Non-IT News Thread
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China's Chang'e-5 mission returns Moon samples
China's Chang'e-5 mission has returned to Earth with the cargo of rock and "soil" it picked up off the Moon.
A capsule carrying the materials landed in Inner Mongolia shortly after 01:30 local time on Thursday (17:30 GMT, Wednesday). It's more than 40 years since the American Apollo and Soviet Luna missions brought their samples home. The new specimens should provide fresh insight on the geology and early history of Earth's satellite. For China, the successful completion of the Chang'e-5 venture will also be seen as another demonstration of the nation's increasing capability in space. -
Climate change: 2021 will be cooler but still in top six warmest
UK Met Office scientists are forecasting that 2021 will be a little cooler around the world, but will still be one of the top six warmest years.
The La Niña weather phenomenon will see temperatures edge down but greenhouse gases will remain the biggest influence. Researchers say the world will likely be around 1C warmer than the pre-industrial era. It will be the seventh year in a row close to or above this mark. According to Met Office projections, the Earth's temperature for 2021 will likely be between 0.91C and 1.15C above what they were in the years from 1850-1900 with a central estimate of 1.03C. The 2021 forecast is slightly lower than in recent years, due to the onset of the La Niña event in the tropical Pacific. A La Niña develops when strong winds blow the warm surface waters of the Pacific away from South America and towards the Philippines. -
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Saw this on Parler about the Rose Bowl
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/531063-rose-bowl-moving-to-texas-due-to-virus-restrictions -
@EddieJennings said in Non-IT News Thread:
Saw this on Parler about the Rose Bowl
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/531063-rose-bowl-moving-to-texas-due-to-virus-restrictionsThe follow-up new article will be how the Rose Bowl in Texas directly relates to a spike in cases - Texas refuses mask mandate and encourages all businesses to operate at full capacity.
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Covid: Flights shut down as EU discusses UK virus threat
EU officials are discussing a joint response to a new, more infectious Covid-19 variant in the UK, which has sparked travel bans by many countries.
Canada and India joined European states in blocking flights from the UK while Europe-bound train services via the Channel Tunnel have been halted. The new variant is said to be up to 70% more transmissible, but there is no evidence that it is more deadly. There is also no proof to suggest that it reacts differently to vaccines. Two meetings are taking place in Brussels on Monday - one involving health ministers and another with the EU's crisis response team. But no decision is expected until Tuesday, when EU ambassadors meet. -
Coronavirus spreads to Antarctic research station
Coronavirus has reached the Antarctic continent, which had so far been free of Covid-19.
The Chilean army has reported 36 cases at its Bernardo O'Higgins research station on the Antarctic Peninsula. The 36, 26 of whom are military personnel and 10 maintenance workers, have been evacuated to Chile. The news comes just days after Chile's navy confirmed three cases on a ship which had taken supplies and personnel to the research station. The news means that Covid cases have now been recorded on all seven continents. The Sargento Aldea arrived at the research station on 27 November and sailed back to Chile on 10 December. Three of its crew tested positive upon their return to the Chilean naval base in Talcahuano. -
@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Coronavirus spreads to Antarctic research station
Coronavirus has reached the Antarctic continent, which had so far been free of Covid-19.
The Chilean army has reported 36 cases at its Bernardo O'Higgins research station on the Antarctic Peninsula. The 36, 26 of whom are military personnel and 10 maintenance workers, have been evacuated to Chile. The news comes just days after Chile's navy confirmed three cases on a ship which had taken supplies and personnel to the research station. The news means that Covid cases have now been recorded on all seven continents. The Sargento Aldea arrived at the research station on 27 November and sailed back to Chile on 10 December. Three of its crew tested positive upon their return to the Chilean naval base in Talcahuano.Wow... can't even keep the penguins safe. . . Humans SUCK!
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@DustinB3403 said in Non-IT News Thread:
@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Coronavirus spreads to Antarctic research station
Coronavirus has reached the Antarctic continent, which had so far been free of Covid-19.
The Chilean army has reported 36 cases at its Bernardo O'Higgins research station on the Antarctic Peninsula. The 36, 26 of whom are military personnel and 10 maintenance workers, have been evacuated to Chile. The news comes just days after Chile's navy confirmed three cases on a ship which had taken supplies and personnel to the research station. The news means that Covid cases have now been recorded on all seven continents. The Sargento Aldea arrived at the research station on 27 November and sailed back to Chile on 10 December. Three of its crew tested positive upon their return to the Chilean naval base in Talcahuano.Wow... can't even keep the penguins safe. . . Humans SUCK!
Definitely on occasion. Pretty miraculous also.
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Wonder Woman 1984: 'Surprisingly robust' US debut for film sequel
The sequel to 2017's superhero hit Wonder Woman has opened in US cinemas, generating "surprisingly robust" ticket sales, according to one industry paper.
Variety said Wonder Woman 1984's $16.7m (£12.3m) debut was "the biggest opening weekend haul in the coronavirus era". The Warner Bros film was made available on the HBO Max streaming service on the same day it opened in more than 2,000 cinemas in the US and Canada. Its distributor said HBO Max's viewing hours had tripled as a consequence. According to Warner Media, nearly half of the platform's retail subscribers viewed Wonder Woman 1984 when it became available on Christmas Day. It said HBO Max's total viewing hours on 25 December were more than three times that of a typical day in the previous month. -
Croatia earthquake: Seven dead as rescuers search rubble for survivors
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake has struck central Croatia, with reports of many injuries and at least seven deaths.
A 12-year-old girl was killed in Petrinja, the prime minister said as he visited the town. Five people died in the nearby town of Glina, his deputy said. A seventh victim was found in the rubble of a church in Zazina, state media reports. Petrinja's mayor said around half the town had been destroyed and people were being pulled from the rubble. The earthquake could be felt in the Croatian capital Zagreb, in neighbouring Bosnia and Serbia, and as far away as Italy. One woman was pulled alive from the rubble of the town hall in Petrinja, Croatian media reported. -
Covid: New lockdown for England amid 'hardest weeks'
Everyone in England must stay at home except for permitted reasons during a new coronavirus lockdown expected to last until mid-February, the PM says.
All schools and colleges will close to most pupils and switch to remote learning from Tuesday. Boris Johnson warned the coming weeks would be the "hardest yet" amid surging cases and patient numbers. He said those in the top four priority groups would be offered a first vaccine dose by the middle of next month. All care home residents and their carers, everyone aged 70 and over, all frontline health and social care workers, and the clinically extremely vulnerable will be offered one dose of a vaccine by mid-February. -
Jacob Blake: No police officers charged over Kenosha shooting
No police officer will face charges over the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin - an incident which sparked protests in the US.
Mr Blake was left paralysed from the waist down after being shot several times in the back as he got into a car where his three children were sitting. The shooting of Mr Blake, a black man, by a white police officer on 23 August aggravated racial tensions. Two people died and one was injured in another shooting in Kenosha days later. Kyle Rittenhouse, now 18, denied six charges including first-degree reckless homicide over the shootings when he appeared at a virtual arraignment with his lawyer, Mark Richards, on Tuesday. -
Georgia election: Democrats on course for Senate control
The Democratic Party of US President-elect Joe Biden is on the verge of taking control of the Senate as results come in from two elections in Georgia.
Pastor Raphael Warnock is projected to win one seat. Fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff leads narrowly in the other. If they both win, Mr Biden will have a much better chance of pushing through his legislative agenda. It comes as US lawmakers prepare to confirm Mr Biden's presidential election victory. A joint session of Congress will be held to count and confirm electoral college votes, but some Republicans are seeking to overturn the results in a number of states. The bid is almost certain to fail. However, both houses of Congress may have to spend hours debating their objections. -
Protestors break into the capital of the US
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/congress-electoral-college-vote-count-2021/index.html
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Capitol riot: Calls grow for Trump to be removed from office
US President Donald Trump's opponents in the two houses of Congress have called for him to be removed from office after the violent invasion of the Capitol by a mob of his supporters.
Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said Mr Trump should be removed immediately. If he is not, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says he could be impeached. Four people died during the riot, and 68 have now been arrested. Police have faced criticism for failing to stop the rioters breaking in. The official responsible for security in the House of Representatives, the sergeant at arms, has now resigned. Mr Schumer has called for his counterpart in the Senate to be sacked. -
Capitol riots: The hunt to identify and arrest Capitol rioters
After the siege on the US Capitol building, the FBI is appealing to the public for help in bringing the assailants to justice. Will this approach work?
Trump supporters converged on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to express their rage over Joe Biden's victory in the election, wreaking havoc in Congress. Rioters were pictured vandalising congressional offices, and an aide to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Washington's top Democrat, reported a laptop was stolen. Richard Barnett, a 60-year-old from Gravette, Arkansas, one of the individuals who entered the Capitol building, has been arrested, according to Justice Department officials. He was not hard to find. -
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Capitol riots: FBI warnings amid fears of more pro-Trump violence
The FBI is warning of the possibility of armed protests being held across the US in the days before Joe Biden is sworn in as president.
There are reports of armed groups planning to gather at all 50 state capitols and in Washington DC in the run-up to his 20 January inauguration. The fears come as security plans are hardened for the event itself. On Monday, Mr Biden told reporters he was not afraid to take the oath of office outside of the US Capitol. Both he and Kamala Harris are still expected to be sworn in outside the building, only two weeks after it was the site of a deadly raid by radical supporters of President Donald Trump opposing the election result. -
Lisa Montgomery: US executes only woman on federal death row
Lisa Montgomery - the only female inmate on federal death row in the US - has been executed for murder.
She received a lethal injection at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, after a last-minute stay of execution was lifted by the US Supreme Court. The case attracted attention because her lawyers argued she was mentally ill and suffered serious abuse as a child. The 52-year-old strangled a pregnant woman before cutting out and kidnapping her baby in Missouri in 2004. Her victim, 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett, bled to death but her baby was safely recovered and returned to her family. Montgomery is the first female federal inmate to be put to death by the US government in 67 years.
