International News
India floods: Monsoon rains destroy homes and farms
Al Jazeera
Thousands of people in the southern Indian state of Kerala have lost their homes and livelihoods after weeks of heavy rain.
The monsoon rains triggered floods and landslides across India, killing at least 270 people.
Russian couple filmed at protest may lose children
BBC World News
Russian couple Dmitry and Olga Prokazov have been threatened with having their children taken into care after footage featuring their baby was posted online.
The move has shocked many in Russia, where there’s already controversy about more than a dozen people facing prison sentences for taking part in opposition protests in recent weeks
North Korea now able to miniaturise nuclear warheads – Japan defence report
The Guardian
Japan’s government will reportedly state that North Korea is capable of miniaturising nuclear warheads in a forthcoming defence report, it has emerged.
The defence report will maintain Japan’s contention that North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes pose a “serious and imminent threat” to its security after recent meetings between Donald Trump and the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, failed to make progress on denuclearisation.
US News
A man threatened to “slaughter” abortion doctors. It’s part of a disturbing trend.
Vox News
One man was charged with threatening to “slaughter and murder” doctors and patients at an abortion clinic in Chicago. Another was arrested in connection with threats against Planned Parenthood and federal agents. A third vandalized a Planned Parenthood office in Pennsylvania, painting a Bible verse in red on a wall.
Disgruntled cook with high-powered guns threatened mass shooting at Long Beach hotel, police say
LA Times
Police in Long Beach thwarted a possible mass shooting this week when they arrested a disgruntled hotel cook they say threatened to carry out violence at his workplace.
Rodolfo Montoya, 37, who worked at the Long Beach Marriott, was taken into custody Tuesday at his home in Huntington Beach. Officers seized multiple high-powered firearms, including an assault rifle, 38 high-capacity magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, according to investigators
Film on factory is first Netflix project endorsed by Obamas
AP News
NEW YORK (AP) — A documentary about an Ohio auto glass factory that is run by a Chinese investor debuted Wednesday on Netflix as the streaming service’s first project backed by Michelle and Barack Obama’s new production company.
Science/Environment News
Alaska Reels During Summer of Fire, Heat and Floods
Scientific American
Welcome to the Last Frontier, where record-breaking heat is shattering temperature records.
Alaska's average temperature in July was 58.1 degrees Fahrenheit — 5.4 degrees above the average and nearly 1 degree higher than the previous high set in July 2004 (Climatewire, Aug. 19).
Scientists say that's contributing to the wildfires that are burning around Anchorage and on the Kenai Peninsula to the south. The blazes, fed by an unusually dry summer and high winds, have closed highways and stranded tourists in their cars.