It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Monday, July 01, 2024
U.S. Credit union Patelco limits transactions due to security breach issue
SAN FRANCISCO, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Patelco Credit Union, the third-largest credit union in the San Francisco Bay Area, the U.S. state of California, reported a significant security breach over the weekend, leading to the shutdown of its banking systems, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday.
Erin Mendez, Patelco's president and CEO, confirmed in an email to customers on Sunday that essential transactions, such as Zelle transfers, direct deposits and balance inquiries, were unavailable. The debit and credit card functions were also limited.
"On June 29, we experienced a serious security incident. This required us to shut down some of our day-to-day banking systems so that we can remediate the issue and contain the impact, including online banking, our mobile App, and our call center," Mendez wrote.
"Unfortunately, we are unable to provide an ETA on when those systems will be running as expected," she added.
The institution assured that branches and customer service channels would operate normally on Monday to assist members.
According to the company, Patelco operates 37 branches with nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars in assets and half a million clients.
U$A
Dog, Cat Food Recall Sparks Nationwide Warning to Pet Owners
Published Jul 01, 2024 By Kaitlin Lewis Night Reporter
Anationwide recall has been issued by online pet food subscription site Viva Raw for several of its products over the risk of bacteria contamination.
The Hillsborough, North Carolina, company is recalling five products manufactured under the same lot that was exposed to Listeria monocytogenes, which, according to a release published by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can pose a "potential health risk to people and pets."
The products under the recall include Viva Turkey for Dogs Ground, Viva Turkey for Dogs Chunked, Viva Turkey for Cats, Viva Pure Turkey and Viva Beef & Turkey for Puppies. The products were all manufactured under Lot 21244.
According to the release, the recalled products were distributed to customers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Viva Raw is an online service that ships fresh dog and cat food to customers on a scheduled subscription plan, read the company's website.
This stock image shows a scoop of dry cat food. Online company Viva Raw has issued a recall for five of its products distributed nationally over the risk of potential listeria contamination. NIKOLAEVA ELENA/GETTY IMAGES
The presence of listeria was identified after the FDA conducted sample testing on the product Viva Turkey for Dogs. Samples from Lot 21244 were found positive for the bacteria. The company said that all products produced from the same lot "were slated for destruction" but that some items were "inadvertently released from the warehouse" to customers.
"Viva Raw is notifying all customers who were shipped any Turkey or Beef & Turkey for Puppies products between May 16th and June 28th, 2024," read the release. "No illnesses related to this lot have been reported to date."
The products under the recall are shipped as frozen, one-pound bricks in a clear package. There is no expiration date listed on the packaging.
The FDA release said that listeria can cause "serious and sometimes fatal infections" in pets that eat the contaminated products. Humans can also be exposed to listeria by handling the contaminated products or coming in contact with pets that have consumed items under the recall. There is a higher risk of illness in humans if people do not "thoroughly wash their hands after handling the food or having contact with their pet, or by not thoroughly cleaning contaminated surfaces," read the briefing.
Symptoms of a listeria infection in humans can include nausea, vomiting, aches, fever and diarrhea. Pregnant women are also more susceptible to the infection and the bacteria can cause a miscarriage. Younger people, the elderly and those with a weakened immune system are also at a higher risk of infection, according to the FDA release.
Pet illnesses from a listeria infection are rare. Animals may show symptoms from mild to severe diarrhea, anorexia, fever, nervousness, muscular and respiratory issues, miscarriage, depression, shock and, in extreme instances, death.
"Pets exposed to contaminated food can be infected without showing symptoms. Infected pets, even if they do not show symptoms, can act as carriers and transfer L. monocytogenes through their feces and saliva into the home environment and to people and other pets in the household," read the release. "If your pet has eaten the recalled product(s) and has symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection, please contact your veterinarian."
Any customers who have purchased products under the recall are encouraged to contact Viva Raw at info@vivarawpets.com for a refund. Customers are then advised to destroy the products to ensure that children, pets and wildlife cannot access the food.
"FDA recommends humans do not touch the contaminated food product with bare hands," read the release. "While wearing gloves or using paper towels, place the contaminated food in a sealed plastic bag and throw it in the garbage. Areas that may have come in contact with the contaminated product should be sanitized. Do not sell or donate the recalled products."
California budgets up to $12 million for reparations bills, a milestone in atoning for racist legacy
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a budget that includes up to $12 million for reparations legislation
By SOPHIE AUSTIN /REPORT FOR AMERICA Associated Press July 1, 2024
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California plans to spend up to $12 million on reparations legislation under a budget signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, marking a milestone in the state's efforts to atone for a legacy of racism and discrimination against Black Californians.
The reparations funding in the $297.9 billion budget Newsom signed over the weekend does not specify what programs the money would go toward. Lawmakers are not considering widespread direct payments to Black Californians this year.
The state Legislature is weighing proposals to issue a formal apology for California's role in perpetuating discrimination against Black residents, to create an agency to administer reparations programs, and to identify families whose property was unjustly seized through eminent domain.
The funding comes after federal reparations efforts have stalled for decades.
“We often say the budget is a reflection of our values and our priorities, so the fact that there's any money for reparations should be a reason for celebrating,” said state Sen. Steven Bradford, a Los Angeles-area Democrat, noting he hoped the allocation would have been larger.
No state has gotten further along in its consideration of reparations proposals for Black residents than California, but some have made significant strides. Illinois and New York passed laws in recent years to study reparations proposals for African Americans. Florida passed a law in the 1990s creating a college scholarship fund for descendants of Black residents who were killed in a 1923 massacre initiated by a white mob.
But some opponents of reparations proposals being considered by lawmakers in California say taxpayers should not have to have to pay to address policies and practices from a long time ago.
“Slavery was a stain on our nation’s history, but I don’t believe it’s fair to try to right the wrongs on the past at the expense of the people today who did nothing wrong,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said in a statement. “More than a quarter of Californians are immigrants — how can we look at those people, who are struggling as it is, and say it’s on them to make up for something that happened more than 150 years ago?”
Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire, a Democrat, said at an event Monday that “the $12 billion is not nearly enough” but that lawmakers worked closely to secure the money during a tough budget year.
It could cost the state between $3 million and $5 million annually to run the reparations agency, according to an estimate reported by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. The Legislature hasn't released an estimated cost to implement the eminent domain bill, but the Senate Appropriations Committee said it could cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars to investigate claims by families who say their land was taken because of racially discriminatory motives.
Bradford introduced proposals to give property tax and housing assistance to descendants of enslaved Black people, but those were blocked in May by a key committee.
Kamilah Moore, who chaired a first-in-the-nation state reparations task force, was disappointed that lawmakers also did not introduce legislation this year to provide free tuition at public colleges for descendants of enslaved Black people, which the group recommended in its final report.
But Moore said it was still “good news” to see $12 million for reparations included in the budget as a starting point.
“It means that they're taking accountability and responsibility, and they're acknowledging the harms and the atrocities to this particular population,” she said. “That's a huge step that should not be overlooked.”
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Associated Press writer Trân Nguyễn contributed to this report.
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Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna
CLIMATE CHANGE
Flight makes emergency landing after severe turbulence injures at least 30
An Air Europa flight from Spain to Uruguay made an emergency landing in Brazil after the plane experienced severe turbulence, injuring at least 30 people. NBC News' Tom Costello reports.
Missouri pol says ‘unpatriotic lesbian’ Brittney Griner should be in Russian jail, not Olympics
Valentina Gomez made the inflammatory remarks about the WNBA star in a video posted on social media platform X.
AMissouriRepublican candidate for secretary of state, Valentina Gomez, has called WNBA star Brittney Griner an “unpatriotic lesbian” and said she should be back in aRussian prison rather than competing in the 2024ParisOlympics. Gomez commented in a 20-second video posted to X, formerlyTwitter, on Monday.
“Brittney Griner should be rotting in a Russian prison, not going to the Olympics,” she said. “Caitlin Clark is the only reason why we even watch women’s basketball,” Gomez continued. “She deserves to go to the Olympics, unlike this unpatriotic lesbian.”
Gomez captioned the post with “The Olympics are about meritocracy, not DEI.”
USA Basketball cited experience as the reason that Clark was not included on the U.S. women’s Olympic roster, according to the Associated Press. Despite Clark’s immense popularity and skill, the selection committee felt she lacked high-level experience. The team includes seven players from the group that won gold in Tokyo, including Griner.
Gomez has a history of inflammatory remarks against LGBTQ+ people and policies she deems “weak and gay.”
Griner, who was arrested in Russia in February 2022 for possessing vape cartridges with cannabis oil, spent 10 months in detention before being released in a high-profile prisoner exchange. During her detention, Griner faced severe conditions and homophobic treatment.
Gomez’s remarks have drawn significant backlash on social media. One user commented, “Nobody should be ‘rotting in prison’ for marijuana,” while another wrote, “I like you but no one should be rotting in prison over weed.”
In May, Gomezurged Americans not to be “weak and gay” in a campaign video, saying, “In America, you can be anything you want, so don’t be weak and gay. Stay fucking hard.” The footage showed her running through a neighborhood of St. Louis with high LGBTQ+ representation while holding a gun. Earlier this year, she posted a video of herself using a flamethrower to burn LGBTQ-themed books, promising to “BURN all books that are grooming, indoctrinating, and sexualizing our children” if elected.
Her platform also includes “protecting children against the transgender agenda,” “securing the Second Amendment,” and opposing vaccine mandates. Gomez’s primary election is set for August 6, where voters will decide if her provocative campaign tactics will secure her a place in the general election. She is one of several candidates seeking the Republican nomination for secretary of state. The current officeholder, Republican Jay Ashcroft, is running for governor to replace term-limited fellow GOPer Mike Parson.
Nonbinary runner Nikki Hiltz dedicates record-breaking Olympic qualifier to 'all the LGBTQ folks'
PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES
Hiltz was in fourth place with 300 meters left before they suddenly accelerated past their competition, breaking the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials record.
Nikki Hiltz isn't just breaking records — they're breaking barriers.
The out transgendernonbinary runner qualified for the Paris Olympics on Sunday after completing the 1500-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials with a record time of 3 minutes and 55.33 seconds. Hiltz was in fourth place with 300 meters left before they suddenly accelerated past their competition, cutting down their previous personal best by four seconds.
“I told myself, I’m not going to think about all the love and support [I have] until 100 meters to go,’” Hiltz told reporters afterwards. “‘And then, at that moment, you can let it all fill you up and push you to the finish line.’ That’s exactly what I did, and I think that’s what brought me home.”
Hiltz won their title at the 2023 USA Track & Field Outdoor National Championship in a similar fashion, rocketing from third to first place in the last 300 meters. Their victory also made them the organization's first nonbinary national champion.
Hiltz came out transgender and nonbinary in 2021 in a post to Instagram. They said at the time: “Hi I’m Nikki and I’m transgender. That means I don’t identify with the gender I was assigned at birth. The word I use currently to describe my gender is non-binary. The best way I can explain my gender is as fluid.”
Hiltz told NBC Sports in an interview after the race that they were also motivated by the "love and support" they've received from the LGBTQ+ community, saying: "This is bigger than me."
“It’s the last day of Pride month. I wanted to run this one for my community, and yeah, all the LGBTQ folks," Hiltz said. "You guys brought me home that last hundred [meters]. I could just feel the love and support.”
DESANTISLAND
HISTORIAN RECEIVES $1.5M GRANT TO EXPAND RACIAL JUSTICE TOURS
The 84-year-old still desires people to experience history at places where Black lives were lost to hatred
Marvin Dunn, a Florida historian and founder of the Miami Center for Racial Justice, received $1.5 million in funding from the Mellon Foundation. This grant will allow him to expand his “Teach the Truth” tours, which focus on sites of racial violence, from Florida to other Southern states.
As the Miami Herald reports, Dunn is looking to partner with universities in the states he will expand his tour to encompass. Dunn also recognizes that the story he is telling through his tours is the story of American history, not just Black history.
“Florida was not the only state where lynchings took place. It’s all of our history,” Dunn told the outlet. “It’s all of our pain. It’s not just Black pain or white guilt: it’s all of our pain; it’s all of our responsibility to correct this record.”
In 2023, Phillip Brian Harper, the higher learning program director at the Mellon Foundation, reached out to Dunn after reading about his tours, resulting in a $150,000 grant from the foundation, marking its second funding of Dunn’s center, which supports the tours.
Harper told the Herald that Dunn’s commitment to telling the complete story is what motivated him to fund his efforts. “If we don’t have a full variety of perspectives grounded in the full variety of experiences that inform the history and culture of this country, people will go through their lives poorly informed about the true depth, complexity, and richness of this country,” Harper said. “And that means we would have an extremely impoverished society.”
This time, the Mellon Foundation is granting Dunn’s center $1.5 million in funding, leading to the potential expansion of several sites in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. In an interview with the Herald, 84-year-old Dunn expressed his continued desire for people to experience history by visiting places where blood was shed, and Black lives were lost due to hatred.
“We’re just now beginning to find out where the worst lynchings in Georgia took place,” Dunn said. “That’s why we need to do this: I’m considered an expert on anti-Black violence in the country, at least in the South, and I’m not sure what happened everywhere in Georgia, but I know a lot of people died by the rope. We’ll find out and take people to those places.”
Since Dunn is of advanced age, he told the paper that the plan is to “identify faculty members and have them teach the students” in the states the tour will expand to. He also indicated that those students would receive payment for working as guides on the tour. Although he has not officially decided on the tour’s sites, he is interested in taking the tour either to Emmett Till’s grave in Mississippi or the Equal Justice Institute in Alabama.
Dunn’s tours received increased national attention in the wake of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ crackdown on teaching Black history in Florida classrooms.
Jamora Arroyo-Jefferson, a high school student who attended the first “Teach the Truth” tour in 2023 made a short documentary about her experience, which went on to win the 2024 Princeton Prize in Race Relations and a South Florida Regional “Certificate of Accomplishment” as well as praise from Dunn himself.
Dunn told Arroyo-Jefferson in a blurb for the documentary, “Jamora, I congratulate you on your excellent documentary on the first “Teach the Truth” tour. I have seen no other film that captures my work so effectively and I have been followed on the tour by MSNBC, CNN, and a host of other filmmakers. Your film goes to the very heart of the purpose and success of the tour. To have this quality of work come from a high school student is incredible.”
Activists demand energy independence amid ongoing blackouts in Puerto Rico
By Mivette Vega June 21, 2024
Recent weeks have seen a surge in blackouts in Puerto Rico caused by problems in transmission and generation lines. Towns in the south, like Santa Isabel and Coamo, have borne the brunt of these outages.
Activists from Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican diaspora staged a protest in New York Wednesday night, calling for a better energy system for island residents. Thousands of Puerto Ricans have endured constant blackouts in recent weeks.
“The privatization of energy distribution by LUMA, combined with the privatization of energy generation by Genera PR/New Fortress Energy, has gone from bad to worse,” said unionist David Galarza in a statement.
Recent weeks have seen a surge in blackouts caused by problems in transmission and generation lines. Towns in the south, like Santa Isabel and Coamo, have borne the brunt of these outages, with residents facing not just darkness but damaged appliances, lost food due to lack of refrigeration, and limited access to water due to failing pumps. Last Wednesday, another massive power outage affected 350,000 clients.
Protesters pointed out the long-term economic consequences of relying on private companies for energy. The high cost of electricity stifles business growth and burdens households.
But beyond economics, the protest resonated with a deeper yearning for self-determination. Casa Pueblo, a self-managed community organization renowned for its energy independence initiatives, played a key role in organizing the demonstration. Their message: Puerto Rico can’t chart its own course if it’s tethered to foreign energy corporations.
“The energy transition we need is one that leads to independence,” declared Arturo Massol Deyá, Casa Pueblo’s executive director. He highlighted his upcoming testimony before the United Nations Decolonization Committee, where he will argue that energy sovereignty is a crucial prerequisite for genuine self-determination for Puerto Rico.
The timing of the protest was intentional. It coincided with the Committee’s scheduled session, where Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination will be discussed for the 42nd time. For many activists, the energy crisis symbolizes a larger struggle: the fight for Puerto Rico’s right to shape its own future, free from external control.
The group of protestors included organizations like Jornada se Acabaron Las Promesas, Por Libertad, La Colectiva Feminista en Construcción, and the Socialist Front. They called for the government to reclaim control of the energy sector and invest heavily in renewable energy sources. Moving away from fossil fuels, they argued, was not just an environmental necessity, but also a key step towards energy independence and economic resilience in the face of climate change.
Author Mivette Vega is a seasoned journalist and multimedia reporter whose stories center the Latino community. She is passionate about justice, equality, environmental matters, and animals. She is a Salvadorrican—Salvadorian that grew up in Puerto Rico—that has lived in San Juan, Venice, Italy, and Miami.
LUMA IS A JV WITH ALBERTA'S ATCO
Hurricane Beryl grows to Category 5 strength in the southeast Caribbean
NPR Published July 1, 2024 NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-EastHurricane Beryl loomed toward St. Vincent — and grew in power — as it brought threats of catastrophic winds and dangerous storm surges to the Windward Islands. The storm is seen here in a satellite image just after sunrise on Monday.
Updated July 01, 2024
Hurricane Beryl upgraded to a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 storm late Monday night, the National Hurricane Center said, as it crossed islands in the southeastern Caribbean.
Beryl’s winds increased to 160 mph, late Monday, the hurricane center said. Beryl was about 510 miles east-southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic and was moving west-northwest at 22 mph. It was forecast to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday.
A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica.
Earlier Monday, the eye of Beryl "made landfall on Carriacou Island" as it brought 150 mph winds and a dangerous storm surge to islands on the eastern edge of the Caribbean, the NHC said. The storm hit the island after another round of rapid strengthening.
"This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Take action now to protect your life!" the center said ahead of Monday's landfall. "Residents in the Grenadine Islands and Carriacou Island should not leave their shelter as winds will rapidly increase within the eyewall of Beryl."
The Category 4 storm has been moving at 20 mph. Its center passed well south of Barbados, but Beryl still hammered the island with winds that gusted up to 70 mph.
As of 2 p.m. ET, the government of Barbados has discontinued its hurricane warning for the island.
Warnings remain in place for St. Vincent, the Grenadine Islands and Grenada. A less urgent hurricane watch — meaning hurricane conditions are possible, though not explicitly expected — is in place for Jamaica.
National Hurricane Center /A five-day forecast cone shows the likely path of Hurricane Beryl as it moves across the Caribbean Sea and an eventual landfall — likely near Mexico's Yucatan.
Beryl has put up some eyepopping numbers in recent days, with warm ocean water allowing it to quickly gain strength after becoming a tropical depression on Friday. When it blossomed into a Category 4 storm on Sunday, it became the first Atlantic hurricane on record to attain that status in June.
How dangerous is the storm?
Beryl weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm early Monday, but meteorologists predicted it would likely gain power again after an eyewall replacement took place in that same timeframe.
Its sustained winds of 140 mph place Beryl's in Category 4 on the Saffir-Sampson wind scale. The power of storms in that class is fierce.
"There is a very high risk of injury or death to people, livestock, and pets due to flying and falling debris," according to the NHC. "Nearly all older (pre-1994) manufactured homes will be destroyed. A high percentage of newer manufactured homes also will be destroyed," and poorly built homes could see all of their walls collapse.
While hurricane winds draw much attention, the cyclones pose the greatest threat to life with floodwater, from rain and storm surge.
"A life-threatening storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 6 to 9 feet above normal tide levels" close to its landfall, the NHC said.
Beryl is forecast to drop 3 to 6 inches of rain across the Windward Islands through Monday afternoon.
Despite passing south of Barbados, Barbados Meteorological Services Director Sabu Best said in an update early Monday that wind gusts were dangerously strong, from 50 up to 70 mph, urging residents to stay inside until an "all clear" has been announced. Rainfall, he added, had not been as bad as expected.
What is Beryl's expected path?
The hurricane is currently heading west-northwest, moving through the Windward Islands Monday morning before heading across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea, the NHC said.
A west-northwest track is a common heading for an Atlantic hurricane. And while many storms that have hit the U.S. have eventually curved distinctly toward the north, Beryl is currently forecast to maintain a predominantly westward motion until it hits Mexico. Its current forecast track is further south than earlier predictions.
On its current forecast path, the earliest tropical storm-force winds are expected to hit Central America Wednesday night. Mexico's coastal states of Quintana Roos and Yucatan will likely feel those winds on Thursday.
What about the warming ocean?
Climate change — and specifically, an established trend of warmer ocean and air temperatures — has led to more intense hurricanes and other storms. And this year, that dynamic is already rewriting the record books.
Since forming in late June, Beryl is now the earliest Category 4 Atlantic storm; it was also "the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic (<=23.5°N) in June on record, breaking the old record set in 1933," as Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach said on X.
Beryl strengthened into a hurricane on Saturday, becoming June's easternmost major hurricane in the Atlantic. The storm underwent rapid intensification, and it became a Category 4 hurricane as soon as its wind speeds reached 130 miles per hour. Beryl temporarily weakened to a Category 3 before strengthening again, with maximum winds documented at 150 miles per hour when it made landfall.
"Sobering satellite imagery of high-end Category 4 Hurricane #Beryl with max winds of 150 mph making landfall on Carriacou Island (Grenada)," extreme storm chaser Colin McCarthy posted on X (formerly Twitter).
He went on: "Beryl is the strongest Caribbean hurricane ever recorded this early in the season and [it's] making landfall at peak intensity. Only one other Category 4-5 hurricane on record since 1850 has moved within 75 miles of Grenada: Ivan in September 2004. However, for a hurricane to make direct landfall on Grenada on the first day of July is completely unprecedented."
A map from the National Hurricane Center shows the arrival time of winds associated with Hurricane Beryl. NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER
The satellite video McCarthy included with his post shows Beryl swirling over the Caribbean before it tears through Grenada, one of the Windward Islands.
National Hurricane Center (NHC) senior hurricane specialist John Cangialosi told Newsweek that satellite imagery is a forecaster's "eyes" when it comes to hurricanes.
"That's what gives us so much information about where the center is located, its structure to some degree, its strength," he said. "It helps us understand how the storm is changing over time."
Cangialosi added that satellite imagery is NHC's No. 1 data point.
The NHC has published numerous updates warning residents of the "extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation." As of 11 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time, Beryl's eyewall, a ring of thunderstorms that produce heavy rains and typically the strongest winds, was moving through the southern Windward Islands.
"Residents in Grenada, the Grenadine Islands, and Carriacou Island should not leave their shelter as destructive winds and life-threatening storm surge are expected during the next few hours," the NHC said.
In addition to the winds and storm surge, Beryl produced heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding.
"Beryl is expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it moves across the Caribbean Sea later this week," the NHC said. "A Hurricane Watch has been issued for Jamaica. Interests in the Cayman Islands, Belize, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the remainder of the northwestern Caribbean should monitor its progress."
Beryl is the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and the second named storm. Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in Mexico on the morning of June 20. Shortly after Beryl formed, the third named storm of the season—Tropical Storm Chris—formed quickly on Sunday night. Chris made landfall in Mexico on Sunday night, with wind speeds at around 40 mph. It has since dissolved.
The NHC is tracking another tropical disturbance, in the central tropical Atlantic, that has a 20 percent chance of forming in the next 48 hours.
Hurricane Beryl: What To Know About 'Unprecedented' Category 4 Hurricane Bearing Down On Caribbean
On "Forbes Newsroom," meteorologist Dr. Marshall Shepherd discussed Hurricane Beryl, and why he says it is an "unprecedented" storm.
Puerto Rico braces for indirect impacts as Hurricane Beryl pummels Carriacou Hurricane Beryl floods a street in Hastings, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024.
AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan.
By Mivette Vega,
Associated Press July 1, 2024
According to a recent projected trajectory, the closest approach of the center would be 241 miles to the southwest of Cabo Rojo.
The dangerous and extremely powerful Hurricane Beryl made landfall Monday on the Caribbean island of Carriacou after becoming the earliest storm of Category 4 strength to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters.
Just shy of a Category 5 storm, the hurricane blew off roofs, uprooted trees, and caused other damage on Carriacou, one of the islands of Grenada, and elsewhere in the southeast Caribbean. RELATED: Meteorologists expect an ‘explosive’ hurricane season
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the National Hurricane Center said.
Puerto Rico is outside Beryl’s cone of uncertainty, but starting Monday afternoon, the hurricane’s indirect effects will begin to be felt.
Because the hurricane will pass about 200 miles or more south of the island, a high risk of ocean currents is expected. Therefore, the National Weather Service San Juan (NWSSJ) issued a warning for small boat operators, which will be in effect from 6:00 p.m. on Monday until noon Wednesday.
According to a recent projected trajectory, the closest approach of the center would be 241 miles to the southwest of Cabo Rojo.
Beryl’s outer bands could move across Puerto Rico starting Monday night, generating squally weather and breezy conditions, according to NWSSJ.
Dangerous breaking waves of up to 17 feet are anticipated on Tuesday in areas such as Patillas, Guayanilla, Guayama, Salinas, and Arroyo, among others.
“On its path, the outer bands of Beryl will bring periods of thunderstorms and breezy to windy conditions, with winds ranging between 25 and 30 miles per hour with stronger gusts. Beryl will also bring dangerous seas and life-threatening rip currents with high surf conditions,” the NWSSJ said in a previous report.
Beryl strengthened from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours — a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history, and with Sept. 1 as the earliest date, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.
It also was the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, besting Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005.
Floricua’s staff journalist, Mivette Vega, contributed to this story.
‘Historic’ Hurricane Beryl could take life-threatening shape as a potential Category 4 storm
Hurricane Beryl, which strengthened its fury as a Category 3 storm on Sunday morning, is now forecast to become a scarier Category 4.
Hurricane Beryl is forecast to strengthen into a powerful Category 4 storm as it approaches the southeast Caribbean, which began shutting down Sunday amid urgent pleads from government officials for people to take shelter.
This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/GOES satellite handout image shows Tropical Storm Beryl at 19:30UTC on June 29, 2024. Much of the southeast Caribbean went on alert Saturday as Tropical Storm Beryl was set to undergo rapid strengthening, becoming a "dangerous" major hurricane before it crosses the Windward Islands sometimes on June 30, forecasters said.(AFP)
Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Beryl's center is expected to pass about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Barbados on Monday morning, said Sabu Best, director of Barbados’ meteorological service.
“This is a very serious situation developing for the Windward Islands,” warned the National Hurricane Center in Miami, which said that Beryl was “forecast to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge.”
Beryl strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane on Sunday morning, becoming the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles on record for June, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.
Beryl is now only the third Category 3 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic in June, following Audrey in 1957 and Alma in 1966, said hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry.
How dangerous is Hurricane Beryl?
“Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area,” he said in a phone interview. “Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane and it hasn’t struck yet.”
Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strongest hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage in Grenada as a Category 3 storm.
“So this is a serious threat, a very serious threat,” Lowry said of Beryl.
Beryl was located about 420 miles (675 kilometers) east-southeast of Barbados. It was a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) and was moving west at 21 mph (33 kph). It was expected to pass just south of Barbados early Monday and then head into the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane on a path toward Jamaica. It is expected to weaken by midweek but still remain a hurricane as it heads toward Mexico.
Forecasters warned of life-threatening storm surge of up to 9 feet (3 meters) in areas where Beryl will make landfall, with up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain for Barbados and nearby islands.
Long lines formed at gas stations and grocery stores in Barbados and other islands as people rushed to prepare for a storm that has broken records and rapidly intensified from a tropical storm with 35 mph winds on Friday to a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday.
Warm waters were fueling Beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic the highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, University of Miami tropical meteorology researcher. Lowry said the waters are now warmer than what they would be at the peak of hurricane season in September.
Beryl marks the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher. If Beryl’s winds reach 125 mph, it would be the second earliest such storm in the Atlantic on record, surpassing Audrey in 1957, he said.
In addition, if Beryl reaches a Category 3, it would only be the third storm to do so in the Caribbean prior to August; Dennis and Emily both did so in July of 2005, according to Klotzbach.
“We have to remain vigilant,” Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a public address late Saturday. “We do not want to put anybody’s life at risk.”
Thousands of people were in Barbados for Saturday’s Twenty20 World Cup final, cricket’s biggest event, with Mottley noting that not all fans were able to leave Sunday despite many rushing to change their flights.
“Some of them have never gone through a storm before,” she said. “We have plans to take care of them.”
Mottley said all businesses should close by Sunday evening and warned the airport would close by nighttime.
Kemar Saffrey, president of a Barbadian group that aims to end homelessness, said in a video posted on social media Saturday night that those without homes tend to think they can ride out storms because they’ve done it before.
“I don’t want that to be the approach that they take,” he said, warning that Beryl is a dangerous storm and urging Barbadians to direct homeless people to a shelter.
Echoing his comments was Wilfred Abrahams, minister of home affairs and information.
“I need Barbadians at this point to be their brother’s keeper,” he said. “Some people are vulnerable.”
Meanwhile, St. Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced a national shutdown for Sunday evening and said schools and businesses would remain closed on Monday.
“Preservation and protection of life is a priority,” he said.
Caribbean leaders were preparing not only for Beryl, but for a cluster of thunderstorms trailing the hurricane that have a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression.
“Do not let your guard down,” Mottley said.
Beryl is the second named storm in what is forecast to be an above-average hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 in the Atlantic. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto came ashore in northeastern Mexico with heavy rains that resulted in four deaths.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
Trump can't end war in a day, Russia UN envoy says
"I'll get it settled fast, before I take office."
Updated July 1 2024 - US presidential candidate Donald Trump has boasted he could end the war in Ukraine in a day. (AP PHOTO)
Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia says that "the Ukrainian crisis cannot be solved in one day," when asked about US presidential candidate Donald Trump's frequent claims that he could end the war within 24 hours if re-elected.
Republican candidate Trump has not given any details and has said that if there had been a "real president" in the US - who was respected by Russian President Vladimir Putin - then Moscow would not have invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
"I will have that war settled between Putin and (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy as president-elect before I take office on January 20th. I'll have that war settled," Trump said last week during a debate against President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
"I'll get it settled fast, before I take office."
US voters go to the polls on November 5 to elect the next president for a four-year term.
The outcome of the election matters to Russia, despite its attempts to play it down, because it will determine the extent of Washington's commitment to keep backing Ukraine against Moscow and supplying it with advanced US weapons.
"The Ukrainian crisis cannot be solved in one day," Nebenzia told a news conference on Monday to mark the beginning of Russia's presidency of the United Nations Security Council for July.
In response, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Reuters: "President Trump is the most effective statesman and negotiator in history, and he will solve this conflict when he is elected."
The Kremlin has said that any peace plan for Ukraine proposed by a possible future Trump administration would have to reflect the reality on the ground but that Putin remained open to talks.
Australian Associated Press
"We are New Orleans”: A Workers’ Bill of Rights Finds Common Ground
“When we came up with the Workers’ Bill of Rights, it wasn’t just for one group, it was for all.”
A waiter working at a restaurant in New Orleans in 2021. A new effort to secure a Workers' Bill of Rights for workers in New Orleans is finding common ground.
PHOTO BY MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES
NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana’s government made headlines in recent weeks for passing a slate of right-wing policies that range from requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom to eliminating lunch breaks for young workers. Other priorities, like banning collective bargaining for most public sector workers, didn’t pass this time around but may come back to haunt working people soon enough.
If that’s not enough, the state already has preemption laws on the books that prevent local ordinances that would raise the minimum wage, provide paid leave, require prevailing wage for workers on city contracts, or regulate the gig economy.
So what are workers in Louisiana, particularly in its most progressive city, New Orleans, to do?
So what are workers in Louisiana, particularly in its most progressive city, New Orleans, to do?
Despite some of the least favorable conditions for labor in the country, workers here have been organizing — and making gains. The most recent victory came from Tulane’s non-tenured faculty, and workers have been pushing for union rights and safer, better conditions in workplaces from hospitals to dollar stores. And now workers in New Orleans, organizing with Step Up Louisiana, are campaigning for a Workers’ Bill of Rights in the city, an initiative which will be on the ballot in November.
Workers in New Orleans, organizing with Step Up Louisiana, are campaigning for a Workers’ Bill of Rights in the city, an initiative which will be on the ballot in November.
It was those dollar store workers whose campaign for better conditions sparked the idea for a local ordinance, explained Kisha Edwards, operations and membership coordinator for Step Up Louisiana. During conversations with local church leaders and members of the City Council, they began to discuss ways to incentivize businesses to do better by their employees. “We were thinking of a grading system attached to the bill of rights,” Edwards explained, to let customers know that workers in a particular place have safe and secure working conditions, health benefits and paid leave.
The key issues, added David Williams, a Dollar General worker organizing with Step Up, are “the opportunity for workers to have a living wage, the right to heal, when they need time off or need to spend time with their family, the right to organize where they don’t have to feel threatened by anything. Also, affordable healthcare coverage because everything costs, inflation is real.” MORE BY SARAH JAFFE
After the early conversations, Step Up held listening sessions around the city, asking people what they would want in a workers’ bill of rights. Britain Forsyth, the legislative coordinator for Step Up, joined the organization in December 2022 and began working on crafting a proposal from the results of those listening sessions. The plan involves creating a Healthy Workplace designation for employers who uphold those four principles: a minimum of $15 per hour wage, paid leave for health, family, bereavement and holiday time, the right to organize a union, and employer-provided health insurance. They also want to build a workers’ commission to hear complaints by workers and to hold bad bosses accountable.
Details, Forsyth said, are still being hammered out. “We’ve been working a little bit with the Office of Human Rights and Equity and talking to them about what’s possible.” The Healthy Workplace designation would be managed by the city health department, who have been, he said, enthusiastic partners. A lot of people, he said, have felt hopeless about the political situation in the city because of the preemption laws and the election of Jeff Landry as governor, and so public officials have jumped at the chance to do something positive, even if they have to rely on incentivizing good behavior more than punishing or banning bad.
“Our city council has really been eager to pass this,” Forsyth said. “Their leadership on this has been great because it’s showing unity — something that they may not always have.” Edwards added, “That’s the message I believe that the city council is sending, that our city deserves more and we deserve better for our workers.”
But the bill of rights will have to be passed by the people, with a ballot initiative to amend the city charter. And so Step Up is preparing for a campaign that will run throughout the summer and into election season. They have a year-round canvassing operation already that can be turned to this work, and plan to dedicate organizers to the issue. They also intend, Forsyth said, to mobilize business owners who are supportive, both as part of the campaign and to make sure that anything put forward in the bill is actually achievable for business owners who want to do right by their employees. There will be rallies and community events, and collaboration with the campaign to pass a housing trust fund, which will also be on the ballot in November.
But Forsyth is hopeful that the measure will pass with broad support. “I am sure there are bad actor bosses who would be upset about this passing,” he said. “But there are a lot of things in New Orleans that have become non-controversial, and the things that we have on here are some of them.”
“I am sure there are bad actor bosses who would be upset about this passing,” he said. “But there are a lot of things in New Orleans that have become non-controversial, and the things that we have on here are some of them.”
Louisiana has passed some progressive legislation in recent years, Edwards noted. With the state’s “fair chance” hiring law and New Orleans’s “ban the box” ordinance, formerly incarcerated people have been given better access to jobs, she said, but if those jobs don’t pay a living wage and allow people to afford decent housing, they aren’t truly sustainable.
“Our society sees that lengthy punishment, what does it do? What does it do for the human being? You’re deteriorating a human being,” she said. That understanding has been spreading in recent years as the movement against mass incarceration grows, but, Edwards noted, when people are released from prison, they often come out with health issues that are harder to tend in the low-end jobs that they are often relegated to. Without healthcare, without paid leave, it is too easy to lose a job; without a job, you can’t pay the rent, and the constant stress makes those health issues worse.
New Orleans, she noted, is a tourist city, which relies on service sector workers to provide a good experience for visitors. “If our workers aren’t treated right, of course they can’t go to work and perform at their best if they don’t have an affordable place to live, if they don’t have livable wages.” “If our workers aren't treated right, of course they can't go to work and perform at their best if they don't have an affordable place to live, if they don't have livable wages.”
For the dollar store workers, safety has been a core concern, and Edwards noted that the right to paid leave would incentivize employers to pay more attention. Robberies and violence have been common at the discount retailers, enough that the issue has been central to their organizing.
The right to heal that the bill of rights includes is drawn expansively for just this reason: to include the right to time off to recover from a traumatic experience in the workplace itself. “This would send a message to businesses and employers in the city that we are not taking it anymore. We’re standing up and we’re fighting back,” she said. “We demand action. We demand a difference. We want a change in our city.”
Visitors to New Orleans come from all over the world, Forsyth noted, and the Healthy Workplace rating could be something that businesses use to promote themselves to visitors, similar to the way that LGBT-friendly businesses market themselves as safe and welcoming places for queer and trans visitors. After all, no one wants to be served food made by a sick chef, but few of us have any way to know what working conditions are like when we visit a strange place.
“You've always got to dedicate yourself to make things right and make things better,” Williams said. “When we came up with the Workers' Bill of Rights, it wasn't just for one group, it was for all. We are New Orleans.”
To Williams, it feels good for New Orleans to potentially be a leader in passing progressive legislation that can be upheld even with a deeply hostile state government. “When you have this Workers’ Bill of Rights in place in the city, it’s a domino effect,” he said. “Somebody asked me one day, ‘What is New Orleans?’ I say, simple. It’s the people. It’s the people that make New Orleans, New Orleans. It is the culture. There’s so many names to call us, and most of it is the Big Easy, but if I’m being honest, there’s nothing really easy about it because you’ve always got to hustle.”
“You’ve always got to dedicate yourself to make things right and make things better,” Williams said. “When we came up with the Workers’ Bill of Rights, it wasn’t just for one group, it was for all. We are New Orleans.”
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Sarah Jaffe is a writer and reporter living in New Orleans and on the road. She is the author of Work Won’t Love You Back: How Devotion To Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone; Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt, and the forthcoming From the Ashes: Grief and Revolution in a World on Fire, all from Bold Type Books. Her journalism covers the politics of power, from the workplace to the streets, and her writing has been published in The Nation, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New Republic, the New York Review of Books, and many other outlets. She is a columnist at The Progressive and a contributing writer at In These Times. She also co-hosts the Belabored podcast, with Michelle Chen, covering today’s labor movement, and Heart Reacts, with Craig Gent, an advice podcast for the collapse of late capitalism. Sarah has been a waitress, a bicycle mechanic, and a social media consultant, cleaned up trash and scooped ice cream and explained Soviet communism to middle schoolers. Journalism pays better than some of these. You can follow her on Twitter @sarahljaffe.
