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Monday, May 24, 2021

Wake-Up Call: 14 Killed In Italy As Cable Car Falls


Fourteen people were killed in Italy yesterday when a cable car crashed to the ground on Mount Mottarone, which overlooks Lake Maggiore and other lakes in northern Italy, after the lead cable apparently snapped. A five-year-old Israeli boy who was the lone survivor remains hospitalized with multiple broken bones. Israel's foreign ministry said the boy's parents, brother and two great-grandparents were among the dead, and Italian media said the other victims were all Italian residents. Italy's transport minister said a commission had been formed to investigate the causes of the accident and prosecutors will look into any potential criminal charges. The cable car system, which is popular both with tourists and locals to go up Mottarone, had only reopened a few weeks ago after coronavirus lockdowns were lifted.
 
➤NATIONAL GUARD MISSION AT U.S. CAPITOL ENDS: The National Guard mission at the U.S. Capitol ended yesterday, more than four-and-a-half months after being deployed in response to the January 6th attack. The Pentagon had announced that an extension of the remaining 2,149 Guard troops hadn't been requested. Thousands more Guard members who'd been deployed in the wake of the attack were previously sent home. Retired Lieutenant General Russel Honore, who oversaw a security review after the attack on the Capitol, told CBS' Face the Nation yesterday that the Capitol will remain protected by Capitol Police, but it will remain closed to the public because of the strain on the force.

➤GEORGE FLOYD'S FAMILY HOLD MARCH, RALLY FOR ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY: A march and rally were held in Minneapolis yesterday by members of George Floyd's family, one of several events planned across the country to mark the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s death on Tuesday, May 25th. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter were among those at the rally in front of the courthouse where former police officer Derek Chauvin was tried and found guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death last month. Speakers called for justice for the families of Black men killed by police.


➤TWO KILLED AT NEW JERSEY HOUSE PARTY, NO ARRESTS MADE: Two people were shot and killed and 12 others wounded at a house party in southern New Jersey's Fairfield Township late Saturday night. State police said a 30-year-old man and 25-year-old died in the shooting at the '90s-themed party. Two cousins who live nearby said they heard a series of shots, and then party-goers started running into their yards and asking to come into their houses, and cars ran into each other as they tried to drive away, according to AP. No arrests have been made.


➤STUDY..KIDS WHO ARE MORE AGREEABLE GET BETTER GRADES, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ACADEMIC ABILITY:  It turns out teachers can be swayed by your child’s personality when giving out grades. Researchers from two universities conducted an international study, and found that students perceived to be agreeable or conscientious were more likely to be treated favorably when it came to grades. One of the study co-leaders, Dr. Kostas Papageorgiou says, “It was interesting although perhaps not surprising that some teachers seem to award higher grades to students with more ‘desirable’ personality traits, such as high agreeableness. These results suggest that teacher ratings might reflect some conscious or unconscious biases, such as judging more leniently the students that they perceive as more focused on school tasks, who are well behaved in interpersonal contexts and who are more emotionally fragile.

➤IF YOUR ALLERGIES ARE PARTICULARLY BAD THIS YEAR—THERE’S A REASON:  If you suffer with seasonal allergies, you may have noticed they’re worse than usual this year, and it’s not just in your head. According to recent research and forecasting, 2021 is shaping up to be a brutal allergy year, just like 2020, 2019, and 2018 were before it. The length and intensity of pollen seasons are growing, in large part due to climate change. Experts say if the planet keeps warming up, miserable allergies will likely be the norm. Between 1990 and 2018, pollen concentrations in North America increased by 21 percent. Other factors can also contribute to making airborne pollen even more volatile. Internist and immunologist Dr. Tana Elliott explains, “Pollution like diesel exhaust and nitrogen oxide can lead to the creation of super pollen and very irritating air that triggers sneeze and mucus production. Pollen can bind to diesel exhaust and it becomes super pollen—traveling longer distances and being bigger—making it a more potent allergen.” Some experts even say that because we spent most of the last year indoors, we had less exposure to allergens, and so any tolerance we built up in previous years may have waned slightly.

➤'WALL STREET JOURNAL': THREE WUHAN RESEARCHERS HOSPITALIZED IN NOVEMBER 2019: Adding more fuel to the speculation that the coronavirus pandemic may have originated in an accidental leak from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday (May 23rd) that three researchers from the institute were hospitalized in November 2019, citing a previously-undisclosed U.S. intelligence report. The Journal said the report gives new details on the number of researchers who were sick, the timing of it, and their hospital visits. A National Security Council spokeswoman didn't comment on the report, but said the Biden administration continues to have, quote, "serious questions about the earliest days of the Covid-19 pandemic," and that the U.S. is working with the World Health Organization and other member states for an expert evaluation of the origin of the pandemic, quote, "that is free from interference or politicization."


➤21 ULTRA-MARATHON RUNNERS KILLED IN CHINA IN EXTREME WEATHER SHIFT: An ultra-marathon race led to tragedy in China, where 21 runners died after an extreme weather shift hit the 62-mile mountain race. China's Global Times reported the high-altitude Huanghe Shilin Mountain Marathon began Saturday morning (May 22nd) in Gansu County in sunny weather, but by 1 p.m., there was freezing rain, hail and gale winds lashing the runners, who were wearing just shorts and a T-shirt. The organizers ended the race and a search was launched of the area, which found the 21 dead runners. Another eight had to be hospitalized. Among those who died was Liang Jing, one of China's well known ultra-marathon runners.

➤BUDGET AIRLINE BREEZE AIRWAYS, FROM JETBLUE FOUNDER, LAUNCHING MAY 27TH: A new budget airline called Breeze Airways from the founder of JetBlue will launch on May 27th, after its debut was delayed by the pandemic. Its flights will be concentrated in the Southeast, with flights initially to and from four airports: Tampa; Charleston, South Carolina; New Orleans; and Norfolk, Virginia. Additional flights will be added in June and July, with Breeze to fly as far east as Providence, Rhode Island, and as far west as San Antonio, Texas, by this summer. Tickets are on sale, starting at $39 each way.  

➤NOAA PREDICTS ANOTHER BUSY ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON:  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasters are predicting the U.S. will have another “above-normal” Atlantic hurricane season this year. The group is predicting a likelihood of 13 to 20 total named storms, with six to 10 of those named storms becoming hurricanes. They say three to five of the named storms are likely to become major hurricanes, defined as Category 3,4, or 5 with winds of 74 mph or higher. They also noted that El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions are currently in the neutral phase, with the possibility of the return of La Nina later in the season, and that they did not expect “the historic level of storm activity seen in 2020.” Last year was record-breaking, with 30 named storms and 12 landfalling storms in the continental U.S.


🏌MICKELSON WINS PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, OLDEST MAJOR WINNER: Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in South Carolina yesterday, becoming at age 50 the oldest to ever win a major. It was Mickelson's sixth major victory in his three-decade career, but first since 2013, and it came after he hadn't won in more than two years and was ranked at Number 115 in the world. He finished at 6-under 282, winning by two shots over fellow American Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa.
 
The previous oldest major winner was Julius Boros, who won the PGA Championship in 1968 when he was 48 years old.

🏌KOEPKA SAYS INJURED KNEE HIT BY SWARMING CROWD: Brooks Koepka wasn't happy after the PGA Championship yesterday, saying his injured knee was hit several times by fans swarming him and Phil Mickelson at the 18th hole at Kiawah Island, wanting to congratulate Mickelson, who was about to become the oldest to ever win a major. Speaking of the scene at the final hole, he said, "Yeah it would have been cool if I didn't have a knee injury. Got dinged a few times in the knee in that crowd because no one really gave a s**t, personally. . . . It's cool for Phil. But getting dinged a few times isn't exactly my idea of fun." Koepka, who finished tied for second, has been recovering after injuring his knee in March and having to have surgery.

🏒AVALANCHE, BRUINS ADVANCE TO ROUND TWO OF NHL PLAYOFFS: The Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins are advancing to the second round of the NHL playoffs after winning their first-round match-ups on Sunday. The Avalanche defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-2 to complete a four-game sweep, and the Bruins defeated the Washington Capitols 3-1 to win the series 4 games to 1.

🏀HAWKS' YOUNG GETS WINNING SHOT WITH 0.9 SECONDS LEFT IN PLAYOFFS GAME 1: The Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young scored the game-winning shot with 0.9 seconds left in Game 1 of the first-round NBA playoffs match-up between the Hawks and the New York Knicks last night in New York. Young's shot ended a run in which he scored seven of Atlanta's last 10 points in the final two minutes of the game. He finished with 32 points overall in the 107-105 win. Game 2 is on Wednesday.

🏀NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from first-round games yesterday:
  • Philadelphia 76ers 125, Washington Wizards 118 - Philadelphia leads 1 game to 0
  • Phoenix Suns 99, L.A. Lakers 90 - Phoenix leads 1 game to 0
  • Atlanta Hawks 107, New York Knicks 105 - Atlanta leads 1 game to 0
  • Memphis Grizzlies 112, Utah Jazz 109 - Memphis leads 1 game to 0
🏒NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from first-round games yesterday:
  • Colorado Avalanche 5, St. Louis Blues 2 - Colorado sweeps series 4 games to 0
  • Boston Bruins 3, Washington Capitals 1 - Boston wins series 4 games to 1
  • Nashville Predators 4, Carolina Hurricanes 3 (2OT) - Series tied at 2-2
  • Winnipeg Jets 5, Edmonton Oilers 4 (OT) - Winnipeg leads 3 games to 0
➤ELLIOT WINS FIRST NASCAR RACE AT AUSTIN'S CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS: Chase Elliott won the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, yesterday, getting the victory in a race that ended early because of poor conditions due to rain. In addition to being Elliott's first win of the season, it was historic as both Chevrolet's 800th win and the 268th for Hendrick Motorsports, tying Petty Enterprises for most victories. The race was the Cup Series' first run at a track built for Formula One. 
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