Photos: Humboldt Squid Have a Bad Day at the Beach

Photograph by Chris Elmenhurst, Surf the Spot Photography

“Strandings have been taking place with increased frequency along the west coast over the past ten years,” noted NOAA’s Field, “as this population of squid seems to be expanding its range—likely a consequence of climate change—and can be very abundant at times.” (Learn about other jumbo squid strandings.)

Humboldt squid are typically found in warmer waters farther south in theGulf of California (map) and off the coast ofPeru. “[But] we find them up north here during warmer water time periods,” said ocean sciences researcherKenneth Bruland with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).

Coastal upwelling—when winds blowing south drive ocean circulation to bring cold, nutrient-rich waters up from the deep—ceases during the fall and winter and warmer water is found closer to shore. Bruland noted that climate change, and the resulting areas of low oxygen, “could be a major factor” in drawing jumbo squid north.

Published December 24, 2012

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Winter Storms Spawn Tornadoes Across South













A nasty Christmastime storm system spawned blizzard conditions in some states and at least 15 reported tornadoes in the South, damaging homes, taking out power lines and dangerously snarling holiday travel.


Severe weather swept across the United States during the Christmas holiday, bringing tornadoes and intense thunderstorms to the Gulf Coast, while dumping heavy snow and freezing rain on the Southern Plains.


At least 15 tornadoes were reported today from Texas to Alabama, putting this storm system potentially on track to be one of the largest Christmas day tornado outbreaks on record.


One large tornado was reported in Mobile, Ala., where there are about 19,000 customers without power and 23,429 statewide, according to Alabama Power. Kerry Burns, a Mobile resident originally from Boston, said the storm "sounded like a freight train."


Some buildings in the area, including some churches and a local high school, were reportedly damaged. Ray Uballe, another Mobile resident, said his dad was shaken up.


"He was in his apartment," Uballe said. "He said it sounded like an airplane and then the door flung open and then there was just debris flying."


Douglas Mark Nix, president of the Infirmary Health System, said one of their Mobile hospitals lost power and sustained damage. There were no early reports of injuries to staff or patients.


"We are operating now on generator power," he said. "We do not have substantial damage but we do have a number of windows out and we have some ceiling tiles down, throughout the facility at the main hospital.


"We can run for at least two weeks but I saw power crews out all over the city so I fully expect power to be restored within the next day or so," Nix added.






Melinda Martinez/The Daily Town Talk/AP Photo















Winter Weather Causes Holiday Travel Problems Watch Video





At least eight states were issued blizzard warnings today, as the storms made highways dangerously slick heading into one of the busiest travel days of the year.


Oklahoma got about 7 inches of snow all over the state making for treacherous road conditions. ABC News affiliate KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City said the weather was being blamed for a 21-vehicle wreck on Interstate 40, but no one was seriously injured.


Ice accumulation in Arkansas bent trees and power lines, leaving at least 50,000 customers across the state without power. About 10 inches of snow fell on Fayetteville, Ark.


The storms, which first wreaked havoc on the West Coast before moving east, are being blamed for at least one death in Texas.


Investigators in the Houston area told ABC state KTRK-TV in Houston that a young man was trying to move a downed tree that was blocking the roadway when another one snapped and fell on top of him. He was later pronounced dead at a hopsital.


The last time a number of tornadoes hit the Gulf Coast area around Christmas Day was in 2009, when 22 tornadoes struck on Christmas Eve morning, National Weather Service spokesman Chris Vaccaro told ABC News over email.


The deadliest Christmastime tornado outbreak on record was Dec. 24 to 26, 1982, when 29 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi killed three people and injured 32.


The last killer tornado around Christmas, Vaccaro said, was a Christmas Eve EF4 in Tennessee in 1988, which killed one person and injured seven. EF4 tornadoes can produce winds up to 200 mph.


No official word yet on the strength of the string of tornadoes reported today.


While some were preparing for a Christmas feast, others were hunkered down.


More than 180 flights nationwide were canceled by midday, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com. More than half were canceled by American Airlines and its regional affiliate, American Eagle.


The storm system is expected to continue east into Georgia and the Carolinas Wednesday and could potentially spawn more tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service.


ABC News' Matt Gutman, Max Golembo and ABC News Radio contributed to this report.



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Federal workers feel unease over potential layoffs, furloughs unleashed by ‘fiscal cliff’



President Obama and members of Congress headed out of town late last week for a Christmas break without reaching a deal to avoid $110 billion in automatic across-the-board spending cuts, which would hamstring operations ranging from weather forecasting and air traffic control to the purchase of spare parts for weapons systems. So civil servants are bracing for the blow, wondering whether their work will be upended — and whether they may be forced to take unpaid days off.


“This could change day by day,” said Antonio Webb, 25, who works in the mail service that handles correspondence for the Department of Homeland Security. “You could come into work and the next day they say, ‘We don’t need you because we have to cut so much.’ ”

Many federal workers have become jaded after a two-year pay freeze and congressional fights over spending that keep agencies lurching from one stopgap budget to another. Until recently, few employees thought it could come to this: Budget cuts of 8 to 10 percent divided equally between military and domestic agencies. Only a few programs, like Social Security, veterans benefits and some services for the poor, are exempted.

“Sure, we continue to do our jobs,” said Carl Eichenwald, who works in enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency. “But all of this uncertainty is disruptive for our mission. A lot of time gets spent spinning wheels. We won’t know whether we can do inspections. Do we have 100 percent of our budget, or 85 percent?”

Top congressional aides said Monday that discussions of how to avert the fiscal cliff had come to a virtual standstill. Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) had not spoken since Friday.

Each side in the negotiations urged the other to come up with a way around the impasse. A senior Democratic aide said Boehner needs to return from the holiday with a “cleared head and a readiness to deal.” The aide said that there is no time for Democrats to unilaterally advance a bill in the Senate, adding that they can press forward with legislation only if they are assured by Republican leaders of GOP support.

A senior Senate Republican aide insisted, however, that it is now up to Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and his fellow Democrats to figure out what they can pass in the Senate without worrying about the Republican-controlled House.

As the year-end deadline approaches, federal employees have been told very little by their bosses about how their agencies are preparing to carry out huge spending reductions.

“It seemed like we were almost immune to thinking that something real was going to come of it,” said Fernando Cutz, an analyst for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Then came an e-mailed memo on Thursday from agency heads to employees. The cuts would be “significant and harmful to our collective mission.” Furloughs “or other personnel actions” — layoffs — remain a real possibility.

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BCA to look into Sembawang homes affected by cracks






SINGAPORE: The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is looking into the concerns of some residents in Sembawang who have suffered damage to their properties.

Minister for Law and Foreign Affairs as well as MP for the area K Shanmugam visited the homes of affected residents along Jalan Legundi, Jalan Derum and Sembong Road on Sunday and posted photos of the damage on his Facebook page.

At least 13 households have complained of cracks in their homes.

Mr Shanmugam said the cracks seem to have occurred after work started on a nearby development.

The minister has asked BCA to arrange for the developer to repair the homes with more serious damage first before Chinese New Year.

He also added that there would be a need to look at legal solutions if the developer does not accept responsibility.

A dialogue with the developer to address the concerns of residents is expected in two weeks.

- CNA/jc



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Delhi gang rape case: Constable Subhash Tomar cremated with full state honours

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police constable Subhash Tomar was cremated with full state honours here on Tuesday.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, minister of state for home RPN Singh, Union minister Ajit Singh and Union home secretary RK Singh were present at the Nigambodh Ghat here to pay their last respects.

Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar and other senior officials from the police department also attended the cremation ceremony.

Tomar, who suffered serious injuries during violent protests at India Gate on Sunday, died today after battling for life at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here.

Tomar, who was on ventilator since his admission at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on Sunday evening, was declared dead at 6.40am.

Delhi Police, which has described the death of constable Tomar as extremely tragic, has earlier decided that all personnel will donate one day's salary to his family.

"Delhi Police family and our Commissioner stand with his family and all compensation and other things admissible will be granted to him," said Delhi Police PRO Rajan Bhagat.

"Constable Subhash Tomar, 45-year-old, posted at PS Karawal Nagar was deployed on law and order duties on Sunday in New Delhi district succumbed to his injuries which he suffered during the violence created by protestors. The Delhi Police stands with his family and we are in deep sorrow," he added.

Tomar is survived by his wife and three children - two sons and a daughter.

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Photos: Humboldt Squid Have a Bad Day at the Beach

Photograph by Chris Elmenhurst, Surf the Spot Photography

“Strandings have been taking place with increased frequency along the west coast over the past ten years,” noted NOAA’s Field, “as this population of squid seems to be expanding its range—likely a consequence of climate change—and can be very abundant at times.” (Learn about other jumbo squid strandings.)

Humboldt squid are typically found in warmer waters farther south in theGulf of California (map) and off the coast ofPeru. “[But] we find them up north here during warmer water time periods,” said ocean sciences researcherKenneth Bruland with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).

Coastal upwelling—when winds blowing south drive ocean circulation to bring cold, nutrient-rich waters up from the deep—ceases during the fall and winter and warmer water is found closer to shore. Bruland noted that climate change, and the resulting areas of low oxygen, “could be a major factor” in drawing jumbo squid north.

Published December 24, 2012

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Newtown Christmas: 'We Know They'll Feel Loved'













As residents prepared to observe Christmas less than two weeks after a gunman killed 20 children and six educators at an elementary school, people sharing in the town's mourning brought offerings of cards, handmade snowflakes and sympathy.



Tiny empty Christmas stockings with the victims' names on them hung from trees in the neighborhood where the children were shot. On Christmas Eve, residents said they would light luminaries outside their homes in memory of the victims.



"We know that they'll feel loved. They'll feel that somebody actually cares," said Treyvon Smalls, a 15-year-old from a few towns away who arrived at town hall with hundreds of cards and paper snowflakes collected from around the state.



At the Trinity Episcopal Church, less than 2 miles from the school, an overflow crowd of several hundred people attended Christmas Eve services. They were greeted by the sounds of a children's choir echoing throughout a sanctuary hall that had its walls decorated with green wreaths adorned with red bows.



The church program said flowers were donated in honor of Sandy Hook shooting victims, identified by name or as the "school angels" and "Sandy Hook families."






Julio Cortez, File/AP Photo











U.S. Sends Christmas Wishes to Newtown, Conn. Watch Video









Season of Giving: Newtown Tragedy Inspires Country to Spread Kindness Watch Video









Gun Violence Victims, Survivors Share Thoughts After Newtown Massacre Watch Video






The service, which generally took on a celebratory tone, made only a few vague references to the shooting. Pastor Kathie Adams-Shepherd led the congregation in praying "that the joy and consolation of the wonderful counselor might enliven all who are touched by illness, danger, or grief, especially all those families affected by the shootings in Sandy Hook."



Police say the gunman, Adam Lanza, killed his mother in her bed before his Dec. 14 rampage and committed suicide as he heard officers arriving. Authorities have yet to give a theory about his motive.



While the grief is still fresh, some residents are urging political activism in the wake of the tragedy. A grassroots group called Newtown United has been meeting at the library to talk about issues ranging from gun control, to increasing mental health services to the types of memorials that could be erected for the victims. Some clergy members have said they also intend to push for change.



"We seek not to be the town of tragedy," said Rabbi Shaul Praver of Congregation Adath Israel. "But, we seek to be the town where all the great changes started."



Since the shooting, messages similar to the ones delivered Monday have arrived from around the world. People have donated toys, books, money and more. A United Way fund, one of many, has collected $3 million. People have given nearly $500,000 to a memorial scholarship fund at the University of Connecticut. On Christmas Day, police from other towns have agreed to work so Newtown officers can have the time off.



At Washington's National Cathedral, the 20 children who were killed also were remembered. Angels made of paper doilies were used to adorn the altar in the children's chapel. They'll be displayed there through Jan. 6.



In the center of Newtown's Sandy Hook section Monday, a steady stream of residents and out-of-towners snapped pictures, lit candles and dropped off children's gifts at an expansive memorial filled with stuffed animals, poems, flowers, posters and cards.



"All the families who lost those little kids, Christmas will never be the same," said Philippe Poncet, a Newtown resident originally from France. "Everybody across the world is trying to share the tragedy with our community here."





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The Fact Checker is away

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Cricket: Eager fans await India-Pakistan matches






NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan will soon resume their competitive cricket ties with the upcoming series.

The two sides continued to play each other in World Cup competitions and at third country venues.

But this is the first time in five years that Pakistani cricketers are visiting India for an exclusive competition between the two rival nations.

And that five-year gap has just understandably intensified the excitement and anticipation of India's cricket fans.

Pakistani cricket players have arrived in India to play their first official series in five years.

The South Asian rivals will be playing three One Day Internationals and two Twenty20s, and it all begins on December 25.

The last series between India and Pakistan held in either of the two home countries was in 2007-2008 when Pakistan visited India.

But relations between the two countries soured after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 166 people were killed.

India blamed the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for the attack.

Soumil Patel, a cricket fan in Ahmedabad city, said: "Expectations from this will be a good cricket, good competition and also some good relationship which can be made up between the two countries. Cricket is the best thing, we can improve our relationship between both the countries."

The matches will be played in five cities including Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Bangalore.

Most Indian fans are hoping for a good competition and, of course, a victory for their home team in the much-awaited series.

In southern Chennai city, eager fans waited in long queues to buy tickets for the match to be played at the M A Chidambaram Stadium on December 30.

Nitesh, a cricket fan in Chennai city, said: he had waited nearly eight hours in the queue to buy his ticket.

Wasim Mushtaq, a cricket fan in Chennai city, said: "This is a dream come true for me. I am just here to inquire about the tickets. Well, we are very excited about this match. Believe me or not, I am ready to remain here for the whole night to get the tickets."

India is likely to issue 3,000 visas to Pakistani cricket fans attending their team's first cricket series in India after five years.

The series is also likely to be a money spinner with private broadcaster ESPN demanding nearly US$18,000 for a 10-second advertising spot for T20s and US$11,000 for one-day matches.

Meanwhile, police bomb squad officers and sniffer dogs combed Bangalore stadium on Monday as part of a massive security operation for the start of the first Pakistan cricket tour to India for five years.

Hardline Indian nationalist organisations including Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Shiv Sena have both threatened to hold protests outside all the venues for the five-match series which begins in Bangalore on Tuesday evening.

"As the governments of both the countries have agreed to hold the bilateral series, no organisation will be allowed to disrupt the match," Bangalore police commissioner Jyotiprakash Mirji told reporters on the eve of the first match.

An AFP reporter saw bomb squad officers carrying out a painstaking inspection with their dogs in and around the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore, the capital of the southeastern state of Karnataka.

As many as 5,000 security personnel, including a 100-member bomb squad, have been deployed to cover the match, fearing attempts to disrupt the game or even stage an attack.

Shiv Sena, a Hindu nationalist party based in Mumbai, has branded the tour a "national shame" and accused Indian cricket authorities of "betraying the country for sake of money".

The same organisation dug up the wicket at the Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground in the capital New Delhi in 1999 ahead of an India-Pakistan Test although the match did go ahead.

The Indian government has issued a record number of 3,000 visas to fans from Pakistan attending the series.

- CNA/AFP/de



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You can't march in protest to President's house: Shinde

NEW DELHI: The government is not opposed to people holding peaceful protests, but staging a march to the presidential house is not right, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Monday.

Shinde said he has been meeting student representatives since the day protests started in the capital against the gang-rape of a young woman on December 16.

"I accept that calm and quiet protestors can demonstrate, and there is no problem (with that) as it is the right of the public," he told a TV channel.

"But gathering at Vijay Chowk, trying to breach barricades and marching to Rashtrapati Bhavan is not right. Rashtrapati Bhavan is prestigious for the country."

According to Shinde: "Hooligans have now joined the protestors."

He said the home ministry was briefing the prime minister daily on the issue.

"One of my constables was critically injured, and 18 policeman are injured. The hooligans can't be identified in 3,000 people," the home minister said.

Downplaying criticism over his inability to meet and calm the young protestors, Shinde said: "It is easy to ask the home minister to go to India Gate and talk. Tomorrow, if some other party holds demonstrations, why should not the home minister go there? Tomorrow, BJP could demonstrate, tomorrow Maoists will come here to demonstrate with weapons," he said.

"You should understand the government's role. The government should not go anywhere. Why should the government go anywhere," Shinde said.

Shinde ruled out sacking Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar, as some people have demanded. He said that once the situation had calmed, a review would be conducted.

"I will take action and I will not spare anyone. I have information that senior police officers will also be coming under suspension. On the night of the incident, on that route, out of five CCTVs, three were not working. In one of them, they got footage that was sent to the forensic laboratory, and from that, they nabbed the accused the next morning," he said.

Shinde said the government had announced several measures to ensure the safety of women in the capital.

"The government is very serious about these issues. The accused were immediately arrested, and we have said that the case would be taken on a fast-track basis. We are following proceedings in court on a day-to-day basis," he said.

Shinde said the government would press for day-to-day hearings in such cases and ask the Lt. governor and chief minister to activate committees of home guards and civil defence personnel attached to every police station.

"I've convened a meeting on January 4 of all chief secretaries and directors-general of police to take account of the situation in their states about rape cases, and the action taken. It takes time and it just does not happen," he said.

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