Latest news with #Phillips
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
First heat wave of 'torrid summer' to hit Eastern Canada next week
The first heat wave of Summer 2025 is about to hit Eastern Canada, with temperatures climbing to the mid-30s early next week. Add the humidity from a wet spring and it will feel even hotter. We'd better get used to it, as it is signalling 'a torrid summer ahead,' says David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. 'We rarely go a year without a heat wave,' he says, 'but this will be the first one and people have to learn how to deal with it again.' The high pressure system will settle over southern and eastern Ontario as well as southern Quebec. It will edge into southeastern Manitoba on one side and western New Brunswick on the other. Contrasting this spate of heat with the renown 'polar vortex' of winter, Phillips refers to this phenomenon as a 'Bermuda High.' That's a semi-permanent, subtropical area of high pressure, which usually migrates east-west, back and forth across the North Atlantic, influencing weather patterns. Except this one is further west and further north than usual, says Phillips. 'It circulates southern air further north.' There's no doubt it will feel oppressive, says Phillips, adding that a heat dome squeezes air molecules, pressing them downward, creating heat from the friction. Moisture from a particularly wet spring will compound with the heat. There has been 30 to 40 per cent more precipitation than normal this year, he says. During the day the humidity may make it feel like 40 degrees Celsius or more. Another factor in the mix is the sunshine. Long summer days 'prevent the cool-off,' he says. At night, it will feel tropical, with temperatures above 20 C. The Maritimes won't get the extreme heat, but temperatures will rise, particularly in western New Brunswick. Western Canada has been experiencing heat already, with many hot, dry days (made worse by wildfire smoke), he says. But, he adds, in eastern Canada, people have been asking when the warmth is going to arrive. Normally, Eastern Canada would have several days in the 30s by now, says Phillips, but there were none in May and only one in June. Contrast that with Winnipeg, which he says has had nine or 10. 'In eastern Canada, people have felt left out, on the sidelines.' But now summer heat is arriving with a vengeance. It will be a three-day event with temperatures rising to the mid-30s in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, accompanied by nighttime temperatures in the 21-23 C range, with the humidex in the low to mid 40s. 'That's eight or nine degrees warmer than normal.' Ultimately, it seems we had better get used to this. All the weather-mapping models from Canada, the U.S. and Europe are predicting increasingly hot summers, says Phillips. 'This will be the first heat wave, but it's not going to be the last. We're going to see repetition throughout the summer.' He cautions that publicized high temperatures are measured in the shade. As a result, 'going out into the sun could add another seven to 10 degrees to the body. It's a lot of stress on the body. Too much.' It results in increased hospital admissions, he notes. 'People may not be dying in the streets but there is increased respiratory and cardiovascular distress.' The Canadian Red Cross urges people to stay indoors between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the hottest period of the day. Drink plenty of cool fluids — even if you're not thirsty. And avoid alcohol and caffeine, as both can result in dehydration. Check regularly with the children and seniors in your life to ensure they are drinking enough water. Finally, says the Red Cross, be aware of the following signs of heat illness: dizziness or fainting; nausea or vomiting; headache; rapid breathing or heartbeat; extreme thirst; dark yellow urine; muscle cramps, especially in arms, legs, or stomach. Climate change made record-breaking Eastern Canada heat wave 'much more likely' Summer heatwave begins in one of world's hottest cities Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Mum caught committing sick act on her frail daughter, 3, as she lay in a hospital bed – & it exposed an even darker past
LYING in her hospital bed, three-year-old Alyssa was desperately ill – painfully thin and dehydrated, her little frame covered with tubes. Her apparently doting mother Brittany Phillips sat by her side. But, when the nurses' backs were turned, she did the most unspeakably depraved act to her defenceless little girl. Advertisement 4 Brittany Phillips, pictured in court in 2015, did depraved things to her three-year-old daughter Credit: Getty 4 Brittany was inspired by Emily McDonald's (pictured above) own sick child abuse methods Credit: When no one was looking, Phillips smeared human faeces onto Alyssa's feeding tube in a bid to make her MORE ill. She was aping a case she read about online concerning Emily McDonald, a 23-year-old mother from Austin who, four months earlier, had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for poisoning her daughter by putting poo onto her IV catheter. It was later revealed that Phillips had keyed in terms to her computer like 'poo in the feeding tube' and 'pee in veins'. Advertisement Sick poisoning Hours later, Alyssa developed a rare and extremely dangerous blood infection caused by her mother's perverted act. Without the swift actions of doctors at Cook Children's Medical Centre – she could have suffered from heart failure, a stroke or even death. And that was just the tip of the iceberg of the horrendous abuse Phillips had put her daughter through in her short life. Phillips had insisted that Alyssa had to be in leg restraints for medical reasons. She also said she needed to be fed by a tube as she choked if she ate solid food. Advertisement The little girl was emaciated and her growth stunted. Several family members had been so concerned that they'd filed reports with the CPS in Fort Worth, Texas, but no action was taken. Distant family members Bill and Laura Waybourn had been suspicious ever since they'd seen Alyssa at a family party a few months before. 4 Distant family member and Sheriff Bill Waybourn (pictured) and his wife Laura adopted Alyssa Credit: Getty They'd heard Phillips warn everyone that Alyssa couldn't eat anything, if she did, she'd choke. Advertisement "We witnessed her eat a piece of cake and she didn't choke at all. She appeared to be very hungry," Waybourn said. And his wife, a CPS worker "was suspicious". "She got a close-up look at Alyssa and felt like something wasn't right. But nobody had any idea what was really going on behind the scenes, which was actually torturous," he told It transpires Phillips had Munchhausen by proxy – also known as medical child abuse – where a parent or care giver fakes, exaggerates and even causes illness in their child for the purpose of getting attention or some other benefit. A later search of her laptop revealed pages and pages of online research into the illnesses and symptoms she then tried to manufacture in her defenceless young daughter. Advertisement It also showed her prolific activity on mums' internet forums – where she catalogued Alyssa's many 'illnesses' in a bid for sympathy. The day that changed everything In August 2011, a few weeks after that family party, Alyssa was taken to Cook's hospital, where her mother told medics she had dehydration. This was one of many hospital visits Alyssa had endured by the time she was three, so much so, she had spend much of her life in hospitals, and was worryingly underweight and short for her age. Despite concerned friends and family filing several reports to CPS over the years, it was this hospital visit that set off alarm bells with medical staff. During that day, Phillips repeatedly tried to stop Alyssa from eating, claiming she would choke, despite medical staff observing otherwise. She was aggressive and rude, and she piled blankets on her daughter then claimed she had a fever. She appeared to paint Alyssa's mouth blue and then claimed she was alarmingly cold. Advertisement Then, Phillips suddenly demanded blood tests on her daughter. The blood test results revealed a life-threatening infection that doctors said had to have been caused by the three-year-old being poisoned. Medics feared Phillips was abusing her child, so moved Alyssa to another room which had surveillance cameras monitoring any activity inside. Phillips quickly noticed the cameras and was furious. Alyssa, on the other hand, under the watchful eye of a camera, rapidly got better. So much so, hospital staff alerted the authorities and Alyssa was taken out of Phillips' care and an investigation was launched. Advertisement Following a brief period in foster care, the Waybourns took the little girl into their home, later adopting her. In an interview, Bill Waybourn said they 'saw tremendous improvements immediately' adding: 'She started eating by mouth everything in sight. The doctors were blown away by how well she was doing.' But over time, the Waybourns noticed trauma manifesting in Alyssa's behaviour. 'She was really protective of her food. If she had a plate of food and got down from the table for a minute and came back and the plate was gone, she would be extremely upset,' Waybourn recalled. 'She also had a funny gait where she would walk on her toes. We had to coach her out of doing that, to walk on her whole foot.' Advertisement Alyssa's reaction to medical staff and treatments was also telling. British cases of Munchausen Syndrome revealed In August 2016 a woman from south London has been jailed for fraud and child abuse after causing her children to undergo surgery for fictitious medical problems. Croydon Crown Court heard the mother of six, who cannot be named for legal reasons, persuaded doctors to prescribe copious medication and provide equipment for her children worth more than £145,000, which - as they did not require it - was potentially dangerous for them, the prosecution said. She also convinced them to perform invasive operations and insert feeding tubes into her son and daughter's stomachs. Serial killer nurse Beverly Allitt, dubbed the Angel of Death was given 13 life sentences in 1993 for murdering four children, attempting to murder another three and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to further six at Grantham and Kesteven hospital in Lincolnshire. The former nurse was diagnosed as suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP) when she carried out the attacks between 1991 and 1993. In January 2010, Lisa Hayden-Johnson was sentenced to three years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of child cruelty and perverting the course of justice – in one of the most notable examples of Munchausens by proxy. Hayden-Johnson began her deceitful actions shortly after the birth of her son Matthew in 2001. Claiming he was afflicted with numerous severe health issues, including cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and severe food allergies, she subjected him to unnecessary medical procedures and interventions. These included the use of a wheelchair, feeding tubes, and numerous hospital visits, totalling over 325 medical encounters. 'If you took her to a doctor or a paediatrician - even for something small like an earache - she would just totally freeze up,' he said. 'Those were all things we saw in the beginning. That went on for a long time.' Waybourn says a 'big fear' for him and Laura was that Phillips would try to regain custody of Alyssa. Terrifyingly she was allowed to visit at the beginning – up until the time Alyssa developed a rash after her mother had given her new toys. Advertisement The Waybourns were sure she had put a substance on them to cause it. After that she wasn't allowed to see her. Over the years Alyssa has told her adopted parents some of what she endured. She confided that her mother used to pull her feeding tube in and out. She also coached her to choke in the doctor's surgery. In 2015, aged seven, she testified against her mother in court. Advertisement Cuddling a teddy bear, she raised her T-shirt to reveal the physical evidence of her mother's torture – a scar on her stomach from unnecessary surgery to insert the feeding tube. Mental scarring No one will ever know the extent of the mental scarring. Despite her mother's actions though, Alyssa, who's now 17, is flourishing. 'Alyssa is not a victim,' Waybourn says. 'She is a thriving little woman and I couldn't be more proud of her.' Phillips' original court case was declared a mistrial. But soon after, in exchange for a five-year prison sentence, Phillips pleaded guilty to serious bodily injury to a child. Advertisement In April 2022, a couple of years after she was released from prison, Phillips was found dead from an apparent overdose. According to Waybourn, Alyssa was initially teary. She went for some time alone in her room, and then when she came out she said: 'I'm free, free at last.' Finally she knew that her mother could never hurt her again. Alyssa's story is told in a book by Andrea Dunlop and Mike Weber entitled The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception and Munchausen by Proxy. Mike Weber, a now-retired Tarrant County investigator worked on Phillips' case. Advertisement 4 Alyssa's story is told in a book by Andrea Dunlop and Mike Weber Credit: Andrea Dunlop and Mike Weber
USA Today
4 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Wade Phillips reacts to making ESPN's All Quarter Century team as Defensive Coordinator
Wade Phillips reacts to making ESPN's All Quarter Century team as Defensive Coordinator ESPN released its All Quarter Century team this week with a 53-man roster of players, plus key coaching staff members. Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder picked the team, and former Denver Broncos coach Wade Phillips got the nod at defensive coordinator. "[H]e took the Broncos to No. 1 in defensive DVOA in both 2015 and 2016, with a Super Bowl championship," Schatz wrote of the team's former coordinator. Phillips, 77, reacted to the selection on his Twitter/X page. "So Honored to be picked as ESPN All Quarter Century Defensive Coordinator," Phillips tweeted. "Work your whole life and these kind of things make it worthwhile. Can't thank ESPN enough for including assistant coaches!Great players make the difference and I was lucky enough to coach so many." Congrats to Phillips on the well-deserved honor. Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
Vancouver Sun
4 hours ago
- Climate
- Vancouver Sun
First heat wave of 'torrid summer' to hit Eastern Canada next week
The first heat wave of Summer 2025 is about to hit Eastern Canada, with temperatures climbing to the mid-30s early next week. Add the humidity from a wet spring and it will feel even hotter. We'd better get used to it, as it is signalling 'a torrid summer ahead,' says David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. 'We rarely go a year without a heat wave,' he says, 'but this will be the first one and people have to learn how to deal with it again.' The high pressure system will settle over southern and eastern Ontario as well as southern Quebec. It will edge into southeastern Manitoba on one side and western New Brunswick on the other. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Contrasting this spate of heat with the renown 'polar vortex' of winter, Phillips refers to this phenomenon as a 'Bermuda High.' That's a semi-permanent, subtropical area of high pressure , which usually migrates east-west, back and forth across the North Atlantic, influencing weather patterns. Except this one is further west and further north than usual, says Phillips. 'It circulates southern air further north.' There's no doubt it will feel oppressive, says Phillips, adding that a heat dome squeezes air molecules, pressing them downward, creating heat from the friction. Moisture from a particularly wet spring will compound with the heat. There has been 30 to 40 per cent more precipitation than normal this year, he says. During the day the humidity may make it feel like 40 degrees Celsius or more. Another factor in the mix is the sunshine. Long summer days 'prevent the cool-off,' he says. At night, it will feel tropical, with temperatures above 20 C. The Maritimes won't get the extreme heat, but temperatures will rise, particularly in western New Brunswick. Western Canada has been experiencing heat already, with many hot, dry days (made worse by wildfire smoke), he says. But, he adds, in eastern Canada, people have been asking when the warmth is going to arrive. Normally, Eastern Canada would have several days in the 30s by now, says Phillips, but there were none in May and only one in June. Contrast that with Winnipeg, which he says has had nine or 10. 'In eastern Canada, people have felt left out, on the sidelines.' But now summer heat is arriving with a vengeance. It will be a three-day event with temperatures rising to the mid-30s in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, accompanied by nighttime temperatures in the 21-23 C range, with the humidex in the low to mid 40s . 'That's eight or nine degrees warmer than normal.' Ultimately, it seems we had better get used to this. All the weather-mapping models from Canada, the U.S. and Europe are predicting increasingly hot summers, says Phillips. 'This will be the first heat wave, but it's not going to be the last. We're going to see repetition throughout the summer.' He cautions that publicized high temperatures are measured in the shade. As a result, 'going out into the sun could add another seven to 10 degrees to the body. It's a lot of stress on the body. Too much.' It results in increased hospital admissions, he notes. 'People may not be dying in the streets but there is increased respiratory and cardiovascular distress.' The Canadian Red Cross urges people to stay indoors between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the hottest period of the day. Drink plenty of cool fluids — even if you're not thirsty. And avoid alcohol and caffeine, as both can result in dehydration. Check regularly with the children and seniors in your life to ensure they are drinking enough water. Finally, says the Red Cross, be aware of the following signs of heat illness: dizziness or fainting; nausea or vomiting; headache; rapid breathing or heartbeat; extreme thirst; dark yellow urine; muscle cramps, especially in arms, legs, or stomach. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Axios
16 hours ago
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: Payabli raises $28M to scale embedded payments
Payabli, a Miami-based embedded payments platform, has raised $28 million in Series B funding led by existing investors Fika Ventures and QED Investors, its founders tell Axios exclusively. Why it matters: Payments are becoming a core strategy for software vendors and SaaS platforms to unlock new revenue streams and deepen customer relationships. How it works: Payabli provides vertical software companies with an embedded platform that combines payment acceptance, payment issuance, and payment operations under a single API. This lets software vendors and vertical SaaS providers offer branded payment solutions without managing multiple third-party providers. "We remain laser-focused on our mission of making all software companies payment companies," co-founder William Corbera says. "And on unifying pay-in, pay-out and pay-ops through a single, unified API." What they're saying: "Vertical-SaaS platforms used to see payments purely as a cost center, but Payabli makes it so easy to embed and monetize that it's a no-brainer," Fika Ventures general partner TX Zhuo says. By the numbers: Payabli has grown nearly 8x since its Series A, processing billions annually and supporting over 50,000 merchants, Phillips says. He expects the company to support over 100,000 merchants by year's end. Between the lines: Insiders QED and Fika decided to double down on the company less than a year after it raised its Series A round. "We didn't need the money ... but our investors came to us. They see Payabli as a multiple-billion-dollar company and wanted to accelerate our growth," co-founder Joseph Elias Phillips says. Zhuo notes that the Series B round was the largest check Fika has written to date. "The team is building the go-to platform for software companies looking to embed payments, and we wanted to ensure they had capital to accelerate," QED partner Laura Bock said in an email. The latest: With the new funding, the company is betting big on AI, which it uses for risk management, fraud detection, customer support, and platform integration. It recently introduced an AI-powered support agent, Amigo, that is trained on extensive customer and platform data. "We've been investing heavily in AI — from Amigo on the support side to risk-and-fraud models across the platform — to keep the infrastructure reliable as we scale," Phillips says. Zoom in: The funding brings Payabli's total raised to $60 million, just nine months after its Series A.
