Disasters

"A decade after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans seems to have found its rhythm again: the French Quarter is choked with tourists, construction cranes tower over the skyline, and hipsters bike to cafes in gentrifying neighborhoods."

"The battle to tame California's fiercest wildfire this year, the big Rocky blaze north of Napa Valley wine country, neared a turning point on Thursday as ground crews fighting the flames for an eighth day steadily extended their control lines."

"Fire officials say they have made progress against a massive wildfire raging in Northern California, and the blaze is now 30 percent contained."

"Oklahoma regulators are imposing new restrictions on energy companies injecting wastewater underground, in the latest effort to stem a sharp increase in earthquakes."

"LOWER LAKE, Calif. — Firefighters were working aggressively to regain control after a raging Northern California fire jumped a highway that had served as a containment line for the massive blaze — one of 20 wildfires burning in California."

"Two years after President Obama issued a landmark executive order setting federal priorities for advancing chemical security, a slew of agencies continue to plod toward regulatory changes, to the frustration of some environment and public health organizations that would like to see faster improvements."

"Flames raged unchecked for a second day through tinder-dry brush and scrub oak in Northern California's ranch country on Thursday after destroying three homes and forcing hundreds of residents to flee, as firefighters sought to benefit from subsiding winds, officials said."

"Protestors rappelled off a bridge and formed a kayak flotilla in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday hoping to delay Royal Dutch Shell's Arctic oil exploration this summer by blocking the return of a ship to Alaska that holds emergency equipment."