Spokane: Clear and cold for Saturday, snow moves in Sunday night - KHQ-TV- msnbc.com

With an additional 6 inches of snow last night, many buildings which had sustained the weight of recent snow storms finally succumbed Thursday night. An additional four buildings suffered from collapsed roofs this morning bringing this week's roof collapse total in the City of Spokane to about 28, which include a mix of commercial buildings, industrial buildings, awnings, carports and residential garages.

As a result of the wet snow many area businesses are closing to inspect their roofs. The Post Falls and Airway heights Wal-Mart stores are closed as well as the Costco on north Division.

TheStar.com | News | Obama offers new hope for science

But perhaps the most glaring occasion of tampering, and one that helped blow the lid off the systemic culture of meddling across various agencies, occurred in 2006. In January, lead NASA climate scientist James Hansen said the White House had forbidden him from openly discussing empiric research that suggested severe global warming risks.

The keeper of his muzzle, it was revealed, was a twentysomething White House appointee named George Deutsch. Deutsch, who had worked on the Bush campaign and had no scientific training, at the time had not yet completed his college undergraduate degree. His role at NASA, he said at the time, was "to make the president look good."

Hansen went on to say that the threat of punitive measures was not oblique, saying he and his climate scientists were told there would be "dire consequences" if the White House line on climate change was not strictly adhered to.

Has Jim Hansen received enough news coverage?