[Fox News] SCOTUS to hear arguments in Biden’s lawsuit ‘subverting states’ rights’ on abortion
The Supreme Court is set to consider a second abortion case on Wednesday, this time dealing with claims by a Republican-led state that the Biden...
[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.”
[Baltimore Sun] “Don’t Dress for Dinner” a theater production at Carroll Community College | PHOTOS
Carroll Community College’s theater production of “Don’t Dress for Dinner.” Performances will be held at the College in the Theater in the Scott Center on...
[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.
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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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[Fox News] New stealthy submarine glider set for autonomous undersea missions
The ocean depths are a new frontier explored by humans and autonomous vehicles.
Leading the charge is Northrop Grumman’s innovative Manta Ray uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV), a technological innovation set to revolutionize undersea missions.
The Manta Ray UUV was built through a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program. It is a testament to human ingenuity and nature’s inspiration. Drawing from the hydrodynamic form of its namesake, the manta ray, this extra-large glider vehicle promises to soar through the ocean on long-range missions without human assistance.
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Details on the Manta Ray are sparse, shrouded in mystery, much like the ocean depths it’s designed to explore. What we do know is that it’s built for endurance and versatility, capable of carrying various payloads tailored to specific missions.
GREECE PROPOSES 2 MARINE PARKS AS PART OF $830M ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PROGRAM
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Northrop Grumman isn’t just creating a vehicle but pioneering advanced autonomous technologies. The Manta Ray’s energy-saving systems and modular design are set to revolutionize subsea warfare and beyond.
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The Manta Ray program is set to introduce critical technologies for a new class of UUVs. These technologies include:
The program’s multiphase effort includes at-sea demonstrations of these critical technologies, employing a disciplined systems engineering approach to define objectives and identify enabling technologies needed for future systems.
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The Manta Ray UUV is more than just a machine; it’s a leap into the future of undersea exploration and combat. Its ability to operate autonomously and adapt to various missions represents a significant advancement in unmanned maritime technology.
With the deployment of the Manta Ray UUV and similar autonomous technologies, what concerns do you have about the escalation of undersea warfare and its potential consequences for global security? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.
Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover.
Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:
Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
[Fox Business] Columbia’s billionaire donors mull giving amid anti-Israel protests
Columbia University’s billionaire donors are divided on whether they should continue funneling money into the Ivy League school.
Ultra-wealthy benefactors like New York Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced he is pulling financial support to his alma mater over the anti-Israel protests that are unfolding on campus. Kraft also started the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS). Kraft’s net worth is over $11 billion, as tracked by Forbes.
Another graduate, billionaire industrialist Len Blavatnik, who also has a history of giving significant amounts of money to philanthropy, told FOX Business that the school’s “leadership must take immediate steps to ensure that Jewish students are protected from threats and intimidation, and that those who violate their policies are held to account.” Blavatnik has a net worth of over $31 billion, as tracked by Forbes.
Blavatnik didn’t confirm if he was suspending his giving. However, sources told The New York Post he might also consider pulling back on his donations.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MOVES TO HYBRID LEARNING ON MAIN CAMPUS AMID ANTISEMITIC PROTESTS
The school started losing donors shortly after the war kicked off in early October after Hamas terrorists stormed Gaza in a surprise attack, killing over 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping over 200, some of whom remain hostages.
During an interview with Liz Claman on “The Claman Countdown” on Oct. 26, 2023, Columbia University graduate, billionaire investor and Omega Advisors CEO Leon Cooperman pledged to suspend his giving.
“I think these kids at the colleges have sh*t for brains” Cooperman told Claman. “I’ve given to Columbia probably about $50 million over many years,” he continued. “And I’m going to suspend my giving. I’ll give my giving to other organizations.”
This week, he told CNBC, he was “uncomfortable” with what is going on at the school but declined to elaborate on future donations. He did say he plans to support Columbia’s business school “when they solicit” him.
Cooperman’s net worth neared $3 billion, per Forbes.
In recent weeks and months, there has been an onslaught of anti-war protests not only at Columbia but other college campuses, including New York University, University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor and Yale, as tensions over the war in the Middle East continue to rise.
Pro-Palestinian students around the nation are condemning the assault on Gaza, which has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian deaths. But some Jewish students say there has been a rise in antisemitism. Some students at Columbia have recently told FOX News that they no longer feel physically safe.
At Columbia’s New York City campus, there has been “too many examples of intimidating and harassing behavior” including antisemitic language, the school– which was forced to switch to hybrid learning for the rest of the semester — said in a statement.
Protestors initially formed an encampment — setting up tents and refusing to leave— on the campus last week. More than 100 demonstrators who had been camped out on the campus were arrested, according to The Associated Press.
The protesters marched in and around the campus demanding the school lose affiliations with groups that support Israel.
“There is a terrible conflict raging in the Middle East with devastating human consequences. I understand that many are experiencing deep moral distress and want Columbia to help alleviate this by taking action. We should be having serious conversations about how Columbia can contribute,” the school wrote in a statement.
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However, the school continued, saying that there are many views and “we cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view.”
FOX Business’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
[Fox Business] FCC reinstating net neutrality could slow internet gains: report
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is preparing to vote Thursday on reinstating net neutrality regulations for the internet, which a new report warns could cause a slowdown in the pace of internet speed increases and price improvements seen in the years since net neutrality’s repeal.
The FCC, which currently has a majority of Democrat appointees under the Biden administration, is planning to bring back net neutrality rules that allow the agency to regulate broadband internet access as a telecommunications service. That would return the FCC’s framework for regulating the internet to what the Obama administration put in place in 2015, which was later rolled back by the Trump administration in 2017 under a framework that classified the internet as an information service.
A Committee to Unleash Prosperity report notes the gains in internet speed and cost decreases that occurred in the wake of the Trump-era deregulation as well as the increased investment by internet service providers.
“If the Biden administration can look at the experience of broadband in the last seven years and declare it a bad thing, something that needs to be reversed, there’s really no regulation that they would ever dislike and no deregulation that they would ever like, because this is about the most stunning success possible, and yet they’re going to reverse it,” Phil Kerpen, president of American Commitment at the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, told FOX Business.
FORMER FCC HEAD AJIT PAI BLASTS NET NEUTRALITY VOTE AS ‘COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME’
The report found that median internet download speeds for wired internet connections increased by a factor of 5.8 between 2017 and 2023, while wireless speeds increased by a factor of 8.7.
Although the report acknowledges that download speeds would have improved over time even under the net neutrality regulatory framework, the U.S. rose in speedtest.net’s average national download speed rankings from 45th in the world in 2017 to 16th in 2022, while the median speed ranking for the U.S. improved from 22nd to 15th between 2022 and 2023.
It also analyzed price changes for wired broadband and wireless internet, which declined by about 15% and 28%, respectively, from 2016 to 2022. For comparison, from 2010, when the Obama administration first proposed regulating the internet as a utility, to 2016, wired broadband prices declined 9% and wireless declined 22%.
NEW FCC RULES REQUIRE ‘NUTRITION LABELS’ FOR HIGH-SPEED INTERNET PLANS
The report noted that those positive results ran counter to the narrative advanced by net neutrality’s proponents as the Trump-era FCC moved to undo that regulation.
“The predictions that were made when the deregulation was proposed in the beginning of the Trump administration where [that] this was going to be some kind of an apocalypse and the ‘end of the internet as we know it,’ things were going to load one word at a time,” Kerpen said.
“We don’t have to hypothesize or guess about what will happen because we’ve run the experiment now the last seven years, and if it was the end of the internet as we knew it, it was only because it got so much faster and so much cheaper – basically the opposite of everything that they said would happen,” he added.
FCC COMMISSIONER SAYS TIKTOK A ‘CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER’ TO US NATIONAL SECURITY
Kerpen also took issue with the FCC’s assertion in advancing its reinstatement of net neutrality rules that any disincentives for private investment by internet companies caused by the return of that regulatory framework will be offset by a $65 billion subsidy program from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“This is just kind of an insane way to think about things. I mean if you’re going to subsidize something with taxpayer money, you want to get the most for that money that you possibly can,” he said. “You want the incentives to be strong for private money to come in as well.”
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“The investment effect will certainly be negative, and I think that’s a big part of why we saw what we did,” Kerpen added. “When you get deregulation and incentives for a strong, competitive market, you get investments in higher speeds. I don’t think we would’ve seen the [five-times] jump in wired speeds and [eight-times] jump in wireless speeds if we hadn’t had the deregulation.”
[Baltimore Sun] Bits & Bites: Former Magdalena chef launches ‘nomadic restaurant,’ Kneads expands, Indian fast-casual coming to Columbia
Whether you call them pop-ups, supper clubs or nomadic restaurants, ephemeral dining experiences are still having a moment. The one-night-only meals continue to crop up...
[Fox News] Biden mocked for admitting ‘we can’t be trusted’ in latest gaffe: ‘Agreed, Joe’
President Biden’s latest gaffe had conservative commentators admitting that they agree with him. Biden spoke at a Tampa campaign rally on Tuesday that focused on...
[WBALTV] Woman charged with murder in Michigan crash that killed young brother and sister at birthday party
The crash killed 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and her 4-year-old brother, Zayn Phillips. Their mother, Mariah Dodds, and another sibling were among the injured. Read More