See an Incredible Photo of Friday Night’s Blue Moon

See an Incredible Photo of Friday Night’s Blue Moon

It usually happens just once every couple of years

The second full moon of July rose Friday night, a phenomenon referred to as a “blue moon.”

Though the phrase “once in a blue moon” is meant to describe a rare event, a blue moon is neither rare, or blue. “Blue moon” is actually a term used to describe the second full moon in a single calendar month. Most years only have 12 moons, but this year has 13, which happens every two to three years, according to astronomers. “Blue moons” don’t actually appear blue, but the moon can appear blue after events on earth like wildfires and volcanic eruptions, according to NASA.

How To Be More Innovative in 21st Century Learning

How To Be More Innovative in 21st Century Learning

Try connecting the dots between science and humanities

Today’s college students may benefit from an exciting array of subjects to study. But they seem to miss the most important education of all: how to relate their specialization to others in an increasingly interconnected world.

The National Academy of Engineering has categorically stated that today’s engineers need to be more than individuals who simply “like math and science.” They must be “creative problem-solvers” who help “shape our future” by improving our “health, happiness, and safety.”

And in 2001, the engineering accreditation body ABET added a new criterion so as to ensure that students get “the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context.”

The point is that the connections between humanities and science have been lost in today’s separation of disciplines. Indeed, a recent report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences discovered that humanities and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) training majors largely dwell in different silos.

So, where and how did we lose our way? And how can educators and institutions change things?

Calais migrant crisis UK border security increased in bid to stop migrants

New security measures targeting thousands of migrants trying to get into the UK from the French port of Calais have been ordered by British prime minister David Cameron.

More sniffer dogs and Border Force search teams will be deployed to stop migrants breaching the fence surrounding the Euro tunnel at Calais and desperately trying to jump on trains to reach Britain, Mr Cameron said.

The announcement followed the promise of millions of dollars for improved fencing around the rail and tunnel complex.

Mr Cameron is under growing pressure to deter the migrants, many of whom have travelled from Africa and the Middle East, after repeated disruption to cross-Channel passenger and freight traffic, which has become front page news.

He made the announcement after calls from some politicians to mobilise the British army to reinforce border controls.

The French government had ordered extra police in an attempt to stop the migrants, but to little effect.

Re-elected in May, Mr Cameron promised to cut net annual migration to Britain to the tens of thousands — a pledge he failed to keep during his first 2010 to 2015 term in office when it hit a near record high of over 300,000 people per year.

The issue is a sensitive one for Mr Cameron as it plays into Britain's debate about Europe ahead of an EU membership referendum which he has promised to hold by the end of 2017 after trying to reshape his country's ties with the bloc.

Migrants have long gathered in Calais to try to board lorries and ferries to Britain.

But Eurotunnel, the firm that runs freight and passenger shuttles via the Channel Tunnel, said their numbers had now swelled to around 5,000 people from about 600 and that it was struggling to cope.

It said the migrants had also become better organised, mounting nightly attempts in large groups to storm the facilities.

Eurotunnel was sometimes forced to suspend its services because of such activity, causing disruption at what is one of the busiest times of the year for British holidaymakers.

The situation has caught the imagination of Britain's tabloid newspapers, becoming a political headache for Mr Cameron, who has spent the past week in south-east Asia on a trade mission while the crisis has flared.

He is under pressure to get tough on the migrants from many MPs in his ruling Conservative Party who said voters were fed-up with what they saw as lax border controls.

But he also had to contend with political rivals who were unhappy with the tone of the debate.

The opposition Labour Party criticised Mr Cameron for referring to the migrants as a "swarm of people".

It said the term was dehumanising and stirred public hostility against people often fleeing poverty and conflict.

Trucks remained backed up on the English side, as Operation Stack — which regulates delayed truck traffic — continued into the weekend

New security measures will target the thousands of migrants breaching the fence surrounding the Euro tunnel at Calais and desperately trying to jump on trains to reach Britain. 

WHO Seeks Virus Tests After Sewage Found in Rio’s Olympic Waters

WHO Seeks Virus Tests After Sewage Found in Rio’s Olympic Waters

A fisherman casts his line as birds fly over the Sao Conrado beach in Rio de Janeiro on Feb. 26, 2015.

Officials are concerned about athletes' health

(RIO DE JANEIRO) — The World Health Organization has asked the IOC to analyze virus levels in Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic waters, and the governing body of world sailing says it will start doing its own independent virus tests.

The moves come after an Associated Press investigation showed a serious health risk to Olympic athletes in venues around Rio rife with sewage.

In a statement to the AP, the World Health Organization said it suggested the International Olympic Committee start monitoring for viruses at the Rio venues.

“WHO has also advised the IOC to widen the scientific base of indicators to include viruses,” the statement said. “The risk assessment should be revised accordingly, pending the results of further analysis. The Rio Local Organizing Committee and the IOC are requested to follow WHO recommendations on treatment of household and hospital waste.”

A spokesman from the Rio organizing committee referred comment to the IOC, which is meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Olympic organizers and the Brazilian government have tested only for bacteria to decide if the water is safe. Many experts say viruses are a far bigger problem and need to be monitored.

The International Sailing Federation said independently it would start testing for viruses.

“We’re going to find someone who can do the testing for us that can safely cover what we need to know from a virus perspective as well as the bacteria perspective,” Peter Sowrey, chief executive of the ISF, said. “That’s my plan.”

Wikileaks releases documents reportedly showing US spied on Japan for years

The Wikileaks website has published what it claims are leaked documents from the US National Security Agency showing that America spied on Japan, one of its closest allies in the Asia Pacific.

The whistle-blowing website also claimed the US shared some of its intelligence with Australia.

The intercepts exposing US National Security Agency activities follow other documents released by the whistleblower group that revealed spying on allies including Germany and France, straining relations.

Wikileaks has published five documents, four of which are marked "top secret" - which purport to reveal details of the Japanese government's positions and tactics on climate change and trade negotiations from 2007 to 2009.

The website also published a list of claimed US surveillance targets in Japan that included Japanese politicians, its top central banker and major firms.

One document on Japan's climate strategy for the 2008 G8 summit, is marked for sharing with Australia and other allies Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.

"In these documents we see the Japanese government worrying in private about how much or how little to tell the United States, in order to prevent undermining of its climate change proposal or its diplomatic relationship," WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange said in a statement.

"And yet we now know that the United States heard everything and read everything, and was passing around the deliberations of Japanese leadership to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK."

The US won't comment on the veracity of the documents, and Tokyo did not immediately react to the revelations.

Flooded Vietnam coal mines leaking toxic slurry into World Heritage-listed Ha Long Bay environmentalists

PHOTO: Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site visited by millions of tourists each year. 

Heavy rainfall in northern Vietnam has killed at least 17 people and inundated major coal mines, causing concern among environmentalists about the contamination of the nation's top tourist attraction and World Heritage-listed Ha Long Bay.

A week of persistent rain in Quang Ninh province has displaced thousands of people as houses and roads deluged by floodwater runoff from 16 open pit coal mines and three coal-fired power plants escaped inadequate holding ponds.

Footage on local news website VnExpress shows communities in Cam Pha City evacuating through knee-deep muddy coal slurry from nearby mines that broke confinement banks last week.

In a statement, international clean water resources environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance said the runoff was filled with a potentially hazardous toxic slurry including heavy metals arsenic, boron, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, selenium and thallium.

It said local reports of severe flooding inundating the Lang Khanh harbour area and Dien Vong river are awash with fresh leakages from the Quang Ninh coal-fired power plant, located on the waterfront that connects directly to Ha Long Bay.

With its floating villages, vast caves and green-tinged limestone rocks, Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site visited by millions of tourists each year.

Around 1,500 tourists were rescued as the rain set in, with the Vietnamese military assisting rescue efforts.

The region is also a major source of coal, thousands of tonnes of which were swept away in the floods, according to the state-owned Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Corporation, Vinacomin.

On the company's website, Vinacomin's chairman said operations at many of its coal mines had been suspended, without mention of any pollution issues.

Australian, film industry celebrates best year in two decades amid brawl over foreign actors' visas

Mad Max: Fury Road is placing at ninth sport in the all-time top then Australian films.

The Australian film industry has done a roaring trade at the local box office this year, with 2015 shaping up to be the best year in two decades.

Blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road has led the charge, taking more than $21 million at the cinema, placing it at ninth spot in the all-time top ten Australian films.

The Water Diviner, starring Russell Crowe, earned more than $15 million in Australia, and the low budget family film Paper Planes was a surprise hit raking in more than $10 million.

But Australians are a fickle lot when it comes to supporting the home-grown product at the cinema.

2014 ended up as the second worst year for box office takings in four decades.

This year's bumper business coincides with a push by producers for a major change in the way foreign actors and crew are granted visas to work in Australia.

Currently the union representing actors — the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance — has to sign off on any visa granted to a foreigner to work on a production that has any subsidy from the Australian taxpayer.

Many Australian films receive some of their funding from Screen Australia or the various state-based film financing bodies, along with tax breaks

The Screen Producers Association wants the union to be taken out of the equation.

"For everyone that comes into the country, the union is involved in the decision that is made," said Matthew Deaner, executive director at SPA.

"The question is why does that happen, and is there any other industry in Australia that does that, or is there any other industry globally that does that? And the answer to both of those questions is no."

The SPA argues the process is costly, time-consuming, and an added layer of red tape.

But actors who support the status quo say it is a system that developed decades ago to ensure Australians tell their own stories, especially when funded by the taxpayers.

Actor Geoff Morrell, who has been one of the faces of the union campaign against change, said the current rules were what had helped create a true Australian film industry.

"I think we're really putting at risk the future of our industry, for maybe some short-term gain," he said.

Morrell fears removing the union from the equation could lead to complete deregulation, and the end of limits on foreigners working on Australian productions.

Under the rules for films with taxpayer support, at least 50 per cent of lead roles and 75 per cent of support roles must be filled by Australian performers.