USA - the Mississippi has been in flood stage for the longest period on record — since January! This is causing all kinds of problems on the Mississippi, and on its tributaries. The NYT reports that shipping in the Mississippi and some of its tributaries has mostly shut down: Across the country’s flood-battered midsection, the farms, towns and homes consumed by the bloated waters have drawn much of the attention. But flooding has had another, less intuitive effect — crippling the nation’s essential river commerce.

USA - Today it was announced that this summer’s “dead zone” — where no marine life lives — in the Gulf of Mexico is going to be as big as the state of Masssachusetts: Annual spring rains wash the nutrients used in fertilizers and sewage into the Mississippi. That fresh water, less dense than ocean water, sits on top of the ocean, preventing oxygen from mixing through the water column. Eventually those freshwater nutrients can spur a burst of algal growth, which consumes oxygen as the plants decompose. The resulting patch of low-oxygen waters leads to a condition called hypoxia, where animals in the area suffocate and die. Scientists estimate that this year the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico will spread for just over or just under 8,000 square miles across the continental shelf situated off the coast. It’s the record flooding that’s making it worse, because it’s sending more fertilizer and sewage down the river.

USA - The US Army Corps of Engineers has had to open the Bonnet Carré Spillway on the Mississippi to relieve pressure from the flood on New Orleans levees. It sends a great deal of river water into Lake Pontchartrain, from where it flows out into the Gulf. The fresh water has killed an estimated 70 percent of Mississippi’s oyster crop, and has to this point wiped out an estimated 35 percent of this year’s crab harvest. So much fresh water has been flowing through the spillway for so long that it has dramatically reduced the salinity of water off the Mississippi Coast. The economic and ecological disaster from this endless river flooding is staggering.

USA - Sue lives in Elm Park, a rural neighborhood not far from my mom’s place in Starhill. We talked about the little dog in her family killed last week by a poisonous snake. They couldn’t find the snake itself, but the vet who examined the dead dog said there were two inches between the punctures, indicating an enormous snake — no doubt either a rattlesnake or a cottonmouth. Sue said that in her neighborhood, people have seen markedly more snakes this year, and much bigger ones on average than in years past. She added that another neighbor went out onto her back porch a few weeks back and saw a black bear in a tree. Black bears are rare in these parts, and I have never heard of one in someone’s back yard. That’s not a Louisiana thing. We wondered if the record flood water has anything to do with driving snakes and bears out of the swamp and into people’s yards. The Mississippi has never been so high for so long. It’s a fact that floodwaters flush snakes and all wildlife out of the inundated area...

USA - Wisconsin is bracing for a massive storm due to hit next week, bringing potentially life-threatening conditions and arctic temperatures. Wisconsin residents have already suffered a baltic winter this season, with temperatures plummeting below -20C (-4F). But now an Arctic blast is set to being even more wintery conditions as a snow bomb hits. Forecasters are advising residents to stay indoors, as the cold could be “life-threatening”. Southern Wisconsin looks set to be the worst hit as the storm sweeps in over Sunday night. Authorities are bracing for severe disruptions to air and road travel, with snow and ice expected to blanket much of the region. After the initial snow bomb passes, forecasters expect another surge of dangerous cold to hit the area on Tuesday, and last throughout the week.

UK - Heavy rain is wreaking havoc across Britain as flooding causes travel disruptions and sinkholes open up on the motorway. The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for large swathes of England for most of the week, after Monday saw a month’s worth of rain fall in some parts. Some London underground stations were flooded and parts of the M25 in Kent had to be shut after two sinkholes opened up. National Rail has also warned Southern and Thameslink trains will be badly affected by the weather as the week progresses with more brutal weather. The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for severe weather for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday’s warnings cover the south west of England as well as parts of the east and northeast, Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber. Wednesday and Thursday see warnings continue and stretch into parts of Wales. A total of three flood warnings and 39 flood alerts are in place across the country.

ITALY - North Italy was hit by severe thunderstorms yesterday ...a severe hailstorm covered the Malpensa Airport in Milano with a thick layer of hail...

LAPLAND - Thunderstorms hit the Lapland in the far northern parts of Finland, Norway and extreme NW Russia.

PORTUGAL AND SPAIN - hit 38 °C on Monday, heat wave across parts of Iberian peninsula continues.

AFRICA - Satellite images show thick bands of Saharan dust being pushed from Algeria, Tunisia and Libya into the Mediterranean.

TURKEY - Multiple tornadoes hit Antalya, Turkey. Significant damage is reported from the Antalya airport: planes damaged by moving/flying debris, vehicles, including an airport bus, hit and damaged. At least one fatality has been reported so far.

RUSSIA - Extremely hot weather in NW Russia today: 31° C near the Arctic circle – May 12th, 2019.

USA - This is not the first time the US has dealt with an illegal immigration problem. Only last time it was dealt with in a decidedly swifter and sterner manner. The response, coordinated by President Dwight Eisenhower, resulted in nearly 3 million illegal immigrants being sent home. During his administration, Eisenhower became the first American president forced to deal with problems stemming from illegal immigration. Only, in Eisenhower’s time the politically correct culture of liberal sensitivities had yet to emerge.

GERMANY - Germany is braced for catastrophic car tariffs that could send the country into a deep economic shock and create a perfect storm for Europe, experts have warned. US taxes on car imports could act as a massive jolt to the bloc’s economy, wiping €14.5 billion (£12.9 billion) off GDP, according to analysis from investment advisers, Redburn. The firm’s economists believe a “nasty turn” in EU-US trade tensions is coming, which when combined with market nerves over Italian debt, could shake the eurozone. If the US presses ahead with tariffs, Germany, which relies on carmaking for a fifth of its manufacturing activity, could see 0.28 percent shaved from its GDP alone, Redburn claims.

USA - The US Federal Reserve may be forced into emergency rate cuts as soon as this month after shockingly weak job figures set off recession tremors through the US bond markets and triggered a worldwide flight to safety. The US non-farm payrolls report for May fell far short of expectations at 75,000 new jobs, while the figures for both April and March were downgraded sharply. “It was a huge miss,” said James Smith from ING. Yields on 10-year US Treasuries fell instantly to 2.05 percent on the jobs data, leading to the most drastic inversion of the US yield curve seen so far in the current financial cycle.

USA - The White House has allowed high-tech US bomb parts to be built in Saudi Arabia despite them previously being used to target civilians, it has emerged. The Trump administration declared an emergency over Iran last month which allowed them to fast track a sale of American arms to Saudi Arabia as part of a weapons deal previously blocked by Congress. The emergency authorisation allows American defence company Raytheon to collaborate with Saudi Arabia to build 120,000 high-tech bomb parts in the country along with support for the country's F-15 warplanes, anti-tanks missiles and other equipment. Details of the arrangement were only released by the administration to Congress this week, infuriating lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

USA - The top executives of more than 180 companies have signed a letter that says abortion is essential in order for people to be successful in their businesses. “When everyone is empowered to succeed, our companies, our communities and our economy are better for it,” the executives say in the letter posted on a newly launched website titled “Don’t Ban Equality.” “Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health, independence and economic stability of our employees and customers,” they said, adding: “Simply put, it goes against our values and is bad for business.”

USA - In response to a coordinated, heavily-funded smear campaign against Natural News and myself, the Health Ranger, Facebook has now permanently banned Natural News from posting content. The channel name that has been banned is Facebook.com/healthranger, which was our primary channel reaching over 2.5 million people. This is on top of the permanent bans of Natural News content from Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Google News, Apple and other techno-fascists that now represent the greatest threat to human freedom the world has ever seen.

SOUTHEAST ASIA - Swine Fever Spreads Like Wildfire Across Asia. "We have no way to stop it from spreading." Officials across Asia are reportedly calling on farmers to diversify their farms to offset the effects of the rapidly spreading African swine fever, a virus that's forced the region to slaughter millions of pigs in recent months. The fever, which is believed to be harmless to humans and is also known as pig Ebola, has been spreading across Southeast Asia at an alarming rate since last August, forcing pig farmers to cull the animals by the millions and causing the price of pork, a widely-used meat worldwide, to soar.

CHINA - Business is normally bustling at the sprawling Xinfandi produce market in southern Beijing, where stores, restaurants and thrifty shoppers buy their fruits and vegetables in bulk. But more apple sellers were napping than hustling one recent afternoon. The price of apples had nearly doubled, to roughly $1 per pound, and people were spending their money elsewhere. “Whoever eats apples these days must be loaded,” said Li Tao, who has been selling apples for more than 20 years. Migrant workers used to be able to afford apples, he said. “Now it’s too expensive,” Mr Li said. Rising food costs have become the talk of China. Experts are also watching the spread of a pest called the fall armyworm, a sort of caterpillar that likes to eat rice, sorghum and corn crops. More than 350 square miles of crops have been ravaged, according to official media, though the full impact on crop prices may not be felt until later in the year.