When President Barack Obama visited the National Hurricane Center in Miami on Thursday, he declared, "When you combine stronger storms with rising seas, that's a recipe for more devastating floods," while 900 miles to the west, days of heavy precipitation devastated areas of Texas stemming from overflowing rain-swollen rivers --- with no link to rising seas, observed Grumpy Editor.
The president, who so far has bypassed an on-scene look at severely flooded Texas and Oklahoma areas, continued his global warming/climate change warnings.
A week earlier, in a commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, Conn., Obama envisioned climate change aggravating poverty and social tensions that can fuel instability and foster terrorist activity and other violence. "Climate change impacts every country on the planet," he told the cadets.
In Miami, with government meteorologists close by, Obama pointed out, "The best climate scientists in the world are telling us that extreme weather events like hurricanes are likely to become more powerful."
Yet he apparently wasn’t cued in on a day-earlier announcement by government weather forecasters who assured the Atlantic hurricane season --- which runs today to Nov. 30 --- will be less active this year due to cooler seas and a strong El Nino effect.
The below-normal forecast called for six to 11 tropical storms with three to six reaching hurricane status.
The U.S. coast has not been hit by a major hurricane since 2005.
FYI, IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE EDITORS MISSED THESE...
Alarm bells delayed. The “Taliban Five” Guantanamo inmates, swapped a year ago for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, originally slated to roam free today from Qatar, will remain confined there under a weekend agreement that temporarily extends their ban on travel while discussions between Qatar, the United States and Afghanistan continue for a long-term solution. Bergdahl was charged with desertion in March and could face a life sentence…Round up the newsroom. In connection with the indictment of Dennis Hastert, a former House speaker, late in the week: The Washington Post gathered a baseball team-size nine reporters for the story. That compared with The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal each assigning three…A Rasmussen Reports survey found 61 percent of likely U.S. voters now do not trust the political news they are getting, a 16-point jump from last October…In closing the acquisition of U-T San Diego, Chicago-based Tribune Publishing Co., restored the newspaper’s former name, San Diego Union-Tribune --- and promptly laid off nearly a third of its 600 employees, most in printing and delivery operations…Over the past decade, weekday newspaper circulation declined 17 percent and ad revenue dropped more than 50 percent, noted the Washington Examiner, adding in 2014 alone, three different media companies decided to spin off more than 100 newspaper properties…The PennySaver, an advertising sheet distributed in Southern California for decades, ceased operations without warning…How headlines differed on same story: Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warns China on South China Sea island-building (Los Angeles Times). Ash Carter Talks Tough on China, But It's Just Talk (Bloomberg)…Government squeeze on coal output continues. Murray Energy Corp., third largest U.S. coal producer, laid off around 1,800 workers, representing about 21 percent of its work force…With weak economic growth and slow consumer spending, the Federal Reserve now is likely to raise benchmark interest rates in September…Memorial Day weekend’s total box office, at an estimated $190 million, was the lowest since 2001. The film industry regarded Disney’s “Tomorrowland” as a big disappointment. But things improved over the past weekend with "San Andreas" shaking up the North American take with $53.2 million. The tally also uncovered 70 percent of ticket buyers were 25 years old or more. (Which triggers a question: How was the 25+ number determined? Did everyone have to show photo ID at the box office, with information fed into a computer?)…Bob Schieffer, with CBS News since 1969, signed off as Face the Nation moderator yesterday after 24 years with the Sunday public affairs program. He has the distinction of covering all four of Washington’s key assignments: White House, Pentagon, State Department and Congress.
Edgy Washington, D.C. police, who blew up a harmless pressure cooker found in an unattended vehicle parked near the Capitol, got an apology from its owner, a food truck operator, who said the utensil was used for cooking rice.
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