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Global sea ice cover reached a historic low in February, Europe’s climate monitor said Thursday, with temperatures spiking up to 11C above average near the North Pole as the world continued its persistent heat streak.Copernicus Climate Change Service said last month was the third hottest February, with planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions stoking global temperatures.That helped push combined Antarctic and Arctic sea ice cover — ocean water that freezes and floats on the surface — to a record minimum extent of 16.04 million square kilometres on February 7, Copernicus said.”February 2025 continues the streak of record or near-record temperatures observed throughout the last two years,” said Samantha Burgess of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which runs the Copernicus climate monitor.”One of the consequences of a warmer world is melting sea ice, and the record or near-record low sea ice cover at both poles has pushed global sea ice cover to an all-time minimum.”Decreased ice cover has serious impacts over time on weather, people and ecosystems — not just within the region, but globally.When highly reflective snow and ice give way to dark blue ocean, the same amount of the sun’s energy that was bounced back into space is absorbed by water instead, accelerating the pace of global warming.Antarctic sea ice, which largely drives the global figure at this time of year, was 26 percent below average across February, Copernicus said.It said the region may have hit its annual summer minimum towards the end of the month, adding that if confirmed in March this would be the second-lowest minimum in the satellite record.The Arctic, where ice cover normally grows to an annual winter maximum in March, has seen record monthly lows since December, with February seeing ice cover eight percent below average for the month.”The current record low global sea ice extent revealed by the Copernicus analysis is of serious concern as it reflects major changes in both the Arctic and Antarctic,” said Simon Josey, Professor of Oceanography at the UK’s National Oceanography Centre.He added that warm ocean and atmospheric temperatures “may lead to an extensive failure of the ice to regrow” in the Antarctic during the southern hemisphere winter.- Heat streak -Globally, February was 1.59 degrees Celsius hotter than pre-industrial times, Copernicus said, adding that the December to February period was the second warmest on record.While temperatures were below average last month over parts of North America, Eastern Europe and across large areas of eastern Asia, it was hotter than average over northern Chile and Argentina, western Australia and the southwestern United States and Mexico.Temperatures were particularly elevated north of the Arctic Circle, Copernicus added, with average temperatures of 4C above the 1991–2020 average for the month, and one area near the North Pole hitting 11C above average.Copernicus said a lack of historical data from polar regions makes it difficult to give precise warming estimates compared to the pre-industrial period.Oceans, a vital climate regulator and carbon sink, store 90 percent of the excess heat trapped by humanity’s release of greenhouse gases.Sea surface temperatures have been exceptionally warm over 2023 and 2024, and Copernicus said readings in February were the second highest on record for the month.Climate scientists had expected the exceptional heat spell across the world to subside after a warming El Nino event peaked in January 2024 and conditions gradually shifted to a cooling La Nina phase.But the heat has lingered at record or near-record levels ever since, sparking debate among scientists.A single year above the Paris Agreement limit of 1.5C warming from pre-industrial levels does not mark a breach of the climate deal, but with record-breaking temperatures last year scientists warn that target is rapidly slipping out of reach.In the 20 months since mid-2023, only July of last year dipped below 1.5C, Copernicus said.The EU monitor uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations to aid its climate calculations.Its records go back to 1940, but other sources of climate data — such as ice cores, tree rings and coral skeletons — allow scientists to expand their conclusions using evidence from much further in the past.Scientists say the current period is likely the warmest the Earth has been for the last 125,000 years.

US prosecutors gave a graphic account Wednesday of the torture and murder of a transgender man whose case has highlighted the growing dangers faced by the trans community.Sam Nordquist was abducted, beaten and sexually assaulted for weeks before his body was hidden, prosecutors said, announcing seven adults had been indicted for the Black 24-year-old’s murder. Nordquist travelled from Minnesota to New York to meet an online contact who was among those indicted Wednesday.Nordquist’s family had not heard from him since January and the last time he was seen was in early February.The seven suspects had previously been indicted for lesser crimes, with the charge of first degree murder — the state’s most serious and carrying possible life imprisonment without parole — added Wednesday.Two children were also allegedly involved in the beating of Nordquist, who was brutalized in a motel in Canandaigua, located in upstate New York.”Sam was beaten, assaulted, sexually abused, starved, held captive, and we cannot make sense of that,” said Ontario County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Wolford at a briefing.Wolford said hate crime charges had not been brought because “we cannot put that on his gender, and we cannot put that on his race.””Sam was confined. He was forced to kneel and stand against a wall. He was physically assaulted,” Wolford added as she recounted the two children were believed to have been involved in Nordquist’s beating.”We have a seven-year-old and a 12-year-old who are also victims. They may have been forced to participate, but their lives are forever changed by what they saw,” she said. The seven adult suspects are alleged to have starved Nordquist, fed him feces, and forced him to drink urine.”They forced him to obey their commands, treating him like a dog,” said Wolford.The case has rocked the trans community and outraged activists.”We refuse to let Sam’s story fade into silence. We demand accountability, we demand justice, and we demand a world where transgender people are safe, respected, and able to live freely,” Sarah Kate Ellis, the president of the GLAAD LGBTQ campaign group, said in a statement last month.GLAAD reported that there had been more than 800 anti-trans incidents in the US since June 2022.Trump campaigned on a promise to ban transgender people from the military, outlaw federal funding for trans healthcare and to remove trans people from sports teams.Since coming to office, he has passed a slew of executive orders targeting the community, including purging mentions of transgender people from government websites and slashing LGBTQ programs.On his first day back in power, Trump signed an executive order recognizing only “two genders, male and female.”

The smash hit musical “Hamilton” has cancelled a planned run at the Kennedy Center because President Donald Trump has destroyed the political neutrality of the US capital’s premier cultural venue since taking over as its chairman, the play’s producer said Wednesday.The cancellation was a sharply worded rebuke to Trump’s takeover, part of his blitz of policy changes that are upending the city and the country as he attacks people, causes and policies that he describes as being too liberal.In a statement on X, “Hamilton” producer Jeffrey Seller said the stately white marble complex overlooking the Potomac River in Washington was founded as a place where Americans of all political persuasions could come together to enjoy the arts.”However, in recent weeks we have sadly seen decades of Kennedy Center neutrality be destroyed,” Seller wrote.”The recent purge by the Trump administration of both professional staff and performing arts events at or originally produced by the Kennedy Center flies in the face of everything this national cultural treasure represents,” he added.The third engagement at the Kennedy Center of “Hamilton,” a fabulously popular rap musical about the birth of the United States and its first treasury secretary, originally scheduled for March 3 through April 26 of next year, is now cancelled.The play was to have been performed as part of celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.The high-profile cancellation is the latest in a series of such exits since Trump took over as Kennedy Center chairman last month, ousting Democrats from the center’s board and replacing the long-serving president.The new board is packed with Trump loyalists and the new president is Richard Grenell, the outspoken ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term in office who now serves as his special envoy.”So we took over the Kennedy Center. We didn’t like what they were showing and various other things,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last month, The Washington Post reported.”I’m going to be chairman of it, and we’re going to make sure that it’s good and it’s not going to be woke.”A handful of artists have already cancelled plans to perform at the Kennedy Center since the Trump takeover, including the musician Rhiannon Giddens and actress Issa Rae.”This latest action by Trump means it’s not the Kennedy Center as we knew it,” the creator of “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, said in a joint New York Times interview with Seller on Wednesday.”The Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center.”In a statement on X, Grenell called the cancellation “a publicity stunt that will backfire.””The Arts are for everyone — not just for the people who Lin likes and agrees with,” Grenell wrote.

New Zealand will sack its top diplomat in London after he made a “deeply disappointing” remark questioning Donald Trump’s grasp of history, the foreign minister said Thursday.High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Phil Goff questioned whether the US president “really understands history” during a panel discussion about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The comments were “deeply disappointing”, said a spokesman for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters. “They do not represent the views of the NZ government and make his position as High Commissioner to London untenable.” Goff compared recent Ukraine peace efforts with the 1938 Munich Agreement — a pact between European powers that allowed Nazi Germany to annex parts of Czechoslovakia. Some fear Trump could push Ukraine to accept a peace deal in which Russia holds on to large swaths of captured territory.”I was re-reading Churchill’s speech to the House of Commons in 1938 after the Munich agreement,” Goff said at London’s Chatham House this week, referencing the famed war-time leader. “He turned to (then Prime Minister Neville) Chamberlain and said: ‘You had the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour yet you will have war’.””President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office, but do you think he really understands history,” Goff said. The United States has “paused” intelligence sharing with Ukraine after a dramatic breakdown in relations between Kyiv and the White House. Trump and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky had a public falling out in the Oval Office last week, followed by the United States suspending crucial military aid to Ukraine.

A drill to search for ice. A 4G network test. Three rovers and a first-of-its-kind hopping drone.After becoming the first private firm to land on the Moon last year, Intuitive Machines is aiming for its second lunar touchdown on Thursday, carrying cutting-edge payloads to support future human missions.The Houston-based company is targeting no earlier than 12:32 pm ET (1732 GMT) at Mons Mouton, a plateau near the lunar south pole — farther south than any robot has ventured.NASA will livestream the landing an hour before touchdown as Athena, the 15.6-foot (4.8-meter) hexagonal lander — about the height of a giraffe — begins its descent.”It kind of feels like this mission is straight out of one of our favorite sci-fi movies,” said Nicky Fox, NASA’s associate administrator for science.Intuitive Machines’ first landing in February 2024 was a landmark achievement but ended with its lander tipping onto its side, an outcome the company is determined to avoid this time.The pressure is on after Texas rival Firefly Aerospace successfully landed its Blue Ghost lander on Sunday, becoming the second private company to reach the Moon.Both missions are part of NASA’s $2.6-billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which partners with private industry to cut costs and support Artemis, the initiative to return astronauts to the Moon and eventually reach Mars.- A hopper named Grace -Athena is targeting highland terrain about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the Moon’s south pole, where it will deploy three rovers and a unique hopping drone named Grace, after late computer science pioneer Grace Hopper.One of Grace’s boldest objectives is a hop into a permanently shadowed crater, a place where sunlight has never shone — a first for humanity.While NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter proved flight is possible on Mars, the Moon’s lack of atmosphere makes traditional flying impossible, positioning hoppers like Grace as a key technology for future exploration.MAPP, the largest of Athena’s rovers and roughly the size of a beagle, will assist in testing a Nokia Bell Labs 4G cellular network linking the lander, itself, and Grace — technology designed to one day integrate into astronaut spacesuits.Yaoki, a more compact rover from Japanese company Dymon, is designed to survive drops in any orientation, making it highly adaptable.Meanwhile, the tiny AstroAnt rover, equipped with magnetic wheels, will cling to MAPP and use its sensors to measure temperature variations on the larger robot.Also aboard Athena is PRIME-1, a NASA instrument carrying a drill to search for ice and other chemicals beneath the lunar surface, paired with a spectrometer to analyze its findings.- Sticking the landing -Before any experiments can begin, Intuitive Machines must stick the landing — a challenge made harder by the Moon’s lack of atmosphere, which rules out parachutes and forces spacecraft to rely on precise thrusts and navigation over hazardous terrain.Until Intuitive Machines’ first mission, only national space agencies had achieved the feat, with NASA’s last landing dating back to Apollo 17 in 1972.The company’s first lander, Odysseus, came in too fast, caught a foot on the surface and toppled over, cutting the mission short when its solar panels could not generate enough power.This time, the company has made critical upgrades, including better cabling for the laser altimeter, which provides altitude and velocity readings to ensure a safe touchdown.Athena launched last Wednesday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which also carried NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer probe — but not everything has gone smoothly. Ground controllers are struggling to re-establish contact with the small satellite, designed to map the Moon’s water distribution.These missions come at a delicate time for NASA, amid speculation that the agency may scale back or even cancel the crewed Moon missions in favor of prioritizing Mars — a goal championed by President Donald Trump and his advisor Elon Musk.

US President Donald Trump, who has multiple ties to the crypto industry, will host the sector’s top players at a White House summit on Friday, as the field enjoys renewed momentum following his election.The US crypto community rallied behind Trump’s campaign, contributing millions of dollars towards his victory over Joe Biden, whose administration tightened regulations and expressed skepticism toward digital currencies. Now, they’re seeing their support pay dividends.Trump has waded into the space personally as well, partnering with exchange platform World Liberty Financial and launching his own “Trump” memecoin in January as his wife Melania did the same — moves that have prompted conflict of interest accusations.The president’s “crypto czar,” Silicon Valley investor David Sacks, will convene prominent founders, CEOs, and investors with members of a Trump working group to craft policies aimed at accelerating crypto growth and providing the legitimacy the industry has long wanted.Guests will include twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of platform Gemini, with reports that Brad Armstrong of Coinbase and Michael Saylor, the boss of major bitcoin investor MicroStrategy, will also be in attendance.Hanging over the crypto resurgence is the fate of FTX, the once-leading crypto exchange that collapsed spectacularly when its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found to have defrauded clients massively. He is now serving a 25-year term in a US jail.For believers, cryptocurrencies represent a financial revolution that reduces dependence on centralized authorities while offering individuals freedom from traditional banking systems.Bitcoin, the world’s most traded cryptocurrency, is heralded as an alternative to gold or as a hedge against currency devaluation and political instability.- Crypto warnings -Critics maintain these assets function primarily as speculative investments with questionable real-world utility, warning that excessive deregulation could leave taxpayers on the hook for cleaning up market crashes.Law enforcement agencies see digital assets as a means to launder ill-gotten money.The proliferation of “memecoins” — cryptocurrencies based on celebrities, internet memes, or pop culture rather than technical utility — presents another challenge.Much of the crypto industry frowns upon this practice because they fear it tarnishes the business, amid reports of quick pump-and-dump schemes that leave unwitting buyers paying for assets that end up worthless.Despite his previous hostility toward cryptocurrencies, Trump has embraced the technology, declaring his intention to make the United States a crypto world power. His administration has already taken significant steps to clear regulatory hurdles.On Sunday, Trump confirmed plans for a strategic cryptocurrency reserve where the US government would deposit digital currency holdings acquired mainly from judicial seizures.Jacob Phillips of Lombard Finance called this potential move “one of the strongest endorsements the industry has ever seen,” noting that several founders and teams have already relocated to the United States in response to the improving regulatory climate.Trump also appointed crypto advocate Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under Atkins, the SEC has dropped legal proceedings against major platforms like Coinbase and Kraken that were initiated during Biden’s term. The previous administration had implemented restrictions on banks holding cryptocurrencies (since lifted) and allowed former SEC chairman Gary Gensler to pursue aggressive enforcement despite the absence of clear legal frameworks.- ‘Pivotal moment’ -Addressing ethics concerns, Sacks announced on X that he has divested from his substantial crypto holdings and investments, with industry figures quickly vouching for his integrity.Friday’s summit “marks a pivotal moment for the digital asset industry,” according to Elitsa Taskova of Nexo, a cryptocurrency financial services platform.However, meaningful change will likely require congressional action, where crypto legislation has remained stalled despite intense lobbying efforts by investors including Trump ally Marc Andreessen, an influential venture capitalist.Some lawmakers remain hesitant, troubled by scandals and recurring reports of market crashes, theft and scams. The recent $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit platform underscores the risks cryptocurrencies still present.Nevertheless, Dante Disparte of Circle, which issues the dollar-pegged USDC stablecoin, sees growing bipartisan support for crypto legislation.He attributed this emerging consensus to proposals that include strong transparency and anti-money laundering requirements alongside consumer and market protections.

Automakers received temporary reprieve Wednesday from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs targeting Canada and Mexico, as concerns mounted over consumer impacts and talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yielded no immediate breakthrough.Following discussions with the “Big Three” US automakers — Stellantis, Ford and General Motors — Trump decided to “give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, referring to the North American free trade pact.”They made the ask, and the president is happy to do it,” Leavitt told reporters.Wall Street stocks rallied after the announcement, with shares of the three automakers each surging about six percent or more.The American Automotive Policy Council said it applauded Trump’s move.But prospects of wider relief were dampened after Trump’s call with Trudeau. The US leader said he was unconvinced that Ottawa had done enough to address Washington’s concerns over smuggling of the dangerous drug fentanyl.Canada contributes less than one percent of fentanyl to the United States’ illicit supply, according to Canadian and US government data. But Trump has shrugged off these figures.On social media, Trump accused Trudeau of using the dispute to “stay in power,” but noted their discussion ended in a “somewhat” friendly manner.Later on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly, according to a US statement.”Secretary Rubio reaffirmed the importance of US-Canadian relations and reiterated that the Trump Administration will continue to put Americans’ safety and national security first,” said US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.Trump’s sharp 25-percent tariffs on US imports from Canada and Mexico — with a lower rate for Canadian energy — kicked in Tuesday, sending global markets tumbling and straining ties between the neighbors.Ottawa swiftly announced retaliatory levies, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum plans to unveil her response at a mass rally on Sunday.Trump has cited illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking in imposing tariffs, though he frequently lambasts alleged trade imbalances when discussing levies.- More exemptions? -Consumer items appear poised for US price hikes after Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.These include products like avocados, strawberries, electronics and gasoline.Of the agricultural products imported from Mexico to the United States in 2023, more than 72 percent were fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as beer and other alcohol, government figures showed.Trump said Tuesday that tariffs would bring “a little disturbance” to the world’s biggest economy.Leavitt defended Trump’s remarks Wednesday as “realistic,” saying that standing up to foreign nations “requires a little bit of disruption.”But she added of tariffs: “The president is open to hearing about additional exemptions.”Earlier Wednesday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump was mulling market segments where he could provide temporary relief.Trump’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada are a heavy blow given that the three countries have a trade pact — which the US president renegotiated in his first term.- ‘Other trading partners’ -Sheinbaum said Wednesday that Mexico has to take key decisions for its future, adding that “if necessary, other trading partners will be sought.”Expressing a preference for a negotiated solution, she has said she anticipates speaking to Trump by phone on Thursday about tariffs on Mexican goods.She earlier vowed retaliatory action and called for supporters to gather in Mexico City’s main square on Sunday to hear details on her government’s response.Lutnick told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday that broader reciprocal levies, tailored to each US trading partner, were still coming on April 2.Trump has vowed tariffs targeting friend and foe to remedy practices deemed as unfair, slamming the European Union particularly.Some of these duties could come immediately, although Lutnick said others could take a month or longer.France’s President Emmanuel Macron called planned US tariffs on European products “incomprehensible,” adding Wednesday that he hoped to “dissuade” Trump from them.This week, Trump also inked an order doubling an additional tariff rate on Chinese imports from 10 percent to 20 percent, similarly over the country’s alleged role in illicit fentanyl entering the United States.The duties pile atop existing ones on Chinese products.Beijing hit back, promising 10-percent and 15-percent tariffs on a range of US agricultural imports.Economists warn that tariff hikes stand to bog down economic growth and add to US inflation.

Christie’s first auction of art made by artificial intelligence (AI) ended Wednesday with mixed results, providing scant clues as to the future of the new and controversial medium. Fourteen of the 34 lots put on the block during the 14-day online auction either received no qualifying bids or were sold for less than the minimum Christie’s had estimated.One did go for more than expected — an animation by well-known digital artist Refik Anadol titled “Machine Hallucinations – ISS Dreams – A” which fetched the highest price at $277,200.But an “Emerging Faces” creation by American artist Pindar Van Arman, touted as another highlight of the auction, saw no qualifying bids.A work by the late American artist Charles Csuri, considered a pioneer of “computer art,” went for $50,400, slightly below the bottom of a price range announced by the auction house.Auction sales tallied $728,784 in total, according to Christie’s.For Nicole Sales Giles, Christie’s director of digital art, the auction’s results confirm that collectors recognize the influence and importance of the artists whose creations were featured.”There could have been a better selection of works that are more representative of new media and AI,” said Steven Sacks, founder of New York gallery bitforms, which has been exhibiting digital art since 2001.”The bigger conversation is — should they be at auction yet?”Sacks felt more time was still needed to educate people about the medium and for artists to gain credibility and exposure.A separate group of artists had launched a petition urging Christie’s to cancel the sale.The 6,490 or so signatories argued that some pieces had been created with the help of AI models “known to have made unauthorized use of works protected by intellectual property law.”For them, auctioning AI-created art lets money be made from “massive theft of works by human artists.”In 2023, several artists sued generative AI start-ups, including popular platforms Midjourney and Stability AI, contending the software models were “trained” with human-made works to which they had no rights.Christie’s and rival Sotheby’s have featured AI-created works at auctions in the past, but this was Christie’s first event devoted to works conceived with the new technology.In 2018, an algorithm-generated painting by French collective Obvious fetched $432,500, including fees and commissions, stunning the art world.And in 2022, an animated work by Refik Anadol was acquired, also at Christie’s, for $1.38 million.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Democrats who heckled him during a speech to Congress behaved so badly they deserve to lose the next congressional election.On Tuesday evening in a speech to a joint session of Congress, Trump touted his radical policies as he celebrated his drive to dismantle much of the federal bureaucracy and said his administration was “just getting started.”Republican Party members applauded almost every line, but protests also began mid-speech, with one Democratic congressman ejected because he refused to stop heckling Trump and shaking his walking stick at the president.Other Democrats silently held up placards reading “False” and “That’s a lie!”In a post Wednesday on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “The Democrats should lose the Midterms based on their behavior at last night’s Joint Address to Congress.””They didn’t even have the common courtesy to stand, smile, or applaud,” he wrote, adding that Republicans should campaign on this behavior in the next midterm election in 2026.Earlier the White House accused Democrats of being the “party of insanity and hate,” citing their boisterous protests as Trump spoke.”The Democrats exposed themselves as the party of insanity and hate,” Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters.At one moment in Trump’s speech, numerous Democrats yelled “January 6!,” referring to his supporters’ violent attack on the Capitol after he refused to concede his 2020 election loss.”The behavior of Democrats last night was completely disgraceful and demonstrated how severely out of touch they are with the American public,” Leavitt said.”It was the most shameful moment in the history of presidential addresses in that beautiful chamber.”In what was supposed to be a unifying moment for our country, Democrat members of Congress instead screamed at the president of the United States.”