Grumpy Editor

JULY SETS RECORD AS HOTTEST MONTH ON PLANET

July will be the hottest month ever recorded on the planet, notes Grumpy Editor.

That finding comes from the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization, gathered in partnership with the European Copernicus Climate Change Service.

 

"Climate change is here. It is terrifying, and it is just the beginning,” says U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

 

Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are ultimately the main driver of these rising temperatures, poimts out Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus service. "Extreme weather which has affected many millions of people in July is unfortunately the harsh reality of climate change and a foretaste of the future.”

 

"We are now seeing clearly around the world why it is so urgent to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adds Professor Petteri Taalas, head of the WMO, the U.N.'s weather service. He called climate action "not a luxury, but a must.”

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

ECONOMY STRONG IN SECOND QUARTER.  The economy was stronger than expected in the second quarter.  Gross domestic product, broadest measure of economic output, grew by an annualized, seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent rate in the April-through-June period. That was a faster pace than in the first three months of the year and was also above economists’ expectations for a 1.8 percent rate, 

 

BEER MAKER LAYING OFF HUNDREDS.  Anheuser-Busch, maker of the beer Bud Light, is laying off hundreds of corporate positions across the U.S.   The company says it will impact less than two percent of its work force nationwide.

 

NORTH KOREA PARADE MARKS KOREAN WAR.  Marking the truce that halted the Korean War 70 years ago, North Korea held an evening military parade in downtown Pyongyang.  The three-year war technically has not ended since there has been no peace treaty.  About 90 percent of foreign troops that participated in the Korean War were from the U.S.

 

WASHINGTON POST SEES RED INK.  Ten years after The Washington Post was purchased by Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos, the publication is "on a pace to lose about $100 million in 2023," according to a New York Times report.

 

GORILLAS FOOL ZOO KEEPERS.  Zookeepers at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium were surprised with the birth of a baby gorilla.  A gorilla was thought to be male until the gorilla care team discovered it (the mother) holding the baby gorilla.

 

M*A*S*H  ITEMS SOLD.  Combat boots and dog tags actor Alan Alda wore in the TV series M*A*S*H sold at auction for $125,000.  Alda held on to the items for more than 40 years after the show ended.

 

MARINES EXPECT TO MEET RECRUITING GOAL.  While the Army, Navy and Air Force say they expect to fall short of recruiting goals this year, the Marines expect to meet theirs.  While the Marines have a smaller recruiting goal than the Army –-- 33,000 vs. 65,000 –--  they have high standards, refusing to take potential recruits who get low scores on the Armed Services Voluntary Aptitude Battery test. 

LAST YEAR THIRD MOST COSTLY WITH CLIMATE, WEATHER DISASTERS

 

Climate and weather disasters last year resulted in about $165 billion in damage, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

That’s the third most costly year since 1980, tallies the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

 

NOAA says 18 disasters — from wind storms to floods — hit the U. S. in 2022. 

 

Extreme weather periods are costly when they strike developed population centers, putting more people in harm’s way.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

BACK TO THE OFFICE FOR DISNEY STAFFERS. It’s back to the office for Walt Disney Co. workers.  Employees are told they would have to work four days a week, Mondays through Thursdays, from a Disney office starting March 1. 

 

RETIREES RATE FLORIDA TOPS FOR RETIREMENT.  Florida is the most popular destination for retirees.  It is followed by North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona and Georgia.  About one in eight retirees who relocated out of state reported doing so to cut housing expenses. 

 

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FINES CITY NATIONAL BANK.  City National Bank is accused by the Justice Department of discrimination by refusing to underwrite mortgages in predominately Black communities.  It is requiring the Los Angeles-based bank to pay $31 million — largest redlining settlement in department history.

 

DRUG PRODUCERS PRIORITIZE MEDICINES.  Drug producers are prioritizing complex biotech medicines over treatments that can be given as pills because recent U.S. legislation gives biologics a longer runway before becoming subject to government price limits, say top industry executives.

 

UKRAINIANS TRAINING AT FORT SILL.  Ukrainian troops this week at Fort Sill will start training on the Patriot missile defense system.  It's to prepare the Ukrainians to use the Patriot system, which the U.S. is giving to them.

 

BALMY WEATHER TRIGGERS CHERRY BLOSSOMS.  Warm weather is making cherry blossoms appear early this year in Tokyo.  The blossoms are attracting visitors and photographers well ahead of usual peak time in late March and early April. 

 

 

MORE ARABLE LAND BECOMES VULNERABLE TO DESERTIFICATION

While most media are focused on climate change in general, a key element is that the planet is becoming more vulnerable to desertification, the permanent degradation of land that was once arable and good for growing crops, Grumpy Editor observes in a National Geographic story.

As writer Christina Nunez explains it:  “While land degradation has occurred throughout history, the pace has accelerated, reaching 30 to 35 times the historical rate, according to the United Nations. This degradation tends to be driven by a number of factors, including urbanization, mining, farming, and ranching. In the course of these activities, trees and other vegetation are cleared away, animal hooves pound the dirt, and crops deplete nutrients in the soil.”

This contributes to soil erosion, she points out, “and an inability for the land to retain water or regrow plants,” adding “about 2 billion people live on the drylands that are vulnerable to desertification, which could displace an estimated 50 million people by 2030.”

More than 100 countries are affected, she mentions, “hitting some of the poorest and most vulnerable populations the hardest, since subsistence farming is common across many of the affected regions.”

 

IN CASE  YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

 

AIRCRAFT CARRIER FACES ELEVATOR PROBLEM.  Post-delivery shakedown cruise of the USS Gerald R. Ford is being delayed because only two of 11 elevators needed to lift munitions to the deck of the $13 billion aircraft carrier have been fully installed.  The ship was supposed to be delivered with the "advanced weapons elevators” — moved by magnets rather than cables — in May, 2017. 

 

MILITARY NEWSPAPER TO MARK 75th YEAR.  For veterans who served in the Pacific and beyond from the tail end of World War II (when the Pacific battle was being fought on Okinawa), Pacific Stars and Stripes, the daily military newspaper, marks its 75^th year next May.

 

AMERICAN EXPRESS IRKS SOME CARD HOLDERS.  Some long-time American Express card holders are grumbling with notification that their credit limits are being reduced despite on-time payments and excellent credit status.

 

SOME VEGAS HOTEL RESORT FEES RISE...AGAIN.  Bellagio, Aria and Vdara, Las Vegas Strip casinos operated by MGM Resorts International, are raising daily resort fees to $45, up $6, despite officials earlier this year promising no increase in those sneaky fees for 2019.

 

BASEBALLS FLY OUT OF PARKS.  In major league baseball games, Rawlings balls are flying out of parks this season. Through last week, an average of 2.76 home runs per game is on pace to beat the old record of 2.52 set in 2017.  "I believe the ball has changed, and I don't know why,” says Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association. 

 

NEWSPAPER LAYOFFS CONTINUE.  Roughly one fourth of newspapers with an average Sunday circulation of 50,000 or more experienced layoffs last year, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. The layoffs, with mainly mid-market newspapers most likely to be affected, come on top of about one-third of papers in the same circulation range that experienced layoffs in 2017. 

 

SOME ADULTS SEE CURB IN FREEDOM OF SPEECH.  A Rasmussen Reports survey finds 26% of adults believe Americans have true freedom of speech today while 68% disagree, mentioning people have to be careful not to say something politically incorrect to avoid getting into trouble. 

 

$100 BILLS GROW IN CIRCULATION.  For the first time in history, U.S. $100 bills surpassed $1 bills in circulation volume, according to an International Money Fund report. But data show most of the bills aren't being held by Americans. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says nearly 80% of $100 bills -- and more than 60 percent of all U.S bills -- are held overseas.

 

U.S. SUPPLIES FUNDS TO REPAIR WALL --- IN ZIMBABWE.  The U.S. Ambassadors’ Fund for Cultural Preservation grants $475,000 to the Great Zimbabwe Museum to make repairs to the border wall of an 11th century stone fortress that surrounds ruins in its ancient city location. 

 

VETERAN ADOPTS DOG ALSO WITH MISSING LEG.  In Dickson, Tenn., Joshua Ferguson, a veteran who lost a leg in an attack, adopts a dog, with a missing leg, found by fishermen.  Ferguson hopes to train Scooter as a service or therapy dog and visit amputees at local hospitals through a volunteer program.

WHAT’S AHEAD: GLOBAL WARMING --- OR BIG CHILL?

Two news stories last week take opposite positions on climate change, observed Grumpy Editor.

One details how global warming from burning of coal, oil and gas is hurting each region of the U.S. and how it impacts different sectors of the economy, including energy and agriculture.

“Climate change is transforming where and how we live and presents growing challenges to human health and quality of life, the economy and the natural systems that support us,” said the report, which garnered coverage on most Sunday morning shows.

It added that worsening air pollution was causing lung and heart problems, more diseases from insects, the potential for an increase in deaths during heat waves and more allergies.

David Easterling, director of the Technical Support Unit at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, emphasized climate change the Earth is experiencing is unlike any other, mentioning, “the global average temperature is much higher and is rising more rapidly than anything modern civilization has experienced, and this warming trend can only be explained by human activities.”

On the other hand, Investor’s Business Daily pointed out “NASA data show that global temperatures dropped sharply over the past two years. Not that you'd know it, since that wasn't deemed news.”

The publication cited an expert who noticed something surprising with the official NASA global temperature data:  From February, 2016 to February, 2018 "global average temperatures dropped by 0.56 degree Celsius --- the biggest two-year drop in the past century.”

“Isn't this just the sort of man-bites-dog story that the mainstream media always says is newsworthy?” asked Investor’s Business Daily, adding “in this case, it didn't warrant any news coverage.”

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

SEVERANCE PAY SPOTLIGHTED.  Much coverage was given to White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Bill Shine receiving $8.4 million in severance pay from 21st Century Fox after he left the organization in May, 2017 — with more payments upcoming.   Nothing sinister about that.  Meanwhile, news outlets were not as stirred up over word that Megyn Kelly will walk away from NBC News with a reported more than $30 million, the value left on her three-year $69 million contract.

CHARLIE BROWN CALLED RACIST.  Despite smooth sailing over the years, turns out cartoon character Charlie Brown is a racist, said critics.  In a repeat of the classic last week on ABC, “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” brought growls for seating its only black character, Franklin, alone on one side of the holiday table while Charlie Brown and his white friends, including Peppermint Patty, Sally and Snoopy, were seated across from him.  The special debuted Nov. 20, 1973.

TEENAGERS STEAL PLANE, FLY 15 MILES.  Two Utah boys, 14 and 15, were arrested, accused of stealing a fixed-wing, single engine light sport aircraft and flying it 15 miles before safely landing at a local airport in Uintah County.

DOG STEERS TRUCK INTO FARMER.  An inquest Friday determined that a British dairy farmer was crushed to death when his Jack Russell dog pushed a lever inside a forklift truck, causing it to drive into him. The farmer left the vehicle in neutral and didn't set the handbrake when he got off to open a gate.

ARMY UNIFORMS TO TURN GREEN.  The Army is finalizing green throwback uniforms inspired by soldiers’ World War II attire, but only recruiters should expect to don the new duds for the time being. Official title of the new garb:  Army greens. About 200 prototypes will be fielded primarily by recruiters.

TROOP COST NOT QUESTIONED.  No reporter or editor questioned the announced $72 million cost of using 5,900 active duty troops at the Southwest border.  That figure was conveyed to Congress by the Pentagon.  Apparently the Pentagon, which should know about such things, was unaware that with those on active duty --- whether on a base, in a recruiting office or in Washington --- their monthly pay in the U.S. is the same.

DOG BIDS FAREWELL TO STAGE.  Archie, a 19-year-old Yorkshire Terrier is retiring from show business after more than 125 performaces in  “The Nutcracker” in Providence, R.I.  The ballet will be holding auditions Dec. 2 for other canine performers, looking for “a pup with an elegant prance, regal coat of fur and charming smile."  

While Obama talks 'climate change,' is ice age looming?

 

Grumpy Editor says look for reams of stories this week --- and beyond --- coming out of the United Nations climate change conference, widely known as COP 21, that gets under way today in Paris.

Also look for President Barack Obama while in Paris to be a frequent utterer of “climate change” which, for months, he considered to be the biggest threat facing the U.S.

This is contrary to a Fox News poll that found 97 percent of Americans don’t seem to care about climate change when stacked up against other concerns such as terrorism or the economy.

Climate change has been uppermost in Obama’s mind going back to his last state of the union address to Congress when he declared, "No challenge, no challenge, poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change."

Even the Pentagon --- with its 23,000 military and civilian employees as headquarters for the U.S. Department of Defense --- is backing climate change, jumping into a field far remote from its focus on military activities.

A Pentagon report called “National Security Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a Changing Climate,” released four months ago and sent to U.S. combat commanders around the world, pointed out climate change as an “urgent and growing threat to our national security.”

In June, along with foreign policy remarks to more than 1,000 graduating West Point cadets, the president called for energizing the global effort to combat climate change which he termed “a creeping national security crisis that will help shape your time in uniform.”

Breitbart recently tallied “22 times Obama or his administrative officials claimed climate change a greater threat than radical Islamic terrorism.”

Meanwhile, something that will not be covered in Paris:

Is a new ice age coming?

Listeners to tonight’s Coast to Coast AM, airing on more than 600 U.S. radio stations, will hear a discussion on disturbing trends in global climate models pointing to Earth entering an ice age.

 

Trump recollection of jubilant Muslims backed

While major media were quick to shoot down what Donald Trump insisted he saw in New Jersey following the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on New York City, a writer for BizPac Review, West Palm Beach, Fla. backed up the GOP presidential front runner, observed Grumpy Editor.

Trump is telling the truth about Muslims celebrating in New Jersey on that day, said Carmine Sabia.  “It did happen, and I saw it," he maintained, “while driving with family members through Paterson, N.J. that morning, after the planes hit. It’s not the kind of thing you forget.”

"We witnessed people in traditional Muslim garb dancing, jumping, shouting and celebrating like their team had won the Super Bowl,” added Sabia.  “I didn’t see thousands of Muslims celebrating but I absolutely saw a pocket, perhaps 100, jumping for joy at the sight of the smoke rising from where the Twin Towers used to be."

Meanwhile, a Washington Post Sept. 18, 2001 story reported:  “In Jersey City, within hours of two jetliners’ plowing into the World Trade Center, law enforcement authorities detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops while they watched the devastation on the other side of the river.”

Sabia pointed out, “The funny part of the media-made controversy is that until Trump recalled his experience on that day, these events were a commonly accepted fact by Jerseyans.”

On Sunday’s Meet the Press on NBC, Trump said he has received hundreds of tweets and calls backing up his version.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

Bloomberg News on Thursday noted China’s President Xi Jinping announced a major overhaul of his country’s military “to make the world’s largest army more combat ready and better equipped to project force beyond the country’s borders”…Authorized by Congress in 1999, a Dwight Eisenhower memorial honoring World War II’s top U.S. commander and the country’s 34th president, remained a project in waiting.  But former Kansas Senator Bob Dole, now 92, is seeking private funds in efforts to move forward with the project…Many Los Angeles Times editorial staffers’ desks will be empty this week as the newspaper offered buyouts accepted by many veterans, including two assistant managing editors, several bureau chiefs and even obituary writers…Think delivering newspapers is easy?  An 80-year-old Omaha, Neb. delivery person’s Dodge Grand Caravan was carjacked in early morning hours by two men --- one with a gun --- wearing hooded sweatshirts who forced him out of the vehicle.

 

Harris County, Ga. sheriff Mike Jolley personally paid $553 for a sign in front of his office that warns visitors that his county is “politically incorrect.”  It reads:

“We say:  Merry Christmas, God Bless America and in God We Trust.  We salute our troops and our flag. 

If this offends you…LEAVE!”

Obama’s clean air regulations smack U.S. coal industry

Today’s unveiling of President Barack Obama’s proposed environmental regulations aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s power plants will be a blow to the U.S. coal industry, a long-time source of low-cost electricity generation, notes Grumpy Editor.

Look for few media outlets to mention the president’s latest salvo at the coal industry will mean higher power bills to households and businesses.  The regulations will favor solar power, wind and other renewable energy sources.

Overlooking North Korea and Iran with their nuclear threats, Islamist extremism, the country’s swelling national debt, growing federal welfare programs and reduced U.S. military forces, Obama for months has been declaring climate change (formerly global warming) as the biggest threat facing the U.S.

Three months ago with a commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Obama envisioned climate change aggravating poverty and social tensions that can fuel instability and foster terrorist activity and other violence. 

Going back to his state of the union address to Congress in January, the president declared, "No challenge, no challenge, poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change."

 Even the Pentagon --- with its 23,000 military and civilian employees as headquarters for the U.S. Department of Defense --- is getting into a field far remote from its usual military activities in jumping into backing climate change.

A Pentagon report called “National Security Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a Changing Climate,” was released last week and sent to U.S. combat commanders around the world.  It pointed out climate change as an “urgent and growing threat to our national security.”

Meanwhile, while the Pentagon now is focused on climate change, the Army saw a 14 percent shortfall in the number of recruits so far this year as it plans to pare 40,000 soldiers from its ranks over the next few years.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

The U.S. economy expanded less than previously estimated for 2012 to 2014.  A Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed expansion averaged 2 percent each year rather than 2.3 percent as reported under a prior method of calculating gross domestic product…U.S. consumer sentiment slipped to 93.1 in July from 96.1 the previous month, reported the University of Michigan…Fed rate hike chatter quiet for a few weeks.  The Federal Reserve last week dropped hints that it is close to seeing enough improvement in the job market and economy to prompt an interest rate increase next month --- maybe…Gee, only about $3 BILLION?  While Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate, said he is worth more than $10 billion, Bloomberg calculated he is worth a mere $2.9 billion. Responded the real estate mogul:  ‘They don’t know what they’re talking about”…Where the auto jobs are.  General Motors will invest $5 billion over the next several years to develop a new line of Chevrolets via its Chinese partner…Hammering the message.  Pitching printers, Staples Inc. ran the same 30-second spot four times during a morning radio news hour, including three times within 13 minutes…More empty desks.  U.S. newsrooms last year lost 3,800 jobs, tallied the American Society of News Editors.  The job total at year end was 32,900, down about 40 per cent from a 2006 peak of  55,000...How public officials think. With 47,000 fewer weddings a year taking place in Las Vegas vs. a decade ago, rather than cut the marriage license fee to attract more “I do’s,” county commissioners voted to BOOST cost of licenses to $77 this month, up $14.

With AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV, look for a name change in the satellite TV provider.

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ABC News fumbles on ‘climate’ predictions made in 2008

 

ABC News this week is mum about way-off-base predictions the network made seven years ago on “climate change” that included New York City engulfed by water from a rising sea and gasoline going over $9 a gallon, noted Grumpy Editor

The look back at the “Good Morning America” June 12, 2008 special, uncovered by Scott Whitlock at NewsBusters, also included predictions of Miami being wiped out by a “storm of the century,” an abandoned Las Vegas and a reduction of Earth’s population.

The network, added Whitlock, “promoted the special by hyperventilating, ‘Are we living in the last century of our civilization?’”

Climate change continues much in the news.  Just last Monday, Bloomberg’s Louise Downing pointed out, “As talks aimed at slowing global warming drag on, researchers are pushing new ideas that some are calling last-ditch attempts to avert the worst effects of climate change.”

Some of the far-out proposals, she mentioned, included using charcoal to lock carbon dioxide into soil, scattering carbon-absorbing gemstones, blocking the sun’s rays with airborne particles and seeding oceans with carbon-absorbing iron.

(It should be pointed out that global average land and sea temperatures, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, were up about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit --- in 135 years.)

 

FYI, IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

“Tame” inflation starting to growl?  U.S. producer prices in May recorded their biggest increase since September, 2012, up 0.5 percent…Another late Friday development from the Obama administration, hoping it missed attention of editors:  Six Yemen Guantanamo Bay detainees were moved to Oman --- another step by President Barack Obama who has vowed to shuttter Guantanamo before he leaves office in early 2017…Tired of "recycled" coverage of the two escaped killers from an upstate New York prison?  Now in its 10^th day, media --- in many cases ---- continued to treat the search as the lead story over the weekend, focusing on areas close to the 3,000-inmate prison where the pair escaped on June 5 (although the two are probably in Mexico by now)…Editors love hurricanes/tropical storms even when they are far from U.S. shores.  So even when tropical storm Carlos was 70 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico (its position late Sunday), it still grabbed air time/newspaper space…Lester Holt, who has been filling in for Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News, reportedly was seeking an annual salary that matched Williams: $10 million…The Pentagon’s equal opportunity policy will protect gays and lesbians in uniform for the first time, said Defense Secretary Ash Carter…Linked to that, the Williams Institute, a UCLA Law School think tank that concentrates on issues regarding sexual orientation, estimated there are 15,000 transgender troops serving in the military…No media person asked why it took investigators one month to determine that the Amtrak engineer involved in the deadly May 12 derailment in Philadelphia did not use his cell phone while operating the train…Time Inc. said it plans to outsource at least 18 jobs to overseas countries…McDonald’s Corp. hired former Obama administration press secretary Robert Gibbs as global communications chief and executive vice president…Franklin Graham, son of televangelist Billy Graham, said he is moving Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s funds (which could total more than $100 million) out of Wells Fargo accounts in response to the bank’s TV spot featuring a lesbian couple…The Moberly (Mo.) Monitor-Index next month will sideline carriers of the daily newspaper, with about 4,700 subscribers, and rely on the U.S. Postal Service for delivery.  The newspaper is in the GateHouse Media family that owns 78 daily and 235 weekly newspapers in the U.S.  With the delivery change, the Monitor-Index will switch from afternoon to morning newspaper…Meanwhile, the Albuquerque Journal is phasing out coin-operated newspaper racks to focus on home delivery, in-store sales and digital subscriptions…So much for young entrepreneurs.  Two sisters, 7 and 8, in Overton, Texas, planning to raise $105 for a Father’s Day present via lemonade stand sales, were shut down by police in an hour --- after already collecting more than $25 --- because they lacked a permit.

 

How bad is the low-water situation in drought-hit California?

It's so bad that Gov. Jerry Brown bragged at a news conference that he did NOT shower that morning.

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Obama cites rising seas --- as rivers overflow in Texas

 

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.

Will on-the-way asteroid clip climate change coverage?

 

With Earth Day on Wednesday, look for much chatter on climate change/global warming, but overlooked by many (including U.S. media) is something else zooming in from beyond the atmosphere --- an asteroid which some claim is on a collision course headed for our planet, observed Grumpy Editor.

President Barack Obama on Earth Day will be on scene at southern Florida’s Everglades --- the tropical wetlands home of snapping alligators --- to amplify his Saturday radio address in which he warned, "there's no greater threat to our planet than climate change.”

Earlier this month he said climate change is a primary national threat.

Look for the president on Earth Day to again repeat those lines along with how global warming threatens the U.S. economy.

Obama, at a Washington event in early April, also linked climate change to health problems such as allergies and asthma.

Meanwhile, from outer pace, Asteroid 2012 TC4, as it was labeled, is heading our way.

The UK’s London Daily Mail carried the story late last week while U.S. print/broadcast newsrooms were focused on other matters.

Mail writer Alix Culbertson reported the asteroid is about the size of the Statue of Liberty, twice as big as the meteor that exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in February 2013, injuring 1,500 people and damaging more than 7,000 buildings.

“The impact of the larger 2012 TC4 asteroid, predicted to near Earth on October 12, 2017, could be even more devastating,” Culbertson pointed out.  “And, worryingly, experts cannot yet predict where in the world it will strike.”

 

FYI, IN  CASE YOUR FAVORITE EDITORS MISSED THESE…

Columbia University today at 3 p.m. (Eastern) will announce 99th Pulitzer Prizes winners…Worst job of 2015?  Newspaper reporter ranked at the bottom of a list of 200 jobs tallied by Carlsbad, Calif.-based CareerCast.  That profession displaced lumberjack, now at the 199^th spot.  Meanwhile, broadcaster ranked 196^th on the list while photojournalist was 195^th.  Top position:  actuary…NewsBusters caught it, pointing out that "a blaring red headline" flashed across the TV screen that read "Breaking News; NBC News Exclusive Interview With Hillary Clinton." Length of last Tuesday’s “exclusive interview” was a brief eight seconds…Despite several days of heavy coverage of Doug Hughes, the postal worker who landed his gyrocopter on U.S. Capitol grounds, media failed to note that the attention-getting, putt-putt flying machine flew to Washington from Gettysburg, Pa.  That’s 65 miles through protected air space.…Another example how taxpayer funds are spent:  The U.S. Labor Department will target $13 million to promote employment among at-risk youth, ages 14 to 17 --- in El Salvador and Honduras…Through the end of fiscal year 2014, Social Security numbers were issued to 541,000 illegals authorized to work under the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy…Cheers to Torrance, Calif.-based Daily Breeze reporters Rob Kuznia and Rebecca Kimitch plus project editor Frank Suraci in winning the prestigious National Headliner Award for Investigative Journalism for exposing a school district superintendent’s excessive salary with  unusual perks along with other serious issues within the district…Good PR with readers:  The Des Moines Register provides tours of its downtown offices, showing how staffers work.

Tough going in the field: 

A reporting team from Seattle TV station KIRO, covering a massive bee spill from an overturned semi truck, were stung numerous times.

Which shakes up folks most: global warming or asteroid?

 

As another blizzard smacks the freezing Northeast today after dumping up to a foot of snow in the Midwest, Grumpy Editor reminds that while the focus of many  --- from Al Gore to the White House --- continues to be on global warming (climate change), overlooked by most media is last week’s mountainous asteroid that made what was considered a close pass to Earth. 

Asteroid BL86 (so labeled by sky watchers), about five football fields wide, zoomed within 745,000 miles of Earth at 35,000 m.p.h. last Monday. 

What most folks forget is that a key theory holds that an asteroid killed the dinosaurs.

“The dinosaurs probably broiled to death” following impact of an asteroid --- probably seven or eight miles wide --- that ejected a dust plume that spread around Earth and ignited forests, says Jay Melosh, a planetary physicist at Purdue University, in a story on meteorites in the February issue of Popular Science magazine.

(A meteorite is a solid piece of space rock or iron that originally was an asteroid or a comet.)

Popular Science points out if a collision (a meteorite impact on Earth) exceeds 100,000 million tons, it means “a catastrophe larger than any in human history,” adding, “a meteorite a mile in diameter might send enough pulverized rock into the stratosphere to block out sunlight and cause global cooling.”

Meanwhile, among global warming alarms over the past few days:

Less ice triggers volcanoes.  Melting of Icelandic ice caps causes decreased pressure on underlying rocks, thus increasing the chance of volcanic activity, finds a new study.

Aspen’s climate could be a lot like that of Amarillo by 2100.  So warns Gina McCarthy, Environmental Protection Agency administrator who was in the Colorado city last month.

Noting this, The Weekly Standard calculates:  “For the climate of Aspen to resemble that of Amarillo, a temperature swing of 15 degrees and a 13-foot drop in annual snowfall would need to take place over the next 85 years.  Even the most catastrophic models of global temperature change in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change do not predict a temperature increase of 15 degrees.”     

 

FYI, IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE EDITORS MISSED THESE…

Editorial-advertising partition drops.  Condé Nast, which publishes Vogue, Vanity Fair, Golf and Wired, among others, says its editors would be available through 23 Stories, its new advertising arm, to consult with advertisers and help them create articles and images…Marking India’s Republic Day in New Delhi last week, President Barack Obama refers to himself 118 times in a 33-minute speech, tallies Paula Bolyard at PJ Media…California’s new regulation calling for larger room for egg-laying chickens results in average price for a dozen jumbo eggs jumping to $3.16 from $1.18 a year ago…Among pitching tactics at the Feb. 10 PRNews Writing Workshop:  When writing news releases, “think like the journalist and bloggers you are pitching”--- which may be difficult for some who do not have newsroom experience…Breaking news:  CBS News anchor Scott Pelley, in interviewing House Speaker John Boehner, asks: “Do you practice that scowl?”…With an eye on cutting costs, Sears Holdings lays off 115 corporate workers, including 100 at its headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Ill…The Washington Times reports 1,000 of the 36,000 illegal immigrant criminals the government released in 2013 have gone on to commit other crimes.

Good idea.  The Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald, a Gannett publication, through public meetings is seeking area residents’ input for “something that needs investigation, a story worth telling” or sharing insight on the state of the community.  Nora Hertel, watchdog reporter, is searching for problems and solutions.

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