https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/fashion/cannot-talk-busy-hot-fashion-8035776/lite/ Edwyna Estime was wearing a heavy, shapeless graduation gown. It was the color of charcoal, and it reached all the way down to her ankles. And yet she had never felt hotter. As she crossed the stage to accept her diploma, she heard the cheers from friends and family members. She was graduating from law school — and that, to her, was extremely hot.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/18/asia/sri-lanka-acting-president-exclusive-interview-intl-hnk/index.html Sri Lanka's acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said the country's previous administration was "covering up facts" about its crippling financial crisis. Former leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa's government did not tell the truth, that Sri Lanka was "bankrupt" and "needed to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)," Wickremesinghe told CNN from parliament in the nation's administrative capital Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Monday. I would like to tell the people I know what they are suffering," he added. "We have gone back. We have to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps. We don't need five years or 10 years. By the end of next year let's start stabilizing, and certainly by 2024 let's have a functioning economy which will start growing." Wickremesinghe's exclusive interview with CNN was his first with an international news organization since he was appointed acting president by former leader Rajapaksa, who fled the crisis-hit country last week. Sri Lanka crisis: How do you fix a broken country? Sri Lanka crisis: How do you fix a broken country? Wickremesinghe added he that had spoken to Rajapaksa since he first fled Sri Lanka for Maldives, and then traveled to Singapore. However, Wickremesinghe said he does not know whether the former leader is still in Singapore, or elsewhere. Wickremesinghe is now vying to be Sri Lanka's next president, with parliament set to elect a new leader on Wednesday. The former six-time prime minister, who is being backed by the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna political party, will face off against at least three other candidates But Wickremesinghe's nomination has threatened to inflame an already volatile situation in the South Asian nation of 22 million Since March, Sri Lanka has been brought to its knees by a growing economic crisis that has left the country struggling to buy essential imports, including fuel, food and medicine Protesters have taken to the streets to demand the resignations of the country's leaders and last week appeared to have scored a victory when Rajapaksa vowed to resign, then fled the country after thousands of demonstrators stormed his residence, and some swam in his pool. Wickremesinghe's private residence was set on fire by angry protesters shortly after Wickremesinghe -- prime minister before Rajapaksa stepped down -- vowed to resign to make way for a unity government He told CNN that his torched home and much of its contents were not salvageabl He lost more than 4,000 books, including some that were centuries old, Wickremesinghe said. A 125-year-old piano was also destroyed in the fire, he added But despite this, on Monday, he reiterated his desire to compete for the top position, telling CNN that he was "not the same administration. "I'm not the same, people know that," he said. "I came here to handle the economy. When asked why he wanted to be president and make himself a further potential target, Wickremesinghe said: "I don't want this happening in the country. What happened to me I don't want others to suffer ... Certainly I don't want that to happen to anyone else. """.e......yone else." Meanwhile, life for Sri Lankans remains chaotic as they navigate the country's paralyzing crisis. People continue to line up outside gas stations for hours -- even days -- desperately hoping to purchase fuel. Many local businesses are shut and supermarket shelves are increasingly barren. As anger continues to build, Wickremesinghe said people could protest "peacefully." "Don't obstruct the parliamentarians and the parliament from carrying out their duty," he said. Wickremesinghe had declared a nationwide state of emergency from Monday, in a bid to quell any possible social unrest ahead of parliament's presidential vote on July 20. "We are trying to prevent (the police and military) from using weapons," Wickremesinghe said. "They have been attacked on some occasions but we still told them try your best not to use weapons." But Wickremesinghe said he can "understand what the (people of Sri Lanka) are going through." "I told them there have been three bad weeks ... And the whole system had broken down," he said. "We were not going to have gas, we were not going to have diesel. It was bad." Wickremesinghe said he will not let protesters to obstruct parliament from voting Wednesday, or allow more buildings to be stormed. "There has to be law and order in the country," he said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/21/politics/house-democrats-vote-unity/index.html It may be cold comfort as a stormy midterm election approaches, but House Democrats have achieved a modern milestone in this legislative session that crystallizes a fundamental transformation in how Congress operates. Working with a razor-thin majority, House Democrats have recorded the highest level of party unity in floor votes that either party has reached in at least 50 years, according to the authoritative statistics kept by Congressional Quarterly and Roll Call. House Democrats have passed legislation on virtually every element of their party's priority list -- from the sweeping Build Back Better investment and social welfare package to bills setting a national floor for voting and abortion rights to major gun control proposals, legalization for big groups of undocumented immigrants and ambitious police reform -- with dissenting votes from no more than two of their members and often opposition from only one or none. The immensity of that record has not received much attention because so many of the House bills have been blocked in the Senate by the Republican filibuster, opposition from Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, or both. But the consensus around this sweeping agenda stands in marked contrast to the Democratic experience under former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, when dozens of House Democrats routinely voted against the party on key measures, from Clinton's budget to Obama's Affordable Care Act. I think people feel that there's less tolerance for breaking with your party, that it could lead to a primary opponent and there's more [inclination] within each party to stick together "The ethos of the kind of norms and expectations within the caucus have shifted," says Democratic Rep. David Price of North Carolina, a former political science professor who is retiring this year after serving in Congress -- with one two-year break -- since 1986. "I think there's some really different behavior now and a different level of party discipline and loyalty." The increased unity, many observers agree, is a testament not only to the skill of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in wrangling her caucus; it also reflects a succession of tectonic shifts in the electoral and legislative landscape that have transformed the historically unruly House into something much closer to a parliamentary institution that demands exacting levels of loyalty within each party -- and produces far fewer possibilities of cooperation between them. These trends are virtually certain to survive if Republicans, whose own unity has been steadily growing over the past few decades, retake the House in November. No matter which party holds the majority, the House now seems locked into an irreversible path toward more polarization. "I think people feel that there's less tolerance for breaking with your party, that it could lead to a primary opponent and there's more [inclination] within each party to stick together," says former Rep. Henry Waxman of California, who engaged in epic internal struggles with fellow Democrats to pass landmark legislation on the environment, health care and other issues from the 1970s through his retirement in 2014. Unprecedented unity Centrist and liberal House Democrats certainly have had their disagreements in this Congress. For months, they feuded over the size and composition of the party's grab-bag Build Back Better bill. Even more pointedly, centrists fumed as progressives for months delayed passage of a separate bipartisan infrastructure package for fear that Manchin and Sinema would block the broader BBB legislation if the two bills were decoupled -- a concern that events have largely validated. But once the backroom negotiations have concluded and legislation reached the floor for final votes, House Democrats have achieved a level of unity unprecedented in modern times. In this Congress, Democrats have held, at most, a five-seat majority, leaving them achingly little margin for error. (Only twice since World War II has the governing party operated with a smaller majority.) Yet almost all of their major bills have passed with few or no dissenting votes. Just two House Democrats voted against the police reform legislation passed in March 2021 and the sweeping gun control package approved this month. Only a single House Democrat each time voted against a succession of high-profile bills the chamber approved in March 2021: HR 1, the party's sweeping election and voting bill; a bill establishing universal background checks for gun sales; a measure providing a pathway to legal status for undocumented farmworkers; and legislation long sought by organized labor to reduce legal barriers to union organizing. In September 2021, just one House Democrat voted against the bill to codify a nationwide right to abortion, and ultimately just a single Democrat voted against the Build Back Better bill when the House passed it two months later. Only a single House Democrat opposed the party's massive Covid-19 relief plan early in Biden's presidency. Earlier this month, only a single Democrat opposed the national red flag law the House passed, which would remove access to firearms for someone who is deemed a danger to themselves or others by a court. House Democrats voted unanimously in 2021 to remove the deadline for states to approve the Equal Rights Amendment; to establish a floor of nationwide LGBTQ rights; to provide a pathway to citizenship for young people brought to the US illegally by their parents; to restructure the Voting Rights Act to overwrite decisions weakening it by the Supreme Court's Republican-appointed majority; and for a sweeping executive branch package meant to combat some of former President Donald Trump's ethical abuses. The biggest exception to this pattern came when six liberal House Democrats voted against the bipartisan infrastructure bill to protest its separation from the broader Build Back Better package. Then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., speaks to GOP members of Congress at the Capitol in 1995. Then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., speaks to GOP members of Congress at the Capitol in 1995. On most of these measures, the sole dissenting vote came from Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who represents a rural Maine district that voted for Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020; Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, who is currently locked in a recount against a progressive primary challenger, was the sole dissenter on the bills to ease union organizing and to codify a right to abortion. In turn, either no House Republicans, or virtually none, voted for most of these bills, with only a handful of the measures (including the legislation providing a legal pathway for young immigrants and farmworkers and imposing universal background checks on gun sales) drawing support from even six or more GOP representatives. The consensus among House Democrats during President Joe Biden's term stands in striking contrast with the experience under the party's last two presidents. Defections were endemic during Clinton's presidency in the 1990s. In 1993, 41 House Democrats voted against final passage of his economic plan, 69 voted against the Brady Bill establishing the national background check system for gun purchases and 156 -- a clear majority of the caucus -- opposed his North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wisconsin-couple-kills-bear-attacked-home-rcna30049 MEDFORD, Wis. — A Wisconsin couple say they killed a bear that attacked them inside their home after they spotted it eating from their bird feeder. The Taylor County Sheriff’s office said the attack happened around 11 p.m. Friday at a home near Medford in north-central Wisconsin. The couple told authorities that the bear charged through a window after they yelled at it to go away. Both the husband and wife were injured before they were able to stab the bear with a kitchen knife. Eventually, the man was able to grab a firearm and kill the animal.

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bikes/ccm-classic-tracker/ Bolton-based CCM have released a new Classic Tracker – a new flattrack inspired addition to their po[CENSORED]r single-cylinder Spitfire range that builds on the existing Street Tracker model. Previously reported by MCN in spyshots, the now finished machine will begin at £10,695 and climb to £11,495 for a chrome finish. Expect OTR charges of £117, too. But what does that money buy you? Well, starting at the back, there’s a slim new twin exit exhaust system running to the right of the rear wheel, complete with carbon end caps. CCM Classic Tracker exhaust These wheels are available in either petrol blue with black, or as a gold finish on the chrome version. Both colour schemes come on spoked 19in rims, which are wrapped in a set of road-legal Mitas flattracking tyres. To test its sideways ability, CCM took the bike to the Ride and Skid It school, where tutor and five-time British Flat Track champion Aiden Collins said: “This bike feels right – like it was built to race!” Outside of that, braking power is provided by J Juan, with a four-piston radial caliper up front. You also get scrambler-style mid position bars and a stitched saddle design for one person, said to be semi perforated. There’s a hydraulic clutch from Magura, too. Elsewhere, CCM have altered the suspension set up and installed a black rear coil spring for good measure. For those wanting to venture onto the flattrack oval, you also get a radiator guard as standard, finished in grey. It’s all topped off with LED lighting to the front and rear. Fresh spyshots captured by an eagle-eyed snapper have revealed CCM are making the finishing touches to a new flattrack-inspired Spitfire. The new bike, thought to be called the Classic Tracker looks to blend the current Street Tracker with more classic styling touches including a Monza fuel cap. It was spotted on two separate occasions – taking part in a photoshoot with CCM ambassador and former world trails champion Dougie Lampkin on the Cat & Fiddle in Cheshire, and on track at Aiden Collins’ Ride & Skid flattrack school in Buxton. CCM Classic Tracker undergoing testing In the latter it appears the bike is being ridden by former French supermoto champion and CCM works rider, Stephane Mezard, who took the French flattrack title in 2021 and is contesting it again this year on a CCM FT6 flattracker. The bike Lampkin is pictured on looks to be production-ready, finished in a classy retro silver livery. Like all Spitfires it’s powered by a BMW-designed, ex-Husqvarna liquid-cooled 600cc single producing around 55bhp and 43lb.ft giving a top speed of around 110mph. This lump is housed in a hand-crafted tubular steel frame. The new model appears to have 19in spoked rims wearing semi-knobbly tyres, adjustable Marzocchi inverted forks, J-Juan four-piston radial brakes and a racy, flattrack-style solo seat. Dougie Lampkin spotted on a new CCM model However, going by these pictures, this version does without the Street Tracker’s side-mounted number boards, has a lower front wheel-hugging mudguard, and retro badging. Lampkin’s silver bike also has gold not black anodised rims and silver instead of the black forks of the Street Tracker, although the green version spied continues with black wheels and forks. The closeness to the Street Tracker means we’d expect a similar, if not slightly higher price than that of the £10,995 Street, and its production readiness suggests it will be officially unveiled at this November’s Motorcycle Live show at the NEC – if not before.

https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/home-decor-tips-living-room-appear-bigger-7956898/lite/ Start choosing the right kind of pieces for the room, so that they are useful instead of just taking up space. The habit of decluttering frequently will make the area appear more spacious. To add more items to your living room, you must get rid of old ones. You may also go for modern furniture pieces which take up less space and offer more compartments — like a sofa-cum-bed, a chest of drawers that comes with a TV unit or a foldable table. You will finally make extra room for useful items. Either buy small pieces of furniture like an ottoman, an armchair, or a low table or go for more elongated and tall units and place them against the wall surfaces. This will ensure they are not taking up much space, yet will create a balance in the room. These statement pieces should not be placed in and around the circulation paths. The overview that way would remain clear and the room would appear bigger. Well crafted furniture when paired with subtly coloured walls creates the perfect combination for quaint places. Choosing colours like beige, light grey, mint green, baby pink or baby blue – make the carpet area look bigger than usual. Pastel colours reflect light and make the room appear brighter. You can also choose pastel wallpapers to give some funk to your home

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/21/europe/kaliningrad-explainer-russia-lithuania-sanctions-intl/index.html Tensions are mounting around the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, an isolated but strategically significant territory on the Baltic coast that could soon be dragged into the Kremlin's war. Russia has reacted furiously after Lithuania banned the passage of sanctioned goods across its territory and into Kaliningrad. But Lithuania says it is merely upholding European Union sanctions, and the European bloc has backed it. The row now threatens to escalate strains between Moscow and the EU, which has unveiled several packages of sanctions on Russian goods. Here's what you need to know about Kaliningrad, its history and its importance to Russia. What sparked this row? Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, experts have feared that Kaliningrad could become a flashpoint in tensions between Moscow and Europe. It is Russia's westernmost territory, and the only part of the country surrounded by EU states; Lithuania stands between it and Belarus, a Russian ally nation, while Poland borders it to the south. On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the move was unprecedented and that Russia considered it illegal. "It is part of a blockade, of course," he said. Other Russian officials have threatened a response. Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, said, "Russia will certainly respond to such hostile actions. Measures are being worked out in an interdepartmental format and will be taken in the near future. Their consequences will have a serious negative impact on the Lithuanian po[CENSORED]tion," according to Russia's RIA Novosti state-owned news agency. The sanctioned products barred from being exported to Russian territory by the European Union include construction machinery, machine tools and other industrial equipment, according to Russian state news agency TASS, citing the Ministry for Economic Development. Some luxury goods are also included. Lithuania has not imposed "unilateral, individual or additional" restrictions, its foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. The Charge d'Affaires of Lithuania in Moscow was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday and told that if freight transit to the Kaliningrad region was not fully restored, Russia reserved the right to take actions to protect its national interests. But the EU, whose sanctions Lithuania is enforcing by blocking transit, has backed its member state. Speaking to Reuters, Dmitry Lyskov, a representative of the regional government, was forced to urge residents not to panic buy in response to the spat. The sanctioned products will now have to travel by sea. A Lithuanian official, Rolandas Kacinskas, said Tuesday that "the transit of passengers and EU non-sanctioned goods to the Kaliningrad region through the territory of Lithuania continues uninterrupted. [Lithuania] hasn't imposed any unilateral, individual, or additional restrictions on the transit & is acting fully in accordance with EU law." What is Kaliningrad? Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. It was captured by Soviet troops from Nazi Germany in April 1945 and then became part of Soviet territory as a result of the Potsdam Agreement. It was renamed from the German Königsberg in 1946. For decades, it was a heavily militarized region, closed off to foreigners. But in recent years Kaliningrad has become an emerging tourist destination, and it hosted matches during Russia's 2018 World Cup. It has a po[CENSORED]tion of around one million, the majority of whom live within or near the capital city of the same name. The exclave is one of the more prosperous regions of Russia, with extensive industry. Its port, Baltiysk, is the westernmost harbor in Russian territory and, significantly, is ice-free throughout the year. The streets of the main city are lined with grand examples of old German architecture alongside grim, concrete Soviet apartment blocks. Kaliningrad in the build-up to the 2018 World Cup, which put the region on its biggest international cultural platform to date. Kaliningrad in the build-up to the 2018 World Cup, which put the region on its biggest international cultural platform to date. But Kaliningrad's significance comes mostly from where it lies on the map. A thin strip of land south of Kaliningrad separates it from Belarus and connects Polish and Lithuanian territory. Known as the Suwalki corridor or gap, it is the only overland link between the Baltic states and the rest of the European Union. Kaliningrad is also the headquarters of the Russian Baltic Fleet. RIA Novosti reported Monday that the fleet had begun previously planned rocket and artillery drills, saying that "about 1,000 military personnel and more than 100 units of military and special equipment of artillery and missile units are involved in the maneuvers." In 2002, the EU and Moscow reached an agreement on travel between Russia and Kaliningrad, ahead of Poland and Lithuania joining the European Union in 2004. When those countries joined, the exclave became surrounded on three sides by EU territory. Russia says the 2002 agreement has now been violated. Nuclear presence? Kaliningrad's importance has become even greater to Russia with the planned accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Russian National Security Council said in May that the accession plans meant it "will no longer be possible to talk about any non-nuclear status of the Baltics -- the balance must be restored." Russia has long balked at the presence of NATO countries around Kaliningrad. "They moved NATO infrastructure next to our borders," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told CNN in 2015, after reports that Russia had moved nuclear-capable Iskander missiles to the region. "And this is not United States territory." Russia has not acknowledged that it has nuclear weapons based in Kaliningrad, but in 2018 the Federation of American Scientists concluded that Russia had significantly modernized a nuclear weapons storage bunker in the region, based on analysis of satellite imagery. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Lithuania has urged NATO to increase the deployment of troops on its territory. In April, President Gitanas Nauseda said that NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence Battalion should be transformed into "at least" the size of a brigade, and called for reinforcement of the Suwalki corridor.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/17/politics/couy-griffin-capitol-riot-new-mexico-plea/index.html Couy Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner, ardent election-fraud conspiracy theorist and founder of "Cowboys for Trump," avoided more jail time on Friday for his role in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack. He was sentenced to 14 days with time served, fined $3,000 and given one year supervised release with the requirement that he complete 60 hours of community service. Griffin was videotaped at the Capitol saying he "has Mike Pence in our prayers" and hoped that Pence would "do the right thing" and argued during his trial that he was peaceful on January 6 and even calmed a group of rioters by leading them in prayer. US Capitol rioter who carried weapon loaded with hollow-point bullets pleads guilty US Capitol rioter who carried weapon loaded with hollow-point bullets pleads guilty Griffin, an Otero county commissioner, is still relentlessly pushing claims of election fraud, going as far as refusing to certify the recent primary results in his county, which the Justice Department cited to bolster its argument that Griffin should spend several months in jail. Along with two other GOP commissioners, Griffin has declined to certify the results of the June 7 primary, pointing to a mistrust of Dominion voting machines -- a false conspiracy theory po[CENSORED]rized by former President Donald Trump's legal team over the 2020 election. On Thursday, Griffin told CNN he will also defy a state Supreme Court order to certify the results of the primary. The commission has scheduled an emergency meeting Friday afternoon to address the certification. The commissioners' defiance has raised alarms among voting rights advocates, who are concerned that the conspiracy theories about voting machines and elections are taking root in pockets of the country and fear that the Otero flareup could serve as a preview of future election disruptions in this year's midterm elections. Friday is the deadline for New Mexico counties to certify the results of the June 7 primary election. New Mexico's Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver this week asked the state attorney general to investigate the Otero commissioners over several recent actions, including votes initiated by Griffin to remove ballot drop boxes and discontinue the use of Dominion vote-tallying machines before November's election. After a somewhat continuous bench trial in March, Griffin was found guilty of trespassing on US Capitol grounds during the riot by federal Judge Trevor McFadden. The ex-pastor, conspiracy theory peddler, and former cowboy Disney performer asked for two months probation, claiming that he had already incurred harsh punishments like being held in jail for several weeks after being arrested when he returned to DC on January 17, 2021. Griffin told his colleagues on the county commission that he would return for Joe Biden's inauguration with his revolver and rifle. Griffin not only talked about bringing guns to the Capitol after January 6 but also spread wild false conspiracy theories about the riot, including suggesting that the riot could have been instigated by law enforcement. McFadden found his comments "disturbing" and said that they "suggest a disdain" for US laws. "You've taken an oath to uphold the Constitution," McFadden said Friday, adding that instead he undermined the peaceful transition of power. McFadden also said that it was "preposterous" for Griffin to claim he didn't know he was not allowed on Capitol grounds that day. "I watched the evidence here...you clambered over walls," McFadden said, "You knew you shouldn't be there." McFadden added that Griffin was "not being" punished for his claims of voter fraud. The judge noted that some national politicians make claims of significant voter fraud in past elections and "they were mistaken as you are." Rioter who witnessed Ashli Babbitt shooting sentenced Thomas Baranyi, a January 6 defendant who witnessed Babbitt's shooting and was sentenced on Friday, expressed remorse for his participation in the Capitol riot and not doing more to help Babbitt. DC District Judge James Boasberg sentenced Baranyi to 90 days in prison. Baranyi pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in February. "I really wish I paid more attention because I tried to get to the front to tell people to back up," Baranyi, who was near Babbitt when she was shot outside the Speaker's Lobby, said during his sentencing hearing on Friday. Baranyi said that Babbitt "tried to climb through. She wasn't listening and there were guns drawn." A US Capitol Police investigation found in August 2021 that the officer who shot Babbitt did so "lawfully and within Department policy." "The worst part would be after the fact when I could have done anything, render any kind of aid, I just took out my phone and recorded it," Baranyi told Judge Boasberg, describing his lack of help as "not just humiliating, it's a personal failure." He added that since the Capitol riot he has received "first responder training" so that if he's ever in a similar situation he can "match the moment" and "won't falter." Boasberg also sentenced Baranyi to a year of supervised release, a $500 restitution payment, and 60 hours of community service.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/little-blue-penguins-are-washing-dead-new-zealand-beaches-rcna34058 Little blue penguins — a flightless bird native to New Zealand and the world’s smallest penguin species — have been washing up dead on the country’s beaches, in what experts say are more frequent mass die-offs amid changing climate patterns. Hundreds of lifeless birds have been found in northern New Zealand since early May, though the exact number is difficult to determine and reports are still coming in, said Graeme Taylor, principal science adviser at the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics The penguins, also known as korora, were tested for diseases and biotoxins, but appeared to have died from starvation, Taylor said. “All the birds were at least half the normal weight, they had no fat on them at all and their muscle tissue had wasted away.” It is not unusual for seabirds to die off in large numbers because of severe weather, conservationists say. But mass deaths among little blue penguins, which used to take place about once a decade, have now happened three times in six years, Taylor said. Car on the beach, Ninety Mile Beach, New Zealand Ninety Mile Beach on New Zealand’s North Island, where the most recent sighting of dead penguins occurred.DPK / Alamy file Experts in New Zealand, where the little blue penguin is considered “at risk,” expected a mortality event this summer due to La Niña, a climate pattern that affects weather around the world and typically occurs every three to five years. The ongoing event is favored to continue through the end of the year, according to forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This puts it on track to be the third consecutive fall and winter season with La Niña conditions, a rare occurrence. La Niña has combined with a marine heat wave to create a “double whammy” for the penguins, raising sea temperatures which in turn makes it more difficult for them to find the small fish they feed on, Taylor said. The fish may have moved south or descended to colder waters below the penguins’ diving range.

https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2022/05/19/2022-bmw-m-1000-rr-50-years-m-first-look-50th-anniversary-edition/ The 2022 BMW M 1000 RR 50 Years M is here, and it doesn’t run a penny more than the standard BMW M 1000 RR. However, you can’t buy the 50 Years M edition without the $4500 M Competition Package. As BMW gently puts it, “To get the anniversary edition, the M 1000 RR should be equipped with the optional 50 Years M Package.” 2022 BMW M 1000 RR 50 Years M First Look: MSRP The 50 Years M Package includes the M Billet Package, Carbon Package, M GPS-Lap timer and data logger, M endurance chain, silver-anodized aluminum swingarm, rear seat cover, and passenger kit. The M Billet Package consists of M brake and clutch levers, adjustable M rider’s footpegs, engine spoiler cover, and brake lever guard. The Carbon Package gets you carbon fiber goodness on the upper side fairing, chain guard, sprocket cover, and wheel covers from the M Carbon collection. BMW M GmbH got going in 1972 to consolidate BMW’s various motorsport racing participation. Robert A. Lutz, a board member on the Board of Management of BMW AG for Sales in 1972, said, “A company is like a human being. If it does sports, it stays fit, enthusiastic, more effecting, and powerful.” BMW M successes in the motorcycling realm include success in racing endeavors ranging from the Isle of Man TT to the Paris-Dakar Rally. 2022 BMW M 1000 RR 50 Years M First Look: MSRP: Price To ensure everyone knows you’re on a 2022 BMW M 1000 R 50 Years M, it comes in a distinctive Sao Paulo Yellow with 50 Years M livery. Look for this motorcycle to arrive in the United States late in the third quarter of this year as a very-late 2022 model. Garage photography by Hermann Koepf 2022 BMW M 1000 RR 50 Years M Specs MOTOR Type: Inline-4 Displacement: 999cc Bore x stroke: 80 x 49.7mm Maximum power: 205 horsepower @ 13,000 rpm Maximum torque: 83 ft-lbs @ 11,000 rpm Maximum speed: 189 mph Compression ratio: 13.5:1 Valvetrain: DOHC with dual timing; 4 titanium valves per cylinder Fueling: EMI w/ 48mm throttle bodies Transmission: 6-speed w/ straight-cut gears Clutch: Wet multiplate w/ slipper function Final drive: 525 chain FRAME Type: Aluminum composite bridge Front suspension; travel: Fully adjustable 45mm inverted fork; 4.7 inches Rear suspension; travel: Linkage-assisted fully adjustable shock; 4.6 inches Wheels: M Carbon Front wheel: 17 x 3.50 Rear wheel: 17 x 6.00 Tires: Michelin Power Cup 2 Front tire: 120/70 x 17 Rear tire: 200/55 x 17 Front brakes: 320mm floating discs w/ 4-piston M calipers Rear brake: 220mm disc w/ 2-piston caliper ABS: BMW Motorrad ABS Pro DIMENSIONS and CAPACITIES Wheelbase: 57.4 inches Rake: 23.6 degrees Trail: 3.9 inches Seat height: 32.8 inches Fuel capacity: 4.4 gallons Estimate fuel consumption: 36 mpg Curb weight: 423 pounds Color: Sao Paulo Yellow w/ 50 Years M badging 2022 BMW M 1000 RR 50 Years M Price: $36,995 MSRP

https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/tips-heart-patients-travelling-7975958/lite/ Just because you have had a cardiac event — be it heart attack, heart failure, stroke, coronary artery disease (CAD), cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heart rate), a heart surgery or stenting — doesn’t mean you cannot go on a holiday. Of course, strenuous travel is ruled out for people who have just had a procedure, intervention or developed a condition. For this lot of people, you must sit out and stabilise before venturing out. Others just have to get their health status reviewed before they proceed on a vacation, plan their days, identify triggers and stressors and go prepared with a medical kit. All everybody needs to do is to follow the advisory and not over-exert themselves. And do not forget to carry your latest heart reports. Keep them handy so that no time is lost should there be an emergency. PRE-TRAVEL ROUTI Consult your cardiologist and run a fresh series of tests like ECG, stress tests, TMT and echocardiography. If you experience any abnormal discomfort while doing these tests or while walking, such as breathlessness or chest pain, report them to your doctor. Do not travel till he/she clears you IN THE HIL Most cardiac patients are under the impression that while the beach is a safe option, they cannot travel to the hills. We are often asked a particular question, “Can I go up to 10,000 feet, say Leh, with stents and bypass?” Even normal persons can have severe breathlessness on reaching high altitude if they start exerting before getting acclimatised. The same rule applies to all cardiac patients with normal heart function. Those with impaired heart function, however, need proper evaluation by their physician before planning a trip to Leh. If they do not qualify, the Himalayas at lower altitudes are no less beautiful.LS.NENTautiful. TELEMEDICINE OPTIONS Teleconsult is legally allowed in our country and can be arranged with your own physician or other sources. Several wearable devices like Apple Watch can monitor the heart rate but the most important factor is to monitor your SpO2 levels. INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL Most cardiac patients can travel safely. Only those with weak hearts and ongoing active conditions should seek prior screening by a physician. If you are on a long haul flight, take plenty of fluids and frequent walks down the aisle. This eliminates the possibility of developing venous clots. It is for the same reason that you need to flex and move your ankle joints. Make sure you are carrying your travel insurance. TAKE YOUR MEDICINE ON TIME No matter what time zone you are in, please take your medication as prescribed at the right time and maintain the gap between doses. You can always reset your watch to India time to follow this regime. Take a blood pressure monitor with you. Don’t forget to carry your medicines, including emergency ones, and keep some extra strips just in case you’ve had to overstay for some reason. Do not skip medicines while travelling. Do not be paranoid, enjoy the outdoors as they revive you holistically. However, do not ignore chest pain, breathlessness or exhaustion and seek the opinion of your doctor immediately.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/17/politics/ginni-thomas-supreme-court/index.html Supreme Court justices were divided over 2020 election issues and ultimately declined to accept any of Donald Trump's baseless claims, but one justice stood out for emphasizing ballot fraud in sympathy with those who refused to accept the results: Clarence Thomas. The presidential election controversy is roiling the Supreme Court again, as the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack continues to obtain communications between Thomas' wife, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, and Trump adherents who were trying to overturn Joe Biden's victory and part of activities leading up to the January 6 rampage. The committee has now asked Ginni Thomas to speak about her efforts to reverse the election results. Ginni Thomas, a longtime conservative activist, has previously stressed that her work is separate from her husband's. What to know about Ginni Thomas' connection to 2020 election reversal gambits What to know about Ginni Thomas' connection to 2020 election reversal gambits "The legal lane is my husband's -- I never much enjoyed reading briefs and judicial opinions anyway and am quite happy to stay out of that lane," Ginni Thomas told The Free Beacon earlier this year. "We do not discuss cases until opinions are public -- and even then, our discussions have always been very general and limited to public information." On the 2020 election, however, their actions ran on parallel tracks and the latest revelations further entangle the Supreme Court in politics. The developments land at a remarkably grueling time for the justices. They are in the final weeks of the most important and fractious session in decades. They are barricaded behind an 8-foot fence and concrete blocks because of demonstrations and threats over a leaked draft of a decision that could overturn Roe v. Wade. The justices appear on the cusp of reversing a half century of women's rights embodied in the 1973 decision that made abortion legal nationwide. Chief Justice John Roberts launched an investigation the day after Politico published the early draft on May 2, but apparently the source of the leak has not been discovered in the past six weeks. Tensions over the substance of the final cases of the session, including on Second Amendment rights and gun control, and the atmosphere of suspicion generated by the leak investigation, are escalating. (Some 18 cases await resolution before the end of the month; the next decisions will be released on Tuesday and Thursday -- coincidentally the days of the next two House January 6 committee hearings.) The new attention to potential conflicts of interest with Justice Thomas, a leader on the right wing positioned to have a significant impact on cases, only adds to the personal strains and the public reality of a politicized Supreme Court. Justice Thomas has declined to comment on questions tied to his wife's activities or potential conflicts of interest. For her part, Ginni Thomas told The Daily Caller on Thursday of the January 6 committee, "I can't wait to clear up misconceptions. I look forward to talking to them." Ginni Thomas had earlier said that while she attended Trump's rally on January 6, 2021, she did not march down to the Capitol with protesters. The assault by those who breached the Capitol left five people dead and hundreds injured. The January 6 committee now has email correspondence between conservative lawyer John Eastman, a prominent Trump legal strategist in 2020 and a former law clerk to Justice Thomas, and Ginni Thomas. A source told CNN the emails were among messages provided to the committee after a federal judge ruled that Eastman's correspondence was pertinent to the committee's work. In March, CNN learned that the committee had texts from Thomas to then-Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows showing Ginni Thomas pleading with him to fight to overturn the election results. In one November 10, 2020, text, she wrote, "Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!! ... You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America's constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History." 'By doing nothing, we invite further confusion and erosion of voter confidence' In the litigation that came to the Supreme Court during the 2020 election and its aftermath, Justice Thomas was receptive to Trump-backed theories. Along with three other right-wing colleagues, Thomas expressed support for a doctrine that would allow a state legislature to award a state's electors upon its own determinations even if it was in conflict to the will of the state's po[CENSORED]r vote. (That minority court view could have allowed GOP legislatures in swing states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to reverse the will of voters.) Thomas, in addition, wrote a February 2021 dissent, joined by no other justices, that emphasized election fraud and revealed some support for those challenging Joe Biden's election victory. It was conspicuous for echoing critics of mail-in ballots. Escalation of the Supreme Court's leak probe puts clerks in a 'no-win' situation Escalation of the Supreme Court's leak probe puts clerks in a 'no-win' situation "We are fortunate that many of the cases we have seen allege only improper rule changes, not fraud. But that observation provides only small comfort," Thomas wrote in a Pennsylvania dispute over mail-in ballots, adding, "An election free from strong evidence of systemic fraud is not alone sufficient for election confidence. Also important is the assurance that fraud will not go undetected." Election experts discredited claims related to fraud in 2020, and judges overwhelmingly rejected challenges to mail-in ballots in 2020.) As he dissented from the court majority's decision against intervening in the Pennsylvania dispute, Thomas added, "The decision to leave election law hidden beneath a shroud of doubt is baffling. By doing nothing, we invite further confusion and erosion of voter confidence." Thomas was also the only justice to publicly dissent last January when the high court allowed the National Archives to release to the January 6 committee thousands of documents from the Trump White House, over the former President's attempt to assert executive privilege. During the 2020 election litigation, Trump's assertions were rejected in one lawsuit after another, including in a December 2020 case that came to the justices. That case was initiated by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and attempted to reverse the election results in four states that had voted for Biden, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. Trump wrote on Twitter as the Supreme Court was about to act: "If the Supreme Court shows Great Wisdom and Courage, the American People will win perhaps the most important case in history and our Electoral Process will be respected again." But the Supreme Court on December 11 tossed the case. Jan. 6 hearings have revealed a ton of new material. Here's a recap Jan. 6 hearings have revealed a ton of new material. Here's a recap The New York Times reported Wednesday night that Eastman, the Trump legal strategist who is a former Thomas law clerk, claimed later in December 2020 that there was a "heated fight" among Supreme Court justices over whether to hear arguments about efforts by Trump to reverse the 2020 election results. In an exchange on December 24, 2020, Eastman apparently referred to infighting among the justices and wrote, "So the odds are not based on the legal merits but an assessment of the justices' spines, and I understand that there is a heated fight underway." Asked about that email by CNN's "New Day" on Thursday, Democratic Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, a member of the January 6 committee, said it "does suggest that there were at least some people maneuvering in right-wing legal circles to try to push the Supreme Court into action." Raskin added that Eastman "could have been lying about what he knew on the inside. On the other hand, perhaps he had some backchannel connection to the Supreme Court, and we want to ferret that out if that's true."

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/14/politics/roske-sister-kavanaugh/index.html The man charged last week with the attempted murder of Justice Brett Kavanaugh was convinced to call 911 on himself by his sister as he stood nearby the judge's Maryland home, law enforcement said Tuesday. In a statement, Marcus Jones, the chief of police in Montgomery County, Maryland, where Kavanaugh lives, said that after noticing US Marshals posted outside the judge's home, Nicholas Roske "turned around to contemplate his next move. This is when he texted his sister and told her of his intentions and she convinced him to call 911, which he did." CNN has reached out to his attorney for comment. The Washington Post earlier reported the texts between Roske and his sister. Roske was arrested last week after telling a 911 operator that he had a gun on him and was having suicidal thoughts. He has been formally indicted on one count of attempting to assassinate a Justice of the United States, according to a court filing released Wednesday. House passes bill to extend security protections to families of Supreme Court justices House passes bill to extend security protections to families of Supreme Court justices According to an FBI affidavit, Roske told authorities that he had traveled from California to kill "a specific United States Supreme Court Justice" and that he was upset about the leak of the Supreme Court opinion related to abortion rights, an upcoming gun control case, and the school shooting last month in Uvalde, Texas. Authorities said last week that the Marshals saw Roske emerge from a taxi outside the judge's home at 1:05 a.m. "dressed in black clothing and carrying a backpack and a suitcase." Montgomery County police have said that they responded to a call for service at 1:42 a.m. "I commend the excellent work of the police dispatcher and call taker, with our Emergency Communications Center, as well as the courageous acts of our officers potentially going into a dangerous and unstable situation to arrest this suspect," Jones said in the statement. The US Attorney's Office in Maryland said in a news release following the indictment that it includes "a forfeiture allegation seeking the forfeiture of a firearm, two magazines loaded with 10 rounds each of 9mm ammunition; 17 rounds of ammunition contained in a plastic bag, a black speed loader, and additional items allegedly intended to be used in the commission of the crime." Roske has been in jail since his arrest and is due back in court on June 22. If convicted, Roske faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. This story has been updated with additional developments Wednesday.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/dolphins-name-study-signature-whistles-offers-clues-rcna30114 Young dolphins, within the first few months of life, display their creativity by creating a unique sound. These bleats, chirps and squeaks amount to a novel possession in the animal kingdom — a label that conveys an identity, comparable to a human name. These labels are called signature whistles, and they play an essential role in creating and keeping relationships among dolphins. While the development of a signature whistle is influenced by learning from other dolphins, each whistle still varies in volume, frequency, pitch and length. Scientists have studied signature whistles for over 50 years and have made significant gains in understanding how whistles are used and why. But what is less understood are the exact factors that influence these varying styles used to broadcast a singular creature’s existence. A study published Thursday on dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea now claims that two influences best explain the differences among signature whistles: the local ocean environment and the demographics of different dolphin po[CENSORED]tions. For example, the scientists found dolphins who live in regions with more seagrass have signature whistles that are higher in pitch and shorter in length when compared to those who live in areas where the seafloor is muddier. Meanwhile, dolphins in smaller groups had whistles that changed pitch more often than dolphins in larger groups.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/15/asia/china-support-russia-security-xi-birthday-putin-intl-hnk/index.html Chinese leader Xi Jinping reiterated his support for Moscow on "sovereignty and security" matters in a call with counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, upholding his backing for the countries' partnership despite the global backlash against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Speaking on his 69th birthday, Xi also pledged to deepen strategic coordination between the two countries, according to China's Foreign Ministry. A separate readout from the Kremlin said the two leaders stressed their countries' relations were "were at an all-time high" and reaffirmed their commitment to "consistently deepen the comprehensive partnership." The call is thought to be the second time the two leaders have spoken since Russia invaded Ukraine. They also spoke just days after Moscow launched what it insists on calling a "special military operation." China, too, has refrained from referring to Russia's actions as an invasion and has walked a fine line on the issue. It has portrayed itself as calling for peace and upholding the global order, while refusing to denounce Russia's actions. It has also used its state media apparatus to mimic Kremlin lines blaming the United States and NATO for the crisis. During Wednesday's call, Xi stressed China had always "independently assessed the situation" in Ukraine and called for "all parties" to push for a "proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis" -- echoing language he used in a March call with US President Joe Biden. China is "willing to continue to play its role" in promoting a "proper solution" to Ukraine, he said. The Kremlin's summary of the call took this position a step further, saying: "the President of China noted the legitimacy of Russia's actions to protect fundamental national interests in the face of challenges to its security created by external forces." Trade ties Wednesday's call was also a chance for the two leaders to check in on a growing trade relationship. Earlier this year, weeks before the Russian invasion, the two leaders in a face-to-face meeting said their countries had a "no limits" partnership and pledged to boost trade. "Since the beginning of this year, bilateral relations have maintained a sound development momentum in the face of global turbulence and transformations," Xi said in the Wednesday call. China and Russia are building bridges. The symbolism is intentional China and Russia are building bridges. The symbolism is intentional "The Chinese side stands ready to work with the Russian side to push for steady and long-term development of practical bilateral cooperation," Xi said, pointing to the "steady progress" of their trade ties and the opening last week of the first cross-border highway bridge over the Amur River. The two agreed to expand cooperation in energy, finance, manufacturing and other areas, "taking into account the global economic situation that has become more complicated due to the illegitimate sanctions policy pursued by the West," the Kremlin readout said. The two countries also pledged to work together to strengthen communication and coordination in international bodies such as the United Nations -- where the two often vote as a bloc. "China is also willing to work with Russia to promote solidarity and cooperation among emerging market countries ... and push for the development of the international order and global governance towards a more just and reasonable direction," Xi said, in a comment that hit on the countries' shared aim of pushing back against what they view as the global hegemony of the United States. Birthday greetings The call was not the first time that Xi and Putin -- two strongmen drawn together by mutual distrust of the West -- have had engagements on each others' birthdays. In 2013, Xi presented Putin with a birthday cake and the two drank vodka together to mark the Russian leader's 61st birthday during a conference in Indonesia. Xi later celebrated his 66th birthday during a 2019 summit in Tajikistan with Putin, who surprised him with ice cream, cake and champagne. Their personal relationship, in which Xi has described Putin as his "best and bosom friend" is also thought to bolster the dynamics of their strengthening rapport on the national level. In its summary of the two leaders' latest call, the Kremlin noted the conversation was held in a "traditionally warm and friendly atmosphere."

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/12/politics/ben-ginsberg-january-6-committee-testify/index.html Former Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien will be among the witnesses testifying Monday before the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, the panel announced Sunday. Stepien will testify under subpoena, he told CNN. CNN reported earlier that conservative Republican election attorney Ben Ginsberg would also appear before the committee during its next public hearing on Monday. Other witnesses expected to testify Monday, according to the January 6 panel, include Chris Stirewalt, the former political editor at Fox; BJay Pak, the former US attorney for the North District of Georgia, and Al Schmidt, a former Philadelphia city commissioner. Two sources familiar with the matter said Ginsberg is expected to testify that there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, despite claims by former President Donald Trump and his supporters. He will also speak about the failed court cases filed by Trump's team. Ginsberg is considered a leading Republican expert on election fraud and played a critical role in the Florida recount case in 2000 when then-candidate George W. Bush defeated then-Vice President Al Gore. Even before the last presidential election, in a September 2020 essay, Ginsberg was vocal about the weakness of the former President's claim of widespread voter fraud and criticized the assertions as lacking evidence and "unsustainable." Pak's and Schmidt's home states of Georgia and Pennsylvania, respectively, were key states in the Trump campaign's efforts to potentially overturn the 2020 election results. Stirewalt was fired by Fox in January 2021 after right-wing backlash to the network's call of Arizona for then-candidate Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential election. Stirewalt wrote in a Los Angeles Times piece after his firing that the refusal by many of Trump's supporters to believe the election results was a "tragic consequence of the informational malnourishment so badly afflicting the nation." The hearing on Monday morning will focus on how Trump questioned the election process widely, knowing that his allies' assertions would not change the outcome, committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, said last week. The January 6 committee will strive to show how "Trump engaged in a massive effort to spread false and fraudulent information," even though "Trump and his advisers knew that he had, in fact, lost the election," Cheney said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/south-carolina-animal-rescue-ceo-arrested-30-dead-dogs-cats-found-home-rcna32141 The CEO of an animal rescue group in South Carolina was arrested after the bodies of 30 decomposing animals were found at her home, officials said. Caroline Dawn Pennington, 47, is a well-known figure in the animal rescue community who is the CEO and director of the nonprofit rescue group GROWL, the Richland County Sheriff's Department said in a news release. She was arrested Friday and charged with 30 counts of ill treatment of animals after 30 decomposing animals — 28 dogs and two cats — were found in cages and crates in her home, officials said. Police were called to Pennington’s home in Columbia on May 22 to conduct a welfare check after they got a call saying a “smell of death” was coming from the home, the sheriff's department said. Officers entered the home and “found a disturbing and extreme case of animal cruelty,” the release said. They discovered the decomposing animals inside and found they had been dead for a “significant amount of time,” appearing to have died from “starvation and dehydration,” the sheriff’s office said. "They were lying in their own waste and it is believed that they died in the cages and had not been moved prior to being discovered,” officials said. The sheriff’s department removed the animals with help from local animal control authorities. It’s not clear why Pennington wasn’t arrested until Friday. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott called the discovery one of the worst cases of animal cruelty he’d seen. It’s appalling, and it’s heartbreaking," he said. “This is someone who was entrusted by the community to care for these animals and find them homes. She betrayed that trust, and she betrayed the trust of these innocent animals who relied on her.” In addition to operating GROWL, Pennington was employed by the Kershaw County Humane Society, a pet adoption center, the sheriff's department said.

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bikes/2023-honda-hornet/ These official design sketches are the first detailed images of the all-new Honda Hornet, which the Japanese giant first announced at Eicma in November 2021. The sporty roadster revives the name of the affordable, naked CB600F originally produced between 1998 and 2006 in response to Suzuki’s 600 Bandit – which later spawned both a 900cc version and an updated successor from 2007-2013. However, although the original was a 97bhp inline-four derived from the CBR600F, the new Hornet, as indicated by a video soundtrack played at Eicma, is expected to be powered by an all-new, high-revving, parallel twin reminiscent of Yamaha’s po[CENSORED]r MT-07. Sources in Japan have also indicated the engine is likely to be around 750cc. Honda Hornet design concept Although Honda has yet to officially comment on its specification, the change in configuration is almost certainly due to a number of factors. Firstly, a twin is far cheaper to develop and easier to make comply with the latest emissions regulations than a four. The Hornet ‘brand’ is as an affordable roadster – once again po[CENSORED]r, as proven by the MT-07. Finally, Honda is expected to use the platform for a whole family of bikes, likely to include a new Transalp mid-range adventure bike in much the same way as Yamaha used the MT-07 as a base for Ténéré 700. So, expect there to be a junior version of Honda’s Africa Twin in the pipeline. The ‘affordable, versatile’ theme is continued by what looks like a tubular steel trellis frame. Honda Hornet tank design concept The new Hornet is being being developed at Honda’s European R&D centre in Rome with styling by 28-year-old designer Giovanni Dovis (who also styled the recent ADV350 scooter) and has shades not only of the MT-07 but also Honda’s CB500F and even KTM’s 890 Duke. The finished bike is expected to be unveiled later this year. Hornet returns! Honda revive legendary naked bike name for surprise concept at Eicma First published 23 November 2021 by Dan Sutherland A sleek back end is reminiscent of the Fireblade superbike Honda have announced plans to revive the iconic Hornet name – revealing a surprise naked bike concept at the Eicma trade show, in Milan. The Japanese firm delivered the announcement at the end of their annual news conference at the beginning of the first day of the show, confirming that the name would return for a future model year. Sitting alongside this bold statement was a new, raked out naked concept on their stand, which lays the foundations for the new machine. Honda Hornet concept engine diagram There are no official details on the bike at this stage, however we can tell you that it will be powered by a combustion engine, with accompanying sound effects around the stage suggesting it will be a revvy, mid-sized parallel-twin, complete with a quick shifter. Outside of that, the front nose piece bears a good resemblance with KTM’s 890 Duke range – a likely rival for the new bike when it arrives. We’d expect it to produce in the region of 100bhp to 115bhp, too. Also visible are aggressive shoulders on either side of the petrol tank, which appear more pronounced than the ones found on the existing CB naked roadster range. A new Honda Hornet could rival a KTM 890 Duke Completing the look is a wide, flat tail reminiscent of the Honda Fireblade superbike. No official sources were available at the event to pass further comment at this time. The new Honda Hornet will be the first bike to use this name since the second-generation naked produced between 2007 and 2013. The name itself stretches back to 1998, with the launch of the original four-cylinder CB600F Hornet.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jun/12/we-need-stories-from-older-mothers-and-from-women-who-dont-want-children-too Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett’s column on the importance of telling stories of motherhood focused on Rachel Cusk’s A Life’s Work, which Cosslett notes was criticised on publication, mainly by mothers (Writing honestly about motherhood still provokes anger, but we must tell our stories, 6 June). Cusk noted in 2008 that many of her critics exhibited a “hunger to express themselves not as women, not as commentators or intellectuals, but as mothers”. Honest stories of motherhood are essential, but so too are identities beyond the maternal, for both mothers and non-mothers. We must come to know women as more than nurturing caregivers. Although truthful stories of motherhood are gaining traction, our culture tends to see all women of child-bearing age as potential mothers. Any thirtysomething can tell you about a time they were asked when they would have children, told they’d make a wonderful mother, or condescendingly advised that they would change their mind about not having children. The choice to not have children should be free of judgment in the same way that mothers who complain about their children should not be vilified. We see examples of this unshakable expectation every day in po[CENSORED]r culture – even in this publication, in which a columnist once implied that if it were not for financial woes or fear of commitment, millennials would of course be having children instead of pets. Many people want children, but not everyone. Monica Cardenas London I remember devouring Rachel Cusk’s book. A friend recommended it when I was struggling to look after a three-year-old and newborn in a new city, and I was so grateful to find I wasn’t alone in finding motherhood boring as well as immensely joyous. She opened the door to more honest writing about the huge change that occurs in a woman’s life when she becomes a mother However, having now been a mother for more than 20 years, I would make a plea that we need to hear more from those who’ve been mothers for longer. Pregnancy, birth and those early months are the start of a long journey. My experience of motherhood has changed as my family expanded and as I and my three children grow older. Motherhood becomes more isolated, as there’s no equivalent of baby and toddler classes or the school gate for parents of teenagers. There are new and – for some – harder challenges: faced with a sobbing teenager, I thought wistfully of the days when I could solve most of their problems for them. More stories from mothers of older children and young people would help us all along the long road of parenthood. Claire Flood-Page. In this modern, enlightened age, there are probably few more taboo aspects of motherhood than the older mother’s experience of having an adult child (and possibly grandchildren) emigrate to the other side of the world. Having lived through this over 10 years ago, I was shocked by the expectation, often from other women, that I must be outwardly positive about it, and suppress my profound sense of loss. It seemed that to be open about my pain was to be a “bad mother”. Yet a 2012 study found that in older parents whose children emigrate, it “is mostly experienced as a vast loss, almost akin to a death”, which is exactly how it felt to me. Is it ageism that requires older women to keep quiet about this aspect of motherhood? Is there any stage of life when a mother has the right to tell her own story? Name and address supplied Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? 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https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/12/europe/bakhmut-donetsk-russia-ukraine-intl-cmd/index.html At first glance Bakhmut doesn't look like a city at war. As we drove into the city in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on a warm sunny morning, men in orange vests tend to the roses. The tall trees shading the streets are thick with leaves. Traffic is light because of fuel shortages, so many residents get around on bicycles. This peaceful façade, however, is deceptive. Explosions regularly echo over Bakhmut: the blasts of outgoing and incoming artillery and rockets outside, and occasionally inside, the city. Our first stop was a municipal building where volunteers were handing out bread. With cooking gas no longer available, bakeries have stopped working. Every day a truck arrives after a 10-hour journey with 10,000 loaves of bread, handed out free -- two loaves per person. Residents in Bakhmut are given free loaves of bread. Residents in Bakhmut are given free loaves of bread. Lyilya has brought her two grandchildren to pick up bread. "We support them," she says, explaining what she does to keep their minds at ease. "We tell them there are some guys playing with tanks. What else can I tell them? How can I damage their mental health? You can't do that. It's impossible." Just as the last words come out of her mouth the air shakes with multiple blasts. She turns to her grandchildren with gentle words of reassurance. On a nearby forested hill, thin threads of black smoke curl into the sky where the blasts came from — most likely a Ukrainian rocket launcher. No one flinches. No one runs for cover. Tetyana volunteers with the bread distribution. A stocky woman with an easy smile, she exchanges pleasantries as she hands out the bread. When I ask if she intends to stay in Bakhmut if Russian forces push closer, her demeanor changes. She shakes her head. "We love our town. Our graves are here. Our parents lived her. We won't go anywhere," she insists, her voice quivering. Tears well up in her eyes. "It's our land. We won't give it up to anyone. Even if it's destroyed, we'll rebuild. Everything will be..." and here she gives two thumbs up. A teddy-bear wrapped in bandages is placed at the site of a strike in Bakhmut. A teddy-bear wrapped in bandages is placed at the site of a strike in Bakhmut. Bakhmut sits by the main road leading to the twin cities of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, now the epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine. The latter has been the scene of intense street-to-street combat between Ukrainian and Russian forces. For weeks Russian forces have bombarded the road, and Bakhmut, in what is seen as an attempt to cut the twin cities off from the rest of Ukrainian-controlled territory. Ukrainian officials have said most of Severodonetsk is now under Russian control and that Moscow plans to isolate it in the coming days. Overnight Russian forces destroyed the second of three bridges between the two cities and is heavily shelling the third. Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk region military administration, said the area of the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk has been "shelled very heavily for hours, destroying everything there with heavy caliber [munitions]." Hayday says he expects the Russians to "throw all their reserves to seize the city," and said it's possible they will cut off and seize the main highway into the city. If that city and Lysychansk fall, Bakhmut, it is feared, will be next. Unlike in some other parts of the country, there is no sense here in the east that the worst of this war is over. Russian forces have made slow but steady progress there. The head of Ukrainian intelligence recently told The Guardian that for every one artillery piece possessed by the Ukrainian military, Russian has between 10 and 15. Others, including President Vlodymyr Zelensky, claim that every day as many as 100 Ukrainian soldiers are killed, and around 500 wounded. In this grinding war of attrition, Russia, far bigger and better armed, is pressing its advantage. All of this is no secret here. In a city-run dormitory, Lyudmila is preparing lunch for her two children, frying onions and boiling potatoes. She fled her town outside Bakhmut in March to escape the shelling. "Home" now is a small, cramped room. Her husband died before the war. Kolya came to Bakhmut with his mother and sister in March to escape the shelling. Now he lives with them in a cramped room at a student dormitory. Kolya came to Bakhmut with his mother and sister in March to escape the shelling. Now he lives with them in a cramped room at a student dormitory. She says she has nowhere else to go, and barely any money, and asks with an edge of irritation, what is the point? The Russians are coming. "It's the same everywhere," she says. "When they [the Russians] are done here, they'll go further." She shrugs and walks away down the dark corridor. "That's all I have to say" she shouts back over her shoulder. Thursday morning Russian aircraft struck a complex of agricultural warehouses on the edge of Bakhmut. It was the third strike on the complex in recent weeks. A gaping hole in the pavement shows where one bomb hit, spraying shrapnel in every direction, ripping holes in a warehouse of wheat. Plump pigeons circle overhead, ready to feast on the grain. The weather has been good this year. The wheat harvest is just weeks away. Yet the war threatens to cut production by a third. Bakhmut police Major Pavlo Diachenko spends his days documenting the aftermath of air and artillery strikes. He knows only too well how random they seem. Strikes, he tells me with a sigh, can happen "anytime. In the morning, in the evening. We don't [know] when." A small group of people gathers mid-morning in a parking lot next to a municipal building, waiting for a volunteer-run bus to take them to the relative safety of the city of Dnipro, a four-hour drive to the west. Igor, a beekeeper in peacetime, is startled by a large blast as he stands in the shade. He's leaving with his cat, Simon Simonyonich, who frowns through the bars of his blue and white pet carrier. Simon Simonyonich has been out of sorts since Bakhmut came under fire, remarks Igor. "I left everything here -- my bees and my house with all my belongings," he says, holding Simon's cage as he prepares to board the bus. Moments later, another blast shakes the ground. Soon the bus is loaded, the passengers sitting in their seats. "Is anyone here with the army?" the driver asks. The bus is strictly for civilians. A sardonic chuckle ripples among the passengers. Most are well past military age. The door slams shut. The bus begins to move. After one final blast, the bus pulls out of the parking lot.

Hoy es el cumpleaños de tres personas increíbles como son@FazzNoth@Jugador & @~~Sombra oscura~~, felicidades en su día chicos, espero que la pasen muy bien🎉🎂🥳❤️

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/11/politics/donald-trump-january-6-democrats-moderate/index.html Former President Donald Trump still manages to dominate the political headlines, nearly a year and half after leaving office. On Thursday, the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol used its first prime-time hearing to make the case that Trump used his power to try and overturn the 2020 election result. The committee faces political headwinds, however. A majority of Americans (55%) now believe that Trump was either not or only partially responsible for the rioters who overtook the Capitol, according to a recent NBC News poll. That's up from 47% in January 2021. Trump's improving political position is where we begin today. January 6 did little damage to Trump over the long term Analysts like me remarked over and over again during Trump's time in office that he was one of, if not the most unpo[CENSORED]r presidents. He left office with the lowest approval rating of any president at the end of his first term (39%) and the highest disapproval rating (58%) thanks in part to a late swoon following the events of January 6, 2021. Today, Trump's polling position with Americans overall is one of his best, and he remains the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination. The former President's favorable rating stands at 43% with an unfavorable rating of 52%. That makes for a net favorability rating of -9 points -- not particularly high, but then Trump was never particularly po[CENSORED]r. He averaged a net approval rating during his presidency of -12 points. A 3-point jump in net po[CENSORED]rity may not seem like much, but his current net favorability rating is higher than 86% of his net approval ratings during his presidency. If nothing else, it's 10 points higher than his net approval rating at the end of his time in office. In 2024 matchups against President Joe Biden, Trump is running a point or two ahead of Biden, on average. It wouldn't be particularly impressive for most politicians to be leading, within the margin of error, a President with a low-40s approval rating. But being barely ahead or tied with Biden would have been a revelation for Trump in 2020. He managed to lead in only about 1% of all national polls taken in 2020 -- and in none that met CNN's standards for publication. In raw numbers, Trump's been ahead in more polls against Biden over the past few months than he was for the entirety of 2020. Why you can't rely on Trump to help win a GOP primary in 2022 Why you can't rely on Trump to help win a GOP primary in 2022 And while Trump is not as po[CENSORED]r among Republicans as he was on Election Day 2020, he's still the man to beat in the GOP field. Trump's favorable rating with Republicans is at or slightly north of 80%. His "very favorable" rating is in the low 50s. By this measure, Trump is more beloved by Republicans than Biden is by Democrats. There is no Republican active in the political arena who is as well liked at this point by the party faithful as Trump. Ahead of 2024, Trump continues to post some of the strongest numbers in national primary polls for any nonincumbent in the last 50 years. He laps the field with about 50% of the vote. Previous nonincumbents polling at Trump's level all went on to win their party's nomination for president if they decided to run. Trump may be a unique case, though, as a former incumbent. Indeed, Trump's numbers don't make him a sure thing. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a higher favorable rating than Trump among Republicans who hold an opinion of both men. Still, Trump is in an enviable position. One that might have been unimaginable when he left office in January 2021. So just what happened to allow Trump to become less unpo[CENSORED]r? The answer is probably simple: time. Trump is no longer the president. Americans' memories tend to be very short. Issues that once seemed important (e.g., controlling the coronavirus pandemic) have sunk to the bottom of the priorities list for most voters, as new concerns arise (e.g., inflation). The question for which the answer is yet unknown is what happens if Trump decides to run for president again? Will the American public's strong dislike of him from January 2021 return? Or does distance really make the heart grow fonder? We may just find out. Democrats get a reminder: Their base is not very liberal The other big political story of this week happened about as far away from Washington, DC, as you can get in the contiguous United States. Progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin got recalled on Tuesday night. At the same time, in the nonpartisan primary for Los Angeles mayor, progressive US Rep. Karen Bass was forced into a November runoff by businessman Rick Caruso. Both results showed the potency of a tough-on-crime message, even in Democratic strongholds, as I discussed earlier this week. But they also demonstrate that Democrats overall aren't anywhere near as liberal as many progressives wish they were. Take a look at a CNN/SSRS poll from earlier this year. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 64% identified as moderate or conservative. Just 17% said they were very liberal, with the remainder indicating they were somewhat liberal. Republicans are gaining with female voters, as gender gap shrinks Republicans are gaining with female voters, as gender gap shrinks Other polling isn't nearly as dramatic, though it makes the same point. Summer 2021 data from the Pew Research Center poll for instance showed that 15% of Democrats were very liberal, while 52% were either moderate (45%), conservative (5%) or very conservative (2%). The 2020 general election exit poll showed that just 42% of Biden voters were liberal, while 58% were moderate or conservative. Indeed, this feels like a discussion we have about the Democrats every other year. There is an argument that the party is moving left (which it very well may be), while the polls continue to show that Democratic voters are nowhere near as left-leaning as some on Twitter make them out to be. We just saw Biden win the party's presidential nomination over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2020. Four years prior, Sanders lost the nomination to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Arguably, Barack Obama is the only Democrat since 2000 to win the nomination with a disproportionate amount of support from the very liberal compared with other ideological groups. Obama's secret sauce was that he was also able to win Black voters. No Democratic nominee has won without them in over 30 years. They're far less likely to identify as liberal or very liberal as Democrats as a whole. This doesn't mean that very progressive politicians can't win office. Many of them do. Ideology is one of several things that determine whom people vote for, especially in primaries. The fact is, however, that the Democratic base is not like the Republican base when it comes to the pull of the ideological extremes. The Republican base is far more likely to identify as conservative than moderate, and very conservatives make up a roughly similar share of Republicans as moderates do. It's no wonder then that even in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, which Biden won by over 50 points, progressives are far from shoo-ins. For your brief encounters: It's Flag Day on Tuesday Flag Day (June 14) is not a major holiday, but Americans do love their flag. In fact, actions toward the American flag are the top way for US citizens to show their patriotism. According to a 2018 SSRS poll, 23% said flying, saluting, displaying or respecting the flag in general was the way they showed their American patriotism. That beat out respecting or supporting the troops (15%) for the top spot. The topic most frequently spoken about in this column (voting) came in at 11% -- good for fourth place. Leftover polls The transgender/nonbinary age divide: According to a new Pew report, 1.6% of American adults identify as either transgender (0.6%) or nonbinary (1.0%). Among those under the age of 30, it's 5.1% (2.0% transgender and 3.1% nonbinary). Among those age 50 and older, it's only 0.3% (0.2% transgender and 0.1% nonbinary). Growing cancel culture knowledge: Pew shows that 61% of adults now have a great deal or fair amount of knowledge of the phrase "cancel culture." In 2020, 44% did. New Yorkers don't own cars: In a stat that may be unfathomable to most, 52% of New York City residents told Siena College in its latest poll that they did not own a car. Somewhere close to 90% of all Americans own a car.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mountain-lion-wanders-classroom-california-high-school-officials-say-rcna31484 A mountain lion cub wandered into a California high school Wednesday and was being trapped in a classroom by a custodian before being safely removed hours later, has been, officials said. The mountain lion that made its way into Pescadero High School in San Mateo County is 6 to 8 months old and likely an orphan, according to the Oakland Zoo, which is now caring for the animal. The cub was discovered just before 8:30 a.m. Wednesday as the custodial staff was preparing to open the school, a San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said. It was removed Wednesday afternoon and had to be tranquilized for capture and transport, the zoo said. No students or staff were ever in danger as the school was not in session yet," the spokesperson said. It’s not clear how the mountain lion entered the school in Pescadero, a small community near the coast around 30 miles west of San Jose. THIS SITE IS PROTECTED BY RECAPTCHA PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF SERVICE A custodian shut the door of the English classroom, keeping the cub inside as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife was called. 'March For Our Lives' protests against gun violence sweep nation following hundreds of mass shootings They tried to “let it out on its own,” but the mountain lion did not leave because was likely “lost and scared,” the sheriff’s spokesperson said. Students and staff were sent home for the day as a precaution, the sheriff’s office said. The mountain lion will be sent to a zoo, the Oakland Zoo said. It said the animal is too young to survive alone — mountain lions spend their first two years learning from their mothers — and no other mountain lions have been seen in the area. The animal, a male, is underweight but otherwise healthy, the zoo said. He was found under a teacher’s desk and was calm, it said.

https://www.po[CENSORED]rmechanics.com/cars/motorcycles/g2309/best-motorcycle-buys/ Engine: 399-cc parallel twin Weight (with fuel and fluids): 366 lb. Transmission: 6-speed Lightweight, affordable, practical, and with cool looks, the Ninja comes with the ideal engine for newbies who want to learn to ride skillfully without earning too many speeding tickets. There are other sporty, road-focused motorcycles like it, but most have single-cylinder engines, which can vibrate at highway speeds. The Ninja’s twin-cylinder, however, is smooth on highways but still light enough to be manageable in real-world traffic and parking lots. It’s exemplary of a formula that Kawi has been perfecting for decades. Just make sure to spend the $300 extra for ABS. The 2020 model is unchanged from the 2019 version, so a used Ninja 400 can work just as well. We also would consider the Suzuki SV650 ABS ($7,499), which has enough power for almost any level rider, plus Low RPM Assist, which helps prevent you stalling out. And there’s the Honda NC750X ($8,099). It has even more power, plus a storage compartment above the gas tank, and an optional automatic transmission for $800 more.