Lee has strengthened into a hurricane as it moves over a record-warm Atlantic, with 75 mph sustained winds, according to a 5 p.m. EDT advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

The warm ocean waters are expected to fuel the storm to near Category-5 strength as it approaches the eastern Caribbean.

Lee was located about 1,130 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, the center said. It’s too soon to know whether this system will directly impact the US mainland, but even if the hurricane stays off the coast, dangerous surf and rip currents could threaten the Eastern Seaboard.

The storm had rapidly strengthened earlier Wednesday: Its sustained winds strengthened by 35 mph in the 24 hours after it formed as a tropical depression Tuesday morning.

Lee will start to impact the Lesser Antilles – including the Leeward and Windward islands – on Friday, the center said, and the storm is likely to “intensify into an extremely dangerous major hurricane” by early Saturday.

Even more rapid intensification – defined as an increase in wind speeds of at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less – is expected in the coming days. The forecast track takes the hurricane across some of the warmest waters in the Atlantic Ocean and through relatively calm upper-level winds, which will allow Lee to explode in strength.

The waters in the Atlantic are not quite as warm as the steamy conditions in the Gulf of Mexico, which gave rise to Hurricane Idalia last week. However, sea-surface temperatures across the portion of the Atlantic Ocean that Lee is set to track through are still a staggering 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal after rising to “far above record levels” this summer, according to David Zierden, Florida’s state climatologist.

Been thinking a lot recently about how unusual the 2023 Atlantic water temps are. Imagine Lee headed into 1983 waters east of the Leeward Islands (27.5C)- 2023 Lee has 29.5C to work with- an astounding difference. Arguably doubles or triples the chance of Rapid Intensification pic.twitter.com/klSy5RhIUy

— Eric Blake (@EricBlake12) September 6, 2023

Swells caused by the hurricane are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions in portions of the Lesser Antilles on Friday and are expected to reach the British and US Virgin Islands, as well as Puerto Rico, this weekend.

Lee’s maximum forecast intensity of 150 mph is equivalent to the strongest storm in the Atlantic basin this season – Hurricane Franklin – and stronger than any storm so far in the eastern Pacific. If Lee tops 150 mph, it will be the most powerful hurricane to roam either basin this year.

That forecast is also just 7 mph shy of Category 5.

“This storm definitely has the potential to be a Category 5,” Dunion said, adding that nothing in Lee’s forecast path is expected to hinder the storm’s development leading up to the weekend.

The last Category 5 hurricane to roam the Atlantic basin was 2022’s Hurricane Ian. Before that, 2019’s Dorian and Lorenzo were the most recent hurricanes to achieve the feat. Only 39 Category 5 hurricanes have occurred since 1924, according to data from NOAA.

Any shifts along Lee’s track as it nears the Leeward Islands would increase the threat of more direct impacts like heavy rainfall and strong winds. Anyone in the eastern Caribbean – including the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola – as well as the Bahamas will need to keep a close eye on the forecast headed into the weekend.

Lee will ramp up in intensity as the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season approaches. Sunday, September 10, is the climatological peak of Atlantic hurricane season, when the basin is at its busiest on average. A flurry of tropical activity surrounding this date is not out of the ordinary, but it can turn hazardous fast.

The 2023 Atlantic season has already been busy: It is tracking above average for a number of different metrics including number of named storms, number of hurricanes and number of major hurricanes, according to Philip Klotzbach a research scientist at Colorado State University.

Venice has finally revealed the details for its entrance fee, making it the first city in the world to charge daytripper visitors.

Starting in spring 2024, visitors to the floating city will have to pay 5 euros ($5.40) to enter on peak days if they’re not staying the night.

But this isn’t a permanent move yet – the Venice authorities have committed to a 30-day “experiment,” according to mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who shared the news on Twitter/X.

Rather than operating over a calendar month, the authorities will scatter the chargeable days across the year, picking the days which are predicted to be busiest, for example holiday weekends and peak Carnival periods. In a statement, the council said that “the aim is to discourage day tourism in certain periods.” It added that a forthcoming resolution will set out the dates on which the fee will be applicable.

Daytrippers over the age of 14 entering the “old city” of Venice – the entirety of the lagoon city – will have to pay. Exemptions exist for locals, commuters and those with second homes in the city, who have paid local property tax – as well as for tourists who are staying overnight in the municipality, and those who are participating in sporting events. Those with exemptions will still have to register online to book their trip.

The move falls short of what was previously proposed. Since 2019, the city authorities had been debating a “contributo di accesso” (access fee) for all daytrippers, throughout the year, on a sliding scale from 3 euros to 10 euros.

That top 10 euros figure has now been reduced to a provisional 5 euros. Those only visiting the “minor islands” of the lagoon will also be exempt, meaning that, as the wording currently stands, tourists only visiting Burano or Murano – two islands which suffer from overtourism – wouldn’t have to pay if they got there directly. However, most visitors from outside the Veneto region pass through the city to reach them, so would still have to pay.

Simone Venturini, the city councilor for tourism, said in a statement that changes had been made from the original proposal after taking onboard the thoughts of citizens and opposition councilors.

“Aware of the urgency to find a new balance between the rights of those who live, work and study in Venice, and those who visit the city, we are setting ourselves up as global frontrunners,” he said in a statement.

“On certain days and in certain periods, we need innovative management of [footfall] flow, in order to stem daytripper tourism.

“Tourism management is a priority for the future of our city – a city that will always remain open to everyone.”

‘We need balance’

The money taken in entrance fees will cover the cost of the booking system but nothing more, he added.

Previously it was hoped that money could go towards improving facilities and infrastructure for residents, who have to deal with overflowing bins and trash dumped on the streets by tourists, who can outnumber residents by about five to one on busy days.

In July 2022, when the council had announced the start of the system for January 2023, councilor for the economy Michele Zuin had said that proceeds would go to lowering local taxes for residents.

“The message we want to put across is that Venice is open, but visitors must understand that we need proper planning to manage the balance between residence and tourism,” said Zuin in a statement this time.

“Residents will get a better quality of life, and overnight visitors will experience more vivid emotions,” added Venturini.

The resolution is set to be approved by the city council on September 12.

The first of many?

Previously, Venturini had announced that the entrance fee – which has been discussed since 2019 – would start in January 2023.

At the time, he called the new measure a “great revolution,” and a solution for the overtourism problem that the lagoon city has been struggling with for decades, adding that, “Venice is a living city and it has to stay that way.”

He had previously told RAI, the state TV network, that the pandemic had made the city authorities reflect.

“Covid made us realize that what was an everyday occurrence before Covid isn’t acceptable anymore – the mentality has changed, as has the sensitivity [towards crowds],” he said.

At the time, he said that the booking system would “give us the chance to know how many people are predicted for that day, and to calibrate services according to the number.”

Venturini had also said previously than the booking system would flag people that they might want to change their mind.

“We can say, ‘Dear visitor, we don’t advise coming on this date because it’s Ferragosto [August public holiday] or Easter – there’ll be a lot of people so it will hinder you from having a peaceful visit, and if you make it a week later you can enjoy your visit more,” he said.

Venturini also predicted that Venice won’t be the last to introduce a charge.

“I think many other European cites who live with significant numbers of daytrippers are watching us to understand in what way they can introduce [a similar scheme],” he said.

Venice may be the first city to introduce a fee, but already one village in Italy has introduced a charge for daytrippers. Civita di Bagnoregio introduced a “symbolic” fee of 1.50 euros ($1.67) in 2013. Mayor Francesco Bigiotti planned it as a marketing stunt to attract tourists to his village on a crumbling cliff, known as the “dying town.”

The fee intrigued visitors to such an extent that visitors grew from 40,000 in 2009 to 1 million in 2018.

Venice’s well-documented struggles with tourism have resulted in UNESCO drafting a resolution to add the city to its “World Heritage in Peril” list. The resolution will be voted on later this month.

On a busy late July weekday at the beach in Incline Village, Nevada, on the north shore of Lake Tahoe, swimmers dip in and out of the frigid sapphire water while a kids’ summer camp wraps up for the day. The 20-something counselor belts out an order to his mini squadron.

“First one to pick up all their trash and put it in the bins wins!”

The children giggle and scurry across the coarse sand, scooping up sandwich bags and other lunchbox remnants. Within minutes, all that remains are indents from their tiny feet.

The scene is a far cry from what happened on July 4 at Zephyr Shoals, another popular Lake Tahoe beach 16 miles south, where holiday revelers left more than 6,000 pounds of trash, plastic, clothing, toys, and other miscellaneous junk.

Videos of the litter-fest went viral on social media and made international news, sparking outrage and calls for change by everyone from residents to environmental watchdogs. But the blatant disregard for Lake Tahoe’s natural beauty is just another incident in a string of many over the years that have prompted tourism officials and environmentalists to rethink just what type of visitor Lake Tahoe should court.

“A lot of what we find around Lake Tahoe is accidental. Something blew overboard or fell out of a backpack. But Zephyr Shoals was 100% intentional,” said Colin West, founder of Clean up the Lake. The nonprofit has been a key player in some of the lake’s most ambitious clean-up efforts, including one that pulled in more than 25,000 pounds of litter and debris during a 72-mile circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe’s shoreline between May 2021-22.

An estimated 15 million people travel to the Lake Tahoe area each year to enjoy the water sports and beaches, scenic vistas and mountain trails, and world-class ski resorts. To put those figures into perspective, Yosemite National Park has about 3.5 million visitors annually and is three times the size.

The duality of Lake Tahoe’s tourism conundrum is real: the economic monster that feeds the region is the same one that’s gnawing away at its existence. It’s a problem tourism organizations, environmental nonprofits, and residents are all eager to solve.

Mindset shift

Overtourism isn’t unique to Lake Tahoe and, like everywhere, its consequences have manifested into more than just piled-up trash. Traffic, car pollution, illegal parking, microplastics, and a severe lack of affordable housing (which equates to massive staffing shortages) have steadily suffocated the quality of life, character, and fragile ecosystem of the pristine Sierra Nevada playground. So much so that the long-established goal of regional tourism boards has shifted drastically, from attracting visitors to educating them.

“The value of tourism needs to be reiterated,” says Carol Chaplin, president and CEO of Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority (LTVA). “But the industry needs to work harder on behalf of the destination and environmental stewardship, and our tourism economy needs to work on behalf of our communities. The why, how, and when you visit Lake Tahoe has become our focus.”

In June, an unprecedented consortium of Lake Tahoe Destination Marketing Organizations, land management, and non-profit organizations signed the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan. The 143-page plan is one of the most comprehensive to date and addresses the critical challenges facing the region via a shared vision for managing recreation and tourism.

Kirsten Guinn, marketing director of North Tahoe Community Alliance, echoed Chaplin’s sentiments. “We are not a traditional tourism board any longer, but welcome visitors to our community who understand and participate in environmental stewardship. This has been a huge transition for our organization.”

Love ‘em or leave ‘em?

One afternoon in July on the two-lane road circling the lake, cars pull over to snap pictures of the sparkling view. A white pickup truck, presumably Forestry Services or highway patrol, rolls by and a bullhorn announcement pierces the air: “You are all illegally parked. I advise you not to be here when I come back.”

The message leans on the polite side, but the resentment fueling the announcement is palpable. The sheer volume of visitors has taken its toll on Lake Tahoe’s fragile ecosystems as well as the nerves of the region’s roughly 71,000 full-time residents, giving rise to calls for visitor numbers to be restricted. It’s a suggestion Chaplin says would be almost impossible to implement in an area that isn’t a designated national park, has multiple roads in and out, and spreads across five counties and two states.

Yet despite boiling frustrations, many residents caution against adopting an anti-tourist attitude, including Alenka Vrecek, who worked as a ski instructor and coach at Palisades (formerly Squaw Valley) for 30 years.

“The truth is that none of us would be here without them [tourists],” Vrecek says. “We rely on them for our livelihoods. Yes, traffic is annoying, and no one wants to see litter in their backyard. But the question shouldn’t be ‘How can we limit tourism?’ but rather ‘How can we manage it for a better future for Lake Tahoe?’”

Like in many places around the world facing similar onslaughts, finding this equilibrium is essential, but solutions aren’t simple or quick. But what has become a unified rallying cry of tourism, including in Lake Tahoe, is responsibility.

Quality over quantity

South Lake Tahoe resident Jenay Aiksnoras has lived in the area since 2008 and says it’s not uncommon for her to ask visitors to properly dispose of their litter, guide them to dog-friendly beaches, or offer advice on why it’s not okay to feed the wildlife. Some people ignore her, she says, but a lot listen and say, ‘I didn’t know.’ In 2021, Aiksnoras founded Bliss Experiences, whose outdoor excursions are also informative.

“When I take people out to do paddle yoga, I see it as an opportunity to share information about the lake and its clean and drinkable water, or how microplastics in the water come from litter,” says Aiksnoras. “My hope is they take this mindset home with them and to other places too. That’s how I like to travel — with respect for the local communities and environment I am visiting.”

The ultimate goal of Lake Tahoe residents and officials is a framework that attracts people who care about the environment and embrace a pervasive leave-no-trace ethos, a tourism profile that’s on the rise, according to a 2022 Booking.com Sustainable Travel Report.

Of the more than 30,000 travelers across 32 countries and territories polled, more than 80% claim sustainability is important to them. The research also indicated an increase in the readiness of travelers to take personal responsibility for their own behavior, a visitor trait local organizations can get behind.

“We believe that people want to do the right thing when they know what the right thing is,” says Guinn. “That is the heart of stewardship, and it applies to everyone, not just visitors.”

Purpose-fueled fun

In mid-August, West and Clean Up The Lake opened a first-of-its-kind Environmental Dive Center (EDC) in Incline Village. Part conservation dive school and part environmental science educational hub, the center will offer dive certifications to residents and visitors and serve as a community space for youth and school groups, aquatic invasive species training, environmental film screenings, and other seminars on how to protect Lake Tahoe.

“What we want to create is an opportunity to approach a visit to Lake Tahoe in a different way,” says West. “We want to build a culture of conservation that centers around purpose-fueled fun.”

Dovetailing on the idea, Chaplin says she’d like people, organizations, and even the area’s large resorts to commit to encouraging guests to treat a place with respect, which means eliminating single-use plastic and promoting the use of the area’s year-round free public transport systems (TART and Lake Link), rather than driving.

“I also hope that when people come in and want to do something to help, like clean up a trail or a beach, that we see more of that behavior go viral on social media rather than just the bad stuff,” she says. “That will also go a long way to reinforce the type of tourism we want to celebrate.”

Meanwhile, the North Tahoe Public Utility District just cut the ribbon on the Tahoe Vista Recreation Area marina trail and scenic overlook, which helps mitigate the shore erosion that directly affects lake clarity while improving ADA accessibility and infrastructure for all residents and visitors.

“This is a great example of where Lake Tahoe is going,” said Guinn, who also pointed to decisions to switch from hazardous fireworks to drones for 4th of July celebrations, and the placement of volunteer Lake Tahoe Ambassadors at popular recreation sites to provide information to visitors about trail and wildlife etiquette as well as proper trash disposal and other leave-no-trace principles.

Keep Tahoe Blue

Known by its slogan “Keep Tahoe Blue,” the League to Save Lake Tahoe, founded in 1957, is Lake Tahoe’s oldest and largest nonprofit environmental advocacy group. The group has led a July 5th beach clean for the last 10 years, among other hands-on-the-ground events.

Still, the organization’s chief strategy officer, Jesse Patterson, said this year’s 4th of July was one of the worst he’s seen – and a wake-up call.

“What gives me hope is that everyone I meet loves this place and can’t imagine losing it,” he says. “This reaffirms what we all believe and want tourists to know: that if you’re going to come and enjoy Lake Tahoe then you need to protect it too.”

According to Patterson, thousands of volunteer visitors and residents come out each year to join a clean-up crew or report findings through the Citizen Science Tahoe app.

One volunteer, Nathan Quintal, a UPS employee from Lodi, California, about 130 miles southwest of Lake Tahoe, has done everything from picking up roadside trash to collecting water samples. This July, the 28-year-old was part of a crew that collected around 23 pounds of plastic bottles, food containers, and even illegal fire rings from around Emerald Bay.

Quintal isn’t a resident but has fond childhood memories of visiting Lake Tahoe with his parents and is fearful that future generations won’t get to experience its beauty.

“I have seen the videos. I have seen the pictures of what overtourism has done to other places, and I don’t want that to happen to Tahoe,” he says. “I feel like the least I can do is give my time to protect a place that I love.”

Kimberley Lovato is a California-based freelance writer.

Here is a look at the life of Narendra Modi, prime minister of India.

Personal

Birth date: September 17, 1950

Birth place: Vadnagar, Gujarat, India

Birth name: Narendra Damodardas Modi

Father: Damodardas Modi

Mother: Hiraba “Heeraben” Modi

Marriage: Jashodaben (Chimanlal) Modi (1968-present, separated)

Education: Delhi University, B.A., 1978; Gujarat University, M.A., 1983

Religion: Hindu

Other Facts

Left home in his late teens to travel India, stay in ashrams and wander the Himalayas.

First prime minister born in independent India.

Timeline

October 3, 1972 – Joins the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

June 1975 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposes a period of emergency as she faces a political crisis. Civil liberties are restricted, media is censored, and protesters are arrested. Modi becomes involved in the movement to restore those rights.

1987 – Enters mainstream politics and joins the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as organization secretary of the Gujarat unit in western India.

October 3, 1995 – Becomes the national secretary of the BJP.

January 5, 1998 – Is promoted to become the national general secretary of BJP.

October 2001 – Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee names Modi chief minister of Gujarat.

February 2002 – At least 58 people die in a fire on board a train carrying Hindu pilgrims. The train had stopped briefly at a station in Gujarat where the local population was majority-Muslim. The Gujarat Government would later find that the fire was intentionally set, part of a pre-planned attack, and that those responsible were Muslim. Riots erupt in the days following the fire and Modi is accused of condoning the violent protests that kill approximately 1,000 people, mostly Muslims.

2005 – The United States declines to issue a diplomatic visa to Modi for his suspected role in the 2002 riots.

June 2013 – Modi is chosen as the BJP leader and campaigns for the 2014 general elections.

May 20, 2014 – The BJP wins the general election and Modi is appointed prime minister.

May 26, 2014 – Takes the oath of office as prime minister.

September 27-30, 2014 – Modi makes his first visit to the United States as prime minister and meets with President Barack Obama.

December 8, 2014 – Modi wins a Time magazine reader’s poll person of the year.

January 25-27, 2015 – Obama becomes the first sitting US president to visit India twice. During the three-day visit, Obama and Modi negotiate a civil nuclear deal, a 10-year defense cooperation agreement between the two countries.

December 25, 2015 – Modi visits Pakistan and meets with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. It is the first time an Indian prime minister has visited Pakistan in almost 12 years.

June 8, 2016 – Addressing a joint session of the US Congress, Modi speaks about the continuing growth of US-India relations.

June 26, 2017 – Meets with US President Donald Trump for the first time at the White House.

July 4, 2017 – Becomes the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel, arriving in Tel Aviv as part of a three-day visit to mark 25 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel.

August 15, 2018 – During his Independence Day speech to the nation, Modi announces India will launch its first manned mission to space by 2022.

May 23, 2019 – In a landslide victory, the BJP wins 303 seats in the general election.

May 30, 2019 – Sworn in for a second term as India’s prime minister.

August 5, 2019 – Tensions between India and Pakistan increase after Modi announces that India will revoke a constitutional provision giving the state of Jammu and Kashmir autonomy to set its own laws. In the wake of the announcement, widespread communications blackouts are reported in the Muslim-majority region.

August 8, 2019 – Modi delivers a televised address in which he claims that revoking Kashmir’s autonomous status will promote stability, reduce corruption and boost the economy. Pakistan’s foreign minister says the country will remain vigilant, but no military options are being considered. The United Nations issues a statement calling on both countries to resolve the issue peacefully while respecting human rights in the region.

December 11, 2019 – Parliament passes a controversial bill that will fast-track citizenship for religious minorities including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Opposition parties say the bill is unconstitutional as it bases citizenship on a person’s religion and would further marginalize India’s Muslim community. Modi expresses his support for the measure via Twitter, saying, “This Bill will alleviate the suffering of many who faced persecution for years.”

December 19, 2019 – Deadly protests erupt in at least 15 cities against the citizenship law, despite bans on public gatherings in several areas. At least three people have died amid the violence, as thousands participated in demonstrations.

December 22, 2019 – Modi delivers a speech railing against the protests. “You have seen how these people are pushing their own interests,” he says. “The statements given, the false videos, inciting, people sitting at a high level have committed the crime of spreading confusion and fire by putting it on social media.”

September 3, 2020 – Modi’s Twitter account appears to have been hacked, prompting an investigation by the social media company. The account, which has 2.5 million followers, is one of a handful of verified accounts connected to the prime minister. The apparent hack comes more than a month after a massive hack that resulted in some of the most prominent accounts on the platform — including those tied to Obama, Joe Biden and Elon Musk — being compromised.

July 7, 2021 – Modi fires 12 members of his cabinet, including the federal ministers for health and law, as he faces fierce criticism over the government’s alleged mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.

November 19, 2021 – Modi says he would repeal three contentious agricultural laws that sparked more than a year of protests, in a rare apparent climb down ahead of pivotal state elections.

December 12, 2021 – Modi’s Twitter handle was “very briefly compromised,” his office says, when a tweet was sent from the Indian Prime Minister’s account saying his country had adopted Bitcoin and would be distributing the cryptocurrency.

Josh Houtz’s love for the Miami Dolphins goes back decades.

It started when he was a kid, just 5 or 6 years old, watching the players fly across the TV screen. To him, they almost seemed like superheroes.

Back then, Houtz never thought about the toll the game could take on a player’s body. He celebrated the big hits and the jarring tackles without a second thought.

But now he’s 36 and he has three kids of his own, all 5 years old and younger. And because of what he now knows about football injuries, NFL players don’t seem so superhuman anymore.

Houtz, who lives in Pennsylvania and hosts a podcast about the Dolphins, isn’t the only one looking at the NFL a little differently these days.

Over the past year, a handful of frightening on-field incidents, like Damar Hamlin’s frightening collapse in January and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s multiple concussions last fall that left him stumbling on the turf, have continued to raise questions surrounding the safety of America’s most-watched sport.

And as another NFL season kicks off this week, these questions haven’t gone away.

In a preseason game last month, Daewood Davis, a rookie wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins, laid motionless on the field for several minutes after a hit by a Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker. He was taken to a nearby hospital and later placed in the NFL’s concussion protocol.

A similar injury happened a week earlier to the New England Patriots’ Isaiah Bolden. And on that same day, Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback John Wolford was carted off the field with a neck injury. In the cases of Bolden and Davis, the league suspended the rest of the game.

The NFL has long faced questions about player safety as players grow bigger and faster and more research shows how damaging repeated hits to the head can be. Long-term degenerative brain diseases such as CTE and Parkinson’s have become huge concerns for football players and their families.

And yet even with the inherent risks, fans still flock to games and football seems as popular as ever. Of the top 100 most-watched TV programs in the US last year, including scripted shows, 82 were NFL games.

Why do so many people like to watch ferocious, 250-pound men slam into each other over and over? The answer, scholars say, may have to do with our fascination with violence.

In the right context, humans like to cheer violence

Football isn’t the only collision and combat sport people are attracted to. UFC and MMA fights draw huge crowds as well, as do sports like boxing and ice hockey. (

“(People) have this need to find ways to bring excitement and arousal and energy into their life,” says Daniel Wann, a psychology professor at Murray State University who studies sports fans. “Sports is one of the things that will do that.”

And it’s not just sports. That same excitement over violence drives much of our entertainment – just look at the success of shows like “The Walking Dead,” “Game of Thrones” and “Squid Game.”

People may be drawn to violence in media as an arousal boost, says Arthur Raney, a communications professor at the University at Buffalo. Through sports, movies, books, and other diversions, those feelings can bring a thrill to our otherwise dull daily lives, he says.

And while celebrating someone’s demise isn’t usually acceptable in broader society, within the context of a sport or fictional story it is “perfectly permissible,” Raney says.

“This is one reason why NFL fans can cheer for the most violent-looking tackles imaginable – because they are allowed in the game. But when that tackle leaves a player injured, everyone falls silent,” Raney says. “The game context is broken, and spectators see the situation through the lens of ‘real-life.’ And everyone stops cheering.”

Humans like conflict, Raney adds, and violence is one way to portray that. We cheer for the triumph of good over evil, and the more we like the hero, the more we want them to destroy their enemies, he says. Our sports teams are the same way.

“When they win, when they dominate another team, you get a boost to your self-esteem. You feel better about yourself,” Raney says. “We like the violence because it leads to the outcome that we hope for, and that makes us feel good.”

That endorphin rush is what fans are looking for – not necessarily the injuries themselves, says Wann, the Murray State professor.

“Wanting to see two people run into each other at incredibly fast speeds, with chiseled bodies, that’s one thing,” says Wann, who describes himself as a football fan. “That’s different than saying ‘I hope they get hurt.’”

But it’s hard to have one, he notes, without the other.

‘People still love to see a huge tackle’

Sarah Bowman is a 27-year-old athletic trainer in Boone, North Carolina. She’s been a football fan most of her life, she says, having grown up watching the sport with her father. Even now, she still texts him on game days.

“There’s a level of excitement over a really physical play, (when) somebody … shows a level of courage or fearlessness,” she says. “I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily drawn to the sheer brute force of it, but there’s something to me that’s exciting and admirable about the physicality of the sport.”

There are few sports in the US with the ability within the rules to “quite literally lay your body out on the line,” Bowman adds.

“We’ve done a decent job in the sport to limit head and neck injuries. But people still love to see a huge tackle.”

It’s unclear whether fears over serious injuries to players have affected the sport’s popularity.

The NFL did see a dip last season in viewership, with an average of 16.7 million people tuning in to a game during the regular season – down from 17.1 million the season before. Still, some attribute the decline to Thursday Night Football being moved to Amazon Prime, rather than cable.

Some fans have questioned their love of the game and have even chosen to turn away from the sport altogether. Youth participation in tackle football has declined almost 20% over the last decade, according to one 2022 study. The reason? Concern over concussions and long-term brain damage.

“Football fans are like, ‘I love the physicality, but I’m certainly not going to put my child into that,” Wann says.

But others have remained steadfast.

Houtz remembers watching last season’s Dolphins game against the Cincinnati Bengals when Tagovailoa’s fingers locked up after a big hit, just four days after another game in which a hit to the head left him wobbly. For Houtz, it was an “image that you just can’t get out of your head.”

“It weighs on you a little bit, as a fan,” he says. “But overall, if you’ve been a fan for 30 years, it’s hard to turn away now.”

Some football fans rationalize their love of the sport

When it comes to the ethics of supporting football, many fans must do a careful dance, Wann says, rationalizing their love for the sport in spite of its dangers with statements like, “No one is forcing them to play,” “They make millions,” and “The league is trying to make it safer.”

“They’re figuring out ways to convince themselves that it’s OK,” he says. “For most fans, it works.”

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. This ethical debate can be a struggle, especially since injuries are inevitable in sports like football.

“You try to remember that everyone playing it knows how intense it is. So they’re willing to do it,” Houtz says. “But it can definitely be brutal to watch sometimes.”

After all, the physicality and the violence is part of what makes football, well, football. Fans don’t want to see players get hurt, but many still want to see hard hits on the field.

Just look at the 2023 Pro Bowl game, essentially the league’s all-star game, which takes place the weekend before the Super Bowl. For the first time last season, the NFL replaced the traditional tackle football game with a gentler flag football matchup. Viewership dropped by 6% compared to the year before.

To mitigate the risk of serious injury the NFL has made a series of changes, including safer helmets, fair catches on kickoffs, new safety protocols around concussions and penalties for players who “target” opponents with their helmets during hits.

Houtz gives credit to the league for trying to make the sport safer. But he says it’s always going to be a violent game.

According to data from the league, last season the NFL saw 149 concussions – a head injury that can lead to long-term changes in the brain particularly when repeated. That number was an 18% jump from the season prior.

And still, 70% of NFL fans said head injuries do not impact their interest in watching games, according to a survey by Morning Consult conducted last October, before Hamlin’s injury scare.

“There’s some sort of primal thing in us that likes to see the intensity of athletics,” says Bowman, the athletic trainer.  “But I think it’s important to pause and think about why we’re drawn to these things (and) how we can make these sports sustainable, especially when you’re talking about the NFL.”  

Sure, the players know the risks they’re taking, she says. But Bowman believes people related to the sport, from referees to sports medicine professionals, have a responsibility to keep things “within a boundary of reasonable risk.”

Even with all its injuries and risks, football is not going away anytime soon.

Wann recalls watching a preseason game last month and witnessing two players get carted off the field in stretchers with apparent head injuries. He hated seeing it.

But that didn’t make him want to quit watching football. The next game, he says, he knew he’d be right back.

Coco Gauff continued her run of emphatic victories at the US Open on Tuesday, breezing past Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.

The world No. 6 didn’t lose a game in the opening set before wrapping up a convincing 6-0 6-2 victory to book her first ever semifinal spot at the US Open.

With many of the top seeds in the women’s draw having already been knocked out, Gauff remains one of the few favorites still left.

Gauff, 19, will now face either Sorana Cîrstea or this year’s French Open runner-up Karolína Muchová in the next round.

“I’m so happy,” Gauff said in her on-court interview after the win. “Last year I lost in the quarterfinals. I’m happy and ready to get back to work on the next one.”

The American faced a tricky challenge against the resurgent Ostapenko after the Latvian beat defending champion Iga Świątek in the previous round.

But, playing in front of a home crowd, Gauff showed no signs of nerves as she dominated her opponent to win the first set in just 20 minutes.

Ostapenko, who won the French Open back in 2017, came out in the second set with far more aggression, winning two games to avoid a total whitewash.

In the end, though, the frustrated Latvian proved no match for Gauff as she was punished for making consistent errors.

While the result looks emphatic on paper, Gauff was still made to work for her win.

Ostapenko saved two match points as Gauff looked to finish the tie, but the American was eventually able to clinch the win with an accurate forehand to seal her 10th consecutive victory.

“Honestly, I didn’t feel comfortable at all during the match – even on the match points,” Gauff added.

“I know the game [Ostapenko] plays. She has the ability to come back no matter the scoreline, so I was just trying to get every point, put every ball in.

“It’s really tough against her because you can’t really be aggressive, so I was trying my best to be aggressive when I could, and most of the time I was just trying to get the ball deep. She’s a tough player and she had a great tournament.”

With the victory, Gauff becomes the first American teenager to reach the US Open semifinals since Serena Williams in 2001.

It’s also just the second time in Gauff’s career that she has made it to the semifinal stage of a grand slam – the last coming at the French Open in 2022, where she eventually lost in the final to Świątek.

Ostapenko’s scheduling woes

After triumphing against Świątek in the previous round, Ostapenko was not happy with the amount of rest time she was allocated in between the impressive victory and her match against Gauff.

“I mean, if I play a match, like, a late-night session, then I suppose, in one day, I have to play at least at the same time or later on because you don’t really have much time to recover,” Ostapenko told reporters after her loss. “I think it was better for her the schedule because, obviously, she played much earlier the day I played the night session.”

The 26-year-old added that she was sure she was going to face Gauff in the night session.

“The thing was that, when I asked the day before, I was pretty sure I’m gonna play at night session because that’s what they told me. When the schedule came out, I saw I’m playing first match and was, like, ‘Wow, that’s a little bit strange scheduling,’” Ostapenko added.

“Yeah, when I saw the schedule I was a little bit surprised, not in a really good way.”

Capitalizing on the opportunity

Gauff now has a huge opportunity at Flushing Meadows.

Monday’s action saw Świątek, the No. 1 seed, Jessica Pegula, the No. 3 seed, and Ons Jabeur, the No. 5 seed, all exit the tournament, leaving Gauff and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka as the two highest remaining seeds left in the women’s draw.

And with some convincing victories under her belt already in New York, Gauff has arguably her best chance to win her maiden grand slam title.

Sabalenka competition

The top seed left in the draw, Sabalenka, will face rising Chinese star Zheng Qinwen – who is enjoying a career best run at a grand slam after comfortably upsetting last year’s finalist Jabeur in straight sets in the round-of-16 – in the quarterfinals.

Świątek’s early exit means Sabalenka will become the new world No. 1 on Monday, the first time in her career she has held the top spot in the rankings, with her ascension coming after a remarkable year in which she won three titles, including her first grand slam at the Australian Open.

Sabalenka says she is currently “playing great tennis” but knows there are “always things to improve” as she anticipates a tricky match against Zheng.

“We practiced with her a couple of times,” she told reporters after Monday’s win over Daria Kasatkina. “She’s playing really great tennis. [Her] forehand is really heavy, I would say backhand as well. Serving well. Moving well.

“It’s like she’s got nothing to lose, so she’s playing at her best. She played great tennis against Ons – I haven’t watched her previous matches, but, yeah, she’s playing great tennis right now.

“The trickiest part is that she’s moving well, playing some heavy shots. I have to be physically and mentally ready that there are going to be some winners against me in that match.

“I just have to focus on myself more than on her. I know if I’ll bring my tennis there, I have a chance to win this match.”

Another year, another calendar filled with thrills, spills and a whole lot of touchdowns.

The arrival of September means one thing: the NFL is back.

The next generation of college athletes has found new professional homes through the annual player draft, with each team aiming for the perfect mix of youth and experience. The preseason is over; it’s time for the games that matter to begin.

And we’re in for a thrilling ride.

How to watch

The 2023 NFL season begins on Thursday, September 7, with the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Detroit Lions.

Kick-off for the opening game of the season begins at 8:20 p.m. ET from Arrowhead Stadium.

In the United States, coverage of games all season will be shown on the NFL’s ‘NFL+’ platform, with games also being shown on ESPN, FOX, NBC and CBS across the year.

Fans outside of the US can also follow the action via the NFL’s Game Pass on DAZN.

Contenders

After an offseason of trades, signings and the draft, some teams look a lot different than they did 12 months ago.

Not only have the best teams tried to cement their place at the top, but those below have made strides to try and catch up.

When it comes to looking at the teams in contention, the list begins with the reigning champions, the Chiefs.

Coming off a second Super Bowl victory in four seasons, Kansas City will once again prove a tough opponent to crack behind the combination of creative head coach Andy Reid and an elite offense led by superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce.

While the team has lost some key contributors from their championship-winning team – most notably tackle Orlando Brown Jr., defensive end Frank Clark and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy – another title push looks likely from Mahomes and company as they seek to become the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004.

The Chiefs’ opponents in Super Bowl LVII, the Philadelphia Eagles, will be favored this season too.

Despite also suffering key losses to their depth, some savvy pick ups in the draft – most notably, Georgia star Jalen Carter – and the continued growth of Jalen Hurts is what Philadelphia fans hope will springboard them to success once again.

Elsewhere in the National Football Conference (NFC), last season’s revelation Brock Purdy – drafted with the final pick of the 2022 draft before leading the San Francisco 49ers to the brink of the Super Bowl – has made an incredible rise in his short career, going from being dubbed ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ as the last pick of the draft to being named the team’s starting quarterback.

Purdy beat out competition from 2021 No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance to earn his starting position with Lance eventually being traded to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys themselves look strong once again, but face stiff competition in their division alongside the Eagles, the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders.

In the American Football Conference (AFC), there are a host of superstar teams waiting to capitalize on any slip ups from the Chiefs.

The Buffalo Bills – with safety Damar Hamlin set to make an emotional return to regular season NFL football after suffering cardiac arrest in January during a game – the Aaron Rodgers-led New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers all have aspirations of deep playoff runs.

On the topic of Rodgers, the veteran was the subject of the biggest move this offseason. The NFL’s four-time most valuable player was traded away from the Green Bay Packers, the team which drafted him 18 years ago, to the Jets and will be hoping to shine after heading to pastures new.

First year on the big stage

Outside of the established stars in the NFL, there is a class of rookies all looking to make a name for themselves in the pinnacle of the sport as they make the step up to the big leagues.

Three quarterbacks were drafted in the first four picks of this year’s draft – No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young by the Carolina Panthers, CJ Stroud by the Houston Texans and Anthony Richardson by the Indianapolis Colts – and all have been named their respective squad’s starter.

While all three of their teams have low ambitions this year, any potential glimpse of growth during their rookie seasons will fill their fans and coaches with anticipation and hope for the years to come.

Outside of the quarterbacks, arguably the prospect with the highest bar in many people’s eyes is University of Texas star Bijan Robinson who was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with the eighth overall pick.

The running back has been tipped to be an all-time great in the years to come and, with a team which was already successful at running the ball last year, could be in line for an excellent debut NFL season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Will Anderson Jr., Tyree Wilson, Devon Witherspoon, Lukas Van Ness and the aforementioned Jalen Carter, were all drafted high in the first round and could be in line to have immediate impacts.

With 18 weeks of the regular season to come, fans will have plenty to talk about, plays to marvel over and dreams of lifting the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy on February 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Who do you have winning it all in Super Bowl LVIII?

Anyone who has traveled by air in the past 10 years will know how stressful airports can be.

You didn’t leave home as early as you should have. In the mad rush to get to your gate, the security screening seems to slow everything down. And to add insult to injury, you’re met with the finicky request: “Laptops out of bags, please”.

But what does your laptop have to do with security?

The day that changed air travel forever

Airport security changed dramatically after the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001. Before 9/11, you could pass through security with a carry-on bag full of everything you might need for your vacation, including a knife with a four-inch blade. Indeed, that’s how the 9/11 attackers brought their weapons on board.

After 9/11, screening processes around the world changed overnight. In the US, private security contractors being paid a minimum wage were swapped out for a federalized program with highly trained security personnel. Anything that could be considered a weapon was confiscated.

Around the world, travelers were suddenly required to remove their shoes, belts and outerwear, and take out their phones, laptops, liquids and anything else that could be used as part of an improvised explosive device.

This lasted for several years. Eventually, more advanced screening methods were developed to effectively identify certain threats. Today, some countries don’t require you to remove your shoes when passing through security.

So why must you still take your laptop out?

Airport scanners have come a long way

The machine your bags and devices pass through is an X-ray machine.

The main reason you have to remove your laptop from your bag is because its battery and other mechanical components are too dense for X-rays to penetrate effectively – especially if the scanning system is old. The same goes for power cords and other devices such as tablets and cameras.

With these items in your bag, security officials can’t use the screened image to determine whether a risk is present. They’ll have to flag the bag for a physical search, which slows everything down. It’s easier if all devices are removed in the first place.

A laptop inside a bag can also shield other items from view that may be dangerous. Scanning it separately reveals its internal components on the screen. In some cases you might be asked to turn it on to prove it’s an actual working computer.

With newer multi-view scanning technology, security officials can view the bag from multiple angles to discern whether something is being covered up, or made to look like something else. For instance, people have tried to mix gun parts with other components in an effort to pass checked baggage screening.

Some airports have upgraded 3D scanning that allows travelers to pass their bags through security without having to remove their laptops. If you’re not asked to take out your laptop, it’s probably because one of these more expensive systems is being used.

Nonetheless, amping up the technology won’t remove the lag caused by airport screenings. Ultimately, the reason these are a major choke point is because of the speed at which staff scan the imagery (which dictates the speed of the conveyor belt).

Unless we find a way to automate the entire process and run it with minimal human supervision, you can expect delays.

What about body scanners?

But your bags aren’t the only thing getting scanned at airport security. You are too!

The tall frame you walk through is a metal detector. Its purpose is to uncover any weapons or other illegal objects that may be concealed under your clothes. Airport metal detectors use non-ionizing radiation, which means they don’t emit X-rays.

The larger body scanners, on the other hand, are a type of X-ray machine. These can be active or passive, or a combination of both.

Passive scanners simply detect the natural radiation emitted by your body and any objects that might be concealed. Active scanners emit low-energy radiation to create a scan of your body, which can then be analyzed.

The kind of machine you walk through will depend on where in the world you are. For instance, one type of active body scanner that emits X-rays in what’s called “backscatter technology” was once used widely in the US, but is no longer used. It’s also banned in Australia and the European Union, where only non-ionizing technology can be used.

Another type of scanner emits lower-energy millimeter waves, instead of X-rays, to image the passenger. Millimeter wave frequencies are considered to be non-ionizing radiation.

AI in our airports

AI seems to be all around us lately, and our airports are no exception. Advancements in AI systems stand to transform the future of airport security.

For now, human reviewers are required to identify potential threats in scanned images. However, what if an advanced AI was trained to do this using a database of images? It would do so in a fraction of the time.

Some airports are already using advanced computed tomography (CT) scanners to produce high-definition 3D imagery. In the future, this technology could be further enhanced by AI to detect threats at a much faster rate.

Hypothetically, CT scans could also be used for both humans and their baggage. Could this allow travelers to walk through a body scanner while carrying their bags? Possibly.

Until then, you should probably try your best to leave the house on time.

Tropical Storm Lee is expected to rapidly intensify into an “extremely dangerous” hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean by this weekend, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday morning, as the season approaches its typical early September peak.

Lee could become a hurricane Wednesday then a major Category 3 storm or stronger by late this week, with the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean expected to feel its impacts over the weekend, forecasters said.

“Lee is not far from hurricane strength, and it likely will achieve that status later today,” the National Hurricane Center noted in its 5 a.m. update. “While it is too soon to determine the location and magnitude of these possible impacts, interests in this area should monitor the progress of Lee and further updates to the forecast.”

The tropical storm is packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and is about 1,300 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands, according to the hurricane center. The islands include the Virgin Islands, Saint Martin, and Antigua and Barbuda.

Swells generated by Lee are expected to reach portions of the Lesser Antilles on Friday. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Lee’s winds could reach 150 mph on Sunday evening, according to the hurricane center.

Any shifts along its track as it nears the islands could bring more of an impact there and beyond. Anyone in the eastern Caribbean – including the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola – as well as the Bahamas will need to keep a close eye on the forecast.

It’s too soon to know whether this system will directly impact the US mainland, but even if the hurricane stays out at sea, dangerous surf and rip currents could once again threaten the East Coast. One person was killed in a rip current in New Jersey over the Labor Day weekend.

Lee became a tropical storm Tuesday after forming earlier in the morning in the central tropical Atlantic and moving through extremely warm waters, according to the National Hurricane Center, which predicts the storm will strengthen rapidly.

Rapid intensification is when a storm’s winds strengthen quickly over a short amount of time. Scientists have defined it as a wind speed increase of at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less – a phenomenon aided by warm ocean waters.

As Lee moves steadily west-northwest this week, it will enter conditions increasingly favorable for strengthening: Plenty of moisture, low wind shear and abnormally warm water stretch nearly the entire length of the potential cyclone’s projected path.

“The NHC intensity forecast is extremely bullish for a first forecast, but remarkably lies below the intensity consensus,” the hurricane center’s storm discussion said. “All indications are that the depression will become a strong hurricane by the end of the forecast period.”

Lee would be the fourth to reach that status this season, following Don, Franklin and Idalia. The hurricane is expected to grow significantly stronger by the weekend and is forecast to become the season’s third Category 3 or stronger hurricane as the weekend begins.

Sunday, September 10, is the climatological peak of Atlantic hurricane season, when the basin is at its busiest on average. A flurry of tropical activity surrounding this date is not out of the ordinary, but it can turn hazardous fast.

The 2023 Atlantic season has already been busy: It is tracking above average for a number of different metrics including number of named storms, number of hurricanes and number of major hurricanes, according to Philip Klotzbach a research scientist at Colorado State University.