Good morning, I'm Sophia Tulp filling in
for Sarah Naffa for one more day. In the news today: glacial flooding in
Alaska; likely cancer-causing substances detected at a military missile
base; and how to protect against increasing scams. Also, the Loch Ness
Centre in Scotland has a request.
CLIMATE
Bursting ice dam in Alaska highlights risks of glacial flooding
Destruction came to Alaska’s capital over
the weekend as a glacial dam burst, swelling the levels of the
Mendenhall River to an unprecedented degree. The bursting of such
snow-and-ice dams is a phenomenon called a jökuhlaup, and while it’s
relatively little-known in the U.S., researchers say such glacial floods
could threaten about 15 million people around the world. Read more
Why this matters:
More than half of the people at risk from
glacial outburst floods are in just four countries — India, Pakistan,
Peru and China, according to a study published this year in Nature
Communications.
Carcinogens found at Montana nuclear missile sites as reports of hundreds of cancers surface
The Air Force said Monday it has detected
unsafe levels of a likely carcinogen in samples taken at a Montana
missile base where a striking number of men and women have reported
cancer diagnoses. Read more
Why this matters:
Much of the infrastructure at the missile
silos and control centers are decades old. Missileers have raised health
concerns multiple times over the years about ventilation, water quality
and potential toxins they cannot avoid as they spend up to 48 hours on
duty underground.
After a military briefing was obtained by The Associated Press in
January showing that at least nine current or former missileers at
Malmstrom Air Force Base were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the
Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine launched a study to look at
cancers among the entire missile community checking for the possibility
of clusters of the disease.
People are losing more money to scammers than ever before
Business for scammers is booming. The most
recent Federal Trade Commission data from 2022 shows that reported
consumer losses to fraud increased 30% over 2021. The biggest losses
were through investment scams, including cryptocurrency schemes. Read more
Why this matters:
Younger adults ages 20-29 reported losing
money more often than older adults ages 70-79, the FTC found. But when
older adults did lose money, they lost more.
Experts
say to be aware of typical scams, such as robocalls or romance schemes,
and to always research company names and details. Never click unusual
links in a text or email.
On Aug. 8, 1974: President
Richard Nixon, facing damaging new revelations in the Watergate
scandal, announced he would resign the following day. In this image,
Nixon bids farewell to his Cabinet, aides and staff in the White House
East Room. (AP File Photo)
The Loch Ness Centre in Scotland is calling for “budding monster
hunters” and volunteers to join in what it dubs the largest search for
the Loch Ness Monster since the 1970s.
