# data[].attributes.body
escaped killer is spoted

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Escaped Pennsylvania prisoner now armed with a stolen rifle and 'extremely dangerous,' police say | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The convicted killer who escaped from an eastern Pennsylvania prison nearly two weeks ago is considered "armed and extremely dangerous" after he stole a rifle from a homeowner's garage, police said Tuesday morning.

# data[].attributes.body
Places around the world are putting to much greenhouse gases in the air. The amount of greenhouse gases could cause a climate disaster.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Governments are failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions fast enough to meet the goals of the Paris agreement and to stave off climate disaster, a major report by the UN has found.

Meeting the goals will require "phasing out all unabated fossil fuels", the report says, in an acknowledgment that some oil-producing countries may find hard to take.

The need to phase out fossil fuels has not been explicitly adopted by the UN before, under successive rounds of climate talks, and language over "phasing out" or "phasing down" fossil fuels has caused controversy at the annual UN climate talks.

There is a "rapidly narrowing window" for governments to move faster, according to the report, as global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 at the latest, and be rapidly reduced from there, to limit temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Emissions are still rising, however, and there is a gap of 20 to 23 gigatonnes of CO ₂ between the cuts needed by 2030 to limit global temperatures to 1.5C and the world's current emissions trajectory.

The report, which was expected next week but was published hurriedly in draft by the UN on Friday, will form the basis of the first "global stocktake" under the 2015 Paris agreement. That process is meant to track countries' efforts to meet the goals of the treaty.

However, the 47-page UN report does not set out in detail which countries are falling behind, nor does it contain specific recommendations directed at particular countries or regions.

Instead, the global situation is described in broad and general terms that were largely predictable, as it has been clear for some time that the world is far off track to stay within the tougher of the Paris goals, of limiting temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Ani Dasgupta, the head of the World Resources Institute thinktank, noted that the bland tone of the report disguised a catastrophic failure. He said: "The UN's polite prose glosses over what is a truly damning report card for global climate efforts.

"Carbon emissions? Still climbing. Rich countries' finance commitments? Delinquent. Adaptation support? Lagging woefully behind. This report is a wake-up call to the injustice of the climate crisis, and a pivotal opportunity to correct course."

The global stocktake will form the basis of negotiations at the next UN climate summit, Cop28, to be held in Dubai in November.

While most of the recommendations in the report are unremarkable - exhortations to change transport, buildings and high-carbon industries, to reduce the carbon emissions associated with each - the finding on fossil fuels stands out. Buried in a short paragraph midway through the summary, the recommendation on phasing out fossil fuels is clear in its meaning, and likely to be explosive in its impact on the negotiations.

"Achieving net zero CO ₂ and greenhouse gas emissions requires systems transformations across all sectors and contexts, including scaling up renewable energy while phasing out all unabated fossil fuels, ending deforestation, reducing non-CO ₂ emissions and implementing both supply and demand side measures," reads key finding 6 of the report.

The question of phasing out fossil fuels is now at the heart of the UN global climate talks. For years, oil-producing nations have prevented the UN from adopting language that would clearly require a phasing out of fossil fuels, even though it is undisputed that burning fossil fuels is the prime cause of the climate crisis.

skip past newsletter promotion
The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
after newsletter promotion

Last year, an attempt to get language on phasing out fossil fuels included in the outcome of Cop27, in Egypt, failed. Fresh attempts have been made this year, but the UAE has so far avoided including language on phasing out fossil fuel emissions in any communications on Cop28. Asked by the Guardian, the Cop28 president-designate ASultan Al Jaber would refer only to "phasing down" fossil fuels.

As the global stocktake is the key document for Cop28 and forms the basis for negotiations, for this recommendation to be included is highly significant.

A spokesperson for the European Commission told the Guardian the EU was strongly in favour. "We welcome and agree with such language. Already on several occasions the commission and EU ministers have called for a move towards energy systems free of unabated fossil fuels. We see the push for global targets on renewables and energy efficiency measures as part of the path to achieve that."

Gareth Redmond-King, head of international programme at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit thinktank, said: "The most important part of the report is key finding 6 - commitment that delivering on Paris means scaling up renewables, phasing out fossil fuels, ending deforestation, tackling methane - transformational changes needed to get to net zero and get on track for 1.5C. Because that's setting the agenda for Cop. The discussions to come later this month, again next month, and then in Dubai at Cop itself - the response to this stocktake. That's what needs to be the gamechanger to shift up a few gears."

The report found plenty of measures governments could take to reduce emissions that would be low cost and easy to implement, including investments in renewable energy, and conserving and regrowing forests. Some developing countries would require financial help to seize these opportunities, however.

"There are now sufficient cost-effective opportunities to address the 2030 emissions gap, yet significant challenges, including access to and availability of support, remain in harnessing these opportunities at the required pace and scale," the report says.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'A critical moment': UN warns world will miss climate targets unless fossil fuels phased out

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Governments failing to cut emissions fast enough to meet Paris agreement goals and avoid disaster, major report says

# data[].attributes.body
Ukraine is trying to attack and take back their land from Russia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ukraine's counteroffensive has been underway for months, but the country's hopes of a rapid and decisive breakthrough have long faded.

Kyiv launched the campaign aiming to recapture Russian-seized territory, especially in the south. But while there is a renewed sense of optimism, gains have been marginal and won at great cost. As Ukrainian forces probe for vulnerabilities in Russian defences, Moscow too is seeking to make gains, and has been trying to advance toward the city of Kupiansk, a city it seized early on in the war before losing it a year ago.

While it is impossible to get an exact, real-time picture of the situation on the ground, CNN has been taking a look at the key battles of the latest phase of the war.

The conflict so far

While Ukraine has struggled in its counteroffensive, it is important to remember the war is nowhere near where Russia's President Vladimir Putin wanted it to be either.

When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it hoped to sweep across the country and topple the government in a matter of days. Those goals floundered due to a combination of Russian hubris and stronger than expected Ukrainian resistance. After seeing Putin quickly withdraw his forces from around Kyiv and elsewhere in northern Ukraine, the rest of the year saw significant victories for Ukraine in the Kharkiv region to the east and the Kherson region to the south.

This year has been different, with troops from both sides bogged down in a slow-moving conflict with no clear end in sight. The current fighting is focused on Ukraine's south and east, with Ukrainian forces struggling to break through defensive lines Russia had months to prepare. Success means capturing a village rather than an entire city.

The southern front

In the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, modest Ukrainian gains in rural areas have been hampered by Russian defenses. Moscow's troops have fortified the land with minefields, anti-tank ditches, traps and trenches.

The area is a major target for Ukraine - pushing deep into the territory along two main lines of counterattack would bring the chance of breaking Russia's land-bridge between annexed Crimea and eastern Donetsk, under Moscow's control since 2014.

Ukrainian troops in late August secured the village of Robotyne, a step that brings them closer to being able to use artillery against the strategic hub of Tokmak. But there is a long way to go.

Data as of Sept. 6, 2023 at 3 p.m. ET

Ukraine has been able to retake some ground near the frontline town of Velyka Novosilka. In June, in the second week of the counteroffensive it liberated a handful of villages: Neskuchne, Blahodatne and Makarivka. More recently, it recaptured a couple more, Staromaiorske and Urozhaine, but progress has been hard. Russian forces have launched a number of counterattacks.

Velyka Novosilka bears the scars of a year and a half of shelling. Struggling to combat Russian air strikes on the town, Kyiv has called on its Western backers to provide F-16 fighter jets and other air support.

The town of Orikhiv has found itself caught in the firing line. While remaining under Ukrainian control, it is being pummeled by Russian air strikes with half-ton bombs landing frequently - sometimes 20 in as many minutes.

Located 60 kilometers southeast of Zaporizhzhia, Orikhiv has been wedged between Kyiv's troops pushing south and Russian forces attempting to hold their position.

Russian defensive fortifications and trenches in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, March 4, 2023 Maxar Technologies

Kupiansk

Ukraine has been trying to hold Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region. The city fell in the early days of the conflict, then was liberated last September as part of a lightning Ukrainian offensive, but now Russia is trying to capture it a second time.

In August, Ukraine ordered the evacuation of the city and the surrounding area, the largest such evacuation in months and a sign of the severity of the situation, although many civilians are choosing to stay put.

For Ukrainian troops, Kupiansk is strategically significant to prevent Russia from gaining access to the nearby Oskil River - where it is much easier to cross than further south.

The eastern front

For now, the eastern city of Bakhmut is under Russian control following a grinding, nine-month battle, while Ukraine continues to hold some areas in the southwestern outskirts of the city.

An aerial view of Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles with Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, June 22, 2023. Libkos/AP

Ukraine says the battle is not over, however, and continues to contest the city. In doing so, they are forcing Russia to bring in more troops to the area, pulling them away from other fronts.

Much of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions have been held by Russian-backed separatists for more than nine years. They are two of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow declared it had annexed last September, in violation of international law.

The town of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, which remains under Ukrainian control, has found itself on the frontline of the heavy fighting. The town has been largely destroyed and most of its population has fled.

The months to come

The clock is ticking for Ukraine, with the fall bringing worsening weather and even more challenging fighting conditions.

For political as well as strategic reasons, pressure is mounting on Ukraine to achieve a breakthrough. Kyiv will want as strong a hand as possible should peace negotiations ever happen or if the so-far solid support it enjoys among the West start to fray.

While Russia has been pushed back since launching its invasion, it still has some advantages. The Russian army is significantly bigger than Ukraine's, and with Putin isolated by the conflict he does not have to worry that a long, grinding conflict will lose him allies. Russia may be able to cope with attritional fighting better than Ukraine.

Whatever the outcome of the counteroffensive, it could be pivotal for how the war ends.

Sources: The Institute for the Study of War with AEI's Critical Threats Project, Brady Africk, OpenStreetMap.

Notes: "Russian presence" means the Institute for the Study of War has received reliable and independently verifiable information to demonstrate Russian control or advances in those areas, or where Russian forces have operated in or launched attacks, but they do not control them. "Claimed Russian control" areas are where sources have said control or counteroffensives are occurring, but ISW cannot corroborate nor demonstrate them to be false.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia in maps: a visual guide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kyiv is struggling to make major gains in the face of dense Russian defenses. Here's where the key battles are taking place

# data[].attributes.body
Daxin Shi, a rideshare driver, parked his car in front of his apartment. Three women chased after him and attacked him. Footage of the inccident shows one of the girls hitting him with a pipe. The 61-year old tried to stop them. But they managed to get away with his keys.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A 61-year-old Chinatown resident in Chicago was beaten and carjacked from by three women in front of his home on Tuesday evening.
What happened: Danxin Shi, a rideshare driver, had just parked his car in front of his apartment on West 22nd Place when three women reportedly chased after him before physically attacking him at around 5:30 p.m. Surveillance footage of the incident shows one of the women hitting Shi with what appears to be a pipe as he lies on the ground.

"They're holding me, you know, three people, three girls hitting and beating me," Shi told ABC7 Chicago. "I have a key and they took my key."

Although the 61-year-old tried to stop the attackers, the women reportedly managed to flee the scene with his car.
More from NextShark: Asian Woman Suffers Burns After Being Doused With 'Unknown Substance' Outside Her NYC Home
The aftermath: While Shi suffered scratches across his body, he said that the loss of his vehicle has had a greater impact on him as a driver.

"Right now I have nothing to drive, I just stay home because I have no car, but next week I try to rent a car," he said.

The Chicago Police Department is currently searching for the suspects. Shi hopes that the GPS in his vehicle can help police recover it.
More from NextShark: 'Beware of the Chicken Feather Duster': SF Grandmas Fight Anti-Asian Hate in New Rap Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! 'Bling Empire' Star Kane Lim Accused of 'Hating on Asians' for Mocking Yamashiro Restaurant Los Angeles issues apology, makes memorial pledge on the 150th anniversary of Chinese massacre

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
3 women wanted for assaulting 61-year-old man, stealing his car in Chicago Chinatown

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A 61-year-old Chinatown resident in Chicago was beaten and carjacked from by three women in front of his home on Tuesday evening. What happened: Danxin Shi, a rideshare driver, had just parked his car in front of his apartment on West 22nd Place when three women reportedly chased after him before physically attacking him at around 5:30 p.m.

# data[].attributes.body
Scientists are now working on using pig embryos to create human kidneys and organs. They are saying that " it’s the first time scientists have been able to grow a solid humanized organ inside another species".

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Scientists take ‘pioneering steps’ toward growing human kidneys in pigs | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Scientists have grown kidneys containing mostly human cells inside pig embryos, an important step toward growing kidneys and potentially other human organs that could be used for transplants in people.

# data[].attributes.body
After the University of Arkansas recognized many of its nurses and doctors personally as hero's in 2020 during Covid-19 it has now come out that multiple of them have been sued. 8000 patients were used to pay off unpaid medical bills and 500 of them ended up being workers and staff at the time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Arkansas hospital sued thousands of patients over medical bills during pandemic, including hundreds of its employees | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As Covid cases spread in 2020, visitors to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences were greeted by a colorful sign put up by grateful neighbors outside the university's medical center: "Heroes Work Here."

# data[].attributes.body
the women that was in labor didnt know at the time tell she started contractions on stage.During her performance of the single “Energy,” Beyoncé’ sings “Look around, everybody on mute” and the audience is supposed to go silent. thats when it started. she thought it was a false alarm but she was wrong and later had her baby that night.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Hairspray' actress went into labor at Beyoncé's birthday concert | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sarah Francis Jones took the birthday portion of Beyoncé's birthday concert on September 4 very seriously.

# data[].attributes.body
The Schooner Trinidad sunk on May 11, 1881 in Wisconsin. It has been missing since then. This year, the wreck was found and they are saying it's a "remarkable discovery."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
brand safety-nsf accidents and disasters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Long-lost shipwreck from 1880s discovered in Lake Michigan, says historical society | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A ship missing since the late 1800s has been discovered in Lake Michigan, the Wisconsin Historical Society said Friday.

# data[].attributes.body
Since the last three years, many people have started working from home instead of in an office, which is hard for supervisors to ensure that their employees are preforming their jobs effectively and focusing on work.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Opinion: What CEOs are missing by trying to get workers back to the office | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The desire to have employees planted in their office chairs every day perhaps stems from a tired, unconstructive desire for things to be the way they were and a desire for control, writes Terri Gerstein.

# data[].attributes.body
high heats and humidity is spreading rapidly across the world. with this studies have found that deaths around the world have been increasing because of this climate change.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Life-threatening periods of high heat and humidity will spread rapidly across the world with only a small increase in global temperatures, a study has found, which could cause a sharp acceleration in the number of deaths resulting from the climate crisis.

The extremes, which can be fatal to healthy people within six hours, could affect hundreds of millions of people unused to such conditions. As a result, heat deaths could rise quickly unless serious efforts to prepare populations were undertaken urgently, the researcher said.

Normally, the human body cools itself by producing sweat, which evaporates and takes heat away. But when humidity is high, evaporation is reduced. The study used a limit based on experiments on people showing that when combined heat and humidity, as measured by so-called wet bulb temperature, passes 31.5C, the body is no longer able to cool itself.

The researchers called this threshold "non-compensable heat stress", as sweating cannot compensate for the extreme conditions. Without cooling aids, such as cold water, fans or air conditioning, death is likely within hours.

The research analysed data from thousands of weather stations across the world to show that 4% had already experienced at least one six-hour period of this extreme heat stress since 1970, with the frequency of such events doubling by 2020. However, these have been confined to date to hot places, including the Gulf in the Middle East, the Red Sea and the North Indian Plain, where people expect extreme heat.

The analysis, which also used climate models, shows that extreme heat stress will spread rapidly to other regions with global heating of only 2C. The climate crisis has already raised global temperatures by about 1.2C. At 2C, more than 25% of the weather stations would suffer the extreme heat stress once a decade on average.

The east coast and midwest regions of the US and central Europe, including Germany, are among places that would experience the arrival of unprecedented heat stress conditions. In places that are already hot, like Arizona, Texas and parts of California, periods of extreme heat stress would become annual events at 2C.

The researcher said that the absence of mass deaths in places already exposed to the extreme heat stress showed cooling measures could be effective in preventing deaths. But they said the rapid arrival of these conditions in places where people had not historically had the need for cool buildings or air conditioning, and were therefore unprepared, was worrying.

Women rest under a tree on a hot summer day in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

"Of all of the different manifestations of climate change, heat is the one that I personally worry the most about and these results have made me more concerned," said Carter Powis, at the University of Oxford, UK, who led the study with colleagues at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in the US.

"Everything is OK until it's not and there are limits to what the human body can tolerate when it comes to heat," he said. "Things will keep on chugging along hunky dory until we pass those limits and then very abruptly, they will not be OK. Suddenly, you'll see an acceleration in mortality.

"What I worry about is that our bodies and our society will prove more fragile to small changes than we think," Powis said. "This is just another [study] saying we need to start reducing emissions - but that's what we need to do."

Dr Colin Raymond, at the University of California, Los Angeles, who was not part of the study team, said: "Many areas are only slightly below the non-compensable heat level now, so as the planet continues to warm, the total increase in exposure will be exponential.

"We know the broad contours of what's ahead, but not every last wiggle," he said. "But the seriousness of the extreme-heat hazard means it is incredibly important to not be caught unprepared, and to treat heatwaves near or above the non-compensable limit like other life-threatening disasters. For the most severe events likely in the coming decades, lives will depend on the availability of artificial cooling."

skip past newsletter promotion
The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
after newsletter promotion

Previous research on extreme heat and humidity used the maximum theoretical limit of the human body, a wet bulb temperature of 35C, at which even cooling aids cannot take heat from the body. These studies have shown the high vulnerability of people in the Gulf, India and China to extreme temperature and humidity conditions. Around the world, scientists have estimated that the climate crisis has already caused millions of premature deaths in the last three decades.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, used the detailed data from weather stations and the broader data produced by climate modelling and found "very good agreement", said Powis, giving confidence in the results.

The researchers concluded: "The geographic range and frequency of non-compensable heat extremes will increase rapidly, given only moderate continued increase in global average temperatures. This implies that, in the near future, a substantial portion of the world's population will be exposed to these non-compensable environmental conditions."

A graph of life-threatening heat events by continents

They said there was "a real risk" of widespread exposure with "hundreds of millions of people" affected before they were sufficiently heat-adapted to avoid attendant increases in deaths and illness. The scientists were unable to assess Europe and Japan using climate models in this study due to known difficulties in representing high levels of heat in Europe and humidity in Japan.

Powis said that even if adaptation measures to protect health were put in place, extreme heat stress would still prevent many people from working or going outside.

"Even in cases where it's not lethal, the impacts on quality of life are going to be dramatic."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Deadly humid heatwaves to spread rapidly as climate warms - study

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Small rise in global temperatures would affect hundreds of millions of people and could cause a sharp rise in deaths

# data[].attributes.body
Hurricane lee recently on Friday weakened to a category 4 hurricane but has bumped up to a category 5 hurricane and is getting extremely rare levels especially in the Atlantic at speeds of 155 mph and is expected to remain this way until early next week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
brand safety-nsf accidents and disasters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hurricane Lee's path is still unclear, but the East Coast could see dangerous rip currents and large waves beginning this weekend | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hurricane Lee maintained major hurricane status Friday evening as the powerful storm's indirect - yet dangerous - impacts were expected to reach the waters of the East Coast as early as this weekend.

# data[].attributes.body
there is a huge drought in Canada right now. and it has caused record wildfires and if it doesn't begin to rain soon the fires and distastes could become much worse.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A season of record-breaking wildfires in British Columbia is nearly over, but officials in the Canadian province have warned that a persistent drought in the Canadian province is a "sleeping giant" which could usher in a fresh set of natural disasters, including devastating floods in the coming months.

Bowinn Ma, British Columbia's emergency management minister said this week the unprecedented drought has the full attention of senior government officials as the region enters the "home stretch" of the province's unprecedented wildfire season. Hundreds of blazes tore across the province this summer, leaving crews exhausted and broken, and scorching an estimated 2.2m hectares of land.

More than 400 blazes are still burning, half of which are out of control. Nearly 3,800 people remain under evacuation order in the province and 34,000 are under alert. Hundreds of structures have been destroyed by the fires.

Officials signalled a growing sense of optimism that the worst of the season had passed, but said the toll - both to ecosystems and to the economy - remained unclear.

"The end is near," said Ma.

But persistently arid conditions, which worsened an already-brutal fire season, are now the source of mounting concern among provincial officials. The lack of rain has prompted a warning to residents that "conservation mentality" is needed for the future as the province, long accustomed to a plentiful supply of water, braces for scarcity.

"The consequences of the drought can be profound for many communities and individuals," Ma told reporters. "I want to emphasize how significant the drought that British Columbia is facing right now. It is unlike any kind of drought conditions the province has ever faced, and in my opinion, truly is a sleeping giant of a natural disaster that we are challenged with right now. The impacts will be very, very real."

Last year, the western-most province was hit with a prolonged drought that dried up key streams for spawning salmon. In one video clip, 65,000 dead salmon were found clogging a dried-up creek following scores of new heat records.

This year, the drought is worse, with 80% of the province's watersheds at drought level four or five - the two highest levels.

"The best-case scenario we can hope for is extended gradual rain over long periods of time that gently recharge our reservoirs, gently recharge our stream systems and our ecosystems back to a healthy place," said Ma.

But an official with the province's river forecast centre warned the best-case scenario is also the least likely.

"Usually, rain falls from specific storm events that occur in relatively short periods of time," Jonathan Boyd told reporters, adding that regions of the province where rain falls infrequently need a deluge before the ground freezes, which can happen by mid-October.

Too much rain hitting the parched ground could be disastrous.

In 2021, back-to-back atmospheric rivers led to surging rivers, mudslides, flooded cities and destroyed highways. More than 640,000 animals are known to have died from the floods and the disaster is believed to have cost nearly C$5bn ($3.65bn) in non-insured damages.

Ma pointed out that while the province had also experienced a drought in the weeks leading up to the floods, it was "nothing close to what we see this year".

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Sleeping giant' drought threatens more disasters after record Canada wildfires

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Unprecedented drought in British Columbia could usher in a fresh set of natural disasters, including devastating floods

# data[].attributes.body
People were upset with the 21-20 loss for the chiefs. the first touch down was a 9 yard pass caught by Amon Ra St. after patrick mahomes scores two unanswered tough downs going 7-14 when heading to half time upseting pick off by a lions safety tieing the game then they kick two field goals to make 20-14 for the chiefs. but with just 7 minutes left a running back slips into for a touchdown to win the game for the lions 21-20.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Detroit Lions shock reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs as 2023 NFL season gets underway | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The National Football League's 2023 regular season got underway with a shocking result as the Detroit Lions defeated the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs 21-20 at the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night.

# data[].attributes.body
After the recent school shooting at a Nashville suburban Christian school parents are fighting for there to be tighter gun laws in the state of Tennesee.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The deadly shooting at a Nashville suburban Christian school in March sparked an outcry among devastated parents, students and Democratic lawmakers who called for tighter gun laws in Tennessee, where they are notoriously weak. It also set off a series of political events, including the failed Republican-led banishment of two Democratic state representatives, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson of the "Tennessee Three", for protesting guns on the House floor.

For a short time, with ample national attention and grassroots mobilization, Tennessee seemed poised to become the latest state to enact legislation on gun reform after a tragedy. The Republican governor, Bill Lee, who lost two family friends in the Covenant school, ordered stronger background checks and proposed an amendment to Tennessee law that would temporarily confiscate guns from individuals under a "mental health order of protection".

But in late August, months of protest, advocacy and face-time with the governor ended in a whimper when the state legislature adjourned a special session without making any changes to Tennessee's gun laws, leaving residents vulnerable as the number of gun deaths continues to increase in the state.

"This was so straining on my marriage, this was so straining on my son," said Sarah Neumann, a Covenant school parent who attended every day of the special session to support new firearm and safety laws. "It seems like a game to them, to just gavel in and gavel out."

Lee had announced the August "public safety" special session after the legislature in May adjourned without bringing the order to a vote. Republican state lawmakers had decried Lee's proposal and said any attempt to pass "red flag" laws, which so far exist in 21 states and allow courts to order the temporary removal of guns from people deemed a risk to others or themselves, was a "non-starter". Lee denied that it was a red flag law, which he called a " toxic " political label.

Many parents applauded the governor's call and Democrats said they were "cautiously optimistic" about passing laws on mental health and school safety. But the week quickly spiraled into what some described as a "pissing match" between the two Republican-dominated chambers of the Tennessee general assembly. The house sought to advance dozens of bills - though none would have limited access to guns - while the Senate tried to adjourn as quickly as possible.

People protest outside the house chamber in Nashville, Tennessee, in August. Photograph: Cheney Orr/Reuters

"It ripped the veil away so that the world could see how much that place lacks empathy and compassion, and how swollen with pride some of the members are," said Antonio Parkinson, a Democratic state representative.

While lawmakers in the house would end up filing more than a hundred bills, the senate killed all but three by the session's end. Jeremy Faison, the chair of the house Republican caucus, described senate counterparts as "acting like ostriches and just sticking their head in the sand". Along with other Republicans, he sought to advance some bills backed by Covenant parents, such as removing child autopsies from the public record.

After the second day, house Republicans shared a now-deleted photo on Twitter, now called X, and said: "Congratulations @tnsengop on receiving the 2023 Ostrich Egg! It must be egghausting sending so many bills to Gen Sub. instead of doing the work people sent us here to do."

Faison later apologized for the stunt, but the infighting between Republicans continued as the House pushed the special session into another week.

"The beef that was going on between the senate and the house was a power flex," said Charlane Oliver, a Democratic senator. "The conversation got lost around gun reform the day that we started."

London Lamar, a Democratic state senator of Memphis, had just become a parent when she returned to the statehouse for the special session. "To come back so soon after giving birth, and they still won't do anything, it's extra frustrating, especially now after having a child," she told the Guardian in a phone interview, as she held her two-week-old son.

Lamar said she was hopeful when the governor first called the special session, and even though it was unlikely to see meaningful action on guns, she thought it important to show up for potential improvements to school safety and mental health.

"But when we got here, and they weren't even addressed, it's like what's the point of us even being here?" Lamar said. "I could have been in the bed with my feet up continuing to heal from my C-section. But instead I'm watching you all fight over nothing."

The Tennessee state legislature had previously demonstrated its aversion to motions for gun reform when house Republicans moved to expel three Democrats, Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson - who became known as the Tennessee Three - and revoked their committee assignments after they led chants against gun violence on the house floor after the Covenant shooting.

The expulsion drew national attention and accusations of racism when Johnson, who is white, became the only one to survive a two-thirds vote. Both Jones and Pearson have since been reinstated to their seats in the House, but their new national name recognition - and efforts to bolster the grassroots gun safety movement - couldn't move the needle.

Neumann, the Covenant parent, said it was difficult for those advocating for gun reform to get seats in each of the chambers, especially in the house, where half of the seating was reserved for media and lobbyists, an unprecedented move.

skip past newsletter promotion
Our US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
after newsletter promotion

On the session's first day, Republicans also enacted a new rule banning people from carrying signs into the statehouse, which a judge later blocked. At one point, Covenant parents were swarmed by state troopers in the hallways of the statehouse after they were ejected from a subcommittee meeting for clapping.

"It really just showed the ability of having a few people with a powerful voice being able to have a lot of power over the process," Neumann said.

When asked about criticism by Democratic lawmakers, the house speaker, Cameron Sexton, said in a statement: "The left can hardly pass a bill, so they continually try to divide us."

Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson in April. Photograph: Andrew Nelles/AP

He added: "While the house and senate are separate bodies, Republicans in the two chambers will always work together for the betterment of Tennessee and its citizens. I do know that next year, the house and senate will stand together united against leftist attacks on the second amendment."

In a press conference after the legislature adjourned, Governor Lee said Covenant parents' presence "made a difference" but avoided answering a question over whether he shared their frustrations with the lack of substantial change, saying: "It's good when we make progress of any kind. And we have made progress, and we will continue to make progress.

"We brought this to a conclusion that moved our state forward and put us in a place to continue to move forward."

More lives will be lost to gun violence before the general assembly reconvenes in January.

The rate of shooting deaths in Tennessee has more than doubled over the last decade, and it grew the fastest among people under 19, jumping by 145% from 2011 to 2021 compared with 113% among all Tennesseans, according to a report by the Sycamore Institute, a non-partisan Tennessee-focused thinktank released in July. Gunfire was the leading cause of death for children ages one to 18 in Tennessee in 2021.

"The conversation kicked off in earnest because of a particular incident," said Brian Straessle, Sycamore's executive director, referring to the heightened calls for gun safety in Tennessee after the Covenant shooting. "But clearly the trends, in terms of number and rates of folks in Tennessee who are dying as a result of gunfire, are going up, and have been for over a decade."

Neumann, however, is not giving up and has her eye on the primaries. In Tennessee, an "open" primary state, voters are not required to register with a political party in order to obtain its primary ballot. Yet for a long time, she said primaries have drawn out the most ardent supporters of extreme candidates who prevail over more moderate opponents.

"I think it gives us a goal," said Neumann. "Now we know what we need to do."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'It seems like a game': Tennessee gun reform push ends in whimper

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A school shooting propelled a call for tighter gun laws - but parents and advocates feel vulnerable as legislature adjourns without making any changes

# data[].attributes.body
Russia's former defence minister is warning that no negotiations could happen to bring peace with Russia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
‘Goal is destruction of Ukraine’: ex-defence minister warns west of Putin’s aim

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Oleksii Reznikov urges unity against Russia ‘to save this world from catastrophe of world war three’

# data[].attributes.body
Last Friday a big flood left Hong Kong ¨paralyzed¨and ¨under water¨. Their schools are canceled and its said to be the strongest typhoon in 5 years. Cars were seen floating down streets and 86 people were injured. People are now seeking shelter.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Record-breaking rainfall paralyzed much of Hong Kong on Friday, with flash flooding submerging metro stations and trapping drivers on roads, as authorities suspended schools and urged the public to seek safe shelter.

Photos and videos showed residents wading through murky brown floodwaters as heavy rain continued to inundate the densely populated city of 7.5 million. In some low-lying areas, streets were transformed into surging torrents, with authorities forced to rescue motorists stuck in their vehicles.

The deluge began late Thursday night, with the Hong Kong Observatory recording more than 158 millimeters (6.2 inches) in rain between 11 p.m. and midnight, the highest hourly rainfall since records began in 1884, the government said in a news release.

Some parts of city saw almost 500 mm (19.7 inches) of rainfall in 24 hours, according to online weather data site OGimet.

The extreme conditions caught many residents by surprise and came just days after Hong Kong was lashed by its strongest typhoon in five years.

Typhoon Saola, originally a super typhoon, weakened to the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane as it reached Hong Kong last weekend - but was still potent enough to shut down the city and cause hundreds of flight cancellations. Eighty-six people were injured from the typhoon, the government said.

Friday's deluge again caused widespread transport and business disruptions across the financial hub, with the stock market canceling morning trading, and all schools closed for the day. On Friday, authorities appealed to businesses to allow non-essential employees to stay at home or seek safe shelter, citing unsafe travel conditions.

Stuart Hargreaves, a Hong Kong resident and professor, was forced to spend the night in his car after being stranded while driving home late Thursday. The flooded roads were "impassable," he said; at one point, "water was coming over the hood of the car and I thought it was going to flood the engine."

Several other cars had similarly flooded and were "floating" nearby, he said. He managed to park in a safe place, but there was no way out - leaving him stuck until daybreak. When he managed to drive home nine hours later, the road was "full of rocks from landslides, debris from trees, abandoned cars and so on," he said.

As of Friday afternoon, 119 people have been reported injured from the downpour, four of whom are in serious condition, according to Hong Kong's Hospital Authority. The government said Friday that such "extreme" conditions were expected to continue until at least midnight.

The city's Mass Transit Railway announced it would suspend services on one of its lines after a station in the Wong Tai Sin district was flooded, with footage shared widely online showing floodwater gushing down the stairs. Another video shows workers at a different station up to their knees in water, struggling at the entrance to keep the flooding at bay.

While most other subway operations remained open, all major bus, tram and ferry services were suspended, according to public broadcaster RTHK. And although some bus services resumed Friday afternoon, many routes remain closed or diverted.

Multiple roads were also closed off due to the threat of landslides in the mountainous territory, with authorities issuing the highest "black" rainstorm warning for the first time in two years.

Videos from Thursday evening show floodwater entering the first floors of some buildings and shopping malls, with chairs and debris scattered across the floor.

The government also warned "there may be a risk of flooding" in its northern New Territories district, which is adjacent to the Chinese mainland, after the neighboring city of Shenzhen said it would release water from a reservoir.

The downpours in Shenzhen also broke multiple rain records in the city, including the maximum rainfall records over two-hour, three-hour, six-hour and 12-hour periods, which have stood since 1952, according to Chinese state media.

Shenzhen saw 469 millimeters (about 18.5 inches) of rain from 5 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday, with kindergartens, primary and secondary schools shut on Friday, state media reported. Transport was disrupted there, too, with six subway lines suspended.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hong Kong paralyzed by flash flooding after heaviest rainfall since 1884

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Record-breaking rainfall in Hong Kong caused widespread flash flooding across the financial hub on Friday, with many businesses and schools forced to shut, just days after the city was battered by a typhoon.

# data[].attributes.body
The state of Florida has seemed interested in limiting abortion pass 15 weeks of pregnancy. If they decide to be more strict then they will go to 6 weeks which is before many people even know they're pregnant.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In arguments in a case that could drastically limit abortion access in the south-eastern United States, the Florida supreme court on Friday seemed open to arguments to uphold a law that bans abortion past 15 weeks of pregnancy.

If the state's high court upholds the 15-week ban under consideration, a separate, stricter law would take effect prohibiting abortion after six weeks, before manypeople know they are pregnant.

"It would be devastating for providers to have to turn even more folks away under a six-week ban," said Whitney White, a staff attorney with the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project. "They're already having to turn away patients under the current 15-week ban."

Friday's hearing is the culmination of Republican efforts to end Florida's legacy as a safe haven for abortion seekers in neighboring states. Five of the seven justices on the current state supreme court were selected by the conservative governor, Ron DeSantis, fueling the concerns of Floridians who support abortion access.

Throughout the hearing, the justices peppered White and the attorney representing Florida, Henry Whitaker, with questions about whether Florida's constitutional right to privacy encompasses abortion.

At one point, Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz - a DeSantis appointee - suggested that Roe v Wade, the 1973 supreme court case that legalized abortion nationwide, was an "abomination". At another, he said that the fact that the US supreme court overturned Roe in 2022 revealed the right to an abortion to be a "mirage".

"You're asking us to essentially take a whole class of human beings and put them outside of the protection of the law? Essentially, in the sense that - if the legislature wants to protect those human beings, they are precluded by the constitution of Florida from doing that?" Muñiz asked White, in an apparent reference to fetuses. "And at the end of the day, the argument as to why that would be right would be based based on a sort of legal meaning kind of understanding of the right of privacy?"

During his time to speak, Whitaker said that the abortion providers who sued over the 15-week ban were reading Florida's privacy rights far too broadly.

"They do not provide a limiting principle to distinguish abortion from infanticide, from euthanasia, from spousal abuse," Whitaker said. "Those are all involved, personal decisions that I suppose the government could be said to be interfering with, in some sense, when the legislature takes action to remedy choices that harm others."

Conflating abortion with infanticide has, in recent years, become a common anti-abortion talking point. White told the justices that infanticide is already illegal and will remain so, no matter what the Florida supreme court rules in this case.

"Frankly, there's no reason for the court to be concerned about that," White said. "This is not a brave new world."

After signing the six-week trigger ban into effect in April, Governor DeSantis said in a brief statement that he was "proud to support life and family in the state of Florida". The Florida governor has been hesitant to discuss abortion on the campaign trial.

A whopping 62% of American adults believe abortions should be legal in "all or most cases", according to a 2022 report published by Pew Research Center. A 2020 Ipsos/Reuters poll found that 56% of likely voters in Florida believe abortion should be legal in most cases. And abortion rights supporters in Florida say the bans violate the explicit privacy protections found in the state constitution.

Florida Republicans passed the 15-week ban on abortion in April 2022, months before the US supreme court ended the federal right to abortion. That same month, a judge revived a 2015 state law that mandated patients wait 24 hours between getting an initial consultation for an abortion and undergoing the procedure.

"It's been one restriction after another," said Dr Kanthi Dhaduvai, a Jacksonville abortion provider with Physicians for Reproductive Health.

Ahead of the hearing,Dhaduvai felt "nervous and frustrated, " fearing a court ruling that would make it impossible for her patients to receive "what is often life-saving care".

Roughly half of Dhaduvai's patients come to Florida from states like Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama - even Texas.

"I think a lot of people are not aware as to how dangerous this could be, not just for Florida, but the entire region," she said. "Florida has been a huge access point for people, we already have people traveling these great distances to get care."

In the months after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, Florida saw the greatest increase in the number of legal abortions performed per month, according to a report released this April from the Society of Family Planning. Florida performed more than 82,000 abortions in 2022.

"I'm still providing care and I'm going to continue providing care, within legal limits, even after the decision," Dhaduvai said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Florida supreme court signals openness to abortion ban that would slash access

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Five of seven justices on court were selected by Governor Ron DeSantis and decision would have ramifications across south-east

# data[].attributes.body
hurricane lee is now heading west and is a category 5 which is rarely seen in the Atlantic ocean. The winds are now at 155 mph and very close to the leeward islands.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
brand safety-nsf accidents and disasters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hurricane Lee's path is still unclear, but the East Coast could see dangerous rip currents and large waves beginning this weekend | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hurricane Lee maintained major hurricane status Friday evening as the powerful storm's indirect - yet dangerous - impacts were expected to reach the waters of the East Coast as early as this weekend.

# data[].attributes.body
In Turkey, 150 rescuers are trying to save Mark Dickey from a cave. It could take up to 4 days to rescue him with little communication. He has already been in the cave for 6 days and is sick. So, he might not have a lot of time left.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
More than 150 rescuers join effort to free ill American from Turkish cave

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In video brought to surface, Mark Dickey says he was ‘very close to the edge’ after falling ill 1km down

# data[].attributes.body
The national weather service said that hurricane lee has grown to a category 5 hurricane and will hit small parts of the Untied States east coast states.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
brand safety-nsf accidents and disasters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hurricane Lee's path is still unclear, but the East Coast could see dangerous rip currents and large waves beginning this weekend | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hurricane Lee maintained major hurricane status Friday evening as the powerful storm's indirect - yet dangerous - impacts were expected to reach the waters of the East Coast as early as this weekend.

# data[].attributes.body
The climate warming up is causing lots of extremely humid heatwaves, which is very concerning for human health and safety.

# data[].attributes.body
Ukraine is starting to make counter attacks on Russia to try to take the land back from Russia that Ukraine lost.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ukraine's counteroffensive has been underway for months, but the country's hopes of a rapid and decisive breakthrough have long faded.

Kyiv launched the campaign aiming to recapture Russian-seized territory, especially in the south. But while there is a renewed sense of optimism, gains have been marginal and won at great cost. As Ukrainian forces probe for vulnerabilities in Russian defences, Moscow too is seeking to make gains, and has been trying to advance toward the city of Kupiansk, a city it seized early on in the war before losing it a year ago.

While it is impossible to get an exact, real-time picture of the situation on the ground, CNN has been taking a look at the key battles of the latest phase of the war.

The conflict so far

While Ukraine has struggled in its counteroffensive, it is important to remember the war is nowhere near where Russia's President Vladimir Putin wanted it to be either.

When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it hoped to sweep across the country and topple the government in a matter of days. Those goals floundered due to a combination of Russian hubris and stronger than expected Ukrainian resistance. After seeing Putin quickly withdraw his forces from around Kyiv and elsewhere in northern Ukraine, the rest of the year saw significant victories for Ukraine in the Kharkiv region to the east and the Kherson region to the south.

This year has been different, with troops from both sides bogged down in a slow-moving conflict with no clear end in sight. The current fighting is focused on Ukraine's south and east, with Ukrainian forces struggling to break through defensive lines Russia had months to prepare. Success means capturing a village rather than an entire city.

The southern front

In the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, modest Ukrainian gains in rural areas have been hampered by Russian defenses. Moscow's troops have fortified the land with minefields, anti-tank ditches, traps and trenches.

The area is a major target for Ukraine - pushing deep into the territory along two main lines of counterattack would bring the chance of breaking Russia's land-bridge between annexed Crimea and eastern Donetsk, under Moscow's control since 2014.

Ukrainian troops in late August secured the village of Robotyne, a step that brings them closer to being able to use artillery against the strategic hub of Tokmak. But there is a long way to go.

Data as of Sept. 6, 2023 at 3 p.m. ET

Ukraine has been able to retake some ground near the frontline town of Velyka Novosilka. In June, in the second week of the counteroffensive it liberated a handful of villages: Neskuchne, Blahodatne and Makarivka. More recently, it recaptured a couple more, Staromaiorske and Urozhaine, but progress has been hard. Russian forces have launched a number of counterattacks.

Velyka Novosilka bears the scars of a year and a half of shelling. Struggling to combat Russian air strikes on the town, Kyiv has called on its Western backers to provide F-16 fighter jets and other air support.

The town of Orikhiv has found itself caught in the firing line. While remaining under Ukrainian control, it is being pummeled by Russian air strikes with half-ton bombs landing frequently - sometimes 20 in as many minutes.

Located 60 kilometers southeast of Zaporizhzhia, Orikhiv has been wedged between Kyiv's troops pushing south and Russian forces attempting to hold their position.

Russian defensive fortifications and trenches in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, March 4, 2023 Maxar Technologies

Kupiansk

Ukraine has been trying to hold Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region. The city fell in the early days of the conflict, then was liberated last September as part of a lightning Ukrainian offensive, but now Russia is trying to capture it a second time.

In August, Ukraine ordered the evacuation of the city and the surrounding area, the largest such evacuation in months and a sign of the severity of the situation, although many civilians are choosing to stay put.

For Ukrainian troops, Kupiansk is strategically significant to prevent Russia from gaining access to the nearby Oskil River - where it is much easier to cross than further south.

The eastern front

For now, the eastern city of Bakhmut is under Russian control following a grinding, nine-month battle, while Ukraine continues to hold some areas in the southwestern outskirts of the city.

An aerial view of Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles with Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, June 22, 2023. Libkos/AP

Ukraine says the battle is not over, however, and continues to contest the city. In doing so, they are forcing Russia to bring in more troops to the area, pulling them away from other fronts.

Much of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions have been held by Russian-backed separatists for more than nine years. They are two of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow declared it had annexed last September, in violation of international law.

The town of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, which remains under Ukrainian control, has found itself on the frontline of the heavy fighting. The town has been largely destroyed and most of its population has fled.

The months to come

The clock is ticking for Ukraine, with the fall bringing worsening weather and even more challenging fighting conditions.

For political as well as strategic reasons, pressure is mounting on Ukraine to achieve a breakthrough. Kyiv will want as strong a hand as possible should peace negotiations ever happen or if the so-far solid support it enjoys among the West start to fray.

While Russia has been pushed back since launching its invasion, it still has some advantages. The Russian army is significantly bigger than Ukraine's, and with Putin isolated by the conflict he does not have to worry that a long, grinding conflict will lose him allies. Russia may be able to cope with attritional fighting better than Ukraine.

Whatever the outcome of the counteroffensive, it could be pivotal for how the war ends.

Sources: The Institute for the Study of War with AEI's Critical Threats Project, Brady Africk, OpenStreetMap.

Notes: "Russian presence" means the Institute for the Study of War has received reliable and independently verifiable information to demonstrate Russian control or advances in those areas, or where Russian forces have operated in or launched attacks, but they do not control them. "Claimed Russian control" areas are where sources have said control or counteroffensives are occurring, but ISW cannot corroborate nor demonstrate them to be false.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia in maps: a visual guide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kyiv is struggling to make major gains in the face of dense Russian defenses. Here's where the key battles are taking place

# data[].attributes.body
The U.N. I saying that we are burning too much fossil fuels. And that climet change will get to bad if we don't stop

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Governments are failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions fast enough to meet the goals of the Paris agreement and to stave off climate disaster, a major report by the UN has found.

Meeting the goals will require "phasing out all unabated fossil fuels", the report says, in an acknowledgment that some oil-producing countries may find hard to take.

The need to phase out fossil fuels has not been explicitly adopted by the UN before, under successive rounds of climate talks, and language over "phasing out" or "phasing down" fossil fuels has caused controversy at the annual UN climate talks.

There is a "rapidly narrowing window" for governments to move faster, according to the report, as global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 at the latest, and be rapidly reduced from there, to limit temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Emissions are still rising, however, and there is a gap of 20 to 23 gigatonnes of CO ₂ between the cuts needed by 2030 to limit global temperatures to 1.5C and the world's current emissions trajectory.

The report, which was expected next week but was published hurriedly in draft by the UN on Friday, will form the basis of the first "global stocktake" under the 2015 Paris agreement. That process is meant to track countries' efforts to meet the goals of the treaty.

However, the 47-page UN report does not set out in detail which countries are falling behind, nor does it contain specific recommendations directed at particular countries or regions.

Instead, the global situation is described in broad and general terms that were largely predictable, as it has been clear for some time that the world is far off track to stay within the tougher of the Paris goals, of limiting temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Ani Dasgupta, the head of the World Resources Institute thinktank, noted that the bland tone of the report disguised a catastrophic failure. He said: "The UN's polite prose glosses over what is a truly damning report card for global climate efforts.

"Carbon emissions? Still climbing. Rich countries' finance commitments? Delinquent. Adaptation support? Lagging woefully behind. This report is a wake-up call to the injustice of the climate crisis, and a pivotal opportunity to correct course."

The global stocktake will form the basis of negotiations at the next UN climate summit, Cop28, to be held in Dubai in November.

While most of the recommendations in the report are unremarkable - exhortations to change transport, buildings and high-carbon industries, to reduce the carbon emissions associated with each - the finding on fossil fuels stands out. Buried in a short paragraph midway through the summary, the recommendation on phasing out fossil fuels is clear in its meaning, and likely to be explosive in its impact on the negotiations.

"Achieving net zero CO ₂ and greenhouse gas emissions requires systems transformations across all sectors and contexts, including scaling up renewable energy while phasing out all unabated fossil fuels, ending deforestation, reducing non-CO ₂ emissions and implementing both supply and demand side measures," reads key finding 6 of the report.

The question of phasing out fossil fuels is now at the heart of the UN global climate talks. For years, oil-producing nations have prevented the UN from adopting language that would clearly require a phasing out of fossil fuels, even though it is undisputed that burning fossil fuels is the prime cause of the climate crisis.

skip past newsletter promotion
The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
after newsletter promotion

Last year, an attempt to get language on phasing out fossil fuels included in the outcome of Cop27, in Egypt, failed. Fresh attempts have been made this year, but the UAE has so far avoided including language on phasing out fossil fuel emissions in any communications on Cop28. Asked by the Guardian, the Cop28 president-designate ASultan Al Jaber would refer only to "phasing down" fossil fuels.

As the global stocktake is the key document for Cop28 and forms the basis for negotiations, for this recommendation to be included is highly significant.

A spokesperson for the European Commission told the Guardian the EU was strongly in favour. "We welcome and agree with such language. Already on several occasions the commission and EU ministers have called for a move towards energy systems free of unabated fossil fuels. We see the push for global targets on renewables and energy efficiency measures as part of the path to achieve that."

Gareth Redmond-King, head of international programme at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit thinktank, said: "The most important part of the report is key finding 6 - commitment that delivering on Paris means scaling up renewables, phasing out fossil fuels, ending deforestation, tackling methane - transformational changes needed to get to net zero and get on track for 1.5C. Because that's setting the agenda for Cop. The discussions to come later this month, again next month, and then in Dubai at Cop itself - the response to this stocktake. That's what needs to be the gamechanger to shift up a few gears."

The report found plenty of measures governments could take to reduce emissions that would be low cost and easy to implement, including investments in renewable energy, and conserving and regrowing forests. Some developing countries would require financial help to seize these opportunities, however.

"There are now sufficient cost-effective opportunities to address the 2030 emissions gap, yet significant challenges, including access to and availability of support, remain in harnessing these opportunities at the required pace and scale," the report says.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'A critical moment': UN warns world will miss climate targets unless fossil fuels phased out

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Governments failing to cut emissions fast enough to meet Paris agreement goals and avoid disaster, major report says

# data[].attributes.body
The United Nation is saying that the global climate will get worse until the world moves toward energy systems free of unhealthy fossil fuels