Climate change made killer heat wave in Mexico, Southwest US even warmer and 35 times more likely
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study finds that human-caused climate change dialed up the heat and drastically increased the odds of this month’s killer heat that has been baking the Southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America. World Weather Attribution, which is a collection of international scientists, calculates that global warming is making sizzling daytime temperatures in this heat wave 35 times more likely and 2.5 degrees hotter. And it really hits hard at night, making dangerous nighttime heat 200 times more likely and 2.9 degrees warmer than if there were no climate change.
Season’s first named storm dumps heavy rains on Texas and Mexico killing 3
TAMPICO, Mexico (AP) — Tropical Storm Alberto is rumbling toward northeast Mexico as the first named storm of the season, carrying heavy rains that left three people dead but also brought hope to a region suffering under a prolonged, severe drought. Mexican authorities downplayed the risk posed by Alberto and instead pinned their hopes on its ability to ease the parched region’s water needs. Much of Mexico has been suffering under severe drought with northern Mexico especially hard hit. But in nearby Nuevo Leon state, civil protection authorities reported three deaths linked to Alberto’s rains.
South Korea will consider supplying arms to Ukraine after Russia and North Korea sign strategic pact
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says it will consider sending arms to Ukraine after Russia and North Korea rattled the region and beyond by signing a pact to come to each other’s defense in the event of war. The comments from a senior presidential official came Thursday, hours after North Korea’s state media released the details of the agreement. Observers say it could mark the strongest connection between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War. It comes a time when Russia faces growing isolation over its war in Ukraine and both countries face escalating standoffs with the West.
Russia obliterates Ukraine’s front-line towns faster with hacked bombs and expanded air base network
KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is intensifying its use of cheap glide bombs to lay waste to cities in eastern Ukraine. The latest generation of the retrofitted weapons have devastated Kharkiv, Avdiivka, Chasiv Yar and Vovchansk. Russia has nearly unlimited supplies of the bombs, which are adapted from Soviet-era stockpiles. They are dispatched from airfields just across the border that Ukraine has not been able to hit. An Associated Press analysis of drone footage, satellite imagery, Ukrainian documents and Russian photos shows that Russia has used the explosives to accelerate its destruction of front-line cities this year on a scale previously unseen in the war.
The fate of the latest cease-fire proposal hinges on Netanyahu and Hamas’ leader in Gaza
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The fate of the proposed cease-fire deal for Gaza hinges in many ways on two men: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. Each leader faces significant political and personal pressures that may be influencing their decision-making. And neither seems to be in a rush to make concessions to end the devastating eight-month-long war and free hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack. Hamas has accepted the broad outline of the plan but requested “amendments.” Netanyahu has publicly disputed aspects of it, even though the U.S. has framed it as an Israeli plan.
New law requires all Louisiana public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana has become the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry on Wednesday signed the bill mandating the displays. The GOP-drafted legislation requires a poster of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” in all public classrooms, from kindergarten to state-funded universities. Opponents question the law’s constitutionality. Civil rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union promised a lawsuit. Proponents say the purpose of the measure is not solely religious, but that it has historical significance. Classrooms must display the Ten Commandments by the start of 2025.
New Mexico wildfire claims second life, while rain offers hope of relief
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — Heavy rain and hail are falling around an evacuated village in New Mexico threatened by wildfires that have killed at least two people and damaged more than 1,400 structures, offering the hope of some assistance for firefighters but adding the threat of high winds and flash floods. Police confirmed Wednesday that the remains of a second fire victim were found. Meteorologists say weather patterns were shifting Wednesday with possible rains later in the afternoon and evening. But there was also a risk of high winds and flash floods.
Illegally brewed liquor kills at least 34 with dozens hospitalized in southern India
NEW DELHI (AP) — Officials say at least 34 people have died and dozens are hospitalized after drinking illegally brewed liquor tainted with methanol in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A local official told the Press Trust of India news agency Thursday the deaths occurred in the state’s Kallakurichi district, where more than 100 people are being treated in hospitals. Deaths from illegally brewed alcohol are common in India, where the poor cannot afford licensed brands from government-run shops. The illicit liquor, which is often spiked with chemicals such as pesticides to increase potency, has also become a hugely profitable industry as bootleggers pay no taxes and sell enormous quantities of their product to the poor at a cheap rate.
On Juneteenth, monument dedicated in Alabama to those who endured slavery
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Equal Justice Initiative nonprofit invoked the Juneteenth holiday as it dedicated a monument that honors the people who endured and survived slavery. The National Monument to Freedom is the centerpiece of the new Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery, Alabama. The monument is inscribed with the surnames that formerly enslaved people chose for themselves after being emancipated at the Civil War’s end. The founder of the Equal Justice Initiative said Juneteenth is a day to honestly confront the brutality of slavery but also honor the people who managed to remain hopeful despite what they faced.
Can a marriage survive a gender transition? Yes, and even thrive. How these couples make it work
Marriages in which a partner undergoes a gender transition can not only survive, but also thrive under the light of new honesty. Such marriages showcase the resilience of love and the flexibility of sexual identity. And they underscore the nuances and diversity of LGBTQ+ relationships 20 years after the first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. and with Pride Month in its sixth decade. Therapists say many such marriages survive. There can be joy in coaching a partner in their new identity. One woman says she’s become more attracted to her transitioned partner. She cites his new confidence and says “he just seems so happy.”
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