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Well, at least we assume those were good-natured jabs.
• Now, we have read that July was the hottest month ever recorded in the United States. In fact, three of the five hottest Julys on record came in the recent past, including 2012, 2011 and 2006.
• And sure enough, a report by The Associated Press noted that analysts at the National Center for Atmospheric Research say that these hot streaks are due, in part, to climate change.
• Said analyst Kevin Trenberth: "Global warming from human activities has reared its head in a way that can only be a major warning for the future."
• Great. Now we're worried once again.
• We readily acknowledge that theories behind global warming vary, and some

consider the idea complete hogwash. Naysayers simply point out that Earth has a way of working in cycles, sometimes hot and dry, sometimes cool and wet.
• But the scientific data seem real enough and the statistics are a bit intimidating. And long streaks of heat only tend to make us wonder anew if global warming is truly the looming catastrophe some claim it is.
• It's too bad the controversy is mired in politics. We suppose former Vice President Al Gore's role in the issue has made it so, but it shouldn't be a political hot potato.
• It's hot enough already.
•

• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- People are gathering at Oahe (oh-AH-hee) Dam to mark the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's speech dedicating the completion of the Missouri River dam and its hydropower generators.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the six dams on the Missouri River, and the South Dakota Great Lakes Tourism Association are hosting Friday's ceremony. Former U.S. Sen. George McGovern, who was with Kennedy at the 1962 ceremony, is expected to attend.
• Other events are being held Friday and Saturday to mark the dam's 50th birthday.
• The South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center is showing photos and a film of the dam's construction. A reception also is being held for people who helped build the dam five decades ago.
• Oahe is one of the world's largest rolled earth dams.

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