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RI Small Businesses vs. Costco, Foulkes and Raimondo
GoLocalProv.com is the “go to” local Web experience that breaks the biggest local stories – sports, news, business, weather, news, politics, arts,…
Tennessee FFA member studies Hurricane Helene's lasting impact on farmer mental health
A National FFA agriscience fair finalist says the impacts of Hurricane Helene inspired her to take a closer look at farmer mental health. Abby Petterson from the Erwin FFA Chapter in Tennessee says her two-year research project focuses on supporting the next generation of agriculture. “There is a stigma, but more importantly, there is a […]
Helen Haines vigil sparks calls for greater safety for women in politics
Community gathers in Wodonga to show support after alleged attack, with many expressing shock and asking 'why Helen?'
Here's what's happening in St. Helena
Here's what's happening in St. Helena in the next few weeks.
Australian politician who was intentionally hit by car loses both her legs
Australian lawmaker Helen Haines, who was intentionally hit by a car in an apparent political attack, has lost both of her legs, her husband said.
Australian Politician Who Was Hit by Car Has Lost Both Legs
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Doctors have amputated both of Australian federal lawmaker Helen Haines ' legs as she remains in critical condition after being repeatedly hit by a car in an apparent act of political violence, her husband said Wednesday. The 65-year-old independent politician is ...
A note to readers: Science, accountability and elections
Dear readers, As early voting begins, I wanted to share some news — and why it connects to the decisions we make at the ballot box. I’ve been selected for the inaugural cohort of the South Atlantic Climate Journalism Hub mentorship program, hosted by Covering Climate Now. I’m excited to join this group, learn from scientists and fellow journalists, and expand my science reporting. Science directly ties to governance. Local officials make decisions about where development goes, how infrastructure is maintained, what emergency preparations receive funding, and how communities rebuild after disasters. Understanding the evidence behind those decisions helps us evaluate whether our government is serving us well. Here in western North Carolina, those connections are all around us, in Lake Lure and beyond. Flood maps inform decisions about property and development. Engineering assessments help identify risks at dams and bridges. Rainfall forecasts guide emergency preparations. Geological information helps explain landslide hazards. Water testing gives communities information they need to assess conditions. Meteorologists’ knowledge and public perception of weather events shape public safety. Each involves scientific or technical knowledge. Each also raises questions about public responsibility: What did officials know? How did they use that information? What did they tell the public? What did taxpayers receive for their money? A study can identify a problem. Elected officials still have to decide what to do about it, how to pay for it, and how to explain their choices. Reporting should examine both the evidence and the response. That is where I want to strengthen my work. My reporting on Helene recovery, infrastructure, flooding, public safety, and public spending has repeatedly brought me to questions that require scientific expertise alongside public records. This mentorship may help me better understand the research, ask more precise questions, and explain the answers clearly. I also bring the perspective of someone living with these concerns. I live downstream of Lake Lure Dam, and landslides affected my property during Helene. Those experiences bring urgency to my questions. Careful reporting helps establish the answers. Readers deserve to know what the evidence shows, where uncertainty remains, and whether officials accurately describe the information guiding their decisions. You also deserve scrutiny of proposed solutions: what they cost, what they are expected to accomplish, and what risks remain. Access to that information matters. As a mostly deaf journalist who relies on written communication, I will continue pressing for written public warnings, records, and explanations that people can read and use in real time. As you consider the candidates seeking your vote, consider how they approach evidence, preparedness, and transparency. Do they support local journalism, even when it’s not parroting a press release? Do they explain weather events clearly in plain English and explain their decisions after them? Make supporting records available? Acknowledge uncertainty? Follow through when a report identifies a risk? Those are practical questions about governing. Thank you for supporting Cops & Congress and the work that makes these questions part of the public conversation. I’m grateful to David Dickson and the CC Now team for this opportunity, and I look forward to bringing what I learn back to you. Annie DanceEditor & Publisher, Cops & Congress — Learn more about this newsletter, ethics policy, how you can help shape this work, and support it. Follow on X and Facebook. Send constructive criticism, fan mail, and tips with public documents for future stories: CopsandCongress@gmail.com ICYMI: View the Cops & Congress archive — Annie Dance is the publisher of Cops & Congress, a newsletter that analyzes what happens when crime, courts, disaster, democracy, and small-town policies collide. Views expressed here are covered by the First Amendment. Dance has a Bachelor of Arts from Manhattan University in Communication with a focus in Journalism and Government. She has been a journalist for over 20 years. Share Upgrade now or give a gift subscription
Threats of political violence soar in Australia’s ‘online echo chamber’
Independent lawmaker Helen Haines was in critical condition after being struck deliberately by a car.
Political hate speech can have real-word fallout. After the alleged attack on Helen Haines, our leaders must act
Social media amplify the worst excesses of what passes for public discourse, while some media outlets foment polarisation
Helen Haines: Australian MP critically injured after apparent car attack
The independent politician is in hospital after what the prime minister says may have been a deliberate attack.
Australian lawmaker critically injured by car is 'no accident,' prime minister says
Helen Haines, 65, was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV outside her electoral district office mid afternoon in the city of Wangaratta in Victoria state, a police said.
‘Everything you would want from a politician’: who is Helen Haines, the MP allegedly attacked in Victoria?
Condemnation across political spectrum after incident in Wangaratta, as Nationals MP from nearby electorate says Haines ‘not a divisive figure’
Australian lawmaker Helen Haines in critical condition after vehicle attack
Australian lawmaker Helen Haines was in a critical condition on Monday after being deliberately struck by a car outside her office.
A Reporter Who Saw Covid Coming Has Died
Helen Branswell recognized the threat of the pandemic ahead of the vast majority of journalists and even medical experts. She was 69.
A Reporter Who Saw Covid Coming Has Died
Helen Branswell recognized the threat of the pandemic ahead of the vast majority of journalists and even medical experts. She was 69.
Is the EU research budget actually increasing?
Is a Horizon Europe budget of €158 billion a 10% cut or a significant increase to the EU’s support for research and innovation? What would seem like a question of fact has divided opinion in Brussels since the Irish presidency of the EU Council presented its negotiation box on October 10. The answer depends on factors such as how you adjust for inflation, whether you account for increases in overall EU wealth and if you care about absolute or proportional figures. The €158 billion budget in current prices, proposed by the Irish presidency of the EU Council, was quickly criticised by university lobbies and rejected by the high-level expert group led by former Portuguese science minister Manuel Heitor. It was also decried by the four pro-European political groups in the European Parliament. “How can Europe close its competitiveness gap while cutting the European Competitiveness Fund by 13% and Horizon Europe by nearly 10%?” asked a joint statement by the European People’s Party (EPP), Renew Europe, the Socialists and Democrats and the Greens/European Free Alliance. Together, these parties hold 63% of seats in the Parliament.In stark contrast, Irish foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee said that the proposal “significantly increases investment in competitiveness, research and innovation,” Meanwhile, a presidency press release said that, compared to the current Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the proposal would “double the volume of competitiveness related programmes.” So, who is right? That depends on how you make the calculation.Compared to the Commission figure or the previous budget?The first thing to notice is the difference in baselines. When the MEPs say the Irish presidency will cut Horizon Europe by “nearly 10%” they are using the European Commission proposal for the MFF from July 2025, which allocated €175 billion in current prices to Horizon Europe. However, when the Irish foreign affairs minister said the research and competitiveness budget is increasing significantly, she is comparing it to the 2021-27 MFF, which had a Horizon Europe budget of €84.9 billion in 2018 prices.Her point holds when accounting for inflation. Applying a 2% annual inflation rate, the calculation method used by the Commission, the 2021-27 Horizon Europe would have a budget of €97.5 billion in 2025 prices. In comparison, the Irish presidency’s €158 billion figure in current prices translates to €140 billion in 2025 prices. Does the ECF count?But there is more to the dispute. In its statements, the Irish presidency lumped the research budget in with the overall budget for competitiveness. The Parliament statement, however, kept the two separate. This matters because the next MFF includes plans to add a new European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) to fund programmes meant to boost the continent's competitiveness. The Irish negotiating box allocated €245 billion in current prices to this programme.When this is added to the €158 billion for Horizon Europe, as well as programmes such as the EU education programme Erasmus+, the total for “competitiveness, prosperity and security” in the Irish proposal becomes €514 billion in current prices. But it is still uncertain how big a share of this competitiveness budget would go to research. The Commission proposal of July 2025 for the MFF included clear links between the ECF and Horizon Europe, indicating some ECF money will go to research. At the same time, the structure of the ECF is still being negotiated, and a substantial part of its budget is expected to support non-research activities such as defence manufacturing, decarbonisation and digital infrastructure. Related articlesCouncil floats 9.6% budget cut to next Horizon EuropeResearch community to appeal to national governments over planned EU budget cutEU own resources ‘essential’ for future research budget, says leading MEPSo, it is by looking at competitiveness rather than research, or combining the two, that the Irish presidency can claim that its proposed budget will significantly increase investment in competitiveness, research and innovation.According to the Irish presidency proposal, Horizon Europe and other competitiveness-related programmes in the current multiannual budget received €221 billion in current prices. However, since this money is being distributed from 2021 to 2027, it is not directly comparable to the €514 billion in current prices which will be distributed from 2028 to 2034.Research as a proportion of the MFFBut the relative rise in competitiveness-related programmes points to another important distinction: whether you look at the research budget in absolute terms or as a share of the overall MFF. Here, too, the size of the research budget has risen, although only slightly. In the 2021-27 MFF, Horizon Europe accounted for 7% of the total budget. In the Irish presidency’s proposal, it amounts to 8.7%. The share for the total competitiveness envelope went from 17.7% in the current MFF to 28.1% in the Irish presidency proposal.This proportional share may seem irrelevant to universities looking for research funding, but it is becoming significant as budget negotiations between the Parliament, the Commission and the Council begin. On October 2, a group of 17 southern and eastern European countries sent out a statement calling for the EU agriculture and cohesion budgets to be protected. The Parliament’s co-rapporteur on the budget, Siegfried Mureșan of the EPP, has also said that the research envelope is likely to be cut disproportionately as the budget is slimmed down during negotiations.
New Orleans officials urge residents to advocate for change at Urban League conference
New Orleans leaders, including U.S. Rep. Troy Carter and Mayor Helena Moreno, spoke at the event
Challenging the Conventional Wisdom of Climate Politics | Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
Title“Climate Fault Lines: The New Political Economy of a Warming World” Authors“Climate Fault Lines: The New Political Economy of a Warming World” PublisherPrinceton University Press
Helen Branswell, infectious diseases and public health reporter, dies
Branswell earned the respect of experts and public health officials around the world with her accessible, prescient dispatches on scourges from influenza to polio and Ebola to COVID-19.
Helen Branswell, whose reporting on infectious diseases and public health drew acclaim, dies at 69
Helen Branswell, STAT's infectious disease reporter who earned the respect of experts and public health officials with her accessible, prescient dispatches, has died at age 69.
Avery Dennison Names Helen Sheirbon President, Solutions Group
MENTOR, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 12, 2026--
Swansea lose first game at revamped St Helen's
Swansea suffer late loss to Ebbw Vale on their return to St Helen's as unbeaten Cardiff take over from Newport at the top of SRC.
Scientists Took a Cheek Swab From the World's Oldest Tortoise. His DNA Could Reveal Hints to Longevity
Jonathan, an Aldabra giant tortoise, is about 194 years old and the oldest land animal alive today. Discoveries about his genetics could provide clues to extending lifespan in humans
Far western, eastern N.C. issues overshadowed by campaign ads
From Helene recovery to ferry tolls, Tim Boyum tackles some very local issues impacting North Carolinians in the far western and eastern part of the state.
I On Politics
ITALIAN HERITAGE CELEBRATION: On Thursday, October 8, 6-8:00 pm, Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. will host an Italian Heritage Celebration at the Helen Marshall Cultural Center at Queens Borough Hall, 120-55 Queens Blvd. For more information and to RSVP: www.queensbp.nyc.gov/ COMMUNITY BOARD 6 MEETING NOTICE: Community Board 6 will meet on Wednesday, October 14,
Collaborating with Canadian Scientists on Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Research
I first met Dr. Helen Gurney-Smith in fall 2024, when Dr. Shannon Meseck and I drove just beyond the U.S.-Canada border to the St. Andrews Biological Station in New Brunswick. We went there to study larval sea scallop respiration when exposed to near-future temperature and pH. This past winter, Dr.
Corey Ave businesses host craft fest in ‘new normal’ after Hurricane Helene anniversary
Business owners along Corey Avenue said they’re getting used to a new normal, now two years removed from the decimation by Hurricane Helene.
How ‘Purposeful Growth’ Makes The Case For Business’ Most Underused Advantage
Purpose didn't fail, business misunderstood it. In their new book Purposeful Growth, Helen Trickey and Philipp Reker show how leaders turn meaning into commercial momentum.
Trump's $500 Obamacare 'rebate' checks land in prime political battlegrounds
By Andy Sullivan, Helen Coster, Ahmed Aboulenein and Tim McLaughlin WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration is sending $500 payments to nearly 1 million Americans this
‘Mega-Industrial’ Trawlers Threaten Europe’s Ocean Health
Europe’s floating factories make up just one percent of the fleet but catch more than half the fish—and they cause the majority of environmental damage.
Helene flooding reshaped River Arts District; leaders say recovery is far from over
The River Arts District looks dramatically different two years after Helene, but local business owners and community leaders say rebuilding is far from over.
Two years after the storm, Hurricane Helene shapes NC survivors' politics and beliefs
A concert in Yancey County gave Hurricane Helene survivors an opportunity to share their experiences with the storm.
Two years after the storm, Hurricane Helene shapes NC survivors' politics and beliefs
A concert in Yancey County gave Hurricane Helene survivors an opportunity to share their experiences with the storm.
SCIENCE-BUTTERFLY/
A European swallowtail butterfly rests on purple lilacs April 20, 2019, in Mareil-Marly, France.
Veteran white politician threatens ANC's grip on Johannesburg
Helen Zille, a 75-year-old white politician nicknamed "gogo", meaning grandmother, is running for mayor of Johannesburg in a high-stakes November race that analysts say could reshape South Africa's politics. Nina Liu has more.
AFP-MT Opposes I-194, Warns Measure Would Silence Montanans, Threaten Businesses
HELENA, MT — Americans for Prosperity-Montana (AFP-MT) today announced its opposition to I-194, a statewide ballot measure that would strip Montana small businesses, family farms and ranches, and nonprofit organizations of their right to speak up in the political process — and put their ability to legally operate in the state on the line if […]
Survey: Floridians sour on prospects for the property insurance market
Most aren’t buying claims lawsuit restrictions are helping matters.
Mayor Sarno joins Health Commissioner Caulton Harris to bring greetings at Department of Elder Affairs Hispanic Heritage Month Luncheon at the Ray Jordan Senior Center
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno was honored to join Health & Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton Harris and the Springfield Department of Elder Affairs team on Friday to bring greetings at a special Hispanic Heritage Month Luncheon celebration with our seniors at the Raymond A. Jordan Senior Center. This special luncheon is a collaboration between the Raymond A. Jordan Senior Center and the North End Senior Center and celebrated Hispanic heritage and the valued contributions of our senior community. Members of the senior centers were invited for a vibrant day of music, dance, food, and culture. El Morro bakery provided lunch to members by our kind and dedicated Elder Affairs staff. Grupo Erupxion performed live music. Special thanks to host/emcee Joanna, the Springfield Department of Elder Affairs and the Council on Aging team for bringing us together to celebrate the beautiful mosaic of our Springfield. Mayor Sarno states, “We are always proud to celebrate the vibrancy and beautiful mosaic that is our Springfield community. On behalf of the City of Springfield, we celebrate and welcome the continued contributions of Hispanic Americans toward our community, including their cultural heritage, public service, and entrepreneurial spirit. I commend and appreciate this collaboration between the North End Senior Center and the Ray Jordan Senior Center to host this special luncheon in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month for all our seniors to enjoy. ‘Que tenga buena salud y Dios te bendiga’ – Good health and God Bless.”
Business pitch reveals deeper ties between Sneed, consultant
Plus: Helene exposed gaps in health care; Stitching together Queens and Elon; Saint-Maximin fuels Charlotte FC's offense; CMS cabinet officer charged with DWI; Union calls for changes after airport worker death
Helene exposed gaps in health care
A look at ER visits two years after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina
Opinion: Remembering Hurricane Helene, recognizing climate change, regardless of politics
Two years after Hurricane Helene devastated Asheville, the author argues leaders are ignoring climate change.
Guest opinion: Partisan judges bad for Montana businesses
Partisan money threatens to infect our courts with fickle partisan politics, and that’s bad for business in Montana.
Helenio
“Internazionale one, Independiente nil. Corso has scored! Six minutes into extra time!”The Intercontinental Cup, or World Cup, had existed for four years. The competition was essentially created b...
Business destroyed by Hurricane Helene seeing progress but still has a long road ahead
Two years after Hurricane Helene rocked WNC, a local home and business are continuing to recover.
Kalispell Chamber Backs Ballot Issue to Keep Courts Nonpartisan
The Kalispell Chamber of Commerce has endorsed a ballot initiative aimed at keeping Montana’s courts nonpartisan, the nonprofit behind the initiative, Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts, announced in a Thursday press release.
Ballad Health hosts open house at Bristol Regional Medical Center
BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) — Ballad Health held an open house Thursday at Bristol Regional Medical Center, and officials talked about the Boone McCrary scholarship two years after Hurricane Helene. McCr…
Governor Stein Announces $5 Million to Strengthen Small Businesses in Western North Carolina
(RALEIGH) Today in Lansing, Governor Stein announced $5 million in new infrastructure grants to support small business recovery in western North Carolina through the Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program. Two years since Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina, Governor Stein continues to advocate for a $10 billion appropriation from Congress to support the next phase …
Climate Week NYC 2026: Siemens and Gavin Newsom on Growth
Helen Clarkson, CEO of the Climate Group, unites Siemens, Gavin Newsom and Unilever at Climate Week NYC 2026 on climate adaptation
Here's what's happening in St. Helena
Here's what's happening in St. Helena in the next few weeks.
Governor Gianforte Announces Transition at the Department of Public Health and Human Services
HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today announced that Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Director Charlie Brereton will transition out of his role on October 30 to pursue an opportunity in the private sector. The governor has named Dr. Doug Harrington, the department’s State Medical Officer, as Director of DPHHS.
Tuesday's headlines: Hidden camera found in Kenner business bathroom; Moreno presents budget proposal
A businessman faces charges after a camera was found in his business' bathroom; Mayor Helena Moreno unveils her 2027 budget priorities, plus more top stories.
How the stories and science of floods shape Appalachia
For Will Waas, 24, Hurricane Helene did more than flood his home in the mountains of Western North Carolina. It washed away nearly everything he had accumulated — his clothes, tools, building materials, musical instruments, artwork, chickens and beehives. For eight days, Waas lived in a neighbor’s house with six other people and five pets...
From punk to politics - the making of new Reform Wales leader Helen Jenner
Who is Reform's new Welsh leader, former English teacher Helen Jenner?
SCIENCE-LEMURS/
An indri sits in a tree on Sept. 29, 2018, in Madagascar's Maromizaha Forest.
Inside Florida Politics podcasters talk Melania Trump's AI event
First lady Melania Trump traveled to North Carolina recently to discuss Hurricane Helene and artificial intelligence. Hear about it on Inside Florida Politics.
SCAD Film Festival Opens With A Talent for Murder, Honors Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren will accept the SCAD Savannah Film Festival's Legend of Entertainment Award as the fest opens with Anton Corbijn's "A Talent for Murder."
'A Talent for Murder' review: Alden Ehrenreich gives sexy menace in this Patricia Highsmith-inspired thriller
All hail Helen Mirren, who is perfectly cast as an iconically vicious dame.
Researchers earn NSF fellowships to expand marine, geophysics research | University of Hawaiʻi System News
The awards will support Helen Janiszewski and Lenore Pipes as they develop new directions in fiber-optic geophysical sensing and reconstructing ancient marine ecosystems.
Stein slams Trump’s claims on NC crime, Helene: ‘Just political nonsense’
President Donald Trump depicted North Carolina as lawless and crime-ridden during a speech in Gastonia. Public safety data shows crime is actually down, and even Trump’s own attorney general praised North Carolina’s declining crime rates.
Fact-checking President Trump's N.C. speech
Some of President Donald Trump’s comments at a rally for North Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley Wednesday are receiving some significant pushback, especially his remarks on crime and the response to Tropical Storm Helene.
Lake Helen boil-water notice impacting local business, residents
Lake Helen’s boil-water notice is now in its fourth day, forcing residents and businesses to improvise while the city waits on more testing.
What Does the Science of Climate Change Really Look Like?
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a three-part series on how the Right should think about environmental and climate policy. Read Chris Barnard on Reclaiming Environmental Policy from the Left. More than a decade ago, the world’s governments negotiated and signed the Paris Climate Agreement, committing to hold global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius. In the following years, climate had immense cultural power. Greta Thunberg emerged. Fortune 500 companies established net-zero plans. The U.S. got the Inflation Reduction Act. Then the pendulum swung back. President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, speaking of green energy as a “scam” and carbon footprints as a “hoax” and on all matters of international policy emphasizing bilateral engagement and power over globalism and cooperation. The technology companies that had been at the forefront of net-zero pledges and green leadership discovered the importance of all-of-the-above power to their visions for artificial intelligence and began quietly postponing or removing their targets. On the left side of the political spectrum, rising concerns about inflation and cost pushed climate lower down in the stated priorities of voters and stump speeches of politicians. The moment is ripe for a reset on the politics of climate change and for conservatives especially to chart a course that acknowledges and addresses the real challenges in plausible ways. So what should we think about climate change as we enter a post-peak climate era? If it is neither an apocalypse nor a hoax, what will hold up as a durable view of climate change? And how does it project onto the concerns and priorities of the right-of-center’s emerging coalition? New to Commonplace_? Subscribe below to get the magazine in your inbox._ Subscribe A Solid Foundation As the politics and economics of climate careened over the past ten years, the physics carried on regardless. In 2015, the year the Paris Climate Agreement was adopted, the world emitted 41.2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide. By 2025, emissions had risen only 2.4%, to 42.2 gigatonnes, because falling emissions from land use offset increasing emissions from fossil fuels. But slow growth in annual emissions is not rapid decline, let alone net-zero, so carbon dioxide kept accumulating in the atmosphere, going from 399 to 426 parts per million. Global temperature kept rising too, from about 1.1 degrees Celsius above the 1850–1900 average in 2015, to 1.4 degrees above it in 2025. None of this should surprise anyone. Even most prominent skeptics, like the authors of the 2025 report commissioned by the Trump administration’s Department of Energy, accept the basic physics. Carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere at industrial volumes accumulates and traps heat that would otherwise escape to space. That heat warms the upper ocean and increases temperatures at the surface. Increased ocean heat and melting of land ice cause sea levels to rise. Changes in the climate become noticeable to us as subtle shifts in temperature and precipitation, seasons arriving early or late, changes in the surrounding ecosystem, and weather extremes. The much more meaningful debate is not about whether these things are happening, but about what it all means for human societies. (While it is a proxy measure of overall risk, no one experiences global surface temperature.) This debate invokes at least three interesting questions: how much today’s warming is showing up in regional climate trends, how much more warming we should anticipate, and how extreme weather events can be understood in the context of climate change. Recent scientific advances give us new insights into each of these, but there is still much to learn. This is the context in which the next generation of conservative leaders will be the first to deal with significant climate change as a fact, not a forecast. It will be with them for their entire careers. Our evolving scientific picture of climate change will come from weather and climate records stretching further into the past, new kinds of observations in the present, better modeling tools for the future, and simply more time to observe the emergence of climate signals and their tangible effects on ecosystems and communities in the United States and around the world. The policy landscape will be shaped by not only the impacts of changes in the climate, but also by the ways in which societies respond and by the emergence of new technologies for both altering the trajectory of emissions and adapting to new climate realities. Global climate records now show the fingerprints of warming in different phenomena around much of the world. The IPCC, in its most recent assessment report, documents warming trends over all land regions, even as natural variability adds substantial variance to local trends. And the highest temperature extremes have become more intense and frequent, almost everywhere, since the 1950s. Scientists are highly confident that these changes are attributable to human influence. But confidence in detecting trends and attributing them to human influence degrades across heavy precipitation events; drought trends are heterogeneous and not attributable to human activity with great confidence. For hurricanes, tornadoes, and other severe storms there is even less confidence in trends or their relationship to climate change. In general, a fair summary of the evidence is that for well-observed phenomena, like surface temperature or heavy rainfall, with a clear relationship to warming, our multidecadal observations are consistent with human influence overcoming natural variability over long time periods and extremes increasing. For regions that are sampled more sparsely, or phenomena with a higher noise-to-signal ratio, we will need to observe them longer to understand the magnitude of the climate signal or improve dynamical understanding using models and observations together. But for Climate For those who can’t wait, we also have new techniques that attempt to understand the role climate change has in influencing particular extreme events. When the climate is changing and disaster strikes, it is natural to ask whether that disaster was somehow “caused” by climate change. For scientists and policymakers acting in good faith, answering that question helps develop a more accurate picture of the problem, how it may be getting worse, and what preparations we should be making to respond to it. It may, at some point, give some weight to how liability is assigned by courts or adaptation funding is distributed by society. But how we ask this question is extremely important. It is easy to get the analysis wrong by discounting the role that meteorology plays. As meteorologist Theodore Shepherd explained in a clear 2016 review of climate attribution methods, “if a weather or climate event is truly extreme in the present climate, then perforce it requires unusual meteorological conditions, which means that climate change is at most a contributing factor.” Share Scientists have two ways to probe climate as a contributing factor, both of which have entered media coverage of extreme weather events. One asks a probabilistic question: How much more likely is a particular event (e.g., a temperature record over a particular area) amid global warming? The answer involves using historical records and computer simulations to estimate the likelihood of such an event in both a changed and a preindustrial climate. The findings are less about the specific event, and more about events of that nature. The other question is: How has the changed climate affected the specific event in question? Here, scientists try to understand what a similar event would have looked like in the preindustrial climate. This is sometimes called the storyline approach, where the story is the specific meteorological details of the event. These methods offer ways to test the intuition of scientists about real weather extremes. In late June and early July of 2021, a persistent high-pressure ridge, or heat dome, set up over the Pacific Northwest and an extraordinary heat wave affected the area from Oregon to British Columbia. For six days, it shattered temperature records across the region and hundreds died from heat-related causes, in an area where such high, and persistently high, temperatures were well outside of experience and many live without air conditioning. Scientists have studied its connection to climate change using multiple approaches. This specific event was created by a rare combination of meteorological factors, a strong high-pressure ridge created the conditions for extreme heat, which occurred on top of higher average temperatures in the region from global warming. Probabilistic analyses showed that climate change increased the likelihood of such an event by at least 8-fold to more than 100-fold. One standout example found that such an event had effectively zero probability of occurring in the preindustrial climate. The enormous range in these assessments reflects how hard it is to estimate probabilities of events at the tail of the historical record. Estimates of the effect on the temperature of the event are more clustered. A recent review paper documents how multiple methodologies have found a positive influence, roughly 1-2 degrees Celsius of an anomaly that exceeded 15 degrees, of climate change on the temperature magnitude of the event. Multiple studies have investigated and found some positive influence of climate change in other extreme events. Attribution studies found climate likely increased the heavy rainfall that accompanied Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and surrounding regions in 2024. The extensive fires that struck Los Angeles in 2025 illustrate how the causal chain can become messy, though. Studies do detect a positive influence of climate on the event’s likelihood, but while climate change likely contributed to underlying aridity, it would not have played a role in the heavy winds or land practices that preceded disaster. These event attribution studies will become more common for extreme, or damaging, weather events. They can be produced quickly, and often are reported before peer review. As the Pacific Northwest heatwave example shows, when multiple methods converge on a positive attribution, the finding should probably carry some weight even if you have to be careful about accepting the results from a single study. I expect that as climate change proceeds and the climate thus departs further from a preindustrial counterfactual, the influence will become more detectable across a variety of extreme events and more easily identified. This will be used to cast blame, but can also be used to inform how communities and society adapt to ongoing change. We May Still Be Surprised One positive development, insofar as less climate change is better, has been that our central estimates for future climate change should probably be revised downward. Mostly, that is because the high-end warmings that scientists regularly analyzed about ten to 20 years ago, driven by high emissions throughout the twenty-first century, now appear to be somewhere between unlikely and impossible. At one time, the upper end of mainstream climate projections extended well into 4 to 6 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of this century, which, models suggest, would have wrought enormous real-world damage. Current energy and policy trends now point toward 2.5 or 3 degrees. Damages and risks are commonly modeled as increasing steeply with more warming, so this is already a better-than-previously-expected outcome for the climate (which is independent of the physical response to emissions). But we should maintain a wide range for plausible outcomes and prepare for the possibility of being surprised. Emissions trajectories are subject to deep uncertainty, the physical climate response is still developing, and whatever change occurs in the climate will then be mediated through unpredictable economic, social, and political institutions. Over the past decade, the pace of warming surprised some keen observers and appeared to accelerate, though not yet outside the range of expectation provided by climate models. The reasons for that apparent acceleration are being actively studied (as was the apparent pause in warming from 1998 to 2012), but no single driver has emerged. Some blame it on the El Niño, variability which would have no bearing on climate. Some think it is a result of factories in East Asia and global shipping fleets cutting aerosol emissions, which in the strongest version of the argument would indicate higher climate sensitivity to carbon-dioxide emissions. Others are more measured, not yet ready to draw solid conclusions as to whether climate projections require revision. We will have to see. Long-Term Thinking Climate change asks us to think over long time scales. But the pace of human-driven warming is compressing a large global change into a century. Changing weather patterns and extreme events are already causing adjustment costs and damages and will do more. Adaptation will help, but it is not free. For some communities, these costs will erode livelihoods and well-being, and may force migration. Are we prepared for large-scale managed retreats in the United States? Thankfully, American wealth, geographical diversity, and moderate climates may leave us better prepared than many around the world. But wealthy countries can still suffer serious disruption from narrowly concentrated costs, even if they appear entirely manageable in aggregate. Readers of Commonplace are familiar with the challenges of rapidly adapting to economic forces. The displacement that came from the China Shock is barely perceptible in aggregate GDP and employment data, but it affected millions of people and those people were far less mobile than economic models tended to assume. Deindustrialization rippled through the nation with enormous effects for not only our economic vitality, but also our national security. The forces surrounding climate change may not be so different; the world gets richer and must accept some diffuse costs. Those may be modest overall, but cause all manner of unpredictable effects with which policymakers must cope. In the case of the China Shock, our faith in a growing pie served us poorly. We’ll need to do better on climate. Leave a comment
Here's what's happening in St. Helena
Here's what's happening in St. Helena in the next few weeks.
Helen Mirren ‘totally’ avoids doctors, prefers AI: ‘I just completely ignore everything’
Mirren spoke to EW about her aversion to medical care at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, where she supported her new thriller, “A Talent for Murder.”
Miami-area hospital to get new kids’ cancer center. How Palace founders are involved
The new center, made possible by a $15 million donation from Palace founders Helen and Jacob Shaham, will serve as a one-stop shop for care.
Ranking the Projected Fourth Line for the Kings in 2027
The projected third line for the Los Angeles Kings are Corey Perry, Joel Armia and Samuel Helenius. Here’s how each forward will rank based on expected production for next season.
In Rhode Island, new political leaders emerge as the old guard is swept out
Helena Foulkes won every city and town in Rhode Island’s Democratic primary for governor, and Democratic Socialist David Morales unseated Providence Mayor Brett Smiley
The big surprises from the R.I. primary
State Representative David Morales became the first candidate in Providence history to beat an incumbent mayor in a primary, and Helena Buonanno Foulkes swept every city and town in the state.
Indigenous fisherwoman finds ‘lost’ spinach pipefish, not seen by science in 40 years
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On the final day of a two-week expedition, where researchers were searching for a “lost” species along Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River, Helen Asu arrived with two small, greenish-brown fish. She had caught them while fishing for prawns […]
Businesswoman Helena Foulkes defeats Gov. Daniel McKee in Rhode Island Democratic governor primary
NBC News projects that Foulkes won the Democratic nomination in the blue state, making McKee the first incumbent governor to fall in a primary in eight years.
Helena Foulkes will defeat Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, CNN projects, marking a rare incumbent primary loss
Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes will win the Democratic nomination for governor of Rhode Island, CNN’s Decision Desk projects, defeating incumbent Gov. Dan McKee as she capitalized on voter frustration over the partial closure of a key bridge and the ensuing traffic chaos.
Dem incumbent becomes first sitting governor to lose primary since 2018
Costco board member, former CVS exec avenges narrow 2022 loss to Gov. Dan McKee in high-stakes Rhode Island rematch, causing sitting governor to become first to lose party primary in several years. OR Rhode Island Democrat Gov. Dan McKee fends off challenger Helena Foulkes for second time, avoiding first primary loss by sitting governor since 2018.
Gov. McKee faces tough challenge from Foulkes in Rhode Island Democratic primary
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee is hoping to avoid becoming the first incumbent governor in any state to lose a primary since 2018 as he tries to fend off an intraparty challenge from former CVS executive Helena Foulkes in Wednesday's state primary.
Mayor Helena Moreno wants S&WB merged with City Hall by 2028. See details.
Moreno on Wednesday led the first meeting of a newly reconstituted S&WB governing board, which serves at her pleasure and will be expected to carry out the priorities of the mayor and City Council.
A rare thing in American politics may happen in Rhode Island on Wednesday
Gov. Dan McKee barely beat Helena Foulkes in 2022. For Wednesday’s rematch, the former CVS executive has outraised him and appears well positioned to win.
Two years after Helene, Labor Day brings reopened parks and businesses
This month marks two years since Hurricane Helene. Business owners and residents say this Labor Day feels different, as more places and recreation areas reopen.
Montana employees see large increase to health care costs
HELENA, Montana — State employees and retirees will see a substantial increase in what they will pay out of pocket for their health coverage, with deductibles tripling in the coming
BIGBANG celebrates 20th anniversary in can’t-miss Oakland show on comeback tour
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — Helen Lee and Jina Lee drove six-plus hours from Los Angeles to the Bay Area on the morning of BIGBANG’s Saturday night show at the Oakland-Alameda County Colis…
North Carolina business owner says sales have bounced back after Hurricane Helene
Panelists Brittany Brady and Joe Dinan discuss how North Carolina is economically recovering and rebuilding two years after Hurricane Helene on ‘The Bottom Line.’
Australian science prize awarded to researcher studying memory accuracy of domestic violence survivors
Helen Paterson’s work on advancing how police and courts understand memory is recognised in prestigious Eureka prizes
Business hall of fame to induct Rob Walton, Alice Walton, Jim Walton, the late John Walton
The four children of Walmart founders Sam and Helen Walton — Rob Walton, Alice Walton, Jim Walton and the late John Walton – will be inducted into the Arkansas Business...
R.I. Governor McKee is 15 points down with 15 days to go
With just over two weeks to go until the Democratic primary, McKee would need something approaching a political miracle to come from behind and defeat challenger Helena Foulkes.
‘Devastating’: Supporters speak out as Lake Lure business faces eviction
As recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene continue in western North Carolina, questions loom over the future of a beloved Lake Lure business facing potential eviction from town-owned property.
Australia boss Walters appointed Saints head coach
Kevin Walters will leave Australia after next month's Rugby League World Cup to take up a three-year deal with St Helens in Super League.
Ballad Health breaks ground on new Unicoi County Hospital after Helene
Unicoi County took a major step forward in the Helene recovery Wednesday as Ballad Health broke ground on a new hospital.“I feel like whenever I come to Unicoi,
Dive into the deep with marine biologist Helen Scales
Join SciFri Book Club's free livestream on September 25.
Gov. Jeff Landry says he’s not talking to N.O. Mayor Helena Moreno after Liz Murrill indictment
The governor said he won’t personally talk to New Orleans leaders until he knows “who did what” about a grand jury indictment of the attorney general.
Answer Man: Helene Business Recovery Fund borrowers facing skyrocketing rates? Messy I-26 median?
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: You should look into the disaster bridge loans a lot of people took out through Mountain BizWorks and the Golden Leaf Foundation after Helene. These were loans with a 1 percent interest rate for 12 months, which was later extended to 24 months. […]
Rolls-Royce CFO: Orders for data center energy business up over 50%
Rolls-Royce Chief Financial Officer Helen McCabe discusses half-year earnings, small modular nuclear reactors, data centers, and investing in the U.K.
Family Medicine Physician Charles Jones, M.D., Joins UAMS Health Family Medical Center in Helena-West Helena
Charles Jones, M.D., has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Family Medical Center in Helena-West Helena, where he will offer primary care for all ages.
How ultra-processed foods may damage your long-term brain health
An increasing number of studies have linked ultra-processed foods with depression, anxiety and even dementia. Columnist Helen Thomson explores how strong the evidence is for the brain effects of a diet full of these foods
North Leeward Predators FC, Helenites SC, and Elite Sports Club advance in CFU Club Shield
Three teams moves to Round of 16
Registered nurses at Adventist Health St. Helena vote overwhelmingly to join California Nurses Association
Registered nurses at Adventist Health St. Helena in St. Helena, Calif. voted overwhelmingly this week to join California Nurses Association (CNA), an affiliate of National Nurses United, the nation’s largest and fastest-growing registered nurse (RN) union. In an overwhelming landslide vote, 250 nurses elected to join CNA.
Grappling Bulletin: FloGrappling & ONE Championship Enter Strategic Partnership
-FloGrappling and ONE Championship have entered into a strategic partnership that aims to more actively ensure the best in the world will be active and available at the biggest events in the world, including ONE, WNO, and Flo-partnered events like ADCC & IBJJF majors. -Helena Crevar scored a big win at ONE: The Inner Circle 22, defeating Paige Ivetter Clymer by decision. Crevar and Clymer will be both in the same bracket at the ADCC World Championships, with the potential for a rematch.