Tag: national
National Treasure’s TV Spinoff Won’t Be Coming Back for Another Adventure
Late last year, Disney premiered National Treasure: Edge of History, a YA-oriented spinoff of the cult classic two-film series starring Nicholas Cage and Dianne Kruger. The series ended its first season back in early February, and as it turns out, that’ll be its only season.
Security stepped up for Scottish Grand National
After a 5% price drop, is now the time to buy National Grid shares?
National Grid shares have fallen 5% in 12 months, despite it being the UK’s monopoly electricity transmissions network. Is it time to buy the stock now?
The post After a 5% price drop, is now the time to buy National Grid shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
Presenting National Treasures: the free, 15-track CD available with Uncut’s June 2023 issue
To accompany this month’s Uncut cover story, The National have compiled a covermount CD that has their own music at its core.
The post Presenting National Treasures: the free, 15-track CD available with Uncut’s June 2023 issue appeared first on UNCUT.
‘PHOENIX?’ ‘FIREBIRD?’ What Was Recorded in Yellowstone National Park? (VIDEO/PHOTO)
A strange colorful bird was spotted on the Grand Teton National Park live webcam just days after a highly popular area near Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park located near Yellowstone National Park has been closed to the public for the immediate future due to concerns over expanding cracks and fissures in a large rock formation. This occurred in June 2018.
While Yellowstone seems to be in a perpetual state of unrest with its Steamboat geyser that erupted constantly and the expanding cracks and fissures at the Grand Teton National Park, the appearance of this colorful bird that resembles the mythological fire bird is at least odd.
The firebird also called a phoenix is a sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures and described as a large magical glowing bird with majestic plumage that glows brightly emitting red, orange, and yellow light, like a bonfire that is just past the turbulent flame.
What was this anomaly? Lon
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Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’ Album Inducted into Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry
Already listed as one of the best-selling female albums of all time, Madonna’s 1984 LP ‘Like a Virgin’ is no stranger to induction into exclusive clubs.
Thanks to recent news from the Library of Congress, however, the Queen of Pop is seeing her sophomore studio effort reign in a new historical capacity.
Details inside.
As Madge gears up to deliver some of the ‘Virgin’ era’s most memorable hits live on her career-spanning ‘Celebration Tour,’
The post Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’ Album Inducted into Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry appeared first on ..::That Grape Juice.net::.. – Thirsty?.
National Weather Service accounts were not granted API exemptions by Twitter
On Friday and throughout the weekend, multiple National Weather Service (NWS) accounts announced that Twitter had removed their API access, which would disrupt crucial potentially life-saving automated emergency updates. The move came as Twitter prepares to transition its currently free API service to a paid subscription model starting at an exorbitant $42,000 per month for Enterprise access.
Twitter users were immediately outraged by the decision. Many advocated for the company to make exemptions for important public service accounts, like the NWS, which provides vital alerts during extreme weather events. Then, suddenly, a few verified “breaking news” Twitter accounts shared an update: Twitter had reversed course. Elon Musk and company was going to make that exception for NWS accounts and allow them access to the API without limits. Media outlets like CNN quickly covered Twitter’s apparent change of heart. Twitter users were jubilant over the news.
Only, it’s not true.
Mashable reached out to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce which runs the National Weather Service, to confirm the unofficial reports that have spread on the platform.
“Twitter informed NWS there are no plans for exemptions,” National Weather Service Director of Public Affairs Susan Buchanan told Mashable in a statement.
Mashable connected with the NWS once more to confirm again and Buchanann reiterated in a separate email that the statement is accurate. As of now, Twitter has said it will not provide API exceptions for the NWS and has not provided the agency with any further official communication on the matter.
As proof of the change, some Twitter users shared a tweet from the NWS’s Tsunami Alerts account, which announced on early Sunday morning that its API access was restored. But according to the NWS, Twitter only restored temporary API access via the company’s old API plans, which Twitter is planning to sunset in a few weeks. Also, the restoration only affected some NWS accounts, with others still currently unable to post automated weather alerts. As of publication, the NWS said that it still expects the Tsunami Alerts system, along with any other NWS accounts with API access, to lose that access in a few weeks when Twitter says it will fully switch to its new API plans.
“While some of these accounts were reinstated over the weekend, some remained suspended this morning,” the NWS said. “None of those accounts had exceeded Twitter’s new API limit.”
The spread of unconfirmed reports
It appears that the report that Twitter was making an exemption for NWS accounts originated with a Twitter account that goes by the name “T(w)itter Daily News.”
“NEWS: Twitter will allow the National Weather Service accounts to continue Tweeting weather alerts without limits,” the account tweeted on Saturday night. “Great Job @TwitterDev.”
Other media outlets and “breaking news” Twitter accounts seem to have then run with that tweet as the official update. In CNN’s report, the media organization even attributed that tweet directly to Twitter.
However, that account is not an official Twitter account. The account handle is actually @TitterDaily – Twitter without the “W.” The reason for that is because Twitter does not allow users to create usernames with the word “Twitter” in it. Usernames that include the word “Twitter” are solely reserved for official company accounts.
The @TitterDaily account is verified with a blue checkmark. But, that’s because the account pays for Twitter Blue, the Musk-created Twitter service that allows any user to pay $8 per month in order to receive a verification badge.
In reality, @TitterDaily is just a fan-run account created by a longtime supporter of Musk and Tesla. Musk did recently follow the account and subscribe to it via the platform’s Subscription service. Mashable reached out to Twitter to find out if there was any truth to these reported exemptions, perhaps communicated to @TitterDaily from someone at the company. However, Twitter no longer responds to requests from the press. In addition, as told to Mashable multiple times, Twitter explicitly said to NWS that there would be no exemptions and there has been no communication that NWS has received since that says otherwise as of Tuesday, April 18.
How Twitter’s new API rules will affect public safety accounts
The NWS tells Mashable that Twitter’s API policy changes will limit its accounts to 50 automated tweets per 24-hour period. It expects that Twitter will officially switch its accounts to the new API limits on April 29, based on what the company has previously communicated to developers.
“Since 2014, NWS has used Twitter’s API service to auto-post the latest warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and flash floods to Twitter feeds that are followed by emergency managers, the media, and people in the path of dangerous weather,” the NWS said in its statement.
With Twitter’s new limits, the NWS will be unable to tell which automated emergency alerts go through and which don’t get posted. This will make the NWS Twitter accounts unreliable during weather emergencies.
“For every warning issued, seconds could make the difference between life and death,” the statement reads, explaining how the automated emergency alert posts have an advantage over the forecasters who also tweet from the accounts.
And it isn’t just NWS accounts that have been affected.
Twitter’s API changes threaten various public transportation accounts from being able to share up-to-the-minute information on the platform. At @TitterDaily’s urging, earthquake tracking accounts like @LastQuake and weather services like Instant Weather in Canada have spent the past few days asking followers to plead with Twitter and Musk to provide these seemingly non-existent API exemptions to their accounts as well.
As for the National Weather Service, the agency seems prepared to do its best under Twitter’s new free API limits. Twitter does provide a $100 per month per account API plan, but the company itself describes this subscription tier as being for “hobbyists” or “students.” After that, the next paid API option from Twitter is the $42,000 per month Enterprise plan. As of now, it does not appear that the National Weather Service is prepared to pay for such access.
The NWS tells Mashable that Twitter’s users should not depend on NWS Twitter accounts for the “most current information for forecasts, watches, and warnings.”
“We advise people to have multiple ways to receive weather forecasts including weather.gov,” the NWS said.
The full statement provided to Mashable from the National Weather Service can be read below:
Twitter announced a policy change to its Application Programming Interface (API) service that will limit the number of automated tweets to 50 per 24-hour period. When implemented, this change would affect National Weather Service Twitter accounts that auto-tweet more than the new limit. Since 2014, NWS has used Twitter’s API service to auto-post the latest warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and flash floods to Twitter feeds that are followed by emergency managers, the media, and people in the path of dangerous weather.
Without this automated process, it would take minutes for forecasters to manually prepare warning information into a tweet. For every warning issued, seconds could make the difference between life and death. Communications via social media is a supplemental service to extend the reach of weather forecasts and information. Twitter feeds do not always reflect the most current information for forecasts, watches, and warnings, and we advise people to have multiple ways to receive weather forecasts including weather.gov. Twitter informed NWS there are no plans for exemptions.
From media reports, we anticipate the new API limits to become effective on April 29, 2023. However, a new issue emerged when several of our API accounts were suspended on Friday, April 14. While some of these accounts were reinstated over the weekend, some remained suspended this morning. None of those accounts had exceeded Twitter’s new API limit. Those, and all other NWS accounts, can still manually issue tweets but will face the challenge of timing and staff capacity that the automated tweets do not face.
Herpetologist Encounters HUMAN-LIKE BIGFOOT in the Chattahoochee National Forest
An Atlanta, Georgia herpetologist encounters a supposed Bigfoot while in the Chattahoochee National Forest. From the description, the creature seemed more fearful than aggressive.
The following account was forwarded to me:
“I’m from Atlanta, Georgia and I’m a herpetologist. I travel frequently into the north Georgia mountains, up into the Helen area in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. On this day, I was going there to observe some wildlife that I frequently study. This was last September 2016. It was approximately 5 or 6 o’clock in the evening and as I was going to my usual sites and I observed that there was no wildlife active. I didn’t notice it at first but I did later on and as I was walking.
I walked up to a ridge and I noticed there was something diagonal from me. It was on the ground and it wasn’t moving. I was about 20 to 25 feet away from it. I moved towards it and it jumped up and spun around very quickly. I realized, you know, this was something very out of the ordinary, something I hadn’t seen before. And it was sitting there and it was staring at me and some minutes had passed and, at this point in time, it was making moans or growls. It was making sounds close to that. That’s the best way I can describe it. It was man-like. It was approximately 7 and a half to 8 feet tall and 4 and a half feet from shoulder to shoulder. It was very large and bulky. Some might say it was ape-like but in my opinion, due to my studying various wildlife, it was not anything close to being an ape. It was like a man. There was absolutely nothing ape about it. Very muscular. The hands, the best I can describe the hands are about a size 13 or 14 or maybe even larger, as far as trying to fit a ring on it. Very muscular. I cannot stress this enough. You could see the whites of the eyes, unlike other creatures. They were squinted and aggressive. The forehead was not apelike. It was more homo sapiens than ape. It did have full body hair except for the hands and feet. There was hair on the knees and elbows. It had hair like a man. The teeth. I was able to observe the teeth as they were bared most of the time. The teeth were like a man’s. They did have 3 or 4 canines but they were worn and pretty nasty. I stood in front of this creature for a significant amount of time. I didn’t know whether to run or just stand there or do whatever you do. Definitely, this creature could outrun me. Like I was saying, the hands and the skin were tanned. They weren’t black. I wouldn’t even say dark brown. They were just tanned. It did have fingernails. Human-like. They didn’t have blood on them. I was able to tell that.
This was all happening and as I was observing its hands, he was sizing me up. That’s the best way I can describe it. Then picked up a log. I was able to observe that. He was most likely right-handed. I know this is going to be hard to believe but it’s true and it chucked it in my general direction. Notice I said ‘him.’ It did have male sexual organs. I was able to observe that. No tail. It walked upright. It had brownish-reddish hair. It was matted. I’m not 100% sure if it was due to the Georgia clay or if that was his actual hair color. I was able to observe it was a mix of brown and red.
After it chucked the log, at this point in time, I started backing up slowly. It didn’t charge me or try to beat me or anything like that I was expecting. I was slowly backing up. There was a strong stench and body odor. Somewhat that of a wet dog. But, I’d say, probably a hundred times stronger. I was backing up and this all happened within 2 minutes. And I slowly started backing up down the ridge and eventually, I got out of sight and I made a beeline back to where I came from.
It was definitely real, beyond a shadow of a doubt. It was what some might say was a Bigfoot, Sasquatch, or whatever. It was not a man. It was not a native creature that’s seen every day. Someone might make their own decision about it. That’s all I got to say.
There wasn’t much to compare it to but about 400 pounds. The forehead was sunken back and the shoulders were more forward. It didn’t have a proper human posture. It was definitely leaning more forward than straight up. It’s rare to see somebody that would be as muscular as that creature. It was exhibiting more caution, on the verge of aggression. The eyes. I was able to observe the eyes did have more downright fear, but there was aggressiveness there. The eyes were squinted. The breathing was rapid and going by the noises the creature was making, it was threatened.” A
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TODAY’S TOP LINKS
Strange radio signals detected from Earth-like planet could be a magnetic field necessary for life
In Pentagon Leak, the problem is What’s Classified, Not What Gets Out
PHANTOMS & MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on Spotify
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This blog and newsletter are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Work 3.0 United States License.
Registered trademark PHANTOMS AND MONSTERS ® / PHANTOMS & MONSTERS ® – USPTO #90902480 – Lon D. Strickler
© 2005-2023 Phantoms & Monsters – All Rights Reserved