Authorities in multiple counties in western Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee reported a mysterious gas-like odor Thursday morning, but the source of the stench is still unknown. Calloway County dispatcher Dan Galloway said the Sheriff's Office received anywhere between 15 to 20 calls of a natural gas smell.
The first call came from the Almo area at about 6:30 a.m. Galloway said Calloway County Fire-Rescue units responded to a residential area to find nothing. Minutes later, firefighters were called to the Dexter area for the same call. By later in the morning, Galloway said reports were coming in from most of the county as well as Marshall, Graves and Ballard counties in Kentucky and Henry and Stewart counties in Tennessee.
"We've talked to sheriffs' offices south of us and they have all reported the smell."
Calloway County Emergency Management Director Bill Call said officials have tested the air in multiple areas county wide to find no unusually high concentrations of natural gas or propane.
Earth Changes
The deluge that has engulfed southern and central England in recent weeks is the worst winter downpour in almost 250 years, according to figures from the world's longest-running weather station.
The rainfall measured at the historic Radcliffe Meteorological Station at Oxford University in January was greater than for any winter month since daily recording began there in 1767, and three times the average amount.
The latest Met Office data shows that the region from Devon to Kent and up into the Midlands suffered its wettest January since its records began in 1910.
But Ian Ashpole, the Radcliffe Meteorological Observer, said: "The Radcliffe measurements more than double the length of the Met Office record and give us a better grip on how things are changing."
© AFP/Getty/Sutanta Aditya.
Among the dead on Mount Sinabung were a local television journalist and four high-school students and their teacher who were visiting the mountain to see the eruptions up close, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. At least three other people were injured, and authorities feared the death toll would rise.
Sinabung in western Sumatra has been erupting for four months, sending lava and searing gas and rocks rolling down its southern slopes. Authorities had evacuated more than 30,000 people, housing them in cramped tents, schools and public buildings. Many have been desperate to return to check on homes and farms, presenting a dilemma for the government.
The warm water reptile was found dead on the sand
The Kemp's ridley turtle, measuring just 30cm in length, was found on Woolacombe Beach.
Experts said it is not the first Kemp's ridley to be cast ashore along the UK coastline this winter.
The species was on the brink of extinction in the 1980s, as a result of hunting and egg collection in the nesting beaches in Mexico and accidental capture and drowning in trawling nets in the Gulf.
But the species is now recovering after special measures were put in place to safeguard their numbers.
Dr Peter Richardson, biodiversity programme manager for the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), said the turtles would not survive in British waters.
Swathes of eastern Europe have been hit by high winds and snow. Here, a woman is seen through a frozen window as she walks away from the exit of a subway station in Bucharest, Romania
Authorities said a number of roads throughout northern Serbia were blocked by snow drifts, with cars lining up in columns for several miles. Authorities warned motorist not to travel unless strictly necessary.
Over 1,000 people had to be rescued by the army and emergency services after becoming stuck on a road linking Serbia to Hungary for 15 hours.
With wind speeds gusting at over 100 miles an hour, forcing the government to impose truck traffic bans on vehicles travelling from Hungary or Romania.
A military helicopter rescued nearly two dozen people from their cars on a road about 30 miles northeast of the capital Belgrade and up to sixty people were stranded overnight in their vehicles elsewhere.
© Stephen Stockwell
A mystery disease is killing cattle in the west of New South Wales
A mystery disease is killing cattle in the west of New South Wales
Hay district veterinarian, Colin Peake, says the illness was first detected in October last year.
A similar disease hit the Western Division in 2006 and again in 2009.
Two farms near Hay and one at Mossgiel have been affected.
Mr Peake says he is perplexed by the deaths with tests returning inconclusive results.
"There's a lot of diseases that have been ruled out, even lead poisoning has been ruled out," he said.
© New York Times
Published: August 18, 1896
Published: August 18, 1896
© Reuters
Villagers fled as ash clouds spewed from the mountain
Villagers fled as ash clouds spewed from the mountain
Mount Sinabung, which has been active with low-level eruptions for months, spewed clouds of hot ash into the air, engulfing nearby villages.
Emergency official Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said a group of schoolchildren on a sightseeing trip were among the dead.
The volcano began to rumble last September after being dormant for three years.
Thousands had been evacuated from their homes.
© ABC
Rare Arctic bird, the Grey Phalarope, has been spotted in a Darwin sewerage pond years after it was last sighted in Australia
Rare Arctic bird, the Grey Phalarope, has been spotted in a Darwin sewerage pond years after it was last sighted in Australia
The grey phalarope, with its dirty white feathers, has been floating around the Leanyer sewage facility for the last few days.
Local bird watchers do not know how it got to Darwin, as it usually breeds in the Arctic tundra and there have been no sightings of it in Australia for years.
Experts speculate it broke away from pack of the migrating birds and got lost.
Twitchers from around the country are flying into the Territory today to get a rare glimpse of the bird.
But the owner of the site, Power and Water, has ruffled feathers with news it is barricading the sewerage ponds because of heavy rain and the arrival of a crocodile.
© Getty Images
Farmers said the announcement was "a terrible blow"
Farmers said the announcement was "a terrible blow"
Two-thirds of state residents and 1m acres (404,500 hectares) of farmland get part or all of their drinking and irrigation supplies from the agency.
A state-wide drought was declared earlier this month, as the largest reservoirs sank to record low levels.
Forecasters have warned 2014 could be California's driest year on record.
The extreme conditions have already caused a wildfire that destroyed homes in the Los Angeles area.
Previous extremely dry years led to catastrophic wildfire seasons in California in 2003 and 2007.
Comment: For the last couple of months, across the northern hemisphere, extremely cold weather conditions have been driving many wintering Arctic and boreal bird species much further south than is usual. These include Snowy Owls recorded in Hawaii and Bermuda!! Additionally, many are turning up in unprecedented numbers. This all points to a probable return of the Ice Age. See also this selection: UK storms bring in rare Arctic gulls to Pembrokeshire
Storm blows Canadian bird 3,000 miles on to Tyrone lough, Northern Ireland
Bird watchers flock to Portland, UK after a rare Arctic Brunnich's Guillemot spotted
Ice Age Cometh: Snowy Owl invasion coming in North America?
Maine experiencing a Canadian owl invasion
Incredible Hawk Owl invasion in Estonia!
Huge Snowy Owl invasion becomes official in Canada and U.S.
Thousands of Hawk Owls descend on Finland as food in northern Russia runs out
Ice Age Cometh: Unprecedented influx of Arctic Ivory Gulls into UK