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APIA, Samoa (AP) — When and if an island nation fully submerges due to rising seas, what happens to the nationalities of its citizens? This and other related questions are being considered by island nations advocating for changes to international law as climate change threatens their existence. "Climate change induced sea level rise is a defining issue for many Pacific Island states and like most climate change issues, Pacific Island states have been at the forefront of challenging international law to develop in a way which is equitable and just," said Fleur Ramsay, head of ...

Ian lashes South Carolina as Florida’s death toll climbs

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A revived Hurricane Ian pounded coastal South Carolina on Friday, ripping apart piers and flooding streets after the ferocious storm caused catastrophic damage in Florida, trapping thousands in their homes and leaving at least 27 people dead. The powerful storm, estimated to be one of the costliest hurricanes ever to hit the U.S., has terrorized people for much of the week — pummeling western Cuba and raking across Florida before gathering strength in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean to curve back and strike South Carolina. While Ian's center came ...

EPA doubles money for electric school buses as demand soars

WASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to "overwhelming demand," the Environmental Protection Agency is nearly doubling the money available to states to buy electric models of the familiar yellow school buses that millions of children ride every school day. The EPA made $500 million available for clean buses in May, but is increasing that to $965 million for districts across the country. An additional $1 billion is expected to be available in the budget year that begins Saturday. In the current year, the agency said it has received about 2,000 applications requesting nearly $4 billion for ...

In one tiny German town, nobody worries about energy bills

FELDHEIM, Germany (AP) — Europeans are opening their energy bills with trepidation these days, bracing for hefty price hikes as utility companies pass on the surging cost of natural gas, oil and electricity tied to Russia's war in Ukraine. Many are trying to conserve by turning down the heat and shutting off lights this winter. Not so the people of Feldheim, population 130. Located about an hour and a half south of Berlin, this modest but well-kept village has been energy self-sufficient for more than a decade. A bold experiment launched in the mid-1990s saw Feldheim erect a ...

Washington kills 2 wolves to prevent preying on cattle

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Biologists working for the state of Washington have killed two members of the Leadpoint wolf pack this week in an effort to stop the pack from preying on cattle in Stevens County, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said Thursday. An adult male wolf was killed on Tuesday and an adult female was killed on Wednesday. "With the removal of two wolves, the lethal removal authorization and lethal removal permit are now expired," the agency said in a news release. Agency director Kelly Susewind last week authorized the killing of up to two members of the ...

Small protests appear in Cuba over islandwide blackout

HAVANA (AP) — The widespread power outage caused by Hurricane Ian prompted several hundred people to protest in Havana, and a monitoring group said the island's internet service shut down again Friday in what appeared to be an attempt to curb information about the demonstrations from spreading. An Associated Press journalist saw about 400 people gathered Thursday night in at least two spots in the Cerro neighborhood shouting, "We want light, we want light," and banging pots and pans. It appeared to be the first public display over the electricity problems that spread from western ...