Environment

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Thursday it is reevaluating its controversial plan to sharply expand offshore drilling as it responds to a court ruling that blocked oil and gas development off Alaska and parts of the Atlantic.

Governors and lawmakers from both Republican- and Democratic-led states have strongly opposed the expanded drilling. And a federal judge last month ruled against President Donald Trump’s executive order to open the Arctic and parts of the Atlantic to broader oil and gas development, saying Trump had exceeded his authority.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the past three years, virtually nothing has hatched at Antarctica’s second biggest breeding grounds for emperor penguins and the start of this year is looking just as bleak, a new study found.

Usually 15,000 to 24,000 breeding pairs of emperor penguins flock yearly to a breeding site at Halley Bay, considered a safe place that should stay cold this century despite global warming. But almost none have been there since 2016, according to a study in Wednesday’s Antarctic Science.

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington appears set to become the first state to allow a burial alternative known as “natural organic reduction” — an accelerated decomposition process that turns bodies into soil within weeks.

The bill legalizing the process, sometimes referred to as “human composting,” has passed the Legislature and is headed to the desk of Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee.

LONDON (AP) — London police say more than 710 people have been arrested and some 28 have been charged since climate change protests began earlier this week in the British capital.

The Extinction Rebellion protests started Monday and have at times paralyzed parts of London, with peaceful demonstrations at Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus and other key landmarks.

Protesters were out again Saturday, urging the British government to make fighting climate change its top priority.

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Michael, which devastated a swath of the Florida Panhandle last fall, has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm, only the fourth to make recorded landfall in the United States and the first since 1992.

The announcement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Friday came as no surprise to those still struggling to recover from the storm’s destruction.

17 Apr 2019; DW: "Extinction Rebellion" climate activists have said they will block the city's transport system on a third day of demonstrations. Mayor Sadiq Khan expressed solidarity with their cause but urged them not to block trains.

Nearly 300 people were arrested in London amidst ongoing climate change protests, police said late on Tuesday. More demonstrations are planned for Wednesday, including a disruption of the Underground.

Ahmedabad/Bhopal/Jaipur, Apr 17 (PTI) Unseasonal rain, dust storm and lightning hit several parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat overnight, leaving 35 people dead and many others injured, officials said Wednesday.

Madhya Pradesh reported 15 casualties in rain-related incidents. 10 people each were killed in Gujarat and Rajasthan in the overnight rains.

Ahmedabad, Apr 17 (PTI) Unseasonal rain and dust storm hit several parts of Gujarat, leaving at least 10 people dead and several injured, officials said Wednesday.

Rain and dust storm were reported from areas including districts in North Gujarat and Saurashtra region, on Tuesday afternoon, they said.

"According to preliminary reports coming from different parts of the state, at least 10 people have lost their lives," G B Manglpara, the state government's director (Relief), told PTI on Wednesday.

16 Apr 2019; DW: Over 100 people were arrested during ongoing climate change protests in London that brought parts of the British capital to a standstill, police said Tuesday.

Demonstrators had started by blocking off a bridge and major central road junctions on Monday at the start of a civil disobedience campaign that also saw action in other parts of Europe.

(AP) Powerful storms swept across the South on Sunday after unleashing suspected tornadoes and flooding that killed at least eight people, injured dozens and flattened much of a Texas town. Three children were among the dead.

Nearly 90,000 customers were without electricity in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Georgia as of midday Sunday, according to www.poweroutage.us as the severe weather left a trail of destruction.