The hot, dry, windy conditions that led to the recent Southern California fires were about 35% more likely because of climate change, a new report says.
The findings come from the World Weather Attribution group, which analyzes the influence of global warming on extreme events.
The fires have killed at least 29 people and destroyed more than 16,000 buildings.
Climate change increased the likelihood of the extreme conditions that allowed the recent fires to roar across the Los Angeles area, an international group of scientists said Tuesday.
The hot, dry and windy conditions that preceded the fires were about 35% more likely because of human-caused global warming, according to a new report from the World Weather Attribution group, which analyzes the influence of global warming on extreme events.
The fires, which started during a ferocious windstorm and after almost no rain had fallen in greater Los Angeles since the spring, have killed at least 29 people and torched more than 16,000 buildings, including homes, stores and schools.
“This was a perfect storm when it comes to conditions for fire disasters — the ingredients in terms of the climate enabling, the weather driving the fires and the huge built environment right downwind from where these ignitions occurred,” John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at the University of California, Merced, who contributed to the report, said at a news conference.
Compared to a preindustrial time before fossil fuels were widely used, there are now 23 extra days of “dry season” on average each year in the Los Angeles region, the report said, making it more likely that fires will coincide with seasonal Santa Ana winds.
Park Williams, a professor of geography at UCLA and an author of the report, said fires during cool seasons in Southern California require four conditions: widespread grass or brush that can burn, abnormally dry conditions, an ignition (which almost always comes from a person; and extreme weather, like the recent windstorm. He described each of those conditions as an individual switch in a system that requires all four to be flipped on for light to emanate.
“The artificial warming due to human-caused climate change is making the light brighter,” Williams said.
The authors of the report analyzed weather and climate models to evaluate how a warmer atmosphere is shifting the likelihood of fire weather (meaning conditions that increase the risk of wildfire). They also tracked how a metric called the Fire Weather Index changed over time. The index tracks temperature, relative humidity and wind speeds, all factors that contribute to the likelihood of fire.
The researchers found that the kind of conditions that drove the L.A. area fires are expected to occur on average once in 17 years in today’s climate. Such conditions would have been expected once every 23 years without climate change and would have been less extreme when they did occur, the report says.
A recent report has found that the conditions that fueled the devastating California wildfires were more likely due to climate change than any other factor. The report, conducted by a team of climate scientists and researchers, highlights the role of rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and increased fuel loads in creating the perfect storm for the unprecedented wildfires that swept through the state.
According to the report, the combination of record-breaking heat waves, dry vegetation, and strong winds created ideal conditions for the rapid spread of wildfires in California. These conditions were exacerbated by climate change, which has been linked to more frequent and severe wildfires in recent years.
The report also notes that climate change is projected to continue worsening wildfire conditions in the future, posing a growing threat to communities and ecosystems across California. As temperatures rise and droughts become more severe, the risk of wildfires is expected to increase, making it imperative for policymakers to take action to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Overall, the report underscores the urgent need for climate action to address the root causes of wildfires in California and protect the state’s residents, wildlife, and natural resources. By reducing greenhouse gas emissions, investing in sustainable land management practices, and strengthening wildfire prevention measures, we can help prevent future disasters and build a more resilient future for California.
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CrowdStrike Stock: Strong Growth Fueled By Latent Demand (NASDAQ:CRWD)
CrowdStrike, a leading provider of cloud-based endpoint security solutions, has been experiencing strong growth fueled by latent demand in the cybersecurity market. The company’s stock, trading under the ticker symbol CRWD on the NASDAQ, has been on a steady upward trajectory as investors continue to bet on its innovative technology and strong customer base.
One of the key drivers of CrowdStrike’s growth is the increasing awareness of the importance of cybersecurity in today’s digital age. With the rise of cyber threats and attacks, companies are investing more in robust security solutions to protect their sensitive data and networks. CrowdStrike’s cloud-native platform, which utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect and prevent threats in real-time, has been gaining traction among businesses looking for advanced security solutions.
In addition, CrowdStrike’s subscription-based business model provides a recurring revenue stream, which has been contributing to its strong financial performance. The company’s revenue has been growing at a rapid pace, with double-digit increases quarter over quarter. This consistent growth has attracted the attention of investors looking for companies with strong fundamentals and growth potential.
Furthermore, CrowdStrike’s customer base continues to expand, with a wide range of industries and organizations adopting its cybersecurity solutions. From small businesses to large enterprises, CrowdStrike’s technology has proven to be effective in protecting against a variety of cyber threats, including ransomware, malware, and phishing attacks.
Overall, CrowdStrike’s strong growth fueled by latent demand in the cybersecurity market makes it an attractive investment opportunity for those looking to capitalize on the increasing need for advanced security solutions. With its innovative technology, strong customer base, and recurring revenue model, CrowdStrike is well-positioned for continued success in the years to come.
ASHBURN, Va. – If you’ve spent any time around the Washington Commanders over the past 18 months, the sea change is readily apparent.
Since first-year head coach Dan Quinn was hired last February, the walls of the team auditorium have been adorned with slogans. “Anybody, anywhere, anytime.” And “The only fight that matters is the one we are in.”
The club is preparing for the NFC championship game for the first time in 33 years. That’s because quarterback Jayden Daniels has had perhaps the best rookie year in NFL history. Linebacker Bobby Wagner, who played for Quinn when he coordinated the Seattle Seahawks’ legendary defenses, tight end Zach Ertz, running back Austin Ekeler and rookie defensive back Mike Sainristil are among the newcomers whose impact has been undeniable, if overshadowed by Daniels. Holdovers like Brian Robinson Jr. and longtime team leader Terry McLaurin have flourished.
Players, coaches and staffers now have what had been a luxury in these parts – the ability to focus on winning football games and/or supporting that effort rather than managing or answering questions about the latest scandal or crisis none of them begat. The dissolution of the long-toxic environment allowed for an entirely new culture to fill the vacuum, one built on positivity, brotherhood, accomplishing the task at hand, constant competition and compassion.
It’s called the “Commander Standard.”
“It’s a code we live by,” McLaurin, a two-time Pro Bowl receiver, said of a motto that coalesced during offseason training sessions last spring. “No matter if you’ve been here for six years, or you just came in off of free agency or practice squad, whatever.
“When you hold that standard, and you put it in writing, you sign your name to it – you hold yourself accountable to that. And not only do you hold yourself accountable to that, but the other guys in the locker room hold you accountable to that.”
It’s meant highly competitive practice periods. Player input into game plans. Spirited card games in the locker room. Bonding in social situations away from the team’s facility. Quinn’s belief in trying to treat everyone – stars, rookies, vets, journeymen, staff – equally.
Yet his rejection of labels from the outside – like underdog or rebuild – has also shifted the perspective of a team that went 12-5 in the regular season, Washington’s most wins since the legendary 1991 squad cruised to victory in Super Bowl 26, the franchise’s last championship.
“Did we feel dismissed or put off? Yeah, of course some. I think that happened in the opening game,” Quinn said when reflecting on the club’s Week 1 loss at Tampa Bay, when expectations of the Commanders were decidedly lower despite buzz already being generated by Daniels.
“I was like, ‘Hey, (bleep) you, that’s not how it’s going to go down.’ And I was upset, but it wasn’t disrespect. It was dismissiveness, and I felt some kind of way, but it didn’t motivate me more to say that’s how they think of us. … It was, we’re going to be a lot better than what we just showed today. And eventually we’ll show that.”
Dan Quinn’s steady approach produces instant results
Eventually turned into immediately, the team going on a four-game heater while winning seven of its next eight contests after the loss to the Buccaneers, whom the Commanders recently defeated in a wild-card round rematch to spark their current run to Sunday’s NFC title tilt against the Eagles in Philadelphia. Yet it was Quinn’s steadfastness that also allowed Washington to weather adversity, like a three-game slide in November that threatened to derail the team and consign it to another lost season.
“DQ (Quinn), first and foremost, he’s a leader of men. Playing for a coach that allows you to be yourself within the culture is extremely empowering,” said McLaurin.
“When you have that type of trust within someone (coaches and teammates) that you see on a daily basis – sometimes more than your family – it’s really important when you go through the ups and downs of an NFL season.”
Players and assistants repeatedly cited Quinn’s treatment of every week as a championship game as another component to their resilience and near-instant success – but also why this weekend’s game hasn’t drastically altered what’s become a routine mindset around Commanders Park.
“It’s a no-excuse mentality,” said McLaurin, a sixth-year veteran who had been the most recognizable and significant player on the roster in the years before Daniels’ arrival.
“This is a huge game, biggest game that I know I’ve played in my career – (that) a lot of us have played in our careers. But my emotions about this game is this is just what we do, this is what we’ve been doing all season. And so you don’t have to get up and get emotionally hyped or do anything different or extra this week.”
Said punter Tress Way, Washington’s longest-tenured player after 11 seasons near the Beltway: “I don’t think very many guys are lucky enough to have someone like DQ as a head coach. He has a way of addressing everything. He knows our families are texting us. He knows our friends are. None of us tell him that, but he just knows how it goes. His ability to get us locked in on Wednesday practice against Philly this week, it’s just a fun way to compete and to be in the moment, and he has a gift of that.”
The elimination of so many outside distractions, an almost perfectly targeted free-agent haul by Quinn and rookie general manager Adam Peters and a Daniels-led draft class loaded with talent and character sparked optimism in training camp that the quarter-century of futility under Snyder might soon come to an end.
Still, and neither Quinn nor his players will admit it, the results of the universal philosophical buy-in have been nothing less than extraordinary. Win Sunday, and Washington will have as many victories in these playoffs – three – as it had combined from 1992 to 2023.
“(T)he way we live here is different,” said defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. “(Y)ou have to be a little bit crazy to be here. Because the way we do things is not the normal way, and we don’t want it to be the normal way. It’s a special place and everybody – we’ve bought into, ‘Anybody, anywhere, anytime.’ It doesn’t matter. … That’s just the way we live.
“(T)here’s very few times in life that you have opportunity to be part of the change and reap the reward. Usually what happens is a team starts it, and then two years later they win it. We have the opportunity to do something a little bit different. We could be the team that started to turn, and then if we keep on staying focused and win this game, we can reap the reward at the same time and that rarely happens.”
The Jayden Daniels’ factor – and beyond
Of course, Daniels, 24, has been a one-man rarity. He set regular-season rookie quarterback records for completion percentage (69.0%) and rushing yards (891). He lofted a Hail Mary to beat the Chicago Bears, threw an overtime touchdown pass to Ertz to vanquish the Atlanta Falcons, all before engineering postseason road upsets of the Bucs and top-seeded Detroit Lions in the divisional round.
“I think you kinda see that through our play is like, hey, we’re gonna keep fighting no matter if we’re down 28, you know, we’re up 28,” said Daniels. “You know, the game is never over until the clock is zero.”
Beat the Eagles, whom he scorched for five TD passes last month (including the game-winner with 6 seconds left) and Daniels would be the first rookie QB to notch 15 wins in the regular season and playoffs combined – and, more importantly, the first to take a team to the Super Bowl.
But as superlative as Daniels has been, he couldn’t have done it without the supportive infrastructure Harris, Quinn and Peters established from the top of the organization to the bottom.
“Just being dog-ass competitors, man, I think that’s something that I love about this culture – that’s the first thing that DQ said when he got here, ‘You’re a dog-ass competitor, then this is the place for you.’ I sat up in my seat and smiled, because that’s what I’ve been itching for,” said McLaurin.
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The Eagles are six-point favorites going into Sunday, but the Commanders don’t care. Discount a close-knit team that continues to jell and defy expectations at your peril.
“We had a goal of being different and being uncommon (more) than anything this place has ever seen,” said McLaurin, scanning his surroundings when meeting with reporters Wednesday. “Anybody can come up here and see all these things. You can say, ‘Anybody, anytime, anywhere,’ but if you don’t live it, it doesn’t really mean nothing. I think we’ve got a group of people who want to live the words that we’re speaking.
“If you say you’re a dog or a competitor, you have to be that. You can’t pick and choose when you’re whatever you say you are. And so that Commander Standard is non-negotiable.
“Going forward that’s who we are.”
Contributing: Chris Bumbaca
***
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.
The Washington Commanders’ turnaround has been nothing short of remarkable, and it all started with a dismissive ‘(bleep) you’ from their critics.
After a rocky start to the season, with doubts swirling about their ability to compete in the NFC East, the Commanders faced a wave of negativity from fans and pundits alike. But instead of letting the criticism get to them, the team used it as fuel to ignite their fire.
They banded together, rallying around the notion that they were being underestimated and disrespected. And with each win, they silenced their doubters with a resounding ‘(bleep) you.’
Now, sitting at the top of their division and poised for a deep playoff run, the Commanders have proven that they are a force to be reckoned with. And it all started with that dismissive ‘(bleep) you’ that lit a fire under their collective backsides.
So to all the naysayers and haters out there, the Washington Commanders have a message for you: ‘(bleep) you.’ They’re here to stay, and they’re not backing down anytime soon.
Tags:
Washington Commanders, NFL, football, turnaround, team, culture change, ‘(bleep) you’, motivation, success, sports, Washington, Washington Commanders news, Washington Commanders update, Washington Commanders turnaround, Washington Commanders culture change
(Bloomberg) — The Bitcoin rally sparked by US President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory in early November is stalling as 2024 draws to a close.
Most Read from Bloomberg
The digital asset wavered at $93,670 as of 6:34 a.m. on Monday in New York, about $15,000 below the record high set in mid-December. Smaller tokens like Ether and meme-crowd favorite Dogecoin also struggled for traction.
Trump’s preference for crypto friendly regulations and support for the idea of a national Bitcoin reserve lifted digital assets. But scaled back expectations for interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve have cooled the speculative frenzy.
More clarity on the US crypto regime is likely to emerge after Trump assumes power on Jan. 20. The Republican’s stance contrasts with President Joe Biden’s administration, which cracked down on the scandal-prone sector.
Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group, said “the momentum has come out of the post-election move” in Bitcoin, partly due to outflows from exchange-traded funds for the token.
Meanwhile, software maker turned Bitcoin accumulator MicroStrategy Inc. has been on a buying spree in the past few weeks. Traders are waiting to see if the company — which owns more than $40 billion of the digital asset — will continue a pattern of announcing Bitcoin purchases on Mondays.
The original cryptocurrency has climbed roughly 120% this year, outstripping traditional investments such as global stocks and gold. Bitcoin also more than doubled in 2023 in a comeback from a deep bear market.
The Bitcoin rally that has been fueled by President Trump’s economic policies and market optimism is starting to lose steam as the year draws to a close. After reaching record highs in recent weeks, the cryptocurrency has seen a slight dip in value as investors begin to take profits and uncertainty looms over the global economy.
Many analysts believe that the recent surge in Bitcoin’s value was largely driven by the positive sentiment surrounding President Trump’s tax cuts and deregulation efforts. However, with the passage of the tax bill and the ongoing investigation into potential collusion with Russia, some investors are starting to question whether the rally can be sustained in the long term.
As we head into the new year, it will be interesting to see how Bitcoin performs in the face of these challenges. Will it continue to climb higher, or will it experience a correction as investors look to secure their gains? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain – the future of Bitcoin remains uncertain as we close out 2017.
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Epic Games is nearing the end of its free mystery game promotion where a new game is given away daily, but as that end draws nearer, Epic Games Store users have yet another free game to claim. This one leaked early like pretty much all of the other ones did with leakers suggesting prior to its reveal what people would get, and like past times, it seems those leaks were true. From now until December 28th at 8 a.m. PT, you’ll be able to claim Hot Wheels Unleashed for free if you’ve got an Epic Games Store account.
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You may have gotten Hot Wheels Unleashed for “free” in the past after it was part of the Xbox Game Pass lineup, but it went through a very strange phase there on that subscription service where it was supposed to be added but wasn’t added and then eventually was but was pulled from the service this year anyway. Whatever was going on there with Xbox Game Pass, the Epic Games Store giveaway has by far simplified the process. If you want the game, just go here to the Epic Games Store game to claim it, and it’s yours to keep.
Hot Wheels Unleashed came out on 2021 and still costs around $39.99 if you’re buying it full price, so if you’re someone who’s concerned about getting good deals and playing newer games, you could do far worse than this Hot Wheels game. It’s about racing Hot Wheels cars, sure, with many of most popular cars from the Hot Wheels collections included in the game, but it’s also about building your own tracks just as if you were putting together your own Hot Wheels set.
“Waiting to host your races are enormous interactive environments with their own distinguishing features, where every object can become an integral part of the track,” an overview of the game offered. “Unleash your creativity with the most exciting track editor ever! Build your track by taking advantage of what surrounds you, and create amazing layouts inside and outside the race course. Bend and stretch the iconic “orange piece”, add loops, special boosters, obstacles and special elements to make an incredible amusement park for your races. Share your craziest creations online and try those of other players.”
Of course, Hot Wheels Unleashed developer Milestone has already put out a sequel between now and Hot Wheels Unleashed‘s release date with Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged out as of last year, but if you haven’t tried either, you can test out Hot Wheels Unleashed for free to see if it’s your speed.
With Hot Wheels Unleashed given away for free this week, that makes for 10 games now that have been offered up during the holiday giveaway if you’re counting the very first mystery game which was given away for a week like usual. The list so far includes The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, Vampire Survivors, Astrea: Six Sided Oracles, TerraTech, Wizard of Legend, Dark and Darker – Legendary Status, Dredge, Control and Ghostrunner 2 with more games to release into January until the mystery game giveaway comes to an end.
Attention all gamers! The Epic Games Store is celebrating a major milestone by giving away their 10th free mystery game, and this one is sure to fuel your nostalgia in the best way possible.
For a limited time, you can snag this epic game completely free of charge and immerse yourself in a world filled with memories of days gone by. Whether you’re a veteran gamer or new to the scene, this mystery game is sure to capture your attention and keep you entertained for hours on end.
Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to relive the glory days of gaming with the 10th free mystery game from the Epic Games Store. Head over to their website now and start downloading your free copy before it’s too late. Happy gaming!
