Situation Report

A B-6K strategic bomber aircraft of the Chinese Air Force is seen before the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

CLICK HERE - U.S. - Defense Intelligence Agency - Statement for the Record: Worldwide Threat Assessment - March 6, 2018

reuters.com - by Idrees Ali - August 16, 2018

China’s military has expanded its bomber operations in recent years while “likely training for strikes” against the United States and its allies, a Pentagon report released on Thursday said.

The assessment, which comes at a time of heightened U.S.-China tensions over trade, was contained in an annual report that highlighted China’s efforts to increase its global influence, with defense spending that the Pentagon estimates exceeded $190 billion in 2017.

A helicopter drops water to a brush fire at the Holy Fire in Lake Elsinore, California, on Saturday. Photograph: Ringo Chiu/AFP/Getty Images

The fires have scorched states from Washington to New Mexico, with California among the hardest hit

theguardian.com - August 12, 2018

Six large new wildfires erupted in the United States, pushing the number of major active blazes nationwide to over 100, with more expected to break out sparked by lightning strikes on bone-dry terrain, authorities said on Saturday.

More than 30,000 personnel, including firefighters from across the United States and nearly 140 from Australia and New Zealand, were battling the blazes that have consumed more than 1.6m acres (648,000 hectares), according to the National Interagency Coordination Center . . .

 . . . The fires have scorched states from Washington to New Mexico, with California among the hardest hit.

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miamiherald.com - by Alex Harris - July 24, 2018

The letter might have already come in the mail. “Your building is at high risk for flooding,” it declares in bold. There are ominous charts warning that if you don’t take action, your flood insurance premium could rise up to 18 percent each year.

The bottom line: your flood insurance premium is going up again — and under a policy change the Federal Emergency Management Agency is considering, it could skyrocket even more in coming years.

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ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLES WITHIN THE LINKS BELOW . . .

CLICK HERE - Risk Rating and Policy Forms Redesign (15 page .PDF document)

CLICK HERE - Federal Flood Insurance Average Premium to Rise 8%

CLICK HERE - FEMA - Flood Insurance Reform - Rates and Refunds

People take part in protests ahead of a G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 2, 2017. Placard reads "Global Warming is NOT a Myth". REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo

CLICK HERE - STUDY - PNAS - Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene

reuters - by Nina Chestney - August 6, 2018

The world is at risk of entering “hothouse” conditions where global average temperatures will be 4-5 degrees Celsius higher even if emissions reduction targets under a global climate deal are met, scientists said in a study published on Monday . . .

 . . . Around 200 countries agreed in 2015 to limit temperature rise to “well below” 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels, a threshold believed to be a tipping point for the climate.

However, it is not clear whether the world’s climate can be safely “parked” near 2C above pre-industrial levels or whether this might trigger other processes which drive further warming even if the world stops emitting greenhouse gases, the research said . . .