‘Like a sitting duck’: The catalytic converter theft spree is hitting old Toyota Priuses
Fifteen years ago, the Toyota Prius was so popular in California that buyers waited for months to purchase one. Now the aging hybrid is in demand again for an entirely different reason: catalytic converter theft.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-07/catalytic-converter-theft-toyota-prius-old
Torrential rains, floods and power cuts disrupt lives, business operations in India’s Silicon Valley
BENGALURU — Weather officials are predicting more monsoon rains in Bengaluru, complicating prospects for a quicker recovery for India’s Silicon Valley where floods have wrecked many slum houses, cut transportation links, knocked down power and disrupted business operations in parts of the city.
The disruption has exposed the poor infrastructure in the city, home to over 13 million people. The economic development of the city has attracted huge migration over the past decade, prompting an ever-growing expansion of real estate in areas that are increasingly showing cracks in proper planning. Many gated communities have submerged this week, requiring boats, tractors and cranes for evacuation.
The capital city of the southern Indian state of Karnataka is also the IT hub of the nation, featuring offices and tech centers of global giants including Microsoft, Amazon, Walmart, Adobe, Visa and KPMG as well as local firms Infosys and TCS.
Hotels are raising tariffs as they run out of rooms to serve customers whereas rides with Uber and Ola and other cab and auto-rickshaw services are getting costlier as demand goes up.
Founders are grappling to make in-person meetings and show up to offices as heavy rainfalls flood roads, leading to long traffic snarls in parts of the country’s startup hub already infamous for slow mobility.
Startup founders, generally known for avoiding making remarks critical of administration, have publicly shared how the floods are impacting their lives. Some have requested their employees to work from home for a few days.
“Entire area around Bellandur and Outer Ring Road is submerged and apartments are without power or water. I had to walk 7 km, take a tractor to cross waste deep water and hitch rides from passing bikers to reach office,” wrote Arjun Mohan, chief executive of unicorn edtech startup upGrad.
India’s Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for Bengaluru, indicating that the weather may get worse. The city has recorded 709 mm of monsoon rain, the second highest rainfall since 1971, said P.C. Mohan, an Indian politician from Bengaluru.
“Bangalore is hardly the wettest large city in the region. Mumbai and Singapore receive 2.5x the rain Bangalore does. Mumbai’s wettest month is 4x worse than Bangalore’s. This is why blaming ‘global warming’ is a cop-out. Bangalore’s problem is not rain – it is infrastructure,” tweeted Ritesh Banglani, a Bengaluru-based investor.
Meet Bruno the Brake Car, Thomas the Tank Engine’s autistic friend
Children’s TV show “Thomas & Friends” is introducing its first autistic character, in a bid to diversify on-screen representation. …read more
A love for the ‘60s will propel ‘Fantastic Four’ forward: Comic art legend
Ross, who released “Fantastic Four: Full Circle” on Tuesday, told The Post that starting the Four’s MCU journey in the 1960s is “the constant drumbeat that fans are pushing for.” …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/09/07/fantastic-four-film-should-have-a-1960s-focus-comic-legend/
More than a third of working families can’t afford basic needs: study
Researchers at Brandeis University’s diversitydatakids.org program found that 35% of American families with full-time jobs cannot afford rent, food and other basics — and the situation is even worse for black and Hispanic families. …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/09/07/third-of-working-families-cant-afford-basic-needs-study/
Putin, Xi to meet face to face next week in first meeting since war in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will meet next week for their first face-to-face meeting since the war in Ukraine began over six months ago.
The pair will meet during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit set to be held Sept. 15 to 16 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Andrey Denisov, Russian envoy to Beijing told reporters on Wednesday.
“In general, this summit promises to be interesting, because it will be the first full-fledged summit since the pandemic,” Russian media outlets reported him saying. “I do not want to say that online summits are not full-fledged, but still, direct communication between leaders is a different quality of discussion.”
PUTIN TO ATTEND WAR GAMES WITH CHINA AND OTHER ALLIED NATIONS, EXPERT WARNS OF ‘DANGEROUS’ TIME
Denisov said Moscow and Beijing are still working to iron out details on when Putin and Xi will meet but said it will be a “serious, full-fledged meeting.”
This scheduled meet up underlines the significance of an expanding Russia-China relationship as ties with the West have deteriorated over aggressive force postures in their corresponding regions.
China has come under criticism for backing Russia amid its war in Ukraine, though Beijing has fallen short of openly supporting Moscow’s war effort.
In recent weeks, China and Russia have engaged in war games, renegotiated gas deals to better behoove their economies and have increasingly distanced themselves from diplomatic relations with Western nations.
RUSSIA’S GAZPROM SIGNS GAS DEAL WITH CHINA TO CONVERT PAYMENTS TO RUBLE, YUAN
The meetup between Xi and Putin is not only significant as it is the first international trip Xi has made since the pandemic, but comes as the U.S. and its allies warn that authoritarianism is on the rise.
China has drastically cracked down on civil rights across the country and in Hong Kong over the last several years, with its most recent threats levied at Taiwan.
Western officials remain concerned over Beijing plans to reunify the island – which has governed independently since 1949 – with mainland China.
Putin has also worked to reverse democratic progression first implemented under Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the USSR.
The Soviet Union collapsed under Gorbachev and the former USSR president has been hailed by Western nations as a champion for ending the Cold War – a shift in world politics that Putin has called the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.”
Putin has repeatedly hinted he plans to reunite, at least in part, the Soviet bloc with Russia.
Both world leaders have accused the West of over stepping in regional matters and fueling dissension.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/putin-xi-meet-face-face-next-week-first-meeting-since-war-ukraine
Hurricane Earl forms in the Atlantic
Earl became the second hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic season late Tuesday.
At 8 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time, the center of the storm was located about 550 miles south of Bermuda.
The hurricane is moving toward the north near 6 mph and the motion was expected to continue into Wednesday.
A gradual turn to the north-northeast is predicted for Thursday.
TROPICAL STORM EARLY EXPECTED TO BECOME HURRICANE
The center of Earl is expected to pass to the southeast of Bermuda by Friday morning.
The National Hurricane Center, citing data from the Hurricane Hunters, said it’s indicated that the maximum sustained winds had increased to near 80 mph with higher gusts.
DANIELLE BECOMES FIRST HURRICANE OF ATLANTIC SEASON
Strengthening is expected over the next few days.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward by up to 125 miles.
Tropical storm conditions are possible for Bermuda on Thursday afternoon.
Earl is forecast to become a major hurricane by Friday.
When it comes to fighting climate change, California says consider the beaver
Wildlife officials launch a restoration program for North American beavers, saying their dams can increase water storage and create natural firebreaks.
US launches Minuteman III ICBM in show of nuclear readiness
The U.S. Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile test in California early Wednesday in a show of nuclear readiness.
The operational test launched at 1:13 a.m. from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, some 60 miles north of Santa Barbara, the base confirmed on Twitter.
PENTAGON ANNOUNCES NEW ROUND OF MINUTEMAN ICBM STRIKES TO SHOW NUCLEAR READINESS
Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder first announced the missile test from the Pentagon Tuesday and said, “This ICBM launch will validate and verify the effectiveness and readiness of the system.”
“This launch is a routine test, which was scheduled far in advance and consistent with previous tests,” he told reporters.
The Wednesday test comes less than a month after a previous test was also launched.
Ryder said the U.S. notified the Russian government per treaty obligations ahead of the operational test and noted that the pre-launch announcement was pursuant to The Hague’s international Code of Conduct.
The missile test comes as concerns over nuclear security have once again mounted amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and flagging relations between Moscow and the West.
Russia has not only threatened to resort to nuclear escalation if the U.S. becomes more directly involved in the war, but has threatened Europe’s nuclear security by stationing its troops at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine.
The power plant has repeatedly been threatened by shelling since Russia’s February invasion and subsequent occupation in early March.
In August, the Air Force said it had conducted over 300 intercontinental ballistic missile tests and noted that they are “not the result of current world events.”
“The purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to demonstrate the readiness of U.S. nuclear forces. And provide confidence in the security and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent,” Ryder told reporters Tuesday.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-launches-minuteman-iii-icbm-show-nuclear-readiness
Red Sox’s Triston Casas hits first career homer, intense negotiation to get ball follows
Triston Casas had an eventful game in the third game of his Red Sox career even as Boston dropped Tuesday night’s game to the Tampa Bay Rays 8-4.
The first baseman hit his first major league home run off Rays pitcher J.T. Chargois at the top of the second inning. The two-run shot cut the Red Sox’s deficit to one run at the time. The dinger did not come without some drama with the baseball fan who obtained the ball at Tropicana Field.
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Jordan Blatner spoke to the Rays’ mascot, DJ Kitty, and a Rays clubhouse manager to try and trade for the ball. He told NESN’s Jahmi Webster he “never thought I’d be in this position.”
“I just made them make me an offer and I took what they offered. I’m getting a signed bat by the player who hit it (Triston Casas), and I’m getting a (Xander) Bogaerts signed ball and somebody else, I don’t remember who he said,” he said.
Blatner added he tried to give Casas the ball back himself but was stopped by Red Sox security and was told officials would come to him.
BREWERS’ CHRISTIAN YELICH HITS LONGEST HOME RUN OF SEASON, TRAVELING AT 499 FEET
Later, he told MLB.com the home run ball hit him in the arm, and he initially did not want to give up the ball because he had never done something like that before.
Even with the loss, NESN noted Casas made some franchise history.
At 22 years old, Casas became the youngest Red Sox first baseman to hit a home run since George Scott did it in September 1966.
“It felt pretty surreal. I guess I had never really hit a home run at a 96 mph exit velo. I didn’t think it was going to go,” Casas told reporters after the game was over.