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April’s eclipse will mean interruptions in solar power generation, which could strain electrical grids

Vahe Peroomian, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences During the most recent total solar eclipse visible in the U.S., on Aug. 21, 2017, the skies darkened as the Moon crossed in front of the Sun. It blocked out all sunlight – except for that from a golden ring visible around the Moon’s shape, called the corona. Not surprisingly, solar power generation across North America plummeted for several hours, from the first moment the Moon began to obscure the Sun to when the Sun’s disk was clear again. On April 8, 2024, another total solar

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Texas fires: With over 1 million acres of grassland burned, cattle ranchers face struggles ahead to find and feed their herds

Karen Hickman, Professor and Director of Environmental Science, Oklahoma State University Strong winds spread the largest wildfire in Texas history across more than 1 million acres of rangeland in the Panhandle, the heart of the state’s cattle-producing region, and into Oklahoma in late February 2024. Light precipitation on Feb. 29 helped firefighters as they tried to contain the Smokehouse Creek Fire and other blazes threatening homes and livestock, but the heat and winds picked up again on March 2. At least two people died and scores of structures, including homes, burned. Karen Hickman, a grassland ecologist at Oklahoma State University and president of the Society for Range Management, explained why the

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a person is casting a vote into a box

What does a state’s secretary of state do? Most run elections, a once-routine job facing increasing scrutiny

John J. Martin, Research Assistant Professor of Law, University of Virginia They may be the most important government officials you can’t name. Their decisions have the potential to alter election results. Scholars have referred to them as the “guardians of the democratic process.” Who are these unknown, but essential, officials? State secretaries of state. You probably know only one person with the title “secretary of state,” Antony Blinken, who conducts foreign policy for the U.S. The others serve their individual states, overseeing numerous crucial state functions. In Michigan, the secretary of state provides motor-vehicle services, such as driver’s licenses and auto registrations. In

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Donald Trump is already flustering foreign leaders who are trying to prepare for a possible presidency

Michelle Bentley, Reader in International Relations, Royal Holloway University of London Donald Trump has not been elected the next president of the United States. He is not even the official Republican candidate. But Trump’s presence in the 2024 electoral race is already dictating domestic and foreign political agendas – without him even setting foot in the White House for a second term. The idea that presidential wannabes influence politics before an election is nothing new. Candidates shape the domestic agenda to help them win an election or govern afterwards. Other countries also always prepare for the new leader to come. Yet

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Visualization of the coronavirus causing COVID-19

Early COVID-19 research is riddled with poor methods and low-quality results − a problem for science the pandemic worsened but didn’t create

Dennis M. Gorman, Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Texas A&M University Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers flooded journals with studies about the then-novel coronavirus. Many publications streamlined the peer-review process for COVID-19 papers while keeping acceptance rates relatively high. The assumption was that policymakers and the public would be able to identify valid and useful research among a very large volume of rapidly disseminated information. However, in my review of 74 COVID-19 papers published in 2020 in the top 15 generalist public health journals listed in Google Scholar, I found that many of these studies used poor quality methods. Several other reviews of studies published in

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people walking on escalator inside building

Emporium Centre San Francisco: Unveiling a New Vision for Urban Commerce

San Francisco’s historic downtown marketplace, formerly known as Westfield San Francisco Centre, has been rebranded as the Emporium Centre San Francisco. The new moniker aims to evoke the site’s rich history as a hub of commerce, couture, and community, and marks only one aspect of a broader effort to rejuvenate the center. The decision announced by Trident Pacific and JLL came as part of a wider agenda to instil a renewed “spirit of success” among downtown retailers and eateries. “Our job is to write the Centre’s next chapter by simultaneously stabilizing and improving the property,” shared Gregg Williams, Principal Receiver

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black semi automatic pistol on black textile

Richmond Mass Shooting Culprit Convicted in Landmark Trial

Martinez, CA – In a significant legal victory, Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton announced the conviction of Enrique Ramirez-Calmo for his role in the deadly 2021 Richmond mass shooting. Ramirez-Calmo was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder, in addition to gang-related and special circumstance enhancements. The violent spree that unfolded on June 20, 2021, saw Ramirez-Calmo alongside an accomplice, launch an indiscriminate attack on unsuspecting partygoers in Richmond. Misguided by mistaken identity and entrenched in gang rivalries, their actions led to the tragic loss of three lives and left four individuals with

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