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Barcelona recorded its hottest month of June since records started over a century ago, Spain’s national weather service said on Tuesday as Europe remained in the grip of the first major heat wave this summer.The Fabra Observatory, located on a hill overlooking Barcelona, reported an average temperature of 26 degrees Celsius (78 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking records since 1914. The previous hottest average for June was 25.6 C in 2003.The same weather station said that a single-day high of 37.9 C (100 F) for June was recorded Monday, June 30.Barcelona is usually spared the worst heat in Spain, thanks to its location between hills and the Mediterranean in Spain’s northeastern corner. But most of the country has been gripped by the first heat wave of the year.Health warnings were in effect Tuesday in several European Union countries even as conditions began to improve in some parts of the region.Punishing temperatures were forecast to reach 40 C (104 F) in Paris and to stay unusually high in Belgium and the Netherlands. In contrast, temperatures were falling in Portugal, where no red heat warnings were issued.Spain saw a new high mark for June established on Saturday when 46 C (114F) was recorded in the southern province of Huelva, while Sunday’s national average of 28 C (82F) set a record for a high temperature for June 29 since records were started in 1950.“We are seeing these temperatures because we are experiencing a very intense heat wave that has come early in the summer and that is clearly linked to global warming,” Ramón Pascual, the regional delegate for Spain’s weather service in Barcelona, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. France suffocates In France, the national weather agency Météo-France placed several departments under the highest red alert, with the Paris region particularly hard hit.The heat wave, defined as consecutive days of very high temperature, is expected to intensify Tuesday with more than 1,300 schools set to be partially or fully closed, the Education Ministry said.Visitors to the Eiffel Tower without tickets were told to postpone their visits as the summit of the city’s landmark was closed until Thursday.Météo-France also warned of the heightened risk of wildfires due to the drought-stricken soil, compounded by a lack of rain in June and the recent surge in temperature.Climate experts warn that future summers are likely to be hotter than any recorded to date. By 2100, France could be up to 4 C (39 F) warmer, with temperatures exceeding 40 C expected every year and extreme heat spikes potentially reaching 50 C (122 F). According to Météo-France, the country may face a tenfold increase in the number of heat wave days by 2100. Man dies in Italy Farther south, 17 of Italy’s 27 major cities were experiencing a heat wave, according to the Health Ministry.There were torrential rains in Italy’s north on Monday and parts of Bardonecchia near Turin were covered in sludge after the Frejus river burst its banks. Near Bologna, one of the cities under a heat alert Tuesday, the 46-year-old owner of a construction company collapsed and died while repaving a school parking lot, state-run RAI reported.An autopsy was being conducted to determine the cause, but heat was suspected. The CGIL labor union said the death of the man, whom it identified as Ait El Hajjam Brahim, owner of Veneto Pavimenti SAS, showed the need for improved measures to protect construction workers from heat exposure. The Netherlands sweating An annual event in Amsterdam to commemorate the end of slavery in former Dutch colonies was moved forward to avoid the hottest part of the day and in the northern city of Groningen, organizers of an outdoor concert featuring veteran rocker Neil Young also took measures, including adding extra drinking water taps and providing free sunblock.The national weather institute issued an alert for extreme temperatures and smog in parts of the country and warned the eastern Netherlands that severe thunderstorms could break out on Wednesday as the hot weather ends. Portugal improving In Portugal, Lisbon was forecast to reach 33 C (91 F), typical for this time of the year, though some inland areas could still see peaks of 43 C (109 F), according to the national weather agency. June temperature records were broken in two locations in Portugal on June 29.The Portuguese weather service issued a statement Monday night confirming the highest single temperature ever recorded in mainland Portugal for the month of June at 46.6 C on June 29 in the town of Mora, west of Lisbon. The prior record was 44.9 C in 2017. Wilson reported from Barcelona. Jill Lawless in London, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, Mike Corder in The Netherlands and David Biller in Rome contributed to this report. Samuel Petrequin and Joseph Wilson, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Were used to seeing skateboarding legend Tony Hawk on wheels, but a new campaign has him discussing his time behind the wheel rather than on a board. Hawk, along with professional snowboarder Zeb Powell, are front in center in a new three-part campaign from CarGurus, an automotive research and shopping website. The campaign, called The Big Deal Show, comprises three parts, with Hawk and Powell starring in the first, discussing lifes biggest moments behind the wheel. The campaign was released on July 1 and directed by Paul Scheer. Subsequent parts, and their respective celebrity guests, will be released in the coming months. Additionally, CarGurus will be giving away three new Nissan vehicles through a sweepstakes on its website. The company says that in tandem with the release of each episode, a winner will be selected to receive a brand-new car (approximately $50,000 in value), along with funds to cover related expenses. As for what drew Hawk to the project? The answer, he tells Fast Company, is simple: He spends a lot of time in the car. A moment of zen I drive a lot, he says. I live in San Diego, and most of the work I do is in Los Angeles, and Im well-versed and run the gamut in terms of the cars I drive, Hawk says. He makes the roughly 120-mile trip between the two Southern Californian cities several times per week, and the time behind the wheel is something that he cherishes, as its often the only time he gets to find some zen, with a busy professional and personal life. Thats my zen time, my time to zone out and listen to music. Its really the only alone time I get in recent years, he says. So, when it comes to driving, the time on the road is something that he values. That may not be the case for every driver, of course, and almost all Americans do drive. The most recent data available from AAA, for instance, finds that more than 95% of U.S. residents age 16 or older are behind the wheel at least occasionally, and on average, spend more than an hour in the car each day. Given that, it makes sense that CarGurus would lean into the experiences of a well-known celebrity and athlete to showcase that the average American isnt alonewhich may make it a fairly effective campaign. Hawk, growing up, also says that he spent a lot of time on the road going on family trips, but also getting around for skateboard competitions. Driving, in that sense, has been something of a fundamental building block to who he is today, and he says that the act of being on the road itself can teach people a thing or two. You learn the value of patience and perseverance, much in the same way you learn to skateboard, Hawk says. He adds that theres also something important to get on the road, see whats between the cities, and open your eyes to new sights and cultures. So, while most people might think of their commute or a trip to the grocery store as a slog through traffic, Hawk takes a much more philosophical, high-minded approach, and urges others to try and do the same. And if he has a piece of advice for drivers, besides using CarGurus to find their next vehicle? Watch for distracted drivers, because they make it easier to merge. Theres always someone not paying attention, theyre on their phone, he says. So, seize the gap, use the space, and stay safe, and respectful behind the wheel.
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E-Commerce
The Senate is slogging through a tense overnight session that has dragged into Tuesday, with Republican leaders searching for ways to secure support for President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts while fending off proposed amendments, mostly from Democrats trying to defeat the package.An endgame appeared to be taking shape. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota spent the night reaching for last-minute agreements between those in his party worried the bill’s reductions to Medicaid will leave millions without care and his most conservative flank, which wants even steeper cuts to hold down deficits ballooning with the tax cuts.Vice President JD Vance arrived at the Capitol, on hand to break a tie vote if needed.It’s a pivotal moment for the Republicans, who have control of Congress and are racing to wrap up work with just days to go before Trump’s holiday deadline Friday. The 940-page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” as it’s formally titled, has consumed Congress as its shared priority with the president.At the same time House Speaker Mike Johnson has signaled more potential problems ahead, warning the Senate package could run into trouble when it is sent back to the House for a final round of voting, as skeptical lawmakers are being called back to Washington ahead of Trump’s Fourth of July deadline.In a midnight social media post urging them on, Trump called the bill “perhaps the greatest and most important of its kind.” Vice President JD Vance summed up his own series of posts, simply imploring senators to “Pass the bill.”What started as a routine, but laborious day of amendment voting, in a process called vote-a-rama, spiraled into an almost round-the-clock marathon as Republican leaders were buying time to shore up support.The droning roll calls in the chamber belied the frenzied action to steady the bill. Grim-faced scenes played out on and off the Senate floor, and tempers flared.The GOP leaders have no room to spare, with narrow majorities in both chambers. Thune can lose no more than three Republican senators, and already twoSen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who warns people will lose access to Medicaid health care, and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who opposes raising the debt limit by $5 trillionhave indicated opposition.Attention quickly turned to key senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who have also wroked to stem the the health care cuts, but also a loose coalition of four conservative GOP senators pushing for even steeper reductions.Murkowski in particular was the subject of the GOP leadership’s attention, as Thune and others sat beside her in conversation.Then all eyes were on Paul after he returned from a visit to Thune’s office with a stunning offer that could win his vote. He had suggested substantially lowering the debt ceiling, according to two people familiar with the private meeting and granted anonymity to discuss it.And on social media, billionaire Elon Musk was again lashing out at Republicans as “the PORKY PIG PARTY!!” for including the $5 trillion debt limit provision, which is needed to allow continued borrowing to pay the bills.Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said his side was working to show “how awful this is.”“Republicans are in shambles because they know the bill is so unpopular,” Schumer said as he walked the halls.A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law. The CBO said the package would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the decade. Senators insisting on changes Few Republicans appear fully satisfied as the final package emerges, in either the House or Senate.Collins had proposed bolstering the $25 billion proposed rural hospital fund to $50 billion, offset with a higher tax rate on those earning more than $25 million a year, but her amendment failed.And Murkowski was trying to secure provisions to spare people in her state from some food stamp cuts, which appeared to be accepted, while she was also working to beef up federal reimbursements to hospitals in Alaska and others states, that failed to comply with parliamentary rules.“Radio silence,” Murkowski said when asked how she would vote.At the same time, conservative Senate Republicans insisting on a vote on their plan for health care cuts, including Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, filed into Thune’s office for a near-midnight meeting.A few of the amendments from Democrats were winning support from a few Republicans, though almost none were passing.One amendment was overwhelmingly approved, 99-1. It would strip a provision barring states from regulating artificial intelligence if they receive certain federal funding. What’s in the big bill All told, the Senate bill includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, according to the latest CBO analysis, making permanent Trump’s 2017 rates, which would expire at the end of the year if Congress fails to act, while adding the new ones he campaigned on, including no taxes on tips.The Senate package would roll back billions of dollars in green energy tax credits, which Democrats warn will wipe out wind and solar investments nationwide. It would impose $1.2 trillion in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing work requirements on able-bodied people, including some parents and older Americans, making sign-up eligibility more stringent and changing federal reimbursements to states.Additionally, the bill would provide a $350 billion infusion for border and national security, including for deportations, some of it paid for with new fees charged to immigrants. Democrats fighting all day and night Unable to stop the march toward passage, the Democrats as the minority party in Congress are using the tools at their disposal to delay and drag out the process.Democrats forced a full reading of the text, which took 16 hours, and they have a stream of amendments.Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, raised particular concern at the start of debate late Sunday about the accounting method being used by the Republicans, which says the tax breaks from Trump’s first term are now “current policy” and the cost of extending them should not be counted toward deficits.She said that kind of “magic math” won’t fly with Americans trying to balance their own household books. Associated Press writers Ali Swenson, Fatima Hussein, Michelle L. Price, Kevin Freking, Matt Brown, Seung Min Kim and Chris Megerian contributed to his report. Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Matt Brown, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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