September 17, 2023 at 09:38 AM EST

https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Video-Cars-Partially-Submerged-Amid-Severe-Weathe

A severe thunderstorm hit parts of southern France on Saturday, September 16, causing dramatic flash flooding in the small commune of Saint-Martin-de-Londres, local media reported.

In footage posted by X user @arnobour, cars can be seen partially submerged under the floodwaters as water is seen gushing down streets. One vehicle has been left facing down the steps in the center of town.

InfoOccitanie reported that over 19 inches of rain (500 mm) fell on Saturday, as the high cantons of France’s Herault region were placed under a red alert. - (snip)

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/08/africa/morocco-6-8-magnitude-earthquake-intl-hnk/index.html
By Hamdi Alkhshali, Sharif Paget, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Chris Lau, CNN
Updated 10:27 PM EDT, Fri September 8, 2023

A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco on Friday night, killing nearly 300 people and forcing many residents to spend the night in the streets in what the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said was the strongest tremor to hit that part of the North African nation in more than a century.

The quake struck in Morocco’s High Atlas mountain range shortly after 11 p.m. local time at the relatively shallow depth of 18.5 kilometers (11.4 miles), USGS said, with the epicenter located about 72 kilometers (44.7 miles) southwest of Marrakesh, a city of some 840,000 people and a popular tourist destination.

At least 296 people were killed, and 153 others were wounded, Morocco state-run Al-Aoula television reported on Saturday. [snip]
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Mother Nature on rampage!

Used a ground lamb loaf filling mixed with a bit of orange marmalade and Cosmic apples, chopped and then rolled portions up into split-leaf dark green chard and then baked the rolls in the oven; included a garnish of a lemony Dill Garlic cheese curd topping - placed it over quinoa for plating presentation. It was pretty rich and delish; however, because I used a spray of olive oil over the tops and though I'm familiar with slow-cooked cabbage rolls, how does the chard, a much milder spinach-like cooked flavor which, unfortunately, got a bit paper-crisped in a 350 oven differ from grape leaves (unfamiliar) in flavor or should I have used a different cooking technique to avoid the "crispness" of the delicate chard???

I will print out all communications regarding my purchase ASAP. I will fill out the form on Federal Trade Commission site; package would be coming on a slow boat/airline(s) from China and I've received tracking# and info that indicates it made connection with USPS but no package as yet, after 22 days in transit. I will call the bank to dispute the charges, but likely they won't be able to do much; under $50 and an indication I paid for insurance on confirmation of order. I will need to change some passwords and obtain a new card number and replacement card. Think I clicked an ad on Temo or FB--I should have known better! They got my information though, so maybe there's an investigation somewhere--SMH

DON'T FALL FOR HUGELY DISCOUNTED SHOES IN A VARIETY OF STYLES FROM [email protected] OR PHONEY WEBSITE: [email protected] OPENING SOON - sure, right!

letter saying her school loan(s) have been forgiven!!!

https://phys.org/news/2023-08-death-tolls-climate-disasters-balloon.html
AUGUST 14, 2023

Death tolls from climate disasters will 'balloon' without investment in Africa's weather stations, experts warn

The climate crisis is increasing the frequency and intensity of floods, droughts and heat waves, with Africa expected to be among the global regions hit hardest.

Yet the systems and technologies across the continent that monitor and forecast weather events and changes to water levels are "missing, outmoded or malfunctioning"—leaving African populations even more exposed to climate change.

This is according to a team of risk experts and climatologists from the UK and Africa led by the University of Cambridge, who warn that without major and rapid upgrades to "hydromet infrastructure," the damage and death toll caused by climate-related disasters across Africa will "balloon."

Writing in the journal Nature, the authors point to latest research showing that—over the last two decades—the average number of deaths caused by a flooding event in Africa is four times higher than the European and North American average per flood...[snip]
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Seems like a no-brainer to improve and add "stations" and recruit candidates for occupations in this field - Seems these improvements are needed as much as discussion/funding for alternative energy. Have African nations requested any assistance addressing these basic concerns?

BumRushdaShow in Latest Breaking forum.

Number of Americans applying for jobless aid rises, but not enough to cause concern

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143112679

Source: ABC News/AP

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits jumped last week, but not enough to raise concern about the consistently strong U.S. labor market.

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits rose by 21,000 to 248,000 for the week ending August 5, from 227,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most in five weeks.

The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile reading, ticked up by 2,750 to 228,250.

Jobless claim applications are viewed as broadly representative of the number of layoffs in a given week. Applications for jobless aid reached a higher level above 260,000 for a few weeks this spring, causing some concern, but then retreated.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143112679

https://www.yahoo.com/news/mexicos-president-offers-buy-u-192353636.html

Updated Thu, July 27, 2023 at 8:44 PM EDT
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Thursday that he has offered to buy an American company’s Caribbean coast property for about $385 million to end a bitter, years-long dispute.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said a formal offer would be presented to Alabama-based Vulcan Materials. The company operated gravel extraction pits at the Yucatan peninsula site before López Obrador's administration closed them.

The company said it had not yet received the president's proposal or responded to the idea. In papers filed for a case before an international arbitration panel, Vulcan Materials valued the almost 6,000-acre (2,400 hectare) property, located just south of the resort town of Playa del Carmen, at $1.9 billion.

López Obrador said his much lower offer was fair and based on a government assessment. He said the most attractive part of the property was the freight shipping dock, which he plans to turn into a dock for cruise ships. snip - Read lots more at the link.
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Hmmmm...seems a real low-ball offer...but don't know the history of this dispute. President Obrador's got some interesting future ideas for infrastructure and tourism, but doesn't President Obrador have more important issues to consider? People seem to want to leave Mexico.

Adding yet another headache for Joe's US State Dept?

Anyone got more insight on this?

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/cen-10117-cover
Alex Scott
C&EN, 2023, 101 (17), pp 28–34May 29, 2023


Rubber crumbs rain down onto more than 150 electric heating plates, raising their temperature to over 600 °C within seconds. In an atmosphere depleted of oxygen, the crumbs rapidly transform into a gas, which is cooled into a synthetic oil and a solid that is mostly carbon black. This process is at the heart of a continuous thermal pyrolysis technology being commercialized by the German start-up Pyrum Innovations to chemically recycle tires. It saves 72% of the carbon dioxide emissions that would have resulted from the existing systems for tire disposal and material recovery, the firm tells C&EN.
Demand for products from Pyrum and other chemical recyclers of tires is increasing and may one day divert millions of used tires from their most common destinations of landfill or incineration. Some 4 billion tires sit in landfills and stockpiles around the world, according to the Tire Industry Project, and they have the potential to catch fire and leach hazardous chemicals into the environment. The incineration of tires generates substantial greenhouse gas emissions.
In a second sustainability shift taking place in the life cycle of tires, manufacturers have started adopting lower-carbon production processes and are using increasing amounts of renewable materials—including those from the chemical recycling of tires.
But just as these activities start to promise substantial environmental benefits, a growing number of scientific studies indicate that tire and road wear particles (TRWPs)—generated when tires rub against the road—could be substantially harming the environment. Scientists at Imperial College London estimate that tires annually release 6 million metric tons (t) of TRWPs—typically linear particles 100 µm long—making it the second-largest source of microplastic pollution, after single-use plastics. (Read more)
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Happening soon in America?