David Knowles

@writerknowles.bsky.social

Deputy Opinion Page editor for @sfchronicle.com. https://www.amazon.com/Remembering-Remember-World-Trade-Center-ebook/dp/B09B8PTPHC

Earth is now warming faster than at any point in recorded geological history - around 10 times faster than the extreme warming event 56 million years ago and 20 times faster than at the end of the last ice age. We are almost certainly in a new extinction event.

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A dangerous wind shift (visible on radar imagery) has just occurred in #Spokane, WA, where major wildfire disaster is currently unfolding. Three separate major fires (circled) near or within city limits have already caused major structure loss & chaotic, expanding evacs. #WAwx

Quick Newsflash: 🇭🇺 Hungary’s grid has collapsed because low water on the Danube has shut down the nuclear ☢️ factory 🇬🇷 Meanwhile Greece loses 5th firefighter this week battling apocalyptic blazes 🔥 The collapse of industrial civilisation won’t be televised. Welcome to the blackout 🫥

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I worked for New York’s largest medical center at the start of the pandemic. There were morgue trucks on the streets. They set up emergency medical tents in Central Park. Healthcare worker colleagues died. It is horrific that RFK Jr is on national TV lying that ICUs were empty.

Unfortunately, it is likely that smoke from the fires in Washington and Oregon get pulled westward over the Pacific Ocean, down the coast and toward the Bay Area by Wednesday. Other parts of Northern California, like Tahoe, could get smoke as early as Tuesday.

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Evangelist Whitney Lynn uses most of her flights as an opportunity to share her faith. This week, her sermon got her kicked off a flight and clips of her removal racked up millions of views on social media. She called the situation “spiritual warfare.”

Preflight sermon gets plane preacher kicked off Alaska Airlines flight

Florida evangelist Whitney Lynn shared clips of her removal on social media and racked up millions of views.

washingtonpost.com

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 1,500 people in just over two months, and it is spreading much faster than previous outbreaks, the nation’s health ministry reported on Thursday.

Ebola Outbreak Is Now the Second-Deadliest Ever, and in Record Time

The disease has killed more than 1,500 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in just over two months, causing deaths faster than officials have ever recorded.

nyti.ms

Bordeaux, France, has now recorded more days above 40°C in 2026 alone than during the entire 105-year period from 1920 (when observations began) to 2025. This is deeply shocking.

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B.C. air quality is getting worse, and wildfire smoke is a leading reason. A new report by the B.C. Lung Foundation highlights that particulate matter from wildfires contributes to the premature deaths of about 1,900 people in the province every year. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

All that wildfire smoke is making B.C.'s air quality worse, report finds | CBC News

The B.C. Lung Foundation's annual State of the Air report has found that wildfires are now the leading cause of fine particulate matter pollution in the province.

cbc.ca

A long-duration heat wave will hit California in early August, just as the state enters what is historically the peak of its fire season. Rapid drying will make vegetation more flammable than any point so far this year, with near-record levels of energy available for any fire that does break out.

California has dodged a bad wildfire season so far. That could change soon

An impending heat wave, the worst of the year, will dry out vegetation and send California’s fire risk dramatically upward.

sfchronicle.com

Federal officials, apparently acting without a warrant, tracked former FBI Director James Comey from North Carolina to Virginia after he posted photos of seashells spelling out “86 47” last year, Comey’s attorneys allege. https://cnn.it/4fuyveY

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