of water breaks during a historic heat wave, among other dangers. Experts and advocates say workers would die, with high temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit and staying there for much of the past two months. Bill backers say it does no such thing, and its purpose is to streamline regulations across the state. At least one political analyst says the issue is less about worker... Читать дальше...

Iraqi and United Nations officials have marked the 20th anniversary of a deadly attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad. The Aug. 19, 2003, truck bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, which housed the U.N. headquarters in Iraq at the time, killed 22 U.N. staff including the head, Sergio Vieira de Mello, a rising U.N. star. At the commemoration ceremony held Saturday at the site of the attack, which has since been converted into a rehabilitation center for people struggling with addiction, the... Читать дальше...

Thousands of migrants from the West African country of Mauritania have arrived in the U.S. in recent months, following a new route taking them to Nicaragua and up through the southern border. Previously, those fleeing Mauritania entered through Brazil and took a treacherous jungle passage — or risked their lives on boats to Europe. The Nicaragua route doesn't require a visa. That fact is circulating on TikTok, where travel agencies and guides advertise trip packages. Many Mauritanians say that's how they learned of the route. Читать дальше...

The American presidency is vested with many overt powers, but one of the most important powers of the office is implicit, and that's the power of rhetoric. Many presidents have been mindful of the urgent power of a president’s words, but Donald Trump seemed to show no such restraint when he was in the White House. Now he's facing dozens of criminal charges in four indictments, with two of those indictments anchored in his lie that he didn't lose the 2020 election. Trump's propensity for falsehoods... Читать дальше...

A sister’s choice to donate her brother’s body for research is helping doctors learn how to one day use pig organs to save human lives. Mary Miller-Duffy struggled with the decision after her brother’s sudden death but is glad she agreed. At NYU Langone Health, a pig kidney has worked properly in his body for over a month and counting — a record. Thousands of people die awaiting a transplant because of a dire shortage of donated organs. NYU's experiment offers important lessons as U.S. regulators... Читать дальше...

The Longhorn Network that launched in 2011 is coming to a close. The 20-year, $300 million partnership with ESPN was revolutionary and it sent shockwaves across college athletics. Rivals thought the Longhorns were becoming a runaway train. Twelve years after studio lights flickered on, the network will soon go dark. The LHN will be folded into the SEC Network when Texas joins the Southeastern Conference next summer.

Ahead of national elections next week, some people in Zimbabwe's rural areas say they are facing intimidation from supporters of the long-ruling ZANU-PF party and a biased state-run media that restricts their options. To combat that, one group of grandmothers is using the WhatsApp messaging app to share information from the opposition party they support in an attempt to cut through the propaganda and reach others in the safety of their homes. The rising use of cellphones and messaging apps to increase... Читать дальше...

Public health advocates say Georgia appears to be doing little to promote its new Medicaid plan or enroll people in it. The program expanded Medicaid coverage to people making up to 100% of the poverty line, but only if they document they are working, volunteering, studying or in vocational rehabilitation for 80 hours per month. It's the nation's only Medicaid program with a work requirement. State officials say they are engaging with stakeholders, community partners and others to help get the word out about the plan. Читать дальше...

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he will visit the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant on Sunday before setting a release date for its treated radioactive wastewater, as his government continues working to promote understanding over the controversial plan at home and abroad. It is time to make a decision, Kishida told reporters in Washington on Friday after wrapping up his summit with U.S. and South Korean leaders at Camp David. The plan has faced strong opposition from Japanese fishing... Читать дальше...

Lawyers and unions representing rail workers say there is a clear pattern across the industry of railroads retaliating against workers who report safety violations or injuries on the job. Often these workers run afoul of managers who don’t want to jeopardize their bonuses. The examples of retaliation discourage other workers from speaking up, out of fear they also could be disciplined or fired. The railroads say they are trying to eliminate the practice by prohibiting retaliation and creating multiple ways for workers to report safety concerns.

Federal officials estimate that local governments now have spending plans in place for most of the money they received under a prominent pandemic relief law. The American Rescue Plan, passed two years ago, provided $350 billion of flexible aid to be divided among thousands of governments. Those governments had spent just 43% of that money as of this spring. But the White House says governments have spending commitments in place for over 80% of the money. In some cases, it's hard to know exactly how the money is being used... Читать дальше...

Wet Paint the 2-1 favorite in $600,000, Grade I event to be run as ninth race on card.

Horse who has shown his versatility captures race on muddy track after pair of seconds.

Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century, has died at the Miami Seaquarium as caregivers prepared to move her from the theme park. The Seaquarium posted on social media that Lolita — also known as Tokitae, or Toki — started exhibiting serious signs of discomfort over the past two days. Officials say Seaquarium and Friends of Toki medical team began treating immediately and aggressively, but the 57-year-old orca died Friday afternoon from an apparent renal condition. Animal... Читать дальше...

A South Dakota museum is closing after almost 40 years over concerns that the chemicals in its taxidermy collection could endanger visitors and staff. The Great Plains Zoo says Thursday that it has closed the Delbridge Museum of Natural History. The zoo CEO says it wasn't an easy decision but she believes its the right one. She says the chemicals used to preserve the animals can be released into the environment and tests have found the chemicals in the museum. The museum's collection was one of the... Читать дальше...

San Francisco has launched an autonomous shuttle service less than a week after regulators approved the expansion of robotaxis despite traffic and safety concerns. The free shuttle will run daily in a fixed route called the Loop around Treasure Island, the site of a former U.S. Navy base in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The all-electric vehicle, which doesn’t have a driver’s seat or steering wheel, is staffed with an attendant who can drive the bus with a handheld controller if necessary. San... Читать дальше...

American Airlines is trying to crack down on a travel hack. This week, American sued a website that sells tickets that let people save money by exploiting a quirk in airline pricing. Consumers book a flight with at least one stop, then get off the plane during the layover and skip the second leg of the flight. Sometimes it's cheaper than a direct flight between two cities. In the lawsuit, American accuses travel website Skiplagged of tricking consumers and reselling American tickets without the airline's approval.

A U.S. Appeals Court has struck down a critical approval for a railroad project that would have allowed oil businesses in eastern Utah to significantly expand fossil fuel production and exports. Friday's ruling is the latest development in the fight over the proposed Uinta Basin Railway, an 88-mile railroad line that would connect oil and gas producers in rural Utah to the broader rail network. The court sided with environmentalists who argue that constructing new infrastructure to transport more... Читать дальше...