Historic flooding, mudslides leave behind devastation at Yellowstone National Park. The stories of family members lost in the Ukraine war. And why Lizzo changed a song lyric.
👋 Hey! Laura Davis here, and it’s Flag Day! Ever wondered why it’s called “Old Glory”? Here are five fast facts. Now, let’s get to Tuesday’s news!
But first, what would you do to earn $2,000? 🤑 I? Specifically not this: A North Carolina pest control company is offering cash in exchange for releasing 100 cockroaches in your home as part of a study. Good luck to everyone involved.
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🗳 It’s Primary Tuesday: Voters in Maine, Nevada, South Carolina and North Dakota will vote in primary races on issues from abortion to Donald Trump to control of the Senate. Here’s what you need to know.
Extreme weather leaves devastation in Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park officials assessed widespread damage Tuesday as the park remained closed amid dangerous floods, mudslides and rockslides that have eroded roads, ripped apart bridges and led to evacuations this week. The flooding started to slowly recede Tuesday, but the record-level floods left all five entrances to the park closed through at least Wednesday, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries, but floodwaters swept away a number of homes, bridges and other structures with the northern part of the park suffering the worst damage. Keep reading.
Ukrainians tell stories of loved ones lost in the war
Anna Priymenko’s youngest nephew, a budding soccer player, was only 5 years old when he was killed by the bomb that hit his family’s home. Her other two nephews were 10 and 15. They loved sambo, a martial art that originated in the former USSR. Her only brother de ella owned a textile business, donating countless blankets and pillows after the war began, and her mother de ella was a kindergarten teacher. When she heard of their deaths, “the world collapsed,” said Anna, 37. “I am basically left alone.” Thousands of civilians have been killed in the Russian war on Ukraine, and countless people like Anna have been left alone in the aftermath, figuring out how to move forward when those they loved most are gone. “It is clear that this time may pass, it may settle down a little, but… it will never be the way it was. It will never be,” Anna said. These are the stories of the lives destroyed and devastated by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
What everyone’s talking about
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Eyes to the sky: Strawberry supermoon rises tonight
Get ready to scan the skies for the second supermoon of the year. June’s strawberry moon appears opposite the sun Tuesday, and it will remain full through Wednesday morning, NASA reported. It won’t be visible to stargazers in North America until later Tuesday night, when it drifts above the horizon, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. So why is it called the strawberry moon? Don’t be deceived by the name: Its origin has nothing to do with the moon’s hue or appearance, according to the almanac. Native American Algonquin tribes inhabiting the northeastern US – along with as well as the Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota peoples – have used the strawberry moon to mark the time for gathering ripened June-bearing strawberries, the almanac said. Keep reading to learn more. 🍓
Millions swelter under dangerous heat wave
Dangerous, record-setting heat had nearly one-third of the US population in its grip Tuesday – from the Upper Midwest to the Southeast – on the cusp of summer’s official arrival. The National Weather Service issued excessive-heat warnings, watches and heat advisories for more than 100 million people as temperatures were expected to arise 10 to 20 degrees above normal from the Plains, the Midwest and some areas along the East Coast, according to AccuWeather. Here’s what we know about Tuesday’s severe heat.
real quick
Lizzo changes lyric after backlash over offensive term
After being accused of using an ableist slur in her latest track “Grrrls,” Lizzo shared an apology and released a new version of her song. In a Twitter post Tuesday, the singer said an updated version of “Grrrls,” the latest single from her coming album, “Special,” was released after she learned its lyrics contained “a harmful word.” The original lyric that offended fans came from the song’s line, “Do you see this (expletive)? I’m a spaz,” with many claiming that “spaz” is an ableist slur. “Spaz” has often been used as slang to describe losing physical or emotional control, but has fallen increasingly out of fashion because of its origin from “spastic,” “a form of muscular weakness (spastic paralysis, typical of cerebral palsy,” according to Lexico, an online dictionary.The controversy is a reminder that other slang terms in our vernacular have derived from more-serious origins, making it important to put more thought behind what we speak. Keep reading to learn more.
A break from the news
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism