Image 1: Apollo 1. This was meant to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, but a cabin fire during a launch rehearsal test killed all three crew members: Command Pilot Gus Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee (pictured)
Image 2: Challenger. The first fatal accident involving an American spacecraft while in flight. The entire crew was killed: Dick Scobee, commander; Michael J. Smith, pilot; Ronald McNair, mission specialist; Ellison Onizuka, mission specialist; Judith Resnik, mission specialist; Gregory Jarvis, payload specialist; Christa McAuliffe, payload specialist, schoolteacher (pictured)
Image 3: Sputnik 2. Laika was the first living Earthling (other than fruit flies) in space, and her capsule was never designed to come home.
Image 4: Soyuz 11. Georgi Dobrovolski, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev (pictured). The first people aboard a space station, spending 23 days aboard Salyut 1 in 1971. They died tragically on their return to earth when a valve failure caused their capsule to depressurise.
Image 5: Columbia. Space shuttle disintegrated upon re-entry, killing Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool, Mission Specialists Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (pictured).
Image 6: Soyuz 1. The first human death in space. Vladimir Komarov (pictured) was killed when his descent module crashed upon re-entry. It is said that Komarov knew the mission was unsafe, but if he pulled out then they would have sent his friend to die instead: Yuri Gagarin (the first man in space).
Image 7: The Fallen Astronaut. A 3.5-inch (8.9 cm) aluminum sculpture that was left on the moon by the crew of Apollo 15 to commemorate the astronauts and cosmonauts who have died in the advancement of space exploration.
I had to turn in a bluebook that had blood all over it (stress nosebleed, LOTS of blood). The professor was amused and said I really struggled manfully with the work. He thankfully just let me recopy it into a clean book.
tech news today is that Mullvad VPN has gone mask-off about being the major funding source for the Swedish Orebro party, who are racist nationalists. unfortunately all discussion of this is occurring on fucking Mastodon instances i can barely load
if you are a mullvad customer (as i am) and want to get out, here is guidance from this guy
If you don't want your Mullvad fees going to fund neo-Nazis - or @mozilla VPN fees, which is rebranded Mullvad - cancel and get a refund immediately
that's whose "free speech" the official account is talking about here, and that's where your fees go to
EDIT: Mullvad has a 14 day refund policy. But the message below is a direct call to ask for a refund if you don't want to give money to Nazis.
If Mullvad refuse a refund, call your consumer protection agency. And reverse credit card charges on the basis of deceptive refund policy representations. It's not like you ever want to be a Mullvad customer again.
archive copy of Mullvad statement: https://web.archive.org/web/2026062717
A sprawling heat dome will unleash days of dangerous heat and steamy humidity from the Midwest to the East from late June to early July, wit
[Plaintext for accessibility-Links left live]
Heat dome to bring 90 to 100-degree temperatures to 200 million in US from late June to early July
A sprawling heat dome will unleash days of dangerous heat and steamy humidity from the Midwest to the East, with some cities nearing 100 degrees and RealFeel® Temperatures soaring above 110.
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jun 27, 2026 12:08 PM EDT | Updated Jun 27, 2026 2:03 PM EDT
A heat dome will develop, strengthen and grow in size over much of the central United States for an extended period through the Independence Day weekend and will even expand into parts of the East for several days. At its full extent, dangerous conditions will affect more than two dozen states.
"The setup will deliver widespread highs in the 90s F with high humidity over a broad area of the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys throughout next week," AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex Duffus said. "People who mind the heat will be very uncomfortable if they don't have air conditioning."
Chicago is forecast to reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher for four to five consecutive days while St. Louis could endure at least eight straight days in the 90s with highs approaching 100. Typical highs this time of year are in the mid-80s in Chicago and the upper 80s in St. Louis.
"Dew point temperatures with this summer swelter will be well into the 70s in many areas," Duffus said.
The dew point represents the saturation temperature of the air. The 70-degree mark denotes a humid day in the summertime and while common in the Southern states most of the summer, probably less than one-third of the days in the summer in the Midwest and Northeast bring dew point temperatures at or above 70.
Everyone tolerates heat differently, but as dew points climb, perspiration evaporates more slowly, making it harder for the body to cool itself. Prolonged periods of heat and humidity increase the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
"While there will be a handful of locations that set record highs on a daily basis, there may be many more where record warmth occurs at night," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
Some of the larger cities may not drop below 80 at night at the height of the heat wave.
Urban areas retain heat because pavement, concrete and brick absorb solar energy during the day and release it slowly overnight. The long daylight hours of late June and July amplify this urban heat island effect.
The bulk of the heat and high humidity will reach the Eastern states midweek and may linger into the Fourth of July in some areas.
Some locations may reach 100 degrees. Philadelphia, for example, is forecast to hit the century mark on two or three days despite average highs in the upper 80s. Washington, D.C., may have highs at or above 100 for as many as four days in the week ahead.
New York City could approach 100 degrees for a couple of days during the middle to latter part of the week. Across the Hudson River, Newark, New Jersey, is more likely to reach or exceed 100 on at least two days.
Even where actual temperatures remain in the lower 90s, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures are forecast to exceed 100 degrees and could top 110 during the hottest part of the day. RealFeel Temperature accounts for humidity, sunshine, wind, cloud cover and other factors that influence how hot it feels.
Excessive humidity won't be the only factor limiting actual high temperatures. Smoke from wildfires in the western U.S. could expand and drift across parts of the East next week, slightly reducing incoming sunshine and keeping daytime highs a few degrees lower than they otherwise would be.
Heat, humidity and light winds may lead to episodes of poor air quality. If wildfire smoke mixes to the surface, conditions could deteriorate further. With many people expected to spend extended periods outdoors ahead of the Independence Day holiday, experts recommend staying hydrated and taking frequent breaks in air-conditioned buildings, cooling centers or shaded areas.
Young children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems are most at risk for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Be sure to consider your pets' safety as well. Bring animals indoors during the heat of the day and make sure they have access to plenty of fresh water. Avoid walking pets on the hot pavement during the daytime hours.
Along the edges of the heat dome, complexes of thunderstorms are expected to track from the Rockies across the northern Plains and Midwest into the Northeast while additional storms develop along the Gulf Coast. These storms could temporarily knock temperatures down in the afternoon.
During the Independence Day weekend, a shift in the jet stream should push the heat dome back toward the Plains, allowing cooler air and more frequent thunderstorms to spread into the East.
Boston could begin cooling before July 4 while Washington, D.C., may not get relief until late on Independence Day or Sunday.
Until then, relief can be found at the pool, the beach or a cool shower.
To the people who might go "yeah well that's a regular summer in [insert country or region]", I would like to point out the obvious that France (and other European countries curently suffering) is not these countries used to such heat for such mong periods of time.
Yes, it is finally summer, and yes, it's supposed to be hot too here. Except our hot temperatures are still way below that. The average temperatures at that period between 1991-2020 are 15-20°C below what we're experiencing. It's 41°C in Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, when it should be about 25, 42°C in Rennes when it should be 22.
On Tuesday 23rd, France was hotter than 99% of the planet. Only some specific zones in the Sahara, Arabian, and American deserts were hotter.
In the night between Monday and Tuesday, temperatures only came back down to between 21 and 28 degrees. Those are supposed to be the temps at day.
About A/C: it's true, most of the country doesn't have it. Some public transportation, supermarkets, restaurants have it, and some individual houses too. But that's about it. Because we didn't really need it until a few years ago, and it's both hard and expensive to get it installed, especially in older buildings like those in Paris. But also, you've got to understand that if A/C makes your life easier inside, it considerably worsens things outside. The heat generates by A/C would up the termps a few degrees more, and would not fix the issue of going outside.
also, AC, and the infrastructure to support AC, can't be installed quickly enough in enough places to keep this heatwave from killing a lot of people. should it be part of the long term response to make climate change less deadly? sure. but that doesn't help this current problem.
i feel like im a weird age where i got just a blurry glimpse at the world Before. it used to be cold in the mornings and websites had fun games and the search results showed you what you searched for. covid wasn't a thing. can anybody fucking hear me. did i dream it all????
my biggest thing with disability advocacy is that we genuinely gotta be fucking nicer to people who BECOME disabled overtime physically. like it just happens or goes unnoticed for a long time because the healthcare system especially here in the USA is a nightmare.
anyone can become disabled. and I feel like advocacy forgets that and treats if like a horrific thing to avoid at all costs and not just something that happens along with needing to treat disabled ppl with respect, autonomy, and sometimes caretaking if they request it/need it.
i just gotta say i love the vibe youve cultivated where i read a very nice informational post about peafowl imprinting followed up by launching connecticut into the sun ten out of ten i love it here
If I'm being honest, it wouldn't be Connecticut.... it would be Ohio
Demand Cleveland Clinic Restore Access to Gender-Affirming Care for Youth
Demand Cleveland Clinic Restore Access to Gender-Affirming Care for Youth
The Issue
The Cleveland Clinic has agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice to stop providing gender-affirming care to minors — including puberty blockers and hormone therapy — treatments that major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, recognize as evidence-based and medically necessary for many transgender youth.
This decision didn't come from doctors. It came from federal pressure.
When a family is navigating a child's health, the people who belong in that conversation are parents, the young person, and their medical team — not prosecutors. For years, Cleveland Clinic was a trusted resource for Ohio families seeking compassionate, individualized care. Now, under threat of federal investigation, it has stepped back from that role entirely.
The consequences are real. The LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland said it best: "Restricting access to care does not make young people safer. It makes an already vulnerable population even more vulnerable." Transgender youth already face elevated rates of anxiety and depression. Removing access to care that helps them doesn't make the need disappear — it just leaves families with nowhere to turn.
Cleveland Clinic built its reputation on being a world-class medical institution that puts patients first. We're calling on its leadership to live up to that standard — to advocate publicly for the families it has abandoned, to support legal efforts to restore access to care in Ohio, and to recommit to the full spectrum of healthcare its LGBTQ+ patients need.
Families deserve the right to make healthcare decisions for their children in partnership with their doctors. That right shouldn't depend on which state you live in, or whether a hospital fears federal prosecution. Sign this petition to tell Cleveland Clinic: stand with your patients.
