Drought

WASHINGTON - Much of the West continues to struggle with unusually dry conditions, raising the prospect of another year of wildfires, stunted crops and unnavigable stretches of river in various parts of the country, according to a federal assessment. More than two-thirds of the country is under abnormally dry to exceptional drought conditions, "which, although serious, is a slight improvement since fall 2012," said the National Drought Early Warning Outlook. While the report said the drought was over in most of the nation east of the Mississippi River, the portion of the country still facing drought - most of the West and Florida - should expect it "to persist or intensify.

"Drugs had destroyed my body and my mind and my spirit. I could no longer experience happiness or surprise. I couldn't remember the last time I felt spontaneous joy. Why was I even alive?" Josh Hamilton in his autobiography, "Beyond Belief" WESTLAKE, Texas -- It was 2 a.m. when Josh Hamilton, strung out on crack cocaine, his once-robust 6-foot-4, 230-pound body withered to 180 pounds, most of his $3.96-million signing bonus squandered on booze and drugs, staggered up the steps to his grandmother's house in Raleigh, N.C. Homeless, dirty and barely coherent, Hamilton was a few days removed from a suicide attempt -- an overdose of pills -- and in the fourth year of a harrowing drug addiction that caused the former can't-miss prospect to be banned from baseball for three full seasons.

The Stanley Cup rings fans received Monday night at Staples Center were replicas of the real thing. The Kings' comeback against the Vancouver Canucks was genuine - and reminiscent of the performances during their unlikely Cup drive last spring. Jeff Carter lifted a backhander past goaltender Roberto Luongo for the only goal in the shootout, propelling the Kings to a 3-2 victory over the Canucks before an emotionally spent crowd. The triumph was the second this season for the Kings (2-2-1)

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Kings got their first win of the season, each member of their top line got his first point of the season, and rookie defenseman Jake Muzzin played clutch minutes while scoring his first NHL goal. Notably missing from that list is the Kings' first power-play goal of the season. They're still waiting for that, but they checked off a healthy number of significant "firsts" Saturday in earning a 4-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes in the teams' first meeting since the Kings prevailed in the Western Conference finals last spring.

The U.S. share of insurance losses from worldwide catastrophes more than doubled in 2012 as Superstorm Sandy lashed the Northeast and the nation suffered its worst drought since the 1930s. The U.S. accounted for about 90%, or $65 billion, of $72 billion in global losses, according to the Impact Forecasting unit of Aon, the London insurance broker. That compares with 40% in 2011, when Japan had higher-than-usual costs because of an earthquake and tsunami. The location and climate of the U.S. make the country more vulnerable than most developed nations to hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and drought.

U.S. beef and pork exports are on a pace to set records for value, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation. With only December left to be recorded, U.S. beef exports in 2012 through November, while down 11% in volume, were still 2% above 2011 in value. Beef exports totaled $5.05 billion.  The punishing Midwest drought last year affected the livestock industry, which saw feed costs skyrocket. "Volume has been an issue for beef exports all year," Philip Seng, president of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, said in a statement.

WASHINGTON - The impacts of climate change driven by human activity are spreading through the United States faster than had been predicted, increasingly threatening infrastructure, water supplies, crops and shorelines, according to a federal advisory committee. The draft Third National Climate Assessment, issued every four years, delivers a bracing picture of environmental changes and natural disasters that mounting scientific evidence indicates is fostered by climate change: heavier rains in the Northeast, Midwest and Plains that have overwhelmed storm drains and led to flooding and erosion; sea level rise that has battered coastal communities; drought that has turned much of the West into a tinderbox.

Some people probably think quarterback Jim Plunkett led Stanford to its last Rose Bowl victory. It's understandable if memories are foggy, because it's been that long. It was actually Don Bunce, backed by the "Thunderchickens" defense, back in 1972. The losing team was Michigan and Stanford was still nicknamed "Indians. " No wonder, then, Stanford so thunderously celebrated its 20-14 win over Wisconsin on Tuesday in front of 93,359 on a chilly, crisp day. You forget how hard it is to do this.

Ken Burns' latest work, "The Dust Bowl," a two-part documentary that wrapped up Monday night on PBS, told a familiar story to any of us who read John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" in high school, or whose personal histories are tied up in those calamitous Depression-era years when America's Great Plains states were ravaged by drought and soil erosion that prompted an exodus to California and other coastal states. I might not be here if not for that exodus -- my mother was an Okie.

Argument has raged for decades over what doomed the ancient Maya civilization and spurred its people to abandon their awe-inspiring temples and pyramids in the rain forests of Mexico and Central America. Warfare, disease, social unrest and over-farming have all been cited as potential factors in the decline of a culture that was scientifically and culturally advanced for 750 years. A new study bolsters the theory that large-scale climate change was responsible for the society's demise - and argues that changes in global weather patterns were also responsible for its rapid rise.