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RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Parker's manager says Paul vs Usyk 'would be a homicide'
US Youtuber Jake Paul fights Briton Tommy Fury in Saudi Arabia 2023. Photo: AFP Joseph Parker's camp has suggested a fight between heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and influencer Jake Paul would be a slaughter. Paul has polarised the boxing world since venturing into the sport in 2020. He has fought some of the biggest names in combat sport, his much maligned fight with Mike Tyson generated a $60 million purse for each man. However, many have questioned the legitimacy of his fights, and his methods of promotion. The former Disney star squared off with both Usyk and Parker following the Ukranian's impressive title defence against Daniel Dubois on Sunday. Paul has since suggested a boxing bout with former champion Anthony Joshua and an MMA fight with Usyk. Paul posted on social media "First AJ. Then OU. Book it. I respect you a lot. Now we do an MMA match for the world." Usyk only fuelled the speculation when speaking to media. "Jake Paul came to the ring for a face-off. I'm ready to fight with Jake Paul in MMA rules. I'm ready but I need to rest." Parker's manager David Higgins has dismissed Paul as any sort of threat and said Parker had no interest in a bout with him. "If Usyk fought Paul in a proper boxing match (it) will be a homicide, legally it shouldn't be allowed." Despite exchanging respectful words in the ring, Parker's camp has shut down any speculation about a possible fight with Paul. "It's silly stuff. I think it's more likely to see Anthony Joshua fighting Jake Paul," Higgins said. "We're at the serious end of the business and Joseph wants to fight for the proper world title, none of that." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
This is the summer of flooding across the US, and scientists know why
By Andrew Freedman , CNN A man looks at a damaged road after severe flash flooding that occurred during the July 4 holiday weekend, in Hunt, Texas, on July 6. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource Once synonymous with leisure and reprieve, summer has increasingly become a season marked by anxiety and disruption. Fossil fuel pollution - alongside other compounding factors - has transformed these months into a time of mounting peril, punctuated by relentless heat waves, rampant wildfires and catastrophic flooding. This summer, in particular, has been defined by a tragic surge in deadly flash floods across the United States, underscoring the escalating volatility of our warming world. It's no accident this is the summer of flooding, climate scientists say, with 100-year to 1,000-year deluges happening nearly simultaneously in multiple states on multiple days. Large parts of the US have seen an unusually humid summer with record amounts of moisture in the air. When cold fronts and other weather systems come along, that moisture can get wrung out, squeezed like a water-laden sponge, yielding heavy and often highly localized downpours. For much of the summer, the atmospheric conditions over the US have funneled humid air north from the unusually warm Gulf and western Atlantic, including the Gulf Stream, UCLA climate researcher Daniel Swain told CNN. This has yielded unusually high levels of moisture at all levels of the atmosphere across the US east of the Rockies, Swain said. It has led to record levels of what meteorologists call precipitable water, which is the amount of rain that would result from instantaneously extracting all the water in the air. This pattern has led to one flash flood after another. Omar Gutierrez, 31, helps clear debris from the inundated dining area of La Salsa Kitchen, a Mexican restaurant, after deadly flash flooding in Ruidoso, New Mexico, July 9. Photo: Paul Ratje/Reuters via CNN Newsource First and foremost, there was the devastating Texas flood that killed more than 130 people on the night of July 4. But flash flood events have been focused elsewhere as well. Three people were killed in a flash flood related to torrential rains falling on a wildfire burn scar in Ruidoso, New Mexico, on July 8. Some major roads in Chicago were suddenly under water when a 1,000-year rainfall event struck in early July. In portions of North Carolina, the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal led to deadly heavy rain and flooding the same weekend as the Texas tragedy . In New York City, water rushed into the subway tunnels when the city saw its second-heaviest rainfall total in one hour on July 14, with widespread flash flooding lasting into the 15th. And this past week, it was Kansas City's turn to flood on July 17. Some of these floods resulted from rainfall that has a return frequency of about 1,000 years, meaning it has just a 0.1% chance of occurring in any given year. But climate change is loading the dice in favor of extreme precipitation. "When we talk about e.g. '1000 year' events, we're talking about the likelihood of these events in the absence of human-caused warming (i.e. how often we would expect them from natural variability alone)," said climate scientist Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania. "These events are of course much more frequent *because* of human-caused warming," he said in an email. But his research has identified other factors, such as persistent large-scale weather patterns known as "atmospheric resonance," that can make extreme weather, including floods, even more likely. Just as sound waves or ocean waves can resonate and reinforce each other, atmospheric resonance can happen to undulating jet stream patterns in the upper atmosphere, resulting in weather systems that stay in place for weeks. A recent study Mann worked on found such weather patterns have tripled in incidence since the mid-20th century during the summer months. The problem is these patterns are "not necessarily well-captured in climate models," he said. This increases uncertainty about future projections for extreme weather trends. The influence of climate change on heavy rainfall is most evident when it comes to short duration extreme events, like what has happened repeatedly this summer, according to Swain. "It is not average precipitation that really is most affected by climate change," Swain said. "It truly is mathematically correct that the more extreme the rain event, the clearer the connection to climate change is." Tropical Storm Chantal flooded central North Carolina with torrential rain, seen here in Chapel Hill on July 7. Photo: Peter Zay/Anadolu/Getty Images via CNN Newsource The physics of how global warming affects heavy precipitation events is well known, according to climate scientist Kate Marvel. "This is almost a textbook example of climate change impacts," she told CNN. "The science behind it is so basic you can see it in daily life. Warm water drives more evaporation - the bathroom gets much steamier after a hot bath than a cold one," she said. "Warm air contains more water vapor - a cold beer gets wet on the outside on a hot day, because when air comes into contact with the cooler surface, it has to condense out its water vapor," Marvel said. "Warm ground makes it easier for moist air to balloon upwards - this is why thunderstorms happen on hot summer afternoons. Put these all together, and you get the perfect conditions for torrential rain," said Marvel, author of the new climate book "Human Nature." "Whether a downpour turns into a catastrophic flood depends on a lot of things: how porous the ground is, the topography of the area, the people and things in harm's way. But there is absolutely no doubt that climate change, caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases, is making extreme rainfall more extreme." - CNN
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Trump threatens to restrict stadium deal with Washington Commanders if they don't change name back to ‘Redskins'
By Kit Maher , CNN Washington Commanders runs off the field after being sacked on a fourth down while playing the Philadelphia Eagles during the fourth quarter in the NFC Championship Game. Photo: EMILEE CHINN President Donald Trump has escalated his call for the Washington Commanders to change their name back to the "Redskins", threatening to restrict the NFL team's stadium deal if they don't, though it's unclear how he would be able to. "I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins', and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders', I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington. The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone," Trump wrote on Truth Social. The organisation left Washington for Landover, Maryland, in 1997, but DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and the team announced a deal in April to bring the Commanders back to the district at the site of the old Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. Trump touted the deal at the time, but the proposal is stalled before the DC Council. Speaking to reporters last week, Bowser urged the DC Council to "make moves" on the deal, adding that "the Commanders are anxious" about it. Trump expressed openness earlier this month to helping out if the DC Council does not approve the deal. "It's a great piece of property, so we'll see. But if I can help them out, I would. …The federal government ultimately controls it," Trump said. In late 2024, lawmakers in Congress passed a bill to transfer ownership of the RFK site from the federal government to the district's government. "The owner is very, very successful and a very good man," Trump continued. "It would be a great place for the NFL to be there, I can tell you that." A bust of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stands outside RFK Stadium, defunct and currently under demolition, in Washington, DC. Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI Earlier on Sunday (US Time), the president initially referred to the football team as the "Washington 'Whatever's'" and urged the owners to "IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team." CNN has reached out to the Commanders and the DC mayor's office for comment on Trump's posts. Trump's comments went further than ones he made earlier this month, when he told reporters the Commanders' name should be changed back to the Redskins, something he acknowledged was a "controversial statement." "It doesn't have the same ring to me," he said. "But, you know, winning can make everything sound good. So, if they win, all of a sudden, the Commanders sounds good, but I wouldn't have changed it." The Commanders aren't the only team moniker Trump wants reverted. Donald Trump told reporters the Commanders' name should be changed back to the Redskins, something he acknowledged was a "controversial statement". Photo: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg/Getty Images via CNN Newsource Trump also put the pressure on the Cleveland Guardians to change their name back to the "Indians", claiming that the "Indian people" want the Guardians to be the "Indians" yet again. The names were changed as part of a larger cultural shift as corporate brands re-examined their use of racist caricatures and stereotypical names, but Trump argued on Sunday that "times are different now". "Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them," Trump said. "Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!" And in a later post on Sunday, Trump claimed Matt Dolan, a former Ohio state lawmaker whose family owns the Guardians, "has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change. What he doesn't understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an Election." "Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!" Trump added, a riff on his "Make America Great Again," or MAGA, slogan. CNN has reached out to the Cleveland Guardians for comment. The Washington football team dropped the "Redskins" name in 2020 after decades of criticism from Native American groups that said it was an ethnic slur and a derogatory reference to skin colour. Two years later it unveiled the "Commanders" name. The Cleveland baseball team announced its name change in 2021, after similar criticism from Native Americans over the "Indians" moniker. - CNN
