Submarine Cables Damaged: Hong Kong telecoms company HGC Global says that submarine cables sitting on the bottom of the Red Sea have been damaged, severely impacting internet traffic between the Middle East and Asia. The cause of the damage is currently unknown, Seacom, the South African company that owns the cables, estimates it will take at least a month for repairs to begin owing to the complexity of permitting processes in the area.
One Dead in Michigan Industrial Fire: A man is dead after an explosion at a vaping supplies distributor north of Detroit on Monday night. According to police reports the fire sent debris flying as much as a mile away from the scene, with clean up across area roads continuing into Tuesday morning. The victim was 19 years old, and roughly a quarter mile from where the fire originated when he was struck by shrapnel.
“Stop WOKE Act” conflicts with First Amendment, Appeals Court finds: The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that parts of a 2022 Florida law banning companies from providing antibias training or instruction to employees. “The ideas targeted in Florida’s Individual Freedom Act are embraced in some communities, and despised in others,” the ruling said. “By limiting its restrictions to a list of ideas designated as offensive, the Act targets speech based on its content. And by barring only speech that endorses any of those ideas, it penalizes certain viewpoints – the greatest First Amendment sin.”
Seaweed once staple in European Diets, say Archeologists: Now rarely eaten by Westerners, a study published today in the journal Nature Communications indicates that before the rise of agriculture 8,000 years ago people across the continent ate significant amounts of seaweed, freshwater algae and other aquatic plants. They took 37 samples of dental remains from 33 ancient humans who lived in areas ranging from what are now Spain and Lithuania to as far north as modern Scotland.
“Nobel of Architecture” goes to Japanese Housing Innovator: The 2024 Pritzker Prize went to Riken Yamamoto, the ninth Japanese architect to earn the honor. He is noted for a long career of designs that promote interaction and community moments, such as housing complexes where residents are encouraged to have spontaneous interactions and fire stations that encourage the public to see firefighters and their equipment at rest.
Taylor Swift Tells Fans to Vote on Super Tuesday: The musician and superstar encouraged her 282 million Instagram followers to participate in Super Tuesday, when the Presidential primaries of Tennessee and 16 other states and Tuesday will occur. “I wanted to remind you guys to vote the people who most represent YOU into power. If you haven’t already, make a plan to vote today,” Swift said. “Whether you’re in Tennessee or somewhere else in the US, check your polling places and times at vote.org.”
