8.30.2017

Harvey - Day Five.
As rains ease, officials in the greater Houston area are beginning to assess the damage from four days of torrential downpours - including the breach of a levee holding back the Brazos River, 50 miles south of the city. The storm - which broke the record for rainfall in the continental US with 52" recorded in Cedar Bayou, TX - continues its slow march up the Texas Gulf coast, making a second landfall in Louisiana. At least one woman was killed when flash flooding hit Beaumont, TX - with the total death toll estimated at 30 as of Tuesday evening. Officials estimate that 80% of residents in the path of Harvey did not have flood insurance, and the total damage may be as high as $100B - compared to $75B in losses from Hurricane Sandy and $176B from Hurricane Katrina. Major refineries remain closed, pushing oil prices up, and a pipeline rupture released hydrogen chloride, prompting a "chemical emergency". Rains are expected to persist through Friday.

Eat More Fat.
Or at least don't be afraid of incorporating a little more fat into your diet. In the largest study to date, researchers recorded the eating habits of 135,000 people across 18 countries, tracking patient health outcomes over seven years (see abstract here). The results upend popular belief - with rates of cardiovascular disease unchanged across diets with high (35% of calories) and low (10% of calories) fat intake. High fat diets showed lower mortality rates (by 23%), and, though it doesn't prove causation, blood tests showed high fat diets had more good cholesterol and less bad cholesterol than high carbohydrate diets. In summary, diet advice seems to flip-flop every day - but the length, size, and scope of the study is consistent with, and provides support for, smaller, randomized control trials over the past two decades supporting higher fat content in diets.

Monsoons.
The US isn't the only place getting slammed by storms - South Asia is in the midst of its worst flooding in decades, with over 1,200 people killed and up to 41 million affected. The damage stretches around the Bay of Bengal (map), with India, Nepal, and Bangladesh bearing the brunt of the damage - the latter country is reportedly one-third underwater (with photos) with rising risk of waterborne illnesses like malaria. Over 1.4 million acres of crops have been damaged, and the flood's impact will last far beyond monsoon season (see how it works), which doesn't end until February.
 

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Gimlet Media. Kidnapping. Extortion. Slapping and beating a man with a fire poker. Just a few of the charges against Buddy Cianci while serving as Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. This documentary podcast from the creators of HBO's The Jinx takes a look at how organized crime has shaped US cities - covering a new city in each season. The first, which recently wrapped, looks at Providence - a small city with one of the biggest organized crime operations in the country. Great story, great characters, great storytelling - the equivalent of a book you can’t put down. Check out their website, or wherever you get your podcasts.
 

HBO. James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal star in HBO’s soon-to-be hit series that chronicles the rise of the porn industry in 1970’s New York City. The pilot episode follows Gyllenhaal, a sex worker trying to make ends meet and Franco, a bartender working two jobs while dealing with a cheating spouse and brother holding onto major gambling debt. The first of eight episodes feels like a full-length feature with the type of drama and character building you’ve come to expect from HBO. The pilot episode is available right now via HBO GO and HBO Now and debuts on September 10th.

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Kickoff: The 100 best NFL players for 2017.

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Why a growing number of women with breast cancer are choosing double mastectomy.

Archaeologists find Italians were making wine 5,000 years ago - 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.

(From Fatherly) A fantastic new baby book about boobs.

Variety previews the fall 2017 TV lineup. 

Historybook: Failed assassination of Vladimir Lenin (1918); HBD Ted Williams (1918); HBD Warren Buffett (1930); Gen. MacArthur arrives in Japan (1945); ‘Hotline’ between Pentagon & Kremlin established (1963); Thurgood Marshall confirmed as 1st black Supreme Court Justice (1967); Guion Bluford becomes 1st African-American in space (1983); RIP Charles Bronson (2003).

"IT TAKES 20 YEARS TO BUILD A REPUTATION AND 5 MINUTES TO RUIN IT."
-Warren Buffett

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