Why your cactus gets the monsoon blues
Cacti might look like tough, spiky warriors of the plant world — but don't be fooled. Come monsoon, they turn into total drama queens. One unexpected downpour, and you'll find your cactus sulking in a corner (read: rotting from the roots up). These desert darlings hate excess water almost as much as we hate soggy socks. So if you're the kind who lovingly leaves all your plants out in the rain, your cactus will probably file for planticide.
Popular varieties
You'll often find Opuntia species such as Opuntia ficus-indica and Opuntia microdasys, Cereus types like Selenicereus grandiflorus, and the classic golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) gracing balconies and living rooms.
#FunFact
All cacti are succulents! The term cactus comes from the Greek word kaktos, meaning a spiny plant. Those spines are more than a fashion statement — they protect against hungry herbivores, trap moisture from the cool night air, and help reflect heat during blistering days.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Taylor Swift visits children's hospital in Florida after Stanley Cup finals appearance with Travis Kelce
Taylor Swift has been super busy for the past few weeks. The singer has been spotted out and about with boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce recently, including at the finals of the Stanley Cup 2025. Apart from that Taylor has also gained ownership of her master recordings, ending a long-legal battle regarding her earlier albums. Now, the Love Story crooner surprised patients at a children's hospital in Florida with a special visit. Photos of Taylor Swift's visit to the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in the Miami area have gone viral. The 14-time Grammy winner was spotted wearing a sage green dress as she interacted with the staff and patients. A TikTok video shows her telling the staff that it had been 'an amazing day.' Jill Whitehouse, the chief of surgery at the hospital, shared a photo with Taylor Swift. She captioned the post, 'Chief of Surgery meets Chief of the World! Undeniably one of the kindest human beings I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Thank you #taylorswift for making dreams come true for all of our patients, families, and staff today!' A post shared by Jill Whitehouse (@jillywhitehouse) This is not the first time Taylor Swift has brought a smile tohospital patients. Last year, the Shake It Off hitmaker visited the Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City a day before her birthday. When a patient complimented the Miu Miu outfit she wore that day, Swift gifted them a matching set, Billboard reported. Not just Taylor Swift, her boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is reportedly in Miami as well. Kelce will train with the rest of his team before the new NFL season starts. Last month, Swift delighted her fans with the news that she had regained ownership of her master recordings. This included her concert films, videos, album art and unreleased songs. The albums in question were Swift's first six works -Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989 and Reputation. Previously, the ownership of the masters were with music executive Scooter Braun, who sold it to Shamrock Capital for $300 million. Also Read: Taylor Swift wins back master recordings to 6 original albums in massive buy out: 'You belong with me' Taylor Swift finished her Eras Tour in December 2024. The two-year-long tour collected more than $2 billion in ticket sales. The Love story singer was spotted at theJoe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Miami, Florida. The couple have been in a relationship since 2023. The couple's reactions at the Stanley Cup grabbed the attention of their fans. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce attended Game 4 of theEdmonton Oilers vs Florida Panthers.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Crypto Daybook Americas: Bitcoin Drops as Mideast Tensions Rise, but $200K Still In Play
By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) A weaker dollar, subdued inflation and heightened tensions in the Middle East are reshaping the crypto market's trajectory, giving bitcoin (BTC) room to run in the future, while pushing it down in the near term. While the largest cryptocurrency is lower today, analysts say a price of $200,000 is in play by year-end. One influence is the U.S. interest rate. Consumer prices rose less than forecast last month, increasing the chance of a Federal Reserve rate cut, which would bolster risk assets including cryptocurrencies. With core inflation stable at 2.8%, traders now largely expect two cuts this year beginning in September, according to the CME's FedWatch tool. Then there's the Middle East. The U.S. said yesterday it was moving people out of the region over heightened security risk and amid reports Israel is considering military action against Iran. Earlier today, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, ruled that Iran was in breach of its non-proliferation duties for the first time in 20 years. With tensions rising, investors are ditching the dollar in favor of safe havens including gold and the Swiss franc as they position for a potential conflict. That has also pushed down cryptocurrency prices, with BTC losing 1.7% of its value in the last 24 hours and the broader CoinDesk 20 (CD20) Index retreating 2.25%. 'Bitcoin continues to trade like a classic risk-on asset, responding sharply to macro tailwinds,' Boris Alergant, head of institutional partnerships at Babylon and a former Ripple and JPMorgan executive, told CoinDesk. 'That said, the broader picture for BTC remains optimistic,' Alergant said. 'More institutions are emulating MicroStrategy's BTC treasury strategy, creating a steady base of structural demand.' Still, the SEC's recent willingness to greenlight ETF applications tied to altcoins such as solana, led to predictions of an 'altcoin ETF summer' while signals of regulatory friendliness toward staking and protocol-based yield helped lift DeFi tokens. 'This marks the first time the SEC has shown coordinated openness to both layer-1 assets and the DeFi ecosystem,' Youwei Yang, chief economist at BIT Mining, told CoinDesk in an emailed statement. James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, pointed to $900 million in new digital asset fund inflows this week, suggesting that investor confidence is rebounding. 'This resurgence comes as bitcoin trades near all-time highs and global money supply conditions loosen, suggesting there could be further upside potential for digital asset prices more broadly,' he said. Keep in mind, though, the balance of global events. Tame inflation could help boost risk assets, yet unexpected escalation in the Middle East could reverse those gains. Stay alert! Crypto June 12, 10 a.m.: Coinbase's State of Crypto Summit 2025 (New York). Livestream link. June 16: 21Shares executes a 3-for-1 share split for ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB); ticker and NAV remain unchanged. June 16: Brazil's B3 exchange launches USD-settled ether (0.25 ETH) and solana (5 SOL) futures contracts, approved by Brazil's securities regulator, the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) and benchmarked to Nasdaq indices. Macro June 12, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases May producer price inflation data. Core PPI MoM Est. 0.3% vs. Prev. -0.4% Core PPI YoY Est. 3.1% vs. Prev. 3.1% PPI MoM Est. 0.2% vs. Prev. -0.5% PPI YoY Est. 2.6% vs. Prev. 2.4% June 12, 3 p.m.: Argentina's National Institute of Statistics and Census releases May inflation data. Inflation Rate MoM Prev. 2.8% Inflation Rate YoY Prev. 47.3% June 15-17: G7 2025 Summit (Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada) Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data) June 23 (TBC): HIVE Digital Technologies (HIVE), post-market Governance votes & calls ApeCoin DAO is weighing scrapping the decentralized autonomous organization and launching ApeCo to 'supercharge the APE ecosystem.' The discussion is scheduled to end later today. Arbitrum DAO is voting on a proposal to launch DRIP, an $80M incentives program targeting specific DeFi activity. Managed by a foundation-led committee, DRIP would reward users directly and allow the DAO to shut it down via vote. Voting ends June 20. June 12, 11:30 a.m.: Jupiter to host its Planetary Call with a 'special guest.' Unlocks June 13: Immutable (IMX) to unlock 1.33% of its circulating supply worth $12.44 million. June 15: Starknet (STRK) to unlock 3.79% of its circulating supply worth $17.06 million. June 15: Sei (SEI) to unlock 1.04% of its circulating supply worth $10.65 million. June 16: Arbitrum (ARB) to unlock 1.91% of its circulating supply worth $35.74 million. June 17: ZKsync (ZK) to unlock 20.91% of its circulating supply worth $41.78 million. June 17: ApeCoin (APE) to unlock 1.95% of its circulating supply worth $11.10 million. Token Launches June 12: Coinbase to list Fartcoin (FARTCOIN), Subsquid (SQD) and PancakeSwap (CAKE). June 12: Ethena (ENA) and Solayer (LAYER) to be listed on June 16: Advised deadline to unstake stMATIC as part of Lido on Polygon's sunsetting process ends June 26: Coinbase to delist Helium Mobile (MOBILE), Render (RNDR), Ribbon Finance (RBN) and Synapse (SYN). Day 3 of 3: Ripple's Apex 2025 (Singapore) June 14: Incrypted Crypto Conference 2025 (Kyiv) June 18-19: Canadian Blockchain Consortium's 2nd Annual Policy Summit (Ottawa) June 19-21: BTC Prague 2025 June 25-26: Bitcoin Policy Institute's Bitcoin Policy Summit 2025 (Washington) June 26: The Injective Summit (New York) June 26-27: Istanbul Blockchain Week June 30 to July 3: Ethereum Community Conference (Cannes, France) By Oliver Knight SPX6900 (SPX), one of many AI agent memecoins that spawned in the latter half of 2024, rocketed to a record high of $1.71 on Wednesday, defying a wider market sell-off prompted by political tensions involving Iran. The project's goal is to flip the entire U.S. stock market in terms of capitalization and while it's a few trillion dollars away, it has amassed a $1.7 billion market cap. Crypto analyst and social media personality Murad famously racked up a $40 million unrealized loss earlier this year. That loss has become a $55 million gain due to the token's ascent. SPX remains one of just a handful of altcoins that are positive over the past 24 hours as much of the market continues to reel over fears that a fighting could escalate in the Middle East. Gold and oil prices rose significantly overnight, which is historically a sign of impending conflict. CoinMarketCap's AI agent memecoin sector is down by 3.5%. Bitcoin options open interest on Deribit has reached $36.7 billion, the highest level seen this month. The dominant expiry remains June 27 with over $13.8 billion in notional open interest, and bullish call positioning continuing to cluster at the $140,000 strike. The put/call ratio stands at 0.60, reflecting a moderate bias toward calls, though less so than in recent sessions. Ether options open interest has climbed to a yearly high of $6.87 billion on Deribit. More than $2.38 billion in notional value is tied to the June 27 expiry, with calls heavily concentrated at the $3,000 strike where $614 million is positioned. The put/call ratio sits at 0.45, indicating a strong preference for upside exposure into the quarter-end. BTC funding rates have stabilized across major venues, with Deribit at 12.84% APR, Bybit at 10.75%, and Binance at 8.12%, according to data from Velo. This supports the view that long positioning remains elevated, but not at extremes. Aggregate futures open interest stands at $55.4 billion across Binance, Bybit, OKX, Deribit and Hyperliquid with Binance accounting for $23.3 billion of that total, based on Velo data. BTC is down 1.26% from 4 p.m. ET Wednesday at $107,534.98 (24hrs: -1.77%) ETH is down 2.21% at $2,753.40 (24hrs: -0.8%) CoinDesk 20 is down 2.05% at 3,198.06 (24hrs: -2.52%) Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is down 2 bps at 3.05% BTC funding rate is at 0.0075% (8.1731% annualized) on Binance DXY is down 0.57% at 98.07 Gold futures are up 1.26% at $3,385.80 Silver futures are down 0.54% at $36.06 Nikkei 225 closed down 0.65% at 38,173.09 Hang Seng closed down 1.36% at 24,035.38 FTSE is down 0.15% at 8,851.13 Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.87% at 5,346.38 DJIA closed on Wednesday unchanged at 42,865.77 S&P 500 closed down 0.27% at 6,022.24 Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.50% at 19,615.88 S&P/TSX Composite closed up 0.37% at 26,524.16 S&P 40 Latin America closed up +1.42% at 2,625.01 U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is down 4 bps at 4.39% E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 0.41% at 6,004.25 E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.33% at 21,815.50 E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index are down 0.60% at 42,649.00 BTC Dominance: 64.07 (-0.08%) Ethereum to bitcoin ratio: 0.02562 (0.43%) Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 913 EH/s Hashprice (spot): $54.7 Total Fees: 4.76 BTC / $521,445 CME Futures Open Interest: 150,075 BTC BTC priced in gold: 31.9 oz BTC vs gold market cap: 9.04% Solana's sol (SOL) failed to find acceptance above the 200-day exponential moving average on the daily timeframe, leading to a deviation back below key moving averages. The 100-day EMA is currently providing support. Notably, SOL closed below Monday's high in the previous session, presenting a clean setup for a Monday Range strategy. If the pullback continues, Monday's low at $149.68 serves as a key downside target. This level also aligns with a weekly demand zone (order block), potentially acting as a strong support area. Strategy (MSTR): closed on Wednesday at $387.11 (-1.04%), -1.47% at $381.43 in pre-market Coinbase Global (COIN): closed at $250.68 (-1.67%), -1.11% at $247.90 Circle (CRCL): closed at $117.2 (+10.66%), unchanged in pre-market Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY): closed at C$26.42 (-3.4%) MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $16.35 (-0.85%), -2.08% at $16.01 Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $10.55 (+0.96%), -1.42% at $10.40 Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $12.25 (-4.07%), -1.22% at $12.10 CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $9.97 (-1.58%), -1.6% at $9.81 CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $20 (-1.38%) Semler Scientific (SMLR): closed at $31.72 (+0.7%), -0.69% at $31.50 Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $31.08 (-7.91%), +1.38% at $31.51 Spot BTC ETFs Daily net flow: $164.6 million Cumulative net flows: $45.20 billion Total BTC holdings ~ 1.21 million Spot ETH ETFs Daily net flow: $240.3 million Cumulative net flows: $3.76 billion Total ETH holdings ~ 3.84 million Source: Farside Investors The chart from TheTie shows bitcoin generally moved in the same direction as the U.S. equity market as measured by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust. The cryptocurrency is nevertheless more volatile than the equity benchmark. Bitcoin briefly decoupled around April as it sold off while equities were relatively steady. Bitcoin at $200K by Year-End Is Now Firmly in Play, Analyst Says After Muted U.S. Inflation Data (CoinDesk): Matt Mena says bitcoin could benefit from improving macro clarity, institutional adoption, treasury demand and state-level reserve programs that may boost ETF inflows and strengthen its role in global portfolios. Strong Uptake at 10-Year U.S. Debt Sale Eases Demand Concerns, 30-Year Sale's Up Next (CoinDesk): Strong demand for 10-year Treasuries countered concerns over waning appetite for U.S. debt, now above $36 trillion, while some analysts cited bitcoin and gold as hedges against mounting fiscal risks. Marines to Deploy on L.A. Streets Within Two Days With Authority to Detain Civilians (Reuters): The 700 Marines have completed training in deescalation and crowd control and will join National Guard forces to help protect federal personnel and property under Title 10 of U.S. Code. Trump Is Pushing Allies Away and Closer to Each Other (The New York Times): The U.K., France, Canada and other mid-sized allies are deepening cooperation as Trump's unilateralism and tariff policy strain their longstanding ties with the U.S. Where Russia Is Advancing in Ukraine and What It Hopes to Gain (The Wall Street Journal): Russia made its largest monthly gains since late 2022 in May, aiming to convince Ukraine's allies that continued military and financial aid is pointless because Russia's victory is inevitable. Mercurity Fintech Plans $800M Bitcoin Treasury, Eyes Russell 2000 Inclusion (CoinDesk): The company said it will use the funds to acquire bitcoin, secure it with blockchain-native custody, and integrate it into a platform combining tokenized treasuries and staking services. Sign in to access your portfolio
Chicago Tribune
30 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Lake County board member praises $9.1 million investment into bike path
Lake County approved a $9.1 million contract to pave just over 12 miles of the Robert McClory Bike Path, with additional future crossing improvements planned in the future. The 25-mile trail, named after the eponymous Illinois State Representative in the late 1990s, was formerly a rail line between Chicago and Milwaukee. The sections in question run from Russell Road to Broadway Avenue and from Old Elm Road to Vine Avenue. Work includes paving the gravel path with asphalt, resurfacing existing asphalt, concrete repairs, ADA upgrades, drainage improvements and increased local connectivity, according to county documents. District 15 County Board Member Jennifer Clark lauded the benefits the work, which is planned to begin this summer and be completed later this year, will bring to the trail. Paving will reduce stormwater issues, she said. 'As anyone who knows who has ridden that trail, parts of the gravel tend to wash out during storms and over the winter due to snow and ice,' Clark said. 'This will ensure a smooth ride for everyone.' The county has also worked with neighbors and local municipalities to identify connecting trails to the path, some of them unofficial, to help improve accessibility, Clark said. There are also plans, potentially for next summer, to improve several crossings along the path. Clark said the work is part of a broader effort by the county to focus on improving non-motorized connections, primarily to address safety concerns over an uptick in injuries and fatalities relating to pedestrians and bicycle riders. 'We really have changed our focus from only looking at bike paths or sidewalk improvements for select areas of Lake County to now we are doing it standard with everything,' Clark said. 'Every time a road or an area comes up for a rebuild, we look at improving existing facilities or adding new ones.' The work has recreational and resident enjoyment benefits as well, and can help reduce commuter traffic, she said. 'I can't tell you how many people have told me they moved to Lake County because of the bike trails and the forests,' Clark said. Lake County has over 550 miles of trails and bikeways, according to the Lake County Department of Transportation.
