US agencies emphasize cooperation entering wildfire season

The heads of the two largest public land agencies in the U.S. signed a memorandum Friday emphasizing cooperation among federal, state, tribal and local agencies in battling wildfires as the main part of the wildfire season arrives. Secretaries Ryan Zinke of the Interior Department and Sonny Perdue of the Agriculture Department signed the document following a briefing at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise.

Trump’s budget cuts West Coast quake warning system funding

President Donald Trump's budget proposal would cut federal funding for an earthquake early warning system for California, Oregon and Washington state, a development that seismology experts and some local leaders say would be the end of the project. The system being developed in conjunction with various universities is intended at providing critical seconds of warning when an earthquake has started and potentially dangerous shaking is imminent, allowing time for people to take cover and to slow or halt such things as critical industrial processes and transportation systems.

Trump budget dismays families hit by opioid addiction crisis

In a hall packed with Iowa voters, the presidential candidate looked the middle-aged truck driver in the eye and vowed to fight the opioid crisis that killed his only son two years earlier. "He promised me, in honor of my son, that he was going to combat the ongoing heroin epidemic," Moss said of the January 2016 interaction.

RPT-U.S., China accelerate beef talks; deal possible by early June

CHICAGO, May 19 Talks on restarting U.S. beef exports to China are moving fast and final details should be in place by early June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday, allowing American farmers to vie for business that has been lost by rival Brazil. As part of a trade deal, U.S. ranchers are set to face tests over the use of growth-promoting drugs to raise cattle destined for export to China and to log the animals' movements, according to the USDA.

Paul LePage says selling drugs used in fatal overdoses is manslaughter

Maine Gov. Paul LePage, center, speaks to reporters at a news conference accompanied by Kellyanne Conway, an advisor to President Trump, far left, and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, right, after a meeting to discuss the state's efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, Wednesday, May 10, 2017, at the State House in Augusta. Gov. Paul LePage kept his focus on fighting Maine's opiate addiction epidemic Tuesday when he said he supports a pending bill that would make dealing drugs that cause an overdose Class A manslaughter.

Army Corps continues to help with Lake Ontario flooding

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to monitor the rising water levels plaguing the shores of Lake Ontario. Technical teams are being deployed Tuesday in St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties in northern New York, Mexico Point in Oswego County on the eastern shore of the lake and at Fair Haven State Park in Wayne County near Rochester on the south shore.

Rep. Brian Mast wants feds to pay for massive algae problems they caused

A Florida Republican wants to add massive algae blooms to the list of emergencies covered by the federal government after his state was denied emergency funds for a destructive bloom that covered 200 square miles last year. Rep. Brian Mast introduced the Federal Do No Harm Act last month to add harmful algae blooms in state waterways and coastal estuaries caused by water releases from Army Corps of Engineers-controlled dikes and dams to the list of disasters under the Stafford Act.

Town hall meeting rallies support to move nuclear wasteMay 12, 2017

The self-organized Citizens Oversight group rallied residents' support to move San Onofre spent nuclear fuel off site as soon as possible. Information on the dangers of the nuclear waste and delays in moving it were shared at a town hall meeting May 4. A civil lawsuit by Citizens Oversight challenged state Coastal Commission approval of a permit to move the nuclear waste from its on-site cooling pools into in-ground storage containers.

USDA Unsure if Bird Flu Guidelines are Helping, GAO Finds

U.S. agriculture officials do not actually know if they are doing enough to protect people and poultry from avian influenza, a government watchdog reported Thursday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is still relying on poultry producers to voluntarily follow security guidelines, and many still are not doing everything they are supposed to do to protect their flocks, the non-partisan Government Accountability Office says in the report .

Louisiana Scraps Proposal to Use $190M in Flood Aid for Canal Project

A proposal to divert $190 million of Louisiana's disaster recovery money to a flood protection project was scrapped amid criticism that it risked stripping aid from thousands of homeowners trying to rebuild after last year's devastating floods. The money shift was added into the state operating budget by Republican Rep. Valarie Hodges, whose Denham Springs home flooded in August.

Pope and I in Cairo

In Cairo, Pope Francis, once again, did what he usually does best: he snapped at the state of immorality and selfishness, which is governing the world, particularly in the West. The message to Egypt's priests could actually be directed at the population of the European and North American cities: The first temptation is to letting ourselves to be led, rather than to lead The second temptation is complaining constantly The third temptation is gossip and envy The fourth temptation is comparing us with those better off The fifth temptation is individualism, 'me, and after me the flood' the final temptation is 'keep walking without direction or destination' Pope Francis gave speeches, and met the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

New research could improve tornado warnings

Research scientist like Chris Karstens with University of Oklahoma cooperative institutes for mesoscale meteorological studies has been working with The National Severe Storms Laboratory on FACETs, Forecasting a Continuum of Environmental Threats on this for about five years now. "Our project really is designed to bring about a new kind of warning paradigm for the National Weather Service," Karstens said.

Apocalyptic Progressivism

Shortly after the 2008 election, President Obama's soon-to-be chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, infamously declared, "You never let a serious crisis go to waste." He elaborated: "What I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before."