"Utility poles snapped, cruise ships sought shelter, boats broke from their moorings, trees were uprooted, and more than 500,000 customers in New England were without power at times on Thursday as a storm packing winds gusting  to 90 miles an hour swept up the East Coast."

"Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are blaming each other for an impasse in a pipeline safety reauthorization bill that many thought would breeze through Congress."

"Scientists cannot yet predict when the next deadly earthquake will strike, but emergency response authorities in California plan to unveil the first statewide quake warning system Thursday, which marks the 30th anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake."

"A towering explosion at a century-old Philadelphia oil refinery earlier this year released 5,239 pounds of a hydrofluoric acid, federal investigators said today, the first time they have seen releases of the potentially deadly chemical during a refinery blast."

"California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday that utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co should be held accountable for mismanaging last week’s widespread power shutoffs and urged the company to provide credits or rebates to affected customers."

"A powerful fall nor’easter is set to pound New England Wednesday night, unleashing heavy rain and possibly damaging winds. It’s a setup reminiscent of scores of whopper Northeast snowstorms, but this system will be wet and not white."

"Three people have died at the scene of Southern California wildfires this week, authorities said Saturday, as firefighters aided by diminishing winds beat back a blaze on the edge of Los Angeles that damaged or destroyed more than 30 structures and sent a blanket of smoke across a swath of neighborhoods."

"Rescue crews dug through mudslides and searched near swollen rivers Monday as they looked for those missing from a typhoon that left as many as 48 people dead and caused serious damage in central and northern Japan."

"Power shutoffs affecting more than 1 million residents, scheduled by PG&E this week throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California, have sparked a massive backlash, with many community members telling reporters that they are shocked that the company has not done more to upgrade its transmission lines."

"Federal programs to help Americans move away from disaster-prone areas are skewed by the income levels of communities seeking help — rather than being based solely on the risk they face — new data shows, blunting an important tool for helping people cope with climate change."