But for how troubling the data point seemed to be, it got relatively little press attention, at least on the airwaves. From the morning of August 20 through Sunday evening, the fact that the month we had just endured was the hottest on record was mentioned on major cable news networks all of 10 times.

To determine this, we searched the archive service TVEyes using the term “hottest month,” “warmest month,” “warmest period,” "July" and "hottest," and "July" and "warmest."

Just how little coverage is that? Consider this: During that same period, the name "Donald Trump" was mentioned more than 245 times on MSNBC, more than 265 times on CNN and more than 240 times on Fox News. Those numbers also don't include shows that re-aired (including CNN's hour-long interview with Trump that was rebroadcast several times), and they only reflect a TVEyes search for the businessman presidential candidate’s full name, not "Donald" or "Trump."

But government spokespeople rarely mention the inconvenient fact that these records are being set by less than the uncertainty in the statistics. NOAA claims an uncertainty of 14 one-hundredths of a degree in its temperature averages, or near twice the amount by which they say the record was set. NASA says that their data is typically accurate to one tenth of a degree, five times the amount by which their new record was set.

So, the new temperature records are meaningless. Neither agency knows whether a record was set. Such misrepresentations are now commonplace in NOAA and NASA announcements. They are regularly proclaiming monthly and yearly records set by less than the uncertainties in the measurements. Scientists within the agencies know that this is dishonest.

They also know that calculating so-called global average temperatures to hundredths of a degree is irrational. After all, there is very little data for the 70 percent of Earth’s surface that is ocean. There is also little data for mountainous and desert regions, not to mention the Antarctic. Much of the coverage is so sparse that NASA is forced to make the ridiculous claim that regions are adequately covered if there is a temperature-sensing station within nearly 750 miles. This is the distance between Ottawa, Canada, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - cities with very different climates. Yet, according to NASA, only one temperature sensing station is necessary for the two cities and the vast area between them to be adequately represented in their network.

In the final analysis, it is no more meaningful to calculate an average temperature for a whole planet than it is to calculate the average telephone number in the Washington DC phone book. Temperature, like viscosity and density, and of course phone numbers, is not something that can be meaningfully averaged. “Global temperature” does not exist.

The sad answer will be that it had nothing to do with the realities of science, technology or economics. The tragic blunder is based on satisfying political expedience for a privileged few, egged on by vested financial interests, and supported by largely uninformed activists granted the media platforms needed to sway public opinion. As Jay Lehr, science director of the Chicago-based Heartland Institute said, “It is a scam that dwarfs all others that have come before.”

In a sense, the fundamental role of science itself has been hijacked for selfish gain. Looking back, you can now see that the preferred business model of an industry was created first, followed by “scientific evidence” that supports the established business model. When the science doesn’t support the company’s economic gains, it’s swept under the rug, even if people are dying and the planet is becoming irreparably poisoned as a result.

Today we live in a world where chemical companies and biotech giants can easily buy and pay for their own research studies, as well as the lobbying to support whatever legislation they need passed in their favor. Conflicts of interest have become the norm within virtually all fields of science, which creates a completely unworkable – and dangerous – situation in the long run.

"We are happy that you pose as an example and inspiration to religious judges and all of the loyal people of Israel," the movement wrote to the "hilltop youth" (a general term for radicals living in West Bank outposts). The new Sanhedrin movement, which is popular among the hilltop youth, includes a group of rabbis from the religious-Zionist and the Haredi-Zionist sectors.

"It is a Biblical obligation for every person in Israel to adhere to the Land of Israel, and resist any attempt at displacement with the willingness to give up your life, just as one does when confronted by a non-Jew," they wrote at the time. Following the administrative detentions of several right wing extremists and the restraining orders imposed on several others, the new Sanhedrin issued a statement of support in the radical right wing.

"The Sanhedrin court, which sits on Mount Zion in holy Jerusalem, hereby strengthens your spirits and reduces your sorrow, as you were seized while acting for the respect of God and the nation of Israel, risking your lives for the holiness of the nation and the Land," Rabbis Yisrael Ariel, Daniel Cohen and Yoel Schwartz wrote.

The fire at a sports hall near Nauen, about 25 miles west of Berlin, was spotted just after 2am and swiftly destroyed the structure, which had been prepared as temporary housing for about 100 migrants, the authorities said. Arson was believed to be the cause.

Officials throughout the country have scrambled to find or adapt decent places to shelter the new arrivals in Germany, where the struggle to stop anti-immigrant violence has vied with news of a mass migration not seen in Europe since the wars that ripped apart Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

About 3,000 people are expected to cross into Macedonia from Greece every day in coming months, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday, as they make their way to wealthier countries in northern Europe. “We do not see any end to the influx of people in coming months,” Melissa Fleming, chief spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said in Geneva.

More than $10 million a year will be needed from member states to monitor the proposed deal, said Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and funds are already running out. "The Agency has immediate funding needs related to the continuing costs of implementing monitoring and verification under the existing Joint Plan of Action. These total 800,000 euros per month," Amano said in remarks prepared for the UN nuclear watchdog's board of directors.

"The extra-budgetary contributions which we have previously received for this purpose will be exhausted by the end of September," he said. A further 160,000 euros ($185,000) per month will also be needed between the day the agreement is adopted and when it's implemented, he added, as the IAEA carries out preparatory work to enable the verification and monitoring process.

Chick-fil-A was "the second-most sought-after quick service brand at the airport, second to Chipotle," according to a 2013 survey of airport goers. But council members voiced concerns over president Dan Cathy's views on gay marriage. When asked in 2012 whether he believed in the “Biblical definition of a family unit,” president Dan Cathy replied "guilty as charged."

"All of us become more wise as time goes by. We sincerely care about all people," Cathy told USA Today last year, after his words ignited a social media firestorm. "I'm going to leave it to politicians and others to discuss social issues."

“The German government is clear in that it seeks a nationwide cultivation ban,” Fronczak said by phone from Berlin. “There’s resistance from all sides, from the public to the farmers.”

Germany is taking advantage of new measures allowing countries to opt out of growing gene-modified crops. Switzerland’s Syngenta AG and US rival Monsanto Co have been among the strongest proponents of the seeds, which are mostly banned in the EU because of what some say are uncertain environmental and health effects. Monsanto maintains the products are safe.

The Agriculture Ministry has asked for the backing of state ministries in a letter sent in the past few days, Fronczak said. Germany gave state governments a deadline until September 11 to reply. If it doesn’t hear any objections from the states, it will ask that companies exclude Germany from their applications to sell GMO seeds, Fronczak said.

The letter, signed by leaders from all the major streams of Christianity in the United States — Roman Catholic, evangelical, mainline Protestant and Orthodox, warns lawmakers that “rejection of this deal would be a rejection of the historic progress our diplomats have made to make this world a safer place.”

“Faith communities are mobilizing en masse to urge lawmakers to vote for the Iran deal, to support diplomacy as an effective foreign policy approach,” said Diane Randall, the Executive Secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. “When members of Congress cast their vote, we want them to know that Christians from diverse traditions will support a vote for peace over risking war.”

The signatories include leaders from diverse Christian denominations and include the support of various Baptist, Catholic, evangelical, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal, Orthodox, Mennonite, Quaker and Church of the Brethren organizations.

Billions were wiped off indices across the world in a day of frenetic selling which saw the Shanghai composite suffer an 8.5 percent decline, its worst one-day performance since 2007. The mass panic, dubbed "Black Monday" by China's official state news agency, was driven by investors' dashed hopes that Beijing would inject a fresh round of stimulus into its economy at the weekend. China's benchmark index has now lost all of its yearly gains after a relentless ascent that saw its valuation rise to record levels earlier this year.

Asian markets crashed on the news, with Japan's Nikkei closing down 4.5 percent and entering official "correction" territory. Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 5.2 percent, its steepest sell-off in 30 years. Emerging markets, most exposed to a waning Chinese economy, saw their currencies continue an abysmal summer rout. Russia's rouble fell to an all-time low of 70.74 to the dollar, despite desperate attempts by the Kremlin to prop up its value. Contagion quickly spread west, decimating European indices, which all suffered record post-crisis losses. The FTSE 100 dropped 4.7 percent, wiping £74 billion off its market capitalisation and capping its worst one-day performance since March 2009.

"Stock markets are falling apart at the seams," said Jasper Lawler at CMC Markets. "There was one point today when there just seemed to be no buyers and markets just went into freefall." Fears soon engulfed Wall Street, where the Dow Jones lost 1,000 points minutes after the opening bell. Pre-market futures trading in the Dow and the S&P 500 had to be suspended as investors became embroiled in a manic sell-off. "Dealers don’t know what to do with themselves because the market moves are so enormous and erratic, and their levels of fear are outweighing their greed," said David Madden at IG.

Following the huge sell-offs in Asia, the FTSE 100 followed suit and lost £76 billion in value yesterday. It was feared European markets could fall again today off the back of China's continued losing streak, but investors in London appeared to have recovered their nerve with the UK's premier share index bouncing up by around 2.5 per cent in morning trading.

The index is now hovering at around 6,058, after closing at 5898.87 yesterday. The value of the FTSE 100 affects the worth of British pensions with billions of pounds in pension savings invested in the market. However, experts have urged savers to hold their nerve during the current volatile period.

The Russian news service Sputnik, an agency launched by Russia’s state-owned Rossiya Segodnya in 2014 to “target global audiences with its non-mainstream take on world events,” predicts doom for the American economy next month. In a recent article, Sputnik cites several economists warning of catastrophe.

It continues: “Most of the experts agree that all the optimistic data like record earnings on Wall Street and a surging dollar is just disguising fundamental cracks, and the collapse of historic proportions will happen within few months, starting in the US. No wonder such forecasts, and there are dozens, from professional economists leave US and the world dizzy and shivering in fear and helplessness, just what one would probably feel if the actual apocalypse was coming.”