Latest news with #JulieJacobson
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Climate
- Newsweek
Hundreds of Thousands Told To Stay Inside in 4 States
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Hundreds of thousands of residents in four states have been advised to remain indoors as air quality alerts continue to blanket the Midwest. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) AirNow map, which offers a real-time snapshot of air quality, shows that air pollution levels across Minnesota and parts of Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa are deemed to be "unhealthy" on Wednesday. The EPA and the National Weather Service (NWS) urged people to reduce exposure to outdoor air after wildfires and current weather conditions have deteriorated air quality, pushing pollution levels into hazardous territory in several communities. Why It Matters The ongoing alerts show the health risks posed by smoke and air pollutants carried over vast areas, especially for sensitive groups including children, seniors, and people with respiratory or heart conditions. Minnesota has been impacted by wildfires this week, adding to the devastation already caused by a string of blazes last month that consumed more than 35,000 acres of land. The state, as well as Iowa and Wisconsin have been experiencing poor air quality for the last few days. File photo: a thick haze hangs over Manhattan in New York. File photo: a thick haze hangs over Manhattan in New York. Julie Jacobson/AP What To Know The Wisconsin cities facing a red warning with Air Quality Index (AQI) scores of between 151-200 (see below) include Eau Claire, La Crosse and Green Bay. The red warning means that "some members of the general public may experience "health effects," while members of sensitive groups "may experience more serious health effects." In Minnesota, the red warning covers Rochester and parts of Minneapolis; in Iowa, Mason City; and in Michigan, Menominee and Iron Mountain. Meanwhile, the NWS has published Air Quality Advisories for millions of people on Tuesday across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine. Various alerts in different states advised that individuals "consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects." It added that if you experience "symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, throat irritation or an uncomfortable sensation in your chest, please consider limiting the intensity and duration of your outdoor activities." In some states, Americans were advised to drive less, work from home, wait to mow the lawn and refill vehicles tanks after sunset. Smoke from ongoing wildfires, aggravated by stagnant atmospheric conditions, has driven particulate pollution to hazardous levels. People most at risk include those with chronic heart or lung diseases, older adults, children, pregnant women, and outdoor workers. Even healthy individuals may experience symptoms such as eye irritation, coughing, or difficulty breathing when air quality levels are particularly poor. What People Are Saying The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), wrote on its website about air quality alerts: "The color red represents an index value of 151 to 200. This means the air quality is unhealthy. Everyone needs to be concerned. Sensitive groups should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion. Move activities indoors or reschedule to a time when the air quality is better. Everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion. Take more breaks during all outdoor activities." The EPA said: "When air quality is in this range, any individual who is active outdoors may experience the respiratory effects described above. Members of sensitive groups are likely to experience more severe effects. EPA's risk assessment indicates that at this level for healthy individuals (adults and children) at moderate exertion." It added: "Approximately 30 percent are estimated to experience moderate or greater lung function impairment, approximately 15 percent are estimated to experience large or greater lung function impairments, and approximately 5 percent are estimated to experience moderate to severe respiratory symptoms (i.e., chest pain with deep inspiration and aggravated cough)." What Happens Next Officials will continue to monitor air quality and update guidance as conditions evolve. Residents are urged to stay informed via EPA's AirNow portal and local weather channels for the latest alerts and health recommendations.
Toronto Sun
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Banksy's ‘Broken Heart' painting defaced on a Brooklyn wall is up for sale
Published May 02, 2025 • 4 minute read A slab of wall art, The "Battle to Survive a Broken Heart,' created by the artist Banksy, sits on display inside the Brookfield Place atrium, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in New York. The nearly four-ton piece will be auctioned off on May 21. Photo by Julie Jacobson / AP NEW YORK (AP) — When the enigmatic street artist Banksy spray-painted a heart-shaped balloon covered with a Band-Aid on the wall of a Brooklyn warehouse, the nondescript brick building was instantly transformed into an art destination and the canvas of an unlikely graffiti battle. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Almost as soon as Banksy revealed the piece back in 2013, an anonymous tagger brazenly walked up and spray painted the words 'Omar NYC' in red beside the balloon, to the dismay of onlookers. Days later, someone stenciled 'is a little girl' in white and pink beside Omar's tag, followed by a seemingly sarcastic phrase in black: 'I remember MY first tag.' Some think it was Banksy himself who secretly returned to the scene to add the rejoinder. The apparent graffiti battle didn't end there. Another tagger also attempted to leave his mark but was stymied by security guards. Today the phrase 'SHAN' is still visible in light purple paint. Maria Georgiadis, whose family owned the now-demolished warehouse and ultimately removed the section of wall to preserve the artwork, says the graffiti pastiche is quintessentially New York. 'It looks like a war going on,' she said recently. 'They're literally going at it on the wall.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The preserved wall, dubbed 'Battle to Survive a Broken Heart,' will be going up for sale May 21 at Guernsey's, the New York auction house. Georgiadis, a Brooklyn schoolteacher, says the sale is bittersweet. Her father, Vassilios Georgiadis, ran his roofing and asbestos abatement company from the warehouse adorned with the balloon. He died four years ago at age 67 from a heart attack, which is why some of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the American Heart Association. 'It's just very significant to us because he loved it and he was just so full of love,' Maria Georgiadis said on a recent visit to the art warehouse where the piece was stored for more than a decade. 'It's like the bandage heart. We all have love, but we've all went through things and we just put a little Band-Aid over and just keep on moving, right? That's how I take it.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The nearly 4-ton, 6-foot-tall (3.6-metric ton, 1.8-meter-tall) wall section is one of a number of guerrilla works the famously secretive British artist made during a New York residency in 2013. At the time, Banksy heralded the work by posting on his website photos and an audio track recorded partly in a squeaky, helium-induced voice. Banksy may not have painted response to tagger Guernsey auction house President Arlan Ettinger said it is impossible to know for certain because Banksy works clandestinely. But he said the neat stenciling and wording 'strongly suggest that this was a gentle way for Banksy to put the other artist in his place.' Ulrich Blanche, an art history lecturer at Heidelberg University in Germany, called the piece a 'very well executed' stencil notable partly because of Banksy's decision to place it in Brooklyn's port area of Red Hook. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'This part of NYC was not easy to reach at that time,' he said by email. 'Banksy wanted people to go to places in NYC they never have seen and love them as well.' But Blanche questioned whether the additional stenciled text was truly the work of Banksy, saying the word choice and design don't appear to comport with the artist's style at the time. 'To call a graffiti guy a 'girl' is not something Banksy would do in 2013. This is misogynic and immature in a sexist way,' he wrote. 'Three different fonts that do not match and three colors _ why should he do that? Too unnecessarily elaborated without reasons. So I think this was added by someone else.' Blanche also said he is ambivalent about the pending sale, noting Banksy usually doesn't authorize his street pieces for sale. At the same time, he understands the burden placed on property owners to protect and maintain them. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Banksy's works should be preserved, but for the community they were made for,' he said. 'They should not be turned into goods. They are made and thought for a specific location. Not portable. Not sellable.' Spokespersons for Banksy didn't respond to an email seeking comment. Difficult to determine price Maria Georgiadis' brother, Anastasios, said his father had also hoped to keep the piece in Red Hook after having cut it out of the wall and framed in thick steel for safekeeping. The elder Georgiadis, he said, envisioned the work as the centerpiece of a retail and housing development on the property, a dream he didn't realize. The property has since been sold off by the family. Ettinger said it is difficult to say what the piece might fetch. There is little precedent for a sale of a Banksy piece of this size, he said. In 2018, a canvas that was part of Banksy's 'Girl With Balloon' series sold in London for 1.04 million pounds ($1.4 million), only to famously self-destruct in front of a stunned auction crowd. Maria Georgiadis said she hopes whoever buys the 'Broken Heart' finds the same beauty and meaning her father drew from the piece. When Banksy painted it, the family business had been recovering from destructive floods caused by Hurricane Sandy the prior year. Georgiadis recalls her father had no idea who Banksy was but was moved by the simple image. 'My dad had it in his head that Banksy knew what we went through,' she said. 'He goes, 'Can you believe it Maria? It's a heart.'' Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA Toronto Maple Leafs NHL
