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Avior Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,620 Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT)Andrew Hammond Christmas holidays tend to be a time of joy for many families around the world. However, this year’s festivities will also be tinged with great sadness for many as the world on Thursday (Dec. 26) marks the 20th anniversary of the devastating Boxing Day Tsunami. Two decades on from the deadly waves, caused by a massive earthquake, that caused devastation in countries with Indian Ocean coastlines, scientific advances have improved our ability to forecast and provide warnings of dangerous tsunamis. However, the economic and wider human costs of such natural catastrophes can never be completely eliminated. This was illustrated, for example, by the concern caused by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake this month about 55 miles off the coast of Eureka in California. The effects were felt from San Francisco to southern Oregon, sparking a tsunami warning affecting millions of residents. The alert was later canceled. Tsunami warnings are relatively rare on the US West Coast but still more common than elsewhere in the country. However, some scientists predict the area might be overdue for a massive quake, and resulting tsunami, in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, an 1,100 km offshore fault that runs from northern California to southern British Columbia, and/or the San Andreas fault, which runs for 1,200 km through California. Some scientists refer to this potentially huge natural disaster as “The Big One,” defined as an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or higher on the Richter scale. Such an event could cause hundreds of billions of dollars of damage, and tens of thousands of deaths and injuries at the very least. But even a disaster of that magnitude might still be dwarfed by the devastation caused by the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami in the Indian Ocean. According to the EM-DAT global disaster database, it killed a total of 226,408 people in more than a dozen countries, and more than 1.5 million people were displaced. The magnitude 9.1 earthquake that caused the tsunami was one of the biggest the world had seen since 1900. The epicenter was off the western coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It was the longest fault line rupture ever observed, as the ocean floor opened up along a distance of at least 1,200 km between the India plate and Burma microplate. The earthquake triggered the largest tsunami in the Indian Ocean for more than 700 years. The amount of energy it released was estimated to be equivalent to about 23,000 Hiroshima bombs. The huge waves it created, some more than 30 meters high, swept into several coastal nations, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Twenty years on, the silver lining amid the sadness of the upcoming anniversary is that our understanding of tsunami risks is now better. This means better forecasting, more effective warnings, and improved disaster-resistant construction techniques for more-resilient infrastructure. In terms of warning systems, there were none in place in the Indian Ocean region in 2004. The picture has changed since then, with a regional system in place as part of an approximately 1,400-strong network around the world that generally reduces the delay in issuing a warning after a tsunami forms to just minutes. Even with such improved warning systems, some communities still might not receive the alert in time. Indeed, had the present-day Indian Ocean warning system been in place in 2004, it is not certain it would have helped many of those among the first hit by the tsunami, especially in poorer communities lacking the benefit of modern digital technologies. In part, this is why a significant proportion of tsunami casualties tend to happen before any official or technically based warnings can be delivered. This differs from some other natural hazards, such as hurricanes, which can be predicted further in advance and tend to cause fewer casualties. However, for people more distant from the origin point of a tsunami, warnings can be very effective, including those transmitted through community communications. These can save many lives, with a key factor in success being the distribution of data rapidly, transparently, and hyper-locally, so that it is available in the best form, in the right place and as quickly as possible. As warning systems improve, there are continuing debates about the enhanced exchange of data. This places an increasing amount of weight on improved forecasts. Such methods of predicting earthquakes in advance were once thought to be impossible, owing to the difficulty of calculating the motion of rocky mantle flows beneath the earth’s crust. Thanks to increasingly sophisticated algorithms, however, it might now be possible to model this underground activity in more effective ways by creating a model of fault lines, consisting of millions of underground grid points, to ascertain where the underground stresses are strongest. This is a potential indicator of key earthquake trigger points. However, even if forecasting technology and early warnings can fulfill their full longer-term potential, there is still a need for increasingly resilient infrastructure, given the devastation tsunamis can cause to physical geography. Take the example of the province of Aceh in Indonesia, one of the areas worst-hit by the 2004 tsunami. Hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed and about 3,000 hectares of land were washed away, destroying infrastructure such as roads, ports, and bridges. More than 100,000 houses have been rebuilt there, according to the Indonesian government. In this context, a key goal for engineers and community planners is to build increasingly tsunami-proof structures and plan more-resilient communities. As global warming intensifies, these calculations must also factor in the growing risk from rising sea levels, a threat that is increasing three times faster in tropical seas — including central portions of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and much of the Indian Ocean — where tsunami risks tend to be greatest. All of this underlines the further potential for improved forecasting and earlier warnings of future tsunamis to help make the world a safer place for many people. However, the economic and wider human cost of such terrifying natural hazards can never be eliminated, even with increasingly resilient infrastructure. Courtesy: arabnews

Saints vs. Packers: Score, live updates from the MNF battle in Green BayCAR owners have been warned against a DIY windscreen de-icing hack that could result in an expensive repair bill. Winter weather has begun to blanket parts of North, Central, and West Texas with ice and snow , meaning many motorists across the state - and indeed, the country - will need to de-ice their windscreens before hitting the road. Thankfully, AAA Texas has revealed their best tips to prevent and remove windscreen ice. The easiest method is to simply use your car’s automatic climate control system and set it to defrost. If your car has an electrically-heated windscreen, turn it on to quickly clear the ice. However, for those who can’t use this type of technology , drivers can opt for a commercial glass de-icer spray, which typically contains methanol. Read more Motors News Although these products can be pricey and may contain pet-hazardous ethylene glycol, they are effective. A homemade de-icing solution works just as well and is made of one part isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) and two parts water. Adding a few drops of dish soap can help the mixture spread more evenly. After spraying this mixture onto the windscreen, drivers can use a plastic scraper, a rubber squeegee, or a soft bristle brush to remove the ice as it begins to melt. Most read in Motors However, AAA Texas advises against using metal scrapers, as they can scratch the glass and damage the wiper blades. They also suggest avoiding the use of hot water, which can crack the glass due to thermal shock. Moreover, tapping on the ice with a hammer or other tool can also damage the windscreen, and using a torch is an incredibly bad idea. Other, less obvious ways drivers can damage their vehicles in the winter include using vinegar-based pretreatments, alcohol-based de-icing solutions, and dishwashing soap. While not directly harmful to car paint, these substances can remove car wax and leave the finish exposed to the elements and corrosive chemicals, such as road salts used in the winter. In general, repairs to cars, from bodywork to windscreen replacement, can be costly - especially at this time of year. In some cases, drivers may be forced to pay out $1,000s to repair their vehicles this winter by making silly, de-icing mistakes. This comes as another car expert has shared their top tip to quickly clear ice from vehicle windows on cold winter mornings. In the colder months, drivers are faced with the daily challenge of de-icing their cars - leaving them running the risk of being late for work or school. Ed Colley, Head of Brand and Marketing at UK-based window repair and replacement service Autoglass, shared a method that he said works great - using a simple rain-repellent spray on the car’s windshield the night before temperatures drop. "The best bet for clearing the frost is to use a proper ice scraper, which can remove the ice efficiently without scratching the glass," he said. Read More on The US Sun "For those who are really prepared, applying a rain repellent to your windscreen the night before will limit the water sitting on the glass and can make de-icing your windscreen much easier and quicker." Drivers can find the product Rain-X Original Treatment in a 3.5 oz bottle at stores such as Walmart for less than $4.Why Crypto Enthusiasts Are Scrambling to Grab These Top Five Digital Gems: Discover the Best Coins to Join This Month and Secure Your Slice of the Blockchain Revolution Before It’s Too Late!

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By SARAH PARVINI, GARANCE BURKE and JESSE BEDAYN, Associated Press President-elect Donald Trump will return to power next year with a raft of technological tools at his disposal that would help deliver his campaign promise of cracking down on immigration — among them, surveillance and artificial intelligence technology that the Biden administration already uses to help make crucial decisions in tracking, detaining and ultimately deporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status. While immigration officials have used the tech for years, an October letter from the Department of Homeland Security obtained exclusively by The Associated Press details how those tools — some of them powered by AI — help make life-altering decisions for immigrants, including whether they should be detained or surveilled. One algorithm, for example, ranks immigrants with a “Hurricane Score,” ranging from 1-5, to assess whether someone will “abscond” from the agency’s supervision. The letter, sent by DHS Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Eric Hysen to the immigrant rights group Just Futures Law, revealed that the score calculates the potential risk that an immigrant — with a pending case — will fail to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The algorithm relies on several factors, he said, including an immigrant’s number of violations and length of time in the program, and whether the person has a travel document. Hysen wrote that ICE officers consider the score, among other information, when making decisions about an immigrant’s case. “The Hurricane Score does not make decisions on detention, deportation, or surveillance; instead, it is used to inform human decision-making,” Hysen wrote. Also included in the government’s tool kit is a mobile app called SmartLINK that uses facial matching and can track an immigrant’s specific location. Nearly 200,000 people without legal status who are in removal proceedings are enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program, under which certain immigrants can live in the U.S. while their immigration cases are pending. In exchange, SmartLINK and GPS trackers used by ICE rigorously surveil them and their movements. The phone application draws on facial matching technology and geolocation data, which has been used before to find and arrest those using the app. Just Futures Law wrote to Hysen earlier this year, questioning the fairness of using an algorithm to assess whether someone is a flight risk and raising concerns over how much data SmartLINK collects. Such AI systems, which score or screen people, are used widely but remain largely unregulated even though some have been found to discriminate on race, gender or other protected traits. DHS said in an email that it is committed to ensuring that its use of AI is transparent and safeguards privacy and civil rights while avoiding biases. The agency said it is working to implement the Biden administration’s requirements on using AI , but Hysen said in his letter that security officials may waive those requirements for certain uses. Trump has publicly vowed to repeal Biden’s AI policy when he returns to the White House in January. “DHS uses AI to assist our personnel in their work, but DHS does not use the outputs of AI systems as the sole basis for any law enforcement action or denial of benefits,” a spokesperson for DHS told the AP. Trump has not revealed how he plans to carry out his promised deportation of an estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally. Although he has proposed invoking wartime powers, as well as military involvement, the plan would face major logistical challenges — such as where to keep those who have been detained and how to find people spread across the country — that AI-powered surveillance tools could potentially address. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump, did not answer questions about how they plan to use DHS’ tech, but said in a statement that “President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation” in American history. Over 100 civil society groups sent a letter on Friday urging the Office of Management and Budget to require DHS to comply with the Biden administration’s guidelines. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Just Futures Law’s executive director, Paromita Shah, said if immigrants are scored as flight risks, they are more likely to remain in detention, “limiting their ability to prepare a defense in their case in immigration court, which is already difficult enough as it is.” SmartLINK, part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, is run by BI Inc., a subsidiary of the private prison company The GEO Group. The GEO Group also contracts with ICE to run detention centers. ICE is tight-lipped about how it uses SmartLINK’s location feature to find and arrest immigrants. Still, public records show that during Trump’s first term in 2018, Manassas, Virginia-based employees of BI Inc. relayed immigrants’ GPS locations to federal authorities, who then arrested over 40 people. In a report last year to address privacy issues and concerns, DHS said that the mobile app includes security features that “prohibit access to information on the participant’s mobile device, with the exception of location data points when the app is open.” But the report notes that there remains a risk that data collected from people “may be misused for unauthorized persistent monitoring.” Such information could also be stored in other ICE and DHS databases and used for other DHS mission purposes, the report said. On investor calls earlier this month, private prison companies were clear-eyed about the opportunities ahead. The GEO Group’s executive chairman George Christopher Zoley said that he expects the incoming Trump administration to “take a much more aggressive approach regarding border security as well as interior enforcement and to request additional funding from Congress to achieve these goals.” “In GEO’s ISAP program, we can scale up from the present 182,500 participants to several hundreds of thousands, or even millions of participants,” Zoley said. That same day, the head of another private prison company told investors he would be watching closely to see how the new administration may change immigrant monitoring programs. “It’s an opportunity for multiple vendors to engage ICE about the program going forward and think about creative and innovative solutions to not only get better outcomes, but also scale up the program as necessary,” Damon Hininger, CEO of the private prison company CoreCivic Inc. said on an earnings call. GEO did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement, CoreCivic said that it has played “a valued but limited role in America’s immigration system” for both Democrats and Republicans for over 40 years.