As Hurricane Irene heads toward the East Coast of the United States, we also have to worry about tornadoes. Tornadoes often form as a result of hurricanes. Tornado conditions can be predicted, but actual storms cannot. The National Weather Service issues tornado watches (a tornado is possible) and warnings (a tornado has been sighted). They are massive rotating funnel-shaped columns of air that extend from a thunderstorm formation. The columns are transparent, but as they accumulate dust and debris, they take on the shape of a dark spiraling cloud. The …
We’ve discussed earthquakes and Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast, but it doesn’t stop there. One disaster that frequently accompanies the storm surge created by hurricanes and the accompanying heavy rains is floods. A flood occurs when water inundates or overflows land that is normally dry. This definition does not include tsunamis and storm surges. Floods can result from many causes, including torrential rains and dam and levee breaks. They can occur suddenly or due to conditions built up over days, meaning advance warning is sometimes possible. Floods …
In what has been described as an ”act of international terrorism,” news agencies report that a suicide car bomb struck the United Nations building in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Friday. Though details are sketchy and there is no immediate claim of responsibility, if the attack is, indeed, an act of terrorism, it reaffirms what we already know: The world continues to face an ongoing threat–and America must be prepared for the next wave of terrorist attacks. Since September 11, 2001, at least 40 Islamist-inspired terror plots aimed at the United States have …
Driving the conversation: The east coast of the United States is bracing itself for a pounding from Hurricane Irene, expected to hit on Saturday. North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut have all declared a state of emergency. While the dangers to residents are worrisome, some commentators are wondering whether the economic damage wrought by the hurricane might make for its most devastating impact. Oil prices have already risen on the news that refinery closures could disrupt supply on the east coast. New York Times statistician Nate …
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Reports from employers continue to belie President Obama’s repeated insistence that, under his new health care law, Americans would not lose their employer-provided health insurance coverage. A new survey shows that more than one in ten midsized and large employers are at least “somewhat likely” to drop their health coverage once Obamacare’s “exchanges” go into effect in 2014. “Let me be exactly clear about what health care reform means to you,” President Obama said during his Obamacare push. “First of all, if you’ve got health insurance, you like your doctors, …
Some people will never be satisfied. Case in point: AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, who today lambasted President Barack Obama for not doing enough to create jobs—which in his world means “spend more on infrastructure so my union constituency benefits.” Unfortunately for America, Obama has already done too much spending. USA Today reports on the union leader’s remarks at a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor: Trumka said that, rather than cut, the government needs to spend more money on infrastructure to update crumbling highways, rails and other public entities, as …
Whether it is the delayed release of the 2011 Department of Defense (DOD) report on Chinese military and security developments or Vice President Joe Biden’s statements regarding Chinese human rights, it is becoming clear that the Obama Administration has an utterly incoherent view of the People’s Republic of China. Biden apparently sees his statement (“Your policy has been one which I fully understand—I’m not second-guessing—of one child per family”) as actually arguing against the Chinese policy. Similarly, even as the Administration was signaling, just before the Vice President’s trip, that …
Though parents might be rejoicing that the time has come for their kids to head back to school, their happiness could be tempered by a little-known fact: They’re paying import taxes on everything from clothes to lunchboxes, musical instruments to pencils. In 2010, the government collected $25.9 billion in tariffs on imported items. Shoppers paid a total of $13.9 billion in tariffs on products like jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. Tariffs are a hidden tax that increases the price of many popular back-to-school items. In the chart below, you can …
Amidst the fuzziness of the Obama Administration “reset” policy with the Russian Federation, the movie Five Days of War portrays Russia’s dark side, writes Heritage’s analyst James Carafano in a recent post. Set against the backdrop of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, the film, directed by Renny Harlin, draws from firsthand accounts—the film ends with testimonies from Georgians who lost family members in the war—and reports by Human Rights Watch of Russian atrocities. These accounts also led Harlin to take decidedly pro-Georgian stance. The Obama Administration has been hailing its reset …
