AP – Tornadoes fueled by unusually warm air pummeled the South and Midwest on Friday, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more across Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois. Forecasters said storms could hit along a stretch from near Chicago to New Orleans later in the evening as New Year’s Eve celebrations begin.
AFP – Tornados tore through parts of the US states of Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois on Friday, killing at least six people and leaving damage and power outages in its wake, authorities said.
AP – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was criticized for vacationing in Florida as a blizzard pummeled the East Coast, defended his trip and praised his state for its response to the storm, which dumped nearly three feet of snow in some parts.
SPACE.com – The year 2011 promises to be a dazzling one
for skywatchers, and it hits the ground running with a partial solar
eclipse and meteor shower.
AP – In this humid, lush region where an important part of the world’s breakfast is born, the evidence of climate change is — literally — a weak tea.
Reuters – Transocean Ltd, the world’s biggest offshore rig contractor, aims to stop a seventh U.S. body from investigating the accident that sank one of its rigs while causing the largest U.S. offshore oil spill.
AFP – Freezing temperatures and exceptional snowfalls made for a chilly end to 2010 for central and western US states on Friday, forecasters and media reports said.
The Christian Science Monitor – Newly discovered cracks in the space shuttle Discovery’s external fuel tank will keep repair crews busy into the New Year’s weekend as NASA eyes a Feb. 3 launch for the orbiter and its six-member crew.
AFP – Nine schoolgirls were among 15 people killed when torrential rains swept away a bus in southern Egypt, police said in a final toll on Friday, two days after the tragedy.
AP – A tornado fueled by an unusually warm winter air sliced through parts of northwestern Arkansas early on New Year’s Eve, killing at least three people, injuring several others and knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses.
