Austin Texas News

Since 2016, wildfire smoke in the U.S. has reversed roughly 25% of air quality improvements made from the 2000 Clean Air Act, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. That figure doubles to roughly 50% when looking specifically at the impact on many western states. For more on this, CBS News was joined by Marshall Burke, an associate professor at Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability and a co-author of the study.

Homeowners living in areas at risk for natural disasters are seeing higher home insurance premiums — for some, coverage has been dropped completely. CBS News senior national and environmental correspondent Ben Tracy reports.

“To me, it’s a symbol of hope. We’re taking it to heart to try to bring back the tree, to give some hope to Lahaina,” said Chris Imonti, a landscaper working to restore the tree after Maui’s wildfires.

Farmers in a primary grape-producing area in Valencia, Spain, lost “their entire grape production in the middle of harvest season” after the hailstorm, according to the Association of Farmers of Valencia.

Scientists describe medicanes as a weather phenomenon similar to a hurricane or typhoon that forms over the Mediterranean Sea. Experts warn that because of global warming, medicanes may be intensifying. Kristen Corobosiero, associate professor of atmospheric and environmental science at the University of Albany, joined CBS News to talk about these storms.

The death toll in the devastating Lahaina fire, one of several that broke out in Maui on Aug. 8, has dropped to at least 97 people, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Friday. Maui County officials had been reporting a death toll of 115 for weeks.

The catastrophic flooding in the Libyan city of Derna earlier this week has killed at least 11,000 people, and the death toll is expected to rise. Many residents are returning to Derna, not to resume their lives, but identify the dead. Anna Foster reports from Libya.

Lee made landfall in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia as a post-tropical cyclone, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Lee is expected to make landfall Saturday.

The collapse of two dams earlier this week sent a wall of water and mud several stories high that swept away about a quarter of the coastal Libyan city of Derna. The flooding has left thousands of people dead and countless more missing. Charlie D’Agata reports from Derna.

Hurricane Lee, a Category 1 storm Friday, is approaching the northeast coast and is expected to impact New England and Atlantic Canada by Saturday. President Biden has declared a state of emergency for Maine, while Gov. Maura Healey declared an emergency for Massachusetts. Chris Warren with The Weather Channel has the latest forecast.

He did not immediately elaborate on why the death toll had been projected by Maui County officials at 115 for several weeks.

New England residents are bracing for Hurricane Lee to make landfall this weekend. Officials in Maine are warning of dangerous conditions and potential power outages. Eric Sanders, the mayor of Belfast, Maine, joined CBS News to discuss how his community is preparing.

Hurricane Lee is expected to make landfall​ in Canada this weekend while also bringing tropical storm conditions and flooding to parts of New England.

Hurricane Lee, a Category 1 storm on Friday, is approaching landfall in New England on Saturday. CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson has the latest forecast.