A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...
Federal employees across the United States have been ordered to account for their weekly work or risk termination, as Elon Musk pushes for stricter accountability in government agencies. The emails, sent by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Saturday, instructed workers to submit a list of their accomplishments for the past week, copied to their managers, by Monday night. The directive, Musk said, aligns with US President Donald Trump’s orders. "Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation," Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns. The billionaire leads the Department of Government Efficiency, which has already overseen the firing of at least 20,000 federal employees. OPM described the move as part of the administration’s drive for a more efficient government, though it remains unclear whether non-compliance could legally justify termination. Labour experts suggest disciplinary action such as reprimands or suspensions would be more enforceable. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents over 800,000 civil servants, condemned the directive, warning it would challenge any unlawful dismissals. "Once again, Elon Musk and the Trump Administration have shown their utter disdain for federal employees," AFGE President Everett Kelley said. Federal agencies have responded with confusion. Some departments advised employees to wait for internal guidance before complying, citing security concerns. Others, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), affirmed the legitimacy of the directive. Musk has previously enforced similar work-tracking measures at Twitter, now X, and Tesla. The latest directive signals further upheaval as the Trump administration continues a sweeping overhaul of the federal workforce.
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