Tag: US

Operator of leaking California pipeline charged with negligence

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The operators of a California pipeline that leaked crude oil onto beaches south of Los Angeles in early October were charged Wednesday with negligence by federal prosecutors. The charges were leveled against Amplify Energy, a Texas company operating the pipeline off Huntington Beach, and two of its subsidiaries — Beta Operating Co. and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Co., according to the prosecutor’s statement. The authorities accuse them of not […]

More extreme weather hits US as Biden promises aid to tornado-hit Kentucky

by Brendan SMIALOWSKI DAWSON SPRINGS, United States (AFP) — Severe storms battered the American Midwest Wednesday evening, hours after President Joe Biden pledged increased federal assistance to Kentucky, where scores were killed and towns leveled by recent tornadoes. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of an “extremely strong” and “potentially record-breaking” storm system producing “a plethora of weather hazards” throughout several states in the central and northern part of the country Wednesday night, including “dangerously […]

Operator of leaking California pipeline charged with negligence

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) – The operators of a California pipeline that leaked crude oil on to beaches south of Los Angeles in early October were charged Wednesday with negligence by federal prosecutors. The charges were leveled against Amplify Energy, a Texas company operating the pipeline off Huntington Beach, and two of its subsidiaries — Beta Operating Co. and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Co., according to the prosecutor’s statement. The authorities accuse them of […]

Vulnerable to climate change, New York constructs seawall

by Ana FERNANDEZ Agence France-Presse After major storms highlighted New York’s weaknesses in the face of climate change, the city is erecting a $1.45-billion system of walls and floodgates to protect it from rising sea levels. Superstorm Sandy in 2012 was the trigger for establishing the East Coast Resiliency Project (ESCR), running 2.5 miles (four kilometers) along the shoreline of Lower Manhattan. Hurricane Ida, which ravaged parts of the city this year, added further urgency. […]

Are tornadoes linked to climate change? The science isn’t yet definite

by Lucie AUBOURG WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Was climate change behind the recent tornadoes that killed dozens of people and wrought a trail of destruction through five American states? Higher temperatures might create more favorable conditions for these violent storms, but for now, scientists remain cautious about drawing a direct connection. While research has firmly linked recent extreme weather events to global warming — from this summer’s heatwaves in North America to flooding in […]

US crosses 800,000 Covid-19 deaths

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States, the country hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, crossed 800,000 Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University showed. The figure is greater than the entire population of several states, including North Dakota and Alaska. Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, who lead the House of Representatives and Senate respectively, as well as House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and other members of Congress held […]

Pfizer says Covid pill drastically reduces severe disease

by Issam AHMED with Claire DOYEN in Johannesburg WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pfizer said Tuesday that clinical trials confirmed its Covid pill — a new type of treatment that should withstand the mutations seen with Omicron — drastically reduced hospitalizations and deaths among at-risk people by almost 90 percent. The announcement came as a real-world study from South Africa showed two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 70 percent effective in stopping severe illness […]

California reintroduces mask mandate for indoor public spaces

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Authorities in California said Monday they were reinstating mask mandates in all indoor public spaces to try to curb the resurgence of Covid-19 in recent weeks. The mask mandate, which will come into force Wednesday, applies to all individuals, whether vaccinated or not. Los Angeles, San Francisco and other counties in California reintroduced the mask-wearing rule locally several months ago. But other counties, such as Orange and San Diego, […]

Blinken urges China to stop ‘aggressive actions’ in Indo-Pacific

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged China to cease “aggressive actions” in the Indo-Pacific, speaking during a visit to the region, as Washington seeks to bolster alliances against Beijing’s rising might. In a speech in Indonesia, Blinken said Washington would work with allies and partners to “defend the rules-based order” and countries should have the right to “choose their own path”. “That’s why there is so much concern […]

US tornado deaths rise to 88, Biden to survey damage in Kentucky

by Cyril JULIEN MAYFIELD, Kentucky (AFP) — Kentucky officials voiced relief Monday that dozens of workers at a candle factory appear to have survived tornadoes that killed at least 88 people and left a trail of devastation across six US states. Governor Andy Beshear said 74 deaths have been confirmed in the southeastern state and choked up as he told reporters the fatalities ranged in age from five months old to 86. “Like the folks […]

Severe weather ‘new normal,’ US emergency chief warns after tornadoes

WASHINGTON D.C., United States (AFP) – More powerful, destructive, and deadlier storms will be the “new normal” as the effects of climate change take root, the top US emergency management official said Sunday after massive tornadoes ravaged six states. Meteorologists and other scientists have long warned of the growing intensity of weather events like storms, fires and flooding. But the crisis hit home in a terrifying way overnight Friday into Saturday when more than two […]

Race to find survivors as US tornadoes kill at least 94

by Cyril JULIEN MAYFIELD, United States (AFP) — US emergency workers on Sunday desperately searched for survivors of ferocious late-season tornadoes that killed at least 94 across several states and left towns in ruins, including in the debris of a Kentucky candle factory, a symbol of the widespread devastation. But the state’s governor Andy Beshear warned that the search in that facility in Mayfield — a town almost completely wiped out by the twisters — […]