CNN SPACE + SCIENCE | Why cats go so crazy for catnip

(CNN) – Catnip isn’t just intensely pleasurable for cats. It’s also practical.

When your feline friend rubs, rolls against, chews and licks catnip leaves, it’s not just playful high jinks sparked by the plant’s intoxicating qualities. The behavior leads to the release of certain compounds that might protect cats from pesky mosquitoes, according to new research out of Japan.

Compounds called iridoids in the leaves of catnip (Nepeta cataria) and the plant silver vine (Actinidia polygama) act as an insect repellent as they are released when the cats rub their bodies against the leaves, the same team found in a study published last year.  –read more– 

CNN World | June’s strawberry moon will light up the sky this week

(CNN) – June’s full moon, the strawberry moon, will illuminate the sky this week.

The moon will appear full from Sunday moonrise to Wednesday moonset, according to NASA. It will reach its peak at 7:52 a.m. ET Tuesday but will not be fully visible in North America until moonrise. This year’s strawberry moon is the first of two consecutive supermoons.

While there is no single definition, the term supermoon generally refers to a full moon that appears brighter and larger than other moons because it is at its closet orbit to Earth.  –read more–

CNN US | She graduated from college the day after her 82nd birthday

(CNN) – If you’ve been considering a return to school, this is your sign it is not too late.

Mae Beale, an 82-year-old retiree, just earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC).

Beale decided to return to school in her late 70s, according to a news release from the school. She received her diploma May 18, the day after her 82nd birthday, reported CNN affiliate WJLA.

In her younger years, Beale worked as a licensed practical nurse in Washington, DC, the release noted. While working at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, she helped plan several large events, which inspired a career pivot.  –read more– 

CNN | FROM FRINGE TO FRONTLINE – How Alex Jones stoked many of the conspiracy theories taking hold in today’s Republican party

On a January night in 2002, a 37-year-old man donned a patriotic-themed uniform, covered his face with a skull mask and activated a long-held plan.

Armed with a .45-caliber pistol, crossbow, makeshift bomb launcher, 2-foot-long sword and double-barreled shotgun/assault rifle hybrid, Richard McCaslin made his way into a forest north of San Francisco. His mission: to find and expose a secretive group of elites who — he wrongly believed — engaged in child abuse and human sacrifice.

On a January afternoon nearly 20 years later, another man made his way from California to Washington, DC, on a quest to vanquish elites who, he wrongly believed, had stolen the presidential election from Donald Trump. Daniel Rodriguez, then 38, joined the mob that besieged the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. During the battle to breach the building, Rodriguez used a stun gun on a police officer, who would suffer a heart attack and traumatic brain injury.  –read more– 

CNN US | This traffic stop between a Black man and a White state trooper began with fear. It ended with a surprising act of kindness

(CNN) – At first glance, it looks like another of those viral photos that we can barely watch anymore.

It shows a White state trooper and a Black man during a traffic stop on a bright, sunny day. The trooper is leaning his thick arms through the open passenger window to clutch the Black man’s right hand. The man’s back is pinned against the passenger seat, and his eyes are squeezed shut. He appears to be wincing in pain.

But this photo is being widely shared for another reason. The trooper is reaching into the car to help, not to harm. And the encounter has been described by those who witnessed it not as tragic, but inspired.  –read more–

F1 | Verstappen leads Red Bull 1-2 as both Leclerc and Sainz retire in Azerbaijan

Max Verstappen led a Red Bull one-two in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after retirements for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, giving Mercedes’ George Russell P3 at Baku.

Pole-sitter Charles Leclerc lost the lead at the start but regained it when the leading Red Bull of Max Verstappen pitted on Lap 19. One lap later, Leclerc’s race went up in a puff of smoke and he crawled back to the pits to retire. This would be Ferrari’s second retirement of the race as Carlos Sainz stopped with a hydraulic failure on Lap 9.  –read more–

watch: Race Highlights | 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

F1 | Leclerc blazes to Baku pole as Perez joins him on the front row in Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying

Charles Leclerc took pole position with a stunning lap in qualifying for the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as Sergio Perez put himself on the front row in P2.

Leclerc set the ultimate benchmark of 1m 41.359s, going over two-tenths faster than Sergio Perez in a nailbiting Q3 session. Although he had provisional pole before that, Carlos Sainz couldn’t hook up his final effort and ended up fourth – behind Max Verstappen.  –read more– 

watch: Qualifying Highlights | 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

CNN travel | Pre-travel testing requirement lifted: What you need to know about the new US travel policy

(CNN) — Many travelers in the United States and abroad have been waiting for it. The travel industry has been pushing for it. And on Sunday an end arrives to the requirement for travelers to test negative for Covid-19 before entering the US.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited a “new phase” of the pandemic in a statement confirming the rule change.

“Widespread uptake of highly effective Covid-19 vaccines, the availability of effective therapeutics, and the accrual of high rates of vaccine- and infection-induced immunity at the population level in the United States” have all helped lower the risk of severe disease and death, the agency said.  –read more–

Car and Driver | Every Electric Vehicle That’s Expected in the Next Five Years

These EVs aren’t for sale yet but are in various stages from concept to production—and perhaps a few may never see the light of day.  –read more–  

F1 | What tyres will the teams and drivers have for the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

Pirelli have nominated the three softest tyre compounds in their range for this weekend’s 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit.F1’s official tyre supplier has allocated the same range of tyre compound that were brought to last year’s race, with the teams again set to receive the C3 hard tyre (x2 sets), C4 medium tyre (x3 sets), and the C5 soft tyre (x8 sets).  –read more–