Tag: News

• A shark injured four people near South Padre Island, Texas on the Fourth of July.
• Two people were bitten, and at least one person was taken to the hospital.
• Shark attacks are rare and Texas has fewer than Florida, California, and other states.

Fourth of July celebrations turned bloody when a shark injured several people near South Padre Island, Texas.

The interactions included at least two bites, according to ABC affiliate KRGV. The outlet reported that a single shark was involved in all four incidents. It's not clear what kind of shark it was.

One man with a "severe" leg bite was treated and taken to the hospital. The shark also bit a second person and grazed a third. A fourth person was hurt trying to deter the shark, Texas game warden captain Chris Dowdy told KRGV.

Paramedics treated one injured woman on the beach, according to KVEO.

South Padre Island police received a call about one of the bites at around 11 a.m. local time. The other incidents happened over the course of two hours, according to Dowdy. The shark was roughly 6 feet long, and witnesses said it appeared to be the one involved in all the interactions.

Local police used a helicopter and drones to monitor the shark. After the incidents, it swam for open water, according to Dowdy.

The chances of being bitten by a shark are extremely low

Shark attacks are rare in general. In 2021, an 11-year-old was suspected of receiving a shark bite on South Padre Island. But before today, Cameron County, where the island is located, only had seven confirmed unprovoked shark attacks, according to the Florida Museum's International Shark Attack File.

"Shark bites are a function of the number of sharks, but also the number of humans in the water," Yannis Papastamatiou, an associate professor of biological sciences at Florida International University, told Business Insider last year.

Beach attendance has steadily risen across the US each year since the mid-1990s, according to the Florida Museum.

Experts say to help stay safe from sharks, swimmers should stay away from schools of fish where sharks feed, stay close to shore, and stay in groups so it's more likely someone will spot a fin.

Murky water also makes it harder for sharks to distinguish between people and their food. Swimming around dusk can be more dangerous because that's typically when sharks eat.

• Positive emotions globally are the highest since 2020 and negative emotions are down, per a Gallup report.
• A survey of thousands of people in 142 countries found people are learning new things at record rates. 
• Loneliness and stress are still a concern, but young people, in particular, are bouncing back. 

Don't be fooled by doomscrolling — there's more to be happy about than you might think, at least on a global scale.

Overall, positive emotions around the world are at the highest levels seen since 2020, and negative emotions have decreased slightly for the first time since 2014, according to the latest Gallup Global Emotions report.

The report is based on almost 146,000 interviews from 142 different countries and includes questions about how often people smiled, laughed, felt respected, or learned something interesting. It also asks about feelings like worry, stress, sadness, and anger, as well as physical pain.

The results are surprisingly upbeat, given that there's no shortage of anxiety-inducing news worldwide.

Happiness is the highest it's been since the COVID-19 pandemic began, ranked as 71 out of 100 on the positive experience index. In comparison, the 2021 report ranked global happiness at 69 out of 100 and negative experiences at an all-time high.

Despite stress and loneliness, young people are resilient

Still, negative emotions are higher than they were a decade ago, according to this year's survey, and there are huge disparities in well-being for countries in conflict like Ukraine.

The US dropped off the list of the top 20 happiest countries, in large part due to young people reporting more unhappiness, according to a previous Gallup report.

Loneliness (a recent addition to the survey) continues to be a concern, affecting about one in five people worldwide. Lonely people were also more likely to report feeling sad, worried, or angry, and other research suggests it can have serious health consequences.

But there's reason to be optimistic even as the world grapples with war, political turmoil, and natural disasters, the data suggest.

More than half the people surveyed said they did or learned something interesting in the previous day, a record high.

The survey also found that young people, as a group, were resilient to the stresses of the past few years and rebounded to pre-pandemic levels of happiness faster than people over 30.

The findings suggest that while we could be happier, things aren't all bad and just might get better.

• Failed electric vehicle maker Fisker is seeking court approval to sell its inventory for cheap. 
• Techcrunch reported its cars would be sold to American Lease for 20% of what others paid for them.
• The company says it needs to start selling the vehicles soon so it can make payroll this month.

Fisker, the bankrupt would-be Tesla rival, has sought court permission to unload its unsold US cars for a fraction of the price they were being sold for last year, according to court records and news reports.

The company wants to sell just under 3,300 Ocean electric SUVs to American Leasing, lawyers said at a Wednesday hearing reported by TechCrunch.

American provides vehicles to New York City's thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers. The Wall Street Journal reported last month America's interest in acquiring the Fisker fleet.

Fisker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June after years of turmoil and unprofitable operations. Even as it prepared to deliver vehicles last year, it was scavenging parts from the personal EVs of the company's CEO and its CFO, Business Insider reported last month.

Fisker's $46.25M deal

The vehicles to be purchased by American Leasing would be sold as-is, Fisker said, with some of them in good condition but others in need of repair.

The deal is valued at up to $46.25 million, an executive said in a court filing, plus certain other incidental costs. The average cost of each Fisker vehicle sold on those terms would be about $14,000, a far cry from the $70,000 price tag of a fully-loaded vehicle before the company began aggressively discounting last year.

Citing records from the bankruptcy case, TechCrunch reported that Fisker still has 179 people on payroll, a number it plans to trim. It said selling 200 of the vehicles to American Leasing on an abbreviated timeline would bring in crucial cash to make payroll next month.

There's no guarantee that the deal will go through, however. Some creditors, including people who previously bought Fisker vehicles, are worried that the company will run out of resources to pay its debts and support owners.

"The long and short of it is there are ways that funds can be captured," said Linda Richenderfer, a lawyer for the US Trustee's Office, which is a part of the Justice Department that oversees bankruptcies, at the Wednesday hearing.

Fisker was ordered to provide an update on July 9. The company's request to sell its fleet is set to be argued next Thursday, according to a filing entered on July 4.

• President Joe Biden is facing stiff opposition from some high-profile Hollywood donors.
• Heiress Abigail Disney told CNBC she is ending Democratic donations until Biden ends his 2024 bid.
• The statement comes a day after Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings said Biden needs to step aside.

President Joe Biden is facing stiff opposition from some high-profile Hollywood donors a week after his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump.

Millionaire heiress Abigail Disney told CNBC on Thursday that she will stop donations to the Democratic Party "until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket."

"Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high," Disney, a longtime Democratic donor, told the outlet. "If Biden does not step down, the Democrats will lose. Of that, I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire."

In 2024 so far, Disney has given more than $50,000 to left-leaning political groups, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Her statement comes a day after Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings said Democrats should replace Biden at the top of the ticket.

"Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous," Hastings said in a statement to The New York Times.

Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, have been major supporters of the Democratic Party, donating more than $20 million to the party in the last few years.

Earlier Thursday, The Times reported that Biden told a call of Democratic governors that he intends to get more sleep and stop holding events after 8 p.m.

• Researchers think they've solved the 2,200-year-old mystery of the Antikythera mechanism.
• The ancient device, found in a shipwreck, likely followed a Greek lunar calendar.
• They used statistical modeling techniques typically used to study ripples in space-time.

Last year, Graham Woan knew just how he wanted to spend his Christmas break: trying to solve the 2,200-year-old mystery of the oldest known "computer" in the world.

Known as the Antikythera mechanism, the bronze device is a mechanical computer with interlocking gears. In the second century BCE, a user would have used its rings and evenly spaced holes to chart future celestial events, such as eclipses.

But how many of those evenly spaced holes existed has been a mystery and holds the key to determining exactly how the computer functioned.

YouTuber Chris Budiselic has long been fascinated by the mechanism and started creating his own version seven years ago but wasn't sure how many holes to include.

Based on some of Budisic's published research, University of Glasgow astronomers, including Woan, turned to statistical modeling techniques to find the answer.

"It struck me as an interesting problem, and one that I thought I might be able to solve in a different way during the Christmas holidays, so I set about using some statistical techniques to answer the question," Woan said in a university press release.

Based on the number of holes, the researchers found, the device follows a lunar calendar instead of an Egyptian one, as some previous research suggested.

A shipwreck full of ancient treasures

The Antikythera mechanism is just one intriguing finding from a 2,000-year-old shipwreck that divers first discovered in 1900. Divers waiting out a storm found the remains near the Greek island of Antikythera.

Excavations have uncovered three life-size marble horse statues, coins, jewelry, and other treasures, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. But the Antikythera mechanism is perhaps the most unique discovery of them all.

It's about the size of a shoebox, is broken into six pieces, and has eroded from its time underwater. The mechanism is so sophisticated that some thought it had to be a modern device that got mixed in with the ancient artifacts, according to Derek John de Solla Price. He helped discover the device's function in the 1970s.

X-ray images from 2005 gave researchers new details about the device. And in 2020, Budiselic and his colleagues used the images to measure the positions of the holes and proposed the mechanism had between 347 and 367 holes. If it had closer to 350 holes, it would have followed the lunar calendar. If it had 365, it would have been modeled on the Egyptian calendar.

But it was difficult to nail down an exact number because of the device's diminished condition.

After learning about Budiselic's research, Woan first used Bayesian analysis, calculating different probabilities of the total number of holes based on the position and number of holes in the remaining pieces of bronze. He learned that it was hundreds of times more likely that the device had 354 holes than 360 holes.

Woan's colleague Joseph Bayley followed up the research by modifying techniques used to study gravitational waves, which are ripples in space-time. His results agreed with Woan's; there were likely either 354 or 355 holes in the ring.

In other words, there's a much higher probability that the mechanism tracked the Greek lunar year instead of the Egyptian one. It was capable of calculating planets' positions incredibly accurately for its time.

The finding reinforces the impressive craftsmanship and knowledge it took to create the device. "The precision of the holes' positioning would have required highly accurate measurement techniques and an incredibly steady hand to punch them," Bayley said in the press release.

The two have published their research in the peer-reviewed Horological Journal.

• Researchers discover hippos briefly lift all their feet off the ground when trotting.
• The Royal Veterinary College team made the discovery based on footage of hippos at a theme park.
• This gait is rare for large animals and is similar to the way horses run.

Back in 1878, photographer Eadweard Muybridge helped solve a debate about how horses gallop.

Using cutting-edge technology for the time, he captured a series of images that showed they simultaneously lift all four feet off the ground.

It was something many had suspected of the graceful animal, and Muybridge's footage offered definitive proof. Nearly 150 years later, modern video footage has shown that hippos run in a similar way, and it's something no one expected.

Like horses, hippos also get a bit of air when they trot. There's a split second when the quickest animals fully leave the ground.

Researchers from the Royal Veterinary College made the discovery when viewing video footage of hippos romping around a theme park in North Yorkshire, England.

"We were pleasantly surprised to see how hippos get airborne when they move quickly," John Hutchinson, an RVC professor of evolutionary biomechanics, said in a statement. "It's really impressive!"

Hippos move more like horses than elephants

When elephants walk, they move their back left leg, front left leg, back right leg, then front right leg, according to The BBC. Scientists thought hippos moved in a similar way because of their enormous size.

However, when Hutchinson and RVC undergraduate student Emily Pringle watched footage of two hippos at Flamingo Land, the theme park, they saw something different. While it only lasted an instant — about 0.3 seconds — all four of the animals' feet did leave the ground at once.

To verify what they'd seen from the theme park, the researchers looked at more videos of hippos on the internet. Based on the movements of 32 hippos, they concluded that their trot is similar to horses.

Horses raise all their hooves during their faster strides, though not when walking. It's an uncommon gait for larger animals such as hippos, which can weigh over 4,000 pounds.

Knowing how the animals move could help veterinarians better diagnose hippos with mobility issues, the researchers said.

Why are we only just learning how hippos trot?

Hutchinson noted that while the hippos' gliding trot is impressive, it's not all that surprising that this is the first time it was documented.

The animals spend most of their time in the water and can be aggressive. "That's part of the reason why science knew little about how hippos move before our research," Hutchinson said.

The researchers published their findings in the peer-reviewed PeerJ journal. It remains to be seen whether the footage of the airborne hippos becomes as iconic as Muybridge's horse photos.

• Reducing processed meat intake by 30% could lower diabetes, heart disease, and cancer rates, data shows.
• Eating less processed meat could prevent about 500,000 disease cases in the US over the next decade.
• A researcher said cutting back on meat may help protect the environment, too, making it a 'win-win.'

Cutting back on processed meat in your diet may reduce the risk of serious diseases, including some cancers, a new research analysis predicts.

By eating 30% less processed meat alone, the US could reduce the rate of diabetes, heart disease, and colon cancer by as many as hundreds of thousands of cases, according to the study published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, developed a simulation tool based on CDC health data to estimate how a simple dietary change might affect disease rates in the US.

Processed meat has long been thought to be a culprit in chronic illnesses like heart disease. Bacon, sausage, and ham contain preservatives called nitrates, which previous evidence has linked to higher odds of developing certain cancers. Red meat and processed meats have also been linked to a higher risk of diabetes.

The recent study could help researchers understand the potential benefits of cutting back on processed meat and how much it would take to make a difference.

The researchers calculated that if Americans reduced their processed meat consumption by about a third (the equivalent of about 10 slices of bacon a week), there would be significantly fewer cases of some of the leading causes of death over the next decade. Specifically, there would be about 352,900 fewer cases of diabetes, 92,500 fewer cases of heart disease, and 53,300 fewer cases of colorectal cancer, according to the estimate.

The study also found that eating less red meat could reduce rates of illness even more. However, more research is needed on unprocessed red meat like steak, as some studies have suggested that, in moderation, it may be less harmful than processed meat.

One important caveat to the study is that the potential health benefits of cutting out processed meat also depend on what you replace it with. Some evidence suggests plant-based processed foods, including meat substitutes, are also linked to a higher risk of illness and early death.

In contrast, diets high in unprocessed whole foods such as grains, vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, and seeds have been linked to a longer, healthier life.

Our food choices also matter for the environment, according to Lindsay Jaacks, coauthor of the study and a professor at the University of Edinburgh.

Meat production is a notorious contributor to greenhouse gases and uses a huge amount of natural resources, such as land and water.

The findings of the latest study add to a growing body of evidence that eating more sustainably is also good for our human health.

"This is a clear win-win for people and planet," Jaacks said in a press release.

• The US Army awarded $10.3 million to a family living in mold-infested housing at Fort Cavazos.
• Sgt. Jason Kiernan and his family had constant health issues related to black mold exposure.
• The arbitration award highlights the lack of oversight on private military housing providers.

An Army family at Fort Cavazos in Texas was awarded $10.3 million Monday after living in a mold-infested home run by a private Army housing company and repeated hospitalizations of their newborn infant for respiratory difficulties.

Sgt. Jason Kiernan's wife, Sarah, was having constant health problems, including respiratory issues, during her pregnancy while living in the house, according to the lawsuit. Two months later, their newborn was hospitalized for 20 days. The family eventually discovered black mold behind the walls.

The arbitration award is among the most significant in recent military history, as mold has become a top issue that service leaders have struggled to remedy. Meanwhile, private military housing providers operate with relatively little oversight from the Army despite years of outcry from service members and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

The house the Kiernans lived in and its subsequent maintenance was managed by Cavalry Family Housing, which has some 5,000 homes around Fort Cavazos in its portfolio. The housing company did not return a request for comment.

"We feel violated," Sarah Kiernan told Military.com. "Those houses really are harming people."

She added that during her pregnancy, she suffered from rashes, sore throats, and respiratory troubles.

As her health complications became more severe, the doctor performed an emergency C-section in February 2019. Her newborn son, Grant, immediately had respiratory troubles. He was hospitalized and flown to Austin, Texas, in April that same year, suffering from asthma at two months old, which the family and their attorney argued was caused by the mold in the home.

After returning home from pediatric intensive care, Grant was again hospitalized two days later. A month after that, he was taken to a pediatrician due to breathing difficulties.

"Every time we went back home, he got sick," Sarah Kiernan said.

In May 2019, one of the Kiernans' older sons was playing and fell through a wall that was soggy; mold was revealed behind the wet drywall. The Army then reassigned the Kiernans to Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Now, all of the Kiernan children are suffering from illnesses consistent with long-term exposure to mold, according to the lawsuit. The youngest has asthma and seizures. The other two sons — and Jason Kiernan, who has since left the Army — have various respiratory problems that did not exist prior to 2019 when they lived in the mold-infested house.

Meanwhile, the Army is also looking to privatize its barracks, as the service has struggled to manage the buildings and keep up with basic infrastructure maintenance. Those junior enlisted quarters have their own history with mold, pests, and other poor conditions. But some momentum is building on Capitol Hill toward privatization.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth noted in an interview with Military.com in October that the service would be scrutinizing potential partners for contracts.

"If we did pursue privatized barracks on a broader scale, I don't think we'd necessarily be working with bad partners," she said at the time.

• Two astronauts went to the International Space Station on a new Boeing spacecraft on June 5.
• They were supposed to return eight days later, but thruster issues and helium leaks caused delays.
• NASA and Boeing say there's no cause for alarm, and say the astronauts are keeping busy.

The good news for Boeing's Starliner capsule is that it finally brought humans to low-earth orbit. The issue is that it hasn't gotten them down yet — and it may be a while before it does.

The issues that resulted in astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams extending their stay at the International Space Station were the culmination of years of shortcomings that have delayed the Starliner, NPR reported on July 3. The spacecraft is leaking some of the helium that is part of its propulsion system, the outlet reported, and a minority of its thrusters experienced issues.

In a telephonic press conference late last month, NASA official Steve Sitch said a thruster is being put through rigorous tests on the ground to try to replicate the issues observed in space. He said the tests could start July 2 and run for "a couple weeks."

"I want to make it very clear that Butch and Suni are not stranded in space," Sitch said. "They're safe on the space station, their spacecraft is working well, and they're enjoying their time on the space station."

The delays underscore how Boeing has been getting lapped by SpaceX, which sent its eighth crewed NASA flight into orbit in March. The Elon Musk-led competitor has also gained ground in the national-security arena, the Wall Street Journal reported on July 1, ferrying more confidential cargoes like spy satellites to space than United Launch Alliance, Boeing's joint venture with Lockheed Martin.

In addition to ground-based tests, NASA has been testing the Starliner's thrusters and systems while it remains docked at the ISS. Wilmore and Williams aren't alone; they joined Russian and American astronauts who were there on an existing mission, and space-agency officials said there is no shortage of supplies or anything that requires them to rush.

Still, the delays underscore Boeing's business problems. The company's commercial airliner business has been under regulatory scrutiny since a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight in January, and Reuters and other outlets have reported that the US Justice Department is preparing criminal charges related to fatal crashes of its 737 MAX jets.

Ron Epstein, a Bank of America analyst, told NPR the company has focused on making money for its investors at the expense of its "core engineering business."

In May, Musk tweeted a similar critique.

"Too many non-technical managers at Boeing," he wrote.

• The demise of Netflix's lowest-priced ad-free plan continues in the UK and Canada.
• Basic users in those markets report receiving deadlines to upgrade or accept ads.
• Co-CEO Greg Peters said the price hikes are intended to help pay for a wider range of content.

As with even the most bingeable series, all good things must come to an end.

So it goes with the demise of Netflix's lowest-priced ad-free plan, as users of the Basic tier in the UK and Canada report receiving deadlines to upgrade to a higher-cost option or accept ads.

A Canadian user posted a photo on Reddit Monday of their TV with the message: "Your Basic plan has been discontinued, but you can easily switch to a new one. Plans start at just $5.99 with upgraded features."

That starting price is for the new Standard with ads tier in Canada, while the option without ads costs $16.49, replacing the Basic plan, which costs $9.99.

Previously, a user in the UK quipped, "Joke's on you, Netflix, I choose to save 100% on my new plan," in response to a similar message touting 35% savings with the ad-supported plan.

Netflix stopped offering its Basic plan to new and returning users last year, but the company's US help page says existing subscribers may remain on their plan until it is changed or canceled.

The company indicated earlier this year that it would be retiring the Basic option in favor of more revenue-generating alternatives.

Co-CEO Greg Peters told the Verge last month that the price hikes are intended to help the company invest in a wider range of content options.

"They want a higher diversity of shows, they want more quality shows, so that's our job," he said. "If we do that well, we'll go back and occasionally ask members to pay a little bit more to keep that flywheel running."

Netflix is far from alone among the streaming services getting more expensive.

Ten of the top services have raised prices at least once in the past year, with the latest hike from Max taking effect Thursday.