BP Hires Former Pentagon Press Secretary
The oil giant BP has hired former Pentagon press secretary, Geoff Morrell, to be its new head of communications. Morrell is being hired at a time when BP is facing a series of investigations and lawsuits stemming from the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
124,000 Fish Suffocate to Death in Texas Heat
As Texas continues to suffer from the worst one-year drought on record along with scorchingly high temperatures, area lakes might seem like the best places to find refuge from the heat, but apparently not for fish. According to state wildlife officials, in one lake alone some 124,000 fish perished last week in the extreme weather conditions, not from a lack of water, but from a lack of oxygen — an oft overlooked consequence of rising temperatures which may become more common as heat-spells grow more intense and prolonged.
Study Finds Link Between 9/11 Debris and Cancer
A new study has provided potentially groundbreaking evidence of a link between exposure to toxic debris at New York’s Ground Zero and the development of cancer. The medical journal, The Lancet, reports male firefighters exposed to dust and smoke at the site of the 9/11 attacks have a 19 higher percent risk of developing cancer than colleagues who were not exposed. The finding comes just one month after the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health issued there is insufficient evidence to draw a link between the 9/11 site and cancer. Firefighters and rescue workers have been unable to receive payments for cancer treatments because cancer is not covered under legislation providing care for 9/11 responders.