(Reuters) - The remnants of Hurricane Isaac were grinding slowing northward early on Saturday with its center now deep into Missouri and the heavy rain stretching for hundreds of miles east into Illinois amid reports of tornadoes and high winds, meteorologists said.
Drought-stricken areas of Missouri and Illinois were easily absorbing the rain Friday and the system was expected to soak the region deep into Sunday, said Jayson Gosselin, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's St. Louis-area office.
'We have gotten pretty widespread light to moderate rain that has piled up,' Gosselin said. 'The rain is certainly going to help our drought situation up here.'
Most places in the area were reporting 1 to 3 inches of rain by late on Friday and were expected to see up to 5 inches of rain through Sunday, though some might see 'upwards of 5, 6, 7 inches,' Gosselin said.
A wide swath of central Illinois from west to east was expected to receive similar amounts of rain as the system slowly passes through the state, the weather service said.
The weather service received reports of two tornadoes in Illinois and one in Missouri on Friday that caused what looked like fairly minor damage, Gosselin said. Two possible storm tracks will probably be surveyed on Saturday, he said.
The rain has been fairly consistent, and due to drought conditions and low river levels there have not been any reports of flash flooding or river flooding so far in the area, he said.
The slow-moving tropical depression dropped up to 8.5 inches of rain in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where there were several flash flood watches and warnings on Friday. Many more Arkansas cities reported rain totaling 5 inches or more.
The system was expected to gradually turn more east from the Mississippi River valley into the Ohio River valley by Saturday night, bringing heavy rain into the central Appalachians by Monday and Tuesday.
At least four deaths were attributed to Isaac in the Gulf Coast. Residents were cleaning up on Friday, looking for electricity to be restored slowly and energy companies were getting ready to resume operating offshore rigs.
Isaac was the first hurricane to strike the United States this year and hit New Orleans almost exactly seven years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, causing an estimated 1,800 deaths.
Isaac caused widespread flooding and property damage in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. More than 500,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity across Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas on Friday afternoon.
The system lingered over New Orleans for the better part of two days, providing a first and successful test of the city's new $14.5 billion flood-control system assembled after Katrina. Areas outside those flood protections fared worse.
At least one levee was overtopped southwest of New Orleans, leaving some homes under 12 feet of water. New Orleans was struck by 20 inches of rain, many other locations in Louisiana and Mississippi logged more than 10 inches of rain.
(Reporting by David Bailey, Kevin Murphy, Suzi Parker and Tim Ghianni; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
This news article is brought to you by GLAMOROUS FASHION NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Clinton pledges security in South Pacific visit
RAROTONGA, Cook Islands (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday pledged renewed American commitment to security in the Asia-Pacific, where tensions are rising between China and its smaller neighbors over territorial disputes and many nations face threats from climate change.
Speaking at a meeting of leaders of South Pacific island nations, Clinton said the United States would not abandon its long history of protecting maritime commerce in the region and serving as a counterbalance to domination by any particular world power.
But, she also stressed that the U.S. wants to cooperate with China in the vast Pacific and encouraged other countries to do the same.
'The Pacific is big enough for all of us,' she told reporters at a news conference with New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key, whose country handles defense and foreign relations for the Cook Islands.
Yet she pointed out that China's interests in the region are not necessarily the same as others, a point she also made clear earlier this month on a trip to Africa when she contrasted U.S. goals for that continent as aimed at adding rather than extracting value. The comment was a veiled shot at China, which some complain is using its overseas investments to exploit resources at the expense of local populations.
'Here in the Pacific, we want to see China act in a fair and transparent way,' Clinton said. 'We want them to play a positive role in navigation and maritime security issues. We want to see them contribute to sustainable development for the people of the Pacific, to protect the precious environment, including the ocean and to pursue economic activity that will benefit the people.'
Earlier, at the meeting, Clinton said the U.S. would remain a big player in the region and pointed to past accomplishments.
'We have underwritten the security that has made it possible for the people of this region to trade and travel freely,' she said, noting nearly a century of American military presence in the Asia-Pacific.
'We have consistently protected the Pacific sea lanes through which a great deal of the world's commerce passes. And now we look to the Pacific nations in a spirit of partnership for your leadership on some of the most urgent and complex issues of our time.'
She noted that hundreds of U.S. naval, Coast Guard and commercial vessels ply the Pacific and called for them to play an enhanced role in maintaining free trade and combatting crime, such as human trafficking and illegal fishing.
Clinton is the first secretary of state to participate in the Pacific Island Forum and the first to visit the sprawling but sparsely populated Cook Islands.
Her visit to the main island, population 10,000, in the remote Cook chain has created a buzz of excitement and she was welcomed on arrival by dozens of colorfully clad local traditional dancers and dignitaries amid lots of drumming.
Signs of greeting dotted the main street of Rarotonga, which runs around the 26-kilometer (16-mile) circumference of the island. And well-wishers waved American flags outside the beachfront restaurant where Clinton ate breakfast with other leaders before the meeting that was held in the partly enclosed National Auditorium that doubles as a basketball court.
Her speech, as well as those of other participants, was occasionally punctuated by the crows of roosters, which run freely through the island's small communities and main town.
Clinton also announced a new contribution of more than $32 million for programs throughout the region aimed at boosting economic development while protecting biodiversity in the face of rising waters attributed to climate change. The U.S. already spends $330 million a year on development in the Asia-Pacific.
Clinton is on the first leg of an 11-day, six-nation tour that keep her half a world away from U.S. politics at the height of the presidential conventions but put her at the center of maritime disputes between China and its neighbors.
Clinton will visit Beijing at the midpoint of the trip, which will take her from the Cook Islands next to Indonesia, the seat of the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose members are sharply divided over how to deal with China's expansion of influence and increasingly aggressive claims on disputed territory.
A summit of ASEAN leaders in July failed to reach consensus on how to handle the disputes. Clinton will press them to find common ground and hash out a framework for negotiating with China, U.S. officials said.
China has bristled at the U.S. claiming to have a national security interest in the resolution of the disputes and maintains that they should be resolved between it and each of the other claimants individually, a position that American officials and others say puts the smaller nations at a disadvantage.
___
Online:
Clinton's trip: http://tinyurl.com/9ousbr8
This news article is brought to you by INTERNET NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Speaking at a meeting of leaders of South Pacific island nations, Clinton said the United States would not abandon its long history of protecting maritime commerce in the region and serving as a counterbalance to domination by any particular world power.
But, she also stressed that the U.S. wants to cooperate with China in the vast Pacific and encouraged other countries to do the same.
'The Pacific is big enough for all of us,' she told reporters at a news conference with New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key, whose country handles defense and foreign relations for the Cook Islands.
Yet she pointed out that China's interests in the region are not necessarily the same as others, a point she also made clear earlier this month on a trip to Africa when she contrasted U.S. goals for that continent as aimed at adding rather than extracting value. The comment was a veiled shot at China, which some complain is using its overseas investments to exploit resources at the expense of local populations.
'Here in the Pacific, we want to see China act in a fair and transparent way,' Clinton said. 'We want them to play a positive role in navigation and maritime security issues. We want to see them contribute to sustainable development for the people of the Pacific, to protect the precious environment, including the ocean and to pursue economic activity that will benefit the people.'
Earlier, at the meeting, Clinton said the U.S. would remain a big player in the region and pointed to past accomplishments.
'We have underwritten the security that has made it possible for the people of this region to trade and travel freely,' she said, noting nearly a century of American military presence in the Asia-Pacific.
'We have consistently protected the Pacific sea lanes through which a great deal of the world's commerce passes. And now we look to the Pacific nations in a spirit of partnership for your leadership on some of the most urgent and complex issues of our time.'
She noted that hundreds of U.S. naval, Coast Guard and commercial vessels ply the Pacific and called for them to play an enhanced role in maintaining free trade and combatting crime, such as human trafficking and illegal fishing.
Clinton is the first secretary of state to participate in the Pacific Island Forum and the first to visit the sprawling but sparsely populated Cook Islands.
Her visit to the main island, population 10,000, in the remote Cook chain has created a buzz of excitement and she was welcomed on arrival by dozens of colorfully clad local traditional dancers and dignitaries amid lots of drumming.
Signs of greeting dotted the main street of Rarotonga, which runs around the 26-kilometer (16-mile) circumference of the island. And well-wishers waved American flags outside the beachfront restaurant where Clinton ate breakfast with other leaders before the meeting that was held in the partly enclosed National Auditorium that doubles as a basketball court.
Her speech, as well as those of other participants, was occasionally punctuated by the crows of roosters, which run freely through the island's small communities and main town.
Clinton also announced a new contribution of more than $32 million for programs throughout the region aimed at boosting economic development while protecting biodiversity in the face of rising waters attributed to climate change. The U.S. already spends $330 million a year on development in the Asia-Pacific.
Clinton is on the first leg of an 11-day, six-nation tour that keep her half a world away from U.S. politics at the height of the presidential conventions but put her at the center of maritime disputes between China and its neighbors.
Clinton will visit Beijing at the midpoint of the trip, which will take her from the Cook Islands next to Indonesia, the seat of the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose members are sharply divided over how to deal with China's expansion of influence and increasingly aggressive claims on disputed territory.
A summit of ASEAN leaders in July failed to reach consensus on how to handle the disputes. Clinton will press them to find common ground and hash out a framework for negotiating with China, U.S. officials said.
China has bristled at the U.S. claiming to have a national security interest in the resolution of the disputes and maintains that they should be resolved between it and each of the other claimants individually, a position that American officials and others say puts the smaller nations at a disadvantage.
___
Online:
Clinton's trip: http://tinyurl.com/9ousbr8
This news article is brought to you by INTERNET NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Clinton in South Pacific with China in focus
RAROTONGA, Cook Islands (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday pledged renewed American commitment to security in the Asia-Pacific, where tensions are rising between China and its smaller neighbors over territorial disputes and many nations face threats from climate change.
Speaking at a meeting of leaders of South Pacific island nations, Clinton said the United States would not abandon its long history of protecting maritime commerce in the region and serving as a counterbalance to domination by any particular world power.
'We have underwritten the security that has made it possible for the people of this region to trade and travel freely,' she said, noting nearly a century of American military presence in the Asia-Pacific.
'We have consistently protected the Pacific sea lanes through which a great deal of the world's commerce passes. And now we look to the Pacific nations in a spirit of partnership for your leadership on some of the most urgent and complex issues of our time.'
'All of us have an interest in maintaining peace and security in the Pacific,' Clinton said. 'Hundreds of U.S. vessels, from our Navy and Coast Guard ships as well as our fishing vessels, sail these waters. We know how important the ocean and its resources are to your economic development, food security and traditional culture.'
Clinton, the first secretary of state to participate in the Pacific Island Forum and the first to visit the sprawling but sparsely populated Cook Islands, said the U.S. would increase its investments in the Pacific and enhance security cooperation to maintain free trade and combat crime, such as human trafficking and illegal fishing, in the ocean.
She also announced a new contribution of more than $32 million for programs throughout the region aimed at boosting economic development while protecting biodiversity in the face of rising waters attributed to climate change. The U.S. already spends $330 million a year.
Clinton's visit to the main island, population 10,000, in the remote Cook chain has created a buzz of excitement and she was welcomed on arrival by dozens of colorfully clad local traditional dancers and dignitaries amid lots of drumming.
Signs of greeting dotted the main street of Rorotonga, which runs around the 26-kilometer (16-mile) circumference of the island. And, well-wishers waved American flags outside the beachfront restaurant where Clinton ate breakfast with other leaders before the meeting that was held in the partly enclosed National Auditorium that doubles as a basketball court.
Her speech, as well as those of other participants, was occasionally punctuated by the crows of roosters, which run freely through the island's small communities and main town.
Clinton's far-flung travels keep her half a world away from U.S. politics at the height of the presidential conventions. But it puts her at the center of maritime disputes between China and its neighbors.
Clinton will visit Beijing at the midpoint of her 11-day tour, which will take her next to Indonesia, the seat of the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose members are sharply divided over how to deal with China's expansion of influence and increasingly aggressive claims on disputed territory.
A summit of ASEAN leaders in July failed to reach consensus on how to handle the disputes. Clinton will press them to find common ground and hash out a framework for negotiating with China, U.S. officials said.
China has bristled at the U.S. claiming to have a national security interest in the resolution of the disputes and maintains that they should be resolved between it and each of the other claimants individually, a position that American officials and others say puts the smaller nations at a disadvantage.
After Clinton departs Beijing, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is to make his first visit to China as Pentagon chief in a few weeks to underscore the U.S. message.
After her stop in China, where she will also raise the issue of unrest in Syria and Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs, Clinton will stop in East Timor, Brunei and then represent the U.S. at a summit of leaders from Pacific Rim countries in Vladivostok, Russia.
Clinton will be the first secretary of state to travel to East Timor when she makes a brief stop in Dili, the capital.
In another U.S. diplomatic first, the well-traveled Clinton will become the only secretary of state to touch ground in all 10 members of ASEAN when she holds talks in the small oil-rich nation of Brunei.
Clinton made history in December and then July by going to two ASEAN nations that had not seen America's top diplomat since the mid-1950s - Myanmar, which is emerging from decades of isolation, and Laos.
After Brunei, Clinton will move on to Vladivostok to stand in for President Barack Obama at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which is expected to center on trade and food security.
In meetings with foreign leaders there, Clinton also will discuss Syria, Iran and North Korea and will lay the groundwork for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly, officials said.
___
Online:
Clinton's trip: http://tinyurl.com/9ousbr8
This news article is brought to you by GOING GREEN NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Speaking at a meeting of leaders of South Pacific island nations, Clinton said the United States would not abandon its long history of protecting maritime commerce in the region and serving as a counterbalance to domination by any particular world power.
'We have underwritten the security that has made it possible for the people of this region to trade and travel freely,' she said, noting nearly a century of American military presence in the Asia-Pacific.
'We have consistently protected the Pacific sea lanes through which a great deal of the world's commerce passes. And now we look to the Pacific nations in a spirit of partnership for your leadership on some of the most urgent and complex issues of our time.'
'All of us have an interest in maintaining peace and security in the Pacific,' Clinton said. 'Hundreds of U.S. vessels, from our Navy and Coast Guard ships as well as our fishing vessels, sail these waters. We know how important the ocean and its resources are to your economic development, food security and traditional culture.'
Clinton, the first secretary of state to participate in the Pacific Island Forum and the first to visit the sprawling but sparsely populated Cook Islands, said the U.S. would increase its investments in the Pacific and enhance security cooperation to maintain free trade and combat crime, such as human trafficking and illegal fishing, in the ocean.
She also announced a new contribution of more than $32 million for programs throughout the region aimed at boosting economic development while protecting biodiversity in the face of rising waters attributed to climate change. The U.S. already spends $330 million a year.
Clinton's visit to the main island, population 10,000, in the remote Cook chain has created a buzz of excitement and she was welcomed on arrival by dozens of colorfully clad local traditional dancers and dignitaries amid lots of drumming.
Signs of greeting dotted the main street of Rorotonga, which runs around the 26-kilometer (16-mile) circumference of the island. And, well-wishers waved American flags outside the beachfront restaurant where Clinton ate breakfast with other leaders before the meeting that was held in the partly enclosed National Auditorium that doubles as a basketball court.
Her speech, as well as those of other participants, was occasionally punctuated by the crows of roosters, which run freely through the island's small communities and main town.
Clinton's far-flung travels keep her half a world away from U.S. politics at the height of the presidential conventions. But it puts her at the center of maritime disputes between China and its neighbors.
Clinton will visit Beijing at the midpoint of her 11-day tour, which will take her next to Indonesia, the seat of the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose members are sharply divided over how to deal with China's expansion of influence and increasingly aggressive claims on disputed territory.
A summit of ASEAN leaders in July failed to reach consensus on how to handle the disputes. Clinton will press them to find common ground and hash out a framework for negotiating with China, U.S. officials said.
China has bristled at the U.S. claiming to have a national security interest in the resolution of the disputes and maintains that they should be resolved between it and each of the other claimants individually, a position that American officials and others say puts the smaller nations at a disadvantage.
After Clinton departs Beijing, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is to make his first visit to China as Pentagon chief in a few weeks to underscore the U.S. message.
After her stop in China, where she will also raise the issue of unrest in Syria and Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs, Clinton will stop in East Timor, Brunei and then represent the U.S. at a summit of leaders from Pacific Rim countries in Vladivostok, Russia.
Clinton will be the first secretary of state to travel to East Timor when she makes a brief stop in Dili, the capital.
In another U.S. diplomatic first, the well-traveled Clinton will become the only secretary of state to touch ground in all 10 members of ASEAN when she holds talks in the small oil-rich nation of Brunei.
Clinton made history in December and then July by going to two ASEAN nations that had not seen America's top diplomat since the mid-1950s - Myanmar, which is emerging from decades of isolation, and Laos.
After Brunei, Clinton will move on to Vladivostok to stand in for President Barack Obama at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which is expected to center on trade and food security.
In meetings with foreign leaders there, Clinton also will discuss Syria, Iran and North Korea and will lay the groundwork for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly, officials said.
___
Online:
Clinton's trip: http://tinyurl.com/9ousbr8
This news article is brought to you by GOING GREEN NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Soggy Seattle goes on streak of dry weather
SEATTLE (AP) - Not too many people are complaining in typically-soggy Seattle, but the city is on a surprising run of dry weather.
The gauge at Sea-Tac Airport has gone to the end of August without a drop of rain. And the National Weather Service says if it stays that way through Friday as expected, it'll break the record of .01 inches of precipitation, which has happened just three times since 1891.
The current dry spell could challenge the 51-day record set in 1951. The last rain at the airport was .04 inches on July 22 - marking 40 days and counting.
Records indicate it's a short-term trend, and there's no more reason for the dry August than there was for the wet June, said weather service meteorologist Allen Kam.
It's just the way things go, he said, 'Streaks happen.'
The arid stretch is just fine for people heading outdoors for Labor Day weekend. Clouds could lower temperatures and bring a chance of showers in some other areas of the state for the last holiday of the summer, but forecasters don't see any Seattle storms on the horizon.
'It has a decent chance of lasting a bunch into September,' Kam said, who is based in Seattle. 'We could certainly be sneaking up on the 51.'
For the calendar year, precipitation in Seattle is about 5 inches above normal, Kam said.
Rain watchers follow the 'water year,' which starts Oct. 1. On that calendar, Seattle is just about 1 inch above the average for this time in the year, Kam said.
'That brings it whole heck of a lot closer to normal,' he said.
This article is brought to you by DAILY HOROSCOPE.
The gauge at Sea-Tac Airport has gone to the end of August without a drop of rain. And the National Weather Service says if it stays that way through Friday as expected, it'll break the record of .01 inches of precipitation, which has happened just three times since 1891.
The current dry spell could challenge the 51-day record set in 1951. The last rain at the airport was .04 inches on July 22 - marking 40 days and counting.
Records indicate it's a short-term trend, and there's no more reason for the dry August than there was for the wet June, said weather service meteorologist Allen Kam.
It's just the way things go, he said, 'Streaks happen.'
The arid stretch is just fine for people heading outdoors for Labor Day weekend. Clouds could lower temperatures and bring a chance of showers in some other areas of the state for the last holiday of the summer, but forecasters don't see any Seattle storms on the horizon.
'It has a decent chance of lasting a bunch into September,' Kam said, who is based in Seattle. 'We could certainly be sneaking up on the 51.'
For the calendar year, precipitation in Seattle is about 5 inches above normal, Kam said.
Rain watchers follow the 'water year,' which starts Oct. 1. On that calendar, Seattle is just about 1 inch above the average for this time in the year, Kam said.
'That brings it whole heck of a lot closer to normal,' he said.
This article is brought to you by DAILY HOROSCOPE.
Britain's wheat quality seen hurt by poor weather
LONDON (Reuters) - Rainy weather and disease have reduced the quality of wheat crops harvested to date in Britain, the Home-Grown Cereals Authority said on Friday, issuing provisional results of its cereal quality survey.
'Average wheat specific weights have been hit the hardest to date, at 8 percent below the three-year average, while Hagberg Falling Number and protein content are seen at more typical levels,' HGCA senior analyst Charlotte Garbutt said.
Specific weights in early samples averaged 71.9 kilogram's per hectolitre, well below the three-year average of 77.5.
Hagberg Falling Numbers, a key measure of milling quality, were in line with three-year average at 267 seconds, while protein content was slightly higher than normal at 12.7 percent versus 11.8 percent.
Britain's wheat harvest is about 40 percent complete and is running about 10 days behind normal.
The HGCA said the provisional figures were based on 8,603 wheat samples. Updated tables will be released at the end of September and in October when more samples have been collected and analysed.
The survey typically has about 60,000 wheat samples.
(Reporting by Nigel Hunt; editing by Jane Baird)
This article is brought to you by FREE DAILY HOROSCOPE.
'Average wheat specific weights have been hit the hardest to date, at 8 percent below the three-year average, while Hagberg Falling Number and protein content are seen at more typical levels,' HGCA senior analyst Charlotte Garbutt said.
Specific weights in early samples averaged 71.9 kilogram's per hectolitre, well below the three-year average of 77.5.
Hagberg Falling Numbers, a key measure of milling quality, were in line with three-year average at 267 seconds, while protein content was slightly higher than normal at 12.7 percent versus 11.8 percent.
Britain's wheat harvest is about 40 percent complete and is running about 10 days behind normal.
The HGCA said the provisional figures were based on 8,603 wheat samples. Updated tables will be released at the end of September and in October when more samples have been collected and analysed.
The survey typically has about 60,000 wheat samples.
(Reporting by Nigel Hunt; editing by Jane Baird)
This article is brought to you by FREE DAILY HOROSCOPE.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
HEAL FAMILIES, NOT OCEANS
Mitt Romney got a few laughs and a lot of applause when he made fun of President Barack Obama's efforts to address climate change.
'President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet,' Romney said. 'My promise is to help you and your family.'
- Stephen Ohlemacher - Twitter http://twitter.com/stephenatap
___
EDITOR'S NOTE - Convention Watch shows you the 2012 political conventions through the eyes of Associated Press journalists. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.
This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY GOSSIP NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
'President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet,' Romney said. 'My promise is to help you and your family.'
- Stephen Ohlemacher - Twitter http://twitter.com/stephenatap
___
EDITOR'S NOTE - Convention Watch shows you the 2012 political conventions through the eyes of Associated Press journalists. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.
This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY GOSSIP NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Romney Invokes Global Warming Against Obama
After ignoring the issue of global warming since he began his 2012 run for the White House, Republican nominee Mitt Romney is now invoking it to illustrate a key difference issue between him and President Obama.
"President Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet. My promise ... is to help you and your family," Romney will say in his acceptance speech tonight at the Republican National Convention, according to prepared remarks released by the campaign.
Romney's choice of words is telling. He is bringing up the politically incendiary issue of climate change in a way that seeks to avoid the thorny debate over whether or not humans' use of fossil fuels is causing the Earth to get warmer and also simultaneously underscoring his commitment to improving the economy.
He is portraying the debate as an either-or choice: You can have either a healthy planet or a healthy, economically thriving family.
As governor of Massachusetts, Romney enacted policies that pledged to address climate change, but he has abandoned mentioning those policies as a presidential candidate seeking to appeal to conservative, tea party voters who question the overwhelming amount of science underpinning human-caused climate change.
One of Obama's most ambitious promises of the 2008 campaign was to combat climate change and enact legislation controlling carbon emissions. Now, as he campaigns for reelection, he has distanced himself from those mostly unfulfilled promises.
Polling shows that global warming ranks near the bottom of voters' concerns, far behind economic concerns. Environmentalists are already criticizing Romney on Twitter for the reference, but he had little hope of getting the support of that community anyway.
This news article is brought to you by PARENTING KIDS - where latest news are our top priority.
"President Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet. My promise ... is to help you and your family," Romney will say in his acceptance speech tonight at the Republican National Convention, according to prepared remarks released by the campaign.
Romney's choice of words is telling. He is bringing up the politically incendiary issue of climate change in a way that seeks to avoid the thorny debate over whether or not humans' use of fossil fuels is causing the Earth to get warmer and also simultaneously underscoring his commitment to improving the economy.
He is portraying the debate as an either-or choice: You can have either a healthy planet or a healthy, economically thriving family.
As governor of Massachusetts, Romney enacted policies that pledged to address climate change, but he has abandoned mentioning those policies as a presidential candidate seeking to appeal to conservative, tea party voters who question the overwhelming amount of science underpinning human-caused climate change.
One of Obama's most ambitious promises of the 2008 campaign was to combat climate change and enact legislation controlling carbon emissions. Now, as he campaigns for reelection, he has distanced himself from those mostly unfulfilled promises.
Polling shows that global warming ranks near the bottom of voters' concerns, far behind economic concerns. Environmentalists are already criticizing Romney on Twitter for the reference, but he had little hope of getting the support of that community anyway.
This news article is brought to you by PARENTING KIDS - where latest news are our top priority.
Isaac Dumped 3.36 More Inches of Rain at New Orleans Airport Than Katrina
The National Weather Service reports that 7.86 inches of rain fell yesterday at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, surpassing the record 4.50 inches that the airport saw on that same date in 2005 when the city was facing Katrina.
RELATED: Hurricane Isaac On Track to Hit New Orleans on Katrina Anniversary
During Katrina, the airport, located in Kenner, Louisiana, escaped the massive damage that befell the city. In 2005 The New York Times' Sewell Chan reported that "the main airline terminal, which dates to 1959, was barely damaged, and power and electricity were restored within four days." At the time of writing, the airport was "home to nearly 5,000 soldiers and airmen and a medical triage center that the Army is converting into a field hospital."
RELATED: Isaac Missed Tampa, But Is Heading for New Orleans
All commercial flights out of the airport today were canceled as its power had been cut off in the storm.
This news article is brought to you by GAMING NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
RELATED: Hurricane Isaac On Track to Hit New Orleans on Katrina Anniversary
During Katrina, the airport, located in Kenner, Louisiana, escaped the massive damage that befell the city. In 2005 The New York Times' Sewell Chan reported that "the main airline terminal, which dates to 1959, was barely damaged, and power and electricity were restored within four days." At the time of writing, the airport was "home to nearly 5,000 soldiers and airmen and a medical triage center that the Army is converting into a field hospital."
RELATED: Isaac Missed Tampa, But Is Heading for New Orleans
All commercial flights out of the airport today were canceled as its power had been cut off in the storm.
This news article is brought to you by GAMING NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Isaac packs hazards despite weakening winds
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Isaac is spinning off life-threatening severe weather even as it weakens slowly on a northward trek over Louisiana.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Isaac's wind strength was slowly ebbing Thursday. But the storm was still generating hazards from inland flooding, storm surge and potential tornadoes across the central Gulf Coast.
The hurricane center said tropical storm-force winds over 39 mph were being felt up to 175 miles from Isaac's center, mainly to its east and south.
Isaac's center bypassed New Orleans and its newly fortified levees as a hurricane Wednesday but flooded areas to the city's north and south, where people had to be evacuated or rescued.
Isaac had top sustained winds of 45 mph early Thursday as its center moved over southern Louisiana.
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The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Isaac's wind strength was slowly ebbing Thursday. But the storm was still generating hazards from inland flooding, storm surge and potential tornadoes across the central Gulf Coast.
The hurricane center said tropical storm-force winds over 39 mph were being felt up to 175 miles from Isaac's center, mainly to its east and south.
Isaac's center bypassed New Orleans and its newly fortified levees as a hurricane Wednesday but flooded areas to the city's north and south, where people had to be evacuated or rescued.
Isaac had top sustained winds of 45 mph early Thursday as its center moved over southern Louisiana.
This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY MUSIC NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
NASA launches twin satellites to Earth's treacherous radiation belts, space weather the quest
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA has launched twin satellites to study Earth's radiation belts.
An unmanned rocket blasted off early Thursday from Cape Canaveral, carrying the Radiation Belt Storm Probes. It's the first time two spacecraft will orbit in tandem amid the harsh, hazardous radiation belts of Earth. The extra tough satellites are designed to withstand an onslaught of cosmic rays over the next two years.
Scientists expect the $686 million mission to shed light on how the sun affects the Van Allen radiation belts. The goal is to improve space weather forecasting. Solar storms can cripple satellites, endanger astronauts in orbit and disrupt communications on the ground.
It took three tries for NASA to launch the spacecraft.
This news article is brought to you by DATING ADVICE 201 - where latest news are our top priority.
An unmanned rocket blasted off early Thursday from Cape Canaveral, carrying the Radiation Belt Storm Probes. It's the first time two spacecraft will orbit in tandem amid the harsh, hazardous radiation belts of Earth. The extra tough satellites are designed to withstand an onslaught of cosmic rays over the next two years.
Scientists expect the $686 million mission to shed light on how the sun affects the Van Allen radiation belts. The goal is to improve space weather forecasting. Solar storms can cripple satellites, endanger astronauts in orbit and disrupt communications on the ground.
It took three tries for NASA to launch the spacecraft.
This news article is brought to you by DATING ADVICE 201 - where latest news are our top priority.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
NASA Discovers Galactic Hot Dogs; Starved Monkeys Don't Live Longer
Discovered: Antarctic ice methane could hasten global warming; tuning an instrument also tunes the brain; NASA survey finds millions of potential black holes; low-cal diets don't improve lifespan.
RELATED: Another Moon for Pluto; Cows Freak Out About Global Warming
There's a hot dog in the Milky Way's future. NASA held a press conference today to announce new findings about supermassive black holes and other "extreme objects" found via the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), which scanned the entire sky on infrared wavelengths twice. The most sensitive measurement of the sky yet, WISE discovered millions of black holes candidates as well as 1,000 extremely bright galaxies undergoing drastic transformations. These galaxies are called Hot DOGs (or Hot, Dust-Obscured Galaxies), and they're formed when two spiral galaxies collide, creating a whirlwind of dust and stars that emits 100 trillion times the light of our sun. They theorize that these Hot DOGs are the result of black holes at the center of galaxies, which accrete surrounding matter at accelerating rates, eventually drawing nearby galaxies into a collision course with one another. The Milky Way and our nearest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, may end up forming a Hot DOG in the distant future. [NASA/JPL]
RELATED: The Best View of the Endeavour Launch
Methane trapped in Antarctic ice could speed global warming. With Antarctic ice melting at an alarming rate, scientists are worried about a chemical trapped inside the Antarctic Ice Sheet. An international team of researchers have worked to simulate the result of methane gas escaping from Antarctic ice. The methane deposits stored in Antarctic ice likely built up over millions of years, and if it leaked into the ozone layer due to the thaw brought on by climate change, it will only hasten global warming's effects. "The Antarctic Ice Sheet could constitute a previously neglected component of the global methane hydrate inventory although significant uncertainty exists," the researchers report in a paper published in Nature. [Reuters]
RELATED: So You Want To Be an Astronaut?
Low calorie diets may not lengthen life. There are some nutritionists out there who think that the secret to prolonging life is consuming as few calories as possible. But a major long-term study on calorie restriction shows that such diets may not lead to longer lifespans. Monkeys put on a severely restrictive low-calorie diet over the course of a 23-year study didn't live longer to their more gluttonous peers, researchers at the National Institute on Aging have found. The skinny primates did perform well on certain health measures and had better metabolisms, but they didn't survive any longer than control group monkeys. "These monkeys were healthier than really healthy control counterparts," says NIA scientist Julie Mattison. "So it’s quite possible that we’ve maximized our lifespan effect." However, restricted calorie diets have been shown to lengthen life in rats, flies and worms in previous studies. [Bloomberg]
RELATED: How Facebook Swallowed The World; What Romney Likes
Music fine-tunes the brain. Piano tuners don't seem to have enviable jobs. They have to listen to off-key pianos all day, and travel around to peoples' homes to tinker around inside old, complicated instruments. But new research shows that their work might actually be quite stimulating, at least neurologically. Scientists from the University College London and Newcastle University find that listening to two notes played at the same moment causes the brain to adapt, leading to beneficial structural changes in the hippocampus. This is the part of the brain that controls functions like memory and navigation, and the piano tuners they studied had significantly different hippocampus structures than non-musical peers. Researcher Sundeep Teki says, "We already know that musical training can correlate with structural changes, but our group of professionals offered a rare opportunity to examine the ability of the brain to adapt over time to a very specialised form of listening." [BBC]
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
RELATED: Another Moon for Pluto; Cows Freak Out About Global Warming
There's a hot dog in the Milky Way's future. NASA held a press conference today to announce new findings about supermassive black holes and other "extreme objects" found via the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), which scanned the entire sky on infrared wavelengths twice. The most sensitive measurement of the sky yet, WISE discovered millions of black holes candidates as well as 1,000 extremely bright galaxies undergoing drastic transformations. These galaxies are called Hot DOGs (or Hot, Dust-Obscured Galaxies), and they're formed when two spiral galaxies collide, creating a whirlwind of dust and stars that emits 100 trillion times the light of our sun. They theorize that these Hot DOGs are the result of black holes at the center of galaxies, which accrete surrounding matter at accelerating rates, eventually drawing nearby galaxies into a collision course with one another. The Milky Way and our nearest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, may end up forming a Hot DOG in the distant future. [NASA/JPL]
RELATED: The Best View of the Endeavour Launch
Methane trapped in Antarctic ice could speed global warming. With Antarctic ice melting at an alarming rate, scientists are worried about a chemical trapped inside the Antarctic Ice Sheet. An international team of researchers have worked to simulate the result of methane gas escaping from Antarctic ice. The methane deposits stored in Antarctic ice likely built up over millions of years, and if it leaked into the ozone layer due to the thaw brought on by climate change, it will only hasten global warming's effects. "The Antarctic Ice Sheet could constitute a previously neglected component of the global methane hydrate inventory although significant uncertainty exists," the researchers report in a paper published in Nature. [Reuters]
RELATED: So You Want To Be an Astronaut?
Low calorie diets may not lengthen life. There are some nutritionists out there who think that the secret to prolonging life is consuming as few calories as possible. But a major long-term study on calorie restriction shows that such diets may not lead to longer lifespans. Monkeys put on a severely restrictive low-calorie diet over the course of a 23-year study didn't live longer to their more gluttonous peers, researchers at the National Institute on Aging have found. The skinny primates did perform well on certain health measures and had better metabolisms, but they didn't survive any longer than control group monkeys. "These monkeys were healthier than really healthy control counterparts," says NIA scientist Julie Mattison. "So it’s quite possible that we’ve maximized our lifespan effect." However, restricted calorie diets have been shown to lengthen life in rats, flies and worms in previous studies. [Bloomberg]
RELATED: How Facebook Swallowed The World; What Romney Likes
Music fine-tunes the brain. Piano tuners don't seem to have enviable jobs. They have to listen to off-key pianos all day, and travel around to peoples' homes to tinker around inside old, complicated instruments. But new research shows that their work might actually be quite stimulating, at least neurologically. Scientists from the University College London and Newcastle University find that listening to two notes played at the same moment causes the brain to adapt, leading to beneficial structural changes in the hippocampus. This is the part of the brain that controls functions like memory and navigation, and the piano tuners they studied had significantly different hippocampus structures than non-musical peers. Researcher Sundeep Teki says, "We already know that musical training can correlate with structural changes, but our group of professionals offered a rare opportunity to examine the ability of the brain to adapt over time to a very specialised form of listening." [BBC]
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
Hollywood producer Brian Gerber missing, left suicide note
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - The Los Angeles Police Department is searching for Brian Gerber, a film producer and co-founder of the Digital Hollywood summits who went missing on Monday, Lieutenant Menza of the LAPD's Northeast Division told TheWrap.
It is suspected that Gerber may have committed suicide.
Gerber, 41, has spent much of his career in Hollywood producing documentaries such as 'The Dungeon Masters' and 'The 11th Hour,' a documentary on global warming that Leonardo DiCaprio co-wrote, produced and narrated.
He also co-founded the Digital Hollywood conference series through his Gerber/Rigler production company.
His family and friends posted on his Facebook page that he went missing on Monday afternoon around 4 p.m. and that he was last seen driving a silver 2004 Toyota Prius.
Two individuals with knowledge of the case told TheWrap that the producer left a suicide note. Those same sources said the police have found Gerber's car in the Los Angeles Crest, but police would not officially confirm out of concern for Gerber's family.
The case is being treated as a missing persons investigation, with the Northeast division handling it, according to Lt. Saiza of the missing persons unit.
The existence of a suicide note paired with Gerber's background in Hollywood raises the specter of Tony Scott's death earlier this month.
Scott, a famed Hollywood director and brother of Ridley Scott, jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro August 19.
Gerber is married to actress Arabella Fields and has two young sons.
This news article is brought to you by SAVING MONEY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
It is suspected that Gerber may have committed suicide.
Gerber, 41, has spent much of his career in Hollywood producing documentaries such as 'The Dungeon Masters' and 'The 11th Hour,' a documentary on global warming that Leonardo DiCaprio co-wrote, produced and narrated.
He also co-founded the Digital Hollywood conference series through his Gerber/Rigler production company.
His family and friends posted on his Facebook page that he went missing on Monday afternoon around 4 p.m. and that he was last seen driving a silver 2004 Toyota Prius.
Two individuals with knowledge of the case told TheWrap that the producer left a suicide note. Those same sources said the police have found Gerber's car in the Los Angeles Crest, but police would not officially confirm out of concern for Gerber's family.
The case is being treated as a missing persons investigation, with the Northeast division handling it, according to Lt. Saiza of the missing persons unit.
The existence of a suicide note paired with Gerber's background in Hollywood raises the specter of Tony Scott's death earlier this month.
Scott, a famed Hollywood director and brother of Ridley Scott, jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro August 19.
Gerber is married to actress Arabella Fields and has two young sons.
This news article is brought to you by SAVING MONEY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
In Arctic, Greenpeace picks new fight with old foe
STOCKHOLM (AP) - Global warming has ignited a rush to exploit Arctic resources - and Greenpeace is determined to thwart that stampede.
Employing the same daredevil tactics it has used against nuclear testing or commercial whaling, the environmental group is now dead-set on preventing oil companies from profiting from global warming by drilling for oil near the Arctic's shrinking ice cap.
The campaign took off in May 2010, when oil was still gushing from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico. At the time, Greenpeace was startled by reports that a small Scottish energy firm was proceeding with plans to drill for oil and gas in iceberg-laden waters off western Greenland.
'It felt slightly surreal,' recalled Ben Ayliffe, now the head of Greenpeace's campaign against oil drilling the Arctic. 'After what happened in the Gulf of Mexico, how can anyone respond to that by going to drill in similar depths in a place called Iceberg Alley?'
Greenpeace quickly arranged to get a ship to Greenland, where four activists attached themselves to a drilling rig for two days until a storm forced them to abandon the protest.
That stunt, a similar one in 2011 off Greenland and protests this month at an oil rig off northwest Russia are at the core of what Greenpeace calls 'one of the defining environmental battles of our age.'
'Polar work feels like it's going back to the early campaigns: simple message, people get it and the lines are very clearly drawn,' Ayliffe said.
From a publicity standpoint, the campaign has been successful: Greenpeace officials say since June, 1.6 million people have signed the group's online petition urging world leaders to declare the Arctic a global sanctuary, off limits to oil exploration and industrial fishing. Dozens of celebrities, including Robert Redford, Paul McCartney and Penelope Cruz have announced their support, according to Greenpeace activist Sarah North.
'I have never experienced engaging famous people at this kind of rate and with such ease in a campaign issue,' said North, a 15-year veteran at Greenpeace.
The impact on the oil industry, however, is unclear. The Arctic is believed to hold up to a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves. Despite difficult operating conditions and high costs, the payback for Shell, Gazprom, Statoil and other companies searching for commercial quantities of hydrocarbons could be huge.
'It probably sounds a bit cynical, but if they invest billions of dollars it's not likely they will give it up just because somebody is attacking their oil rig,' said Mikhail Babenko, an oil and gas expert at the World Wildlife Fund's Global Arctic Program.
Unlike Greenpeace, WWF isn't seeking a complete ban on drilling in the Arctic but wants to make sure the most vulnerable areas are protected.
'We want to be part of this discussion,' Babenko said. 'We don't want to stimulate oil and gas development, but if we follow (Greenpeace's) approach we will be simply out of the game.'
Greenpeace and other environmental groups say an oil spill in the Arctic could cause irreparable damage to wildlife and marine ecosystems.
Fears that the oil industry is ill-prepared to operate in the hostile conditions of the high north were reinforced last December when a floating oil rig capsized off eastern Russia, killing more than 50 workers. While that accident happened outside the Arctic region, it underscored the challenges of drilling further north, where ice ridges are meters (yards) deep and storms are frequent.
Oil industry officials say they are taking the necessary precautions to conduct safe operations in the Arctic.
Cairn Energy, the Scottish company whose platforms off Greenland were targeted by Greenpeace protests in 2010 and 2011, isn't drilling there this year. By all accounts, that has nothing to do with Greenpeace but to the fact that the initial drilling was unsuccessful.
Asked what, if any, impact the Greenpeace actions had on the company's future plans for Greenland, Cairn spokeswoman Linda Bain referred to its second-quarter report, which doesn't say anything about Greenpeace.
Shell, which has also come into Greenpeace's cross-hairs for plans to drill off Alaska, also refused to discuss the group. Still, there's no doubt that Shell takes Greenpeace's Arctic campaign seriously.
In March, Shell won an injunction by a U.S. judge ordering Greenpeace to stay 1 kilometer (.6 miles) away from its drilling rigs in U.S. territorial waters.
A month earlier, New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless of the TV series 'Xena: Warrior Princess' and six other Greenpeace activists had climbed aboard one of the drilling rigs before it left for Alaska. They later pleaded guilty to trespass charges and are awaiting sentencing.
Greenpeace activists also climbed aboard icebreakers contracted by Shell as they left the Baltic Sea. And the Greenpeace ship 'Esperanza' is now shadowing Shell's drilling vessels as they head north to bore exploratory wells in Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.
'We will follow the oil industry into the Arctic,' Ayliffe said. 'This is such an important campaign. We're not going to let them off the hook that easily.'
Founded in 1971, Greenpeace initially focused on nuclear testing. Its first Rainbow Warrior ship was sunk in New Zealand's Auckland harbor before it set out to protest French nuclear testing at Muroroa Atoll. Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira drowned.
The group claims its actions helped bring about the nuclear test ban treaty as well as a ban on dumping toxic chemicals into the ocean. It also takes credit for forcing Apple and other major companies to become more ecologically responsible.
In the 1990s, Greenpeace campaigned for years to persuade oil companies to bring disused offshore installations to land for recycling, instead of dumping them in the ocean.
The Arctic campaign is part of the group's overarching focus on climate change.
On Friday, six Greenpeace activists, including executive director Kumi Naidoo, spent several hours hanging off the side of the Prirazlomnaya platform in Russia's Pechora Sea, attached to the rig's mooring lines. Three days later, more than a dozen activists intercepted a ship carrying Russian oil workers to the platform and chained themselves to its anchor.
While Greenpeace is sometimes accused of being 'alarmist,' environment and climate activists in general applaud the group for calling attention to global warming issues. Their activities don't always resonate well, however, with some of the indigenous communities in the Arctic.
The Inuit seal hunters of Greenland, for example, blame Greenpeace campaigns against seal hunting for nearly wiping out the demand for seal skins, a key part of their income.
Ove Karl Berthelsen, Greenland's minister for oil and minerals, said he was skeptical of Greenpeace's claims to be acting in defense of indigenous communities.
'People here see through it,' Berthelsen said. 'Their star is not very high up here.'
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
Employing the same daredevil tactics it has used against nuclear testing or commercial whaling, the environmental group is now dead-set on preventing oil companies from profiting from global warming by drilling for oil near the Arctic's shrinking ice cap.
The campaign took off in May 2010, when oil was still gushing from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico. At the time, Greenpeace was startled by reports that a small Scottish energy firm was proceeding with plans to drill for oil and gas in iceberg-laden waters off western Greenland.
'It felt slightly surreal,' recalled Ben Ayliffe, now the head of Greenpeace's campaign against oil drilling the Arctic. 'After what happened in the Gulf of Mexico, how can anyone respond to that by going to drill in similar depths in a place called Iceberg Alley?'
Greenpeace quickly arranged to get a ship to Greenland, where four activists attached themselves to a drilling rig for two days until a storm forced them to abandon the protest.
That stunt, a similar one in 2011 off Greenland and protests this month at an oil rig off northwest Russia are at the core of what Greenpeace calls 'one of the defining environmental battles of our age.'
'Polar work feels like it's going back to the early campaigns: simple message, people get it and the lines are very clearly drawn,' Ayliffe said.
From a publicity standpoint, the campaign has been successful: Greenpeace officials say since June, 1.6 million people have signed the group's online petition urging world leaders to declare the Arctic a global sanctuary, off limits to oil exploration and industrial fishing. Dozens of celebrities, including Robert Redford, Paul McCartney and Penelope Cruz have announced their support, according to Greenpeace activist Sarah North.
'I have never experienced engaging famous people at this kind of rate and with such ease in a campaign issue,' said North, a 15-year veteran at Greenpeace.
The impact on the oil industry, however, is unclear. The Arctic is believed to hold up to a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves. Despite difficult operating conditions and high costs, the payback for Shell, Gazprom, Statoil and other companies searching for commercial quantities of hydrocarbons could be huge.
'It probably sounds a bit cynical, but if they invest billions of dollars it's not likely they will give it up just because somebody is attacking their oil rig,' said Mikhail Babenko, an oil and gas expert at the World Wildlife Fund's Global Arctic Program.
Unlike Greenpeace, WWF isn't seeking a complete ban on drilling in the Arctic but wants to make sure the most vulnerable areas are protected.
'We want to be part of this discussion,' Babenko said. 'We don't want to stimulate oil and gas development, but if we follow (Greenpeace's) approach we will be simply out of the game.'
Greenpeace and other environmental groups say an oil spill in the Arctic could cause irreparable damage to wildlife and marine ecosystems.
Fears that the oil industry is ill-prepared to operate in the hostile conditions of the high north were reinforced last December when a floating oil rig capsized off eastern Russia, killing more than 50 workers. While that accident happened outside the Arctic region, it underscored the challenges of drilling further north, where ice ridges are meters (yards) deep and storms are frequent.
Oil industry officials say they are taking the necessary precautions to conduct safe operations in the Arctic.
Cairn Energy, the Scottish company whose platforms off Greenland were targeted by Greenpeace protests in 2010 and 2011, isn't drilling there this year. By all accounts, that has nothing to do with Greenpeace but to the fact that the initial drilling was unsuccessful.
Asked what, if any, impact the Greenpeace actions had on the company's future plans for Greenland, Cairn spokeswoman Linda Bain referred to its second-quarter report, which doesn't say anything about Greenpeace.
Shell, which has also come into Greenpeace's cross-hairs for plans to drill off Alaska, also refused to discuss the group. Still, there's no doubt that Shell takes Greenpeace's Arctic campaign seriously.
In March, Shell won an injunction by a U.S. judge ordering Greenpeace to stay 1 kilometer (.6 miles) away from its drilling rigs in U.S. territorial waters.
A month earlier, New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless of the TV series 'Xena: Warrior Princess' and six other Greenpeace activists had climbed aboard one of the drilling rigs before it left for Alaska. They later pleaded guilty to trespass charges and are awaiting sentencing.
Greenpeace activists also climbed aboard icebreakers contracted by Shell as they left the Baltic Sea. And the Greenpeace ship 'Esperanza' is now shadowing Shell's drilling vessels as they head north to bore exploratory wells in Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.
'We will follow the oil industry into the Arctic,' Ayliffe said. 'This is such an important campaign. We're not going to let them off the hook that easily.'
Founded in 1971, Greenpeace initially focused on nuclear testing. Its first Rainbow Warrior ship was sunk in New Zealand's Auckland harbor before it set out to protest French nuclear testing at Muroroa Atoll. Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira drowned.
The group claims its actions helped bring about the nuclear test ban treaty as well as a ban on dumping toxic chemicals into the ocean. It also takes credit for forcing Apple and other major companies to become more ecologically responsible.
In the 1990s, Greenpeace campaigned for years to persuade oil companies to bring disused offshore installations to land for recycling, instead of dumping them in the ocean.
The Arctic campaign is part of the group's overarching focus on climate change.
On Friday, six Greenpeace activists, including executive director Kumi Naidoo, spent several hours hanging off the side of the Prirazlomnaya platform in Russia's Pechora Sea, attached to the rig's mooring lines. Three days later, more than a dozen activists intercepted a ship carrying Russian oil workers to the platform and chained themselves to its anchor.
While Greenpeace is sometimes accused of being 'alarmist,' environment and climate activists in general applaud the group for calling attention to global warming issues. Their activities don't always resonate well, however, with some of the indigenous communities in the Arctic.
The Inuit seal hunters of Greenland, for example, blame Greenpeace campaigns against seal hunting for nearly wiping out the demand for seal skins, a key part of their income.
Ove Karl Berthelsen, Greenland's minister for oil and minerals, said he was skeptical of Greenpeace's claims to be acting in defense of indigenous communities.
'People here see through it,' Berthelsen said. 'Their star is not very high up here.'
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
Flood levee "overtopped" in Louisiana: reports
LONDON (Reuters) - Water flowed over the top of a flood defense in southeast Louisiana early on Wednesday, threatening serious flooding, after huge rains caused by Hurricane Isaac, media reported.
'Emergency management officials in Plaquemines Parish reported overtopping of a levee on the east bank from Braithwaite to White Ditch. This will result in significant deep flooding in this area,' the National Weather Service said, according to The Weather Channel's website.
Isaac has been almost stationary just off the Louisiana coast, dumping rain and threatening to push on to New Orleans later on Wednesday, exactly seven years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.
Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish, some 60 southeast of New Orleans, said the 8 or 9 foot (3 meter) high levees had not collapsed but that water was coming over them.
'The levees are overtopped in several locations and we are trying to get the few people left behind out,' Nungesser told CNN. Despite a mandatory evacuation in the area, he said, several people had remained.
'The roads are completely unpassable there were a couple of people stuck on the roads ... We have got a serious situation over there.'
(Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
This news article is brought to you by GLOBAL WEATHER NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
'Emergency management officials in Plaquemines Parish reported overtopping of a levee on the east bank from Braithwaite to White Ditch. This will result in significant deep flooding in this area,' the National Weather Service said, according to The Weather Channel's website.
Isaac has been almost stationary just off the Louisiana coast, dumping rain and threatening to push on to New Orleans later on Wednesday, exactly seven years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.
Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish, some 60 southeast of New Orleans, said the 8 or 9 foot (3 meter) high levees had not collapsed but that water was coming over them.
'The levees are overtopped in several locations and we are trying to get the few people left behind out,' Nungesser told CNN. Despite a mandatory evacuation in the area, he said, several people had remained.
'The roads are completely unpassable there were a couple of people stuck on the roads ... We have got a serious situation over there.'
(Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
This news article is brought to you by GLOBAL WEATHER NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Maine environmentalists praise new MPG rules
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine environmentalists celebrated the adoption of new federal regulations that will nearly double the average gas mileage of new cars and trucks by 2025, calling them a major step toward reducing global warming while saving consumers hundreds of millions of dollars in reduced fuel costs.
'Future generations may well look back on today as a decisive step toward breaking our destructive oil addiction,' said Emily Figdor, director of Environment Maine.
The regulations finalized Tuesday by the Obama administration require the fleet of new cars and trucks to average 54.5 miles per gallon in 13 years, up from 28.6 mpg at the end of last year. President Barack Obama said in a statement that the new fuel standards 'represent the single most important step' his administration has taken to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, a claim echoed by environmental groups in Maine.
Lisa Pohlmann, executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, said the regulations will not only lesson America's oil thirst, but also cut gasoline costs in half, lower emissions of global warming pollution and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
'These standards show that companies, workers, government, consumer and conservation interests can work together and find solutions to the biggest problems that face us today,' Pohlmann said.
Adam Lee, president of the Lee Auto Malls chain of car dealerships, said the appearance of more fuel-efficient vehicles will save Maine drivers 195 million gallons of gasoline and $610 million a year when the standards take full effect.
Lee, also board chairman of the statewide energy-conservation effort Efficiency Maine, added that the new standards will spur innovation and put people to work. He cited a study by the BlueGreen Alliance, a mix of unions and environmental organizations, that estimates 570,000 jobs could be created by the fuel efficiency standards as they spark auto industry investments and consumer savings.
Environment Maine's Figdor said Maine played a role in prompting the new standards. Long before Obama took office, California, Maine and 12 other states were developing and implementing their own state-level clean car standards, she noted.
This news article is brought to you by GAMING NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
'Future generations may well look back on today as a decisive step toward breaking our destructive oil addiction,' said Emily Figdor, director of Environment Maine.
The regulations finalized Tuesday by the Obama administration require the fleet of new cars and trucks to average 54.5 miles per gallon in 13 years, up from 28.6 mpg at the end of last year. President Barack Obama said in a statement that the new fuel standards 'represent the single most important step' his administration has taken to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, a claim echoed by environmental groups in Maine.
Lisa Pohlmann, executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, said the regulations will not only lesson America's oil thirst, but also cut gasoline costs in half, lower emissions of global warming pollution and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
'These standards show that companies, workers, government, consumer and conservation interests can work together and find solutions to the biggest problems that face us today,' Pohlmann said.
Adam Lee, president of the Lee Auto Malls chain of car dealerships, said the appearance of more fuel-efficient vehicles will save Maine drivers 195 million gallons of gasoline and $610 million a year when the standards take full effect.
Lee, also board chairman of the statewide energy-conservation effort Efficiency Maine, added that the new standards will spur innovation and put people to work. He cited a study by the BlueGreen Alliance, a mix of unions and environmental organizations, that estimates 570,000 jobs could be created by the fuel efficiency standards as they spark auto industry investments and consumer savings.
Environment Maine's Figdor said Maine played a role in prompting the new standards. Long before Obama took office, California, Maine and 12 other states were developing and implementing their own state-level clean car standards, she noted.
This news article is brought to you by GAMING NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Hot DFW Weather As Isaac Churns In Gulf
='en' xmlns:fb='http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml' xmlns:addthis='http://www.addthis.com/help/api-spec' > Garry Seith's 6:30 AM Weather Report « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
This article is brought to you by ASTROLOGY.
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Australia to link with EU carbon scheme from 2015
Australia announced Tuesday it would link its deeply contested emissions trading scheme with the European Union's from mid-2015 in an effort to combat climate change.
Australia introduced the first stage of its plans to put a price on carbon pollution in July with a so-called 'carbon tax' which charges big polluters Aus$23 (US$23.81) per tonne for their carbon dioxide emissions.
The government has always said it would move to an emissions trading scheme after three years with a floating price set by the market and Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said this would be linked to the EU's scheme from 2015.
'This means that from July 1, 2015 Australia's carbon price will effectively be the same as that that operates in our second largest trading bloc,' he told reporters.
A full, two-way link in which there would be mutual recognition of carbon units between the two cap and trade systems would begin no later than July 1, 2018, he added.
But the minister said a previous commitment to a set a floor price of Aus$15 for the first three years to avoid price shocks would be scrapped.
Instead, businesses will face limits on the number of permits they can purchase.
Combet said he was confident of Australian government modelling, which predicts a Aus$29 a tonne carbon price in 2015-16. The current EU price is below Aus$10.
'It is three years away. We certainly anticipate a recovery from the financial crisis,' he said. 'But there is every reason to believe that carbon markets will recover and we'll stand by the Treasury modelling.'
The issue of a carbon tax has been hotly debated in Australia, among the world's worst per capita polluters due to its reliance on coal-fired power and mining exports.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard's popularity has sunk since she announced plans for the tax in early 2011 and conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott, who opinion polls suggest will win the 2013 election, has vowed to abolish it.
Australia hopes the scheme will create economic incentives for the biggest polluters to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases.
This news article is brought to you by SAVING MONEY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Australia introduced the first stage of its plans to put a price on carbon pollution in July with a so-called 'carbon tax' which charges big polluters Aus$23 (US$23.81) per tonne for their carbon dioxide emissions.
The government has always said it would move to an emissions trading scheme after three years with a floating price set by the market and Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said this would be linked to the EU's scheme from 2015.
'This means that from July 1, 2015 Australia's carbon price will effectively be the same as that that operates in our second largest trading bloc,' he told reporters.
A full, two-way link in which there would be mutual recognition of carbon units between the two cap and trade systems would begin no later than July 1, 2018, he added.
But the minister said a previous commitment to a set a floor price of Aus$15 for the first three years to avoid price shocks would be scrapped.
Instead, businesses will face limits on the number of permits they can purchase.
Combet said he was confident of Australian government modelling, which predicts a Aus$29 a tonne carbon price in 2015-16. The current EU price is below Aus$10.
'It is three years away. We certainly anticipate a recovery from the financial crisis,' he said. 'But there is every reason to believe that carbon markets will recover and we'll stand by the Treasury modelling.'
The issue of a carbon tax has been hotly debated in Australia, among the world's worst per capita polluters due to its reliance on coal-fired power and mining exports.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard's popularity has sunk since she announced plans for the tax in early 2011 and conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott, who opinion polls suggest will win the 2013 election, has vowed to abolish it.
Australia hopes the scheme will create economic incentives for the biggest polluters to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases.
This news article is brought to you by SAVING MONEY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Monday, August 27, 2012
As Isaac leads to flight cancellations, some airlines are more flexible about rebooking
NEW YORK, N.Y. - When hurricanes, blizzards or other severe weather disrupt flights, some airlines are more accommodating than others in letting passengers rebook.
Tropical Storm Isaac is sweeping into the Gulf of Mexico and all the airlines with flights to and from the region this week are waiving their normal fees for passengers to rebook trips. So-called change fees can be as high as $150 on a domestic trip.
While it's nice that airlines aren't charging you to rebook, the time you have to take your trip depends on your carrier.
Some airlines are giving passengers nearly a year to fly while others are requiring passengers to be on planes as quickly as Friday.
'They are all over the place,' says George Hobica, founder of travel site AirfareWatchdog. He says the process should be standardized and that some of the airline requirements are harsh. 'It's not the passengers' fault that a hurricane happened.'
The government doesn't have rules for how much time airlines should give passengers to take their trip. The only protection passengers have is this: If their flight is cancelled, the airlines must offer a refund.
Isaac, which could grow to a category 1 hurricane by late Tuesday night, has already led to more than 1,000 flight cancellations.
United Airlines, part of United Continental Holdings Inc. and Frontier Airlines, part of Republic Airways Holdings Inc., have the two most generous policies. American Airlines, part of AMR Corp., Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and US Airways Group Inc. have some of the most restrictive policies.
Dean Burri and his wife planned to fly American from their Florida home to the Bahamas for a one-night getaway this past weekend. The airline does offer a waiver for Florida passengers, but it doesn't carry over until next weekend.
'I find American's policy very cold-hearted, particularly in comparison to United's very reasonable policy,' Burri says. 'It's certainly not consumer friendly.'
- United is offering passengers flying into affected cities three options. They can get a full refund whether or not their flight was cancelled. They can rebook on flights anytime within a year of the day they purchased their ticket and avoid a change fee - but will have to pay for any difference in price. They can rebook onto a flight by this weekend and avoid any change fee and fare differences.
- Frontier is letting those passengers who aren't already travelling move to a flight within its currently published schedule, which goes through March 17.
- American is telling passengers with tickets to eastern Florida that they must fly by Wednesday; Key West or western Florida by Friday and the Gulf Coast by Sunday.
- Delta is requiring travellers to or from Florida to start their revised plans by Friday and those to or from the Gulf Coast by Sunday.
- JetBlue is requiring Florida passengers to fly by Friday.
- US Airways also has Florida fliers travelling by Friday and those in the Gulf by Saturday.
- Virgin America is giving a bit more leeway, allowing trips to start by Sept. 4.
- Spirit Airlines is requiring all travel to be completed by Sept. 27.
- Southwest Airlines is requiring passengers to start their new trips within 14 days of the original date of travel. The airline doesn't charge change fees but requires passengers to pay for a difference in fare.
Even in natural disasters, airlines are doing what's best for their bottom line, not their customers, says Charlie Leocha, director of the Consumer Travel Alliance who sits on the Department of Transportation's Advisory Committee on Aviation Consumer Protections.
'The airlines are doing things to make money. I think they've given up the whole concept of being fair,' says Leocha.
Each airline has its change requirements posted on their website.
___
Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at http://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott.
This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY MUSIC NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Tropical Storm Isaac is sweeping into the Gulf of Mexico and all the airlines with flights to and from the region this week are waiving their normal fees for passengers to rebook trips. So-called change fees can be as high as $150 on a domestic trip.
While it's nice that airlines aren't charging you to rebook, the time you have to take your trip depends on your carrier.
Some airlines are giving passengers nearly a year to fly while others are requiring passengers to be on planes as quickly as Friday.
'They are all over the place,' says George Hobica, founder of travel site AirfareWatchdog. He says the process should be standardized and that some of the airline requirements are harsh. 'It's not the passengers' fault that a hurricane happened.'
The government doesn't have rules for how much time airlines should give passengers to take their trip. The only protection passengers have is this: If their flight is cancelled, the airlines must offer a refund.
Isaac, which could grow to a category 1 hurricane by late Tuesday night, has already led to more than 1,000 flight cancellations.
United Airlines, part of United Continental Holdings Inc. and Frontier Airlines, part of Republic Airways Holdings Inc., have the two most generous policies. American Airlines, part of AMR Corp., Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and US Airways Group Inc. have some of the most restrictive policies.
Dean Burri and his wife planned to fly American from their Florida home to the Bahamas for a one-night getaway this past weekend. The airline does offer a waiver for Florida passengers, but it doesn't carry over until next weekend.
'I find American's policy very cold-hearted, particularly in comparison to United's very reasonable policy,' Burri says. 'It's certainly not consumer friendly.'
- United is offering passengers flying into affected cities three options. They can get a full refund whether or not their flight was cancelled. They can rebook on flights anytime within a year of the day they purchased their ticket and avoid a change fee - but will have to pay for any difference in price. They can rebook onto a flight by this weekend and avoid any change fee and fare differences.
- Frontier is letting those passengers who aren't already travelling move to a flight within its currently published schedule, which goes through March 17.
- American is telling passengers with tickets to eastern Florida that they must fly by Wednesday; Key West or western Florida by Friday and the Gulf Coast by Sunday.
- Delta is requiring travellers to or from Florida to start their revised plans by Friday and those to or from the Gulf Coast by Sunday.
- JetBlue is requiring Florida passengers to fly by Friday.
- US Airways also has Florida fliers travelling by Friday and those in the Gulf by Saturday.
- Virgin America is giving a bit more leeway, allowing trips to start by Sept. 4.
- Spirit Airlines is requiring all travel to be completed by Sept. 27.
- Southwest Airlines is requiring passengers to start their new trips within 14 days of the original date of travel. The airline doesn't charge change fees but requires passengers to pay for a difference in fare.
Even in natural disasters, airlines are doing what's best for their bottom line, not their customers, says Charlie Leocha, director of the Consumer Travel Alliance who sits on the Department of Transportation's Advisory Committee on Aviation Consumer Protections.
'The airlines are doing things to make money. I think they've given up the whole concept of being fair,' says Leocha.
Each airline has its change requirements posted on their website.
___
Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at http://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott.
This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY MUSIC NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
In climate landmark, Arctic ice melts to record low
The sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has melted to its smallest point ever in a milestone that may show that worst-case forecasts on climate change are coming true, US scientists said Monday.
The extent of ice observed on Sunday broke a record set in 2007 and will likely melt further with several weeks of summer still to come, according to data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the NASA space agency.
The government-backed ice center, based at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said in a statement that the decline in summer Arctic sea ice 'is considered a strong signal of long-term climate warming.'
The sea ice fell to 4.10 million square kilometers (1.58 million square miles), some 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles) less than the earlier record charted on September 18, 2007, the center said.
Scientists said the record was all the more striking as 2007 had near perfect climate patterns for melting ice, but that the weather this year was unremarkable other than a storm in early August.
Michael E. Mann, a lead author of a major UN report in 2001 on climate change, said the latest data reflected that scientists who were criticized as alarmists may have shown 'perhaps too great a degree of reticence.'
'I think, unfortunately, this is an example that points more to the worst-case scenario side of things,' said Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University.
'There are a number of areas where in fact climate change seems to be proceeding faster and with a greater magnitude than what the models predicted,' Mann told AFP.
'The sea ice decline is perhaps the most profound of those cautionary tales because the models have basically predicted that we shouldn't see what we're seeing now for several decades,' he added.
Arctic ice is considered vital for the planet as it reflects heat from the sun back into space, helping keep down the planet's temperatures.
The Arctic region is now losing about 155,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of ice annually, the equivalent of a US state every two years, said Walt Meier, a scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
'It used to be the Arctic ice cover was a kind of big block of ice. It would melt a little bit from the edges but it was pretty solid,' Meier told reporters on a conference call.
'Now it's like crushed ice,' he said. 'At least parts of the Arctic have become like a giant slushie, and that's a lot easier to melt and melt more quickly.'
The planet has charted a slew of record temperatures in recent years, with 13 of the warmest years ever taking place in the past decade and a half, along with extreme weather ranging from severe wildfires in North America to major flooding in Asia.
Researchers have also reported a dramatic melt this summer on the ice sheet in Greenland, which could have major consequences for the planet by raising sea levels.
Scientists believe that climate change is caused by human emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions.
But efforts to regulate emissions have faced strong political resistance in several nations including the United States, where industry groups have said that regulations would be too costly for the economy.
Kumi Naidoo, the executive director of Greenpeace who on Monday intercepted a Russian ship in the Arctic, said the ice melt showed that the planet was 'warming up at a rate that puts billions of people's future in jeopardy.'
'These figures are not the result of some freak of nature but the effects of man-made global warming caused by our reliance on dirty fossil fuels,' he said in a statement.
Shaye Wolf of the Center for Biological Diversity pressure group called the record ice melt 'a profound -- and profoundly depressing -- moment in the history of our planet.'
The melt has rapidly changed the politics and economics of the Arctic region, with shipping companies increasingly eager to save time by sailing through the once-forbidding waters.
Data released Monday by the Washington-based Center for Global Development found that nations including China, India and the United States were reducing the intensity of their carbon emissions but that the effort was overwhelmed by the surge in power consumption in developing nations.
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
The extent of ice observed on Sunday broke a record set in 2007 and will likely melt further with several weeks of summer still to come, according to data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the NASA space agency.
The government-backed ice center, based at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said in a statement that the decline in summer Arctic sea ice 'is considered a strong signal of long-term climate warming.'
The sea ice fell to 4.10 million square kilometers (1.58 million square miles), some 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles) less than the earlier record charted on September 18, 2007, the center said.
Scientists said the record was all the more striking as 2007 had near perfect climate patterns for melting ice, but that the weather this year was unremarkable other than a storm in early August.
Michael E. Mann, a lead author of a major UN report in 2001 on climate change, said the latest data reflected that scientists who were criticized as alarmists may have shown 'perhaps too great a degree of reticence.'
'I think, unfortunately, this is an example that points more to the worst-case scenario side of things,' said Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University.
'There are a number of areas where in fact climate change seems to be proceeding faster and with a greater magnitude than what the models predicted,' Mann told AFP.
'The sea ice decline is perhaps the most profound of those cautionary tales because the models have basically predicted that we shouldn't see what we're seeing now for several decades,' he added.
Arctic ice is considered vital for the planet as it reflects heat from the sun back into space, helping keep down the planet's temperatures.
The Arctic region is now losing about 155,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of ice annually, the equivalent of a US state every two years, said Walt Meier, a scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
'It used to be the Arctic ice cover was a kind of big block of ice. It would melt a little bit from the edges but it was pretty solid,' Meier told reporters on a conference call.
'Now it's like crushed ice,' he said. 'At least parts of the Arctic have become like a giant slushie, and that's a lot easier to melt and melt more quickly.'
The planet has charted a slew of record temperatures in recent years, with 13 of the warmest years ever taking place in the past decade and a half, along with extreme weather ranging from severe wildfires in North America to major flooding in Asia.
Researchers have also reported a dramatic melt this summer on the ice sheet in Greenland, which could have major consequences for the planet by raising sea levels.
Scientists believe that climate change is caused by human emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions.
But efforts to regulate emissions have faced strong political resistance in several nations including the United States, where industry groups have said that regulations would be too costly for the economy.
Kumi Naidoo, the executive director of Greenpeace who on Monday intercepted a Russian ship in the Arctic, said the ice melt showed that the planet was 'warming up at a rate that puts billions of people's future in jeopardy.'
'These figures are not the result of some freak of nature but the effects of man-made global warming caused by our reliance on dirty fossil fuels,' he said in a statement.
Shaye Wolf of the Center for Biological Diversity pressure group called the record ice melt 'a profound -- and profoundly depressing -- moment in the history of our planet.'
The melt has rapidly changed the politics and economics of the Arctic region, with shipping companies increasingly eager to save time by sailing through the once-forbidding waters.
Data released Monday by the Washington-based Center for Global Development found that nations including China, India and the United States were reducing the intensity of their carbon emissions but that the effort was overwhelmed by the surge in power consumption in developing nations.
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
Networks prepare to juggle politics, weather
NEW YORK (AP) - Television networks began juggling two major stories on Monday, still wondering whether Tropical Storm Isaac will cause them to divert a large amount of attention from the Republican national convention in Tampa.
Anderson Cooper of CNN and Shepard Smith of Fox News Channel were shifted by their networks from Tampa to New Orleans, where the storm appeared headed. It's an odd rerun for both of them: four years ago they left a GOP convention to head to the gulf region ahead of Hurricane Gustav. MSNBC was sending Tamron Hall and Lester Holt to New Orleans in advance of Isaac, and Soledad O'Brien was joining Cooper for CNN.
The major broadcast networks haven't shifted resources yet. Even before the Republicans chose to cancel the first night of the convention on Monday and compress the action into three days, ABC, CBS and NBC had not planned on broadcasting from Tampa on Monday night. Each has scheduled an hour of convention coverage over the next three nights.
'We continue to watch the storm closely and we will have correspondent coverage throughout the region,' said Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, vice president of CBS News. 'We will reposition some of our resources as necessary.'
Brian Williams of NBC News has taken an intense interest in the New Orleans area since Hurricane Katrina seven years ago, but there are no immediate plans for him to switch cities. NBC's coverage is augmented through its partnership with The Weather Channel, also owned by the Comcast Corp.
The cancellation of Monday's convention activities due to Isaac already forced schedule changes upon television networks. Fox News Channel is reverting to its regular prime-time schedule. CNN is rerunning a documentary on Republican Mitt Romney that first aired Sunday night. PBS had three hours of convention coverage scheduled for Monday night, but instead shifted to entertainment programming.
Throughout Monday, CNN mixed coverage of the storm with political stories from Tampa. Even when its correspondents were talking politics, the lower portion of the network's screen flashed updates on the path and wind speed of Isaac. The network has plenty of experience following multiple stories, said Sam Feist, CNN political director.
'This is CNN,' Feist said. 'We can walk and chew gum at the same time.'
The uncertainty about the storm's path and strength made for uncertainty among Republicans, too.
'This is a difficult set of circumstances for the Republicans,' said Fox's Smith, 'because as this storm comes through it's going to be fighting for TV time, and newspaper headline time and water cooler talk time. The Republicans had hoped they would be able to have all of the attention of themselves for the next few days and it would appear that Isaac has thrown a wrench in that.'
Networks strive, as best they can, to be fair to both parties in terms of television time around the conventions. Even with the storm, Feist said he expects the Republicans to get as much or more coverage than the Democrats, primarily because of the GOP's original plan to have a four-night convention.
Television didn't even need the convention to start to produce some fireworks on Monday. MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' featured a bitter confrontation with MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews attacking Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Romney campaign tactics, leaving show hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski plainly uncomfortable.
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Anderson Cooper of CNN and Shepard Smith of Fox News Channel were shifted by their networks from Tampa to New Orleans, where the storm appeared headed. It's an odd rerun for both of them: four years ago they left a GOP convention to head to the gulf region ahead of Hurricane Gustav. MSNBC was sending Tamron Hall and Lester Holt to New Orleans in advance of Isaac, and Soledad O'Brien was joining Cooper for CNN.
The major broadcast networks haven't shifted resources yet. Even before the Republicans chose to cancel the first night of the convention on Monday and compress the action into three days, ABC, CBS and NBC had not planned on broadcasting from Tampa on Monday night. Each has scheduled an hour of convention coverage over the next three nights.
'We continue to watch the storm closely and we will have correspondent coverage throughout the region,' said Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, vice president of CBS News. 'We will reposition some of our resources as necessary.'
Brian Williams of NBC News has taken an intense interest in the New Orleans area since Hurricane Katrina seven years ago, but there are no immediate plans for him to switch cities. NBC's coverage is augmented through its partnership with The Weather Channel, also owned by the Comcast Corp.
The cancellation of Monday's convention activities due to Isaac already forced schedule changes upon television networks. Fox News Channel is reverting to its regular prime-time schedule. CNN is rerunning a documentary on Republican Mitt Romney that first aired Sunday night. PBS had three hours of convention coverage scheduled for Monday night, but instead shifted to entertainment programming.
Throughout Monday, CNN mixed coverage of the storm with political stories from Tampa. Even when its correspondents were talking politics, the lower portion of the network's screen flashed updates on the path and wind speed of Isaac. The network has plenty of experience following multiple stories, said Sam Feist, CNN political director.
'This is CNN,' Feist said. 'We can walk and chew gum at the same time.'
The uncertainty about the storm's path and strength made for uncertainty among Republicans, too.
'This is a difficult set of circumstances for the Republicans,' said Fox's Smith, 'because as this storm comes through it's going to be fighting for TV time, and newspaper headline time and water cooler talk time. The Republicans had hoped they would be able to have all of the attention of themselves for the next few days and it would appear that Isaac has thrown a wrench in that.'
Networks strive, as best they can, to be fair to both parties in terms of television time around the conventions. Even with the storm, Feist said he expects the Republicans to get as much or more coverage than the Democrats, primarily because of the GOP's original plan to have a four-night convention.
Television didn't even need the convention to start to produce some fireworks on Monday. MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' featured a bitter confrontation with MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews attacking Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Romney campaign tactics, leaving show hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski plainly uncomfortable.
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
Southwest flight diverts to smaller St. Louis-area airport due to bad weather, lack of fuel
ST. LOUIS - A Southwest Airlines flight scheduled to land at Lambert Airport in St. Louis instead landed at a smaller suburban airport because of a thunderstorm and a shortage of fuel, a Southwest spokeswoman said Monday.
Southwest Flight 3789 was carrying 137 passengers from Denver to St. Louis Sunday night and arrived just before 7 p.m. at the height of a thunderstorm. Airline spokeswoman Ashley Dillon said the Boeing 737 circled over Lambert but couldn't land because of the storm.
'The aircraft needed additional fuel and the captain made the decision to land' at Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Dillon said. Spirit is normally used by smaller commuter jets and business planes. Chesterfield, a St. Louis suburb, is about 17 miles south of Lambert.
The Southwest jet landed without problems. No one was hurt but passengers were delayed for several hours.
Lambert spokesman Jeff Lea said Lambert sent three buses to help carry passengers and their luggage back to the larger airport. They arrived around 10 p.m., he said.
Lea confirmed there was bad weather at Lambert at the time the jet was scheduled to land. 'We certainly had lightning warnings and a severe storm going through,' he said.
But Lea said the airport was never closed and no other jets were diverted.
Messages seeking comment from Spirit were not returned.
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
Southwest Flight 3789 was carrying 137 passengers from Denver to St. Louis Sunday night and arrived just before 7 p.m. at the height of a thunderstorm. Airline spokeswoman Ashley Dillon said the Boeing 737 circled over Lambert but couldn't land because of the storm.
'The aircraft needed additional fuel and the captain made the decision to land' at Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Dillon said. Spirit is normally used by smaller commuter jets and business planes. Chesterfield, a St. Louis suburb, is about 17 miles south of Lambert.
The Southwest jet landed without problems. No one was hurt but passengers were delayed for several hours.
Lambert spokesman Jeff Lea said Lambert sent three buses to help carry passengers and their luggage back to the larger airport. They arrived around 10 p.m., he said.
Lea confirmed there was bad weather at Lambert at the time the jet was scheduled to land. 'We certainly had lightning warnings and a severe storm going through,' he said.
But Lea said the airport was never closed and no other jets were diverted.
Messages seeking comment from Spirit were not returned.
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Romney faces balancing act with convention, storm
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - With Tropical Storm Isaac bearing down on the Gulf Coast, Republicans left open the possibility of bigger changes to Mitt Romney's already-shortened convention, mindful of political awkwardness in celebrating while severe weather threatens New Orleans on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
'There's a weather event. We all know there's a weather event there,' Russ Schriefer, Romney's chief planner, said Sunday when asked about a potential image problem. 'We're obviously monitoring what is going on with the weather. Our concern is with those people in the path of the storm.'
The decision about what to do next is fraught with political peril.
Romney is trying to balance celebrating his presidential nomination with being mindful of the ghost of Hurricane Katrina and the stain George W. Bush's handling of it left on the GOP. The tropical storm, which seemed likely to be upgraded to a hurricane, could strike the Gulf Coast nearly to the day of the seventh anniversary of Katrina.
After scrapping the convention's first day, planners late Sunday announced a three-day program and leaner agenda. But they wouldn't speculate whether the storm would force a second postponement or any additional changes.
'We're moving forward, but we are going to be nimble,' Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said.
The next few days will test Romney's ability to both present himself to the American people as a plausible alternative to President Barack Obama and to lead a party still smarting from the image hit it took in the aftermath of the 2005 Gulf Coast devastation.
Since then, Republicans have been so sensitive to the political danger around hurricanes - and the appearance of partying at a time of trouble - that they delayed the start of their national convention by a day in 2008 when Hurricane Gustav bore down on the Gulf, a full 1,200 miles away from where delegates were gathering in St. Paul, Minn.
Four years later, a storm again has delayed the start of the convention - and again is barreling toward New Orleans, the city that Katrina so badly damaged.
'You don't want to be having hoopla and dancing when you have the nation focused on tragedy and suffering,' said Al Hoffman, a Republican from West Palm Beach and former finance chairman of the RNC.
Memories of Katrina hung heavy over Tampa as Republican delegates traveled here to anoint the party's new standard-bearer. All over Florida - a critical battleground state - people were preparing for the worst. Homes and shops were boarded up in Key West. About 800 miles northwest in the Florida panhandle, the Wal-Mart in Destin, Fla., had sold out of bottled water.
In a conference call with reporters late Sunday, Schriefer sidestepped a question about the potentially problematic appearance of Republicans partying while a hurricane bore down on the very city that cast a pall over the last GOP administration.
Romney's team was sensitive to the comparison to the 2005 storm, which was a Category 5 hurricane. Isaac, still a tropical storm, was forecast to reach hurricane strength.
When asked about the optics, Charlie Black, a veteran GOP strategist and informal adviser to Romney, sharply noted that Romney played no role in the Bush administration's handling of the catastrophe.
'I don't recall Mitt Romney having anything to do with Katrina,' said Black, also a senior adviser to McCain's campaign in 2008.
By Sunday afternoon, Tampa was cloud-covered and windy outside the hall where Romney is to accept the nomination Thursday night. Inside, tense Romney advisers huddled to figure out how to proceed.
'It's a mess all around and it's fraught with risk,' said Sally Bradshaw, a Florida Republican and longtime senior aide to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. 'It's not good for anybody - particularly the people impacted by the storm.'
Weather was recognized as potential trouble when Republicans chose to hold their convention in Florida during hurricane season, a decision made well before Romney locked up the nomination.
Beyond the safety and image concerns, Isaac presents another wrinkle for Romney: It allows Obama to show leadership and flex the levers of his administration to help people bracing for a storm.
As forecasts grew grim, Obama dispatched the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist, and the White House said the president was closely monitoring the storm.
'The president also told the governor to let him know if there are any unmet needs or additional resources the administration could provide, including in support of efforts to ensure the safety of those visiting the state for the Republican National Convention,' the White House said Sunday.
The president had no immediate plans to visit. But he might - as most presidents do - if the damage is severe. And if he does, Romney would have to weigh whether to proceed with his convention or scrap more parts of it - and cede the limelight to the man who holds the office he wants.
Mindful of the danger of appearing to put politics before safety, Vice President Joe Biden, the Obama campaign's surrogate-in-chief, canceled a campaign swing through Florida on Monday and Tuesday.
Back in Tampa, Romney's convention planners were busy working to cram four carefully scripted days of speechmaking and celebration into just three. The announcement delaying the start of the convention came late Saturday, with Romney mindful of the good politics of putting safety before, well, politics.
'The safety of those in Isaac's path is of the utmost importance,' Romney said in a tweet late Saturday.
Insisting on a four-day affair could have put delegates' safety at risk, while tying up law enforcement and emergency officials who otherwise would be dispatched to deal with storm fallout. That would have left a black mark on the convention, with potentially lasting political consequences in a critical battleground state and perhaps elsewhere.
Romney's decision drew praise.
'Governor Romney and his team have handled the situation correctly,' former Gov. Bush, a Republican, told The Associated Press. He added: 'There is no reason to cancel the event.'
Michigan delegate Saul Anuzis agreed, saying: 'It's such a huge logistical event, you can't call it off.'
The question Romney and his team continue to weigh: how to proceed with the party while being sensitive to the uncertainty of Isaac and its potential to wreak havoc on the Gulf Coast, which has become a symbol of dysfunctional government under a Republican administration.
Among the considerations: whether to tone down plans to sharply criticize Obama and focus more heavily on Romney's other goal, promoting his own vision. Speakers scheduled for Monday had planned to start making the case against Obama.
Republican strategists suggested Romney celebrate without going overboard.
'You can tone down the happy-days-are-here-again a bit,' said Rich Galen, a veteran Republican consultant in Washington. 'Maybe you don't have the biggest balloon drop in history.'
___
Associated Press writer Steve Peoples contributed from Wolfeboro, N.H.
This news article is brought to you by WOMEN'S BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
'There's a weather event. We all know there's a weather event there,' Russ Schriefer, Romney's chief planner, said Sunday when asked about a potential image problem. 'We're obviously monitoring what is going on with the weather. Our concern is with those people in the path of the storm.'
The decision about what to do next is fraught with political peril.
Romney is trying to balance celebrating his presidential nomination with being mindful of the ghost of Hurricane Katrina and the stain George W. Bush's handling of it left on the GOP. The tropical storm, which seemed likely to be upgraded to a hurricane, could strike the Gulf Coast nearly to the day of the seventh anniversary of Katrina.
After scrapping the convention's first day, planners late Sunday announced a three-day program and leaner agenda. But they wouldn't speculate whether the storm would force a second postponement or any additional changes.
'We're moving forward, but we are going to be nimble,' Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said.
The next few days will test Romney's ability to both present himself to the American people as a plausible alternative to President Barack Obama and to lead a party still smarting from the image hit it took in the aftermath of the 2005 Gulf Coast devastation.
Since then, Republicans have been so sensitive to the political danger around hurricanes - and the appearance of partying at a time of trouble - that they delayed the start of their national convention by a day in 2008 when Hurricane Gustav bore down on the Gulf, a full 1,200 miles away from where delegates were gathering in St. Paul, Minn.
Four years later, a storm again has delayed the start of the convention - and again is barreling toward New Orleans, the city that Katrina so badly damaged.
'You don't want to be having hoopla and dancing when you have the nation focused on tragedy and suffering,' said Al Hoffman, a Republican from West Palm Beach and former finance chairman of the RNC.
Memories of Katrina hung heavy over Tampa as Republican delegates traveled here to anoint the party's new standard-bearer. All over Florida - a critical battleground state - people were preparing for the worst. Homes and shops were boarded up in Key West. About 800 miles northwest in the Florida panhandle, the Wal-Mart in Destin, Fla., had sold out of bottled water.
In a conference call with reporters late Sunday, Schriefer sidestepped a question about the potentially problematic appearance of Republicans partying while a hurricane bore down on the very city that cast a pall over the last GOP administration.
Romney's team was sensitive to the comparison to the 2005 storm, which was a Category 5 hurricane. Isaac, still a tropical storm, was forecast to reach hurricane strength.
When asked about the optics, Charlie Black, a veteran GOP strategist and informal adviser to Romney, sharply noted that Romney played no role in the Bush administration's handling of the catastrophe.
'I don't recall Mitt Romney having anything to do with Katrina,' said Black, also a senior adviser to McCain's campaign in 2008.
By Sunday afternoon, Tampa was cloud-covered and windy outside the hall where Romney is to accept the nomination Thursday night. Inside, tense Romney advisers huddled to figure out how to proceed.
'It's a mess all around and it's fraught with risk,' said Sally Bradshaw, a Florida Republican and longtime senior aide to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. 'It's not good for anybody - particularly the people impacted by the storm.'
Weather was recognized as potential trouble when Republicans chose to hold their convention in Florida during hurricane season, a decision made well before Romney locked up the nomination.
Beyond the safety and image concerns, Isaac presents another wrinkle for Romney: It allows Obama to show leadership and flex the levers of his administration to help people bracing for a storm.
As forecasts grew grim, Obama dispatched the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist, and the White House said the president was closely monitoring the storm.
'The president also told the governor to let him know if there are any unmet needs or additional resources the administration could provide, including in support of efforts to ensure the safety of those visiting the state for the Republican National Convention,' the White House said Sunday.
The president had no immediate plans to visit. But he might - as most presidents do - if the damage is severe. And if he does, Romney would have to weigh whether to proceed with his convention or scrap more parts of it - and cede the limelight to the man who holds the office he wants.
Mindful of the danger of appearing to put politics before safety, Vice President Joe Biden, the Obama campaign's surrogate-in-chief, canceled a campaign swing through Florida on Monday and Tuesday.
Back in Tampa, Romney's convention planners were busy working to cram four carefully scripted days of speechmaking and celebration into just three. The announcement delaying the start of the convention came late Saturday, with Romney mindful of the good politics of putting safety before, well, politics.
'The safety of those in Isaac's path is of the utmost importance,' Romney said in a tweet late Saturday.
Insisting on a four-day affair could have put delegates' safety at risk, while tying up law enforcement and emergency officials who otherwise would be dispatched to deal with storm fallout. That would have left a black mark on the convention, with potentially lasting political consequences in a critical battleground state and perhaps elsewhere.
Romney's decision drew praise.
'Governor Romney and his team have handled the situation correctly,' former Gov. Bush, a Republican, told The Associated Press. He added: 'There is no reason to cancel the event.'
Michigan delegate Saul Anuzis agreed, saying: 'It's such a huge logistical event, you can't call it off.'
The question Romney and his team continue to weigh: how to proceed with the party while being sensitive to the uncertainty of Isaac and its potential to wreak havoc on the Gulf Coast, which has become a symbol of dysfunctional government under a Republican administration.
Among the considerations: whether to tone down plans to sharply criticize Obama and focus more heavily on Romney's other goal, promoting his own vision. Speakers scheduled for Monday had planned to start making the case against Obama.
Republican strategists suggested Romney celebrate without going overboard.
'You can tone down the happy-days-are-here-again a bit,' said Rich Galen, a veteran Republican consultant in Washington. 'Maybe you don't have the biggest balloon drop in history.'
___
Associated Press writer Steve Peoples contributed from Wolfeboro, N.H.
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Almanac forecast: Wintry weather _ and mystery
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) - The weather world is full of high-profile meteorologists like NBC's Al Roker and the Weather Channel's Jim Cantore. But the guy making the forecasts for the Farmers' Almanac is more like the man behind the curtain.
He's cloaked in mystery.
The publisher of the 196-year-old almanac, which goes on sale this week, takes great pains to protect the identity of its reclusive weather soothsayer, who operates under the pseudonym Caleb Weatherbee. Caleb's real name and hometown are a secret. And so is his age-old formula used for making long-term weather forecasts.
'It's part of the mystique, the almanac, the history,' said Editor Peter Geiger of the current prognosticator, the almanac's seventh, who has been underground since starting the job in the 1980s.
Even just to speak to the forecaster, the almanac would agree only to an unrecorded phone call with the man from an undisclosed location.
The weather formula created by almanac founder David Young in 1818 was based on planetary positions, sunspots and lunar cycles. Since then, historical patterns, weather data and a computer have been added to the mix.
The mystery man's forecast for the coming winter suggests that people from the Great Lakes to northern New England should get out their long johns and dust off their snow shovels because it's going to be cold and snowy. It's also supposed to be wet and chilly in the Southeast, and milder for much of the rest of the nation.
In an election season, the almanac dubbed its forecast 'a nation divided' because there's a dividing line where winter returns for much of the east, with milder weather west of the Great Lakes.
Scientists generally don't think too much of almanac's formula.
Ed O'Lenic, operations chief for NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, declined to knock the almanac's methodology but said sun spots and moon phases aren't used by modern-day meteorologists.
'I'm sure these people have good intentions but I would say that the current state of the science is light years beyond what it was 200 years ago,' O'Lenic said from Maryland.
In this year's edition, the almanac's editors are contrite about failing to forecast record warmth last winter but they suggested readers should go easy on the publication - and on Caleb - because nobody forecast 80-degree weather in March that brought the ski season a rapid end in northern New England.
'Let's face it - the weather was so wacky last year. It was so bizarre,' said Sandi Duncan, managing editor, pointing out that NOAA and Accuweather also missed the mark.
Indeed, NOAA and Accuweather didn't project the extent of the warm winter.
'We missed it too, to put it bluntly,' said Tom Kines, a meteorologist at Accuweather in State College, Pa. 'It was a weird winter last year.'
The Maine-based Farmers' Almanac is not to be confused with the New Hampshire-based Old Farmer's Almanac. Both issue annual forecasts, with the Old Farmer's Almanac scheduled for next month.
Geiger, who keeps a copy of Weatherbee's secret weather formula in a secure location, is quick to point out that there's more to the almanac than just weather forecasts. Hearkening to its old traditions, the folksy almanac features recipes, gardening tips, jokes, facts and trivia, and a guide to a simpler life.
For example, who knew that you could clean your toilet by pouring in Coca-Cola instead of harsh chemicals, or that putting a spoonful of vinegar in a pet's water dish keeps fleas at bay?
As for the weather, almanac readers say it's all good, clean fun.
'It's a fun publication to get and to read, to watch and see how accurate it is,' said Wanda Monthey of Alexandria, Va. 'It's a lot like a game.'
___
Online:
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/
___
Follow David Sharp on Twitter at http://twitter.com/David_Sharp_AP
This news article is brought to you by ADVANCED DATING ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
He's cloaked in mystery.
The publisher of the 196-year-old almanac, which goes on sale this week, takes great pains to protect the identity of its reclusive weather soothsayer, who operates under the pseudonym Caleb Weatherbee. Caleb's real name and hometown are a secret. And so is his age-old formula used for making long-term weather forecasts.
'It's part of the mystique, the almanac, the history,' said Editor Peter Geiger of the current prognosticator, the almanac's seventh, who has been underground since starting the job in the 1980s.
Even just to speak to the forecaster, the almanac would agree only to an unrecorded phone call with the man from an undisclosed location.
The weather formula created by almanac founder David Young in 1818 was based on planetary positions, sunspots and lunar cycles. Since then, historical patterns, weather data and a computer have been added to the mix.
The mystery man's forecast for the coming winter suggests that people from the Great Lakes to northern New England should get out their long johns and dust off their snow shovels because it's going to be cold and snowy. It's also supposed to be wet and chilly in the Southeast, and milder for much of the rest of the nation.
In an election season, the almanac dubbed its forecast 'a nation divided' because there's a dividing line where winter returns for much of the east, with milder weather west of the Great Lakes.
Scientists generally don't think too much of almanac's formula.
Ed O'Lenic, operations chief for NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, declined to knock the almanac's methodology but said sun spots and moon phases aren't used by modern-day meteorologists.
'I'm sure these people have good intentions but I would say that the current state of the science is light years beyond what it was 200 years ago,' O'Lenic said from Maryland.
In this year's edition, the almanac's editors are contrite about failing to forecast record warmth last winter but they suggested readers should go easy on the publication - and on Caleb - because nobody forecast 80-degree weather in March that brought the ski season a rapid end in northern New England.
'Let's face it - the weather was so wacky last year. It was so bizarre,' said Sandi Duncan, managing editor, pointing out that NOAA and Accuweather also missed the mark.
Indeed, NOAA and Accuweather didn't project the extent of the warm winter.
'We missed it too, to put it bluntly,' said Tom Kines, a meteorologist at Accuweather in State College, Pa. 'It was a weird winter last year.'
The Maine-based Farmers' Almanac is not to be confused with the New Hampshire-based Old Farmer's Almanac. Both issue annual forecasts, with the Old Farmer's Almanac scheduled for next month.
Geiger, who keeps a copy of Weatherbee's secret weather formula in a secure location, is quick to point out that there's more to the almanac than just weather forecasts. Hearkening to its old traditions, the folksy almanac features recipes, gardening tips, jokes, facts and trivia, and a guide to a simpler life.
For example, who knew that you could clean your toilet by pouring in Coca-Cola instead of harsh chemicals, or that putting a spoonful of vinegar in a pet's water dish keeps fleas at bay?
As for the weather, almanac readers say it's all good, clean fun.
'It's a fun publication to get and to read, to watch and see how accurate it is,' said Wanda Monthey of Alexandria, Va. 'It's a lot like a game.'
___
Online:
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/
___
Follow David Sharp on Twitter at http://twitter.com/David_Sharp_AP
This news article is brought to you by ADVANCED DATING ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
UN green climate fund, aiding poor, to pick HQ in 2012
OSLO (Reuters) - Leaders of a fledgling U.N. green fund agreed at a first meeting on Saturday to pick a headquarters this year as part of a plan to oversee billions of dollars in aid to help developing nations fight global warming.
The three-day meeting in Geneva heard pitches from the six countries -- Germany, Mexico, Namibia, Poland, South Korea and Switzerland -- that want to host the Green Climate Fund, the main U.N. body due to manage $100 billion in aid from 2020.
'This first meeting was a very productive start,' Ewen McDonald of Australia, a co-chair of the Fund, said in a statement at the end of the talks among the 24 board members working on details of how the fund will operate.
The board aims to select the host country at a next meeting, set for October 18-20 in South Korea. The choice would then have to be endorsed by environment ministers at U.N. climate talks in Doha in late November and early December.
'It is early days,' Kjetil Lund, deputy Norwegian finance minister and a board member, told Reuters. 'We have to get the right set-up first.'
Developed nations agreed in 2009 to raise climate aid, now about $10 billion a year, to an annual $100 billion from 2020 to help developing countries curb greenhouse gas emissions and cope with floods, droughts, heatwaves and rising sea levels.
The long-term goal of the fund is to 'transform the livelihoods of people responding to the impacts of climate change,' Zaheer Fakir of South Africa, the other co-chair, said in a statement.
There was no discussion yet of the far more controversial issue of how to raise $100 billion from public and private sources. The fund is now empty and the economies of many developed nations are struggling.
The target of $100 billion 'is on the radar screen, in the backdrop,' Henning Wuester, head of the interim secretariat of the fund, told Reuters.
The board's first meeting was delayed by five months because Asian and Latin American nations took longer than expected to agree on their board members.
Focused only on practical details, the Geneva talks avoided stirring up deep mistrust between rich and poor nations about sharing out the burden of fighting global warming that has been a constant stumbling block at U.N. climate negotiations.
'The atmosphere was cordial,' said Karen Orenstein of Friends of the Earth USA. But she complained that civil society observers were not allowed into the board room and limited to watching a webcast from a room nearby.
This news article is brought to you by SPACE AND ASTRONOMY NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
The three-day meeting in Geneva heard pitches from the six countries -- Germany, Mexico, Namibia, Poland, South Korea and Switzerland -- that want to host the Green Climate Fund, the main U.N. body due to manage $100 billion in aid from 2020.
'This first meeting was a very productive start,' Ewen McDonald of Australia, a co-chair of the Fund, said in a statement at the end of the talks among the 24 board members working on details of how the fund will operate.
The board aims to select the host country at a next meeting, set for October 18-20 in South Korea. The choice would then have to be endorsed by environment ministers at U.N. climate talks in Doha in late November and early December.
'It is early days,' Kjetil Lund, deputy Norwegian finance minister and a board member, told Reuters. 'We have to get the right set-up first.'
Developed nations agreed in 2009 to raise climate aid, now about $10 billion a year, to an annual $100 billion from 2020 to help developing countries curb greenhouse gas emissions and cope with floods, droughts, heatwaves and rising sea levels.
The long-term goal of the fund is to 'transform the livelihoods of people responding to the impacts of climate change,' Zaheer Fakir of South Africa, the other co-chair, said in a statement.
There was no discussion yet of the far more controversial issue of how to raise $100 billion from public and private sources. The fund is now empty and the economies of many developed nations are struggling.
The target of $100 billion 'is on the radar screen, in the backdrop,' Henning Wuester, head of the interim secretariat of the fund, told Reuters.
The board's first meeting was delayed by five months because Asian and Latin American nations took longer than expected to agree on their board members.
Focused only on practical details, the Geneva talks avoided stirring up deep mistrust between rich and poor nations about sharing out the burden of fighting global warming that has been a constant stumbling block at U.N. climate negotiations.
'The atmosphere was cordial,' said Karen Orenstein of Friends of the Earth USA. But she complained that civil society observers were not allowed into the board room and limited to watching a webcast from a room nearby.
This news article is brought to you by SPACE AND ASTRONOMY NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
GOP delays convention business due to Isaac
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The Republican Party is delaying the bulk of its convention until Tuesday afternoon because of the severe weather expected from Tropical Storm Isaac.
Republican Chairman Reince Priebus says the convention will convene briefly Monday and then immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon, once the storm is expected to have passed.
Priebus says that the party made the decision after consulting with Florida Gov. Rick Scott and federal and local emergency officials.
Although nominee-in-waiting Mitt Romney isn't addressing the convention until Thursday night, delegates had been scheduled to take the traditional roll call making him the nominee on the opening day.
This is the second Republican convention in a row to be delayed due to severe weather. The 2008 convention in Minnesota was delayed by a day because of a hurricane.
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Republican Chairman Reince Priebus says the convention will convene briefly Monday and then immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon, once the storm is expected to have passed.
Priebus says that the party made the decision after consulting with Florida Gov. Rick Scott and federal and local emergency officials.
Although nominee-in-waiting Mitt Romney isn't addressing the convention until Thursday night, delegates had been scheduled to take the traditional roll call making him the nominee on the opening day.
This is the second Republican convention in a row to be delayed due to severe weather. The 2008 convention in Minnesota was delayed by a day because of a hurricane.
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Isaac delays start of Republican convention: officials
Republican Party officials said that the start of their national convention is delayed until Tuesday due to severe weather expected as Tropical Storm Isaac barrels toward the Florida coast.
'Due to the severe weather reports for the Tampa Bay area, the Republican National Convention will convene on Monday August 27th and immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon, August 28th,' Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement.
US weather forecasters have warned that Isaac, which has already killed at least two people as it battered Haiti, could be at or near hurricane strength when it brushes the Florida Keys archipelago and the southern Florida peninsula on Sunday.
But Priebus said that after consulting with weather, state and local officials, he was 'optimistic that we will begin an exciting, robust convention.'
The move echoed a similar scenario in 2008, when Republicans canceled nearly all of their programming on the first day of their convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota due to Hurricane Gustav.
The 2012 convention had initially been set to run Monday through Thursday.
Republican officials expect 50,000 people to descend on Tampa for speeches, parties and the formal nomination of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney to take on President Barack Obama in November 6 elections.
The convention's president and CEO Bill Harris said the safety of all participants was the 'foremost concern' of organizers.
'Our chief priority is the safety of the residents of Florida, of those visiting the Convention and all those in Gulf Coast states who may be impacted by Tropical Storm Isaac,' he said.
'Federal, state and local officials assure us that they are prepared to respond, if needed, and the scheduling changes we are announcing today will help ensure the continued safety of all participants -- our foremost concern.'
Priebus warned that convention participants could face 'severe transportation difficulties' due to strong winds and heavy rains from Isaac.
Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, declared a state of emergency on Saturday but insisted it was a 'normal step' ahead of any storm and that the convention would go ahead as planned.
'We are going to have a great convention,' he told reporters.
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, a Democrat, had sought to calm jitters about the weather, saying the storm might bring heavy rain to Tampa on the first day of the four-day convention but would be followed by sunny skies.
'There may be wet shoes, but every day after Monday ought to be fine,' Buckhorn told Fox News before the Republicans announced the one-day delay to the start of the convention proper.
Vice President Joe Biden has canceled a trip to Tampa and other Florida cities because of the approaching storm.
'This change in schedule is being taken to ensure that all law enforcement and emergency management resources across the state can continue their focus on ensuring the safety of those who might be impacted by the storm,' Obama's Democratic campaign said.
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'Due to the severe weather reports for the Tampa Bay area, the Republican National Convention will convene on Monday August 27th and immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon, August 28th,' Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement.
US weather forecasters have warned that Isaac, which has already killed at least two people as it battered Haiti, could be at or near hurricane strength when it brushes the Florida Keys archipelago and the southern Florida peninsula on Sunday.
But Priebus said that after consulting with weather, state and local officials, he was 'optimistic that we will begin an exciting, robust convention.'
The move echoed a similar scenario in 2008, when Republicans canceled nearly all of their programming on the first day of their convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota due to Hurricane Gustav.
The 2012 convention had initially been set to run Monday through Thursday.
Republican officials expect 50,000 people to descend on Tampa for speeches, parties and the formal nomination of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney to take on President Barack Obama in November 6 elections.
The convention's president and CEO Bill Harris said the safety of all participants was the 'foremost concern' of organizers.
'Our chief priority is the safety of the residents of Florida, of those visiting the Convention and all those in Gulf Coast states who may be impacted by Tropical Storm Isaac,' he said.
'Federal, state and local officials assure us that they are prepared to respond, if needed, and the scheduling changes we are announcing today will help ensure the continued safety of all participants -- our foremost concern.'
Priebus warned that convention participants could face 'severe transportation difficulties' due to strong winds and heavy rains from Isaac.
Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, declared a state of emergency on Saturday but insisted it was a 'normal step' ahead of any storm and that the convention would go ahead as planned.
'We are going to have a great convention,' he told reporters.
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, a Democrat, had sought to calm jitters about the weather, saying the storm might bring heavy rain to Tampa on the first day of the four-day convention but would be followed by sunny skies.
'There may be wet shoes, but every day after Monday ought to be fine,' Buckhorn told Fox News before the Republicans announced the one-day delay to the start of the convention proper.
Vice President Joe Biden has canceled a trip to Tampa and other Florida cities because of the approaching storm.
'This change in schedule is being taken to ensure that all law enforcement and emergency management resources across the state can continue their focus on ensuring the safety of those who might be impacted by the storm,' Obama's Democratic campaign said.
This news article is brought to you by GAMING NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Green Climate Fund to hold next meeting in South Korea
The Green Climate Fund, which will help poor countries fight global warming, will hold its next meeting from October 18 to 20 in South Korea, the body said Saturday.
The fund was launched at a UN climate conference in Durban, South Africa, last year to help channel up to $100 billion (80 billion euros) a year in aid to poor, vulnerable countries by 2020 via investments from both public and private sources.
Its 24-member board wrapped up a first meeting in Geneva on Saturday after three days of discussions to lay the foundations of the fund, selecting Songdo in South Korea as the location of its next gathering, a statement said.
The board also decided on its process for selecting the country that will host the fund's headquarters, the interim secretariat said, without detailing the strategy.
Of the six nations competing to host the fund -- Germany, Mexico, Namibia, Poland, South Korea and Switzerland -- one will be formally designated in late November at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Doha, Qatar.
The Swiss press reported that Geneva and Bonn, which currently hosts the interim secretariat, are tipped as favourites.
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The fund was launched at a UN climate conference in Durban, South Africa, last year to help channel up to $100 billion (80 billion euros) a year in aid to poor, vulnerable countries by 2020 via investments from both public and private sources.
Its 24-member board wrapped up a first meeting in Geneva on Saturday after three days of discussions to lay the foundations of the fund, selecting Songdo in South Korea as the location of its next gathering, a statement said.
The board also decided on its process for selecting the country that will host the fund's headquarters, the interim secretariat said, without detailing the strategy.
Of the six nations competing to host the fund -- Germany, Mexico, Namibia, Poland, South Korea and Switzerland -- one will be formally designated in late November at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Doha, Qatar.
The Swiss press reported that Geneva and Bonn, which currently hosts the interim secretariat, are tipped as favourites.
This news article is brought to you by GLAMOROUS FASHION NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
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