Before those miracles, a few newsworthy items: At 1:25PM Hawaii time, 83 miles southeast of Kamchaka, at a depth of 46 miles, the  sixth largest earthquake of magnitude 8.8 shook Russia , alarming  those living along any Pacific coastline about an incoming tsunami. Did you know that a tsunami moves at about the speed of a commercial passenger plane?  I used this coincidence in drafting a novel currently titled  6 Hours to Alaska , about a mega tsunami heading for that state from Hawaii. As best as I can determine, Hawaii, more specifically, Kahului Harbor on Maui, experienced about the highest far shore wave, of 5.7 feet, not 10 feet.  However, no damage to that island, or entire state, and, apparently, no deaths from this traumatic event, even in Russia, which experienced a 16-foot wave. The Trump tariffs become real on Friday, August 1, unless he changes his mind.  Details?   Click here . Of course, the  feud between Trump and Stephen Colbe...

  The largest meteor shower of this year is occurring now.  Above is an extraordinary  photo of the Perseid meteor shower on 12August2021 by Josh Drur y ( right ) over Stonehenge.  You also see our Milky Way.  The Perseids, associated with the Swift-Tuttle comet, started Monday morning and will continue for up to five nights.  The best time to watch is near dawn before there is any kind of sunlight.   However, the best night was the first one, partly because of Moon conditions.  From all indications, not worth a bother watching the Perseids anymore this year. These flaming particles burn up by the time they get as close as 50 miles from the Earth's surface. Note that this comet has a 133-year orbit, and what you see is the leftover particles from previous visits. John Denver's song  Rocky Mountain High  makes reference to this shower. Almost all meteor showers are associated with a passing comet or asteroid, and some are named after...