Incoming NASA administrator and billionaire fighter jet pilot-turned-SpaceX astronaut Jared Isaacman isn't keen on president Donald Trump's purported goal of brutally slashing the space agency's science budget nearly in half.As SpaceNews reports, Isaacman called the White House's proposed budgets not an "optimal outcome" in published responses to questions by bipartisan members of the Senate Commerce Committee this week.The private astronaut claimed that he had "not reviewed or been party to any official discussions" regarding the leaked budget proposal.Earlier this month, Isaacman attended a confirmation hearing in front of Congress. His nomination is expected to face a full Congressional vote on April 30.In his latest answers to questions, Isaacman also vowed to get NASA's Artemis program to return astronauts to the lunar surface "back on track."When asked if he had to choose between the Moon or Mars — a destination SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has singled out as the number one priority for human exploration — Isaacman picked the Moon."Given existing law, I would prioritize the Artemis program," he said, but reiterated that he would push for "paralleling these efforts."It's a notable admission, highlighting Isaacman's careful approach to both appeasing members of Congress, who have firmly stood behind NASA's plans to return astronauts to the Moon, and Musk, who has used his position as a highly influential political figure to repeatedly call for the agency to scrap its Artemis program in favor of fast-tracking Mars.Isaacman also tried to distance himself personally from Musk, who has turned into a lightning rod in Washington, DC, with his reckless and incompetent approach to slashing the government's budget and embracing extremist views."I do not have a close personal relationship with Mr. Musk," Isaacman, who has been to space twice on board SpaceX's spacecraft, said in response to a different question about his ties to the mercurial CEO. "While I’ve spoken with him occasionally over the years in my capacity as a SpaceX customer, I would describe our interactions as professional.""I admire and respect his contributions to space and technology, but it would be inaccurate to characterize our relationship as close," he added.Whether NASA will be able to run missions to both the Moon and Mars simultaneously, as Isaacman has repeatedly suggested, remains to be seen. A leaked budget proposal by the Trump administration would deal a devastating blow to the space agency's ongoing and future missions, including its next major space telescope and Mars Sample Return mission."This is an extinction-level event for NASA science," said space advocacy group Planetary Society chief of space policy Casey Dreier in a statement earlier this month.Given the devastation the proposed cuts would cause — not to mention the billions of dollars of wasted taxpayer money they would entail — there's a high chance Congress will make substantial changes.While Isaacman appears to support NASA's existing plans to return to the Moon, the agency's future space explorations could soon look dramatically different. For one, its extremely expensive and disposable rocket, the Space Launch System, may eventually be replaced by private rockets, he argued."Once those obligations have been met," he wrote, "I believe NASA should transition away from competing with the commercial sector and instead focus its world-class talent and infrastructure on developing the next generation of exploration technologies — including nuclear spaceships — as a logical next step."Share This Article

Rainforest Cafe proved to be a dining and tourist destination with 59 restaurants at the height of its popularity.Today, that total has been whittled down to just 16 locations in the U.S.What Happened To Rainforest Cafe?Themed restaurants were once popular among families who wanted a side of entertainment with their meals. Places like Planet Hollywood and Medieval Times made eating out more of an experience instead of just another night out.And while there are certainly some themed restaurants operating today, some of the larger names in the game have pared down their locations to target high-tourist locations like Florida, Texas, or even near the Mall of America in Minnesota.Gorilla in Rainforest CafeMarcus Cheng via YouTubeloading...Rainforest Cafe is one of those.For those who have never experienced it, the chain features a dining area where customers are surrounded by animatronic creatures such as gorillas and elephants that move about as you eat. There's also an indoor “thunderstorm” every 30 minutes that sets off simulated rain, strobe lights and thunder effects.According to Chowhound, Rainforest Cafe has seen a “slow decrease in business over the past few decades.”READ MORE: Iconic Chain Restaurant Plots Return 20 Years After Bankruptcy; Illness Outbreak“The mass amount of Rainforest Cafes closing their doors is due to the combination of America's loss of interest in themed dining chains and the detrimental effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the website says.Where To Find Rainforest Cafes In The U.S.With 16 remaining locations in the U.S., Rainforest Cafe can only be found in 11 different states today.ArizonaArizona Mills, 5000 S. Arizona Mills Circle, TempeCaliforniaOntario Mills, 4810 Mills Circle, OntarioFloridaDisney Springs, 1800 East Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena VistaDisney World Animal Kingdom, 505 Rain Forest Road, Lake Buena VistaSawgrass Mills, 12801 West Sunrise Blvd., SunriseIllinoisGurnee Mills, 6170 West Grand Ave., GurneeMichiganGreat Lakes Crossing, 4310 Baldwin Road, Auburn HillsMinnesotaMall of America, 306 South Ave., BloomingtonEddy Burback via YouTubeEddy Burback via YouTubeloading...Nevada3717 South Las Vegas Blvd, Las VegasNew York300 Third Street, Sheraton at the Falls, Niagara FallsTennesseeOpry Mills, 353 Opry Mills Drive, NashvilleTexas5310 Seawall Blvd., GalvestonGrapevine Mills, 3000 Grapevine Mills Pkwy., GrapevineKaty Mills, 5000 Katy Mills Circle, Katy110 East Crockett, San AntonioOut of all of these, the Rainforest Cafe located inside Disney's Animal Kingdom has the distinction of being the “world's largest.” The chain also has locations outside of the U.S. in countries such as Japan, France, and Canada.Get our free mobile app Popular Restaurants That Have Faded AwayFiled Under: Chain Restaurants, Food, NostalgiaCategories: Original Features

A place in the final is up for grabs as the Eagles take on Unai Emery's men at Wembley.

April 24, 2025How to Find Hidden Nature in Any Urban Park Near YouTake a walk through Prospect Park with Wild NYC writer Ryan Mandelbaum and learn to connect with nature no matter how urban your environment is.Jeffery DelViscio/Scientific American SUBSCRIBE TO Science QuicklyRachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feldman. I love spending time in nature, but that can feel really hard to do when you live in a city, even out in the suburbs. It’s tough to feel like you’re really outside when you’re outside, but if you start thinking like an urban naturalist, you can find wildlife to appreciate everywhere you go.My guest today is Ryan Mandelbaum. They’re a science writer, naturalist and educator based in New York City. Their new book, Wild NYC, is a guide to exploring the natural wonders of the big Apple. But they’ve also got tons of great tips on how to find wildlife in any built environment, because if you can find nature in New York City, you really can find it anywhere.Earlier this month we took a walk through New York City’s Prospect Park with Ryan to learn how to approach urban and suburban environments like a naturalist. Bear in mind that we recorded this while walking around outside, so it’s gonna sound pretty different from our usual in-studio episodes. But you can also check out a video version with lots of cool plants and animals to look at over on our YouTube channel.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Feltman: Hey, y’all, we are here in Prospect Park with Ryan Mandelbaum, the author of a book called Wild NYC that’s all about finding wildlife even in urban spaces. Ryan, tell us a little bit about the book and what we’re gonna do here today.Ryan Mandelbaum: Yeah, so Wild NYC is part natural history, part field guide, part trip planner about New York City. There’s a lot of really interesting things to see but [also] a lot of really interesting things to talk about, so we’re gonna experience some of that here in Prospect Park.Prospect Park is Brooklyn’s backyard. It also has the biggest forest in Brooklyn, and it’s the place where I probably spend most of my time as a naturalist. So there’s interesting plants, animals, interactions between us and those plants and animals, so I’m really excited to show you all what we have here.Feltman: Cool, let’s get started.Mandelbaum: The one thing I’m always doing as a naturalist is trying my best not to be completely distracted by all of the things that are happening at once. So even right now there’s probably, like, five or 10 bird species that I’m experiencing and a lot of plants. The birds I’m looking at are a common grackle—that little man running around on the ground.A lot of the birds that we see here are ones that are more commonly associated with people. So common grackle are often seen in areas that are kind of cleared open: farms or just places where we’ve altered. And the other bird that’s running around on the ground here is a European starling. They are an introduced species. The legend is that somebody wanted all of the birds of Shakespeare ...Feltman: Mm.Mandelbaum: To be in the United States, and so they introduced them all, and starlings were the one that stuck. The actual story is, like, so much worse than that, which is that there were entire societies devoted to making the United States look like Europe, and as part of that they introduced starlings, like, multiple times, and so now we have just, like, millions of starlings. They’re very, very common in Europe, and so now they’re very, very common here.It’s interesting because as a naturalist a lot of what I’m thinking about isn’t just, like, the stories of these species but how they interact with the world at large. And so you can’t really hate starlings because they’re really cute [laughs] and have a lot of personality. I have one who’ll, like, perch on my air conditioner and sing a bunch of weird noises—they’re mimics, so they can sing other bird songs really well. But then they also are cavity nesters, and so they’ll take cavities from our native birds that use cavities like bluebirds and redheaded woodpeckers. The animal itself is not good or bad; the animal itself is a doofy little guy that runs around on the ground. But, you know, it can do good or bad things, usually based on us.Feltman: What are some other animals that people in urban areas might be particularly likely to find?Mandelbaum: I think American Robins are pretty common, like, first birds you notice because they’re often present in backyards. American Robin is a native bird to the United States, as is the Common Grackle. They like sort of big open areas. They love plucking for worms in the dirt. There they are [laughs].An interesting thing about the city is that there’s a huge combination of both native plants and invasive plants and introduced plants. People like to put value on everything, like, “Oh, is this one introduced? Oh, it’s bad. This one is native. It’s good.” Good and bad are kind of, like, our value judgments, so there’s a lot more to it than that. Something can be introduced and not necessarily bad, and then something can be, like, “native,” but then because of our doing suddenly it’s—gets to the wrong place and takes over and it’s bad, so ...Feltman: Yeah.Mandelbaum: We’re standing under what I assume is an eastern white pine. Eastern white pine, you can tell by the number of needles.Feltman: Oh, yeah, I see five.Mandelbaum: It’s an eastern white pine—looky, looky. Most of the eastern white pines here are planted; they’re more common, like, north of here. But they’re a good tree. They go real big [laughs]. Their pine cones are real big. You can tell it’s an eastern white pine when the needles are long and floppy and they’re kind of soft. I just like ’em. I like conifer trees ’cause they got green on ’em all year long, so even in the winter they’re exciting and green.Feltman: So how did you get interested in, you know, being a naturalist as a born and bred New Yorker?Mandelbaum: I’m not from New York City proper; I’m from, like, a town that touches New York City. So I always have to clarify that ’cause then real New Yorkers get mad at me. But I’ve always liked walking around in the city and exploring places I hadn’t been before. And then while I was in grad school I was writing about herons because I found out that New York City Bird Alliance was, like, painting lawn flamingos to look like herons and egrets to try and, like, coax them back onto one of the marsh islands. And that was, like, the exact kind of wacky, silly story that made me like, “Huh, tell me about [laughs] why they’re painting lawn flamingos.”And so I went on this, like, excursion to Staten Island to try and find my own great blue heron. And then it, like, turns out that they’re just in the parks [laughs]. Like, you can often just see them, like, in Central Park, Prospect Park. And I think since then it’s, like, really warped the way I think about New York City as, like, not just a place that I’m eating dinner in and going to shows in but, like, a place that has its own natural history and really exciting interactions between humans and animals that I just found fascinating.First, you get hit with the birder bug, where you’re like, “Oh, my God, I need to see every single bird.” And then you get hit with the everything bug, where you’re like, “Oh, my God, I need to see everything.” [Laughs] And that, that would be how I got here.Feltman: So what are the kinds of things that, you know, your book helps people look out for? I know there are birds, there’s some plants.Mandelbaum: I mean, what I really want people to do is walk around the city and understand, like, appreciate what it is now and the amount of diversity that’s here, both in terms of, like, what people have done to it and how animals are adapting to it, but also understand just how biodiverse it’s always been.New York City is kind of at the confluence of a lot of different eco areas—so there’s ocean and land; there’s north and south; there’s, you know, humid and dry; there’s all sorts of, you might say, like, transitional areas here in the city. And so it’s always, for all of history, attracted, like, a ton of biodiversity. You know, there’s been human habitation here for millennia, and so just getting people to understand New York as more than just this concrete jungle but actually, like, a really amazing, biodiverse place, even today, is what I’m excited about.That is a red-bellied woodpecker that just flew up there. Can you see it? Try to look at it without binoculars first. That’s my tip ...Feltman: Yeah.Mandelbaum: With binoculars. There it is ...Feltman: Oh, yeah.Mandelbaum: It’s coming up, yeah. There it is. You see it’s got the little red head, grayish belly, black back with white stripes.They’re probably one of our most common woodpeckers we regularly see. But that wouldn’t have been the case, like, a hundred years ago; they’re very much a product of human altering the habitat and climate change. So they would have been, like, a more of a southern woodpecker, but then they respond well to human alterations of habitats, kinda like the robins and grackles and them. You see them commonly in suburbs, and they’re really sensitive to cold temperature.Feltman: Mm.Mandelbaum: So as the climate changed and things warmed up they started moving north, and we’re still starting—they’re still moving north today; like, areas in the northern United States and Canada that wouldn’t have seen them before starting to get them.They’re also an example of how ornithologists are really bad at naming birds. Like, look at that bird. What would you call it if you didn’t know what it was called?Feltman: Like, a, a red, red-headed ...Mandelbaum: Like, a Red-headed Woodpecker.Feltman: Something. Yeah.Mandelbaum: Yeah, I would call it that, too. There’s already a Red-headed Woodpecker, and it’s not that one.Feltman: [Laughs] Oh, dang.Mandelbaum: I know. And so it’s called the Red-bellied Woodpecker because [laughs] often what would happen is, like, an 1800s ornithologist would, like, shoot a bunch of birds at random and then bring ’em back to their house and look at them and be like, “Oh, this one seems to have a little pink wash on its belly that you can only see if you’re, like, looking at a dead one like this.” So they got “Red-bellied Woodpecker.”I would’ve called it, yeah, like, you know ...Feltman: Red, Red-capped Woodpecker.Mandelbaum: Red-capped, black-striped awesome [laughs] little guy.Feltman: [Laughs] I feel like so much of what our idea of doing nature and being a naturalist is comes from, you know, that era of very, very rich people shooting birds [laughs] and writing stuff down about them. How would you like to, to change people’s conceptions of, of what it is to enjoy the outdoors?Mandelbaum: I think the thing we’re doing right now is a good way to change the perception of the outdoors. Going on your own sort of discovery missions or experiencing nature yourself and building your own personal connection to it is really important. If you really wanna, like, discover new stuff, you could look at anything. I look at birds ’cause they’re easy to look at and there’s a lot of infrastructure for looking at birds. People who look at mushrooms and fungus here in New York City are, like, really interesting.The city, if—I treat it as [as] interesting a place ecologically as the forest surrounding it, and in many cases the biodiversity is actually higher here because [of] the amount of things we bring here and, again, because New York is already a pretty rich place ecologically. So just get started looking at stuff, walk slowly, experience the smells and sounds.Feltman: And what about for folks who are like, “Yeah, of course, New York City has these giant parks that are, like, full of wildlife, but what about me in, you know, (insert smaller city), where we don’t have a giant green space?” Like, what advice do you have for people in other urban areas?Mandelbaum: Well, first come to New York City [laughs]. No, I think that’s what I’m really excited about about my book is that, of course, it’s about New York City, but it’s really about the interactions between what happens when humans enter a natural place—just really considering that humans are part of nature and when we change it it’s because we’re a species that lives there. So you, too, can go out in any place where you are and look at what’s around.There’s plenty of really awesome resources that allow you to look more locally. I use iNaturalist. It’s an app that uses the help of both AI and a community of naturalists to help you identify things. And this book happens to be of a series of Wild (Enter Your City Name Here) books, so I think my publisher would probably tell you to buy the book for your city [laughs].Estuaries, which are places where the freshwater rivers meet saltwater oceans, often are some of the most biodiverse places in the world, and many of the world’s largest cities are on estuaries. So generally your city probably will have quite a lot of really interesting things to look at, regardless of where you live.Onward and upward. This tree here, what a tree this is [laughs]. So London plane is a hybrid of two sycamore species, one from our continent and one from East Asia. London plane was Robert Moses’s favorite tree because it can grow really well everywhere. It likes—it doesn’t care about the sidewalk, doesn’t care about anything ...Feltman: Wow, like Robert Moses.Mandelbaum: Like Robert Moses [laughs]. It’s like Robert Moses if he was a tree. So we see quite a lot of them. It is—supposedly the leaf of the London plane is the logo of the Parks Department here in New York City. The London plane is not a very good tree for insects, so it’s therefore not a really good tree for wildlife.Feltman: Mm.Mandelbaum: But there is some random moth that we see on it a lot that’s native that was just like, “Okay, I’ll deal with that.” [Laughs] And it’s a really pretty one.All right, let’s keep going. There’s a lawn. Lawns usually are, like, monocultures designed for use by people only, and as much as they look big and green, and people are like, “Go touch grass,” they actually are not quite as good for nature as everywhere else. You’re much better off planting, like, a native flower garden or letting the lawn even just grow rather than using all of this water and mowing resources to make a big lawn. I know that this is controversial, but lawns are, like, they’re fine [laughs]. I get it—I like sitting. You know, sitting’s great.Here’s a hawk. There it is. Way far away, up in the sky, over that plane.Feltman: Oh, wow.Mandelbaum: It’s probably our—I would say it’s a Red-tailed Hawk, but I ha—it’s really backlit and far away.They are similarly a hawk that’s okay with humans altering the habitat. So often what the Red-tailed Hawks will do is nest over on the—like, in these pine trees over here. Here’s another one. There’s two of ’em. They don’t mind the lawns. They are, like, eating squirrels and other little things. I just got a look at the other one; it is also a Red-tailed Hawk. Red-tailed Hawks, the females are bigger than the males, so the big one was the female, and the smaller one is the male.Like, as a birder, what I wanna see when I’m on the lawn is, like, Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Meadowlarks. There’s, like, these—New York doesn’t have, like, a ton of big grasslands, especially not in, like, the middle of the boroughs, so I’m not usually expecting to see any of those birds here in the park except on migration on this lawn.There’s some birds—robins. Oh, a flicker way out there. You may think of woodpeckers as tree birds, but one of our species of woodpecker, while it does like trees, it also loves the dirt. The ones that are sort of bigger and hunched over and have red on only the back of their heads are flickers. So yeah, it’s a woodpecker that likes the dirt. My spouse calls them “dirtpeckers” ’cause they hang out on the ground and eat—feed like the robins.Feltman: Are there particularly good times of year to go looking for wildlife in urban areas?Mandelbaum: Yes, it actually depends on what you wanna see. So right now, early April, is probably—we’re just getting started with bird migration so our early species like the flickers migrate around now, so we’re starting to see a lot of them. Some of the sparrow species are starting to migrate. It’s not the peak yet. But if you want something to look at that’s special in April, the salamanders are moving right now.Feltman: Oh, wow.Mandelbaum: And I just went on a really fun tour of New York City’s Alley Pond Park, where you can find a couple species of native salamander—most common is red-backed salamander and spotted salamander—and we found them. It was awesome.Feltman: [Laughs] I feel like salamanders are a thing that a lot of people don’t realize are in their cities.Mandelbaum: Oh, yeah. At least here in the eastern United States, I think that the animal that [with], like, the highest amount of biomass in the eastern forest is the red-backed salamander.Feltman: Wow.Mandelbaum: Salamanders are sensitive, though, to, like, pollution and habitat fragmentation, so they’re actually not especially common in the core of the boroughs. The only place that you can see red-backed salamanders reliably in Brooklyn is, like, one pond in Green-Wood Cemetery. Outside the outskirts of the city—so Staten Island, the Bronx, parts of Queens, especially northeastern Queens—there are places where you can see multiple species of salamander.And this is also one thing I try and touch on in the book is that at the edges of the boroughs, there are places where you can see, really, this kind of transition and interaction between humans and the natural world at its strongest because there are these places where it’s, like, mostly really pristine eastern forest but then a lot of introduced stuff kind of creeping in, and so you can kind of see those two things interact, like trees surrounded by invasive vines or fights between native animals and introduced animals for nest space. You can still kind of capture that amazing biodiversity of New York City while also seeing some of the human influence there.There’s a Chipping Sparrow. That’s what this little guy right here is. Chipping Sparrows are pretty common. In an unaltered world they would probably be our most common sparrow in North America.Welcome to the woods. The wooded area here is nice because it features what I’m pretty sure is a stream that’s fed by, like, New York City water supply that ends up becoming two ponds and then a river through the woods back there. So for us this is kind of one of the better places to experience nature in the city because there’s quite a lot of different plants and animals.What I’m usually looking for here is migratory birds, who might come down to take a bath in some of these streams over here, and then some of our native plants, which there’s some nice flowering plants that you might, might catch one if it’s around.It’s you. So it’s just starting to flower. Smell, smell that right there.Feltman: Oh, wow.Mandelbaum: Oh, yeah. This is spicebush. So spicebush is a native plant to our area. It flowers really early, so you can see it’s just starting to flower. It flowers in early April. A lot of plants will flower early on just because that way they can take advantage of the sun when the canopy isn’t all leafed out.Spicebush is, like, amazing. First, first of all, you can’t see it, but it smells really good [laughs]. Its bark would’ve been used extensively by Indigenous people here. And then in the fall it creates these, like, beautiful red berries, which are edible. But what you would do with them if you wanted to use them was dry ’em out and use ’em as spice, and they have a flavor that’s kind of like allspice, cinnamon and black pepper all wrapped in one.Feltman: Mmm.Mandelbaum: It’s the best.You wanna look at the Wood Ducks? Wood Ducks are really good ducks. There’s also a Ring-necked Duck over there, which is pretty uncommon for Prospect Park.Feltman: Beautiful.Mandelbaum: Beautiful. They’re really common in the rest of the areas, but here in New York City, we don’t see them that often, so that Ring-necked Duck is a special site for birders. This is around the time of year that we see them on migration. Usually there’s a couple that roll through all the parks every year.That’s a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that is calling above us. It is a woodpecker. I often interact with other human beings when I’m birding because I look weird [laughs]. And so a guy’ll come along—and I don’t know why old-timey New Yorkers have, like, figured this one out—but they’ll go up, and they’ll be, “Ay, you see any Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers?” And I’d be like, “I know you’re making fun of me, but yeah [laughs], there’s one right here.”Feltman: [Laughs]Mandelbaum: Imagine this: It’s all of time and you’re a bird. You migrate up, and you end up in this verdant, beautiful New York City ecosystem. You stop by just to refuel. Then you go to your, you know, breeding area north of here. We come in, we replace it all with concrete. We leave, like, four green spaces [laughs]. Birds still have to migrate through, and so they get concentrated into our parks. So in May, September the parks are just loaded with, you know, these birds that have come all the way up from the equatorial regions, the tropics, migrating to these boreal habitats or the tundra or the northern woods, and they stop here, and so you can see, like, 120 species of bird in a day here in, in May. It’s, it’s just an incredible phenomenon: there’s birds singing and flying around, and they’re all crazy colors. That’s the best.Feltman: What would you say are kind of big pitfalls to avoid as a person trying to appreciate wildlife? What things should we try not to do so that we don’t cause harm?Mandelbaum: Leaving things the way you found it is, in the broadest sense, is a really good one. If you flip a log to see if there’s, like, a lizard underneath it, flip it back. Don’t pick wild flowers. Just general “be nice to nature and nature will be nice to you back.” This is more for your own safety, but definitely just follow the rules of the park and obey the law. One thing that I found [laughs] is really nice in New York City is that when you do this enough, you eventually get to know a lot of the folks who work in conservation and for the city and, you know, a lot of the folks who are around, and being friends with them opens up more opportunities to look for nature and wildlife.There’s a lot of really cool nature groups. Most cities have at least some birding clubs. Some of them have groups that are specific—if, you know, you are queer or a person of color, you might be able to find a community of folks who are going out every day looking at, you know, birds and wildlife and plants and things like that. And for me the community has been probably my favorite part of it. Just—I’ve made so many friends simply by going outside all the time and looking at interesting things, and I would encourage other folks to, you know, open up their hearts and minds to all the other weirdos out here looking at the world.Feltman: So we’ve talked about, you know, how interesting it is that there’s so much diversity here, including stuff we’ve introduced. What about things we’ve introduced that are not so good?Mandelbaum: Humans have the ability to alter ecosystems in a way that most other animals can’t, and with us we will sometimes move things around the world that can cause outsized negative impacts. The place where some of these invasive insect infestations started, some of them started in New York City because of the amount of shipping that happens here. Some of the most aggressive invasive plants—the bittersweet, for example, the Asiatic bittersweet, started because it was a pretty plant sold at a, a nursery here in New York City.We see the effects of climate change here on a daily basis. A lot of the plants and animals that we see in New York City would not have been able to survive here about 100 years ago and are responding to a combination of warming temperatures and human-altered—habitat alteration. You know, while here in cities we have a lot of biodiversity that’s not what people, like, implicitly want. Like, a lot of what they’re trying to do is, like, create these vast lawn monocultures. And so in a lot of places the presence of humans will actually reduce biodiversity. It’s our duty and our responsibility that we use our ability to alter habitats to conserve them and make sure we’re living in concert with the world, and, you know, good nature is good for everybody.Feltman: Yeah, well, Ryan, thank you so much for chatting with us about your book and for showing us all around your home park. Would you remind our listeners and viewers what your book is called?Mandelbaum: Yeah, well, thank you so much for having me. I am the author of Wild NYC. You can purchase it wherever books are sold or, of course, Bookshop.org to support local booksellers. So yeah, Wild NYC, and thank you so much again.That's all for today's episode. You can learn more about exploring urban environments in Ryan's book, wild NYC, and don't forget to check out our YouTube channel and don't forget to check out our YouTube channel to see all of the cool stuff Ryan and I saw during the chat you just heard.We will be back on Monday. We're taking a break from our usual news roundup format while I'm out of the office, but we've got a special dip into the SciAm archives for you to enjoy. Spoiler alert, it features a super scientific hunt for psychics. I definitely recommend checking it out.Science Quickly is produced by me, Rachel Feldman, along Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, Shayna Possess and Aaron Shattuck fact check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe to Scientific American for more up-to-date and in-depth science news for Scientific American.This is Rachel Feltman. Have a great weekend.

Dune: Awakening getting "largest beta yet" next month, and it'll be open to "tens of thousands" of players Ahead of June launch. Image credit: Eurogamer/Funcom News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on April 25, 2025 Dune: Awakening arrives this June, but there'll be an opportunity to check out its sandy survival action ahead of its full launch. Developer Funcom has announced it's holding the game's "largest beta yet" in May, with keys being made available to "tens of thousands" of players. Funcom unveiled Dune: Awakening in 2022, as part of its deal to make "at least" three games set in the Dune universe. It whisks players to Arrakis for an open-world, multiplayer survival adventure drawing from Frank Herbert's sci-fi novels and Denis Villeneuve's film adaptations. Dune Awakening has been in closed beta for over a year now, but with its full release now looming following a brief delay, Funcom is preparing one final, large-scale beta blowout that'll run from 9th-12th May. The studio is calling it Dune: Awakening's "largest beta yet... with a huge number of new players joining compared to previous closed betas". Here's Dune: Awakening's new story trailer.Watch on YouTube It'll give players a chance to experience survival in the vast, wormy deserts of Arrakis, as well as "most of" Dune: Awakening's first story act - which Funcom says should equal around 20 hours of playtime. Unlike previous betas, there's no NDA to sign, and all gameplay can be shared. To be in with a chance of taking part in the beta, players have a number of options. They can either visit Dune: Awakening's Steam page and hit the 'Request Access' button, or tune into the Global LAN Party Broadcast on 10th May, which will include developer chat and more. Funcom says "tens of thousands" of keys will be handed out during the broadcast, and these can be used to gain immediate access to the Dune: Awakening beta weekend. Dune: Awakening gets its full Steam launch on 10th June, and an Xbox Series X/S and PS5 release is due at a later date. It's looking pretty promising too; Eurogamer's Robert Purchese came away impressed after going hands-on with it earlier this year, writing: "You can live out your Dune fantasy in the most faithful recreation of Arrakis we've yet seen in a game, pausing as the ground shudders from a nearby sandworm, ducking for cover as a sandstorm blows in, and searching crevices for the secrets of the world hidden within.... keep an eye on this one."

The right cleaning device can make life infinitely easier, but you can’t use just any old Hoover on delicate surfaces. The best vacuums for hardwood floors won’t scratch or cause damage, so we tested dozens of highly rated models and asked experts to recommend the most ideal model for your home.“The vacuum should have soft rubber wheels so scratching or marring does not occur when moving and manipulating the vacuum across the wood floors,” explains Paul Henthorn, owner of Slaughterbeck Floors in Campbell, California. “And power brushes on canister vacuums should be avoided in favor of the soft brush attachments.” What’s wrong with power brushes? Henthorn says they can potentially remove the finish and wood fibers from the grain of the floors. Beater bars can also be too abrasive on this type of floor.Keeping all this, as well as usability, in mind, we focused on bagless, cordless stick vacuums, robovacs, and one worthy upright vacuums for this story. You’ll also find info from experts on how to choose the best one for your home, as well as helpful maintenance tips. But first, browse our favorite picks to clean your floors and keep scratches out of sight.Our Top Picks for the Best Vacuums for Hardwood Floors:Best Overall Vacuum for Hardwood Floors: Samsung Bespoke Jet AI Vacuum Cleaner, $525 $500Best Robot Vacuum: Shark IQ Self-Empty Base Robot Vacuum, $585Best Wet/Dry Combo: Dyson V15 Detect Submarine, $919The Budget Option: Bissell CleanView XR Cordless Vacuum, $199For Pet Parents: Shark Pet Plus Cordless Stick Vacuum with PowerFins, $330 $250A Luxury Pick: Samsung Bespoke Jet Bot Robot Vacuum and Mop, $1,400Browse by Category:Best Vacuums for Hardwood Floors, OverallSamsung Bespoke Jet Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner w/ Clean StationUpsidesArtfulThoughtful designLong battery lifePowerful suctionDownsidesIts dust bin capacity isn’t as big as others in this listSpecsWeight: 6 poundsCord Length: CordlessBag or Bagless: BaggedRun Time: 60 minutesDust Cup Capacity: 0.8 litersHEPA Filter: YesThe Samsung Bespoke Jet AI cordless stick vacuum cleaner actually looks like a work of art, so it’s not only one of the best cordless vacuums (based on our very hands-on experience), but also one of the best-looking. The Samsung Bespoke Jet AI comes in a gorgeous satin black color and has an AI cleaning mode that detects the floor type to adjust suction accordingly. “I’ve had it since May 2022, and the vacuum has held up very well,” Williams says. “This model has more air watts (210W) than any of Samsung’s previous cordless stick vacuums—and it also includes more accessories. The lightweight (six-pound) vacuum is easy to maneuver, and the nozzle includes a dual brush head (a soft one for hard floors and another one with fins for carpets).”The space-saving clean station charger holds the vacuum when not in use. When docked, the clean station automatically empties the vacuum’s dustbin. There’s also a separate accessory cradle to hold the combination and crevice tools, pet tool, flexible tool, and dust bags. The vacuum itself has strong suction, a dual brush for cleaning both hard floors and carpet, and the battery lasts up to 100 minutes.Shark Cordless Pet Plus Lightweight Stick VacuumUpsidesComes with a pet multitool to pick up shedding furSelf-cleaning brush rollEasy to cleanDownsidesLacks suction power, according to some online reviewersSpecsWeight: 8 poundsCord Length: CordlessBag or Bagless: BaglessRun Time: 40 minutesDust Cup Capacity: 0.34 quartsHEPA Filter: YesWilliams loves the Shark Pet Plus Lightweight Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner (and also the Shark Rocket Pet Pro) because the floor nozzle has a self-cleaning soft brushroll and PowerFins. Both work together to pick up debris and ensure that no hair gets tangled up in the vacuum. The fins are made of flexible silicone instead of bristles, so it’s easy on hard surfaces, and the LED light on the floor nozzle helps Williams identify more dirt than she probably cares to know about. The Shark Pet Plus uses anti-allergen complete-seal technology and a HEPA filter to keep all of the dust and debris inside of the vacuum. It’s also super easy to empty the dust cup: Just slide the Clean Touch Dirt Ejector lever down to spit out any waste into the trash can. The lightweight vacuum lasts 40 minutes and includes a crevice tool and pet multitool.Photo: Terri WilliamsDyson V15s Detect Submarine​ Wet-Dry VacuumUpsidesThree cleaner headsDrip tray for wet roller storageStylish designDownsidesSome shoppers mention that the battery life doesn’t last longSpecsWeight: 8 poundsCord Length: CordlessBag or Bagless: BaglessRun Time: 60 minutesDust Cup Capacity: 0.2 gallonsHEPA Filter: YesSome people like the idea of one vacuum that suctions and mops hardwood floors—but they’d rather have these functions completely separated rather than integrated into the same machine. If that’s your preference, the Dyson V15 Detect Submarine actually has three swappable cleaner heads. There’s the digital motorbar cleaner head for multifloor use, the fluffy optic cleaner head for hardwood floors, and the submarine wet roller head. But instead of loading water into a water tank on the vacuum, the water is poured directly into (and subsequently contained within) the wet roller head. And since the vacuum has the same articulating head used on Dyson’s other stick vacuums, I found it easy to swivel around furniture legs and reach underneath my couch when mopping. There’s also a drip tray to store the wet roller head on, and the vacuum includes (dry use) accessories such as the combination tool, crevice tool, and hair screw tool.Bissell CleanView XR Cordless VacuumUpsidesTangle-free brush rollThree cleaning modesConverts to handheld modeDownsidesShort run timeSpecsWeight: 6 poundsCord Length: CordlessBag or Bagless: BaglessRun Time: 35 minutesDust Cup Capacity: 0.3 litersHEPA Filter: NoWe tend not to test “cheap” vacuums. Instead, we look for economical choices that are still high-quality items with the features you want. The Bissell CleanView XR fits the bill. It has a tangle-free brush roll to keep hair from getting snarled, and it has three cleaning modes—standard, medium, and turbo—to fit various needs. The LED headlights illuminate dirt in hidden places and the vacuum has swivel steering features, meaning it easily maneuvers around furniture legs. It can easily convert to a handheld model, allowing me to use the crevice tool, combination dusting brush, and upholstery tool. Run time is only 35 minutes—but at this price, you can purchase an additional battery and swap them out.AmazonShark RV1001AE IQ Robot Self-Empty Robot VacuumUpsidesSelf-cleaningLong-lasting battery lifeTangle-free brush rollDownsidesClunky designSpecsWeight: 6 poundsCord Length: CordlessBag or Bagless: BaglessRun Time: 60 minutesDust Cup Capacity: N/AHEPA Filter: N/AThe Sharp IQ Self-Empty Base Robot Vacuum has everything Williams wanted—and more—when searching for the best vacuums for hardwood floors. For starters, she can go a month without having to empty it (she doesn’t, but she could). That’s because the robot empties itself into the base, and it can hold 30 days worth of dirt. The beauty of robot vacuums is that they don’t require much human interaction except for mapping your home and emptying the vacuum. But Shark eliminates the latter task for a very long time. It even has a self-cleaning brush roll to ensure that pet hair won’t get tangled in it. And when the robot vac needs to recharge mid-clean, it does that on its own as well and then picks up right where it left off. Since the robot uses IQ navigation, it cleans in an orderly row-by-row fashion, instead of zigzagging all over the place. After Williams mapped out her home, she was able to schedule cleanings via her iPhone. The robot vac can also be activated using Alexa or Google Assistant. The battery lasts over 90 minutes.Samsung Bespoke Jet Bot Combo Robot Vacuum and Mop with All-in-One Clean Station with Auto SteamUpsidesDesign-forwardComes with a dual brush for cleaning multisurfacesSpace-saving docking stationDownsidesPriceySpecsWeight: The set and station equal 40 pounds in totalCord Length: CordlessBag or Bagless: BaglessRun Time: 80 minutesDust Cup Capacity: 0.25 litersHEPA Filter: N/AIf you’re looking for a vacuum that truly does everything for you, this is one of the best picks of the bunch. Not only is the robot vacuum itself packed with power and features, but the cleaning station takes care of the grunt work for you—like cleaning the mop pads, emptying the dust bin, and refilling the robot with water.

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Image: Atlus Atlus will be bringing Raidou Remastered The Mystery of the Soulles Army to not only the original Switch but also the Switch 2 this June and if you're wondering how it will perform on the new Nintendo platform we've now got some details. According to the company's official Japanese website (via Nintendo Everything), the Switch 2 version of the game is "expected" to run at 60fps in both TV and portable mode, at a resolution of 1920 x 1080. As for the original Switch version, you can expect it to run between 30fps and 60fps across both modes - with the same resolution as the Switch 2 release in TV mode, and portable mode dropping to 1280 x 720.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube810kWatch on YouTube In comparison, the PlayStation 4 version of the game will run at 30fps - 60fps at a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Other versions of the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will be 3840 x 2160 at 60fps, and the Series S version has a resolution of 2560 x 1440. Atlus also mentions how the Switch 2 physical version will be a game-key card release requiring up to 17GB of free space. Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube810k You can find out a bit more about this "beloved supernatural action RPG" in our previous story here on Nintendo Life: I ain't afraid of no ghost All confirmed Switch 2 Game-Key Card games If we hear any other updates about this game, we'll let you know. [source atlus.co.jp, via nintendoeverything.com] Related Games See Also Share:14 0 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 Articles Paul Rudd Returns In An Awesome SNES-Style Switch 2 Commercial Super together! Where To Pre-Order The New Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom amiibo Update: £16.99 on My Nintendo Store in the UK Exclusive: Shin'en Talks 'Fast Fusion' On Switch 2, Reveals First-Look Trailer "This will make your hands sweaty!" Sonic X Shadow Generations Is Confirmed As A Launch Title For Switch 2 Update: Upgrade seemingly not available for current owners

DoorDash has asked a California Superior Court judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Uber that accuses the food delivery company of stifling competition by intimidating restaurant owners into exclusive deals. DoorDash argues in its motion that Uber’s claim lacks merit on all fronts. On a post on its website on Friday, DoorDash said, “the lawsuit is nothing more than a cynical and calculated scare tactic from a frustrated competitor seeking to avoid real competition. It’s disappointing behavior from a company once known for competing on the merits of its products and innovation.” In its post, DoorDash added that it will “vigorously” defend itself, and positioned the company as one that “competes fiercely yet fairly to deliver exceptional value to merchants.” A hearing has been set for July 11 in California Superior Court in San Francisco County. Uber filed its lawsuit against DoorDash in February. The ride-hailing giant alleged DoorDash, which holds the largest share of the food delivery market in the U.S., threatens restaurants with multimillion-dollar penalties or the removal or demotion of the businesses’ position on the DoorDash app. Uber responded to the DoorDash request in a statement sent to TechCrunch. “It seems like the team at DoorDash is having a hard time understanding the content of our Complaint,” reads the emailed statement from Uber. “When restaurants are forced to choose between unfair terms or retaliation, that’s not competition — it’s coercion. Uber will continue to stand up for merchants and for a level playing field. We look forward to presenting the facts in court.” Uber requested a jury trial in its original complaint. The company has not specified the amount of damages it is seeking. Separately, Deliveroo confirmed Friday that DoorDash offered to buy the European food delivery company for $3.6 billion.

Primitive people had charcoal to create cave paintings, Michelangelo used a hammer and chisel to carve David, da Vinci had horsehair paint brushes for the Sistine Chapel, and Fellini used humble black and white film to create cinematic masterpieces. Artists in the 21st century are using computers. The media and entertainment (M&E) industry has long been at the center of society’s innovation — from the printing press and radio to the first moving pictures, television, animation, and video games. As creative industries evolve, consumer demand for the next big thing has only increased. Today, we’re at an inflection point where consumers are expecting fresh and innovative entertainment experiences across film, television, and gaming, and legions of talented creatives empowered by smarter technology must rise to the challenge. However, consumer expectations pose many challenges: artists and studios must create a larger volume of higher-fidelity entertainment content than ever before, which in turn requires more compute power to handle the ever-growing complexity of datasets. So, while production software is important, having the right workstation to run it and keep the creatives making their magic is essential. To help creatives in the M&E industry meet this challenge, Lenovo is working with partners such as AMD to deliver AI-optimized devices. The right solution to tackle today’s industry challenges There is a fundamental gap between what artists and studios are being asked to deliver and what they’re able to deliver given imposed time constraints, budgets, and available tools. That’s where Lenovo’s Workstation portfolio, powered by AMD, can help bridge the gap between clients’ expectations and the resources needed to deliver the highest-fidelity visual content. Not only is the technology advancing rapidly… but so are the skills of the artists harnessing it. The Lenovo ThinkStation P8 Workstation helps artists create revolutionary content better, smarter, and faster than ever before. It combines a breakthrough compute architecture with an advanced thermal design in a rack-optimized, Aston Martin-inspired chassis. Featuring the latest AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 7000 WX-Series processor, up to three NVIDIA RTX™ 6000 Ada Generation graphics, robust PCIe Gen 5 connectivity, and high-speed DDR5 memory, the ThinkStation P8 delivers staggering performance output from a single-socket platform. M&E creatives benefit from the lightning-fast renders, simulations, image processing and simulations, and build/compiling processes for game development. Lenovo makes the needs of creatives a top priority by partnering with organizations like AMD that are dedicated to smarter innovation. Lenovo developed the ThinkStation P8 workstation directly from customer feedback, including artist and studio input, as part of the development process in an effort to deliver solutions that will drive greater creativity and production efficiency. In fact, many of the current Workstation features are the result of direct conversation with artists and studios about what they expect and need from the technology. For example, the ThinkStation P8 is purpose built for flexible deployments, featuring handles on the chassis and rack optimization for the creatives who move their workspaces around studio lots during different phases of production. What’s on the horizon in 2025 and beyond AI is becoming more and more prevalent within production pipelines with the promise that it will make the creation of art easier and faster. With that comes concerns that it could replace certain artist jobs and production functions or interfere with artistic decisions. But it’s simply not the case. AI is evolving to become more of an assistant to the artist, allowing them to focus more on the art they are creating than the repetitive and technical aspects of art creation. While AI has been at the forefront of discussions within the industry, there are other issues that warrant equal attention. How real-time technologies are changing the way films are made Leveraging real-time technology in a virtual production volume has changed how actors are seamlessly inserted into environments (versus traditional methods), while reducing costs and time to delivery. Additionally, directors are afforded greater flexibility and control to bring their creative vision to life. Real-time is also allowing artists to work in context and iterate more frequently, increasing their ability to deliver higher fidelity end results. The combination of high-performance compute capabilities like AMD’s Threadripper PRO CPUs, paired with NVIDIA’s Proviz GPUs and Epic’s Unreal Engine have changed, and will continue to change content creation and filmmaking, and further blurring the lines between the analog world we live in with the digital worlds created by artists. Formats are growing exponentially and require the infrastructure to support them. Nearly all new televisions today are 4K, and content providers such as Netflix, YouTube or Hulu are making 4K content more widely available online in a fight to win viewers. While 4K is becoming more common, the move to 8K and beyond is already in full swing, and things will remain this way for the foreseeable future. From a creator standpoint, the evolution to 8K requires them to account for increased storage, networking and compute requirements associated with larger formats. As the move from 4K to 8K happens, file sizes are quadrupled and the underlying technologies used to create, move, house and playback have to follow suit. When you go beyond traditional viewing experiences, like televisions and movie theatres, and move into interactive experiences, such as the Las Vegas Sphere, the requirements are even greater and need to be scaled to the workload.    So, what’s next? The one constant of production is change, where artists and studios creating content for film, television, streaming, or gaming, continually need to raise the creative bar, while staying on time and on budget. Lenovo works closely with the industry to help bridge the gap between consumer expectation and the ability to deliver on them so content being created continues to captivate audiences around the world. Lenovo workstations can help maximize creative output and bring more projects to audiences faster with the processing speed and certified software media and entertainment professionals count on. ThinkStation and ThinkPad P Series workstations support and help sustain: Graphic design and advertising Visual effects and animation Film, video, and broadcast editing Video game development Audio and music production Web development Learn more about how Lenovo workstations powered by AMD can help take your next project to new heights. Rob Hoffmann is Worldwide Head of Industry Strategy, Lenovo Workstations.