Latest news with #JenZoratti
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Science
- Winnipeg Free Press
Astronomers track object that may have originated outside the solar system
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers are monitoring an object headed our way that may have wandered over from another star system. Scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, the European Space Agency said Wednesday. The harmless object is currently near Jupiter hundreds of millions of miles (kilometers) away and moving toward Mars, but it should get no closer to the sun than that, according to scientists. It's too soon to know whether the object, designated for now as A11pl3Z, is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet, or how big and what shape it is. More observations are needed to confirm its origins. NASA said it is monitoring the situation. Astrophysicist Josep Trigo-Rodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences near Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar object based on its odd path and extreme speed cutting through the solar system. He estimates its size at roughly 25 miles (40 kilometers) across. The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017. It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, in honor of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it. Classified at first as an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet. The second object confirmed to have strayed from another star system into our own is 21/Borisov, discovered in 2019 and believed to be a comet. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Microsoft announces another mass layoff, thousands of workers affected
Microsoft is firing thousands of workers, its second mass layoff in months. The tech giant began sending out layoff notices Wednesday. The company declined to say how many people would be laid off but said that it will comprise less than 4% of the workforce it had a year ago. Microsoft said the cuts will affect multiple teams around the world, including its sales division and its Xbox video game business. 'We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,' it said in a statement. Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers as of last June, the last time it reported its annual headcount. The company said Wednesday that its latest layoffs would cut close to 4% of that workforce, which would be about 9,000 people. But it has already had at least three layoffs this year. Until now, the biggest was in May, when Microsoft began laying off about 6,000 workers, nearly 3% of its global workforce and its largest job cuts in more than two years as the company spent heavily on artificial intelligence. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. Microsoft also cut another 300 workers based out of its Redmond, Washington headquarters in June, on top of nearly 2,000 who lost their jobs in the Puget Sound region in May, according to notices it sent to Washington state employment officials. The layoffs announced in May were heavily focused on people in software engineering and product management roles, according to lists the company sent to employment agencies in Washington and California — where the cuts also hit Microsoft offices in the San Francisco Bay Area. Microsoft's chief financial officer Amy Hood said on an April earnings call that the company was focused on 'building high-performing teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers.' The company has repeatedly characterized its recent layoffs as part of a push to trim management layers, but the May focus on software engineering jobs has fueled worries about how the company's own AI code-writing products could reduce the number of people need for programming jobs. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said earlier this year that 'maybe 20, 30% of the code' for some of Microsoft's coding projects 'are probably all written by software.'
Winnipeg Free Press
10 hours ago
- Climate
- Winnipeg Free Press
Hurricane Flossie strengthens further off Mexico's Pacific coast
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Flossie has strengthened into a powerful Category 3 hurricane off Mexico's southwestern Pacific coast with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. The hurricane center said Flossie would begin weakening later Wednesday. The center said Flossie was about 315 miles (505 kilometers) south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas and was moving west-northwest off the Mexican coast at 10 kph (17 mph). It was expected to skirt the coast for a few days while dropping rain on several Mexican states. While its center is forecast to remain offshore, rainfall up to 150 mm (6 inches) was likely for parts of the Mexican states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco into Wednesday, with the possibility of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in steep terrain. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Climate
- Winnipeg Free Press
Hurricane Flossie is now a Category 2 off the Pacific coast of Mexico
MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Flossie strengthened to a Category 2 cyclone Tuesday morning off the Pacific coast of Mexico, forecasters said. The National Hurricane Center said Flossie had maximum sustained winds at 100 mph (155 kph) and that rain was falling over parts of coastal Mexico. The hurricane was centered 150 miles (245 kilometers) southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. Flossie was moving to the northwest at 10 mph (17 kph) and was expected to continue that motion over the next few days. The system should move away from southwestern Mexico by Tuesday night, forecasters said. The hurricane was forecast to continue strengthening and could be a major hurricane as soon as Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. A major hurricane is classified as Category 3 or higher, with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph (180 kph).
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Climate
- Winnipeg Free Press
Tropical Storm Flossie strengthens, hurricane warning issued for Mexico's Pacific coast
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical Storm Flossie strengthened off Mexico's southwestern Pacific coast on Monday as the remnants of what was Tropical Storm Barry dumped rain on eastern Mexico. Flossie strengthened with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph). It was centered about 160 miles (255 kilometers) south-southwest of Zihuatanejo and was moving northwest at 10 mph. Mexico's government issued a tropical storm warning along the southwestern coast from Punta San Telmo to Playa Perula. A tropical storm watch remained in effect for the southwest coast from Zihuatanejo to Cabo Corrientes. A watch means tropical storm conditions are possible in the area within two days. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. Flossie is expected to rapidly intensify into a hurricane late Monday or Tuesday, then skirt the coast for a few days. While its center is forecast to remain offshore, moderate rain was likely in parts of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco through early next week. Meanwhile, the remnants of Barry were bringing heavy rain to Mexico's Gulf coast after it came ashore as a tropical depression south of Tampico with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
