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UPI
2 days ago
- Climate
- UPI
Meteorological summer vs. astronomical summer explained
People participate in yoga classes in Times Square to celebrate the summer solstice on the first day of summer in New York City in June 2018. Typically, the June solstice is considered to be the official start to summer in the Northern Hemisphere, with the season lasting until the autumnal equinox in September. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Memorial Day weekend is often touted as the unofficial start of summer across the United States, but the first official day of summer differs between weather forecasters and astronomers. Typically, the June solstice is considered to be the official start to summer in the Northern Hemisphere with the season lasting until the autumnal equinox in September. The exact dates and times of the solstice vary year to year due to the Earth's imperfect orbit around the sun, but the solstice usually falls on June 20 or June 21, followed by the equinox on Sept. 22 or Sept. 23. In 2025, the solstice occurs on Friday, June 20, at 10:42 p.m. EDT, marking the start of astronomical summer. The season ends 93 days later on Sept. 22 at 2:19 p.m. EDT. However, not everyone follows the same seasonal guidelines. Weather forecasters view the seasons a little differently, consulting the calendar to determine the start of a new season rather than looking to Earth's orbit around the sun. "Meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months based on the annual temperature cycle as well as our calendar," NOAA explained. Meteorological summer is exactly three months long and starts on June 1 and lasts through Aug. 31 every single year. "The length of the meteorological seasons is also more consistent," according to NOAA. "It becomes much easier to calculate seasonal statistics from the monthly statistics, both of which are very useful for agriculture, commerce, and a variety of other purposes." Solar summer is one of the lesser-known definitions of the season and is centered around the three-month period when the most amount of sunlight reaches the Northern Hemisphere. This takes place from May through July with the solstice occurring at the midpoint of the season. There is one more way to define summer, and it is not based on our sun or the calendar but rather on a star that is nearly 6 trillion miles away from Earth. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky and has the nickname of the dog star. Between July 3 and Aug. 11, Sirius is in the same part of the sky as the sun, a time of the year that is known as the "dog days of summer." It was once believed that the added starlight from Sirius, in tandem with the light from our sun, made this six-week period the hottest stretch of the entire summer. While this is not the case, and the light from Sirius does not impact the temperature on Earth, the nickname has stuck around and is still used by meteorologists and the general public today.
UPI
2 days ago
- Business
- UPI
Maryland man wins six-digit lottery prize for the third time
A Maryland man scored a $100,000 prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket after previously collecting lottery prizes of $100,000 and $250,000. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo May 30 (UPI) -- A devoted Maryland Lottery scratch-off ticket player scored a $100,000 prize -- his third time winning a six-digit payout. The Bowie man told Maryland Lottery officials he bought a Monopoly X50 ticket from Forbes BP at 9701 Annapolis Road in Lanham using $10 he borrowed from his wife. The player recalled how he convinced his wife to give him the cash by saying: "You know I'm going to split it with you anyway." The ticket ended up earning the man -- and his wife -- a $100,000 prize. The player previously visited Maryland Lottery headquarters in 2022 to collect a $250,000 prize from a $250,000 Gold Rush ticket. A few years earlier, he won $100,000 from another scratch-off game. The player said he will keep buying scratch-off tickets until he hits an even larger prize. "Now I'm looking for a $1 million or $2 million win, then I'm done," he said. The winner said his latest prize will go toward new cabinets in his kitchen, new windows in the entire house and starting college funds for his grandchildren.
UPI
2 days ago
- Health
- UPI
Eight times more young adults now take HIV prevention meds
More young Americans are taking antiretroviral meds to protect them from HIV infection than a decade ago. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Eight times more young Americans are taking antiretroviral meds to protect them from HIV infection than a decade ago, a new study says. About 208 of every 100,000 U.S. young adults were using pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, to prevent becoming infected with HIV in 2023, researchers reported recently in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. That's up from 26 of 100,000 who filled a prescription for PrEP pills in 2016, researchers found in their analysis of data for 18- to 25-year-olds. "This is a patient population we often neglect in health care, because we don't think about them belonging to pediatric care or adult care, and their stage of cognitive development means they underestimate their STI [sexually transmitted infection] risk in general - yet they're one of the highest risk groups for a new diagnosis of HIV," said lead researcher Dr. Nina Hill, a general internist and pediatrician at the University of Michigan Medical School. "We're encouraged to see more prescribing over time, but the question remains: are we getting it to the highest-risk patients?" Hill added in a news release. For the study, researchers analyzed records on more than 1.4 million PrEP prescriptions dispensed to nearly 240,000 young adults between 2016 and 2023. The first PrEP medication, Truvada, was introduced in 2012 and became available as a generic drug in 2020, researchers said in background notes. A second oral option, Descovy, became available in 2019. The drugs reduce the chances of acquiring HIV through sex by 99%, when taken consistently as prescribed, researchers said. Nearly 9 of 10 (87%) of the prescriptions went to men, but Hill noted that some women also are at risk for HIV and could be eligible for PrEP. Unfortunately, results also showed that the length of time a person remained on PrEP declined by more than two weeks. This might indicate inconsistent use of PrEP, or show that young adults have trouble keeping up with the appointments and tests needed to continue the medication, researchers said. Nurse practitioners accounted for 39% of the prescriptions, while family doctors handed out 22% of the scrips, results show. Internists and physician assistants accounted for 14% and 11%, respectively. PrEP has been recommended since 2019 by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for teens and adults with an increased risk of acquiring HIV, researchers said. Under the Affordable Care Act, most insurance programs are required to make PrEP and HIV screening available to patients at no cost. However, the ACA's preventive care provisions are now under review at the U.S. Supreme Court, and a ruling is expected soon. More information The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has more on pre-exposure prophylaxis. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
UPI
2 days ago
- Business
- UPI
Annual PCE inflation for April was 2.1%, in line with expectations
April personal consumption expenditure inflation was up just 0.1% for an annual inflation rate of 2.1%, according to a Friday Bureau of Economic Analysis report. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo May 30 (UPI) -- April personal consumption expenditure inflation was up just 0.1% for an annual rate of 2.1%, according to a Friday Bureau of Economic Analysis report. "From the same month one year ago, the PCE price index for April increased 2.1%," the BEA report said. "Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 2.5% from one year ago." For the month, PCE inflation met the Dow Jones consensus forecast, but the annual rate was 0.1% lower than expected. "From the preceding month, the PCE price index for April increased 0.1%. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index also increased 0.1%.," the BEA said. Spending on housing and utilities services was up 24.7% in April, heath care services spendingincresed by 20.3%. Gasoline spending was up 8.1%. Spending on food and beverages, vehicles, recreational goods, financial services, insurance, clothing, footwear and motor vehicle parts all declined. The BEA also reported personal income in the United States was up 0.8% in April. "Disposable personal income (DPI)-personal income less personal current taxes-increased $189.4 billion (0.8%) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $47.8 billion (0.2%)," the BEA said in a statement. The income increase reflected both compensation increases and higher government social benefits to individuals, according to the BEA. In April there was a $47.8 billion increase in current-dollar PCE - comprised of a $55.8 billion rise in spending on services partially offset by an $8 billion decrease in spending for goods. Personal savings amounted to $1.12 trillion in April while the personal saving rate was 4.9%. That rate is saving as a percentage of disposable personal income.
UPI
4 days ago
- Business
- UPI
AI chipmaker Nvidia to report first-quarter earnings on Wednesday
1 of 3 | Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street in New York City on Wednesday ahead of Nvidia's fiscal first-quarter results. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo May 28 (UPI) -- Nvidia officials have scheduled a 5 p.m. EDT first-quarter earnings report that many expect to reflect the Trump administration's restrictions on trade with China. The artificial intelligence firm is expected to show increased earnings from a year ago, when it posted adjusted earnings of 61 cents per share on $26.04 billion in sales during the quarter that ended on April 27, Investor's Business Daily reported. Analysts queried by FactSet anticipate Nvidia to report adjusted earnings of 73 cents per share and $43.34 billion in sales during the first quarter this year. Others suggest the AI chipmaker will report 93 cents in adjusted earnings per share on $43.31 billion in sales, CNBC reported. Analysts anticipate improved numbers during the second quarter with projected adjusted earnings of 99 cents per share and nearly $46 billion in sales. The effect of the Trump administration's restrictions on trade with China should be known better after the Wednesday earnings report by Nvidia. The Trump administration on April 9 notified Nvidia that it is requiring the chipmaker to obtain an export license for its H20 chip that is designed specifically for use in China's market. The chip is a specially designed version of Nvidia's popular Hopper AI chips and is intended to comply with U.S. trade restrictions. The Nvidia earnings report also comes on the heels of the Federal Reserve's recent announcement that it is maintaining the Fed's lending rate of 4.25% to 4.5%. The Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee met earlier in the month and agreed that President Donald Trump's tariffs policy and other inflationary pressures could trigger a rise in inflation. Despite such concerns, Nvidia is expected to announce increased first-quarter earnings. Meanwhile, the Dow closed down more than 200 points at the end of trading on Wednesday.
