International
Smoke blanketing U.S. and Canada could last for days as fires continue unabated
June 8 |
On air quality maps, purple indicates the most serious situation. In reality, it is a dangerously dense haze that disrupts the daily lives of millions of people across the United States and Canada, obscuring the skyline of cities and painting the sky orange.
And with little change in the weather forecast, smoke from the fires in Quebec and Nova Scotia and fine particulate clouds reaching as far as North Carolina should continue through Thursday, and possibly into the weekend.
That’s at least one more day in a dystopian environment that brought players off baseball fields, brought actors off Broadway stages, delayed thousands of flights and prompted the reappearance of facemasks and telecommuting, while raising concerns about the health effects of prolonged exposure to such poor-quality air.
The system causing the big U.S.-Candy smoke – a low-pressure system over Maine and Nova Scotia – “will possibly stick around for at least the next few days,” said Bryan Ramsey, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“Conditions are likely to remain unhealthy, at least until the wind direction changes or the fires are put out,” he added. “Given that the fires are active, and they’re really large, they’re likely to continue for weeks. So it’s all going to depend on the wind shift.”
In the eastern United States, authorities warned residents to stay indoors and limit outdoor activity Thursday as well, extending “code red” alerts for poor air quality for the third straight day as forecasts show winds will continue to push smoke-laden air southward.
In Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered schools to cancel outdoor recess and field trips on Thursday. In the Philadelphia suburbs, authorities set up a shelter for the homeless to take shelter from the smoke.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state will distribute 1 million N95 masks – those recommended at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic – at state facilities including 400,000 in New York City.
The more than 400 active fires in Canada have displaced 20,000 people. The United States sent more than 600 firefighters and equipment to the country to fight the blaze, and other countries also provided assistance.
In a phone conversation on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanked President Joe Biden for his support, the Canadian president’s office said, adding that the two “recognized the need to work together to address the devastating impact of climate change.”
Canadian authorities say the country is suffering the worst fire season in its history. It started earlier than expected because the ground is drier than usual and accelerated rapidly. Smoke from fires had been affecting the United States since last month, but the situation was exacerbated by recent blazes in Quebec, where on Wednesday there were about a hundred burning out of control.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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