Events

This morning, a pair of earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 rocked the area around Caracas, Venezuela, killing at least 164 people across a wide area along the Caribbean coast.

The UK hit another record temperature today for the hottest June day ever recorded. The 36.4°C in Yeovilton, Somerset this afternoon comes just one day after breaking the 50-year old record. (The hottest day ever in the UK was 19 July 2022, when Coningsby, Lincolnshire hit 40.3°C. However, it was so dry—the dewpoint only hit 9°C—that the heat index only got up to 38.2°C.)

The Met Office has continued a Red Extreme Heat Warning for most of England and Wales, with Wiggonholt, Sussex hitting the highest June temperature ever recorded at 35.8°C. Gatwick is currently reporting 35°C with a heat index of 38.6°C, which is the psychological equivalent of 120°F in Chicago.

I went to my first Chicago White Sox game 31 years after my first baseball game because, as a lifelong Cubs fan, I had certain prejudices and stereotypes about the South Side team.

Two politically-significant endings this morning. First, of course, is that UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has resigned, though he plans to stay on until a new Labour Party leader is chosen:

As Dr Harper pointed out, the June solstice was Markdig.Syntax.Inlines.EmphasisInline, not yesterday. The Daily Parker regrests the error.

The June solstice occurred at 8:24 UTC (3:24 CDT) this morning, while I was sound asleep. Because of that jerk Johannes Kepler, sunrises have already started getting later since Sunday, though in Chicago we still get sunsets after 8:30 pm until July 3rd. (The latest sunset of the year is next Sunday.)

I still can't get over the OAFPOTUS being the only person in the room who failed to grasp the significance of signing a humiliating treaty in Versailles. Even the Germans were laughing at us.

From my perch overlooking the lake, I occasionally see some interesting vehicular activity, like enormous cargo ships or, today, a military helicopter.