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The 12 Thai soccer players and their coach who have been trapped in a cave in northern Thailand for more than two weeks have all been rescued.
The diving rescue team was comprised of 13 foreign divers and five members of the Thai Navy SEALs, according to Reuters.
[Thanks to the member of the Thai Seals who died during the rescue.]
https://www.vox.com/2018/7/10/17548950/thai-cave-rescue-soccer-boys-diving-scuba


Tropical Storm Chris could cause life-threatening surf on East Coast beaches
http://abc7ny.com/weather/tropical-storm-chris-could-create-dangerous-beach-conditions/3730797/


Utah homeowners turn to goats to prevent wildfires
Cover's pack of goats and sheep munch on undergrowth and vegetation that can provide fuel for wildfires. The animals chew through grass and dense vegetation on hard-to-reach hillsides and difficult terrain.
But they leave the roots intact, preventing damaging erosion. The animals can also easily climb steep slopes that would challenge lawnmowers and other mechanical equipment.
http://www.hastingstribune.com/utah-homeowners-turn-to-goats-to-prevent-wildfires/article_f30d0202-5ad3-58b5-b4f4-c682844c805c.html


Americans need to know the EPA administrator has their back if they're going to believe the agency when a Superfund site is declared clean or a regulation is deemed burdensome.
Unfortunately, there can be little doubt that Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, will take up the same agenda as Pruitt.
If Trump really wants to keep Americans from breathing polluted air, and restore trust in the EPA, he should nominate someone to lead the nation's preeminent environmental steward --  someone who has a proven record of protecting the public from pollution, not protecting polluters from the public.
Otherwise, what did "drain the swamp" ever really mean?
https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2018/07/gov_whitman_a_warning_pruitts_replacement_could_be.html


The Trump administration announced Saturday that it will temporarily halt billions of dollars in payments under the Affordable Care Act's risk adjustment program, a move that could shake up insurance markets.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that oversees the program, cited a recent federal court decision that found the formula for calculating the risk adjustment payments to be flawed. In a March 2018 ruling out of New Mexico, US District Court Judge Thomas Browning that the methodology used by the federal government was "arbitrary and capricious" and remanded it back to the agency, according to Lexis Legal News.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/07/politics/wsj-aca-risk-adjustment/index.html


Research published Thursday ended the long running debate if spiders can use the silk they weave as a parachute to fly through the wind or if flight is powered by static electricity reacting with silk.
They use both.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/07/06/electricity-accounts-spiders-ability-fly-research-shows/762568002/


Since 1970, the annual average number of wildfires larger than 1,000 acres has more than doubled in the western U.S. The typical wildfire season has also stretched by about two and a half months longer over that time. The main cause has been rising temperatures that have led to earlier snowmelt in the western U.S., which has led to drier conditions. These factors are helping drive an increase in the total area burned. Projections indicate that for every 1.8°F further rise in temperature — and the western U.S. could see average temperatures rise by up to 9°F by 2100 — there could be a quadrupling in the area burned each year in the western U.S.
http://wxshift.com/climate-change/climate-indicators/us-wildfires


At least 100 people are thought to have died after record rainfall caused flooding and landslides in western Japan, a government spokesman says.
Dozens more are reported to be missing and electricity supplies have been hit.
Since Thursday, parts of western Japan have received three times the usual rainfall for the whole of July. Two million people have been ordered to evacuate as rivers burst their banks.
"We've never experienced this kind of rain before," a weather official said.
[Global warming has caused an increase in moisture in the air, leading to heavier precipitation. Also, weather systems are tending to move more slowly, more likely to stall.]
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44762110


Donald Trump’s former driver sues over unpaid wages
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/09/trump-driver-sues-unpaid-wages-noel-cintron


A mysterious surge in emissions of an illegal ozone-destroying chemical has been tracked down to plastic foam manufacturers in China, according to an on-the-ground investigation published on Monday.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/09/mysterious-source-of-illegal-ozone-killing-emissions-revealed-say-investigators


How Donald Trump Shifted Kids-Cancer Charity Money Into His Business
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2017/06/06/how-donald-trump-shifted-kids-cancer-charity-money-into-his-business/#53ad42f6b4a3


45 years after 11-year-old girl's unsolved murder, police release new sketches of suspected killer
https://abcnews.go.com/US/45-years-11-year-girls-unsolved-murder-police/story?id=56455322


Parents who had severe trauma, stresses in childhood more likely to have kids with behavioral health problems
[No surprise]
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-07-parents-severe-trauma-stresses-childhood.html


US opposition to breastfeeding reportedly stuns world health officials
The U.S. government reportedly threatened Ecuador with trade sanctions if it didn’t water down a resolution drafted to promote breastfeeding around the world.
Ultimately, the Russian delegation stepped in to adopt and sponsor the measure, forcing the American representatives to back down.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/09/us-opposition-to-breastfeeding-reportedly-stuns-world-health-officials.html