Wicked Blue
Wicked Blue's JournalMassive explosion hits Russian Gazprom gas pipeline amid suspicions of sabotage linked to Putin's wa
Source: Daily Mail
An enormous explosion has hit one of Russia's major gas pipelines, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky above and prompting fears it was a retribution attack for Vladimir Putin's continued invasion of Ukraine.
The fireball was visible for miles in every direction after hitting about 14 miles east of St Petersburg, the nation's second largest city and Putin's hometown.
One source said: 'Everything is automatic there, and such explosions by themselves, without external influence, are impossible.'
The blast is believed to have hit the main gas pipeline belonging to Gazprom Transgaz SPB, and could have potentially impacted up to one million people.
Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11447127/Explosion-hits-Russian-gas-pipeline-amid-suspicions-sabotage-linked-Putins-war-Ukraine.html
Video of blast from Newsweek.com
https://twitter.com/i/status/1593954688474517505
https://www.newsweek.com/videos-reportedly-shows-massive-fireball-blast-near-russias-st-petersburg-1760858
David Trone projected to win reelection in Maryland's 6th District
Source: Washington Post
By Meagan Flynn
November 11, 2022 at 2:33 p.m. EST
Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) is projected to win his reelection bid, holding off a challenge from Del. Neil C. Parrott (R) in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, which for the first time in years emerged as the state’s most competitive congressional race, leading Trone to invest millions of his personal fortune in defending the seat.
Parrott called Trone to concede on Friday afternoon, both campaigns confirmed.
Trone’s victory allows Democrats to notch one more win in the still-closely fought battle for control of the U.S. House, which remains unresolved. Republican hopes of a big red wave collapsed spectacularly after Democrats defied expectations to hang onto seats in numerous tough districts while avoiding slews of upset-surprises in others, like Maryland’s 6th, where most political analysts considered Trone the favorite despite Parrott’s spirited challenge.
The rematch between Trone and Parrott was seen as Maryland’s most exciting congressional race, where Parrott hoped a strong grass roots game and broad dissatisfaction with the economy and President Biden could overpower Trone’s enormous personal wealth and incumbent advantage.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/11/11/maryland-6th-results-trone-wins-parrott/
How did the watermelon become a symbol of Kherson's liberation from Russian occupation?
Watermelon is recognized as a symbol of the Kherson region. During peacetime, the sweet berry played an important role in promoting tourism in the region. During the war, the watermelon became a symbol of the region’s liberation from Russian occupation.
The Kherson region is responsible for almost 50% of all watermelons farmed in Ukraine. Ukrainian watermelons are unique due to the temperature and soil in Kherson – their quality is so renowned that watermelons cultivated in other regions of Ukraine were frequently referred to as “Khersonian” by sellers since they had become a sign of taste and quality. Watermelons from the Kherson region were shipped to practically every city in Ukraine for sale.
Because of the war, most Ukrainians were unable to taste Kherson watermelons this summer. Kherson watermelons were only marketed in the occupied territory in Ukraine. Watermelons taken from the Kherson region were also exported to Russia.
https://www.weareukraine.info/38081-2/
Maryland 6th district race too close to call - Trone vs Parrott apart by 1277 votes
There hasn't been much reporting on the extremely close race between incumbent Democratic Rep. David Trone and Republican Neil C. Parrott in the redrawn 6th District in Maryland. All other congressional races in the state have been called.So I looked at the most recent numbers this morning (11/11) on NBC4 Washington's website, and there are only 1277 votes separating them, with 92% of the votes counted.
Parrott has a thin lead with 104,859 votes, while Trone trails with 103,577 ballots tallied as of today.
Source
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-elections/maryland-house-results
The five counties represented in the district are still counting mail-in ballots, according to the Frederick News-Post. This article was published November 9.
"As of 6 p.m. on Tuesday — two hours before the deadline that mail-in ballots had to be postmarked or dropped off — 72,025 mail-in ballots had been sent to voters in the 6th Congressional District and 46,375 ballots had been received.
By Election Day, local boards of election had tallied 13,203 of those ballots, leaving 33,172 left to be counted in the district.
Of the five counties included in the 6th District, all but one — Garrett County — started counting mail-in ballots before Election Day. Frederick, Allegany and Washington counties will resume counting on Thursday, and Montgomery County will resume counting on Saturday.
Garrett County will start counting mail-in ballots on Thursday."
https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/election_coverage/6th-district-rematch-between-trone-and-parrott-still-undecided/article_75c2c571-0e5c-5e39-8efd-72823f414073.html
I'm not sure how many uncounted ballots remain as of today, but there's still a chance that Trone could win if the mail-in ballots run in his favor.
WB
Bennet wins 3rd term in CO
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/08/election-live-results-updates-2022/National Park Service urges visitors not to lick toxic psychedelic toads
NBC News
Nov. 7, 2022, 1:11 PM EST
By Doha Madani
While some may be tempted to offer the Sonoran Desert Toad a kiss, the National Park Service urged visitors to leave the potentially deadly amphibians alone.
In a Facebook post last week, the government agency warned visitors against licking the toads if they stumble across them. It's unclear whether there was a specific instance to prompt the advisory, but "here we are," the National Park Service wrote.
"These toads have prominent parotoid glands that secrete a potent toxin," the post said. "It can make you sick if you handle the frog or get the poison in your mouth."
It might appear strange that anyone would be tempted to lick an amphibian outside of a fairytale, but this particular toad has been in high demand, according to a New York Times report earlier this year.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/national-park-service-urges-visitors-not-lick-toxic-psychedelic-toads-rcna56026
NJ requires all schools to teach climate change in all grades
In one state, every class teaches climate change — even P.E.Washington Post
By Caroline Preston
November 5, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
(excerpt)
Two years ago, New Jersey became the first state in the country to adopt learning standards obligating teachers to instruct kids about climate change across grade levels and subjects. The standards, which went into effect this fall, introduce students as young as kindergartners to the subject, not just in science class but in the arts, world languages, social studies and physical education. Supporters say the instruction is necessary to prepare younger generations for a world — and labor market — increasingly reshaped by climate change.
“There’s no way we can expect our children to have the solutions and the innovations to these challenges if we’re not giving them the tools and resources needed here and now,” said Tammy Murphy, the wife of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and a founding member of former vice president Al Gore’s Climate Reality Action Fund, who pushed to get the standards into schools. Just as students must be able to add and subtract before learning calculus, she said, kids need to understand the basics of climate change — the vocabulary, the logic behind it — before they can tackle the climate crisis.
Historically, climate change has not been comprehensively taught in U.S. schools, largely because of the partisanship surrounding climate change and many teachers’ limited grasp of the science. That started to change in 2013, with the release of new national science standards, which instructed science teachers to introduce students to climate change and its human causes starting in middle school. Still, only 20 states have adopted the standards. Other states may not mention the human causes of the crisis, and a few even promote falsehoods about it, according to a 2020 report from the National Center for Science Education and Texas Freedom Network Education Fund.
Even in New Jersey, many teachers said they lacked confidence in their knowledge of the subject in a 2021 survey. The state has set aside $5 million for lesson plans and professional development, and it is enlisting teachers like Horsley, who holds a master’s degree in outdoor education and has a passion for the environment, to develop model lessons.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/11/05/new-jersey-climate-change-education-schools/
This is what we need in every state - WB
EDIT: Reading about NJ's environmental education program gives me such joy!
More than 30 years ago I prodded my daughter's elementary school in NJ to do something for Earth Day, since there was no effort to include environmental education in the curriculum.. I was active in PTA and we worked it out with the principal that each class in the K-3 school would do a modest project on some aspect of the environment. I donated money for prizes to be awarded by the principal, but asked that the source be anonymous.
The school music teacher and I composed something we called the "Earth Day Song" and she taught everyone to sing it.
The projects were put on display and there was an awards assembly at which the winning class in each grade won prize money. Everyone sang the Earth Day song, and the projects were wonderful, though I can't remember them in detail now. The winning kids, projects and teachers got their pictures in two local newspapers. I'd like to hope that some of the participants learned something from it.
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