How much flood water to damage a car? Does it matter if it is salt or fresh?

 Between hurricanes, record rains and king tides; Americans have been driving through a lot of flooding and puddles.

All that water takes toll on your car.

You may not realize it, but even rainwater is corrosive.

Here is the difference between salt water flooding and rainwater flooding and damage to your car.

“All water can be corrosive because rainwater has acid in it, you’ve heard of acid rain,” said Mike Porcelli, master-mechanic, professor of automotive technology and consultant. “So that can cause a lot of corrosion. And salt water is exponentially worse than fresh water. “

Porcelli calls himself an M.D., Machine Doctor.

Salt attacks metal

“Salt is very corrosive. It attacks metal, especially metals like aluminum, magnesium. With aluminum wheels, if they sit in salt water or even cars that park near the ocean the salt eats away,” he said. “I saw a car the other day, we opened the hood the aluminum brace (under the hood) was all corroded. And I said ‘this car must live near the ocean.’”

Cars sit in flood waters from Hurricane Idalia after it passed offshore in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Getty Images

Even salt spray off the ocean disperses salt in the air which can travel.

Porcelli said that literature claims it can travel 60 miles in strong winds.

He said that the side of a car parked facing the sea breeze will show wear faster than the other side.

Cars sit stranded in floodwaters on Sheldon Road south of Ford road in Canton, Mich.

AP

“If you have an electric car or you have a combustion engine or a hybrid; saltwater is damaging to all vehicles,”Lauren Fix, The Car Coach told FOX Weather. “And what it does is it rots out things you don’t think about, like the exhaust system, brake lines and fuel lines.”

She held up two brake lines. One was silver and clean. The other that was on a car in Naples, Florida that recently felt the impact of Hurricane Idalia and was ravaged by Hurricane Ian.

She said the rust and corrosion happens over a very short period of time.

A car is pictured in a flooded street following heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary in Cathedral City, California.

AFP via Getty Images

Failure of these lines can cause brakes to not work.

Flammable fuel might be leaking instead of traveling from the gas tank to the engine.

Flooding can be catastrophic for electric vehicles

“Also, electric vehicles, saltwater is very, very corrosive. If you have an electric vehicle that has been in a flood. Do not drive it, absolutely. Don’t even try to start it,” Fix said. “Contact your insurance agent and let them pick it up. Take it to your local shop, see what they can do.”

Several electric vehicles caught fire after Hurricane Idalia floodwater retreated.

A car is submerged in flooded water as Tropical Storm Hilary arrives in Cathedral City, Calif.

ALLISON DINNER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Acid dissolved in rain water damages paint

Salt air and fresh rainwater also eat away at the paint. He said salt water is also acidic.

“It eats into the paint surface. After a rainstorm, you see the water bead up on the car and then after it dries, it leaves a little ring, Porcelli said. “And the acid will eat, it will onto the paint. And the only way to remove that is to remove some of the paint, cut down below the craters that are created by the acid.”

Corrosion is only part of the issue with any water that finds its way into your car. Standing water breeds mold and mildew. 

A car is parked in flood waters as Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida’s Gulf Coast.

AP

“If it (water) penetrates inside (the car) then it’s going to need professional help,” Porcelli advises. “Even if it’s just to take the rugs out and dry them, disinfectant them and put it all back together.” 

He said steam cleaning, drying and disinfecting a car should run about $1,000 if caught fast.

After mold and mildew set in, you may have to replace rugs and carpets. Foam in the seats will also get moldy and rot.

Electronics and water don’t mix

The biggest problem with modern cars and flooding though are the electronics though, he said.

Cars are seen stuck in muddy floodwater on a street in Cathedral City, Calif.

AP

“Everything is controlled by computers. The power windows are controlled by a computer. The lights are controlled by computers. So every electronic system from the engine to the transmission, tail lights, even the radio is controlled by computers” Porcelli said. “Some of those computers are down under the seats or up under the dashboard, down low. If water gets into the car and floods the floor of the car, those computers are subject to getting waterlogged.”

He said this is the reason most insurance companies will total cars that were flooded, even with no visible damage.

Driving on salt-treated roads in the snow and ice is just as damaging.

Snow gets packed into the nooks and crannies under a car. Salt residue remains even after the snow melts.

Fight back

Porcelli has several tips to keep your car in shape:

• Wash your car, the sooner the better, to minimize corrosion. Some car washes have optional undercarriage spray.
• Get your car professionally cleaned and waxed once a year. Keep it clean and reapply the wax every month or two.
• Don’t drive through deep water.
• Touch-up dings, scratches and chips before corrosion sets in.
• Beware buying used cars after storms. Porcelli inspects used cars for customers before they by a car for $100-$300. He said ask around for an experienced mechanic to spot flood damage. Car Fax only catches about 85% of reported problems, he said.

https://nypost.com/2023/09/04/how-much-flood-water-does-it-take-to-damage-a-car-does-it-matter-if-it-is-salt-or-fresh/

DeSantis Super PAC Halts Voter Canvassing In 4 States To Refocus Resources Elsewhere

by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

A super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's 2024 run for the White House said it's pausing voter canvassing in four states and investing some of the freed-up field resources into three early-voting states.

Never Back Down, the PAC supporting Mr. DeSantis's presidential bid, is suspending door-knocking operations in Nevada, California, Texas, and North Carolina, The Epoch Times has learned.

Instead, the PAC will be refocusing its efforts and investing some of those field resources into Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina—three early-voting states.

"We want to reinvest in the first three, we see real opportunities," PAC spokeswoman Erin Perrine told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement, referring to Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

"The first three are going to set the conditions for the March states,” she added. California, North Carolina, and Texas hold their primaries in March 2024, according to the GOP primary calendar, while Nevada, an early-voting state, holds its primary in February.

However, Nevada faces what Ms. Perrine described as a volatile situation, where the state Republican Party has announced plans to hold its own party-run presidential caucus in addition to a statewide primary.

"When you have that kind of uncertainty about how the election's going to be conducted, that becomes a pretty unstable environment to be investing the kind of resources that we're investing," Ms. Perrine said.

"Nevada is heading to a lawsuit," she added.

Turbulence in California, Nevada

Nevada Republicans insist on holding their own caucus despite a new state law calling for a primary election.

Some say that the competing contests could confuse some voters and it seems that the Republican primary wouldn't count as the party-run caucus plans to decide which candidate will receive the state's delegates.

While it's not yet clear when the Nevada caucus will take place, reports suggest it will be around the same time as the Feb. 6, 2024, primary, which falls after the Iowa caucus and primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Ms. Perrine told The Epoch Times that the Nevada GOP's move is meant to favor former President Donald Trump's chances at winning in 2024. Other officials at Never Back Down have made similar comments.

“The situation in Nevada is very clear. They’re eliminating important grassroots processes which doesn’t benefit voters, but it does benefit one person: Donald Trump," Jess Szymanski, deputy communications director of Never Back Down, told the Washington Examiner.

"Nevada Republicans continue to lose elections with Trump at the top of the ticket, yet state GOP leaders are so obsessed with appeasing Trump that they’ve rigged their primary to prioritize Trump above their own voters," Ms. Szymanski added.

Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, who was heavily involved in the process of maintaining the state's GOP caucus, told ABC News that it's a long-standing tradition that is "bigger than Gov. DeSantis" or "anybody that's running for office."

Ms. Perrine told The Epoch Times that the situation with the primaries in California is similar to what's happening in Nevada.

“A similar situation in California, where they eliminated the California Republicans’ say in their own primary as well as making grassroots involvement impossible," she said.

"Now the central committee will have a convention and a vote at the end of September, which could alter that. But that was a Trump-inspired rigging as well,” Ms. Perrine added.

In July, California Republicans changed delegate rules (pdf) in a way that a number of political pundits have said makes it less competitive and benefits President Trump.

Under the new rules, a Republican presidential candidate who receives over 50 percent of the vote in the state's primary election will be awarded all 169 of the state's delegates.

The old rules let Republican presidential candidates win three delegates in each congressional district, letting them target specific areas rather than focusing on expensive statewide campaigns, while allowing multiple candidates to get at least some delegates.

“When they changed it to a proportional, statewide winner-take-all, that completely eliminated the opportunity for grassroots campaigning," Ms. Perrine said. "Literally a landmark decision they made with breathtaking speed.”

“And so with neither state having a fair process, the door knockers that were in Nevada and California, we decided to make them kind of refocus into the first three,” she explained.

By contrast, California GOP Chairwoman Jessica Patterson argued that the new rules would encourage candidates to campaign more extensively and put forward their proposal to a broader swathe of voters.

“Republican presidential candidates will not only be encouraged to spend real time campaigning in our state and making their case to voters, but Republican voters will equally be encouraged to turn out to support their chosen candidate to help them win delegates,” Ms. Patterson said in a statement.

'Scam' PAC Closes

Elsewhere, Mr. DeSantis’s presidential campaign said recently that the closure of the Ron to the Rescue super PAC was “welcome news,” while calling the PAC a "scam."

“We’ve made clear from the beginning that this was a scam PAC looking to grift off Ron DeSantis, and it comes as welcome news they are no longer attempting to fleece our donors,” Andrew Romeo, communications director for the campaign, said in a statement.

“Ron DeSantis outraised both [President Joe] Biden and [former President Donald] Trump last quarter, and we look forward to continuing our fundraising success as we capitalize on his strong debate performance and momentum in the early states,” Mr. Romeo added.

Republican strategist John Thomas launched the Ron to the Rescue super PAC last fall to urge Mr. DeSantis to enter the 2024 presidential race.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Mr. Thomas said he and the committee’s donors had become disenchanted with the governor following his botched campaign launch on Twitter, now X.

“We were hoping to do like a formal TV campaign of air support when DeSantis officially launched,” he told the outlet.

“But the problem with that is, with the Twitter Spaces blunder, like almost from the get-go, all of our major donors said, ‘Let’s just see how this plays out.’”

According to Federal Election Commission filings, the Ron to the Rescue PAC raised just over $1,600, of which more than $1,200 was disbursed to Mr. Thomas’s political consulting firm, Thomas Partners Strategies, for “PAC strategy consulting.”

Now, Mr. Thomas said he and his donor network intend to shift their support to President Donald Trump, who had surprised him with “a level of campaign savvy and discipline” that he had not previously seen from him.

“We’re going to see, after the reporting period of Sept. 30, how Trump’s cash on hand is, and then we’re going to try to determine where we can fill in gaps, if it’s needed.”

Since announcing his third presidential bid, President Trump has maintained his position as the clear frontrunner in the primary contest, with Mr. DeSantis consistently polling in second place.

According to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls, the 45th president holds a commanding 39-point lead over Mr. DeSantis and is supported by 53.6 percent of Republicans.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/desantis-super-pac-halts-voter-canvassing-4-states-refocus-resources-elsewhere

Massachusetts calls up national guard to cope with migrants as protests rage

 Massachusetts officials overwhelmed by arriving migrants have activated the national guard as they scramble for more housing, while aid groups say they have been pushed to the limit and protests abound.

Gov. Maura Healey mobilized 250 members of the Massachusetts National Guard on Thursday to help transport the latest wave of asylum seekers to shelters across the state.

But much like the crisis overtaking the Big Apple, Massachusetts has nowhere near enough housing or resources currently available to accommodate the influx.

“Right now, the non-profits that are in Massachusetts are stretched and so thin they cannot provide anymore staff,” state Sen. Jamie Eldridge told CBS News.

While the National Guard can help with the lack of manpower, the state can do little to address the shortage of housing outside of creating new shelters, which local residents vehemently oppose.

Dozens of protesters came out Saturday to the Yarmouth Resort motel, where the state hopes to set aside 100 units for migrant families, many of whom include Haitian immigrants displaced by natural disasters.

People gather outside the Yarmouth Resort motel to protest plans for the latest migrant shelter there in Massachusetts.

CBS News Boston

The state’s National Guard has been deployed to help transport the incoming migrants.

CBS News Boston

The protesters claimed that the state has prioritized the need of the migrants over the need of its own homeless residents, including veterans, with many at the rally flashing signs that read, “Vets and Cape Homeless First!!”

The hotel in Yarmouth is just one of more than 1,500 temporary hotels and new shelters set up across the state since 2022.

The state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities said in a statement, “The administration is exploring all options to expand family shelter capacity to meet rising demand.”

More than 250 National Guard troops were mobilized to help as local volunteer groups have been utterly overwhelmed.

CBS News Boston

All together, there are about 6,000 families, or more than 20,000 people, currently residing in state shelters, officials estimate.

The situation in Massachusetts is mirroring the year-long struggle in New York City to house the tens of thousands of migrants that have arrived there.

Last week, at least 400 people gathered in Staten Island to protest the transformation of a shuttered Catholic school into a 300-bed makeshift shelter.

The state plans to use 100 units at the Yarmouth Resort to house migrant families.

Yarmouth Resort/Facebook
Over the past year, more than 104,000 migrants from the US border have been shipped to the five boroughs, and nearly 56,000 are now being housed by the city.

The unprecedented influx spilled out onto the streets of Manhattan last month as scores of migrants were forced to sleep outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown, which was set up as a processing center.

https://nypost.com/2023/09/03/massachusetts-calls-up-national-guard-to-cope-with-migrants-as-protests-rage/

New insight into how breast cancer evolves

 From the early stages of cell mutations starting in puberty to their manifestations as breast cancer in later years, the entire process has remained shrouded in mystery.

Now, a team of researchers at Kyoto University has revealed the mechanism by which breast cancer is formed in the cells of the mammalian epithelium, whose main function is to secrete milk. The paper is published in the journal Nature.

According to the team's first analysis, approximately 20 mutations accumulate annually in each epithelial cell until menopause. After menopause, however, the mutation rate significantly decreases.

"Additionally, our results suggest that estrogen influences mutation accumulation in mammary epithelium, which correlates with our discovery of decreased accumulation after childbirth," says corresponding author Seishi Ogawa of KyotoU's Graduate School of Medicine.

As 70% of breast cancers are understood to be estrogen-sensitive, Ogawa's team may shed light on estrogen's role in the initiation of breast cancer.

Further investigation of the genetic relationship between breast cancer, its surrounding lesions, and normal epithelial cells led to mapping breast cancer's translocation-positive expansion. During this expansion process, cells of multiple origins that would subsequently develop breast cancer manifested themselves at the average age of 30.

Previous studies have focused on driver mutations—the genetic changes in cells that are already cancerous—leading to abnormal growth. But these findings only paint a partial picture of the process and do not reveal the timing and order of driver mutations or cancer formation.

"Normal-looking tissues may already contain numerous populations of non-cancer cells—or clones—that have acquired mutations in cancer-related genes," says co-author author Tomomi Nishimuraof KyotoU's Graduate School of Medicine.

After examining the similarities and differences in the mutations of both cancer and non-cancer lesions originating from the clones, the team reconstructed an evolutionary tree to visualize the unique pattern of cancer evolution.

"Our study brings us closer to exposing the clinical profile of estrogen-sensitive breast cancer, particularly in pre-menopausal women, potentially aiding cancer risk monitoring and prevention," adds Ogawa.

More information: Tomomi Nishimura et al, Evolutionary histories of breast cancer and related clones, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06333-9

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08-insight-breast-cancer-evolves.html