EXPLAINER

When a hurricane threatens the United States, a lot of attention is focused on the path and the wind speed. Storm surge can be just as important to monitor, because it can quickly cause extreme destruction and death.

It’s a well known custom to launch fireworks in celebration of the Fourth of July, but what gives those fireworks that spectacular, colorful hue?

Turkey NATO Explainer FILE - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference, in Ankara, Turkey on May 14, 2022. Within a two-week span, Turkey's president has caused a stir by throwing a wrench in Sweden and Finland's historic bid to join the NATO alliance, lashed out at NATO-ally Greece and announced plans for a new incursion into Syria. ( AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File) (Burhan Ozbilici)ISTANBUL — (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has discussed Ankara’s planned military operation in northern Syria and the war in Ukraine with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Erdogan’s office said Monday. In recent days Erdogan has said Turkey will launch a cross-border incursion against Kurdish militants in Syria to create a 30-kilometer (19-mile) deep buffer zone. The Turkish president also called for peace in Ukraine as soon as possible and for confidence-building steps to be taken.

Turkey NATO Explainer FILE - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives for a ceremony, in Ankara, Turkey on May 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File) (Burhan Ozbilici)ISTANBUL — (AP) — Turkey’s central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged for a fifth month running on Thursday despite an annual inflation rate of nearly 70%. The bank said it would keep its policy rate "constant" at 14%, arguing inflation was driven by geopolitical developments and the "temporary effects of pricing formations." Turkey’s central bank has cut rates by five percentage points since September — down to 14% —despite high inflation rates before pausing them since January. The central bank’s decision comes as the Turkish lira resumed its decline.

(AP Photo, File) (Uncredited)LONDON — (AP) — Russia's Finance Ministry said it transferred a $117 million bond interest payment in an attempt to avoid a default on government debt but left it open if the money actually reached foreign investors by the deadline. A ministry statement carried on Russian state media Thursday said the money had been transferred to an account at Citibank in London and that the ministry would make a statement later on the results of the transfer. The payment, which was due Wednesday, would be the first on foreign currency debt since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. The head of the International Monetary Fund has said a state default is no longer “an improbable event,” and ratings agencies have slashed Russia’s credit rating to below investment grade, or “junk." Russia has about $40 billion in foreign currency debt, about half of that owed to foreigners.

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) (Jae C. Hong)SAN FRANCISCO — (AP) — Fast-moving thunderstorms with lightning and little rain moved across Northern California early Friday, raising the risk of new wildfires in the drought-stricken region. Thunderstorms also moved through parts of Southern California on Thursday and early Friday, triggering flash flood concerns for burn scars of past wildfires. The threat of lightning-sparked fires came as thousands of firefighters have made progress on containing more than a dozen large fires, mostly located Northern California forests. A historic drought and recent heat waves tied to climate change have made wildfires harder to fight in the American West. President Joe Biden will survey fire damage during a visit to California next week in which he will also campaign for Gov.

A historic drought and recent heat waves tied to climate change have made wildfires harder to fight in the American West. More than 14,600 firefighters were on the lines of 13 active, large wildfires in California on Thursday. The Dixie Fire in the northern Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range grew to nearly 1,449 square miles (3,753 square kilometers) but was 59% contained. Only last year’s August Complex was larger, at just over 1,613 square miles (4,177 square kilometers). Near Lake Tahoe, the Caldor Fire grew only slightly, to just over 340 square miles (880 square kilometers), and was 53% contained.

Letters to the editor for the April 26 & May 8, 2021 weekly magazine. Readers discuss social media bans and the future of public education.