Storms Flood Houston

A cold front met with warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico to produce heavy storms across many southern states. Texas was hit hard with southwest Houston flooding, highways turned into rivers. The severe storms covered areas from Houston to Tennessee and even Mississippi.
Houston's fire department reported over 100 water rescues the picture below is one of the roads in Houston after the rains hit

Many people were tweeting out their own pictures of the floods from where they were to the weather channels website. No deaths have been reported from the rising waters, only rescues.

Weather Channel Website
NBC News Article

Plane Crash in Bali

On the morning of Saturday April 13th a Lions Air jet crashed into the Bali sea after miscalculating where the runway by approximately 50 meters. The cloudy weather did not help the landing process but an official statement of the cause of the crash has not been released. Thankfully all 101 passengers and 7 crew members were able to make it out of the plane alive but many suffered injuries. The article in the Charlotte Observer said that 45 people were taken to various hospitals and treated for non-life-threatening injuries and shock.
Charlotte Observer Article

President Obama's State of the Union Address

In President Obama's address he went over a number of topics. The first topic was budget cuts, he said "we can't cut our way to prosperity" then lead right into his plan for growing our economy, saying we need to ask three questions how are we going to attract more jobs to American soil, how will we equip the people to do these jobs and how we will make sure hard labor leads to a decent living? The answer he alluded to is to invest in the best products not stopping all of our investments but to make sure America at the top of the manufacturing world.
He also talked about the education of children. He said that we need to make sure each child has the opportunity to begin school in preschool or else they will start behind and lead difficulties in their career search later in life. He also proposed that we redesign high schools to be the launching pad for the job world, equipping the graduates for jobs right out after they finish.

Fireworks Fuel Air Pollution

In Beijing the celebration of the Lunar New Year showed a diminished display of colorful lights in the sky. The government warned that the smoke would heighten the already dangerous levels of air pollution as the smoggy days in January have doubled from last year. The fireworks that were set off reached their climax at midnight but after that they dwindled as day came. Normally the celebrations carry on well into the daylight hours. The firework sales were down 37% from last year with 260,000 cartons compared to 410,000 cartons.
Charlotte Observer Article

Lights Out

The lights in France will soon grow much dimmer. In July of this year, according to a law from the government  all stores and businesses must turn off their lights at night to save energy. France is well known for all of their shining light displays among tourists a question follows this decree will those tourist spots have to be turned off? The Eiffel Tower will remain lit and exceptions will be made for Christmas lights. Not only will the extinguishing of night lights help conserve energy but it will preserve to an extant the life of the nocturnal animals. Electric lights can effect sleep and migration patterns so dimming diminishes confusion of animals. Store lights will have to be completely shut off after the last worker leaves for the night and all window display and store front lights will have to be turned off by 1 a.m.
NY Times Article

1 Crocodile, 2 Crocodiles... 15,000 Crocodiles!

Associated Press Photo

     Relentless rain storms have left many places in and around South Africa battling flood waters. However the rising water is not the only problem locals have had to deal with around the Limpopo River. A reptile farm in the area began to fear of their walls giving way during the flooding. So they opened their gates allowing 15,000 crocodiles to run free and inhabit the Limpopo River which previously had not had many crocodiles. Zane Langman, a relative of the farm owner, has stated that many have been captured, mostly at night since their eyes uniquely glare red when light shines on them. He said they will need to rely heavily on farmers to contact them whenever a crocodile is spotted. One crocodile was captured on a school rugby field 75 miles from the reptile farm. They can cover a large amount of area very quickly.

New York Times Article

Animals on the Ark

A recent article in the Charlotte Observer told the story of Dutchman Johan Huibers and his 20-year task of building a life size replica of Noah's Ark. The author of this article Toby Sterling states:

Translating to modern measurements, Huibers came up with a vessel that works out to a whopping 427 feet long, 95 feet across and 75 feet high. Perhaps not big enough to fit every species on Earth, two by two, as a described in the Bible, but plenty of space, for instance, for a pair of elephants to dance a tango.

 Mr. Sterling's opinions on the number of animals able to fit in the ark is something that is commonly encountered in Genesis studies. Many who have looked at the 1.2 million cataloged species of animals on earth and estimation of millions yet to be cataloged have thought it impossible for two of every species to fit onto the ark. However in Genesis 6:19-21 it talks about how God told Noah what he needed to do regarding the land animals. Verse 19 says, "And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark..." An article on the Answers in Genesis website discusses that the word "sort" or "kind" refers to a representative from each animal group and not specifically each species. They also remind people that, "Within each kind, God placed enormous genetic potential, with all the diversity necessary to repopulate the earth."
Toby Sterling's Article - Charlotte Observer
Genesis 6:19-21 NKJV
Answers in Genesis Article
Answers in Genesis - Ken Ham's Blog

Turtle Troubles

A group of  turtles have been evacuated from the cold Cape Cod Bay waters.  Because of the unusually warm temperatures last month the turtles did not exit the waters and became trapped once the temperature dropped rapidly, the turtles then suffered hypothermia and had to be rescued from the Bay. The New England Aquarium stated that this year has been a record for the number of endangered turtles rescued. This has become a reoccurring problem and special rescue teams have been set up specifically during this time to help the turtles and then return them to the Bay when the waters warm once again.
Charlotte Observer Article

"David's Sling" Has Come a Long Way!

Israel successfully completed testing on their new missile defense system called the "David's Sling" system. This was just one building block in their greater plan of missile defense for the future. It passed the first test in shooting down one of the missiles in the trial run. The system is able to stop a missile up to 180 miles away. Along with this new system Israel also has deployed the Arrow System which is intended for protection from long-range threats from Iran. This Iron Dome of Israels has proven itself successful in shooting down hundreds of rockets during this months fighting with the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
Charlotte Observer Article

The Presidential Election

On November 6th, election day, many sat on the edge of their seats watching the television waiting to find out who would be the president of the United States for the next four years. The numbers had been going back and forth between President Obama and Mitt Romney but it ended with Obama taking and holding onto the lead to become president for his second term. Even without Florida's votes all tallied up until yesterday it was still clear that President Obama had won. The majority of Florida's votes came in November 10th, excluding some overseas/military ballots, and it showed that they had gone to Obama. He won eight of the nine swing states losing only North Carolina.

Charlotte Observer Article

Sandy's Surge and Another Storm

Superstorm Sandy swept through New York and New Jersey on Monday October 29th. Her waters flooding streets, her winds fueling fires and her combination with a nor'easter sending snow. The hurricane was technically reduced to a tropical storm by the time it went through New York but with the perfect conditions the damage was not reduced.

                                     Sandy flooded New York Subways with salt water and debris.

Thousands of people continue to be without power and this is not good news for the ones remaining with their dark and heatless homes. Another storm is heading up the East Coast this one bringing mostly wind and rain with a potential for snow in areas. Not nearly as big as Sandy's meeting with the nor'easter on Monday and Tuesday which dumped more than two feet of snow in some places like Redhouse Maryland with 28 inches. But this cold weather is going to continue with wind and rain.

Another Storm Coming
NY Times Article
NY Times Article on Subway
Washington Post Article

Counting Down to Election Day

With just nine days left until Election Day Mitt Romney and President Obama are reaching out to as many people as they can. Each team is contemplating what could take place in these last days. The Obama team is afraid that people will begin to lose faith and switch their support to "try something new in Washington" while the Romney team is thinking their campaign might have "peaked too soon" and failed to build upon the campaign.

With President Obama in the lead in solid electoral votes all eyes are turning towards the seven "tossup" states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. Florida would be critical for Romney to win to have a chance at presidency otherwise he would need to have a total sweep of seven other states plus Ohio and Nevada. President Obama's headquarters stated that they believed he would have a 50% chance of winning Florida. Some also believe the power will fall to Colorado as the deciding state. 

New York Times Article

Bridge Collapse

On Saturday afternoon construction crews were working on the Mulholland Drive Bridge over the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, California to add a new carpool lane. They hit some trouble when one of the support columns collapsed, with a section of the bridge crashing to the ground. No one was hurt in the incident and after surveying the damage the crews got right back to work and the roads started reopening on Sunday evening, earlier than expected.

Charlotte Observer Article
NBC News Article

The Endeavour

A picture of the space shuttle from NASA's images

On Friday September 21, the space shuttle the Endeavor landed in Los Angeles California after soaring over the State Capital, the Golden Gate bridge and other California landmarks on top of a 747. The Endeavour made its first of 25 missions in 1992. It's final trip into space was in 2011.
The Endeavour will remain at the airport as plans for the final leg of its journey are made. It will be maneuvered  through the streets of Los Angeles to its final destination at the California Science Center.
Article from the Charlotte Observer
Article from the New York Times

Gathering to Pledge

On Sunday September 9th in North Carolina many people congregated at First Baptist Church Charlotte. They gathered as a community along with thousands of others across the nation who joined in the simulcast. iPledge Sunday was hosted by Tony Perkins who is the president of the Family Research Council in Washington DC. On the iPledge website it stated what the purpose of this service was. "The goal is to mobilize Christians across our land to pledge to:"

• Pray for the upcoming election
• Prepare by registering themselves and others
• Participate by voting November 6.

A strong message was delivered through speakers like Tony Perkins, Dr. Mark Harris, Sen. Rick Santorum, and actor/producer Kirk Cameron. It was a message to call Christians to stand together, to stand for truth, to stand for faith, family, and freedom. Tony Perkins asked the question, "Will we do our part to influence America?" Kirk Cameron talked about what our nation will be like for the next generation of Americans. He talked about how the biggest problem for Americans was forgetting, forgetting those who came before us.
Being a community centered service, Boy Scouts from Troop 94 were asked to help lead the congregation in The Pledge of Alligence of the United States of America.
Photograph from the Charlotte Observer of Boy Scouts leading in Pledge of Allegiance My brother is the second Boy Scout from the left!
Link to iPledge Website with all of their resources. This includes the full recording of the event.