Topic: Mississippi Valley

California wildfire: 1,900 on the lines as firefighters labor to limit damage (+video)

Saturday's more favorable weather and the heroic work of 1,900 firefighters have limited damage from a fast-breaking California wildfire in Ventura County. State outlook is for an active fire season; elsewhere in the US conditions are less ominous.

Warming climate could cut labor capacity by 10 percent, study finds

US scientists warned that heat stress-related labor capacity losses will double globally by 2050 if the Earth's temperature rises by another 1.8 degrees F.

ACs out from 'derecho' storm, Washington preps for swelter (+video)

A powerful line of thunderstorms knocked out power to nearly 2 million homes – and perhaps as many air conditioners – in the middle of a historic June heat wave across the Eastern Seaboard.

As much of US swelters, here are 5 worst heat waves of past 30 years

Many Americans across the US were feeling the heat Monday, but how hot is it? The National Weather Service issued heat-related advisories for residents in 17 states, forecasting temperatures close to 100 degrees F. in the central and southern plains, and the middle and lower Mississippi Valley. In some parts of those regions, it will feel as hot as 115 degrees. Conditions are expected to continue into Tuesday. So far, the heat wave at hand is nowhere near as severe as the worst recorded since 1980, when the National Climate Data Center began compiling such data. Here is a look at the five deadliest US heat waves/droughts since then.

Election 2012: Hope beneath the hype

As the Republican presidential field firms up, get ready for 18 months of Election 2012 hype. But beneath the noise, remember that American voters are surprisingly hopeful.

Oklahoma, Alabama, Joplin: Why we're seeing so many tornadoes and superstorms

The superfunnels that hit Tuscaloosa, Ala., in late April and Joplin, Mo., on Sunday, are generated by storm systems whose journeys across the country are slowed by a roadblocked jet stream.

Watery week ahead as Mississippi floodwaters hit Memphis, move downriver

Mississippi River at record level in Memphis, Tenn., where some areas are already underwater. It's expected to get higher, with floodwaters to linger for days. Evacuations are under way.

The Toyota problem: Where the car giant went wrong

The Toyota problem is a philosophical problem of management, not a technical issue.

Small Illinois town willing to be next Guantanamo

President Obama wants to ship Guantanamo Bay detainees to a rural Illinois state prison. Why are locals welcoming the detainees?

USA

Tornadoes tear through Southern states, but new alerts saved lives

The Super Tuesday tornadoes were the deadliest in the US in more than a decade.