Article:
Adorable Hollywood couple Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield have discovered the best possible way to deal with the paparazzi that have become a constant presence in their lives: Use them to promote charitable organizations.

 Garfield and Stone first held up signs promoting kids' cancer charities back in 2012, and it worked so well that they did it again in New York City yesterday morning.

 "Good morning! We were eating and saw a group of guys with cameras outside. And so we thought, lets try this again. We dont need the attention, but these wonderful organizations do," Stone wrote, with an arrow pointing toward Garfield's card, which listed four charities.

 "Here's to the stuff that matters!" he wrote.

 In addition to Gilda's Club and Worldwide Orphans, the two organizations they promoted during their first stunt, the Amazing Spider-Man stars listed Youth Mentoring Connection and the very controversial autism science foundation Autism Speaks.

 But whether or not you agree with the cute couple's choice of charities, you've got to appreciate that Stone and Garfield have figured out how to make the paparazzi work for them.

 [H/T Teen Vogue, Photo: SplashNews] ||||| Welcome to Our New Site

 About two years ago, we refocused our mission to better serve you. Now we’ve upgraded our website to better support you AND connect the autism community through a streamlined digital experience... ||||| So, umm, what will it take to get an invite for next time?

 Just when we thought Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield couldn't possibly be any more awesome, they proved us wrong once again. This dynamic duo may have starred in Spider-Man together, but apparently they don't need all that lights-camera-action business to get them into superhero-mode. Instead they just need some paparazzi (good news: They're never in short supply when you're a famous couple!) and some cleverness.

 This isn't the first time the couple has used their fame to make a point. In 2012, they wrote signs about a group that supports people living with cancer and held them up for the photogs to see, and you guessed it—the pictures went viral. Today they decided to write another message to the world, covering up as much of their faces as they could so their words could be the main focus. "Good morning! We were eating and saw a group of guys with cameras outside. And so we thought, lets try this again. We dont need the attention, but these wonderful organizations do," Emma's card read, with an arrow pointing to her boyfriend's paper. Andrew's continued with the web addresses fans can check out to help make a difference, adding "Heres to the stuff that matters. Have a great day!" at the end.

 We can't say we've ever made that big of an impact in the world by lunchtime, but we're pretty impressed that one of America's favorite on-screen and off-screen couples isn't afraid to stand up for what they believe in. The message they scribbled out on their papers probably only took a few minutes, but we have a feeling their efforts are going to last much, much longer. (BRB, pretending our relationships are even half as cool as theirs.)

 Want to visit the websites Emma and Andrew are spreading awareness about? Take a look below, then tell us what you think of their bold efforts in the comments!

 Youth Mentoring Collection: A program that matches at-risk youth with adult mentors.

 Autism Speaks: The world's leading autism science and advocacy organization.

 Worldwide Orphans: An organization that transforms the lives of orphaned children and helps them grow into healthy and independent adults.

 Gilda's Club NYC: A place where men, women, and children living with cancer can come together for support.

 Rock on, Emma and Andrew! |||||Summary:

– Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are a much beloved celebrity couple, thanks in part to stunts like this: When they noticed paparazzi photographing them yesterday, they took advantage of the situation by holding signs in front of their faces that promoted charities, Teen Vogue reports. "We don't need the attention, but these wonderful organizations do," read Stone's sign. Garfield's pointed to the websites for Gilda's Club, Worldwide Orphans, the Youth Mentoring Connection, and Autism Speaks. They pulled a similar stunt in 2012 to promote the first two organizations, Gawker notes.


– When George W. Bush was introduced to then-vice president of Zambia Guy Scott a few years ago, he thought somebody was joking. Scott is a white man whose parents immigrated to the country when it was still a British colony, and the death of President Michael Sata makes him sub-Saharan Africa's first white leader since the end of apartheid in South Africa, CNN reports. Scott, whose father was active in the anti-colonial movement before independence, has previously served as the country's agriculture minister. In a 2012 interview with the Spectator, Scott said his presence in government was a testament to Zambia's stability and tolerance. "I don't think I would be nearly as welcome in South Africa, for example. Or West Africa," he said. "I get the suspicion they are pretty dubious, wondering what a white man is doing there. But for some reason, I'm very popular here." The country's constitution calls for a new election within 90 days, but although Scott is now the acting president, his parents were not born in Zambia, so he may be ineligible to run for the office, reports the BBC.

Expand this summary.

Zambia’s new, white vice president on understanding Mugabe and standing up to China

 Lusaka, Zambia

 Zambia’s new vice president, Dr Guy Scott, sinks into the back seat of his armoured car. Motorbike outriders clear the traffic ahead of us as we glide through the capital. ‘I am enjoying the toys, I must say.’ He means the helicopter and the two motorcades — one for the city, another for the bush.

 There were two remarkable aspects to last October’s election, in which the Patriotic Front party was voted in, ending the former government’s 20-year rule. The first was the peaceful nature of the regime change. The other was the colour of Dr Scott’s skin. It is the first time in independent Africa (Zambia gained its independence in 1964) that a white man has occupied such a high office. Recently George W. Bush passed through on a visit. ‘When they introduced me as vice president, he thought they were kidding.’

 Our convoy swings into the forecourt of the capital’s most expensive hotel. Sirens heralding Scott’s arrival are another novelty, but he insists they are used only sparingly. Except on visits to his own constituency, he jokes, when they are put on full blast — in defiance of ‘all those who thought I couldn’t make it, mainly my fellow whites.’

 It is not surprising that his popularity among the black electorate prompted much talk in international circles of reconciliation with the colonial past, of a new style of African politics that transcends the hoary old issue of race. (Most Zambians, it should be noted, shrugged off his whiteness as a detail barely worthy of comment.)

 What may raise a few eyebrows, however, is his friendly relationship with an unlikely ally: Robert Mugabe. Or, as he calls the autocrat next door, ‘Bob’ — he has known him for many decades. He praises the Zimbabwean leader’s performance at a recent trade summit in Malawi. ‘You have this bloke presented to you as the local nutter, yet he was tremendously compos mentis. He spoke brilliantly. He was very clever. He nearly had the US ambassador crying into his tea, impressed with wonderment.’

 Less than 40,000 of Zambia’s 13-million-strong population are white, but among them are many Zimbabweans forced to re-settle across the border. It goes against expectations, then, that Scott insists the central message of Mugabe’s speech — namely, that Africa should keep hold of its own wealth, instead of losing out to foreign investors — ‘was right on the money. It was very sensible stuff.’ As sensible as Mugabe’s land seizures and mismanagement of the world’s fastest-shrinking economy? He sighs. ‘What has happened is very cruel and nasty and doesn’t reflect well on anybody. But it is worth trying to understand what is happening, rather than saying it’s the lunatic act of one man. It’s not.’

 It is an unusual viewpoint for a former farmer of British descent. Scott was born 67 years ago in Livingstone, on what is now the Zambian side of the Zambia-Zimbabwe border, to a mother from Watford and a Scottish father. Scott graduated in economics from Cambridge, researched robotics at Oxford, and wrote a phD in cognitive science before returning to Zambia at the dawn of multi-party politics in 1990.

 Today, his is the only white face in the entire Zambian national assembly, whose members sit in horseshoe formation around a stuffed leopard and lion and a magnificent pair of elephant tusks. The man Dr Scott calls ‘The Boss’ is Michael Sata, the 74-year-old firebrand president known by others as King Cobra. He appointed his old friend as deputy after winning the election on his fourth attempt. ‘Michael knows about political symbolism. It’s one in the eye for his critics who say he’s a tribalist. Obviously, he’s not.’

 It took very little time for an opponent to question Scott’s claim to be Zambian, saying his foreign parentage made him ineligible for the post. (Constitutionally, it is only the president whose parents must have been born in the country. Should Sata become unfit, Scott would act as interim caretaker.) Still, Scott doubts a white man would have got this far in other sub-Saharan African countries lacking Zambia’s stability and tolerance. ‘I don’t think I would be nearly as welcome in South Africa, for example. Or West Africa. I get the suspicion they are pretty dubious, wondering what a white man is doing there. But for some reason, I’m very popular here.’

 How long that popularity lasts will depend on how he and Sata tackle Zambia’s top priority — its complex relationship with China. The history of huge Chinese investment here dates back to the 1960s, when Kenneth Kaunda, first president of the republic, won help from Chairman Mao to build the Tazara railway. The tracks China built opened up trade by allowing landlocked Zambia access to the Indian ocean through Tanzania, rather than its white-ruled neighbours. Today, Zambia is Africa’s biggest producer of copper and China is one of the world’s hungriest consumers of it, and relations between the two are increasingly bitter, as local people struggle to compete against a huge influx of Chinese businesses and unskilled labour.

 Scott and Sata were swept to power on a vehemently anti-Chinese ticket. Scott admits they have had to tone down the ‘China-bashing’. ‘There was no need for it,’ he says. ‘It was a shock tactic to point out the problems with the Zambian-Chinese relationship. The Chinese potentially have something very good to give, but they have a reputation for being somewhat … inhumane. They employ far more people, but they are terrible managers.’ He points to a notorious clash at a mine last year, when two Chinese managers opened fire on workers as they protested against poor conditions. Eleven people were injured, but no one was prosecuted.

 ‘It’s an interesting paradox, the Chinese paradox …You get open conflict quite a lot. The Chinese don’t understand that they should be dealing with the unions. What they tend to do is cosy up to the leadership, take them shopping and hope to sterilise them. Then they don’t have a conduit through which to speak to the workers … We must recalibrate that relationship.’

 Hospitable, charming, and no stranger to the unprintable expletive, Scott never quite loses the air of wily political operator. Back in his office, in a slightly chaotic ministry building, he says he is still prepared to stand up to Chinese investors. ‘We need to stop the silly things, like agreeing that so many Chinese can come here, no questions asked, then the next thing you know they have dominated the chicken market … We deport Zimbabweans and Congolese all the time, poor sods who are refugees from economic hardship. Why should Chinese of unknown origin be sitting outside Lusaka growing chickens?’

 Low-flying jets roar overhead, interrupting us. ‘It’s the coup,’ he jokes. He knows the honeymoon period isn’t quite over. ‘There is a good spirit around. People are still waving at me in the street. When they start throwing stones, that’s the beginning of the end.’

 This article first appeared in the print edition of The Spectator magazine, dated March 10, 2012 ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption These people in the Zambian capital Lusaka had mixed opinions about Guy Scott being named acting leader

 Zambian Vice-President Guy Scott has been named acting leader following the death of President Michael Sata.

 Presidential elections to choose a permanent successor will be held within 90 days, Defence Minister Edgar Lungu said.

 Mr Scott, who is of Scottish descent, becomes Africa's first white head of state for many years.

 Mr Sata died in the UK aged 77 after receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness.

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A look back at Zambian President Michael Sata's life

 He was being treated at London's King Edward VII hospital where he died on Tuesday night.

 'Beloved comrade'

 Mr Scott regularly stood in for the president at official events, but was never appointed acting president when Mr Sata was abroad - so this is his first time to officially lead the country.

 Guy Scott

 Often disparagingly referred to as the "ceremonial vice-president"

 He was born in 1944 in what was then Northern Rhodesia after father emigrated from Glasgow to work as a doctor on the railways

 A Cambridge-trained economist, he entered politics in 1990 joining the MMD which won the first multiparty elections the next year

 As agricultural minister he oversaw the recovery from a devastating drought in 1992/93

 He joined Michael Sata's Patriotic Front (PF) in 2001

 Appointed vice-president in September 2011 after the PF's election victory

 As his parents were not born in Zambia, a constitutional clause requiring the president to be a "third generation" Zambian may nullify any attempt to run for president

 Guy Scott's rise to Zambia's presidency

 In a brief televised address Mr Scott confirmed his appointment.

 "The period of national mourning will start today. We will miss our beloved president and comrade," Reuters news agency quotes him as saying.

 The president's death comes just days after Zambia celebrated the 50th anniversary of independence from the UK.

 Cabinet secretary Roland Msiska said on national TV that President Sata's wife and son were at his bedside.

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Michael Sata is the second of Zambia's five presidents to die in office

 He is the second Zambian leader to die in office after Levy Mwanawasa in 2008.

 Earlier this month reports in Zambia said that President Sata had gone abroad for a medical check-up amid persistent speculation that he was seriously ill.

 Obituary: Penny Dale, BBC's former Zambia correspondent

 Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Sata was known as "King Cobra" for his tough style of public speaking

 Gravelly-voiced as a result of years of chain-smoking, Michael Sata rose to political prominence in the 1980s. He quickly earned a reputation as the hardest-working governor while in charge of Lusaka and as a populist man of action. But he was also known for his authoritarian tendencies, an abrasive manner and a sharp tongue - and his critics say his nickname of "King Cobra" was well-deserved.

 A devout Catholic, Mr Sata had worked as a police officer, railway man and trade unionist during colonial rule. After independence, he also spent time in London, working as a railway porter, and, back in Zambia, with a taxidermist company.

 At the fourth attempt, Mr Sata won presidential elections in 2011. At first he looked as if he would keep promises to tackle corruption and create jobs and prosperity. But his term in office was marred by a crackdown on political opposition and a decline in the economy.

 Obituary: Michael Chilufya Sata

 He had rarely been seen in public since returning from the UN General Assembly last month, where he failed to make a scheduled speech.

 After he left the country, Defence Minister Edgar Lungu was named as acting president.

 Mr Scott is of Scottish descent and his parents were not born in Zambia, so he may not be able to run for president in January because of a constitutional clause. |||||


News article:

Beneath Yellowstone National Park lies a supervolcano, a behemoth far more powerful than your average volcano. It has the ability to expel more than 1,000 cubic kilometers of rock and ash at once — 2,500 times more material than erupted from Mount St. Helens in 1980, which killed 57 people. That could blanket most of the United States in a thick layer of ash and even plunge the Earth into a volcanic winter.

 Yellowstone’s last supereruption occurred 631,000 years ago. And it’s not the planet’s only buried supervolcano. Scientists suspect that a supereruption scars the planet every 100,000 years, causing many to ask when we can next expect such an explosive planet-changing event.

 To answer that question, scientists are seeking lessons from Yellowstone’s past. And the results have been surprising. They show that the forces that drive these rare and violent events can move much more rapidly than volcanologists previously anticipated.

 The early evidence, presented at a recent volcanology conference, shows that Yellowstone’s most recent supereruption was sparked when new magma moved into the system only decades before the eruption. Previous estimates assumed that the geological process that led to the event took millenniums to occur. ||||| If the supervolcano underneath Yellowstone erupts again, we may have far less advance warning time than we thought.

 After analyzing minerals in fossilized ash from the most recent mega-eruption, researchers at Arizona State University think the supervolcano last woke up after two influxes of fresh magma flowed into the reservoir below the caldera.

 And in an unsettling twist, the minerals revealed that the critical changes in temperature and composition built up in a matter of decades. Until now, geologists had thought it would take centuries for the supervolcano to make that transition.

 Volcanoes 101 Volcanoes are as dangerous as they are majestic. Over 50 eruptions rock our planet every year. This video helps you understand what causes volcanoes to form and erupt—and shows where they are most likely to be found.

 A 2013 study, for instance, showed that the magma reservoir that feeds the supervolcano is about two and a half times larger than previous estimates. Scientists also think the reservoir is drained after every monster blast, so they thought it should take a long time to refill. Based on the new study, it seems the magma can rapidly refresh—making the volcano potentially explosive in the geologic blink of an eye.

 “It’s shocking how little time is required to take a volcanic system from being quiet and sitting there to the edge of an eruption,” study co-author Hannah Shamloo told the New York Times.

 Still, Yellowstone is one of the best monitored volcanoes in the world, notes Michael Poland, the current Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory for the U.S. Geological Survey. A variety of sensors and satellites are always looking for changes, and right now, the supervolcano does not seem to pose a threat.

 "We see interesting things all the time ... but we haven't seen anything that would lead us to believe that the sort of magmatic event described by the researchers is happening," says Poland via email, adding that the research overall is "somewhat preliminary, but quite tantalizing."

 The new paper adds to a suite of surprises scientists have uncovered over the last few years as they have studied the supervolcano. (Also find out about a supervolcano under Italy that has recently been rumbling.)

 Related: Top 5 Must-See Attractions in Yellowstone

 Today, Yellowstone National Park owes much of its rich geologic beauty to its violent past. Wonders like the Old Faithful geyser and the Grand Prismatic Spring are products of the geothermal activity still seething below the park, which is driven in turn by the vast magma plume that feeds the supervolcano.

 About 630,000 years ago, a powerful eruption shook the region, spewing forth 240 cubic miles’ worth of rock and ash and creating the Yellowstone caldera, a volcanic depression 40 miles wide that now cradles most of the national park.

 That eruption left behind the Lava Creek Tuff, the ash deposit that Shamloo and her ASU colleague Christy Till used for their work, which they presented in August at a volcanology meeting in Oregon. The pair also presented an earlier version of their study at a 2016 meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

 Based on fossil deposits like this one, scientists think the supervolcano has seen at least two other eruptions on this scale in the past two million years or so. Lucky for us, the supervolcano has been largely dormant since before the first people arrived in the Americas. While a handful of smaller belches and quakes have periodically filled the caldera with lava and ash, the last one happened about 70,000 years ago.

 In 2011, scientists revealed that the ground above the magma chamber bulged by up to 10 inches in a span of about seven years.

 "It's an extraordinary uplift, because it covers such a large area and the rates are so high," the University of Utah's Bob Smith, an expert in Yellowstone volcanism, told National Geographic at the time.

 The swelling magma reservoir responsible for the uplift was too deep to create fears of imminent doom, Smith said, and instead the caldera’s gentle “breathing” offered valuable insights into the supervolcano’s behavior.

 In 2012, another team reported that at least one of the past super-eruptions may have really been two events, hinting that such large-scale events may be more common than thought.

 But almost everyone who studies Yellowstone’s slumbering supervolcano says that right now, we have no way of knowing when the next big blast will happen. For its part, the U.S. Geological Survey puts the rough yearly odds of another massive Yellowstone blast at 1 in 730,000—about the same chance as a catastrophic asteroid collision. ||||| Beneath America's fourth most-visited national park, the apocalypse waits. There's a supervolcano under Yellowstone, capable of shooting 1,000 cubic kilometers of rock and ash into the air. Enough to cover the entire planet. And now, scientists are learning that the entire process may happen faster than previously expected.

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 At IAVCEI 2017 in Portland, Oregon, researchers presented evidence that such eruptions only need a few decades of gestation before exploding. Considering how such eruptions are relatively rare, geologically speaking—there are only three known explosions in history, the last one occurring 631,000 years ago—there was an expectation that they needed a lot of preparation beforehand. That assumption is proving to be wrong, showing how much left there is to learn about supervolcanoes.

 "If something like this happened today, it would be catastrophic," says Hannah Shamloo, a geologist at Arizona State, speaking to the American Geophysical Union. "We want to understand what triggers these eruptions, so we can set up warning systems. That's the big-picture goal."

 Alongside her Ph.D. adviser at Arizona State, geologist Christy Till, Shamloo examined two specific sorts of crystals known as phenocrysts, which form as magma cools a beneath a volcano. Varying between 1 and 2 millimeters each, these crystals are too large to have formed during the heat of an eruption. Rather, each crystal starts with a core that grows layer upon layer, forming a rough equivalent to the rings of a tree.

 The outer rims of these phenocrysts show a clear change in temperature and composition occurring over a few decades, a geologic snap of the finger. "We expected that there might be processes happening over thousands of years preceding the eruption," Till tells the New York Times. "It's shocking how little time is required to take a volcanic system from being quiet and sitting there to the edge of an eruption," Shamloo says.

 However, there's still a lot of work to be done before Shamloo's dream of a warning system gets put into place. Scientists still need to figure out how these massive buildups transform into supereruptions. Because if one happens, you'll need to run pretty fast if you want to escape it.

 Source: New York Times ||||| An example of the possible distribution of ash from a month-long Yellowstone supereruption. The distribution map was generated by a new model developed by the US Geological Survey using wind information from January 2001. The improved computer model, detailed in a new study published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, finds that the hypothetical, large eruption would create a distinctive kind of ash cloud known as an umbrella, which expands evenly in all directions, sending ash across North America. Ash distribution will vary depending on cloud height, eruption duration, diameter of volcanic particles in the cloud, and wind conditions, according to the new study. Credit: Credit: USGS In the unlikely event of a volcanic supereruption at Yellowstone National Park, the northern Rocky Mountains would be blanketed in meters of ash, and millimeters would be deposited as far away as New York City, Los Angeles and Miami, according to a new study.

 An improved computer model developed by the study's authors finds that the hypothetical, large eruption would create a distinctive kind of ash cloud known as an umbrella, which expands evenly in all directions, sending ash across North America.

 A supereruption is the largest class of volcanic eruption, during which more than 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cubic miles) of material is ejected. If such a supereruption were to occur, which is extremely unlikely, it could shut down electronic communications and air travel throughout the continent, and alter the climate, the study notes.

 A giant underground reservoir of hot and partly molten rock feeds the volcano at Yellowstone National Park. It has produced three huge eruptions about 2.1 million, 1.3 million and 640,000 years ago. Geological activity at Yellowstone shows no signs that volcanic eruptions, large or small, will occur in the near future. The most recent volcanic activity at Yellowstone—a relatively non-explosive lava flow at the Pitchstone Plateau in the southern section of the park—occurred 70,000 years ago.

 Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey used a hypothetical Yellowstone supereruption as a case study to run their new model that calculates ash distribution for eruptions of all sizes. The model, Ash3D, incorporates data on historical wind patterns to calculate the thickness of ash fall for a supereruption like the one that occurred at Yellowstone 640,000 years ago.

 The new study provides the first quantitative estimates of the thickness and distribution of ash in cities around the U.S. if the Yellowstone volcanic system were to experience this type of huge, yet unlikely, eruption.

 Cities close to the modeled Yellowstone supereruption could be covered by more than a meter (a few feet) of ash. There would be centimeters (a few inches) of ash in the Midwest, while cities on both coasts would see millimeters (a fraction of an inch) of accumulation, according to the new study that was published online today in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

 The figure above shows illustrations of plume shapes that would result from different types of volcanic eruptions. A weak plume (left) typically forms above small eruptions such as the April-May 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, as shown in this NASA Earth Observatory image. A strong plume with a major umbrella cloud (right) forms during very large eruptions, such as shown in this Japanese Meteorological Agency image of the Pinatubo cloud on June 15, 1991. During superuruptions, umbrella clouds from strong plumes may push their way hundreds or thousands of kilometers upwind, according to a new study published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. Credit: Credit: USGS

 The model results help scientists understand the extremely widespread distribution of ash deposits from previous large eruptions at Yellowstone. Other USGS scientists are using the Ash3D model to forecast possible ash hazards at currently restless volcanoes in Alaska.

 Unlike smaller eruptions, whose ash deposition looks roughly like a fan when viewed from above, the spreading umbrella cloud from a supereruption deposits ash in a pattern more like a bull's eye – heavy in the center and diminishing in all directions – and is less affected by prevailing winds, according to the new model.

 "In essence, the eruption makes its own winds that can overcome the prevailing westerlies, which normally dominate weather patterns in the United States," said Larry Mastin, a geologist at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington, and the lead author of the new paper. Westerly winds blow from the west.

 "This helps explain the distribution from large Yellowstone eruptions of the past, where considerable amounts of ash reached the west coast," he added.

 The three large past eruptions at Yellowstone sent ash over many tens of thousands of square kilometers (thousands of square miles). Ash deposits from these eruptions have been found throughout the central and western United States and Canada.

 Erosion has made it difficult for scientists to accurately estimate ash distribution from these deposits. Previous computer models also lacked the ability to accurately determine how the ash would be transported.

 Using their new model, the study's authors found that during very large volcanic eruptions, the expansion rate of the ash cloud's leading edge can exceed the average ambient wind speed for hours or days depending on the length of the eruption. This outward expansion is capable of driving ash more than 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) upwind – westward—and crosswind – north to south—producing a bull's eye-like pattern centered on the eruption site.

 In the simulated modern-day eruption scenario, cities within 500 kilometers (311 miles) of Yellowstone like Billings, Montana, and Casper, Wyoming, would be covered by centimeters (inches) to more than a meter (more than three feet) of ash. Upper Midwestern cities, like Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Des Moines, Iowa, would receive centimeters (inches), and those on the East and Gulf coasts, like New York and Washington, D.C. would receive millimeters or less (fractions of an inch). California cities would receive millimeters to centimeters (less than an inch to less than two inches) of ash while Pacific Northwest cities like Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, would receive up to a few centimeters (more than an inch).

 Even small accumulations only millimeters or centimeters (less than an inch to an inch) thick could cause major effects around the country, including reduced traction on roads, shorted-out electrical transformers and respiratory problems, according to previous research cited in the new study. Prior research has also found that multiple inches of ash can damage buildings, block sewer and water lines, and disrupt livestock and crop production, the study notes.

 The study also found that other eruptions – powerful but much smaller than a Yellowstone supereruption—might also generate an umbrella cloud.

 "These model developments have greatly enhanced our ability to anticipate possible effects from both large and small eruptions, wherever they occur," said Jacob Lowenstern, USGS Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory in Menlo Park, California, and a co-author on the new paper.

 Explore further: Volcanic eruption begins under Iceland glacier

 More information: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10 … 014GC005469/abstract

  ||||| Geologists suggest that mixing of magma melt pockets could have caused the explosion a little more than 600,000 years ago.

 Yellowstone National Park is renowned for more than just its hot springs and Old Faithful. The area is famous in the volcanology community for being the site of three explosive supereruptions, the last of which was 631,000 years ago.

 During that eruption, approximately 1000 cubic kilometers of rock, dust, and volcanic ash blasted into the sky. Debris rained across the continental United States, spanning a rough triangle that stretches from today’s Canadian border down to California and over to Louisiana. In places, ash reached more than a meter thick.

 “If something like this happened today, it would be catastrophic,” said Hannah Shamloo, a geologist at Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration in Tempe. “We want to understand what triggers these eruptions, so we can set up warning systems. That’s the big-picture goal.”

 Now, Shamloo and her coauthor think they’ve found a clue. By examining trace elements in crystals that they found in the volcanic leftovers of Yellowstone’s last supereruption, they might be able to pinpoint what triggered it.

 Outer Rims

 Just outside Yellowstone National Park is a thick multicolored, multilayered rock formation called the Lava Creek Tuff. Tuffs are igneous rocks formed by the volcanic debris left behind by an explosive eruption.

 Minerals in these tuffs can tell scientists about conditions inside the volcano before it erupted, and identifying these preeruptive conditions may help inform current hazard assessments.

 Shamloo and her Ph.D. adviser at Arizona State University, geologist Christy Till, examined two crystals of feldspar that they found embedded in the tuff. These crystals, called phenocrysts, form as magma cools slowly beneath the volcano.

 These phenocrysts, measuring between 1 and 2 millimeters in diameter, were too large to have formed when hot material was flung up during the eruption.

 Instead, as Shamloo explained, they grew gradually over time in Yellowstone’s magma chamber, each crystal beginning with a core that slowly and steadily enlarged outward, layer upon layer. As surrounding magma conditions—temperature, pressure, and water content— changed, trace elements surrounding the growing phenocrysts also changed and became incorporated into subsequent layers.

 In this way, the differences in chemical composition between the phenocryst core and successive layers serve as a map of changing conditions deep within the volcano over time. What’s more, the phenocrysts’ outermost rims represent the magma that surrounded the crystal right before Yellowstone erupted.

 Thus, by analyzing the outer rims, Shamloo and Till could gather both temperature and trace element information just prior to the massive explosion.

 Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble

 Temperature information locked in a phenocryst’s outer rims can be extracted using a technique called feldspar thermometry. The technique relies on the fact that certain minerals vary their compositions in known ways as temperatures change. Thus, scientists can work backward from the exact compositions of minerals present in these outer rims to estimate the surrounding temperature when the crystal rim formed.

 The duo found signatures in the rims that point to an increase in temperature and uptick in the element barium in the magma just before the eruption. They presented their research on 13 December at the American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

 To verify their layer by layer analysis of temperature and chemical composition, Shamloo and Till used MELTS, a software program that models how the crystal composition changed as a function of temperature, pressure, and water content in the magma chamber. They assumed that the magma had the same bulk composition as the Lava Creek Tuff. Their results and the model agreed well but pointed to a low water content for the magma chamber involved in the recent supereruption. In contrast, an older eruption from the Long Valley Caldera that produced the Bishop Tuff had 5% water by weight, 5 times more than the one that produced the Lava Creek Tuff.

 “There are multiple ways to trigger an eruption, but as of now, we’re seeing evidence for a magma injection.” The low water content is surprising, Shamloo explained, because water and steam create pressures that can trigger eruptions. But Shamloo said that the phenocrysts’ story of hotter temperatures and more barium in the magma chamber just prior to the eruption suggests a possible culprit behind the explosion: the mixing of neighboring pockets of semimelted magma, called an injection event. “There are multiple ways to trigger an eruption, but as of now, we’re seeing evidence for a magma injection,” she said.

 Magma, molten or semimolten rock that exists in layers of the Earth’s crust, can also reach the Earth’s surface. Because it is less dense than surrounding rocks, magma can move upward through cracks in the Earth’s crust, but when its motion is stymied, it pools into magma chambers. These chambers expand thanks to magma injections, when hotter material from deeper volcanic reservoirs feeds into shallower ones. This injection of hotter material just before the eruption may explain the temperature increase recorded in the phenocrysts.

 But the presence of barium in the phenocrysts is a smoking gun, said Shamloo. “Barium doesn’t like to be in the crystal. It likes to hang out in the melt, so this tells us the barium must’ve been introduced from a different source.” The duo thinks this source is a deeper reservoir inside the volcano.

 Eric Christiansen, a volcanologist from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, who was not involved with the study, was skeptical of Shamloo’s use of the MELTS software and thinks this type of modeling isn’t as reliable as “real experiments with real rocks.” However, he asserted, “her work is sound, and her analysis is solid. She’s got interesting trace element data with the barium, a late addition to the chamber, which suggests it accompanies what triggered the eruption.”

 Geologic Crystal Ball

 “The public is always afraid of the ‘next big one.’ And I like to ask, ‘Can we really forecast that?’” “The public is always afraid of the ‘next big one,’” Shamloo said. “And I like to ask, ‘Can we really forecast that?’” Shamloo and Till hope that they can.

 Knowing the eruption trigger is just the first step, according to Shamloo. The next step is understanding what order of time—days, months, even years—these changes can take before an eruption like the one that produced the Lava Creek Tuff.

 Such information could help Shamloo, Till, and others to correctly read signs of volcanic unrest at Yellowstone and to create a model for predicting future supereruptions.

 —Aylin Woodward (email: [email protected]; @AylinWoodward), Freelance Science Writer |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Should it ever erupt, a supervolcano beneath Yellowstone National Park could blanket North America in an ash cloud, wipe out communications, and alter the climate. Given that eruptions of supervolcanoes buried on our planet—and there are several—are thought to occur every 100,000 years or so, however, the likelihood of such an event during your lifetime is small, reports the New York Times. As comforting as that may be, new research out of Arizona State University is far less so. Whereas researchers previously thought such an eruption would be centuries or millennia in the making, an analysis of fossilized ash left over from Yellowstone's last supereruption 630,000 years ago reveals the process could take only decades. Tiny crystals left over from underground magma at Yellowstone show the first sign of the last supereruption was a spike in temperature that coincided with the movement of new magma into the reservoir beneath the supervolcano. The crystals also reveal a supereruption followed much quicker than scientists previously thought—perhaps within decades, or what Popular Mechanics calls "a geologic snap of the finger." This is the first indication that "the conditions that lead to supereruptions might emerge within a human lifetime," which one researcher describes as "shocking," per the Times. For now, though, you can rest easy. The lead scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory tells National Geographic there's no sign of any "magmatic event" at this time. (You might outrun a supervolcano's lava anyway.)


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– A British general is warning his country and the West about Russia—a threat he calls worse than anything posed by ISIS or al-Qaeda, the BBC reports. "The Russians seek to exploit vulnerability and weakness wherever they detect it," General Mark Carleton-Smith tells the Telegraph. "Russia today indisputably represents a far greater threat to our national security than Islamic extremist threats such as al-Qaeda and [ISIS]." Carleton-Smith, who led Britain's fight against ISIS and in June became head of the British army, says military action has weakened Islamic militants. But in the wake of alleged poisoning and cyber-attacks, Russia looms large. "Russia has embarked on a systematic effort to explore and exploit Western vulnerabilities, particularly in some of the non-traditional areas of cyber, space, undersea warfare," he says. But he opposes any notion (perhaps like French President Emmanuel Macron's) that would weaken the military strength of NATO. He says the "center of gravity of European security" should hold fast. "In my experience, we should reinforce success." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov derided Carleton-Smith's remarks while visiting Lisbon, Radio Free Europe reports. "We cannot influence the British government's decisions as to whom they trust to head its armed forces," says Lavrov. "I hope they check the appropriateness of such decisions." (Russian trolls apparently whipped up a frenzy over vaccines.)

Russia is now “indisputably” a greater threat to the security of Britain and her allies than Islamist extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil), the new Army chief has warned.

 Apart from posing a conventional military threat, the Russians are constantly seeking to undermine the West by developing new war-fighting capabilities in non-conventional areas such as cyber and space.

 Speaking in his first interview since his appointment as the Chief of the General Staff, Gen Mark Carleton-Smith, 54, said it was vital that Britain and its allies were not complacent about the threat Russia posed.

 “Russia today indisputably represents a far greater threat to our national... ||||| Image copyright EPA Image caption Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied allegations Russia was behind the Salisbury spy poisoning

 Russia is now a "far greater threat" to the UK's national security than the Islamic State group, the head of the British army has said.

 In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, General Mark Carleton-Smith said Britain "cannot be complacent about the threat Russia poses".

 "The Russians seek to exploit vulnerability and weakness wherever they detect it," he said.

 The UK blames Russia for the Salisbury poisoning and several cyber-attacks.

 In March, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal - who sold secrets to MI6 - and his daughter Yulia survived being poisoned with Novichok.

 Dawn Sturgess, 44, was later exposed to the same nerve agent and died in hospital.

 Gen Carleton-Smith's comments follow similar remarks made earlier this year by the UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson.

 In October, the UK government also accused Russia's GRU military intelligence service of being behind four high-profile cyber-attacks on targets including the US Democratic Party and a small TV network in Britain.

 Russia denies any involvement in the Skripal poisoning and has described cyber-attack accusations as a "rich fantasy".

 Image copyright EPA/ Yulia Skripal/Facebook Image caption Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious

 In his first interview since being appointed Chief of the General Staff in June, Gen Carleton-Smith said Russia is "indisputably" a bigger threat than Islamic terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and IS.

 "Russia has embarked on a systematic effort to explore and exploit Western vulnerabilities, particularly in some of the non-traditional areas of cyber, space, undersea warfare," he said.

 "We cannot be complacent about the threat Russia poses or leave it uncontested."

 The Russian Embassy responded by poking fun at his comments.

 The 54-year-old former SAS commander graduated from Sandhurst military academy in the final years of the Cold War.

 He led the search for Osama bin Laden following the 9/11 terror attacks and was at the forefront of Britain's role in the campaign to combat IS in Iraq and Syria.

 Image copyright Crown Copyright 2016 Image caption Gen Carleton-Smith said the physical manifestation of the Islamist threat has diminished

 Russia has previously been condemned by world leaders over its annexation of Crimea and role in the conflict in Ukraine.

 Moscow has also been accused of meddling in the 2016 US presidential election - which President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials have repeatedly denied.

 Image copyright Metropolitan Police Image caption CCTV shows two suspects in the Salisbury poisoning, who the UK believes are from Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU

 Mr Putin also rejects the UK's allegations that the two suspects in the Skripal poisoning were GRU operatives.

 Russia has accused the British authorities of Russophobia, misleading the international community and UK citizens and of "disgusting anti-Russian hysteria".

 Read more: ||||| Russia is a "far greater threat" to Britain's national security than Islamic terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (IS), the new head of the British Army has warned.

 In an interview with The Daily Telegraph published on November 23, General Mark Carleton-Smith said Britain and its allies "cannot be complacent about the threat Russia poses."

 The Russian Embassy in London responded to the comments with a tweet on November 24, saying "Army chief doesn't care about [IS]? Great global strategic vision!"

 Carleton-Smith made the comments at a time of heightened tensions between the West and Russia over issues including Moscow's aggression in Ukraine, its alleged election meddling in the United States and Europe, massive international cyberattacks, and the poisoning of a Russian double agent and his daughter in Britain.

 "Russia today indisputably represents a far greater threat to our national security than Islamic extremist threats" such as Al-Qaeda and IS, Carleton-Smith said in his first interview since becoming chief of Britain's General Staff in June.

 The 54-year-old former SAS commander said Moscow had "embarked on a systematic effort to explore and exploit Western vulnerabilities, particularly in some of the nontraditional areas of cyber-, space, undersea warfare."

 With the threat from Islamist groups in the Middle East now reduced, the focus needs to shift to Russia, the British general also said, warning, "We cannot be complacent about the threat Russia poses or leave it uncontested."

 During a visit to Lisbon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also poked fun at the remarks, saying, "We cannot influence the British government's decisions as to whom they trust to head its armed forces," according to the Interfax news agency.

 "I hope they check the appropriateness of such decisions," Lavrov added.

 In October, U.K. Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson accused Russia of acting like a "pariah state," whose "reckless and indiscriminate" attacks had left it isolated in the international community.

 The Russian Foreign Ministry described the accusations as "fantasy."

 Britain and most of the West has blamed Russia for a nerve-agent attack on Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in the English city of Salisbury in March. Moscow denies any involvement.

 The Skripals survived the poisoning, which used a Soviet-made military nerve agent known as Novichok.

 Two other British citizens were exposed to the nerve agent in June, apparently by accident; one of them, Dawn Sturgess, died.

 With reporting by the Daily Telegraph, the BBC, Press Association, and Interfax |||||


– Under pressure to show he's taking the threat of Russian interference seriously, President Trump claimed without evidence Tuesday that Moscow will be "fighting very hard" to help Democrats win in the 2018 midterm elections, the AP reports. Trump, who has offered mixed messages on Russian interference in US elections—at times even calling it a "hoax"—acknowledged in a tweet that the midterms are a likely target. "I'm very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election," Trump wrote. "Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don’t want Trump!" That's despite Russian President Vladimir Putin saying outright last week, following the leaders' summit in Helsinki, that he wanted Trump to win in 2016. US intelligence agencies also have determined that Russia interfered in the election to help him win, and the agencies have warned there are ominous signs of more cyberattacks to come. As Trump tweeted on Tuesday, House Republicans held a hearing on election security in which lawmakers—even some of Trump's closest GOP allies—strongly criticized Russian interference and pointed to an indictment this month of 12 Russian intelligence officers. The indictment alleges that the Russians broke into Democratic email accounts and tried to penetrate state election systems. House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy noted that the indictment said there is no evidence the vote count was affected, "but that was not likely for a lack of trying." Meanwhile in the Senate on Tuesday, two senators introduced bipartisan legislation to impose new Russian sanctions, saying the US "must make it abundantly clear that we will defend our nation."

Expand this summary.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., right, sitting next to ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., left, listens during a hearing on "Cyber-securing the... (Associated Press)

 House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., right, sitting next to ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., left, listens during a hearing on "Cyber-securing the Vote: Ensuring the Integrity of the U.S. Election System," on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday,... (Associated Press)

 WASHINGTON (AP) — Under pressure to show he's taking the threat of Russian interference seriously, President Donald Trump claimed without evidence Tuesday that Moscow will be "fighting very hard" to help Democrats win in the 2018 midterm elections.

 Trump, who has offered mixed messages on Russian interference in U.S. elections — at times even calling it a "hoax" — acknowledged in a tweet that the midterms are a likely target.

 "I'm very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election," Trump wrote. But he added "they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don't want Trump!"

 That's despite Russian President Vladimir Putin saying outright last week, following the leaders' summit in Helsinki, that he wanted Trump to win in 2016. U.S. intelligence agencies also have determined that Russia interfered in the election to help him win, and the agencies have warned there are ominous signs of more cyberattacks to come.

 At Tuesday's hearing, Christopher Krebs of the Homeland Security Department said the intelligence community has observed "continued malign influence operations" into 2018, though they do not appear to be "an effort at the same scope or scale" as in 2016.

 As Trump tweeted on Tuesday, House Republicans held a hearing on election security in which lawmakers — even some of Trump's closest GOP allies — strongly criticized Russian interference and pointed to an indictment this month of 12 Russian intelligence officers. The indictment alleges that the Russians broke into Democratic email accounts and tried to penetrate state election systems.

 House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy noted that the indictment said there is no evidence the vote count was affected, "but that was not likely for a lack of trying."

 Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina criticized Trump directly.

 "Unfortunately, the president's recent comments at the U.S.-Russia summit in Helsinki failed to hold Putin accountable for his attacks on our country's interests and deter him from future indiscretions," she said.

 Other Republicans were careful to draw a line and not directly disagree with the president.

 "I don't think anyone here denies the fact that Russia attempted to meddle in the elections," said Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga. "The issue of meddling is one thing, the issue of the president colluding is another and that is indeed a witch hunt."

 Democrats said Republicans haven't done enough to keep the vote secure this fall. They asked for more questioning, more documents and more money for states to secure their election infrastructure.

 "We need all of our Republican colleagues to conduct oversight — not just use strong words," said Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel.

 Earlier this year, Congress allocated $380 million to assist states with election security upgrades, and most of that money has been disbursed. Democrats want to continue the money through 2019, but Republicans have said new spending isn't needed.

 The very makeup of the election infrastructure — decentralized and different in every state — provides some protection against hacking efforts. But state and local election officials have been working with the Department of Homeland Security to shore up their efforts after at least 21 state systems were scanned for vulnerabilities by Russian hackers and at least one state saw its voter registration system breached.

 In addition to helping state election officials obtain security clearances so they can be briefed on the latest threats to elections, Homeland Security officials also offer remote scanning of their networks to identify any vulnerabilities as well as intensive cybersecurity reviews that involve onsite exams.

 "DHS has made tremendous strides and is committed to working collaboratively with those on the front lines of administering our elections to secure election infrastructure from risks," Krebs said.

 Even if state elections systems are better protected, other threats remain. Last week, Microsoft officials said they had seen evidence that suggested phishing attacks were being directed at three candidates who are all standing for election in the midterm elections. The company would not disclose the candidates, citing privacy issues.

 Meanwhile in the Senate on Tuesday, two senators introduced bipartisan legislation to impose new Russian sanctions, saying the U.S. "must make it abundantly clear that we will defend our nation."

 ___

 Cassidy reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Lisa Mascaro, Tami Abdollah and Deb Riechmann in Washington and Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this report. ||||| I’m very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don’t want Trump! |||||


Article:

UPDATED: The veteran ABC News journalist and co-host and co-creator of "The View" will step down in summer 2014.

 After more than half a century in broadcast journalism and nearly 40 years at ABC News, Barbara Walters officially is ready to retire. Walters will make the announcement on Monday's edition of The View – the ABC daytime program she co-created and has hosted since 1997.

 Walters, who will turn 84 in September, intends to remain on The View through next season and will step down after the season wraps in summer 2014. She’ll continue to be a co-executive producer of the show and will be involved in selecting new co-hosts to replace Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Behar announced in March that she’ll depart after the current season. Hasselbeck has yet to confirm that she’s leaving the show.

 PHOTOS: The Red Carpet at THR's 35 Most Powerful People in Media Soiree

 Rumors of Walters’ retirement first surfaced in late March in the wake of a health scare and hospital stay. (Walters fell and bumped her head at the British Ambassador's residence days before the presidential inauguration; doctors eventually diagnosed her with chicken pox.) But the notoriously tenacious TV personality was brushing off rumors of her retirement as recently as several weeks ago.

 “There were many reports last week saying that I was retiring from ABC, and there was an assumption that I would be making an announcement today,” she said April 1 on The View. “Here I am, and I have no announcement to make. But I do want to say this: that if and when I might have an announcement to make, I will do it in this program, I promise, and the paparazzi guys, you will be the last to know.”

 That announcement will cap an extraordinary career that began in 1961 when Walters was hired as a researcher for NBC’s Today and spanned the feminist movement and the entrée of women into the old boys club of TV news. From researcher, Walters was promoted to "Today Girl," where she was relegated to lighter assignments. But she chafed at being reduced to one of the show’s “tea pourers,” as she characterized it in her 2008 memoir Audition. And after less than a year she became a reporter-at-large, writing and reporting her own stories.

 She was the first woman to host an evening newscast when she was paired with Harry Reasoner on the ABC Evening News in 1976. It was an unhappy assignment for Walters.

 STORY: Barbara Walters Addresses Retirement Reports on 'The View'

 “The blood was so bad between us … that Harry’s cronies on the crew took to using a stopwatch to note my airtime,” Walters wrote in Audition. “If I did a segment that ran three minutes and 25 seconds, Harry would demand that he do a piece three minutes and 25 seconds long. Harry’s hostility soon began to show on the air. I remember reaching toward him at the end of one broadcast, in a friendly manner, just to touch him on the arm. He recoiled, physically recoiled, in front of millions of people.”

 But Walters weathered it and went on to land dozens of important interviews indicative of her extraordinary longevity and range: Anwar Al Sadat and Menachem Begin together; the Shah of Iran; Boris Yeltsin; Vladimir Putin; China’s Jian Zemin; Margaret Thatcher; Fidel Castro; Indiria Ghandi, Hugo Chavez; Michael Jackson; and Monica Lewinsky, to name but a few.

 The run-up to her retirement will include retrospectives of her many Oscar and Ten Most Fascinating People specials as well as a multi-part career retrospective to air on ABC.

 In a statement released by ABC News on Sunday night Walters said: "I am very happy with my decision and look forward to a wonderful and special year ahead both on The View and with ABC News. I created The View and am delighted it will last beyond my leaving it.”

 ABC News president Ben Sherwood added: "There's only one Barbara Walters. And we look forward to making her final year on television as remarkable, path-breaking and news-making as Barbara herself. Barbara will always have a home at ABC News and we look forward to a year befitting her brilliant career, filled with exclusive interviews, great adventures and indelible memories." ||||| Barbara Walters: 'I Plan to Retire' in the Summer of 2014

 After more than five decades, Barbara Walters is hanging up her microphone.The veteran ABC News anchor , 83, said Monday morning on The View – the show she started in 1997 – that she will retire from TV journalism next summer."Let me just say I have been on television continuously for over 50 years. But in the summer of '14 I plan to retire from appearing on television at all. ... I'm perfectly healthy. This is my decision. This is what I want to do," Walters told her audience, which in the studio included Disney CEO (and therefore head of ABC) Bob Iger – who suggested once he also retires that both he and Walters go on Dancing with the Stars.Fellow Bostonian Michael Bloomberg – who now happens to be Mayor of New York City – also showed up, and told Walters she is his hero."I love you," Walters told the mayor, "even if you don't like very tall soft drinks."ABC said in an announcement late Sunday that. despite Monday's announcement, Walters will continue to anchor and report for the network, anchor specials throughout the year and appear on The View "I am very happy with my decision," Walters said, "and look forward to a wonderful and special year ahead."She added: "I want instead to sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women – and, okay, some men, too – who will be taking my place."Walters has spent 37 years at ABC News, joining the network in 1976 to become the first female co-anchor on an evening news program. Three years later, she became a co-host of ABC's 20/20 newsmagazine.Before coming to ABC, she spent 15 years at NBC News, where she was a co-host of the Today show – after first only being hired for 13 weeks, she pointed out on Monday's The View.After that, she interviewed world leaders, movie stars from Bette Davis to Angelina Jolie and every President and First Lady from the Nixons to the Obamas. ||||| New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stopped by “The View” on Monday and praised ABC’s Barbara Walters for making “a difference in how journalism - and particularly TV journalism - is done today” after she announced she will retire next summer.

 Walters confirmed on Monday’s show that she will retire in 2014 from “appearing on television at all,” telling viewers “it has been an absolutely joyful, rewarding, challenging, fascinating and occasionally bumpy ride.” ABC News officially announced her retirement Sunday night.

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 “I’m perfectly healthy, this is my decision,” Walters, 83, said. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and this is what I want to do. I will, however, continue as co-executive producer on ‘The View’ with Bill Geddie as long as the program is aired. There will be special occasions, and I will come back, I’m not walking into the sunset. But I don’t want to appear on another program, I don’t want to climb another mountain. I want instead to sit in a sunny field and admire the very gifted women, and, okay, some men, too, who will be taking my place.”

 “I’ve had an amazing career — beyond anything I could have imagined,” she added.

 Shortly after Walters’ announcement, her co-host Whoopi Goldberg jumped in to share that a special guest had stopped by the studio.

 “Barbara, you know, somebody else, some guy, you know, you know how men always are after you,” Goldberg said. “Well this guy fought his way into the building, we couldn’t find any other way not to let him come out and say a few things. So if you don’t mind, you know, I hope you can handle it. Let’s welcome the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg.”

 Bloomberg — who Walters called “the greatest mayor” — said he “was in the neighborhood” and wanted to visit the show since the TV legend has “always been my idol.”

 “Think about it, you have made an enormous difference,” he said. “You always — it always annoyed me, you talk about you want to interview the people that really made a difference, and you are one of those that did make a difference, everybody should be interviewing you.”

 “I love you,” Walters replied. “Even if you don’t like very tall soft drinks.”

 Bloomberg then highlighted Walters’ groundbreaking career, praising her for redefining the way television journalism is now done. Walters kicked off her career at NBC’s “Today Show” in 1961 and left NBC for ABC’s “Evening News” fifteen years later, where she was the first woman to anchor an evening news program. She became a co-host of “20/20” in 1979, and she created “The View” in 1997.

 “You opened a whole career for women, but also, I think it’s not just women, you made a difference in how journalism, and particularly TV journalism is done today,” the mayor said. “You set a new standard, you asked the tough questions. But in a nice way, that not only got real answers, so the public was informed, but also didn’t make enemies, you were never nasty about it.”

 The pair wrapped the segment with a look back on their personal relationship.

 “I’ll tell you quickly, then we may want to have something else on this program besides me, me, me,” Walters said. “At one point, we were doing a few years ago who we would most like to marry. The other women were picking, I forget who you picked. Do you remember? You know, big stars. And I picked the mayor. Because I thought he’s as cute as can be and he’s rich. Who wouldn’t want that? We were married on the show. And just before we go to break, I would like to tell you, that it was never consummated.”

 “Hope springs eternal,” Bloomberg said.

 Before going to commercial, Walters again thanked her viewers and reminded them that she’s “not done yet — I still have another year to go.”

 “And you won’t believe what they have in store for me,” she said. |||||
What is a summary?

– As expected, Barbara Walters today announced the end of a broadcasting career that began during the Truman administration, People reports. "Let me just say I have been on television continuously for over 50 years," Walters said on The View today, adding that she is "perfectly healthy" and this is her decision and she's "very happy" with it. The veteran journalist, who has been at ABC for nearly 40 years and will be 84 this fall, plans to step down from The View next summer, but will stay on as executive producer and will be involved in selecting new co-hosts after Joy Behar leaves the show, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Rumors of Walters' retirement began in March following health scares including a fall at the British ambassador's residence and a bout of chicken pox. "I am very happy with my decision and look forward to a wonderful and special year ahead both on The View and with ABC News," she said in a statement issued by the network. "I created The View and am delighted it will last beyond my leaving it." New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg made an appearance on The View today, telling Walters she is his hero. As for what she'll do next? She might make occasional appearances on TV, Politico reports, but mostly, she said today, "I want instead to sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women—and, OK, some men, too—who will be taking my place."


News article:

equal rites Bloomberg Will Be the First NYC Mayor to Preside Over a Gay Wedding

 On July 24, the mayor will marry two of his top aides, John Feinblatt and Jonathan Mintz, who have been together for fourteen years and have two daughters. Bloomberg has presided over marriages only twice before as mayor, once for his daughter and once for Rudy Giuliani (who, by contrast, has ducked the requests of gay friends to marry them). [NYT] ||||| Mayor Bloomberg with his chief policy adviser, John Feinblatt, at left, and consumer affairs commissioner, Jonathan Mintz, at right, with their children. The mayor is officiating at their wedding on the first day same-sex marriages can take place in New York.

 Mayor Bloomberg will officiate at the wedding of two top city officials on July 24, the first day that New York's same-sex marriage law goes into effect, officials said Thursday.

 The Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent mayor, who has performed marriage duty just twice since he took office in 2002, will marry his consumer affairs commissioner, Jonathan Mintz, and chief policy adviser, John Feinblatt.

 The ceremony will take place at Gracie Mansion.

 Bloomberg said in a statement that Mintz and Feinblatt, who have been together for many years, helped him "see the issue of marriage equality in very clear terms."

 "This will be one of the biggest days of their lives, a day they've waited a long time to see, and I'm just honored to be a part of it," he said.

 The city announced Wednesday it would extend the hours of the City Clerk's office to remain open that day, a Sunday, to accommodate same-sex couples wishing to marry on the historic day.

 New York was the sixth state to legalize gay marriage.

 The offices would normally be closed for the weekend.

 "This is a historic moment for New York, a moment many couples have waited years and even decades to see – and we are not going to make them wait one day longer than they have to,” said Bloomberg.

 The gay marriage bill was signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on June 24. The state is home to an estimated 42,000 same-sex couples.

 On Tuesday, same-sex couples were officially able to begin applying for marriage licenses in New York.

 Bloomberg previously officiated at the weddings of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and also his daughter. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Michael Bloomberg isn’t wasting any time celebrating New York’s new marriage law. The day gay marriage becomes legal in the state, the mayor will officiate at the wedding of two city officials, NBC New York reports. Bloomberg will unite his chief policy adviser (John Feinblatt) and the city’s consumer affairs commissioner (Jonathan Mintz) in a ceremony at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence. The city clerk’s office would usually be closed on a Sunday, but it’s staying open for the big day on July 24. Bloomberg's decision contrasts with that of Rudy Giuliani, who has so far rebuffed requests from gay friends to preside over their nuptials in the city, notes the Daily Intel blog.


Article:
[Baywatch] won't make anyone think about anything, except maybe about where to plan their next vacation where they, too, can run in slo-mo on the sand. But, with everything else going on in the world these days, that may not be such a bad thing.

 May 31, 2017 | Rating: 3/5 ||||| Other than some slo-mo self-parody, the film discards any real connection to the titillatingly cheesy television series that inspired it.

 Words you can’t say in prime time are lobbed frequently and jokes based on male nether parts are extended to excruciating effect.

 Director Seth Gordon seems to have decided to go full gonzo — as in outrageous and tasteless — and the result is an ideal movie for immature, socially maladjusted males and their long-suffering girlfriends.

 The plot is equal parts slight and ludicrous. Head lifeguard Mitch Buchannon wants to bust a drug ring operated by Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra), the owner of an adjacent resort, to save the unspecified “bay” he keeps watch over.

 (Yes, many, many remind him that he’s only a lifeguard, to little avail.) ||||| No one is expecting Oscar-level material here, but ‘Baywatch’ can’t rescue itself from a puddle

 Ilfenesh Hadera and Dwayne Johnson star in the action drama “Baywatch.” Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario and Priyanka Chopra also star. (Photo: Paramount)

 “Baywatch” was only ever about red swimsuits and slow motion shots of lifeguards running on the beach. Somehow that was enough to sustain 11 seasons of television. But it’s not enough to carry two hours on the big screen.

 The rebooted, R-rated “Baywatch” wants to wink at the cheesy series while also delivering the very things that made it a worldwide hit in the 1990s — and for awhile, it works. Then the fun deflates like a beach ball with a hole in it, and viewers are stuck asking, “Well, it’s ‘Baywatch,’ what did you expect?’ ”

 The simple expectation is a project that can poke fun at its source material, but use it as a base to deliver something fresh, like “21 Jumpstreet” with suntan lotion. The reality is a little more stale. “Baywatch” wants to be smart-dumb, but winds up being dumb-dumb, a great beach body with nothing inside its brain.

 Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as Mitch Buchannon, the head lifeguard at Baywatch, who treats his post at the local beach as a cross between a sheriff, a community leader and an ambassador for his stretch of sand. He and his team — which includes Kelly Rohrbach as C.J. Parker and Ilfenesh Hadera as Stephanie Holden — are “the elite of the elite,” as Mitch explains, and does so with a straight face and courage in his conviction.

 The crew holds tryouts for new members and attracts Matt Brody (Zac Efron), a washed-up, self-absorbed former Olympian turned national disgrace (think Ryan Lochte), as well as strong-willed surfer type Summer Quinn (Alexandra Daddario) and schlubby comic relief Ronnie Greenbaum (Jon Bass). Greenbaum, who comes off like a grating, seventh rate Josh Gad, is seen failing miserably at the tasks required of him during his tryout, but makes the squad anyway. Elite of the elite!

 Still, for awhile — say, the first 30 minutes or so — “Baywatch” strides along with confidence. The Rock and Efron have a playful chemistry, with Mitch chiding Matt for his teen magazine good looks (he calls him a long list of boy-band names) and the two going after each other for the size of their respective muscles. (Efron somehow looks more ripped than the Rock, no small feat of body engineering.)

 And the movie has some fun acknowledging the legal authority (or lack thereof) of a team of lifeguards, who act like CSI agents on their stretch of the beach rather than hired hands who save kids from drowning.

 Then an actual plot kicks in, one involving drugs on the beach, corruption among local politicians and shady business dealings, and it’s like sand getting kicked in your face. Director Seth Gordon (“Horrible Bosses”), working from a script credited to six contributors, winds up in a trap of making “Baywatch” about something more than “Baywatch.” You want to blow your whistle, strap one of those buoys to your body and rescue the movie as you see it drowning.

 Another bummer: The surprise of the film’s cameos from original “Baywatch” cast members are undercut when their names are listed in the opening credits.

 So what you’ve got is some basic R-rated humor, a few funnies, some tanned, toned bodies and a half-baked plot — nothing more, but maybe a little less. It’s “Baywatch.” What did you expect?

 agraham@detroitnews.com

 (313) 222-2284

 @grahamorama

 ‘Baywatch’

 GRADE: C-

 Rated R for language throughout, crude sexual content, and graphic nudity

 Running time: 119 minutes

 Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/2qTN8AG ||||| (CNN) A "Baywatch" movie needn't be high art -- its TV inspiration certainly wasn't -- but did it have to be this inane? Crude and silly, searching for the laughs in this R-rated comedy is the equivalent of scouring the beach with a metal detector looking for lost items.

 When the credits finally roll, they include outtakes in which the actors flub lines, and, tellingly, even those aren't particularly funny.

 Granted, with its leering camerawork and absurd crises, the series that thrived in syndication was practically self-parody at its height. Yet one would think that director Seth Gordon and a team of writers could at least have more fun riffing on its quirks, which they try to do with jokes about women looking as if they're running in slow-motion and the fact these lifeguards behave like cops, even though they're not.

 For the most part, the movie has been shaped into a kind of buddy comedy, one seemingly designed to put the appeal of Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron to the test. The only consistent gag, in fact, has Johnson insulting Efron with various teen-heartthrob nicknames ("One Direction," "High School Musical"), and even those begin to hit the low-tide point well before it's over.

 Johnson plays Mitch Buchanan, Emerald Bay's head, who is forced to hire Efron's Matt Brody, a disgraced Olympic gold medalist being brought aboard as a PR stunt. Beyond saving drowning kids, they're dragged into a nefarious plot involving a wealthy club owner ("Quantico's" Priyanka Chopra) who is importing drugs using her beachfront establishment as a front.

 Read More |||||Summary:

– Apparently Baywatch should have stayed off the big screen. Though audiences appear to mildly enjoy director Seth Gordon's big-screen revamp, giving it a 62% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics are drowning it in bad reviews for a 19% rating. Here's what they're saying: "A Baywatch movie needn't be high art—its TV inspiration certainly wasn't—but did it have to be this inane?" asks Brian Lowry at CNN. He claims you'd have about as much luck finding a lost item buried in sand as you would finding a laugh in this movie. As for those beach babes, they're "skimpy compensation to justify a water-logged trip back to the beach that, the Rock notwithstanding, sinks like a stone." It works for the first half-hour or so thanks to Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson's "playful chemistry," but then it starts to drown. And sadly, "Baywatch can't rescue itself from a puddle," writes Adam Graham at Detroit News. It "wants to be smart-dumb, but winds up being dumb-dumb … a few funnies, some tanned, toned bodies and a half-baked plot." But then, this is Baywatch. "What did you expect?" Yes, it's "lightweight, a tiny bit crude and a trillion grains of sand away from anything approaching realism. But it's also a lot of fun," Stephanie Zacharek writes at Time. The jokes—which are, perhaps surprisingly, not made at the expense of female characters—are "plain dumb," but still generate a laugh, she writes. Plus, it's hard not to enjoy all the beautiful people. "You could do worse," Zacharek concludes. Bruce Demara wholeheartedly disagrees. This is a movie for "immature, socially maladjusted males." For everyone else, "even sand in your shorts would be less annoying," he writes at the Toronto Star. There's no true connection to the TV series, the plot is ridiculous, the scenes are too long, and the actors … well, Efron "is just plain bad," and even Johnson is "not particularly appealing," Demara writes. "Give this one a pass."


Here is a news article: Inorganic mercury inhibits the production of pigment (melanin) in the skin and can lighten skin. However, mercury is harmful to health and to the environment and its use is banned in skin creams.

 Studies from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority show there are a number of illegal products available on the market in Norway that contain mercury without it being listed among the ingredients.

 Illustration photo: colourbox.com

 We ingest low amounts of inorganic mercury via food but not enough to impact our health. Mercury in amalgam fillings can also contribute to inorganic mercury exposure. These are small and insignificant sources compared to the contribution that mercury in skin creams gives to those who use it.

 Slowly decomposes

 Inorganic mercury is absorbed through the skin from these creams. The absorbed amount will vary, depending on the mercury compound and the other ingredients.

 If you use a lot of cream, more is absorbed into the body. The body excretes inorganic mercury slowly (half-life of 1-2 months) and mercury levels in the body may increase gradually with repeated use.

 The amount of inorganic mercury in the body can be measured in urine. Several studies show a clear correlation between the use of mercury-containing creams and raised urine levels of mercury.

 Children can ingest mercury by coming into contact with the skin of people using these creams. There are also examples of the use of these products on children.

 Harmful to health:

 Research suggests that there is a correlation between the use of mercury-containing skin creams and kidney damage and impaired renal function

 There are also numerous reports of skin damage (different kinds of rashes, uneven pigmentation) after use of these creams

 Damage to the central nervous system cannot be excluded with prolonged use

 Users also report symptoms such as metallic taste, increased salivation, sores in the mouth and throat, and nausea

 Since these products are illegal they are often not considered as a possible cause of health problems. Injury resulting from the use of such products is therefore probably underdiagnosed ||||| Español Tagalog 日本語 简体中文 한국어 Việt

 Subscribe: FDA Consumer Health Information

 Whatever your complexion, it’s important to use products that will help your skin and not damage it. But as you wade through the beauty aisles, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cautions that you should avoid skin creams, beauty and antiseptic soaps, and lotions that contain mercury.

 How will you know if mercury’s in the cosmetic, especially one that’s marketed as “anti-aging” or “skin lightening”? Check the label. If the words “mercurous chloride,” “calomel,” “mercuric,” “mercurio,” or “mercury” are listed on the label, mercury’s in it—and you should stop using the product immediately.

 The products are usually marketed as skin lighteners and anti-aging treatments that remove age spots, freckles, blemishes, and wrinkles. Adolescents may use these products as acne treatments.

 Jason Humbert of FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs says these products usually are manufactured abroad and sold illegally in the United States, often in shops catering to the Latino, Asian, African, or Middle Eastern communities. They are promoted online on social media sites and sold through mobile apps. Consumers may also have bought them in another country and brought them back to the U.S. for personal use, he adds.

 If the ingredients aren’t listed and there is no product label, don’t assume it’s fine. Federal law requires that ingredients be listed on the label of any cosmetic or nonprescription drug, so do not use a product that doesn’t have a label. In addition, don’t use drugs or cosmetics labeled in languages other than English unless English labeling is also provided. That’s also a sign that the product may be marketed illegally.

 “Even though these products are often promoted as cosmetics, they also may be unapproved new drugs under the law,” says Linda Katz, M.D., director of FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors. FDA does not allow mercury in drugs or in cosmetics, except under very specific conditions where there are no other safe and effective preservatives available – conditions that these products do not meet.

 Sellers and distributors who market mercury-containing skin whitening or lightening creams in the U.S. may be subject to enforcement action, including seizure of products, injunctions, and, in some situations, criminal prosecution.

 Dangers of Mercury

 Exposure to mercury can have serious health consequences. The danger isn’t just to people who use mercury-containing products but also to their families, says Arthur Simone, M.D., a senior medical advisor at FDA.

 “Your family might breathe mercury vapors released from these products. Your children might touch washcloths or towels that are contaminated with mercury. It could be as simple as touching someone’s cheek or face,” Simone says.

 Some people – including pregnant women, nursing babies and young children – are especially vulnerable to mercury toxicity, he adds. Babies may be particularly sensitive to the harm mercury can cause to their developing brains and nervous systems. Newborns who nurse are vulnerable because mercury is passed into breast milk.

 Signs and Symptoms of Mercury Poisoning irritability

 shyness

 tremors

 changes in vision or hearing

 memory problems

 depression

 numbness and tingling in hands, feet or around mouth Source: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (www.atsdr.cdc. gov/PHS/PHS.asp?id=112&tid=24)

 Tracking Skin Products Containing Mercury

 In the past few years, FDA and state health officials have discovered numerous products that contain mercury, and there have been cases in which people exposed to such products have had mercury poisoning or elevated levels of mercury in their bodies. FDA has an import alert in place that lets our field staff know that the agency has enough evidence or other information to refuse admission of shipments of mercury-containing skin products.

 But this is only a partial solution, Humbert says.

 “Many of these products are coming into the country through illegal channels,” he says. “That’s why it’s so important for consumers and sellers to know about the dangers of possible mercury poisoning associated with the use of these skin products.”

 How to Protect Yourself

 Thoroughly wash your hands and other parts of your body that have come in contact with products that contain mercury.

 Contact your health care professional or a medical care clinic for advice. If you have questions, call your health care professional or the Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222; it is open 24 hours a day.

 Before throwing out a product that may contain mercury, seal it in a plastic bag or leak-proof container. Check with your local environmental, health, or solid waste agency for disposal instructions. Some communities have special collections or other options for disposing of hazardous household waste.

 Updated: July 26, 2016

 back to top ||||| At least 60 people over the past four years in California have suffered mercury poisoning from using skin creams — many of them homemade — that were brought from Mexico, according to the California Department of Public Health, which is advising consumers to avoid using the products.

 The public health advisory issued Thursday includes creams that are used for lightening skin, fading freckles and blemishes, and treating acne. The creams, which are often light in color and turn dark after prolonged exposure to sunlight, usually come in plain containers either without labels or with handmade labels.

 Analyses of some creams have found mercury levels 200,000 times the California legal limit.

 Among those who have been sickened are several children who are believed to have been exposed to mercury after a parent or other family member used the cream. In a case earlier this year, a 20-month-old baby was hospitalized twice and given a nasal feeding tube due to mercury poisoning. The child’s mother was using a skin-lightening cream, and doctors believe the baby was exposed from contact with the mother or household items. In another case last year, a 16-year-old boy who used a cream for his acne was treated in a pediatric intensive care unit for almost a month for mercury poisoning.

 Symptoms of mercury poisoning in adults include difficulty concentrating, irritability, depression, insomnia, headaches, weight loss and fatigue. Children may have excessive thirst, irritability, disinterest in eating, poor muscle tone, leg cramps or a rash. People can also experience tremors, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, or weakness in extremities.

 People who believe they have been exposed to mercury in a skin cream should contact California Poison Control at (800) 222-1222. They should stop using the creams but not dispose of them unless told to do so, in case the products need to be tested. |||||
A summary of this is?

– If someone tries to sell you unmarked or homemade skin cream, just walk away. That's the message the California Department of Health is sending to consumers, after identifying at least 60 cases over the past four years of state residents getting mercury poisoning from such creams, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. In a public health advisory yesterday, it revealed that analysts had found creams from Mexico designed to lighten skin, fade blemishes, and treat acne contained as much as 200,000 times the legal limit of mercury. The problem isn't a new one. The FDA and various state health departments have in recent years issued similar warnings, sounding the alarm about creams not just from Mexico, but from many countries. It warned customers to look for ingredients like "mercurous chloride," "calomel," "mercuric," "mercurio," or plain old "mercury." The products use mercury, Health Canal explains, because it suppresses the production of melanin in skin, lightening it. But it takes a long time for absorbed inorganic mercury to leave the body, so repeated use can raise the risk of harmful effects. Indeed, the Chronicle notes that a 16-year-old who used one such cream to treat his acne ended up in intensive care for nearly a month due to poisoning.