National Geographic: Can COVID-19 alter your personality? Here's what brain research shows.

By Sharon Guynup

    We all know that COVID-19 has myriad health impacts, ranging from the lungs and heart to other areas of the body. But new symptoms and patients have revealed that it can also affect cognitive function.

    This was first noticed in patients after they returned to their daily lives and began experiencing side effects like loss of memory, bad mood, anxiety, among other symptoms that suggested brain damage had occurred. The symptoms were similar to those seen in patients of other neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

    COVID-19 most likely causes these changes because of the immune response to the virus. When the immune system fights a virus, one of the cells it releases is an inflammatory cell. These are released into the bloodstream, and when they end up in the brain for a prolonged time, it can cause neurons to die, block capillaries, and create other side effects. In addition, the virus can also infect brain cells directly, also causing them to die.

    Brain damage has been seen to be most impactful on those with long fights with the virus, since prolonged sickness increases the amount of inflammation that occurs. Scientists have yet to find a definitive way to stop these effects, but antivirals like Remdesevir can help patients recover more quickly, and other drugs target specific areas in the brain. Researchers hope to be able to study these effects from the coronavirus to dig deeper into neurodegenerative diseases.

Mr. Lemoncello's All-Star Breakout Game

By Chris Grabenstein

    In the latest game, Mr. Lemoncello's game goes live on national TV! Kyle Keeley and his friends are playing his newest picture guessing game, What Else Do You See?, on a library computer when their old enemy from the very first breakout game, the stuck-up Charles Chiltington, tells on them to the librarian and gets them all detention, sticking Kyle with 5 of them. Later that day, Mr. Lemoncello, the famous game-maker, goes on TV, telling everyone about the new breakout game that he will be hosting live on the Kidzapalooza network. He also explains that the teams will be chosen in auditions at the Alexandriaville Middle School in Ohio, his hometown, where Kyle and his friends go to school.

    Only one problem...Kyle has detentions to serve at the same time the auditions are taking place. He does the only thing he can do - he skips his final detention, earning him 5 more, and attends the audition. To get into the auditorium, teams of 5 must first pass a preliminary word scramble, which he, Akimi, Andrew, Miguel, and Sierra easily pass. Of course, Charles isn't one to be outdone, and at the advice of his rich, competitive, and oppressive father, he gathers a group of 8th graders known to be the biggest bookworms in school history. In the audition, his team, aptly named the Bookworms, take first place, while Kyle's Lemonheads take second. Both teams will be moving on to the real deal!

    In a final attempt to undermine his adversary, Charles emails Kyle's parents, informing him of the detentions and the skipped detention, painting Kyle as badly as possible. Kyle almost gets grounded, but Akimi is able to explain why it happened and that Charles is a bad person, often insulting Kyle's father for working as a mechanic.

    In the meantime, Mr. Lemoncello and his Imagination Factory have been madly working on their latest invention to be used in the breakout game - the Fictionasium. The immersive virtual reality simulation will enable participants to weave their own story in a genre of their choosing, be it fiction, nonfiction, history, anything, using a combination of motion capture suits and Smell-A-Vision. When the Bookworms and Lemonheads are brought in to train on the system, Mr. Lemoncello tells them that there will be a special third team joining them in the breakout race, to be revealed on the day of the competition.

    The team is the Kidzapalooza All-Stars, a combination of the biggest young stars on the network, including Alexandriavill's own Haley Daley, who gained fame after being featured in commercials as a prize for being one of the winners of the first library breakout game.

    When the contest begins, two things quickly become clear. First, that the All-Stars are indeed all-stars. They quickly took the lead and progressed through the Fictionasium room for each genre. Meanwhile, Charles's Bookworms were found to be indeed bookworms, and not gamers. He had failed to anticipate the interactive aspect of the Fictionasium, and one by one, his teammates resigned, leaving him all alone. Soon, he seems to have given up as well, disappearing for a hour.

    In the meantime, the Lemonheads and the All-Stars work through their rooms, getting all the way to the fourth room, despite all sorts of surprises, while Charles remains AWOL. Then, all of a sudden, Chiltington reappears and works his way through the rooms at breakneck speed, looking like he already knew the answers - because he did. He had found his way into the Fictionasium control room while the guard was in the bathroom, attempted and failed to sabotage the others, then found all the answers before resuming the competition. He is onto his final room, the mythology room, where he discovers that a lightning blaster meant to resemble Zeus's lightning bolts is a bonafide laser blaster! With it, he resolves to take down the entire library, which he and his mother believe to be dangerous and bad for the city.

    In another room, the All-Stars and Lemonheads must collaborate to complete their final room - realistic fiction. And Kyle gets an experience that changes his entire mindset. In it, he plays the part of Charles Chiltington under the name Miles Millerson. When he meets Mr. Millerson, modeled after Mr. Chiltington, he understands why Charles is the way he is. His father is an oppressive man, focused solely on winning, and spares no one from his wrath - not even his son. Mr. Millerson gives him two keys - the two keys that the teams need to open their boxes with the final clue - and tells him to use one for himself and forget the other. Instead, he shares the keys and the two teams race off to stop Charles from destroying the library.

    Kyle decides that the best way is to show him a version of Mr. Millerson who tells him to reconsider his actions. But once Charles is prevented from destroying the library, he tries to win the competition, resulting in a three-way tie playing the game, What Else Do You See?, where the Lemonheads prevail.

CNN 10 12/13/2021 ~ 12/17/2021

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for the latest video 

LAST SHOW OF THE YEAR

Happy Holidays!

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

The Omicron variant is continuing the spread around the world. The UK has reported dozens of cases, 10 hospitalizations, and one death from the variant. Based on preliminary reports, the WHO says that existing vaccines are less effective against the new variant. It's still uncertain whether a surge in cases in many areas is due to existing variants like Delta or the new Omicron. The tornados that swept through the Midwest have left devastation in their wake. Entire cities have been flattened, dozens are dead, and crews are still digging through the rubble as over 100 people remain unaccounted for. Charities and other organizations are leading efforts to get help, and they say that the most urgent need right now is blood donations. The latest economic report for the country is out - it showed around half the jobs growth than economists had expected, likely due to new variants. Inflation is also up nearly 7 percent, but partially offset by 5 percent gains in wages. But the continuing inflation is having detrimental impacts, not only on city dwellers but on rural residents, who have seen the costs of their most important goods go up.

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

There is a security flaw in a popular server software called Log4J. The flaw, which has not yet been patched fully, could allow hackers to take control of servers, potentially impacting big businesses like Amazon, Apple, and Tesla. The Microsoft-owned game Minecraft has already been affected, and Microsoft quickly released a patch to fix the issue. Log4J is recommending all users to find out if their systems have been impacted as soon as possible and for end-users of software distributions to download security updates as soon as they become available. Since news of the hole became public, hundreds of thousands of hackers have already attempted to exploit it. Rivers are important parts of the world's ecosystem, but like most "renewable" resources, they aren't infinite. Some of the biggest threats to their survival are pollution and invasive species. Jeremy Shelton, part of a wildlife conservancy effort in South Africa, is using photography to try to get people more involved in protecting the environment. He hopes his images will help people understand the underwater ecosystem in a more real way.

CNN 10 12/6/2021 ~ 12/10/2021

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Monday, December 6, 2021

In Indonesia, a volcanic explosion has left many people without homes, and many more covered in ash. The explosion occurred on the island of Java. The island is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area that sits along a fault line and sees intense volcanic activity. It accounts for the majority of volcanos around the world, most of which are underwater. As a result, the islands located on the ring of fire have frequent volcanic activity and tsunamis. The US has begun restricting travel to several southern African nations that have seen high numbers of cases of the Omicron variant, a new variant of COVID-19 that scientists still know little about. It has already started spreading in the US and other parts of the world, though Delta still remains the most dominant variant. Part of the problem may be that poor countries, which see the most mutations as a result of their poor safety measures, also don't have the money to sequence the virus efficiently. The labs that they have are constantly low on funding, so while massive labs in the UK are processing thousands of samples, they take months to process just a few, which allows variants to spread in the meantime. The last surviving member of the World War II paratrooper regiment known as the "Band of Brothers" recently passed away at the age of 99. He said that his most proud achievements from the war were his duty and bringing home the most men out of any platoon in his division.

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

The makings of a new space race are heating up between the US and China. Back in the mid-1900s, the first space race took place between the US and Russia; the latter initially appeared to have an advantage but the US ultimately won by being the first to land on the Moon. Since then, the US has been the leader in space technology, but China has been ramping up its development and top officials say that they could catch up soon. Other players in the modern arena include the UAE, India, and the European Space Agency. Grocery stores end up throwing a lot of food away when it starts to get close to the expiration date and people no longer want to buy it. They have tried many methods to get people to buy the produce, most of which is still edible, from price markdowns to repackaging. A new startup has created an app called FlashFood to try to alleviate this problem. They enable grocery stores to put up daily listings of food that is near expiration but still edible so that people can buy it for immediate use at steep discounts. To date, they say they have eliminated as much as 30 million pounds of waste.

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

The Biden administration recently announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics scheduled to begin in just a few months. This means that athletes will still be allowed to participate under the US flag, but there will not be an official diplomatic delegation from the US. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that a full boycott like the one seen under the Carter administration did not feel appropriate at the current time. The move comes as pressure from a flurry of human rights violation claims against Beijing are mounting; several other countries are also considering diplomatic boycotts. Yesterday was the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The surprise attack lasted just a few hours of the early morning but devastated more than a dozen ships along with thousands of sailors. It ended up launching the US into World War II and the eventual defeat of the Axis Powers. The President and First Lady participated in a wreath-laying ceremony and other memorials were held across the country.

Friday, December 10, 2021

The Chinese real estate corporation Evergrande has run into financial trouble. The once megacorporation grew during China's massive industrial expansion, taking advantage of the massive movement of the Chinese population into industrial centers. It also began to expand into other sectors, and its founder became the richest person in Asia in 2017. But this rapid expansion came with massive amounts of borrowing, amounting to over $300 billion dollars, and along with the pandemic's economic impact and the Communist government's crackdown on excessive borrowing, it could not keep up, leading to a recent default. The company reportedly sold several assets but is still deep in debt. If Evergrande does fail, it would be catastrophic not only for China, which has over 3/4 of its investments in real estate, but for the world at large because Evergrande has so many connections in so many sectors. People have been talking about robots and AI a lot recently, and a new one called Ameca recently made social media headlines. It can replicate human facial gestures to an exactitude where, if not for the metallic color, one might actually believe it to be human. And that's the application its creator hopes to see, to have it be able to greet people and talk to people who need help.

CNN 10 11/29/2021 ~ 12/3/2021

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for the latest video 

Monday, November 29, 2021

A new variant of coronavirus has popped up - omicron. It was first identified in South Africa and initially appeared to have milder symptoms than other strains of the virus, based on observations of a small group of patients. Scientists don't know yet if it can infect people who have already recovered from a previous infection or people who have been vaccinated, though the UK claims it has caused breakthrough infections in vaccinated people. What is unique about this latest variant is the number of mutations it has - it has the most mutations out of those seen so far. Black Friday shoppers were up almost 50% from last year, when the pandemic caused many to stay at home. But that's still down around 20% from the year before that, which means many people are still buying online. A drawback from this is the high rate of returns, significantly higher on online purchases than in brick-and-mortar stores. The seemingly "free" returns are far from free, costing retailers a large portion of the original cost of the product, only to have many of them end up in landfill. Companies are working to reduce this through online tools, but in the meantime, liquidators are picking up some of the slack, buying returns from shipping companies, and sending them off to discount stores.

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Inflation is still on the rise, and the Federal Reserve now believes that it is not going away anytime soon. New variants of COVID-19 are popping up, threatening to exacerbate the already strained supply chain and hiking up prices. Many people have seen the price of fresh produce go up - but the farmers say that their profits aren't going up. In fact, they're going down. The middle men who transfer all of the food are seeing higher costs because of a shortage of truck drivers and ships, so they are transferring the cost to farmers and consumers. White rhinos were on the brink of extinction. While the northern species is still down to just two female members, southern white rhinos have been restored to thousands, largely thanks to the work of a nature reserve in their native habitat of South Africa. But they are still constantly under the threat of illegal poachers there, who shoot them for their horns. A few dozen of them were recently transferred to a safer park in Rwanda, where the national park hosting them also hopes to draw more tourists with the new animals.

Friday, December 3, 2021

Tensions are ramping up in the European country of Ukraine. It borders both Russia and several NATO countries, and the country is heavily divided over the two opposing sides. Some Ukrainians want to join Russia; others want to join the EU. The latest argument is over Russian troop movements on Ukraine's western border. NATO officials say that the magnitude of the force is sufficient to invade Ukraine and that Russian propaganda is displaying similar tactics as those seen just before the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine in 2014. Russia for its part claims that it is simply trying to protect itself against NATO advances, and the US says that it is prepared to levy new sanctions against the Communist nation if it does not back down. The 2022 Winter Olympics are scheduled to kick off in Beijing in just a few months, and there is already controversy over it. The first is COVID-19; while China claims its strict safety measures are effective at preventing the disease, the Omicron variant is causing new concern around the world. The second is the increasing allegations of human rights abuses against the Communist regime. Events like the disappearance of tennis player Peng Shuai have raised new concerns and several countries are considering diplomatic boycotts of the winter games. In Major League Baseball, a lockout has occurred for the first time since 1994. That means players can't use team facilities until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached. The old one just expired, and the Players' Union and owners have failed to reach a new agreement, both sides accusing the other of failing to compromise. If a new deal is not reached, the lockout could have an impact on the 2022 season, which begins spring training in February of next year.

Time: World on Alert as U.K. Reports Cases of Omicron COVID-19 Variant

By Jerome Delay

    The UK has become the latest country to report cases of the new omicron variant of COVID-19, which is believed to be more resistant against the protections provided by existing vaccines. The two reported cases were both linked to travel from southern Africa. The UK Health Secretary added more countries in the southern African region to the British travel restriction list, meaning that travelers from those countries will now have to quarantine

    Pharmaceutical companies were optimistic that they could update their vaccines for the new variant in due time. Despite all the travel restrictions already in place across the European continent, cases and variants are continuing to spread. Many variants are emerging from Africa as a result of the poor vaccination rate in the continent.

CNN 10 11/22/2021 ~ 11/26/2021

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for the latest video 

Monday, November 22, 2021

California's giant sequoias have stood for thousands of years in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the only place on Earth where they grow naturally. But California's recent fires have put many mature sequoias in danger, with fires from the past two years destroying almost 20% of existing mature sequoias. The National Park Service is taking steps to ensure that fewer fires occur and that the trees, already weakened by drought, are not killed by the fires. NASA will be launching a mission called DART soon. It's objective is to fly to a moonlet called Dimorphos, which orbits the asteroid Didymos, and crash into it. NASA will then measure how much the moonlet moves as a result of the collision, and use that data to potentially protect Earth if a large enough asteroid was every found to be on collision course with the planet.

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

The city of Lahore, Pakistan ranks among the most polluted cities in the world, frequently battling with the notoriously polluted city of New Delhi for the worst air quality in the world.  There are a number of causes for this, including a multitude of factories, cars using cheap gasoline and engines, and farmers burning their fields to prepare for a new growing season. The residents of Lahore experience many side effects from the smog that hangs constantly in the air, including sore throats resembling those caused by COVID-19. Officials have taken several step to try to remedy the issue, from closing down polluting factories to planting new trees. But the prospect of a blue sky still seems to be far away. There is a lot of buzz around self-driving technologies like those in Tesla cars. But is the technology really ready yet? The answer seems to be no. Driving around regular city streets, cars like the Model 3 have difficulties in situations that are hard to prepare algorithms for. For example, a car and a pedestrian overlapping, hard to see boundaries, etc, and constant intervention is still necessary.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Midnight Library

By Matt Haig

    Nora Seed had so much potential. She could have been a rock star, an Olympic gold medalist swimmer, a glaciologist, a philosopher, or married her long-time boyfriend. But she did not walk those paths. But in this life, she still lives in her hometown of Bedford, working at a music store, mostly friendless. And her life seems to only get worse. First, she gets laid off because her boss believes she isn't fulfilling her potential. Then, she gets fired from her job teaching piano because she forgot to show up to a lesson. Then, she runs into an old bandmate, still bitter over the break-up that ensued when Nora began having mental issues. When she finally gets home, she finds that her cat has died. Feeling like a failure, she fires off some final social media posts, a sad call to her estranged brother, who also left her after their band broke up, and decides that her time is done.

    But when she wakes up again, it isn't in some post-humous world. Rather, she is in a vast expanse with a building in it - a library. In it, she meets Mrs. Elm, the former school librarian who nurtured her old dream of being a glaciologist. She tells her that Nora is in the Midnight Library, a library that contains the infinite possibilities Nora's life contained, each one caused by a different choice she could have made. She can choose any life to begin at exactly 12 AM on the day that Nora "died" in her root life. While she is in the library, time does not change, and it will stand until Nora finally dies in her root life. Once Nora chooses a life, she will stay here until she feels regrets and doubt about whether she wants to stay there. If that never happens, then she is permanently transplanted into that life, as if she had always been there.

    During her time in the library, Nora goes through many different lives, some of them reversing big decisions, some of them little ones. She even meets other people who are "sliding" through lives. But she can never seem to settle into one before regret sets in - even ones where her life seems like a dream.

    Eventually, she is on the verge of giving up. She is tired of doing this, feeling like an outsider stealing another person's life. And that, ironically, is the solution. Her root life is the one best suited for her, because it is her life - she "writes" it, so to speak. As the library collapses, Mrs. Elm gives her a blank book so that Nora can begin her own story.

    She returns to the life she had before, exactly the life that she was in the moment she tried to die for the first time, and realizes all the little things she had in her life to be grateful for, that her life has meaning.

CNN 10 10/18/2021 ~ 10/22/2021

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for the latest video 

Monday, October 18, 2021

The US is changing its travel rules. Starting November 8th, fully vaccinated individuals will be able to travel to the US from most countries provided that they have a negative COVID test from the previous three days. This change removes countries like India, which had a high rate of coronavirus cases, from a list of restricted countries. US residents can also travel abroad, but need a negative COVID test from within one day of their flight home. The Indonesian island of Bali relies heavily on its tourism industry, which was disrupted due to COVID shutdowns last year. That put many people out of work, and people started to go hungry. One resident noticed this problem in his community and began a barter system called Plastic Xchange. People can pick up trash from local beaches, rivers, and even their own homes and exchange it for rice, which is a staple food in Bali. It is helping to control the plastic problem in Bali as well as ensuring people stay fed during the pandemic.

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Civil rights activist and former Secretary of State Colin Powell passed away on Monday after a storied career of service. He began in the Reserve Officer Training Corps, where he achieved its highest rank, went on to become a 4-star general after the Vietnam War. He went on to become the first Black National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State. He was so well liked that two different presidents awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the country. A 21st century space race is heating up as China sends a new group of astronauts to work on its space station. The US military believes that China's space agency is controlled by its military and has barred NASA from working with them, which means they are also banned from the ISS. Potentially because of this, the country has begun construction of their own space station, for which it has 6 more missions planned to get it into full operation in the coming years.

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

The global supply chain problems are only getting worse as the holiday season approaches. Consumers are looking to star buying gifts and release pent up buying urges, but labor shortages and coronavirus restrictions are making it difficult for suppliers to stock their shelves. They're employing all manner of methods possible to try to get goods to warehouses and stores in time, but the problem stretches from ports to trucks. In Paris, there's a bit of a different problem - one between pedestrians and cyclists and cars. The government in Paris has been trying to move to greener forms of transportation and also encourage tourism along its major streets - that makes less space for cars, which along with lower speed limits, are causing big traffic jams and more than a few upset drivers.

Thursday, October 21, 2021

17 American missionaries are being held hostage by a gang in Port au Prince, Haiti. The poorest country in the western hemisphere was already struggling before this. The president was assassinated three months ago, leading to increased gang violence, and supply shortages along with corruption and lack of security enforcement have plagued the country for years. A "megapod" of over 100 humpback whales was recently spotted off the coast of Australia. The leader of the tour group that saw them said that sightings of these massive whale feeding have become more common over the past few years. In China, a new railroad was recently completed between it and one of its neighboring countries, Laos. China says that it plans to expand a railroad throughout Asia and parts of Africa in the coming years.

Friday, October 22, 2021

The US has seen three major spikes in COVID cases so far. One at the beginning of the pandemic, one in the spring, then a steep decline before another spike largely attributed to the emergence of the delta variant in September. Since then, cases have gone down, which is a hopeful sign. These spikes have not been uniform across the world. Russia, for example, is seeing a spike right now and has a lockdown scheduled for Moscow in the coming weeks. Halloween is fast approaching, and surveys indicate that around 65% of Americans plan to participate. While that's not a record, the amount of money people plan to spend - over $10 billion - is, and that's good news for retailers who saw a massive dip in sales last year during the height of the pandemic. Debbie Blount is a golfer and sophomore at Reinhardt University. But she isn't your average student - she's the first in her family to go to college, and she's 63 years old. Back when she graduated from high school, her family didn't have the money to send her to college, so she worked a variety of jobs, and eventually married a husband who got her into golfing. After her husband and father both passed away, she decided to take the opportunity to become a full-time student. She tried out for the university golf team and now attends the school with a full sports scholarship. Along with her golfing skills, she also brings the invaluable mentality of an experienced player to the team.

CNN 10 11/15/2021 ~ 11/19/2021

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for the latest video

Monday, November 15, 2021

Bitcoin has hit a new high of around $64,000 USD. There is a lot of controversy around cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. There isn't a lot of regulation around it yet, and the money isn't held by any central bank or large corporations, so its value fluctuates frequently. Still, there are many people who believe in the new form of currency, purporting that it is owned by the people and that the deregulation is a benefit. These cryptocurrencies can't actually be used to make everyday transactions like groceries yet - but what they are currently very useful for are selling NFTs, which have been on the rise lately. Another limitation is transaction time - because all transactions are recorded by supercomputers that break codes, it can take a long time for money to go through - as long as 20 minutes for Bitcoin. And because all those supercomputers are needed for transactions, it also sucks up an enormous amount of power and leaves a big carbon footprint. There are analysts on both sides, but it remains to be seen whether cryptocurrencies can stabilize and become useful for everyday consumers. Many things have been hit hard by COVID-19 shortages. Two unlikely subjects are turkeys and Christmas trees. As it gets closer to the holidays, more people are going out to buy those two commodities, and many suppliers say they might be running out.

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Gasoline prices are rising across the country, and nowhere more so than in California, where residents who were used to paying higher prices for gas are seeing costs upwards of 5 dollars in certain areas. Other areas are also seeing major jumps - everything from food to toys are getting more expensive, nowhere more so than in Atlanta, Georgia, where the cost of living has skyrocketed over the past year with an inflation rate of more than 7%. Many people struggle to maintain a consistent workout plan. A new virtual reality gym called Black Box VR is trying to change that through virtual reality. It is using private rooms outfitted with resistance equipment to allow users to work out and play in an immersive, VR game at the same time. Users can earn points and levels, just like in any other game, and it helps time go by much more quickly while also getting lots of exercise in.

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Floods are sweeping across the western United States, and while they might not all be record breaking like the California gas prices reported on yesterday, they are having significant impacts, such as the closure of I-5, a highway running all the way from Canada to Mexico. On the western border of the country of Belarus, the standoff between refugees and Polish border authorities continues. The migrants are mostly from war-torn countries, and they want to get into the European Union by way of Poland. Polish authorities blame Belarusian authorities for sending migrants across the border and vice versa. Researchers at the American University of Cairo believe that they have found a new way to recycle the mask waste produced as a result of COVID-19 - concrete. Based on preliminary tests, they believe that it can replace some natural resources used in concrete mixes and also reduce shrinkage and cracks. Our last story for today are the three newest inductees into the NASA Hall of Fame: Michael Lopez-Alegria, Pam Melroy, and Scott Kelly. Alegria is currently the title hodler for the second most spacewalks in the world, and the most of any NASA astronaut. Melroy was the second woman to command a NASA mission and is a veteran of three missions to help build the ISS. Kelly may be the most recognizable name from the list - he has spent 521 days in space, including a single stretch of a year during a study involving him and his twin brother, Senator Mark Kelly, who is also an astronaut.

Thursday, November 18, 2021

India and the surrounding region in Southeast Asia has some of the worst air quality in the world. India alone had 21 out of the 30 most polluted cities in the most recent rankings. As the country gets more and more industrialized, the air is only expected to get worse, and has been getting worse, despite a plan instituted in 2019 to reduced air pollution levels by 30% by 2024. The government has been implementing stopgap measures like shutting down all unnecessary power plants and trucks for a day, but experts say that larger, regional solutions will be necessary in the long run. Over the past few years, the population of sunflower sea stars off the US West Coast has been declining. They are currently at around 5% of their historic numbers and are listed as critically endangered. Scientists still aren't fully certain what causes the "melting" of stars that they have seen, but researchers in Washington are attempting to breed these animals and reintroduce them into the waters. Loss of top predators like these starfish, which eat a variety of animals on the ocean floor, can have devastating ripple effects. For example, sea urchins, whose main predator is sea stars, have grown rapidly and wiped out many kelp forests, which in turn are home to a diverse range of species.

Friday, November 19, 2021

The opioid epidemic has been a problem since around 2016, when higher death rates from overdoses first came into the picture. Now, a mere half decade later, new projections estimate that someone dies from another overdose every 5 minutes. Chief among the culprits is fentanyl, a particularly potent drug that is also found is many other prescription drugs, meaning many people don't even know they are taking it. Every presidential administration has poured billions of dollars into it, but the problem still remains unresolved. The Special Olympics serves many purposes; it encourages people with intellectual disabilities to participate in sport, but it also aims to reduce discrimination against this group. One of the people supporting this mission is Usain Bolt, once the fastest man alive. He has partnered with the Special Olympics program to further outreach and inspire more young runners. He sees something in them as well - their determination to succeed despite everyone being against them.

CNN 10 10/25/21 ~ 10/29/21

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for the latest video 

Monday, October 25, 2021

There is violent weather in store this week across the US. On the California coast, heavy rains are expected as an atmospheric river moves in from the Pacific Ocean. This is good news in terms of the fires still raging in the state, but it comes with its own dangers as the ashes that have piled up could turn into dangerous debris slides. In the central US, a cold front from the north will collide with warmer air, turning into a huge severe weather system that will result in hail, rain, and even flooding. This front will carry cold air into New England, which, if the conditions are right, could spark a weather pattern called a nor'easter, bringing coastal flooding along the East Coast. This coincides with the beginning of fall, which is more commonly associated with the fall colors of trees. The phenomenon occurs because the chlorophyll that normally appears as the green pigment in leaves as a result of photosynthesis goes away in the winter when there is no sunlight, allowing the red and yellow pigments underneath to show through. Hundreds of people across the Midwest saw what appeared to be a failed Russian satellite reentering the Earth's atmosphere last Wednesday. It was described as a "long-lasting fireball". COVID-19 has disrupted supply chains around the world, and it isn't going away any time soon. Toy stores are being hit particularly hard by the shortages as they try to stockpile for the holiday season; it's hard to know if and when any orders are coming, and they are telling people to do their holiday shopping early.

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

An apparent military coup has taken place in Sudan. The African country is not a stranger to power struggles, and has seen several in the past. This time, amid rising tensions, the military has dissolved a power sharing government it had with civilian leaders and said that it will maintain power until an election is held in 2023. Many are taking to the streets - some in favor of the coup, others in opposition to it. Several countries including the United States have called for an end to the coup and a return to peace. A cold front has been traveling quickly across the United States. It has hit several states with tornados, storms, and floods. For the state of California, its effects have been two-fold. On the one hand, it has helped firefighters gain full control over the Dixie Fire; on the other hand, it is also causing flooding and mudslides from the dirt loosened by the fires. While only a few types of potatoes can be found in supermarkets, over 4,000 species exist in the wild, many of them cultivated by "potato custodians" in the Peruvian Andes. These custodians have grown potatoes for many generations, and many conservationists believe they are one of the best ways to maintain genetic diversity - they go through the natural cycle over and over and adapt to the changing world.

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

The troubles on the Caribbean Island of Haiti continue. The US government and Haitian authorities have been working to free the American missionaries captured by a Haitian gang for a ransom of $17 million. Another issue in the country is a lack of fuel. There is a law there that restricts the maximum price of gas, and when international prices exceed that, the government has to make up for lost revenue. However, as one of the poorest countries, Haiti doesn't have enough money to buy additional fuel, and when it can buy it, it often can't distribute it effectively, leading to shortages and protests. While we explore space, there is a vast portion of our planet that remains unexplored - the ocean. We have a more complete map of Mars than we do of our oceans, but the Nippon Foundation's GEBCO Seabed 2030 project along with many startups are hoping to change that before the end of the century. Ocean mapping is usually a costly process involving a large crew and countless hours of analysis. New experimental methods involve autonomous mini submarines equipped with sonar that can scan and map the ocean floor.

Thursday, October 28, 2021

The 100 day countdown to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing has begun. Like the 2020 Tokyo games, held just a few months ago after being postponed for a year, this one will be full of restrictions from COVID-19. Japan did show that the Olympics could be held without a massive increase in cases, and China, with its no COVID policy, has increased restrictions over the past week to bring cases back down from below double digits. Outside its ability to hold the games safely, China will also be battling politics. Most of the world views the rising superpower as a dangerous enemy, and the country is taking the opportunity to market themselves as much of a progressive leader as possible. The first nor'easter of the year has ripped across the New England coast, leaving many homes and businesses dark and dumping rain. A nor'easter forms when a low pressure front moves up the coast, causing northeasterly winds. Facial recognition may soon be used for security checks at airports. While there are privacy and security concerns, for those who opt in, the technology may significantly speed up transit through TSA checking lines.

Friday, October 29, 2021

Scientists believe that they have found the first planet outside our own galaxy. What is believed to be a planet was found in the whirlpool galaxy 28 million light years away. A telescope that picks up x-rays "found" the planet when it passed in front of some of the radiation given off by stars in the galaxy, temporarily making it appear as if the signal has gone away. Scientists will attempt to confirm the discovery in 70 years when the planet should pass by the same area again. Mount Etna has released more plumes of ash into the air. The most active volcano in Europe has seen activity some 50 times already this year, but none of them have been harmful to residents. Tons of plastic packaging, often designed for single use, are thrown away every year. The problem is that they take centuries, even millennia to degrade, piling up in our landfills more and more as time goes on. Notpla is one of the companies trying to fix that problem. The new plastic alternative that they have developed is based on seaweed, and it can biodegrade in a matter of weeks. It isn't as strong as traditional plastic, but it can still be used in applications like storing small amounts of liquid or to line take out containers.

A Man Called Ove

By Fredrik Backman

    Ove is a different kind of man. He sticks strongly to what he calls "principles" which other people think make him look hard and stubborn. He is also extremely adept at doing various handy jobs and cars. So, he lives in his row house where he has lived since it was just development still surrounded by trees, to now, when it is just another house in rows of houses just like it. In that time, he has grown older and his life has changed, but he has always gone his job every morning after his morning rounds of the neighborhood. Until today. He has been laid off from his job because he has "gotten too old". So he goes around the neighborhood making sure everything is as it should be, then returns to his house to put up a hook.

    The next morning, he does the same thing, then returns to his house and puts a noose on the ceiling around his neck. Right when he is about to end his life, he hears a massive noise outside. New neighbors are moving in next door, and they have backed their trailer into Ove's flower bed. It seems that the man driving cannot back up with a trailer, and Ove has to do it for him, all the while grumbling about how people don't know how to do anything anymore. Then he walks back inside without answering Parvaneh and Patrick's thank yous.

    His wife, Sonja, died a few years ago. She was the only person, the only thing that Ove had ever loved. She was assertive from the very beginning when he met her on a train. He saw her while she was going home and decided to sit down across from her. Luckily for him, he didn't have to say much because she loved to talk, and he loved hearing her talk. He rode the train the wrong way from where he should have been going for weeks, sleeping in the train station so he wouldn't miss his job shift. Then finally, she told him he should ask her out, and he does. She finally gets Ove to talk about his future aspirations as a builder or engineer, and she helps him go through the coursework to get certified. Then they finally get married, move into that housing development along with Anita and Rune, one of the first people to move in. He and Rune become friends and form a Residents' Association. Anita and Sonja get pregnant, and Ove and Rune, being similar types of men, try to help each other through it. Then, disaster strikes.

    Sonja decides that they should go on a vacation to Spain. Sonja sleeps through most of the day, but they have fun nonetheless. While she sleeps, Ove helps the residents of the neighborhood figure out their building projects. Then, on one tour bus, Ove notices that the driver appears drunk. Sonja does not, however, and insists they get on anyway. Sure enough, the bus crashes and Sonja is permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Ove is furious, tries writing to so many different officials, but all of the white-shirt men ignore him until he has no one left to write to. It's just the way it has been his entire life. When his childhood home burned down, the firemen couldn't put it out in time. He was scammed into buying fake home insurance, and now his home is gone forever. The white shirts have ignored him his entire life. And now, Sonja is dead, and he doesn't have a job anymore, and he is ready for it all to be over.

    But Parvaneh and Patrick just can't seem to let him rest. They send over thank you meals, ask him for help, and even force him to take in a street cat that frequents his yard, though he continues to insist that it belongs to no one. He inadvertently saves a man from a subway crash during his own attempt to be part of a crash. He even gives Parvaneh driving lessons when Patrick gets hurt and can't drive anymore.

    Then, of course, there is Rune. In the years since he and Ove began a war over leadership of the Residents' Association, ultimately ending when Rune bought a BMW, much to Ove's horror (either you understand it or you don't: Ove is very loyal to manual, domestic manufacturers), Rune has deteriorated. He hardly remembers anything anymore; in fact, he remembers Ove as a friend. And when men in white shirts come to try to put him in a home against Anita's will, he decides that it is finally time for their ways to stop. He gets the local reporter, who has been following him ever since he saved that man in the subway, to dig up all the information about the man's "home" in return for an interview. They discover that the man has broken all sorts of regulations and laws, taking people away so that his company can make money. And somehow, Ove becomes indispensable to the neighborhood. People come to him to fix all sorts of things, and there is purpose in his life again. He dies, several years later, peacefully in his bed, with instructions for what should be done with his possessions. He asks for a quiet funeral, but hundreds show up to pay their respects anyway. And when Parvaneh sells his house, it is to a couple, not so different from Ove and Sonja - a young, excited woman and a sulky but enterprising man.

I enjoyed reading this book because it transitions from a somewhat dark image at the beginning to a happier note at the end, all mixed in with various chapters from Ove's life. I thought it was interesting that it sent a message that everyone matters, and I wonder if the author as experienced someone die in their life. I especially liked that it came full circle in the end with the selling of Ove's house.

CNN 10 10/11/2021 ~ 10/15/2021

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for the latest video 

Monday, October 11, 2021

The US jobs report that came out last week was disappointing to many. While jobs were gained, it was less than half of what economists had expected. Employers have been blaming a variety of factors, including the increase in coronavirus cases and the emergence of the more infectious Delta variant, as well as government stimulus funding for the unemployed. But the stimulus checks ended in late August and early September, and COVID-19 cases have been going back down over the past few weeks. Analysts say that next month's jobs report, which should see an uptick due to the holiday season and the end of stimulus. Off the coast of the UK, the Royal Mail service is experimenting with drones to deliver mail to the chain of islands known as the Orkney Islands. Delivering mail to its hundred inhabitants has been costly, and they hope that drones will decrease the economic and environmental costs. A Homecoming Queen honored a fellow student and her mom, who had passed away from cancer that morning. She was a vibrant figure at the school, even during her battle with cancer, and everyone felt the loss. Senior Nyla Covington help soften the pain by giving the Brittany Walters the crown.

CNN 10 10/4/2021 ~ 10/8/2021

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for the latest video 

Monday, October 4th, 2021

There is a new vaccine mandate in California. All children attending school in person will have to be vaccinated. The mandate will go into effect as soon as a vaccine becomes fully approved by the FDA for younger children. If it goes into place, it will be the first and only such law in the US. There will surely be many lawsuits over it; some parents believe that being vaccinated should be a personal medical decision, seeing that children have higher survival rates from the virus. In one of the many impacts of the pandemic, China is seeing energy shortages. As the second-biggest economy in the world bounces back and begins producing goods again, its industries have needed lots of energy. But China is also working to meet its renewable energy goals, which are making it hard to meet the high energy demand.

Thursday, October 7th, 2021

Tensions between China and the island of Taiwan are rising again. China recently flew 150 warplanes into Taiwanese airspace. Taiwan says it has done nothing to provoke an attack. This likely occurred because the US is an ally of Taiwan. Over the past few years, it has given billions in military funding to the country in a show of support. China says that the Taiwanese island should be and is its territory, and that the US has provoked it by sailing warships in the Taiwan Strait. This rivalry has existed since 1949 when the Communist party in China won a civil war and established the People's Republic of China. The previous Democratic government fled to Taiwan and calls itself the People's Republic of China, each claiming to have authority over all Chinese territory. Since then, tensions have cooled and economic and tourist ties have been established, but the government in mainland China still says that it is prepared to take Taiwan by force if necessary. Hovercraft were amphibious vehicles that seemed to float on air across the water and were once heralded as the future of travel. However, high costs and low profits have caused the service to dwindle down to one port on the Isle of Wight, where people use the remaining craft to travel and play. There is even a museum of the boats that once took people across the English Channel, and surprisingly remains the fastest mode of transport across to this day.

Friday, October 8th, 2021

Global supply chain backups are taking a toll on the US and its consumers. Due to a lack of dockworkers to unload ships, ports around the country are seeing back-ups, keeping cargo ships idling for weeks before they can unload. Once the containers are on the ground, the picture isn't much better. Truckers are having to wait long hours to get their trucks loaded, and there is a shortage of them as well. All of this translates to less availability of goods and higher prices, which could have negative impacts on consumers. In China, archaeologists have uncovered a Great Wall fort from the Ming dynasty. It contains well preserved walls, as well as several clay statues.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

By Yuval Noah Harari

    Humans have irreversibly changed the world. This book explores the ways in which we have done so, in ways that many may not even realize, and explains the impacts of these changes on the future.

    The first few chapters discuss how AI and computers have progressed. They are slowly taking over jobs that normally would have required humans, and though they may never gain full "consciousness", which is something that even people don't really understand, they will have significant impacts on humans and the workplace. Because of these rapid changes, the job market will also fluctuate rapidly, which means that the traditional model of education may not work anymore. It might no longer make sense to learn basic skills then train your entire life for one occupation. Instead, dynamic learning, constant retraining for new jobs, might be necessary. Connecting to the idea of AI, the future might also be shaped by computers. Algorithms are already getting better than even humans at detecting user interest - perhaps in the future, Google or Facebook will know you better than you do yourself.

    Part two discusses politics and religion. Nationalism is a big thing these days, and while humans always tend to gather into groups, ultra-nationalism is dangerous. It is what causes war and division, but the world needs to collaborate to succeed.

    Part three is about war and peace (no not the book). It first delves into terrorism, and how it has changed our world. In the past, terrorists would have had no impacts at all. But we have gotten so used to being perfectly safe that even the slightest tremors make us afraid, make us overreact, which is exactly what the terrorists wanted in the first place. As for war, in today's world, war for big countries means mutually assured destruction. But one should never underestimate the stupidity of humankind, when one misstep could cause catastrophe. And that is why a little humility would be good for everyone.

    The final parts discuss how, in the digital age, humanity as a whole has gained massive knowledge but individuals know less and less because so much easy information is at our fingertips. And this is why fake news is so dangerous.

    Many think that life is a story that you are the center of. But it's not. So just take a step back and reflect, observe, and meditate.

Note: I've read so many books by this person and I'm a little bored...

CNN 10 9/27/2021 ~ 10/1/2021

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for the latest video 

Tuesday, September 27, 2021

There are three major bills on the legislative agenda this week on Capitol Hill. The first is a bill that would authorize more funding for the federal government and raise the federal debt limit. Current funding will expire at midnight on September 30th, which means the government could potentially face a shutdown. The other part is the debt ceiling, which is a limit on how much the government can overspend. Experts estimate that that will be reached around later October or early November, and in the past, the debt limit has always been raised, regardless of which party is in power. Now, though, Republicans want Democrats to do it themselves, while Democrats oppose this because they want to avoid looking like they are acting unilaterally. There are also two infrastructure bills, one of the $1 trillion and the other $3.5 trillion. The first would invest in infrastructure, while the second focuses more on social issues. These are very important cornerstones of President Biden's legislative agenda, and there is still division among the Democrats about the bill as the Senate vote on it comes up. Parts of south Britain is seeing gas shortages due to a lack of truck drivers. While there is plenty of oil, there aren't enough drivers to take it to gas stations, leading to massive lines and shortages. The coast of New York is not a place you would expect to see whales, but it is actually one of the most popular places for whale watching. It also has lots of ship traffic, resulting in heavy environmental damage. The Wildlife Conservation Society is trying to help by using sensors to detect when whales are in the water and alert nearby ships.

Thursday, September 30, 2021

There are many concerns about inflation around the world right now. Inflation means that your money loses value. this can occur because the central bank prints too much money, making each piece of paper worth less. A healthy rate of inflation, around 2% is considered good for a growing economy. But over the past few months, the US inflation rate has been around 5%. This started with the pandemic, and economic analysts originally expected it to return to normal soon. However, as the pandemic continues and variants emerge, the Federal Reserve reported that it expected inflation to stay up for a while. NASA is sending a probe called Lucy to the asteroid belt around Jupiter. Its goal is to learn more about the solar system and how the planets ended up in their current positions. After orbiting around Jupiter, the probe would then return toward the Sun. 

Friday, October 1, 2021

In major ports around the world, there are still massive delays. There are many reasons for this. One of them is the ongoing labor shortages as many people don't want to return to work, meaning it's harder for remaining workers to do their jobs. There's also the varying vaccine mandates around the world. For instance, some sailors have been vaccinated as many as 6 times, while others have never been vaccinated. Some countries require testing, sometimes multiple rounds of it, all of which makes the process longer. Many sailors have been at sea for almost the entire year, and many are afraid to sign on to ships as the holiday season nears, fearful they won't be home by Christmas. Robocalls are ubiquitous these days. They are generated by computers that generate random phone numbers to call, and more random numbers to make the call look real, called spoofing. If you pick up, you will likely be handed over to a human operator, and get a bunch more robocalls now that you are on a "hotlist". Robocall regulations exist, but they're hard for the FCC to enforce since calls can come from anywhere, even abroad.

CNN 10 9/20/2021 ~ 9/24/2021

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for the latest video 

Monday, September 20, 2021

The US military is apologizing for what it has called a "tragic mistake". On August 26th, a terrorist group called ISIS-K launched a bombing near Kabul airport as the US military completed its rushed withdrawal from Afghanistan. Three days later, they launched a drone strike on a car that was believed to be carrying a terrorist and weapons. However, people nearby said that civilians had been killed, and on Friday, the Pentagon admitted to the mistake, saying an aid worker and 9 children had been killed in the strike due to a fatal miscommunication. We learned that in the minutes before the attack, the CIA warned military officials that children could be in danger. Military officials have said that effective anti-terrorist attacks in Afghanistan are still possible, but infinitely harder without boots on the ground. On the US-Mexico border, a new crisis is unfolding. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians are flooding the border after President Biden granted them temporary protected status in the US in light of the recent natural disasters in the country. That order has since been rescinded, and border control agents are now in the process of trying to process all the immigrants for deportation. In the meantime, camps are already going up in Del Rio, Texas, as thousands of migrants await.

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

A volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma had a major eruption on Sunday. This was expected - geologists had seen dozens of small earthquakes around the area beforehand - and several hundred residents and tourists have been evacuated from the area around the volcano. The lava has damaged several homes, but no casualties or injuries have been reported thus far. Eruptions occur because magma, or molten rock, deep within the Earth's core rises and comes to the surface, turning into lava. If the magma is thin and runny, gases can escape easily, leading to slowly flowing lava, like what we have seen in Hawaii and the current eruption. But if it is thick and sticky, that traps gases, leading to bigger explosions. Seahorses are a majestic seawater creature, that, like so many others, is becoming endangered. One of the biggest threats in bottom trawling, where fishers drag nets along the sea bottom, which is an extremely effective way to harvest many popular kinds of seafood but also devastates ecosystems. Project Seahorse is one of the organizations trying to change that through collecting data and spreading awareness about the creatures.

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

In New York City, the 193 member nations of the United Nations are kicking off the 76th UN General Assembly. On Tuesday, the General Debate, where representatives from each country can voice their concerns, began. In his first speech as US President, President Biden talked about the issues of COVID-19, climate change, and human rights. Consumer spending is still down from pre-pandemic levels, and spending wasn't as high as expected over the summer because of the Delta variant, leaving stores and restaurants with even more challenges. Employment did not go up in areas such as leisure and hospitality last month, leaving employers to try new solutions. One of them is robot workers, who assist the human ones. Owners say they aren't taking away anyone's jobs because no one is coming out to work, possibly because of the unemployment benefits from the most recent stimulus bill.

Thursday, September 23, 2021

There are new travel restrictions in place for the United States. The list of banned countries suffering from high levels of COVID-19 was expanded. However, fully vaccinated individuals who provide additional tracing information can now travel to the US as tourists. The new rules are expected to go into effect in early November. Yesterday was the second equinox of the year, the autumnal equinox for those in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox for those in the south. This means that the lengths of day and night were almost the same at the equator. For those far south and north, this means that they will start seeing daylight extremes soon, such as long daylight or night hours. Up at the North Pole, people will also start to see the northern lights more often. In areas with lots of trees, you may also start seeing the red leaves. This phenomenon occurs because the chlorophyll normally in the leaves that photosynthesize light and produce green colors go away in the winter, allowing red and yellow pigments in the leaves to show.

Friday, September 24, 2021

Congress is in turmoil over the debt ceiling. It was first established in 1939 to set a limit on how much the US Federal Government is allowed to borrow. It has been raised time and again in the past regardless of which party is in power because the government operates on debt. Right now, the debt is at 28.5 trillion dollars, right up near the limit, and if it is not raised, the government could be unable to pay its bills, leading to a shutdown. The Democrats say that Republicans should be "responsible" and support their increases; the Republicans say that the Democrats should do it themselves since they have control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. Neither side wants to look like it is acting unilaterally, but if a resolution is not reached soon, it could have disastrous consequences for the economy. Nigeria is the biggest country in Africa, but many of its inhabitants live in poverty. Around 80 million of its inhabitants live with food insecurity, but at the same time, a lot of the food sold in open-air markets is going to waste because of the Nigerian heat. Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu is trying to solve this problem with coldhubs. These solar-powered, low cost refrigeration units can keep food fresh for several weeks - enabling farmers to maximize profit and making sure people can get food.