Computers around the world were locked up and users’ files held for ransom in a cyberattack Tuesday that paralyzed some hospitals, government offices and major multinational corporations.

Here’s a look at how malware and ransomware work and what people can do if they fall victim to attacks.

What is malware and ransomware?

Malware is a general term that refers to software that’s harmful to your computer, says John Villasenor, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Ransomware is a type of malware that essentially takes over a computer and prevents users from accessing data on it until a ransom is paid, he says.

How does your computer become infected with ransomware?

In most cases, the software infects computers through links or attachments in malicious messages known as phishing emails.

“The age-old advice is to never click on a link in an email,” said Jerome Segura, a senior malware intelligence researcher at Malwarebytes, a company based in San Jose, California, that has released anti-ransomware software. “The idea is to try to trick the victim into running a malicious piece of code.”

The software usually is hidden within links or attachments in emails. Once the user clicks on the link or opens the document, their computer is infected and the software takes over.

But some of the major ransomware attacks recently, including last month’s WannaCry and the one spreading Tuesday, borrowed leaked National Security Agency code that permits software to spread quickly within an organization’s network.

How ransomware works

“Ransomware, like the name suggests, is when your files are held for ransom,” said Peter Reiher, a UCLA professor who specializes in computer science and cybersecurity. “It finds all of your files and encrypts them and then leaves you a message. If you want to decrypt them, you have to pay.”

The ransomware encrypts data on the computer using an encryption key that only the attacker knows. If the ransom isn’t paid, the data is often lost forever.

When the ransomware takes over a computer, the attackers are pretty explicit in their demands, Segura says. In most cases, they change the wallpaper of the computer and give specific instructions telling the user how to pay to recover their files.

Most attackers demand $300 to $500 to remove the malicious ransomware; the price can double if the amount isn’t paid within 24 hours. The demand in Tuesday’s attack was $300 per computer, according to security researchers.

Law enforcement officials have discouraged people from paying these ransoms.

How to avoid these attacks

The first step is being cautious, experts say. Users should also look for malicious email messages that often masquerade as emails from companies or people you regularly interact with online. It’s important to avoid clicking on links or opening attachments in those messages, since they could unleash malware, Villasenor says.

But Villasenor says there is “no perfect solution” to the problem.

Users should regularly back up their data and ensure that security updates are installed on your computer as soon as they are released. Up-to-date backups make it possible to restore files without paying a ransom.

WannaCry and Tuesday’s attack exploited vulnerabilities in some versions of Microsoft Windows. Microsoft has released software patches for the security holes, although not everyone has installed those updates.

Even so, the new malware appears to have a backup spreading mechanism, so that even if some computers were patched, they can still be hit if one or more machines in a network weren’t patched.
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From: MeNeedIt

President Donald Trump on Tuesday hailed an energy revolution marked by surging U.S. exports of oil and natural gas.

Trump cited a series of steps the administration has taken to boost energy production and remove government regulations that he argues prevent the United States from achieving “energy dominance” in the global market.

“Together, we are going to start a new energy revolution — one that celebrates American production on American soil,” Trump said in a statement, adding that the U.S. is on the brink of becoming a net exporter of oil, gas and other energy resources.

The self-proclaimed “energy week” follows similar policy-themed weeks on infrastructure and jobs.

At the White House, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said the administration is confident officials can “pave the path toward U.S. energy dominance” by exporting oil, gas and coal to markets around the world, and promoting nuclear energy and even renewables such as wind and solar power.

“One of the things we want to do at [the Department of Energy] is to make nuclear energy cool again,” Perry said.

The focus on energy began at a meeting between Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with U.S. natural gas exports part of the discussion. Trump is expected to talk energy Wednesday with governors and tribal leaders, and he will deliver a speech Thursday at the Energy Department.

Arctic, Atlantic drilling

Trump signed an executive order in April to expand oil drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, reversing restrictions imposed by his predecessor, Barack Obama. Trump has also pushed to revive U.S. coal production after years of decline. Coal mining rose by 19 percent in the first five months of the year as the price of natural gas edged up, according to Energy Department data.

U.S. oil and gas production have boomed in recent years, primarily because of improved drilling techniques such as fracking that have opened up production in areas previously out of reach of drillers.

A report released in January by the Energy Information Administration said the country is on track to become a net energy exporter by 2026, although the White House said Tuesday that net exports could top imports as soon as 2020.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke also focused on energy as he addressed the Western Governors’ Association in his hometown of Whitefish, Montana.

Zinke said increased offshore drilling could provide more than enough revenue to offset an $11.5 billion maintenance backlog in national parks.

“There’s a consequence when you put 94 percent of our offshore off limits. There’s a consequence of not harvesting trees. There’s a consequence of not using some of our public lands for creation of wealth and jobs,” he said.

Despite Trump’s withdrawal from the global Paris climate accord, Perry said the U.S. remains committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. He called nuclear power a key element to fight climate change.
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From: MeNeedIt

When we’re buying groceries by weight, being a few grams off may not be a big deal. But we do expect the store scales to be calibrated to show the exact measure. The situation becomes more complicated when we want to know the exact measure of something weighing a hundred tons or more. VOA’s George Putic visited a lab that calibrates large-force instruments.
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From: MeNeedIt

President Donald Trump on Thursday will lay out his plan for reducing regulations to boost already-abundant U.S. production of oil, natural gas and coal and export it around the world, creating American jobs and helping allies.

Trump will deliver an address on his administration’s new mantra of “energy dominance” at the Energy Department, officials told reporters. They declined to give details on how he would tweak existing regulations that have not stopped a surge in exports.

“We’ve gone from the age of scarcity now to the age of abundance when it comes to American energy,” Mike Catanzaro, a White House energy policy aide, told reporters.

“We want to use those abundant resources for good here at home and for good abroad as well,” Catanzaro said.

Trump’s speech comes a week before he meets in Warsaw with leaders of a dozen central and eastern European nations who are eager to see more U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) in their markets as an alternative to Russian gas.

Trump is stopping at the summit on his way to the G20 in Hamburg, Germany, where he is expected to meet face-to-face for the first time in his presidency with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Shipments of LNG will play a big part in the “energy dominance” strategy, Energy Secretary Rick Perry told reporters, but so will exports of coal and U.S. technology that helps reduce emissions from coal-fired plants, he said.

Perry said he discussed the potential for U.S. coal exports to Ukraine with President Petro Poroshenko during his visit to Washington last week.

The Trump administration believes in an “all-of-the-above” approach to energy, Perry said – borrowing the energy catch-phrase of the Obama administration.

U.S. domestic energy prices have plunged in recent years because of the natural gas boom, crowding out competing sources of power, including coal and nuclear. Dozens of nuclear power reactors are in danger of shutting down over the next several years as a result.

The Trump administration wants to make sure the United States remains “technologically and economically engaged” in the nuclear industry, Perry said. “If we do not, then China and Russia will fill that void,” he said.

But he said the administration would not be “wildly supportive” of subsidizing any sectors of the energy industry.

Perry said energy supports in the tax code would be examined as the administration and Congress look at tax reform later this year.

“I think we’ll have a good healthy conversation about the energy sector and tax incentives, subsidies – all of that needs to be on the table and we need to have a conversation about it,” Perry said.
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From: MeNeedIt

Each spring and summer, a Vermont bog yields a rare spectacle — hundreds of wild orchids in bloom, drawing visitors from around the country.

The bulbous pink and white showy lady’s slippers (Cypripedium reginae) are on full display among the ferns, bushes and chirping birds at Eshqua Bog in Hartland.

This particular orchid, considered rare in Vermont and a number of other states and different from the more common pink lady’s slipper, thrives in Eshqua, because of the wet, sunny conditions, with soils containing peat and lime.

Mary English drove about an hour from Landgrove, Vermont, to see the orchids on Thursday. When she arrived, she had the bog to herself.

“I just wandered through by myself. It was very special. It’s like being in a South American country,” she said.

A boardwalk allows visitors of all ages and abilities access to the bog and an up-close look at the plants.

“Gosh, aren’t they beautiful?” said Heather Crawley, of Maryville, Tennessee, as she studiously photographed the orchids with a special lens on Thursday. “To think it’s natural, too.”

Visitors can also walk a half-mile trail.

The area is technically a fen because it’s less acidic than a bog and fed by groundwater containing nutrients like calcium and magnesium from the area bedrock, according to the Nature Conservancy, which owns and manages the preserve along with the New England Wild Flower Society. The sanctuary includes an 8-acre (3.2-hectare) wetland and 33 surrounding acres (13.4 hectares).

Other orchids also bloom, like yellow lady’s slipper in late May and early June and the white bog orchid around now.

The lime-rich groundwater also helps to yield pitcher plants, insectivorous sundew and other plants.

But the orchids are typically the main show for visitors.

“The orchids love it at Eshqua, and people love to see the orchids,” said Rose Paul, of the Nature Conservancy.
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From: MeNeedIt

More than 75 people, mostly young children, have gotten measles in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Nearly all were unvaccinated.

Measles is one of the most highly contagious diseases that exists. All it takes is a sneeze or a cough to spread the virus in tiny droplets through the air.

One person can infect up to 18 others. Each one of those people infects another dozen or so people, and it spreads from there.

Ninety percent of those exposed will get the virus, unless they have been vaccinated or have already had measles.

The measles virus can linger on doorknobs, tables, any surface for up to two hours. Touch it and you’re exposed.

‘Not a trivial disease’

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, says, “Measles is not a trivial disease. If you have a measles outbreak, a proportion of people are going to have serious complications.”

The complications can be as serious as permanent brain damage. It can leave a child blind or deaf. Measles also kills.

Dr. Peter Hotez is a professor at Baylor College of Medicine. He’s also the director of Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development.

Hotez told VOA, “In the pre-vaccine era, we had about 500 kids die of measles every year in the U.S. and 50,000 hospitalizations.”

And that’s not all. Dr. Flavia Bustreo at the World Health Organization says measles can have lingering consequences.

“Measles can lead to pneumonia, and a reduction in immune function for some time after the infection, so the child becomes weaker and more susceptible to other infections,” Bustreo said.

The U.S. was declared measles free in 2000. Last year the World Health Organization declared the Americas measles free. This came after a 22-year campaign to eradicate this disease in both North and South America. The achievement was considered a historic milestone.

International hub

So, why, you could ask, have more than 75 people, mostly children, gotten measles in the Midwestern state of Minnesota?

All cases of measles in the Americas are imported. In Minnesota, the outbreak started among the Somali-American community and spread because this group had low vaccination rates for measles.

Minneapolis is an international hub where people arrive from countries around the world. As of now, no one knows the identity of the first patient with measles, whether it was someone visiting from abroad or if an unvaccinated American brought the disease home after traveling overseas.

Like most pediatricians in the U.S., Dr. Hope Scott counts herself lucky to have never seen a case of measles. “The kids who get measles are really, really sick. It’s a pretty big deal to get measles,” she says.

The first signs of measles are a runny nose, cough and a fever followed by a blotchy rash that starts on the face and then spreads all over the body. Once the rash appears, the fever spikes.

An infected person can spread the virus to others about four days before the rash appears and for about four more days afterward.

Hospitalizations

About a third of the children who have acquired measles in Minnesota have been hospitalized. There is no treatment that can get rid of a measles infection, but doctors can treat the symptoms.

Patsy Stinchfield, a nurse practitioner who’s overseeing care at Children’s Minnesota, where these children have been treated, says they are exhausted and dehydrated when they arrive. But, she told VOA, that so far none of the children has suffered any complications.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has asked doctors to work with parents who are reluctant to get their children vaccinated.

Reston Town Center Pediatrics in Virginia allows parents to set up a delayed vaccine schedule for their children, to a point.

Scott says the practice will work with the parents until the child is about 2 years old. Then, if the child is not vaccinated and the parents don’t have a plan to do so, Scott said the office sends them a letter saying their children can no longer be treated at the practice.

Measles is not just a childhood disease. Adults can get it, too, and adults are also at risk for complications. 

The best protection is to get two doses of the measles vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children get the first dose after their first birthday and the second when they are 4 to 6 years old. The two doses together provide 97 percent protection against measles.

Stinchfield said Children’s Minnesota has a walk-in clinic for measles vaccinations. She said before the outbreak, about 500 children would get vaccinated against the virus in a week. Since the outbreak, 3,000 people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds get vaccinated each week.
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From: MeNeedIt

More than 75 people, mostly young children, have gotten measles in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Nearly all were unvaccinated. The same is true in every other country worldwide. That’s why pediatricians and public health doctors want every child to get vaccinated against this virus. VOA’s Carol Pearson takes a look at measles to find out why.
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From: MeNeedIt

Opera has been popping up recently at the most unlikely New York places: a revamped garage, a dive bar, a basketball court and even an old aircraft carrier.

It’s part of a festival with an in-your-face goal – to bring this once grandiose art form to ordinary places where people hang out.

The New York Opera Fest 2017 that ends in late June has drawn casual, but curious, spectators, some of whom may never have gone to an expensive production in a plush theater.

On Saturday, composer Darius Milhaud’s “The Guilty Mother” got its U.S. premiere in the onetime garage on Manhattan’s West Side – a story rife with adultery and intrigue.

The more than 30 festival spectacles included a Brooklyn basketball court that hosted a hip-hop opera called “Bounce,” with a group of public school kids participating. Children also were invited, free of charge, to Public School 129 in Harlem for a playground performance last week of Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love.” The kids helped create the production, from designing the costumes to singing in the chorus.

Excerpts from Bizet’s “Carmen” were heard in a bar called Freddy’s in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, under a beer-stained wall.

And Mozart melodies floated through a lush community garden on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for the composer’s “La Finta Giardiniera,” a free performance in which a noblewoman poses as a simple gardener while caught up in her own romantic twists and turns.

In Harlem, the Baylander, a decommissioned aircraft carrier, was the stage for Tom Cipullo’s “Glory Denied,” which dives into the struggles of an American prisoner of war in Vietnam.

The festival serves to counter the shrinking audiences for the formal grand opera tradition. Organizers say that experimenting with new ways of presenting it to spectators of all ages has pumped fresh blood into this still great musical theater.

The festival, starting in May, brought together a group of small, innovative companies experts say are the cutting-edge future of the classical arts.
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From: MeNeedIt

The global economy has picked up and prospects for the next few months are the best in a long time.

But the recovery is maturing and faces risks from populist rejection of free trade and from high debt that could burden consumers and companies as interest rates rise.

Those were key takeaways from a review of the global economy released Sunday by the Bank for International Settlements, an international organization for central banks based in Basel, Switzerland.

The report said that “the global economy’s performance has improved considerably and that its near-term prospects appear the best in a long time.” Global growth should reach 3.5 percent this year, according to a summary of forecasts, not quite what it was before the Great Recession but in line with long-term averages. Meanwhile, financial markets for stocks and bonds have been unusually buoyant and steady.

On top of that, forecasts by governments and international organizations as well as by private analysts point to “further gradual improvement” in coming months.

Key risks include a possible weakening of consumer spending across different economies. So far, the recovery has been largely fueled by people being willing and able to spend more. But that trend could fall victim to higher levels of debt as interest rates rise in some countries and as the amount people need to spend to service their debts takes a bigger chunk of income.

Countries that were slammed by collapsing real estate markets during the Great Recession seem less vulnerable now, such as the United States, the U.K., and Spain. But debt burdens are more worrisome in a range of other countries mentioned in the report, including China, Australia and Norway.

Another risk comes from weak business investment, typically the second stage of recovery after consumers start spending more; yet that kind of spending has lagged its pre-recession levels for reasons that aren’t always clear to economists.

The BIS urged governments around the world to take advantage of the economic recovery as an opportunity to make growth more resistant to trouble by implementing pro-business and pro-growth measures.

In particular, the report warned against a backlash against globalization, saying that trade and interconnected financial markets had led to higher standards of living and lifted large parts of the world’s population out of poverty. It called for domestic policies to address inequality and lost jobs, saying that changing technology was often to blame, not free trade. “Attempts to roll back globalization would be the wrong response to these challenges,” it said.

 
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From: MeNeedIt

Chief lieutenants in the Koch brothers’ political network lashed out at the Senate Republican health care bill on Saturday, becoming a powerful outside critic as GOP leaders try to rally support for their plan among rank-and-file Republicans.

“This Senate bill needs to get better,” said Tim Phillips, who leads Americans for Prosperity, the Koch network’s political arm. “It has to get better.”

Phillips called the Senate’s plans for Medicaid “a slight nip and tuck” over President Barack Obama’s health care law, a modest change he described as “immoral.”

The comments came on the first day of a three-day private donor retreat at a luxury resort in the Rocky Mountains. Invitations were extended only to donors who promise to give at least $100,000 each year to the various groups backed by the Koch brothers’ Freedom Partners — a network of education, policy and political entities that aim to promote small government.

No outside group has been move aggressive over the yearslong push to repeal Obama’s health care law than that of the Kochs, who vowed on Saturday to spend another 10 years fighting to change the health care system if necessary. The Koch network has often displayed a willingness to take on Republicans — including President Donald Trump — when their policies aren’t deemed conservative enough.

Big-budget push

Network spokesman James Davis said the organization would continue to push for changes to the Senate health care bill over the coming week.

“At the end of the day, this bill is not going to fix health care,” Davis declared.

The network’s wishes are backed by a massive political budget that will be used to take on Republican lawmakers, if necessary, Phillips said.

He described the organization’s budget for policy and politics heading into the 2018 midterm elections as between $300 million and $400 million. “We believe we’re headed to the high end of that range,” he said.

On Friday, Nevada Republican Dean Heller became the fifth GOP senator to declare his opposition to the Senate health care proposal. Echoing the other four, Heller said he opposed the measure “in this form” but did not rule out backing a version that was changed to his liking.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, has said he’s willing to alter the measure to attract support, and promised plenty of backroom bargaining as he tries pushing a final package through his chamber next week.

Republican leaders have scant margin for error. Facing unanimous Democratic opposition, McConnell can afford to lose just two of the 52 GOP senators and still prevail.

At least two of the current opponents, Utah Senator Mike Lee and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, were among 18 elected officials scheduled to attend the Koch donor conference.

The Senate measure resembles legislation the House approved last month that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said would mean 23 million additional uninsured people within a decade and that recent polling shows is viewed favorably by only around 1 in 4 Americans.

Meeting with Pence

Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch and his chief lieutenants met privately with Vice President Mike Pence for nearly an hour Friday. Pence, a longtime Koch ally, was in Colorado Springs to address a gathering of religious conservatives.

Phillips said it was “a cordial discussion” about policy.

Also Saturday, retired football star Deion Sanders announced plans to partner with the Kochs to help fight poverty in Dallas.

The unlikely partnership aims to raise $21 million over the next three years to fund anti-poverty programs in the city where Sanders once played football. The outspoken athlete also defended Koch, who is often demonized by Democrats, as someone simply “trying to make the world a better place.”

“I’m happy where I am and who I’m with because we share a lot of the same values and goals,” Sanders said when asked if he’d be willing to partner with organizations on the left.
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From: MeNeedIt

A North Korean Taekwondo demonstration team visiting South Korea could present a way forward to reduce tensions by using sports to reestablish a channel of dialogue and cooperation.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was on hand for the opening of the World Taekwondo Championship being held in Muju, South Korea where he welcomed the first inter-Korean taekwondo exchange in a decade.

“I believe in power of sports which has been creating peace. I am pleased that the first sports exchange cooperation between two Koreas of this new government has been accomplished through this event,” said President Moon.

The recently elected progressive South Korean leader advocates balancing international economic sanctions imposed on the Kim Jong Un government in the North for its continued nuclear and missile provocations, with non-political outreach, including sports diplomacy, to build trust and facilitate communication.

Taekwondo divide

The World Taekwondo championship being held over the next several days is the largest competition of the sport to be held, with 973 athletes participating from 183 different countries.

Taekwondo is a relatively modern sport based on ancient Korean martial arts that gained prominence in the decades after the division of the Korean Peninsula at the end of World War II. Its development has been complicated by the bitter rivalry between the communist North and capitalist South.

The two Koreas support competing federations that teach different martial arts techniques and developed different competition rules.

The event in Muju is being organized by the South Korean dominated World Taekwondo (recently rebranded from the World Taekwondo Federation — WTF) that emphasizes fast kicks. The federation was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the official governing body for taekwondo after the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and became an official medal sport in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

The 32 North Korean athletes attending the competition in South Korea this week are affiliated with the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) that is combat training focused and allows more direct contact including punches to the head and face.  ITF athletes generally have not competed in the World Taekwondo Championship or the Olympics because their fighting styles are incompatible.

“It is quite different sports-wise because in ITF sparring lots of punching are allowed, including punches to the face, whereas in the World Taekwondo sparring punches to the face are not allowed and that is a very different strategy,” said Sanku Lewis one of the few ITF martial arts instructors living in Seoul.

At this time there are no plans for the two federations to merge according to World Taekwondo officials.

The 32 members of the North Korean team performed a taekwondo exhibition at the opening ceremony of the championship on Saturday, but the ITF canceled a press conference with North Korean officials.  

Choue Chung-won, director of the World Taekwondo, said the North Koreans will stay for the duration of the games.

“They are going to perform again in the closing ceremony so we are going to have a lot of time and chance to have a chat with them to learn more details about the future exchange programs,” he said.

Sports diplomacy

Pyongyang has so far rejected offers of humanitarian aid and request for a reunion of families separated by the division of Korea.

This inter-Korean sports exchange is a small breakthrough that analysts say could open the door to further cooperation.

“While North Korea is not (completely) ready, I think (the North Korean team) is coming to send a message that it is at least willing to try to improve inter-Korean relations,” said Ahn Chan-il, the head of World Institute for North Korean studies.

Chang Ung, a North Korean member of the IOC and Do Jong-hwan, the new South Korean Sports Minister both came to Muju for the opening of the taekwondo championships. They are expected to discuss North Korea’s possible participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The South Korean sports minister has proposed forming a joint women’s ice hockey team as a show of Korean unity.  

President Moon says he hopes North Korea will not only come to the Olympics next year but he also suggested the two Koreas jointly bid to host the 2030 World Cup.

“If the North Korean team participates in PyeongChang Winter Olympics, I think it will greatly contribute to realize the harmony of mankind and improvement of peace in the world which are the value of Olympics,” Moon said at the taekwondo championship.

In the United States, public anger at the repressive Kim Jong Un state has increased following the recent tragic death of Otto Warmbier, an American student who was arrested in North Korea and remained in custody for over a year, despite suffering a serious injury that sent him into a coma.

But in South Korea public support for engagement with North Korea is increasing.  

Over 70 percent of South Koreans support reestablishing dialogue channels with North Korea according to a recent survey by the National Unification Advisory Council.

Youmi Kim contributed to this report.
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From: MeNeedIt

A deadly heat wave that has claimed at least six lives in parts of the American Southwest continues.

While temperatures cooled off Friday in Los Angeles, residents are bracing for a long, hot summer.

Planes were grounded for a time in Phoenix earlier this week, as temperatures in parts of the U.S. Southwest soared to 45 degrees Celsius and higher, from Tucson, Arizona, to Palm Springs, California.

Cooling stations, community centers

People have tried their best to stay cool, using community cooling stations in parks and community centers throughout the region.

An air-conditioned senior center in the Los Angeles suburb of Canoga Park offered companionship and relief from the heat.

Four women relaxed over a game of dominoes, while in another part of the center, a dozen women kept active in a tap-dancing class.

They are fine indoors, center director Karin Haseltine said, but she warned too much activity outside on hot days could be hazardous for both seniors and young children.

Haseltine said many seniors also worry about the cost of air-conditioning. 

“They can’t turn it on because the bill is so expensive,” she said.

Inside the center, where it is cool, seniors were staying active, taking tap dancing classes and doing yoga.

Deaths blamed on heat

Scattered fires have burned throughout the West, and several deaths in Nevada, Arizona and California have been blamed on intense heat.

Animals are in danger, too.

Zoo workers have been hosing down the elephants at the Phoenix Zoo. Authorities also warn parents and pet owners not to leave animals or children in cars, where temperatures can quickly soar to deadly levels.

At an air-conditioned center in Los Angeles, senior volunteer Rosalie said people are making the best of being indoors.

“The don’t have to worry about being uncomfortable, getting ill,” she said, and can have lunch and activities with friends.

Others are doing what they can to stay cool outdoors, from lounging in the shade to splashing in public fountains.

Makeshift hydration stations are offering bottled water. Near-record-high temperatures are expected through early next week, and people say they are prepared for more heat this summer.
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From: MeNeedIt