Every month, streaming services in Australia add a new batch of movies and TV shows to its library. Here are our picks for August.

AUGUST 3

For the six-part docu-series Immigration Nation, the co-directors Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz spent three years covering the tense situation on the U.S./Mexico border. Their crew was given unprecedented access to President Trumps Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, so much so that the administration has since become concerned that some of the footage in Immigration Nation may show ICE agents violating the law and misrepresenting their operations. A show thats this controversial before it debuts is certainly a must-see.

AUGUST 5

With The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, the writer-director Mike Flanagan delivers a Stephen King movie adaptation that feels a lot like reading one of Kings novels. Flanagan uses his lengthy running time to develop the three main characters: the jaded alcoholic psychic Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor), the parasitic immortal cult leader Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson), and the supernaturally gifted teen Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran). The inevitable clash between good and bad psychics lacks a little oomph (and feels derivative of The Shining movie), but for the most part this is a genuinely spooky and resonant film about old ghosts and stolen childhoods.

AUGUST 7

Four years ago, the Guillermo del Toro-produced animated series Trollhunters introduced Netflix viewers to a group of young adventurers who were dealing with the perils of adolescence while getting drawn into ancient feuds between mystical creatures. The story continued in the sequel series 3Below, and now the trilogy wraps up with Wizards. The time-hopping, King Arthur-inspired romp brings together characters and subplots from the entire Tales of Arcadia universe. Based on the series track record, this should be a satisfying conclusion to a consistently entertaining young adult fantasy saga.

During these stressful times, we could all use a well-made, feather-light, agreeably silly dance movie. Work It could very well fit the bill. Produced by Alicia Keys, the film stars Sabrina Carpenter as a teenager who has to learn to dance and then work with a team of other misfits so she can compete in a big contest and enhance her college application. A cast of skilled dancers will get plenty of opportunities to strut their stuff, in a picture that combines underdog sports melodrama with high school romantic comedy.

AUGUST 14

Amanda Peet gives one of the most riveting performance of this television year in the second season of the true-crime docudrama Dirty John, playing the infamous spurned wife and murderer Betty Broderick. Christian Slater plays Dan Broderick, who in the shows version of the story became a successful lawyer with Bettys support, then put her through a humiliating, dragged-out divorce so he could marry a younger woman. The series creator Alexandra Cunningham retells a tale that was a tabloid staple in the 1990s, but puts her focus on the roles that gender and status played in this relationships unbalanced power dynamic. Throughout, Peet embodies a dynamic woman who comes off as both scary and sympathetic.

Netflixs latest big budget action spectacular stars Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dominique Fishback as a team of unlikely heroes from different backgrounds, working to investigate the proliferation of a designer drug that gives its users superpowers for five minutes. Judging by the trailer, the Project Power co-directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost will be relying on some eye-popping special effects to give their movie its own five-minute boosts of energy. But its the low-key charisma of the three leads that will ultimately carry this picture.

AUGUST 21

The supernatural adventure series Lucifer has a lot in common with the excellent Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff Angel, in that both are imaginative and witty episodic dramas about demons who fight their own natures while solving crimes in Los Angeles. The Lucifer creators leaned into that similarity with their shocking season four finale, which saw Lucifer Morningstar (played by the charming Tom Ellis) re-embracing his dark destiny and reclaiming his throne in Hell. This situation surely wont last, but seeing how the devil himself returns to L.A. in season five should be a lot of fun.

Also arriving:

Shutter Island (August 1), Mundo Mistrio (August 4), Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning (August 4), Anelka: LIncompris (August 5), Worlds Most Wanted (August 5), The Rain Season 3 (August 6), Berlin, Berlin (August 7), High Seas Season 3 (August 7), Nailed It! Mexico Season 2 (August 7), Selling Sunset Season 3 (August 7), Sing On! Germany (August 7), Tiny Creatures (August 7), Insidious: The Last Key (August 9), Game On: A Comedy Crossover Event (August 10), How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (August 10), Greenleaf Season 5 (August 12), (Un)Well (August 12), Glow Up Season 2 (August 14), The Great Heist (August 14), Teenage Bounty Hunters (August 14), 3% Season 4 (August 14), Rita Season 5 (August 15), Space Jam (August 15), Stranger Season 2 (August 15), Crazy Awesome Teachers (August 17), DeMarcus Family Rules (August 19), High Score (August 19), Biohackers (August 20), John Was Truing to Contact Aliens (August 20), Rust Valley Restorer Season 3 (August 21), The Sleepover (August 21), Trinkets Season 2 (August 25), Million Dollar Beach House (August 26), Rising Phoenix (August 26), Aggretsuko Season 3 (August 27), Cobra Kai Seasons 1-2 (August 28), Fearless (August 28).

AUGUST 3

Widely considered one of the best Australian films of recent years, the drama Acute Misfortune directed by Thomas Wright, and co-written by Wright and Erik Jensen is based on Jensens biography of the late Adam Cullen, a painter known for his bold colors, shocking subject matter and punk aesthetic. The movie is about the close and sometimes contentious relationship that developed between the green young journalist Wright and the cantankerous and sickly Cullen. Its a study in how difficult it can be to put artists and their work into context.

AUGUST 5

The outstanding actress Juno Temple gets a much-deserved leading role in Little Birds, playing Lucy Savage, a rich New Yorker who explores the wide open sexual and political possibilities of Tangier in the mid 1950s. Loosely based on the work of the erotic fiction pioneer Anais Nin, this stylish six-part series directed by Stacie Passon spoofs the presumptions and privileges of the colonial class, while graphically depicting their secret desires. Temple brings a sense of playfulness and humor to a character on a wild journey of self-discovery.

AUGUST 20

The TV writer-producer team of Robert and Michelle King best-known for creating The Good Wife and its spinoff The Good Fight go to some wonderfully odd places with their new series Evil. Katja Herbers plays a psychologist who helps a deeply religious Catholic investigator (played by Mike Colter) and a skilled tinkerer (Aasif Mandvi) on a mission to determine if there are reasonable explanations for supernatural phenomena. Michael Emerson plays an antagonistic chaos-agent, working for his own mysterious ends. Evil is occasionally quite scary and often very funny. Its also consistently provocative in the way it depicts issues of faith and fervor.

AUGUST 22

One of the most artfully rendered romantic movies of recent years, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is set on an island estate in late 18th century Brittany, where a painter named Marianne (Nomie Merlant) has been hired to produce a portrait of a moody aristocrat named Hlose (Adle Haenel). The two fall in love and take their time, savoring the days they spend together before Hloses impending marriage. The writer-director Cline Sciamma captures the passion of these two women, as they enjoy the fleeting freedom of a secret affair.

AUGUST 28

Named for Helen Reddys 1972 feminist anthem, I Am Woman tells the story of the Melbourne-born singer and her rise to international pop music stardom. Tilda Cobham-Hervey plays Reddy, who arrives in the United States as an unknown and has to struggle against the ingrained sexism and shortsightedness of 1960s American showbiz to get her voice heard. Danielle Macdonald plays Lillian Roxon, the Australian rock journalist whose enthusiasm for the womens movement helped inspire Reddys most enduring hit.

AUGUST 30

Fans of strange but true crime stories should enjoy Love Fraud, a docu-series about a con-man who drained the bank accounts of several trusting women until they found each other online and worked together to expose him. The co-directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (best-known for the documentary Jesus Camp) get to know these ladies, who for the most part dont seem like easy or even lucrative marks. Love Fraud is about predators who use the internet to find not necessarily the wealthiest prey, but the most persuadable.

Also arriving: The Deceived (August 4), Magic Mike (August 5), Stroszek (August 5), Mr. & Mrs. Murder (August 6), Brabham (August 7), Chimerica Season 1 (August 7), Michelle Obama: Life After the White House (August 11), Battlestar Galactica Seasons 1-4 (August 14), The Circus (August 17), Dark Money Season 1 (August 23), Blood & Treasure Season 1 (August 27).

AUGUST 7

A different kind of food show or perhaps a different kind of political panel show Pan y Circo is hosted by the actor Diego Luna, who brings together an assortment of activists and celebrities for a series of fabulous meals, across Mexico. The guests have spirited debates about everything from immigration law to the drug war to gender politics, all in a spirit of honesty and good will. Theres even a quarantine special, with Lunas pals gathering virtually, to talk about life in the COVID-19 era.

AUGUST 14

The reality television producer Mark Burnett launched his career in the mid-1990s with Eco-Challenge, an extreme team race across the wilderness, combining multiple disciplines. Burnett set the concept aside after he found greater success with shows like Survivor and The Apprentice, but now hes bringing it back as Worlds Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji. The ruggedly outdoorsy TV personality Bear Grylls hosts the ten-part series, which covers a grueling, nonstop 11-day scramble across mountains and water, with 66 teams a total of over 300 athletes pushing the limits of their endurance.

Also arriving:

Chemical Hearts (August 21).

Read more:

The Best Movies and TV Shows New to Netflix, Amazon and Stan in Australia in August - The New York Times

The Azores archipelago has long been considered a site of geostrategic relevance for geopolitical and resource exploitation due to its natural wealth and its location in the North Atlantic. This volcanic Eden, comprising nine islands, sits on the meridian that connects Lisbon and New York and is positioned between the Eurasian, the North American, and the African continental plates.

The archipelagos bountiful landscapes are not only known for their lavish mixture of flora and fauna: much of their value owes to their location along the fertile grounds of the mid-Atlantic ridge. This multi-stratum of oceanic spaces makes it a crucial place to study the migratory routes of cetaceans and other species. As such, the Azores are today considered an important site for research in deep sea ecology, ocean climatology, and more.

The islands, which are currently an autonomous region of Portugal, were first occupied by Portuguese settlers in 1439, who dedicated themselves to agriculture and whaling. The latter activity provided much of the islands supplies and exports, namely derivatives of cetacean oil for illumination and lubrication of industrial machinery. With the international ban of whaling in the 1980s, the island workforce and part of the industry's infrastructures were diverted to forms of ecotourism, which now sustain the islands.

In the early twentieth century, the geostrategic location of the archipelago made it eligible for the crossing of transatlantic cables, as well as a stopover site during the first cross-Atlantic flight. Since World War II, the United States Air Force has used the Lajes military base on Terceira island, and today STARlab, the Atlantic International Satellite Launch Programme, is currently being built on Santa Maria Island with investment funds from the Chinese Science Academy.

The politics and resource strategies of the Azores have long been triangulated between local conservation strategies, the geopolitical aspirations of the Portuguese Central Government, and a confluence of international interests. These interests are today put at stake as an emerging threat to the high seas has been steadily gathering momentum around the waters of the region, one that promises an unprecedented industrialization of ocean space: deep-sea mining.1

Hydrothermal vents. Drawing by Daniel Melim.

In the early 1990s, several hydrothermal vent fields were discovered southwest of the Azores archipelago along the Mid-Atlantic Ridgewith cobalt crusts on its northern seamounts as well as manganese nodules on the southern side of the islands. Recent EU reports define twenty-seven raw materials to be in critical demand, as China remains the main supplier to Europe and a worldwide exporter.2 The dependence of raw material supplies is seen to have strategic importance at the European level, and as such, the EU has taken a prominent role in promoting policy, investment funds, and EU innovation partnerships in this area.3

Alongside its Deep Sea Minerals project in the Pacific Community (SPC) and a host of public-private partnerships promoted by several Member States, the EU is also at the center of a growing institutional mobilization focused on the Atlantic, where national maritime concessions and areas on the high seas around the Azores archipelago take on a particularly key role.4 According to lawyer Marta Chantal Ribeiro, coordinator of the Law of the Sea Research Group at the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, the sea surrounding the Azores is the most attractive in the context of the European Union, and probably where conditions are more favorable to proceed with mining, from the point of view of the economic interests which it bares.5 Deep sea mineral extraction threatens to not only completely destroy portions of the ocean floor and erase the communities that inhabit it, but also have broader cumulative impacts, whose full scope still remains largely unknown.6

Technological progress in the field of deep-sea mining accelerates the possibility of giving way to new submarine extractive industries in the near future. Its currently estimated that the increasing market demand for mineral resources from now until 2050 will exceed all that has been extracted since the dawn of humanity to the present day.7 While much of this demand comes from consumer tech industries, there is also increasing need for raw minerals and metals to supply the development, deployment, and storage of clean energy.8 Faced with the mineralogical potential of the ocean floor, international demand for economic growth gives further space for industry to promote the necessity and inevitability of these endeavors.

The eras of the geological timescale.Drawing by Daniel Melim.

Since the implementation of UNCLOS, the United Nations Conservation Law of the Sea in the 1980s, sovereignty rights over ocean space has been acquired in the form of EEZs (Exclusive Economic Zones) by countries around the world.9 Since the end of the 2010s, several public and private initiatives have been launched in Portugal to promote and adjudicate the possible exploitation of non-living resources on the seabed. A common link between these initiatives, whether dedicated to research or conservation, has been the development of oceanographic surveys, which often serve as point of departure for obtaining project financing, pursuing resource prospection, and exploitation.

In 2005, the Portuguese Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf (EMEPC) was created to prepare, present, and defend a proposal to extend the Portuguese continental shelf before the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) of the United Nations.10 Extensions of the continental shelf are exclusively geared towards ensuring the sovereignty of a state over the resources in the soil and subsoil beyond the 200 maritime miles of its EEZ. Portugal has the third-largest maritime EEZ of the EU, and the twentieth largest in the world, at 1,727,408 square kilometers. The proposal would have expanded that area to 2.15 million square kilometers; forty-two times larger than the area of Portugal itself.

A year prior to Portugal submitting its proposal to CLCS in 2009, the company Nautilus Minerals, Inc., which had previously been developing experimental deep sea mining tests in Papua New Guinea, submitted a request to the Portuguese Regional Secretariat for the Sea, Science, and Technology for mineral prospecting rights for six locations in the Azores Sea.11 This request was not granted, and soon after, in 2011, the Azores Government created the Azores Marine Park, which banned all extractive activities within its network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which includes diverse ecosystems, hydrothermal vents, submarine banks, and seamounts.

In 2012, the Azores Government legislated the reclamation of existing natural assets on the seabed (excluding hydrocarbons, natural gas, and methane hydrates). That same year, Nautilus Minerals Inc. submitted five new requests to the Portuguese Regional Secretariat for the Sea, Science and Technology for prospecting and extraction rights in areas on the periphery of the Azores Marine Park.

In 2013, the EU, Canada, and the USA signed the Galway Declaration on the Atlantic Ocean Cooperation with the aim of stimulating research partnerships to obtain further knowledge about the Atlantic Ocean and its system dynamicsincluding its connections with the Arctic and North Atlantic.12 It proposed data sharing, inter-operability, and infrastructure coordination for the observation and mapping of benthic habitats between the signatory countries. That same year, another similar project called MIDAS (Managing Impacts of Deep-seA reSource exploitation) was established by the EU and a consortium of thirty-two partners, financed by the European Commission, whose purpose was to investigate over three years the impacts associated with the extraction of energy and mineral resources from the bottom of the sea.13 The following year, the Blue Mining project was established as an international consortium of nineteen European organizations, including members from academia and industry, to assess the impacts and potentials for deep-sea mineral and energy resource extraction around the Azores.14 The minerals Blue Mining identified for evaluation included polymetallic nodules and sulphides, ferromagnetic crusts rich in cobalt, methane hydrates, and rare earth elements.

In 2014, the Portuguese government took notice of the inherent conflict between the Azores Marine Park and the requests made by Nautilus Minerals Inc and EU initiatives that gravitated towards it. As a result, the national parliament passed legislation that limited the authority of autonomous regions to approve territorial zoning plans beyond the 200-mile EEZ limit. Furthermore, the Portuguese government soon also approved a new law decreeing that any new proposals by autonomous regions for implementing MPAs within that same area require consent from the central government, as well as establishing the central governments authority to decide whether or not to include currently-existing MPAs in its national zoning plan. This began a legal dialogue regarding what autonomy actually meant for the Azores, as well as how much the central government could override decisions by regional governmentsclues that were perhaps indicative of how this dynamic would play out if, and when the extension of the continental shelf was granted.15

The constitutional status of the Azores as an autonomous region gives it environmental authority beyond the 200 miles of the EEZ. Therefore, in response to these actions taken by the central government, the Azores regional government appealed these laws to the Constitutional Court. While the appeal was unsuccessful, they exercised power by not complying with the national spatial planning policy program.

In 2015, the Portuguese Parliament passed a new law establishing a legal framework for surveying existing geological resources on national territory, including those located in national maritime waters. The law lacked any jurisdictional concern for environmental protection before, during, or after the proposed activities. Its primary purpose was to resolve the national political divisions created between mainland Portugal and the Azores, stating that for the purpose of attributing any licenses, both regional and national governments must be signatories. After the law was approved, the regional government approved the expansion of the Azores Marine Park, thereby including areas for which Nautilus Minerals Inc. had submitted a request for an exploitation licensethe Menez Gwen, Lucky Strike and Rainbow hydrothermal fieldswhile maintaining the ban on mineral extraction within the protected areas of the park.

Area under Portuguese sovereignty, including the Azores and Madeira archipelagos.Drawing by Daniel Melim.

The main MPAs within the Azores Marine Park are recognized by the European Commission as Sites of Community Interest, Conservation, and Importance, and are part of the Natura 2000 network.16 This means that the declassification of any site of this kind must be approved by the European Commission, and that the Portuguese central government cannot override the status of the Azoress MPAs without the Commissions approval. Other MPAs within the Azores Marine Park are recognized by the OSPAR Convention (Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic), an international mechanism that regulates the discharge of pollutants into the marine environment signed by fifteen nations, including Portugal.17 Also in 2015, Portugal submitted a proposal to nominate the Rainbow MPAa hydrothermal vent field that is the first national Marine Protected Area proposed beyond the 200-kilometer EEZ boundaryas a Site of Community Interest, Conservation, and Importance, which was later approved by OSPAR.18

In recent years, Portugal has promoted a political agenda whose growth-led policies target the Blue Economy and marine investment. Numerous projects, think tanks, ocean literacy programs, and high-level ministry conferences have been held in Portugal with the aim to secure investment partnerships. In July 2017, for instance, the EU, Brazil, and South Africa signed the Belm Statement, an accord which reinforces a shared commitment to pursuing research and innovation in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean.19 This statement was signed within the scope of the conference A New Era of Blue Enlightenment, which promoted the Azores as a geostrategic point for the convergence of partners and entities studying the Atlantic, as well as a source of mineral resources to exploit.20 As a sign of the heightened interest in the region from a web of private and state interests, that same year Poland applied for a concession from the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to exploit marine resources within an EBSA (Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas) area certified by the Convention of Biological Diversity, located just outside of Azorean waters, in the vicinity of Flores island.

While resource prospection on national waters is legislated by individual nation states, the regulation, supervision, and exploration of the ocean floor in international waters and the high seas lies with the International Seabed Authority. A United Nations body, the ISA has up until today leased twenty-nine concessions for prospecting and exploiting that cover a total of approximately around two million square kilometers of international seabed. While the ISA receives royalties from mining concessions and plans to develop a company to commercialize seabed ore, it is also the institutional body responsible for drafting guidelines on seabed mining, which it aims to publish in the coming year.

In this context, Fausto Brito e Abreu, former Director General of the Portuguese Directorate-General for Maritime Policy, and Filipe Porteiro, Regional Director of Sea Affairs in the Azores, stated that they are awaiting the ISAs publication of deep-sea mining before advancing with mining plans.21 They also signaled that they would open the door to experimental mining techniques which, they claimed, will certainly not be damaging to the environment so long as they follow this regulation. This is a worrying statement, given that the ISA has been accused by various NGOs of a lack of transparency and being ecologically biased.22 According to Mnica Verbeek, director of the NGO conglomerate Seas at Risk, the EBSA are areas of extreme importance for the ocean, as their aim is to protect its healthy functioning.23 Accordingly, it is essential to begin a public debate on mining, involving stakeholders in all the areas which will be affected, clarifying who will benefit and who will suffer from the impacts.24

Several environmental associations and Azorean citizens have expressed concern regarding the possibility of deep-sea mining. Friends of the Azores, a NGO focused on the regions environment, worries about the lack of opportunities for civic participation in debates on mining, as well as how governance on the topic is being conducted.25 One of its members, Diogo Caetano, is troubled by the lack of transparency on how the entire project is being managed, stating that it is fundamental to provide Azorean society with knowledge of the current state of the deep sea, releasing studies already developed and announcing those yet to be developed, the financial amounts invested and their respective origins, as well as the projects and plans, both regional and national, on medium and long-terms.

ARTAC, the Regional Association for the Promotion and Development of Tourism, Environment, Culture, and Health in the Azores headed by Filipe Tavares and Sara Ponte, has also expressed concern regarding the devastating effects of mining on fragile and unique marine ecosystems.26 They highlight the absurdity of the fact that, even though the Azores are recognized for their biodiversity and sustainability, the reality is that its marine resources are deeply dilapidated due to excessive fishing, poor management and lack of inspection. To speak of mining, is a sign that everything has failed, even autonomy itself.

The vertical axisfrom outer space to the ocean's depths. From Inhabitants,What is Deep Sea Mining? Episode 1:Tools for Ocean Literacy, 2018.Drawing by Daniel Melim.

At the end of 2017, the NGO coalition Oceano Livre organized the conference Deep Sea Mininga sustainable choice for Portugal? which brought together environmentalists, politicians, scientists, and legal experts. The conference was an opportunity to promote an informed, critical dialogue on this topic from different positions. At the same time, it offered a glimpse into the government's position on the topic. During the event, Fausto Brito e Abreu reassured those present that the Portuguese Government does not consider deep sea mining a priority, before stating that it will only happen when it is possible to do so with minimum guarantees of environmental sustainability.27 He concluded by saying that, in his view, it will be necessary to wait at least a decade and a half before we extract the first mineral from the bottom of the Portuguese sea at a commercial scale. Deep-sea mining is, in other words, not so much a priority as it is an inevitable future.

During a 2018 visit by local representatives from the province of New Ireland to the Nautilus shipyard in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, the companys Vice President of Operations, Adam Wright, brazenly affirmed that there will be no impact on fish, there will be no impact on the reef and its communities.28 This statement, while ignoring the industrial machinery that would literally reduce the seabed to a paste, reveals a shared mindset and outlook between industry operatives and elected representatives from across the world. During a meeting of the Atlantic Councila think tank with deep establishment and industry linksFausto Brito e Abreu and the former Portuguese Minister of Sea Ana Vitorino reaffirmed deep sea mining as one of the four pillars of a renewed cooperation with the USA.29

Facing pressure from activist movements, at the end of 2019, the backers of Nautiluss deep-sea mining project in Papua New Guinea divested.30 The company is now in administration after hundreds of millions in losses and is largely supported by the government of Papua New Guinea, who was left with a debt equivalent to one-third of the countrys annual health budget for its nine million people.31 Political circumstances dictate a much more cautious discourse these days in the Pacific, but this should not be considered as anything more than a reprieve. The same interests that propelled Nautilus in Papua New Guinea and the Azores are still active in a number of other projects, often sustained in part by public finances and carried through without even a hint of public debate.32

The oceans play a key part of the global ecosystem, as well as a central mechanism in the earth climate system.33 Maritime ecosystems have already been subject to anthropogenic processes of change, such as acidification and mean temperature rise, and are today under additional threat by short to medium-term material demands and profit expectations. Analysis of existing alternatives to mineral and metal demands has been researched and well documented.34 The lack of knowledge about oceanic systems and their eco-systemic complexity and richness is enormous. It is only with profound ignorance that the practice of deep-sea mining can be adopted. And, as we know from other forms of resource extraction such as fracking, once a technology becomes commercially viable and has the backing of both powerful industrial lobbies and national governments (and the revolving door between the two), there is no going back. Ecosystems that are thousands of years old cannot be remade. Systemic tipping points cannot be uncrossed. The fragile and still-understudied ecosystems of the Azores are encircled by political agendas and economic interests. We are at a critical junction in terms of ocean governance in the era of the blue economy, and choices made in the short term will determine what kind of world future generations will struggle to survive in. It is essential, in this era, to create spaces for public debate, tools for ocean literacy, and coordinated action with unrestrained solidarity.

The future of the sea surrounding the Azores is a minor conflict that represents a global struggle. Governments cannot be trusted to provide unbiased information and clarification, criteria and scientifically-informed outcomes. It is up to us to demand that elected representatives and institutions protect the commons. Through environmental, civic, and other organizations, individually or collectively mobilized, we must demand participation in the decisions that configure our lives and world.35 For the Azores, this means unequivocally stating that a minimum of protection, sustainability, and concern for our common future not enough. Indeed, it never was. It is up to us to make it clear that far from inevitable, deep-sea mining in the Azores and elsewhere must not go ahead without full environmental assessments, community consultation, and exploration of alternatives. We have the word, now let's act.

A previous version of this text was first published in Portuguese in Jornal mapa, an independent media outlet that covers global environmental issues. This re-publication was selected by Inhabitants on the occasion of their webseries What is Deep Sea Mining? (2018).

Oceans in Transformation is a collaboration between TBA21Academy and e-flux Architecture within the context of the eponymous exhibition at Ocean Space in Venice by Territorial Agency and its manifestation on Ocean Archive.

Margarida Mendes is a researcher and curator, and is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths. She is a founding member of the environmental movement Oceano Livre, a coalition of Portuguese NGOs working against deep sea mining.

Joo Martins is a member of the MAPA collective in Portugal, writing on issues of social and environmental equity, justice, and sustainability.

Here is the original post:

Muddying the Waters - Architecture - e-flux - E-Flux

Spoilers for 'High Seas' Season 3

In the third season of 'High Seas' aka 'Alta Mar' on Netflix, a few things have changed. The first two seasons helped us get to know the characters well and set up relationships that were tried and tested. Season 3 of 'High Seas' picks up one and a half years after the events of the second season, and this time, the Villanueva sisters, Eva (Ivana Baquero) and Carolina (Alejandra Onieva) are once again boarding the Barbara de Braganza for a voyage, but now they are different people.

For one, Eva is now a successful author, having published her novel 'Lost Souls' which she wrote while she was aboard the Barbara de Braganza. Meanwhile, Carolina, who is now married to Fernando Fabregas (Eloy Azorn), is trying to break out of her shell. And so, she bought a new ship which will embark on its maiden voyage delivering cargo. Eva is also single seeing as Nicolas Vasquez (Jon Kortajarena) chose to be with his wife instead. When Eva and Nicolas met and fell in love in the first two seasons, Nicolas had thought his wife was dead after she was captured by Nazis in the Second World War. It is only after he falls in love with Eva that he learns that his wife is alive and waiting for him in Argentina.

In the new season, before Eva is set to board the Barbara de Braganza, she is approached by Brazilian spy Fabio (Marco Pigossi) this may or may not be his real name who asks her for help in finding a dastardly doctor who had developed a deadly virus for the Nazis. Fabio believes that the doctor will be traveling on the Barbara de Braganza as the ship sets sail for Mexico, but he does not know what name the doctor has taken up or what he looks like. He needs Eva's help in accessing passenger records to figure out who the doctor might be so he can arrest him before the ship begins her voyage.

Unfortunately, Eva and Fabio confront the wrong passenger and while he was doing something illegal, he was not going to kill anybody. Before they can find out who the doctor really is, the ship sets sail. It turns out, however, that Fabio's superior who is also on the ship has uncovered something, but before he can tell Eva what it was, he is shot by someone.

Meanwhile, Nicolas is not on the Barbara de Braganza as he is asked by Carolina to captain her ship, whose captain was mysteriously kidnapped before sailing. Nicolas reluctantly agrees he would rather be on the Barbara de Braganza as his wife is on board and a new first officer is sent to replace him. However, it seems like the new First Officer has something suspicious up his sleeves as he begins to plant seeds to take over as the captain.

But that's not the only new mystery. There are two new characters whom we meet Carmen, and her daughter, Diana, who is covered in bandages. We are told that Diana suffered burns and is headed to Mexico for treatment, but we soon learn that Diana is completely alright. In fact, when Diana takes off her bandages, we see Carolina's face! Together, Carmen and Diana subdue the real Carolina and put her in bandages as Diana takes over to get close to Eva. It seems that Carmen and Diana are after the virus as well.

A lot of action takes place within the first two episodes given to reviewers and it looks like the third season will move full steam ahead. There is a lot more at stake in the new season and new characters add new tensions. Sometimes, shows can be accused of being repetitive, but so far, 'High Seas' is proving it has more stories in store for us. The question is, can viewers expect a different ending to Season 3?'High Seas' Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.

See more here:

'High Seas' Season 3 Review: A murder, a deadly virus and new players put Eva on guard but where is Nicolas? - MEAWW

I havent used an iMac in years, but when I unboxed the 2020 refresh of Apples 27-inch all-in-one desktop, I admit it: I smiled. It looks just like it always has (or at least the way it has for more than a decade): simple and streamlined, with the same floating aluminium-and-glass design, seriously giant bezels, and the Apple logo etched beneath the screen. Its almost comforting how little has changed about the iMac in recent years, at least on the outside.

Ive been using various models of the 13-inch MacBook Air and Pro for both work and personal projects for ages. Sometimes I use an external display, but portability has been the most important factor for me for a long time. Until now. I dont travel anymore. I, like many others, am working from home and have been for monthsand I no longer want to hunch over a small screen on my couch. I want a home office with a real desk and a comfortable chair. I want a giant screen to preserve my eyesight. And now I remember how much I loved the iMac.

Theres no getting around it: This design is old. These bezels have got to go. But I still cant help but like it. (Photo:Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo)

Apple is in many ways pitching the 2020 refresh as the Quarantine Edition iMac: Its a powerful device for getting work done at home, yes, but its also a tool for learning and quickly becoming an expert in photography, music, filmmaking, or any other creative project youve taken up during the pandemic to turn a very shitty situation into a somewhat productive one.

But the 2020 27-inch iMac may also be the end of an era for Apple. The company is transitioning to its own custom ARM-based processors for future Macs, with all new Macs expected to ship with Apple Silicon by 2022. And while the company hasnt saidwhich Mac will be the firstwith an in-house CPU, or what that Mac would look like, I would bet a large amount of money that the first Apple Silicon iMac will have a completely new design. But the company is still releasing Macs with Intel chips for the time being, including this brand new iMac, and youd be forgiven for hesitating to splurge on a desktop that might be obsolete in just two years.

All the necessities: headphone jack, SD card slot, four USB-A ports, two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, and a gigabit Ethernet connector. (Photo:Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo)

In my early testing of a specced-out 3,500 27-inch iMac with a 10th-gen Intel Core i9 processor (10 cores), AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT GPU with 16GB of VRAM, 32GB of memory, and 1TB SSD, its safe to say that this desktop will be nowhere close to obsolete by 2022at least not when it comes to performance.

The couple of benchmarks Ive run since the iMac arrived on Tuesday indicate that this desktop is a powerhouse. In the Blender test of CPU performance, the iMac rendered an image in 2 minutes and 19 seconds, which is incredibly fast its more than two minutes faster than when we benchmarkedIntels 10th-gen Core i9-10900K processoron its own. On Geekbench 4, a synthetic test of overall system performance, the iMacs single-core score of 6382 and multi-core score of 42417 impressed us all. Joanna Nelius, Gizmodos resident PC and processor expert, exclaimed: What the hell did Inteldoto this CPU? We plan to run more benchmarks in addition to real-world tests, but these early numbers are promising.

I love this nano-textured glass so much it makes me angry. So much ambient light! No glare! (Photo:Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo)

That performance comes with a high price tagI mentioned that all those upgrades will cost you 3,500 earlier, right? And that doesnt include the optional nano-textured glass, which comes at a 500 premium. I absolutely love this glass, though. Theres absolutely no glare, at any angle, regardless of what Im watching or the ambient light in the room. Bright light streaming in from the giant window to my left while watching Tom Hanks dimly lit drama-on-the-high-seas flickGreyhound(on Apple TV+, natch) was no match for the nano-textured glass. Late afternoon sun hitting the display from behind my shoulder wasnt reflected in the screen one bit. I need this on every device in my life.

Of course, you dont have to spend 3,500 to get some of the new iMacs upgrades. The new 1080p front-facing camera seems perfectly timed for a moment when those of us working from home need to look less like warmed-over garbage for work video chats and FaceTime happy hours. Every laptop in the MacBook lineup sports a 720p front-facing camera, and the difference is definitely noticeable. The iMacs T2 security chip also works some magic here, enabling the camera to detect your face so it adjusts the lighting and shadows.

The base model 27-inch iMac starts at 1,800, which isnt terrible, and for that price you get a 10th-gen Intel CPU (a 3.1GHz Core i5 with six cores), 256GB of SSD storage, a Retina 5K display (not new, but a respectable 5120 x 2880 resolution nonetheless), and 8GB of RAM. That might be the way to go if youre a beginning creator. After you start making that YouTube affiliate money, 3,500 might not seem like such a splurge.

My MacBooks 720p camera sucks compared to this. (Photo:Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo)

In a press briefing, Apple highlighted a few creators who taught themselves how to use apps like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro X during quarantine (while some of us have just been watering flowers daily inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, but its fine, I dont feel like an underachiever at all) and had them demo their workflows on the new iMac. Learning how Nigerian-American photographer Idara Ekpoh used Lightroom and Photoshop to make her Self-Portrait Sunday project come to life and how sustainability vlogger Jhanneu Roberts taught herself Final Cut Pro to make higher-quality YouTube videos was interesting! Do I think they needed the 27-inch iMac to pull that off? Well, no. But Im sure it was really nice.

The big question is: Do the new iMacs refreshed guts make it worth buying? Or does the classic (and kind of boring) design make this model a skip?

Im still in the process of testing out the new iMac, so stay tuned for our full review. What else do you want to know about Apples latest desktop as I put it through its paces? Drop a line in the comments.

Featured image:Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo

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Apple's Refreshed 27-Inch iMac Looks to Be a Powerhouse and the End of an Era - Gizmodo UK

Alta Mar / High Seas: Season 3 Netflix OriginalWhen the Brbara de Braganza sets sail from Argentina to Mexico, Eva joins a mission to root out a scientist harboring a fatal virus on board.

Berlin, Berlin Netflix FilmIn this cinematic sequel to the hit TV series, Lolle has moved on from Sven and is about to marry her friend Hart until Sven disrupts her plans.

The Magic School Bus Rides Again Kids In Space Netflix FamilyThe Magic School Bus kids blast into space and onto the International Space Station, only to find themselves on the run from a giant tardigrade!

Nailed It! Mxico: Season 2 Netflix OriginalThe fondant flows and frosting fiascos abound as home bakers try to recreate cakes shaped like armadillos, aliens and Elvis for a tasty cash prize.

The New Legends of Monkey: Season 2 Netflix FamilyThe quest for sacred scrolls continues for the Monkey King and friends. But in a world of demons, gods and magic, everything comes at a cost.

Selling Sunset: Season 3 Netflix OriginalBig changes come to The Oppenheim Group as a major sale closes, the agents consider career moves, and one broker faces a very public breakup.

Sing On! Germany Netflix OriginalIn this karaoke competition hosted by Palina Rojinski, contestants must hit the right note for a chance to win up to 30,000 euros.

Tiny Creatures Netflix OriginalLittle animals embark on big adventures across the U.S. in a dramatic nature series that explores their hidden worlds and epic survival stories. Narrated by Mike Colter.

Wizards: Tales of Arcadia Netflix FamilyMerlins young apprentice mixes with characters from Trollhunters and 3Below in the final chapter of Guillermo del Toros Tales of Arcadia trilogy.

Word Party Songs Netflix FamilyTurn up the music, put on your dancing shoes! Bailey, Franny, Kip, Lulu and Tilly want you to sing along to this colorful collection of music videos.

Work It Netflix FilmWhen Quinn Ackermanns admission to the college of her dreams depends on her performance at a dance competition, she forms a ragtag group of dancers to take on the best squad in school...now she just needs to learn how to dance.

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Here's Everything New Coming To Netflix This Week, August 6 - BuzzFeed

Illustration courtesy TAFB

By The Maritime Executive 08-05-2020 02:03:36

The National Hurricane Center plays a prominent role in keeping the maritime community safe in the hurricane season, but it also plays a key role year-round. The NHC's Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch (TAFB) generates marine weather forecasts for the tropical waters of the Eastern Pacific, the Caribbean and the North Atlantic.

The TAFB is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with at least three meteorologists working at all times. It performs forecasting, outreach, and support functions for the National Hurricane Center. TAFB's staff also engage in writing articles and other publications about marine forecasting and tropical weather.

TAFB's forecast coverage spans an area covering 14,000,000 square nautical miles, and it produces more than 100 products per day. Its products include high seas forecasts, offshore waters forecasts, tropical weather discussions and surface weather analyses. These products reach mariners over upper side-band radiofax, using Coast Guard transmission towers located in New Orleans, Point Reyes and Honolulu.

For more info, TAFB has released a briefing video for mariners on the center's function within NHC:

See more here:

Where are Tropical Weather Forecasts Made? - The Maritime Executive

During the coronavirus pandemic Netflix has been something of a saviour for households around the country and with the continued delays to releases of major blockbusters the reliance for new films and TV shows on the streaming platform looks likely to continue for some time yet.

And while there will surely come a point where Netflix struggles to find new material to release given the ongoing disruption to production on new shows, that point has not come yet there are several exciting new releases coming to the service in the next month.

August sees the return of the cult favourite series Lucifer for the first part of its fifth season, while hit original reality TV show Selling Sunset is back for a third run after a hugely successful second outing earlier this year.

There are also several new documentaries, including one that focuses on the career and controversial legacy of former France international striker Nicolas Anelka, and another about a manwho spent his life trying to find aliens.

On the movie front there is no doubting the headline news Netflix is adding another big-budget blockbuster to its ranks, this time an action film called Project Power starring Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon Levitt.

If youre still on the hunt forNetflixs July releases,we have the schedule.

Read on for our pick of the August list.

Dont Tell the Bride season 1 Series in which grooms take sole charge of organising their weddings

Extreme Cake Makers season 1 Documentary series following elite bakers and sugar-craft specialists

Extreme Chocolate Makers season 1 Chocolatiers from around the UK design and make amazing chocolate on commission

The Fall All three series of the hit crime drama starring Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan are coming on Netflix

Friday Night Dinner season 5 The fifth and second most recent series of the popular sitcom has been added

The Governor Nigerian political series gets its debut a month after originally planned

Meet the Parents season 1Reality game show hosted by Alex Zane

Nagi-Asu: a Lull in the Sea season 1 The first series of the coming-of-age anime series about five friends who have looked after Manaka since they were children

The Next Step season 6Drama series following young dancers at the Next Step Dance Studio

Operation Ouch! Doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken hosts the CBBC medical series for children

Super Monsters: the New Class Animated kids show about a group of preschool kids, whose parents are the worlds most famousmonsters

Toradora! season 1 Slice-of-life anime series

Plus older films arriving on, or returning to, the platform:

American History X (1998)American Pie Presents Band Camp (2008)Blade: Trinity (2004)Breaking Dawn Part One (2011)Breaking Dawn Part Two (2012)Breaking the Bank (2014)Brick Mansions (2014)Bulletproof (1996)The Call (2013)Childs Play 2 (1990)The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)Deep Impact (1998)Duplicity (2009)Eclipse (2010)Flipped (2010)George A Romeros Land of the Dead (2005)Gringo (2018)The Guys (2002)How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)The Imitation Game (2014)Jackass Number Two (2006)jackass presents: Bad Grandpa .5 (2014)Jackass 3.5 (2011)jackass 2.5 (2007)Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)The Judge (2014)The Mask (1994)New Moon (2009)The Nightingale (2018)Open Season (2006)Out of Sight (1998)Pee-wees Big Adventure (1985)Rise of the Legend (2018)Rumor Has It (2005)The Saint (1997)Seed of Chucky (2004)Sex and the City 2 (2010)Tammy (2014)Twilight (2008)Wheres the Money (2017)

ConnectedNew documentary series in which science journalist Latif Nasser investigates the ways in which we are connected to each other, the world and the universe

Immigration Nation Limited series taking a look at US immigration

Malibu Rescue: the Next WaveFamily comedy in which Team Flounder takes to the beach to host and unexpectedly compete in the International Beachmaster Competition

The Peanut Butter Falcon Film starring Shia LaBeouf about a man who runs away from a residential nursing home to pursue his dream of becoming a pro wrestler

A Toot-Toot Cory Carson Summer Camp Animated kids special

Mystery Lab Felipe Castanhari explores science, history, mysteries and marvels, and uncovers amazing facts

Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning New stand-up special from the comedian and Saturday Night Live writer

Anelka: Misunderstood Documentary about the career and controversial legacy of the former France international striker

Worlds Most Wanted season 1 New documentary series profiling criminals who have evaded capture

Danger Close: the Battle of Long Tan Australian war movie about the eponymous battle that took place during the Vietnam War

Nasha Natasha Documentary about Natalia Oreiro, a Uruguayan singer and actress

The Rain season 3 The third and final season of the Danish post-apocalyptic series

The Seven Deadly Sins season 4 The fourth run of the popular anime, which has a different studio behind it than previously

Action Point Comedy film starring Johnny Knoxville as the owner of an amusement park with dangerous rides and no safety measures

Berlin, Berlin: Lolle on the Run German film sequel to a hit TV series of the same name

High Seas season 3 The third run of the Spanish period mystery drama about unexplained deaths on a luxurious ship in 1940

The Magic School Bus Rides Again Kids in Space The Magic School Bus children blast into orbit and onto the International Space Station

Nailed It! Mexico season 2The return of the baking competition from the Latin American country

The New Legends of Monkey season 2 Second run of the Australian/New Zealand series based on the 70s Japanese production Monkey

Selling Sunset season 3 Third season of the hit reality series about estate agents selling glamorous houses in the Hollywood Hills

Superfly 2018 reboot of the 70s film of the same name

Tiny Creatures season 1 Nature series in which little animals embark on big adventures across the US

Upgrade Horror film based around a technophobe who suffers paralysis and loses his wife during an attack

Wizards: Tales of ArcadiaLimited series, focusing on modern wizards who find themselves thrust into the world of Camelot

Work It Original comedy film about a brilliant but clumsy high school senior vows to get into her late fathers alma mater by transforming herself and a misfit squad into dance champions

Word Party Songs season 1 Childrens music series

Serial Killer with Piers Morgan The journalist and broadcaster interviews some of the most dangerous convicts in America (ITV series)

Game On: a Comedy Crossover EventSpecial event featuring faces from series The Big Show Show, Family Reunion, Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love and Mr Iglesias

Rob Schneider: Asian Momma, Mexican KidsStand-up special from the former Saturday Night Live star

Green Leaf season 5 Fifth outing for the drama series about the Greenleaf family, which runs the sprawling Memphis megachurch Calvary Fellowship World Ministries

(Un)Well season 1 Docuseries investigating the lucrative wellness industry

Dirty John season 2 Second instalment of the true crime anthology series that explores the theme of love gone wrong

Fe@rlessAnimated family comedy movie about a teen gamer forced into becoming a babysitter

The Great Heist (El Robo Del Siglo) season 1 Series based on the 1994 robbery of US$33 million from Colombias central bank

Octonauts and the Caves of Sac Actun Feature-length special from the popular CBeebies series

Project Power Original blockbuster starring Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon Levitt about a world where it is possible to take a pill that gives the user them super powers for five minutes

Teenage Bounty Hunters season 1 Twin-sister college students lead double lives as bounty hunters in this teen crime drama series

3% season 4Fourth outing for the futuristic thriller series in which the elite inhabit an island paradise far from the crowded slums, and people get one chance to join the 3% saved from squalor

Jackass: the Movie (2002) Johnny Knoxville heads a crew of stuntmen, skateboarders and all-around lunatics as they prank, embarrass and torture each other in the name of fun

Ojos in dHouse season 1 The popular Nigerian sitcom arrives on Netflix

Rita season 5 Fifth run for the Danish comedy drama

Takki season 1 Saudi Arabian drama about themonarchy and strictWahabbism of the country

Glitch Techs season 2 Second run for the Nickelodeon series in which two teens who work at a video game store also hunt video game monsters

High Score Science and nature documentary limited series

Great Pretender season 1 Japanese anime comedy crime caper

John Was Trying to Contact Aliens Documentary film about John Shepherd, a man who spent more than three decades attempting to get in touch with aliens

Alien TV season 1 Goofy kids comedy

Lucifer season 5A Hugely popular series about the eponymous demon who returns from hell to reside in Los Angeles and run a club

Rust Valley Restorers season 3Return of the Canadian documentary series in which retro cars are revamped, in search of a profit

The SleepoverComedy film in whichtwo siblings learn their overprotective mom is a highly trained former thief abducted for one last job and only they can save her

Trinkets season 2 Second series of the teen drama about a grieving teenager who finds an unexpected connection with two classmates at her new high school

Rising Phoenix Documenting the origins of the Paralympic Games

Aggretusko season 3 Third outing for the Japanese anime musical comedy

Cobra Kai The first two seasons of the martial arts series

Unknown Origins Spanish language sci-fi film about two cops who team up with comic book nerds to hunt down a killer

Check out our lists of the best TV shows on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix, or see what else is on with our TV Guide

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Whats new on Netflix in August 2020 all the shows and movies coming soon - RadioTimes

Netflix is about to drop the third season of 'High Seas' aka 'Alta Mar' which comes from the makers of Netflix's first Spanish original series, 'Cable Girls'. 'High Seas', like 'Cable Girls' is a historical series and featured women in the lead roles but some of the key differences are that it is set in the aftermath of the World War II and is almost entirely set on the fictional ship, Barbara de Braganza.

In the first season, we met the Villanueva sisters, Eva (Ivana Baquero) and Carolina (Alejandra Onieva), who are headed to Buenos Aires, Argentina for a fresh start in their lives. Eva is an aspiring writer and Carolina is engaged to the ship's co-owner, Fernando Fabregas (Eloy Azorn). Aboard the ship, Eva meets First Officer, Nicolas Vasquez (Jon Kortajarena), a suave man who helps Eva as the ship is soon embroiled in mystery and murder.

Over the course of the first two seasons, Carolina -- the more timid of the sisters -- got married to Fernando, but by the end of Season 2, we were beginning to see that she was reevaluating her marriage and was breaking out of her shell. Meanwhile, Eva and Nicolas fall in love, but their relationship is put in jeopardy when Nicolas learns that his wife -- whom he believed to have died when she was taken by the Nazis -- is still alive.

When we meet the sisters again as the third season starts, one and a half years have passed since the events of the last season. Eva is a successful author, having published her novel, 'Lost Souls', which she wrote aboard the Barbara de Braganza, and Carolina has brought her own ship -- a cargo ship unlike the Barbara de Braganza -- to become more independent. Both sisters are reunited on the Barbara de Braganza when they set sail to Mexico, however, mysterious circumstances make their new voyage perilous again.

Before Eva embarks the ship, she meets Brazilian spy, Fabio (Marco Pigossi), who tells her he needs her help to find out the identity of a Nazi doctor who had developed a deadly virus and is believed to be a passenger on the upcoming voyage. Fabio wants to arrest the doctor before the ship sets sail. However, Eva and Fabio are unable to find the man before the voyage starts, leading to a race against time to find the dangerous man and the deadly virus before the ship reaches Mexico.

Meanwhile, Nicolas is asked to captain Carolina's ship when that ship's captain mysteriously. Nicolas is hesitant because his wife -- who is suffering from PTSD from the war -- is aboard the Barbara de Braganza. But after assurances from Captain Santiago Aguirre (Eduardo Blanco), he agrees. This seems like it was an orchestrated move because the new First Officer seems to be working with Pierre (Daniel Lundh) -- an officer who is reeling from the death of his lover in the previous season -- for some nefarious purpose. Together, they move to try and make Aguirre look like he is losing his mind.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to two other characters -- Carmen, the Villanueva sisters' uncle's friend, and her daughter, Diana, who is fully covered in bandages -- both of whom seem to have hidden purposes of their own.

Before they know it, Eva is embroiled in something that could be much more dangerous than her previous trip on the ship as a murder soon rocks the boat (pun intended). With Nicolas absent on the ship, Eva must rely on Fabio as Carolina is put in a precarious situation. Will they be able to retrieve the virus and avert disaster again?

'High Seas' Season 3 will be available to stream on Netflix on August 7 at 12 AM PST.

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'High Seas' Season 3 Preview: Eva and Carolina need to solve the new mystery before it's too late - MEAWW

In Netflix's Spanish original drama 'High Seas' aka 'Alta Mar', we meet sisters Eva and Carolina Villanueva who are traveling to Argentina from Spain aboard the ship, Brbara de Braganza. The ship is owned by Carolina's fiance Fernando Fbregas. On their way to the ship, a distraught woman runs ahead of their car and begs them for help. The Villanueva sisters help the woman named Sofia sneak into the ship as a stowaway. Unfortunately, that's where the troubles begin.

It turns out Sofia is not so innocent and the Villanueva sisters come to learn that their father, who they thought was dead, was, in fact, alive. They even learn that he worked with Nazis during the Second World War and was trying to uncover Nazi gold from the ship with Sofia's help.In the second season, the Barbara de Braganza answers a distress call and sets out to rescue people who have supposedly survived a sinking ship. But as it turns out, the team of rescues, led by Casandra Lenormand, were looking for the killers of Casandra's sister, with whom Fernando was having an affair with just before his engagement to Carolina.

By the end of the second season, most of these mysteries get solved, though Sofia escapes. Eva, who had begun a romantic relationship with Nicolas Vzquez, an officer on the Barbara de Braganza, hopes to start anew with her writing career in Argentina. However, Nicolas's wife (whom he presumed dead after being taken by the Nazis) comes back and Eva and Nicolas presumably go their separate ways.

The third season of 'High Seas' is set to be released on Netflix and when we catch up with the Villanueva sisters, they have spent a year and a half in Argentina. Both sisters have changed Carolina owns another ship and Eva is hiding a mission that she will carry out with Fabio, a Brazillian spy. The two sisters come together on the Barbara de Braganza on a trip that will take them from Buenos Aires to Veracruz as Eva and Fabio try to stop a scientist traveling aboard the ship with a powerful lethal weapon. With a new plot of mystery and espionage, our heroes' lives will be at risk again as new characters are thrown into the mix.

Read on to know which of your favorite characters are returning and who is coming aboard the Barbara de Braganza for the first time in Season 3.

You may best know Ivana Baquero as one of the stars of MTV's 'The Shannara Chronicles', or from Guillermo del Toro's 'Pan's Labyrinth'. The Spanish actress is a formidable star who undoubtedly is still yet to conquer more. In 'High Seas', Baquero plays Eva Villanueva, the bolder and more inquisitive of the sisters. We follow Eva over the first two seasons solving mysteries and falling in love. Fans can expect more of the same in the upcoming season.

For American viewers, this may be a new face, but Alejandra Onieva is one of the most popular actresses in Spain. Known for her roles in 'El Secreto de Puente Viejo' and 'Hazing', Onieva is sure to capture the attention of viewers through her role in 'High Seas'. In the Netflix series, she plays Carolina, who may start out as the more timid sister, but learns to be more self-assured and independent over the course of two seasons.

Jon Kortajarena's cheekbones could cut through your soul but don't let that distract you from his acting abilities. Kortajarena started out as a model for Versace, Giorgio Armani and more and went on to act in hits such as 'A Single Man' and 'Skins'. In 'High Seas', he plays the suave, good-hearted Nicolas Vasquez, who helps Eva with her investigations and slowly falls in love with her. While they presumably go their separate ways after Nicolas meets his wife in Argentina (whom he thought was dead), we hope these two lovebirds find their way to each other.

Unfortunately, Eva and Nicolas's romance may face a hurdle in the form of a new character, Fabio, played by Marco Pigossi. Pigossi is a Brazilian actor best known for his work on 'Edge of Desire', 'Land of the Strong' and Netflix's 'Tidelands'. Fabio is Eva's new investigation-friendly partner, and from the trailer, we see some sparks flying.

'High Seas' Season 3 will be available to stream on Netflix on August 7 at 12 am PST.

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'High Seas' Season 3: Meet Ivana Baquero, Jon Kortajarena and rest of the cast of the Netflix series - MEAWW

As if we needed an excuse to dress our cats up in pantaloons and little captain's hats this Halloween, Target has rolled out a new pirate-themed cat scratcher that might just give our fluffy friends the holiday chills. The store's new Hyde & EEK! Boutique Pirate Ship Cat Scratcher Toy, available exclusively at Target for $35, comes with tattered sails, paintings of a skeleton crew members, and two scratch pads for your feline to scratch their claws after sailing the high seas (aka, taking a cat nap).

Made to fit a cat-size crew, the fur-raising ship stands in at 44 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 31 inches tall, which means there's plenty of room for carrying treats treasure. Check out the ghoulish cat scratcher for yourself ahead, and take a peek at a few feline friends who've already gotten their paws on a boat to call their own.

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All Aboard! Target Has Ghostly Pirate Ship Cat Scratchers and, Yep, There's a Poop Deck - POPSUGAR

Ever since I laid eyes on Windbound in its announcement trailer, I was intrigued. Its open world elements and the freedom it gives players to explore its high seas and the uncharted islands that nestle themselves in it evoked that same sense of mystifying wonder that some of my personal favorites of recent years like Breath of the Wild, and What Remains of Edith Finch perfected in their open world design and narrative respectively. Theres a lot to love about Windbound, even if it is a rather simple survival game.

I was recently given the opportunity to go hands-on with Windbounds opening section, and a short segment of gameplay from later on in the game, and came away feeling pretty darn positive about the whole thing.

Players find themselves in control of Kara, a young warrior who finds herself shipwrecked and completely on her own on the Forbidden Islands. With nothing to her name, she must find a way to survive by hunting and scavenging the various islands she stumbles upon as she explores the high seas.

The first segment we played took place at the very beginning of Karas adventure. I explored typical uninhabited islands, with flora and fauna bringing bursts of color to the beige sands and blue waters that enveloped them. Windbounds art style is the first thing youll notice, clearly taking cues from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

It doesnt just look pretty, but feels like a perfect match for the constant sense of discovery and adventure that Windbound dripfeeds you. Theres detail and beauty in its environments, without going down the photorealism route. Windbounds visuals are timelessly beautiful.

As I reached the first island, I found a large pillar. Interacting with this pillar triggered some sort of beacon, and one of three icons on my screen was illuminated upon doing so. Youre never told what you should or shouldnt be doing in Windbound, so assuming I was on the right path, I hopped onto my small boat and took to the seas to try and find the remaining two.

Sailing actually feels pretty good, too, with players required to row or sail their ship from island to island. Wind direction is a significant factor you have to taken into account when traveling, tightening or loosening your sails depending on whether youre sailing into, across, or with the wind.

From our time in stages one and four of Windbound, sailing certainly feels to provide an ample gameplay challenge as the game progresses with choppier waters and harsher winds in the latter stage compared to the relatively tranquil seas in the first. It gets you thinking more about how youll reach your destination and what ship upgrades may benefit you most on your quest.

Youll spend a lot of time sailing the turbulent seas of Windbound and as became clear when we were skipped forward to the games fourth stage, the means in which you island hop can be customized to your own specifications. Do you want multiple sails, or no sails at all? Do you want to add bamboo decking and build a bag rack to help bolster your carry capacity, or would you rather place a campfire on it so you can quickly cook meat or make leather from animal hides? The choice is entirely yours, and ultimately feeds into how your Windbound experience unfolds.

Thats the beauty of Windbound. Even in the two sections of the game this preview is focused on, I never felt like I had to do anything in any particular way, or that I was being pressured to push on to the next section. I was free to venture off the beaten path and have Kara explore the farthest corners of the stages map the fog of war only being cleared as I sailed over it as long as I could survive.

Windbound is a survival game, and so you will need to manage Karas health and stamina gauges by foraging, hunting and preparing food. Berries can be found on some islands, giving you a small boost to health and stamina, or you can take down one of the native creatures and cook its meat to restore a larger amount. Ive never been the biggest fan of hunger and thirst meters in games theyre never really fun, lets be honest and I felt no different in Windbound.

Fortunately, it never felt overwhelming enough to detract from the standout sections of Windbound. Uncovering a new island seldom gets boring. Thanks to procedurally-generated islands, each time you uncover one you never know quite what youre going to get.

Our time in Chapter 4 only reinforced this, with swampy islands popping up to offer some variation on our adventure. With these came new creatures to battle and strip for resources, flora and fauna to create new tools and ship upgrades, and more story tidbits to uncover.

It was only during my stint in Chapter 4 that one of Windbounds most significant downsides became clear. Those three beacons we were seeking out in the games first chapter appear to be the recurring main objective. This would have been fine had they perhaps got trickier to scale and interact with, but they dont.

While we dont know exactly how the rest of the game will pan out, the similarities from what we could gather between Chapters 1 and 4 in their main objectives were a little disappointing. Sure, you may have to beat a few different enemy types along the way, but it still all feels a little too simple. Climb some conveniently-placed pillars, interact with the beacon, move on.

Speaking of enemy types, Windbounds combat feels a little barebones. Youll have an arsenal of spears, slings and even bows and arrows to use, but youll be able to stab and fire your ranged weapon, and perform a basic dodge. Thats it. Theres nothing more to it. While there are a few different types of projectile, my battles with enemies often resulted in repeated stabbing attacks with my spear and the occasional slinging of a rock.

From what Ive played of Windbound, it may be one of the most tranquil, relaxing and mysterious games Ive played this year. I can imagine myself kicking back after a long day and getting lost on its towering waves and tucked-away islands, desperately trying to piece together the secrets these forbidden waters hide. Its main objectives may get a little samey, and the combat a little too linear, but I still want to keep exploring all the same.

Originally posted here:

Windbound Preview - The Most Relaxing Survival Game You'll Play This Year - Twinfinite

Deadliest Catch has been one of Discovery Channels mainstay shows since it burst onto the scene in 2005 and remains a fan favorite for various reasons. Fans, however, will be aggrieved to know that Mahlon Reyes, a longstanding deckhand in Deadliest Catch, has passed away.

The 38-year-old deckhand and Deadliest Catch veteran suffered a cardiac arrest and died an untimely yet peaceful death on July 27, 2020, in his hometown of Whitefish, Montana. Following his passing, Reyes family put up a tribute post on his Facebook page, saying, On Sunday night, our family together made the hardest choice weve ever made, and that was to remove him from life support. Mahlons body was tired and had put up an amazing fight. He was the strongest guy we knew. He was surrounded by so much love.

Reyes time with Deadliest Catch was certainly an eventful one, and he featured in several heart-pounding and adrenaline-filled episodes. Throughout his stint with Deadliest Catch, Reyes served as the deckhand on two vessels. He was loved by both his superiors and his colleagues. In this article, we take a look at the two boats that had the honor of having Reyes on board.

One of the two boats on which Reyes had served, the Seabrooke, is a veteran of the waters. It was built in 1979. The Seabrooke is a steel crabber that can reach a speed of 10 knots on the open sea and comes with a 29,000-gallon fuel capacity. Being a crabbing vessel, it sports all the required deck gear for crabbing, including a crab block, a tendering set-up, and a deck crane. Over its four decades of service, the Seabrooke has been upgraded several times and remains a beast on the sea.

In Deadliest Catch, the Seabrooke is under the command of Captain Scott Campbell for four seasons, and Captain Campbell remains one of the most loved captains to feature on the show. Campbell is a veteran crabber and had spent many years on the sea before Discovery Channel discovered him and offered him a spot on Deadliest Catch. In 2018, however, Campbell was forced to step back from his rough life on the high seas due to a back injury and now owns his own company, Cordova Coolers, which sells a line of foam-injected roto-molded coolers designed by him. Campbells retirement from being a crabber has also had an effect on the fate of the Seabrooke, which, as of 2019, was on sale.

The second vessel on which Reyes served is known as the Cape Caution. After being built in 1983, the Cape Caution has spent almost four decades roaming the high seas in search of the deadliest (and yummiest) catch. The fishing vessel remains in active service to this day.

In Deadliest Catch, the Cape Caution features from Seasons 9 through 12 under the command of seafaring veteran, Captain Wild Bill Wichrowski. Having served four years in the US Navy, the monetary allure of king-crab fishing lured Bill to the Bering sea. A couple of seasons into Bills stint with Deadliest Catch, Bill brought his son Zack in to serve as greenhorn aboard the Cape Caution.[Cover Picture Courtesy: Mahlon Reyes/Facebook]

Read More: Best Ship Movies

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Mahlon Reye Boats on Deadliest Catch: What Boat Was Mahlon Reye On? - The Cinemaholic

Where is Isaias now? Where is the forecasted path?

New Jersey remains in the forecast cone. Options from a graze up the coast to an inland track near the Delaware River are possible. Tropical storm warnings extend from Boston, down the I-95 corridor to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

As of 3 p.m., the National Weather Service Hazards for the Northeast. Tropical storm warnings are in dark red.

It is important to note that the heaviest rain will be to the west of Isaias' center. Meanwhile, the strongest winds will be to the east.

"Isaas" is the Spanish and Portuguese word for the biblical Isaiah. It is pronounced ees-ah-EE-ahs.

Isaias joins Tropical Storm Fay, which made landfall just south of Long Beach Island on July 10, as the two storms put the region in the forecast cone.

The cone represents a two-thirds probability of where the center of the low pressure center is.

The storm will slip through a weakness in a large high pressure system, which expands from the Gulf of Mexico into much of the Atlantic Ocean.

This map shows the steering patterns of the atmosphere between the 300 to 850 millibar level, between about 30,000 and 5,000 feet high. Isaias will slip through the weakness in the clockwise spinning high pressure system off the coast of Florida.

One it reaches Georgia, the steering patterns sharply moves west to east. While the storm won't curve immediately out to sea, there will be a turn to the northeast as it moves north, hence why New Jersey is in the forecast cone.

Forecast model guidance continues to narrow. A landfall will be possible, or can a pass two to three hundred miles out to sea.

The model track guidance for Tropical Storm Iasias, as of 8 a.m. Friday.

There are three options at play. However, it will not be until Saturday when they can be narrowed down. If the storm makes landfall before reaching New Jersey, that will weaken the storm, and vice versa. The first two scenarios are favored, with the third one looking less and less likely.

Option 1:

The European model from Wednesday night is a good representation of what scenario 1 would look like. The center of the storm is well out to sea.

Isaias stays 200 to 300 miles out to sea, passing between late Monday and Tuesday.

Spotty, but heavy, rain bands will pass. Winds would be gusty, but likely would not be enough to bring damage.

The real concerns would be out on the water. Given the full moon Monday and the onshore winds. Multiple rounds of minor or moderate coastal flooding would be likely. High seas would be present, with dangerous rip currents, too. During Tropical Storm Fay, a teenage lost his life in Ventnor while swimming with two friends the evening of the storm. In Ocean City, two 18-year-old girls were brought to shore by city police the following morning.

A heat wave that drives you to the shore, warm water temperature that draws you to the surf

Option 2:

The storm hugs the Jersey Shore. While the western side of the storm is usually the safer side, since the winds around the counter-clockwise spinning system goes against the northerly direction of the storm's movement, worse impacts than option 1 are possible.

Flooding rain, damaging winds at the coast, minor to moderate coastal flooding, dangerous rip currents and high seas will all be likely.

This being said, a track coast to the close would likely mean land interaction with North Carolina. If that happens, the storm would weaken. This could mean the difference between a strong tropical storm and weak, less organized one.

The Global Forecast System, American, model paints this picture. Though, note that the exact track of the storm should not be paid attention to. Rather, note how organized the storm is.

The GFS, American model, paints tropical storm force sustained winds at the shore Tuesday morning. Emergency personnel will not respond to a 9-1-1 call when winds are above tropical storm force.

Option 3:

Isaias makes landfall in Florida or the Southeastern United States and the center of the storm passes to the west of the state. That is illustrated on the western edge of the forecast cone.

The storm would likely be a remnants storm by then, or perhaps a Tropical Depression. However, flooding rains, some coastal flooding, dangerous seas, rip currents and high surf would be likely.

The Canadian weather forecast model from the Thursday night model run. Note the center of the storm is inland and would likely be a remnant storm, or a tropical depression by then.

Saturday.

By then, the storm will be near Florida. In the weakness of the large, Gulf of Mexico to Atlantic Ocean high pressure system, there will be a better idea on how the steering currents will move the storm.

Tropical Storm watches may go up Saturday night or Sunday morning, 48 hours before tropical storm force (39 mph or greater) winds arrive.

The Press of Atlantic City's Hurricane section of the Weather Center has the information you need to know to protect yourself and learn more about tropical systems in South Jersey.

Ten tropical storms and hurricanes have made landfall in South Jersey since 1900. Here's the list, newly updated with Tropical Storm Fay, which made landfall July 10. As long as the storm makes landfall in New Jersey, it will be the first time with two storms making landfall within the same year.

Making landfall on the Delaware Bay side of Cape May County on the morning of August 21, 1971, Doria was responsible for an F-2 tornado, with winds over 100 mph, near Cape May .

According to the Weather Prediction Center, 3 to 7 inches of rain fell in most of the region.

An active 2020 hurricane season was predictedby Colorado State University. With Isaias, 2020 continues its record breaking pace to hurricane season, beating out the historic 2005 year.

View post:

Isaias strengthens into a hurricane, South Jersey in forecasted path - Press of Atlantic City

New York Giants coach Joe Judge believes the NFL players and coaches will have to sacrifice if the league is going to have a season in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to the media Friday for the first time since players started reporting to training camp, Judge refused to discuss either individual players or second-year cornerback DeAndre Bakers legal problems. He said the release of 2018 Pro Bowl placekicker Aldrick Rosas following a hit-and-run accident was in the best interest of the team.

Judge again voiced his support for left tackle Nate Solders decision to opt out of the season because of health concerns during the pandemic.

Heading into his first season as a head coach, the former New England Patriots special teams coordinator said the unusual nature of this season will not be an excuse for his team. The Giants will adapt and be prepared for any eventuality, including either players or coaches testing positive for COVID-19.

Judge hopes that never happens, of course, but he insists the Giants and every team and player in the league have to work to prevent any outbreaks. He strongly believes following the agreed protocols adopted by the league and players union are essential.

The thing I have said to my team is we have to make responsible decisions, always, Judge said. For me personally, its not just where I go around my house, but Ive got to be conscious of where my wife, children, you know, who are they around?

There are some sacrifices we have to make, Judge continued. Everybodys made sacrifices to get to this level. If the biggest thing we have to do for half the year is wear masks around each other, distance a little bit, and when we go home, be home I think thats a pretty fair trade-off to be able to be part of the National Football League.

Players are currently quarantined in hotels while awaiting the results of repeated COVID-19 testing. They wont be allowed into the team facility until passing those tests.

Obviously a problem for the NFL would be a spike in cases, what baseball is going through, particularly with the Miami Marlins. They have missed a week of play in a 60-game season. An outbreak could endanger any season in any sport. The NFL has rules that require players to stay away from large crowds and to wear face masks.

Since being hired to succeed the fired Pat Shurmur in January, Judge has not had the chance to physically stand in front of his team and address it. He has spoken to some players and held virtual team meetings with the entire group to tell them what he expects. It certainly isnt another 4-12 season for a franchise that has been to the playoffs once since winning the Super Bowl in February 2012.

Under the labor agreement between the players union and the NFL, the first practices for this season wont take place until mid-August. There will be 14 overall, with 10 in pads.

A lot of things have to be done in a short period of time, he said. We have to make good evaluations as coaches, Ive got to set up practices and make sure we can evaluate guys at multiple positions, and we gotta make sure that we do a good job of seeing what every player does when he understands what to do when the play is fastest. Thats our job as coaches to teach them.

Rosas, who kicked for the Giants the past three years and was coming off a poor season, was released this week. Former Jets kicker Chandler Catanzaro was signed.

Baker, one of three first-round draft picks in 2019 and an anticipated starter at cornerback, was placed on the commissioners exempt list this week. He was arrested on armed robbery and aggravated assault charges in Florida in the offseason. He pleaded innocent.

Hes not on our 90-man roster, currently hes on the exempt list. Ill let the league deal with that issue, Judge said.

NOTES: Judge agreed it will be harder adding players to the roster this season because of the rule that mandates new players must isolate for a week before joining a new team. ... While some teams have discussed quarantining either their starting or backup quarterbacks to keep them virus free, Judge said he wont do that.

New Jersey remains in the forecast cone. Options from a graze up the coast to an inland track near the Delaware River are possible. Tropical storm warnings extend from Boston, down the I-95 corridor to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

As of 3 p.m., the National Weather Service Hazards for the Northeast. Tropical storm warnings are in dark red.

It is important to note that the heaviest rain will be to the west of Isaias' center. Meanwhile, the strongest winds will be to the east.

"Isaas" is the Spanish and Portuguese word for the biblical Isaiah. It is pronounced ees-ah-EE-ahs.

Isaias joins Tropical Storm Fay, which made landfall just south of Long Beach Island on July 10, as the two storms put the region in the forecast cone.

The cone represents a two-thirds probability of where the center of the low pressure center is.

The storm will slip through a weakness in a large high pressure system, which expands from the Gulf of Mexico into much of the Atlantic Ocean.

This map shows the steering patterns of the atmosphere between the 300 to 850 millibar level, between about 30,000 and 5,000 feet high. Isaias will slip through the weakness in the clockwise spinning high pressure system off the coast of Florida.

One it reaches Georgia, the steering patterns sharply moves west to east. While the storm won't curve immediately out to sea, there will be a turn to the northeast as it moves north, hence why New Jersey is in the forecast cone.

Forecast model guidance continues to narrow. A landfall will be possible, or can a pass two to three hundred miles out to sea.

The model track guidance for Tropical Storm Iasias, as of 8 a.m. Friday.

There are three options at play. However, it will not be until Saturday when they can be narrowed down. If the storm makes landfall before reaching New Jersey, that will weaken the storm, and vice versa. The first two scenarios are favored, with the third one looking less and less likely.

Option 1:

The European model from Wednesday night is a good representation of what scenario 1 would look like. The center of the storm is well out to sea.

Isaias stays 200 to 300 miles out to sea, passing between late Monday and Tuesday.

Spotty, but heavy, rain bands will pass. Winds would be gusty, but likely would not be enough to bring damage.

The real concerns would be out on the water. Given the full moon Monday and the onshore winds. Multiple rounds of minor or moderate coastal flooding would be likely. High seas would be present, with dangerous rip currents, too. During Tropical Storm Fay, a teenage lost his life in Ventnor while swimming with two friends the evening of the storm. In Ocean City, two 18-year-old girls were brought to shore by city police the following morning.

A heat wave that drives you to the shore, warm water temperature that draws you to the surf

Option 2:

The storm hugs the Jersey Shore. While the western side of the storm is usually the safer side, since the winds around the counter-clockwise spinning system goes against the northerly direction of the storm's movement, worse impacts than option 1 are possible.

Flooding rain, damaging winds at the coast, minor to moderate coastal flooding, dangerous rip currents and high seas will all be likely.

This being said, a track coast to the close would likely mean land interaction with North Carolina. If that happens, the storm would weaken. This could mean the difference between a strong tropical storm and weak, less organized one.

The Global Forecast System, American, model paints this picture. Though, note that the exact track of the storm should not be paid attention to. Rather, note how organized the storm is.

The GFS, American model, paints tropical storm force sustained winds at the shore Tuesday morning. Emergency personnel will not respond to a 9-1-1 call when winds are above tropical storm force.

Option 3:

Isaias makes landfall in Florida or the Southeastern United States and the center of the storm passes to the west of the state. That is illustrated on the western edge of the forecast cone.

The storm would likely be a remnants storm by then, or perhaps a Tropical Depression. However, flooding rains, some coastal flooding, dangerous seas, rip currents and high surf would be likely.

The Canadian weather forecast model from the Thursday night model run. Note the center of the storm is inland and would likely be a remnant storm, or a tropical depression by then.

Saturday.

By then, the storm will be near Florida. In the weakness of the large, Gulf of Mexico to Atlantic Ocean high pressure system, there will be a better idea on how the steering currents will move the storm.

Tropical Storm watches may go up Saturday night or Sunday morning, 48 hours before tropical storm force (39 mph or greater) winds arrive.

The Press of Atlantic City's Hurricane section of the Weather Center has the information you need to know to protect yourself and learn more about tropical systems in South Jersey.

Ten tropical storms and hurricanes have made landfall in South Jersey since 1900. Here's the list, newly updated with Tropical Storm Fay, which made landfall July 10. As long as the storm makes landfall in New Jersey, it will be the first time with two storms making landfall within the same year.

Making landfall on the Delaware Bay side of Cape May County on the morning of August 21, 1971, Doria was responsible for an F-2 tornado, with winds over 100 mph, near Cape May .

According to the Weather Prediction Center, 3 to 7 inches of rain fell in most of the region.

An active 2020 hurricane season was predictedby Colorado State University. With Isaias, 2020 continues its record breaking pace to hurricane season, beating out the historic 2005 year.

Continued here:

Giants' Judge says sacrifice needed for NFL to have season - Press of Atlantic City

Last Friday brought rain for a few hours in the morning, before afternoon thunderstorms moved in.

This Friday will be quite similar. Showers will be present during much of the morning, with a spotty thunderstorm during the afternoon.

Periods of rain will be present all throughout the morning. There will be dry time, but most outdoor work and plans will need to be moved. Heavy downpours will be around. Rainfall totals will be between 0.30 to 0.60 during the morning. Some spots will have areas of roadway flooding. If you see flooded roads, turn around.

Otherwise, temperatures will start in the low to mid-70s, extending our streak of nights at or above 70 degrees. As long as we stay above 70 degrees by midnight Friday, Atlantic City International Airport will have the longest streak of 70-degree or greater nights at 15. Sen. Frank. S. Farley Marina will reside in the fourth spot, with 25 days (record is 33).

Rain will taper between 9 and 11 a.m. There will still be an isolated shower around but many should be dry until 2 p.m. or so. Then, scattered showers and storms will flare back up. That will continue until around sunset.

A damaging gustS will be possible with these storms, in addition to more flooded roadways. High temperatures will be in the low to mid-80s with the cloudy and rainy day. That would snap our heat wave at five days.

A cold front will sink through the region overnight. Youll notice a clearing sky and less muggy air. Well slide into the 80s and 70s during the evening. Come Saturday morning, well be in the upper 60s on the mainland, with low 70s at the shore.

Saturday will be the better of the two weekend days. With the cold front furthest away from us, we should squeak out the day and stay dry. Well have a mostly- to partly-sunny sky, with the most sunshine in Little Egg Harbor Township and places north of the White Horse Pike.

Well be in the low to mid-80s. Itll be perfect for a trip to the shore, pool or anywhere with water. Outdoor projects will be a go all day thanks to the lower heat. Again, history will repeat itself, as this will be the second Friday-Saturday combination in a row with highs below 90. No air conditioner? Maybe.

Dew points will rise on a dry Saturday night as a warm front lifts north through the region. Expect a few showers to fly around after midnight until around dawn Sunday. Between the showers and sticky air, itll be a mild night. Low to mid-70s will be expected, well above average for this time of the year.

Sunday will heat up quickly. Well get to the low 90s for mainland highs. The south wind will save the shore, with mid-80s there. That cold front will pass late Sunday. Expect showers and storms from the late afternoon, into the night. However, theyll be few and far between, and youll have a mostly dry Sunday.

That will then take us to the beginning of the week, when Iasias becomes our concern. At this time, any impacts would be between Monday night and early Wednesday. Options range from rough seas, rip currents and some coastal flooding. While a landfalling storm is not likely, its just a technicality, a close brush by from a tropical storm can bring the same effects.

New Jersey remains in the forecast cone. Options from a graze up the coast to an inland track near the Delaware River are possible. Tropical storm warnings extend from Boston, down the I-95 corridor to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

As of 3 p.m., the National Weather Service Hazards for the Northeast. Tropical storm warnings are in dark red.

It is important to note that the heaviest rain will be to the west of Isaias' center. Meanwhile, the strongest winds will be to the east.

"Isaas" is the Spanish and Portuguese word for the biblical Isaiah. It is pronounced ees-ah-EE-ahs.

Isaias joins Tropical Storm Fay, which made landfall just south of Long Beach Island on July 10, as the two storms put the region in the forecast cone.

The cone represents a two-thirds probability of where the center of the low pressure center is.

The storm will slip through a weakness in a large high pressure system, which expands from the Gulf of Mexico into much of the Atlantic Ocean.

This map shows the steering patterns of the atmosphere between the 300 to 850 millibar level, between about 30,000 and 5,000 feet high. Isaias will slip through the weakness in the clockwise spinning high pressure system off the coast of Florida.

One it reaches Georgia, the steering patterns sharply moves west to east. While the storm won't curve immediately out to sea, there will be a turn to the northeast as it moves north, hence why New Jersey is in the forecast cone.

Forecast model guidance continues to narrow. A landfall will be possible, or can a pass two to three hundred miles out to sea.

The model track guidance for Tropical Storm Iasias, as of 8 a.m. Friday.

There are three options at play. However, it will not be until Saturday when they can be narrowed down. If the storm makes landfall before reaching New Jersey, that will weaken the storm, and vice versa. The first two scenarios are favored, with the third one looking less and less likely.

Option 1:

The European model from Wednesday night is a good representation of what scenario 1 would look like. The center of the storm is well out to sea.

Isaias stays 200 to 300 miles out to sea, passing between late Monday and Tuesday.

Spotty, but heavy, rain bands will pass. Winds would be gusty, but likely would not be enough to bring damage.

The real concerns would be out on the water. Given the full moon Monday and the onshore winds. Multiple rounds of minor or moderate coastal flooding would be likely. High seas would be present, with dangerous rip currents, too. During Tropical Storm Fay, a teenage lost his life in Ventnor while swimming with two friends the evening of the storm. In Ocean City, two 18-year-old girls were brought to shore by city police the following morning.

A heat wave that drives you to the shore, warm water temperature that draws you to the surf

Option 2:

The storm hugs the Jersey Shore. While the western side of the storm is usually the safer side, since the winds around the counter-clockwise spinning system goes against the northerly direction of the storm's movement, worse impacts than option 1 are possible.

Flooding rain, damaging winds at the coast, minor to moderate coastal flooding, dangerous rip currents and high seas will all be likely.

This being said, a track coast to the close would likely mean land interaction with North Carolina. If that happens, the storm would weaken. This could mean the difference between a strong tropical storm and weak, less organized one.

The Global Forecast System, American, model paints this picture. Though, note that the exact track of the storm should not be paid attention to. Rather, note how organized the storm is.

The GFS, American model, paints tropical storm force sustained winds at the shore Tuesday morning. Emergency personnel will not respond to a 9-1-1 call when winds are above tropical storm force.

Option 3:

Isaias makes landfall in Florida or the Southeastern United States and the center of the storm passes to the west of the state. That is illustrated on the western edge of the forecast cone.

The storm would likely be a remnants storm by then, or perhaps a Tropical Depression. However, flooding rains, some coastal flooding, dangerous seas, rip currents and high surf would be likely.

The Canadian weather forecast model from the Thursday night model run. Note the center of the storm is inland and would likely be a remnant storm, or a tropical depression by then.

Saturday.

By then, the storm will be near Florida. In the weakness of the large, Gulf of Mexico to Atlantic Ocean high pressure system, there will be a better idea on how the steering currents will move the storm.

Tropical Storm watches may go up Saturday night or Sunday morning, 48 hours before tropical storm force (39 mph or greater) winds arrive.

The Press of Atlantic City's Hurricane section of the Weather Center has the information you need to know to protect yourself and learn more about tropical systems in South Jersey.

Ten tropical storms and hurricanes have made landfall in South Jersey since 1900. Here's the list, newly updated with Tropical Storm Fay, which made landfall July 10. As long as the storm makes landfall in New Jersey, it will be the first time with two storms making landfall within the same year.

Making landfall on the Delaware Bay side of Cape May County on the morning of August 21, 1971, Doria was responsible for an F-2 tornado, with winds over 100 mph, near Cape May .

According to the Weather Prediction Center, 3 to 7 inches of rain fell in most of the region.

An active 2020 hurricane season was predictedby Colorado State University. With Isaias, 2020 continues its record breaking pace to hurricane season, beating out the historic 2005 year.

Read the original here:

Friday brings rain, storms, repeat of last week, also watching Iasias - Press of Atlantic City

When Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex announced they would be leaving the British royal family for a more private and peaceful life, no one could have imagined that the pair would end up in Meghans hometown of LA.

Though Hollywood is very spread out compared to London, its still a city for the stars, one that includes tabloids, celebrity events, and paparazzi. Though the Sussexes have a plan for the future that includes speaking at various events and launching their new charity, Archewell Foundation, nothing else is set in stone.

In fact, though the couple already has a powerhouse team in place as they move into the next phase of their lives, one expert is convinced Megan and Prince Harry will never make it in Hollywood.

RELATED:Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Warned the Royal Family About Megxit Several Times, Source Claims

At present amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, all of the Sussexes plans for Archewell are on hold. However, its clear that the pair will use their global profile to address injustices like police brutality and colonization in a way that they could not when they were senior working members of the royal family. Jeetendra Sehdevthe author ofTheKim KardashianPrincipetold The Guardian,

TheMeghanandHarrybrand has always been very disruptive. Theyre going to show us all a different way in which royal family members can live. The closest comparison to Meghan and Harry will be the Obamas and what theyre actually doing, I mean theyve created anentertainment entity where theyre producing documentaries and I think that will be a similar route that Meghan and Harry can certainly take. Letting people into who they are because at the moment we dont really know who Meghan and Harry are. We just know that theyre part of the royal family.

The tricky aspect of all of this is that the Sussexes must be careful not to upset the royal family or misrepresent them in any way.

RELATED:Queen Elizabeth Is Going to Be the Person Most Upset With Prince Harry and Meghan Markles Book, Finding Freedom Source Says

So far, Meghan has done some voiceover work with Disney + and its been rumored that shes signed on to produce a movie. Though we dont expect the duchess to return to acting, she and Prince Harry will certainly become staples in Hollywood.

I also think that were going to see a lot of red carpets, royal expert Myka Meier explained on theRoyally Obsessed podcast. As soon as there are red carpets again, I genuinely think they will be on every major red carpet.

However, one royal expert doesnt believe that the Sussexes royal status or their Hollywood connections will translate into actual careers.

View this post on Instagram

This evening,The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the annual #WellChildAwards in London. WellChild aims to ensure every child and young person living with serious health needs has the best chance to thrive with the support and medical care needed in the comfort of their own home. The Duke of Sussex became Patron of WellChild in 2007, and last year both The Duke and Duchess attended the awards to honour the children and families that WellChild supports. The Duke, who first came to these awards over a decade ago, shared in his remarks tonight: Last year when my wife and I attended we knew we were expecting our first child no one else did at the time, but we did and I remember squeezing Meghans hand so tightly during the awards, both of us thinking what it would be like to be parents one day, and more so, what it would be like to do everything we could to protect and help our child should they be born with immediate challenges or become unwell over time. And now, as parents, being here and speaking to all of you pulls at my heart strings in a way I could have never understood until I had a child of my own. To find out more about tonights event and how you can support this very special organisation, please visit @WellChild Photos PA images

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Oct 15, 2019 at 2:18pm PDT

RELATED:Queen Elizabeth Couldve Stopped Megxit

As we know and have seen by examining various celebrity careers, having access does not exactly translate into being bankable. Royal biographer Christopher Wilsonexplained that Meghan and Prince Harry were a powerful force in Britain, but they lost all of that with their move to LA. Wilson told The Express,

Crucially for Meghan, no studio seems to have stepped forward with the offer of a leading lady role, her hope and dream. If they had, wed have heard about it. It would seem the all-powerful studio bosses look on the couple as red-carpet fodder, not as a bankable item. In Britain, they were a powerful force, alleged the royal biographer. But when Harry walked away from royal duties he broke the magic thread which binds royalty to the people. Its taken a long time for the penny to drop, but Harry has discovered he is no king of the high seas but a castaway stranded on a desert island.

This is one theory, but from what we understand, Meghan never wanted to return to Hollywood to act.

Read more:

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Will Never Make It in Hollywood, Expert Claims - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

| 08/05/2020 | ionicons-v5-c19: 01 | Azteca News |

Pikerot, Micronesia.- Tree men stranded in the remote island of Pikerot in Micronesia (South Pacific) Were rescued by Australian and American authorities, after they were found thanks to a huge message what did he say SOS on the beach.

The Australian Defense Ministry reported that the men, three Micronesian seafarers, had set out on July 30 in a 7-meter boat for a 42-kilometer journey between Pulawat and Pulap atolls, when they were dragged to the island Pikelot, 190 kilometers from where they set sail.

The Coordination Center and Rescue Guam issued an alert after learning of the disappearance and sought help from the Australian Department of Defense on Saturday, including sending the warship Canberra, which sailed between Australia and Hawaii (United States).

The reconnaissance plane found a large message The victims themselves wrote on the Pikelot sand and sent a helicopter from the Canberra ship to transport water and food, as well as to analyze the health of the missing.

Terry Morrison, the commander of the Canberra, commented that he was proud of the response and professionalism of the entire crew in the performance of their duty, to contribute to the safety of lives on the high seas and wherever they are in the world.

After the international mission, the authorities of Micronesia they sent a patrol boat to take their citizens home. Micronesia It is a western Pacific country with more than 600 small islands.

Although the work of the rescue It was important, the castaways also did everything possible so that they could be located quickly, before it was too late.

Read the original:

Men are rescued after leaving a message on an island - Explica

When Netflix announced that it would be acquiring the streaming rights to Nickelodeon content last fall, just after Disney Plus came into fruition, social media went wild at the prospect of everyones childhood favorites coming to Netflix. Many speculated how the streaming service would compete with a large chunk of its streaming library suddenly turned over to a competitor, and Nickelodeon was the answer. Unfortunately, it didnt come with any specific information about when, exactly, the beloved cartoons of Nicks past would be showing up on Netflix.

One of the first shows to come to Netflix was Avatar: The Last Airbender earlier this year. Now, with new additions like The Legend of Korra and others, the platform is finally coming through with its promise. Here is everything you can stream on Netflix starting this week, August 1st through August 9th.

A Knights TaleActs of ViolenceThe Addams Family (1991)An EducationBeing John MalkovichDeath at a FuneralDennis the MenaceElizabeth HarvestEternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindHardcore HenryIron Man: Armored Adventures: Season 1-2Jurassic ParkJurassic Park IIIThe Lost World: Jurassic ParkMad Max (1979)Mr. DeedsMy Perfect Landing: Season 1Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea: Season 1The NeverEnding StoryThe NeverEnding Story 2: The Next ChapterThe Next Step: Season 6Nights in RodantheOceans ThirteenOceans TwelveOperation Ouch: Season 1Operation Ouch: SpecialRemember MeSeabiscuitToradora!: Season 1Transformers Rescue Bots Academy: Season 2The Ugly TruthWhat Keeps You Alive

Almost LoveConnected

Immigration Nation

A Go! Go! Cory Carson Summer CampMalibu Rescue: The Next WaveMundo Mistrio / Mystery LabSam Jay: 3 In The Morning

Anelka : LIncompris / Anelka: MisunderstoodWorlds Most Wanted

The Rain: Season 3The Seven Deadly Sins: Imperial Wrath of The Gods

Alta Mar / High Seas: Season 3Berlin, BerlinThe Magic School Bus Rides Again Kids In SpaceNailed It! Mxico: Season 2Nailed It! Mxico: Season 2Selling Sunset: Season 3Sing On! GermanyTiny CreaturesWizards: Tales of ArcadiaWord Party SongsWork It

The PromiseWe Summon the Darkness

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Everything Coming To Netflix This Week: August 1st August 9th - Grit Daily

From a seasonal low pressure system to Isaias, both will bring rain to the eastern half of the country this week.

BUFFALO, N.Y. Between tropical system Isaias and a continental low pressure system, lots of rain will be traversing the eastern half of the United States early this week.

For Buffalo specifically, isolated showers and storms Sunday were by produced the the low pressure system Sunday. The most rain fell along the shores of Lake Erie and Ontario, around a quarter to half an inch. Farther inland, only a few tenths fell with the fast paced showers in the Genesee Valley and Southern Tier.

A Lakeshore Flood Advisory is in effect until 2 a.m. for Erie and Chautauqua counties. With heavy rainfall and a strong breeze, isolated flooding is possible along the eastern shores of Lake Erie overnight.

A Beach Hazards Statement is also in effect until 6 a.m. Monday for Niagara and Orleans counties. Strong currents are possible along the southern shores of Lake Ontario with the strong, southwesterly breeze.

Isaias was downgraded Saturday from a category one hurricane to tropical storm. The tropical system weakened as it moved over the Bahamas and will stay at tropical storm strength through Wednesday.

The eastern half of the Florida peninsula could face tropical storm force winds, heavy rainfall and a storm surge of 2 to 4 feet along the shoreline as Isaias skirts the region Sunday and Monday.

The only real impact Western New Yorkers could see from Isaias is cloud cover and a few showers Tuesday But for the East Coast, Isaias could bring tropical storm force winds and high seas early in the week.

Sunday night, Tropical Storm Watches were issued from the coast of Virginia to Long Island ahead of the storm.

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Wet pattern continues as two weather systems bring rain to over 25 states - WGRZ.com

In 1492, Christopher Columbus, of course, sailed the ocean blue. And on his journey home, he wrote a letter to his patrons, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, describing his discovery of the new world, and in effect, asking for more money to make another trip. Columbus' voyage marked one of the great plot points in history. Upon his return, his letter was printed and distributed throughout Europe, making for blockbuster news. Columbus' original handwritten letter, penned on the high seas, no longer exists, but some of the printed copies do. As we first reported last year, most are housed in prestigious libraries, and for centuries, that's where they've remained. That is, until about 10 years ago, when authorities discovered some of these treasures had been stolen and replaced with forgeries. So began a modern kind of trans-Atlantic quest, as investigators in the U.S. and Europe worked to recover Columbus' missing missives and solve this most unusual international mystery.

If there is one library in the world you'd think would be impervious to theft, this would be it. The Vatican library in rome houses a vast and unrivaled collection of historic treasures. It is the pope's library, home to manuscripts going back nearly 2000 years. The library is closed to the public, it's a place for scholars only. But Ambrogio Piazzoni, the vice prefect, invited us inside.

It was here in 2011 that Vatican officials first discovered that one of their prized items, a Columbus letter, had somehow been stolen and replaced with a fake.

Jon Wertheim: How do you think this happened?

Ambrogio Piazzoni (Translation): Look I do not know. I have no idea how and when it may have happened. Certainly it was an operation carried out as a proper theft. But I do not know when or how.

He is in good company. At the center of this mystery: this eight-page letter, written at sea by Christopher Columbus, more than 500 years ago. In it, he describes his first impressions of the new world. A wonderland, he writes, filled with rivers, gold and timid natives.

When Columbus' letter arrived at the royal court in Spain in 1493, it was promptly sent to Rome, where it was translated into Latin and printed, spreading the news of his extraordinary expedition.

Jon Wertheim: So this was big news? Columbus makes this voyage and suddenly, this is being disseminated?

Jay Dillon: This is some of the biggest news ever

Jay Dillon is a rare book dealer in New Jersey. He ranks the Columbus letter as one of the most important documents ever printed.

Jay Dillon: This was one of the first bestsellers. It is probably the first contemporary account of anything to be published across Europe.Today, only about 30 copies of this Columbus letter still exist.

Jay Dillon: Each one is now worth something in the low 7 figures

Jon Wertheim: More than a million dollars?

Jay Dillon: More than a million but probably less than $4 or $5 million

It was while researching Columbus letters on his home computer, back in 2011, that Jay Dillon first noticed something amiss. The National Library of Catalonia in Barcelona had posted photos of their Columbus letter online. What struck Dillon as odd: it looked exactly like a Columbus letter that he had seen for sale a year earlier, right down to the same smudge marks in the margins.

Jon Wertheim: And you're telling yourself what at this point?

Jay Dillon: I'm telling myself that one of them has to be a forgery.

Jon Wertheim: Why is that?

Jay Dillon: Because you cant have two books with the same random brown spots in the margins. It's just impossible.

Jon Wertheim: What confirmed your suspicions were these matching marks from these texts that were 500 years old?

Jay Dillon: That's right. Exactly

Jon Wertheim: That would not happen.

Jay Dillon: That cannot happen.

Jay suspected the library's letter had been stolen and put up for sale, which meant whatever was currently in their collection was a fake.

Jay Dillon: It was so remarkable, I couldn't believe it at first. And I made it my business from that moment on to look at every original I could.

And so it was that Jay Dillon became an unlikely detective. Following his instincts, he visited libraries in Rome and Florence and took a look at their Columbus letters.

Jay Dillon: To my utter astonishment, a Columbus letter in the Vatican library was a forgery. And then I went to the Biblioteca Riccardiana in Florence and damned if the same thing doesn't happen again. Their Columbus letter is a fake too.

Afraid that notifying the libraries might alert the culprit, he decided instead to take his information to the Department of Justice.

Mark Olexa: It seemed like it was almost out of a Hollywood movie script.

Homeland Security special agent Mark Olexa led the investigation, along with assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware, Jamie McCall.

Jamie McCall: Similar reaction. I thought it was a John Grisham novel. That we had some people in Europe stealing these treasures of the world and replacing them with high quality forgeries.

Jon Wertheim: You say Hollywood script, you say John Grisham. Were you skeptical?

Jamie McCall: Of course we have to confirm what our tipster was providing us

They turned to Paul Needham, one of the world's foremost experts on 15th century printing. He runs the Scheide Library at Princeton University, home to one of the most valuable private collections of books on earth. And now it was Needham's turn to travel to Europe to examine the letters. In each case, he determined the originals had indeed been removed and replaced with photographic facsimiles printed on centuries-old paper.

Paul Needham: The Columbus letter being a highly collected book it's just the perfect combination. Both very small and very valuable their value per leaf of paper is higher than for any other printed book.

Jon Wertheim: You're saying this is the perfect item to forge.

Paul Needham: It's the perfect item to forge.

Jon Wertheim: And there's a market for it?

Paul Needham: There's always been a market for it

This turned into a trans-Atlantic collaboration. A legacy, you might say, of Christopher Columbus.

Mark Olexa: We engaged quickly with Carabinieri.

Enter Giovanni Prisco, captain of the Carabinieri Police's Cultural Heritage Squad, based in Rome. His unit investigates property theft from private homes, churches and libraries. In Italy, it is a crime market second only to that of illegal drug and weapon sales.

Jon Wertheim: We are in this country with so many artifacts, with so many churches you must be very busy.

Giovanni Prisco: Yes we are very, very busy, of course.

One of the most valuable art collections in Europe isn't housed in a museum visited by millions of tourists, but in this warehouse in the back of his police station. It's basically an evidence locker for stolen artifacts.

Jon Wertheim: This is all art that you've seizedGiovanni Prisco: Yes, there are some archaeological items some fake and contemporary arts, and some antiques, paintings, like--

Jon Wertheim: What is this?

Giovanni Prisco: Yes, like that one. This is a Caravaggio, it's coming from school of Caravaggio.

Jon Wertheim: Caravaggio.

Giovanni Prisco: Yes, and it is a paint stolen at the end of 1990 and was from a private house. It was discovered in the north of Italy.

Jon Wertheim:What does a Caravaggio go for these days?

Giovanni Prisco: It is millions of dollars of course.

Jon Wertheim: Millions of dollars.

Giovanni Prisco: Yes, it's a great paint, it's quite big and it's coming from Caravaggio's hands.

But wait there's more: amphoras, sculptures and dozens of masterpieces. An original Tiepolo. And this painting by Peter Paul Reubens.

Jon Wertheim: Oh wow.

Giovanni Prisco: It's a Madonna.

Jon Wertheim: This is a Rubens.

Giovanni Prisco: Yes, it's a real Rubens. It's not a fake.

Captain Prisco says one of their biggest challenges these days is protecting Italy's rare books. The country has more than 18,000 libraries.

Jon Wertheim: Why is it so difficult to protect books from theft?

Giovanni Prisco: because books, some of them are really small and it's not difficult to put under your arm or in your jacket.

While book thefts are often committed by insiders, in the case of the Columbus letters, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie McCall suspects there may have been more than one person involved.

Jamie McCall: It requires access. It requires the ability to create high quality forgeries. And then the ability to know where and how to sell these Columbus letters on the private market.

Jon Wertheim: One name that keeps coming up is Massimo De Caro. Familiar name to you guys?

Jamie McCall: Yes, Massimo De Caro was prosecuted by the Italian authorities for pilfering thousands of rare books and he was involved in the sale of at least one of the Columbus letters at issue.

Jon Wertheim: This was someone who's been involved in these kind of crimes before?

Jamie McCall: Yes, correct.

Jon Wertheim: Fair to characterize him as a person of interest?

Jamie McCall: He is a subject in the investigation.

The Columbus letters themselves may be hard to track down, but this subject in the investigation is not exactly in hiding. Massimo De Caro, a notorious Italian book thief, just finished serving a seven-year sentence for stealing thousands of ancient books and manuscripts from Italian libraries and selling them overseas. To our surprise, he agreed to meet with us at his home in Orvieto, a hill town an hour's drive north of Rome. To say that he professes his innocence would be an act of considerable understatement.

Jon Wertheim: The police say you are a subject in this investigation. Does that concern you?

Massimo De Caro: You know, first of all, the police in Italy, regarding books are the worst, ok? They even don't know how is made one book. I love Italy too much to say which level they are, ok?

Jon Wertheim: But doesn't bother you that you are a person of interest?

Massimo De Caro: No, no, I mean, I would like to help but--

Jon Wertheim: You want to help?

Massimo De Caro: Yes I would like to help. If I work on it, I'm sure I can solve.

Jon Wertheim: You think you're smarter than the police.

Massimo De Caro: Let's say that I am more expert than them.

Jon Wertheim: In this field.

Massimo De Caro: In this field, yes.

De Caro is not just a convicted thief, he's also an accomplished forger. He spent years making a fake Galileo book, which fooled the experts and sold for almost a half million dollars. He showed us another Galileo reproduction he made.

Massimo De Caro: you can see the quality of the paper. I used antique paper.

Jon Wertheim: You did this? This is your handiwork.

Massimo De Caro: Yes, it all. I am very proud about this.

Jon Wertheim: You're very proud of this.

Massimo De Caro: Yes.

Jon Wertheim: If this book were original, what would this fetch on the market? What would someone pay for this?

Massimo De Caro: $300,000 at least

De Caro admits he sold two Columbus letters, which he says he bought legitimately from an anonymous collector. But he denies he ever made a fake Columbus letter. Why? For one thing, he says, it's too easy.

Jon Wertheim: You could've reproduced one of these Columbus letters.

Massimo De Caro: Oh if I try? I can, I'm sure I can create the best Columbus letter.

Massimo De Caro: If I create a Columbus letter, then we can show this Columbus letter to all the expert that you want and I'm sure I can bet that nobody recognize it is a fake.

Jon Wertheim: You think you can fool them?

Massimo De Caro: Yes.

Eight years into the joint U.S.-Italian investigation, no arrests have been made in the case, but three stolen Columbus letters have been recovered. No easy task, as they were sold in private sales to wealthy collectors, who, investigators say, weren't aware the letters had been stolen.

Jon Wertheim: How did you start tracking down the originals?

Mark Olexa: We relied heavily on Dr. Needham. He had a great roadmap of transactions and who was possessing and selling these Columbus letters throughout the world.

They were found in the most surprising places. The letter stolen from the Riccardiana Library in Florence turned up in, get this, the U.S. Library of Congress, alongside national treasures like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Jamie McCall: They were shocked. They were stunned. As you can imagine. The letter had been donated to the Library of Congress in 2004 by one of their major donors. As for the Vatican's stolen Columbus letter, it was traced to a wealthy Atlanta collector, who had bought it in 2004 for almost $1 million. Last year, Ambrogio Piazzoni, the vice prefect of the Vatican library, was on hand when it was returned to its rightful home.

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Rare, million-dollar copies of a letter written by Christopher Columbus replaced with fakes - 60 Minutes - CBS News