NASA scientists flew over Greenland to track melting ice. They took some sobering photos

ABOARD A NASA RESEARCH PLANE — NASA scientists are crisscrossing Greenland on a mission to track melting ice.

Greenland has been melting faster in the last decade and this summer, it has seen two of the biggest melts on record since 2012.

Global warming is the chief culprit, but scientists want to know how this is happening. Both warmer air and warmer water are eating away at Greenland, causing it to lose billions of tons of ice daily in the summer.

A team of scientists and engineers aboard a research plane this week are dropping probes into the ice to help figure out which is the bigger cause.

The trade war is already lost, Trump is doomed and this investment is about to go ‘ballistic,’ strategist says

That’s Euro Pacific Capital’s Peter Schiff explaining to Fox Business following the Dow Jones Industrial Average’sDJIA, +0.13%nasty plunge on Wednesday how he sees this turbulent market ultimately playing out.

“The dollarDXY, +0.18%is going to go through the floor and it’s going to take the bond market with it and the next crisis, it’s not subprime mortgages, it’s going to be in the Treasury market,” he added.

Read: Stocks rise as bullish earnings, retail sales offset trade issues

In his latest podcast, Schiff detailed his outlook as to why he sees goldGC.1, -0.35% , which has already risen about 20%, rallying hard from here.

“This trade war is lost, he said. “The only question is when do we surrender and how do we admit defeat. Again, I don’t think we’re going to get any kind of deal.”

With the mainstream buzzing with recession fears, Schiff points out that investors are calling for the Fed to cut rates and go back to quantitative easing. But, he warned, this won’t have the impact of prior QEs, where everybody makes money.

“Everybody is weakening their currency to create more inflation,” Schiff, a longtime gold bug, said. “Well, what’s going to happen? The world is going to drown in an ocean of inflation and gold is going ballistic.”

Listen to the whole podcast:

ECB shuts down one of its websites after hacker attack

FRANKFURT, Aug 15 (Reuters) – The European Central Bank shut down one of its websites on Thursday after it was hacked and infected with malicious software.

The ECB said no market-sensitive data had been compromised, but that the email addresses, names and titles of the subscribers of its Banks’ Integrated Reporting Dictionary (BIRD) newsletter might have been stolen.

BIRD is a website that the ECB uses to help banks meet the reporting standards that are set by global regulators.

Jeffrey Epstein Autopsy Report Suggests Unusual Broken Neck Bones: Report

Jeffrey Epstein’s autopsy report indicates that various bones in his neck were broken, including one near the Adam’s apple called the hyoid bone, according to a Washington Post report. The news is sure to add even more controversy and conspiracy theories to the jailhouse death of the disgraced billionaire.

Writes the Post: “Such breaks can occur in those who hang themselves, particularly if they are older, according to forensics experts and studies on the subject. But they are more common in victims of homicide by strangulation, the experts said.”

Today, NBC News, citing unnamed sources, confirmed the broken bones but reports that two other sources familiar with the investigation say there’s no indication of foul play.

The well-connected Epstein was arrested – and later pleaded not guilty – on July 6 for alleged involvement in a sex-trafficking ring involving underage girls and a collection of child pornography. Last Saturday, he was found unresponsive in his Metropolitan Correctional Center cell, with officials suspecting suicide.

The Post, citing two unnamed sources in reporting the broken neck bones, notes that the official cause of death is pending, and that the New York City chief medical examiner’s office cautions that “no single factor in an autopsy can alone provide a conclusive answer about what happened.”

The autopsy was performed last Sunday. Results have not been officially released.

Brazil's Guedes would like to see tax burden fall to 20% of GDP over time

SAO PAULO, Aug 15 (Reuters) – Brazil must simplify its tax system, including income tax, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Thursday, adding that he would like to see the country’s tax burden fall to 20% of gross domestic product in 15 years’ time from around 33% currently.

Speaking in Sao Paulo, Guedes also said that President Jair Bolsonaro’s support for privatizating state assets is growing, and that pension reform will generate savings for the government of 3 trillion reais ($750 billion) over the next two decades.

54-year-old woman dies in lorry accident; driver arrested

SINGAPORE – A 54-year-old woman died after an accident involving a lorry in Taman Jurong on Thursday (Aug 15) afternoon.

Police said they were alerted to the incident at the junction of Ho Ching Road and Corporation Road around 3.30pm.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. It is not clear how the accident occurred.

The 33-year-old lorry driver was arrested by the police for causing death by a negligent act, and investigations are ongoing.

Man dies after being found near Brampton creek, homicide unit investigating

Peel Regional Police say a man is dead after being found without vital signs near a creek in Brampton Thursday morning.

Police said they were called to the area of Steeles Avenue East and West Drive just after 8 a.m.

Investigators said the man was transported to hospital, where he later died.

The homicide and missing persons bureau has now taken over the investigation.

More to come.