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The US looks set to face scorching temperatures this week, as the first significant heatwave of the season gets underway. Much of the Midwest, Great Lakes, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic are forecast to see potentially record-breaking heat lingering throughout the first half of the week. The longevity of the extreme temperatures expected in some locations has not been experienced in decades.Numerous daily high-temperature records and even a few monthly records for June could be broken from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast, with local maximum temperatures predicted to reach up to 40.5°C (105°F). IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.But soaring temperatures are far from the only weather phenomenon the US will have to contend with, as heavy rainfall, flash flooding, snow, and storms have all been predicted in various locations across the country.According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Americans should anticipate “heavy wet snow across the northern Rockies into the new week. Meanwhile, deep tropical moisture is expected to move ashore across the Gulf Coast States with the threat of heavy rainfall. This threat extends into the upper Midwest where flash flooding and a few severe storms [are expected].”In the meantime, the heatwave will spread from the central Plains to the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and the Northeast today and will remain across the Northeast through midweek, as per the latest update from the NWS’s Weather Prediction Center.Over the next couple of days, a low-pressure system is forecast over the central High Plains, which is expected to intensify as it heads toward and reaches the upper Midwest. Ahead of this low-pressure system, “a heat wave is quickly emerging,” the Weather Prediction Center explains.“The heat will surge into the Northeast by Tuesday where high temperatures well up into the 90s [90°F/32°C] are forecast as far north as Vermont and New Hampshire. By Wednesday afternoon, some locations in interior New England could see temperatures topping the century mark [100°F/38°C], which will break daily records at certain locations.”This means that, by Sunday, 268 million people are forecast to see air temperatures reach or exceed 32°C (90°F), Axios reports.Meanwhile, in the Four Corners region of the Southwestern US, “critical fire danger conditions are anticipated today under persistently dry conditions.”Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the US, so the NWS urges that people take the heatwave seriously and tread carefully, particularly those who are at greatest risk from the effects of extreme heat, such as older people, pregnant people and infants, and those with chronic medical conditions. For tips on how to stay safe in the heat, check out the NWS’s handy resources.

As part of this year’s Juneteenth celebrations, the US National Park Service is offering free entrance to all of its parks. This includes Death Valley, where the day is set to be an absolute scorcher.California recently experienced a record-breaking heatwave, and the high temperatures seem set to continue. Death Valley National Park currently has an “Extreme Summer Heat” alert in place, with temperatures expected to reach 38°C to 54°C (100°F to 130°F).Juneteenth is likely to be no different, with temperatures at Furnace Creek, where the park’s visitor center is located, currently forecast to reach highs of 43°C to 44°C (109°F to 112°F). As a result, park rangers have issued advice on how to stay safe during a trip to Death Valley on Juneteenth, or any other summer day in the park.One tip is to try and avoid the heat entirely. If you’re after a long hike, this might be by sticking to higher elevations where temperatures are cooler, such as the Telescope and Wildrose Peak Trails. For shorter walks down in the valley after 10 am, it’s recommended to stay close to an air-conditioned car – there’s still plenty of scenic locations like Badwater Basin and Dante’s View to be seen this way. Either way, it advised to travel on paved roads and also keep an eye on whether or not there’s any cell service – many places in the park are without it.Higher temperatures mean that it’s important to drink plenty of water, as the risk of dehydration is increased; our bodies sweat more in the heat to try and keep themselves cool, but those fluids need to be replaced. Park rangers also suggest eating salty snacks, as this helps to both retain water and regain sodium – which has multiple important roles in the body – lost through sweating.Advice from the park also includes avoiding the Sun by seeking shade during the hottest part of the day and making good use of accessories like sunhats and umbrellas.Keep all that in mind and you’ll be ready for a Juneteenth visit – but why are the parks waiving fees on that day?What is Juneteenth?January 1, 1863, marked the issuing of the final Emancipation Proclamation by US President Abraham Lincoln, a significant step in bringing an end to slavery in the country. However, not everyone was freed immediately – much was hanging on the Union gaining military victory over the Confederacy.Over two years later, Union troops finally arrived in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas with news of freedom for the 250,000 enslaved African Americans there. This happened on June 19, a date that came to be remembered and celebrated in the form of Juneteenth, a portmanteau of the date.  Though it’s been honored by many since that time, it was only in 2021 under President Joe Biden that Juneteenth became a federal holiday. Following what it’s done for other important holidays in the US, the National Park Service announced last year that it would be offering free entry to its sites on June 19 to honor the day.“In addition to protecting beautiful places, the National Park Service protects our nation’s emancipation sites and stories,” said Death Valley National Park in a statement.

A former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told a US cable news network that a bird flu pandemic is “very likely”. Robert Redfield, a virologist who served as director of the agency from 2018 to 2021, also noted that bird flu in humans is associated with “significant mortality”, and that a pandemic could have a death rate far in excess of that we’ve seen with COVID-19.Many influenza viruses infect wild bird populations across the world, but most of them pose no serious risk to humans. The problems arise when a strain of bird flu mutates and gains the ability to jump into another host species. All four major flu pandemics that have hit humanity during the 20th and 21st centuries – including the “Spanish” flu of 1918 and swine flu of 2009 – are thought to have begun with an avian flu virus.Recently, fears have been heightened that another pandemic strain could be coming our way, thanks to the almost unprecedented spread of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza among wild and domesticated birds and, crucially, many different mammal species.Outbreaks in cattle on dairy farms across several US states have already seen the virus spreading to farm cats and three human workers, all of whom thankfully had only mild illness. Virus particles have also been detected in beef and milk, though experts continue to stress that the food supply is safe and the risk to the general public is low.The fact remains, however, that the more we see this virus spilling over into mammals and the human population, the greater the chance it will adapt to be able to spread between people.This is what Redfield warned about when he spoke to NewsNation on Friday, June 14.   “I really do think it’s very likely that we will at some time, it’s not a question of if, it’s more a question of when we will have a bird flu pandemic,” Redfield told host Chris Cuomo.He added that there’s been a steady increase in the number of mammals becoming infected in the US since 2019, with some of the latest additions pushing the overall total to around 27 different species.H5 subtypes of avian flu, including H5N1, have long been at the forefront of concerns about a future human pandemic. The recent case of a human H5N2 infection in Mexico underscored the risk that any of these viruses could pose to mammals, although the world’s attention is still firmly and understandably focused on H5N1 as it has spread to even the remotest of regions.“As [H5N1] goes into more and more different mammals it’s changing its use of receptors […], it’s learning how to use different receptors for dolphins, and seals, [and] bears, and polar bears, and foxes, and raccoons, and cats,” Redfield explained. “So it’s going through a lot of changes, and as it picks up some of these new receptors it can get closer and closer to humans.”Surveillance remains key, and health authorities around the world are watching this virus like a hawk. As Redfield said, there’s no easy way to predict how long it may take for the virus to develop the necessary mutations that could lead to a pandemic, likely with a higher mortality rate than we saw with COVID-19 even before treatments and vaccines – “somewhere between 25 and 50 percent,” was Redfield’s forecast.Right now, there’s no evidence to suggest that the virus has yet developed the ability to spread between humans. The small number of human cases we’ve seen so far have all been isolated incidents associated with very close contact with infected animals. But that hasn’t stopped some countries already taking precautions.Finland looks set to become the first country to start immunizing at-risk people after the European Union secured a large order of a vaccine based on the similar virus H5N8, with other countries poised to make similar moves. An existing supply of vaccines is a major plus, and something we did not have for COVID when the pandemic ramped up in 2020. Hopefully, other lessons humanity has learned from SARS-CoV-2 will serve us well when the next pandemic comes. 

The SETI Institute’s new grants program supports advanced research in detecting extraterrestrial technosignatures with grants up to $100,000, leveraging the capabilities of the Allen Telescope Array, reports scitechdaily.com. The SETI Institute has introduced a groundbreaking grants program focused on advancing technosignature science. This unique initiative is designed to fund innovative research that tackles essential observational, theoretical, and technical challenges in the quest for technosignatures, which may reveal signs of past or present extraterrestrial technology. At the heart of this groundbreaking research is the Allen Telescope Array (ATA), a world-class instrument known for its capabilities in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The ATA is the first, and still only observatory built specifically to conduct SETI research. With its upgraded feeds and backend processing capabilities, the ATA’s advanced technology and strategic design make it a pivotal tool in detecting potential technosignatures, solidifying its position as a leading asset in this scientific frontier. “In just the last few years, a wealth of new research avenues have opened up in technosignature science, made possible by new ideas, new technologies, and a fast-growing community of early-career researchers,” said Dr. Andrew Siemion, Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute. “The novel investigations enabled with this grants program will spur the state-of-the-art in the technosignature field, continuing in the spirit of the SETI Institute’s 40 years of leadership in SETI science.” The application deadline for the 2024 grants is July 15, 2024. Successful applicants will be notified by August 5, 2024. For more information and instructions click here. The post New SETI grants aim to revolutionize search for Extraterrestrial technology appeared first on Anomalien.com.

On August 28, 2013, three men, one of whom worked as an engineer at the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), came to hunt in the Canadian province of Ontario. Before they had time to set up camp, they saw in the sky an object similar in shape to a dumbbell. The UFO glowed indigo blue and was “half a football field” long. The engineer (he chose to remain incognito and the media do not show his photo, and in an interview with him below his voice was changed) tried to photograph the object on his Motorola phone, but he did not succeed – only “white noise pulses” were visible on the video, which flickered in the same rhythm as the glow of the UFO. However, he considers his video significant evidence in favor of the reality of the existence of UFOs: “The data obtained from this event may be the first real physical evidence that there is not just some kind of aircraft flying there, but that it is flying thanks to an incredibly complex and […] powerful rotating electromagnetic propulsion system,” says an eyewitness. He later contacted ufologist Robert Powell and told him about his sighting and video. Powell is known for investigating the 2007 mass UFO sightings over Texas and for his role in the UFO documentary series “Encounters,” which aired on Netflix last year. According to Powell, this is the only case of a dumbbell-shaped UFO that he has encountered. He says that UFOs of this form are very rare and in all the decades of the history of ufology, only about 50-60 cases of sightings of such UFOs around the world are known. This is what the UFO looked like, observed by the engineer and his friends. Powell personally met with the eyewitness engineer and watched his unsuccessful video to analyze the captured white noise interference. He also became convinced that the eyewitness actually worked for the Pentagon, because it gave him a “tour of the defense facility.” “The very first thing that struck us was how bright this object was. It looked impressive. Having worked with optical systems in the past, it could be described as a vehicle that looked like stadium floodlights – it was everything shone,” says the engineer. According to him, the entire surface of the “dumbbell” seemed to be covered with “indigo-colored plasma,” and this “dumbbell” was about 170 feet (51 meters) long, 60 feet (18 meters) wide, and approximately 20 feet high ( 6 meters). The object flew slowly, barely missing the treetops, over an old logging road. “At the same time, the apparatus slowly rotated around its center, emitting a stream similar to electric sparks, always opposite to the direction of movement, but without a specific starting point.” In addition to the phone, the engineer also had a small Sony video camera with him, but when he tried to photograph the UFO with it after the failure with the phone, it also captured nothing but noise. The object was so bright it was painful to look at: “It was kind of salty to my eyes. It was like I was looking at a laser through a diffraction grating or something like that.” Two other men (their identities and positions were not revealed) were also very excited by what they saw. The UFO, slowly rotating and moving in one direction, was observed by people for about 6-7 minutes, and then a second UFO, also brightly lit, appeared on the horizon, and at the same moment both ships “swept away at incredible speed.” It is estimated that the surface area of ​​the ship was approximately 3.1 million square inches and thus would require “a minimum of 160 MW (160 million watts) of power” to surround the ship with glowing plasma. “This amount of energy is 33% of the energy of the 478 million watt nuclear power plant at Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. “Without question, this vehicle was the highest power density vehicle I have ever imagined,” says the engineer. In addition to the interference, the video recording also captured the surprised exclamations of the engineer and his friends, but these videos were not posted in full on the Internet for public viewing. A small fragment of the recording with noise can be seen in a video of an interview with an engineer posted by the ufological network MUFON. Watch from the 19:37 mark. The post Pentagon engineer saw a huge blue UFO in the shape of a dumbbell appeared first on Anomalien.com.