Public

"The tropical weather system that trended on Twitter here as #hellastorm packed a punch Thursday. Winds conspired with drought-weakened roots to send trees toppling. Freeways and other roadways flooded. Schools shuttered. And more than 230 flights at San Francisco International Airport were delayed, while a restaurant workers’ strike left stranded travelers hungry and cranky."

"DALLAS — Propped up on a hospital bed, Taylor Ishee listened as his mother shared a conviction that choked her up. His rare cancer had a cause, she believes, and it wasn’t genetics."

"Americans eat more seafood than just about anyone else. Most of it is imported from abroad. And a lot of it — perhaps 25 percent of wild-caught seafood imports, according to fisheries experts — is illegally caught."

"Proponents of an Oregon ballot measure requiring labels on genetically modified foods conceded defeat Thursday after a judge ruled against them and an automatic recount appeared unlikely to sway the outcome."

"Before lawmakers could agree to a $1.1 trillion, last-minute deal to avoid shutting down the U.S. government, they first had to deal with a couple of birds."

"The American benchmark price for crude oil broke the symbolically important $60 a barrel mark on Thursday for the first time in over five years, underscoring a remarkable drop of over 40 percent since early June."

"Better protecting the world's fast-disappearing mangroves could have big economic, social and environmental benefits, experts said at the U.N. climate talks in Lima this week."

Pope Francis told the Lima climate conference that they had a "serious ethical and moral responsibility" to the poor and future generations.

"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an impassioned plea [Dec. 11] for all nations to work for an ambitious U.N. deal next year to fight climate change, saying time was running out to reverse a course 'leading to tragedy'."