‘The era of global boiling has arrived,’ says UN boss, as White House announces provisions to protect workers from extreme heat
As one construction worker wipes his brow, two other roofers work under a 90 degree temperature at a housing complex under construction in Clarksburg, Maryland on July 26, 2023.
Michael S. Williamson | The Washington Post | Getty Images
“The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”
So said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in a speech Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York City. He focused on new data released from the European Union and the World Meteorological Organization, declaring July is set to be the hottest month on record.
Also on Thursday, President Biden announced provisions to protect workers and communities from extreme heat, and had meetings scheduled with Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix, Arizona, and Mayor Ron Nirenberg of San Antonio, Texas, to discuss how their cities are handling extreme heat and how the federal government can help.
Phoenix has had a brutal summer, and earlier this month, the city broke a 1974 record for the consecutive number of days the temperature has reached over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service.
“For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe, it is a cruel summer,” Guterres said. “For the entire planet, it is a disaster.”
The record heat affecting communities across the globe is caused by climate change, and although the phenomenon has long been predicted, the pace of change is devastating, Guterres said.
“For scientists, it is unequivocal — humans are to blame,” Guterres said. “All this is entirely consistent with predictions and repeated warnings. The only surprise is the speed of the change. Climate change is here. It is terrifying, and it is just the beginning.”
US Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks about climate change at UN headquarters in New York City on July 27, 2023.
Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images
On Thursday, much of the United States was blanketed in what the National Weather Service called “a dangerous heat wave.” Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston are under a heat advisory, and the New York City metro area is under an excessive heat warning, according to a Thursday bulletin by the National Weather Service. Numerous high maximum and high minimum temperature records are expected to be broken through Saturday, the National Weather Service said.
Guterres said it is still possible to limit global warming to to 1.5° Celsius above preindustrial levels, as the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement has called for, but “only with dramatic, immediate climate action.”
“We have seen some progress: a robust rollout of renewables, some positive steps from sectors such as shipping,” Guterres said. “But none of this is going far enough or fast enough.”
Greenhouse gas emissions have to be reduced globally and quickly, Guterres emphasized, adding that “fossil fuel companies must chart their move towards clean energy, with detailed transition plans across the entire value chain: No more greenwashing. No more deception.”
In his speech, Guterres also underlined his view that countries must invest in adaptation measures.
“Extreme weather is becoming the new normal,” he said. “All countries must respond and protect their people from the searing heat, fatal floods, storms, drought and raging fires that result.”
Rick White drinks water while cooling down in his tent in a section of the ‘The Zone’, Phoenix’s largest homeless encampment, amid the city’s worst heat wave on record on July 25, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. White said, ‘The extreme heat is one thing, but the direct sun, it drains you quick…That sun will have you delirious.’ While Phoenix endures periods of extreme heat every year, today is predicted to mark the 26th straight day of temperatures reaching 110 degrees or higher, a new record amid a long duration heat wave in the Southwest. Extreme heat kills more people than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined in an average year in the U.S. Unhoused people are at an especially high risk of heat-related illness or death.
Mario Tama | Getty Images News | Getty Images
To address the conditions, the Biden administration asked the Department of Labor to issue a Hazard Alert Thursday to give workers protections from heat under federal law. There have been 436 work-related deaths caused by heat exposure since 2011, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and thousands are hospitalized every year due to heat, according to the White House. The Hazard Alert is aimed at helping employers understand what they should be doing to protect workers from extreme heat and help workers understand their rights.
For help with future preparations, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will put $7 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to improve weather forecasting.
US President Joe Biden, joined by acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Dr. Rick Spinrad, speaks during a briefing on extreme heat conditions, in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, in Washington, DC, on July 27, 2023.
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images
“The need for actionable weather information never ends, and neither do our efforts to make that information as accurate as possible,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a written statement about the funding. “This new consortium funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will help us stay on the cutting edge and help continue innovation needed for more precise forecasts.”
Another heat-related initiative that President Biden announced Thursday is a $152 million investment, also from the IRA, to improve water storage capacity in areas of California, Colorado and Washington that have been particularly affected by drought.
In addition to a rigorous plan to reduce greenhouse gas emission and improve adaptation, Guterres also called for developed countries to live up to commitments to provide $100 billion per year in climate support to developing countries and for the global financial system to be more aggressive in using its power to combat climate change.
“The evidence is everywhere: Humanity has unleashed destruction,” Guterres said. “This must not inspire despair, but action.”
Anne Wojcicki attends the WSJ Magazine Style & Tech Dinner in Atherton, California, on March 15, 2023.
Kelly Sullivan | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki and New Mountain Capital have submitted a proposal to take the embattled genetic testing company private, according to a Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Wojcicki and New Mountain have offered to acquire all of 23andMe’s outstanding shares in cash for $2.53 per share, or an equity value of approximately $74.7 million. The company’s stock closed at $2.42 on Friday with a market cap of about $65 million.
The offer comes after a turbulent year for 23andMe, with the stock losing more than 80% of its value in 2024. In January, the company announced plans to explore strategic alternatives, which could include a sale of the company or its assets, a restructuring or a business combination.
23andMe has a special committee of independent directors in place to evaluate potential paths forward. The company appointed three new independent directors to its board in October after all seven of its previous directors abruptly resigned the prior month. The special committee has to approve Wojcicki and New Mountain’s proposal.
“We believe that our Proposal provides compelling value and immediate liquidity to the Company’s public stockholders,” Wojcicki and Matthew Holt, managing director and president of private equity at New Mountain, wrote in a letter to the special committee on Thursday.
Wojcicki previously submitted a proposal to take the company private for 40 cents per share in July, but it was rejected by the special committee, in part because the members said it lacked committed financing and did not provide a premium to the closing price at the time.
Wojcicki and New Mountain are willing to provide secured debt financing to fund 23andMe’s operations through the transaction’s closing, the filing said. New Mountain is based in New York and has $55 billion of assets under management, according to its website.
23andMe declined to comment.
WATCH: The rise and fall of 23andMe
Hims & Hers
Shares of Hims & Hers Health tumbled more than 23% on Friday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that the shortage of semaglutide injection products has been resolved.
Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk‘s blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic. Those medications are part of a class of drugs called GLP-1s, and demand for the treatments has exploded in recent years. As a result, digital health companies such as Hims & Hers have been prescribing compounded semaglutide as an alternative for patients who are navigating volatile supply hurdles and insurance obstacles.
Compounded drugs are custom-made alternatives to brand-name drugs designed to meet a specific patient’s needs, and compounders are allowed to produce them when brand-name treatments are in shortage. The FDA doesn’t review the safety and efficacy of compounded products.
Hims & Hers began offering compounded semaglutide to patients in May, and it owns compounding pharmacies that produce the medications.
Compounded medications are typically much cheaper than their branded counterparts. Hims & Hers sells compounded semaglutide for less than $200 per month, while Ozempic and Wegovy both cost around $1,000 per month without insurance.
The FDA said Friday that it will start taking action against compounders for violations in the next 60 to 90 days, depending on the type of facility, in order to “avoid unnecessary disruption to patient treatment.”
“Now that the FDA has determined the drug shortage for semaglutide has been resolved, we will continue to offer access to personalized treatments as allowed by law to meet patient needs,” Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum posted Friday on X. “We’re also closely monitoring potential future shortages, as Novo Nordisk stated two weeks ago that it would continue to have ‘capacity limitations’ and ‘expected continued periodic supply constraints and related drug shortage notifications.'”
Him & Hers’ weight loss offerings have been a massive hit with investors. Shares of the company climbed more than 200% last year, and the stock is already up more than 100% this year despite Friday’s move.
Even before it added compounded GLP-1s to its portfolio, the company said in its 2023 fourth-quarter earnings call that it expects its weight loss program to bring in more than $100 million in revenue by the end of 2025.
Despite the turbulent regulatory landscape, Hims & Hers has showed no signs of slowing down.
On Friday, the company announced it has acquired a U.S.-based peptide facility that will “further verticalize the company’s long-term ability to deliver personalized medications.” Hims & Hers will explore advances across metabolic optimization, recovery science, biological resistances, cognitive performance and preventative health through the acquisition, the company said.
That move comes just days after Hims & Hers also bought Trybe Labs, the New Jersey-based at-home lab testing facility. Trybe Labs will allow Hims & Hers to perform at-home blood draws and more comprehensive pretreatment testing.
Hims & Hers did not disclose the terms of either deal.
Technology
Tesla recalls more than 375,000 vehicles in U.S. due to failing power-assisted steering systems
Tesla models Y and 3 are displayed at a Tesla dealership in Corte Madera, California, on Dec. 20, 2024.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Tesla is voluntarily recalling 376,241vehicles in the U.S. to correct an issue with failing power-assisted steering systems, according to records posted to the website of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In a safety recall report posted on the NHTSA website, Tesla said the recall includes Model 3 and Model Y vehicles that were manufactured for sale in the U.S. from Feb. 28, 2023, to October 11, 2023, and that were equipped with a certain older software release.
The records said printed circuit boards in the steering systems in affected vehicles could become overstressed, causing the power-assist steering to fail in some cases when a Tesla vehicle rolled to a stop and then accelerated.
When electronic power-assist steering systems fail in a Tesla, drivers need to exert more force to steer their cars, which can increase the risk of a collision.
Tesla told the vehicle safety regulator that it was not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths related to the power steering failures, and that it was offering an over-the-air software update as a remedy.
The recall follows an earlier related probe and voluntary recall in China concerning the same systems.
President Donald Trump has appointed Tesla CEO Elon Musk to lead a team that is slashing the federal government workforce, and in some cases, regulations and entire agencies. Those cuts already affected the NHTSA, an agency Musk has long seen as standing in the way of some of his ambitions at Tesla.
The regulator has been engaged in a yearslong investigation into safety defects in the systems that Tesla markets currently as its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (Supervised) options. The features do not make Tesla cars into robotaxis. They require a human driver ready to steer or brake at any time.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Musk’s team has led mass firings at the NHTSA, reducing the agency’s workforce and capacity to investigate companies including Tesla by about 10%.
Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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