Ice on Greenland is melting four times faster than it did just 16 years ago, a study reports. The melting, which is a result of the Earth's warming atmosphere and oceans, is happening much faster than
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday said Christians must help to ease the global food crisis which has seen soaring prices increase hunger in many poor countries. "Those who nourish themselves with the bread of Christ cannot remain indifferent in the face of those who, even in our days, lack daily bread," the pontiff said. Catholics believe that they receive the body and blood of Christ when taking the Eucharist bread and wine.
A large tornado bounced through several northern Colorado towns on Thursday, killing at least one person, damaging or destroying dozens of homes and flipping over tractor-trailers and freight rail cars. Dazed residents retrieved what they could from their homes in Windsor, a town of 16,000 about 70 miles north of Denver that was hardest hit. Power crews removed downed lines and poles from streets and bulldozers cleared debris.
A large tornado bounced through several northern Colorado towns on Thursday, killing at least one person, damaging or destroying dozens of homes and flipping over tractor-trailers and freight rail cars. Dazed residents retrieved what they could from their homes in Windsor, a town of 16,000 about 70 miles north of Denver that was hardest hit. Power crews removed downed lines and poles from streets and bulldozers cleared debris.
Menu Foods, other pet food makers and retailers involved in last year's massive pet food recall will set up a $24 million cash fund to compensate pet owners, according to a proposed settlement filed Thursday in federal court. The fund is expected to compensate thousands of pet owners in the U.S. and Canada who bought recalled pet foods made by Menu and 11 others. The products had a contaminated ingredient from China that sickened dogs and cats.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday removed the smoking cessation drug Chantix from the list of medications considered safe for pilots and air-traffic controllers after a new study linked the medication to mental confusion and other problems that could put passengers at risk. FAA spokesman Les Dorr said the agency took that step after reviewing the study, which raises concerns about Chantix use by people operating vehicles. QUIT SMOKING: Social contacts are major motivators
China said the death toll from last week's powerful earthquake jumped to more than 51,000, while the government appealed Thursday for millions of tents to shelter homeless survivors. The confirmed number of dead rose to 51,151, a jump of almost 10,000 from the day before, Cabinet spokesman Guo Weimin told a news conference. Another 29,328 people remained missing and nearly 300,000 were hurt in the May 12 quake centered in Sichuan province, he said.
Not long ago, the fledgling ethanol industry was the darling of investors, farmers, the federal government and a lot of Americans who liked the idea of turning corn into fuel. Suddenly, it doesn't have nearly as many friends. RISING PRICES: Is a bubble brewing in super-hot commodities markets?
Giovanni Marchitelli has something to show Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi when Italy's leader arrives Wednesday: a month's worth of garbage piled next to his pizzeria. Marchitelli, 64, hopes that Berlusconi will force local officials to solve the continuing problem due to full landfills, or his family's pizzeria will be out of business. "We can't stand to work anymore because of the garbage smell," he says. "People won't stop and eat because of the garbage."
A growing wave of companies in all sectors
Heavy rainfall in the Southeast and record snowpack in the Rockies have eased dramatically the nation's worst drought in more than a century. Drought conditions are the least severe since January 2006. A quarter of the USA is suffering some form of drought today, down from 65% last summer, federal agencies said. In the Southeast, where drought has been most severe, the area in drought has plummeted from 86% in August to 40% today.
