Record high ocean temperatures off southern California raise fears of prolonged marine heatwave 04. April 2026 (14:00) Researchers warn the high-pressure conditions could disrupt marine life and ecosystems if it continuesSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxFor more than a century, shoreline stations operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have measured water temperatures along the California coast. This year, they are flashing a warning sign.Over the last three months, several stations have repeatedly posted record-breaking daily high temperatures – with the La Jolla station registering temperatures a full 10F above historical average at one point last month. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Unconstrained’ Trump seems to be on a quest to name most everything after himself 04. April 2026 (14:00) President has affixed his name to institutions and edifices, and his visage now glowers from several federal buildingsThe US has a history of naming things after its presidents.Washington DC has the Ronald Reagan airport, while John F Kennedy international airport is New York’s main air transport thoroughfare. The Hoover Dam straddles Nevada and Arizona; Theodore Roosevelt is one of several former presidents to have a Washington DC building named after them; Franklin Delano Roosevelt has an island; Abraham Lincoln has the Lincoln Memorial; and George Washington has the nation’s capital and an entire state. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘It broke our home’: family demands answers after death of man abandoned by US border agents 04. April 2026 (14:00) Nurul Shah Alam, a nearly blind Rohingya refugee, was left alone in a Buffalo parking lot. His death has been ruled a homicide – what now?On 19 February, the second day of Ramadan, Mohamad Faisal Nurul Amin and his family gathered to pray before sunrise in their apartment on the outskirts of Buffalo, New York. After nearly a year of waiting, they believed their family would be together again. Amin’s father, Nurul Shah Alam, 56, was coming home.“For the first time since we arrived in America, I felt happy,” said Fatima Abdul Roshid, Shah Alam’s wife, speaking through an interpreter. “I thought my husband would be with our two sons and me for Ramadan.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Feels like history is being made’: will young Hungarian voters oust Orbán? 04. April 2026 (13:00) The rightwing populist has been in power for 16 years but a new generation of voters are preparing to vote for his opponent, polls suggestAs he rushed to finish off his cigarette before heading to class, Ákos, 20, confessed that he has more at stake than most as Hungarians prepare to head to the polls in the coming days.“If things remain the same, or get even worse, I can’t see a future here,” said the aspiring teacher. “There are many people who want to try living elsewhere, and that’s totally fine, but I’m not one of them. For so long I’ve dreamed of working and teaching here.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
New Covid variant BA.3.2 detected across US, but experts urge vigilance over alarm 04. April 2026 (13:00) Strain found in 29 states and Puerto Rico carries spike mutations, but no data shows increased severitySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxBA.3.2, an Omicron variant of Covid-19 with dozens of new spike mutations, has been detected in 29 US states and Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but experts say there is not yet evidence it is more severe than other recent variants.“The right response to BA.3.2 is serious attention, not alarm,” says Dr Jake Scott, a Stanford professor and infectious disease expert who authored a systematic review of Covid vaccines for the New England Journal of Medicine. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lebanese forced to bury their dead twice as war robs them of final goodbyes 04. April 2026 (13:00) As Israel expands its invasion of southern Lebanon, people are having to bury their dead in temporary gravesIn Lebanon, the dead are usually given one last glimpse of their home town before they are laid to rest. Hoisted high above the heads of the living, their casket is slowly marched through the streets where they grew up.It is the hands of their loved ones that guide them into their final resting place, already dug, and gently sprinkle dirt on their body. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
