Pentagon releases footage of hundreds of 'highly concerning' aircraft intercepts by Chinese planes
The Pentagon has released footage of some of the more than 180 intercepts of U.S. warplanes by Chinese aircraft that have occurred in the last two years — more than the total amount over the previous decade and part of a trend U.S. military officials called concerning.
Quiet, dusty week in the tropics comes to a close
The tropical Atlantic this week has been closed for business, thanks to the largest outbreak of Saharan dust since early June and a prominent upper-level low pinwheeling its way from the central Atlantic toward South Florida, keeping hostile upper winds locked in over the Caribbean.
Operator: Impact from release of Fukushima water minimal
The operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says a data simulation of its planned release of treated radioactive water into the sea suggests it would have an extremely small impact on the environment, marine life and humans.
Pumice pileup from undersea volcano causing damage in Japan
Massive amounts of volcanic pumice pebbles spewed from an undersea volcano in the Pacific Ocean have been piling up on southern Japanese coasts, damaging ports and fishing boats, and prompting the central government to establish a task force to deal with the unwanted arrivals as a natural disaster, officials said.
UN team: Unclear if Fukushima cleanup can finish by 2051
The head of a U.N. team reviewing progress in the cleanup of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says too little is known about melted fuel inside the damaged reactors, even a decade after the disaster, to be able to tell if its decommissioning can be finished by 2051 as planned.
Remembering Andrew 29 years ago today; 3 disturbances to watch in the tropics
The National Hurricane Center is highlighting three areas for potential development. The one of most immediate concern is Tropical Disturbance #1, which long-range computer forecast models indicate may eventually end up in the western Gulf.
Japan to announce Fukushima water release into sea soon
The Japanese government has decided to dispose of massive amounts of treated but still radioactive water stored in tanks at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant by releasing it into the Pacific Ocean, local media say, a conclusion widely expected but delayed for years amid protests and safety concerns.
Biden halts border wall building after Trump's final surge
Biden on Wednesday ordered a “pause” on all wall construction within a week, one of 17 executive orders issued on his first day in office, including six dealing with immigration. The full amount under contract would have extended Trump’s wall to 664 miles (1,069 kilometers). Trump said the border wall would be “virtually impenetrable” and paid for by Mexico, which never happened. Company spokeswoman Liz Rogers said work at Friendship Park is separate and done by another company. ___This story has been corrected to show that border wall contractor SLSCO Ltd. says another company is doing the work at Friendship Park in San Diego.
Fake US leg band gets pigeon a reprieve in Australia
A racing pigeon sits on a rooftop Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Melbourne, Australia, The racing pigeon, first spotted in late Dec. 2020, appears to have made an extraordinary 13,000-kilometer (8,000-mile) Pacific Ocean crossing from the United States to Australia. (Kevin Celli-Bird via AP)CANBERRA – A pigeon that Australia declared a biosecurity risk has received a reprieve after a U.S. bird organization declared its identifying leg band was fake. But Deone Roberts, sport development manager for the Oklahoma-based American Racing Pigeon Union, said on Friday the band was fake. The band number belongs to a blue bar pigeon in the United States which is not the bird pictured in Australia, she said. Celli-Bird had contacted the American Racing Pigeon Union to find the bird’s owner based on the number on the leg band.
Strong quake jolts central Philippines, some damage seen
In this photo provided by the Philippine Red Cross, a toppled house is seen after a quake struck in Cataingan, Masbate province, central Philippines on Tuesday Aug. 18, 2020. A powerful and shallow earthquake struck a central Philippine region Tuesday, prompting people to dash out of homes and offices but there were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage. (John Mark Lalaguna/Philippine National Red Cross via AP)MANILA A powerful and shallow earthquake struck a central Philippine region Tuesday, prompting people to dash out of homes and offices for safety. Fallen bricks and other scattered damage was apparent in a coastal town near the epicenter, but there were no reports yet of serious injuries. A magnitude 7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people in the northern Philippines in 1990.
US conducts test flight of unarmed Minuteman 3 missile
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from California early Tuesday on a test flight to a target in the Pacific Ocean, the Air Force Global Strike Command said. The missile blasted off at 12:21 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base and its three reentry vehicles traveled 4,200 miles (6,759 kilometers) to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands as part of a developmental test, the command said from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Test launches are essential to sustaining the aging Minuteman 3 nuclear weapon system, Col. Omar Colbert, the 576th Flight Test Squadron commander, said in a statement. The Air Force said test launches are not a reaction to world events. The launch calendars are developed three to five years in advance, and planning for individual launches takes six months to a year.
Crew makes ocean trip to recover deceased Paralympian's boat
HONOLULU A sailing crew embarked from Honolulu on a mission to locate and recover the boat of Paralympian who died during a solo attempt to row from California to Hawaii. The U.S. Coast Guard located her body June 22, two days after Madsen sent a message saying she planned to enter the water to make a repair. Madsens boat, Row of Life, carried two transmitters that sent a final location Friday before becoming caught in Hurricane Douglas. The crew expects to spend about five days aboard Johnsons sailboat, Blue Moon, before reaching the spot where Madsen's boat is likely to be. One of the primary goals is to recover personal items remaining on Row of Life, including a video diary of the journey.
Floating device cleans up plastic from ocean
The Ocean Cleanup's System 001/B collects and holds plastic until a ship can collect it. ROTTERDAM, Netherlands - A huge trash-collecting system designed to clean up plastic floating in the Pacific Ocean is finally picking up plastic, its inventor announced Wednesday. "Today, I am very proud to share with you that we are now catching plastics," Ocean Cleanup founder and CEO Boyan Slat said at a news conference in Rotterdam. The Ocean Cleanup system is a U-shaped barrier with a net-like skirt that hangs below the surface of the water. Ocean Cleanup plans to build a fleet of these devices, and predicts it will be able to reduce the size of the patch by half every five years.
6.3-magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of Oregon
Google Maps(CNN) - An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 was recorded Thursday morning in the Pacific Ocean near Oregon, the US Geological Survey reported. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. ET about 175 miles west-northwest of the coastal city of Bandon, the agency reported. The-CNN-Wire & 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
Erick, Flossie get closer to Hawaii with threats of high surf
Here is a recent longwave infrared satellite image of Erick in the eastern Pacific Ocean between Baja Californina and Hawaii. HONOLULU, Hawaii - Hurricane Erick and Tropical Storm Flossie churned closer to Hawaii on Thursday as forecasters warned of high surf and flooding threats. A high surf warning has been issued for the eastern coast of the Big Island. Flossie remains a tropical storm with sustained winds of 65 mph and little change in strength is forecast over the next 36 hours, Brink said. Rain and high surf are also possibilities with Flossie.
Erick graduates from tropical storm to hurricane
Here is a recent longwave infrared satellite image of Erick in the eastern Pacific Ocean between Baja Californina and Hawaii. Erick has grown in strength from a tropical storm to a hurricane in the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Erick is the fifth storm to make its way into the eastern Pacific Ocean so far this season. Tropical Storm Flossie is not far behind Erick, building strength further east before it's expected to follow a similar track south of Hawaii. NOAA says it anticipates Flossie will become a hurricane by Tuesday while Hurricane Erick should exit Hawaiian waters by Saturday.
Coast Guard nabs $350 million in cocaine
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(CNN) - The Coast Guard seized 26,000 pounds of cocaine worth $350 million in several operations in the eastern Pacific Ocean, including one involving a high-speed chase at sea with suspected drug smugglers. In one of the hauls, footage released by the Coast Guard showed suspected drug smugglers tossing out containers of cocaine overboard as their boat sped through the water on July 18. "The crewmembers apprehended the suspected smugglers and seized approximately 2,300 pounds of cocaine from the vessel," the Coast Guard said in a statement Friday. The total amount of contraband came from six suspected drug smuggling vessel operations along with the discovery of floating cocaine bales between late June and mid-July, the Coast Guard said. It unloaded all the seized cocaine Friday.
Marshall Islands a bit more radioactive
From 1946 to 1958, the US government conducted 67 nuclear tests on several small islands -- called atolls -- in the Marshall Islands. Analyzing soil samples, researchers found concentrations of Am-241, Cs-137, Pu-238, and Pu-239,240 on 11 islands across the four northern atolls. The population of the Marshall Islands is relatively small, with just over 75,000 people living on the chains as of July 2018. It is a combination of islands and atolls, which are usually circular islands ringing a wide lagoon or coral reef. In Rongelap atoll, researchers found that northern Naen island had the highest levels of external gamma radiation of all islands examined in the study -- well above the legal exposure limit agreed between the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the US.
World War II veteran crosses country on foot for second time
Over the course of two years and 10 months, over 2,631 miles, he crossed the country on foot, running from California to Georgia. At age 95, the World War II veteran has decided to do it again. He's clocked 175 miles into his second coast-to-coast trek, which he began in March when he left from Georgia's St. Simons Island. He hopes to run 13 miles a week through grueling heat or freezing cold for as long as he can. As he runs, the Navy veteran is raising funds to sail a restored World War II tanker to Normandy for a D-Day anniversary, a feat that he says will cost millions.
Hurricane Barbara rapidly strengthening, Atlantic stays calm through weekend
Hurricane Barbara has put on a burst of intensity in the open Pacific Ocean, far offshore of Mexico. It is up to Category 4 strength now, and still strengthening. The computer models forecast the system to be in the vicinity of the eastern Hawaiian Islands early in the week, but as a much weaker version of itself. Barbara will have to move over much cooler ocean water between now and then. It could be simply a moisture surge when it reaches the islands, or some models indicate that Barbara will still be an organized storm.
New hurricane in Pacific, but Atlantic stays quiet through holiday
MIAMI - Hurricane Barbara has formed in the Pacific Ocean well off the Mexican coast. It is forecast to strengthen into a very strong hurricane over the next few days, and then begin to weaken. The storm is moving away from Central America, but in the general direction of Hawaii. The models indicate that Barbara or its remnants will be in the vicinity of the eastern Hawaiian Islands about Tuesday or Wednesday. Only two hurricanes are in the National Hurricane Center database going back to 1851 that came within 200 miles of Miami in July.
More than 40 tons of trash removed from Pacific barely makes a dent
The crew from Ocean Voyages Institute collected large fishing nets like this one among the plastic debris. (CNN) - Environmentalists have removed more than 40 tons of plastic from the Pacific Ocean. The group, Ocean Voyages Institute, said the cleanup mission was the "largest and most successful ocean cleanup to date" in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. They also collected fishing gear called "ghost nets," with one weighing 5 tons and another weighing 8 tons. "Ghost nets" are massive nets of nylon or polypropylene that drift and accumulate plastic debris.