Disasters

"NEW ORLEANS -- A federal judge presiding over litigation spawned by the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill has dismissed all claims against the manufacturer of a chemical dispersant that was used to break up crude gushing from BP's blown-out well."

"Eric Cantor is rarely shy about his position on disaster relief aid. Even before Hurricane Irene made landfall last year, the House majority whip's office said extra spending on recovery efforts should be balanced by spending cuts elsewhere. But in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Cantor and many of his conservative colleagues have suddenly gone mostly silent on such disaster relief 'offsets' -- even though New York and New Jersey are collectively asking for a whopping $79 billion in federal aid."

"Frustration and inconvenience are growing in Paulsboro as a risky cleanup proceeds at a deliberately slow pace following the derailment Friday of chemical-laden train cars on a bridge over the Mantua Creek."

"NEW YORK -- During Hurricane Sandy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo witnessed firsthand the storm whip a surge of water into the Battery Tunnel. Now New York's governor is walking into the eye of a man-made disaster: the fiscal cliff."

"New York State voters overwhelmingly say they believe that Hurricane Sandy demonstrated the effects of climate change, according to a poll released Monday by Siena College."

"PAULSBORO, N.J. -- A freight train derailed Friday on a railroad bridge that has had problems before, toppling tanker cars partially into a creek and causing a leak of hazardous gas that was blamed for sickening dozens of people, authorities said."

"DOHA, Qatar -- 'Climate change is taking place before our eyes and will continue to do so as a result of the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which have risen constantly and again reached new records,' said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Michel Jarraud."

"MIAMI -- Hurricane season 2012, which officially ends Saturday, will go down in hstory as the year of Superstorm Sandy, which carved a path of death and devastation from the Caribbean to the Jersey Shore."

"Scientifically speaking, it also was notable for something it was not: intense. For the third consecutive season, the tropics churned out what not long ago would rank as an abnormally large number of storms - yet curiously only one of 19 managed to reach Category 3 strength.

"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.