WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Good morning. I'm Micah Finch. It's Sunday, September 27th, and this is your lolwhat.net 2 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:09.480 morning briefing. 3 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:15.240 This is a catch-up edition. In Hawaii, Hurricane Nolo was moving west, while its rain bands 4 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:20.960 and waves continued to affect the islands. Hurricane Forecasters' late Saturday advisory 5 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:26.300 put Nolo about 200 miles south-southwest of the Big Island's south point, with sustained 6 00:00:26.300 --> 00:00:29.560 winds near 100 miles an hour. 7 00:00:29.560 --> 00:00:34.820 They expected the center to remain well south and southwest of the main islands. No coastal 8 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:39.340 watches or warnings were in effect at that point. But the storm's center tells only part 9 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:45.460 of the story. Forecasters projected total rainfall through Sunday of 10-15 inches across 10 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:50.740 eastern and southern parts of the Big Island, with isolated totals of 20 inches. Eastern 11 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:56.180 Maui could receive 4-8 inches. Those were forecast totals for the storm, not amounts 12 00:00:56.180 --> 00:01:01.440 still to come. Additional flooding and mudslides remained possible, especially on steep terrain. 13 00:01:01.550 --> 00:01:06.990 Large waves were also affecting exposed shores, even as the threat of significant storm surge 14 00:01:06.990 --> 00:01:12.910 diminished. Forecasters expected rain bands to become less frequent and intense through Sunday, 15 00:01:12.910 --> 00:01:18.590 while Nolo itself strengthened offshore. The useful distinction is between the hurricane's core 16 00:01:18.590 --> 00:01:24.030 and its wider effects. A track away from land does not remove the rain or surf hazards. 17 00:01:24.590 --> 00:01:28.750 Follow our live desk at lul what dot net for verified updates. 18 00:01:28.900 --> 00:01:34.060 In trade and technology, the United States and China announced understandings after President 19 00:01:34.060 --> 00:01:37.700 Xi Jinping's visit to Washington and if Friday. 20 00:01:37.700 --> 00:01:42.220 Reuters reported Saturday that both governments agreed on recommendations for more favorable 21 00:01:42.220 --> 00:01:47.580 tariff treatment for $30 billion of non-sensitive goods in each direction. 22 00:01:47.580 --> 00:01:49.780 That figure describes the goods' value. 23 00:01:49.780 --> 00:01:54.580 It is not $30 billion in tariff savings, and it does not mean every product traded between 24 00:01:54.580 --> 00:01:56.740 the countries is covered. 25 00:01:56.740 --> 00:02:02.220 Reuters listed American exports such as agricultural goods, wood, and cosmetics, and imports including 26 00:02:02.220 --> 00:02:05.640 small appliances, toys, and decorations. 27 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:09.820 For shoppers, the practical effect depends on the tariff rates and when changes take 28 00:02:09.820 --> 00:02:10.820 effect. 29 00:02:10.820 --> 00:02:15.780 A headline dollar figure alone cannot tell a household how its shopping bill will change. 30 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:20.060 The two governments also agreed to establish a Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence and 31 00:02:20.060 --> 00:02:23.500 a communication channel for AI-related incidents. 32 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:26.460 China's official account put the next exchange in November. 33 00:02:26.460 --> 00:02:29.980 A dedicated channel could help officials share information about an incident that 34 00:02:29.980 --> 00:02:30.900 crosses borders. 35 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:37.680 That is a practical purpose, even if holding talks does not guarantee agreement about the 36 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:43.120 technology's risks. Together, the announcements describe steps toward managing trade and 37 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:48.560 technological friction. They are narrower than a comprehensive settlement, and their consequences 38 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:53.760 will depend on implementation. The immediate development is the agreement to pursue those 39 00:02:53.760 --> 00:02:58.880 measures, rather than proof that costs have already fallen or AI disputes have been resolved. 40 00:02:59.250 --> 00:03:04.450 In health news, the World Health Organization's Friday report described the Ebola outbreak in 41 00:03:04.450 --> 00:03:11.490 the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its figures were for September 23, nearly 7,900 confirmed 42 00:03:11.490 --> 00:03:18.850 cases and about 3,800 deaths. The outbreak, caused by Bungibugyo virus, had affected 63 43 00:03:18.850 --> 00:03:24.930 health zones across seven provinces. WHO reported expansion into two additional health zones, 44 00:03:24.930 --> 00:03:28.690 including one in the northwest, far from the eastern center of the outbreak. 45 00:03:29.410 --> 00:03:34.770 Local trends differed. Cases in Ituri had been declining gradually from an August peak, 46 00:03:34.770 --> 00:03:38.210 while North Kivu had reached its highest reported level in mid-September, 47 00:03:38.210 --> 00:03:44.130 before a more recent decline. Transmission remained elevated. More than 32,000 identified 48 00:03:44.130 --> 00:03:49.650 contacts required follow-up. About 83% had been seen during the latest reported day, 49 00:03:49.650 --> 00:03:54.850 leaving roughly one in six unmonitored that day. Those are contacts needing observation, 50 00:03:54.850 --> 00:04:00.530 not additional confirmed infections. WHO said people infected with this virus are not infectious 51 00:04:00.530 --> 00:04:05.570 before symptoms begin. Early symptoms can resemble other illnesses, making laboratory 52 00:04:05.570 --> 00:04:06.530 testing important. 53 00:04:06.750 --> 00:04:13.670 WHO also reported no approved vaccine or specific treatment for this virus. Rapid diagnosis, 54 00:04:13.670 --> 00:04:18.270 supportive care, and contact tracing were central to the response. 55 00:04:18.270 --> 00:04:23.750 WHO repeated its August assessment of very high risk within Congo and high risk in countries 56 00:04:23.750 --> 00:04:29.790 sharing a land border, while assessing global risk as low. Serious local conditions do not 57 00:04:29.790 --> 00:04:31.710 imply the same level of risk everywhere. 58 00:04:31.900 --> 00:04:37.860 In Thailand, government figures released Saturday said flooding remained active in 21 provinces, 59 00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:41.780 affecting more than 84,000 people. 60 00:04:41.780 --> 00:04:46.020 Water levels were falling in many places, but rising in three provinces. 61 00:04:46.020 --> 00:04:50.540 Bangkok still had standing water at 44 road locations. 62 00:04:50.540 --> 00:04:54.860 Officials described round-the-clock monitoring, deployments of staff and equipment, and phone 63 00:04:54.860 --> 00:04:58.260 alerts for communities facing continued rain. 64 00:04:58.260 --> 00:05:02.940 Bangkok's governor had declared three districts disaster areas on Friday, allowing agencies 65 00:05:02.940 --> 00:05:06.620 to provide assistance under disaster response laws. 66 00:05:06.620 --> 00:05:12.020 The nation reported that some areas had received more than 150 millimeters of rain over 24 67 00:05:12.020 --> 00:05:13.020 hours. 68 00:05:13.020 --> 00:05:18.260 Canals were full, which meant street drains had limited room to discharge their water. 69 00:05:18.260 --> 00:05:22.820 Officials estimated that 14 million cubic meters of rainwater had accumulated in eastern 70 00:05:22.820 --> 00:05:25.420 Bangkok overnight. 71 00:05:25.420 --> 00:05:29.740 Crews were diverting water into the Boeng Nong Bon Retention Basin, with capacity for 72 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:34.220 about 5 million cubic meters, before discharging it through a tunnel toward the Chao Phraya 73 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:35.620 River. 74 00:05:35.620 --> 00:05:39.620 The estimated accumulation was therefore about 2.8 times the basin's capacity. 75 00:05:39.700 --> 00:05:44.940 That shows the water's scale, rather than measuring the whole city's drainage capacity. 76 00:05:44.940 --> 00:05:48.100 The basin is one part of a larger network. 77 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:53.000 Pumps can keep working while streets remain flooded if the receiving canals cannot empty 78 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:54.380 fast enough. 79 00:05:54.380 --> 00:06:00.100 Alongside pumping, officials advised canal-side residents to raise belongings and check travel 80 00:06:00.100 --> 00:06:01.100 routes. 81 00:06:01.100 --> 00:06:05.580 Falling water in one district did not establish improving conditions everywhere. 82 00:06:06.050 --> 00:06:11.370 We finish with a promising coastal result for seaworse habitat. The BBC reported Saturday 83 00:06:11.370 --> 00:06:16.450 on shrinking bear patches in a seagrass of Studland Bay, off England's Dorset Coast, 84 00:06:16.450 --> 00:06:22.170 following the installation of eco-moorings. The project began in 2021. Research by South 85 00:06:22.170 --> 00:06:27.650 Hampton graduate Keira Dunne used sonar surveys, historical satellite images and five years 86 00:06:27.650 --> 00:06:33.810 of monitoring data to track 39 damaged areas of seabed. In the area with 10 trial eco-moorings 87 00:06:33.810 --> 00:06:42.370 installed in 2021, the bear patches shrank by an average of 93.6% between 2021 and 2025. 88 00:06:42.370 --> 00:06:47.130 In a second area, where traditional chain moorings stayed until 2023, the reduction 89 00:06:47.130 --> 00:06:54.090 was 65.4%. Those percentages describe shrinking scars within the study areas, not recovery 90 00:06:54.090 --> 00:06:59.410 of 94% of the bay's entire seagrass meadow. Nor do they measure an increase in seahorse 91 00:06:59.410 --> 00:07:05.570 numbers. The bay supports protected seahorses, and seagrass provides habitat, stores carbon, 92 00:07:05.570 --> 00:07:10.810 and helps protect coastlines from erosion. Less bear seabed is a useful habitat result. 93 00:07:10.900 --> 00:07:13.060 There is also a limit to the comparison. 94 00:07:13.060 --> 00:07:15.780 The two areas changed their moorings at different times, 95 00:07:15.780 --> 00:07:19.460 and the Bay introduced a voluntary no-anchor zone in 2021. 96 00:07:19.460 --> 00:07:21.260 The reported findings support recovery 97 00:07:21.260 --> 00:07:23.380 alongside those conservation measures, 98 00:07:23.380 --> 00:07:25.300 rather than proving that moorings alone 99 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:27.020 explain every change. 100 00:07:27.020 --> 00:07:29.620 Still, this is encouraging evidence of repair 101 00:07:29.620 --> 00:07:31.500 measured across several years. 102 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:33.280 A less scarred meadow gives the animals 103 00:07:33.280 --> 00:07:35.160 that depend on it more habitat. 104 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:36.380 I'm Micah Finch. 105 00:07:36.380 --> 00:07:37.460 Thanks for listening.