Texas News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris called climate change an “immediate” and “urgent” crisis Monday as she detailed more than $1 billion in federal spending to respond to disasters such as deadly flooding in Kentucky and wildfires ravaging her home state of California. On a visit to Miami, Harris announced a series of grants being made available to states to help communities across the nation prepare for and respond to climate-related disasters. Touring the…

GLEN ROSE, Texas (AP) — Hundreds of firefighters were approaching total containment Monday of a two-week-old wildfire in rural North Texas. The multi-agency team fighting the Chalk Mountain Fire, located 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Fort Worth, reported 89% containment of the 10 1/2-square-mile (27 1/3-square-kilometer) fire. The team is attacking hotspots and occasional flare-ups. An aerial dump suppressed one flare-up within the containment perimeter Sunday. Fire conditions remained explosive in the area with…

YREKA, Calif. (AP) — Two bodies were found inside a charred vehicle in a driveway in the wildfire zone of a raging California blaze that is among several burning in the western U.S. amid hot, dry and gusty conditions that boost the danger that the fires will keep growing, officials said Monday. The McKinney Fire in Northern California near the stateline with Oregon exploded in size Sunday to more than 82 square miles (212 square…

Hundreds of miles apart, but still connected by the same stubborn weather system, urban St. Louis and rural Appalachia are showing how devastating flash flooding can be when souped-up storms dump massive amounts of rain with no place to go. In St. Louis, the paved city environment couldn’t soak up the intense rainfall. In Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, steep hills and terrain of narrow river channels funneled water into the same place. Although a…

Researchers are learning that cows exposed to fire often give less milk, and horses, with their large lungs, take in a lot of smoke from fires. By Shelly Brisbin & Gabriella YbarraJuly 29, 2022 11:23 amAgriculture & Animals, Energy & Environment, Texas Standard Original

Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Friday, July 29, 2022. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard. Check back later today for updated story links and audio. Understanding prisoner exchange talks between U.S., Russia Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said earlier this week that the United States and Russia had discussed a prisoner exchange that would bring Americans Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan back…

After Hurricane Harvey drenched the Texas coast in 2017, rising water wasn’t the only danger to folks in the path of the storm. With the Houston area a hub for industries like petroleum refining and chemical manufacturing, the hurricane also increased the risk of exposure to toxic materials. Now, the results of a unique study are helping researchers better understand the extent to which the storm exposed people to chemicals. Kim Anderson, head of the environmental…