Sun shifts to clouds, rain
After yesterday’s thunderstorms and downpours of rain, a cold front passed through the area, bringing drier air behind it. Today, we get to enjoy it with mostly sunny skies as high pressure builds in the region. There will likely be a few clouds given leftover moisture, but the skies will clear more through the afternoon. The high for this afternoon will be around 63°F (17°C) and the winds will be 10–15 mph mostly from the northwest. Tonight should also be clear with lighter breezes still from the northwest. Enjoy Saturday, as similar conditions will remain in place during the daylight hours: sunny skies and spring-like temperatures. Beginning Saturday evening, the next weather system starts to make itself seen. Winds shift and come from the southwest, bringing warmer air and clouds with it. The various weather models are not yet agreeing as to the timing and amount of the Sunday’s potential rain. As I write this, the bulk of the rain is predicted to be to our south, and any rain that we do will likely be light. Accumulations will be probably less than 0.10”. Conditions will be cooler and wetter into the beginning of next week, so enjoy today’s sun!
Shorts (left)
PARIS — A dark and spectacular volcanic cloud shrouded much of northern Europe on Thursday, forcing airlines to cancel thousands of flights as it drifted at high altitude south and east from an erupting volcano in Iceland. The shutdown of airspace was one of the most sweeping ever ordered in peacetime, amid fears that travel could continue to be delayed days after the cloud dissipates.
Immigrants earn higher wages in workplace, analysis finds
ST. LOUIS — After a career as a corporate executive with her name in brass on the office door, Amparo Kollman-Moore, an immigrant from Colombia, likes to drive a Jaguar and shop at Saks. “It was a good life,” she said, “a really good ride.”
Rain returns, again
The last week and a half of weather has been quite variable. After record highs last Wednesday, the past week has seen seasonal temperatures and with the exception of last Friday, has been relatively dry. Unfortunately, that trend will not continue this weekend. The high pressure that has been providing us with sunshine the last few days has been pushed out to sea by a low pressure system coming down from Ontario, Canada. The front associated with this system will bring us cool temperatures and rain showers today, with highs 10-15°F below normal.
Kyrgyzstan’s president departs, and security forces begin to make arrests
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — The deposed president of Kyrgyzstan resigned and left the country for neighboring Kazakhstan on Thursday under an agreement brokered by Russia, regional leaders and the Obama administration. Within hours, security forces swooped in to arrest one of his brothers and a political ally.
Investment firm agrees to settle N.Y. pension case
The investment firm founded by Steven L. Rattner, the politically connected financier who went on to lead President Barack Obama’s automobile industry task force, has agreed to pay $12 million to settle allegations that it paid kickbacks to win lucrative business from the New York State pension fund.
Crash inquiry is focusing on decision to land Polish jet
MOSCOW — Investigators examining the crash of the Polish president’s plane appeared Sunday to be focusing on why the pilot did not heed instructions from air traffic controllers to give up tryintg to land in bad weather in western Russia.
Shorts (right)
Just as Apple’s iPhone shook up a complacent cell phone industry, the company’s iPad is provoking PC makers and non-PC makers — to fight back with new devices.
China supports sanctions against Iran’s nuclear activity at summit
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama secured a promise from President Hu Jintao of China on Monday to join negotiations on a new package of sanctions against Iran, administration officials said, but Hu made no specific commitment to backing measures that the United States considers severe enough to force a change in direction in Iran’s nuclear program.
Protesters appear to gain in Thailand’s growing political crisis
BANGKOK — The battle of wills between the Thai government and tens of thousands of protesters barricaded in the streets of Bangkok appeared to turn in favor of the protesters on Monday, when the country’s army chief shunned a military solution to the crisis and the prime minister’s party suddenly and unexpectedly faced the prospect of dissolution.
American soldiers fire at Afghan bus, killing civilians
KABUL — American troops raked a large passenger bus with gunfire near Kandahar on Monday morning, killing and wounding civilians, and igniting angry anti-American demonstrations in a city where winning over Afghan support is pivotal to the war effort. The shooting, which killed as many as five civilians and wounded 18, occurred on the eve of the most important offensive of the war. In coming weeks, thousands of American, NATO and Afghan troops are expected to try to take control of the Kandahar region, the spiritual home of the Taliban.
Active hurricane season
Two groups of independent forecasters have issued their preliminary forecasts for the upcoming hurricane season, which runs from June through November. Both groups are predicting above average activity of 15–17 storms, of which 8–9 will become hurricanes.
Shorts (right)
It could take weeks for engineers to salvage the South Korean warship that sank in waters disputed by North Korea after a mysterious explosion and provide a definitive explanation of what caused the disaster. But some signs are pointing to North Korea, raising uncomfortable questions for the South’s government.
Court documents detail teenage girl’s final days of fear
Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old who killed herself after relentless taunting, spent her final days in fear of girls who had threatened to beat her up, according to the first official accounts released in a case in Massachusetts that gained wide attention last week, when six students were charged with felonies.
Opening new era, U.S. and Russia sign nuclear arms pact
With flourish and fanfare, President Barack Obama and President Dmitry A. Medvedev of Russia signed a nuclear arms control treaty on Thursday and opened what they hoped would be a new era in the tumultuous relationship between two former Cold War adversaries.
Shorts (left)
The Chinese government is preparing to announce in the coming days that it will allow its currency to strengthen slightly and vary more from day to day, people with knowledge of the emerging consensus in Beijing said on Thursday. The move would help ease tension with the Obama administration about the huge trade deficit the United States has with China.
Unearthing human ancestor is child’s play in South Africa
Nine-year-old Matthew Berger dashed after his dog, Tau, into the high grass here one sunny August morning in 2008, tripped over a log and stumbled onto a major archeological discovery. Scientists announced Thursday that he had found the bones of a new hominid species that lived almost 2 million years ago during the fateful, still mysterious period spanning the emergence of the human family.
Variable weather for CPW
Boston experienced unusually warm weather this week, most notably on Wednesday when the record high of 86°F set in 1991 was smashed by a high of 90°F. Expect more seasonable weather to return for the weekend, which will be dry except for a chance of rain today.
Disposal of plutonium from accord likely to take decades
The plutonium that is the key ingredient in thousands of nuclear weapons sidelined in the new arms control treaty between the United States and Russia is likely to be around for decades at least, according to experts. They say the process for destroying plutonium has not yet started to whittle down the surplus created by previous agreements.