Ted Cruz Mocked Again Over Cancun Trip As Texas Panhandle Faces Tornado Warning


By Lauren Dubois @l_dubois

03/13/21

Ted Cruz faced a lot of backlash after it was revealed he has flown to Cancun for a trip with his family as Texans struggled with freezing cold temperatures and power outages following winter storms, and now, with a new natural disaster and weather threat approaching the region, the senator is once again receiving heat for his previous actions.

As news of a weather system that could dump snow on Colorado and bring rain and a moderate risk of tornadoes to the Texas panhandle and Western Oklahoma began to circulate, Cruz, who was seen flying to Cancun during the state’s winter storms, quickly found himself ridiculed over his past behavior.

Cruz had gone to Cancun during the storms as his constituents struggled to survive in the freezing conditions, and quickly claimed he was only going down for a night to drop off his daughters who wanted to go. It was later revealed that he had planned to stay for a few days and his wife had also texted neighbors and friends to get them to go along with the family on their trip.

The current storm system has a threat of severe thunderstorms and potential tornados to areas of the panhandle, after a tornado already touched down in Lubbock, Texas on Friday night. According to the National Weather Service, parts of the area are under a Tornado Watch until 6:00 p.m. Central Time.

“A major storm system will bring heavy snow and blizzard conditions to parts of the central Rockies and High Plains through early Monday,” a statement from the NWS reads. “Scattered severe thunderstorms are expected across the Oklahoma and Texas Pandhandles, northwest Texas, and western Oklahoma this afternoon and evening. A few tornadoes, some strong, and very large hail are the main threats.”

According to Weather Nation, the Amarillo area is under the highest risk, which is a moderate one, while Lubbock and areas west heading into Oklahoma are under an enhanced risk. Slight risks extend up into Kansas and as far south as Sonora, while Wichita, Kansas and Del Rio are under marginal risks. General risks extend as far east as Austin and Dallas.

The Tornado potential is as high as 15% in Amarillo, with one small 30% chance near Abilene. A 30% chance of hail is also possible near Amarillo.

WOKE CAPITALI$M 
Social Capital
Mike Brady: 

Why Social Justice Isn’t Just Right

 – It’s Profitable!

IS COMPASSIONATE CAPITALI$M

By Chris Benguhe AND RaeAnne Marsh
02/25/21 IBT

After being at the helm of Greyston Bakery for several wildly successful years, Mike Brady is moving on to a broader arena. Photo: Greyston Bakery.

Mike Brady, successful business leader formerly of pioneering Greyston Bakery, believes being nonjudgmental in hiring is the right thing to do – and discusses how it creates a win-win-win for the employer.

As we continue to grow this Social Capital section, we turned our attention in January to kindness as a characteristic of successful business leaders making a difference in the business world. I t’s a key trait that is too often overlooked in importance when it comes to leadership skills nowadays. Does it sound out of place in business leadership? Too cutting-edge to be practical? Is it impossibly hard to find genuine examples of it?

Mike Brady is proof that it exists. After being at the helm of Greyston for several wildly successful years, he is moving on to a broader arena.


Mike exemplifies kindness in leadership -- leaders making decisions that follow the golden rule, treating people how we want to be treated, with humanity and respect.

In fact, Mike is so into this role for leadership that he interviewed us in-depth on our agenda regarding Social Capital before settling in to talk about his favorite subject: non-judgment. It’s a philosophy he practiced at Greyston, leading it to become the gold standard. As he is fond of explaining: “No questions asked, no background checks, no interviews, no references.” He remains a strong advocate for trusting in the power of people to be successful and giving everyone an equal chance at that.

In this interview, he shares his incredible journey of growth opportunities to “move the needle” on things he cares about within the context of the business world. “My core strength is being an entrepreneur. How can I use that strength in a different arena, trying to do good while doing well?” he asks – and shares what he has done and found along the way.

He makes very clear his commitment to being an example and a resource to help other business leaders create win-win-win dynamics throughout the supply chain, helping them understand where the value creation of this approach is.

As he explores the next steps for himself, personally, he discusses the tremendous opportunity he sees for the “S” in the ESG (environmental, social, governance) equation, which makes him all that much more appealing to us as and our Social Capital movement. His journey now is to find his footing in that space, working with organizations committed to social justice and helping them understand how they can create value. Their success furthers the opportunity to create equal access to jobs, which, he says, “will address a lot of the inequalities the American workforce is experiencing.”

VIDEO INTERVIEW

 https://www.ibtimes.com/mike-brady-why-social-justice-isnt-just-right-its-profitable-3150394

Africa Set For Growth With Rising Poverty, Debt In 2021: Forecast


By AFP News
03/12/21 

Africa's economy should return to growth in aggregate across the continent in 2021 after a coronavirus recession, the African Development Bank said Friday, while warning that poverty and public debt would continue to rise.

The 2.1-percent contraction of the pan-African economy in 2020 was the first recession in half a century, but should give way to expansion of 3.4 percent this year, the AfDB said in the 2021 edition of its African Economic Outlook report.

At 3.1 percent, the International Monetary Fund's forecast was less optimistic than the AfDB, whose mission is to fund investment in African countries and offer advice and technical assistance to development.

The development bank predicted the strongest rebound for economies like Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritius that depend on tourism, at 6.2 percent -- although their GDP fell the furthest last year.


Meanwhile oil and raw materials exporters like Algeria, Nigeria, Angola and South Africa should enjoy growth around three percent, and the continent's most diversified economies like Ethiopia and Ivory Coast rise by 4.1 percent, having already suffered a softer 2020 blow.

The AfDB report also highlighted that 39 million more people could slip below the extreme poverty threshold of $1.90 per day this year, up from an estimated 30 million last year.

The coronavirus hobbled African economies in 2020 but experts predict a return to growth this year Photo: AFP / JOHN WESSELS

A total of 465 million people in Africa could be affected by extreme poverty, one-third of the continent's population, in a setback after two decades of steady reductions.

Meanwhile "the pandemic shock and ensuing economic crisis have had direct implications for budgetary balances and debt burdens," the AfDB warned.

Deficits roughly doubled last year, to around 8.4 percent of GDP, while the average debt-to-GDP ratio on the continent is expected to surge by between 10 and 15 percentage points, to around 70 percent.

By December, 14 of 38 countries analysed for debt sustainability were judged "in high risk of debt distress", with 16 seen as moderate risk and just two at low risk.

"Serious debt challenges might be looming, and disorderly defaults and lengthy resolutions could become a major obstacle to Africa's progress toward prosperity," AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina wrote in the report.

"We need to address Africa's debt and development finance challenges, in partnership with the international community" and with private creditors, he added.

But Adesina also urged leaders to enact "bold governance reforms to eliminate all forms of leakages in public resources, improve domestic resource mobilisation, and enhance transparency".

Myanmar crackdown continues as civilian leader urges protesters to keep up anti-coup fight

Issued on: 14/03/2021 - 

Makeshift barricades erected by protesters on a road in Yangon, 

Myanmar on March 13, 2021. © AFP

Text by: NEWS WIRES

Myanmar security forces opened fire on anti-coup protesters in the commercial capital Yangon on Sunday, and at least three people were killed, witnesses and domestic media said. Meanwhile, civilian leader Mahn Win Khaing Than, who is on the run along with most of the country's senior officials, called on the people to not give up their fight.

Video taken at the site showed protesters holding handmade shields and wearing helmets as they confronted security forces in the Hlaing Tharyar district of the city. Plumes of black smoke rose over the area and one report said two factories in the district had been set on fire.

The Irrawaddy media group said three people were killed.

At least two people were killed elsewhere in the Southeast Asian nation, a day after the acting leader of the parallel civilian government said it will seek to give people the legal right to defend themselves.

A young man was shot and killed in the town of Bago, near Yangon, witnesses and domestic media said. The Kachin Wave media outlet said another protester was killed in the town of Hpakant, in the jade mining area in the northeast

More than 80 people had been killed as of Saturday in widespread protests against the military's seizure of power last month, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group said. Over 2,100 people have been arrested, it said.

>> UN warns of 'crimes against humanity' in Myanmar as junta accuses ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi of corruption

Mahn Win Khaing Than, who is on the run along with most senior officials from the ruling National League for Democracy Party, addressed the public via Facebook on Saturday, saying, "This is the darkest moment of the nation and the moment that the dawn is close.”

He said the civilian government would "attempt to legislate the required laws so that the people have the right to defend themselves" against the military crackdown.

‘We need justice’

The Monywa township in central Myanmar declared it had formed its own local government and police force.

In Yangon, hundreds of people demonstrated in different parts of the city after putting up barricades of barbed wire and sandbags to block security forces.

In one area, people staged a sit-in protest under sheets of tarpaulin rigged up to protect them from the harsh midday sun. "We need justice," they chanted.

At least 13 people were killed on Saturday, one of the bloodiest days since the Feb. 1 coup, witnesses and domestic media said.

"They are acting like they are in a war zone, with unarmed people," said an activist in the city of Mandalay, Myat Thu.

A spokesman for the junta did not answer phone calls from Reuters seeking comment. Junta-run media MRTV's evening news broadcast on Saturday labelled the protesters "criminals" but did not elaborate

Iran charges aid worker Zaghari-Ratcliffe with ‘propaganda against the system’
Issued on: 14/03/2021 - 

Gabriella Ratcliffe, daughter of British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, protests outside the Iranian Embassy in London on March 8, 2021. © Andrew Boyers, REUTERS

Text by: FRANCE 24

British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe appeared in a Tehran court Sunday to face new charges of "propaganda against the system", a week after she finished serving a five-year sentence, her lawyer said.

The hearing has dashed hopes of family and supporters for a swift release of the 42-year-old, in a case that has heightened diplomatic tensions between London and Tehran.

"The hearing took place in a very calm and good atmosphere, in the presence of my client," her lawyer Hojjat Kermani told AFP, adding that the judgement would be handed down at a later and unspecified date.

According to Kermani, she is now being prosecuted for "propaganda against the system for having participated in a rally in front of the Iranian embassy in London" in 2009.

"Given the evidence presented by the defence and the legal process, and the fact that my client has also served her previous sentence, I hope that she will be acquitted," the lawyer added.

In London, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s Member of Parliament Tulip Siddiq said that "no verdict was given", but added that "it should be delivered within a week".

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Sunday that the new charges against Zaghari-Ratcliffe are “unacceptable”.

“It is unacceptable that Iran has chosen to continue a second wholly arbitrary case against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe,” Raab wrote on Twitter.

"She must be allowed to return to her family in the UK without delay. We continue to do all we can to support her," he added.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained while on holiday in 2016 and convicted of plotting to overthrow the regime in Tehran – accusations she strenuously denied.

The mother-of-one was working at the time as a project manager for Thomson Reuters Foundation, the media organisation's philanthropic wing.

She has been under house arrest for months and had her ankle tag removed, giving her more freedom of movement and allowing her to visit relatives in Tehran.

She completed her sentence on March 7.

Rights group says Zaghari-Ratcliffe experienced ‘torture’ in prison

A day later, her husband, Richard, and their six-year-old daughter, Gabriella, held a vigil outside the Iranian embassy in central London demanding she be allowed home.

He tried to deliver an Amnesty International petition signed by 160,000 supporters calling for his wife's release, but was turned away.

Earlier this month, Richard Ratcliffe told the BBC her detention has "the potential to drag on and on".

Media in both the UK and Iran and Richard Ratcliffe have drawn a possible link between Nazanin's detention and a British debt dating back more than 40 years.

The British government has previously admitted it owes Iran up to £300 million (€350 million), but both countries have denied any link with the Zaghari-Ratcliffe case.

She has been temporarily released from Tehran's Evin prison and has been under house arrest since the spring due to the coronavirus outbreak.

For four years, however, at Evin she spent time in solitary confinement in windowless cells, declared hunger strikes and had medical treatment withheld.

While in prison, she suffered from lack of hygiene and even contemplated suicide, according to her husband.

Iranian authorities have consistently denied that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was mistreated.

On Friday, human rights campaign group Redress handed a report to Raab which it said "confirms the severity of the ill-treatment that Nazanin has suffered".

The legal campaigners said that it "considers that Iran's treatment of Nazanin constitutes torture”.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Fauci: US weighs 3-foot distancing rule,

a major change

Social distancing circles in New York -- but could the rules soon be cut from six foot to three foot?

 Kena Betancur Afp/AFP
Issued on: 14/03/2021 -

Washington (AFP)

The United States' top pandemic advisor said Sunday that authorities were considering cutting social distancing rules to three feet (one meter), a move that would change a key tenet of the global fight against Covid-19.

Anthony Fauci, a world-respected figure during the coronavirus crisis, said experts at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) were examining a Massachusetts study that found "no substantial difference" in Covid cases in schools observing six-foot and three-foot rules.

Asked on CNN's "State of the Union" show whether that meant that a three-foot separation was sufficient, Fauci replied, "It does, indeed."

While cautioning that the CDC was still poring over the new data and conducting tests of its own, he said its findings would come "soon."

The six-foot social distancing rule has been a widely-adopted global measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, along with mask-wearing and hand-washing.

School officials across the world are under enormous pressure to fully reopen as soon as safely possible, but many say the six-foot requirement makes it extremely difficult without adding portable classrooms or shortening the school day.

Many teachers unions have also insisted on six-foot distancing.

Policies on reopening schools and businesses have varied sharply across the US and around the globe as government try to balance quelling infections with a return to normal life.

The study led by the Beth Deaconess Medical Center in Massachusetts, surveying 251 school districts, found "no substantial difference in the number of cases of Covid-19 among either students or staff" between those observing the three- and six-foot rules when all wore masks.

The findings, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, add to a growing body of evidence that Covid-19 transmission rates are low in schools.

In another potentially significant finding, researchers found the rates of Covid-19 were lower in schools practicing masking than they were in the surrounding cities and towns.

A three-foot rule would have an enormous impact on prospects for fully reopening schools, offices and even public areas such as sports venues.

As the top school officials from Penfield, New York wrote in the journal Education Week, "The single biggest obstacle to fully reopening schools is the 6-foot distancing requirement."

CHINA

Discovery sheds light on ancient cosmetics

(China Daily)  March 13, 2021

Remains of cosmetic face cream unearthed in Weinan, Shaanxi province. CHINA DAILY

Researchers confirmed recently that traces of a substance found in an over 2,000-year-old jar are a cosmetic face cream for men that was used to whiten the skin, illustrating that the desire to be physically attractive, as measured by the standards of the day, is a shared wish of both ancient and modern man.

After several years of complex analysis, six grams of residue in a delicate, sealed bronze jar found in 2017 in the grave of an ancient Chinese nobleman of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) is thought likely to be a cosmetic, adding a significant new piece to the puzzle of early human activity, experts said.

The Liujiawa Site in Chengcheng county of Weinan, Shaanxi province, where the grave was discovered, was the capital of the Rui State in the early to middle part of the period.

After completing a complex chemical analysis, researchers proved the residue was made of ruminant fat mixed with monohydrocalcite that was probably used as a whitening face cream, said Sun Zhanwei, a researcher of the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, who led the Liujiawa field excavation project.

"It's the oldest cosmetic for males ever discovered in China and the oldest face cream so far. It is more than 1,000 years older than previous written records," he said.

Most historical records of males using cosmetics have been found in the era of Three Kingdoms (220-280). They tell the stories of famous handsome noblemen, such as Cao Zhi and He Yan. But the new findings showed that certain social customs existed far earlier, he said.

"Besides beautifying the skin, use of cosmetics is also related to the social environment, which underwent drastic changes."

Small bronze jars are often found in graves of nobles, and are a symbol of the aristocratic class.

"Nobles used cosmetics as a way to lead fashion trends and to express their cultural identity," Sun said. "They also confirm the pursuit of a refined life and beauty among ancient Chinese men. Although we have no idea on what occasions the Liujiawa nobleman might have used the face cream, it should be regarded a precious item, as it was important enough to be put into a grave."

The find also provides an important reference for studies concerning the rise of the cosmetics industry and application of fat in the handicrafts industry, Sun added.

The rim of the jar is elliptical, with a major axis of 5.5 centimeters and a minor axis of 4.3 cm. The height of the jar is 5.9 cm. Its surface has complex and refined artistic patterns.

The jar was found in the northwestern corner of the grave, far away from other bronze containers in the southeastern corner that were used for sacrificial rituals, banquets and funerals. The placement suggests that the function of the jar is different from the others, Sun said.

Some archaeologists suspected the jar contained cosmetics, but there was no hard evidence. Samples of the residue were sent for analysis to the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.

"Cosmetics have a long history in China, though their origin has remained unclear. They potentially originated in the Spring and Autumn Period but little is known about its early manufacture and use," according to a paper co-written by researchers from the university, together with the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, Peking University and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany. The paper was published in the journal Archaeometry in February.

"This work provides an early example of cosmetics production in China and, together with the prevalence of similar cosmetic containers during this period, suggests the rise of an incipient cosmetics industry," the paper said.

The paper added that monohydrocalcite, an ingredient in the cream, came from moonmilk, a special stalactite found in some limestone caves, and was likely collected by Taoists.

The Taoist school, a philosophical discipline originating in the Spring and Autumn Period, features the doctrine of longevity, immortality and salvation. Taoists admire caves and have hosted rituals in prestigious ones. Caves are considered metaphorical wombs that enable rebirth. Exploitation of the moonmilk reflects the link between early Taoists and cosmetics production for the aristocracy, the paper said.

Myanmar coup: six protesters killed as world leaders vow to restore democracy

Deaths come as US, India, Australia and Japan vow to work together to address crisis in Myanmar

Protesters in Myanmar stand next to their metal shields on the outskirts of Yangon. Photograph: EPA


Reuters
Sat 13 Mar 2021 

At least six protesters were killed by security forces in Myanmar, witnesses and media have reported, as activists marked the anniversary on Saturday of a student whose killing in 1988 sparked an uprising against the military government.

Three people were killed and several injured when police opened fire on a sit-in protest in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second biggest city, two witnesses told Reuters. Another person was killed in the central town of Pyay and two died in police firing in the commercial capital, Yangon, overnight, domestic media reported.

“The security forces initially stopped the ambulance from reaching the injured people and only allowed it later,” a 23-year-old protester in Pyay told Reuters, asking not to be named for fear of retribution.

“By the time they allowed it, one of the injured became critical and he later died.”

The deaths came as the leaders of the United States, India, Australia and Japan vowed to work together to restore democracy in Myanmar, where violence has escalated as authorities crack down on protests and civil disobedience.

Local media reported two protesters were killed in police firing in the Tharketa district of Yangon overnight on Friday. DVB News said police opened fire on a crowd that gathered outside the Tharketa police station demanding the release of people arrested.

Posters spread on social media calling on people to come out on the streets to protest against the junta and to mark the anniversary of the death of Phone Maw, who was shot and killed by security forces in 1988 inside what was then known as the Rangoon Institute of Technology campus.

Britain advises its citizens to flee Myanmar amid fears of mounting violence
Read more

His shooting and that of another student who died a few weeks later sparked widespread protests against the military government known as the 8-8-88 campaign, because they peaked in August that year. An estimated 3,000 people were killed when the army crushed the uprising.

Aung San Suu Kyi emerged as a democracy icon during the movement and was kept under house arrest for nearly two decades. She was released in 2008 as the military began democratic reforms and her National League for Democracy won elections in 2015 and again in November last year.

On 1 February, the generals overthrew her government and detained Aung San Suu Kyi and many of her cabinet colleagues, claiming fraud in the November elections.

More than 70 people have been killed in widespread protests since then, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group said.

Britain, the former colonial power, warned its citizens in Myanmar to leave on Friday, saying “political tension and unrest are widespread since the military takeover and levels of violence are rising”.

South Korea said it would suspend defence exchanges and reconsider development aid to Myanmar because of the violence.

The Kremlin said Russia, which has close ties to Myanmar’s military, was concerned about the mounting violence and “analysing” whether to suspend military-technical cooperation.

“We evaluate the situation as alarming, and we are concerned about the information about the growing number of civilian casualties coming from there,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the Tass news agency as saying.

WHO says AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe despite blood clot fears

(CGTN) March 13, 2021


Dozens of countries so far have suspended or limited the roll-out of AstraZeneca vaccines after isolated reports of recipients developing blood clots. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that there was no reason to stop using those vaccines, which were developed with the University of Oxford.

The WHO stressed that no causal link has been established between the vaccine and clotting. "We've reviewed the data on deaths. There has been no death, to date, proven to have been caused by vaccination," WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters at a briefing in Geneva.

Early on Tuesday, Austria stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca vaccine while it investigated death from clotting and a case of pulmonary embolism.

Local media reported that a 49-year-old nurse in Zwettl, a town northwest of Vienna, died of severe coagulation disorders after receiving the vaccine. Another nurse, 35, from the same city, developed a pulmonary embolism after receiving a dose from the same batch. Currently, she is recovering.

Soon after reports of possible links between AstraZeneca shots and blood clotting and pulmonary embolism, several other countries including, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, and Thailand suspended the use of that vaccine temporarily.

According to BBC, at least five million people in Europe had received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as of Wednesday and of the figure, 30 cases of blood-clotting events have been reported.

In a statement on Thursday, AstraZeneca said it had found no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in safety data from more than 10 million records.

"In fact, the observed number of these types of events are significantly lower in those vaccinated than what would be expected among the general population," a spokesperson for AstraZeneca said.

Europe's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, has also stressed on Thursday that there was no indication the vaccine was causing blood clots.

Despite the suspension by some countries, Germany, France, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and Poland, meanwhile, said they would continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine and have sought to reassure their citizens of the benefits of getting vaccinated.

The vaccine produced by AstraZeneca has not been authorized by the U.S. health regulator, but the White House on Friday said it will hold onto some doses so that once approval is obtained, they can be distributed quickl

An asteroid that could wipe out a country will just miss Earth this week

Backyard astronomers with a modest telescope should be able to see the Pentagon-sized rock whiz by next week

By MATTHEW ROZSA
MARCH 13, 2021

Asteroid passing earth (Getty Images)

An asteroid the size of the Pentagon is headed our way.

The celestial passerby, named 2001 FO32, is expected to be the largest asteroid to approach Earth in 2021, measuring somewhere between 1,300 to 2,230 feet wide, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. The key word here is "approach" — this wide rock isn't going to actually hit Earth. But its close approach is a good warning that an asteroid of this size is guaranteed to hit Earth eventually.
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2001 FO32 will be at its nearest on March 21. It is not expected to come any closer than 1.25 million miles to our planet — roughly 5.25 times the distance between Earth and the Moon — so there is no threat of it colliding with us anytime within the next few centuries. At the same time, it will come close enough for scientists to be able to get a good look at it. And while it won't be visible with the naked eye, amateur astronomers in the Northern Hemisphere with an 8-inch telescope or larger should be able to spot it in the early morning, when it will appear inside the Sagittarius constellation.

"By getting so close to Earth, it will be very bright in the sky," Dr. Tom Burbine, a senior research associate who studies asteroids at the Planetary Science Institute, told Salon by email. "It will be easier to get infrared spectra of the body, which allows us to estimate its composition. Radar observations can be done to determine its size and shape."

Dr. Henry Hsieh, who studies asteroids, comets, interplanetary dust and small satellites at Planetary Science Institute, said that it was an exciting chance to study an asteroid.

"The scientific significance of asteroids coming extremely close to Earth mean that astronomers can study them in much greater detail," Hsieh wrote to Salon. "Astronomers often study the composition of asteroids using spectroscopy, meaning they take the reflected sunlight from the asteroid and split it up by wavelength and search for signatures of various minerals. The closer an asteroid is, the brighter it will appear, and so the stronger the mineral signatures will be, meaning that astronomers can potentially get a really detailed picture of an asteroid's composition."

Want more science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter The Vulgar Scientist.

Hsieh added that astronomers hope to learn more about how an asteroid's rotation and composition corresponds to its size. While that is usually difficult for smaller asteroids because they are so small, this one will be easier to observe because it will be brighter as it approaches Earth. In addition, "if asteroids get close enough, they can actually be studied by radar, i.e., by bouncing radio waves off of the asteroid which can give a highly detailed picture of the asteroid's surface."
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Naturally, Salon was curious what would happen if 2001 FO32 actually did crash our planetary party and make a menace of itself, as happens every few million years. Such an impact would not be good for life on Earth, to be sure, but it would not cause a repeat of the type of extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs.

"When talking about asteroid impacts, astronomers typically use the Torino scale for asteroid impact threats (similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes)," Hsieh explained, referring to charts that show what different numbers represent and how they are determined. Because 2001 FO32 is definitely not going to hit Earth, it rates at a zero on the Torino scale. If it was certain to collide with us, on the other hand, it would get a nine and cause what is known as "regional damage."
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"This kind of damage would be roughly on the continent-wide or ocean-wide scale depending on where it hits, so in other words, it could potentially wipe out the US or Europe, or create tsunamis on all surrounding landmasses around the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans if it landed in the water," Hsieh explained. "The exact effects depend on the composition of the asteroid (i.e., if it's very fragile or more solid) and where it hits."

If an asteroid is fragile, it may explode in the air and create shockwaves that flatten all of the buildings and trees in a given area, such as happened in Russia in 1908. If a solid asteroid hit the ground in one piece, it would destroy a smaller area of land but throw up throw up a lot of debris that could cause air quality problems and harm agriculture. Should that same solid asteroid land in the water, it could also create debris clouds and would additionally result in tsunamis.

"Returning to the Torino scale and your second question, the threshold for a civilization-destroying impact is thought to be about 1 kilometer, so about twice the size of 2001 FO32," Hsieh told Salon.
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Astronomers have gotten better at detecting asteroids near Earth. Indeed, in 2020, they detected a record number of asteroids passing our planet, identifying thousands of objects that were previously unknown.

Notably, this wasn't because there are more asteroids coming near Earth, but rather that detection technology has improved.

"I think the increasing number of detections of Earth-passing asteroids is entirely due to the fact that more asteroid search programs are going on with more telescopes dedicated to asteroid detection," Dr. William K. Hartmann, who among other things studies asteroids, comets, meteorites and small satellites at the Planetary Science Institute, wrote to Salon.