Cold Snap Kills Manatees | Florida

WESH) Manatees are dying in surprising numbers in Florida's Brevard County.
Of the four dead manatees reported, one was only about two weeks old.
"This one is likely cold stress," said state biologist Ann Spellman. It's definitely underweight and has cold stress sores on its face.
"We've had a lot of manatee deaths. It has been unusually high all around the state," said state biologist Jackie Ludema.

Centre junks Pachauri report, will go ahead with Setusamudram project : India

The Centre has decided to reject the R. K. Pachauri report and go ahead with the Setusamudram shipping channel project cutting through the sacred Ram Setu - a decision that could once again make it the target of multipronged attack from environmentalists, religious groups and political parties.

In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Cour t on Friday, the government submitted that it had decided to reject the conclusions and recommendations of the Pachauri committee which found the project to be "unviable both from the economic as well as ecological angles".

Harsh winter storm crawls toward Midwest | Boston Herald

Northern Oklahoma saw more than 13 inches, while Missouri's biggest snow total was 10 inches, shared by the Kansas City metropolitan area. But in Kansas, 17 inches of snow fell in Hays and nearly the same amounts in a handful of other cities.
...Most schools were closed in Kansas and Missouri, and many in neighboring states.

That included the University of Missouri, where classes were canceled for one of the few times in its 174-year history.

Corn Drop Seen as U.S. Sows Most Since 1936: Commodities - Bloomberg

“Farmers are looking for every acre possible to plant this year,” said Bill Bayliss, 67, who is expanding acreage by 10 percent on land he farms in West Mansfield, Ohio, where drought conditions have disappeared. “The price is attractive, and we have seen an improvement in soil moisture.”
...
Corn acreage in the U.S., the world’s top grower and exporter, will be the largest since 1936, yielding an all-time high of 13.863 billion bushels at harvest should weather conditions improve, the average of 17 analysts’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey shows. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a report today, predicted output will jump 34.8 percent to a record 14.53 billion.