The Faces of Health Care

Article by David Hudson
Washington D.C.--Susan T. from Quincy, Illinois recently wrote the President to say thanks for his “courage and conviction to make sure every American has access to health insurance.”
Having worked since she was 15, Susan calls herself “lucky” for having had a successful career and healthy life for many years. As a result of her health, she didn’t put much thought into our country’s health care system.
That all changed about six years ago, however, when Susan was diagnosed with Lupus.
When she decided to start her own company in February 2011 with her business partner, she gave up a substantial salary from her previous job. She didn’t realize, however, that she was also giving up the opportunity to have health insurance, as she would later be denied almost any chance at health coverage because of her Lupus diagnosis.
“I cannot tell you the sinking feeling I had that at any moment, everything I worked for my entire life could be gone due to a serious illness or injury,” she writes.
But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, she could no longer be denied coverage just because of a pre-existing condition.
“I finally had good coverage, better than I had expected…I’m not sure I have ever had a more peaceful night’s sleep,” she writes. “This is the definition of a hand up, not a hand out.”

NOAA and partners document surge in Great Lakes water levels

 

Article posted by North Carolina Gazette Photo by Steven J. Myers

Ann Arbor, MI--Scientists at the Army Corps of Engineers, Environment Canada, and NOAA recently documented a record-setting surge in water levels on Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron that began in January 2013, and has continued through November 2014. The United States and Canadian federal agencies expect water levels to stay near or above average on all of the Great Lakes over the next six months.
At no other point in recorded history have water levels risen as much on Lake Superior and Michigan-Huron over the same two-year period. Since September 2014, all of the Great Lakes have been above their seasonal averages for the first time since the late 1990s.
“The recent surge in water levels brings to an end a 15-year period of persistent below-average water levels on Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron,” said Drew Gronewold, a research hydrologist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. “However, it is uncertain if, years from now, water levels will continue to rise, or if they will fall again to below-average levels.” 

Docks were high and dry

Low water levels were the story on Lake Michigan and across the Great Lakes in early 2013, as pictured here in Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan. (Michigan Sea Grant)

Part of the uncertainty in long-term future water levels projections comes from the challenge of predicting not only the major drivers of the Great Lakes water budget (which are over-lake precipitation, runoff and over-lake evaporation) but also large-scale climate forces, such as last winter's Arctic polar vortex anomaly, which influence those drivers. The surprisingly swift rebound in water levels broke records across the region. The net rise in water levels on Lake Superior from January 2013 through November 2014 was roughly 2.3 feet (about 0.7 meters), the highest net increase ever recorded for that 23-month period. Similarly, on Lake Michigan-Huron, the net rise in water levels from the record-low in January 2013 through November 2014 was 3.2 feet (about 1 meter), an increase that tied the previous record set in 1950-1951 for the same 23-month period.
The current surge in water levels has largely provided relief to communities, businesses and industries that depend on the Great Lakes, including commercial shipping, hydropower, recreational boating and tourism. However, high water levels can have negative effects as well, including coastal erosion, flooding, and property damage along the shoreline. The severe storm in October 2014 that lashed the shores of southern Lake Michigan is just one example.
Research from NOAA, the Army Corps, Environment Canada, and regional academic institutions indicates that increases in seasonal precipitation are the major cause of the recent water level surge. Measurements from a growing network of off-shore evaporation monitoring stations indicate that evaporation rates in the recent two-year period have not been particularly low despite recent cold winter temperatures and record high ice cover. So while high evaporation rates were a major factor in keeping water levels low between 1998 and 2013, an increase in precipitation appears to be the major driver of the recent water level surge. 
Data suggests that precipitation in the Lake Superior and Lake Michigan-Huron basins was about 10 percent above long-term averages in both 2013 and 2014, while precipitation in 2012 (a year of drought that preceded the record low water levels on Michigan-Huron) was roughly 10 percent below the long-term average. 
NOAA and Army Corps scientists are also studying how a changing climate may contribute to water level changes. To improve the understanding of the relationship between climate change and Great Lakes water levels, GLERL researchers and their academic partners analyze relationships between evaporation from the lakes, seasonal ice cover, and long-term heat storage in the lakes.
This research would not be possible without the continuous operational water level and meteorological monitoring networks provided by U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, as well as the research-oriented monitoring stations of partner academic institutions. The water level stations maintained by the NOAA/National Ocean Service Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS), for example, provide one of the longest high quality hydrometeorological data sets in North America, with data beginning in 1860. Research and monitoring of Great Lakes water levels and regional meteorological conditions is an important part of NOAA’s mission to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts.

Christmas Eve Bomb Gives Dairy Employees Scare

Article by Affiliate Arkansas Journal
Little Rock-- Little Rock Fire Department's Bomb Squad responded to Hiland Dairy at 6901 Interstate 30 in Little Rock today after an employee brought an improvised explosive device to his work to show to another employee. The employee told police he found the package on his driveway and took it inside to plug it in, but it blew a fuse in his house. Police believe the man was targeted but that the bomb builder didn't know how to make it work. 

Mississippi Tornado Takes The Life Of Four

Article by Affiliate Mississippi Gazette

Jackson, MS-- Tornados leave a trail of wide spread damage with four dead and  at least 20 injured Tuesday. The tornados were reported in Louisiana and Mississippi with the heaviest damage reported in Mississippi. Several Southeastern states were issued watches and warnings. The National Weather Service office at Jackson, Mississippi, said, "During the afternoon of Dec 23, just enough ingredients came together to support numerous severe storms ahead of a cold front. Across the Lower Mississippi River Valley, peak heating contributed to decent instability in the developing warm sector in advance of the front. Sufficient low level wind shear and strong winds aloft were also in place as a decent upper low was located to our north. This helped to support organized thunderstorm activity along with quite a few supercell storms. A long lived, persistent, storm tracked across the southeastern counties (near Columbia, Mississippi to Sumrall and Laurel to Heidelberg, Mississippi line) and produced multiple tornadoes. Widespread damage occurred in southern Columbia, near Sumrall and near Laurel and areas in Marion, Jones and Clarke counties. Sadly, four confirmed fatalities occurred, with two near Columbia in Marion County and two near Laurel in Jones County. Severe storms moved out of the region by late afternoon to early Tuesday evening. The front continued to track through the area through the evening of December 23."

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge Helps Rescued Exotic Animals Have A Better Life

Article posted by North Carolina Gazette
Eureka Springs, AR-- For over 20 years, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge has operated its wildlife sanctuary, where it cares for wild animals who have been rescued and relocated from zoos, circuses, roadside "attractions," and the cruel and foolish exotic pet industry.
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge cares for more than 100 tigers, lions, bears, and other wildlife.

Some of the Animals include Sugar, a black bear who came to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in 2009 from
Greenbriar, Ark. Sugar was housed in the middle of a private
junkyard, in a cage too short for her to stand up in. It was full
of mud and filth that had built up for nearly twelve years. It
took her a little while to adjust to her new and improved living
conditions, but now she’s doing great.

Or Sierra, a three-year-old de-clawed Bengal tiger, was rescued
from Grapevine, Tex. She had been confiscated by the SPCA from
Texas about two months before and placed in Grapevine Humane
Society until Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge found her. Sierra had lived on a poor diet of dog food and was in very bad condition. During her two month stay at the Humane Society, she had gained 70 pounds just by getting a proper diet. Since Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge rescues cats for no fee,
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge was contacted and asked to take Sierra. Because of her unhealthy diet as a cub, Sierra is about one third of the size that an adult female tiger should be. She has pigeon toes and severe scoliosis. Because of the deformities in her hips, Sierra is on a strict diet of boneless meat.

Threat To Blow Up I-55 Bridge Received By FBI

Article by Affiliate Tennessee Gazette 
Memphis, TN--Local officials acted on an anonymous tip today that someone was planning to blow up the I-55 bridge which goes from West Memphis, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee. The bridge crosses the Mississippi River. It opened on December 17, 1949. The FBI was quick to say that the threats have no credible source.

Home Fires Are A Real Disaster

Article Posted by North Carolina Gazette  Photo by Staff Photographer David Lear

Charlotte--During 2014, the American Red Cross helped more people affected by home fires than all other disasters combined. Day after day and in neighborhoods from coast to coast, their biggest disaster threat isn’t from tornadoes, hurricanes and floods, but home fires. Nearly every 8 minutes, the Red Cross responds to a disaster in the community and approximately 93 percent of these are home fires.

Local American Red Cross volunteers in 12,500 communities across the nation responded at all hours of the day with food, blankets and comfort to help more than 211,000 people with nowhere else to turn after home fires in 2014. The Red Cross also provided financial support to tens of thousands of households after home fires to help replace lost belongings and begin the long road to recovery.

The work doesn’t end after the smoke clears. Red Cross volunteers across the country are helping to save lives through a nationwide campaign to reduce the number of home fire deaths and injuries by 25 percent over the next five years. Since the campaign launched in October, "we’ve already reached more than 29,000 people by installing more than 17,000 smoke alarms.These efforts have already saved five lives and we hope this is only the beginning." said the American Red Cross.

To learn more about the American Red Cross CLICK HERE