Tag Archives: United States

Threat of Major Flooding Shifts Down Mississippi River

Several communities in the central United States were coping with major flooding on Monday morning as the same deadly floodwaters that devastated parts of Missouri moved downstream.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings all along the lower Ohio, Mississippi and Arkansas rivers as rising waters threatened countless homes and businesses. In certain communities, waters were expected to continue to climb throughout the month before cresting.

One week after a powerful winter storm dumped 6 to 12 inches of rain across much of the region, waters had yet to fully recede from some of the communities they impacted most.

In greater St. Louis, where often-historic flooding forced evacuations and shut down a bustling stretch of Interstate 44, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said minor flooding was still occurring along parts of the Meramec and Mississippi rivers. Water levels had receded from their record heights in the Missouri communities of Valley Park and Arnold, according to the NOAA, though the flooding had yet to fully stop as of Monday. It could be Saturday before the Meramec finally dropped below flood stage in Arnold., the NOAA said.

Over the weekend, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s announced the federal government approved his request to expedite relief efforts after “fast-rising flood water inundated several thousands homes and business and left behind a trail of destruction, debris and refuse” in greater St. Louis, according to a news release. The governor, who had declared a state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard, said the federal aid would help facilitate the cleanup and recovery process.

As some communities began to clean up, others remained partially underwater.

The NOAA reported there was major flooding occurring at 25 river gauges on Monday morning, while another 197 were experiencing minor or moderate flooding. Almost all of them were in the Mississippi River watershed, with downstream communities at risk of water levels rising further.

Major flooding was already occurring in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and the Illinois communities of Thebes and Chester, the NOAA said, and it could be several days before the flooding reduces in severity. According to Cape Girardeau’s official blog, about 25 homes in the city were either flooded or rendered inaccessible by floodwaters that had closed several of the city’s roads.

As the waters left Missouri, they were expected to arrive in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

In Natchez, Mississippi, some 580 miles south of St. Louis, the NOAA reported the Mississippi River was already at 49.4 feet, causing minor flooding. The river was expected to rise at least 10 more feet before peaking at 60 feet on January 17, which would spur major flooding issues.

Other areas at risk of major flooding include the Mississippi communities of Vicksburg and Greenville and Arkansas City, Arkansas, according to NOAA projections. The governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant, preemptively declared a state of emergency amid the threat of floods.

“We are told this flood will be just below the historic record flood of 2011,” Bryant said in a news release. “Our citizens have time to prepare and should begin taking actions now.”

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson’s office said the governor has already declared 38 of the state’s 75 counties disaster areas as a result of storm and flooding damage, and noted the governor could add more counties to the list if the damage calls for the list to be expanded.

The Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness has said it would monitor levels of the Red and Mississippi rivers and assist any affected communities.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards Fired Rockets Near U.S. Warships in Gulf: U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iranian Revolutionary Guards launched rockets near the U.S. aircraft-carrier Harry S. Truman and other warships as they were entering the Gulf on Saturday, giving only brief notice in a “highly provocative” act, a U.S. military spokesman said on Tuesday.

NBC News, citing unnamed U.S. military officials, said the Guards were conducting a live-fire exercise and the Truman came within about 1,500 yards (meters) of a rocket.

“The rockets were not fired at the Truman and other ships, only near them,” the network said.

Several Revolutionary Guard vessels fired the rockets “in close proximity” of the warships and nearby merchant traffic “after providing only 23 minutes of advance notification,” said Navy Commander Kyle Raines, spokesman for the U.S. Central Command.

“These actions were highly provocative, unsafe, and unprofessional and call into question Iran’s commitment to the security of a waterway vital to international commerce,” Raines said in an email.

The Truman, accompanied by two warships from the U.S.-led coalition supporting air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, was entering the Gulf through the Hormuz Strait on a routine transit when the incident occurred, he said.

NBC News said the U.S. destroyer Buckley and a French frigate were in the area where the rockets were fired.

“While most interactions between Iranian forces and the U.S. Navy are professional, safe, and routine, this event was not and runs contrary to efforts to ensure freedom of navigation and maritime safety in the global commons,” Raines said.

Iranian and U.S. forces have clashed in the Gulf in the past, especially during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Tehran and six world powers including the United States clinched an agreement in July that would curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for lifting economic sanctions.

(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Peter Cooney)

British, U.S. Governments Warn of Potential Christmas Threat in Beijing

The British and United States governments are warning their citizens about possible threats against Westerners in China’s capital city.

The Beijing embassies of those two counties issued nearly identical advisories on Thursday, saying they received word that Westerners could be targeted in the city’s Sanlitun district “on or around Christmas Day.” The governments urged their citizens to be vigilant.

Sanlitun is a busy shopping and entertainment district.

Beijing police issued a yellow security alert, according to a post on one of its social media pages. The post says that more people will visit hotels, restaurants, malls and entertainment venues during the holiday season, and police will ensure that people remain secure.

China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that a yellow security alert is the second-lowest warning level on a four-tier system.

Neither the British nor the United States government mentioned the nature of the threat, though other countries issued similar warnings.

Global Affairs Canada, while not specifically mentioning Beijing or issuing any kind of nationwide travel advisory, said its citizens “should exercise a high degree of caution due to the occurrence of isolated acts of violence, including bombings and protests” in China.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told its citizens about the United States government’s warning and said “possible road closures and checks” could impact travel in Sanlitun. The French embassy also shared the United States’ information with its citizens.

Tornado Outbreak Could Disrupt Holiday Travel for Many

Weather experts are warning there’s a chance for a tornado outbreak this week.

The Weather Channel forecasts potent thunderstorms with the ability to generate tornadoes, damaging hail and high winds are expected to develop in the southern United States over the next couple of days. Meteorologists say that tornadoes are most likely to occur on Wednesday.

The Weather Channel uses its own index called TOR:CON to calculate the risk of a tornado at any given time in a specified area. The channel’s severe weather experts predict that there’s a 50 percent chance of tornadoes occurring within a 50-mile radius of any location in Mississippi, Louisiana, western Tennessee, eastern Arkansas and eastern Texas on Wednesday. The experts also warned there’s a chance — albeit a lesser one — of a tornado outside those boundaries.

The National Weather Service had yet to issue any tornado warnings or advisories on Tuesday.

If the forecasts pan out, the thunderstorms and tornadoes could disrupt many Christmas travel plans. Fox News reported that Dec. 23 is traditionally one of the year’s busiest days for air travel, and previous AAA research has indicated the day is also one of the most perilous times to drive.

This year, AAA predicts that a record 100.5 million Americans will make a journey of at least 50 miles between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3. More than 90 percent of them are expected to drive.

Hackers Access Power Grid, N.Y. Dam; Might Have Accessed Government Talks

Hackers gained access to the United States power grid, including detailed drawings that could have been used to cut power to millions of people, according to a new Associated Press report.

The report, published Monday, indicated that there have been roughly 12 times in the past 10 years when foreign hackers accessed the networks controlling lights across the United States.

That includes one instance where hackers, believed to be from Iran, had swiped passwords and detailed sketches of dozens of power plants, invaluable tools if one planned to cut off the power. Cybersecurity experts told the Associated Press the breach (which affected energy company Calpine, which operates 83 power plants) dates to at least August 2013 and could be ongoing.

The Associated Press reported that hackers accessed passwords that could have been used to access Calpine’s networks remotely, along with highly detailed drawings of 71 energy-related facilities across the country. That could allow skilled hackers to specifically target certain plants.

But targeting a plant and successfully shutting off the power are two different things.

The Associated Press report noted the power grid is designed to keep the lights on when utility lines or equipment fail. To cause a widespread blackout, a hacker would have to be exceptionally skilled, bypassing not only a company’s security measures but also creating specialized code that disrupts the interactions of the company’s equipment. Still, experts told the AP that it remains possible for a sufficiently skilled and motivated hacker to send a large swath of the country into blackout, and enough intrusions have occurred that a foreign hacker can likely “strike at will.”

The Associated Press report was published the same day the Wall Street Journal unveiled that Iranian hackers accessed the controls of a dam about 20 miles away from New York City in 2013.

In another breach, tech company Juniper Networks announced last Thursday that it discovered some “unauthorized code” in its software that could have allowed skilled hackers to improperly access some devices and decrypt secure communications. CNN reported the FBI is investigating the hack because it fears the code might have been used to spy on government correspondence.

Because government use of Juniper products is so widespread, one U.S. official told CNN the hack was like “stealing a master key to get into any government building.” CNN reported a foreign government is believed to be behind the hack, but it still is not clear who is responsible.

Juniper said it released a patch that corrects the issue. The company said it wasn’t aware of “any malicious exploitation” of the security loophole, but noted there likely wasn’t a way to reliably detect if a device had been compromised because hackers could have easily erased the evidence.

China Angry After U.S. Sells $1.83 Billion in Weapons to Taiwan

The United States government on Wednesday authorized selling a $1.83 billion defense package to Taiwan, a transaction that immediately drew objections, criticisms and sanctions from China.

CNN reported the package Taiwan purchased mainly consists of weapons used for defense. It includes amphibious assault vehicles, a pair of frigates and anti-aircraft and anti-ship weapons.

A state department spokesman addressed the sale at a news conference on Wednesday, saying it was “based on our assessment of Taiwan’s defense needs” and in line with the government’s existing diplomatic policies regarding China and Taiwan, nations that have long been at odds.

China, though, doesn’t see it that way.

Speaking to Xinhua, China’s state-run media service, Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said Beijing “strongly opposes” the transaction, which it believes violates the diplomatic agreements. Zheng told the news agency that China imposed sanctions on the companies involved in the sale.

“No one can shake the firm will of the Chinese government and people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to oppose foreign interference,” Zheng told Xinhua.

Relations between China and Taiwan have been fragile since the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949. Taiwan governs itself, though Beijing claims that the island remains Chinese territory.

It isn’t the first time that the United States has sold weapons to Taiwan.

Focus Taiwan, a news agency, reported it was the fourth transaction since 2008, the year in which U.S. President Barack Obama was elected and Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou took office. Those deals have been worth more than $20 billion, but this was the first exchange since 2011.

A spokesperson for China’s Defense Ministry, Yang Yujun, told Xinhua on Thursday that the arms transaction was “wrongdoing” that would “inevitably harm China-U.S. military relations.” Xinhua reported Zheng summoned officials at the U.S. embassy in China to discuss the sale.

The U.S. state department doesn’t see why the sale would hurt its relationship with China.

“There’s no need for it to have any derogatory effect on our relationship with China, just like there was no need in the past for it to ever have that effect on China,” spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday. “We still want to work to establish a better, more transparent, more effective relationship with China in the region, and we’re going to continue to work at that.”

Fed Raises Interest Rates, Citing Ongoing U.S. Recovery

By Howard Schneider and Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade on Wednesday, signaling faith that the U.S. economy had largely overcome the wounds of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

The U.S. central bank’s policy-setting committee raised the range of its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to between 0.25 percent and 0.50 percent, ending a lengthy debate about whether the economy was strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs.

“With the economy performing well and expected to continue to do so, the committee judges that a modest increase in the federal funds rate is appropriate,” Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a press conference after the rate decision was announced. “The economic recovery has clearly come a long way.”

The Fed’s policy statement noted the “considerable improvement” in the U.S. labor market, where the unemployment rate has fallen to 5 percent, and said policymakers are “reasonably confident” inflation will rise over the medium term to the Fed’s 2 percent objective.

The central bank made clear the rate hike was a tentative beginning to a “gradual” tightening cycle, and that in deciding its next move it would put a premium on monitoring inflation, which remains mired below target.

“The process is likely to proceed gradually,” Yellen said, a hint that further hikes will be slow in coming.

She added that policymakers were hoping for a slow rise in rates but one that will keep the Fed ahead of the curve as the economic recovery continues. “To keep the economy moving along the growth path it is on … we would like to avoid a situation where we have left so much (monetary) accommodation in place for so long we have to tighten abruptly.”

New economic projections from Fed policymakers were largely unchanged from September, with unemployment anticipated to fall to 4.7 percent next year and economic growth hitting 2.4 percent.

The Fed statement and its promise of a gradual path represented a compromise between policymakers who have been ready to raise rates for months and those who feel the economy is still at risk from weak inflation and slow global growth.

“The Fed is going out of its way to assure markets that, by embarking on a ‘gradual’ path, this will not be your traditional interest rate cycle,” said Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz.

Fed officials said they were confident the situation was ripe for them to make a historic turn in policy without much disruption to financial markets, which had expected the hike this week.

U.S. stocks rallied on the news, in part because the Fed made clear it would proceed slowly with further tightening. Yields on U.S. Treasuries rose, while the dollar was largely unchanged against a basket of currencies. Oil prices fell sharply before paring losses.

POLICY STILL ACCOMMODATIVE

Yellen on Wednesday said the Fed had no desire to curb consumers from spending or businesses from investing. She emphasized that interest rates remained low even after the rate hike, near levels economists regard as appropriate for a recession.

“Policy remains accommodative,” Yellen said. “The U.S. economy has shown considerable strength. Domestic spending has continued to hold up.”

Fed policymakers’ median projected target interest rate for 2016 remained 1.375 percent, implying four quarter-point hikes next year. Based on short-term interest rate futures markets, traders expect the next rate hike in April.

A Dec. 9 Reuters poll showed economists forecasting the federal funds rate to be 1.0 percent to 1.25 percent by the end of 2016 and 2.25 percent by the end of 2017.

The rate hike sets off an immediate test of new financial tools designed by the New York Fed for just this occasion, as well as a likely reshuffling of global capital as the reality of rising U.S. rates sets in.

To edge the target rate from its current near-zero level to between 0.25 percent and 0.50 percent, the Fed said it would set the interest it pays banks on excess reserves at 0.50 percent, and would offer up to $2 trillion in reverse repurchase agreements, an aggressive figure that shows its resolve to pull rates higher.

The impact on business and household borrowing costs is unclear. One of the issues policymakers will watch closely in coming days is how long-term mortgage rates, consumer loans and other forms of credit react to the rate hike.

(Additional reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir and David Chance in Washington, Ann Saphir in San Francisco and Jonathan Spicer and David Gaffen in New York; Editing by Paul Simao)

Federal Reserve Expected to Raise Interest Rates Wednesday

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to vote to raise a key interest rate for the first time in nearly a decade when it meets on Wednesday, according to multiple published reports.

The effects of such a vote could have wide-ranging implications throughout the economy, affecting things like interest on savings accounts, mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.

The rate the Federal Reserve is considering raising is called the effective federal funds rate. It deals with how banks borrow money from one another, thus setting a bar for all other lending.

The rate has been close to nothing since 2008, during the Great Recession. The rate was at 5.26 percent in July 2007, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, but the bank lowered the rate nearly every month through the end of 2008 to help jumpstart a struggling economy.

The rate has not been raised since that. In fact, it hasn’t been raised at all since June 2006, when the Federal Reserve raised it to the 5.26 percent level at which it stood until the recession.

But the economy is in better shape than it was during the recession. The civilian unemployment rate is down to 5 percent, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. In 2009, after the fallout from the financial crisis, it reached 10 percent. That was its highest level in 27 years.

Why is the Federal Reserve even considering raising the rate again? Essentially, the bank needs to find a balance that ensures the economy stays stable and healthy.

The Washington Post reported that if the Federal Reserve waits too long to raise the rate, it could create bubbles in the stock market or rampant inflation, where prices rise at a rate that employee wages aren’t able to match. But if the Federal Reserve hikes the rate too early, it could jeopardize the recovery — especially if people can’t obtain affordable loans for what they need.

A vote to raise the rate is seen as a vote of confidence for the economy. CBS News reported if the Federal Reserve doesn’t act Wednesday, especially because just about everyone on Wall Street is expecting it to, it could lead to a decline in the stock market because it would suggest the bank’s policymakers think the economy couldn’t cope with a rate increase, even one that’s fractional.

And any rate increase is expected to be slight. CNN reported that the Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates slowly, from its current level of about .12 percent to a new level near .25 percent. Any effects on the economy aren’t expected to be felt for several months, according to the report.

Still, some question the timing of the increase and whether the economy is truly as healthy as evidence suggests.

Kerry Working With Russians to Fuel Syrian Peace Talks

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with key Russian leaders on Tuesday in an attempt to work past their philosophical differences and find a diplomatic solution to the Syrian civil war.

Kerry met with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, and foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov.

The talks came ahead of a planned meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), a collection of countries looking to put an end to the ongoing conflict in Syria. The nations, which include the United States and Russia, are scheduled to meet this coming Friday in New York.

Russia and the United States haven’t been on the same page about how to end the conflict, particularly about the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The controversial leader has been the main point of contention in the conflict, which began with an uprising in 2011 and subsequently led to millions of Syrians fleeing their homes to escape the war-torn nation.

U.S. President Barack Obama has publicly said Assad must be out of office before the war can end. It’s been widely reported that Russia is one of Assad’s biggest allies, and Moscow believes Syria’s residents — and not any other nation — should ultimately get to determine what happens.

Complicating the issue is the fact that the Islamic State terrorist organization has taken control of territory in both Syria and Iraq, and the United States is leading a 65-nation coalition that is conducting airstrikes in the region. Russia has also been carrying out some airstrikes on its own.

Speaking to reporters at a joint news conference with Lavrov, Kerry said the two nations “did reach some common ground today,” but it wasn’t appropriate for him to elaborate further because they ultimately needed the entire ISSG to come together to discuss the future of Syria.

“We are cooperating now in Syria because (the Islamic State) is a threat to all of us,” Kerry told reporters, adding he expected Friday’s ISSG meeting in New York to proceed as scheduled.

Kerry’s visit to Russia came days after a collection of Assad’s critics gathered in Saudi Arabia to and developed a unified vision as to how they could politically resolve the multi-year conflict.

The Syrian Coalition said it’s seeking a new democracy built upon equality, transparency, law and accountability, but took a firm stance that neither Assad nor the members of his current regime could take part in any transitional government “or any future political settlement.”

That coalition wants to meet Assad’s government for peace talks, potentially next month.

34 Islamic Nations Team Up to Fight Terrorism

A group of 34 Islamic nations have formed a military alliance to fight terrorist organizations.

​Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Defense, confirmed the announcement at a news conference Monday night in Riyadh, where the alliance will be based.

Operating out of a room in the Saudi capital, the group will “coordinate and support efforts to fight terrorism in all countries and parts of the Islamic world,” according to a news release.

Perhaps the most notable Islamic terrorist group is the Islamic State, which has seized territory in Iraq and Syria as it tries to spread its radical interpretations of the religion through violence.

At the news conference, Abdulaziz said the new military alliance won’t just fight the Islamic State, but will take action “against any terrorist organization (that) emerges before us.” He called Islamic extremism a “disease which infected the Islamic world first” and spread internationally.

The Saudi Arabian news release did not specify the 33 other nations that joined the anti-terrorism alliance. Reuters reported those countries included Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and multiple nations in Africa.

Abdulaziz said each country will contribute according to its capabilities and that he hoped more nations would join soon. While he offered concrete little details on how exactly the alliance would work, he stressed that collaboration and coordination would be important pillars.

“Today, every Islamic country is fighting terrorism individually,” Abdulaziz told reporters at the news conference. “The coordination of efforts is very important; and through this room, means and efforts will be developed for fighting terrorism all over the Islamic world.”

The United States is currently providing equipment and training to forces in Iraq and Syria that are fighting the Islamic State, and have urged for more help in the fight against the group. The U.S. also heads a 65-nation coalition that carries out airstrikes against ISIS-linked targets there.

Before Saudi Arabia’s announcement, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter was travelling to Turkey as part of a plan to get other countries to boost their efforts to defeat the Islamic State.

According to Reuters, Carter told reporters at the Incirlik airbase that he wanted to learn more about Saudi Arabia’s alliance, but more anti-ISIS involvement from Islamic nations generally appears to be “very much in line with something we’ve been urging for quite some time.”