Severe overnight storms in the Chicago area caused power outages, flight cancellations and flooded homes and roadways.

It was unclear when power would be restored to those households because storms were still rolling through the area, she said. The outages started at about 6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) Friday night. (more…)

Bonnie has degenerated to a “disorganized area of low pressure” near the U.S. Gulf Coast, hours after the National Hurricane Center lifted tropical storm warnings for the northern Gulf of Mexico, the center said.

The remnants of the weather system slowed to about 14 miles (22 kilometers) per hour as of 5 p.m. New York time as it moves to the west-northwest, the center said in its last public advisory. The low is anticipated to dissipate tonight or tomorrow, and no coastal watches or warnings are in effect, the NHC said. (more…)

he officials informed that the carrier to allow passengers to change their reservations, but the journey should be completed within five days after the date of departure. There would be no sanctions imposed and the seats would be allocated according to availability of space.

Passengers on Friday afternoon and evening should also continue to stay in touch with their airlines before the airport to determine the status of their individual flight. Flight disruptions remain possible throughout the day on the airlines to position the new aircraft and recover before working the notice. (more…)

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker declares a state of emergency. In his declaration, Walker says he’s asking Governor Doyle to petition the President to declare Milwaukee County a major disaster area.

If the petition is granted, Milwaukee County would be able to get public assistance and (more…)

Tropical depression moving toward oil spill
NASSAU, Bahamas — Rain and lightning from a tropical depression raked the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands and the southern Bahamas on Thursday as it steamed on a course for the site of massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm system, which has already caused flooding in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, could become Tropical Storm Bonnie by later Thursday and reach the Gulf of Mexico by Saturday. (more…)

Strong earthquake shakes Alaska island region
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A powerful earthquake shook a remote Aleutian Island region of Alaska late Saturday, but there were no reports of damage or injury and no threat of a tsunami, officials said.

The 6.7-magnitude temblor struck at 9:56 p.m. and was centered in the Bering Sea about 155 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake hit about 21 miles beneath the seabed.
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Will you be at the SHRM Annual Conference and Expo in sunny San Diego next week? Visit Simply Hired at Booth #517 and participate in our Dream Job Contest for a chance to win a snazzy new Kindle! It’s a fabulous way to get in some reading either down at the beach or during your flight homeA slow of recent scandals has also helped focus attention on those tax breaks. In March Gov. Jennifer Granholm appeared on stage with a Flint man whose company was being given a $9.1 million tax credit; the man turned out to be a (more…)

A small earthquake has struck just off the coast of San Francisco.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a magnitude-3.5 temblor about 3 miles west of Ocean Beach at 7:47 a.m. Monday. It was followed by a magnitude-1.2 quake at 8:05 a.m.
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NEW ORLEANS — A tropical storm slamming into parts of Mexico isn’t taking aim at the massive Gulf oil spill — for now — though any system can quickly change course and send cleanup efforts grinding to a halt.

The logistics of containing the oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico are mind-boggling even in ideal conditions. Things become even more complicated with the approach of a tropical storm like Alex, which is pelting Belize, northern Guatemala and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula with heavy rain.
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Oil climbed 3.1 per cent after the National Hurricane Center said that a low pressure area located in the Caribbean off Honduras and Grand Cayman has an 80 per cent chance of developing into a Hurricane this weekend and may head into the Gulf. The Storm will be named Hurricane Alex should it be upgraded to Hurricane status.

Crude for August delivery increased $US2.35 to settle at $US78.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the biggest gain since June 9, and the highest close in seven weeks. The contract increased 0.8 per cent this week.
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