Earth Changes
AUSTIN, Texas - Police shut down 10 blocks of businesses in the heart of downtown early Monday after dozens of birds were found dead in the streets, but officials said preliminary tests showed no dangerous chemicals in the air.
LONDON - A resurgent El Nino and persistently high levels of greenhouse gases are likely to make 2007 the world's hottest year ever recorded, British climate scientists said Thursday.
Britain's Meteorological Office said there was a 60 percent probability that 2007 would break the record set by 1998, which was 1.20 degrees over the long-term average.
"This new information represents another warning that climate change is happening around the world," the office said.
Britain's Meteorological Office said there was a 60 percent probability that 2007 would break the record set by 1998, which was 1.20 degrees over the long-term average.
"This new information represents another warning that climate change is happening around the world," the office said.
NEW IBERIA, La. - Powerful storms that killed at least two people and ripped apart mobile homes in Louisiana headed into Alabama on Friday, where tornado watches were posted across the state.
A flash-flood watch was still in effect Friday morning for parts of southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi after the heavy rain.
Some of the worst damage from Thursday's storms was in Louisiana's Iberia Parish after what appeared to be a tornado hit in the New Iberia area just before 4 p.m.
A flash-flood watch was still in effect Friday morning for parts of southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi after the heavy rain.
Some of the worst damage from Thursday's storms was in Louisiana's Iberia Parish after what appeared to be a tornado hit in the New Iberia area just before 4 p.m.
Bill Weigle's tree service in Lyndeborough, N.H., usually delivers five to 10 cords of firewood a day this time of year. He's sold only one in the past two weeks.
Business is "dead," Weigle says. "I've never seen it like this ... I feel like the Maytag man."
This winter's curiously warm weather across the Northeast and much of the Midwest has played havoc with more than seasonal businesses. In Washington, D.C., springlike temperatures have faked out flora, causing dogwoods and daffodils to bloom.
Business is "dead," Weigle says. "I've never seen it like this ... I feel like the Maytag man."
This winter's curiously warm weather across the Northeast and much of the Midwest has played havoc with more than seasonal businesses. In Washington, D.C., springlike temperatures have faked out flora, causing dogwoods and daffodils to bloom.
Anchorage, Alaska - It snowed all day in Anchorage Wednesday. A combination of snow, fog and ice contributed to more than 100 cars becoming stuck in ditches and snow berms across the city. The Anchorage Police Department said accidents occurred at a pace of a collision every 10 minutes today. A snow advisory remains in effect and the job of digging out is only beginning.
CHICKEN HAS never been cheaper. A whole one can be bought for little more than the price of a Starbucks cup of coffee. But the industrial farming methods that make ever-cheaper chicken possible may also have created the lethal strain of bird flu virus, H5N1, that threatens to set off a global pandemic.
HANOI, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Several thousands of ducks in Vietnam's southern Soc Trang province have died in the last few days, Vietnam News Agency reported Monday.
Some 4,000 ducks in two farms in the province's Nga Nam and Thanh Tri districts have been either killed by an identified disease or culled by local relevant agencies. Specimens from the affected waterfowls are being tested for bird flu viruses.
Some 4,000 ducks in two farms in the province's Nga Nam and Thanh Tri districts have been either killed by an identified disease or culled by local relevant agencies. Specimens from the affected waterfowls are being tested for bird flu viruses.
A gas-like odour covered much of Manhattan and parts of New Jersey Monday as firefighters worked to discover the cause.
Reports of the mysterious odour started coming in around 9 a.m. ET, said New York fire department spokesperson Tim Hinchey.
Reports of the mysterious odour started coming in around 9 a.m. ET, said New York fire department spokesperson Tim Hinchey.
WASHINGTON -- On Sept. 11, 2001, New York fire battalion chief Dennis Devlin issued an urgent plea: His men were in "a state of confusion" and needed more working radios immediately. Yet, more than five years since Devlin and 342 other members of the city's fire department perished at the World Trade Center, the government says only six U.S. cities have fully answered the late fire chief's call by adopting advanced emergency communications systems.
New York is not one of the six, according to the scorecard by the Homeland Security Department that was to be released Wednesday.
New York is not one of the six, according to the scorecard by the Homeland Security Department that was to be released Wednesday.
MIAMI — Frustrated with people and politicians who refuse to listen or learn, National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield ends his 34-year government career today in search of a new platform for getting out his unwelcome message: Hurricane Katrina was nothing compared with the big one yet to come.
Comment: Much of the focus in the fight against avian flu has been directed against small producers. However, there is research that suggests it is the large-scale, factory farming of chickens that is the cause.