By David Goldman, CNN

(CNN) — Just before the United States reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports Tuesday afternoon, Iran appeared to be readying blockade-busting vessels in the Persian Gulf that could attempt to evade US military forces.

Twenty-three Iranian vessels operating inside the Strait of Hormuz are fraudulently flagged, recently turned their transponders off or otherwise manipulating their activities to become what the industry calls “dark vessels” that make up “shadow fleets,” according to Windward Intelligence, a maritime security information service.

Iran has significant experience evading US sanctions, relying for years on a complex network of shadow companies, secretive oil cargo swaps and murky financial exchanges, noted Adnan Mazarei, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former deputy director of the International Monetary Fund. Its shadow fleets spoof their identities and sell most of their oil to China.

For example, one Iranian tanker tracked by Windward is traveling a circuitous path, loading Iranian crude at Kharg Island – Iran’s main oil hub – and routing through Iraq’s Basrah Oil Terminal before continuing on to its destination to China. That pattern is consistent with Iranian techniques to mask the origin of its cargo, Windward noted.

Ten of the 23 vessels Windward identified as potential blockade-busters hold cargo, according to Vortexa, a cargo tracking service. The remaining 13 are currently empty.

Despite the United States desanctioning Iranian oil as part of its now-defunct Memorandum of Understanding, Iran continued to use its shadow fleet to export roughly 50 million barrels of crude oil in June and 10 million in a single day last week, according to an analysis by TankerTrackers.

Many of those vessels that exited the Strait of Hormuz during the three-week ceasefire agreement are now sanctioned again. Seven of them are giant oil tankers sitting in the Indian Ocean, laden with crude and waiting on a willing buyer, Windward said.

The first US naval blockade, which lasted from mid-April through mid-June, was effective in limiting much – but not all – of Iran’s exports in and out of the strait. The regime makes about 50% of its revenue from oil sales, according to the US Energy Information Administration, and it has found a willing buyer in China, which the EIA says imports about 80% of Iran’s oil, despite US sanctions.

The blockade drove Iran’s massive inflation rate significantly higher: It already averaged 50% over the past 12 months – the country’s highest since World War II – and surged well above that in April, when the blockade started, Mazarei said. Food inflation has run well over 100%.

Around 90% of Iranian trade goes through the Persian Gulf, Mazarei noted.

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By Meteorologist Dakota Smith, CNN

(CNN) — Massive plumes of Canadian wildfire smoke are set to pour over the border into the United States, bringing dangerous air quality to more than 100 million people in the Midwest and Northeast.

Smoke has already been an issue this summer in parts of the West, Plains and Midwest as stateside fires have burned more than 3.6 million acres, mostly in the western half of the country. But the thicker smoke, forecast to move over New York, Washington, DC and other cities in the East, is from wildfires to the north.

Check out the smoke forecast in the CNN Weather app

In Canada, more than 3,000 fires have burned nearly 4.5 million acres this summer, with a dozen blazes flaring up in Ontario in recent weeks, filling the skies with smoke that is starting to drift south, like it did in an extreme way in 2023.

Canadian wildfire activity this year is nowhere near the hyperactivity of 2023 but the combination of wildfires in Ontario and a heat dome in the central US spells smoky trouble for millions.

Planet-heating fossil fuel pollution is increasing the chance of prolonged smoke seasons as it tips the odds that extreme wildfire seasons like 2023’s — Canada’s worst season on record — won’t remain an outlier for long.

Unhealthy smoke heads for Great Lakes and Northeast

A first round of smoke is already floating over a large area from Chicago to Boston. This smoke has largely stayed higher up in the atmosphere, which means it hasn’t precipitously lowered air quality or posed a significant health risk.

But a weather pattern change in coming days will cause lingering smoke and additional plumes to sink to the surface Wednesday and Thursday bringing unhealthy air quality from the Upper Midwest to New England.

Wildfire smoke contains dangerous, tiny pollutants called PM2.5 that can travel deep into the lungs or enter the bloodstream when inhaled. The minuscule particles can lead to breathing problems like bronchitis and cause inflammation that aggravates diabetes, heart disease and other health conditions.

Much of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are under air quality alerts due to smoke over the next few days, and the National Weather Service has warned that smoke could become an air quality concern in Chicago later this week.

People with lung or heart disease, children and older adults are especially at risk for smoke-related illness. The NWS advises people avoid smoke by limiting outdoor activities and keeping windows closed overnight.

The only silver lining the smoke brings is that it could dampen some of the heat. Smoke blocks sunlight, which would be welcome news for many parts of the Northeast expected to see high temperatures in the coming days.

The smoke is now streaming into the US thanks to a record-breaking heat dome parked over the central part of the country.

So far there have been several heat domes — large, slow-moving high pressure systems — this year from the West Coast to the Northeast. Air flows clockwise around these domes, but until now, none of them have been in quite the right spot to drag Canadian smoke south.

The northern edge of this week’s heat dome is perfectly placed over northern Minnesota and southern Ontario, where wildfires rage. This placement me

By Jen Christensen, CNN

(CNN) — New York City is managing a community cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases on the Upper East Side that officials believe is tied to bacteria found in cooling towers. Towers on 76 buildings on the Upper East Side have tested positive for the bacteria, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said Tuesday.

Pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria has been confirmed in 60 people this month, but no deaths have been reported.

Fifteen people are now hospitalized, and 34 people have been discharged from the hospital. Generally, about 1 in 10 people who get Legionnaires’ disease will die, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Cooling towers, used for refrigeration and general building cooling, expel building heat into the atmosphere by pulling outside air through warm water from a central chiller that gets sprayed over a fill material. As fans pull air through the water, a small amount evaporates, cooling the remaining water, which recirculates to take up more heat. People can get sick when they are exposed to vapor from those systems if there’s bacteria in it. Studies show that cooling towers and other warm, wet environments like hot tubs, spas and some plumbing systems are particularly vulnerable to Legionella bacteria.

New York sees hundreds of Legionnaires’ cases every year, but officials have noticed a spike in cases clustered in three particular ZIP codes: 10128, 10028 and 10075. Anyone who has been in that area in the past couple of weeks is advised to watch for symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue, headaches, low appetite, confusion and diarrhea.

Most people who are exposed to Legionella bacteria don’t get sick at all, but vulnerable groups can include people who are over 50, who vape or smoke, or who have weakened immune systems or underlying health conditions like diabetes or lung disease. There is no vaccine or medicine to prevent it, and masks don’t seem to offer protection, the New York health department said. Treatment involves antibiotics and sometimes oxygen therapy or intensive care.

The department has tested 183 cooling towers identified as a potential source of bacteria in the affected ZIP codes and directed the owners of 76 buildings to drain, clean and disinfect those towers.

Dr. Alistair Martin, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said Tuesday that owners of 57 buildings have confirmed that they’ve completed the required remediation. The remaining 19 are required to do so by Thursday.

“Seventy-six buildings we know is a significant number, but we knew that that list would be long. There’s a high concentration of cooling towers in the Upper East Side,and our initial screening tests cast a wide net,” Martin said at a news conference Tuesday. “These results are also indicative of just how common Legionella is in our built environment, and that’s why we stay vigilant.”

Public health officials noted that this particular cluster of cases is not connected to drinking water, showers or air conditioners.

Legionnaires’ disease is not contagious, and it can be managed if people are given antibiotics early in the course of the disease.

The rate of cases seems to be slowing, but more illnesses could still pop up. The incubation period is two to 14 days, so people may not know yet if they are sick.

The city says it will do additional tests to try to pinpoint exactly where the outbreak started and to distinguish between live and dead bacteria, which the initial tests can’t do. Those tests can take several weeks.

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Abigahil Padilla

SOMERTON, Ariz. (KYMA) – José Mena, residente de Somerton desde hace más de 30 años, anunció su candidatura para la Alcaldía de la ciudad con una propuesta centrada en escuchar a la comunidad, fortalecer los servicios municipales y promover el crecimiento económico mediante la creación y retención de empleos.

Mena es ampliamente conocido entre los residentes por su participación en diversas actividades comunitarias y por su disposición para apoyar a las familias de Somerton.

A lo largo de más de tres décadas viviendo en la ciudad, asegura haber trabajado de cerca con la comunidad, lo que le ha permitido conocer de primera mano las necesidades y preocupaciones de los habitantes.

Como candidato, José Mena señala que uno de sus principales compromisos es mantener una comunicación abierta con los ciudadanos para que sus decisiones como alcalde reflejen las prioridades de la población.

Dentro de su plataforma, Mena propone fortalecer los departamentos municipales que actualmente enfrentan escasez de personal, con el objetivo de mejorar la eficiencia de los servicios que ofrece la ciudad y responder de manera más efectiva a las necesidades de los habitantes.

En el ámbito económico, el candidato considera que una de las prioridades para Somerton debe ser impulsar la generación de nuevos empleos y, al mismo tiempo, crear las condiciones necesarias para retener los puestos de trabajo existentes.

Según Mena, un desarrollo económico sólido contribuirá a mejorar la calidad de vida de las familias y abrirá mayores oportunidades para las futuras generaciones.

Su campaña se enfoca en promover un gobierno cercano a la gente, basado en la participación ciudadana, la transparencia y el compromiso con el bienestar de toda la comunidad.

Con la elección municipal en el horizonte, José Mena buscará obtener el respaldo de los votantes de Somerton presentando una visión orientada al crecimiento, el fortalecimiento de los servicios públicos y el desarrollo económico de la ciudad.

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