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Fires broke out across Central Texas Sunday. The hot, dry, windy conditions made the job that much harder for firefighters. Authorities say 14,000 acres have burned in Bastrop, destroying 300 homes. The fire is near FM 1441 and Highway 21. People in the areas of Wilderness Ridge, Cedar Creek and Alan Creek were evacuated. Four shelters have been set up in the Bastrop area for evacuees. An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 acres of 6,500-acre Bastrop State Park have been burned in the ongoing Bastrop County wildfire. Another fire on Griffin League Ranch is moving south and forced the evacuation of...

how did you convince your spouse to be a prepper? (and not think you're nuts) Post your interesting , amusing , and/or somber antecdotes here. IE: I convinced her the money saved on growing food could be used for some killer pedicures.

Editor's Note: The writer is the author of "A Time to Betray," a book about his double life as a CIA agent in Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Iran is warning Israel that its citizens should flee the Middle East or face annihilation. The chief commander of Iran's Basiji forces, Brig. Gen. Mohammad-Reza Naghdi, recently stated that Iran has no option but to destroy Israel. Ratcheting up the war of words, Naghdi is now threatening Israelis in the "occupied lands" that they are surrounded by mujahedeen of Islam bent on their destruction. "I quote our supreme leader, Imam Khamenei, who clearly stated...

FULL TITLE: Moving on and out: Anthony Weiner and pregnant wife Huma finally sell Queens apartment as they prepare for first child As the Weiners try to put the year's events behind them, it was only natural their marital home - Anthony Weiner's former sexting headquarters - should be one of the first to go. Thankfully for the couple, after putting their Queen's two-bedroom apartment back on the market - after quietly taking it off during the scandal - they have finally found a buyer. Their 875-square-foot home on Ascan Avenue was listed at $449,000 in June.

NASA head Charles Bolden issued a weekend statement through the NASA Headquarters of Emergency Operations advising employees and their families to prepare for unforeseen emergency and/or disasters. Some key excerpts from the video statement follow: They've given me a few minutes just to talk to all of you in our NASA family about emergency preparedness. NASA recently participated in a FEMA exercise called Eagle Horizon that was a part of a continuity of operations of government exercise that we do annually, and I became aware of some things that concerned me about family preparedness... ... So, what I'm asking all...

In 2006, I examined a series of surveys we conducted nationwide and then predicted a collapse of the housing market. Plenty others followed with similar forecasts and postmortems over the following months and years. But my column was among the first. I've made predictions about other slowdowns in the American economy. I've been mostly correct, although in 2010, I suggested that the stock market ultimately would plunge. Turned out that it climbed instead of descending. The fact is that it's easier to predict the weather next month than to get an accurate read on the future of the stock market....

That birds fly and pigs don't is a consequence of laws of nature governing physics and biology. Nothing that transpires on physical planet Earth is any different: the laws of nature are inviolate. Always. [1] This is a truism, and should be readily apparent, as it indeed often is in indigenous cultures where people are entirely dependent on natural forces and what is close at hand. But this truism is rendered invisible by technological and bureaucratic power, the delusional quality of human exceptionalism, and the complexity of civilizations, especially but not exclusively of recent industrialized civilization. That is, we have...

Democrats are preparing a spirited defense of the healthcare law in the face of Republican efforts to dismantle it. Statements from lawmakers, advocates and the administration reveal a multi-pronged strategy as Democrats prepare to deal with a new Republican-controlled House that has made repealing the new law a top priority. Democrats say they'll use the repeal debate to detail what they call the law's benefits, while simultaneously attacking Republicans for wasting time — and money — refighting old battles and pushing back on court rulings against it. Ways and Means health subpanel Chairman Pete Stark (D-Calif.) unveiled

Those nagging whispers warning that the United States is heading for an Argentina-like currency crisis are getting louder. The prospect of a prolonged devaluation of the US dollar is just one more challenge in what has already been a difficult period for savers and investors. Have we really reached the point where the greenback is in danger of becoming an “also ran” currency? (Snip) This correction has already started as millions of unemployed Americans can attest. The Federal Reserve has conceded that unemployment will remain elevated through 2011.

Passengers aboard a British Airways flight were stricken with fear after hearing a false announcement warning them their flight to Hong Kong from London was going to crash. As the flight flew over the North Sea on August, 24 passengers heard this message echo through the cabin: “This is an emergency. We may shortly need to make an emergency landing on water.” Reports the Sun newspaper of London: Michelle Lord, 32, of Preston, Lancs, said: “People were terrified, we all thought we were going to die. They said the pilot hit the wrong button because they were so close together.”...

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del., March 9, 2010 – Army Sgt. 1st Class Jimmy Toro slides ribbons onto a rack, then clips the rack onto a brand-new dress uniform, the finishing touch on a lengthy process to ensure the proper medals and decorations are in place. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jimmy Toro measures the distance between an insignia and ribbon rack while preparing a uniform at the uniform shop of the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Feb. 23, 2010. Toro prepares uniforms for fallen soldiers’ remains. DoD photo by Elaine Wilson  (Click photo for...

3/2/2010 - HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFNS) -- Holloman Air Force Base Airmen began the movement of approximately 150 truckloads of assets that will directly support joint and coalition forces in Afghanistan Feb. 24 here. Members of the 49th Materiel Maintenance Group, the Air Force's only Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources base, have been working countless hours to prepare the equipment for movement since they were notified of the tasking in December 2009. BEAR base is supplying 480,000 square feet of AM-2 matting that will be used to expand the expeditionary aircraft operations throughout Afghanistan. The amount of AM-2 matting...

In 2008, as the U.S. economy teetered under the weight of years of reckless credit expansion, the Bush administration decided against proposals to sweep out the bad debts from the banking system and then fix the regulatory structure—an approach based on tried and tested models from the S&L crisis and other financial crises. We will pay the price for this decision in 2010. That's because the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve are plowing forward with Plan B: Nationalize credit creation and "stimulate" the private sector by spending in its stead.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Dec. 17, 2009 – With Iraq’s national elections approaching, U.S. soldiers are preparing to support the Iraqi army and police while remaining in the background. Four women from Najaf, Iraq, walk down the street as U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, drive past during a reconnaissance mission, Dec. 3, 2009. The soldiers were checking out polling sites in the area for Iraq’s upcoming elections. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Natalie Hedrick  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The soldiers of the 3rd Infantry...

Heat kills boy, 11, lost with his mother in Death Valley The two were stranded for days in a remote area. The child's mother is being treated for severe dehydration. Associated Press August 7, 2009 An 11-year-old boy died in the intense heat of Death Valley National Park after he and his mother became stranded and survived for several days on bottled water, Pop-Tarts and cheese sandwiches, authorities said Friday. Alicia Sanchez, 28, of Las Vegas was found severely dehydrated and remained hospitalized in that city a day after being found with her dead son, her dog and a Jeep...

Given our current situation, anti-Semitism is not just our right, but it is the duty of every Hungarian homeland lover, and we must prepare for armed battle against the Jews." This quote appeared in a newsletter published by an organization calling itself "The trade union of Hungarian police officers prepared for action". Hungarian law allows police officers to organize in trade unions of their own. The union - by its own definition - aims to protect the professional interests of those unionized, and not to partake in political activity. However, the law does not prevent the union from distributing a...

"I refer to myself as a modern survivalist, which means I don’t do without," Spirko explained. "I have a nice TV; I have nice furniture. We are not living in the sticks, but I take all of these things very seriously."

Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order Friday directing state agencies to study the effects of global warming and recommend how the state needs to adapt to such changes in land use planning and building new infrastructure. "Given the serious threat of sea level rise to California's water supply, population and our economy, it's critically important that we make sure the state is prepared," Schwarzenegger said in a written statement. The executive order was signed after a conference Friday in Long Beach on global warming and water infrastructure that was sponsored in part by the state Department of...

TOKYO (AFP) — North Korea has ordered its diplomats overseas to get ready for an "important announcement" that may be related to the health of its reclusive leader Kim Jong-Il, a Japanese newspaper said on Saturday. Pyongyang has told diplomats around the world to stay in one place and refrain from travelling, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, quoting several unnamed sources familiar with North Korean issues. The sources speculated the message could be related to North Korea's relations with South Korea or the health of Kim, Japan's best-selling daily said, adding that the announcement was expected in a few days.

FORT LEWIS, Wash., Aug. 31, 2007 – There’s a sense of giddiness here as families prepare for their “Arrowhead Brigade” Strykers to return home after a 15-month deployment to Iraq. An advance party from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) is slated to arrive at neighboring McChord Air Force Base on Sept. 3, finalizing groundwork for almost 4,000 more troops to fly in beginning Sept. 11. Jubilant and frequently tearful reunions will play out again and again over the next week to 10 days, as one plane after another touches down to bring the full...