Top News: (2/7-2/13)
Here are the top stories from domestic news, world news, good news, and science and tech.
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All sources are at the end of the post.
2022 Super Bowl: Americans will bet an estimated $8B on Rams vs. Bengals:
Americans in line to wager bets (Getty Images)
Americans are estimated to bet $8 billion on this year’s Super Bowl between the Rams and Bengals, according to the American Gaming Association. This would nearly double the current record set by Superbowl LV at $4.3 billion. This $8 billion figure encompasses bets made online and in person and even includes both legal and illegal betting. According to CBS, this massive increase is largely a byproduct of increased legalization of gambling across the states. A total of 19 states have legalized sports betting since a 2018 Supreme Court decision decriminalized it at the federal level. The residents of New York state, which legalized sports betting in January, have already wagered over $1.6 billion, according to the state’s gaming commission. New Yorkers alone are expected to place $160 million on the outcome of Super Bowl LVI, which is still $15 million shy of Nevada’s $175 million. In total, according to the American Gaming Association, over 31 million Americans plan to place wagers on the game.
Canada trucker protest: Ottawa declares emergency:
Police keep a watchful eye on protesters in Ottawa on Sunday. REUTERS
Canadian truckers have been protesting against COVID-19 restrictions for over a week. The Mayor of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, has declared a state of emergency in response. The “Freedom Convoy” initially formed in response to a new rule which required that truckers must be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to cross the US-Canada border. They have since morphed into broader challenges against Covid-related health restrictions. The protesters are gathered in central Ottawa near Parliament Hill and are now demanding the end of such mandates nationwide. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has said that the protesters are becoming increasingly insensitive. Police said on Sunday that they will step up enforcement, which may include arrests of those who supply the protesters with basic necessities such as food. Ottawa residents have objected to the demonstrations with complaints ranging from obstruction of traffic to fears of potential violence.
80-Year-old Man Walks Through Blizzard to Rescue 3 Cars of People:
This still from a video taken by Shannon St. Onge shows the winter conditions she got stranded in Monday near Pense, Sask.(Shannon St. Onge)
A retiree rescuer hiked half a kilometer through a winter whiteout to reach a woman that had used social media to alert the local neighborhood that she was stuck and afraid for her safety. At 80-years old, Andre Bouvier Sr. is being hailed as a hero for rescuing not only the woman, but three other cars likewise stuck in an impassable blizzard which locals describe as a “Saskatchewan Screamer.” Shannon St. Onge, the woman who the retiree saved, was driving to the City of Regina to get a signature for a business check. It started to snow so she left the regular roads for a dirt one to get better traction, but she got lost. She first called 911 only to not have someone come for her for 14 hours. Stopping at a sign that gave her a location, she then went on Facebook groups as a last resort to signal those in the surrounding area for help. That’s when Andre Bouvier Sr., doing some at-home genealogy research, got a call about St. Onge’s situation and bundling up while ignoring his wife’s concern for his safety, the 80-year-old went out to find her, on foot, since he couldn’t manage to start his tractor. On the way he found three other stranded vehicles, totaling seven people, and walking the quarter-mile there and back, he led the helpless cars one by one to his home.
Climate hopes as scientists in the UK set fusion record:
File picture showing Prince Charles visiting the control room at the Joint European Torus (JET) experiment near Oxford, where scientists say they have broken a record for nuclear fusion.
Scientists in Britain announced Wednesday they had smashed a previous record for generating fusion energy, hailing it as a "milestone" on the path towards cheap, clean power and a cooler planet. A team at the Joint European Torus (JET) facility near Oxford in central England generated 59 megajoules of energy for five seconds during an experiment in December, more than doubling a 1997 record, the UK Atomic Energy Authority said. That is about the power needed to power 35,000 homes for the same period of time, five seconds, said JET's head of operations, Joe Milnes. The donut-shaped machine used for the experiments is called a tokamak, and the JET site is the largest operational one in the world. The machine itself superheats very small quantities of deuterium and tritium to create plasma. Then using magnets that spin around the device the materials are fused, creating a massive amount of energy. This process, unlike nuclear plants, is safe and Pound for pound (gram for gram) the device releases nearly four million times more energy than burning coal, oil, or gas.
Sources:
Canada trucker protest: Ottawa declares emergency - BBC News
80-Year-old Man Walks Through Blizzard to Rescue 3 Cars of People (goodnewsnetwork.org)
Climate hope as scientists in UK set fusion record (phys.org)