Tornadoes shifting east in the U.S., study finds, putting more people at risk | Researchers aren’t sure if the change is permanent and if climate change is playing a role. (wapo.st)
What dead flowers tell us about the future of life on Earth | Amid an extinction crisis, dried plant collections capture how the world is changing. (wapo.st)
By poring over nearly 200 of these pressed orchids, collected by botanists between 1886 and 2022 and stored in drawers at Duke University’s herbarium and elsewhere, scientists found that the flowers are now blooming 12 days earlier on average than they did 150 years ago. At this rate, the orchids may eventually bloom before...
Biden administration sets 50 miles per gallon fuel economy standard for 2031 | The new standards are part of a broad push to get more Americans into electric vehicles (wapo.st)
Trump loyalist pushes ‘post-constitutional’ vision for second term (wapo.st)
Russ Vought, the former president’s budget director, is laying the groundwork for a broad expansion of presidential powers....
Trump plans to claim sweeping powers to cancel federal spending: In a second term, allies said the former president would look at funding cuts for the World Health Organization and green energy (wapo.st)
Classically, Congress held the power of the purse, able to both bar and require spending. This imposed a significant limit on Presidential power. With a bought court supporting him, Trump would have significant ability to essentially chart power as a king.
More than 1.5 billion people have faced dangerous heat this year | A Washington Post analysis of a trove of meteorological records shows the extent of life-threatening heat across the globe (wapo.st)
In the nation’s capital for heat deaths, new efforts aim to save lives | There were more than 600 heat-related deaths last year in Maricopa County, Ariz. (wapo.st)
He said it was notable that as a country, “we haven’t really defined heat as a disaster the way we defined other natural phenomena.” He suggested that thinking about the impact of heat in that way may drive more resources to help.
Several PA House Republicans boo officers who defended Capitol on Jan. 6 | Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell were invited to PA’s House of Representatives — but several GOP lawmakers booed and walked out (wapo.st)
“I heard some hissing and I saw about eight to 10 of my Republican colleagues walk out angrily as they were announced as police officers from the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6,” state Rep. Arvind Venkat (D) said in a phone interview Thursday. “I was shocked and appalled,” he added. According to Venkat, the commotion lasted...
Paris wanted an AC-free Olympics. Visiting nations had other plans. Some delegations feel uneasy about relying on a more sustainable French geothermal cooling system. (wapo.st)
NYC had a bold plan to tax drivers and fund transit. The governor killed it. What would have been America’s first congestion pricing experiment has been delayed by Gov. Kathy Hochul (wapo.st)
A year of record global heat has pushed Earth closer to dangerous threshold (wapo.st)
He repeated past calls for countries to stop investing in new coal power generation, and for developed countries to increase investment in clean energy and extreme weather adaptation, especially in poorer countries that have done the least to contribute to climate change and are feeling some of its worst effects....
Conservative attacks on birth control could threaten access (wapo.st)
Far-right conservatives are sowing misinformation that inaccurately characterizes IUDs, emergency contraception, even birth-control pills as causing abortions
Lawmakers expensed millions in 2023 under new program that doesn’t require receipts (wapo.st)
Must be nice not having to keep track of receipts to blatantly engage in corruption. I’m sure that was a minor inconvenience before.
Never wait in the school car line again. Here’s how. For the first time in decades, a small but critical mass of children are riding their bikes safely to school again in the US. (wapo.st)
cross-posted from: slrpnk.net/post/10212084...
Could spraying sea salt into the clouds cool the planet? An experiment in Alameda, Calif. highlights the controversy surrounding research on altering the environment to cool the planet. (wapo.st)
Never wait in the school car line again. Here’s how. For the first time in decades, a small but critical mass of children are riding their bikes safely to school again in the US. (wapo.st)
Never wait in the school car line again. Here’s how. For the first time in decades, a small but critical mass of children are riding their bikes safely to school again in the US. (wapo.st)
Why Mexico City’s thirst is causing it to sink: The demand for water in Mexico’s capital is draining its underground aquifers — and fueling some of the fastest subsidence rates in the world. (wapo.st)
Russia co-opts far-right politicians in Europe with cash, officials say (wapo.st)
A Kremlin-backed media outlet — the Prague-based Voice of Europe — funneled hundreds of thousands of euros to far-right politicians, officials say.
Billions in taxpayer dollars now go to religious schools via vouchers: The rapid expansion of state voucher programs follows court decisions that have eroded the separation between church and state. (wapo.st)
Massive hailstorms keeping hitting the U.S. Here’s why. (wapo.st)
Meteorologists said such frequent hail storms are to be expected at this time of year, when spring warmth fuels severe weather. But there are some factors making them more damaging than ever, experts said....
Felons often can’t vote in Florida. But Trump likely can, thanks to a quirk of the law. (wapo.st)
Trump suggests to oil donors he will fast-track their merger deals | The ex-president’s pledge to the fossil fuel industry is the latest to emerge from a closed-door fundraising meeting. (wapo.st)
Deaths mount and water rationed as India faces record heat | Reports of heat-related illnesses and deaths have surged across the country as daytime highs hover around 120°F and nights remain over 90°F (wapo.st)
India’s heat waves are attributed to a combination of short-term weather patterns and long-term warming trends fueled by human-caused climate change. Residents in India’s sprawling capital are often particularly affected, because dense buildings, roads, cars and air conditioners contribute to urban heat, experts say.
