Storms hit the Midwest and South by :Marcella Marquez

A total of 12 people have been reported dead, and more than 150 have been reported injured after violent storms hit states from Kansas to Kentucky. 3 of the fatalities occurred in Tennessee, 6 occurred in Illinois, and 3 occurred in Missouri. Kansas seems to be the first place were the storm hit, “Kansas was hit Tuesday night, and Gov. Sam Brownback declared a state of emergency for the tiny town of Harveyville, about 20 miles southwest of Topeka (cnn.com)” It was also reported that Pittsburg, Kansas, “experienced straight-line winds up to 120 mph Tuesday, creating a one-mile path of damage… (cnn.com)” Most of the damaged happened in Harrisburg, Illinois were 100 people were injured. Illinois was hit with an EF4 tornado “the second most powerful on the scale (cnn.com)” that had winds of 170 mph. One of the buildings in Illinois that was severely damages was, the Harrisburg Medical Center.  A large portion of the roof came of along with 80 feet of exterior wall.  Although it is safe to say the storm system caused damage everywhere it hit. Roofs came off, power lines came down, and mobile homes were tossed, in many cities blocks of building were turned into rubble. According to CNN’s meteorologist, Sean Morris, the storms began because of the mix of cold Canadian air with warm air from the Gulf of Mexico.

Sources: http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/29/us/severe-weather/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/us/storm-system-crushes-midwestern-towns.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lniYZEEHTQk&feature=related

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck Have a Boy!

On February 27, Jennifer Garner gave birth to her new healthy baby boy Samuel Garner Affleck. The couple now has three children, two girls and one boy. Their two daughters Seraphina, 3, and Violet, 6, would now have a baby brother. The pregnancy was in August 2011, the insider said the couple had planned to have three kids. Garner spoke to US weekly talking about balancing work and family. She said "To have a great nanny and a supporting husband". 

BY Cheyenne Mello

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2012/02/jennifer-garner-baby-ben-affleck-baby-boy.html

Dad founds wife trying to drown their two daughters

                              

On February 15, In South L.A, a father found his wife trying to drown their two daughters in their bathtub. The father tried to stop his wife, but his daughters were in critical condition. Firefighters resuscitate the two girls. They are 1 and 5 years old. Authority said,"The one year old girl could not breath and was turning purple". neighbors said the mother try to kill her daughters because she had depression and thought of suicide. The family was from Guatemala 10 years ago. Police said, "She is assaulted with a deadly weapon --or will be charged with murder if her daughters die." 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/drowning-girls-mother-suspect.html

By Cheyenne Mello 

Earthquake Strikes Northern California by: Marcella Marquez

        An earthquake with 5.6 magnitude struck northern California today at 1:o7 pm. The U.S. Geological survey said the earthquake happened about 18 miles inland form Humboldt County. “The epicenter was a rural area near the small community of Weitchpec on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, about 240 miles north of San Francisco and about 60 miles south of the Oregon border. (Union Tribune)” Some citizens living nearby commented about their experience during the earthquake. “It was just a mild shaking. It wasn’t a sharp jerk,” said Sgt. Gene McManus from the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Department. Debbie, who owns a shop located 5 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, said it only lasted 4 or 5 seconds and it felt “like a pick-up-and move, like a soft wave.” Lucky there have been no reports of any injuries or damage.  

Source: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/feb/13/magnitude-56-quake-strikes-rural-northern-calif/

Want to own a piece of New York?

Now you can own a part of one of the city's most iconic skyscrapers. On Monday, The Empire State Realty Trust, announced plans to go public, which could raise about $1 billion dollars. The company owns and operates a dozen properties in the greater New York metropolitan area. The decision to put the company on the stock market came after the firm disclosed in November. Current tenants include LinkId, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and a Coty a beauty product maker. The Empire Stare Realty plans to use the cash they get from investors to repay loans.


http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/home-front/2012/02/13/want-to-own-a-piece-of-nyc-now-you-can


By: Adriana Lugo

Hurricanes may be a risk factor for offshore windfarms.

There is now another thing we have to worry about when hurricanes come. Offshore wind farms. Offshore hurricanes could potentially demolish all of the proposed turbines off of the US coastlines according to a study out Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

            "We find that hurricanes pose a significant risk to wind turbines off the U.S. Gulf and East coasts, even if they are designed to the most stringent current standard," the authors from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh write.

            They estimated that over a 20-year span the turbines and their supports would collapse when matched up with hurricane force winds. They stated the 4 states Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Texas — where offshore wind-farm projects are now under consideration.

            Wind turbines are vulnerable to hurricanes because the maximum wind speeds in those storms can exceed the current design limits of wind turbines, according to the study.

            The current construction standards for the turbines and assumed a maximum sustained wind speed of 111 mph near the top of the turbine, about 90 meters (about 300 feet) above the surface. This is the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane.

The riskiest of the states is offshore of Galveston County, Texas followed by the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Atlantic City and Martha's Vineyard, Mass.

By Ryan Bockmier

Source