we were with our niece recently, and she started playing with Frozen flashcards (one of her fav toys, despite her being terrified of the movie itself). we commented that our favorite character was the snowman, and she immediately corrected us by saying “his name is Olaffff!!” please, be like our niece and correct us when we’re wrong via email.

big idea: building collapses near miami

1. a twelve-story apartment building collapsed near miami on thursday, killing at least four, with over 150 additional people missing. search and rescue teams are battling heavy rain and a structural fire. hopes are dimming, as it is exceedingly rare to find survivors of such events after a few days.
2. the billion dollar question is why the building collapsed. severe damage to its concrete supports and foundations from sea water and salt air were discovered in 2018, and never fixed. the property also seems to have been sinking into the ground faster than neighboring areas since the 1990s.
3. while it’s far too soon to blame climate change for this disaster, we should expect similar stories in the years to come because of warming temperatures. miami is discussing building a twenty foot high sea wall to protect itself from rising seas and worse hurricanes along some of its most valuable beachfront land. 
4. a recent study found that a whopping 60% of all buildings in the US are located in weather-related disaster hotspots. this type of risky construction is only on the rise, despite additional wildfires (on the west coast), tornados (in the plains), and hurricanes & flooding (on the east coast). time for everyone to pack up and move to the midwest, huh?
5. local governments, which are responsible for zoning laws, are the least likely to prevent irresponsible building because they are the most dependent on property taxes and new development. miami-dade county is already facing scrutiny over its inspection practices after this week’s tragic accident.

story to watch: fake reviews online are everywhere

1. with Amazon’s prime days this week ending below expectations, we’re taking a look at a related story - fake online reviews. the UK is launching investigations of both Google and Amazon for failing to remove fake reviews. Amazon recently removed a number of its top third-party sellers, including Aukey and Mpow, for paying customers for positive...