Ca methane gas leak disaster: Where American Families Are Moving...other news

A gas leak in California is arguably the worst environmental disaster since the BP oil spill ...For a state beset by drought, wildfires, giant sinkholes and other natural calamities, the gas leak has emerged as the number one environmental concern of Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, an aggressive environmentalist who is particularly concerned about combating climate change.

Aside from the immediate chaos caused by the leak, the longer-term consequences for the environment have shaken government officials, scientists and environmental groups – and could seriously set back the Obama administration’s high profile efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute directly to global warming.

Scientists and environmental experts say the Aliso Canyon leak became the biggest single source of methane emissions in all of California practically overnight when it began Oct. 23...

California gas leak is declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles 'It's the BP spill on land': California declares state of emergency for gas leak which has been spewing noxious methane fumes for more than two months...

Cologne inquiry into 'coordinated' New Year's Eve sex attacks German police are investigating reports that scores of women were sexually assaulted and mugged in Cologne city centre during New Year’s Eve celebrations, in what a minister called a “completely new dimension of crime”.

Authorities and media were accused of a cover-up linked to initial indications that, according to the police, those allegedly responsible for the sex attacks and numerous robberies were of Arab and north African origin.

Sixty complaints were filed to police, a third of which were linked to sexual assault. Cologne’s mayor, Henriette Reker, called an emergency meeting of high-ranking security officials on Tuesday, saying her aim was to ensure the city centre did not turn into a “lawless zone”...

Where American Families Are Moving  
...In a new study by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, we found that the best cities for middle-class families tend to be located outside the largest metropolitan areas. This was based on such factors as housing affordability, migration, income growth, commute times, and middle-income jobs. Many of our best-rated cities tend to mid-sized. The three most highly rated were Des Moines, Iowa, Madison, Wis., and Albany, N.Y., all with populations of less than 1 million. Among our top 10 metropolitan areas for families, five are larger than this, but only two—the Washington, D.C. area and Minneapolis-St. Paul—are among the nation's 20 largest metropolitan areas...

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