Author: James Dorman

Southern California was rocked by a series of frequent earthquakes recently, which potentially speaks to an urgent situation. Ojai was hit by a 3.6-magnitude quake, and similar-sized quakes also hit East Los Angeles and El Sereno, with three more recorded near Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. But SoCal’s earthquake problems may be far from over. How Earthquakes Happen Source: M.Bitton/Wikimedia Commons Earthquakes in an urban environment like this can lead to some truly terrifying and devastating natural disasters. Earthquakes typically occur when the tectonic plates of the Earth’s crust slip past one another. The area where they slip is known…

Alligators are relics of another age, aquatic reptiles with prehistoric roots. They’ve been a key part of marine food chains for millennia, potentially even once being part of deep ocean ecosystems. Scientists have been using alligator carcasses in a somewhat bizarre offshore experiment, dumping dead ones into the Gulf of Mexico as part of their research. The Gulf of Mexico Source: Wikimedia Commons The Gulf of Mexico is a large body of water connected to the Atlantic Ocean and “engulfed” by the Southeastern United States and Mexico. The Gulf stretches approximately 600,000 square miles and contains many small islands, such…

The bright lights of Las Vegas attract millions of tourists every year. While visitors work their way up and down the strip, enjoying restaurants, sightseeing, gambling, and shows, a whole other world exists below their feet. Many have never heard of the tunnels beneath Las Vegas, including residents. Fewer have seen them. Fewer still know that they act as a sanctuary for an entire community of people. Vegas’ Underground Tunnels Source: tim vfx/Unsplash There’s a lot of folklore around the origin of this underground city and indeed around the origin of the tunnels themselves. Some say they started as a…

It very much sounds like a scary scene from a movie — swimming carefree just off the coast, totally unaware that a great predator is lurking beneath the surface. Well, what would be a horror story for some was a nerve-jangling reality for a group of unsuspecting surfers paddling in the waters of Southern California. Amazing Video Footage Source: TheMalibuArtist/YouTube Remarkable video footage captured by a drone above the warm waters of Southern California reveals a somewhat awe-inspiring sight. The footage shows great white sharks majestically swimming close to the shoreline, alongside a group of surfers who go about their…

The Pacific Northwest coast has been witness to something out of a horror story. More and more shoes have washed up on the shore, specifically the shore of the Salish Sea. Where the story takes a turn into horror is the fact that the shoes contained human remains. The gruesome tale has made headlines all around the world, though the reality of these feet-filled shoes washing up along the Pacific Northwest coast is, bizarrely, not as horrific as it sounds. Over a Dozen Shoes Have Been Found Source: Ocean Networks Canada/Wikimedia Commons More than 12 shoes containing human remains have…

An Ohio couple began what sounds like a serene project — renovating their vintage home. But as work progressed, they started to get hints that the house may have a sinister past. They began finding clues to this darker history working in the basement and found something truly remarkable after chopping away the home’s plywood. So significant were their discoveries that they led to a federal investigation. A Big DIY Undertaking Source: Karl Solano/Unsplash The couple bought a fairly large suburban home that had two main floors plus a basement. The house was large enough that they were settled in…

We’ve long known that to combat the damaging effects of climate change, we will need to make some changes as a society. Addressing our motoring habits is a big part of this. Adopting electric vehicles (EVs) has long been considered one of the best and easiest changes we can make to lessen our environmental impact. But new information suggests they might not be quite as environmentally friendly as we assumed. The Environmental Benefits of EVs Source: Michael Marais/Unsplash The narrative around EVs is that widespread adoption of the vehicles will help to save the planet from the negative impact of…

Russell Moore, a prominent theologian and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, has deep concerns about Christianity in the U.S. He worries about the current trajectory of the nation’s faith and what he sees as a “crisis” within Christianity, particularly regarding the interplay of faith and politics. Crisis of Faith Source: Grant Whitty/Unsplash In an interview with NPR, Moore spoke about his own experiences and anecdotes from pastors who had experienced first-hand the challenges in teaching faith due to the current political climate. Many are finding it difficult to fulfill their spiritual roles, having…

The Sri Lankan Navy dispatched ships to rescue a huge land mammal that found itself stranded 10 miles off the coast near the town of Kokkilai in Sri Lanka. The story swept the nation in 2017. The animal they rescued certainly wasn’t one you’d typically expect to find out paddling in the ocean — and the 12-hour rescue mission was dibbed a “miraculous recovery”. Asian Elephants Are one of the Largest Land Mammals Oliver Spicer/Unsplash What’s extraordinary about this case is that Asian elephants are one of the largest land mammals known for their intelligence and how emotional they are.…

Devastation in the wake of a tornado ripping through the city of Greenfield, Iowa, sadly sees five dead and dozens more injured. The tornado is also responsible for extensive property damage in the area. The scope of this destruction is given proper perspective when you consider the potentially world record-breaking metrics of the tornado. ‘Gut-Wrenching’ and ‘Horrific’ Source: Nikolas Noonan/Unsplash Toward the end of May 2024, there were reports of 26 tornados across Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa. It is believed that at least 21 of these tornadoes hit Iowa. In the wake of these devastating tornadoes, Iowa…