
More of the US is in drought than any time since 2012
CNN
More than 61% of the contiguous US is in some classification of drought this week, according to the US Drought Monitor.
It is the largest portion of the country in a state of drought since 2012, the year when the continental US saw an all-time record of 65% during September.
And in recent weeks, drought has increased significantly. In the last month alone, the percentage of the continental US in drought has jumped from 55% to more than 61%, an increase of nearly 170,000 square miles; an area larger than the size of California.

The White House is making clear it views President Donald Trump’s Friday Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an overwhelming win underscoring Trump’s “America First” leadership, dispatching top officials and allies on the airwaves to amplify Trump’s handling of the situation even as European leaders are putting on a key show of force of unity for Ukraine and its leader.