Earthquakes and the damage they cause are apolitical. Collectively, we either prepare for future earthquakes or the population eventually pays the price. The earthquakes that struck Myanmar on March 28, 2025, collapsing buildings and causing more than 2,700 deaths, were a sobering reminder of the risks and the need for preparation.In the U.S., this preparation hinges in large part on the expertise of scientists and engineers in federal agencies who develop earthquake hazard models and contribute to the creation of building codes designed to ensure homes, high-rises, and other structures wont collapse when the ground shakes.Local communities and states decide whether to adopt building code documents. But those documents and other essential resources are developed through programs supported by federal agencies working in partnership with practicing engineers and earthquake experts at universities.This essential federal role is illustrated by two programs that we work closely with as an earthquake engineer and a disaster management expert whose work focuses on seismic risk.Improving building codesFirst, seismologists and earthquake engineers at the U.S. Geological Survey, or USGS, produce the National Seismic Hazard Model. These maps, based on research into earthquake sources such as faults and how seismic waves move through the earths crust, are used to determine the forces that structures in each community should be designed to resist.A steering committee of earthquake experts from the private sector and universities works with USGS to ensure that the National Seismic Hazard Model implements the best available science.In this 2023 update of the national seismic risk map, red areas have the greatest chance of a damaging earthquake occurring within 100 years. [Image: USGS]Second, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supports the process for periodically updating building codes. That includes supporting the work of the National Institute of Building Sciences Provisions Update Committee, which recommends building code revisions based on investigations of earthquake damage.More broadly, FEMA, the USGS, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Science Foundation work together through the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program to advance earthquake science and turn knowledge of earthquake risks into safer standards, better building design, and education. Some of those agencies have been threatened by potential job and funding cuts under the Trump administration, and others face uncertainty regarding continuation of federal support for their work.It is in large part because of the National Seismic Hazard Model and regularly updated building codes that U.S. buildings designed to meet modern code requirements are considered among the safest in the world, despite substantial seismic hazards in several states.This paradigm has been made possible by the technical expertise and lack of political agendas among the federal staff. Without that professionalism, we believe experts from outside the federal government would be less likely to donate their time.The impacts of these and other programs are well documented. We can point to the limited fatalities from U.S. earthquakes such as the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake near San Francisco, the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles, and the 2001 Nisqually earthquake near Seattle. Powerful earthquakes in countries lacking seismic preparedness, often due to lack of adoption or enforcement of building codes, have produced much greater devastation and loss of life.The U.S. has long relied on people with expertiseThese programs and the federal agencies supporting them have benefited from a high level of staff expertise because hiring and advancement processes have been divorced from politics and focused on qualifications and merit.This has not always been the case.For much of early U.S. history, federal jobs were awarded through a patronage system, where political loyalty determined employment. As described in The Federal Civil Service System and The Problem of Bureaucracy, this system led to widespread corruption and dysfunction, with officials focused more on managing quid pro quo patronage than governing effectively. That peaked in 1881 with President James Garfields assassination by Charles Guiteau, a disgruntled supporter who had been denied a government appointment.The passage of the Pendleton Act by Congress in 1883 shifted federal employment to a merit-based system. This preference for a merit-based system was reinforced in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. It states as national policy that to provide the people of the United States with a competent, honest, and productive workforce . . . and to improve the quality of public service, Federal personnel management should be implemented consistent with merit system principles.The shift away from a patronage system produced a more stable and efficient federal workforce, which has enabled improvements in many critical areas, including seismic safety and disaster response.Merit-based civil service matters for safetyWhile the work of these federal employees often goes unnoticed, the benefits are demonstrable and widespread. That becomes most apparent when disasters strike and buildings that meet modern code requirements remain standing.A merit-based civil service is not just a democratic ideal but a proven necessity for the safety and security of the American people, one we hope will continue well into the future. This can be achieved by retaining federal scientists and engineers and supporting the essential work of federal agencies.Jonathan P. Stewart is a professor of engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.Lucy Arendt is a professor of business administration management at St. Norbert College.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

In a showy speech at the White House yesterday, President Trump announced his most sweeping tariffs to dateand the news has sent the global economic order into chaos.The slew of tariffs impact more than 180 countries. Trump announced a minimum 10% tariff on almost every country worldwide, meaning that nearly every good imported to the U.S. will automatically receive a 10% tax. Dozens of countries have been hit with even higher rates: Goods from China will now have a 34% tariff added on top of a previous blanket tax imposed this year; Cambodia will face a 49% tariff; and Vietnams imports will be taxed at 46%.The Trump administration is framing this global trade war as a way to punish other countries in a trade surplus with the U.S., as well as a means to increase manufacturing jobs on American soil. Many experts, however, are warning that the move is likely to cause a spike in inflation, with some fearing an impending recession in the U.S. Meanwhile, world leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, are denouncing the decision and calling for talks to rescind the fees. The news has already caused the American stock market to take a concerning nosedive.Trump announced his new tariffs plan while wielding a series of difficult-to-parse charts that have been widely criticized for lacking any discernible organization. But data visualization should play a key role in simplifying and clarifying the confusion around the new policies. To that end, here are three graphics to maybe help you understand the new tariffs.The tariffsThis map, created by USA Today data journalist Carlie Procell, provides a simple, comprehensive view of how Trumps tariffs are impacting targeted countries.The graphic is color-coded into five different segments based on the severity of the tariffs levied against each region: ultra-light blue countries, for example, land somewhere between the baseline 10% tariff and 20%, while the darkest blue countries are getting hit the hardest with tariffs between 40% and 50%. By clicking on the various blue shades in the color key, users can isolate their view to examine each of the five tiers individually.Explore the interactive graphic here. [Image: USA Today]Procells map also comes with an alphabetized table organized by country. To determine the tariffs faced by a specific country, users can simply search its name in the attached toolbar.The falloutFor a better look at the initial fallout of the tariffs announcement, a group of reporters at the New York Times have created a graph tracking global stock markets trajectories from Trumps inauguration on January 20 to this morning.See the updates here [Image: The New York Times]The graph shows percentage changes in major stock indexes for Germanys DAX, Chinas Shanghai SE Composite, the United Kingdoms FTSE 100, Canadas S&P/TSX Composite, the United Statess S&P 500, and Japans Nikkei 225.As of 9:30 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 plunged more than 4% since yesterdays market close (amounting to a total 9% drop since Trumps inauguration). Major stocks in both Asian and European markets also slumped abruptly this morning. The graph suggests that Trumps new tariffs are even harsher than what most economists and investors feared.Whats aheadLess than a day after the tariffs announcement, many analysts are predicting that American consumers should prepare for a spike in inflation.To keep track of this rising cost of living, CBS News has created a price tracker for goods including groceries, new vehicles, used vehicles, parts, repairs, insurance premiums, and construction and manufacturing raw materials. According to the tools accompanying article, CBS plans to update the prices of groceries weekly (including heavily imported fruits and veggies like bananas and bell peppers), while the other categories will be updated every month.See the interactive tracker here. [Image: CBS News Data]Over the coming weeks, the price tracker could help consumers understand how the cost of essential goods is changing as a result of the new tariffs. In an interview with CNBC, David Rosenberg, founder and president of the market research firm Rosenberg Research, warned, Were in for several months of a very significant price shock for the American household sector.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredlaunched for PC on Thursday, finally bringing the acclaimed 2020 action-adventure title to the platform, and it seems to have got off to a decent start with its new audience.As per SteamDB, on its PC launch day,The Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredsaw a peak of 23,350 concurrent players on Steam. Those arent necessary groundbreaking numbers, but presumably, they will continue to rise over the games first weekend.In comparison,The Last of Us Part 1has a peak of 36,496 concurrent Steam players. It should be interesting to see whether its sequel can surpass it. One area where it has got off to a decidedly better start is its reception. WherePart 1sPC port was widely criticized upon release,Part 2has a Very Positive user review rating on Steam at the time of writing, with 91 percent of its 1000-and-odd user ratings being positive.The Last of Us Part 2is available on PS5, PS4, and PC. Read our review of the PC port through here. Season 2 of HBOsThe Last of Us adaptationis also coming later this month.

At the recent Switch 2 Direct, Nintendo also announced a major (and frequently requested) new feature for Nintendo Switch Online, in the form of GameCube titles finally joining the subscription services catalog. Now, another feature for the upcoming GameCube library has been revealed.As reported by Nintendo Life, GameCube titles playable on the Switch 2 via Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack will feature a CRT filter option. For those looking for an even more authentic retro experience, the filter should come as a welcome addition.GameCube titles will be available for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers on the Switch 2 on June 5, the day of the consoles release. At launch, three games will be available in the form ofThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX,andSoulcalibur 2. More games will follow down the line, includingSuper Mario Sunshine, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, Pokemon Colosseum, Luigis Mansion,and more.

With the release of Thunderbolts just a month away, some new footage was shown from the film today at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, introduced by stars Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian), Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr / Ghost), Wyatt Russell (John Walker / U.S. Agent) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Valentina Allegra de Fontaine) - with Pugh saying how much she loved getting to jump from the second highest building in the world in the film. In the footage, we see the team driving, making small talk, as Jefferson Starships Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now (used prominently in the films recent trailer) plays on the radio. Up front, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) and Red Guardian talk about the super soldier serum and Hydra, while in the back, Yelena is discussing her Widows Bite bracelets with Ghost and John Walker, and asking John about the helmet he wears in battle. They then pull up to their destination, smashing their vehicle through the glass walls of the bottom floor. The minute they get out, we get the quick juxtaposition from the laid back vibe on the drive to how all-business they can be in fight, with them all doing fairly brutal takedowns of the soldiers attacking them, as Ghost, the most notably superpowered of the bunch, uses her phasing abilities. PlayThe fight is then interrupted by the voice of Valentina, who tells them to come upstairs - though Bucky still punches out the guy he was fighting. It turns out theyre in what was once Avengers Tower!In the top floor where Tony Stark once declared We have a Hulk, Valentina talks about how expensive it was to buy the building, and then laughs about the unlikely group in front of her - as she and Yelena face off about Valentina pitting them all against each other, only for them to become a team. Valentina goes through the group one-by-one, throwing out insults, calling John Walker Jr. Varsity Captain America. However, she doesnt recognize Red Guardian at all, asking who Santa is, infuriating him. On the flip side, Valentina seems to know Ghost quite well, casually calling her Ava. She then mocks Buckys brief time as a congressman (he was running for office in Captain America: Brave New World), saying its embarrassing he only served less than half a term. Bucky lunges at Valentina when an unseen force stops him in his tracks, making him unable to move. Thats when we see boots coming down the stairs, clearly belonging to the Sentry, and get glimpses of him wiping the floor with the team (though we still dont see him fully in the shots included). The Thunderbolts: The Tumultuous History of Marvel's Twisted Super-Team

At CinemaCon today, Edgar Wright and cast members Glen Powell, Josh Brolin and Colman Domingo debuted the first footage from the filmmaker's new take on The Running Man. Like the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film, Wrights movie is adapted from the Stephen King book of the same name (written under his Richard Bachman pseudonym) about a dystopian game show where trained killers hunt you to the death - though theres a huge cash prize if you can somehow survive. Wright said that while he enjoyed the 1987 movie, he always wanted to see the book one of his favorites as a teenager more properly adapted, which is where his version comes in.The footage shown today indicates many of the details from the book discarded in the earlier film are put back in, starting with Ben Richards (Glen Powell) now much more of an everyman who volunteers for the games, thanks to financial desperation, rather than Schwarzeneggers framed police officer who was forced to play them. Wright noted that Ben initially wants to play one of the other, less lethal games, only to end up in the big one.Glen Powell, Edgar Wright, Colman Domingo, and Josh Brolin. Credit: Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/WireImageIn the 87 film, the shows host, Killian, was also the executive producer, but the new film restores these aspects to two separate characters, as King intended - with Josh Brolins Killian now solely the executive producer of The Running Man, while Colman Domingos Bobby Thompson hosts the show. We see Killian trying to convince Ben to play The Running Man and when Ben tells him Im not trying to get myself killed, so kiss my ass twice, Killian replies That right there is why youre perfect! Brolin described his character as wonderfully maniacal.In the footage, we see that Domingos Bobby is quite the showman, spotting a cowboy hat at one point and surrounded by dancing girls (the one aspect that feels inspired by the 1987 film). But we then see him scream in anger, presumably as the film goes on and Ben proves to be better at avoiding death than expected: This is America, damn it, and we dont put up with no bullshit! Hunt. Him. Down!Domingo described Bobby as someone who knows hes loved by America and they listen to him. Hes having a good time. He added that he and Wright talked about game show hosts and their function. The show must go on. The show must happen every day.Where the 1987 film had the game confined to a specific area, here Ben is on the run across the country, with Hunters trying to kill him wherever he goes. Where the 1987 film had the game confined to a specific area, here Ben is on the run across the country, with Hunters trying to kill him wherever he goes. Hes also followed at every turn by drone cameras, and we see him grab a hold of one at one point and scream into it Stop following me! before smashing it. As youd expect from Wright, the action looks dynamic and exciting with flourishes of dark humor, as bullets and arrows fly and some big fights break out.The footage ended with a very well received moment where Ben takes refuge with a man (Scott Pilgrim himself, Michael Cera) who turns out to have readied himself for attack by electrifying the floor of his hallway. As he and Ben stand safely in the next room, Cera takes out a large pump action water gun and sprays the floor, frying a group of Hunters as they storm in.Powell noted he regularly seeks career feedback from his Top Gun: Maverick co-star Tom Cruise, but was especially aware he had to speak to the actor who is fairly legendary for his big running scenes at this point about starring in a movie literally called The Running Man.Powell revealed Cruises advice about getting ready for a role with a lot of onscreen running was simply Film yourself running. You dont look as cool as you think you do."The Running Man opens November 7, 2025.Play

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 4.

Image: NintendoNintendo has already revealed the GameCube app for Switch 2 will be getting an optional CRT filter, but it won't be alone.The company's official website has also confirmed there are "new features" to look forward to on the Nintendo 64 app and included is a "new CRT filter" to add "a retro feel to your games".In addition to this is button remapping for each game's controls, and to top it off Nintendo is adding a Rewind feature (as seen in existing apps) - allowing you to "turn back time and undo a mistake" in N64 titles.Once again, these additional features have been specifically mentioned for the Nintendo 64 app on the Switch 2. Back in my day...Are you excited about these features coming to the N64 app? Tell us in the comments.[source nintendo.com]See AlsoShare:161 Liam is a news writer and reviewer for Nintendo Life and Pure Xbox. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of Mario and Master Chief. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesWhere To Pre-Order Nintendo Switch 2Pre-orders open 8th/9th AprilNintendo Switch 2 Direct: Time, Where To Watch, What To ExpectIt's time for Switch 2Switch 2 Games Cost A Bit More Than You're Probably ExpectingYou'd better sit down for this...

Connect easier.Switch 2 will be packed with all sorts of enhancements and one other thing fans can apparently expect is better wireless connectivity.Nintendo Switch 2 hardware design lead Tetsuya Sasaki was asked about this as well as improved Bluetooth connections on the Switch 2 - confirming it's "improved" on all fronts:Read the full article on nintendolife.com

The recent EU Omnibus package may propose to ease the reporting burden for companies in the EU, but many headlines have in fact triggered uncertainty and alarm.