Quaker State: Oklahoma ordered the shutdown of three dozen high pressure wastewater injection wells after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake that tied the state’s record for strength. Authorities report extensive damage to homes in the Pawnee area, northeast of Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma has had thousands of minor earthquakes in recent years which seismologists are beginning to attribute to the practice of hydraulic fracturing of underground rock and the injection of wastewater in the oil drilling process.

Climate Change: As tropical storm Hermine crawls north along the East Coast bringing heavy rain and tidal flooding, climate scientists say global warming is already threatening coastal areas that are regularly flooding when the tide is a little high and the wind blows.

The floods may be only one of two feet deep, but they can fill basements, kill vegetation, and poison water wells with salt. A scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Silver Spring, Md., told the NY Times, “It’s not a hundred years off — it’s now.”

Political Climate: White House and Chinese officials got into a shouting match yesterday over where the American press would be allowed to stand when President Obama disembarked Air Force One in Hangzhou.

The Chinese had cordoned the Obama travelling press in an area where they could not see Obama getting off the plane. They usually have eyes and cameras on him at all public moments. When an American official objected a Chinese official shouted, “This is our country.”

Despite that and some other departures from diplomatic form, Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping signed the world’s two largest economies into the Paris climate agreement.

Permawar: Turkey has opened a second front in the battle against ISIS, sending tanks, armored vehicles, and troops across the border near the Turkish town of Kilis. This new action is about 35 miles southwest of Jarablus, where Turkey sent troops against ISIS last week.

Some of His Best Friends: Donald Trump visited a black church in Detroit yesterday to try to win the vote. Previously he has wooed black voters only in front of white audiences.

Trump submitted to a scripted interview with the church’s pastor, Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, before delivering a scripted speech to the congregation. The interview consisted of pre-approved questions with answers provided to the candidate by his campaign staff. Trump actually danced during the service, leaving no doubt that he’s a white male.

Lost: The search has been called off for two American climbers who went missing attempting to climb one of the highest peaks in northern Pakistan. Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson set out on August 21st to climb the north face of Ogre 2. They haven’t been seen since August 22^nd, the day before a big storm hit the mountain. The climb and return was supposed to have taken five days.

Saint Inflation: Mother Teresa was elevated to sainthood today for her work with the poor and dying and of course, for spawning a “miracle.” Mother Teresa has long been considered a natural for sainthood, but Pope Francis has been criticized for canonizing too many people. He’s presided over 29 since ascending to the papacy 3 ½ years ago, already 11 more than his predecessor in the same span of time.

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