The Latest: Alaska city unveils memorial to fallen Guardsmen
This photo provided by Kenneth Ayers Jr. shows his father, Kenneth Ayers Sr. in his Air Force graduation photo in 1956.
Category Archives: Natural Disasters
Evangelical Fear Elected Trump
Our sense of fear, perhaps more than any other factor, explains why evangelicals voted in such large numbers for Donald Trump in 2016 and continue to support his presidency. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson once wrote, "Fear is not a Christian habit of mind."
Alaska city honors Guardsmen killed in crash after ’64 quake
In this photo provided by the Office of Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, he is shown delivering remarks at a plaque dedication ceremony Saturday, June 23, 2018, in Valdez, Alaska. The memorial plaque honors four Alaska National Guard members killed in April 1964 while conducting a humanitarian mission after the second most powerful earthquake ever destroyed the town.
Congressman urges feds to help fund flood control project
U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, asked the federal government Friday to help fund the Raymondville Drain, a regional flood relief project 30 years in the making, as thousands of residents across the area struggle to salvage property following two days of widespread flooding. Vela sent a letter Friday to Rickey Dale James, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, expressing his concerns about the current infrastructure in the Rio Grande Valley and urging him to assess the situation.
Tarp roofs litter Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria ripped away part of the steel roof from Carmen Lidia Torres Mercado's home in the Puerto Rican capital.
Many in Puerto Rico still under tarps as storm threat looms
Hurricane Maria ripped away part of the steel roof from Carmen Lidia Torres Mercado's home in the Puerto Rican capital. Nine months later, she is still relying on a blue plastic tarp to protect her home, even with a new storm season already two weeks old.
Climate Change Is Our Most Critical National-Security Challenge
Progressive American politicians must embrace the necessity of dramatic action on climate change as a touchstone. So far, Senator Bernie Sanders has done it the most persuasively, campaigning on addressing climate change, health care, racial justice, and economic inequality as his unvaried quartet of issues, invoked in every speech and backed up with serious legislation that shows a willingness to move with real speed.
Going green: Ogdensburg considers plan to enhance the citya s riverfront
A beautiful park extends down from the Ogdensburg Public Library toward the St. Lawrence River. At the center of the park, the 37-foot-tall Soldiers and Sailors Civil War Monument is topped by a Sally Farnham statue of an angelic woman surrounded by bronze eagles and gazing at the water.
Congress tackles mounting opioid epidemic
House Republicans are beefing up their efforts to tackle the nation's deadly opioid crisis, but some experts question how effective their piecemeal approach will be. Congress is touting its recent flurry of action - the House is on track to pass more than 50 bills addressing the issue by the end of this week - on an issue that is hitting many constituents hard, and one that lawmakers are sure to hear about on the campaign trail this year.
US disaster-response force stretched thin as hurricane season starts
FILE PHOTO: Representatives from FEMA speak with a resident of the Staten Island borough neighborhood of New Dorp Beach about registering with the agency for financial assistance to help recover from the storm surge of Hurricane Sandy in New York, NY, U.S., November 15, 2012. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo As Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida last September, the top U.S. disaster-response official ordered all hands on deck.
Authorized Flood Projects Left High and Dry on Funding
Residents look down a flooded street in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in June 2008. The city is still recovering from some of its worst flooding on record.
Trump says Coast Guard rescued people who ‘went out in their boats to watch’ Harvey
President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that a main reason the US Coast Guard was so busy rescuing people during Hurricane Harvey was that people were watching the storm on boats. The Coast Guard "saved 16,000 people, many of them in Texas, for whatever reason that is," Trump said during a visit to the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters for a briefing on hurricane season.
Bacteria Survive in NASA’s Clean Rooms by Eating Cleaning Products
Those drifting in through the air must run a gauntlet of filters. Those hitching a ride on employees find their paths barred by face masks and full-body hooded coveralls.
Deadly Fuego Volcano Eruption in Guatemala Spotted from Space
The ash plume from Guatemala's Volcan de Fuego, as captured on June 3, 2018, by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the NASA/NOAA/DoD Suomi NPP satellite. Volcan de Fuego , which lies about 40 miles southwest of Guatemala City, has been simmering for years, occasionally flaring up with bouts of dramatic activity.
American Airlines flight makes diverted landing after windshield shattered by hail
A hail storm shattered an American Airlines plane's windshield and caused damage to its nose on Sunday, forcing the plane to divert to El Paso, Texas. The plane landed safely despite the damage, according to the Federal Aviation Administration .
Grim upside for the Keys this hurricane season – thanks to Irma, there’s less to lose
In Big Pine Key, one of the areas in the Florida Keys hardest hit by Hurricane Irma, wrecked homes still line the roads nearly nine months later. Some sport 'for sale' signs, a popular option on the working class island for those who can't afford to rebuild.
Hurricane Maria was one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S….
President Trump walks with FEMA Administrator William "Brock" Long, second from right, and Lt. Gen. Jeff Buchanan as he tours an area affected by Hurricane Maria in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 3, 2017.
As Hurricane Season Begins, Cornyn Launches Preparedness Site
At the start of hurricane season, U.S. Senator John Cornyn launched a page on his website where Texans will be able to access resources and information associated with hurricane preparedness and disaster aid. Last month, Senator Cornyn introduced the Coastal Texas Protection Act , a provision of which has been included in the America's Water Infrastructure Act .
‘Forgotten’ Puerto Ricans fear another big storm as hurricane season kicks off
For over 16 hours on Sept. 20, 2017, Angel Cartagena and his wife, Socorro Mollet, hid in the bathroom of their home as Hurricane Maria passed over the coastal Puerto Rican barrio of Camino Nuevo in the municipality of Yabucoa.
As storm season starts, AP photographer revisits Puerto Rico
Roberto Figueroa Caballero holds a printed photo taken on Oct. 5, 2017 of him amid his seaside home that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria, as he stands on the same property with his pet dog in the La Perla neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 29, 2018. Figueroa, who found a job at a pizzeria, aims to rebuild his home and is appealing FEMA's second rejection of his application.