Disasters

"HAPPY CAMP, Calif. -- Weather officials are issuing flood warnings for much of Northern California as the second in a series of wet storms hits the state."

A new study suggests that BP's use of dispersants during the 2010 Gulf oil spill likely allowed oil to penetrate beaches more deeply, making harmful effects last longer.

"Foresters are on the watch for a potential invasion of an insect that has decimated millions of acres of forest across the West and in Canada, with continued evidence showing the mountain pine bark beetle is on the march into Nevada and the Sierra."

"A series of drenching, powerful storms is lining up from the Pacific Ocean and will roll onshore in the West Coast through the weekend."

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A longtime Massey Energy executive has agreed to cooperate with investigators as they continue to try to work their way up the corporate ladder in their probe of the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in nearly 40 years, federal prosecutors revealed Wednesday."

"The Obama administration put a temporary stop to new federal contracts with British oil company BP on Wednesday, citing the company's 'lack of business integrity' and criminal proceedings stemming from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. The action by the Environmental Protection Administration won't affect current contracts, but prevents BP and its affiliates from new government contracts 'until the company can provide sufficient evidence to EPA demonstrating that it meets federal business standards,' the agency said."

"Rising temperatures, persistent drought, and depleted aquifers on the southern Great Plains could set the stage for a disaster similar to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, scientists say."

"DOHA, Qatar -- Though it's tricky to link a single weather event to climate change, Hurricane Sandy was 'probably not a coincidence' but an example of the extreme weather events that are likely to strike the U.S. more often as the world gets warmer, the U.N. climate panel's No. 2 scientist said Tuesday."