January 2023 - Page 9 of 18 - First Washington News

January 18, 2023

Falcon Heavy launch: SpaceX’s most powerful rocket returns to flight

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CNN
—

SpaceX’s Falcon Hefty rocket, the towering start car or truck recognised for its boosters’ aerial acrobatics and synchronized landings when returning to Earth, took to the skies Sunday, offering national stability payloads to orbit for the US navy.

The mission, identified as USSF-67, took off at 5:56 p.m. ET from Kennedy House Heart in Florida, marking the fifth profitable flight of the rocket lately dethroned as the world’s most effective operational start vehicle. This mission was in the beginning marketed to launch on Saturday, and the reason for the a person-working day delay was not instantly obvious.

The Falcon Large debuted to a lot fanfare in 2018 when SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attached his own Tesla Roadster as a exam payload on the start. The motor vehicle is even now in place, using an oblong route all around the sunshine that swings out as much as Mars’ orbital route.

The rocket adopted up that examination mission with two launches in 2019 just before having a 3-12 months hiatus the huge bulk of SpaceX’s missions do not call for the Falcon Heavy’s amped-up electric power. On the other hand, SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket introduced far more than 60 instances in 2022 alone, sending two groups of astronauts to space as properly as Starlink satellites and a wide variety of other spacecraft.

But SpaceX is now producing very good on worthwhile military launch contracts it signed for the Falcon Significant many years ago. The rocket returned to flight in November with the start of the US military’s USSF-44 mission, and Sunday’s liftoff was a follow-up to that display screen.

“USSF-44 incorporated 6 payloads on just one satellite that progress communications, room climate sensing, and other systems into in close proximity to-geosynchronous orbits,” according to the military’s Space Functions Command.

And USSF-67 will make use of the exact same style of spacecraft deployed on USSF-44, called LDPE, which is essentially a bus for outer room that can carry more compact satellites. The Falcon Weighty also carried a communications satellite, termed the Ongoing Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, for the US Area Pressure.

Further specifics about the satellites on Sunday’s mission were not quickly readily available.

With each individual start, the Falcon Significant rocket places on a spectacular show again on Earth.

Following Sunday’s mission, the organization recovered two of the Falcon Heavy rocket’s initially-stage boosters — the tall white sticks strapped collectively to give the rocket its heightened electrical power at liftoff. After expending most of their gas, the aspect boosters fell away from the center core and reoriented them selves to slice again by the Earth’s ambiance.

As they approached the floor, the boosters reignited their engines and finished a synchronized landing on floor pads in close proximity to the Florida coastline. It’s a signature shift for SpaceX, which routinely recovers and reuses its rocket boosters to drive down the value of launches.

SpaceX did not endeavor to get better the center booster since of gas specifications.

The corporation has not correctly retrieved all 3 boosters however, although it is arrive near. The two facet boosters built a pinpoint, synchronized landing on ground pads following an April 2019 mission, and the rocket’s heart booster touched down on a seafaring system. But tough waves toppled it in excess of.

For a long time, the Falcon Hefty was the world’s most effective operational rocket. But in November, NASA’s new moon rocket, known as Place Start Program, or SLS, stole that title with its inaugural launch. SLS introduced the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission around the moon, paving the way for potential missions with astronauts on board.

When the Falcon Major presents off about 5 million pounds of thrust, SLS is puts out as a great deal as 8.8 million lbs . of thrust — 15{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} far more than the Saturn V rockets that powered the Apollo moon landings.

At its experimental services in South Texas, SpaceX is in the closing phases of getting ready for the very first orbital start attempt of its Starship spacecraft and Super Weighty rocket. Although the examination flight however awaits remaining approval from federal regulators, it could carry off in the coming weeks.

If successful, SpaceX’s Starship would dethrone the SLS as the most impressive rocket flying nowadays.

The Starship program is envisioned to outpower both SLS and Falcon Significant. The forthcoming Super Significant booster, which is intended to vault the Starship spacecraft into space, is envisioned to place off about 17 million lbs . of thrust.

It is not all a competition, however. Both the SLS rocket and SpaceX’s Starship are integral to NASA’s programs to return astronauts to the moon’s floor for the to start with time in 50 percent a century.

SpaceX has its personal, formidable eyesight for the Starship: ferrying people and cargo to Mars in hopes of one particular day creating a lasting human settlement there.

January 18, 2023

University of Georgia football player killed in auto wreck days after championship win

Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and a recruiting staff members member were being killed early Sunday in a auto wreck, the faculty claimed, just hrs after the Bulldogs celebrated their next straight national championship with a parade and ceremony.

Two other members of the soccer program have been hurt in the crash, which occurred south of the Ga campus in Athens. They were not promptly publicly identified the college mentioned both were steady.

The solitary-auto wreck occurred at about 2:45 a.m., Athens-Clarke County police mentioned a assertion.

On Saturday, Georgia marked its 65-7 rout of TCU in the national championship sport with a parade by way of town and a ceremony at Sanford Stadium.

The initial investigation located that a Ford Expedition “left the roadway, putting two electric power poles and many trees,” the assertion reported.

Willock, 20, was pronounced useless at the scene. The driver, Chandler LeCroy, 24, was taken to a hospital, in which she died from her injuries.

LeCroy was a recruiting analyst for the Bulldogs.

“We are all heartbroken and devastated with the decline of Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy,” Ga mentor Kirby Sensible explained in a statement. “Devin was an superb youthful guy in each individual way. He was constantly smiling, was a fantastic teammate and a pleasure to mentor.”

Smart claimed LeCroy was “a precious member of our soccer staff and brought an amazing angle and strength just about every solitary working day,” including, “We grieve with their households for this tragic reduction and will guidance them in each individual way probable.”

Law enforcement explained that the wreck remains under investigation and that they have not decided what may have contributed to it. It could be a number of times in advance of a report is issued.

“The complete Georgia household is devastated by the tragic reduction of football scholar-athlete Devin Willock and soccer workers member Chandler LeCroy,” the school’s statement explained. “Devin and Chandler were being two specific individuals who intended so substantially to the University of Georgia, our soccer plan and our athletic office. We talk to that everyone continue to keep their people in your prayers throughout this incredibly hard time.”

Willock’s teammates expressed disbelief and grief Sunday on Twitter and Instagram.

“Nah this a person harm, I was just wit you final night time,” running back again Sevaughn Clark wrote on Instagram.

Defensive again Kamari Lassiter wrote that the situation failed to “sense correct at all” on his Instagram story.

“We were just chopping it up yesterday on the bus gentleman,” Lassiter said.

Previous Ga defensive lineman Jordan Davis tweeted a tribute to Willock and LeCroy on Sunday, declaring he was “heartbroken.”

“Seeing them increase and come to be like loved ones above these few several years,” Davis wrote. “There is no grief without appreciate, and we enjoy the two of you like relatives.”

Willock was a 6-foot-7, 335-pound redshirt sophomore from New Milford, New Jersey.

He played thoroughly as a backup during the 2022 period and begun at ideal guard in Southeastern Meeting victories more than Tennessee and Kentucky.

With linemen Warren McClendon and Warren Ericson declaring for the NFL draft, Willock very likely would have been competing for a setting up place this yr as the Bulldogs go for a third straight nationwide title.

Police stated a 21-calendar year-aged male passenger sustained slight accidents and a 26-12 months-outdated woman passenger sustained critical accidents. Neither the faculty nor police released their identities. The Ga statement explained that “we will carry on to keep an eye on their status with clinical personnel.”

Ga mentioned its mental overall health and performance staff would “make positive we are supplying the most effective assistance feasible for our personnel and scholar-athletes who are processing this grief.”

A several hrs prior to his death, Willock retweeted a submit that confirmed him getting time with a youthful Georgia fan at what appeared to a cafe, even letting the youngster use his championship ring.

“Special thank u to @DevinWillock for taking time for my grandson when he didn’t have to,” the tweet claimed. “U went out of ur way to make him come to feel particular and U created his day!! Excellent luck subsequent 12 months! Go Dawgs!”

Doha Madani

Suzanne Ciechalski contributed.

January 17, 2023

Could a bronchitis drug help consolidate memory?

black and white photo of instant photographs — It can be difficult to retrieve new reminiscences just after a sleepless night time. Could a bronchitis drug enable? Graphic credit: Olga Moreira/Stocksy.

Researchers think that sleep helps consolidate memories and thus learning processes.
Although an particular person can make a memory throughout the working day, it can grow to be much more complicated to remember if they acquire that memory even though rest deprived. Disrupted snooze, therefore, impedes studying means.
Although rest cleanliness can be applied to aid to boost sleep and for that reason memory and discovering skill, many have considered if a pharmaceutical intervention could help to make improvements to an individual’s skill to remember memories.
A the latest analyze has seemed at the likelihood of using an existing persistent bronchitis drug could to assist consolidate memory in sleep-deprived mice.

A single of the most significant unsolved questions about the human system is: Why do we slumber? A person theory is that sleep assists us to consolidate memories, which allows us to discover.

A paper in Character outlined evidence that replaying recollections from a portion of the mind responsible for memory and discovering known as the hippocampus occurs all through rest, which provides us the capacity to consolidate them and understand.

Present comprehending indicates that the consolidation of memories happens in two phases, discussed Dr. Kieland Cooper, neuroscientist and synthetic intelligence researcher at the Middle for the Neurobiology of Discovering and Memory at the College of California Irvine, in an e mail to Health-related News Now.

“The initially is when memories are acquired and saved in the course of a specified day, and the second is when the recollections are manufactured a lot more everlasting, recognised as consolidation,” he described.

“The current wondering strongly indicates that snooze is a key driver of producing memories much more long-lasting, in some circumstances reorganizing how and the place memories are stored. For example, most new recollections depend on the hippocampus however, consolidated reminiscences count much less on the hippocampus and much more on the cortex.”

– Dr. Keiland Cooper

“Retrieving reminiscences is critically dependent on when and how it was stored,” he included.

Simply because of the potentially essential function of rest in memory development, slumber deprivation can disrupt our potential to discover. This has a sizeable effect, not only on learners and young folks, but throughout our life.

Scientists advise that deficiency of snooze is a international epidemic that is finding worse across distinct age teams.

Although a whole lot of target on improving our snooze has been on snooze cleanliness, other individuals have looked at the likelihood of pharmacological intervention. Becoming capable to pop a tablet soon after a undesirable night’s rest would offer an possibility for men and women who are not able to management their snooze patterns.

A latest paper revealed in Present Biology has delved further into this challenge.

Specifically, scientists from the College of Groningen in the Netherlands appeared at the probability that the drug roflumilast, currently accredited to handle chronic bronchitis and COPD, could assist retrieve reminiscences lost owing to rest loss.

Though reminiscences can be manufactured — throughout revision for an exam, for case in point — it might not be easy to recall them thanks to sleep-decline-relevant amnesia.

Initially, the scientists made the decision to search at regardless of whether or not it was probable to retrieve recollections disrupted by snooze deprivation in genetically engineered mice.

They taught the mice to understand the site of an object and then look for out a new one particular in the similar environment days later. Some of the mice have been sleep deprived before this undertaking and some, performing as the controls, were not.

This verified that the rest-deprived mice were being much less equipped to uncover the new object.

Researchers then reactivated the hippocampal neurons applying a system recognised as optogenetics, which allows scientists to look at how particular person neurons sign.

They found that by reactivating the neurons in the hippocampus that had initially saved this facts, with light, quite a few days following the understanding process experienced been done, the mice could don’t forget the place the item was located.

The scientists then resolved to look at irrespective of whether or not roflumilast could be employed to develop the exact outcome.

Carrying out the similar schooling experiment, they tested the mice qualified though rest-deprived and dealt with with roflumilast as opposed to individuals that had not been handled with roflumilast.

They confirmed that treatment with roflumilast helped the mice improved recall the locale of the object.

But why roflumilast, of all medications? The study’s lead creator Dr. Robbert Havekes explained to MNT in an email:

“We made use of this precise drug since it taps into the cAMP signaling pathway, just one we know that is significant for memory procedures in the mind and strongly afflicted by snooze deprivation.”

“In our prior perform, we applied this drug to assist mind operate by applying the drug during slumber deprivation. In the current function, we used it to reverse the amnesia even times after the sleep deprivation interval occurred,” he described.

Though the drug is certified for use in people, the examination only seemed at the effect in mice, specially when they had been exposed to a one sleep deprivation party.

Dr. Cooper, who was not associated in the analysis, explained the pharmaceutical intervention was significantly less invasive than optogenics, when it will come to investigating the way in which memories are created and then recalled.

He explained that “[o]ptogenetics, particularly in the mind, is very invasive and needs genetically altering mobile purpose. So the authors looked for a less invasive treatment that may well also rescue memory deficits.”

“They turned to roflumilast — commonly used to address COPD — which is in a course of prescription drugs which will help increase neuron exercise. They identified that this far too assisted conquer slumber deprivation deficits,” explained Dr. Cooper.

January 17, 2023

The steep plunge in used car prices — what it means, and what’s ahead

New York
CNN
—

Monitoring utilised car or truck rates is ample to give anybody whiplash.

Given that the commence of the pandemic and the resulting disruptions to new car or truck supply chains 1st despatched charges soaring, used motor vehicle prices posted their most significant once-a-year improve on record – up 45{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} in the 12 months ending in June 2021, in accordance to the Shopper Value Index – before swinging to a 12-thirty day period fall of 8.8{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} in the most recent studying for December.

That was the most important 12-month plunge in charges for used cars due to the fact June 2009, when Normal Motors and Chrysler have been equally in individual bankruptcy proceedings and the financial state was hemorrhaging a 50 percent-million jobs a thirty day period.

“It was a fully wild ride,” mentioned Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds.com Inc., an on line means for stock and details on cars.

Information from Edmunds demonstrates the common rate of a used car obtain in December at $29,533, down approximately $1,600 from the history superior of $31,095 arrived at in April 2022. Today’s common employed automobile rate is about the very same as the common new vehicle cost as not long ago as 2010.

Whilst the charges of late design utilised automobiles are down only 5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} off their peak according in accordance to Edmunds, the selling price of older utilised automobiles, those 5 several years or more mature, have fallen 15{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} or additional from their peaks early in 2022.

Industry experts say motives for the drop contain better curiosity fees that make it additional expensive to finance a automobile obtain, restricting need. CarMax

(KMX), the nation’s largest pure used vehicle vendor, has warned that the combination of superior prices and higher fascination fees is creating an affordability challenge for lots of customers, hurting overall need.

But the major explanation for the fall in employed vehicle costs is the elevated offer of new autos.

It was the deficiency of new auto inventory that drove up charges. Pieces shortages, particularly for computer system chips, experienced choked off output of new automobiles in significantly of 2022, creating the cheapest degree of total-12 months US new car gross sales since 2011.

The reduced supply of new vehicles caused an even larger leap in the ordinary rate of made use of cars, as customers who would otherwise invest in new motor vehicles turned to the employed automobile industry.

“At just one level it seemed that every person who was heading to purchase new ended up shopping for made use of,” explained Greg Markus, executive vice president of AutoLenders, parent corporation of New Jersey’s greatest applied auto dealership chain.

That provided rental motor vehicle providers, which ahead of the pandemic ordinarily bought about 10{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} or more new cars for every calendar year. With limited stock of automobiles to sell, automakers effectively stopped generating decrease-priced fleet profits, and even rental automobile firms have been forced to flip to the utilised auto market place.

All that has started out to change in latest months. Automakers are reporting extra materials of the chips they will need, and are manufacturing and advertising more vehicles, which include a return of fleet profits. General, gross sales have been up 9{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} in the fourth quarter as opposed to a year ago, and approximately 6{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} higher than in the third quarter, in accordance to Cox Automotive. And with additional purchasers acquiring the new autos they want, that indicates lessen desire for employed automobiles.

Specialists say part of the decline in used car price ranges is that the cost improves were not sustainable and ended up partly driven by potential buyers at utilised motor vehicle auctions overpaying for the confined offer of employed vehicles.

“There was nowhere for these rates to go but down,” claimed Markus.

There could be far more declines in utilized automobile costs in the months in advance, as new car or truck inventories go on to make. One particular matter that could set a ground under the made use of car costs: late product used vehicles will likely be in shorter provide offered the reduced new car or truck manufacturing around the very last three decades.

“The supply situation is however grim,” mentioned Markus. Because of that, “I do not think we’re getting down to 2019 amounts,” he additional.

The run-up in utilised automobile selling prices was a important driver in the nation’s in general inflation fee, including about a full percentage stage to the all round boost in consumer costs from April of 2021 via Could of 2022. Now it is a factor encouraging to provide down the pace of inflation, shaving much more than a third of a place off the general fee in December.

This is clearly good news for those people seeking or needing to obtain a applied vehicle, nevertheless it can have a damaging outcome on vehicle prospective buyers by decreasing the benefit of automobile they hope to trade in. Edmunds displays the normal trade-in benefit in December down practically $3,000, or 11{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, to $22,605, from the report high strike in June of 2022.

That fall in the benefit of trade-ins could also be a headwind on auto charges by cutting down what purchasers are in a position to pay.

January 17, 2023

Nutson’s Weekly Auto News Wrap-up January 8-14, 2023

Nutson’s Auto News Weekly-Wrap-up January 8-14 2023

Every Sunday Larry Nutson, The Chicago Car Guy and Auto Channel Executive Producer, with able assistance from senior editor Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, compile The Auto Channel’s “take” on this past week’s automotive news, condensed into easy to digest news Nuggets.

LEARN MORE: Complete versions of today’s news nuggets, along with thousands of pages of relevant news and opinions, information stored in a million-page library published and indexed on The Auto Channel during the past 25 years. Complete information can be found by copying a headline and inserting it into any Site Search Box.

Here are Larry’s picks among the past week’s important, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as expertly crafted easy-to-understand automotive universe news nuggets.

* Kelley Blue Book released its December new vehicle average transaction price (ATP) report with record-breaking data, as prices are up 4.9{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} overall from 2021. The average price paid for a new vehicle in December was $49,507—a record high and up nearly $1K from November. Truck sales were particularly strong last month, more than 270,000 sold for the first time since the spring of 2021, and the average price paid for a new truck was more than $59,000. And, on the decrease are EV prices which went down more than $3,500 month over month with Tesla slashing prices and commanding more than 65{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the electric vehicle segment.

* The recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act brought about changes in the electric vehicle tax credit. If an individual bought and placed in service a new qualified plug-in electric vehicle (EV) or fuel cell vehicle (FCV) on January 1, 2023 or later and meet certain income limitations, they may be eligible for a clean vehicle tax credit up to $7,500 under Internal Revenue Code Section 30D. A new price limitation prescribes that the vehicle not exceed a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of $80,000 for vans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks and $55,000 for other vehicles. Of interest is the classifiction of some vehicles by the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service. For example they did not classify the Cadillac Lyriq as an SUV, meaning its retail price cannot be above $55,000 to qualify for up to $7,500 in federal tax credits. Similarly the Chevrolet Bolt EUV, Ford Mach-E and Escape PHEV, Lincoln Corsair, select VW ID.4 models and the Tesla model Y with 5-seats cannot excedd the $55,000 limit. The IRS is following the 40 CFR 600.002 criteria that legally defines vehicle types. Recenlty, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said she thinks there is a sense of understanding from industry and consumer groups ‘about what the credits will entail and what will be eligible.’ PS: Not all so-called SUVs are in reality an SUV.

* U.S. DoE factoid of the week: The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Vehicle Technologies Office estimates the cost of an electric vehicle lithium-ion battery pack declined 89{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} between 2008 and 2022 (using 2022 constant dollars). The 2022 estimate is $153/kWh on a usable-energy basis for production at scale of at least 100,000 units per year. That compares to $1,355/kWh in 2008. The decline in cost is due to improvements in battery technologies and chemistries, and an increase in manufacturing volume.

* According to NHTSA the number of traffic deaths on U.S. roadways fell slightly during the first nine months of 2022, but pedestrian and cyclist deaths continued to rise. NHTSA estimates that 31,785 people were killed in crashes from January through September last year, down 0.2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} from the same period of 2021. The number of cyclists killed in crashes rose 8{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} compared with a year earlier, while motorcyclist deaths rose 5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} and pedestrian deaths were up 2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}. NHTSA said that Americans are driving more than during the height of the pandemic, with preliminary Federal Highway Administration data showing a 1.6{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} increase in vehicle miles traveled in the first nine months of last year.

* Inrix published the 2022 Global Traffic Scorecard that identified and ranked congestion and mobility trends in more than 1,000 cities, across 50 countries. Chicago (155 hours), Boston (134 hours), and New York (117 hours) lost the most time to traffic congestion in the U.S. and were all in the top five for most congested cities in the world, alongside London (156 hours) and Paris (138 hours). The typical American driver lost 51 hours in congestion, up 15 hours from 2021 but still nearly 50{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} below pre-pandemic levels.

* The head of the National Transportation Safety Board expressed concern about the safety risks that heavy electric vehicles, such as the 9,000-pound GMC Hummer EV, pose if they collide with lighter vehicles. “I’m concerned about the increased risk of severe injury and death for all road users from heavier curb weights and increasing size, power, and performance of vehicles on our roads, including electric vehicles,” Jennifer Homendy said in remarks prepared for the group. Also of concern is electric vehicles have very high horsepower ratings, allowing them to accelerate quickly even in crowded urban areas. “People are not trained to handle that type of acceleration,” said Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety.

* The Biden-Harris Administration released the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. Developed by the departments of Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Blueprint is a landmark strategy for cutting all greenhouse emissions from the transportation sector by 2050. It exemplifies the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government approach to addressing the climate crisis and meeting President Biden’s goals of securing a 100{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} clean electrical grid by 2035 and reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

* According to research from S&P Global Mobility, the US will need more than 2.3 million chargers for electric vehicles by 2030 to service the projected 28 million EVs on the road by then. “Developments in battery technology, and how quickly EVs can receive power, will be as critical to improvements here as how quickly and plentifully infrastructure can provide the power,” said Graham Evans, research and analysis director for S&P Global Mobility.

* More than 90{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of vehicle-owning households in the United States would see a reduction in the percentage of income spent on transportation energy—the gasoline or electricity that powers their cars, SUVs and pickups—if they switched to electric vehicles. And more than 90{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of households that replace gas-powered vehicles with EVs would also reduce the amount of climate-warming greenhouse gases they generate, according to a new University of Michigan study. However, more than half of the lowest-income U.S. households (an estimated 8.3 million households) would continue to experience high transportation energy burdens, defined in this study as spending more than 4{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of household income on filling the tank or charging up. Hat tip to our friends at The Detroit Bureau.

* Rolls-Royce has achieved its highest-ever annual sales in 2022, delivering a total of 6,021 motor cars, up 8{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} on 2021, to clients in around 50 countries worldwide. This is the first time in the company’s 118-year history that its sales have exceeded 6,000 in a single 12‑month period. The USA was once again the marque’s largest overall market as a new generation of younger American entrepreneurs, wealth generators and job creators were drawn to Rolls-Royce for the first time, according to Rolls-Royce.

* Check back next week: Chevrolet plans to introduce the Corvette E-Ray on Jan. 17. The E-Ray, a gasoline-electric version of the eighth-generation sports car, also adds all-wheel drive for the first time.

* The 2023 NACTOY winners were announced. The Acura Integra is the 2023 North American Car of the Year. The Kia EV6 is the 2023 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Ford F-150 Lightning is the 2023 North American Truck of the Year. Congratulations to the winners. PS – The Detroit Free Press choices we mentioned last week were right on.

* Hertz believes in the saying “Let the good times roll.” Whether you’re planning a night out on the town for a big birthday; looking to arrive in style for your bachelorette party; or celebrating a milestone anniversary, you can celebrate your next exciting moment with a rental vehicle from Hertz complete with a custom-wrapped exterior. Hertz offers 19 different designs to choose from.

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* Reuters reports Federal vehicle safety regulators said they want Tesla officials to explain a tweet by Elon Musk suggesting he could order a software update that turns off the system that nags drivers to keep hands on the wheel while a Tesla driver operates the vehicle on Autopilot. Acting National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief Ann Carlson said Monday that the agency is working “really fast” on its investigation of Tesla and Autopilot safety.

* A fire broke out at Guangzhou, China auto show on the eve before it opened. The fire, in IAT Automobile Technology Co. booth, was caused by an accident involving an external power switch, according to a company statement. The show opened with no delay and is currently running.

* Kevin Harvick announced that the 2023 NASCAR season will be his final season in the Cup Series. Harvick, 47, is in the last year of his contract with Stewart-Haas Racing and had previously said that an announcement would be made regarding his future before the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 19. Harvick was thrust into the Cup Series in 2001 after the death of Dale Earnhardt. He took over Earnhardt’s renumbered No. 29 car for Richard Childress Racing the week after Earnhardt died in the 2001 Daytona 500. Harvick then went on to be one of the most successful drivers of the 2000s. Overall, Harvick has scored 60 wins in 790 Cup Series starts and is a surefire NASCAR Hall of Famer on the first ballot

Stay safe. Be Well.

January 16, 2023

Drinking too much coffee doubles mortality risk

Collage of cups of coffee on a white background — Drinking 2 or more cups of coffee daily may increase mortality rates in people with severe hypertension, researchers say. Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A recent study in Japan found a connection between drinking 2 or more cups of coffee per day and increased mortality rates in people with severe hypertension.
Severe hypertension is another way of describing high blood pressure.
The cohort study, which included just over 18,000 men and women, lasted nearly 2 decades.
While the study authors found that 2 or more cups of coffee raised the risk, they did not find any risks associated with 1 cup of coffee or green tea for people with severe hypertension.

While many people cannot get started in the morning without coffee, a recent study indicates that some may need to practice caution with their coffee consumption.

The researchers found that drinking 2 or more cups of coffee per day may double mortality rates in people with severe hypertension.

They also noted that 1 cup of coffee is 8 ounces — and that anything beyond that may pose health risks in people with severe high blood pressure.

The results of the study were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), hypertension occurs when “the force of blood flowing through your blood vessels is consistently too high.”

Unhealthy lifestyle choices often lead to developing high blood pressure, such as eating foods high in cholesterol and not getting regular exercise. Additionally, health conditions like diabetes can factor into developing hypertension.

A blood pressure reading consists of two numbers: the systolic number (higher number) and the diastolic number (lower number).

The AHA includes five blood pressure categories:

normal blood pressure (less than 120 over less than 80)
elevated blood pressure (120–129 over less than 80)
high blood pressure or hypertension stage 1 (130–139 over 80–89)
high blood pressure or hypertension stage 2 (140 or higher over 90 or higher)
hypertensive crisis (higher than 180 over higher than 120)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), high blood pressure can be a “silent killer” since people do not always experience symptoms and may not know they have high blood pressure unless they see a doctor regularly or self-monitor.

When high blood pressure is untreated, it can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

If someone is diagnosed with high blood pressure, they may treat it by making lifestyle changes or taking medications such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or calcium channel blockers.

The study authors used information from participants in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk. They analyzed data from 18,609 people (6,574 men and 12,035 women).

The participants were 40 to 79 years old when the cohort study began between 1988 and 1990.

The cohort researchers took the participants’ blood pressure reading at the beginning of the study, as well as other medical background information and followed up with them over 18.9 years.

The coffee study authors were interested in how the participants’ coffee and green tea consumption habits factored into their blood pressure scores and heart-related deaths.

The researchers placed the participants into one of five categories based on their blood pressure readings (the categories vary somewhat from the AHA):

optimal and normal blood pressure (less than 130 over less than 85)
high‐normal blood pressure (130–139 over 85–89)
grade 1 hypertension (140–159 over 90–99)
grade 2 hypertension (160–179 over 100–109)
grade 3 hypertension (180 and higher over 110 and higher)

Since many participants did not have grade 2 and 3 hypertension, the researchers combined the data for these groups.

After placing the participants into categories based on their blood pressure readings, the researchers considered their coffee and green tea drinking habits. The participants indicated the frequency and amount of consumption.

For context, an 8-ounce coffee contains 95 to 200 mg of caffeine, making coffee more caffeinated than some energy drinks. Green tea contains approximately 35 mg of caffeine.

Over the course of the study follow-up, the researchers recorded 842 cardiovascular-related participant deaths.

The results of the study showed that people with grade 2 and 3 hypertension who drank 2 or more cups of coffee per day had twice the cardiovascular-related death mortality rate compared to people in the same category who did not drink coffee.

”These findings may support the assertion that people with severe high blood pressure should avoid drinking excessive coffee,” senior author Dr. Hiroyasu Iso, director of the Institute for Global Health Policy Research in Tokyo, told Medical News Today.

The study findings also showed that drinking 1 cup of coffee did not increase the risk for anyone across any blood pressure categories.

Just 1 cup of coffee can contain nearly 3 times the amount of caffeine as 1 cup of green tea, but the researchers did not detect issues with green tea regardless of the amount consumed.

The study authors believe this is due to the “mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of green tea,” which is the compound epigallocatechin-3-gallate, “the most abundant polyphenol in green tea.”

The authors noted that animal studies of green tea shows that epigallocatechin-3-gallate can positively affect oxidative stress, reduce inflammation, and improve lipid profiles.

“These beneficial effects of green tea catechins may partially explain why only coffee consumption was associated with an increased risk of mortality in people with severe hypertension despite both green tea and coffee containing caffeine,” the authors wrote.

“This study supports the implication that heavy coffee consumption can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality among people with severe hypertension, while green tea consumption does not increase the risk,” Dr. Jayne Morgan, a cardiologist and clinical director of the Covid Task Force at the Piedmont Healthcare Corporation in Atlanta, GA, told MNT.

Yelena Wheeler, RDN, a clinical dietitian with the Measurement Instrument Database for Social Sciences (MIDSS) in Los Angeles, CA, also spoke with MNT about the study findings:

“The study pointed out that ‘heavy’ coffee consumption was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality with people who were already suffering from severe hypertension. This seems somewhat of an obvious cause and effect; however, not finding any increased risk of CVD mortality amongst those in all categories who consumed green tea was an interesting twist.”

Wheeler added it would be interesting to see further research into the habits of people who consume coffee versus green tea, such as the types of jobs they hold or whether they practice mindfulness and meditation.