8.15.2024

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The Battle for Kursk

Russia has reportedly recalled small numbers of troops from Ukraine to its southwestern Kursk region amid the Ukrainian incursion there. The cross-border offensive is Ukraine's largest since the start of the two-and-a-half-year-long war. 

Since last week, Ukraine's military says it has captured 400 square miles of Russian territory, encompassing 74 towns and settlements (see maps, photos). Yesterday, Ukraine also said it had captured 100 Russian soldiers. Ukrainian officials say they will seek to create a buffer zone in the region, claiming to have been shelled from Kursk 2,000 times this summer. Separately, Ukraine said it launched a smaller-scale attack yesterday on Russia's neighboring Belgorod region, whose regional governor declared a state of emergency yesterday.

Ukraine's sudden offensive streak appears designed to disrupt Russian advances in the strategically important region of Donetsk in Ukraine's southeast. The goal may also be to extract concessions in future negotiations. See latest updates on the war here.

Puerto Rico After Ernesto

Hurricane Ernesto left over 730,000 utility customers in Puerto Rico—accounting for roughly half of the territory's 1.4 million customers—without power yesterday.

The storm, which did not make landfall but instead churned north, slammed the territory with tropical storm-level winds and rain before developing into a Category 1 hurricane. An estimated 235,000 people in Puerto Rico were left without access to water, with hundreds of people taking shelter. President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency, freeing up federal funds for storm recovery efforts. US territories in the region are still at risk for flash flooding, according to warnings from the country's hurricane center.

Ernesto heads north toward Bermuda today and is not on track to make landfall in the continental US. The eastern US coast, however, could experience rip tides and 8-foot-tall waves in the coming days.

Stonehenge Revelation

Stonehenge's central Altar Stone originated from northern Scotland, roughly 450 miles from the ancient England site and over 300 miles farther than previously believed, according to new research yesterday. The discovery suggests significant collaboration among Neolithic peoples inhabiting the British Isles over 4,600 years ago. 

The 14,000-pound, 16-foot bluestone lies mostly underground at the center of the sprawling rock complex in Wiltshire in southwest England (see virtual tour). For a century, researchers believed the rock was mined from nearby Wales, but research in October cast doubt on that theory. By using a global rock formation database, the researchers matched the Altar Stone to the Orcadian Basin in northeast Scotland (how they did it).

The monument was erected prior to the invention of the wheel, leading scholars to speculate the Altar Stone may have been transported by sea. Watch more here.

In partnership with Pendulum

'Meet this Un-Hunger Hormone'

In partnership with Pendulum

What’s the Buzz About GLP-1?

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*Disclosure: Based on preclinical studies

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