International

"Earth's persistent record 2016 heat is now dancing near levels that a world agreement is trying to avoid, federal scientists said."

"Three attorneys general on Tuesday directly challenged Volkswagen’s defense over its emissions deception, calling the decision to thwart pollution tests an orchestrated fraud that lasted more than a decade, involved dozens of engineers and managers and reached deep into the company’s boardroom."

"As Ukraine's civil war raged, a few mouse clicks at three local power companies set in motion the covert intrusion. It was the first successful attempt at planting a bug, then disabling an electric grid serving hundreds of thousands of people."

"Two leading U.S. Senate Democrats say last year's Paris climate deal should help one of its architects become the next U.N. secretary-general."

"An expansion of farmland has damaged nature beyond a "safe" limit on 58 percent of the world's land surface, threatening natural services such as crop pollination by insects, scientists said on Thursday."

"BP said Thursday (July 14) it pegs its total cost of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster at $61.6 billion, the first estimate the company has provided since the spill. That includes a $5.2 billion pre-tax hit to profits for the second quarter this year."

"Gonorrhea may soon become untreatable. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that the wily Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria may be developing resistance to the only two antibiotics left that can cure the sexually transmitted disease."

"An airplane powered by energy from the sun arrived on Wednesday in Egypt, the penultimate stop on the first fuel-free flight around the globe."

"Researchers are finding that kelp, eelgrass, and other vegetation can effectively absorb CO2 and reduce acidity in the ocean. Growing these plants in local waters, scientists say, could help mitigate the damaging impacts of acidification on marine life."

"Former U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres isn't the only contender for secretary-general who has already made climate change a central theme of her vision for the United Nations' future."