In The News

Western drought brings another woe: voracious grasshoppers

A punishing drought in the U.S. West is drying up waterways, sparking wildfires and leaving farmers scrambling for water. Next up: a plague of voracious grasshoppers.

Federal agriculture officials are launching what could become their largest grasshopper-killing campaign since the 1980s amid an outbreak of the drought-loving insects that cattle ranchers fear will strip bare public and private rangelands.

Grasshoppers thrive in warm, dry weather, and populations already were up last year, setting the stage for an even bigger outbreak in 2021. Such outbreaks could become more common as climate change shifts rainfall patterns, scientists said

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Heat Wave Builds in US Northwest, All-Time Records

Forecasters say many Pacific Northwest communities may sweat through the hottest days in their histories as temperatures soar during a heatwave that has sent residents scrambling for relief.

Portland, Oregon reached 42.2° C (108° F) Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The previous heat record for Oregon’s largest city was 41.7° C (107° F), a mark hit in 1965 and 1981.

Seattle reached 38.3° C (101° F) Saturday, making it the hottest June day on record and only the fourth time in recorded history the usually temperate city had topped 100 degrees.

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Strong majority of Americans believe abortion should be restricted after three months of pregnancy

A strong majority of Americans believe abortion should be restricted after the first three months of a woman’s pregnancy, according to a new poll from the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

A full 65% of Americans believe abortion should be illegal either mostly or completely in months 4-6 of pregnancy. Fully 80% of Americans feel that way about the final three months of pregnancy, including 54% who believe it should be “illegal in all cases” during that timeframe.

Just 8% of Americans feel abortion should be allowed in all cases in the third trimester, according to the poll

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Kentucky Cop Who Prayed at Abortion Clinic Reinstated

A Kentucky police officer has been cleared of wrongdoing after his February suspension for praying while off-duty in front of an abortion clinic.

After months of legal limbo, the officer, who has chosen to remain anonymous for safety concerns, received a letter from the Louisville Metro Police Department informing him that he had not violated any department or city statutes and that he could return to work. The department has yet to tell him what day he will be back on duty.

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U.S. National Guard Preparing For Cyberwar

The U.S. National Guard is preparing for cyber warfare amid concerns about possible attacks on critical infrastructure in the United States, Worthy News learned.

A related two-week training, dubbed ‘Cyber Yankee 2021’, was conducted by National Guard troops stationed across New England, officials said. The training offered a situation in which cyberattacks took down West Coast utilities and then moved eastward across the country.

Private-sector technology companies were reportedly involved in the exercise, which was meant to enhance the real-life approach to the simulated crisis.

Unlike Cyber Yankee 2020, this year’s version was in-person. There was a virtual involvement of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Cyber Command, and civilian agencies, according to officials.

Teams dealt with real-life malware to practice responses to threats from simulated threat actors played by active and reserve Marine Corps Defensive Cyberspace Operations-Internal Defensive Measures groups.

They also dealt with new defensive technology, the Cyber 9-Line, a dedicated communications channel allowing National Guard units to refer potential threats to the U.S. Cyber Command.

“You’re talking about, at the local level, straight connection to U.S. Cyber Command and the resources that they have,” said Maj. Ryan Miler, Connecticut Army National

Guard cyber operations officer.

The exercises came shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that particular critical infrastructure should be “off-limits” to cyberattacks.

But commentators said his efforts were unlikely to be more successful than previous attempts to carve out safe zones online.

The United States had its first serious taste of what that might mean last month. Ransom-seeking cybercriminals briefly triggered the closure of a major U.S. pipeline network, interrupting gasoline deliveries and sparking panic-buying up and down the East Coast.

Earlier cyberattacks aimed at the Ukrainian power grid and a Saudi petrochemical plant have also drawn concern.

In all those cases, the hackers involved are accused by the United States of either working directly for the Russian government or from Russian territory.

Russian officials have denied carrying out or tolerating cyberattacks, and President

Putin has made no concessions on the issue.

Amid the turmoil, legislators in Washington have urged greater involvement of National Guard troops in the cyber warfare domain. Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan and Republican John Cornyn introduced legislation in January, noting that National Guard units can conduct cyber operations to protect infrastructure.

“We have seen unprecedented cyberattacks throughout the country this past year — most notably the SolarWinds attack, but also cyber attacks on schools, hospitals, and state and local governments amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hassan said in a statement at the time.

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Miami Tower Collapse Kills Nine As Search Continues

Some 150 people remained unaccounted for, and at least nine people were confirmed dead Saturday after a 12-story condominium tower collapsed near Miami in southeastern Florida.

Fire and smoke coming from deep inside the concrete and metal remain of the destroyed complex hampered rescue efforts on the outskirts of the U.S. coastal metropolis.

Despite the difficulties, emergency workers raced to recover any survivors beneath the mountain of rubble, witnesses said.