Latest news with #ParkService
The Independent
6 days ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Wet hot American summer? It's about to get gross for tens of millions of Americans across the US
Tens of millions of Americans making vacation plans should prepare for a wet and hot start to the summer over the coming weeks. Just days before the season officially starts, forecasters warned that more thunderstorms were expected across the central Plains and central Appalachians, as majorly high temperatures were anticipated in the Southwest. 'This morning, at Phoenix Sky Harbor, the low temperature was 86 degrees, 7 degrees above the normal for the day. Today will be another hot one with high temperatures expected to be near the 110's again across the region,' the National Weather Service in Arizona's capital warned on social media. Temperatures around Phoenix were expected to run between five and 10 degrees above normal through Friday. The monsoon season just started there on Sunday. In Las Vegas, an extreme heat warning was also in effect on Wednesday and Thursday. The high temperature in nearby Death Valley was 121 degrees on Monday. National Park Service officials had asked visitors to avoid traveling by motorcycle. The risk of heat-related impacts is projected to shift into the Plains states through the weekend, according to The Washington Post's meteorologist Ben Noll. But, heat isn't all people have to worry about in the coming weeks. Noll noted that humid conditions that contributed to deadly flash flooding in West Virginia last weekend will provide fuel for storms in the Plains and Midwest by mid-week before reaching the East Coast. ' Warm and humid conditions will lead to the development of scattered storms this afternoon and evening,' the National Weather Service's Quad Cities office in Iowa and Illinois said. The humidity is tied to high ocean temperatures, and higher-than-average humidity is forecast to plague the eastern U.S. in the coming months. During the next two weeks, extreme levels of humidity are coming for residents in 40 states, Noll explained. In New York City, residents might be happy to know that warmer and drier weather is on the way -- although temperatures have already breached the 90s. But, forecasters there warned that hot and humid weather would start on Sunday and last through 'at least the middle of next week.' In Maine, the hottest days are slated for next Monday and Tuesday. Down the coastline, the Climate Prediction Center said the strongest heat wave of the season thus far is likely for much of the Mid-Atlantic during the first week of summer. The combination of high humidity and temperatures can feel incredibly oppressive, resulting in a faster heartbeat and other negative health effects. Human-caused climate change is making all of these concerns more frequent and severe. New research released on Monday says it has tripled the frequency of atmospheric wave events linked to extreme summer weather. Heat waves, in particular, are moving slower and staying longer, a study published last year found. 'This really has strong impacts on public health,' Wei Zhang, a climate scientist at Utah State University and one of the authors of the study, told The New York Times then.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
What's a pawpaw? Local festival celebrates Pennsylvania's only tropical fruit
YORK COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — Do you know the largest tropical fruit native to Pennsylvania? If you said pawpaw, you might want to check out Horn Farm Center's 21st annual Pawpaw Festival on Saturday, Sept. 20, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now For those who scratched their heads at the words 'tropical' and 'Pennsylvania' in the same sentence, the pawpaw is the only member of the mostly tropical plant family Annonaceae grown in the state, according to the National Park Service. The Park Service describes the flavor of pawpaw as similar to bananas but with hints of mango, vanilla, and citrus. However, the local fruit is not cultivated on the same scale as its popular cousins. The fruit has no shelf life and matures in late August through mid-September. For many, the only opportunity to try a pawpaw comes on a hike through central PA's many forests or at the pawpaw festival. This year's festival includes: Wild and cultivated pawpaw varieties Fresh pawpaw fruit and trees for sale Pawpaw-themed products and merchandise Food trucks, plant nurseries, and local craft vendors Environmental nonprofits and educational booths Free tours of the pawpaw orchard Free walking tours of the Horn Farm Center's demonstration projects Lancaster Conservancy to host ninth annual Water Week in June Tickets cost $7 and include off-site parking with a shuttle. They go on sale Sunday, June 15, at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Version of Federalism Is a Perverse Death Trap
As on many other policy questions, MAGA doctrine regarding the proper division of power between states and the federal government departs from traditional Republican ideology. For half a century after Richard Nixon declared 'the New Federalism' in August 1969, Republicans echoed Nixon's admonition that responsibility should 'flow from Washington to the States and to the people.' (Nixon actually said 'funds and responsibility,' but President Ronald Reagan took it one step further and killed off Nixon's federal revenue-sharing program.) The New Federalism, later known just as federalism, said that states and cities were closer to the people and therefore ought to take the lead. In practice, federalism was simply a way for Republicans to limit the federal government's responsibilities and, eventually, its expenses. The Trump administration's view of the proper division of state and federal responsibility is less consistent than traditional federalism. That's amply evident from Trump's diverging policies regarding immigration protests in Los Angeles and the start of hurricane season along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The only unifying principle I see is 'Do whatever maximizes the likelihood of physical harm.' MAGA's vision of federalism started to come into focus for me last Friday. It was a beautiful day here in Washington, D.C., so I bought myself an Italian hoagie at Bub and Pop's and walked over to Dupont Circle to eat it under a tree in the small grassy park situated there. But when I arrived, the Circle was barricaded. The National Park Service had done this to keep out revelers from WorldPride 2025, a celebratory LBGTQ gathering scheduled the next day—even though, as the Park Service's own website points out, Dupont Circle has been a gathering place for gay pride celebrations for 50 years. The sight of the fencing infuriated me, and I thought: Donald Trump is trying to provoke a riot. It turns out I was off by 3,000 miles. The Park Service agreed in the nick of time to take the Dupont Circle fencing down, perhaps because the Trump White House had shifted its attention to Los Angeles, where demonstrations began Friday against ICE raids on a Home Depot outlet and a clothing store called Ambience. The raids and the counter-demonstrations spread—especially after ICE injured and detained David Huerta, once declared by the Obama White House a 'champion of change,' who, as president of Service Employees International Union California, was there to observe and document one of the raids. Even after that, the Los Angeles Police Department commended protesters for remaining peaceful. President Donald Trump apparently finds such nonviolence unacceptable. To stir the pot, and over the protest of California Governor Gavin Newsom, Trump deployed up to 2000 National Guard troops. Newsom called the maneuver 'purposefully inflammatory,' which it was, and predicted that it would 'only escalate tensions,' which it did. By Sunday night there were full-on riots. On Monday, Trump sent in the Marines. If MAGA federalism dictates that federal intervention is warranted against protests well under the governor's and the metropolitan police's control, it further dictates that federal intervention is not warranted against hurricanes that pretty much by definition aren't under anybody's control (except insofar as they're worsened by man-made climate change). David Richardson, Trump's acting administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Administration, baffled and appalled his staff on June 2 when, on being told that hurricane season had begun, replied that he never knew there was any such thing as a hurricane season. Richardson's spokesperson later tried to excuse this by saying that he was joking, but in fact the real joke is Trump's weirdly indifferent approach to disaster aid. In April, Trump turned down his own former press spokesperson, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, after her state was hit with deadly tornadoes. (She later persuaded him to change his mind.) Visiting North Carolina at the end of January to gauge the state's recovery from last September's Hurricane Helaine, Trump talked about 'maybe getting rid of FEMA.' Richardson's predecessor as acting FEMA administrator, Cameron Hamilton, contradicted Trump last month by telling the House Appropriations Committee that FEMA should not be eliminated. In response, Trump fired him. FEMA's still there, but just barely; it's still reeling from hundreds of staff cuts in February by the White House Office of Personnel Management. Eleven requests to declare this or that state a disaster area have yet to be answered, including two from April; in late May the backlog was 17 requests. Most of the pending requests, weirdly, are from red states—severe storms and flooding in Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky—so you can't accuse Trump of playing favorites. Citing an internal memo, Scott Dance and Brady Dennis of The Washington Post reported this weekend that those FEMA staffers who remain will no longer go door to door after disasters to find victims who might need aid. That job will be left instead to state governments—those little laboratories of democracy. MAGA health care has a skewed federalism angle, too. The 'Big Beautiful' budget bill currently before the Senate would cut Medicaid mostly by screwing around with eligibility—in addition to its spurious work requirement, the bill would repeal a Biden regulation intended to simplify the process of establishing and renewing Medicaid eligibility—but it would also require states to contribute $72 billion more to pay for coverage. That's consistent with Trump's telling the states, during his first term, that they were on their own in dealing with the Covid pandemic. They were, too—but Trump has since threatened to de-fund local schools should they require vaccinations. Intermittently and ineffectually, Trump opposed state Covid mask mandates during his first term. During his second term he opposes them for protesters. But he's copacetic with masks worn by federal ICE enforcers. Then there's nutrition. BBB would impose the largest cut ($300 billion) in the 86-year history of the food stamps program, which is funded by the federal government and administered by the states. But the bill micromanages state work requirements, raising the maximum age up to which food stamp recipients must work from 54 to 64. (Trump also wants to cut $1.3 billion from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.) In state and local affairs, MAGA federalism doesn't favor large federal intervention or small federal intervention. Rather, it favors federal intervention that will worsen safety and health. This applies both to red states and to blue ones; Trump's only partisan loyalty in this area is to the Grim Reaper. Poor nutrition is good. Ineligibility for hospital care is better. Injury or death are best of all. Perhaps instead of MAGA, we should call Trump's variety of federalism MADA, for Make America Dead Again.
Politico
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Politico
Men in DC are getting their jawlines done
Washington is looking a little different lately — and not just politically. Even the faces of powerful men are beginning to change, as surgeons and dermatologists get more and more male clients looking to enhance their jawlines. 'The surgeons and dermatologists who treat the D.C. power class will never share their patients' secrets,' writes Joanna Weiss in this week's Friday Read. 'Some doctors strategically time surgeries during congressional recess, and many go out of their way to make sure their clients aren't even seen entering the office, using a spy-movie-like web of hidden entries and secret back doors. But they will also tell you that, among the political power set, jaws are currently hot.' In a government led by a TV-obsessed commander-in-chief, appearances are more important in politics than ever. And lately, it's the pursuit of a Chad-like chin that's driving men under the knife. After all, looking weak could be a vulnerability. 'Across the internet and the gossip-journalism universe, it's not hard to find speculation about the mandibles of everyone from the Trump sons to Elon Musk,' Weiss writes. 'And if you're watching TV and wondering if some D.C. figure has a jawline that's newly strong and square … well, you might be right.' Read the story. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.' Can you guess who said this about the president? Scroll to the bottom for the answer.** Trump vs. Pride … Dupont Circle is the traditional heart of Washington's local gay community, but you won't see rainbow flags waving through the park for Pride this weekend, as the Trump administration has fenced it off. 'The Park Service claims this is to prevent damage by revelers,' writes Capital City columnist Michael Schaffer. 'But plenty of outraged locals see a more sinister motivation.' Wait, why is everyone talking about a breakup? If you somehow missed the spectacular scrap between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, study up on these talking points so your friends won't think you're living under a rock. (From Associate Editor Dylon Jones) — Make yourself sound like an expert analyst with a word of warning for Trump: 'Seventy-six percent of Republicans view Musk favorably — more than House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and just about everyone else. He could become a real chaos agent who rocks Trump's midterm plans.' — As a political expert, you can speak to the bigger-picture divisions behind this feud: 'This is just the personification of the tech right vs. MAGA populist divide. This was inevitable ever since the H-1B visa debate picked up within the GOP coalition.' — Make sure to bring up Musk's main MAGA antagonist, Steve Bannon. 'Did you see that Bannon quote Rachel Bade got in POLITICO Magazine? 'MAGA's done with him.' He's even suggesting Trump consider deporting him.' — Bring in a dispatch from the podcast circuit for your liberal friends who never tune in: 'JD Vance told Theo Von that he hopes Musk comes back over to their side, but 'maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear.'' Is MAGA Losing the Tech Right? … Elon Musk's dramatic breakup with President Donald Trump isn't just a sign of two strong personalities that had become allies inevitably clashing. It's also a sign of two strong ideologies that had become allies inevitably clashing. There's the tech right Musk embodies, which supports H-1B visas that promote highly skilled immigration, and there's the MAGA populist right, led by Steve Bannon, that staunchly opposes immigration writ large. They had seemed to have struck an uneasy truce. 'But the renewal of hostilities between Trump and Musk this week shows that the underlying ideological disagreement between the two factions was never really resolved,' writes Ian Ward. Butterworth's Doesn't Care About the Bromance Blow-Up … The Musk vs. Trump earthquake was a tectonic event on the internet, but it hardly registered on the Richter scale over at Butterworth's, the fashionable MAGA bistro on Capitol Hill. 'As the denizens of Butterworth's saw things, the kerfuffle was simply the temper tantrum of a disgruntled administration official who'd run afoul of a popular president,' writes Ben Jacobs. 'And Trump's counter attacks dismissing the world's richest man as 'going CRAZY'? Now that was gospel.' Andrew Yang Has a Pitch for Elon Musk … Andrew Yang has been pushing his independent Forward Party for years. But the recent falling out between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump has given him a new opportunity to bring the world's richest man into the fold — or, at least, to try. 'Elon has built world-class companies from nothing more than an idea multiple times, and in this instance, you have the vast majority of Americans who are hungry for a new approach,' Yang tells Assistant Editor Catherine Kim. 'I'm happy to spell it out for Elon or anyone else who wants to head down this road: A third party can succeed very quickly.' From the drafting table of editorial cartoonist Matt Wuerker. Who Dissed? answer: That would be his erstwhile ally, Elon Musk, who dropped the allegation in a since-deleted post on X. politicoweekend@
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DC park will close after all for WorldPride weekend
The National Park Service said Friday it would temporarily close the park at the center of Washington's historic LGBTQ neighborhood ahead of the city's annual Pride weekend, moving forward with plans that local officials believed had been scrapped. The temporary closure of Dupont Circle Park came at the request of the U.S. Park Police (USPP), the Park Service said in an order uploaded Friday to its website approving the installation of anti-scale fencing around the park's perimeter through 6 p.m. EDT Sunday. 'Less restrictive measures will not suffice due to the security-based assessment of the USPP that this park area needs to be kept clear,' the Park Service said. In a letter dated June 4, Park Police Maj. Frank Hilsher wrote to Kevin Griess, superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks, that the agency's closure request 'is based solely on several previous years of assaultive, destructive and disorderly behavior exhibited in Dupont Circle during the DC Pride weekend.' 'The USPP maintains that a physical barrier effecting a full closure of Dupont Circle is necessary,' Hilsher wrote, to 'secure the park, deter potential violence, reduce the risk of destructive acts and decrease the need for extensive law enforcement presences.' An earlier letter sent in April to Park Police Chief Jessica M.E. Taylor from Pamela A. Smith, chief of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), recommended that tall no-climb fences be temporarily installed around the park. 'Over the years, Dupont Circle Park has been a popular location for Pride attendees to congregate, despite not being a sanctioned Pride event,' Smith wrote in the letter. 'In the past five years, the Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Park Police have taken proactive steps, including increased police presence and enhanced lighting around the park.' 'However, significant challenges persisted, including unpermitted large gathering with sound equipment, illegal vending and grilling, alcohol use, multiple physical altercation, and vandalism of the historic fountain and statue,' she added. Smith withdrew the MPD's request to temporarily close the park earlier this week 'after hearing from community leaders and residents,' she wrote in a June 3 letter to Taylor. In the same letter, Smith pointed to specific disruptions that influenced her initial request, including a 2019 arrest in Dupont Circle Park after parkgoers heard gunshots and vandalism during Pride weekend in 2023 that resulted in roughly $175,000 in damage to the park's more than 100-year-old fountain. The park's closure is another obstacle for those in charge of WorldPride, an international LGBTQ Pride celebration taking place this year in Washington. The Capital Pride Alliance, the organizers of WorldPride D.C., have hit several snags related to Trump administration policies that disproportionately affect LGBTQ people. DC hosts WorldPride: What to know about weekend bash In April, the group issued a travel advisory for transgender visitors from abroad, citing President Trump's executive order recognizing only two sexes, male and female, and a new State Department policy barring trans, nonbinary and intersex Americans from updating the sex designations on their passports. The same month, the Capital Pride Alliance announced it was moving WorldPride events from the Kennedy Center to 'ensure our entire LGBTQ+ community will be welcome' following Trump's takeover of the cultural institution in February. In posts on Truth Social, Trump said drag performances at the Kennedy Center 'will stop' under his leadership and called drag, an art form that is deeply rooted in LGBTQ culture and history, 'anti-American propaganda.' The White House has also declined to issue a proclamation for Pride Month. In an emailed statement, the Capital Pride Alliance said it 'is frustrated and disappointed in the National Park Service's decision – again – to close Dupont Circle during the culmination of WorldPride this weekend.' 'This beloved landmark is central to the community that WorldPride intends to celebrate and honor. It's much more than a park, for generations it's been a gathering place for DC's LGBTQ+ community, hosting first amendment assemblies and memorial services for those we lost to the AIDS epidemic and following tragic events like the Pulse nightclub shooting,' the group said. 'This sudden move was made overnight without consultation with the Capital Pride Alliance or other local officials.' No official WorldPride activities were planned in Dupont Circle Park, the Capital Pride Alliance said, 'thus no events will be impacted.' D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), representing the Dupont Circle neighborhood, said she is 'extremely disappointed and frustrated' that the park will not remain open for Pride weekend. 'This closure is disheartening to me and so many in our community who wanted to celebrate World Pride at this iconic symbol of our city's historic LGBTQ+ community,' Pinto wrote Friday in a post on the social platform X. 'I wish I had better news to share.' 'World Pride will continue this weekend and it will be a time of celebration and commitment to uplift our LGBTQ+ neighbors,' she added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
