A US Navy destroyer has collided with an oil tanker near the Persian Gulf. Neither ship was badly damaged. The incident is under investigation.

Elsewhere in the region, Iran's two earthquakes are now believed to have killed 300 people. The US Geological Society says yesterday’s quakes measured in at magnitude 6.4 and 6.3.

In case you missed it…

This July was the hottest ever on record. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last month was 3.3 degrees warmer than the 20th century average.

Drought continues to ravish much of the US. It’s believed to be the worse since the Dust Bowl. While the nation's biggest aquifer is sucked dry.

The drought has now destroyed 15 percent of the nation's corn crop. Consequently the grain's market price hit a record high on Friday raising concerns there could be another 2008-type food crisis on the horizon.

And the UN has asked the US to stop making corn-based ethanol because fuel production could further worsen the coming storm.

Show Me the Money. Following the news that Money-Hiding Mitt Romney picked Wisconsin Senator Paul Ryan as his running mate, reports have surfaced that Romney asked all his potential VP contenders to show him their tax returns. That seems a little like the pot calling the kettle black. Speaking of which…

Oregon's own Sen. Ron Wyden has taken offense at Romney using him and Paul Ryan’s chumminess over Medicare as an example of the VP candidate’s bipartisan cooperation.

In breaking Olympics news, the US team takes home the gold. Yeah, our mercenary army of dribblers beat Spain in men’s basketball.

Olympics Arrests. British police working Olympics security have now arrested 242 people for crimes related to the games. The biggest crime: ticket scalping.

Reality TV…IN SPACE!!! A private company hopes to put humans on Mars before NASA does by funding its efforts with a reality TV show.

And beware the faux Martian landscape. The photo below showing the Earth, Venus, and Jupiter in near alignment has been making the rounds on the Inter-Webs. It’s also a fake. According to one science blogger, the photo was made using planetarium software.

But Hell, it’s pretty!!!