Author Archives: Pat Turnbaugh

United States sees one of its warmest, wettest and wildest years on record

The continental United States experienced one of its warmest and wettest years in history in 2015, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Thursday.

Temperatures and precipitation totals were well above long-term averages, according to the year-end report published by the NOAA’s National Centers for Climate Information, and the final numbers indicated the nation had its second-warmest and third-wettest year on record.

The nation also was hit by five different types of weather and climate disasters — flooding, droughts, wildfires, extreme cold and severe storms — a variety the NOAA said is not usually seen. There were 10 disasters in total, and each of them caused at least $1 billion in losses.

The NOAA reported the average temperature in the United States last year was 54.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 2.4 degrees above the nation’s 20th-century average, but .88 degrees lower than the record-setting year of 2012. The average precipitation total in the lower 48 states was 34.47 inches, 4.53 inches above the average level, and the influx of rainfall helped reduce the national drought footprint by about 10 percent. The only wetter years on record are 1973 and 1983.

Every single one of the lower 48 states posted above-average yearly temperatures, the NOAA said, and Washington, Florida and Oregon all posted their warmest years on record. The same can be said of southeastern Louisiana and western Montana.

The temperature and precipitation records date to 1895.

The NOAA also said 10 weather and climate disasters occurred across the nation last year, including wildfires and droughts in the west, flooding in South Carolina, Texas and the midwest, a cold wave in the northeast, tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas, and severe thunderstorms across the Great Plains. Together, the NOAA said the disasters killed 155 people nationwide.

It’s not common, but also not unheard of, for the United States to see that many different kinds of disasters causing $1 billion in losses in a year. According to the NOAA, the nation usually sees three or four kinds of disasters every year, but five have occurred five other times since 1989.

The overall total of 10 billion-dollar disasters was slightly below the nation’s five-year average of 10.8, the report indicates, but it was still nearly double the 35-year average of 5.2.

The NOAA added the United States has now been the victim of 188 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters since 1980, and they have cumulatively caused more than $1 trillion in losses.

Alabama suing federal government over refugee resettlement plans

Alabama is taking the federal government to court over the Obama administration’s plans to resettle refugees in America, claiming the White House hasn’t told the state enough about the process and that lack of dialogue and information constitutes a violation of federal law.

Governor Robert Bentley announced the lawsuit in a news release on Thursday, arguing the government wasn’t following the rules laid out in the Refugee Act of 1980.

Alabama is arguing the state was “denied a meaningful role and input into the process” of the government resettling refugees in the state, despite the act requiring the government to consult states before it places any refugees in their communities, according to the governor’s statement.

Bentley was one of several governors who have publicly announced their states will not accept any Syrian refugees. He originally made the announcement in November, just two days after the Paris attacks, and specifically mentioned those attacks when initially making his announcement.

The governor’s office said Thursday the lawsuit covers all refugees that the government wants to place in the state, including those from places other than Syria. The lawsuit references concerns about terrorism.

“Regarding security, Alabama shares the concerns of the intelligence community – including those of the Nation’s highest ranking intelligence officials – that sufficient information is lacking to ensure that certain refugees – including those from Syria – have neither provided material support to terrorists nor are terrorists themselves,” the lawsuit reads.

In announcing the lawsuit, Bentley said he has sent the White House three letters about the program and its potential impacts on Alabama, but “these letters have gone unanswered.”

“As Governor, the Alabama Constitution gives me the sovereign authority and solemn duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of all citizens of Alabama,” Bentley continued in his statement. “The process and manner in which the Obama Administration and the federal government are executing the Refugee Reception Program is blatantly excluding the states.”

Alabama is arguing that because it doesn’t have any information about the refugees, the state can’t prepare for their arrival and their potential impact on public safety and social programs.

Defendants in the lawsuit include the United States, the State Department, the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Refugee Resettlement, as well as some leaders in those departments, court filings show.

The governor’s office said the lawsuit is asking for the government to admit it didn’t adequately consult Alabama, medical histories and complete files of every refugee and certification that none of the refugees represent a security risk. The lawsuit is also asking the government to declare it can’t place any refugees in Alabama until it first addresses those other responsibilities.

Governor declares massive Southern California methane leak an emergency

A massive gas leak that environmental activists say is sending potentially devastating amounts of methane into the air above Los Angeles was declared an emergency situation on Wednesday.

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. made the announcement in a news release, outlining a variety of steps designed to protect public health, stop the leak and prevent future ones from occurring.

Methane has been leaking from the Aliso Canyon storage facility since Oct. 23. The Southern California Gas Company that owns the facility has been working to stop the leak ever since, though letters that appear on the company’s website indicate that workers don’t expect to seal the leak until late February or late March as it involves drilling some 8,000 feet underground.

Last month, Brown’s office released a letter he wrote to the company’s chief executive officer in which the governor called the response “insufficient.” The emergency declared Monday directs the Southern California Gas Company to take “all necessary and viable actions” to stop the leak.

The governor’s declaration came two weeks after the Environmental Defense Fund released an infrared video in which methane could be seen billowing from the facility at a purported rate of 62 million cubic feet every day. Approximately 28 million cubic feet of oil was released during the entire 87-day Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, according to a U.S. Coast Guard report.

The governor’s order instructs the company to ensure it’s withdrawing as much gas as possible from the facility so that it doesn’t escape into the air, captures whatever methane is leaking, and comes up with a plan to stop the leak if the company’s current plan of drilling a relief well and pumping it full of cement and other fluids doesn’t fix the problem or the leak gets worse.

The Environmental Defense Fund said the leak at its current rate had the same long-term impact on climate change as driving 7 million cars, as methane is much better at trapping heat.

The leak also had short-term impacts, as the governor’s office said Wednesday that “thousands of people” have relocated because of the leak. The Los Angeles County Public Health Department had previously ordered the company to relocate residents who were affected by the leak free of charge. The Los Angeles Unified School District also temporarily closed two schools near the leak after “an increasing number of health complaints” was disrupting the education process, according to the district’s website. Those students are being relocated to other schools.

Tests conducted by the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shows the leak “does not appear” to present a toxic threat to the public, according to the California Office of Emergency Services (CALOES), though the smell of the gas has caused nausea and headaches. Odorants are added to methane to help the public detect leaks. Those odors, while they may not be toxic, could still lead to “lasting health impacts” like eye or respiratory damage, CALOES said.

The governor’s order directs the state to convene a panel of medical experts to look into concerns about public health. It also instructs the state’s Public Utilities Commission to make sure that the Southern California Gas Company pays for the costs of the leak, and outlines more strict practices for gas storage facilities, including daily wellhead inspections to help detect leaks.

Southern California Gas Company CEO Dennis Arriola issued a statement after the declaration, saying the company would continue to work to stop the leak and lessen the gas’s impact on the neighborhood of Porter Ranch, which has been hit particularly hard by the smell, and the air.

“Our focus remains on quickly and safely stopping the leak and minimizing the impact to our neighbors in Porter Ranch,” Arriola said. “SoCalGas reaffirms our prior commitment to mitigate the environmental impact of the actual amount of natural gas released from the leak. We look forward to working with state officials to develop a framework that will achieve this goal.”

Oklahoma city shaken by 20 earthquakes in 9 hours

A small city in Oklahoma was hit by 20 earthquakes in nine hours overnight, including a pair of particularly strong ones just 30 seconds apart, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The earthquakes occurred between 10:27 p.m. and 7:40 a.m. and were centered just northwest of Fairview, a city of about 2,600 people that sits about 100 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.

The swarm began with magnitude 4.7 and magnitude 4.8 earthquakes 30 seconds apart. The second quake was the strongest in the state since November 2011, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey, and only three stronger earthquakes have occurred in Oklahoma since 1882.

The 18 quakes that followed ranged in magnitude from 2.5 to 4.0, USGS data indicates.

The strongest earthquake could be felt more than 100 miles away in other parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, according to user-submitted reports published on the USGS website. There was no indication that any of the 20 earthquakes caused any significant damage or injuries.

Last April, the Oklahoma Geological Survey issued a statement saying the state’s seismicity rate was 600 times greater than it was before 2008. Wastewater from the oil and gas companies that operate in the state has been linked to the rise, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission has taken steps to limit the amount of wastewater in an attempt to reduce the overall risk of quakes.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission on Monday announced additional steps it would take to limit such waste near Edmond, which had felt two sizeable earthquakes in recent days — a magnitude 4.3 earthquake on Dec. 29 and a magnitude 4.2 earthquake on New Year’s Day.

But USGS data indicated three smaller earthquakes occurred near Edmond between 7:20 p.m. Wednesday and 12:42 a.m. Thursday. The tremors ranged in magnitude from 2.5 to 3.2.

Edmond, one of Oklahoma’s largest cities, is located 15 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma Geological Survey and USGS have both warned the increase in large earthquakes — those greater than magnitude 3.0 — puts Oklahoma more at risk for even bigger earthquakes.

Iraqis make progress in Ramadi, but Islamic State lingers

The Iraqi forces tasked with securing Ramadi and removing any remaining links to the Islamic State insurgency that once controlled the city are encountering improvised explosive devices and evidence of the group’s brutal treatment of civilians, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday.

Col. Steve Warren, the spokesperson for the United States-led coalition against the Islamic State, held a news briefing with reporters and provided updates on the campaign’s efforts as it helps the Iraqi military take back the city and takes other actions against the terrorist group.

Iraqi officials announced that the country’s military had raised the flag over a government complex in Ramadi on Dec. 28, some seven months after the Islamic State took control of the capital of Anbar province. The military has spent the ensuing days working to clear the rest of the city, Warren told reporters at the news briefing, but was still encountering some resistance.

Warren said the Iraqis needed to dismantle improvised explosive devices on an “almost house-by-house” basis, and the group was also encountering sniper fire from lingering enemies. Warren said about 60 Islamic State insurgents were killed in the past 24 hours, though multiple groups of up to a dozen fighters remained. He didn’t estimate the total number of fighters left in Ramadi, but said the coalition was helping the Iraqis clear neighborhoods with airstrikes.

As the Iraqi forces moved into smaller neighborhoods, Warren said they came across civilians who had been killed “execution-style,” some who were shot as they tried to flee, others injured by improvised explosive devices and some who the Islamic State used as human shields.

Warren told reporters that many surviving civilians were being taken to stations in the city where they received food, water and healthcare. If they had no place to go, Warren said the civilians were often being relocated to Habbaniyah, where there are camps for displaced people.

Approximately 100 members of the Iraqi military died as they worked to recapture Ramadi, Warren said, adding it was difficult to tell how long it would take for the city to be fully cleared.

The progress in Ramadi is just one small victory in the ongoing fight against the Islamic State, though Warren touted several of the coalition’s recent accomplishments on Wednesday.

Warren wrote on his Twitter page that the Islamic State has lost between 7,700 and 8,500 square miles of territory in Iraq alone, and have not captured any new territory since May. He told the news conference that represented about 40 percent of the territory it once controlled.

The Iraqis still must liberate significant portions of the country that are held by the Islamic State, Warren told reporters, though there wasn’t any indication as to where they would go next.

“Whatever they decide is their next focus, this coalition will be there prepared to support them through the air, as well as with training and equipment,” Warren said during the media briefing.

Warren also told reporters the coalition’s airstrikes killed 2,500 Islamic State fighters last month, but estimated between 20,000 and 30,000 were still operating inside Iraq and Syria.

Warren estimated the Islamic State had not lost as much territory in Syria. He told reporters that the group only lost about 700 square miles in Syria, roughly 10 percent of what it held there.

The colonel also gave an update on the coalition’s campaign against the Islamic State’s oil smuggling, a major source of income for the terrorist organization. He estimated the coalition has reduced the group’s oil revenue by about 30 percent since the campaign began, and said that the Islamic State’s total oil production dropped by about 24 percent to 34,000 barrels every day.

“In addition to chipping away at their so-called caliphate (and) killing their leaders, we’re also hitting them in the pocketbook,” Warren told reporters.

California Rattled By Heavy Rains, Snow, Earthquake

Large portions of California were bracing for more heavy rain and snow Wednesday as El Niño pushed powerful storms toward the state, threatening to cause flash flooding and other damage.

The National Weather Service issued numerous flash flood watches along the California coastline and also issued winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories for areas in higher elevations. The service’s office in San Diego also warned of a chance for mudslides, particularly in areas where recent wildfires burned.

National Weather Service forecasts called for 2 to 4 inches of rain to fall across Southern California on Wednesday, accompanied by peak wind gusts of up to 60 mph that could be strong enough to topple trees and power lines. The rain comes a day after 1.42 inches fell at Los Angeles International Airport, smashing a daily rainfall record that stood for more than 36 years. Other parts of California received more than 3 inches of rain, National Weather Service data indicated.

The National Weather Service was calling for 5 to 10 inches of snow in higher elevations on Wednesday, but said mountain peaks could see 18 inches. Near-blizzard conditions were expected in some places. More storms were expected to drop additional precipitation tonight and Thursday.

Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey reported a magnitude 4.5 earthquake occurred just outside of Banning, California, at 6:42 a.m. local time. The California Highway Patrol’s website indicated it received reports of small rocks and mud across state Route 243 a few minutes after the earthquake, though it wasn’t clear if the earthquake triggered the landslide.

Banning is located about 80 miles east of Los Angeles.

The National Weather Service also issued a flash flood warning for parts of Ventura County, just northwest of Los Angeles, cautioning that heavy rain could cause mud and debris to slide across busy Highway 101.

The storms were being blamed on El Niño, a weather pattern known for producing atypical and extreme weather throughout the world. It occurs when part of the Pacific Ocean is warmer than usual, which sets off a ripple effect that has a wide-reaching result. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said that the United States is expected to see the effects of this El Niño over the next three months as one of the strongest instances of the phenomenon on record may sway temperatures and precipitation totals across significant portions of the nation.

Los Angeles opened up several shelters to help the city’s homeless population weather the storms.

N.J. School Stops Saying ‘God Bless America’ After ACLU Complaint

Students at one New Jersey elementary school will no longer be saying “God bless America” as part of their daily routine after the American Civil Liberties Union wrote the school’s attorneys and claimed the practice violated the Constitution, The Courier-Post newspaper reported.

The principal of Glenview Elementary School in Haddon Heights told the newspaper a pair of teachers started the tradition shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as a way of honoring victims and emergency personnel, but students were never formally required to do it. The kids had said the phrase after they concluded the Pledge of Allegiance, The Courier-Post reported.

But the ACLU wrote the tradition was unconstitutional because of its religious connotations, according to The Courier-Post, and while the school argued that the phrase was patriotic and not religious, it chose to abandon the practice altogether rather than potentially wage a legal battle.

One Christian parent told The Courier-Post her children would likely still say the phrase, and the principal added the school wouldn’t stop anyone who wanted to say it on their own.

Haddon Heights is located about 12 miles southeast of Philadelphia.

Ukraine Power Outage Appears to be Work of Hackers

Some Ukrainians were without power for hours last month after hackers infiltrated the power grid and were able to turn off the lights, according to a report in The Washington Post.

An official with the cybersecurity company iSIGHT Partners told the newspaper that the Dec. 23 cyber attack appeared to be the first documented time that hackers successfully shut off power.

The official told The Washington Post that the group believed to be responsible for turning off the lights was Russian, and had at one point tried to attack targets in the United States and Europe. But another cyber security expert told the paper it could be difficult to determine the exact circumstances about the breach, including if the alleged hackers were even responsible.

U.S. Soldier Killed in Firefight in Afghanistan

A member of the United States military was killed and two others suffered injuries during a firefight on Tuesday in Afghanistan, Department of Defense officials announced.

Speaking at a news briefing in Washington, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the soldiers were conducting a mission with Afghanistan forces in Marjah when the group came under fire.

Cook told reporters that “a number of Afghan forces” were also injured during the mission.

The spokesman said a pair of medevac helicopters were dispatched to the location in Helmand Province. One landed safely despite striking a wall, but damaged its rotor blades and remained grounded. The other came under fire and safely returned to its base without landing.

Cook didn’t offer much additional information about the circumstances of the soldier’s death or what the mission entailed, saying “there’s still a fight going on in the immediate surroundings.”

He did say the United States soldiers were on a “train, advise and assist” mission. The 9,800 or so soldiers that remain in Afghanistan are supporting the country’s military as it battles with a variety of armed insurgents, according to a Pentagon report released last month.

“There are dangerous parts of Afghanistan where the fight is still underway, and Helmand Province is one of those places,” Cook told reporters at the news briefing. “The U.S. forces that are there are doing what they can to provide support, training, advice (and) assistance to the Afghan forces as they take the lead in this fight.”

The Pentagon report also said the security situation had “deteriorated” in the second half of 2015 as terrorist groups like the Taliban and a branch of the Islamic State staged more “effective insurgent attacks” against Afghanistan forces, resulting in an increase in casualties.

Speaking at the news conference, Cook said the Afghanistan forces were improving at securing their country, but they weren’t yet at a point where they were able to fully defend it on their own. He said there wasn’t any plan to change the role the United States is playing in the region.

“The situation in Helmand and throughout Afghanistan remains challenging, but we are confident that Afghan National Security and Defense Forces are continuing to develop the capabilities and capacity to secure the country against a persistent insurgent threat,” Cook said.

U.S. Keeping Close Watch on Saudi Arabia-Iran Situation

The fallout from Saudi Arabia’s controversial execution of a prominent religious leader continued to draw the attention of United States officials on Tuesday, according to CNN.

A senior official within the State Department told the network that Secretary of State John Kerry was “very concerned with the direction this thing is going,” adding the fact that several Islamic nations had cut diplomatic ties with each other in recent days was “very unsettling” to Kerry.

The situation has devolved rapidly since Saudi Arabia’s state-run media agency announced Saturday that it had executed Nimr al-Nimr, who the U.S. State Department characterized as a Shia religious leader, and 46 others for what it called “terrorist crimes.” Most of Saudi Arabia follows Sunni Islam, a different branch than the one Nimr practiced, and human rights group Amnesty International said Nimr was convicted following a “political and grossly unfair trial.”

In Iran, where most people follow the branch of Islam that Nimr practiced, the news wasn’t received well. CNN reported that protesters responded by attacking the Saudi Arabian embassy, and the situation has only worsened from there as Islamic nations took sides in the dispute and began imposing sanctions and scaled back or altogether eliminated diplomatic conversations.

According to CNN, Kerry was urging Saudi Arabia and Iran to resolve the situation, which was threatening efforts to combat the Islamic State and could potentially have broader impacts.