Posted: August 10, 2022

A beach crew in Harrison County, Mississippi, spotted something in the sand. Turtle tracks!

It was time to bring in the experts. The beach crew protected the area and called the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies. This group knows not only about mammals. It also boasts some real turtle whizzes. They followed the tracks to a nesting site. What a find! No one had seen a sea turtle nest on mainland Mississippi in four years.

What’s in the eggs? The eggs likely belong to a protected loggerhead sea turtle. They might even belong to a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, the most endangered sea turtle species of all. We won’t know what type of babies they hold until they hatch in about two months.

Turtles lay between 60 and 100 eggs in a nest. Most of the eggs don’t survive. Only about one in 10,000 sea turtle eggs produces a turtle that will reach adulthood.

Once, the Mississippi Sound and Gulf of Mexico made a good home for sea turtles. But oil spilled there in the 2010. Suddenly home-sweet-home wasn’t so sweet for sea turtles.

But a nest? That’s a good sign. It means at least one mama turtle thought Mississippi was safe for turtles again.

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. — Isaiah 49:15

Posted: August 9, 2022

Right now, Europe is hot. Millions there sweat through record-breaking heat. But in Africa? They’re strapping on their skis!

Lesotho is a tiny mountain kingdom that lies inside the borders of South Africa. Every inch of its territory sits more than 3,280 feet above sea level. Higher elevation means colder temperatures.

Let it snow, let it snow.

For the part of Africa south of the Equator, winter happens in June, July, and August. Cold winters aren’t rare in southern Africa. But snow is. And ski resorts are almost unheard of.

“I’ve never seen snow in my life,” says Kafi Mojapelo. She is skiing at Afriski, a ski resort in Lesotho.

Skiers and snowboarders line up to rent the proper gear. Some get pointers from Hope Ramokotjo, the ski and snowboard instructor. He smiles big. “Push your heels out. Don’t pull your shoulders,” Mr. Ramokotjo calls. “Here you go! Nice!”

Last month, competitors lined up for the Winter Whip Slopestyle snowboard and ski competition. Sekholo Ramonotsi, a 13-year-old from Lesotho, won the junior snowboard and ski divisions.

“I would really like to ski in Europe,” he says.

But Europeans are still sweating buckets and staying indoors. A snowy day sounds very, very far away.

While the Earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. — Genesis 8:22

Posted: August 8, 2022

Death Valley is known for being dry. The National Park is in a desert between California and Nevada. But last Friday, it got lots of rain. Storms triggered flash floods. The water swept away cars and stranded hundreds of visitors and workers.

About 60 vehicles were buried in mud. About 500 visitors and 500 park workers were stuck inside the park. But no one was hurt.

Crews cleared a pathway through rocks and mud. Many trapped hotel guests could leave. But other roads damaged by floodwaters or choked with debris will probably stay closed until next week.

The park got almost an inch and a half of rain in one day. That’s about three-quarters of what the area usually gets in a whole year! And that’s more than the park has ever gotten in August. (At least since officials have kept records.)

“Entire trees and boulders were washing down,” says photographer John Sirlin. It took him about six hours to drive the 35 miles out of the park.

Nikki Jones works at a restaurant in the park. Floodwaters reached the door of her hotel room. She put her luggage on a bed and used towels at the bottom of doorways to keep water out.

“People around me were saying they had never seen anything this bad before,” says Ms. Jones. “And they have worked here for a while.” Her room stayed dry. But five or six other rooms at the hotel flooded.

Park officials say that the water pushed dumpsters into parked cars. That made the cars collide with one another. About 20 palm trees fell into the road near one inn. Water lines broke.

Now the water has receded in most areas. It left behind a layer of mud and gravel. People are working to repair roads and buildings.

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. — Psalm 29:10

Posted: August 5, 2022

Look out below!

On Thursday, a massive damaged grain silo collapsed in Beirut, Lebanon.

You’ve probably seen silos on farms. These tall cylinders store harvested grain. The average silo stands around 43 feet tall. But the silos in Beirut’s port? They tower at 157 feet. That’s as tall as a skyscraper.

Beirut’s silos form a thick block of four towers. But last week, a fire broke out. Emergency responders couldn’t put it out. A small section of the block fell Sunday. A larger section fell Thursday.

But this thunderous collapse was a long time coming. That’s where the story gets stranger. Beirut’s silos fell almost exactly two years from the tragic event that ruined them.

In August 2020, a massive explosion shook Beirut’s port. (See Help for Lebanon.) A warehouse of explosive chemicals burst. The bomb-like explosion killed over 200 people and injured thousands. Beirut’s western neighborhoods would have fallen. But the port’s grain silos blocked the force that could have leveled them.

The explosion ruined the silos—and the grain stored in them. Even so, Beirut’s people wanted the silos to stay. They wanted the silos to stand as a reminder.

A reminder of what exactly? Of the tragedy, yes. But also of why the tragedy happened.

The warehouse explosion wasn’t purely an accident. Government officials knew the materials in the warehouse weren’t safe. They did nothing. After the blast, a court found them guilty. Even so, none of them went to jail.

As the silo fell on Thursday, hundreds of people marched. They marched to mark the anniversary of the explosion. They also marched in protest of government corruption.

Now the silo serves as another reminder: Because God is just, eventually, all corruption falls.

It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the righteous of justice. — Proverbs 18:5

Posted: August 4, 2022

Splutter, splutter, splutter, STOP.

That’s the sound of a car running out of fuel.

What will happen if Europe runs out of energy?

People in Europe don’t want to find out. But they worry that they might. Russia and Ukraine are still at war. Most of the world’s nations oppose this war, including many in Europe. But Europe gets a lot of its oil and natural gas from Russia. And Russia is starting to say, “No more for you!”

Russia has already majorly shrunk the amount of natural gas, oil, and oil products going to Europe. What if officials cut it off all the way?

What’s a European to do?

Save, save, save.

“Europe needs to be ready,” says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “To make it through the winter . . . we need to save gas to fill our gas storages faster.”

Europe scrambles to get energy from somewhere else. Meanwhile, officials say, “Take shorter showers! Turn down the heat! Make the indoor pool a little colder! Turn off the lights!”

The Netherlands’ government urges showers of no more than five minutes. Officials tell people to use shades to block sunlight and fans instead of air conditioning. They suggest air drying laundry. Some places in France go without night streetlights. Offices and stores in Spain cannot set their thermostats too low in summer or too high in winter. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez asked office workers to ditch neckties to keep cool.

Do you remember a story in the Bible about saving up for hard times?

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. — Proverbs 13:11

Posted: August 3, 2022

Meow! Meow! MEOW!!!!!

That’s the sound of Fred Everitt’s cat, Bandit, meowing in the kitchen of their home in Belden, Mississippi. It’s around 2:30 in the morning. Mr. Everitt, of course, is asleep. But Bandit is doing all she can to wake him up. Why? Because robbers are trying to get in!

Bandit races to Mr. Everitt’s bedroom. She jumps onto the bed and begins pulling the comforter off. She claws at Mr. Everitt’s arms.

Naturally, Mr. Everitt says, “What in the world is wrong with you?”

When he gets up to investigate, he sees two young men outside his back door. One is trying to open the door with a crowbar.

Mr. Everitt keeps a gun for protection. But by the time he gets it and returns, the robbers have run away.

“You hear of guard dogs,” Mr. Everitt tells reporters later. “This is a guard cat.” He says the situation could have been different without Bandit.

Mr. Everitt got Bandit from a shelter four years ago. Good thing he did!

God is awake all the time, even while we’re sleeping. He protects us. And apparently, He sometimes uses fluffy calico cats to do it!

Do you have a cat? Does it “knead” on your stomach, stretch a lot, and love to sit in small boxes? Learn the reasons behind these cat quirks in Why Does My Cat Do That? Or take a tour of cat breeds in All Kinds of Cats.

He who keeps you will not slumber. — Psalm 121:3

Posted: August 2, 2022

Italy’s Po River should feed rice fields. It should keep shellfish alive. Instead, it’s killing both. Why? Because this year, the river is full of salt!

Drought and unusually hot weather have made the Po extra salty. (The Sun sucks up the water. The salt in the water stays behind.) Plants along the banks of the Po River wilt as they drink in water from increasingly salty aquifers. Other waterways dry up, shrinking amphibians’ and birds’ wetland homes. Salt is a good gift from God. It can do some amazing things. But you don’t want too much of it!

The amount of water entering the delta from the Po River is at an all-time low. Why? Lack of wintertime snowpack. Scarce spring and summer rains. Farmers haven’t been able to get river water for irrigation for nearly two months.

High temperatures also allow algae to spread. The algae suffocates clams. Uh oh. Clams are the centerpiece of one of Italy’s favorite dishes: spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti and clams).

We all depend on God to take care of us every day. You can ask God to send rain to the salty Po.

You can also get a taste of Italy by preparing your own spaghetti alle vongole (with a grownup’s help). This tasty summer dinner should cost less than $5 to make!

Cook a pound of spaghetti.

Make the clam sauce: Combine a can of minced clams (with the juice), a good glug of olive oil, a pinch of crushed red pepper, and some salt (but not too much!). Heat and add to your strained pasta.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. — 2 Corinthians 9:8

Posted: August 1, 2022

The Navajo Code Talkers sent messages in World War II. They used a secret code. Samuel Sandoval was one of the last Navajo Code Talkers still alive. He passed away on Friday. He was 98 years old.

The U.S. military recruited hundreds of Navajos to be Code Talkers. The code they used was based on the Navajo language. It confused Japanese code experts. They couldn’t crack it. The Code Talkers helped the United States win the war. Only three are still alive today. Their names are Peter MacDonald, John Kinsel, Sr., and Thomas H. Begay.

The Code Talkers sent thousands of messages over radios. Those messages had important information. This is where Japanese troops are. This is what our soldiers are going to do.

It was a dangerous job. Japanese soldiers looked for radiomen.

Mr. Sandoval was born in New Mexico. His school told him not to speak Navajo. Later, he joined the Marines. He helped find other Navajos from the school to serve as Code Talkers. Mr. Sandoval’s brother, Merrill Sandoval, was a Code Talker too.

Mr. Sandoval was on the Japanese island of Okinawa in August 1945. He got word from another Code Talker. The Japanese are surrendering! He passed the message on.

People celebrate the Code Talkers every year on August 14. Mr. Sandoval was looking forward to that day. He also wanted to see a museum built to honor the Code Talkers.

The Code Talkers were a secret for a long time. They weren’t allowed to tell about their mission until more than 20 years later. Then the two brothers started sharing with others about the Code Talkers. They were proud of what they did. But they always called Marines serving today the heroes, says Jeannie Sandoval. She is Merrill’s daughter.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. — Philippians 2:3

Posted: July 29, 2022

A worker removes ancient items from a display case. They are moccasins, necklaces, ceremonial pipes, and tools. A photographer takes careful pictures.

These Native American artifacts rest at the Founders Museum in Massachusetts. The museum had them for over a century. Now they will finally return to the tribes that owned them.

Leola One Feather watches. She is from the Oglala Sioux Tribe. She traveled all the way from South Dakota. Her people have looked for these artifacts for decades.

“It may be sad for them to lose these items,” says Ms. One Feather. “But it’s even sadder for us because we’ve been looking for them for so long.”

How did artifacts from South Dakota end up in Massachusetts?

That’s the saddest part of the story. In 1890, soldiers killed up to 300 Native Americans. That event is called the Wounded Knee Massacre. Many victims were women or children. Afterwards, people stole souvenirs from the site. Many native items were stolen in similar ways across America.

In 1990, the U.S. Congress officially condemned the killing. That same year, Congress made a new law. Museums, schools, and libraries had to return artifacts to their tribes.

About 870,000 artifacts still have not been returned.

The goal is complicated. Many artifacts are thousands of years old. It’s hard to figure out who the correct owners are. The museum doesn’t even know how many items really came from Wounded Knee. Some tribe members say the museum holds 200 Wounded Knee artifacts. Museum officials think it’s has fewer than a dozen.

The U.S. government has suggested new rules. These rules would set strict deadlines for returning artifacts. Bigger fines will help make sure those deadlines are followed.

For tribe leaders, that’s a step in the right direction. But the process is still painfully slow.

If the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. — Ezekiel 33:15

Posted: July 28, 2022

NASA is launching two mini helicopters to Mars. Their mission? Collect rocks.

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has already gathered 11 rock samples from the Red Planet. More rock drilling is planned. (A Mars rover is a motor vehicle controlled from Earth. It’s designed to travel along Mars’s surface collecting information. Do you remember when Perseverance landed?)

Mars rocks help scientists answer questions about the planet’s history and makeup. For example: Did water ever flow on Mars? But those rocks have to get from Mars to Earth so people can study them.

NASA plans to have Mars rocks sent back in 2031. How old will you be then? Will the Perseverance rover still be chugging along? What if Perseverance can’t persevere long enough to get the rocks home?

Jeff Gramling directs NASA’s Mars sample return program. “We have confidence that we can count on Perseverance to bring the samples back,” he says. But NASA scientists still want to have a backup plan in place. That’s why they’re sending in the choppers.

The two helicopters are being built and launched later this decade. If Perseverance breaks down, they’ll load the samples onto the Earth-bound rocket instead.

The helicopters will be itty-bitty . . . maybe around just four pounds each! (That's about as much as one brick weighs.) Each will be designed to lift one sample tube at a time. Both will make multiple trips back and forth.

If all goes as planned, as many as 30 samples will blast off from Mars in 2031.They’ll arrive at Earth in 2033.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. — Galatians 6:9

Posted: July 27, 2022

Diggers in Angola unearthed an unbelievable diamond. It’s big. It’s pink. No one has found such a gemstone in 300 years!

People call the diamond “Lulo Rose.” The stone was found at the Lulo diamond mine.

“Only one in 10,000 diamonds is colored pink,” says Stephen Wetherall. Mr. Wetherall is in charge of the Lucapa Diamond Company. That company owns the mine.

Lulo is an alluvial mine. That means its stones come from a river bed. The Lucapa company searches for underground deposits called kimberlite pipes.

Ancient volcanic eruptions created kimberlite pipes long ago. These brought deep-down diamonds closer to Earth’s surface. Kimberlite pipes sometimes contain diamonds. But not all the time. Not even usually. A diamond is always a rare find—even in a kimberlite pipe.

This pink gem is 170 carats. A carat is way to measure gemstones. Most engagement ring diamonds measure about one carat or less. So THIS stone is a biggie. But it’s not bigger than many clear diamonds. Many clear ones are larger than 1,000 carats!

Pinkie, of course, will be sold. How much will it fetch? No one knows yet. But it’s likely the buyer will pay extra for the rare pink color.

You might wonder: Why is the diamond pink? Why are others clear, yellow, green, purple, or black? Learn all about diamond colors in All the Diamonds of the Rainbow.

There is gold and abundance of costly stones, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. — Proverbs 20:15

Posted: July 26, 2022

Well that was a whale of a surprise.

Whale watchers off the coast of Massachusetts were going their merry way . . . when a humpback whale landed on their boat!

The whale was breaching. Breaching is when a whale leaps out of the water. Whales may breach to tell other whales about nearby predators or food. This whale, though, happened to leap its way into a 19-foot vessel.

Of course, a little boat is no match for a gigantic humpback whale. Humpbacks can grow up to 62 feet long. They can weigh up to 53 tons. (That’s like eight large elephants put together.) The whale’s head slammed into the front of the boat. The rear of the boat tipped into the air like a seesaw. Then the whale slipped back into the sea.

Whale watchers love humpbacks for their acrobatic displays. Humpbacks launch their school-bus-size bodies entirely out of the water. Then, smack! They slap the surface with their pectoral fins (side fins) or tails.

The Plymouth harbormaster says whale-boat collisions off Plymouth are rare. They can be dangerous for both boaters and whales. But this time, no people were hurt. The boat could still float too.

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on Earth. — Colossians 1:16

Posted: July 25, 2022

Sydney McLaughlin shattered her world record last Friday. She blazed through the 400-meter hurdles in 50.68 seconds. She beat the old record by a whopping 0.73 seconds. That’s just over seven-tenths of a second. That earned her a gold medal at the track world championships for the first time.

Racers in the 400-meter hurdles run one lap around a track. Along the way, they jump over 10 hurdles.

Breaking her record by less than a second might not sound like much. But every bit of a second counts in short, speedy races like these.

“I just wanted to run and go for it,” Ms. McLaughlin says.

World Athletics President Seb Coe gave Ms. McLaughlin a check for $100,000. That’s the bonus for anyone who sets a world mark at this meet.

Femke Bol finished second. She was just over a second and a half behind. Dalilah Muhammad finished third. She was the world champion last year. She also broke the 400-hurdles record in 2016. No one had broken the record for 16 years before Ms. Muhammad did.

Then Ms. McLaughlin broke it at last year’s Olympic trials. She broke it again at the Tokyo Olympics. Her third record break was at track national championships this year.

This is the fourth time she’s broken the record!

They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. — Isaiah 40:31

Posted: July 22, 2022

Everyone loves monarch butterflies. They pollinate flowers. They are beautiful. But now these beloved bugs have fluttered onto the endangered species list.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has added monarch butterflies to its red list. (That’s a list of species thought to be in trouble.) This classifies the butterflies as endangered. That’s just two steps away from extinction.

Over the last 10 years, the number of monarchs has fallen. Fast. It’s dropped by somewhere between 22 and 72 percent. Biologists worry that the butterflies could quickly become even closer to extinction.

Why have these famous flutterers begun to disappear? Part of the problem is habitat loss. Human development has destroyed butterfly homes. Farmers have also increased their use of herbicides and pesticides. These poisons can unintentionally harm the migrating monarchs.

Monarch butterflies migrate farther than any species known to science. They spend the winters in warm central Mexico. In spring, they start to travel north. They lay eggs along the way. Then the new butterflies continue the northward journey. Their great-great-grandchildren can make it all the way to Canada!

In the United States, the Endangered Species Act protects nearly extinct animals. Monarch butterflies don’t yet share these protections. Environmental groups hope the law will soon apply to monarchs.

Do you want to help save the monarchs? You can! Try planting milkweed in your garden. Monarch caterpillars depend on milkweed for food. More milkweed means more monarchs.

God calls us to take care of creation. Sometimes that’s as simple as planting a seed.

So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. — Genesis 1:21

Posted: July 21, 2022

When a nation goes to war, what happens to its dogs and cats?

In Kyiv, Ukraine, shell-shocked family pets started roaming the streets when Russia began attacking. Some had lost their owners in the bombings. They had nowhere to go.

Who came to the rescue? Volunteers. These people have opened a shelter to take in pets. They try to find them new homes—or at least some human companionship.

Every day, Kyiv residents come to visit cats and dogs at the shelter. Some of these animals were evacuated from cities near the fighting. Many arrived at the shelter with injuries.

The shelter opened on May 31 in a small building. Wooden kennels and leashes fill a hallway. A playroom is furnished with bowls and toys. So far, more than 195 animals have come through the doors. Of these, 160 have found their old owners or new homes.

War can be scary for animals, just like it is for people. Some of the animals arrived at the shelter shy. Some wouldn’t eat.

Natalia Mazur is the shelter coordinator. She also manages the Kyiv City Hospital of Veterinary Medicine. “To get out of this state, they need someone,” she says. “The animal needs human care.”

And it’s not just the animals who benefit from the shelter. Troubled Ukrainians long to help care for the animals. It feels good to show compassion and love in a hard time. Serving in this way can help heal people’s hurt hearts. At an open house last weekend, more than 1,000 people showed up to walk the 25 dogs then staying at the shelter. The dogs got tired out from taking so many walks!

Have you ever cuddled up with a pet when you feel sad or scared? Pets can be a great gift from our loving God. Did you know He wants you to “pour out your heart” to Him too? You can tell Him everything you feel.

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. — Psalm 62:8

Posted: July 20, 2022

Right now in Cuba, there’s barely any gas or diesel fuel to be found. How do people get around? Electric scooters! Or, as Cubans call them, “motorinas.”

Young people come and go on their electric motorcycles. They do stunts and chat about their two-wheelers. The bikes move quietly. But they’re not noise-free. Music blasts from their speakers.

Cuba has been flooded in recent years with motorinas. About 300,000 have come to the island nation. To compare: There are around 500,000 cars in Cuba. Imagine going for a ride . . . and seeing (at least) one motorina for every two cars. That’s a lot of bikes.

The motorcycles can cost between $2,000 and $5,000 each. Many come from China. They ship to Cuba through Panama.

“Fuel is a lost cause,” says Alejandro Vassallo. “Right now having an electric motorcycle here is life itself.”

Why no gas? Cuba gets its fuel from Venezuela. Venezuela has many troubles of its own. So diesel is drying up. Electric scooter drivers recharge the batteries through normal power sockets. Motorinas help people get around in a nation stuck in time, where even buses don’t run because they can’t get replacement parts.

But electric motorcycles aren’t foolproof. They do put a burden on power bills and power supply companies. What’s more, their batteries tend to catch fire. And their quietness means other drivers sometimes don’t notice them. Watch out!

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. — Psalm 121:8