"Drought in Texas could extend into next year" August 05, 2011|By Paul J. Weber, Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO - The drought that has turned Texas and parts of the Plains into a parched moonscape of cracked earth could persist into next year, prolonging the misery of farmers and ranchers who have endured a dry spell now expected to be the state’s worst since the 1950s.
The US Climate Prediction Center said yesterday that the La Niña weather phenomenon blamed for the crippling lack of rain might be back soon, just two months after the last La Niña ended. If that occurs, the drought would almost certainly extend into 2012.
The extreme dry conditions have been made worse by week after week of triple-digit temperatures, which have caused reservoirs to evaporate, crops to wither and animals and fish to die off by the thousands.
That won't be helping food prices.
“The suffering and desperate need for relief grows with the rising temperatures and record-breaking heat that continue to scorch Texas with each passing day,’’ state Agricultural Commissioner Todd Staples said.
Even the state’s feral hogs are hiding from the heat, postponing a new reality TV show about Texans gunning them down from helicopters....
I'm so glad the AmeriKan news media keeps track of such important things.
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Related:
"The third-worst drought in state history has killed any hope that Texas oysters would make up for the severe losses in Mississippi and Louisiana, where the shellfish were affected by last year’s oil spill and this year’s massive flooding....
I was told that oil was gone.
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Also see: A Drought of Disaster Stories
Does seem like an issue that deserves more coverage, no?
What else is hot in Texas?
"A piece of the space shuttle Columbia, which broke apart and burned on reentry more than eight years ago, has been found in a drought-stricken East Texas lake, NASA officials said yesterday....
Some say it was a sign of prophecy.
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Another prophet:
"Polygamist sex assault case goes to jury" August 05, 2011|Associated Press
SAN ANGELO, Texas - The child sexual assault case against Warren Jeffs was in the hands of a Texas jury yesterday, after the polygamist leader stood mostly mute for his closing argument.
Jeffs, who acted as his own attorney, stood expressionless, staring at the floor, for all but a few seconds of the half hour he was allotted. At one point he mumbled, “I am peace,’’ and said no more.
The 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is accused of assaulting two underage girls he had taken as so-called spiritual wives. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Jeffs had argued that his religious freedoms were being trampled. The group, which has at least 10,000 members nationwide, is a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism. The church believes polygamy is the key to heaven and that Jeffs is God’s spokesman on earth.
Prosecutors said the case had nothing to do with his church or his beliefs.
Except it does!
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More: Sect leader asks end to charges
I have to go cool down, readers.
