Hundreds Of Icebergs Have Clogged Shipping Routes In The North Atlantic

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Aided by unusually strong winds, hundreds icebergs have blown into the North Atlantic Ocean, stalling commercial shipping routes that traverse the region.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s International Ice Patrol, which identifies and tracks icebergs, warned the number of icebergs has seen “significant expansion” from 37 last week to upwards of 450 this week.

That’s compared to a historical average of 83 icebergs in the area at this time of year, based on data from 1900 to 2016.

Per the International Ice Patrol, the North Atlantic is the only place in the world where major transoceanic shipping lanes intersect with a large iceberg population:

That sharp uptick is forcing ships to slow down and take a circuitous, 400-mile-long detour south, adding a day or two to the journey, reports the Associated Press.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Gabrielle McGrath, who is in charge of the Ice Patrol, told Popular Science the phenomenon is unprecedented.

“I have about a decade of experience with the Ice Patrol, and in my time here, and talking with people who have been here longer, I’ve never seen anything like this or heard of anything like this before,” she said.

Experts say strong winds are mostly to blame for the icebergs, blowing them further into the shipping lanes faster than they have before. Climate change may also play a factor, however, as warmer temperatures lead to weaker ice, which more readily breaks off and blows away.

Last week, a study published in the journal Nature Communications found that tens of thousands of square miles of glaciers and ice caps along the coast of Greenland ― the primary source of ice forming the icebergs we’re currently seeing ― have reached a “tipping point” and are in rapid decline.

“Most of the icebergs that enter the North Atlantic shipping lanes come from the tidewater glaciers of the west coast of Greenland,” notes the Ice Patrol. “Once an iceberg is calved from one of these glaciers it completes a 1-3 year journey to arrive in the area that the International Ice Patrol (IIP) monitors.”

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The Walk-Out Music For All 9 U.S. Supreme Court Justices, RANKED!

Neil Gorsuch has officially been confirmed as the newest member of the United States Supreme Court. So many pressing questions linger regarding the future of the nine-person body — and, more important, the law of the land.

But what about the justices’ walk-out songs? You know: When they emerge from their chambers and take the bench, what songs are blasting out over the audio system?? And whose walk-out song is the best???

Well, because of the millions of letters we received from you asking us, we’ve ranked the nine songs that each individual justice walks out to. 

F**k yeah!

 

9. Justice Stephen Breyer

“MMMBop” by Hanson

Breyer bop, ba du dop. 

 

8. Justice Samuel Alito

“Wannabe” by The Spice Girls

If you wanna be Alito, you gotta get a J.D.

 

7. Justice Neil Gorsuch

 “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard

Oh, in the name of law. 

 

6. Justice Clarence Thomas

“Don’t Speak” by No Doubt

 Please, speak. Don’t know what you’re thinking.

 

5. Chief Justice John Roberts

“Barbie Girl” by Aqua.

Come on, Robbie, let’s go party.

 

4. Justice Sonia Sotomayor

“Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes

Soooonia So-to-mayooo-oor, Soooonia So-to-mayooo-oo-oo-or.

 

3. Justice Elena Kagan

“Damn it Feels Good To Be A Gangster” by Getto Boys 

 Damn, it feels good to be a justice.

 

2. Justice Anthony Kennedy

“Enter Sandman” by Metallica

Exxxxxxit cameras! Ennnnnnnter sketch artist!

1. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg

“Get Ready For This” by 2 Unlimited

Y’all ready for Ruth?

 

Editor’s Note: The United States Supreme Court justices don’t have music that they walk out to. You should have known this by the time you arrived at this disclaimer. If you didn’t … well, the internet isn’t for everyone. Good luck on your future endeavors.

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Most Americans Don't Think 'Draining The Swamp' Is Going Too Well

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A majority of the public isn’t impressed with President Donald Trump’s progress toward his oft-repeated promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov survey.

Fifty-two percent say that Trump has done “not very well” or “not at all well” at upholding his promise to “drain the swamp of government corruption,” with only 30 percent saying he’s done even somewhat well. Just 6 percent think he’s done “very well” at fulfilling that pledge.

Unsurprisingly, views are deeply polarized, although Trump’s opponents are quicker to condemn his performance than his supporters are to laud him for it.

More than 90 percent of Americans who supported Hillary Clinton in last year’s election say that Trump hasn’t done well at fulfilling his promise, with 80 percent saying he’s done “not at all well,” the lowest category. By contrast, while 70 percent of Trump voters say he’s done at least “somewhat well,” just 15 percent credit him with doing “very well” at keeping his campaign pledge to drain the swamp.

Forty percent of the public says that Trump himself is less honest than most other politicians in Washington. Another 28 percent say he’s more honest than most, and 18 percent say he’s about average.

Even after several months as the nation’s top-ranking elected official, Trump still isn’t seen as a political insider. Sixty-nine percent of Americans still consider him to be more of an outsider, with just 12 percent saying he’s part of the establishment.

Not everyone sees that as a good thing. Just a third of Americans now say they’d rather vote for a politician who’s more of an outsider, down from the 46 percent last September who said they’d prefer to see outsiders elected both as president and to serve in Congress. Fourteen percent now say they’d prefer to vote for an establishment politician, and 53 percent say it doesn’t matter or that they’re unsure.

The HuffPost/YouGov poll consisted of 1,000 completed interviews conducted April 5 among U.S. adults, using a sample selected from YouGov’s opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population.

The Huffington Post has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov’s nationally representative opinion polling. Data from all HuffPost/YouGov polls can be found here. More details on the polls’ methodology are available here.

Most surveys report a margin of error that represents some, but not all, potential survey errors. YouGov’s reports include a model-based margin of error, which rests on a specific set of statistical assumptions about the selected sample, rather than the standard methodology for random probability sampling. If these assumptions are wrong, the model-based margin of error may also be inaccurate. Click here for a more detailed explanation of the model-based margin of error.

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11 Republican Lawmakers Sign Letter In Support Of Arts Funding

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In a move demonstrating the uphill battle President Donald Trump will face attempting to achieve his budgetary goals, 11 House Republicans have signed a letter expressing support for the National Endowment for the Arts.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the signatories included “one Republican who previously voted to defund public broadcasting,” though none of the lawmakers were named.

The letter was sent to Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) and Rep. Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) ― the Republican chairman and top-ranking Democrat, respectively, of the House subcommittee with jurisdiction over appropriation of funds for the NEA and National Endowment for the Humanities.

Eliminating the NEA and NEH has long been a conservative pet project, but it’s also a tricky one to accomplish, even when the Republican Party controls both legislative bodies. The endowments may be favorite targets of small-government, budget-cutting hardliners, but they’ve nonetheless enjoyed support from a healthy number of Republican lawmakers over the years. 

Several GOP lawmakers expressed their support for the endowments after Trump’s bold proposal that they be eliminated entirely. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) issued a statement in March that read, in part: “I believe we can find a way to commit to fiscal responsibility while continuing to support the important benefits that N.E.A. and N.E.H. provide.” Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) commented, “I support the present level of funding for these programs.”

Arts advocacy groups likely aren’t surprised ― in fact, they’ve been counting on some level of Republican support for the arts and humanities endowments to see them through this existential threat. In March, PEN America executive director Suzanne Nossel and Stephen Kidd, executive director of the National Humanities Alliance, each cited a February letter sent by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) to the president advocating for continued support of the endowments. The letter was signed by 23 other senators, including two Republicans, while others, like Murkowski and Amodei, issued separate statements endorsing the endowments.

“We are heartened by the level of bipartisan support that members of Congress have shown for the NEH in recent years and in recent weeks,” Kidd told HuffPost.

After the embarrassing withdrawal of the Trump-backed legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act last month, which foundered due to a lack of Republican support, it’s clear that even with his party controlling both the House and the Senate, Trump may struggle to achieve much of his agenda. 

Signs from G.O.P. legislators continue to suggest that shuttering the NEA and NEH will remain an unlikely victory.

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Polar M430 running watch offers accuracy as well as actionable data

polar-m430You would not want to trust any other name apart from Polar when it comes to wearable sports and fitness technology, as the company has recently announced the latest exciting member of the Polar M family — the Polar M430. This particular device will arrive equipped with Polar’s proprietary wrist-based heart rate technology, in addition to integrated GPS, as well as personalized, adaptive training guidance, making it the ideal tool when it comes to runners who would want nothing but to achieve their personal best.

This particular design is also completely waterproof, where it comes with a lightweight, breathable wristband as well as vibration alerts that will be able to inform runners just the right moment when they are hitting their goals during training. Sounds like a dream fitness device to own, and the Polar M430 will soon be available for pre-order for $229/€229 apiece.

The Polar M430 has been deemed to offer the purest expression in terms of fitness data. Those who give a great deal of attention to accuracy would definitely find the Polar M430 to be the perfect tool on their wrist. It goes beyond the simple delivery of ‘dumb data’ which has more or less defined the sports watch category for years, as the Polar M430 tracks your biometrics in order to deliver a real-time view into how your body is reacting to exercise. With the Polar M430, you are able to figure out during a session as to whether you are on target to accomplish the training goal of the day.

Apart from that, the Polar M430 and Polar Flow will work to inform you of how the session benefited your overall training, in addition to how it will end up in expected race finish times, apart from the amount of time that you will require in order to recover before your next session.

Press Release
[ Polar M430 running watch offers accuracy as well as actionable data copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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