In conclusion our model shows that a catastrophic collapse in human population, due to resource consumption, is the most likely scenario of the dynamical evolution based on current parameters. Adopting a combined deterministic and stochastic model we conclude from a statistical point of view that the probability that our civilisation survives itself is less than 10% in the most optimistic scenario.

Researchers found that Martian and lunar tubes are respectively 100 and 1,000 times wider than those on Earth, which typically have a diameter of 10 to 30 meters. Lower gravity and its effect on volcanism explain these outstanding dimensions (with total volumes exceeding 1 billion cubic meters on the Moon)

Slowing the coronavirus has been especially difficult for the United States because of its tradition of prioritizing individualism and missteps by the Trump administration.

When Susan Rice was under consideration for secretary of state in 2012, she was attacked by environmentalists for holding stock in the controversial Keystone Pipeline XL deal. Now, with the multimillionaire Rice in contention to be Joe Biden’s running mate, that investment is again drawing fire from progressives. They say her extensive past holdings in an array of industries at odds with liberal causes — particularly the Keystone investment — could make her ill-suited to be vice president in a Democratic administration. “It raises my eyebrows to think the potential vice president of the United States would have financial ties, whether present or historical, that are exactly opposed 180 degrees to the president,” said Julian NoiseCat, a vice president for the advocacy group Data for Progress who formerly worked for the environmentalist group 350.org. He noted that Biden opposes the Keystone project and is campaigning on a $1.7 trillion climate-change plan. “It makes them look like hypocrites,” NoiseCat said, echoing other activists.

Nikki Fortunato Bas stood on the sidewalk on the eastern shore of Lake Merritt while a group of about 30 street vendors, whose tables and carts were set up nearby, gathered in a socially distanced semi-circle around her. It was cold, overcast, and windy, but that wasn’t keeping anyone away from the lake this Tuesday afternoon. Joggers curiously eyed the gathering, which was actually an impromptu town hall meeting. Bas, who has represented District 2 on the Oakland City Council the past 18 months, projected her voice through her face mask over the sound of motorcycles rumbling by on Lakeshore Avenue. “I have an interest in making sure that all of our parks are places where everyone feels like they belong,” Bas said. “I know you feel like you’re getting pushed out, especially since Barbeque Becky.” Several vendors responded “yes” and nodded their heads, recalling the incident two years ago when a white woman called the police to report on a Black family grilling while enjoying the lake. Recently, city code enforcement staff visited Lakeshore Avenue and warned vendors to leave or face potentially expensive fines—vending in parks is illegal without temporary special event permits. Many of the vendors viewed the move not just as city bureaucracy enforcing the rules, but also as an effort to remove a mostly Black community of entrepreneurs from a gentrified part of Oakland.

A grand jury has indicted a Santa Clara County Sheriff’s captain and three political supporters of Sheriff Laurie Smith for allegedly brokering a pay-for-play scheme where campaign donations were exchanged for concealed-carry weapons permits. The sheriff herself avoided indictment, but prosecutors pledge that their corruption probe is far from over. In a news conference Friday, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced felony charges including conspiracy and bribery against Capt. James Jensen; Christopher Schumb, an officer for a sheriff reelection committee and a prominent South Bay litigator; attorney Harpaul Nahal; and Milpitas gun-parts maker Michael Nichols. All four are accused of plotting to illegally secure concealed-gun permits for employees of Seattle-based executive security contractor AS Solution. The indictment marks the first criminal case to come from an issue that has fueled a decade’s worth of complaints that Smith’s issuing of the hard-to-get privilege was soaked in political favoritism. The scandal, prosecutors say, was afoot in the midst of Smith’s 2018 successful reelection bid that secured her a sixth term.

Mr. Falwell, the college’s president and a supporter of President Trump, agreed to a request by the school’s board of trustees.

Earth is overheating. This year is poised to be one of the hottest ever. Millions are already feeling the pain, but the agony of extreme heat is profoundly unequal across the globe.

Several Black Lives Matter protesters in Utah could face up to life in prison if they’re convicted for splashing red paint and smashing windows at the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office during demonstrations against racial injustice, The Associated Press reported Thursday. Prosecutors announced this week that the felony criminal mischief charges, which carry a gang enhancement, are justified because protesters allegedly teamed up to cause thousands of dollars in damage.

The last fully intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic has collapsed, losing more than 40% of its area in just two days at the end of July, researchers said on Thursday.

Amanita muscaria is a poisonous shroom with a red and white top. Smurfs live in it. Mario eats it. And if you do it right, it’ll send your mind straight to Star World.

Georgia hospitals and businesses are set to gain new liability protections amid the COVID-19 pandemic through legislation Gov. Brian Kemp signed this week. A bill Kemp signed into law Wednesday aims to shield businesses and health-care facilities in Georgia from lawsuits brought by people who contract coronavirus in all but the worst negligence or recklessness cases. The liability protections take effect immediately and will apply for anyone who contracts coronavirus until July 14, 2021. Business representatives including the Georgia Chamber of Commerce have hailed the measure as a means for a range of enterprises from mom-and-pop shops to sports stadiums to feel assured they will not face crippling litigation due to coronavirus. But unions and worker advocates have worried employees in the state will be left in the lurch as thousands of Georgia’s front-line and low-wage workers struggle to keep themselves safe from the virus either in the workplace or the courts. COVID-19 liability protections were a contentious source of last-minute debate in the Georgia General Assembly as state lawmakers wrapped up the 2020 legislative session in late June. Democratic lawmakers condemned the measure, joining union representatives in calls for more safety considerations to help workers. Conversely, many Republican lawmakers in the state Senate argued the bill would be too weak to fully protect businesses and hospitals by making “gross negligence” the minimum threshold for bringing a damage claim. That threshold marked a compromise between health-care professionals, business leaders and trial attorneys struck during the final days of the session. Attorneys on both sides of the issue have described gross negligence as a high legal hurdle but not impossible to meet. The session, which was paused in March as coronavirus cases soared, also saw passage of a tax credit program for businesses that produce protective gear like masks and hand sanitizer and an extension of expanded state unemployment benefits in place since March.

A court hearing held via Zoom for a US teenager accused of masterminding a stunning hack of Twitter was interrupted Wednesday with rap music and porn, a newspaper reported. Investigators view the youth -- AFP has chosen not to release his name because he is a minor -- as the brains behind the mid-July

Activist Marquita Bradshaw scored a surprise victory in the Democratic Senate primary in Tennessee on Thursday, dispensing with Senate Democratic leaders’ preferred candidate, James Mackler, in a five-way nominating contest. With 58 percent of precincts reporting, Bradshaw was declared the winner with 35.5 percent of the vote. Heading into the primary, Bradshaw faced what appeared to be insurmountable odds. Mackler, an Army veteran and attorney, held the endorsement of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and a massive cash advantage over all of his opponents. Bradshaw, by comparison, raised only $8,420 in the first quarter of the year and doesn’t appear to have even filed a second-quarter fundraising report with the Federal Election Commission.

Laptops and humans aren't the only things that can spontaneously combust. Pistachios are so likely to burst into flames that there are strict shipping codes to keep them from doing so.

A nudist bather who chased a wild boar near a Berlin lake after it stole his laptop was applauded by onlookers after a successful pursuit. The photographer who captured the drama said the unidentified nudist was happy for him to share the images, which show him in bare-bottomed pursuit of the boar and her two piglets while fellow bathers look on in amusement. “Nature strikes back,” wrote Adele Landauer, a personal coach, on Facebook. “I showed the man the photos, he laughed heartily and gave me permission to make them public.”

On Thursday, a federal judge in San Francisco issued a searing ruling, saying ICE has "responded to the health crisis in such a cavalier fashion" that it has "lost the right to be trusted."

A group of developers went public today with serious accusations of overwork and theft against their former employer, the Estonian studio Limestone Games. The claims surfaced shortly after a trailer for Aeon Must Die, the game they say was stolen from them, was shown during today’s State of Play broadcast. In total, eight members of the Aeon Must Die creative team resigned from Limestone Games in June, according to a cache of testimonials published by former employees earlier today. The ex-employees attribute the decision to what they describe as poor working conditions at the studio and the behavior of its chief executive. Limestone Games has not publicly responded to these allegations. “This trailer was created with abuse, manipulation, [and] theft,” the description of a third-party YouTube upload of the Aeon Must Die video reads before linking to the aforementioned Dropbox repository. “People who have worked on every shot of this are no longer with the company holding IP rights. Some were not even paid for their work. The real IP for the game was stolen from the creators via foul play.”

Ana Navarro says she voted Democrat for the first time in 2016 when she cast her ballot for Hillary Clinton.

During an interview in late June, President Trump lingered for a few minutes on the Confederate monuments that protesters were tearing down across the country: “You don’t want to take away our heritage and our history and the beauty, in many cases, the beauty, the artistic beauty,” he told Fox News. “You can go to France, you can go anywhere in the world, and you’ll never see more magnificent work.” What these statues represent of “our heritage and our history” has been hotly debated over the past few months, as NASCAR and even the state of Mississippi disavowed Confederate iconography. But the aesthetic resistance to their removal was summed up in Trump’s June remarks: that the statues are beautiful works of art that if destroyed would set historical preservation back years. As it happens, the true history of these monuments tells a different story: Far from “magnificent” artistic masterpieces, Trump’s vaunted statues are the Campbell’s Soup Cans of Confederate hagiography—cheap, mass-produced knockoffs designed to capture not just racism, but all its associated consumer revenue. For all the talk of their unparalleled artistry, they were about as easy to produce as the average fire hydrant.