In the news today: How climate change could cause an increase in infectious diseases; Syrian refugees fear deportation; and powerplay at the LIV-PGA Tour. Also, controversy over a country music video. |
Illustration about the different ways infectious diseases can impact the human body. (Illustration/Amelia Bates, Grist via AP) |
As the planet warms, infectious diseases could spike |
Across the planet, animals and the diseases they carry are shifting locations as temperatures rise. Ticks, mosquitos, bacteria, algae, and even fungi are also on the move, shifting their historical ranges to adapt to climatic conditions that are evolving at an unprecedented pace. Read more. |
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- Deforestation, mining, agriculture, and urban sprawl are taking bites out of the globe’s remaining wild areas, contributing to biodiversity loss occurring at a rate unprecedented in human history. Populations of species that humans rely on for sustenance are getting pushed into smaller slices of habitat, creating hotspots for diseases to jump from animals to humans.
Cases of disease linked to mosquitos, ticks and fleas tripled in the U.S. between 2004 and 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research shows more than half of all the pathogens known to cause disease in humans can be made worse by climate change.
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They fled Syria’s shattering civil war. Now, refugees fear being forced to return |
As countries in the Middle East begin to restore relations with Syrian President Bashar Assad, many Syrian refugees who fled civil war fear they will be forced to return to their homeland. Those concerns are especially acute in Jordan — home to an estimated 1.3 million Syrian refugees. Read more.
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Even as public hostility and economic misery in neighboring countries have squeezed Syrian refugees, few are clamoring to return. Syrian refugees say they are terrified by the prospect of returning to a country shattered by war and controlled by the same authoritarian leader who brutally crushed the 2011 rebellion.
Hoping to speed up their exodus, Lebanon and Turkey have deported hundreds of Syrians since April in what rights groups consider a violation of international law.
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Golf has long been about making connections. That won’t change in an LIV-PGA Tour world |
The history of golf courses serving as a quasi-boardroom is a lengthy one. Corporate executives and politicians have used the game as a chance to make deals and generate influence for years, and that is unlikely to change after the stunning alliance of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Read more. |
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Last month’s announcement of the alliance between LIV and the PGA tour appeared to come out of the blue. There was no paper trail. No leaks. Just a paradigm-altering decision reached quietly. All of it symbolic of a game steeped in the culture of connections.
The agreement has been met with skepticism and a raised eyebrow in most circles, including the U.S. Congress. As members of both tours gather at this week’s British Open at Royal Liverpool, the people who put the deal together are hoping both the public and the players will be able to strip away the sensitive politics — not easy, given Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses — and look at the bottom line.
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On July 20, 1969: Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after reaching the surface in the Apollo 11 lunar module. This image, taken by Armstrong, shows reflections of Armstrong, the U.S. flag, the lunar module and a television camera. (Neil Armstrong/NASA via AP) A look at what else happened in history on July 20 |
Australian Tim Shaddock has his blood pressure taken after being rescued by a Mexican tuna boat crew. (Grupomar/Atun Tuny via AP) |
WATCH: The moment a man and his dog were rescued at sea
Watch the moment a Mexican tuna boat crew rescued an Australian sailor and his dog after they were adrift at sea for three months. He spoke at a news conference when he reached dry land. |
“Barbenheimer day” is set for Saturday It all started with a date: July 21, the shared release date for both Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer”. It’s not uncommon for studios to counterprogram films on a big weekend, but the stark differences between an intense picture about the man who helped develop the atomic bomb and a candy-colored anthropomorphizing of a doll quickly became viral fodder. From discussion on portmanteaus, soundtracks, nuanced portrayals and international bans, there are high hopes that the buzz around the double-feature translate into a post-pandemic theatre revival. Here’s the lineup for the summer movie season. |
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