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Earthquakes on the East Coast are rare but sea level rise and frequent flooding may lead to a higher frequency of quakes. But here's why you shouldn't be alarmed. "An earthquake is based on tectonic plates, and New York is sitting on a 'lazy' plate, which is good, meaning we do not have so many earthquakes, but there are other things that happen -- too much rain or drought," Dr. Marsellos told NBC New York. Long periods of flooding can cause water levels to rise leading to possible landslides. Those slides can "lubricate" faults and may account for a higher...

WASHINGTON — Three Democratic congressmen unveiled legislation Friday to rename a federal prison in Miami after former President Donald Trump. The bill — offered by Reps. Gerry Connolly, of Virginia; Jared Moskowitz, of Florida; and John Garamendi, of California — comes in response to a measure introduced by a group of House Republicans to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump. The Democrats' bill would rename the Miami Federal Correctional Institution in Florida the "Donald J. Trump Federal Correctional Institution." “When our Republican colleagues introduced their bill to rename Dulles after Donald Trump, I said the more fitting option would...

The Biden administration will soon roll out a sweeping new student loan forgiveness proposal that could impact millions of Americans. Despite its smaller scope than President Joe Biden’s first education debt relief plan that the Supreme Court ultimately blocked, this new aid package could still forgive the debt for as many as 10 million Americans, according to one rough estimate by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. Biden is planning to provide details of his new debt forgiveness plan during a speech Monday in Madison, Wisconsin, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The president likely wants to start forgiving debt...

CNN - The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season isn’t here yet, but is already shaping up to be one for the books, with more hurricanes and named storms predicted in a pre-season forecast from Colorado State University than ever before. This June through November could see 23 named storms in all, including 11 hurricanes and five Category 3 or higher “major” hurricanes, according to the university’s Atlantic hurricane season forecast, released Thursday. “This is the most active April forecast that we have ever issued,” lead forecaster Phil Klotzbach told CNN. “Our prior highest hurricane forecast in April was 9 hurricanes, which...

TEL AVIV — When Mai Kamal Zaqout learned she was pregnant in December, she and her husband, Ahmad, felt something they hadn’t experienced in many weeks in Gaza: happiness — a glimmer of optimism amid the war’s devastation and despair. Zaqout, 22, said Ahmad placed his hand on her belly and told her: “This is it. She is our last hope.” But within months, that hope was shattered. Ahmad, 29, was killed in an airstrike. Then Zaqout fled south to Rafah, where more than a million people have sought refuge, in hopes of giving birth to her daughter in safety....

The Biden administration announced recipients of the climate law’s biggest grant program Thursday, kicking off a $20 billion effort to transform community lending and green the U.S. economy. EPA will award eight initial grants under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, ranging in size from $400 million to almost $7 billion. The largest award will go to Climate United, a partnership that includes a nonprofit impact investment firm and two affordable housing lenders. EPA chose three nonprofits — Climate United, Coalition for Green Capital and Power Forward Communities — to distribute a total of $14 billion in capital to finance projects...

Changing weather patterns induced by climate change are contributing to shifts in the location of terrorist activity, according to new research. An exploratory study led by extremism expert Dr Jared Dmello, from the University of Adelaide's School of Social Sciences, found some climatological variables affected terrorist activity in India. "Suitability analyses indicate that all the climatological variables tested -- temperature, precipitation, and elevation -- relate to shifting patterns of terrorist activity," says Dr Dmello. "Urban centres have increasingly grown in population density, particularly in spaces with favourable climates, and some of the more remote areas once used by extremists have...

A recent study from the Journal of Climate Change and Health indicates climate change may widen preexisting health disparities in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer populations. "Can’t Stop Change: Queer Climate Stories from the Florida Frontlines” is a Queers 4 Climate Justice documentary that premiered last weekend at the Tampa Bay Transgender Film Festival. It illustrates those disparities and more — and the work being done to counteract them. The documentary follows the production team on a road trip across Florida to meet with 14 LGBTQ+ artists, organizers and activists. “A lot of queer and trans people are...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- On Tuesday, the Chicago Health Department confirmed there are some cases of tuberculosis among migrants newly arrived in the city. They are not saying exactly how many cases there are, but did say it's a "small number." The city pointed out that many residents of Central America and South America have latent TB infections, which means they can't pass the virus, but it does cause a positive test result. The health department said it is taking steps to keep these infections contained.

WASHINGTON — A group of House Republicans has introduced legislation to rename Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia after former President Donald Trump. Some House Democrats expressed disbelief over the move to rename the airport, located 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. "This idea is ridiculous, but sadly real," Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va.. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., wrote in a thread on X Tuesday that one of Trump's first acts as president was "a racist Muslim ban that blocked permanent American residents from their own country." Former Rep. Denver Riggleman, R-Va., who assisted the House select committee that investigated...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Student loan burrowers could be missing out on a break through the Department of Education's Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan. "I have both loans for my graduate and undergraduate degree but if it can help me lower my payment that would be helpful," said borrower Peace Odili. The Department of Education said more people like Odili could be eligible for early loan forgiveness if they try to qualify for the SAVE plan. "It is very strenuous for a lot of people and finding resources like this to help us pay for it would be...

The Vermont Legislature is advancing legislation requiring big fossil fuel companies pay a share of the damage caused by climate change after the state suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme weather. “In order to remedy the problems created by washed out roads, downed electrical wires, damaged crops and repeated flooding, the largest fossil fuel entities that have contributed to climate change should also contribute to fixing the problem that they caused,” Sen. Nader Hashim, a Democrat from Windham County, said to Senate colleagues on Friday. It’s a polluter-pays model affecting companies engaged in the trade or business...

The jobs board for the American Climate Corps is set to officially launch in April, and it’s likely to be flooded with eager applicants. Since President Biden announced the New Deal-inspired program in September, more than 50,000 people have expressed interest in joining. “I think the idea is to make it as broad as possible so all young people can find something, whether they’re at a 7th-grade reading level and they’re coming out of the foster care or juvenile justice system, or whether they’re a PhD candidate at a university,” said Mary Ellen Sprenkel, president and CEO of The Corps...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The video shared by former President Donald Trump features horror movie music and footage of migrants purportedly entering the U.S. from countries including Cameroon, Afghanistan and China. Shots of men with tattoos and videos of violent crime are set against close-ups of people waving and wrapping themselves in American flags. “They’re coming by the thousands,” Trump says in the video, posted on his social media site. “We will secure our borders. And we will restore sovereignty.” In his speeches and online posts, Trump has ramped up anti-immigrant rhetoric as he seeks the White House a third time,...

Updated: Sunday, March 31, 2024 5:08PM CHICAGO (WLS) -- At least 31 people were shot, three fatally, in weekend gun violence across Chicago, police said. Twenty-one of the shootings happened between Saturday night into Sunday morning. A 33-year-old man was pumping gas there when a white Infiniti pulled up, police said. Three people got out and fired gunshots and rifle rounds at the man before fleeing the scene. Police said the victim, shot nine times in his body, then drove himself to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he is in critical condition. A 31-year-old woman, who was in the man's vehicle,...

Climate change is making giant heat waves crawl slower across the globe and they are baking more people for a longer time with higher temperatures over larger areas, a new study finds. Since 1979, global heat waves are moving 20% more slowly — meaning more people stay hot longer — and they are happening 67% more often, according to a study in Friday’s Science Advances. The study found the highest temperatures in the heat waves are warmer than 40 years ago and the area under a heat dome is larger. Studies have shown heat waves worsening before, but this one...

NEW YORK -- The climate clock in Union Square is a constant reminder to New Yorkers of climate change, counting down the critical time window to reach zero emissions, but the existential nature of the installation leaves some feeling more discouraged than motivated. But there are some positive changemakers in the fight against climate change in our city. Johanna Lawton is a project manager at Rebuild by Design, a nonprofit organization that works to plan for the future with communities that are disproportionately affected by climate racism, among other things. This increased variability and extremes that we're having from climate...

If there is a magic way to stop climate change from wreaking havoc on Florida, reverse sea-level rise and lower the kind of scalding summer temperatures Miami saw last year, lawmakers may have figured it out. It’s called denial. It hasn’t worked in past decades. A 2023 report by scientists, published in the journal Bioscience, warned that inaction to reduce carbon emissions is driving the planet toward “dangerous instability.” (The highest Earth temperature ever recorded happened last July). Apparently, the Republican-dominated Legislature’s plan on how to address climate change in Florida before it’s too late is to hit the “delete”...

Four of Oakland’s biggest employers are funding a $10 million security plan for the downtown area amid growing crime concerns. Blue Shield of California, The Clorox Company, Kaiser Permanente and PG&E, all headquartered in Oakland, announced Thursday in a joint news release that they're working together on the program. It includes an increased security presence downtown, safety training for employees and subsidized transportation and escorts for workers walking in the area. In the district that includes downtown Oakland, violent crime increased by 49% between 2022 and 2023, according to statistics from the Oakland Police Department. Robberies and aggravated assaults also...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- This week, thousands of people are getting emails from the Biden-Harris administration saying their student loan debt is canceled. More people are getting billions in student loan forgiveness because of changes to rules in a program for public service workers. Experts say this forgiveness can also help other ways. Now, people struggling with inflation can use their money to pay off record-high credit card debt and other bills.