News Information and Media Site: Climate change, without a doubt

THE BIG STORY

In case you had any doubts, scientists found climate change was definitely behind the deadly Pacific Northwest heatwave

A study released this week found that last week's devastating heatwave that killed hundreds in the Pacific Northwest and Canada would've been "virtually impossible" if not for climate change.

You might be thinking: this is a little quick to have a study turned around. It is! The results are a preliminary analysis, called a rapid attribution study. To produce it, an international team of 27 scientists examined the links between human-induced climate change and the heat wave.

They found that the blistering temperatures were made at least 150 times more likely to occur because of climate change.

One of the study authors and a climate scientist at the University of Oxford told reporters, "Basically without climate change, this event would not have happened." The expert said other climate attribution studies are making clear that "heat waves are increasing in likelihood by orders of magnitude more than any other type of extreme event."

He put it like this: "Heat waves [are] how climate change kills us today."

Portland residents fill a cooling center with a capacity of about 300 people at the Oregon Convention Center on June 27, 2021. Nathan Howard / Getty Images

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

Crews are no longer looking for survivors in the Surfside condo collapse

For two weeks, search and rescue crews have been scouring the rubble of the condo building that collapsed in Surfside, Florida. Their search has led to finding 54 bodies, but now officials say there are no signs any survivors can be found.

Officials announced they are ending their search and rescue operation and instead shifting to recovery efforts in hopes of finding the bodies of the 86 people who are still unaccounted for.

Early in their search, officials said they had detected sounds like banging under the steel and concrete debris — a hopeful sign.

By earlier this week however, fire officials said they no longer heard any sounds or saw any indications that there were still survivors in the wreck.

SNAPSHOTS

Trump's social media lawsuits are full of arguments courts have repeatedly rejected. Trump was kicked off Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for inciting the Jan. 6 riots at the US Capitol. He filed a lawsuit against each company — each featuring claims that multiple courts, including the US Supreme Court, have rebuffed.

Britney Spears' mom said the pop star has been able to care for herself for years. The statement came in a new filing from Lynne Spears' lawyers asking the court to allow her daughter to choose her own private attorney.

Darnella Frazier, the teen who filmed George Floyd's killing, said her uncle was killed by police in a car chase. Leneal Lamont Frazier was on his way home when police pursuing a suspect crashed into his car, his sister told BuzzFeed News.

HOUSE OF MOUSE

Disney adults are having a magical time whether you like it or not

Last month, my colleague Michael Blackmon put out a callout for Disney adults — grown people who are obsessed with everything Disney — to explain themselves. We got more than a thousand responses.

The diversity in responses was overwhelming. They ranged in age from 19 to 72 and lived all over the world — Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, and China. Talking to them helped Michael understand why Disney has such a vise grip-like hold on them — and their pockets; a general admission single-day ticket to most Disney parks costs at least $100.

But if you think this is about some kind of childhood nostalgia, you'd be mistaken. Disney adults are aficionados, obsessives, people who have forged a specific and unshakeable connection with the late Walt Disney's sprawling empire.

Read Blackmon's exploration of how for Disney adults, Disney is an ever-present lifestyle and they're not ashamed of it.

A woman poses on Disneyland's reopening day in April 2021. Jamie Lee Curtis Taete for Vogue.com

YOU HAVE OPTIONS

New paperbacks you won't want to put down

You're looking for new paperbacks you can take to the beach. We get it. We got you. From steamy YA to poetry to gripping novels, here are 13 new paperbacks that just came out — and we're pretty sure you won't want to put them down.

I hope the focus and clarity you need come easy today,

Elamin

📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.

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