According to NASA and NOAA, the Earth is now trapping an unprecedented amount of heat, which is contributing to rapidly warming air, water, and land. That helps to explain the heatwave heading to the American West, and some 200 million people are expected to suffer through 90º weather––another 40 million will be sweating through 100º+ weather. …

There is a heatwave heading to the American West, and some 200 million people are expected to suffer through 90º weather––another 40 million will be sweating through 100º+ weather. Although there has been progress towards addressing climate change (see below), this is a reminder that we are still in––forgive the pun––hot water. The spiking temperatures …

While the numbers of patients hospitalized for critical cases of COVID has dropped dramatically, those who are hospitalized tend to have one thing in common: they’re almost all unvaccinated. As many as 178 hospital workers in Houston have been suspended for refusing to be vaccinated. Such vaccine hesitancy, especially among professionals, is problematic. The global …

India’s rapidly burgeoning middle class is in deep trouble. The pandemic has hindered––and in some cases wiped out––their businesses, potentially sending them back to poverty. As India’s COIVD surge begins to abate, its true horror is coming into clearer focus. Struggling under a collapsing health care system, many Indians turned to social media to find help. …

Researchers found that arctic ice is thinning twice as fast as they originally anticipated. Climate scientists have warned that the world has a 40% chance of being hotter than pre-Industrial Revolution temperatures, which is the lower of the two temperature limits set by the Paris Agreement. The odds of that happening sooner rather than later seem …

There has been a sudden spike in COVID cases in southern China, leading to a spate of canceled flights. The country also just reported the first human case of H10N3 bird flu, but the disease is not very dangerous so while there’s nothing to fear from this virus, it is a reminder of the danger …

According to a climbing guide, at least 100 in the Everest climbing industry (climbers, guides, and support staff) have gotten COVID. Nevertheless, climbers are still flocking to Everest. There are fresh waves of COVID surging throughout Asia, ranging from Nepal to Sri Lanka. COVID cases in India topped 20 million. Things have gotten so bad …

As India’s COIVD surge begins to abate, its true horror is coming into clearer focus. Struggling under a collapsing health care system, many Indians turned to social media to find help. Others aggregated information about available hospital beds and open clinics. Earlier this week, India’s COVID deaths officially passed 300,000, although the official count is …

Scott Brown, an ambassador in the Trump administration, has said that Trump’s presidency was “diminished” because of the riots––riots for which Brown says Trump was “absolutely” responsible. Two police officers are suing Donald Trump for physical and emotional injuries suffered as a result of the Capitol riot. One of the prosecutors investigating the January 6 …

China is using a variety of dramatic, authoritarian measures to cut Uighur birthrates, including forcibly implanting IUDs, abortions, and sterilizations. A top State Department official accused China of turning Xinjiang into an “open-air prison” and slamming the religious persecution of the Uighur. China is urging nations not to attend a pro-Uighur event planned by the …

Following Trump’s rabble-rousing, which led to a group of out-of-control rioters storming the United States Capitol, Twitter suspended Trump’s account for 12-hours and forced him to delete several tweets. Subsequently, Twitter permanently banned Donald Trump, citing rumors circulating of a January 17 armed protest. Twitter has also banned some 150,000 QAnon supporters following the January 6 …

More than 101 million Americans have received at least one COVID shot as of the beginning of May, bringing the total to about 43%. The rate of COVID vaccines sat at a whopping 3 million shots per day for two weeks straight, and now about 40% of Americans have received at least one shot. Just …