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Weather
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Almanac
Macon Calendar
Local and StateNews
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
Science and Technology
On This Day
Support Macon Media
OUTLOOK
A low pressure system and associated cold front will bring widespread rain to the area Thursday into Thursday night. Another high pressure system builds in for the weekend and into Monday. Low pressure from Texas is expected to bring more rain Monday night and Tuesday. A slow moving front will give our area rain through much of the week.
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Local Weather
General Forecast Through Tuesday Night
Franklin Area
Today
Showers likely, mainly after 2pm. Patchy fog between 9am and 10am. Otherwise, cloudy, with highs in the mid 60s. Winds out of the south 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph in the lower elevations and up to 40 mph in the higher elevations. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 3am, then a chance of showers. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog between midnight and 2am. Lows around 40. Winds out of the south 10 to 15 mph shifting to come out of the northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Chance of rain is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with highs in the lower 50s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night
Clear, with lows in the mid 20s. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph becoming calm before midnight.
Saturday
Sunny, with highs in the mid 50s.
Saturday Night
Clear, with lows in the mid 20s.
Highlands Plateau
Today
Showers, mainly after 10am. Areas of fog before 5pm. Highs in the mid 50s. Winds out of the south 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Tonight
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 3am, then a chance of showers. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog before 7pm. Lows around 40. Winds out of the south 15 to 25 mph becoming shifting to come out of the northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph. Chance of rain is 90%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 40s. Winds out og the northwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Friday Night
Clear, with lows in the mid 20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Saturday
Sunny, with highs in the upper 40s.
Saturday Night Clear, with lows in the mid 20s.
Otto and South Central Macon County
Today
Showers likely, mainly after 1pm. Patchy fog before 1pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with highs in the lower 60s. Winds out of the south 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of rain is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Tonight
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 3am, then a chance of showers. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog between midnight and 2am. Lows around 40. Winds out of the south 10 to 20 mph shifting to come out of the northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of rain is 90%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with highs in the lower 50s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night
Clear, with lows in the mid 20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday
Sunny, with highs in the mid 50s.
Saturday Night
Clear, with lows in the upper 20s.
Nantahala Area
Today
Showers likely, mainly after 4pm. Cloudy, with highs near 60. Winds out fo the south 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 3am, then a chance of showers. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Lows in the mid-to-upper 30s. WInds out of the south 10 to 20 mph shifting to come out of the northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of rain is 90%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
Friday
Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night
Clear, with lows in the mid 20s. Winds out of the northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm before midnight.
Saturday
Sunny, with highs in the upper 40s.
Saturday Night
Clear, with lows around 30.
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Hazards and Tropical Weather
Widespread showers and embedded thunderstorms will cross the region Thursday evening through Thursday night. Isolated flooding will be possible, especially in locations near the border between North Carolina, South Carolina, and northeast Georgia, and also along the upper reaches of the French Broad River. The storms may also pose a threat of isolated damaging wind gusts.
Overview of Hazards and Timing
▪ A cold front will bring widespread showers and a few embedded thunderstorms across the area between this afternoon and early Friday.
▪ The main threat will be heavy rain causing localized flooding.
▪ A few severe storms, producing locally damaging wind gusts, are not out of
the question this evening or very early Friday morning.
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Almanac
Air quality is in the lower range of yellow for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the lower upper range of yellow due to smoke from several fires in the southeast.
Fire and Smoke Map
Local Air Monitor
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium range (6.7 out of 12) today with Juniper, Elm, and Alder being the main culprit. Tomorrow is expected to be in the low-medium range (3.0 out of 12).
Record Weather Events for February 17th
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 74°F in Highlands in 1927
Lowest Temperature -9°F in Highlands in in 1958
Greatest One-Day Rain 2.83 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1995
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 3.0 inches in Highlands in 1896
Record weather events for January in Macon County
Highest Temperature 79°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 02-28-1996
Lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands on 02-13-1899
Greatest Rainfall 6.37 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 02-13-1966
Greatest Snowfall 15.0 inches in Highlands on 02-14-1912
All-time record weather events for Macon County
Highest Temperature 101°F in Franklin on Jul 29, 1952
Lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands on Jan 21, 1985
Greatest Rainfall 21.15 inches in Highlands on Jul 29, 1879
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 25.5 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on Mar 13, 1993
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Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)
THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
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Local and State News
• Macon firefighter injured on fire line [The Smoky Mountain News]
• Former judges chosen to review new election maps in NC redistricting case [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
• NC House approves new legislative districts, but congressional map still being drawn [Raleigh News and Observer]
• News 13 Investigates: Gerrymandering in North Carolina [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• North Carolina GOP's latest map proposals are less lopsided [Asheville Citizen-Times]
• Macon County Board of Commissioners - January 2022 Regular Meeting [Macon Media]
Franklin Town Council - January 2022 Regular Meeting
Asheville Citizen-Times COVID-19 Tracker [Asheville Citizen-Times]
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National and World News Roundup
• Russian aircraft buzz US Navy patrol planes, get within 5 feet, Pentagon says [Yahoo! News]
• Russia is still building up troops near Ukraine, say U.S. and NATO [Reuters]
• Ukraine Tensions Spike as West Accuses Russia of Lying About Troop Withdrawal [New York Times]
• Judge rejects Oregon’s effort to dismiss First Amendment action by Courthouse News [Courthouse News Service]
• US and Iranian officials suggest nuclear talks nearing conclusion [A l Jazeera]
• What is the Government Doing With Billions of Pounds of Cheese? [The Takeout]
• Man sentenced to probation in US Capitol attack after revealing he lost his job and now delivers pizza [CNN]
• U.S. detects highly lethal bird flu in Tyson Foods chickens [Reuters]
• Petrópolis: Deadly landslides wreak havoc in Brazilian city [BBC News]
• Biden orders release of Trump White House logs to Congress [AP News]
• Midland Police arrest coaches, administrators at Midland Christian School for failure to report sexual assault [KWES-TV (Odessa, TX)(]
• Conflicts to Watch in 2022 [Council on Foreign Relations]
Morning Invest: 48 Hours Until War? Russia and Ukraine on the brink
Global National: Feb. 16, 2022 | Ottawa police issue warnings for protesters to leave or face arrest
NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast - February 16th, 2021
PBS NewsHour Full Episode February 16th, 2021
Back to Top
COVID-19 News and Updates
Since it looks like we may be in for a new wave of infections, here is a section on COVID-19. It will include local, regional, state, national, and global items.
COVID-19 Numbers for Macon County: [November 18, 2021]
• WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard [World Health Organization]
Globally, as of 5:13pm CET, 10 February 2022, there have been 402,044,502 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,770,023 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 7 February 2022, a total of 10,095,615,243 vaccine doses have been administered.
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 5:13pm CET, 10 February 2022, there have been 76,448,067 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 902,189 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 4 February 2022, a total of 527,784,089 vaccine doses have been administered.
TWiV 867: I love the smell of vaccines in the morning
TWiV reviews an experimental, intranasally administered SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that utilizes adenovirus vectors to deliver three viral proteins and induces immunity to ancestral and variant isolates.
Show notes at [Microbe TV]
• OKC hospital tightens security, locks down ICU after 'online attacks' over COVID-19 patient [The Oklahoman]
• Risks of mental health outcomes in people with covid-19: cohort study [The British Medical Journal]
• COVID-19 patients face higher risk of brain fog and depression, even 1 year after infection [Science]
• U.S. ‘excess deaths’ during pandemic surpassed 1 million, with covid killing most but other diseases adding to the toll, CDC says [Washington Post]
• Experimental infection of mink with SARS-COV-2 Omicron (BA.1) variant leads to symptomatic disease with lung pathology and transmission [BioRxiv (PDF)]
• ‘Capitalizing on skepticism’: How the coronavirus has exposed us once again [The Seattle Times]
• Monitoring COVID-19
• COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs Part I [Reddit]
• COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs Part II [Reddit]
[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
[Outbreak.info]
• CDC Releases Emergency Guidance for Healthcare Facilities to Prepare for Potential Omicron Surge [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
• COVID-19 case rates by county in 2021 [AXIOS]
Back to Top
Science and Technology News Roundup
• Google plans privacy change similar to Apple’s, which wiped $230 billion off Facebook’s market cap [CNBC]
• The Hummer EV’s battery weighs more than a Honda Civic [The Verge]
• WeatherBrains 839: Broomstacking [WeatherBrains Podcast]
• AMD's Market Cap Surpasses Intel for the First Time in History [Tom's Hardware]
• Singapore is opening the doors to Southeast Asian tech expansion [Tech in Asia]
• 74% of ransomware revenue goes to Russia-linked hackers [BBC News]
• Massive cyberattack takes Ukraine military, big bank websites offline [The Register]
• See how NASA seals a large satellite inside a rocket fairing [Digital Trends]
• Inside Facebook's African Sweatshop [Time]
• Scientists accidentally stumble on ‘holy grail’ of batteries for electric vehicles [UK Independent]
• ViacomCBS Rebrands As Paramount, Highlights Star Trek And Global Streaming Expansion [Trek Movie]
Podcasts and Long Form Videos
Anything from educational, entertainment, history, current events and technology
Is The Wave Function The Building Block of Reality?
The Most Powerful Continuous Magnets Yet Made
The evolution of SpaceTuber Scott Manley
Android 13... Already? - Developing Android Auto, UI theming rules, Galaxy S22 Ultra, Tab S8 Ultra
The Openseas Are Choppy - DTNS 4214
Ship 20 Cryo Proof Tested | SpaceX Boca Chica
The Voltron of Terrible - Android Privacy Sandbox, EARN IT mistakes, Spotify's big buys, Metamates
Neri Oxman | Nature x Humanity
Steaming Up About Linux Gaming | Linux Out Loud 01
Hardcore History Addendum: EP19 Asymmetrical Perspectives
Wargames as Historical Data
Back to Top
On This Day
February 17th is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 317 days remain until the end of the year (318 in leap years).
Historical Events
(Please note that the Wikipedia articles often contain a bibliography and links to where you can learn more about a historical event)
1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
1500 – Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
1600 – On his way to be burned at the stake for heresy, at Campo de' Fiori in Rome, the philosopher Giordano Bruno has a wooden vise put on his tongue to prevent him continuing to speak.
1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first military commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
1676 – Sixteen men of Pascual de Iriate's expedition are lost at Evangelistas Islets at the western end of the Strait of Magellan.
1739 – The Battle of Vasai commences as the Marathas move to invade Portuguese-occupied territory.
1753 – In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
1801 – 1800 United States presidential election: An tie in the Electoral College between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr, Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormant.
1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
1838 – Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
1854 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
1859 – Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captures the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress manned by 1,000 Nguyá»…n dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.
1863 – A group of citizens of Geneva found an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1864 – American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
1867 – The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
1871 – The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
1919 – The Ukrainian People's Republic asks the Entente and the US for help fighting the Bolsheviks.
1944 – World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins: U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan's main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
1949 – Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
1959 – A Turkish Airlines Vickers Viscount crashes near Gatwick Airport, killing 14; Turkish prime minister Adnan Menderes survives the crash.
1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
1964 РGabonese president L̩on M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
1969 – American aquanaut Berry L. Cannon dies of carbon dioxide poisoning while attempting to repair a leak in the SEALAB III underwater habitat. The SEALAB project was subsequently abandoned.
1972 – Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.
1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
1978 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30 others, all Protestants.
1979 – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
1980 – First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.
1991 – Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 crashes during takeoff from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, killing both pilots, the aircraft's only occupants.
1992 – First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.
1995 – The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.
1996 – In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
1996 – NASA's Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
1996 – The 8.2 Mw Biak earthquake shakes the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed, leaving one-hundred sixty-six people dead or missing and 423 injured.
2006 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
2008 – Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
2011 – Arab Spring: Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi's regime begin.
2011 – Arab Spring: In Bahrain, security forces launch a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama; the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.
2015 – Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti.
2016 – Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.
2019 –Protests continue by thousands in streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, against government corruption and inflation
2021 –South Africa, Africa's worst-affected country begins COVID-19 vaccinations with the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Cape Town
2021 –Texan senator Ted Cruz flies to Cancun, Mexico with his family amid a winter disaster in his state, igniting widespread condemnation
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Published at 5:00am on Thursday, February 17, 2021
Author: Bobby Coggins
Resources used to compile the information in this article include, but are not limited to the following websites or books: MaconMedia.com, youtube.com, weather.gov, airnow.gov, wikipedia.com, onthisday.com, ncdcr.gov, ncsu.edu, utah.edu, https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/, wolfram.com, biorxiv.org, aps.org, nejm.org, plos.org, cell.com, researchsquare.com, cureus.com, spc.noaa.gov, nhc.noaa.gov, ncdenr.org, medrxiv.org, archive.org, ncpedia.org, nasa.gov, https://ww2days.com, nih.gov, carolinapublicpress.org, microbe.tv, smokymountainnews.com, psypost.org, blogspot.com, pollen.com, franklinnc.com, maconnc.org, spaceweather.com, solarham.com, loc.gov, ncleg.net, senate.gov, house.gov, whitehouse.gov, drudgereport.com, politico.com, realclearpolitics.com, ushmm.org, This Day in North Carolina History, World War II Day By Day, The Holocaust Encyclopedia, The Timetables of History, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The World History and Book of Facts (multiple years), On This Day In History: Over 4,000 facts, The NASA Archives. 60 Years in Space, This Day in North Carolina History, The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration: From the Ancient World to the Extraterrestrial Future, Spaceflight, 2nd Edition: The Complete Story from Sputnik to Curiousity, The Story of Civilization (11 volumes), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, American History, Volume 1: 1492-1877, American History, Volume 2: 1877 - Present, A Complete Chronolgy of the Second World War. Weather and Almanac data and information sources: Sources (except where otherwise credited): heavens-above.com, Ian Webster's Github, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, The National Weather Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, National Hurricane Center, Penn State University Electronic Wall Map, The State Climate Office of North Carolina, Storm Prediction Center, U.S. Naval Observatory, University of Utah Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and the Weather Prediction Center. Back to Top
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Almanac
Air quality is in the lower range of yellow for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the lower upper range of yellow due to smoke from several fires in the southeast.
Fire and Smoke Map
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium range (6.7 out of 12) today with Juniper, Elm, and Alder being the main culprit. Tomorrow is expected to be in the low-medium range (3.0 out of 12).
Record Weather Events for February 17th
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 74°F in Highlands in 1927
Lowest Temperature -9°F in Highlands in in 1958
Greatest One-Day Rain 2.83 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1995
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 3.0 inches in Highlands in 1896
Record weather events for January in Macon County
Highest Temperature 79°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 02-28-1996
Lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands on 02-13-1899
Greatest Rainfall 6.37 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 02-13-1966
Greatest Snowfall 15.0 inches in Highlands on 02-14-1912
All-time record weather events for Macon County
Highest Temperature 101°F in Franklin on Jul 29, 1952
Lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands on Jan 21, 1985
Greatest Rainfall 21.15 inches in Highlands on Jul 29, 1879
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 25.5 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on Mar 13, 1993
Back to Top
Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)
THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
Back to Top
Local and State News
• Macon firefighter injured on fire line [The Smoky Mountain News]
• Former judges chosen to review new election maps in NC redistricting case [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
• NC House approves new legislative districts, but congressional map still being drawn [Raleigh News and Observer]
• News 13 Investigates: Gerrymandering in North Carolina [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• North Carolina GOP's latest map proposals are less lopsided [Asheville Citizen-Times]
Franklin Town Council - January 2022 Regular Meeting
Asheville Citizen-Times COVID-19 Tracker [Asheville Citizen-Times]
Back to Top
National and World News Roundup
• Russian aircraft buzz US Navy patrol planes, get within 5 feet, Pentagon says [Yahoo! News]
• Russia is still building up troops near Ukraine, say U.S. and NATO [Reuters]
• Ukraine Tensions Spike as West Accuses Russia of Lying About Troop Withdrawal [New York Times]
• Judge rejects Oregon’s effort to dismiss First Amendment action by Courthouse News [Courthouse News Service]
• US and Iranian officials suggest nuclear talks nearing conclusion [A l Jazeera]
• What is the Government Doing With Billions of Pounds of Cheese? [The Takeout]
• Man sentenced to probation in US Capitol attack after revealing he lost his job and now delivers pizza [CNN]
• U.S. detects highly lethal bird flu in Tyson Foods chickens [Reuters]
• Petrópolis: Deadly landslides wreak havoc in Brazilian city [BBC News]
• Biden orders release of Trump White House logs to Congress [AP News]
• Midland Police arrest coaches, administrators at Midland Christian School for failure to report sexual assault [KWES-TV (Odessa, TX)(]
• Conflicts to Watch in 2022 [Council on Foreign Relations]
Morning Invest: 48 Hours Until War? Russia and Ukraine on the brink
Global National: Feb. 16, 2022 | Ottawa police issue warnings for protesters to leave or face arrest
NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast - February 16th, 2021
PBS NewsHour Full Episode February 16th, 2021
Back to Top
COVID-19 News and Updates
Since it looks like we may be in for a new wave of infections, here is a section on COVID-19. It will include local, regional, state, national, and global items.
COVID-19 Numbers for Macon County: [November 18, 2021]
• WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard [World Health Organization]
Globally, as of 5:13pm CET, 10 February 2022, there have been 402,044,502 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,770,023 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 7 February 2022, a total of 10,095,615,243 vaccine doses have been administered.
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 5:13pm CET, 10 February 2022, there have been 76,448,067 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 902,189 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 4 February 2022, a total of 527,784,089 vaccine doses have been administered.
TWiV 867: I love the smell of vaccines in the morning
TWiV reviews an experimental, intranasally administered SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that utilizes adenovirus vectors to deliver three viral proteins and induces immunity to ancestral and variant isolates.
Show notes at [Microbe TV]
• OKC hospital tightens security, locks down ICU after 'online attacks' over COVID-19 patient [The Oklahoman]
• Risks of mental health outcomes in people with covid-19: cohort study [The British Medical Journal]
• COVID-19 patients face higher risk of brain fog and depression, even 1 year after infection [Science]
• U.S. ‘excess deaths’ during pandemic surpassed 1 million, with covid killing most but other diseases adding to the toll, CDC says [Washington Post]
• Experimental infection of mink with SARS-COV-2 Omicron (BA.1) variant leads to symptomatic disease with lung pathology and transmission [BioRxiv (PDF)]
• ‘Capitalizing on skepticism’: How the coronavirus has exposed us once again [The Seattle Times]
• Monitoring COVID-19
• COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs Part I [Reddit]
• COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs Part II [Reddit]
[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
[Outbreak.info]
• CDC Releases Emergency Guidance for Healthcare Facilities to Prepare for Potential Omicron Surge [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
• COVID-19 case rates by county in 2021 [AXIOS]
Back to Top
Science and Technology News Roundup
• Google plans privacy change similar to Apple’s, which wiped $230 billion off Facebook’s market cap [CNBC]
• The Hummer EV’s battery weighs more than a Honda Civic [The Verge]
• WeatherBrains 839: Broomstacking [WeatherBrains Podcast]
• AMD's Market Cap Surpasses Intel for the First Time in History [Tom's Hardware]
• Singapore is opening the doors to Southeast Asian tech expansion [Tech in Asia]
• 74% of ransomware revenue goes to Russia-linked hackers [BBC News]
• Massive cyberattack takes Ukraine military, big bank websites offline [The Register]
• See how NASA seals a large satellite inside a rocket fairing [Digital Trends]
• Inside Facebook's African Sweatshop [Time]
• Scientists accidentally stumble on ‘holy grail’ of batteries for electric vehicles [UK Independent]
• ViacomCBS Rebrands As Paramount, Highlights Star Trek And Global Streaming Expansion [Trek Movie]
Podcasts and Long Form Videos
Anything from educational, entertainment, history, current events and technology
Is The Wave Function The Building Block of Reality?
The Most Powerful Continuous Magnets Yet Made
The evolution of SpaceTuber Scott Manley
Android 13... Already? - Developing Android Auto, UI theming rules, Galaxy S22 Ultra, Tab S8 Ultra
The Openseas Are Choppy - DTNS 4214
Ship 20 Cryo Proof Tested | SpaceX Boca Chica
The Voltron of Terrible - Android Privacy Sandbox, EARN IT mistakes, Spotify's big buys, Metamates
Neri Oxman | Nature x Humanity
Steaming Up About Linux Gaming | Linux Out Loud 01
Hardcore History Addendum: EP19 Asymmetrical Perspectives
Wargames as Historical Data
Back to Top
On This Day
February 17th is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 317 days remain until the end of the year (318 in leap years).
Historical Events
(Please note that the Wikipedia articles often contain a bibliography and links to where you can learn more about a historical event)
1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
1500 – Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
1600 – On his way to be burned at the stake for heresy, at Campo de' Fiori in Rome, the philosopher Giordano Bruno has a wooden vise put on his tongue to prevent him continuing to speak.
1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first military commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
1676 – Sixteen men of Pascual de Iriate's expedition are lost at Evangelistas Islets at the western end of the Strait of Magellan.
1739 – The Battle of Vasai commences as the Marathas move to invade Portuguese-occupied territory.
1753 – In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
1801 – 1800 United States presidential election: An tie in the Electoral College between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr, Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormant.
1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
1838 – Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
1854 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
1859 – Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captures the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress manned by 1,000 Nguyá»…n dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.
1863 – A group of citizens of Geneva found an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1864 – American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
1867 – The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
1871 – The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
1919 – The Ukrainian People's Republic asks the Entente and the US for help fighting the Bolsheviks.
1944 – World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins: U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan's main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
1949 – Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
1959 – A Turkish Airlines Vickers Viscount crashes near Gatwick Airport, killing 14; Turkish prime minister Adnan Menderes survives the crash.
1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
1964 РGabonese president L̩on M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
1969 – American aquanaut Berry L. Cannon dies of carbon dioxide poisoning while attempting to repair a leak in the SEALAB III underwater habitat. The SEALAB project was subsequently abandoned.
1972 – Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.
1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
1978 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30 others, all Protestants.
1979 – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
1980 – First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.
1991 – Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 crashes during takeoff from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, killing both pilots, the aircraft's only occupants.
1992 – First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.
1995 – The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.
1996 – In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
1996 – NASA's Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
1996 – The 8.2 Mw Biak earthquake shakes the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed, leaving one-hundred sixty-six people dead or missing and 423 injured.
2006 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
2008 – Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
2011 – Arab Spring: Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi's regime begin.
2011 – Arab Spring: In Bahrain, security forces launch a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama; the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.
2015 – Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti.
2016 – Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.
2019 –Protests continue by thousands in streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, against government corruption and inflation
2021 –South Africa, Africa's worst-affected country begins COVID-19 vaccinations with the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Cape Town
2021 –Texan senator Ted Cruz flies to Cancun, Mexico with his family amid a winter disaster in his state, igniting widespread condemnation
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Published at 5:00am on Thursday, February 17, 2021
Author: Bobby Coggins
Resources used to compile the information in this article include, but are not limited to the following websites or books: MaconMedia.com, youtube.com, weather.gov, airnow.gov, wikipedia.com, onthisday.com, ncdcr.gov, ncsu.edu, utah.edu, https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/, wolfram.com, biorxiv.org, aps.org, nejm.org, plos.org, cell.com, researchsquare.com, cureus.com, spc.noaa.gov, nhc.noaa.gov, ncdenr.org, medrxiv.org, archive.org, ncpedia.org, nasa.gov, https://ww2days.com, nih.gov, carolinapublicpress.org, microbe.tv, smokymountainnews.com, psypost.org, blogspot.com, pollen.com, franklinnc.com, maconnc.org, spaceweather.com, solarham.com, loc.gov, ncleg.net, senate.gov, house.gov, whitehouse.gov, drudgereport.com, politico.com, realclearpolitics.com, ushmm.org, This Day in North Carolina History, World War II Day By Day, The Holocaust Encyclopedia, The Timetables of History, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The World History and Book of Facts (multiple years), On This Day In History: Over 4,000 facts, The NASA Archives. 60 Years in Space, This Day in North Carolina History, The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration: From the Ancient World to the Extraterrestrial Future, Spaceflight, 2nd Edition: The Complete Story from Sputnik to Curiousity, The Story of Civilization (11 volumes), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, American History, Volume 1: 1492-1877, American History, Volume 2: 1877 - Present, A Complete Chronolgy of the Second World War. Weather and Almanac data and information sources: Sources (except where otherwise credited): heavens-above.com, Ian Webster's Github, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, The National Weather Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, National Hurricane Center, Penn State University Electronic Wall Map, The State Climate Office of North Carolina, Storm Prediction Center, U.S. Naval Observatory, University of Utah Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and the Weather Prediction Center. Back to Top
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