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USA Today
an hour ago
- Science
- USA Today
A collapsing glacier destroyed a Swiss village. Is climate change to blame?
A collapsing glacier destroyed a Swiss village. Is climate change to blame? The natural disaster shows a volatile combination of climate change effects, fragile natural environments and human development. Show Caption Hide Caption Watch rock and debris cascade as huge chunk of glacier collapses A Swiss village with about 300 residents evacuated when part of a nearby mountain began to crumble. A glacier collapsed, burying the village. A small village in the Swiss Alps has been engulfed by ice, mud, and rock in a rare natural disaster that points to an uncertain future as unstable mountainous glaciers can break apart in destructive avalanches. A swirling and volatile combination of climate change effects, fragile natural environments and human development contribute to the danger, leaving experts concerned about what the future may hold. While similar avalanches occasionally happen in the Alps, one hasn't impacted a populated region for over a hundred years. "It's critical to realize that we now have left the space of historical precedence and entered an era where we face new hazards from locations that have never been a problem in the past and where protection may be technically hardly possible or financially unfeasible," Christian Huggel, a professor of environment and climate at the University of Zurich, told USA TODAY via email. Studying this kind of disaster isn't easy, partly because such "ice-rock-debris" avalanches often occur in isolated areas so gathering good data is a challenge. "Statistics are difficult here but it seems that the past 5-10 years have brought more such critical situations in the Swiss Alps than in the earlier past. We should definitely prepare for more of the kind in the future," Huggel said. What happened in Blatten, Switzerland? As much as 90% of Blatten, Switzerland, is now engulfed by ice, mud, and rock after what scientists suspect is a dramatic display of the impact of climate change on mountain communities. "We've lost our village," Matthias Bellwald, the mayor of Blatten told a press conference after the slide. "The village is under rubble." A video shared widely on social media showed the dramatic moment when the glacier partially collapsed, creating a huge cloud that covered part of the mountain as rock and debris came cascading down towards the village. More: Swiss glacier collapses, burying village: Video, satellites show Blatten before and after Are ice-rock-debris avalanches rare? While recently rare in the Alps, "events of the dimension of the 'ice-rock-debris avalanche' in Blatten are known from and studied in regions like the Himalayas or Alaska over the past several decades," Huggel told USA TODAY via email. A similar event happened in April 2024, but did not affect population centers, said Huggel. But the destruction of large parts of a village (with 300 inhabitants) "has in fact no historical precedence in the 21st and 20th century." Before that, there was a landslide in Goldau in 1806 and one in Elm in 1881, where more than 400 and 100 people lost their lives, respectively, Huggel said. Climate change makes for an uncertain future "Higher average annual temperatures may lead to more glaciers, especially in steep terrain, becoming 'unstuck' from their beds, or mountain permafrost, which can keep mountain slopes frozen together, thawing and making such slopes less stable," said Bruce Raup, a senior associate scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Raup told USA TODAY that globally speaking, such events happen in steeper, younger mountain ranges such as the European Alps and the Himalaya where erosional processes are more active. Risk is higher if there are people or infrastructure near potential mass movements, or downstream where a blocked stream could lead to flooding. How the ice-rock-debris avalanche unfolded ABC News reports that an uptick in glacier melt had been observed at Birch Glacier, and emergency managers ordered hundreds of villagers to evacuate. Huggel called what happened next "a complex interaction of various processes of rock slope instability." According to Raup, "the event was a massive rock avalanche/landslide falling onto a glacier that then collapsed and went down together with the rock mass." While various factors were at play in Blatten, it was known that local permafrost had been affected by warmer temperatures in the Alps. The loss of permafrost can negatively affect the stability of the mountain rock, which is why climate change had likely played a part in the deluge, Huggel said. (This story has been updated to add new information.) Contributing: Reuters
USA Today
an hour ago
- Business
- USA Today
Appeals Court allows Trump to keep tariffs while appeal plays out
Appeals Court allows Trump to keep tariffs while appeal plays out | The Excerpt On Friday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: USA TODAY White House Reporter Zac Anderson has the latest on the trade whiplash around President Donald Trump's tariffs. A group of Deaf Americans is suing over a lack of sign language interpreters for White House events. USA TODAY Senior Congress & Campaigns Reporter Riley Beggin takes a look at some provisions lurking in the GOP tax bill Americans should know about. Heavy smoke is expected to hit the U.S. as Canadian wildfires force evacuations. Faizan Zaki pulls off a dramatic win at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@ Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here Taylor Wilson: Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Friday, May 30th, 2025. This is The Excerpt. Today, the latest on tariffs after some court moves this week, plus a group of deaf Americans is suing Trump over a lack of sign language interpreters for White House events. We take a closer look at some lurking provisions in the GOP tax bill. ♦ Tariffs as imposed by President Donald Trump will continue for now. I spoke with USA TODAY White House reporter Zac Anderson about the latest chapter of trade whiplash. Hey there, Zac. Zac Anderson: Howdy. Taylor Wilson: All right, so starting with this, what did this appeals court decide? Zac Anderson: So the appeals court temporarily put on hold a ruling by a lower court that had blocked Trump from implementing his tariffs. Trump was trying to use a emergency powers law that was enacted in 1977 to implement these tariffs without going through Congress. He had declared a state of emergency, and this trade court had ruled that he couldn't use this law to push his tariffs, which have really been the centerpiece of his economic agenda. The Trump administration immediately appealed that ruling, and less than 24 hours later, the appeals court said, "We're going to allow you to continue to levy these tariffs while this appeal plays out." So really a lot of quick back and forth here, but the tariffs remain in place for now. Taylor Wilson: Well, this wasn't the only move in court. How else have the courts been intervening over Tariffs Act? Zac Anderson: Two court rulings went against Trump on tariffs this week. One was the ruling that I just mentioned from a trade court. That case had been brought by a number of state officials and also some businesses. Trump's use of the tariffs was deemed invalid in that case. And then there was another lawsuit filed by a pair of toy companies in Illinois that had challenged the tariffs that Trump imposed. A judge also ruled in their favor and invalidated those tariffs, but he paused the impact of that ruling to give the governments two weeks to appeal that decision. So two cases that went against Trump. Both of them have been basically paused while the appeals go forward. Taylor Wilson: So how has the Trump White House addressing what has Zac, as you put it, really been trade whiplash? Zac Anderson: The White House has really come out swinging on this. They've gone after these court rulings. This has been a continuation of their efforts to criticize the judiciary, which has blocked a lot of what Trump has done during the first four months of his administration. They called these activist judges and they vowed to appeal all the way up to the Supreme Court, and they said that they're going to continue with their policy here and find a way forward. Taylor Wilson: And Zac, I know Trump was asked a question about this TACO acronym earlier this week that some financial analysts are embracing. The acronym stands for Trump Always Chickens Out. What is this and how did Trump respond? Zac Anderson: It was coined by a Wall Street analyst and traders have talked about trading around Trump's tariffs, that basically when he implements the tariffs, the markets crash. But it's only for a short time period, and then they come back up, so that you can basically count on Trump chickening out and plan your trades around that. And that's really taken off in financial circles that Trump was asked about that at the White House the other day, and he really expressed a lot of indignation. Trump likes to be seen as strong and really project strength, and so being called a chicken really set him off, and he really said that he didn't like that question. Taylor Wilson: All right. Well, all eyes have been on the markets both domestically and really around the world since these tariffs were first announced a few weeks ago. How are markets reacting now this week, Zac? Zac Anderson: So after the tariffs were paused, you saw a little bit of a spike in the markets. Obviously, the threat of tariffs has led to some concerns about how that would affect the economy. There's been talk that that could increase chances of recession. U.S. stocks really showed little reaction to the appeals court decision having already pulled back from the rally sparked on Wednesday and Wall Street closed higher on Thursday, shrugging off the decision by the Federal Appeals Court. So I think the markets are still kind of taking a wait-and-see approach. Taylor Wilson: Well, Peter Navarro, the White House trade adviser, spoke with reporters after the appeals court ruling. Let's give a listen. Peter Navarro: Even if we lose, we will do it another way. And I can assure you American people, that the Trump tariff agenda is a alive, well, healthy and will be implemented to protect you, to save your jobs and your factories, and to stop ship and foreign wealth, our wealth into foreign hands. Taylor Wilson: Well, Zac, I want to ask you to predict the future, but what's next perhaps for this trade whiplash conversation going forward? Zac Anderson: Well, there's other court cases out there, so there could be other court rulings that impact this, but it does seem like this is going all the way up to the Supreme Court. Obviously, depending on what the appeals court decides, this is going to be a battle for a while now until the Supreme Court brings some certainty to this. I think we're going to see a lot of back and forth on this for some time to come. Taylor Wilson: All right, Zac Anderson covers the White House for USA TODAY. Thanks, Zac. Zac Anderson: Thank you. ♦ Taylor Wilson: A group of deaf Americans who previously forced the White House to provide American sign language interpreters during press briefings is asking a federal judge to again, intervene after President Trump halted their use in January. In a lawsuit filed earlier this week, the National Association of the Deaf argued that the Trump White House's removal of ASL interpreters at press conferences and briefings violates federal law. The same group previously forced the White House to provide interpreters for COVID-19 briefings during Trump's first presidency and former President Joe Biden expanded their use when he took office. Trump in March declared English to be the official language of the United States and rescinded an executive order from 2000 that encouraged the executive branch to make services available to people of limited English proficiency, including ASL speakers. ♦ There are some provisions in the GOP tax legislation that may not have top billing, but they could have a big impact on American's everyday lives. I spoke with USA TODAY Senior Congress and campaigns reporter Riley Beggin to learn more. Hello, Riley. Riley Beggin: Hey, Taylor. Taylor Wilson: So let's talk through some of these lesser-known provisions that are lurking in this tax bill, starting with making it easier to ignore court rulings. What can you tell us about this legislation? Riley Beggin: So this is something tucked into the bill relatively last minute. It's a provision that would essentially restrict judge's ability to hold people accountable for violating court orders. Of course, the context for this is it's coming as some judges are considering contempt rulings against President Trump for bypassing court orders, restricting the Trump administration's actions. So this legislation would bar judges from enforcing contempt rulings if they didn't first order a bond, which is usually set at zero or not ordered in cases when people are claiming the government did something unconstitutional. So Democrats have argued that this is clearly an attempt to go around the courts while Republicans say it's an incentive to stop frivolous lawsuits. Taylor Wilson: Well, amid constant headlines with AI, we know AI isn't going anywhere. This bill would allocate a healthy chunk of money toward AI. What might that mean and how else do they hope to tackle this? Riley Beggin: So we're in a place right now with AI where there's no federal regulation for AI. And so in the place of the lack of federal regulation, dozens of states have created AI regulations and overstride structures. The provision in this bill would block those states from enforcing the regulations they've already created and it would prevent states from creating new ones. So this is a little controversial. Tech industry leaders, of course, support this approach. They are wary of regulation, say it can get in the way of innovation, but Democrats and some Republicans have said, this is not a good idea. We want to make sure that we are protecting people as AI is developed. Taylor Wilson: And this bill would also create new savings accounts for children, Riley, am I understanding that correctly? Riley Beggin: Yes. These are newly dubbed Trump accounts, and they are essentially savings accounts that will be created for children. If your baby was born between January of 2025 and January of 2029 and you opened a Trump account in their name, the U.S. Treasury Department would put a one-time payment of a thousand dollars in the account, which would then be invested in stock funds. Parents would be able to contribute up to $5,000 a year as well, so it would grow with the stock market. And then when the child turns 18, they can use a portion of it for things like education, apprenticeships and training or buying their first house. And then once the child reaches age 30, they could use the full amount for whatever they want. Taylor Wilson: All right. How about some lurking provisions here as it pertains to Pell grants and student loan changes? Riley Beggin: Pell grants are of course support for low-income students who want to go to colleges and universities. Right now, students who are on Pell grants are considered full-time and they qualify for the maximum amount of aid if they take 12 credits per semester. This bill would amp that up a little bit, change that full-time requirement to 15 credits a semester, which of course, if you continue to take 12 credits, it estimated a loss of around $1,500 in benefits for those students. And advocates who are concerned about this, say that that could create challenges for students who either are working or caretaking for siblings or parents. So it could certainly impact students here. Taylor Wilson: As for migrants, there are some provisions dealing with new immigration fees and charging foreign workers. What can you tell us about these moves? Riley Beggin: So one of the ways that this bill is seeking to offset the cost of tax cuts is by implementing new fees primarily on immigrants. So one thing that really popped out at us is a series of new fees for people who are trying to immigrate to the United States. So for example, $1000 to request asylum, $550 payments every six months for work authorization, $500 for temporary protected status, $1000 for undocumented immigrants who are paroled into the country, and $3,500 for people to sponsor unaccompanied children who are immigrating into the country. And those are just a handful of them. There are many more. The other thing I'll mention is people who move to the United States to work and send money back to their home country could certainly see a chunk of their funds being taken out here. The bill would implement a new 3.5% tax on these transfers that are known as remittances, when people send money to a foreign country. That tax be paid by the person who's sending the money, there will be an exemption for people who are U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals that are sending money abroad. Taylor Wilson: Riley Beggin covers Congress and campaigns for USA TODAY. Thanks, Riley. Riley Beggin: Thank you. eclaircissement Taylor Wilson: Thousands of people in Canada are being evacuated as active wildfires have charred hundreds of thousands of acres in the country, officials said. The blazes also threaten to waft heavy smoke over the Northern U.S. Some Americans could face poor air quality from the fires as soon as today. Active blazes have burned nearly 700,000 acres in Saskatchewan and nearly 200,000 acres in Manitoba, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. A total of nearly 1.5 million acres have burned across the two provinces so far this year, according to the fire center. Smoke from the blazes is expected to fall heavily over Midwestern states, in particular, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, and cut across the country to reach the Carolinas by the weekend. That's according to FireSmoke Canada, a team of forecasters at the University of British Columbia. You can read more with a link in today's show notes. ♦ Faizan Zaki won the Scripps National Spelling Bee last night. The win comes after he lost last year in the spell off and became just the fifth runner-up to later win the bee. He sealed the deal by nailing the word, eclaircissement, running out of breath, and then collapsing to the floor as confetti fell on him and the crowd erupted. You can read more about the big win from our friends over at USA TODAY Sports. ♦ Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. We're produced by Shannon Rae Green and Kaely Monahan, and our executive producer is Laura Beatty. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. As always, you can also email us at podcasts at I'm Taylor Wilson. I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA TODAY.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
The Memorial leaderboard: PGA Tour updates, scoreboard, cut line tracker
USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. Five days after winning his first individual title on the PGA Tour, which was his second win following a team victory a month ago, Ben Griffin kept things rolling with a 7-under 65 to kick start his 2025 Memorial Tournament. At the beginning of play on Friday, Griffin was followed by Collin Morikawa (5 under), Max Homa (4 under), and a host of others at Muirfield Village outside Columbus. Advertisement The defending champ at Jack Nicklaus' tournament is Scottie Scheffler, who's also coming off winning the PGA Championship, shot 2 under par in the first round. That was good for a tie for seventh. There will be a cut after today's round. Ludvig Åberg started the day just above the projected cut line, while Justin Rose and Justin Thomas are among the big-name golfers who need to turn things around to make the weekend. Memorial Tournament leaderboard Keep up with the latest scores on our official PGA Tour leaderboard. The Memorial schedule and how to watch Round 2: Friday, May 30 First tee: 7:50 a.m. TV coverage: Starting at 2 p.m. TV channel: Golf Channel Streaming: ESPN+ | Fubo (free trial) Advertisement Round 2 of the 2025 Memorial Tournament will broadcast nationally on Golf Channel starting at 2 p.m. Featured group and hole streaming from PGA Tour Live is available on ESPN+ starting at 7:45 PGA Tour live on ESPN+ Memorial Tournament tee times All times Eastern: 7:50 a.m.: Andrew Novak, Lucas Glover 8 a.m.: Ryan Fox, Maverick McNealy 8:10 a.m.: Michael Kim, Ryan Gerard 8:20 a.m.: Min Woo Lee, Sam Stevens 8:30 a.m.: Davis Thompson, Sungjae Im 8:40 a.m.: Matthieu Pavon, Max Homa 8:50 a.m.: Taylor Pendrith, Corey Conners 9 a.m.: Matt Fitzpatrick, Tom Hoge 9:15 a.m.: Nick Dunlap, Sam Burns 9:25 a.m.: Aaron Rai, Tommy Fleetwood 9:35 a.m.: Brian Harman, Thomas Detry 9:45 a.m.: Robert MacIntyre, Byeong Hun An 9:55 a.m.: Si Woo Kim, Adam Scott 10:05 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay 10:15 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Sepp Straka 10:30 a.m.: Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley 10:40 a.m.: Mackenzie Hughes, Matt Kuchar 10:50 a.m.: Nick Taylor, Jacob Bridgeman 11 a.m.: Joe Highsmith, Brandt Snedeker 11:10 a.m.: Brian Campbell, Harris English 11:20 a.m.: Rickie Fowler, J.J. Spaun 11:30 a.m.: Justin Rose, Daniel Berger 11:45 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Tony Finau 11:55 a.m.: Austin Eckroat, Denny McCarthy 12:05 p.m.: Alex Noren, Eric Cole 12:15 p.m.: J.T. Poston, Adam Hadwin 12:25 p.m.: Cam Davis, Cameron Young 12:35 p.m.: Stephan Jaeger, Christiaan Bezuidenhout 12:45 p.m.: Wyndham Clark, Max Greyserman 1 p.m.: Ben Griffin, Shane Lowry 1:10 p.m.: Chris Kirk, Sahith Theegala 1:20 p.m.: Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth 1:30 p.m.: Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Åberg 1:40 p.m.: Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa 1:50 p.m.: Jhonattan Vegas, Matti Schmid 2 p.m.: Bud Cauley, Harry Higgs Top contenders odds to win the Memorial 2025 Tournament odds from BetMGM as of Thursday: Scottie Scheffler: +300 Collin Morikawa: +400 Ben Griffin: +450 Tommy Fleetwood: +1100 Shane Lowry: +1400 Dublin weather: Day 2 Friday AccuWeather predicts a high of 70 degrees with partly sunny skies today in Dublin, Ohio. Winds are expected to blow out of the west-northwest at 10 mph. There is an 85% chance of rain and about a 15% chance of thunderstorms. This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour live updates, cut line tracker from the Memorial Tournament
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Canada wildfires create heavy smoke that's expected to reach the US: See photos
The heavy smoke from the active wildfires in Canada is expected to hit parts of the United States. Rising heat, winds, and dry air sparked blazes in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, according to the country's Department of Natural Resources. Residents in the United States are expected to face poor air quality from the fires as soon as May 30. The fires have burned hundreds of thousands of acres in both provinces and resulted in the evacuation of at least 17,000 people, in what officials are calling "a very serious situation." Smoke from the blazes is expected to fall heavily over Midwestern states, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, and cut across the country to reach the Carolinas by May 31, according to FireSmoke Canada, a team of forecasters at the University of British Columbia. Natural Diasters: Photos show Swiss village buried in debris after glacier collapse Authorities in Minnesota, which began to feel the impact of the blazes on May 29, warned of unhealthy levels of exposure to fine particles from the wildfires. Symptoms include everything from shortness of breath to heart attack and stroke. Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Canada wildfires 2025: See photos of heavy smoke
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Is it safe to go to Jamaica right now? State Dept. eases travel advisory
Is it safe to go to Jamaica right now? State Dept. eases travel advisory Show Caption Hide Caption Travel safety tips for traveling abroad with a smartphone These tips will help you have some peace of mind in case your smartphone gets lost or stolen while you're traveling. Problem Solved The State Department has eased its travel advisory for Jamaica, but still wants Americans to be careful while visiting the popular Caribbean destination. On Thursday, the travel advisory was lowered to Level 2 or "exercise increased caution." Jamaica had been listed as Level 3 or "reconsider travel," due to crime and health-care concerns. The change comes two months after Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Jamaica and pledged to re-evaluate its travel notice. The highest possible advisory level is Level 4 or "do not travel." "We take seriously our commitment to provide U.S. citizens with clear, timely, and reliable information about every country in the world so they can make informed travel decisions," a State Department spokesperson previously told USA TODAY. "The Department of State routinely updates our Travel Advisories and destination information pages based on a comprehensive review of all available safety information and ongoing developments." Here's what travelers should know. Is it safe to travel from the US to Jamaica? The overall advisory level has been lowered, but the State Department warns crime and medical concerns remain, and there are areas travelers are urged to avoid all together. "While violent crime in Jamaica has decreased since 2024, it remains statistically high throughout the country," according to Thursday's advisory, which adds that armed robberies and sexual assaults are common and homicide rates are among the Western Hemisphere's highest. "Tourist areas generally see lower rates of violent crime than other parts of the country," the State Department continued, but noted, "The U.S. Embassy routinely receives reports of sexual assaults, including from U.S. citizen tourists at resorts" and many cases aren't fully prosecuted. U.S. embassy personnel are prohibited from visiting certain parts of Jamaica, which travelers are also warned against visiting "for any reason." See the State Department's travel advisory page for the full list. How to stay safe while traveling The State Department shared the following safety tips for Americans visiting Jamaica: The State Department also notes that Americans should not expect the same level of medical care in Jamaica, including slower emergency response, less available care and potentially having to pay up front before being admitted to hospitals. Travelers are encouraged to buy insurance before their trips. Contributing: Reuters
