Shutdown Averted for How Long?

On Thursday evening just before the deadline, President Biden signed the deal the House and the Senate passed in earlier part of the day to avert the government shutdown which would have affected 100,000s of federal workers, which would have compounded on the economy already burdened by Covid-19 pandemic.

The president stated, “it meets critical and urgent needs of the nation,” but also added that there was much more to do.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer led the united Democrat and handful of Republican senators for 65-35 approval on temporary funding bill with a deadline of December 3, along with a bill to aid those devastated by extreme weather, and even to assist Afghan refugees resettling in the U.S.

The House passed the bill 254-175 just hours before the government ran out of money at the end of the day Thursday.

There is no provision to raise the debt ceiling, and this was excluded to obtain the necessary support by the Republicans.

Republicans were equally aware of the danger of a shutdown and its catastrophic effect on the economy, along with the defaulting of the national debt.

Unfortunately, the Government will have to revisit the problem before December 3, 2021 to pass a more comprehensive budget bill. We’re not quite out of the drama-prone behaviors of the Government quite yet.

Coree ILBO copyright (c) 2013-2021, All rights reserved.

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Michigan Lottery Winner Found Dead

57 year old Gregory Jarvis was found dead on a private beach with a winning lottery ticket in his wallet. He had won $45,000 playing the state’s Club Keno game in a bar, but was found dead on the beach in Huron County.

Friends of Gregory Jarvis reported that he had not yet cashed in the lottery ticket because of the issue of losing social security card; he was in the process of obtaining a new social security card to verify his identity.

Initially, the police considered bad intent. However, Jarvis was well liked in the community.

Instead, the police chief in Caseville, Michigan said that the discovery of the lottery ticket prompted investigators to look carefully into the circumstances surrounding the death; based on the autopsy, Mr. Jarvis had injuries consistent with hitting his head on the boat and drowning.

Mr. Jarvis had planned on visiting his father and sister in North Carolina.

The lottery ticket is now in Mr. Jarvis’ father’s possession.

Coree ILBO copyright (c) 2013-2021, All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in whole, or part without the express written permission.

Fireball across North Carolinian Sky

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On September 24, NASA Meteor Watch reported that residents in North Carolina reported seeing at least 5 fireballs, with over 80 eyewitnesses reporting the view. The event occurred at 7:40 PM EST. Upon analysis, NASA confirmed the fireballs as meteor skimming across the coast of North Carolina and had become visible due to its proximity: 48 miles above the ocean off Camp Lejeune. The fireballs were noted to be moving at 32,000 miles per hour and disintegrated just 28 miles above Moorehead City. The fireballs did not make it past the Earth’s atmosphere.

The American Meteor Society posted a video on Youtube showing the fireball meteor in the sky.

Meteoroids usually enter Earth’s atmosphere at 25,000 to 160,000 mph, but most do not maintain that speed due to the Earth’s thick atmosphere. As was the case here, the meteors had burned out before it could even reach the ground.

Fireball is not just any old term either; it is considered to be “exceptionally bright” meteors that appear brighter than planet Venus, bright enough to be observed by “ground-based observers” such as the 80 or so witnesses in North Carolina.

AMS explained that every day, Earth sees several thousand fireball meteors, but most of them tend to take place over oceans and unpopulated regions.

Coree ILBO copyright (c) 2013-2021, All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in whole, or part without the express written permission.

Taliban Justifies No-Shave Order in Southern Afghanistan as being faithful to Islam

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On Monday, the Taliban issued an order to forbid shaving or trimming of beards in the southern provinces of Helmand, and threatened to punish barbers that violated this directive. The order was issued by the vice and virtue department and directed it to areas in Lashkar Gah, provincial capital of Helmand, justifying it as being in line with Sharia law, which is the law as defined in the Islamic holy scriptures called the Quran.

Punishment was promised but not specified; those breaking the order would be punished with no right to complain.

Since overtaking Afghanistan upon U.S. and NATO’s departure, the Taliban has set an interim government, with many hardline leaders from the previous reign in late 1990’s; of course, there are no women leaders.

Since the Taliban ousting in 2001, men have been shaving or cleanly trimming beards in Afghanistan.

The current outlook of Taliban rule doesn’t seem to be looking too well; just last weekend, the Taliban hung a body from a crane in the main square of Herat, which is a third-largest city in Afghanistan. A bystander who witnessed the event recounted the event, stating that four bodies were brought to the square, and three were taken to other parts of the city for public display.

The barbers are speaking up and asking Taliban to reconsider this order, to “give freedom to people to live the way they want, if they want to trim their beard or hair.” Barbers in the area are already seeing reduction in income.

Coree ILBO copyright (c) 2013-2021, All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in whole, or part without the express written permission.

Federal Arrest Warrant issued for Brian Laundrie on Fraud Charges

Brian Laundrie is most recently known in association with his connection with the disappearance of Gabby Petito, a 22-year old, who went missing during the couple’s cross-country trip and was later found dead. However, Federal grand jury in Wyoming has indicted Laundrie on Wednesday after the jury found that Laundrie used “unauthorized devices” included debit card and PIN numbers for two bank accounts to fraudulently obtain more than $1,000.

Federal authorities are still searching for Laundrie who returned to his parents’ home on September 1, and since has vanished after Petito was reported missing.

Laundrie, however, has not yet been charged with any crime directly tied to Petito’s disappearance or death.

Petito’s disappearance has gripped the nation, as internet sleuths and true crime fans have come together to find evidence; that being said, law enforcement has also equally explained concern regarding those seeking fame or to disrupt the general police investigation.

Laundrie’s whereabouts are still unknown, and at this time, the parents are not cooperating with the authorities in search for their son.

Coree ILBO copyright (c) 2013-2021, All rights reserved.

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Gabby Petito was Murdered, says Coroner

Human remains found at a Wyoming national park was identified as that of Gabby Petito, a vlogger recently reported missing after she went out on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend.

Teton County Coroner Brent Blue determined that Petito was a homicide victim but did not disclose a cause of death pending final autopsy results. Her body was found Sunday near an undeveloped camping area along the border of Grand Teton National park in Wyoming.

The authorities continued to search around the swamp area of her boyfriend Brian Laundrie’s home but found nothing. However, on Monday, FBI did go to Laundrie’s parents’ home in North Port to remove several boxes and a car that Laundrie’s mother typically used.

Laundrie is currently a person of interest in the case, but he has disappeared and it is unclear where he is.

Coree ILBO copyright (c) 2013-2021, All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in whole, or part without the express written permission.

Scientists develop solar cells for windows

Most agree that solar power is the next “big thing” when it comes to energy. With potentially infinite amount of energy that can be generated thanks to the Sun with relatively limited negative impact on the climate change, solar power has been something heavily in development.

However, as it has been until now, solar panels require an excessive amount of space and silicon, which is currently known to be the most efficient material for solar panels, is not transparent. This is a problem as based on energy use distribution, cities consume the most amount of energy but lack the space to generate that electricity based on current capabilities.

However, scientists have now developed a new transparent solar panel based on organic or carbon-based material to be used as window-friendly solar panels. Published in the science journal, Nature Communcications, the panel uses molecules that move photogenerated electrons to the electrodes, called non-fullerene acceptors. These acceptors when incorporated with sulfur, can reach efficiencies of 18% but have a short lifespan.

However, Yongxi Li (first author) have since figured out how to strengthen the non-fullerene acceptors; specifically, it would need to block off UV rays by adding a coating of zinc oxide, a sunscreen component on the side facing the Sun.

Then, the researchers added carbon-based material called IC-SAM as a buffer to solve this issue, and added another buffer layer in a form of fullerene shaped like a soccer ball.

Then they tested this new panel, from 1 sun to 27 suns, and temperatures as high as 65 degrees celsius. Result? These new solar cells would function at 80% efficiency after 30 years based on declination of performance.

Furthermore, these materials can be prepared as liquids, so the manufacturing and transportation costs might be incredibly lower than the current silicon-based solar panels. Thus, it might increase feasibility for wide scale use in large skyscrapers, but also on residential properties.

It is an exciting day for solar power and global energy self-sufficiency.

Coree ILBO copyright (c) 2013-2021, All rights reserved.

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Gabby Petito’s Body Found and Social Media Collects Evidence

Photo captured from Gabby’s brother’s youtube
Petito, 22, and Laundrie, 23, left New York in the middle of July to head West with their van. Petito posted photos and stories to their social media pages with the hashtag #vanlife.
In late August, their postings completely stopped. Petito’s fiance Laundrie returned to his home in Florida without Petito on September 1.
When they stopped at Moab, Utah, a passerby called 911 and told an operator that he wanted to report a domestic dispute and described a white van with a Florida license plate, as provided In the audio from the Grand County Sherriff’s Office in Utah to CNN.
“We drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl,” the caller said, “Then we stopped. They ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car, and they drove off.”
Police later stopped the couple.
On the video camera, Petito was emotionally unstable and told the officer that Laundrie slapped Petito during an altercation.
On September 11, Petito’s parents couldn’t contact their daughter and reported their daughter missing. Laundrie immediately sought out help from an attorney and refused to participate in the search effort, according to police.
Since then, Petito’s story has become a headline in the daily news and social media. Everyone is focused on “Justice for Petito” worldwide, with many collecting funds and attempting to solve the case. From her brother to many unknown SNS bloggers and the worldwide Youtubers, everyone hopes to be the first to solve this case by combing through Petito’s social media network.
Last Tuesday, Laundrie went missing and Petito’s remain was found at the Spread Creek area of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on Sunday.
FBI and Investigators have issued search warrants to search Landerie’s Florida home and an ongoing searching operation has been established for the investigation.
An autopsy for human remains is scheduled to be held on Tuesday.

Coree ILBO copyright (c) 2013-2021, All rights reserved.

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California says “YES” to Gov. Gavin Newsom Again

After several months of campaigning for a recall and the recall itself, California Gov. Gavin Newsom defeated the recall on Tuesday’s election. The overwhelmingly Democratic state showed support for Newsom, and a healthy turnout prevented the Governor from losing his governorship.

With two-thirds of ballots counted so far, “no” on whether to recall Newsom is ahead by 30-point margin, which was built on votes cast by mail and in advance of Tuesday’s in-person balloting. The Republicans’ candidate was talk radio host Larry Elder, but as of now, it seems he will not be affecting politics more than as a radio show host.

The recall questioned Newsom’s approach to the pandemic including mask and vaccine mandates, with at least some of the intent going into the questioning of the effect of Trumpism and whether the state had enough turnover to defeat the supermajority of Democratic strength in the state. The recall results seem to indicate this is not true. In fact, despite Republican hopes that the frustration over pandemic precautions would drive voters away from Democrats, and they certainly could have expected such result, as the Republicans won back at least 4 U.S. House seats last year. But unlike the federal elections, state recall showed itself to be a different matter entirely, as Democrats outnumber Republicans almost 2-to-1 in California, so the results may not translate to something specific to the state such as governor recall.

Trump attempted to argue that the election was rigged, echoed by Elder’s campaign; however, Elder himself did not mention of fraud.

He is the second governor of U.S. history to defeat a recall, which is likely going to continue to show him as a key figure in the Democratic party. Furthermore, Newsom’s competition had some public recognition, but failed to gain traction with voters. Elder’s opposition to the minimum wage and abortion rights was marketed by the Democratic party as being out of touch with Californian values. Caitlyn Jenner also made some publicity but gained very little momentum and left the state to film a reality show in Australia instead.

Newsom is up for a reelection next year, and while the president and other prominent Democrats supported Newsom, Republicans have mainly kept their distance.

Some believe that Newsom has potentials for the White House, although VP Harris’ own ambitions might need to be considered as a native from San Francisco.

Coree ILBO copyright (c) 2013-2021, All rights reserved.

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Nicholas hits Texas and heads to Louisiana for a Double Dip

Photo captured from Accuweather.com

After strengthening into a Category 1 hurricane on early Tuesday, Nicholas brough the coastal cities of Texas flooding and electricity outage. Nicholas is still pouring heavy rain, strong wind, roaming around Texas, and is heading towards Louisiana.

Now a category 2 hurricane, Nicholas hit Matagorda bay with wind gusts as high as 95 mph and brought 6 to 8 inches of rainfall leading to flooding in east Texas, especially Houston and Galveston areas from Monday to Wednesday. More than 500,000 residents in Texas are without power. It is now heading to Louisiana and the southern part of Mississippi, including areas that are currently struggling to recover from Ida.

Nicholas is currently headed towards the Carolinas and then will climb up the coastline.

These natural disasters have brought severe weather and brought devastation upon the areas as they’ve become a sort of ground zero for severe weather patterns. That being said, the energy company managing the electricity distribution in the gulf coast plans to restore electricity to the heaviest hit area before the end of September.

Coree ILBO copyright (c) 2013-2021, All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in whole, or part without the express written permission.