2018年8月9日星期四

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Police Chief Pens Heartbreaking Letter After Learning Son Allegedly Attacked Sikh Man

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 07:11 PM PDT

Police Chief Pens Heartbreaking Letter After Learning Son Allegedly Attacked Sikh ManA 71-year-old Sikh man was violently assaulted in Northern California during


Why QAnon has gained traction in Trump’s America

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 02:00 AM PDT

Why QAnon has gained traction in Trump's AmericaWashington Post senior editor Marc Fisher talks about the rise of the fringe conspiracy movement QAnon.


Devin Nunes: GOP Can’t Impeach Rosenstein Without Risking Kavanaugh Nomination

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 07:44 PM PDT

Devin Nunes: GOP Can't Impeach Rosenstein Without Risking Kavanaugh NominationRep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) suggested at a fundraising dinner last week that


California just had its hottest month on record, and that means more wildfires

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 02:34 PM PDT

California just had its hottest month on record, and that means more wildfiresIt should come as no surprise that California is burning.  On Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that July was California's hottest month since record keeping began in 1895. Those scorching temperatures withered the land, creating profoundly parched forests primed to catch fire with just a spark.  SEE ALSO: Engineering Earth's climate might quell global warming, but it could come with a cost Major wildfires are propelled by weather, notably strong winds, but they're also enhanced by overall rising global temperatures due to human-caused climate change, say scientists. This is a particularly stark reality in California, where even in early July, fire scientists noted that the state's vegetation reached near-record dryness.  On Monday, the Mendocino Complex Fire became the largest blaze in state history, easily outpacing the Thomas Fire, which broke the record just this past winter.  Just in: #California had its warmest July on record, as hot, dry weather fueled multiple #wildfires across the state. https://t.co/ggKyL5hS1V — NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) August 8, 2018 Nearly the entire Golden State experienced either record heat or temperatures "much above average" in July, said NOAA.  However, California wasn't alone in experiencing scorching temperatures and multiple heat waves.  Most of the West was abnormally warm, and in the contiguous U.S., May through July temperatures were also the warmest on record, eclipsing the previous record set in 1934. Image: noaaAs climate and environmental scientists are quick to point out, individual temperature records are not too meaningful — it's the long-term trends that matter.  And California's summer heat is certainly a continuation of accelerating warming trends in both the U.S. and around the globe.   Heat waves and longer warming spells will certainly happen, regardless of what the climate is doing, as big blobs of warm air can settle over areas, like California or Europe, for extended periods of time.  But the climate is simply warmer that it was a half century ago, giving hot temperatures an extra boost — which can mean vast swathes of land are turned to fire-ready tinder.   #HolyFire appears to be picking up significantly, making a run to the north, along eastern side of the ridge leading up to Santiago Peak. Current view from HPWREN's camera #CAwx #OrangeCounty #Riverside #SanDiego pic.twitter.com/eqc3gnZ6nR — NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) August 8, 2018 Yet another heat wave continues this week in portions of California, like Los Angeles. As might be expected, this doesn't bode well for the already dry vegetation in the region. Southern California's Holly Fire is now actively growing near suburban neighborhoods. Relieving rains aren't expected in much of the state for months.  California, like recently scorched Greece, experiences the dry, warm summers defined by the Mediterranean climate. Historically, fires happen during this time of year.  But now — just like heat waves around the world — they're getting worse. And the consequences are plainly visible.  WATCH: This "horror" was spotted off the coast of the Carolinas


Kids' travel nightmare

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 03:07 AM PDT

Kids' travel nightmareTwo angry Florida parents are asking why an airline neglected to notify them after their unaccompanied children's flight was diverted to different destination. ABC News' Maggie Rulli reports.


NYPD: Dad fled to Thailand after tossing dead baby in river

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 04:29 PM PDT

NYPD: Dad fled to Thailand after tossing dead baby in riverNEW YORK (AP) — A Bronx dad fled to Thailand after carrying his dead 7-month-old baby around New York City in a backpack and tossing his body into a river near the Brooklyn Bridge and other tourist spots, police said Wednesday.


Amateur fossil hunter finds rare teeth from ancient mega-shark on Australian beach

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 05:48 AM PDT

Amateur fossil hunter finds rare teeth from ancient mega-shark on Australian beachA rare set of teeth from a giant prehistoric mega-shark twice the size of the great white have been found on an Australian beach by a keen-eyed amateur enthusiast, scientists said on Thursday. Philip Mullaly was strolling along an area known as a fossil hotspot at Jan Juc, on the country's famous Great Ocean Road some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Melbourne, when he made the find. "I was walking along the beach looking for fossils, turned and saw this shining glint in a boulder and saw a quarter of the tooth exposed," he said. "I was immediately excited, it was just perfect and I knew it was an important find that needed to be shared with people." He told Museums Victoria, and Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate palaeontology, confirmed the seven centimetre-long (2.7 inch) teeth were from an extinct species of predator known as the great jagged narrow-toothed shark (Carcharocles angustidens). The shark, which stalked Australia's oceans around 25 million years ago, feasting on small whales and penguins, could grow more than nine metres long, almost twice the length of today's great white shark. Fossil enthusiast Philip Mullaly holds a giant shark tooth Credit: WILLIAM WEST/AFP "These teeth are of international significance, as they represent one of just three associated groupings of Carcharocles angustidens teeth in the world, and the very first set to ever be discovered in Australia," Mr Fitzgerald said. He explained that almost all fossils of sharks worldwide were just single teeth, and it was extremely rare to find multiple associated teeth from the same shark. This is because sharks, who have the ability to regrow teeth, lose up to a tooth a day and cartilage, the material a shark skeleton is made of, does not readily fossilise. Mr Fitzgerald suspected they came from one individual shark and there might be more entombed in the rock. So he led a team of palaeontologists, volunteers, and Mr Mullaly on two expeditions earlier this year to excavate the site, collecting more than 40 teeth in total. Most came from the mega-shark, but several smaller teeth were also found from the sixgill shark (Hexanchus), which still exists today. Museums Victoria palaeontologist Tim Ziegler said the sixgill teeth were from several different individuals and would have become dislodged as they scavenged on the carcass of the Carcharocles angustidens after it died. "The stench of blood and decaying flesh would have drawn scavengers from far around," he said. "Sixgill sharks still exist off the Victorian coast today, where they live off the remains of whales and other animals. This find suggests they have performed that lifestyle here for tens of millions of years."


Harley Looking for a Guide to Come and Take it By the Hand

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 07:01 AM PDT

Harley Looking for a Guide to Come and Take it By the HandHarley Looking for a Guide to Come and Take it By the Hand The company is willing to learn how to make small bikes, all it needs is someone willing to teach it Harley-Davidson dropped a bomb last week when it announced a series of measures to diversify


Senator: Russia has 'penetrated' Florida counties ahead of midterms

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 02:54 PM PDT

Senator: Russia has 'penetrated' Florida counties ahead of midtermsSen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said that Russian "bad actors" may try to alter his state's voter registration rolls in the upcoming midterms.


Author Lee Strobel Backs Women Accusing Megachurch Pastor Of Sexual Misconduct

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 01:49 PM PDT

Author Lee Strobel Backs Women Accusing Megachurch Pastor Of Sexual MisconductA popular evangelical Christian author has chimed in to support several women


Midterm Mania No. 1: Why Democrats and Republicans should worry about the Ohio results

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 03:09 PM PDT

Midterm Mania No. 1: Why Democrats and Republicans should worry about the Ohio resultsEverything you need to know this week about Election 2018


Supreme Court clears way for Tennessee to execute murderer

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 01:51 PM PDT

Supreme Court clears way for Tennessee to execute murdererThe decision cleared the path for the lethal injection and came just hours before the state was scheduled to put to death Billy Irick, 59, at 7 p.m. CDT (0000 GMT) at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. The execution would be the first in the state since 2009 and the 15th this year in the United States. Lawyers for Irick, who has been on death row more than three decades, said he has suffered from psychosis for his entire life and putting him to death would violate legal norms barring the execution of people with severe mental disorders or disabilities.


Israeli aircraft strike Gaza after Palestinians fire rockets into Israel

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 12:23 PM PDT

Israeli aircraft strike Gaza after Palestinians fire rockets into IsraelIsraeli aircraft struck more than 150 targets in Gaza overnight, and Palestinian militants fired scores of rockets, including a long-range missile, deep into Israel, escalating fighting despite talks on a truce to avert an all-out conflict. Israel has fought three wars in the past decade with Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip.


Man who mistakenly knocked on New York car window because he thought it was his Uber dies after driver gets out and punches him

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 07:25 AM PDT

Man who mistakenly knocked on New York car window because he thought it was his Uber dies after driver gets out and punches himA Florida man has died after being punched by a driver whose car window he knocked because he mistakenly thought the vehicle was his Uber. Sandor Szabo, 35, was visiting New York City for a wedding from his home in Boca Raton, Florida. Mr Szabo had reportedly knocked on a number of car windows in Long Island City, a neighbourhood in the Queens borough, at 1am on Sunday, to see which was his Uber ride.


Death toll rises to 319 from Lombok earthquake, as 5.9-magnitude aftershock causes panic among evacuees 

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 03:59 AM PDT

Death toll rises to 319 from Lombok earthquake, as 5.9-magnitude aftershock causes panic among evacuees The Indonesian island of Lombok was shaken by a third big earthquake in little more than a week Thursday as the official death toll from an earlier quake topped 300. The 5.9-magnitude quake struck at a shallow depth in the northwest of the island, the US Geological Survey said, even as relief agencies raced to find survivors among the wreckage from Sunday's quake. It was the strongest of some 355 aftershocks that have rattled the island since Sunday, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. Evacuees at a shelter in northern Lombok's Tanjung district ran out onto the road crying and screaming, an AFP reporter at the scene said. Motorcycles parked on the street toppled over and the walls of some nearby buildings collapsed. A woman wearing a motorbike helmet was seen crying with her two daughters in her arms. An Indonesian woman cries next to her children shortly after an aftershock hits the area in Tanjung on Lombok island on August 9 Credit: ADEK BERRY/ AFP "We were stuck in the traffic while delivering aid, suddenly it felt like our car was hit from behind, it was so strong," witness Sri Laksmi told AFP. "People in the street began to panic and got out of their cars, they ran in different directions in the middle of the traffic." The aftershock comes just four days after a devastating 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Lombok, which relief agencies said had wiped out entire villages in the worst-hit regions in the north and west. An Indonesian man tries to calm a woman shortly after an aftershock hits the area in Tanjung on Lombok island on August 9  Credit: ADEK BERRY/AFP The death toll from the first earthquake rose dramatically on Thursday.  "The latest update is that 319 people died," said Indonesia's chief security minister Wiranto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. A further 1,400 are seriously injured and more than 150,000 displaced. 'Exceptionally destructive' Local authorities, international relief groups and the central government have begun organising aid, but shattered roads have slowed efforts to reach survivors in the mountainous north of Lombok, which bore the brunt of the quake. Aid begun trickling into some of the most isolated regions, officials said midday Thursday, but many people displaced by the quake still lack basic supplies. In some parts of northern Lombok, survivors can be seen standing on the road with cardboard boxes asking for donations and food. "We are still waiting for assessments from some of the more remote areas in the north of the island, but it is already clear that Sunday's earthquake was exceptionally destructive," Christopher Rassi, the head of a Red Cross assessment team on Lombok, said in a statement. "I visited villages yesterday that were completely collapsed." Members of an Indonesian search and rescue team look for victim of the recent quake in Tanjung on Lombok island on August 9 Credit: ADEK BERRY/AFP Tens of thousands of homes, businesses and mosques were levelled by the quake, which struck on Sunday as evening prayers were being said across the Muslim-majority island. There are fears that two collapsed mosques in north Lombok had been filled with worshippers. Rescuers have found three bodies and also managed to pull one man alive from the twisted wreckage of one mosque in Lading Lading village, while at least one body has been spotted under the rubble in Pemenang. Authorities are gathering information from family members with missing relatives to determine how many more people may have been in the buildings when they collapsed, national search and rescue agency spokesman Yusuf Latif told AFP. Waiting for aid  Across much of the island, a popular tourist destination, once-bustling villages have been turned into virtual ghost towns. Many frightened villagers are staying under tents or tarpaulins dotted along roads or in parched rice fields, and makeshift medical facilities have been set up to treat the injured. Evacuees in some encampments say they are running out of food, while others are suffering psychological trauma after the powerful quake, which struck just one week after another tremor surged through the island and killed 17. There is a dire need for medical staff and "long-term aid", especially food and medicine in the worst-hit areas, government officials said. Some evacuees have complained of being ignored or experiencing long delays for supplies to arrive at shelters. A man inspects the ruin of his house destroyed by an earthquake in North Lombok, Indonesia Credit: Firdia Lisnawati/ AP "There has been no help at all here," said 36-year-old Multazam, staying with hundreds of others under tarpaulins on a dry paddy field outside West Pemenang village. "We have no clean water, so if we want to go to the toilet we use a small river nearby," he said, adding they needed food, bedding and medicine. The Indonesian Red Cross said it had set up 10 mobile clinics in the north of the island. A field hospital has also been established near an evacuation centre catering to more than 500 people in the village of Tanjung. Kurniawan Eko Wibowo, a doctor at the field hospital, said most patients had broken bones and head injuries. "We lack the infrastructure to perform operations because (they) need to be performed in a sterile place," Wibowo told AFP. Aid groups say children are particularly vulnerable, with many sleeping in open fields and suffering illnesses from lack of warm clothing and blankets.


BMW 3 Series GT Could Disappear In 2020

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 03:31 PM PDT

BMW 3 Series GT Could Disappear In 2020It may become a 4 Series model.


Saudi official says Canada dispute won't affect oil sales

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 03:55 AM PDT

Saudi official says Canada dispute won't affect oil salesDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia's diplomatic dispute with Canada over its arrest of women's rights activists will not affect the ultraconservative kingdom's oil sales to Canadian customers, the Saudi energy minister said Thursday.


Alex Jones' 'Free Speech' Shouldn't Be Your Primary Concern

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 09:23 AM PDT

Alex Jones' 'Free Speech' Shouldn't Be Your Primary ConcernAfter Apple, YouTube, Facebook and other companies removed or banned some of


As Mollie Tibbetts Search Enters 4th Week, a Look at Other Cases of Women Gone Missing

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 08:54 AM PDT

As Mollie Tibbetts Search Enters 4th Week, a Look at Other Cases of Women Gone MissingLike Tibbetts' family, many other missing women's loved ones want answers to what happened to their daughters and mothers.


New video of missing Iowa jogger the day before she vanished

Posted: 07 Aug 2018 06:40 PM PDT

New video of missing Iowa jogger the day before she vanishedThe video, taken by a friend, shows Mollie Tibbetts the day before she was last seen.


US Supreme Court declines to halt execution of child killer

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 03:53 PM PDT

US Supreme Court declines to halt execution of child killerThe high court's rejection of Irick's appeal likely means his execution will move forward Thursday evening in the state of Tennessee. In an appeal to the Supreme Court, Irick's lawyers challenged Tennessee's lethal injection protocol, which included the use of the sedative midazolam. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan denied the appeal without comment.


Great white shark leaps out of sea and lunges at researcher with teeth bared

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 01:59 AM PDT

Great white shark leaps out of sea and lunges at researcher with teeth baredA great white shark has been caught on camera leaping out of the sea beneath a researcher and lunging at him with its teeth bared. Greg Skomal was standing on the bow of a research boat off Cape Cod, near Boston, when the predator breached the water. Did you see that?" Mr Skomal shouted.


Australia's most populous state now entirely in drought as farmers given authority to shoot kangaroos 

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 03:55 AM PDT

Australia's most populous state now entirely in drought as farmers given authority to shoot kangaroos Australia's most populous state was declared entirely in drought on Wednesday and struggling farmers were given new authority to shoot kangaroos that compete with livestock for sparse pasture during the most intense dry spell in more than 50 years. Much of Australia's southeast is struggling with drought. But the drought conditions in the state of New South Wales this year have been the driest and most widespread since 1965. The state government said Wednesday that 100 percent of New South Wales' land area of more than 800,000 square kilometers (309,000 square miles) was now in drought. Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair said farmers were enduring one of the driest Southern Hemisphere winters on record. "This is tough. There isn't a person in the state that isn't hoping to see some rain for our farmers and regional communities," Blair said in a statement. Cattle on a dry paddock in the drought-hit area of Quirindi in New South Wales Credit:  GLENN NICHOLLS/AFP Farm reservoirs have dried up and crops are failing. State and federal governments are providing financial help, but not enough for many farmers. With dry conditions forecast to continue for the next three months, farmers had to decide whether to continue the expensive and laborious task of hand-feeding cattle and sheep or sell their livestock. The state government on Wednesday also lifted the number of kangaroos that farmers are allowed to shoot and reduced bureaucratic red tape facing land holders applying for permission to shoot. Farmer Clive Barton walking through the paddocks in the drought-hit area of Duri in New South Wales Credit:  SAEED KHAN/ AFP The requirement to tag dead kangaroos to keep a tally of the number shot across the state had been dispensed with. "Many farmers are taking livestock off their paddocks, only to then see kangaroos move in and take whatever is left," Blair said. "If we don't manage this situation, we will start to see tens of thousands of kangaroos starving and suffering, ultimately leading to a major animal welfare crisis," he added. A train makes its way through dry paddocks in the drought-hit area of Quirindi in New South Wales Credit: GLENN NICHOLLS/ AFP But Ray Borda, president of the Kangaroo Industries Association of Australia, which represents commercial shooters who hunt kangaroos for meat and leather, raised animal welfare concerns about the regulation changes. "Anybody on the land that will make a phone call to the Department of Environment can get permission to shoot almost whatever they want to shoot and it's unaudited and unchecked and that's our concern - animal welfare," Borda told Australian Broadcasting Corp. The government would have been better off subsidizing professional shooters to reduce kangaroo numbers more humanely, he said. "We see this as probably the worst possible outcome for the kangaroo, but I've got to emphasize we do understand the plight that farmers are in," Borda said. 


Laura Ingraham Has Been Peddling White Nationalism For Years: A Reminder

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 11:34 AM PDT

Laura Ingraham Has Been Peddling White Nationalism For Years: A ReminderFrom her perch on a prime-time national television show, conservative


Oil tumbles on slowing Chinese demand, U.S.-China trade spat

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 12:24 PM PDT

Oil tumbles on slowing Chinese demand, U.S.-China trade spatBy Stephanie Kelly NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slid about 3 percent on Wednesday as a trade dispute between the United States and China escalated further and after Chinese import data showed a slowdown in energy demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $2.23 to settle at $66.94 a barrel, a 3.22 percent loss. China is slapping additional tariffs of 25 percent on $16 billion worth of U.S. imports, from fuel and steel products to autos and medical equipment.


Brett Kavanaugh Is Rigged Justice

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 02:45 AM PDT

Brett Kavanaugh Is Rigged JusticeOur rigged political system, supposedly under siege from all sides, is about


Records: Texas dad said son pleaded for mercy before death

Posted: 07 Aug 2018 07:16 PM PDT

Records: Texas dad said son pleaded for mercy before deathDALLAS (AP) — A Houston man accused of killing his two children told authorities his 8-year-old son said "daddy, I'm sorry" before having his throat cut, according to court documents obtained Tuesday.


Pawtraits! Husband and wife capture diverse personalities of a wide variety of dog breeds

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 12:30 PM PDT

Pawtraits! Husband and wife capture diverse personalities of a wide variety of dog breedsThese adorable pawtraits seem to show the personalities of a variety of canines, capturing their incredible diverseness in their expressions and fine details.Whether it be Chika the miniature schnauzer's shy wave or Fiji the basenji's cheeky side-eye, Alexander Khokhlov and Veronica Ershova allow the personalities of their subjects to really come out in their series, "The Dog Show."Khokhlov and Ershova, who are from Moscow, have taken portraits of about 50 breeds of pooches — earning much critical acclaim. (Caters News)


Orca mother grieving for dead calf inspires push to save dying pods

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 12:18 PM PDT

Orca mother grieving for dead calf inspires push to save dying podsHeadlines on mother who carried baby for days fuel concern over Seattle population that is stressed and starving A baby orca whale being pushed by her mother after being born on 24 July. The new orca died soon after. Photograph: David Ellifrit/AP


Video: The mountain where classic Land Rovers are life and death

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 03:13 AM PDT

Video: The mountain where classic Land Rovers are life and deathIn brand's 70th year, a team from Solihull visits town of Maneybhanjang to witness how classic Land Rovers are relied on when no other vehicle can manage


Clashes after Argentine lawmakers reject bill to legalize abortion

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 06:42 AM PDT

Clashes after Argentine lawmakers reject bill to legalize abortionArgentina's Senate on Thursday rejected a bill to legalize elective abortion, a defeat for a grassroots movement that came closer than ever to achieving the decriminalization of the procedure. After the vote, small groups of protesters clashed with police, throwing firebombs and setting up flaming barricades. Police officers responded with tear gas.


Iraq caught in crossfire of US sanctions on Iran

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 10:22 AM PDT

Iraq caught in crossfire of US sanctions on IranCaught in the crossfire between its key allies Tehran and Washington, Iraq's economy could suffer the heaviest collateral damage from the US reimposing sanctions against Iran. Washington slapped unilateral sanctions back on Tehran on Tuesday, after pulling out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal in May. For Iraq, recently emerged from an expensive war on jihadists, the embargo on its neighbour could hit jobs and cut off a crucial source of cheap imports.


Sharice Davids Will Get A Chance To Be One Of The First Native American Women In Congress

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 07:10 AM PDT

Sharice Davids Will Get A Chance To Be One Of The First Native American Women In CongressSharice Davids, a former MMA fighter and White House fellow, won the


Alaska ranger recounts hanging from rope above crashed plane

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 06:25 PM PDT

Alaska ranger recounts hanging from rope above crashed planeANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A National Park Service mountain ranger didn't dare unhook a rope connecting him to a hovering helicopter as he stood on the nose of a wrecked airplane on a mountainside in Alaska's Denali National Park.


Parents Charged With Murder After Refusing To Get Medical Help For Sick Baby: Cops

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 12:41 PM PDT

Parents Charged With Murder After Refusing To Get Medical Help For Sick Baby: CopsA Michigan couple who told cops they declined to get medical help for their


Nasa probe will still be circling Sun at end of Solar System say scientists

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 11:15 AM PDT

Nasa probe will still be circling Sun at end of Solar System say scientistsNasa's new solar spacecraft is so indestructable that parts of it will be circling the Sun until the Solar System ends, eight billion years from now, scientists have said.  The US space agency launches its Parker Solar Probe on Saturday, which will travel closer to the Sun than any mission before, to unlock the secrets of fierce radioactive storms which threaten Earth.  Earth, and all the other objects in the Solar System are constantly plowing through what is known as the solar wind - a constant stream of high-energy particles, mostly protons and electrons, hurled into space by The Sun. These radioactive storms are so powerful they are able to knock out satellites, disrupt services such as communications and GPS, threaten aircraft and in even interfere with electricity supplies. The mission Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, the closest any man-made instrument has ever got to a star.  For seven years it will orbit at around 3.38 million miles from the star's surface, where temperatures reach 1,400C. The probe is relying on a 4.5 inch carbon heat shield which has taken 10 years to develop and which is so strong it will survive for billions of years even when the rest of the spacecraft has disintegrated. Speaking at a briefing ahead of the launch, Andy Driesman, Parker Solar Probe Programme Manager from Johns Hopkins University said: "At four million miles the Sun is very hot, so we need to bring an umbrella with us. "It's a carbon heat shield. It took 18 months to fabricate it and a decade to develop it.  "Eventually the spacecraft will run out of propellant and will leave altitude control and parts of it will transition into the Sun. But hopefully in 10 to 20 years there is going to be this carbon disc and that will be around to the end of the Solar System." The Parker Solar Probe  Credit: Ed Whitman Johns Hopkins APL/NASA The spacecraft also holds a memory card containing the names of more than 1.1 million members of the public who were asked to write in to support the mission. London-born professor Nicky Fox, project scientist from Johns Hopkins University, said: "I think the spacecraft will break up into parts and form dust, and then those names will orbit the Sun forever." The nearest a spacecraft has previously come to the Sun was the Helios 2 mission in 1976, which flew to within 27 million miles. Once inside the corona, sensory equipment will attempt to 'taste' and 'smell' electronic particles while they are still moving slowly enough to be measured. Professor Mathew Owens, space scientist at the University of Reading, said: "It's an incredibly hostile environment in which to do science, so the spacecraft has faced enormous engineering challenges. But everything is looking positive for Saturday. "The thing we really don't understand about the Sun, and therefore stars in general, is why its atmosphere gets hotter further away from the heat source. "We've been trying to solve this mystery for more than 50 years, by taking measurements from a nice, safe distance, and it's left us in an unusual position. We've got a bunch of theories that seem to work, but don't know which ones actually explain the Sun." Currently, solar activity is monitored by a network of satellites, but scientists still have a poo understanding of how radiation builds up in the star's outer atmosphere and then accelerates towards Earth. A better understanding of "space weather" is also considered crucial for protecting astronauts and their equipment for any future endeavours to colonise the Moon or Mars. The Parker Solar Probe will go closer to a star than any mission has ever gone  Credit: Nasa The Parker Solar Probe, which weights 1,400lbs, will travel faster than any craft ever before at 430,000 mph, and during its a seven-year mission will make 24 orbits of the Sun. The spacecraft will carry instruments to measure bulk plasma, described as the 'bread and butter' of solar waves, as well as a full package of magnetic measuring equipment. Eugene Parker, who the mission is named after  Credit: AFP It will also carry a white light imager, dubbed 'Whisper' which can photograph solar waves. "Where does the solar wind come from? What causes flares and coronal mass ejections? We still don't understand these processes," said Justin Kasper, professor of climate and space sciences and engineering at the University of Michigan, mission principal investigator on the Parker Solar Probe. "The Parker Solar Probe will help us do a much better job of predicting when a disturbance in the solar wind could hit Earth." The mission was named after Eugene Parker, the solar astrophysicist who first discovered the solar wind, and has been in the works for more than half a century. The memory card on board also contains a copy of his first scientific paper outlining his work. It was conceived before a space program, or even Nasa, existed.


VW Tanoak Pickup Truck "Carefully" Being Considered For The U.S.


Posted: 08 Aug 2018 01:35 PM PDT

VW Tanoak Pickup Truck "Carefully" Being Considered For The U.S.
The U.S. loves its domestic pickup trucks.


Saudi Arabia ends medical programmes and moves patients out of Canada in deepening diplomatic row

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 04:07 AM PDT

Saudi Arabia ends medical programmes and moves patients out of Canada in deepening diplomatic rowSaudi Arabia is transferring all Saudi patients currently receiving medical treatment in Canada to different countries as the diplomatic row between Riyadh and Ottawa shows no sign of abating. All Saudi medical treatment programmes in Canada have been cancelled and arrangements are already underway to move patients out of the country, a state-run Saudi news agency said on Wednesday, citing Fahd bin Ibrahim Al Tamimi, the Saudi health attaché to the US and Canada. The move comes after Saudi Arabia took the stern step this week of expelling the Canadian ambassador and suspending all new trade and investment between the two countries – a retaliation for criticism of the arrests of Saudi civil rights activists.


Ariana Grande Suffers A Mystery Injury While Shooting 'Carpool Karaoke'

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 05:13 AM PDT

Ariana Grande Suffers A Mystery Injury While Shooting 'Carpool Karaoke'Pop star Ariana Grande shot a "Carpool Karaoke" segment for "The Late Late


Washington demands probe into Yemen bus strike

Posted: 09 Aug 2018 02:27 PM PDT

Washington demands probe into Yemen bus strikeThe United States called Thursday for a "thorough" investigation following the deaths of 29 children in northern Yemen in a strike on a bus carried out by the Saudi-led coalition. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the US was "concerned" by reports of an attack resulting in civilian deaths. "We are calling the Saudi led coalition to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident," she said.


Mollie Tibbetts latest: New video shows Iowa student laughing the day before she went missing

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 05:45 AM PDT

Mollie Tibbetts latest: New video shows Iowa student laughing the day before she went missingNew video shows missing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts the day before she went missing.


Former Bush Aide: Trump’s ‘Loopy Ways’ Put Him At Massive Risk In A Mueller Sit-Down

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 08:53 PM PDT

Former Bush Aide: Trump's 'Loopy Ways' Put Him At Massive Risk In A Mueller Sit-DownFormer White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Wednesday that an


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