The Four Horsemen

The Justice Department will pay nearly $6 million to an ex-Army scientist for naming him in an anthrax probe 7 years ago, the AP reports. The feds settled out of court today for calling Steven Hatfill a "person of interest" in the still-unsolved case, but continued to "deny all liability in connection with Dr. Hatfill's claims,” a DOJ spokesman said. Hatfill, who has never been charged, accused officials of trying to smear him. More »

McDonald’s is pulling sliced tomatoes from its sandwiches following a nationwide outbreak of salmonella linked to the fruit. A spokesman was quick to note that the chain has not detected the bacteria in its supplies, “but with an abundance of caution, we want to make sure our food items containing tomatoes are absolutely safe," he told the Chicago Tribune . More »

New York City officials warned people today to avoid a toad venom-based aphrodisiac that recently killed a man, the AP reports. The illegal love drug, often sold as Jamaican Stone or Chinese Rock, is harmful whether ingested or applied to the skin. "There is no definitely safe way to use it,” one official said. Similar drugs have killed at least five New Yorkers since the early 1990s. More »

Chronic ailments such as heart disease have become the top causes of death around the world, Reuters reports. Infectious disease, such as tuberculosis and AIDS, has traditionally been the planet's number-one killer. But new World Health Organization stats show noncommunicable conditions, many of which are associated with a Western lifestyle, are killing more people, and the numbers are projected to continue climbing. More »

The death toll from China’s devastating earthquake could ultimately top 50,000, Reuters reports. Some 20,000 have been confirmed dead, but Chinese officials fear for tens of thousands trapped under rubble, as rescuers contend with landslides, destroyed roads, and collapsed bridges. But even among those above ground, the multitudes of newly homeless people are beginning to strain the resources of relief efforts. More »

Barcelona is having to ship in emergency supplies of drinking water as Spain suffers its worst drought since records began 60 years ago, the Guardian reports. The first shipment of 5 million gallons arrived yesterday and dozens more are scheduled. The city's reservoirs are down to a quarter of capacity with the summer heat weeks away. Water-starved agricultural regions nearby charge that the government denied their request for water for political reasons. More »

With 22 tornado-related deaths in the South over the weekend, 2008 is shaping up to be the deadliest year for twisters in a decade, USA Today reports. With 98 total fatalities, “we are on a pace that continues a record number” of tornadoes since modern record-keeping began in 1950, said an expert. Thus far, there have been 636 twisters this year, officials say, behind only 1999, which saw 669 through May 11. More »

Some 900 students were buried when a school collapsed in today's earthquake in China, state media reported, and the death climbed past 3,000 in just one county. Two other school collapses killed at least 5 children in a province adjacent to Sichuan province, where the quake occurred. Little else is yet known because phone communication is out in the epicenter about 60 miles from Chengdu, home of some 10 million people. More »

Tornadoes ripped through nation's heartland today, killing at least 19 people in Oklahoma and Missouri and leaving a wide swath of destruction, AP reports. Seven people were killed in the small mining town of Picher, Okla., and another 12 were killed in southwest Missouri, officials said. Oklahoma rescuers were working to free people trapped in their wrecked homes. Tornadoes also struck Arkansas, but no deaths have been reported. More »

A mammoth plume of ash and smoke from a newly erupted volcano in Chile is slowly working its way across South America and now poses a health risk to the 8 million residents of Beunos Aires, AFP reports. Thousands of residents of southern Chile were evacuated Tuesday, with ash coating city streets and health officials urging people to don masks. More »

The death toll from Burma's catastrophic cyclone could reach 100,000, a US diplomat said today. That's almost five times what the nation's government had estimated, CNN reports—and aid workers are still waiting in Thailand, to be allowed into the country to help the estimated million hungry and homeless survivors. More »

The death toll from Burma's devastating cyclone continues to rise—foreign aid workers now believe 50,000 have died, and 2 to 3 million are homeless—but the military junta is keeping international agencies from mounting a coordinated relief effort. A flight carrying UN relief aid is in the works, but UN workers cannot get visas, journalists are barred, and no comprehensive survey of the damage is available. More »

The Burmese lucky enough to survive a catastrophic cyclone now face the threat of death by disease and hunger. Dirty water and rotting corpses pose a grave danger of cholera and diarrhea, and the devastated infrastructure is making it nearly impossible to deliver food to people who were hungry even before the cyclone hit, Reuters reports. Aid agencies are scrambling to get help to survivors—and to persuade the military junta to grant them increased access. More »

The danger of a worldwide bird flu epidemic is growing as the virus becomes established in the avian population, Reuters reports. World Health Organization experts today urged all nations to prepare in case the H5N1 virus mutates into a form easily transferable between humans. In birds, the strain has spread across Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe. More »

The southern Chilean town of Chaiten has been totally evacuated after a volcano, active since Friday, belched molten lava and ash more than 12 miles high, the AP reports. Around 4,000 people have already left the area since the volcano—believed dormant for thousands of years—began acting up, and navy ships evacuated any that remained today. More »

Asia need funds fast to prevent billions of people from facing severe hunger, says the region's development bank. The bank today appealed for "money and ideas" to stave off poverty in the wake of rice and wheat prices doubling over the past year, reports Reuters. "The global fight against poverty will be won or lost in our region," said the bank's president. More »

If the US were to suffer a devastating pandemic, and doctors didn’t have resources to save everyone, who should die? A number of universities, government agencies, and other groups mulled that grim scenario recently, sending doctors a brutally ruthless list of who to let die. The report ensures “everybody will be thinking in the same way” should a disaster hit, said one expert. More »

Almost 3,000 children living in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui have been infected with a deadly intestinal virus. At least 21 children have died of Enterovirus 71, a highly contagious malady whose cause remains unknown, reports state-run media. Most of the victims have been children under the age of 6, reports the BBC. More »

A California wildfire that has sparked mass evacuations kept burning up Sierra Madre today, the Los Angeles Times reports. Officials said the blaze was 23% contained, compared to 30% last night, and four of 580 firefighters have suffered minor injuries—but there are no fatalities so far. The fire now consumes 500 acres and has edged "downhill toward the homes in Sierra Madre," an Angeles Forest Spokesman said. More »

Virginia twisters struck downtown Suffolk early today, injuring at least 200 people, AP reports. Early reports said one person was killed but police later said the death was unrelated. One tornado struck the city multiple times, damaging a hospital and nearby homes. Twisters also ripped up trees, felled power lines, and caused flooding, leaving some 3,600 without power. "It's very chaotic," said one fire official. More »