The Mount Agung volcano, on the Indonesian island of Bali, has erupted for a second time in less than a week, firing a column of ash 1,500 meters into the air.

The eruption emitted a bigger ash cloud than Tuesday's blast. It caused several airlines - including, KLM, Qantas, AirAsia, and Virgin - to cancel or rearrange flights in the region.

"Tourism in Bali is still safe, except in the danger (zone) around Mount Agung," Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said in a statement.

"There has not been an increase in seismic and volcanic activity after the (Tuesday) eruption until this afternoon," the statement read.

Thousands of dead fish have washed up at a river on the Kapiti Coast , leaving local fishermen bemused.

But the Council insists there's nothing fishy about the large-scale stranding.

Newshub spoke to local whitebaiter Swanny, who said he's never seen anything like the amount of Smelt fish that washed up at the Otaka riverbed earlier this week.

He said he's been coming to the river for more than 60 years.

"You catch a lot of Smelt in November in your net. It might be four or five dozen at a time sort of thing, so you just tip them back. But I've never seen nothing like this - this is one out of the books," he said.

A man died after being attacked by several pit bulls on Thanksgiving night in North Philadelphia, according to Philadelphia Police and media reports. Additionally, one of the attacking dogs was shot and killed by a police officer.

Police said the incident occurred at about 9:06 p.m. on the 1300 block of West Pike Street in North Philadelphia.

Police said a responding officer shot the dog, which died as a result of the shooting.

The victim, whose identity has not been released, was taken to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:18 p.m., police said.

Toronto Now reporter Zach Ruiter has called the imminent extinction of mankind based on all the different climate scare stories he has read.

Are we headed for near-term human extinction?

Recent studies suggest it is irresponsible to rule out the possibility after last week's "warning to humanity" from more than 15,000 climate change scientists

BY ZACH RUITER NOVEMBER 22, 2017 3:34 PM

A "warning to humanity" raising the spectre "of potentially catastrophic climate change... from burning fossil fuels, deforestation and agricultural production - particularly from farming ruminants for meat consumption," was published in the journal BioScience last week.

More than 15,000 scientists from 184 countries endorsed the caution, which comes on the 25th anniversary of a letter released by the Union of Concerned Scientists in 1992, advising that "a great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided."

...

[Several speculative climate scare stories - methane, ocean acidification, ice free arctic, decline of sulphate aerosols from coal]

...

The take-away

Out of control climate change means feedback mechanisms may accelerate beyond any capacity of human control. The occurrences discussed in this article are five of some 60 known weather-related phenomenon, which can lead to what climate scientist James Hansen has termed the "Venus Syndrome," where oceans would boil and the surface temperature of earth could reach 462 degrees Celsius. Along the way humans could expect to die in resource wars, starvation due to food systems collapse or lethal heat exposure.

Given all that remains unknown and what is at stake with climate change, is it irresponsible to rule out the possibility of human extinction in the coming decades or sooner?

The huge crater, five metres deep and three metres in diameter, appeared on Wednesday morning in the Montagnola district.

Enzo Foschi was one of the first politicians to post a picture on social media, saying: "Luckily at that moment no one was crossing the street and no one got hurt.

"Rome collapses and mayor Raggi says everything is all right."

There was no immediate reports of injuries after the giant sinkhole opened up, according to local reports.

Pennsylvania and other northern states could be in the path of another big influx of snowy owls from the tundra of the Arctic again this winter.

Indications are building that many of the large owls, referred to by the code SNOW by licensed bird-banders, according to Project SNOWstorm, a snowy owl-tracking organization run in part through the Millersburg-based Ned Smith Center of Nature and Art.

The same four-year, boom cycle of lemmings - preferred prey of the owls - and snowy owls in northern Quebec that preceded the 2013-14 mass irruption of snowy owls south into the U.S. It was an irruption of snowy owls beyond any witnessed since the 1920s, or maybe the 1890s,

And, just as in 2013-14, many snowy owls have already turned up this year in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. A few have been confirmed in Pennsylvania. According to Scott Weidensaul, one of the directors of Project SNOWstorm, in the past few days there's been an unconfirmed sighting reported in Dauphin County.

It's been a snowy winter so far in the Interior, and this month already ranks in Fairbanks' top 10 snowiest Novembers... with a week still to go.

This November's snowfall in the Interior is currently sitting at 29.3 inches - six inches above the average of 23.3 by this date.

According to meteorologist, Melissa Kreller, at the National Weather Service, November of last year saw only about 4.4 inches of snow.

Kreller says the interior's snowfall this year is ranked at 8th place.

A young woman killed by a freak lightning strike that also injured her boyfriend has been remembered for her gentle and giving nature.

Lauren Brownlee was watching Friday night's dramatic thunderstorms with partner Ben Hollow from a lookout in Melbourne's northeast when she was hit.

The pair worked together at a Croydon real estate agency, where she was an office manager and he a sales agent.

Mr Hollow underwent surgery on his legs yesterday and last night remained in a serious but stable condition at The Alfred hospital.

Friends and colleagues yesterday paid tribute to Ms Brownlee, originally from Wagga Wagga in NSW.

"Lauren's 'work family' at Stockdale & Leggo Croydon are devastated. 'Loz' was loved by everyone for her gentle kind and giving nature," the staff said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to her family and her partner, Ben."

Ms Brownlee and Mr Hollow, both in their early 20s, had stopped at Sunset Drive in Chirnside Park to watch the lightning.

Was it a supersonic aircraft? A meteor? A ground explosion? The end of the world as we know it?

Those are the questions experts and non-experts around the world are asking themselves in recent weeks as curiously loud mystery BOOMS have not only been hear around the world, but felt - shaking buildings and rattling nerves from Alabama to Michigan, Idaho to California, Russia to Denmark.

The Alabama boom last Tuesday at 1:39 CST was heard and felt through 11 counties, but an earthquake event has been ruled out.

The day after Alabamans were shaken by that incident, something similar occurred in Idaho. No explanation has been forthcoming from law enforcement officials there.

Residents along the Skagit River north of Seattle are preparing to evacuate after heavy rains led the river to reach its highest level in 11 years.

According to the Associated Press, flooding forced the closure of more than a dozen roads and authorities with the Skagit County Department of Emergency Management were preparing for the possible evacuation of some 250 people. Further downstream, residents in Mount Vernon are also preparing for rising waters.

The Skagit River is in major flood stage in Mount Vernon with water still forecast to rise as of Friday morning.

"The water just came so fast. We tried to leave with our van, and it started floating. It filled with water," Hamilton resident Sandi Potter told KING5. "We just couldn't stay anymore so I called 911. I didn't know what else to do."

Lyman City Councilman Mark Harris told KING5 TV his home is sliding into the river piece by piece.

"It's pretty tough to watch," Harris said.

Other residents are facing similar scenarios, including Harris' neighbor Richard Guidinger.