Disasters

"Much of the U.S. is about to get pretty cold again."

"There are more than 80,000 chemicals in the United States catalogued by government regulators, and the health risks of most of them are unknown."

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Freedom Industries, the company that fouled thousands of West Virginians' water with a chemical leak into the Elk River last week, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday."

"Whipping winds look set to hinder a wildfire that forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes on the outskirts of Los Angeles."

"The fire danger in many parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties is 'about as high as it can be,' a meteorologist warned Tuesday."

[Sick orange trees are] "the new norm in the Sunshine State, where about half the trees in every citrus orchard are stricken with an incurable bacterial infection from China that goes by many names: huanglongbing, “yellow dragon disease” and “citrus greening.” Growers, agriculturalists and academics liken it to cancer. Roots become deformed. Fruits drop from limbs prematurely and rot. The trees slowly die."

"Relief agencies were sending aid to Tonga on Monday amid reports of extensive damage to low-lying islands in the South Pacific archipelago after they were battered by a strong cyclone at the weekend."

"One of BP's attempts to curb payouts for what it says are 'fictitious' and 'absurd' claims related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill has failed after a legal appeal was rejected by a U.S. court."