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The World's Trees Are Endangered

The World's Trees Are Endangered

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
October 30, 2024

Good Wednesday morning. A New York curator believes he found a new, almost 200-year-old piece of music composed by Frederic Chopin inside a museum vault. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

New England: Offshore wind
Mexico: Lost city
GOP: Legal losses
Visa: Tech layoffs
Teri Garr: Dies at 79

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Tree pain

A conservation group has released an alarming report.

The news: At least 40% of the world's tree species are at risk of extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The numbers: IUCN has identified over 16K types of trees at risk. Over 2K are used to produce food, fuel and medicines for humans. Almost every country in the world contains at least one tree species at risk. Trees on islands are considered most at risk. Climate change, deforestation and development are considered major challenges.
Big picture: This is the latest of a seemingly never-ending parade of concerning studies regarding the global environment. Tree are of particular note given their direct impact on the climate while providing habitats for animals and fulfilling various uses for humans.

2) Rare disease

An Iowa woman has died after apparently contracting an obscure virus overseas.

The news: Federal and state health officials said the unnamed patient succumbed to a suspected case of Lassa fever. The person had recently traveled to West Africa; they were isolated at the the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center in Iowa City before dying earlier this week.
The disease: Lassa fever is "an acute viral hemorrhagic illness caused by Lassa virus." It is primarily spread by rats and has only been detected in a handful of West African nations. It is not an airborne virus; people must come in contact with an infected human's bodily fluids or an infected rat's waste matter. The incubation period is 1-3 weeks.
Big picture: This is only the eighth travel-associated Lassa case in the U.S. in the last 55 years. Officials said the risk to the public is very low. Lassa is also treatable. There are proven drugs that combat the virus and less than 1% of cases are fatal, although the mortality rate for serious cases that require hospitalization is 15%.

3) Cash reward

The U.S. State Department is offering a big payday for information about a 30-year-old terrorist plane bombing.

Catch up: Alas Chiricanas Flight 901 blew up midair in 1994, killing all 21 people on board. There were three American citizens on the flight and 12 of the people killed were Jewish. The bombing happened a day after 85 people were killed and over 300 injured by a suicide bombing at a Jewish community center in Argentina.
Current day: The federal government said it will pay up to $5M for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone tied to the attack in any country. The award also applies to anyone who aided or abetted the terrorist bombing.
Big picture: A Hezbollah-linked group claimed responsibility for the attack at the time and a passenger was eventually identified as the bombing suspect. Israeli intelligence previously concluded the terrorist group was behind the attack as well and the U.S. considers Hezbollah responsible.

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Quick Tips

U.S. News

Federal officials awarded winning bids in the commercial sale for floating offshore wind facilities on the Atlantic coast. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management selected two firms to work four lease areas in the Gulf of Maine for $22M total; the fishing industry opposes the move due to the proximity to lobster grounds (More)
An armed standoff occurred at Atlanta's Four Seasons hotel. A 70-year-old man allegedly fired shots from a trio of firearms before being hospitalized with unspecified injuries; a cop suffered non-life-threatening wounds (More)
Three men and a woman were charged in the home invasion murder of a New Jersey police detective. Cumberland County Detective Sgt. Monica Mosley was killed in her house on Oct. 15; the men face first-degree murder charges while the woman is accused of obstruction of justice (More)

World News

Researchers have discovered a lost Mayan city in Mexico that is aboit 1.5x the size of Washington D.C. The ruins, including temple pyramids, were discovered using laser-mapping technology that can identify structures hidden deep inside jungles (More)
A Canadian snap election is closer to reality. Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said he is ready to vote non-confidence in embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government after legislative demands were not met; the New Democratic Party could still prop up the minority Liberal government (More)
British prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against the suspect in July's stabbing attacks at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Axel Rudakubana, 18, is accused of killing three children and wounding 10 people; police say he possessed a jihadist training manual and also produced ricin (More)

Campaign News

Federal judges rejected Republican-led challenges to voting laws in the battleground states of North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The Supreme Court denied former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s request to be removed from the ballot in Michigan and Wisconsin (More | More)
A Florida election worker was fired after sealed ballots fell out of a unlocked truck due to "human error." The ballots were found on the road by a driver and turned in; election officials said the ballots were not damaged or tampered and have already been scanned (More)
Close to 52M people have already voted in this year's presidential election, according to a tracker operated by the University of Florida. About 158M people voted in total during the 2020 election (More | More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. The Nasdaq jumped to a record close while the Dow Jones dropped over 150 points (Dow -0.36%, Nasdaq +0.78%, S&P 500 +0.16%).
Visa will reportedly lay off about 1.4K contractors and employees by the end of the year. Technology positions are expected to be significantly impacted; the credit card giant is looking to streamline its international business (More)
TikTok's co-founder is now China's richest man. Former ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming is projected to be worth just under $50B, jumping over entrepreneur Zhong Shanshan, whose personal fortune has dropped almost 25% YoY while Yiming's surged over 40% (More)

Entertainment & Sports

Teri Garr died at 79. The actress battled multiple sclerosis for years; she starred in Young Frankenstein and earned an Academy Award nomination for Tootsie; she also had roles in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and on Friends (More)
The 2025 Tour de France will have an all-French route. The cycling race had started in other European countries in recent years; the race will also conclude in Paris again after the Summer Olympics altered the route this year (More)
A Scary Movie reboot has been ordered by Miramax and Paramount. Brothers Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Keenen Ivory Wayans will return to helm the project, their first collaboration in almost two decades; production on the horror movie parody film will begin next yuear (More)

Quick Hitters

Incredible Story: A man managed to survive an entire month in the remote Washington state wilderness after getting lost on a run. Here is the amazing tale and details of his rescue.
Take Note: Looking for an activity that can boost your brain? Give mahjong a try. Researchers say the game provides significant mental and social benefits for older people.
Go Deep: There is an argument to be made the road to the internet started just a few months after man touched down on the moon. The story begins with two scientists in California and a failure.
New Idea: A team of MIT graduates have invented a device they say is an alternative to sleeping pills. The startup Elemind produces a headband that sends audio waves into brain and catalyzes the process of dozing off.
Life Hack: Simple things can add up to make major impacts when it comes to eating healthier. Here are 10 tips to improve your diet from Tim Spector, an acclaimed British doctor, professor and science writer.

Watch This

How Bill Crystal got cut from the first episode of Saturday Night Live.