The national weather service reports Texas has just concluded the hottest summer in U.S. history. With an average of 86.8 degrees from June through August, Texas beat Oklahoma’s record of 85.2 set in 1934. Oklahoma itself also topped its previous Dust Bowl record by this year averaging 86.5 degrees within the same period. The temperature in Texas in July this summer marked the hottest month ever, while Oklahoma had the highest average temperature during the month at 89.1 degrees. The heat has resulted in the worst drought in Texas since the 1950s and the single driest year since 1895. The conditions have caused an estimated $5.2 billion in crop losses, a figure that is expected to rise. The dry weather has also helped to fuel the wildfires in Texas that this week destroyed hundreds of homes southeast of Austin.
U.S. Postal Service to Cut up to 35,000 Jobs in $3 Billion Cost-Cutting Plan
The U.S. Postal Service has unveiled a plan to eliminate up to 35,000 jobs as part of an ongoing effort to avoid collapse. The $3 billion cost-cutting move would also see the closure of more than 250 mail-processing sites and the downsizing of the postal service’s transportation network nationwide.
400,000 Displaced in Pakistan Floods
In Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has canceled a trip to address the U.N. General Assembly amidst massive flooding. Nearly 300 people have been killed and some 400,000 have been displaced due to heavy rains in a southern province. The devastation comes one year after Pakistan suffered its worst-ever flooding.