Videos

News: Top 5 Stories For April 23, 2021 (Reuters)

Five stories to know for April 23: Biden hosts climate change summit, Senate passes bill to fight anti-Asian hate crimes, Daunte Wright funeral, Biden’s tax plan and India’s COVID surge.

1. The United States and other countries hiked their targets for slashing greenhouse gas emissions at a global climate change summit hosted by President Joe Biden, an event meant to resurrect U.S. leadership in the fight against global warming.

2. A hate crimes bill to combat violence against Asian Americans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic passed the Senate overwhelmingly, a rare bipartisan vote in the evenly divided chamber. The bill passed 94-1, with Missouri Senator Josh Hawley the only no vote. It must pass the House of Representatives, where Democrats hold a clear majority. President Joe Biden has called for passage.

3. Hundreds of mourners filled a Minneapolis church for the funeral of Daunte Wright.

4. Biden will roll out a plan to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, including the largest-ever increase in levies on investment gains, sources say.

5. A police convoy escorting a tanker carrying oxygen reached a hospital in India’s capital just in time, to the huge relief of doctors and relatives of COVID-19 patients counting on the supply. India reported the world’s highest daily tally of coronavirus infections for a second day on Friday, surpassing 330,000 new cases, as it struggles with a health system overwhelmed by patients and plagued by accidents.

Aerial Views: ‘Verona – Northeastern Italy’ (4K)

Verona is a city in northern Italy’s Veneto region, with a medieval old town built between the meandering Adige River. It’s famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” A 14th-century residence with a tiny balcony overlooking a courtyard is said be “Juliet’s House.” The Verona Arena is a huge 1st-century Roman amphitheater, which currently hosts concerts and large-scale opera performances. 

Walking Tours: ‘Passage De Beaujolais’ – Paris (Video)

Rue Beaujolais is a street in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.

The street was named after Louis Charles, Count of Beaujolais, the son of Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans.

The street was established in 1784 on a part of the former Palais-Royal Garden when the Duke of Orléans had the stone galleries built. At this time, the street was named Passage de Beaujolais.

Views: The Netherlands – Cities & Landscapes (8K)

The Netherlands, a country in northwestern Europe, is known for a flat landscape of canals, tulip fields, windmills and cycling routes. Amsterdam, the capital, is home to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and the house where Jewish diarist Anne Frank hid during WWII. Canalside mansions and a trove of works from artists including Rembrandt and Vermeer remain from the city’s 17th-century “Golden Age.” 

Walking Tour: ‘Ravenna – Northwestern Italy’ (4K)

Ravenna is a city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It’s known for the colorful mosaics adorning many of its central buildings, like the octagonal Basilica di San Vitale, the 6th-century Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo and the cross-shaped Mausoleo di Galla Placidia. North of the center, the Mausoleo di Teodorico built in the 6th century for King Theodoric the Great, is a Gothic, circular stone tomb with a monolithic dome.

Engineering: The ‘British Airways i360 Viewing Tower In Brighton (Video)

British Airways i360 is a 162 m observation tower on the seafront of Brighton, East Sussex, England at the landward end of the remains of the West Pier. The tower opened on 4 August 2016. From the fully enclosed viewing pod, visitors experience 360-degree views across Brighton, the South Downs and the English Channel. 

Covid-19: Why China May Mix & Match Vaccines (WSJ)

Chinese Covid-19 vaccines offer relatively low levels of protection compared with some of their foreign rivals. Here is why China is joining other countries in considering mixing and matching vaccines as a key to overcoming multiple vaccination challenges at once. Illustration: Ksenia Shaikhutdinova

Climate Views: Rising High Water Levels In Kenya’s Great Rift Valley (Video)

In Kenya’s Rift Valley, climate change has brought an unprecedented increase in annual rainfall over the past several years, drowning pastureland, farms, homes, schools, churches, clinics and businesses.

The Great Rift Valley is part of an intra-continental ridge system that runs through Kenya from north to south. It is part of the Gregory Rift, the eastern branch of the East African Rift, which starts in Tanzania to the south and continues northward into Ethiopia.[1] It was formed on the “Kenyan Dome” a geographical upwelling created by the interactions of three major tectonics: the Arabian, Nubian, and Somalian plates.[2] In the past, it was seen as part of a “Great Rift Valley” that ran from Madagascar to Syria. Most of the valley falls within the former Rift Valley Province.

Analysis: The High Costs Of Air Pollution In The U.S.

Air pollution still remains one of the key environmental issues in the United States. Although it has seen incredible improvement since the 1970s, more than 4 in 10 Americans are still estimated to live in counties with poor air quality. Every year, air pollution kills more than 6 million people worldwide from heart attacks, stroke and diabetes. So just how clean is the air we breathe in the U.S.?

Earth Day – April 22, 2021: ‘Our Planet, Our Home’

NASA Earth science studies our planet all day, every day. By tracking the movement of our natural systems – and the effect of human activity on them – we can understand the patterns, causes and results of climate change on the elemental activities that sustain us.

On Earth Day, April 22, we take time to celebrate this wondrous planet with special discussions, events (virtual) and activities. Like our satellites, however, NASA’s Earth science goes on year-round, and we continuously create videos, activities, news and more to tell the story of what’s happening on and with our planet – and all always offered free and open to the public.

For the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2020, NASA created a special package of materials designed to mark Earth Day at Home. This included activities, videos, special programs and other materials in English and Spanish. You can find them all archived here.