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Planetary waves linked to wild summer weather have tripled since 1950

Climate change has tripled the frequency of atmospheric wave events linked to extreme summer weather in the last 75 years and that may explain why long-range computer forecasts keep underestimating the surge in killer heat waves, droughts and floods, a new study says.

In the 1950s, Earth averaged about one extreme weather-inducing planetary wave event a summer, but now it is getting about three per summer, according to a study in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Planetary waves are connected to 2021's deadly and unprecedented Pacific Northwest heat wave, the 2010 Russian heatwave and Pakistan flooding and the 2003 killer European heatwave, the study said.

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Flash flood death toll climbs to 6 in West Virginia

The death toll from weekend flooding in West Virginia rose to six as residents tried to clean up with the threat of more rain on the way.

At least two people remained missing in the state's northern panhandle after torrential downpours Saturday night, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Monday. As much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of Wheeling and Ohio County within 40 minutes. The dead included a 3-year-old child.

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Fast-moving brush fire on Hawaii's Maui island evacuates about 50 people

A fast-moving Hawaii brush fire fueled by fierce winds forced the evacuation of about 50 Maui residents on the opposite side of the same island where a devastating blaze killed over 100 people two years ago.

The fire started Sunday in a sparsely populated area with land set aside for Native Hawaiians.

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Swiss village evacuated over threat of rockslide

Swiss authorities cleared a village in the country's east over a potential rockslide, three weeks after a mudslide submerged a vacated village in the southwest.

Residents of Brienz/Brinzauls, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Davos, were being barred from entering the village because a rock mass on a plateau overhead has "accelerated so rapidly that it threatens to collapse," a statement from local officials said Monday.

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Trump at moment of choosing as Israel looks for more US help

President Donald Trump in about eight hours went from suggesting a nuclear deal with Iran remained "achievable" to urging Tehran's 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his visit to an international summit to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team.

Trump arrived at the White House early Tuesday at a moment of choosing in his presidency. Israel, with five days of missile strikes, has done considerable damage to Iran and believes it can now deal a permanent blow to Tehran's nuclear program — particularly if it gets a little more help from the Republican president.

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US stocks edge lower as oil prices return to rising

U.S. stocks are slipping on Tuesday following signals that one of the U.S. economy's main engines, spending by households, is weakening while Israel's conflict with Iran may be worsening.

The S&P 500 was 0.4% lower in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 129 points, or 0.3%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% lower.

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How Israel used spies, smuggled drones and AI to stun and hobble Iran

Israel stunned and hobbled Iran last week when it pulled off an intelligence and military operation years in the making that struck high-level targets with precision.

Guided by spies and artificial intelligence, the Israeli military unleashed a nighttime fusillade of warplanes and armed drones smuggled into Iran to quickly incapacitate many of its air defenses and missile systems. With greater freedom to fly over Iran, Israel bombarded key nuclear sites and killed top generals and scientists. By the time Iran mustered a response hours later, its ability to retaliate — already weakened by past Israeli strikes — was greatly diminished.

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Expert says Israel can still target Hezbollah 'no matter how weak'

Iran has few viable options for striking back at Israel, largely because its key regional proxy Hezbollah has been "decapitated," according to Fabian Hinz of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a London-based think tank focusing on defense and security issues.

The Houthi rebels in Yemen, another of Iran’s allies, depend on long-range Iranian missiles but supplies are limited, Hinz said.

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Airports close across Mideast as Israel-Iran conflict shutters airspace

After Israeli strikes landed near the hotel where he was staying in the Iranian province of Qom, Aimal Hussein desperately wanted to return home. But the 55-year-old Afghan businessman couldn't find a way, with Iranian airspace completely shut down.

He fled to Tehran after the strike Sunday, but no taxi would take him to the border as the conflict between Iran and Israel intensified.

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Lebanese leaders urge Hezbollah to stay out of Israel-Iran conflict

Lebanon's president and prime minister have said that their country must stay out of the conflict between Israel and Iran because any engagement would be detrimental to the small nation engulfed in an economic crisis and struggling to recover from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

Their remarks Monday amounted to a message to Hezbollah — an ally of both Iran and Hamas — to stay out of the fray.

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