Study: Climate change goosed odds of freakishly hot February ADVERTISING Study: Climate change goosed odds of freakishly hot February WASHINGTON (AP) — A freakishly balmy February broke more than 11,700 local daily records for warmth in the United States, but
Study: Climate change goosed odds of freakishly hot February
WASHINGTON (AP) — A freakishly balmy February broke more than 11,700 local daily records for warmth in the United States, but it didn’t quite beat 1954 for the warmest February on record, climate scientists said.
The average temperature last month was 41.2 degrees — 7.3 degrees warmer than normal but three-tenths a degree behind the record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Wednesday.
It was unseasonably toasty for most of the country east of the Rockies, but a cool Pacific Northwest kept the national record from falling, said NOAA climate scientist Jake Crouch.
Chicago had no snow. Oklahoma hit 99 degrees. Texas and Louisiana had their hottest February. NOAA said local weather stations broke or tied warm temperature records 11,743 times but set cold records only 418 times.
An international science team’s computer analysis of causes of extreme weather calculated that man-made global warming tripled the likelihood for the nation’s unusually warm February. The mostly private team of researchers, called World Weather Attribution, uses accepted scientific techniques to figure if climate change plays a role in extreme events based on computer simulations of real world conditions and those without heat-trapping gases.
Ryan pushes for unity as House panels debate GOP health bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Paul Ryan labored to rally divided fellow Republicans behind their high-stakes drive to overhaul the nation’s health care system Wednesday, praising his party’s legislation as “what good, conservative health care reform looks like” as lawmakers cast Congress’ first votes.
Republican leaders wanted to push their measure through two House committees by week’s end — Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce. But they hit a torrent of resistance from Democrats who oppose the seven-year GOP effort to unravel former President Barack Obama’s health care law.
Outnumbered Democrats used the panels’ sessions for political messaging Wednesday, futilely offering amendments aimed at preventing the bill from raising deficits, kicking people off coverage or boosting consumer’s out-of-pocket costs. They even tried, unsuccessfully, to insert language pressuring President Donald Trump to release his income tax returns.
The pivotal challenge for Republican leaders was coming not from Democrats but from rebellion in their own ranks and potent outside groups. If that upheaval should snowball and crush the legislation, it would be a shattering defeat for Trump and the GOP, so leaders were hoping passage by both House committees this week would bolster them with momentum.
Just as ominous as GOP unrest was hostility from three organizations instrumental in the 2010 enactment of Obama’s overhaul: The American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and AARP, the nation’s largest advocacy group for older people.
China grants preliminary approval to 38 new Trump trademarks
SHANGHAI (AP) — China has granted preliminary approval for 38 new Trump trademarks, a move that offers a potential business foothold for President Donald Trump’s family company and protects his name in a country notorious for counterfeiters.
The trademarks cover everything from hotels and golf clubs to bodyguard and concierge services, public documents show.
Trump’s lawyers in China applied for the marks in April 2016, as Trump railed against China at campaign rallies, accusing it of currency manipulation and stealing U.S. jobs. Critics maintain that Trump’s swelling portfolio of China trademarks raises the possibility of conflicts of interest.
China’s Trademark Office published the provisional approvals on Feb. 27 and Monday .
If no one objects, they will be formally registered after 90 days. All but three are in the president’s own name. China already registered one trademark to the president, for Trump-branded construction services on Feb. 14, the result of a 10-year legal battle that turned in Trump’s favor after he declared his candidacy.
Will WikiLeaks work with tech firms to defeat CIA hacking?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks raised the prospect Wednesday of sharing sensitive details it uncovered about CIA hacking tools with leading technology companies whose flagship products and services were targeted by the government’s hacker-spies.
If that sharing should take place, the unusual cooperation would give companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and others an opportunity to identify and repair any flaws in their software and devices that were being exploited by U.S. spy agencies and some foreign allies, as described in nearly 9,000 pages of secret CIA files WikiLeaks published on Tuesday.
The documents, which the White House declined anew Wednesday to confirm as authentic, describe clandestine methods for bypassing or defeating encryption, antivirus tools and other protective security features for computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs. They include the world’s most popular technology platforms, including Apple’s iPhones and iPads, Google’s Android phones and the Microsoft Windows operating system for desktop computers and laptops.
“This is the kind of disclosure that undermines our security, our country and our well-being,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. “This alleged leak should concern every single American.”
Spicer defended then-candidate Donald Trump’s comment in October 2016 — “I love WikiLeaks!” — after it published during the presidential campaign private, politically damaging emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager. Spicer said there was a “massive, massive difference” between WikiLeaks publishing stolen, personal emails of a political figure and files about national security tools used by the CIA.
FBI’s Comey: ‘You’re stuck with me for another 6 1/2 years’
BOSTON (AP) — FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday he plans to serve his entire 10-year term, even as controversy swirls over his attempt to rebut President Donald Trump’s claim that the Obama administration tapped his phones during the election.
“You’re stuck with me for another 6½ years,” Comey said during a cybersecurity conference at Boston College.
Comey was appointed 3½ years ago by then-President Barack Obama.
Controversy erupted last weekend after Trump tweeted that Obama had tapped his phones at Trump Tower during the election. Trump offered no evidence of his claim. Comey asked the Justice Department to publicly reject the allegation as false.
Comey did not reference the wiretapping controversy during his speech to law enforcement officials and private-sector business leaders.
