nasa:

DYK the bright clusters and nebulae of planet Earth’s night sky are often named for flowers or insects? 

Though its wingspan covers over 3 light-years, NGC 6302: The Butterfly Nebula is no exception! With an estimated surface temperature of about 250,000 degrees C, the dying central star of this particular planetary nebula has become exceptionally hot, shining brightly in ultraviolet light but hidden from direct view by a dense torus of dust. This sharp close-up was recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009. The Hubble image data is reprocessed here, showing off the remarkable details of the complex planetary nebula.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, HLA; Reprocessing & Copyright: Robert Eder

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

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“It’s irresponsible to ask the National Park Service to absorb the costs of an additional and political event when there are so many unmet needs in the parks,” Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, which represents current, former and retired Park Service employees and volunteers, said in a statement to The Washington Post.

“The men and women of the National Park Service have been asked to do more with less for too long,” he continued. “Funds should be directed to the agency’s highest needs such as operation of the parks and the maintenance backlog and should not be directed to support political objectives.”

Although the total cost of the Independence Day event is not yet known, it comes at a time when the National Park Service faces a backlog of some $11 billion in maintenance. The Trump administration has also repeatedly called for cutting the National Park Service’s budget, while also moving to eliminate key environmental protections for the lands set aside for conservation.

Trump has reportedly been uniquely involved in planning this year’s annual Fourth of July celebration in Washington, according to The Post. In addition to being criticized for increasing costs for the event, the president has faced backlash for attempting to make himself the central focus of the celebration.

An op-ed published by The New York Times last month accused Trump of “hijacking” the Fourth of July festivities. “He is trampling a longstanding tradition of keeping these events nonpartisan — apolitical even — and focused on bringing the nation together,” a member of the paper’s editorial board argued.

The opinion piece pointed out that the last time a sitting U.S. president even participated directly in the Independence Day ceremony was Harry Truman back in 1951. Former President Richard Nixon later shared pre-recorded remarks that were aired on the National Mall in 1970.

Trump has proudly touted his involvement with this year’s event, hyping the fact that he will present an address during the celebration, which will be marked with massive fireworks displays and the armored military vehicles along the National Mall.

“One of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, DC,” the president wrote on Twitter back in February. He said it would be “A Salute to America,” and would feature a “major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite President, me!”

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The attorneys general from California and Massachusetts, Xavier Becerra and Maura Healey, said on Monday they are leading the case, after the EPA denied the states’ petition that it collect more data on asbestos.

A spokesman for the EPA and its administrator, Andrew Wheeler, said the agency does not discuss pending litigation.

Asbestos is a carcinogen once used widely in fireproofing and insulation. Many companies stopped using it by the mid-1970s after it was linked to mesothelioma and other types of cancer.

Federal law still allows limited uses of asbestos, and Congress in 2016 amended the federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to create a process for regulating the substance. Symptoms from asbestos exposure can take decades to surface.

“Asbestos is a known carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of people every year, yet the Trump administration is choosing to ignore the very serious health risks it poses,” Healey, a Democrat, said in a statement.

“There’s too much at stake to let the EPA ignore the danger that deadly asbestos poses to our communities, including to workers and children,” added Becerra, also a Democrat.

Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington state joined the lawsuit.

The EPA has said protecting people from asbestos exposure is a priority, including through an April rule giving it power to review asbestos products that were no longer on the market before they could be sold again in the United States.

In denying the states’ petition, the EPA determined that it was already aware of all current uses of asbestos, and had the essential information needed to assess the risks, according to the Federal Register.

But the states believe this denial was arbitrary and capricious, and violated the EPA’s obligations under the TSCA.

The lawsuit was filed late on Friday in the federal court in Oakland, California.

It is one of many lawsuits by Democratic-controlled or Democratic-leaning states challenging policies by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican, including the rolling back of some environmental protections.

The case is California et al v Environmental Protection Agency et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-03807.

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Rebel HQ’s Emma Vigeland (https://Twitter.com/EmmaVigeland) covered a clash between Trump supporters and climate activists outside the Democratic Debate in Miami, Florida.

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A federal judge has ordered immigration officials to allow doctors and public health professionals into detention facilities housing migrant children to address safety and sanitation concerns.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee of California’s Central District asked on Friday for an independent monitor to ensure that the government quickly deals with the allegedly filthy conditions in Border Patrol facilities and that doctors assess the detained children’s medical needs, according to The New York Times. Gee gave a July 12 deadline for the Trump administration to report on what has been done “post haste” to fix the conditions.

The order forces the government to allow the facilities to be inspected by public health professionals and staffed by medical professionals. It involves all of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s facilities in Texas’ El Paso and Rio Grande Valley sectors, which are the subjects of a lawsuit reacting to reports of unsanitary conditions at the detention centers.

A group of lawyers filed a June 26 temporary restraining order with Gee to hold the Trump administration in contempt. The filing is related to the Flores settlement, a 1997 agreement that details child welfare standards in detention.

“Children are held for weeks in deplorable conditions, without access to soap, clean water, showers, clean clothing, toilets, toothbrushes, adequate nutrition or adequate sleep,” the court filing stated. “The children, including infants and expectant mothers, are dirty, cold, hungry and sleep-deprived.”

A CBP official declined to comment to HuffPost after the Friday ruling, citing pending litigation.

Gee’s emergency order comes in the midst of nationwide concern about the inhumane conditions in Border Patrol facilities, which some experts have said qualify as concentration camps. Government officials have previously argued that they’re responding as best they can given the surge in new arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border. A record number of children and families are crossing the border, and some facilities have temporarily shut down or quarantined children because of sickness.

Five migrant children have died in Border Patrol custody since December, and a sixth was recently discovered to have died in September.

The lawyers who filed the lawsuit against the Trump administration did so after interviewing dozens of minors at the facilities mentioned in the court filing. The children described being hungry, cold, sick, having to take care of detained infants, and not being allowed to bathe or brush their teeth.

“The declarations paint a picture of wanton disregard for the safety and welfare of children in their care,” said Hope Frye, an immigration lawyer who spoke with the children. “There is complicity across Customs and Border Protection in the systematic persecution of children and the cruel and inhuman circumstances in which they are kept.”

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bax16:

propheticfire:

Please unmute this it is exactly what you think it is and it’s hilarious.

@horse-is-a-horse-of-course

philosophybitmaps:

“None are more taken in by flattery than the proud, who wish to be the first and are not.” – Baruch Spinoza, Ethics