New House Speaker Search: Wind-Powered Cargo Ships and Vaccination for COVID-19 Infections: An Up-First Briefing: Wind Powering the Mediterranean Sea
Climate change concerns are prompting a rethink of an old technology that could again harness wind to propel commercial cargo ships, this time with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Cargo ships equipped with massive rigid sails called WindWings could save a substantial amount of fuel, considering how much of the world’s goods are transported by sea.
Doctors noticed a link between COVID-19 infections and cardiovascular issues in people with preexisting conditions. Now, researchers have found that the virus that causes COVID-19 can infect plaque cells in the arteries and cause inflammation, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. The good news? Vaccination can reduce the risk.
More than 2,500 migrants have died or gone missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe this year, according to the U.N. Many boats sink without a trace, which means the actual death toll is likely even higher.
Source: Up First briefing: New House speaker search; wind-powered cargo ships
Up First: The House Speaker’s Report on a Possible 2016 Black Hole Candidate, Rep. Kevin Hern, and Cat Bohannon
House Republicans are trying to find a new speaker after McCarthy was voted out of the role. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan are seeking the post. Rep. Kevin Hern, who chairs the Republican Study Committee, may also run but hasn’t publicly announced his candidacy.
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You can buy books: Cat Bohannon covers female history from the Jurassic Age to the modern day to explore how the medical field has overlooked female bodies in Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution.
His seventh album was named after the African region he calls home. It’s dedicated to his fellow Tuareg, who are indigenous to the area.
Ukraine’s land scarred by war: Iranian activist wins Nobel prize in 1978 based on a civil-rights activist’s activism
In 1978, toxic chemicals called PCBs were illegally dumped in the majority-Black Warren County of North Carolina. People fought back inspired by the civil rights movement. The movement they started put environmental justice on the national agenda and is still shaping climate activism today.
Narges Mohammadi is an Iranian human rights activist who was jailed in Iran for her activism against women’s oppression. The chairman of the Norwegian Committee suggested that Iran allow Mohammadi to accept her prize in person at the ceremony in December.
Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz angered many in his party this week after he advanced a vote to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker. But the opinion among his constituents is much more supportive.
The Biden administration said yesterday that it would restart deportations and flights back to Venezuela. The administration is trying to discourage migrants from crossing the U.S-Mexico border illegally. Economic and political turmoil in Venezuela has fueled record levels of migration. This year, 400,000 migrants have crossed the Darién Gap, a treacherous stretch of roadless jungle between South America and Central America, to reach the U.S., according to Panamanian officials.
Source: Up First briefing: Ukraine’s land scarred by war; Iranian activist wins Nobel Prize
Revealing the War-Rescue Scar on Ukraine’s Cropland in the Light of Space and Space-Based Data from NASA Harvest
A new analysis from NASA’s Harvest program — shared exclusively with NPR — reveals that 6.5-8.5% of Ukraine’s total cropland is unplanted or abandoned due to Russian and Ukrainian troops’ heavy artillery use during the war. It’s left a scar so vast it’s visible from space.