U.S. Coast Guard investigating nearly 350 reported oil spills after Hurricane Ida
CBSN
The U.S. Coast Guard said it's investigating nearly 350 oil spill incidents reported in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. The Category 4 storm, which hit Louisiana last month, shut down nearly 95% of the region's crude oil and gas production.
"Coast Guard crews from across the nation...have deployed throughout Southeastern Louisiana to conduct hazard assessments in order to identify and prioritize threats to the environment and navigable waterways," the Coast Guard said in a statement. "These assessments are essential to ensuring waterways are safe for marine traffic and ensuring that potential pollution hazards are expeditiously identified and mitigated." On Sunday, Coast Guard crews conducted overflights focusing on two locations among the hundreds reported, the federal agency said.Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday said it will consider the constitutionality of the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund, agreeing to review a lower court decision that upended the mechanism for funding programs that provide communications services to rural areas, low-income communities and schools, libraries and hospitals.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched six space tourists on a high-speed dash to the edge of space and back Friday, giving the passengers — including a husband and wife making their second flight — about three minutes of weightlessness and an out-of-this world view before the capsule made a parachute descent to touchdown at the company's west Texas flight facility.