A polar air mass has brought record low temperatures to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, causing at least 15 deaths and forcing governments to restrict gas supplies and activate emergency shelters.

The three South American countries have all recorded sharply below-zero temperatures as the polar air originated from Antarctica and swept across the region.

In Argentina, at least nine homeless people have died from the cold this winter, according to NGO Proyecto 7.

The capital Buenos Aires recorded its lowest temperature since 1991 at -1.9 deg C on July 2, while the coastal city of Miramar saw snow for the first time in 34 years. Further south, the town of Maquinchao recorded –18 deg C on July 1.

Electricity demand caused cuts across Buenos Aires, leaving thousands without power for over 24 hours in some areas.

As European countries struggle with heat waves, some LATAM countries are facing polar air mass from South Pole.

and there is a video of heavy snowfall in the Atacama Desert

https://xcancel.com/BuenosDiasTVN/status/1938595103146168376

The facility, at an airport used for training, will have an initial capacity of about 3,000 detainees, DeSantis said. The center was built in eight days and features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet (8,500 meters) of barbed wire and 400 security personnel.

Immigrants who are arrested by Florida law enforcement officers under the federal government’s 287(g) program will be taken to the facility, according to an official in President Donald Trump’s administration. The program is led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and allows police officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation.

The facility is expected to be expanded in 500 bed increments until it has an estimated 5,000 beds by early July.

a feature we never asked for

• Meta is training custom AI chatbots to send unprompted follow-up messages and boost user engagement.
• Contractors at Alignerr help develop bots that remember chats and personalize replies on Meta apps.
• Mark Zuckerberg has said AI companions are a potential fix for the "loneliness epidemic."

A 64-year-old man went to the emergency department of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston with a painful festering ulcer spreading on his left, very swollen ankle. It was a gruesome sight; the open sore was about 8 by 5 centimeters (about 3 by 2 inches) and was rimmed by black, ashen, and dark purple tissue. Inside, it oozed with streaks and fringes of yellow pus around pink and red inflamed flesh. It was 2 cm deep (nearly an inch). And it smelled.

The man told doctors it had all started two years prior, when dark, itchy lesions appeared in the area on his ankle—the doctors noted that there were multiple patches of these lesions on both his legs. But about five months before his visit to the emergency department, one of the lesions on his left ankle had progressed to an ulcer. It was circular, red, tender, and deep. He sought treatment and was prescribed antibiotics, which he took. But they didn't help.

With the realm of possibilities large, they started with the man's medical history. The man had immigrated to the US from Korea 20 years ago. He owned and worked at a laundromat, which involved standing for more than eight hours a day. He had a history of eczema on his legs, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes. For these, he was prescribed a statin for his cholesterol, two blood pressure medications (hydrochlorothiazide and losartan), and metformin for his diabetes. He told doctors he was not good at taking the regimen of medicine.

His diabetes was considered "poorly controlled." A month prior, he had a glycated hemoglobin (A1C or HbA1C) test—which indicates a person's average blood sugar level over the past two or three months. His result was 11 percent, while the normal range is between 4.2 and 5.6 percent.

The number of tourists heading to Antarctica has been skyrocketing. From fewer than 8,000 a year about three decades ago, nearly 125,000 tourists flocked to the icy continent in 2023–24. The trend is likely to continue in the long term.

Unchecked tourism growth in Antarctica risks undermining the very environment that draws visitors. This would be bad for operators and tourists. It would also be bad for Antarctica – and the planet.

Over the past two weeks, the nations that decide what human activities are permitted in Antarctica have convened in Italy. The meeting incorporates discussions by a special working group that aims to address tourism issues.

About two-thirds of Antarctic tourists land on the continent. The visitors can threaten fragile ecosystems by:

• compacting soils
• trampling fragile vegetation
• introducing non-native microbes and plant species
• disturbing breeding colonies of birds and seals.

Even when cruise ships don’t dock, they can cause problems such as air, water and noise pollution – as well as anchoring that can damage the seabed.

Meta has come out swinging following the European Commission's decision that its pay-or-consent model falls foul of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

In a post, the company stated: "This decision is both incorrect and unlawful, and we are appealing it." It then cites previous judgments to support its argument that it should be permitted to display personalized ads to users who don't want a paid subscription.

"Meta," it said, "is the only company in Europe unable to offer both a subscription-based and a free ad-supported service. Instead, Meta is required to offer a free, reduced-ad service – less personalized ads – that leads to poorer outcomes for users, advertisers, and platforms."

According to Meta, national courts and data protection authorities, including in France, Denmark, and Germany, have given "consistent support" for "business models that provide a paid subscription alternative to consent for personal data use for personalized ads."

But not the European Commission, which handed down a €200 million ($228 million) fine for the Meta's "consent or pay" ad model in April.

The man in his 50s was bitten by a bat carrying Australian bat lyssavirus several months ago, the health service in New South Wales said.

"We express our sincere condolences to the man's family and friends for their tragic loss," NSW Health said in a statement.

"While it is extremely rare to see a case of Australian bat lyssavirus, there is no effective treatment for it."

The man from northern New South Wales, who has not been identified, was this week listed as being in a "critical condition" in hospital.

Officials said he was treated following the bite and they were investigating to see whether other exposures or factors played a role in his illness.

The virus -- a close relative to rabies, which does not exist in Australia -- is transmitted when bat saliva enters the human body through a bite or scratch.

Archaeologists excavating a Roman-era fort in northern England have unearthed several enormous ancient leather soles that measure more than 11.8 inches (30 centimeters) long.

The finds add to the archaeologists' growing collection of supersized ancient footwear found at the ancient fort, known as Magna. The researchers now have eight of these extra-extra-large shoes — a quarter of the total found at the site.

The shoes were discovered at Magna — also known as Carvoran — a fort along Hadrian's Wall, which was built around A.D. 122 to demarcate the northern extent of the Roman Empire. Magna is situated about 7 miles (11 kilometers) west of Vindolanda, the large Roman auxiliary fort that's well known for the remarkable preservation of writing tablets, military medals and leather shoes.

President Donald Trump threatened New York state lawmaker Zohran Mamdani with arrest if the presumptive Democratic nominee for New York City mayor defies Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

The president also continued to allege the 33-year-old Democratic socialist is a "communist" while talking to reporters Tuesday at the new so-called "Alligator Alcatraz" migrant detention center in Florida's Everglades.

When asked by a reporter what his message is to Mamdani -- after he said in a victory speech following the New York City Democratic mayoral primary that he would "stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors" -- Trump responded, "Well then, we'll have to arrest him."

"Look, we don't need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I'm going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation," Trump continued.

Trump also referenced false claims that Mamdani is in the country illegally.

"A lot of people are saying he's here illegally," Trump said. "We're going to look at everything. Ideally, he's going to turn out to be much less than a communist. But right now he's a communist. That's not a socialist."