Scientists: Climate change, rapid urbanization worsen impact of East African rains
NAIROBI, Kenya — The impact of the calamitous rains that struck East Africa from March to May was intensified by a mix of climate change and rapid growth of urban areas, an international team of climate scientists said in a…
World’s largest tree passes health check
SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, California — High in the evergreen canopy of General Sherman, the world’s largest tree, researchers searched for evidence of an emerging threat to giant sequoias: bark beetles. The climbers descended the towering 2,200-year-old tree with good news…
Louisiana lawmakers vote to reclassify abortion pills as controlled substances
The Louisiana Senate gave final legislative approval Thursday to a bill that would make the state the first in the U.S. to reclassify two abortion-inducing drugs as controlled substances that carry the potential for abuse or addiction. The bill would…
Ocean heat, La Nina likely mean more Atlantic hurricanes this summer
WASHINGTON — Get ready for what nearly all the experts think will be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, thanks to unprecedented ocean heat and a brewing La Nina. There’s an 85% chance that the Atlantic hurricane…
Michigan farmworker diagnosed with bird flu in 2nd US case tied to dairy cows
New York — A Michigan dairy worker has been diagnosed with bird flu, becoming the second human case associated with an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows. The male worker had been in contact with cows at a farm with infected…
Haiti’s health system nears collapse, UNICEF says
Haiti’s health care system is on the verge of collapse, the United Nations Children’s Fund warned in a statement this week. “The combination of violence, mass displacement, dangerous epidemics and increasing malnutrition has bent Haiti’s health system,” said Bruno Maes,…
War leaves tragic legacy of mental illness in Ukraine
Experts say that in Ukraine, there has been a heavy increase in cases of anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems since Russia’s invasion in 2022, and it will likely have a long-term impact. For…
UK infected blood scandal victims to start receiving final compensation
Britain’s government said Tuesday that thousands of victims of the U.K.’s decades-long infected blood scandal will start receiving final compensation payments this year. The scandal, which lasted between the 1970s and the early 1990s, is seen as the deadliest episode…
Fearing rising tides, small island nations gain key win at UN ocean court
The U.N. maritime court has ruled in favor of greater protection of the oceans in the face of climate change in a case brought by small island countries. The countries brought the case in September after seeing disproportionate effects from…
Global carbon emissions pricing raised record $104 bln in 2023
LONDON — Countries raised a record $104 billion last year by charging firms for emitting carbon dioxide, but prices remain too low to drive changes needed to meet Paris climate accord targets, the World Bank said in a report on…