[Fox News] Biden makes sign of the cross during pro-abortion speech in Florida
President Biden made the sign of the cross, a gesture Catholics often make before and after prayer, while listening to pro-abortion comments by a fellow...
[Fox News] Is the East Coast on the brink of a major earthquake — and are we prepared?
The earthquake that struck the East Coast earlier this month was felt by an estimated 42 million people and luckily caused little damage, but what are the chances of a bigger, more powerful quake striking the area? And if it does, what could it look like — and are we prepared?
The April 5 phenomenon was a 4.8 magnitude earthquake centered near Whitehouse Station in New Jersey, which is about 40 miles west of New York City.
Shaking was felt from Washington D.C. to Maine, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and it followed a much smaller, 1.7 magnitude earthquake in New York City on Jan. 2.
Earthquakes are rare along the East Coast, with the most powerful one in the last 100 years hitting in August 2011, clocking 5.8 on the Richter scale. It was centered in Virginia and felt from Washington, D.C. to Boston.
4.8 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES NEW JERSEY, SHAKING BUILDINGS IN SURROUNDING STATES
Before that, an earthquake in South Carolina in 1886 is understood to have measured between 6.6 and 7.3 on the Richter scale. There is no definitive measurement of that quake since the Richter scale has only been around since the mid-1930s, but the tectonic shift still killed 60 people.
Professor John Ebel, a seismologist in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Boston College, tells Fox News Digital that when quakes start breaking 5.0 on the Richter scale, damage begins to occur.
For instance, the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last year measured 7.8 and resulted in the death of nearly 62,000 people as tens of thousands of buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged.
California’s Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, meanwhile, measured 6.9 and caused 69 deaths, and the 1994 Northridge earthquake in the Golden State clocked 6.7, killing 57 people. Thousands more were injured.
“As you go above magnitude five, the shaking becomes stronger and the area over which the strong shaking is experienced becomes wider,” Ebel says. “So if you get a magnitude six, the shaking is ten times stronger than a magnitude five. So had this month’s earthquake been a 5.8, rather than a 4.8, then we would be looking at damage to unreinforced structures in the greater New York City area.”
“Now I have to qualify this and say that in the past few decades, New York City has had an earthquake provision in its building code while New Jersey, New York and Connecticut have all adopted some version of earthquake provisions in their building codes,” Ebel explained. “So modern buildings that are put up today will actually do quite well, even in strong earthquake shaking… If you have a magnitude 6 or even a magnitude seven.”
In terms of the Tri-state area, Ebel says that the region has had smaller earthquakes, but it’s been spared anything that’s been significantly damaging.
An 1884 quake in Brooklyn did cause limited damage and injuries. Seismologists estimated it would have measured in the region of 5.0 and 5.2, while a quake jolted Massachusetts in 1775 in the region of 6.0 and 6.3.
WHAT TO DO DURING AN EARTHQUAKE AND HOW TO PREPARE
“In 1884 there were things knocked from shelves, some cracks in walls that were reported, particularly plaster walls, which crack very easily if a building is shaken,” Ebel said. “There were some brick walls that had some cracks and people panicked because of the very strong shaking.”
A magnitude five earthquake hits the tri-state area once every 120 years, says Ebel, who penned the book “New England Earthquakes: The Surprising History of Seismic Activity in the Northeast.”
“The question is, can we have something bigger? And in my opinion, yes we can,” he said. “We can’t predict earthquakes, and we don’t know when the next one is going to occur, but we do have a low, not insignificant probability of a damaging earthquake at some point.”
Ebel said that the April 5 earthquake has left seismologists baffled since it didn’t occur on the Ramapo Fault zone, highlighting just how hard it is to predict the phenomenon from occurring. The Ramapo Fault zone is a series of small fault lines that runs through New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Spanning more than 185 miles, it was formed about 200 million years ago.
“Right now it’s a seismological mystery,” Ebel said. “We have some earthquakes in our region where we don’t have faults mapped. But that’s even true in California. Not every earthquake occurs on a known or mapped fault in California, so there are still a lot of seismologists have to learn about the exact relationship between old faults and modern earthquakes.”
Ebel noted that buildings aren’t the only thing to consider when earthquakes strike. In the California quakes, overpasses crumbled while the electrical grid can go down too, causing electrical surges and fires.
Toxic chemicals were knocked off of the shelves of a chemistry building in 1989 and the building had to be evacuated, Ebel said.
“And you think about hospitals and some industrial facilities having that situation,” he explained. “So you have these things that are not catastrophic necessarily, but are going to be a real problem.”
And an earthquake doesn’t necessarily have to rattle land in order to cause destruction.
A jolt out at sea could trigger a dangerous tsunami, like the one on the edge of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in Canada in 1929. It was felt as far away as New York City.
Waves as high as 23 feet crashed on the shore, according to the International Tsunami Information Center, with up to 28 people losing their lives.
“A tsunami is not necessarily a very high probability event, but it’s one that we have to think about also,” Ebel says in relation to the East Coast.
The Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 was triggered by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
Ebel says a tsunami similar to 1929 could cause a storm surge along the lines of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, where 43 people died in New York City.
“The threat of an earthquake is not as great as in California, but it’s something that we have to take into account and have emergency plans for and have building codes for,” Ebel says. “Our state and local emergency management agencies in all the northeastern states do earthquake planning — what we call tabletop exercises — where they pretend an earthquake occurs.”
“So those kinds of preparations are made on a regular basis,” he concludes. “Building codes are constantly being reevaluated and approved, not just for earthquakes, but for fires and chemical spills and all kinds of things. So we’re getting more prepared all the time.”
[Fox News] Massachusetts-based marine scientists attach camera to great white for intriguing ‘shark’s-eye view’
Cape Cod, Massachusetts-based marine scientists successfully attached a camera tag to a great white shark in waters off the southeastern portion of the U.S. for just the second time.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC) scientist Megan Winton and charter boat Capt. Chip Michalove of Outcast Sportfishing were both working off the coast of South Carolina, when they caught a 9-foot female white shark and attached a camera tag to her dorsal fin. The duo also attached a GPS tag onto the fin, which will transmit the shark’s location in real time for about a year, whenever it breaks the surface of the water.
AWSC said in a press release that it recently updated its “White Shark Catalog” for 2024, which is available for the public to view and includes “the most comprehensive source of photos and information on individual white sharks that have been identified along the Atlantic Coast.”
The organization has been able to grow its catalog to contain over 700 white sharks all documented along the northwestern portion of the Atlantic Ocean.
FLORIDA VACATIONERS BEWARE! GREAT WHITE SHARK NAMED ‘PENNY’ CIRCLING WARM WATERS
The most recent shark to be tagged with a camera and GPS locator will eventually be available for tracking on the organization’s app, Sharktivity.
The camera clamped onto the shark will give researchers a “shark’s-eye” view while also recording data on the shark’s environment and movements with the help of sensors, 10 times per second.
The device will completely detach itself from the shark after about a day, before resurfacing and transmitting its location for researchers to retrieve the camera.
CARCASS OF PREGNANT GREAT WHITE SHARK WASHES UP ON FLORIDA BEACH
Researchers plan to use the data to learn why white sharks return to the waters off the Carolinas during the winter and spring months.
“We know from historical records and tagging data collected over the past 15 years that the southeast U.S. is an important overwintering habitat for white sharks,” Winton said. “But we don’t know that much about how they use the area exactly, or what it is they’re doing when they’re there.”
Michalove named the shark he and Winton tagged, Jason Flack, in honor of a Hilton Head, South Carolina, local who died in a hit-and-run crash in February.
3 GREAT WHITE SHARKS PING NEAR GEORGIA, SOUTH CAROLINA COASTS: ‘IT’S MOVING DAYS’
The duo also worked together and tagged the great white shark known as LeeBeth, which gained international attention after she was tracked the furthest west in the Gulf of Mexico than any previously tracked white shark.
AWSC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the latest shark to be tagged.
Still, being able to capture a great white shark and place research technology on it is something the charter captain never thought he would be able to do, all in the name of science.
“I never thought I’d be holding the dorsal fin of a great white shark and applying this type of technology,” Michalove said. “I’ve been intrigued with these sharks my whole life, and what we’ve learned from their paths has been fascinating.”
[Fox News] Get a handle on your time: Google Calendar tips and tricks
Before we get into it, I’ll acknowledge what you may be thinking: Using Calendar means handing over even more info to Google.
Win an iPhone 15 worth $799! I’m giving it to one person who tries my free daily tech newsletter. Sign up here while you’re thinking about it.
SEE WHAT THE HOME YOU GREW UP IN LOOKS LIKE NOW AND OTHER MAPS TRICKS
Sure, but here’s my take: For the sake of convenience, most of us choose a Big Tech company or two that we’re OK sharing a lot with. If you use Gmail and Google Maps, adding Calendar to the mix won’t make much difference in terms of privacy.
Here are some ideas to get the most out of it
Spoiler: A lot more than just meetings and dentist appointments. And yes, you can definitely use you preferred calendar app for all these things too, if Google isn’t your thing.
Let’s get to the tricks
FIX AUTOCORRECT IF IT’S DRIVING YOU DUCKING CRAZY
A little know-how goes a long way in getting more out of your everyday software.
Know when people are free: I use this daily at work. Put your cursor in the box labeled Search for people under the Meet with heading. Everybody in your organization should be searchable here, so no more setting meetings no one can attend. You can also create a new meeting, add guests and click Find a time under the date to see the attendees’ availability side by side!
WATCH OUT FOR THE NEW ‘GHOST HACKERS’
Automatically share meeting minutes: In your meeting details, click Create meeting notes under the event description to generate a Google Doc that automatically gets shared with attendees. It includes a built-in outline with the meeting date, attendees, notes and action items. Pro tip: Attach additional notes, docs, slides or whatever else to the meeting so no one’s looking around for them later!
Never miss a beat: When setting an appointment, simply click Add Notification. Choose how long before the event you’d like to be reminded. Boom! Whether it’s 10 minutes or a day in advance, Google Calendar’s got your back. No more oops moments.
You know I have more amazing tips up my sleeve. Get more Google Cal secrets.
Get tech-smarter on your schedule
Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.
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[Baltimore Sun] No. 4 Patterson Mill softball feeds off its energy as offense snowballs in 10-4 win against No. 12 Fallston
Patterson Mill’s offense can be deafening and overwhelming. For one, in the Huskies dugout the floor is lava. Every player stands atop the bench while...
[Fox Business] US Chamber of Commerce sues FTC over noncompete ban
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the agency’s ban on noncompete agreements.
In the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Tyler, Texas, the Chamber argues that the FTC lacked the constitutional and statutory authority to advance the sweeping regulation.
The Chamber said after the FTC’s 3-2 vote, which advanced with the support of the agency’s majority Democratic commissioners, that there are already legal frameworks for determining whether a given noncompete should be upheld or dismissed, and would undermine American businesses’ competitiveness.
The FTC on Tuesday released its final regulation banning noncompete agreements, which prohibit an employee from leaving their current company to work for a competitor and are more commonly used in more senior positions — though some retail and food service companies have also applied them to lower-level workers as well.
FTC VOTES TO BAN NONCOMPETE AGREEMENTS
The rule, which takes effect in August, bans all new noncompetes as an unfair competitive practice. Existing noncompetes would be treated different for senior executives — defined by the FTC as workers in a “policy-making position” who earn over $151,164 annually — as they could remain in for senior executives, while noncompetes for other workers would become unenforceable.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark said in a statement after the FTC’s vote Tuesday that the “decision to ban employer noncompete agreements across the economy is not only unlawful but also a blatant power grab that will undermine American businesses’ ability to remain competitive.”
FTC VOTES TO BAN NONCOMPETE AGREEMENTS
“Since its inception over 100 years ago, the FTC has never been granted the constitutional and statutory authority to write its own competition rules. Noncompete agreements are either upheld or dismissed under well-established state laws governing their use,” Clark said.
“Yet, today, three unelected commissioners have unilaterally decided they have the authority to declare what’s a legitimate business decision and what’s not by moving to ban noncompete agreements in all sectors of the economy,” she added.
LAWMAKER DEMANDS FTC PROBE TEMU PARENT COMPANY OVER ALLEGED CCP TIES
FTC spokesman Douglas Farrar told FOX Business in a statement, “Our legal authority is crystal clear. In the FTC Act, Congress specifically ’empowered and directed’ the FTC to prevent ‘unfair methods of competition’ and to ‘make rules and regulations for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of’ the FTC Act.”
“This authority has repeatedly been upheld by courts and reaffirmed by Congress. Addressing noncompetes that curtail Americans’ economic freedom is at the very heart of our mandate, and we look forward to winning in court,” Farrar added.
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The Chamber’s lawsuit is one of several expected to be filed against the FTC rule, and comes after tax service firm Ryan LLC filed the first legal challenge on Tuesday in a different federal court in Texas.
Reuters contributed to this report.
[Fox Business] LARRY KUDLOW: A moral and political cancer of antisemitism is metastasizing throughout our colleges
A moral and political cancer of antisemitism is metastasizing throughout so many of our colleges and universities, unleashing all manner of campus conflict and violence.
Joe Biden is turning a blind eye. And Donald Trump has a plan to solve it. Mr. Biden says, “I condemn the antisemitic protests” — but then adds quickly, “I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
That’s a complete cop-out. That is not even remotely a solution to the education breakdown in American higher learning. No one in politics has worked harder than Joe Biden in spreading the gospel of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
But it is precisely the ultra-left gospel of DEI that has spawned this new wave of antisemitism. Mr. Biden won’t change a thing. Mr. Trump will.
The former president wants to remove DEI from the federal bureaucracy writ large, especially the far-left federal Education Department. Mr. Trump also wants to use new accreditation standards that harken back to traditional American and western civilization and culture.
In his video on Truth Social, he said, “When I return to the White House, I will fire the radical left accreditors that have allowed our colleges to become dominated by Marxist maniacs and lunatics.”
Mr. Trump would also tax endowments for non-compliance. He would also explore having colleges and universities “fined up to the entire amount of their endowment.”
He will insist on a merit-based system to replace DEI. And he will also “direct the Department of Justice to pursue federal civil rights cases” against colleges and universities that “continue to engage in racial discrimination.”
ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS SURGES AS AGITATORS TAKE OVER
Enforcing civil rights laws against discrimination is absolutely crucial here. Joe Biden never refers to this. But Jason Riley reminds us in his Wall Street Journal column that the current campus violence and conflict not only trespasses, blocks traffic, refusing police orders, and generally causing disorder and disturbance — but it is illegal.
And he goes on to cite former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who sent in federal troops to stop the white mobs in Little Rock, Arkansas who were preventing black students from safely attending school, in defiance of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision.
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I quote Mr. Riley directly: “The federal government was obligated to come to the aid of an ethnic minority group being threatened by mob violence. Jews in 2024 deserve no less protection than blacks in 1957.”
I couldn’t agree more.
This article is adapted from Larry Kudlow’s opening commentary on the April 24, 2024, edition of “Kudlow.”
[Fox Business] New California bill would restrict line-skipping service Clear at airports in name of equity
New legislation being proposed in California would restrict the expedited security screening company Clear from operating in the state’s airports, as proponents say the service raises equity issues given it effectively lets wealthier people skip ahead of passengers waiting in line to be screened by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents.
The bill, SB-1372, the first of its kind in the U.S., would require third-party vendors like Clear to get their own dedicated security lane or lose the ability to operate in California airports.
Clear charges members $189 per year to verify passengers’ identities at airports, allowing them to bypass TSA checkpoints. The service is in use at more than 55 airports across the U.S., as well as at dozens of sports stadiums and other venues, according to its website. Members verify their identity at Clear kiosks. It is separate to the TSA Pre-Check, although many Clear members use both services.
TSA UNVEILS SELF-SERVICE SCREENING PROCESS: HERE’S HOW IT WORKS
State Sen. Josh Newman, a Democrat, is sponsoring the legislation.
“It’s a basic equity issue when you see people subscribed to a concierge service being escorted in front of people who have waited a long time to get to the front of TSA line,” Newman told CBS MoneyWatch.
“Everyone is beaten down by the travel experience, and if Clear escorts a customer in front of you and tells TSA, ‘Sorry, I have someone better,’ it’s really frustrating.”
Republican Sen. Janet Nguyen has expressed similar concerns but is not supporting the bill, a spokesperson tells Fox Business.
“I do understand the frustration stated in Senator Newman’s bill,” Nguyen, who sits on the transportation committee, told Politico. “It becomes a haves vs. have-nots where those who can afford it jump in front of the rest of us. They even cut in front of TSA Pre-boarding pass travelers who have been screened by the TSA.”
Six major airlines — Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue and Hawaiian — are opposing the bill and wrote a letter to Senate Transportation Committee Chair Dave Cortese this month arguing its passage would result in revenue losses.
They wrote that the services were used more than 5 million times in California in 2023.
US PASSPORT PROCESSING TIMES BACK TO PRE-PANDEMIC NORMS, STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS
The airlines argued that the bill “not only threatens to increase fees on air carriers but also severely restricts airports’ ability to effectively manage lines at the security checkpoint, resulting in a negative travel experience for our California customers.”
A Clear spokesperson echoed the airline’s concerns.
“We will continue to work constructively with legislators as well as the federal government and our airport partners to ensure operations at California airports are as seamless and efficient as possible,” Ricardo Quinto said in a statement to Politico.
Supporters of the bill include the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and the union representing Transportation Security Officers in Oakland, Sacramento and San Jose.
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“Clear is nothing more than the luxury resale of upcharge of space in the airport security queue, where those who pay can skip the line at the direct expense of every other traveler,” James Murdock, president of AFGE Local 1230, the TSA officer union’s local chapter, wrote in a separate letter to Cortese, according to CBS.
“While Clear may save time for its paying customers, non-customers suffer from Clear’s aggressive sales tactics and longer security queues while they enter an essential security screening process.”
The bill was set to come before the California State Senate’s transportation committee on Tuesday.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This report has been updated to clarify the bill’s impact on Clear at California airports.
[Baltimore Sun] High school sports roundup (April 24)
Here’s a roundup of high school varsity action on Wednesday, April 24. Softball Dundalk 12, Hereford 7: After falling behind 4-0 and 7-2, the Owls’...
[WBALTV] Maryland State Board of Education appoints next superintendent
The State Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to appoint Dr. Carey M. Wright as state superintendent of schools. Read More