Dec 28, 2019

Jim Beam fined $600,000 for fish kill following July warehouse fire

Photo: Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Jim Beam agreed to pay a $600,000 fine earlier this month and will also reimburse $112,000 to the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet after a bourbon spill in July, AP reports.

Context: A massive fire broke out at a Jim Beam warehouse in July, sending whiskey, hose water, barrel residue and charred debris into the Kentucky and Ohio rivers. Kentucky officials found dead fish along 62 miles of Glenns Creek and the Kentucky River. Dead fish as a result of the spill were also found in the Ohio River, which a state official described as negligible, per AP.

Go deeper: Jim Beam fire runoff into Kentucky River threatens aquatic life

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Orion Rummler, Rebecca Falconer

Deadly storms pummel Midwest and South

Computer model simulation of water vapor and winds over the Southeast, Jan. 11. Credit: Earth Simulator

At least 11 people have died in severe storms that brought tornadoes, high winds and rain through parts of the South and Midwest, AP reports.

Where it stands: Severe thunderstorms were still possible over Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi through Sunday morning, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Sporadic damaging gusts" and tornadoes were possible for far eastern Georgia and parts of the Carolinas Saturday night, the National Weather Service said.

Go deeperUpdated Jan 12, 2020

Rashaan Ayesh

Death toll rises in Indonesia following landslides and flooding

Photo: Bay Ismoyo/AFP via Getty Images

At least 53 people have died and more than 173,000 remain displaced after landslides and floods hit Indonesia's capital Jakarta as rescuers search for people trapped under tons of mud, officials told AP on Saturday.

The state of play: This is the worst flooding to plague the area since 2007, when 80 people died in 10 days, AP notes. Monsoon rains and rising rivers which started on Dec. 31 have flooded multiple districts surrounding Jakarta.

Go deeperJan 4, 2020

Orion Rummler

AP: Communities of color vulnerable to abuse from the Catholic Church

A cardinal at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, in 2018. Photo: Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Out of 178 dioceses contacted by the AP, only a handful knew the race or ethnicities of accusers of sexual abuse inflicted by clergy with the Catholic Church.

Why it matters: A leading scholar on clergy sexual abuse says communities of color "are less likely to know where to get help, less likely to have money for a lawyer to purse that help and they are more vulnerable to counterattacks" when coming forward against predators.

Go deeperJan 4, 2020