Sep 7, 2017

Houston may have sunk from Harvey rain

Charlie Riedel / AP

The rainfall from Hurricane Harvey may have caused Houston to sink by about 2 centimeters, according to Geophysicist Chris Milliner, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.

How it works: Water weighs one ton per cubic meter — that's about 275 trillion pounds from Harvey — and because the floodwaters were so widespread, the Earth's crust "flexed," according to GPS data, Milliner writes.
What's next: It will bounce back in an "opposite elastic response of the crust" since it should be a temporary drop, Milliner told the Houston Chronicle.
Go Deeper: There's already a sinking problem in Houston, per U.S. News & World Report.

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Sam Baker

8 mins ago - Health

Lessons from the lockdown — and what comes next

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

We are nowhere near finished with the coronavirus, but the next phases of our response will — if we do it right — be more targeted and risk-based than the sweeping national lockdown we’re now emerging from.

Why it matters: Our experience battling this new virus has taught us a lot about what does and doesn’t work. We’ll have to apply those lessons rigorously, and keep adapting, if we have any hope of containing the virus and limiting the number of deaths from here on out.

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Orion Rummler

Updated 26 mins ago - Politics & Policy

George Floyd protests: Unrest continues for 6th night across U.S.

A protest near the White House on Sunday night. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Most external lights at the White House were turned off late Sunday as the D.C. National Guard was deployed and authorities fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters nearby, per the New York Times.

What's happening: It's one of several tense, late-night standoffs between law enforcement and demonstrators in the United States over the death of George Floyd and other police-related killings of black people.

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Axios

Updated 27 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Photo Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Noam Galai, Jamie McCarthy, Josep Lago/AFP, Alfredo Estrella/AFP, and Narayan Maharjan/NurPhoto, all via Getty Images

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 5 a.m. ET: 6,181,781 — Total deaths: 372,136— Total recoveries — 2,646,874 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 5 a.m. ET: 1,790,191 — Total deaths: 104,383— Total recoveries: 444,758 — Total tested: 16,936,891 — Map.
Public health: Black Americans' competing crises — Coronavirus looms over George Floyd protests across the country.
2020: AIPAC conference in March 2021 canceled.
Economy: What U.S. workplaces may look like next — Both part of America's unfinished business — Future of mobility in post-pandemic world.
World: Former FDA commissioner says "this is not the time" to cut ties with WHO — White House sends 2 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to Brazil, 1,000 ventilators to come.

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