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Talk of Wyoming wind tax whips up debate

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:22:01 +0100

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming lawmakers will soon take up the thorny issue of whether to impose new taxes on wind energy development, a proposal that developers say could stunt the fledgling industry's growth in Wyoming.

Supporters of a new tax say it's only fair for wind projects to contribute to state and local governments equal to other energy industries. Opponents say Wyoming taxes are already high compared to surrounding states and any new tax would be premature.

The Joint Revenue Committee will consider two proposals to tax wind electricity generation at a Wednesday meeting in Cheyenne.

"I am hopeful that this legislative session will develop some means for there to be state and local revenues derived from the development of wind resources in the coming decades," Gov. Dave Freudenthal said recently. "You can pretty clearly demonstrate that (the wind industry) is not overly taxed and they certainly don't make the contribution that other forms of energy do."

The Wyoming Power Producers Coalition, representing 15 wind development companies, is fighting any new wind tax in the upcoming legislative session.

Executive Director Cheryl Riley said developers are willing to pay their fair share of taxes, but the state has time to come up with an appropriate tax because development is slowed down by a transmission bottleneck and ongoing land management issues related to the sage grouse, she said.

The development of Wyoming wind is relatively expensive because of its long distance from markets and the favorable tax policies in place in nearby states, according to a group position paper. Wyoming wind farms pay property tax, and when an exemption sunsets at the end of 2011, wind developers will begin paying 6 percent sales tax on equipment.

"Our goal for 2010 is basically status quo: Let's just keep things the way they are, and let's study the issue and make sure we get it right," Riley said.

The two bills the Joint Revenue Committee will consider this week would implement a state tax on electricity generation while also providing exemptions and credits so other power generators, such as coal-fired power plants, ultimately break even.

Sen. John Schiffer, R-Kaycee, chairman of the Revenue Committee, said wind development creates costs for government. Those include county costs like road maintenance and emergency services and state costs like Wyoming's struggle to preserve the sage grouse, a bird whose habitat sometimes overlaps with prime wind resources.

Schiffer's bill would impose a tax of one quarter of 1 cent per kilowatt-hour on electricity generation.

The bill would include exemptions for government-owned power plants, including hydropower, and home wind generators. Power plants that burn coal or other fuels would break even on the generation tax by receiving a rebate intended to make up for the severance tax portion of their electricity production costs.

Schiffer said the scheme should prevent the generation tax from pushing up electricity costs for customers large or small.

The proposed tax works out to roughly a 5 percent tax on generation, Schiffer said, which would put the wind burden in the same range as severance taxes on natural resources, which are roughly 4 percent for gravel, 6 percent for trona, 6 percent for oil and gas, and 7 percent for coal.

After rebates are paid, 10 percent of the wind tax revenues would be split among the counties based on how many wind turbines they have. Another 10 percent would go to the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust to mitigate endangered species concerns, especially sage grouse. Any remaining revenue would go into state coffers.

A second wind tax proposal, sponsored by Rep. David Miller, R-Riverton, would work similarly to Schiffer's proposal, but traditional power producers would get a rebate credit only if they agree to use 90 percent of it on electricity generation or transmission projects and put the other 10 percent into state's low income energy assistance program.

Because this winter's Legislature will be a budget session, the tax bills would require a two-thirds vote to be introduced.

Freudenthal, a Democrat, acknowledged that new taxes may be politically divisive, but he believes there are good arguments for a tax on wind. Schiffer said he's never seen a two-thirds vote to levy a new tax in his 16 years in the Senate.

"This may be a new adventure in living," Schiffer said. "It's like a lot of things — you've got to get it out there and talk about it."

Louisiana seeing busy fall filming season

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:45:31 +0100

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — With hurricane season ending, film and TV production in south Louisiana is picking up, and New Orleans is on track to break last year's filming record.

David Simon, creator of "The Wire" and "Homicide: Life on the Street," started shooting the first season of his HBO series "Treme" in New Orleans this month, and actor Jason Statham had a downtown office building bustling with production of a scene for the action thriller, "The Mechanic."

They are among at least eight film and TV projects in the New Orleans area this fall — and more than a dozen statewide — providing an end-of-the-year boost after a sluggish summer, said Sherri McConnell, head of the state film office.

"Summer is usually a slow time for us," McConnell said, citing higher production costs during hurricane season, which runs June 1 to Nov. 30, as a factor. But this year film industry strikes, the economy and uncertainty over the future of Louisiana's entertainment tax credit program were also to blame, she said.

Before the state Legislature approved a 5 percent boost in incentives for movie and TV makers this spring, the 25 percent tax credit was set to drop to 20 percent in 2010 and 15 percent in 2012.

"That had a lot of production companies reluctant to do business here," McConnell said.

The boost to 30 percent "was a very positive move," she said.

McConnell said her office received 25 applications for projects in the first half of 2009, but since July 1 more than 60 have come in.

"We have more than doubled the amount of applications in the office since the change in the law," McConnell said.

If all the projects get under way before the end of the year, the state may reach its filming record of 84 projects, set last year.

Bill Chartoff, producer of "The Mechanic" — a remake of 1972 Charles Bronson film — said the stable state tax credit was a plus, as was the charm of New Orleans as a backdrop.

"New Orleans has a wonderful mood and atmosphere and character to it," he said.

Robert Sertner, executive producer of "The Business of Falling in Love" starring Hilary Duff, which also is filming in New Orleans this month, said his decision to shoot in Louisiana was bottom-line driven.

"It's always about the financial bottom line," he said.

While activity is spread across the state — with the action flick "Battle: Los Angeles," in Baton Rouge and Shreveport and "Secretariat" with Diane Lane and John Malkovich in Lafayette — New Orleans is seeing the bulk of the action with at least eight projects through the end of the year.

Among them is "Brother's Keeper," a film by World Wrestling Entertainment, which also shot "12 Rounds" in Louisiana last year and "Knucklehead" earlier this year.

The city is on track to break last year's record of 21 projects, said Jennifer Day, director of the New Orleans Office of Film and Video, which expects to have 23 projects by year's end.

Since 2002, more than $400 million in tax incentives have been awarded in Louisiana, and production expenditures since 2002 exceed $2 billion — including $200 million in payroll — according to state figures.

The incentives program has not been without problems. Former state film commissioner Mark Smith pleaded guilty in 2007 to taking about $65,000 in bribes to help inflate tax credits. He was sentenced to two years in federal prison in July.

On Dec. 12, Malcolm Petal, producer of "Bug," ''Factory Girl" and "Mr. Brooks," pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe Smith. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

In 2007, a state law tightened oversight of the program, which provides tax credits to production companies that use goods and services while shooting in Louisiana.

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HBO is a unit of Time Warner Inc.

The nation's weather

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:09:36 +0100

The country's midsection could start the workweek with some active weather on Monday because of a storm system in the Southern Plains that is expected to move into the Mid-Mississippi Valley.

The system was forecast to remain situated over the Mid-Mississippi Valley throughout much of the day while it's associated frontal boundary extends southward to the Gulf Coast.

Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico was expected to interact with the front to produce numerous showers and isolated thunderstorms through the day. The heaviest amounts of precipitation were expected near the Gulf Coast. Persistent rainfall could yield to areas of local flooding near streams and rivers.

Meanwhile, flow around the system was expected to produce rain showers in the Ohio Valley and snow showers in the eastern areas of the Central Plains. Travel difficulties could be encountered due to snowfall in the eastern regions of Nebraska and Kansas.

In the West, light to moderate rainfall and high elevation snowfall was forecast to persist in the Pacific Northwest as another front approached the coast.

Fair and dry weather was expected to remain over California and the Central Great Basin due to a lingering ridge of high pressure. Offshore flow associated with this ridge could translate into warmer temperatures and strong windsin southern California.

Elsewhere, tranquil weather were expected to persist in the eastern third of the nation due to high pressure.

On Sunday, temperatures in the Lower 48 states ranged from a low of -7 degrees at Lake Yellowstone, Wyo. to a high of 89 degrees at Laredo, Texas.

Death toll in El Salvador storms rises to 192

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:38:46 +0100

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Salvadoran authorities say at least 192 people were killed by floods and landslides that swept through the country last week.

El Salvador's Civil Protection agency says in a statement that 89 of the victims were killed in the state of San Vicente, where days of heavy rains caused mud and boulders to sweep down the side of the Chichontepec volcano before dawn a week ago.

The agency said Sunday that dozens more remain missing. It says that more than 14,000 Salvadoran have been affected by the floods and mudslides that were indirectly linked to Hurricane Ida's passage through the region.

China's plan for Three Gorges' water level stalled

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:59:20 +0100

BEIJING (AP) — Plans to raise the water level behind China's massive Three Gorges dam to full capacity this month — which would mark the symbolic culmination of the decades-old project — have stalled amid a worsening drought and reports of increased landslide risks.

China has for years promoted the world's largest hydroelectric project as the best way to end centuries of floods along the basin of the Yangtze River and to provide energy to fuel the country's economic boom.

Along the way officials have often steamrolled over complaints about the enormous environmental impact of the mammoth $23 billion, 410-mile-long (660-kilometer-long) reservoir that has displaced more than 1.4 million people.

Dam authorities had been increasing water storage since Sept. 15, with the goal of reaching the maximum height of 574 feet (175 meters) by early November, when the dam would be fully capable of generating the maximum amount of power. But on Nov. 2 the water reached 561 feet (171 meters) and then abruptly stopped — rising no higher.

The explanation given by dam officials is that too little water is flowing from the upper reaches of the Yangtze — 34 percent less than last year — coupled with a deepening drought in the downstream provinces of Hunan and Jiangxi.

A spokesman for the State Council committee overseeing the Three Gorges project acknowledged last week it would be "difficult" to raise the water level to its peak height.

"Under the current conditions, less water is coming from the upper reaches and more water is needed to be released to the lower reaches to ease the drought situation. So it's difficult to reach that level," he said, declining to be named because he wasn't authorized to speak on the subject. He gave no timetable for when the maximum height would be reached.

The tacit postponement has also come amid urgent reports warning of heightened landslide risks.

Last week, investigative magazine Caijing revealed a report issued by a Chongqing political consultative body that warned that the risks of geological disasters, such as landslides, would increase as the water rose to its apex. It also said that the rising water levels were also reviving old landslide fissures as the soil around the dam became more saturated and unsettled.

The Caijing report also cited a pre-flood inspection this year by officials in the Wanzhou district of Chongqing, the megacity near the reservoir, that identified nearly 700 areas vulnerable to geological damage, 587 of them possible landslide spots.

Yang Yong, a Sichuan-based geologist who has followed the dam project closely, said he believes the renewed threat of geological disasters may have been serious enough to delay the final phase.

"Dealing with drought is a quite obvious reason, but I suspect that the potential geological threat is also a factor in stopping the water from rising," he said. "I think with the rise of the water level, the geological movement around the area is becoming more and more frequent. The government was quite aware of the problem."

Warnings had been voiced in the past about increased geological risks as water poured into formerly dry slopes, causing serious erosion and seismic instability.

As the water level rises, it seeps into the soil along the reservoir, saturating and loosening the bank slopes. The fear is that it weakens the ground soil to the extent that erosion and collapse could occur.

The Three Gorges spokesman denied that geological risks played a factor in the delay, saying landslides are "no big problem." But the continuing drought that has crippled large swaths of southern and central China since August has brought pressure on dam officials to release more water downstream, he said.

A more immediate reminder of the geological danger came last month. On the night of Oct 16., officials in the township of Quchi near Chongqing issued an emergency notice after a new fissure was discovered in an old landslide area on slopes above the town, confirmed an official there surnamed Yang. The hairline crack was reportedly 1,300 feet long (400 meters).

Experts had discovered cracks appearing in the walls of local homes, and dozens of residents were immediately evacuated from the area that day. The local official said the town had evacuated residents six or seven years ago from the same area.

Zhang Hua, a professor at the Research Center for Geo-hazard Prevention & Mitigation Technology at China's Three Gorges University who investigated geological hazards in the area in August, said he believes mitigation measures in place now provide adequate protection for villagers who live near the dam.

But he acknowledged that "with the rise of the water, I can't rule out potential dangers which are hard to predict."

"The main threat is the change of the stress condition in the soil. Soils used to be dry before the water rises and are relatively stable, but the water will bring erosion and make the stress condition very unstable," he said.

Even in areas where preventive measures have already been applied, "new geo-hazards may still happen with the change of water level, because you're dealing with soft soil instead of concrete."

Philippines celebrate Pacquiao despite disasters

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:22:18 +0100

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Filipinos erupted into deafening cheers in bars, gymnasiums and army camps Sunday as Manny Pacquiao — their boxing hero — relentlessly pounded Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto to win his seventh title in as many weight classes.

Pacquiao took the WBO welterweight crown from Cotto in Las Vegas on Saturday night when the referee stopped the fight in the 12th round.

The victory, which followed Pacquiao's stunning second-round knock out of Ricky Hatton in May, gave a morale boost to the country. The Philippines has been wracked by terrorism, Muslim and communist rebellions and recent back-to-back storms that caused the worst flooding in and around the capital in more than four decades.

"It was like a small respite for my townmates and it created a spirit of bonding and a little rest after the series of storms," said Mayor Joric Gacula of lakeside Taytay township, which was inundated in the September floods.

He said he paid 72,000 pesos (about $1,500) in pay-per-view from his own pocket to show the fight to more than 2,500 residents, mostly flood victims, who packed the town gymnasium.

"The people were very excited. It was like they were not affected by the storm," he said.

The crowd watched the bout as they munched on biscuits — food aid from the World Food Program — and peanuts, which they washed down with bottled water donated by a mall owner.

Gelyn Cruz said her husband, a motorcycle taxi driver, left for work before dawn so they could watch the fight with their 4-year-old son and neighbors.

"I am really very happy because our idol won again," she said. "I hope he could visit our town so he could help us."

From Singapore where she is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Pacquiao's victory showed that "Filipino grit and determination triumphed over great odds."

At the Manila bayside international Christmas bazaar, shoppers cheered after a woman made "a very important announcement" over the public address system that Pacquiao had won.

In Zamboanga city, which is at the front line of anti-terror campaign in the volatile southern Mindanao region, people packed roadside canteens chanting "Manny, Manny!" as Pacquiao pummeled Cotto. Many were motorcycle taxi drivers and vendors who emptied the streets during the fight.

Driver Domingo Angeles said he stopped plying his route to just watch the match.

"I wish there would be many more like him who will bring honor to us, and I hope Manny will be able to help the poor people of Mindanao," Angeles said.

In northern Baguio city, which was hit by massive landslides and floods by another storm in early October, one collector had to return 200,000 pesos ($8,400) to bettors because not one placed a wager on Cotto.

Southern Davao city's streets were virtually deserted and Mayor Rodrigo Duterte canceled his regular radio program to watch the fight.

Soldiers also took a rest from chasing rebels to watch in camp gyms. Muslim and communist rebels have said they also watched Pacquiao's previous fights but there was no immediate word from them.

At Manila's suburban armed forces headquarters, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and his son took the front seats at the army gym to watch the fight with thousands of officers and soldiers and their family members.

"That's what I call a war," Teodoro said after the fight. "The tenacity of Manny Pacquiao is really admirable."

The Rev. Michael Sinnott, the 79-year-old Irish missionary priest who was recently released from a month of jungle captivity in the south by suspected Muslim rebels, said his kidnappers had been eager to set him free because they wanted to also watch the Pacquio-Cotto match.

"'Your freedom is our freedom. We don't want to be here for a long time, too, and we want to watch Pacquiao's fight,'" Sinnott told the CBCPNews, the news service of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), quoting his kidnappers.

Heavy snow storms in northern China kill 40

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:38:50 +0100

BEIJING (AP) — Unusually early snow storms in north-central China have claimed 40 lives, caused thousands of buildings to collapse and destroyed almost 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) of winter crops, the Civil Affairs Ministry said Friday.

Nineteen of the deaths resulted from traffic accidents related to the storms that began Nov. 9, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site.

The snowfall is the heaviest in the northern and central provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan since record keeping began after the establishment of the Communist state in 1949, the ministry said without giving detailed figures. It estimated economic losses from the storm at 4.5 billion yuan (US$659 million).

Chinese state media say some of the snow was induced through cloud seeding, although the precise amount of snowfall in all areas was not reported and it wasn't clear what the previous records were.

Hebei's provincial capital, Shijiazhuang, received the heaviest snowfall. In the three days ending Thursday morning, the snow accumulation there reached 1.8 feet (55 centimeters), the heaviest since 1955, the China Meteorological Administration said Saturday.

More than 7.5 million people have been stranded or otherwise affected by the storms, which caused the collapse of more than 9,000 buildings, damaged 470,000 acres (190,000 hectares) of crops, and forced the evacuation of 158,000 people, the ministry said.

State media have reported at least two deaths were caused by the collapse of buildings, including a school cafeteria.

Beijing has been hit by three successive waves of snow, causing havoc on roadways and forcing the cancellation or delay of scores of flights.

The capital and surrounding areas are little prepared to deal with such heavy snow, with few plows or road deicing supplies. Snow tires and chains are almost unknown and many drivers simply leave their cars at home and turn to public transport in such conditions.

The impact has been far greater in the surrounding provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan, where highways have been closed, schools shuttered, and crews sent to rescue people in their snowbound homes.

Freak snow and ice storms last year hit parts of eastern and southern China unaccustomed to such weather. Those storms paralyzed key transport systems just as millions of migrant workers were heading home for the Lunar New Year holiday, leading to more than 80 deaths and billions of dollars in damage.

East Coast storm begins to move out to sea

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:13:29 +0100

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — A powerful storm born from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida began moving out to sea Friday after raking the East Coast for three days, leaving behind it a trail of flooding, damaged buildings, eroded beaches and at least six deaths.

The nor'easter caused widespread problems in Virginia and the Carolinas before hitting the Jersey shore. Flooding was to remain a concern in coastal communities through high tide Saturday morning.

Several shops were evacuated in Washington, D.C., because of the threat of a building collapse possibly related to heavy rains. Construction work was under way at a row of buildings when the walls started to crack and separate.

Saturated ground after the recent rains may be a factor, the D.C. fire department said.

Several vessels carrying hazardous cargo broke loose from their moorings in Virginia during the storm. Crews were working to stabilize a 570-foot barge carrying containers of chemicals in the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach.

Work crews boarded the barge and were riding out the storm with it, hoping it would run aground and could be towed away when the weather improves. A similar fate awaits a 700-foot oil tanker that broke loose and ran aground on a sandbar in the James River in Newport News, Va.

In New Jersey, bridges into Ocean City and Wildwood reopened by mid-afternoon after being closed for much of the day because of flooding.

"We think we got by the worst of what this storm is going to offer us," said Frank Donato, Ocean City's emergency management director. But between high tides very little of the flood waters had been able to dissipate, he said.

"Many of the neighborhoods in town are still completely flooded," he said.

No one in New Jersey was ordered to evacuate, and only about 100 people showed up at temporary shelters, said Nick Morici, a spokesman for the state Office of Emergency Management.

The storm wrecked dunes in several coastal communities including Ocean City, Atlantic City, and on Long Beach Island, where a beach replenishment project is partially finished.

In Manasquan, Joe Duska, a 66-year-old retiree, was photographing 15-foot waves smashing against an inlet rock jetty. Duska said he drove up and down the central New Jersey coastline a few days ago and looked at beaches, knowing a storm was coming, hoping to compare them with what would be left after the storm.

"The beaches are smaller already," he said. "You can see it."

New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection had planned to send crews to assess how much erosion the storm has caused. But they scrapped that plan Friday afternoon because the weather was too bad. They'll go Monday instead.

In Delaware, tides washed out dunes, leaving several feet of water and 3 feet of sand along state Route 1. Transportation officials say it may take two days to clear the sand. And North Carolina officials closed roads and at least three ferry routes along the coast Friday due to heavy flooding.

National Weather Service meteorologist Lee Robertson said the storm was heading out to sea Friday afternoon. After slamming much of the U.S. coastline as it moved from south to north, serious flooding was not a danger north of New Jersey, he said.

Saturday morning's high tide would probably be the last to cause concern, he added.

The storm has been blamed for at least six deaths across three states.

Virginia State Police confirmed a fourth storm-related traffic death in the state Friday when a car ran off a highway and hit a light pole and a tree.

In New York City, a 36-year-old surfer died after getting caught in pounding surf churned up by the storm. In North Carolina, an elderly man standing in his yard was killed when a pine tree was snapped off by strong wind and fell on him.

The Coast Guard has halted the search for three missing New Jersey fishermen whose boat sank in rough seas Wednesday night.

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Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Geoff Mulvihill in Mount Laurel, N.J.; Steve Szkotak in Norfolk, Va.; Zinie Chen Sampson in Richmond, Va.; and Pam Ramsey in Charleston, W.Va.

Mud slide scare hits LA suburb near burn area

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:59:55 +0100

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. (AP) — Work crews shoveled mud Friday from the back yards of several homes after a brief cloudburst unleashed flows of debris down steep mountains left barren by the largest wildfire in Los Angeles County history.

The incident occurred in a small section of a swath of foothill suburbs that the U.S. Geological Survey has warned are at risk of massive flows in the aftermath of the 250-square-mile Station Fire.

Damage was mostly limited to landscaping and there were no reports of any injuries after the downpour late Thursday caused the San Gabriel Mountains to belch water, mud and rocks.

The USGS said in an emergency assessment of the area last month that two very likely scenarios — storms lasting three or 12 hours — could send debris far into the foothill communities. But USGS research geologist Susan Cannon had warned that it could happen even with a "wimpy little storm."

Gary Stibal, who has lived in the area since 1973, found his backyard buried under as much as 5 feet of mud that pressed up against his house. The top of a patio table was left flush with the new ground level.

Stibal said the downpour hit without warning about 10:45 p.m.

"It came down in buckets," he said. "I've never seen it rain that hard."

Mud began flowing within five minutes and Stibal and his wife drove away down the hill, Stibal said.

Clouds swathed the mountains at nightfall Thursday but the National Weather Service had predicted only about a 20 percent chance of light showers.

The NWS said Friday that the rain was "briefly torrential" in a few places. A few sites in the Station Fire burn area got more than a half-inch of rain but most areas had no measurable precipitation, the NWS said.

County Fire Department Inspector Frederic Stowers said 1 inch to 2 inches of rain fell in less than 20 minutes.

"It came very fast," said Lien Yang, as he shoveled mud from the driveway of his home in the same cul-de-sac where Stibal lives.

The Station Fire was ignited by arson on Aug. 26 along a highway through the Angeles National Forest.

Two firefighters were killed and 89 homes were destroyed. The fire was fully contained in mid-October but has not been declared controlled because root systems continue to smolder in the vast burn area.

Brazil blackout cause uncertain, president says

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15:36 +0100

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil's president suggested Friday that bad weather may not have caused a massive blackout that left nearly a third of the population without electricity, saying he'll wait for an investigation to conclude how the outage happened.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva backed off earlier claims by his energy minister that strong storms, wind and lightning caused a failure in transmission lines — after the government's own satellite imagery showed that lightning strikes were neither close enough nor strong enough to cause such damage.

"There must be an investigation that follows all leads to find out what really happened," Silva told reporters in Sao Paulo. "If the system is robust and efficient as we believe, and we produce energy at will, why did we have this disaster?"

The blackout hit 18 of Brazil's 26 states and also left 7 million people without water service after energy from the massive Itaipu dam, the source of one-fifth of Brazil's power, went completely offline. In all, some 60 million people lost power in the nation of more than 190 million.

The blackouts also raised questions about whether Brazil is sufficiently prepared to provide secure energy when it hosts the World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

After the blackout darkened both Rio and Sao Paulo and other key cities Tuesday night, Brazilian Energy Minister Edison Lobao said it was bad weather that took out transmission lines running from Itaipu to two electric substations in Sao Paulo state. Three key transformers short-circuited, he said.

But the National Institute for Space Research said the nearest lightning strikes were six miles (10 kilometers) from any transmission line. Others pointed out that the transformers are built to withstand the heavy rains common in Brazil.

Silva said there are no solid answers yet.

"We're in a stage of searching," Silva said. "When we end this phase we will enter the more objective phase with concrete results."

Silva called for the federal investigation into the causes of the blackout on Thursday, after it became clear many people were unsatisfied with Lobao's explanation.

There were also signs of infighting within the government after the power failure.

Jorge Miguel Samek, the head of Itaipu Binacional, the agency in charge of the dam, said the problem had nothing to do with the hydroelectric project, but with a failure in the transmission lines. But, Furnas Centrais Eletricas, the electric company that oversees the lines, said it had detected no problems with the lines.

Silva called top officials to a meeting in Brasilia on Wednesday afternoon, and they all agreed that bad weather was to blame.

But by Friday, Silva was pushing hard for a thorough investigation to determine the cause.

The blackouts came three days after CBS's "60 Minutes" news program reported that two past Brazilian power outages were caused by hackers.

Lobao declined to directly answer a reporter's question about whether hackers were involved, and Silva knocked down questions about the blackout being the result of sabotage.

"There is no reason for anyone to think that it was a bigger thing than it really was," he said Friday.

Dolphin stranded in Ala. after Tropical Storm Ida

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:56:59 +0100

GULF SHORES, Ala. (AP) — An Atlantic bottlenose dolphin is being treated for dehydration and pneumonia after it was found stranded following Tropical Storm Ida's brush with the Alabama coast.

A jogger at the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Gulf Shores found the 190-pound dolphin on land Tuesday morning shortly after the storm hit. It had been stranded for many hours.

Refuge Manager Jereme Phillips says the dolphin is being treated at The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Miss.

Institute executive director Moby Solangi says the dolphin will be returned to the sea if it fully recovers but will be given to an aquarium if it isn't strong enough to return to the Gulf.

Coastal flooding a concern as storm moves up coast

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:06:07 +0100

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — The remnants of Tropical Storm Ida pounded the East Coast on Friday, flooding coastal areas and eroding beaches in New Jersey after slamming the Carolinas and Virginia.

The wind and waves were strong along the New Jersey shore, but the rain was not as heavy as predicted. The storm peaked in New Jersey by midmorning, said National Weather Service meteorologist Lee Robertson.

Lenora Boninfante, a Cape May County spokeswoman, said all the county's barrier islands have experienced moderate to severe flooding. Several bridges and causeways were closed, and officials couldn't deliver meals to elderly shut-ins.

About 100 people went to temporary reception centers set up at Ocean City High School and a recreation center in Wildwood because their neighborhoods were flooded, but all had returned to their homes by 1 p.m., said Nick Morici, a spokesman for the state Office of Emergency Management. No one in New Jersey was ordered to evacuate, he added.

Lori Norcross appeared to be the only person working Friday morning on an otherwise shuttered block of Ocean City that was largely under water. She braved the floods to get to her packing and shipping business to handle express delivery packages for which people had paid extra.

"I can't get off the island; I'm here whether I want to be or not," she said. "I just had FedEx call and say they can't get close to here."

She was keeping a close eye on the intersection outside her office, which was the only one not yet inundated.

"When that intersection floods, I have to get out of here or I'll never make it out," she said.

In Manasquan, Joe Duska, a 66-year-old retiree, was photographing 15-foot waves that were smashing against an inlet rock jetty. Duska said he drove up and down the central New Jersey coastline a few days ago and looked at beaches, knowing a storm was coming, hoping to compare them with what would be left after the storm.

"The beaches are smaller already," he said. "You can see it."

New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection sent crews to assess how much erosion the storm has caused.

School buses and SUVs in Freeport, N.Y., on Long Island's southern shore, had to navigate streets with knee-high water early Friday, but the water later subsided.

Crews tried to stabilize a 570-foot barge carrying containers of chemicals that grounded off Virginia Beach after it broke free Thursday night from a tugboat that was towing it from Puerto Rico to New Jersey.

Flood warnings remain in effect in parts of western Virginia, where the Dan River at South Boston was more than 7 feet above flood stage.

More than 155,000 people in Virginia and North Carolina were without power early Friday as crews tried to restore service.

The storm forced more than a dozen schools in southern New Jersey not to open or delay opening. Schools in southern Delaware, Worcester County, Md., and Accomack County, Va., also were closed.

The storm has been blamed for five deaths across three states. The Coast Guard halted the search for three missing New Jersey fishermen whose boat sank in rough seas Wednesday night.

Three motorists died in weather-related crashes in central and eastern Virginia. In New York City, a 36-year-old surfer died after getting caught in pounding surf churned up by the storm. In North Carolina, an elderly man standing in his yard was killed when a pine tree was snapped off by strong wind and fell on him.

___

Associated Press writers Geoff Mulvihill in Mount Laurel, N.J., Steve Szkotak in Norfolk, Va., Zinie Chen Sampson in Richmond, Va., and Pam Ramsey in Charleston, W.Va., contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS the name of the Virginia river to Dan, instead of Danville.)

Extensions available for crop insurance deadlines

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:15:20 +0100

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The state Agriculture Department says wet conditions have delayed what looks like a near-record harvest for many South Dakota farmers and raised concerns about a Dec. 10 harvest deadline for crop insurance.

In a release, the department says farmers who can't harvest their crops due to weather conditions might be able to ask for additional time from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency.

State Agriculture Secretary Bill Even says farmers need to contact their crop insurance agents to report losses and ask for more time to harvest in order to protect their crop insurance coverage.

The release says farmers should document weather conditions and all actions taken in order to receive accurate claim payments if applicable.

House speaker wants federal money to tackle blight

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:34:39 +0100

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Federal recovery money that remains unused since hurricanes Katrina and Rita should be spent on blight remediation and infrastructure repairs in New Orleans, House Speaker Jim Tucker said Thursday.

Congress appropriated $13.4 billion in flexible block grant aid for Louisiana's recovery from the two storms.

Tucker, R-Terrytown, estimated that as much as $1 billion won't be used in the programs for which it's allocated. He wants that money split evenly between a blight program to help tear down abandoned, flood-damaged properties and a repair program to help rebuild roads and city infrastructure.

Tucker pitched his idea to the Louisiana Recovery Authority board of directors, which is expected to debate the proposals at its meeting next month.

The LRA doesn't yet have an official estimate of money available for reallocation, but Tucker's plans are expected to run into competition for the dollars.

Local officials and advocacy groups have already lodged requests with the board for unspent dollars. Among the proposals: help build a new public hospital in New Orleans, help homeowners repair homes with contaminated Chinese drywall, fund business ventures in hurricane-damaged areas or address lingering recovery needs around south Louisiana, rather than just New Orleans.

But the speaker argued that the thousands of abandoned properties in New Orleans must be torn down to help fight crime, and that the infrastructure must be repaired for the city to recover.

"I'm very fearful that we'll end up being like Detroit," Tucker said. "We can't afford another wave of people leaving the city."

State lawmakers asked for a report about unspent Katrina and Rita block grant aid by Sept. 30, but LRA officials said they couldn't meet that deadline. Instead, they said they expected to have a better idea in December of what money would be available for reallocation.

A reallocation of some of the block grant funds would require approval from federal officials who oversee the spending, Tucker said. Reallocating certain parts of the money would require congressional approval.

Heavy snow storms in northern China kill 40

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:28:45 +0100

Nineteen of the deaths resulted from traffic accidents related to the storms that began Nov. 9, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site.

Chinese state media say some of the snow was induced through cloud seeding, although the precise amount of snowfall in all areas was not reported and it wasn't clear what the previous records were.

Hebei's provincial capital, Shijiazhuang, received the heaviest snowfall — 3.7 inches (9.4 centimeters) — on Nov. 10, the day of the heaviest flurries. Neighboring Beijing, which usually suffers through long, cold and extremely dry winters, reported about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters).

State media have reported at least two deaths were caused by the collapse of buildings, including a school cafeteria.

Beijing has been hit by three successive waves of snow, causing havoc on roadways and forcing the cancellation or delay of scores of flights.

Ask AP: Soldier in Uzbekistan, solar panel safety

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:45:39 +0100

A lot of the sunniest parts of the U.S. — like Florida and the Gulf Coast — are also prime hurricane country.

If you decide to take advantage of those rays by putting solar panels on your roof, is there a chance they could be ripped off in a storm?

Curiosity about solar panels and hurricanes inspired one of the questions in this edition of "Ask AP," a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers' questions about the news.

If you have your own news-related question that you'd like to see answered by an AP reporter or editor, send it to newsquestions@ap.org, with "Ask AP" in the subject line. And please include your full name and hometown so they can be published with your question.

You can also find Ask AP on AP Mobile, a multimedia news service available on mobile devices. Go to http://www.apnews.com/ to learn more.

___

I'm a citizen of Uzbekistan and I read an article of yours that mentioned the number of U.S. deaths in the war in Afghanistan. It said this:

"As of Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, at least 833 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Friday at 10 a.m. EDT. Of those, the military reports 640 were killed by hostile action."

This gave the impression that members of the U.S. military had died in Uzbekistan. But how could this be? There is no military action in Uzbekistan, and I have never heard that any American has died here.

Zukhriddin Ibragimov

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

___

AP maintains information on all U.S. troop casualties reported by the Department of Defense as part of the Afghanistan War effort. This includes service members who have died under non-hostile circumstances and deaths that have occurred outside Afghanistan.

While there have been no combat actions in Uzbekistan, one U.S. soldier, Pvt. Giovanny Maria, 19, of Camden, N.J., died in the country on Nov. 29, 2001, from what the Defense Department described as a "non-hostile gunshot wound." Maria was among 1,000 soldiers providing security at an air base in southern Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan.

The day before his death, about two dozen soldiers from his group, the 10th Mountain Division, were being moved from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan. According to officials at the time, their mission was to serve as a quick-reaction force in case of renewed Taliban resistance.

Details about Maria's death and his assignment in Uzbekistan — including whether he was about to go to Afghanistan at the time of his death — are unclear. The Defense Department referred calls to the Army, and Army officials said they would look into Maria's case but weren't immediately able to provide more information.

Monika Mathur

AP News Research Center

New York

___

I'd like to use solar power on my buildings in Lake Charles, La., but I'm concerned that hurricanes would destroy the equipment. Is there a risk of this?

Harvey Adams

Lake Charles, La.

___

There's certainly a risk. But solar panels should be able to withstand most of the weather that comes your way — even in Hurricane Alley. Unlike roof tiles, solar panels are designed to be bolted to the rafters so they'll hold in strong weather. Some brands are even engineered to endure 140 mph winds.

Richard Smith, president of Superior Solar Systems in Longwood, Fla., said his company has installed 18,000 solar systems in the Southeast since 1984, and only a handful have blown off in a storm.

"The roof may come off, but the solar panel should not," Smith said. "When it happens, it's typically due to debris like a tree limb or something hitting it."

Before buying solar panels, it's a good idea to make sure the installer will fasten the panels to the roof rafters instead of the plywood surface. Also make sure there's a warranty. Many installers will replace solar panels that pop off in a storm as a result of an installation error.

It also may be a good idea to keep nearby trees neatly trimmed, minimizing the chance that one of them will snap off in a storm and take a solar panel with it.

Chris Kahn

AP Energy Writer

New York

___

How much money does the federal government owe the Social Security trust funds? And how much interest does the federal government pay on the money it has borrowed every year?

Jim Durham

Chillicothe, Mo.

___

The Social Security trust funds have a balance of about $2.5 trillion. Over the years, the federal government has borrowed all of that money to spend on other government programs. In return, the Treasury Department has issued Social Security special bonds — think of them as IOUs, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

Twice a year, the Treasury Department makes interest payments to the trust funds, though it is little more than an accounting exercise. No money changes hands, but the interest payments are added to the balance of the trust funds. In 2008, the trust funds earned $116.3 billion in interest, according to the 2009 annual report by the Social Security trustees.

Stephen Ohlemacher

Associated Press Writer

Washington

___

Have questions of your own? Send them to newsquestions@ap.org.

The nation's weather

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:41:36 +0100

The remnants of Tropical Storm Ida were expected to continue pushing up the East Coast and leave more wet weather over the Mid-Atlantic and New England on Friday.

Flow around the system was forecast to pick up abundant moisture from the Atlantic and spread widespread scattered showers inland. Up to a half inch of rain was expected.

The slow moving system could also allow for another day of coastal flooding as strong winds continue creating high tides. Waters were expected to remain 2 to 3 feet above normal along the coasts of the Carolinas and the Virginias.

Cool and breezy conditions were expected with highs remaining in the 50s along the East Coast with strong winds gusting up to 45 mph.

To the northeast, high pressure was forecast to hover over the Great Lakes and extend into the Northeast. Mostly sunny skies were expected with high temperatures reaching into the upper 50s in the Midwest. Clouds were expected to be pushed by Ida into the Northeast and bring cool conditions with highs in the 40s.

In the Plains, a low pressure system was forecast to advect in from the Rockies. The system was expected to create a frontal boundary that could lead the system and stretch over the Northern Plains, moving into the Upper Midwest by evening. Cloudy skies were expected to accompany the front with a few light showers. Highs were expected to remain in the 50s in the North, while the South could see another pleasant day in the mid-70s.

Out West, a cold front was forecast to linger over the Pacific Northwest. The system was not expected to advect eastward, but it could bring another day of scattered showers with rainfall amounts near an inch and snowfall accumulations between 2 inches and 3 inches in the mountains.

On Thursday, temperatures in the Lower 48 states ranged from a low of 13 degrees at Saranac Lake, N.Y. to a high of 84 degrees at Tucson, Ariz.

Bolivia: Lake Titicaca at dangerously low levels

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:32:33 +0100

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Evaporation blamed on global warming has reduced Lake Titicaca, one of the world's highest navigable lakes, to its lowest level since 1949, authorities said Thursday.

Diminished rainfall and a rise in solar radiation have in the past four years led to critically low water levels that now threaten fish spawning areas and plant life, the Lake Titicaca Authority said in a statement.

Titicaca's waters have dropped 81 centimeters (2.65 feet) since April and flora and fauna are apt to suffer damage if they drop another 30 centimeters (one foot), the statement said.

Navy Capt. Jorge Ernesto Espinoza told ATB television that South America's largest lake is receding by 2 to 3 centimeters (about an inch) a week.

The lake, straddling Bolivia and Peru at 3,800 meters (12,493 feet) elevation, is an 8,400 square kilometer (3,240 square mile) oasis on an arid high plain an hour's drive from the Bolivian capital, La Paz.

The lake is fed by rainfall and melt water from glaciers, which scientists say are shrinking rapidly due to global warming and could disappear altogether by mid-century.

About 2.6 million people depend on the lake for their sustenance.

The Titicaca Authority says 95 percent of the lake's inflow is now evaporating.

One reason is that the area's rainy season has been reduced from six to three months, said Felix Trujillo, chief of Bolivia's National Meterological and Hydrological Service.

He said this year's rainy season is expected to begin in mid-November.

The drought has prompted water rationing in some Bolivian cities.

Environment Minister Rene Orellana said Bolivia needs $1 billion over the next seven years to build reservoirs that will guarantee an adequate water supply.

Ask AP: Soldier in Uzbekistan, solar panel safety

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:02:29 +0100

A lot of the sunniest parts of the U.S. — like Florida and the Gulf Coast — are also prime hurricane country.

If you decide to take advantage of those rays by putting solar panels on your roof, is there a chance they could be ripped off in a storm?

Curiosity about solar panels and hurricanes inspired one of the questions in this edition of "Ask AP," a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers' questions about the news.

You can also find Ask AP on AP Mobile, a multimedia news service available on mobile devices. Go to http://www.apnews.com/ to learn more.

___

I'm a citizen of Uzbekistan and I read an article of yours that mentioned the number of U.S. deaths in the war in Afghanistan. It said this:

Zukhriddin Ibragimov

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

___

Monika Mathur

AP News Research Center

New York

___

I'd like to use solar power on my buildings in Lake Charles, La., but I'm concerned that hurricanes would destroy the equipment. Is there a risk of this?

Harvey Adams

Lake Charles, La.

___

Richard Smith, president of Superior Solar Systems in Longwood, Fla., said his company has installed 18,000 solar systems in the Southeast since 1984, and only a handful have blown off in a storm.

"The roof may come off, but the solar panel should not," Smith said. "When it happens, it's typically due to debris like a tree limb or something hitting it."

It also may be a good idea to keep nearby trees neatly trimmed, minimizing the chance that one of them will snap off in a storm and take a solar panel with it.

Chris Kahn

AP Energy Writer

New York

___

How much money does the federal government owe the Social Security trust funds? And how much interest does the federal government pay on the money it has borrowed every year?

Jim Durham

Chillicothe, Mo.

___

Stephen Ohlemacher

Associated Press Writer

Washington

___

Have questions of your own? Send them to newsquestions@ap.org.

Calif water deal no quick fix for struggling farms

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:58:37 +0100

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was promoting a complex legislative package to rebuild California's water system, he often appeared alongside farmers who were unable to cultivate their land amid a third year of drought and federal pumping restrictions.

Yet agricultural relief from the bills signed into law by Schwarzenegger will not be immediate, meaning the state that grows half the nation's fruit, vegetables and nuts will face a repeat of this year's tough times unless the winter brings epic rain and snowfall.

Most of the reforms included in the legislation won't produce measurable results for years, and the projects funded through an $11.1 billion water bond are far from getting started — and that's assuming voters pass the spending measure in November 2010.

"We'll be all gone by the time it gets implemented," said Bill Koster, whose family has farmed in the Central Valley for 129 years. "If we have another drought year, we're toast. Forget it, we're done."

California farmers this year left about 500,000 acres unplanted in the Central Valley because of the ongoing drought, conditions that are compounded by federal orders to reduce pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as a way to protect a native fish.

So little water was available to Koster that he fallowed 600 acres of what would have been a wheat and barley crop. That's nearly two-thirds of his fields in Vernalis, about 70 miles south of Sacramento. What little water he did receive kept his almond and walnut trees alive.

If passed by voters, the bond part of the legislative water package could lead to the construction of two dams, with some of the water in the new reservoirs destined for farms. It also would launch a major restoration project for the delta, the largest since rescue efforts for the Florida Everglades started in 2000.

Policy changes included in other bills mandate statewide conservation for cities, require local water districts to monitor groundwater levels, and change how California manages the delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast and the conduit through which water for two-thirds of the state passes.

Some farmers, business leaders and city mayors have praised Schwarzenegger and the Legislature for reaching an agreement to upgrade California's antiquated water system and its policies after decades of inaction.

The compromise reached by lawmakers will create a more stable and reliable water supply in the future, said Tom Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District, which covers 600,000 acres of farmland in the Central Valley.

Others fault the legislation for doing little to help the farmers who are struggling today. In addition to the vast acreage left unplowed this year, California's farm crisis has worsened an already high level of unemployment throughout the central section of the state. Jobless rates have climbed above 15 percent in some Central Valley counties that depend on farming, creating the sadly ironic scene of farmworkers standing in handout lines for food.

"There is nothing in here for our current water crisis," said state Sen. Jeff Denham, a Republican whose family grows almonds at their ranch in Merced County. "You're seeing farms that have been passed down from generation to generation that are now bankrupt, employees that are left unemployed and standing in bread lines. It will get worse."

Denham, a Republican who voted against the bond and the four policy bills, doubts voters will approve new spending next year while the state struggles to balance its books. Earlier this week, Schwarzenegger's office estimated that California faces another massive budget deficit, likely between $12.4 billion and $14.4 billion.

Northern California farmers also oppose provisions of the legislation that will impose expenses for monitoring their groundwater. Farmers who grow crops in the delta, which feeds into San Francisco Bay, complained that a new stewardship council has been equipped to approve a controversial canal that would siphon fresh water around the delta and send more of it to Southern California cities and Central Valley farms. Their main worry is that the water left in the delta will be too salty to irrigate their crops.

"A lot of people were patting themselves on the back about this tremendous accomplishment," said Bruce Blodgett, executive director of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau, which advocates for 6,000 families. "I think in 20 years we'll figure out whether anything gets built."

Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources, said the water legislation is intended to address long-term solutions for conservation, storage and other infrastructure projects.

Earlier this week, Schwarzenegger acknowledged that very little of the bond money would be spent in the early years. In the meantime, the Republican governor said his administration was working with U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to get water flowing to the state's farms.

While state and federal water officials say the drought is to blame for much of the water shortage, the pumping restrictions in the delta accounted for about a quarter of the cutbacks this year

Anticipating continued restrictions, many farmers say they are bracing for another year of limited water deliveries. California's largest reservoirs are less than two-thirds as full as they should be this time of year.

Doug Mosebar, president of the California Farm Bureau, said the state needs to refocus its efforts to help farmers get through the next few years.

"We're glad this package has passed," he said. "But the short term is a major concern because you have farmers just hanging on."

APNewsBreak: Search halted for 3 missing fishermen

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:10:46 +0100

CAPE MAY, N.J. (AP) — Nearly a day after a commercial fishing boat sank off New Jersey, the Coast Guard ended its search Thursday for the three crew members.

The presumed deaths of the captain and two others aboard the 44-foot Sea Tractor bring to nine the number of commercial fishermen based in Cape May who have died at sea this year.

Boats, planes and helicopters began searching the storm-tossed ocean shortly after the boat went down around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in treacherous weather due in part to the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida.

There are no plans to resume searching Friday morning, when conditions are expected to be even worse, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said. Seas were topping 20 feet in the search area, with winds gusting to 55 mph Thursday.

"This is nine guys now; this is really hitting home, and it hurts," said Bruce Barto, who knew the Sea Tractor crew for 22 years through his marine supply business and counted them among his customers and friends.

"These guys were like family. Everyone knew them well and loved them."

Missing and presumed lost are Kenneth Rose Jr., 49, the captain of the Sea Tractor; his 75-year-old father, Kenneth Sr., and crew member Larry Forrest, 55. Friends and co-workers said all three are from North Carolina, but the Coast Guard could not immediately confirm their home addresses Thursday.

The loss of the Sea Tractor comes eight months after the Lady Mary — another North Carolina-based boat that operated out of Cape May — sank in March, killing six of the seven crew members on board. A joint Coast Guard-National Transportation Safety Board investigation is ongoing to try to determine the cause of that sinking. The boat owner, Royal Smith Sr., who lost two sons and a brother in the disaster, believes the Lady Mary was struck by another vessel that then left the area.

There were no immediate theories as to what caused the Sea Tractor to sink.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Crystalynn Kneen said search teams covered 387 square miles in poor visibility before suspending the search at 5:02 p.m. Thursday.

Barto and John Cole, general manager of a fishermen's cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., where the Sea Tractor sold its catch twice in the past year, both said they believed the Sea Tractor was fishing for fluke during an 11-day season that ended at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

"They were probably on their way home when the incident occurred," Cole said.

Nearly a dozen commercial fishermen interviewed up and down New Jersey's coast said they believe pressure to catch the last possible load of fish before the season ended might have played a role in the disaster.

"It's a shame they were out there," Barto said. "But the way the regulations are set up, they force you to either go out and get a paycheck, or don't go out."

Clinton supports Philippine antiterrorism fight

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:54:26 +0100

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday vowed support for the Philippine fight against al-Qaida-linked militants and highlighted the U.S. military's role in helping the country recover from deadly typhoons.

Clinton arrived on a two-day visit after devastating back-to-back storms last month killed nearly 1,000 people in the worst floods and landslides to hit the capital, Manila, and the country's north in more than 40 years.

Hundreds of U.S. troops on counterterrorism exercises quickly responded with heavy equipment, ships and helicopters, cleaning streets clogged with debris and ferrying food to isolated villages.

"We were very pleased that we can respond quickly with our military assets," Clinton told reporters. "Filipino and American doctors worked side by side to help thousands of flood victims. We saw our military forces working together to airlift thousands of tons of food, equipment and other vital cargo."

During a visit to a three-story high school that was heavily damaged during floods in Manila's Marikina city, Clinton announced an additional $5 million in U.S. aid. She spoke in front of hundreds of screaming students, some waving small U.S. and Philippine flags.

"We were severely devastated. I hope they will look at how much damage was caused," said Kim Osorio, a senior at Malanday National High School.

She said a U.S.-Philippine military pact that allows the deployment of U.S. troops is an "important expression of our partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest."

U.S. troops will continue to provide assistance in the Philippines, Clinton said, pointing to the Visiting Forces Agreement, a cornerstone of military alliance that has been criticized by Philippine left-wing and nationalist forces.

The Philippine Senate recently passed a nonbinding resolution calling on the government to renegotiate the agreement that allows about 600 U.S. troops to train and advise Filipino soldiers battling the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf in the country's south.

Despite years of U.S. military training and assistance, Filipino troops have struggled to contain the militants, who have recently intensified attacks, blowing up bridges, firing mortar shells and setting off roadside bombs.

"I would just reiterate that the United States stands ready to assist our friends in the Philippines who are seeking to counter terrorism and the threat of extremism and we will be willing to support them in any way that is appropriate that they request," Clinton said.

The 400-strong Abu Sayyaf has been suspected of getting funds and training from al-Qaida and has been blamed for deadly bombings, beheadings and kidnappings that have victimized Americans and Filipinos. It is also suspected of sheltering militants from the larger Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, and the U.S. government has offered millions of dollars in rewards for the capture of its leaders.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Teresa Cerojano and Oliver Teves contributed to this report.

Ida's torrents dump floods along Atlantic coast

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:32:35 +0100

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Relentless rain drenched much of the Atlantic seaboard Thursday, pelting communities from North Carolina northward with gusty winds and heavy rains, inundating streets, stranding drivers and causing three deaths in hard-hit Virginia.

The downpours were the continuing aftermath of late-season Tropical Storm Ida, which quickly weakened once it made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday but still soaked a swath from Alabama to Georgia.

In Virginia, Gov. Timothy Kaine declared a state of emergency and officials urged people in some areas to stay home. Rain and resulting floods were predicted to continue at least through Friday, especially along the state's southeastern coast.

Mari Rosadson, who works at the front desk of the Marriott Waterside in downtown Norfolk, said she and her friend encountered standing water during a commute that took twice as long as usual.

"We made it through fine, thank God," she said.

Three motorists died in weather-related crashes in central and eastern Virginia, said Corrine Geller, state police spokeswoman.

Some motorists were rescued from their cars after getting stuck in high water, said Bob Spieldenner, Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokesman.

Flooding closed several area streets, bridges and a major tunnel as winds worsened high tides that were already 6 to 7 feet above normal.

"Each high tide is going to be worse, because the water's going to keep building," Spieldenner.

In western Virginia, officials reported flooded streets and some people being pulled out of low-lying areas. The Roanoke River also was expected to flood Thursday.

Dominion Power reported more than 32,400 customers without electricity in Virginia and North Carolina, with more than 26,850 of them in southeast Virginia. Most Hampton Roads schools and universities canceled classes, and many businesses closed for the day.

The Port of Hampton Roads closed Thursday afternoon. The Norfolk Naval Station and all other area Navy installations, Langley Air Force Base and Fort Eustis trimmed operations down to essential personnel, officials at the bases said.

Meanwhile, Coast Guard officials continued searching for three commercial fishermen whose boat sank in churning seas off the coast of New Jersey. There were no serious problems elsewhere in the state, though emergency management officials were bracing for tidal flooding along the shore.

In North Carolina, where thousands of residents lost power at some point during the deluge, flood warnings were posted from the mountains to the coast, with trees down and some roads closed. Schools in several districts opened late.

The Coast Guard on Wednesday plucked two people from a sailboat off the North Carolina coast, where seas had churned and winds gusted near 30 mph. Two other people remained with the boat as it was towed back to shore.

The National Weather Service said Thursday morning that rainfall in some places on the coast was near 6 inches.

In South Carolina, state health officials blamed the heavy rains for overwhelming sewage plants in the Columbia area, dumping some raw sewage into three rivers.

In suburban Atlanta, streets and yards that border the Chattahoochee River filled with water as the river spilled over its banks from the rain. The area is still waterlogged from historic flooding in September, which swamped homes and businesses.

In Delaware, power outages were reported and at least two inches of rain had fallen in parts of the state. Some low-lying areas were already flooded, and wind gusts were as high as 55 mph.

___

Associated Press Writers Jack Jones in Columbia, S.C., Dorie Turner in Atlanta, Sue Lindsey in Roanoke, Va., and Sarah Brumfield in Washington contributed to this story.

Va. gov out of town for DNC as his state floods

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:22:07 +0100

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — With his state under an emergency declaration because of heavy rain and floods Thursday, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine was in Arkansas for a Democratic fundraiser.

Kaine is chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He appeared Thursday with Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe at a closed $250-per-ticket luncheon at a home in Little Rock.

Kaine issued the emergency declaration Wednesday night, putting state agencies on alert to respond to flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida.

Aides say the governor is in constant phone contact with the Emergency Operations Center and his chief of staff in Richmond. He returns to Virginia late Thursday and plans to visit flood-damaged areas across the state Saturday.

Republicans say Kaine is neglecting his duties.

(This version CORRECTS APNewsNow. corrects in lead that governor is in Arkansas, not headed there.)

UN children's agency warns of south Sudan famine

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:33:50 +0100

CAIRO (AP) — The deputy head of the U.N. children's agency said Thursday that a famine is looming in southern Sudan because of scarce rainfall and inadequate foreign funds for the region.

Emergency malnutrition levels in children have nearly doubled in at least two out of the 10 southern states, said Hilda Johnson of UNICEF.

Johnson, who spoke to The Associated Press following a tour of several towns and villages hardest hit by the drought, said two other states are closely monitored for similar conditions.

Two of the ten states have "no crops coming out this year," she said "The malnutrition in children there is already at a very, very high emergency level ... and there is absolutely no food."

South Sudan lies in a drought-prone belt of Africa but the situation there has been exacerbated by rising intertribal violence that has claimed 2,000 lives since the start of 2009. A budget crunch on the government of southern Sudan because of the financial crisis has also put strains on the available resources.

Also, South Sudan never fully recovered from the devastating north-south civil war of over 21 years, that left 2 million people dead and many more displaced. That conflict is separate from the war in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

Johnson said nearly 1.5 million people have already been affected by the drought in the war-ravaged south that has a population of over 8 million. The number of the affected is likely to rise by February, she said.

"If we do not provide assistance, the situation doesn't improve," Johnson said in a telephone interview from the city of Juba in southern Sudan. "And if we are seeing that no adequate assistance has been flown in from the agencies then we can see a famine."

Johnson also said it has been a difficult year in terms of commitment from international donors. Despite a revised southern Sudan appeal to take into account the global financial crisis, only 55 percent of money needed has come through. In addition to the $30 million overdue to her agency, she also appealed for additional funding.

Johnson said she believed the evolving emergency would not impact the 2005 north-south peace agreement, which passes through a critical juncture in April 2010 with the first ever nationwide elections.