Satellite images released by NASA Thursday paint an increasingly grim picture of California's worsening drought, Sierra Nevada snowpack -- the state's main source of water -- disappearing by early summer. One set of images captures the Sierra Nevada snowpack – the state's main source of water – disappear by early summer. On March 31, 2021, snow can be seen blanketing the mountain range. In mid-May, much of that snow had already melted. By July 7, it was gone. A second set of images shows a side-by-side comparison of Lake Oroville in Northern California. On June 4, 2019, the reservoir was filled to the brim. On June 9, 2021, exposed shoreline was clearly visible due to the lack of water available from the diminished snowpack. (Read more.)

South Africa: Building on fire in Grey Street, Durban CBD
Cause of fire "unknown".

Unconfirmed: Allegedly a bomb went off in Durban, KZN, South Africa shortly after their president visited.

Portland, Oregon: An early Saturday shooting in downtown Portland, has left at least eight people injured, according to authorities. All victims are being treated, and at least one person has life-threatening injuries after the shooting that occurred at 2:10 a.m. on the 300 block of Southwest 3rd Avenue, the Portland Police Department said in a Saturday morning press release. Officers found multiple people, male and female, injured when they arrived at the scene and initiated lifesaving measures while waiting for paramedics to arrive. The suspect fled the scene before police were contacted, according to the Portland PD. Authorities are investigating the situation and have closed Southwest 3rd Avenue from Southwest Oak Street to Southwest Washington Street.

UPDATE! Washington DC: A 6-year-old girl was killed Friday night and at least five adults were wounded when gunfire broke out in Washington, D.C., according to police. The child was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital. Shortly after 11 p.m., patrolling officers heard shots fired in a business area around Malcolm X and Martin Luther King avenues, police said. People in the area directed the officers to the victims, reports said. The site is about 5 miles from the U.S. Capitol. The adults all suffered wounds that were not life-threatening, Executive Assistant Chief Ashan Benedict of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department said. here was no immediate information about suspects, arrests or the circumstances that led to the shooting. Benedict asked that anyone with information call police at 202-727-9099.

UPDATE! Germany and neighboring countries were evacuating new areas hit or threatened by the region’s worst flooding in decades on Saturday, as the death toll across Europe rose to more than 200 and rescuers were searching for hundreds still missing. Farmland was devastated across the region. More bodies were being recovered from flooded houses or the rubble of buildings and cars crushed by the torrent, meaning that the final death toll is likely to be greater, several German officials said. Entire villages and town districts were evacuated with the help of the armed forces in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, as these countries’ armies joined in the effort to support thousands of rescue workers amid a shortage of helicopters and other hardware. In some cases, rescuers had to wake up residents of endangered areas in the middle of the night and convince them to flee. An entire district of the west German town of Wassenberg was evacuated after flood water caused a local dam to burst overnight between Friday

Chaotic scenes European flooding. 👀

We pray for the people of Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland at this time following flash flooding over a huge area of Europe. We pray for those who have died.