Sacramento
Multiple fires: A thick curtain of smoke hung over much of Northern California this week, and state officials advised residents to stay indoors to avoid the fallout from wildfires stretching 425 miles from Monterey County to the Oregon border. The fires were sparked by rare lightning strikes that ignited dry grasslands in several counties. One blaze sprawling over 8,500 acres destroyed or damaged 16 houses in Big Sur and threatened old-growth trees in Los Padres National Forest. An ongoing wildfire that started in early June has already burned about 60,000 acres in and near the forest.
Loxahatchee, Fla.
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Sweet deal: In the state of Florida’s biggest land acquisition ever, officials this week struck an unusual deal in which Florida agreed to
buy United States Sugar for $1.75 billion and restore all 292 square miles of the company’s farmlands to their original state as wetlands. The agreement ends years of wrangling between Florida and U.S. Sugar over water use and pollution. The sugarcane farms, located north of Everglades National Park, have released pollutants into swamplands and lowered water levels, leading to wildfires in dry weather. The deal calls for U.S. Sugar to continue operations for six years, then turn over to the state all its assets. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said the deal was “as monumental as the creation of the nation’s first national park, Yellowstone.”
Washington, D.C.
Spying bill clears House: The House last week approved a bill that would limit the federal government’s eavesdropping powers, while granting immunity to companies that helped tap phone and computer lines. Since the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. has tapped the computers and telephones of thousands of Americans without permission of a special court set up to review wiretap requests. At least 40 people have sued the government and the phone companies that cooperated with wiretap requests, alleging invasion of privacy. The bill, a compromise hammered out by Democratic leaders and the White House, shields the companies from liability while re-establishing the special court as arbiter of wiretapping requests. The measure now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.
St. Charles, Mo.
Flood threat eases: The threat of flooding in the Midwest eased a bit this week, but several levees along the Mississippi River gave way, inundating more towns and farms and leading the region’s governors to plead with Washington for more aid. Two levees sprung leaks near the small town of St. Charles, Mo., washing out farms and fields. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said that the floods, brought on by weeks of heavy rains, had caused “the worst agricultural disaster in state history.” At least 10 percent of the state’s corn and soybean acreage has been lost, Daniels said, at a cost of at least $800 million. Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said that the state had suffered “billions of dollars” in damage, with 38,000 residents displaced.
Gloucester, Mass.
‘Pregnancy pact’ debunked: The principal of Gloucester High School touched off a firestorm last week when he told Time that 17 local students had made a pact to get pregnant and raise their children together. But his claim, which generated international news coverage, has been quickly unraveling. Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk said she could find “no evidence” of such an agreement. Then, one of the pregnant students, Lindsey Oliver, told ABC’s Good Morning America that “there was definitely no pact,” but that a few of the girls who’d gotten pregnant said they would support one another. Principal Joseph Sullivan has reportedly told local officials that he can’t remember how he learned of the supposed agreement. Still, school officials can’t explain why so many students got pregnant around the same time. In a typical year, officials said, three or four Gloucester High students become pregnant.
Washington, D.C.
Climate change threat: The first-ever U.S. government analysis of global warming’s impact on national security found that a hotter planet could spark wars in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and touch off an international humanitarian catastrophe. The report, a consensus assessment by all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, attempts to gauge the geopolitical effects of global warming through the year 2030. It predicts a surge in illegal immigration by populations displaced by drought and says that up to 1.2 billion people in Asia will struggle to secure adequate water supplies. The news isn’t all bad, though: The report predicts that warming will boost farm production in North America and add to South America’s water stores.
