Tropical Storm Grace lashed Haiti Monday into Tuesday, complicating rescue efforts following Saturday's earthquake that left at least 1,941 people dead, nearly 10,000 injured and tens of thousands homeless.
The big picture: The temporary pause in search and rescue efforts due heavy rain and strong winds from the storm exacerbated growing anger and frustration in affected areas, AP reported.
Tropical Storm Grace has been drenching Haiti with heavy rain of up to 15 inches just days after the country was hit by a devastating earthquake. Social media posts show flooded roadways and homes.
Why it matters: The storm, with relatively weak winds of 50 mph, brought heavy rains at a time when many families were staying in temporary shelters after their homes were destroyed during the earthquake.
Newly released satellite images of the Colorado River and Lake Mead in Nevada show the impact the historic drought has had on the region in just one year.
The big picture: The nation's largest reservoir by volume is at its lowest level since being filled after the Hoover Dam's completion in the 1930s — prompting the federal government to this week for the first time declare a water shortage for Lake Mead. The Hoover Dam has been operating below its maximum capacity all summer, and it may drop further.
For the first time since its construction in the 1930s, the federal government has formally declared a water shortage at Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir by volume, on the Colorado River.
Why it matters: The declaration, issued by the Bureau of Reclamation, sets in motion a series of water allocation cuts to downstream states along the Colorado River.
An intensifying Tropical Storm Fred struck the Florida Panhandle Monday afternoon, making landfall at 3:15 p.m. ET, with a damaging coastal storm surge, high winds and heavy rains that could extend all the way north into the Mid-Atlantic region.
The big picture: Meanwhile, poorly organized tropical depression Grace continues to dump rain across Haiti and the Dominican Republic, complicating earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. It appears destined to enter the Gulf of Mexico.
The death toll from last week's severe flooding and mudslides in northern Turkey has risen to at least 70, with 47 people still unaccounted for, AP reports.
The big picture: Torrential rains in the Black Sea coastal provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu, Sinop and Samsun on Wednesday caused flooding and mudslides that destroyed homes and buildings — prompting more than 2,400 people to be evacuated across the region.
"The climate is f’d. Even worse than it seems." That's from the opening page of a 12-page letter sent by venture capitalist Chris Sacca to potential investors in Lowercarbon Capital, the climate-focused firm he launched last year after a brief retirement.
What's new: Lowercarbon, which initially funded more than 50 startups via money from Sacca and his wife Crystal, last week announced that it raised $800 million in outside capital.
Corporate action to tackle climate change ranked among the top themes on S&P 500 companies’ Q2 earnings calls.
Why it matters: July was the hottest month on record. Last week’s UN-sponsored climate report projected the Earth will potentially cross a crucial temperature threshold less than a decade from now.
Luxury cars of the future will give you the choice: Drive or sit back and let the car do the driving.
Driving the news: Audi introduced this fascinating concept car last weekend at Monterey Car Week at Pebble Beach.
The skysphere — spelled with a lowercase "s" — is an electric roadster that transforms into a self-driving vehicle at the push of a button.
In Sport mode, it's an exhilarating sports car — with rear-wheel steering offering added control.
In Grand Touring mode, the steering wheel and pedals swivel out of sight and the chassis actually grows by almost 10 inches, freeing up passengers to stretch out and enjoy the ride.
What's next: It's the first of three autonomous concepts the German luxury carmaker says could arrive this decade. The grandsphere and urbansphere will follow the skysphere.
