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KYIV, Ukraine — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile. escalating the nearly 33-month-old war. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.” Ukraine’s parliament canceled a session as security was tightened following Thursday’s Russian strike on a military facility in the city of Dnipro. In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was in retaliation for Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks Friday during a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense, representatives of the military-industrial complex and developers of missile systems at the Kremlin in Moscow. Putin said Western air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile. Ukrainian military officials said the missile that hit Dnipro reached a speed of Mach 11 and carried six nonnuclear warheads, each releasing six submunitions. Speaking Friday to military and weapons industries officials, Putin said Russia will launch production of the Oreshnik. “No one in the world has such weapons,” he said. “Sooner or later, other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development. “We have this system now,” he added. “And this is important.” Putin said that while it isn’t an intercontinental missile, it’s so powerful that the use of several of them fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with strategic — or nuclear — weapons. Gen. Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, echoing Putin’s claim that even with conventional warheads, “the massive use of the weapon would be comparable in effect to the use of nuclear weapons.” In this photo taken from a video released Friday, a Russian serviceman operates at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept up Russia's bellicose tone on Friday, blaming “the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries” in supplying weapons to Ukraine to strike Russia. "The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns were not taken into account have also been quite clearly outlined," he said. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the European Union, echoed Moscow’s talking points, suggesting the use of U.S.-supplied weapons in Ukraine likely requires direct American involvement. “These are rockets that are fired and then guided to a target via an electronic system, which requires the world’s most advanced technology and satellite communications capability,” Orbán said on state radio. “There is a strong assumption ... that these missiles cannot be guided without the assistance of American personnel.” Orbán cautioned against underestimating Russia’s responses, emphasizing that the country’s recent modifications to its nuclear deployment doctrine should not be dismissed as a “bluff.” “It’s not a trick ... there will be consequences,” he said. Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky speaks to journalists Friday during a joint news conference with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriiy Sybiha in Kyiv, Ukraine. Separately in Kyiv, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský called Thursday’s missile strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe.” At a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Lipavský also expressed his full support for delivering the necessary additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks.” He said the Czech Republic will impose no limits on the use of its weapons and equipment given to Ukraine. Three lawmakers from Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, confirmed that Friday's previously scheduled session was called off due to the ongoing threat of Russian missiles targeting government buildings in central Kyiv. In addition, there also was a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and nongovernmental organizations "in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat,” said lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev, who said it's not the first time such a threat has been received. Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said the Oreshnik missile was fired from the Kapustin Yar 4th Missile Test Range in Russia’s Astrakhan region and flew 15 minutes before striking Dnipro. Test launches of a similar missile were conducted in October 2023 and June 2024, the directorate said. The Pentagon confirmed the missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate-range missile based on its RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile. Thursday's attack struck the Pivdenmash plant that built ICBMs when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. The military facility is located about 4 miles southwest of the center of Dnipro, a city of about 1 million that is Ukraine’s fourth-largest and a key hub for military supplies and humanitarian aid, and is home to one of the country’s largest hospitals for treating wounded soldiers from the front before their transfer to Kyiv or abroad. We're all going to die someday. Still, how it happens—and when—can point to a historical moment defined by the scientific advancements and public health programs available at the time to contain disease and prevent accidents. In the early 1900s, America's efforts to improve sanitation, hygiene, and routine vaccinations were still in their infancy. Maternal and infant mortality rates were high, as were contagious diseases that spread between people and animals. Combined with the devastation of two World Wars—and the Spanish Flu pandemic in between—the leading causes of death changed significantly after this period. So, too, did the way we diagnose and control the spread of disease. Starting with reforms as part of Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s, massive-scale, federal interventions in the U.S. eventually helped stave off disease transmission. It took comprehensive government programs and the establishment of state and local health agencies to educate the public on preventing disease transmission. Seemingly simple behavioral shifts, such as handwashing, were critical in thwarting the spread of germs, much like discoveries in medicine, such as vaccines, and increased access to deliver them across geographies. Over the course of the 20th century, life expectancy increased by 56% and is estimated to keep increasing slightly, according to an annual summary of vital statistics published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2000. Death Records examined data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to see how the leading causes of death in America have evolved over time and to pinpoint how some major mortality trends have dropped off. According to a report published in the journal Annual Review of Public Health in 2000, pneumonia was the leading cause of death in the early 1900s, accounting for nearly 1 in 4 deaths. By the time World War I ended in 1918, during which people and animals were housed together for long periods, a new virus emerged: the Spanish Flu. Originating in a bird before spreading to humans, the virus killed 10 times as many Americans as the war. Many died of secondary pneumonia after the initial infection. Pneumonia deaths eventually plummeted throughout the century, partly prevented by increased flu vaccine uptake rates in high-risk groups, particularly older people. Per the CDC, tuberculosis was a close second leading cause of death, killing 194 of every 10,000 people in 1900, mainly concentrated in dense urban areas where the infection could more easily spread. Eventually, public health interventions led to drastic declines in mortality from the disease, such as public education, reducing crowded housing, quarantining people with active disease, improving hygiene, and using antibiotics. Once the death rates lagged, so did the public health infrastructure built to control the disease, leading to a resurgence in the mid-1980s. Diarrhea was the third leading cause of death in 1900, surging every summer among children before the impacts of the pathogen died out in 1930. Adopting water filtration, better nutrition, and improved refrigeration were all associated with its decline. In the 1940s and 1950s, polio outbreaks killed or paralyzed upward of half a million people worldwide every year. Even at its peak, polio wasn't a leading cause of death, it was a much-feared one, particularly among parents of young children, some of whom kept them from crowded public places and interacting with other children. By 1955, when Jonah Salk discovered the polio vaccine, the U.S. had ended the "golden age of medicine." During this period, the causes of mortality shifted dramatically as scientists worldwide began to collaborate on infectious disease control, surgical techniques, vaccines, and other drugs. From the 1950s onward, once quick-spreading deadly contagions weren't prematurely killing American residents en masse, scientists also began to understand better how to diagnose and treat these diseases. As a result, Americans were living longer lives and instead succumbing to noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs. The risk of chronic diseases increased with age and, in some cases, was exacerbated by unhealthy lifestyles. Cancer and heart disease shot up across the century, increasing 90-fold from 1900 to 1998, according to CDC data. Following the post-Spanish Flu years, heart disease killed more Americans than any other cause, peaking in the 1960s and contributing to 1 in 3 deaths. Cigarette smoking rates peaked at the same time, a major risk factor for heart disease. Obesity rates also rose, creating another risk factor for heart disease and many types of cancers. This coincides with the introduction of ultra-processed foods into diets, which plays a more significant role in larger waistlines than the increasing predominance of sedentary work and lifestyles. In the early 1970s, deaths from heart disease began to fall as more Americans prevented and managed their risk factors, like quitting smoking or taking blood pressure medicine. However, the disease remains the biggest killer of Americans. Cancer remains the second leading cause of death and rates still indicate an upward trajectory over time. Only a few types of cancer are detected early by screening, and some treatments for aggressive cancers like glioblastoma—the most common type of brain cancer—have also stalled, unable to improve prognosis much over time. In recent years, early-onset cancers, those diagnosed before age 50 or sometimes even earlier, have seen a drastic rise among younger Americans. While highly processed foods and sedentary lifestyles may contribute to rising rates, a spike in cancer rates among otherwise healthy young individuals has baffled some medical professionals. This follows the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020. At its peak, high transmission rates made the virus the third leading cause of death in America. It's often compared to the Spanish Flu of 1918, though COVID-19 had a far larger global impact, spurring international collaborations among scientists who developed a vaccine in an unprecedented time. Public policy around issues of safety and access also influences causes of death, particularly—and tragically—among young Americans. Gun control measures in the U.S. are far less stringent than in peer nations; compared to other nations, however, the U.S. leads in gun violence. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens (around 2 in 3 are homicides, and 1 in 3 are suicides), and deaths from opioids remain a leading cause of death among younger people. Globally, the leading causes of death mirror differences in social and geographic factors. NCDs are primarily associated with socio-economic status and comprise 7 out of 10 leading causes of death, 85% of those occurring in low- and middle-income countries, according to the World Health Organization. However, one of the best health measures is life expectancy at birth. People in the U.S. have been living longer lives since 2000, except for a slight dip in longevity due to COVID-19. According to the most recent CDC estimates, Americans' life expectancy is 77.5 years on average and is expected to increase slightly in the coming decades. Story editing by Alizah Salario. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Lacy Kerrick. This story originally appeared on Death Records and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of Microsoft 365 customers worldwide reported having issues with services like Outlook and Teams on Monday. In social media posts and comments on platforms like outage tracker Downdetector, some impacted said that they were having trouble seeing their emails, loading calendars or opening other Microsoft 365 applications such as Powerpoint. Microsoft acknowledged “an issue impacting users attempting to access Exchange Online or functionality within Microsoft Teams calendar” earlier in the day. In updates posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, the company’s status page said it identified a “recent change” that it believed to be behind the problem — and was working to revert it. Microsoft shared that it was deploying a fix — which, as of shortly before noon E.T., it said had reached about 98% of “affected environments.” Still, the company’s status page later added , targeted restarts were “progressing slower than anticipated for the majority of affected users.” As of midday Monday, Downdetector showed thousands of outage reports from users of Microsoft 365 , particularly Outlook .
Patrick Mahomes was pumped up when the NFL schedule was released and he saw his Kansas City Chiefs were playing on Christmas Day for the second straight season. His excitement lasted for only a short time. "Until I realized it was on Wednesday," Mahomes said Monday. Plenty of sore bodies will take the field Wednesday when the Chiefs (14-1) visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5) in what will be the third game in 11 days for both teams. Both squads just played on Saturday. The Chiefs posted a 27-19 home win over the Houston Texans and the Steelers fell 34-17 to the host Baltimore Ravens. "You're not going to feel great," Mahomes said of the short week. "That's kind of just what it is. You don't make excuses in this league. You go out and play football, and you fight until the very end, and you try to get a win at the end of the day. "You're motivated to play a great football team, to play in Pittsburgh in a great environment, a great stadium. It'll be rocking playing on Christmas, so everybody's going to be watching." If Kansas City wins Wednesday, it clinches the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The Chiefs have 14 victories for the third time in the past five seasons. The franchise has never won 15 games in a season. Kansas City hasn't committed a single turnover during its five-game winning streak. Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson isn't fond of hearing "turnover" after he made two big mistakes in Saturday's loss to the Ravens. Wilson lost a fumble after a 19-yard gain to the Baltimore 4-yard line in the second quarter and later was intercepted by Marlon Humphrey, who returned it 37 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Wilson called it "unacceptable" and now has his focus on making amends against Kansas City. "I don't think there's enough time to really sulk or worry or fear," Wilson said. " ... The one thing I'm not going to do is keep my head down, though. I know for us we got so much great confidence in who we are and what we can do and how we're going to respond. "We can't let a tough game like this take us into a negative state of mind because there's a lot more to play for and a lot more we're searching for, and we can still win the (AFC) North." Wilson is correct. If the Steelers win their final two regular-season games, they will win their division. They would have clinched it last weekend if they had won in Baltimore. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin is hardly concerned about Wilson's miscues. It was the veteran signal-caller's first time committing multiple turnovers in nine games with the team. "He's tough on himself because he's got a desire to be great," Tomlin said. "He wants to lead us to victory. He owns that. I don't expect that to be an issue in terms of his readiness or trajectory of this week." Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (knee) and receiver Ben Skowronek (hip) missed Pittsburgh's walkthrough on Monday. Standout receiver George Pickens (hamstring) was a full participant and may return after missing the past three games. Safety DeShon Elliott (hamstring), cornerback Donte Jackson (back) and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (groin) also could return to action. Jackson's return would be big if Porter can't play. Kansas City also held a walkthrough on Monday. Left tackle D.J. Humphries (hamstring), safety Chamarri Conner (concussion) and star defensive end Chris Jones (calf) missed the session. Jones was injured against Houston. Meanwhile, Mahomes said his sore ankle is feeling better than it did last week. The Chiefs lost 20-14 to the visiting Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day last season. Kansas City has won the past three meetings with the Steelers, including a 42-21 rout in an AFC wild-card game on Jan. 16, 2022. --Field Level Media
Ange Postecoglou knows the next month will be “significant” for Tottenham, but is confident they will improve and not be mid-table at Christmas. Spurs travel to Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday reeling from a disappointing home loss to Ipswich before the international break. The club’s problems have multiplied during the past fortnight with midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur handed a seven-match domestic ban on Monday and Cristian Romero (toe) joining a lengthy list of absentees. However, Postecoglou remains bullish about Tottenham’s progress and acutely aware of the scrutiny set to come his way if they stay 10th. “Christmas is a joyous occasion, irrespective, and I think it should be celebrated. If we’re still 10th then people won’t be happy, I won’t be happy, but we might not be 10th,” Postecoglou pointed out before nine games in 30 days. “Certainly for us I think it’s a significant period because you look at those games and we’ve got the league where we’ve got to improve our position and a couple of important European fixtures that can set us up for the back half of the year, also a Carabao Cup quarter-final. “At the end of that period we could be in a decent position for a strong second half of the year, so for us it is an important period. “You know there’s no more international breaks, so the full focus is here. You can build some momentum through that, or if things don’t go well you could get yourself into a bit of a grind. Ready for #MCITOT 👊 Go behind the scenes of training ahead of our trip to Manchester 🎥⤵️ pic.twitter.com/4jFZTCIwSz — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 22, 2024 “Of course if we had beaten Ipswich, we’d be third and I reckon this press conference would be much different wouldn’t it? “I’m not going to let my life be dictated by one result, I’m sorry. I take a wider perspective on these things because I know how fickle it can be, but we need to address our position for sure. “And if we’re 10th at Christmas, yeah it won’t be great. There’d be a lot of scrutiny and probably a lot of scrutiny around me, which is fair enough, but that’s not where I plan for us to be.” Tottenham’s immediate efforts to move up the table will require them ending City’s two-year unbeaten home run in the Premier League. The champions have lost their last four matches in all competitions, but have some key personnel back for Saturday’s clash and will aim to toast Pep Guardiola’s new contract with a victory. Postecoglou was pleased to see Guardiola commit to a further two seasons in England, adding: “I love the fact that there’s a massive target out there that can seem insurmountable. “I look at it the other way. I go, ‘imagine if you knock him off, that’d be something’. “I’m at the stage of my life where I’d rather have the chance of knocking him off than missing that opportunity. “When greatness is around, you want to be around it. And hopefully it challenges you to be like that as well.” Saturday’s fixture will be Postecoglou’s 50th league game in charge of Spurs and he knows what is required to bring up three figures. A post shared by Premier League (@premierleague) “No European football, significant player turnover, change of playing style. Where did I think we’d be after 50 games? God knows. “It could have been a whole lot worse, but when you look at it in the current prism of we’re 10th, you’re going ‘it doesn’t look good’ and I understand that and we have to improve that. “But over the 50 games, I think there’s enough there that shows we are progressing as a team and we are developing into the team we want. “The key is the next 50 games, if they can be in totality better than the first 50? First, that means I’m here but second, I think we’ll be in a good space.”
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Join this golf club and you’ll get 7 ‘home’ courses across the USInfo-Tech Research Group's IT Talent Trends 2025 report details critical shifts in workforce dynamics, including the growing influence of generative AI, escalating skill shortages, and the urgent need for upskilling and reskilling. Based on survey data, the report reveals that 76% of IT managers are facing increased stress, 23% of respondents view the CEO position as the logical next step for CIOs, and 66% of IT employees see generative AI as the path to greater autonomy. The research insights in the newly released report will equip leaders with the understanding of how best to enhance talent retention, address the employee experience gap, and navigate the challenges and opportunities associated with rapid technological evolution. TORONTO, Dec. 3, 2024 /CNW/ - Info-Tech Research Group, one of the leading global IT research and advisory firms, has released its annual IT Talent Trends report. IT Talent Trends 2025 provides a data-driven analysis of the shifting dynamics in IT talent management. The report examines how generative AI, evolving skills demands, and workforce restructuring are reshaping the IT landscape and provides leaders with actionable strategies to tackle these challenges while considering how to foster innovation and employee experience in 2025. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get the latest need-to-know information delivered to your inbox as it happens. Our flagship newsletter. Get our front page stories each morning as well as the latest updates each afternoon during the week + more in-depth weekend editions on Saturdays & Sundays.MITCHELL — With three road games in five days, the Mitchell High School boys basketball program tipped off a new campaign in a flurry last week. All three games — at Watertown, Rapid City Stevens and Rapid City Central — resulted in Mitchell victories, as the Kernels ran their win streak to 20 consecutive games. ADVERTISEMENT Here are three observations from Mitchell’s opening week of play: Starting quality was not among the questions facing Mitchell to start the season. The Kernels returned four starters — Colton Smith, Markus Talley, Landen Soulek and Gavin Hinker — from last season’s championship team. This season’s fifth starter, Sutton Thompson, was a regular member of the 2023-24 rotation off the bench. Senior Mason Herman, who provided valuable minutes in last season’s state tournament as Hinker battled foul trouble, should fulfill a similar role this season. One loss from last year’s rotation the Kernels didn’t count on was senior Parker Mandel, who is out with a knee injury to start the season. According to MHS head coach Ryker Kreutzfeldt, Mandel is set to undergo a procedure on his knee, and a timetable for his potential return is unclear at this time. “We don't really know after that,” Kreutzfeldt said of Mandel’s status. Filling out the rest of the Mitchell rotation is promising talent but with considerably less varsity experience, and finding a key contributor from that collection of up-and-comers takes on added significance in Mandel’s absence. “It’s something we’ve talked to the guys about. We need to have some extra guys who can help us — not just be a part of it, but be a contributor,” Kreutzfeldt explained. “That's going to be a good crew, and I think they're going to be really good complementary players to the guys we have this year.” ADVERTISEMENT Early on, 6-foot-4 sophomore guard/forward Collin Weier has been a top choice off the bench. He snagged five rebounds and even scored Mitchell’s first field goal of the season in the opener at Watertown. The rotation has also included 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Owen Raml and 6-foot junior guard Kendan Skinner through three games. “They came in, and it didn't look like this was their first varsity basketball game,” Colton Smith said after the Game 1 win in Watertown. “The depth was better than I thought,” Kreutzfeldt added. “Everybody who got in did a great job.” One area where Kreutzfeldt expected the Kernels to hit the ground running was on defense, and that’s largely held up. Much like it did a season ago, Mitchell’s effort on the defensive end of the floor has helped ease some early offensive hiccups. Mitchell opened the season by holding Watertown to 26 points through three quarters, at which point the game was well out of reach. ADVERTISEMENT “Our first quarter (against Watertown), you could tell we came out slow, but we definitely were more settled on the defensive end,” Smith said. “I think defense is going to be our strong suit this year, and we showed that in those first three quarters.” It hasn’t been perfect — during the West River trip, Kreutzfeldt expressed a level of initial disappointment with how the Kernels were handling some of the dribble penetration by Stevens’ Dayler Segrist and Central’s Gilbert White Jr. — but on the whole, Mitchell has been effective at keeping points off the scoreboard. Through three games, opponents have managed 47.7 points per contest against the Kernels. That ranks third in Class AA, trailing the only other 3-0 teams in the class to date — Sioux Falls Lincoln and Spearfish. Last season, Mitchell allowed 49.2 points per game for the season, which ranked fourth in Class AA. Some of Mitchell’s early success has come with finding a comfortability in switching between man-to-man and zone defenses. This proved to be particularly effective against Stevens. “We left it up to our guys. In every timeout, we asked what they wanted to do (defensively), and they felt confident in the zone,” Kreutzfeldt said after the win over Stevens. “It was about the only thing we felt confident in the whole game, but it came through for us.” Though it should come as no surprise, senior guard Markus Talley appears to be in mid-season form from the jump. ADVERTISEMENT The Augustana men’s basketball signee has at least 26 points in all three games, pouring in the points at an efficient clip nearing 58% from the field and upward of 54% from 3-point range. In the opener at Watertown, Talley was able to beat his defender off the dribble and get to the basket almost at will. He finished 12 of 16 from the field and dished out six assists. Against Stevens, Kreutzfeldt said that Talley “had to put us on his back,” and later called him “the best player in the class.” Talley scored 26 of the Kernels’ 55 points, including the last five in a three-point victory. Most recently at Central, Mitchell had an uncharacteristically tough time getting anything going inside, so Talley hit six 3-pointers as part of a 28-point effort to keep the offense afloat. Fellow all-state performer Colton Smith came alive in the second half against the Cobblers, scoring 19 points after halftime alone. Even with the exceptional start, Kreutzfeldt believes Talley could provide more going forward. One thing is certain: his early contributions have been invaluable while the Kernels get up to speed around him. “Markus was great, but even by his standards, maybe it wasn’t his best game,” Kreutzfeldt said after the win over Central. “That’s just how much ability he has.”
‘Tis the season for a cup of cheer, the Holly Jolly Holiday Bar is here. The pop-up is now open at EP & LP in West Hollywood through Sunday, Dec. 22. The price per admission for the strictly 21 and over event starts at $23 and includes a 90-minute reservation and a welcome cocktail. Brunch is available on Saturday and Sunday at $50 per person and includes a 90-minute reservation, a main entree and a welcome cocktail. Tickets can be purchased at hollyjollybar.com . To help get into the holiday spirit, the halls will be decked with floor-to-ceiling tinsel, trimmings, ornaments, stockings, Christmas trees covered in lights and even some figurines of the big man himself, Santa Claus. Festive bargoers might enjoy a cocktail served in a Christmas-themed mug. Other drinks are decorated with candy canes or have red, green and white sprinkled rims. SEE ALSO: How the new Zero Lounge bar will serve Y2K nostalgia in Hollywood Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, this bar welcomes everyone to enjoy cocktails such as the Rum Rudolph Rum, Drummer Boy, Rockin’ Around, and Sleigh Ride, which is Mexican Hot Chocolate served with a toasted marshmallow. There are also two mocktail options: Silent Night and Let It Snow. The food options include burgers, loaded fries, turkey pot pie, and a lobster roll. For dessert, guests can enjoy the festive Loaded Brownie with chocolate sauce, sprinkles and ice cream. The Jolly Holly Holiday Bar is located at 603 N La Cienega Blvd, West Hollywood. Related ArticlesJapan's famous sake joins UNESCO's cultural heritage list, a boost to brewers and enthusiasts
Bats are not blind, or only live in caves and suck blood, as pop culture has led us to believe. But they do serve as nature’s silent pest control and are vital pollinators, playing a crucial role in the reproduction of many plants. In the Santa Clarita Valley, residents, if lucky, can spot bats also known as chiroptera in scientific terms, right outside their backyard or near a large body of water. On Nov. 22, College of the Canyons held a science, technology, engineering and mathematics speaker series in efforts to engage, inform, and inspire students pursuing STEM careers. Jessi Vannatta, a COC adjunct professor and environmental scientist for California State Parks, delivered a presentation called “All Things Bats!” a topic she’s researched since graduate school and worked on for over a decade. The misunderstood flying mammal and its beneficial contributions to the environment was the topic of the night, with many students in attendance making it a successful evening filled with engaging questions and fun facts debunking common myths and misconceptions. The chiroptera species “do a lot of important things that benefit us directly and the environment as well. An ecosystem service would be pest control, especially the species around here,” she said. “That’s mostly what we have, insect-eating bats and they eat lots and lots of different types of insects,” said Vannatta. Bats don’t just consume unwanted pests lingering around someone’s backyard, but they also help reduce the number of agricultural insects and, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife , the natural pest control that bats provide is “extremely valuable to the state’s $54 billion per year agriculture and $450 million timber industries. The bats’ appetite reduces the need for chemical pesticides, reduces crop losses and curtails the spread of crop diseases.” Vannatta has focused her research up north in the Hungry Valley, with the advanced technology of acoustic detectors, and at least 15 different bat species have been identified as of the publication of this story and “there’s a potential for many of those to also be in the Santa Clarita Valley,” she said. Recently Vannatta has placed bat detectors in both the COC Canyon Country and Valencia campuses in hopes to learn more about the local flying mammals. So far at least two different species have been detected in Canyon Country, including the Mexican free-tailed bat and the pallid bat. Vannatta still has to process her data from the Valencia campus, as she just placed the detectors this past semester. Throughout the presentation, she also discussed the current threat they face, which includes climate change and white-nose syndrome, a fatal fungal disease that affects the flying mammals and isn’t a threat to humans. “The changing of seasonal patterns and temperatures and more extreme weather events can greatly impact their life cycle. Heat waves can cause the pups to die because it’s too hot for them and wherever they’re roosting. It can just change their whole seasonality pattern,” she said. White-nose syndrome has been detected in California, Vannatta said, and it’s a growing concern since it was first recorded in “the winter of 2007-2008 ... in cold humid conditions such as caves and mines,” stated the United States Geological Survey . “Millions of insect-eating bats in at least 40 states and eight Canadian provinces have died from this devastating disease.” “It’s going to be really interesting, because it’s a big unknown as to how it’s going to affect the bat species out here. I would say that it is a big potential threat, but we won’t really know until it starts popping up more in the populations and how severely it’s going to affect them,” she said, adding that due to the fatal disease several bat species on the east side of the United States have been listed as threatened and endangered. In August 2023 , the Los Angeles County Public Health Department reported that out of 50 rabid bats reported in the county, 32 of them were located in the SCV. Although rabies isn’t prevalent in bats and about “1 out of 1,000 are infected” stated the Public Health report, it did grow concern from the public and “for some reason there seems to be a higher incidence of rabies-positive bats,” she said. “It’s interesting because usually most reported prevalence of rabies and bats is low ... it’s usually a very low percentage in the population that actually do have it. So it seems to be some sort of strange anomaly,” she added. Vannatta did encourage people to never handle bats or any wild animals on their own to prevent exposure to disease, and to call professionals immediately if they encounter an unwanted bat nearby. “Any animal, any mammal, could have rabies ... There’s a risk for disease or being bitten if we handle any wild animal. Observe from a distance,” she advised. The presentation was focused on emphasizing the animals’ positive contributions to wildlife and ecosystems. “Without them, we would lose a lot of things that we rely on like our food sources ... coffee, chocolate, fruit, all of those things, a lot of them are primarily pollinated, or the seeds are spread by bats. If we didn’t have them, we would lose all of those important goods,” she said. Residents can seek out bats in local areas and it isn’t super difficult to see them at night, Vannatta said. “A lot of people tell me, ‘I’ve never seen a bat flying around or anything,’ but a lot of times it’s just because people haven’t really looked up and paid attention.” Vannatta suggested bat seekers can view them safely and from a distance, at Castaic Lake or other bodies of water where many insects such as mosquitoes may linger, and bats will likely be spotted feeding once the sun begins to set. The Bridgeport Marketplace lake near Valencia Heritage Park is another place bats can be spotted, she added. Vannatta hopes to continue researching the local bats with acoustic surveys and temporarily capturing them to take excrement samples, body size measurements, and record their activity patterns and submit them to the Department of Fish and Wildlife for other scientists to access. She added: “Because we don’t know, with white-nose syndrome and everything else, how these species might decline, it’s important to have those samples for people to potentially use to study the species in the future, so we like to collaborate and help in whatever way we can.”
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