Free Republic

Robusta coffee prices continued to soar to record-highs this week as concerns deepen over the outlook from Brazil, the world's top producer. "Cheaper robusta-coffee beans, used widely in instant-coffee beverages such as Nestle SA's Nescafe brands, are sold out in Brazil. After drought and frost ruined crops of the higher-end arabica variety favored by cafes like Starbucks Corp., local roasters are racing for robusta replacements and driving prices to new records each day," Bloomberg wrote. Spot prices for Brazil robusta Espirito Santo have nearly doubled this year, up 356 reais per 60-kg bag, or about 87% to 769 reais.Much of...

Brazil’s top growing regions for coffee, sugar, and oranges are expected to see another round of frost later this week. A cold snap last week sent coffee futures to a seven-year high. Now orange juice futures are skyrocketing. Brazil is the world’s leading orange juice producer. There are concerns about widespread frost Friday and Saturday in the southernmost regions of south Minas Gerais state could damage citrus trees. Drew Lerner, president of World Weather Inc, told Bloomberg that frost later this week “would damage some trees” in the Minas Gerais state. Below are Friday morning forecast temperatures hovering around freezing....

Arabica coffee futures surged more than 9% to $2.094 per pound, the highest since October 2014, on Monday after forecasts call for more cold temperatures in Brazil, the world's top grower. Weather models show that another cold snap is imminent for Brazil and likely to produce crop-killing frost across southern Minas Gerais through central Sao Paulo, east-central, and south Parana, from Wednesday to Friday, Maxar meteorologist Donald Keeney told Bloomberg. #Coffee rallying 10% more today after gaining near 20% last week due to damage to trees in Brazil and expectation of more cold in coming days. Graph by @RuralClima #Sugar...

On Tuesday, a wicked cold snap, with temperatures dropping below zero, delivered a massive blow to farmers across Brazil’s coffee belt, damaging trees and destroying next year’s crop, according to Reuters. Temperatures in Brazil’s coffee-growing regions recorded -1.2 Celsius (29 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday in southern Minas Gerais, which was the coldest since 1994. “I’ve never seen something like that. We knew it would be cold, we were monitoring, but temperatures suddenly went several degrees down when it was already early morning,” said Mario Alvarenga, a coffee producer with two farms in Minas Gerais, Brazil’s largest producing state. A #coffee farm...

President Joe Biden mistakenly stated the number of deaths from the coronavirus is up, a statement that contradicts the data. “To sum it up, look, COVID cases are down. COVID deaths are up,” Biden said, looking straight at his teleprompter: It’s unclear what was on the president’s teleprompter, but coronavirus cases and deaths have fallen steadily since mid-April.

President Joe Biden suffered another awkward brain freeze on Monday as he attempted to memorialize victims of the coronavirus. Biden marked 500,000 American deaths during a White House ceremony — 100,000 since he took office — when he said, “The only way to spare more pain and more loss, the only way— these millstones no longer mark our national mourning— these milestones, I should say, no longer, no longer moke— mark our national mourning.”

Here’s what a U.S. senator does: Make laws, authorize and appropriate federal funds, provide for the common defense and the general welfare, regulate commerce among the states and with foreign nations, declare war and maintain and regulate the military, impeach federal officers including the president, advise and consent to treaties and appointments of judges and federal officials.For the record, a U.S. senator doesn’t do anything when a snowstorm hits his or her home state. If they happen to be home at the time, maybe they can help their neighbor shovel the driveway. And sure, they can press the White House...

The deadly winter storm that swept across Texas and parts of the South knocked out power and water for millions. It also created a catastrophe for animals statewide — including for sea turtles prone to freezing in frigid waters. ...“It was like an apocalypse of turtles littered on the beach,” Bellamy told The Washington Post in a phone interview Thursday. More than 800 turtles have since been plucked from Laguna Madre by a ragtag group of about 50 Navy pilots and flight students, military spouses, family members and military retirees, said Biji Pandisseril, the Navy installation’s environmental manager. More turtles...

Things are really real down in Texas rn. Here's just a sample. Too many to post see link for many more:

Here are the key takeaways from Texas rolling blackouts:The Weather Channel Warns Of "Dangerous" Cold Temperatures Southwest Power Pool Says 17 States Limiting Energy Usage3.368 million Texans Without Power Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Calls Up Texas Army National GuardOncor Electric Delivery Continues To Warn About Extended "Controlled Outages" Texas Gov. Greg Abbott States Power Grid Not Compromised Power Crisis Hits Texas And 13 Other States Southwest Power Pool Declares Energy Emergency Alert Level 3Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner Warns Of More Blackouts Houston Mayor Sylvester Suspends Air Travel In Houston ERCOT Wholesale Electricity Prices Plunged From Cap Of $9k per megawatt-hour...

Words like "historic," "unprecedented," and "extreme" are being thrown around like eggs from a short-order cook. It's easy to dismiss these terms as hyperbole but rest assured, this freeze could rival the storied ones from decades ago and bring the first single digits to Houston in over 30 years and for only the fifth time in our history. So just how extreme and rare is the freeze we're facing? Well, meteorologist Joe Bastardi from WeatherBell had this to say on Wednesday: "if this arctic outbreak were a hurricane, Texas would be taking a direct hit from a category 5." Pretty...

Residents in the Midwest are bracing for a 'flash freeze' set to send temperatures plummeting as low as -35 degrees Fahrenheit (-37 Celsius). The severe cold snap will be caused by a polar vortex pushing arctic winds down into the US, where all 50 states - even Hawaii - are expected to experience below freezing temperatures next Monday. More than 212 million Americans will affected by the bitterly cold conditions, CNN reports. However, the icy weather will be at its most extreme in the Midwest, where preparations are already in place to close schools and roads for fear of fatalities....

U.S. stocks fell sharply once again on Thursday after an address from President Donald Trump failed to quell concerns over the possible economic slowdown from the coronavirus.The S&P 500 dropped 7% shortly after the open, triggering a 15-minute “circuit breaker,” which temporarily halts trading at the New York Stock Exchange. The broad index also joined the  Dow Jones Industrial Average in bear market territory. The 30-stock Dow slid more than 1,600 points, or 7.%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 7%.  Before the open, futures contracts tied to the major indexes fell to their so-called limit down thresholds, sliding 5%. These limit down levels act as a as...

News Sports Business Weather Life & Entertainment Opinion In depth Customer Care Obituaries Jobs Classifieds Findit - Roanoke Times Business Directory Liberty moves swiftly, hires Hugh Freeze as football coach Damien Sordelett The News & Advance Dec 7, 2018 SEC Coaching Hot Seats Football FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2016, file photo, Mississippi head coach Hugh Freeze walks off the field following a loss to No. 1 Alabama in an NCAA college football game, in Oxford, Miss. Freeze agreed to terms with Liberty University to become its next head football coach. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) Rogelio V. Solis...

From the late 1970s, Leonard Nimoy hosts this episode of In Search of....the Coming Ice Age.

...that the PA is freezing all contacts with the United States over last week's announcement by Washington that it will close the representative office of the PA and PLO in Washington, DC under law unless the PA resumes serious negotiations with Israel. PA Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki told AFP.“In practice by closing the office they are freezing all meetings and we are making that official.” A spokesman for the PLO confirms that it had received instructions from PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas “regarding closing down all communication lines with the Americans.”

Having your identity stolen is no stroll along the beach. Getting your name cleared takes a lot of time and effort and sometimes money. *snip* To prevent your identity from being stolen, or to prevent further identity theft after your identity has already been stolen, you might consider freezing your credit report.

A black Texas congressman said Saturday that he’s been threatened with lynching by callers infuriated over him seeking impeachment of President Donald Trump. U.S. Rep. Al Green held a town hall meeting and played recordings of several threatening voicemails left at his offices in Houston and Washington, the Houston Chronicle reports . The seven-term Democrat told the crowd of about 100 people that he won’t be deterred. […] One male caller used a racial insult and threatened Green with “hanging from a tree” if he pursues impeachment. Another man left a message saying Green would be the one impeached after...

Article to follow when available

Negotiators from more than 170 countries on Saturday reached a legally binding accord to counter climate change by cutting the worldwide use of a powerful planet-warming chemical used in air-conditioners and refrigerators. -snip-While the Paris agreement included pledges by nearly every country to cut emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the fossil fuels that power vehicles, electric plants and factories, the new Kigali deal has a single target: chemical coolants called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, used in air-conditioners and refrigerators.-snip-And while the Paris pledges are broad, they are also voluntary, often vague and dependent on the political will of future world...