Briefly, members of the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers voted to go on strike at Verizon Communications last week after the two sides were unable to agree over concessions regarding employee contributions to pension and healthcare costs.

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Solar blasts heading toward Earth can stoke up beautiful auroras in the nighttime sky, and wreak havoc on communications satellites and electrical power grids.

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The closing of borders would deny access to many items made abroad that are needed during a pandemic, including masks and gloves, electrical circuits for ventilators and communications gear and certain pharmaceuticals and their precursors.

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"Until this deal, Comcast is Public Enemy Number One, " said Myles Calvey, a Boston-area leader of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents 15, 000 Verizon Communications employees.

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They can put an electrical charge on satellites in high orbits, such as communications satellites, and may damage their sensitive electronics.

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Optical technologies have revolutionized long-distance communications, replacing low-capacity copper wiring that carries electrical signals with combinations of lasers and fiber-optic cabling that send information over many high-speed channels.

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Electrical power is necessary to support other critical infrastructures, including supply and distribution of water, food, fuel, communications, transport, financial transactions, emergency services, government services, and all other infrastructures supporting the national economy and welfare.

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