WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — The U.S. State Department Monday said that it will conduct a special review of an environmentally controversial project to build an oil pipeline from western Canada to the southern U.S. state of Texas.

The State Department’s Inspector General Harold Geisel said that the review will focus on whether the department has followed all federal laws and regulations in evaluating the Keystone XL oil pipeline project, which will cost 7 billion U.S. dollars. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday signed an executive order directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take action to help prevent and reduce prescription drug shortages, protect consumers and prevent price gouging.

The order directed the FDA to broaden reporting of potential shortages of certain prescription drugs and to further expedite regulatory reviews that can help prevent or respond to shortages, the White House said in a statement. Continue Reading

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) — Two earthquakes created large jolts in San Francisco Bay Area Thursday afternoon and night after millions of Californians ducked for cover in an earthquake drill earlier in the day.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a quake with a magnitude of 3.8 hit at 8:16 p.m. local time (0316 GMT), about 1.6 km east of Berkeley, a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California. Continue Reading

HOUSTON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) — A series of failures by British oil giant BP and other companies led to the deadly explosion that resulted in devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a key report released by the U.S. government on Wednesday.

BP, Tansocean and Halliburton “violated a number of federal offshore safety regulations,” according to the report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) — More than 100,000 people in the U.S. east coast were ordered to evacuate on Thursday as torrential rains brought by the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee caused major flooding in the area.

In Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, 100,000 to 125,000 people were ordered to leave their homes because of the rising waters of the Susquehanna River, CNN quoted Emergency Management Coordinator Stephen Bekanich as saying. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) — Fewer American adults are smoking cigarettes and daily smokers are smoking fewer cigarettes each day, according to a new report released Tuesday from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report, which covers data from 2005 to 2010, shows an estimated 19.3 percent — or 45.3 million — of American adults, aged 18 and older, continue to smoke, a decline from 20.9 percent in 2005. Of those adults who smoke, 78.2 percent (35.4 million) smoke every day. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) — Reduced to post-tropical cyclone, Irene is heading toward Canada Sunday night after inflicting less-than-expected damage on the eastern U.S. coast.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has already announced that the worst of Irene had passed for much of the East Coast.

Still, U.S. officials warned the storm’s spell could remain with deadly floods continuing to pose hazards. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) — At least nine people have died and more than 1 million residents were living in dark Saturday on the U.S. East Coast, as Hurricane Irene demonstrated its destructive force by bringing about high wind, torrential rain and flooding that caused widespread power outages and property damages.

At least six people including two teenagers died in North Carolina, where Irene made its first landfall Saturday morning, in accidents related to the ferocious storm. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) –The East Coast of the United States is bracing for the worst on Friday with “historic” Hurricane Irene closing in on, threatening to wreak havoc on its projected path.

U.S. President Barack Obama declared on Friday a state of emergency for New York state, the latest of ten states along the East Coast that are now under the emergency state, which makes them eligible for federal disaster relief aid. The declaration mandates the coordination of disaster relief efforts among federal agencies, including the Homeland Security Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which have been working around the clock to monitor the advance of Hurricane Irene. Continue Reading

NEW YORK, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Friday that mandatory evacuations have been ordered for residents living in the low-lying areas of the city.

It is the first time a mandatory evacuation order has been imposed. Evacuations have to be completed by 5 p.m. local time ( 2100 GMT) Saturday ahead of hurricane Irene, Bloomberg told a press conference here. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) — A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck around U.S. capital on Tuesday afternoon, the United States Geological Survey reported on its website.

The quake occurred at 1:51 p.m. local time (1751 GMT), 134 km southwest of U.S. capital Washington D.C., at a depth of one km, the USGS said.

The quake was felt in Washington D.C., New York City, North Carolina and even in Toronto, Canada. It was also felt as far away as Martha’s Vineyard, around 500 miles (800 kilometers) away, off the coast of Massachusetts, where President Barack Obama was playing golf during his vacation. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Xinhua) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday that it has approved the flu vaccine formulation for the 2011-2012 influenza vaccine.

The vaccine will be manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, CSL Limited, ID Biomedical Corp., Medimmune Vaccines, Novartis and Sanofi.

“Vaccines to prevent seasonal influenza have a long and successful track record of safety and effectiveness in the United States,” said Karen Midthun, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “It is important to get vaccinated every year, even if the strains in the vaccine do not change, because the protection received the previous year will diminish over time and may be too low to provide protection into the next year.” Continue Reading