Month: May 2021

Categories
World News

Of Brexit and Boris: What’s Driving the Name for Scottish Independence

Of Brexit and Boris: What’s Driving the Call for Scottish Independence

The millions of votes counted across Scotland on Saturday could be some of the most momentous of recent times, and not because of their impact on things like health, education and fisheries. The biggest problem the country faced and was really at stake was nowhere on the ballot and that is the future of its 314 year old union with England.

While the final votes were still being counted in Saturday’s general election, it seemed almost certain that the Scottish Independent National Party would miss the majority it had hoped would provide an irresistible impetus for a new referendum to break off the elections would give United Kingdom. But it will keep power in Edinburgh, probably with the support of the Scottish Greens, to guarantee that the issue will continue to dominate Scottish politics, as it has for the past few years.

Much. A second referendum on independence after a referendum in 2014 could break the UK. If Scotland were to become independent, Britain would lose eight percent of its population, a third of its land mass and a considerable amount of international prestige.

Some say the loss of Scotland would be the greatest blow to a British Prime Minister since Lord North lost the colonies in America in the 18th century. Understandably, current Prime Minister Boris Johnson is not a fan of this idea.

In the 2014 referendum, the Scots rejected independence with a decisive lead of 55 to 45 percent. That should solve the problem for a generation, but two years later came the Brexit vote and that changed the landscape radically.

While England voted to leave the European Union, 62 percent of Scottish voters wanted to stay. With only about a tenth the population of England, Scotland outnumbered and its preference was simply ignored. Resentment about this has helped revive the urge for what is commonly known as “Indyref2”.

Then there is the person of Mr. Johnson. Already largely unpopular in Scotland, he did nothing to inspire himself, steadfastly advocating a hardline version of Brexit and finally “finishing it”, as he liked to say when 2021 arrived.

The resulting disruption to exporters, and particularly to the important Scottish fish and shellfish industry, which relied heavily on smooth trade with the European Union, has further angered Scots.

The main proponent is the Scottish National Party, led by Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister. Her party has led the Scottish Government for 14 years and she has earned praise for her steadfast handling of the coronavirus pandemic, especially when compared to Mr. Johnson’s early appearances.

There are smaller parties who also want another vote, such as the Greens, who are close to the SNP. Another party for independence, Alba, is led by Alex Salmond, who is not an ally of Ms. Sturgeon – at least not anymore. As a former first minister, Mr. Salmond was once Ms. Sturgeon’s mentor, but the two have recently been embroiled in a bitter feud and his campaign has stalled.

The Scottish Parliament, newly established in 1999, was supposed to satisfy the demand for Scottish independence, but it did not work out that way. The independent SNP has become the dominant force and in 2011 won a rare overall majority in a parliament in which the voting system is designed to avoid the rule of one party. Following that outcome, Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron reluctantly approved the 2014 independence referendum.

Ms. Sturgeon had hoped that an overwhelming victory for the independence parties in these elections would give her the moral authority to call for another referendum. They stayed behind, but Mrs Sturgeon will keep pressure on a referendum claiming that she has a mandate along with the vote for the Greens.

They show a divided Scotland that is split in the middle over independence. This is in line with the results of opinion polls, which showed last year that a majority are in favor of independence, only to fall behind marginally in recent months. The Scottish Conservatives, the opposition Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats are all against independence.

The issue is so dominant that some anti-independence voters appear to have switched loyalty from their normal parties to support the party most likely to defeat the SNP in their area. Ms. Sturgeon is on track to remain first minister, which is an impressive achievement, but with her path to an overall majority likely cut off, her moral case for a second referendum has been weakened.

For a second independence referendum to be legal would almost certainly require London’s approval, and Mr Johnson has repeatedly said no. This is a big problem for Mrs Sturgeon because she wants the result of a second referendum to be accepted internationally and for Scotland to be allowed to return to the European Union.

Far from it. Even if she has to rely on the Greens, Ms. Sturgeon will likely have enough votes to get indyref2 legislation through the Scottish Parliament and then ask Mr. Johnson or his allies to stop them in court.

That could cause a constitutional crisis. After all, Scotland’s union with England was voluntary in 1707, which made it difficult for London to say no to another referendum forever. And Mrs Sturgeon can calculate that support for independence will only increase when the Scots see popular will being blocked by a government in England.

Categories
Entertainment

Tawny Kitaen, Star of 1980s Music Movies, Dies at 59

Tawny Kitaen, Star of 1980s Music Videos, Dies at 59

Tawny Kitaen, an actress best known for her roles in rock music videos in the 1980s and starring with Tom Hanks in the movie Bachelor Party, died Friday at her home in Newport Beach, California. She was 59 years old.

Ms. Kitaen’s death was confirmed by a daughter, Wynter Finley, who said the cause was unknown.

Ms. Kitaen became a mainstay of MTV in the 1980s when the network had its greatest cultural influence with music videos that played all day.

With her flowing red hair and acrobatic moves, Ms. Kitaen appeared in videos for bands like Whitesnake and Ratt and looked both sultry and playful. She danced on the hood of a white Jaguar in the Whitesnake music video “Here I Go Again” and graced the cover of Ratt’s 1984 album “Out of the Cellar”.

Julie Kitaen was born in San Diego on August 5, 1961. She studied ballet and gymnastics until she was 15. After appearing in a Jack LaLanne commercial, as well as television shows and films, she was best known as Mr. Hanks’ fiancée in the 1984 comedy Bachelor Party.

But it was her appearance on music videos that cemented her image in Generation X’s imagination as a free-spirited beauty who had the time of her life.

She once described working with Paula Abdul on the set of a video.

Ms. Abdul, then a choreographer, asked her what she could do. Ms. Kitaen said she showed Ms. Abdul some of her moves. Ms. Abdul then turned to director Marty Callner and said, “She has that and doesn’t need me.” Then she left, said Mrs. Kitaen.

“That was the biggest compliment,” she said. “So I got in the cars and Marty said ‘Action’ and I did what I wanted.”

She married Whitesnake front man David Coverdale in 1989 and the couple divorced two years later. In 1997 she married Chuck Finley, a major league baseball pitcher. They had two daughters, Wynter and Raine. The couple divorced in 2002.

Ms. Kitaen later appeared on reality shows and spoke openly about her struggles with addiction to cocaine and pain medication.

In a 2010 interview with The Daily Pilot, she described her volunteering work at a women’s shelter that had abandoned abusive relationships and said she herself was a domestic violence survivor. Ms. Kitaen said that after her divorce from Mr. Finley, she became involved with a man who was physically and verbally abusive.

“You don’t want to tell anyone because if you stay you will feel like an idiot – you are protecting them,” she said. “You do everything you can to keep other people from finding out that he is abusing you.”

Michael Goldberg, Ms. Kitaen’s agent, said she had appeared on various podcasts and radio shows over the past few years and enjoyed talking about her time as a character in rock history.

“People still love hearing these stories because the rock and roll lifestyle is something we all dream of, right?” he said. “And she lived it. And had so much to say. “

Ms. Kitaen is survived by her two daughters and a brother and a sister.

Categories
Business

Customers shall be spending extra on mother

Consumers will be spending more on mom

On this Mother’s Day, it’s more like breakfast in bed than an opulent buffet.

Although consumers are expected to spend more on their mothers this year, the celebrations will likely still take place at home, despite rising vaccination rates.

“There are more people planning a Mother’s Day brunch or a special getaway, but we’re not where we were before the pandemic,” he said Katherine Cullen, Senior Director, Industry and Consumer Insights, National Retail Federation. “I think consumers are still reluctant to plan these types of activities.”

In a recent survey by the trade group, only about half of the 7,818 consumers surveyed said they were planning a special getaway for their vacation, although consumers expect to spend more money on the occasion.

With caution, many restaurants offer brunch and dinner menus for Mother’s Day, which you can pick up or prepare at home.

“I’ve seen many restaurants that have a Mother’s Day deal that gives you all the ingredients. It can be partially assembled and you take it home and heat it and you can have a restaurant-quality meal at home.” “Said Cullen.” I think a lot of these trends and services will stay here. “

Flour, a Boston bakery with nine locations and a commissioner’s kitchen, has special Mother’s Day menu options, including frozen, ready-to-bake sticky buns and cinnamon rolls that can be picked up in-store. There’s also a second menu for items, including a coconut cake, which can be shipped across the country.

“We’re making a Mother’s Day gift box that we don’t normally sell and that is very popular for e-commerce,” said Holly Najdzin, senior operations support manager at Flour. The box contains homemade muesli, a crunchy butter toffee, sable biscuits, English breakfast tea, a tea towel and a mug for Mother’s Day.

Flour also offers virtual baking classes that can be offered as gifts, with the option to send the ingredients to the recipient for an additional charge.

Numerous other online courses are also available. For example, 1-800-Flowers.com offers workshops that teach you how to arrange flowers or make a sausage board. Both were popular Mother’s Day gifts this year.

“Live streaming experiences are also increasing compared to years before the pandemic as consumers try to connect with their mom virtually or simply from the comfort of their own home,” said Chris McCann, CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com.

Americans plan to spend an average of $ 220.48 on celebration plans and gifts for Mother’s Day from April 1-9 this year, according to the NRF poll. This brings the total expected spend for Mother’s Day to $ 28.09 billion.

It’s also an average of $ 15.74 more than consumers for 2020 and $ 24.01 more than planned for 2019.

“This is the highest anticipated Mother’s Day output we’ve seen since we started this survey over a decade ago,” said Cullen. “It’s really about giving things instead of gaining experience.”

After the greeting cards, consumers are most likely to buy flowers. 68% of respondents say this is part of their plan.

“Mother’s Day is the biggest flower holiday of the year and our brand 1-800-Flowers.com expects approximately 23 million stems to be shipped for the holiday,” said McCann.

Due to the shortage and higher transportation costs, buyers may spend more on flowers this year. Some florists say consumers should be willing to accept replacements and pay up to 25% more than last year, media reports said.

“Farms that don’t know how to plan for this year have withdrawn and there is a bit of an argument,” McCann said in Squawk Box on Thursday. “That, along with some weather conditions, has created the challenge we see in the flower industry today.”

1-800-Flowers said it was able to secure enough flowers to meet its demand.

McCann said he also sees greater demand for gifts for groceries, and NRF’s Cullen said consumers intend to spend more on jewelry.

“Despite all the difficulties that Covid has caused, despite all the uncertainties, consumers are really enjoying moments when they can celebrate,” said Cullen. “And we’ve seen that in pretty much every vacation and special event during the pandemic.”

Categories
Health

What to know earlier than your shot

What to know before your shot

Jason Wallace (C), Director of the Fathers, Men, and Boys Commission for the District of Columbia receives some emotional support from the director of the DC Office of Nightlife and Culture, Shawn Townsend (L), and Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio (R) a shot of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine by DC Health Nurse Kendria Brown during a walk-in clinic at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Outdoor Performing Arts on May 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

More than half of adults in the United States have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Many wonder if it is safe to celebrate their Covid shot with an alcohol shot when second doses come in and millions more are vaccinated soon.

Marijuana smokers who use the plant as a pain and anxiety reliever may also turn to the herb for treatment of side effects.

Bars across the country offer free beer if guests provide proof of vaccination. Some bars in New Jersey even offer a beer on-site during the vaccination.

“A glass of wine or beer is fine, but heavy drinking can suppress your immune system and should generally be avoided. As always, moderation is key,” Katherine Yang, clinical professor of pharmacy at the University of California at San Francisco told CNBC .

Dr. Anne Liu, an infectious disease doctor at Stanford Health, told CNBC that a celebratory drink or two is perfectly fine and it makes no difference whether you drink on the day of the vaccine or a week later.

“When people drink enough to affect their livers, it can affect their immune systems,” Liu said. “The liver is a very important organ for a normal immune response and people who have poor liver function for a variety of reasons may not respond well to the vaccine and are generally at greater risk of complications from Covid,” she said .

Marijuana depends on the type of consumption. Marijuana can be consumed in a variety of ways, from food to steam to smoke and much more. Cigarette smokers are particularly at risk for complications with Covid-19.

“Smoking has specific effects on blood vessels and the cardiovascular system,” said Liu. “What is not necessarily the case with other respiratory viruses, and was clearly the case with Covid, is that people with disorders of the blood vessels and the cardiovascular system are at a much higher risk of complications with Covid, which is why smokers are high priority in some cases had places to get the vaccine, “she said.

Consuming marijuana in ways other than smoking is probably okay: “While there are no studies on the effects of marijuana and Covid vaccines, it is unlikely to affect the immune response to vaccines,” Yang said. “However, it is possible that marijuana or wine could make side effects of the vaccine such as headache, nausea, or pain worse, so be careful.”

Regarding harder drugs like cocaine or ecstasy, Liu said we probably don’t know enough to be able to tell whether or not it’s safe.

“It is unlikely that anything in modest amounts of these substances will significantly affect your immune system … but it becomes a lot less predictable. If it’s something you use recreationally, maybe just skip it that day for a vaccine getting is celebration enough, “she said.

Experts generally agree that moderation is key when using marijuana or alcohol. If a person is already consuming these substances on a regular basis, it is probably okay to pour them out or roll them up on the day of your vaccination.

Categories
Politics

Covid nonetheless weighing on jobs however confidence is coming again

Covid still weighing on jobs but confidence is coming back

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said Friday that the Covid-19 pandemic is still weighing on jobs, but he forecasted optimism about the recovery of the US economy as vaccinations continue, saying, “We are seeing confidence return. “

Walsh’s comments on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” came shortly after the Labor Department released a disappointing April job report showing the non-farm workforce rose by 266,000. Analysts had expected more than 1 million new jobs.

“Under normal circumstances – and we certainly do not live under normal circumstances – a monthly job gain of 266,000 is a good number,” said Walsh. “Unfortunately we are still in the middle of a pandemic.”

“If you look back on the past three months, the US economy has created 500,000 new jobs a month, compared to the last three months when it was 60,000. So we’re definitely going in the right direction, but we still have one There’s no question about it. We’re still facing a pandemic, “Walsh said.

Walsh rejected arguments by Republican lawmakers and corporate groups that federal pandemic unemployment benefits encourage potential workers to stay on the sidelines.

“I still think we need unemployment, obviously we still have millions of Americans out of work. Many of those Americans have no prospects right now,” said Walsh. “I know we are making a correlation between job vacancies and unemployed people, but it’s not a fair correlation.”

Walsh cited data from the job report showing that more Americans were looking for work in April than in previous months.

“I think if we go further here hopefully in the coming months we’ll see a lot of Americans looking for jobs to find work and I’ll be able to stand in front of that camera and talk about us have made big profits, “said Walsh. “But I still think 266,000 jobs this month is a good number.”

Shortly after the job report was released, the Chamber of Commerce issued a statement calling for an end to $ 300 a week of unemployment benefits. Neil Bradley, executive vice president of the group, said the “disappointing job report shows that paying people who don’t work is dampening the stronger job market.”

President Joe Biden said at a news conference that afternoon that the added benefits did not cause a labor shortage.

Walsh, a Democrat and former Boston mayor, said reducing the rise in unemployment is no novice.

“There are millions of Americans affected by the coronavirus who have lost their jobs. Some of their work is not coming back,” he said. “We lost restaurants. We lost business. I wouldn’t say we are in the middle of a pandemic … but we are still alive and dealing with the pandemic and if we move forward here we will continue to recover . “

Barriers to potential workers include the lack of childcare facilities and schools that remain closed, according to Walsh.

“These are currently two barriers I think are keeping people out of the workforce because their children are at home, studying remotely, or their childcare facility is not open,” said Walsh. “The President has made investments in these areas, but we need to keep making those investments so that people feel like they can go back to work.”

Walsh said there were other reasons Americans had not returned to work at the level analysts expected – that it couldn’t be reduced to a single explanation.

“It’s not an easy answer,” he said.

Categories
Business

The Inventory Market Loves Biden Extra Than Trump. So Far, at Least.

The Stock Market Loves Biden More Than Trump. So Far, at Least.

From the moment he was elected president in 2016 through his failed re-election campaign, Donald J. Trump cited the stock market as a report on the presidency.

The market loved him, said Mr Trump, and he hated Democrats, especially his opponent Joseph R. Biden Jr. During the presidential debate in October, Mr Trump warned of Mr Biden: “If he is elected, the market will collapse. ”In a variety of situations, he said that Democrats would be a disaster and that a victory would create“ a depression ”for them that would“ crumble ”the stock market.

So far it has not happened that way.

To the extent that the Dow Jones industrial average measures the stock market’s affection for a president, its early report states that the market loves President Biden’s first terms far more than President Trump’s.

Mr. Biden would get an A for this early period; Mr Trump would get a B for market performance in his early days as president, though he would get a higher grade for much of the rest of the term in office.

From election day to Thursday, the Dow rose 26 percent from 14 percent over the same period four years ago. Given the signs that the United States is making a swift recovery from the pandemic, the early returnees for Mr Biden’s actual tenure have also been exceptional. The rise in the stock market from its inauguration day close to Thursday’s close was the best start to a presidency since that of another Democrat, Lyndon B. Johnson.

For those too young to remember the terrible day of November 22, 1963, Johnson, the vice president, was sworn in as president that afternoon after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. If we measure the performance of the stock markets from the end of the day they all took office, we can include both Johnson and Theodore Roosevelt, who became president on September 14, 1901 after President William McKinley died of gunshot wounds.

The Republican Party has long claimed that it is the party of business and that Republican rule is better for stocks. However, historical record shows that the market has generally performed better under Democratic presidents since the beginning of the 20th century.

Overall, the market ranks third for all presidents during a comparable term since 1901 under President Biden. This comes from a balance sheet by Paul Hickey, co-founder of the Bespoke Investment Group, until Thursday (109th day of the Biden administration).

These are the top performers:

  • Franklin D. Roosevelt, inaugurated March 4, 1933: 78.1 percent.

  • Johnson, inaugurated November 22, 1963: 13.8 percent.

  • Mr. Biden, inaugurated on January 20, 2021: 10.8 percent.

  • William H. Taft, inaugurated March 4, 1909: 9.6 percent.

Note that three of the top four – Roosevelt, Johnson, and Mr. Biden – were Democrats. That fits an obvious pattern. Since 1900, the average stock market profit for Democrats at the beginning of their presidency has been 7.9 percent; for Republicans only 2.7 percent.

In contrast, the Dow rose 5.8 percent in Mr. Trump’s early days as president. That was a strong return for a Republican, but not quite able to sniff for a Democrat.

Updated

May 8, 2021, 12:17 p.m. ET

Now look at longer-term returns – how the Dow performed over the course of all presidencies from 1901 onwards. Again, the market fared better among Democrats, with an annual gain of 6.7 percent compared to 3.5 percent among Republicans.

With this metric, the Trump administration looks much better and ranks fourth among all presidencies.

These are the annualized returns for the senior presidents:

  • 25.5 percent under Calvin Coolidge, a Republican, in the twenties.

  • 15.9 percent under Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

  • 12.1 percent under Barack Obama, a Democrat.

  • 12.0 percent under President Trump.

That’s an extraordinarily good market performance under Mr. Trump if you remember that it includes the stock market collapse in late February and March last year when the world was hit by the coronavirus.

The market rebounded quickly when the Federal Reserve stepped in on March 23, 2020 and responded to the emergency relief programs passed by Congress. But neither the market, nor the economy, or the pandemic improved enough in 2020 to win President Trump for another term.

President Biden is undoubtedly benefiting from the uptrend in the economy and markets that began under his predecessor – just as President Trump benefited from the growing economy that President Obama left him with.

It doesn’t always work that way. In the Great Depression, the market roared for Franklin Roosevelt’s first 100 days. It offered a hopeful contrast – and a stark break – from its immediate predecessor Herbert Hoover, who led the worst stock market crash in modern history at the time. During Hoover’s four-year tenure, the Dow lost 35.6 percent on an annualized basis, by far the worst performing by any president.

The recent boom in the market can easily be explained. Back in July, I quoted an investment analysis that suggested that the stock market could do reasonably well in a Biden presidency, despite claims to the contrary by Mr Trump. These factors included more forceful and efficient management of the coronavirus crisis, which would fuel economic recovery and corporate profits. generous fiscal stimulus programs with the possibility of building a colossal infrastructure; Return to international engagement while reducing trade friction; and a renewal of America’s global commitments to climate change.

So far this analysis has continued. But will it produce strong returns from the Biden government?

I have no idea. Unfortunately, nothing tells us where the stock market is going. All we know is that in the long run it has risen more than it has fallen, but has moved fairly randomly day in and day out and has sometimes fallen into long falls. Another decline could happen at any time, regardless of what a president does.

The only approach to investing that I would actively use is passive: use inexpensive equity and bond index funds to build a well-diversified portfolio and stay long-term. And I would try to ignore the admonitions from politicians, especially those who would tie their own voting power to the performance of the stock market.

Categories
Health

Covid Pandemic Forces Households to Rethink Nursing Dwelling Care

Covid Pandemic Forces Families to Rethink Nursing Home Care

Even before the pandemic began 14 months ago, nursing homes had become the source of rampant, antibiotic-resistant infections. The facilities also faced systemic problems, such as the high turnover of nursing home staff and the game of the federal government’s rating system, which made it difficult for families to judge the quality of the homes.

For years, federal health officials and some insurers have been trying to encourage more home care, and the pandemic has created a sense of urgency.

“It really changed the paradigm of how older adults want to live,” said Dr. Sarita Mohanty, the executive director of the SCAN Foundation, a nonprofit group that addresses issues older adults face. The vast majority of these adults would prefer to stay home in old age, she said.

“What happened is a welcome kind of market correction for nursing homes,” said Tony Chicotel, an attorney for California Attorneys for San Francisco Nursing Home Reform. Some families, he said, “eventually agreed to a nursing home without thinking too much about it.” But after many families tried to provide home care during the pandemic, they found that leaving an elderly relative at home was a viable alternative.

Nursing homes grew out of the poor houses in England and America caring for the poor. In the United States, the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935 provided money to states that care for the elderly. Thirty years later, the Medicaid program expanded funding and made nursing homes a central part of elderly care, said Terry Fulmer, president of the John A. Hartford Foundation, an advocacy group for older adults. “If you pay the nursing homes, go there,” said Dr. Fulmer.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that some programs to fund home care began, and nursing home residents across the country slowly began to decline, with occupancy falling to about 80 percent in recent years, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Categories
Business

Keith Rabois, Elliot Administration, and Goldman Sachs spend money on Florida

Keith Rabois, Elliot Management, and Goldman Sachs invest in Florida

Florida recently attracted some of Wall Street and Silicon Valley’s biggest names like Keith Rabois, Elliot Management, and Goldman Sachs.

“Even though people talked about moving for years, it really wasn’t cool moving to Florida among the rich. It was like, OK, you couldn’t hack it in New York, so you go to Florida,” he told Robert Frank , CNBC’s wealth reporter. “Now you’re the sucker who stayed in New York.”

Reports of Florida’s slow transformation into a legitimate technology and financial center began long before the coronavirus pandemic. In 2018, Florida cemented its place in the major leagues when it raised $ 2.88 billion in venture capital. This trend has continued through 2020.

Delian Asparouhov, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, moved to Florida in March after Miami Mayor Francis Suarez responded to his tweet about leaving Silicon Valley for Miami.

Asparouhov believes Miami has the potential to become the largest technology hub in the United States.

“New York gets seven or eight times as much venture capital as Florida. And California gets five times as much as New York. So Florida is not part of the tech economy at all.” “said Cristobal Young, a Cornell University professor who studies the migration of wealthy Americans.

Other potential challenges to Florida’s rise are low wages, income inequality, and housing shortages. Migration data and GDP growth from 2020 onwards also do not point to a major upturn.

Watch the video to hear from both locals and those who recently moved to Florida and what that means for the state in 2021 and beyond.

Categories
World News

Chinese language rocket anticipated to plunge again to Earth

Chinese rocket expected to plunge back to Earth

WENCHANG, CHINA – APRIL 29, 2021: A long Y2 rocket dated March 5, 2017, carrying the Tianhe module for the Chinese space station, will be launched from the Wenchang spacecraft launch site in Wenchang on Thursday, April 29, 2021 south China’s Hainan Province.

Barcroft Media | Barcroft Media | Getty Images

The wreckage of a Chinese rocket is expected to land back on earth this weekend. Experts are trying to figure out exactly when and where the remains will touch down.

The Long March 5B was launched on April 29th at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in China. Their mission was to put a module with living quarters into orbit for a future Chinese space station.

But after completing this task, the rocket’s body is now orbiting the earth and will soon re-enter the lower atmosphere. The uncontrolled nature of its reentry has made experts concerned about the potential impact it could have upon landing. The large piece of space debris is 98 feet long and 16.5 feet wide and weighs 21 tons.

Federally funded research firm The Aerospace Corporation posted a tweet late Friday saying that the forecast for landing on Sunday morning was eight hours on either side of 4:19 GMT. It identified an area near New Zealand’s North Island as a possible re-entry point, but said it could happen anywhere in much of the planet.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference on Friday that it was “common” around the world for the upper stages of rockets to burn as they reenter the atmosphere.

“China is closely following the re-entry of the upper stage into the atmosphere. To the best of my knowledge, the upper stage of this missile has been deactivated, which means that most of its parts will burn on re-entry and the likelihood of damage to aviation or ground facilities and activities extremely low” he said, according to a translation on the ministry’s website.

On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters that the United States had no plans to shoot it down, hoping it would land in a place where it would not harm anyone.

“I think this speaks to the fact that for those of us in space there is a requirement – there should be a requirement – to work in a safe and – and thoughtful mode and make sure we do These kinds of things are taken into account when planning and performing operations, “he said.

Indeed, it is common for rockets and space debris to fall back to Earth. Last year, an 18-ton Chinese rocket passed Los Angeles and New York’s Central Park before falling into the Atlantic.

Categories
Politics

Cyberattack Forces a Shutdown of a High U.S. Pipeline Operator

Cyberattack Forces a Shutdown of a Top U.S. Pipeline Operator

A cyber attack forced the shutdown of one of the largest pipelines in the United States in what appeared to be a major attempt to disrupt the vulnerable energy infrastructure. The pipeline carries refined gasoline and jet fuel up the east coast from Texas to New York.

The system’s operator, Colonial Pipeline, said in a statement late Friday that it had shut down its 5,500-mile pipeline, which carries 45 percent of the east coast’s fuel supplies, to contain the attack on its computer networks. There was disruption along the pipeline earlier on Friday, but it was unclear whether this was a direct result of the attack.

Colonial’s pipeline transports 2.5 million barrels daily, transporting refined gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel from the Gulf Coast to New York Harbor and major New York airports. Most of it goes to large storage tanks, and since the pandemic has dampened energy consumption, the attack was unlikely to cause immediate disruption.

In the statement, the company said it learned on Friday that it was “a victim of a cybersecurity attack,” but did not provide details. Such an attack could be malware that terminates its operation or ransomware that requires payment to unlock computer files or systems.

“In response, we have proactively taken certain systems offline to contain the threat that has temporarily halted all pipeline operations and impacted some of our IT operations,” the company said regarding information technology systems.

It said it contacted law enforcement and other federal agencies. The FBI is leading such investigations, but critical infrastructure is the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

The breach comes just months after two major attacks on American computer networks – the penetration of SolarWinds by the main Russian intelligence agency and another attack on a Microsoft email service attributed to Chinese hackers – that illustrate the vulnerability of the networks where the government operates and businesses rely.

While both of these attacks were initially aimed at stealing email and other data, the nature of the intrusions created “back doors” that experts say could ultimately allow attacks on the physical infrastructure. So far, it is believed that none of the efforts resulted in anything other than data theft.

The Biden government announced sanctions against Russia for SolarWinds last month and is expected to issue an executive order in the coming days that will take measures to secure critical infrastructure, including calling for more security for providers providing services to the federal government.

The United States has long warned that Russia implanted malicious code on power grids, and the United States responded a few years ago by injecting similar code into the Russian grid.

However, actual attacks on energy systems are rare. About a decade ago, Iran was blamed for an attack on the computer systems of Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s largest manufacturers, in which 30,000 computers were destroyed. This attack, which appeared to come in response to the US-Israeli attack on the Iranian nuclear centrifuges, had no effect on operations.

Another attack on a Saudi petrochemical plant in 2017 nearly triggered a major industrial disaster. But it was quickly closed, and investigators later attributed it to Russian hackers. That year someone briefly took control of a water treatment plan in a small Florida town in what appeared to be an attempt to poison the supply, but the attempt was quickly stopped.