Dez Bryant indicates he is open to playing for Browns
The Cleveland Browns traded wide receiver Corey Coleman to the Buffalo Bills this week, and some have wondered if the move was made to create room for Dez Bryant. If his social media activity is any indication, Bryant might be hoping that is the case.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported on Monday that the Browns have interest in Bryant but are in a “holding pattern” as the former Dallas Cowboys wideout decides whether or not he wants to visit with the team. ESPN’s Josina Anderson had a similar report on Tuesday, noting that the Browns are skeptical that Bryant would sign with them.
However, a comment Bryant made on Instagram Monday night appeared to indicate he has interest in joining the Browns. When one of his fan pages shared a photoshopped image of Bryant in a Cleveland uniform, he commented, “I don’t look bad in that browns uniform.”
Bryant is said to be seeking a specific type of contract, and the Browns still have plenty of salary cap space. They also already have a loaded wide receiver group led by Josh Gordon and Jarvis Landry, so Bryant could conceivably have a big year in Cleveland if he faced a lot of single coverage. If contending for a championship in 2018 is a priority for him, the Browns don’t really make sense. That said, it doesn’t seem like Bryant has a ton of options at this point.
Sargassum: The seaweed deluge hitting Caribbean shores
When waves of sargassum - a type of seaweed - washed up on Eastern Caribbean shores seven years ago, people hoped it was a one-off. Matted piles swamped coastlines from Tobago to Anguilla.Three years later the seaweed returned, in larger quantities.
Now it is happening again and everything suggests 2018 could be the worst year yet."On satellite images the quantity that's being picked up is greater than ever before," says Prof Oxenford, who is based in Barbados.
"Certainly we've had it for longer and in huge amounts. And some of the islands are getting it for the first time."
Caribbean governments are acknowledging that the seaweed, which impacts on tourism, fisheries and wildlife, could pose a long-term threat."The same way we prepare for hurricanes, we have to prepare for sargassum," Antigua's environment minister said recently.
On shore, as well as blocking beaches and repelling swimmers, the sargassum stinks as it decomposes.
Removal is time-consuming, expensive and can damage the beaches. Incoming rafts smother sea grasses and coral reefs, while fishermen struggle to get in the water."The sargassum tangles up their motors, their engines, their nets, their lines," says Ms Monnereau.Then there is tourism. In one extreme case, a resort in Antigua was forced to close its doors until 30 September.
"The issue is that we never know what it's going to be like - we can have a week or two weeks where it's very clear and then all of a sudden overnight it washes in," says Larry Basham of Elite Island Resorts, which runs St James's Club.
"We've spent an ungodly amount of money on tractors, heavy equipment, we've tried a number of different barrier systems on the water, none of which has worked well. The sargassum is mostly affecting southern and eastern coasts and in the Eastern Caribbean, many of the main tourist beaches face west.
The reason southern and eastern shores are worst hit lies in the seaweed's source. In 2011 people initially assumed the Caribbean influx had, for some reason, drifted from its traditional home in the Sargasso Sea.But now research indicates the sargassum is from a new source - an oval band stretching from the Brazilian coast to West Africa.
James Franks, of the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory says the sargassum circulates through this band, consolidates off Brazil and then is periodically released northwards by currents into the Caribbean.
But he says it is not yet clear what has caused this huge new bloom.
One major question is how long the phenomenon will continue.Satellite images from the University of South Florida's (USF) Optical Oceanography Laboratory currently show historically high monthly levels of sargassum in the region.
"It is likely this bloom will occur until September this year," says Dr Mengqiu Wang of USF.But it is not clear what will happen next year, or the year after. Mr Franks says prediction strategies will be very important in planning for influxes but they are in "the elementary stage of development at this point".
Lombok earthquake death toll rises to 105 amid search for survivors
At least 105 people are dead after an earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Lombok over the weekend.
Another 236 people have been injured in the quake, according to the government's disaster management spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, who told the Antara News Agency that the casualty numbers could rise as the search continued for survivors.
More than 20,000 people have been displaced since the 6.9-magnitude quake struck Lombok, a popular tourist destination, on Sunday night.
Most of those killed were struck by falling debris from collapsed buildings, according to Nugroho. Among the many buildings destroyed on Lombok were two homes which housed around 80 underprivileged children.
The roads in the jungle leading to northern Lombok were treacherous and badly damaged in the quake, which is likely to hamper aid efforts, said Endri Susanto, who runs a nongovernmental organization assisting with relief efforts.
The earthquake was also felt in neighboring Bali, another popular tourist spot. More than 100 aftershocks rattled the region after the main quake.
Sturgeon to challenge May over Brexit 'plan B'
Prime Minister Theresa May is to face questions about her Brexit plans from Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during a visit to Edinburgh.
Mrs May is in Scotland to mark the signing of a "city deal" investment package for the south east region.
She will also take in the Edinburgh festival before talks with Ms Sturgeon. The first minister has challenged Mrs May to set out her "plan B" if she is unable to sell her preferred Brexit plans to European leaders.
Mrs May said she was aiming to "create more good jobs and spread economic prosperity across the country" as the UK leaves the EU.
The trip is the prime minister's first domestic appearance since she cut short her summer walking holiday for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
She has also spoken to the EU's chief negotiator Jean-Claude Juncker in a bid to win him over to the vision of Brexit she agreed with her ministers at Chequers in July.
And while in Edinburgh she will come under pressure from Ms Sturgeon to set out more details of what the UK's future relationship with the EU might look like after it leaves in March 2019.
The Scottish and UK governments have long been at odds over Brexit, having failed to come to an agreement over the future of devolved powers which saw MSPs refuse to give their backing to the EU Withdrawal Bill.
The unapproved antidepressant that's poisoning people
From 2014 through 2017, there was an increase in US poison control calls related to the intentional abuse and misuse of tianeptine, an unapproved antidepressant drug, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report on Thursday.
Tianeptine, marketed as Coaxil or Stablon, is used as a prescription antidepressant in Europe, Asia and Latin America. In the US, it can be purchased on the Internet, even though the US Food and Drug Administration has not approved its use.
There have been reports that recreational abuse might result in severe side effects including vomiting, confusion, coma and kidney failure. The drug can be lethal in rare cases.
"Deaths associated with misuse of tianeptine have been reported outside the United States," CDC researchers wrote in the new report. They added that two recent deaths attributed to "tianeptine toxicity" occurred in the US after the drug was purchased online.
California fire explodes in size, is now largest in state history
Catastrophic wildfires continue to ravage California, as one blaze nearly doubled in size over the last three days, making it the largest in the state's history.
No one has been injured in the Mendocino Complex Fire, which consists of two fires -- the Ranch Fire and the River Fire -- burning around Clear Lake, in several counties in Northern California.
Combined, they form the biggest blaze that California firefighters are currently battling. Altogether, the Mendocino Complex Fire has burned 283,800 acres -- growing about 80% since Friday night. As of Monday evening, it was 30% contained and had destroyed 75 residences.
The Mendocino Complex Fire has now surpassed last year's Thomas Fire, which burned 281,893 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, as the largest fire in Cal Fire history.
Exhausted firefighters across the state are trying to contain 16 major fires that are burning in hot, dry and windy conditions.
On Monday, another fast-moving fire ignited in the state -- this time in Orange County, where firefighters battled the Holy Fire that expanded to more than 4,000 acres. That fire started in the Cleveland National Forest and evacuations in the nearby areas have been ordered, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
Trump warns countries against doing business with Iran as sanctions kick back in
President Donald Trump has warned that countries doing business with Iran will "NOT be doing business with the United States" as his administration reimposed sanctions on Iran Tuesday.
In an early morning tweet, Trump described the measures as "the most biting sanctions ever" and warned they would "ratchet up to yet another level" in November, when US sanctions on Iranian oil will be reimposed."I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less!" Trump added.
Trump's warning appeared to be aimed at the European Union, which is attempting to protect European businesses trading in Iran from facing US sanctions. US sanctions are being unilaterally reimposed on Iran in waves following Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal earlier this year.
The deal, officially titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, is a landmark agreement to restrict Iran's nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions.
Orchestrated by the Obama administration, it was signed by Iran, some European countries, China and Russia in 2015. Trump has long been a fierce critic of the deal, calling it "insane" and maintaining that, even with the current restrictions in place, Iran continues to pose a threat to the US.
In May, the US pulled out of the deal, with the first round of sanctions reimposed on Tuesday. They affect, among other things, the purchase or acquisition of US dollars by the Iranian government, the country's auto industry and trade in gold or precious metals.
Facebook denies seeking users' bank data
Facebook has denied reports that it is actively asking banks for details of users' financial transactions.
The statement follows a story in the Wall Street Journal that said the social media giant had asked US banks for such data.
Facebook said some users opted in to accessing some financial information in its Messenger app.
Any data that was accessed by the company for such purposes was not used for advertising, it added.
The Wall Street Journal had reported that Facebook approached JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and US Bancorp to ask for information about users' account balances and card transactions.
However, Facebook said that users must opt in to linking the Messenger chat app to their bank accounts.
"Like many online companies with commerce businesses, we partner with banks and credit card companies to offer services like customer chat or account management," Facebook said.
"The idea is that messaging with a bank can be better than waiting on hold over the phone - and it's completely opt in."
Some account linking is in place on a relatively small scale at the moment - for example, Facebook users in Singapore who bank with Citi can check balances and view recent transactions.
More widely, Facebook users can connect their PayPal accounts to Messenger to track transactions and shipping updates.
German startup Sono Motors trials solar car that can charge as you drive
A Munich-based start-up has taken advantage of the strong Bavarian sun this summer to test the final development of the charging system of its Sion car, an all-electric solar vehicle that lets you charge as you drive.
Germany will likely miss its target of putting 1 million electric cars on the road by 2020 but the government said in April it was ready to offer support to companies that make batteries for electric vehicles.
Sono Motors, founded in 2016, is developing the Sion, a fully-electric vehicle that has solar cells integrated into its bodywork. It can be charged via solar power, from conventional power outlets or other electric cars.
Production will start in the second half of 2019 at one of its German plants and the company has around 5,000 orders which it aims to start selling at $18,540 next year.
Sion will have 330 solar cells attached to the vehicle's roof, roof and sides and its battery system will offer a range of around 155 miles (250 km) before it needs recharging.