To the Point
Sifting through the ashes: Cleanup and questions after the fires
Wildfire is all too familiar in the Golden State, but last week's record-setting blazes in Northern California left behind something new — more property damage over a wider area with more human casualties than ever before. We hear about likely causes, the struggle to clean up and the possibility of prevention.
Photo: An aerial shows damage caused by wildfires in Santa Rosa, California, October 11, 2017. (DroneBase/Reuters)
In this episode
3 storiesGeorge W. calls out bigotry and bullying in American politics
Former President George W. Bush has hardly been heard from for 10 years. But today in New York, he delivered a scathing speech about the current state of American politics. "Bigotry seems emboldened.
Read the story7 minFirst the inferno, Now the clean-up. What then?
The blazes in Northern California are being called "firestorms," "hurricanes" and "blizzards of flame." They've been compared to a "blowtorch." In a state where wildfires are hardly uncommon, experts say civilian casualties and property loss are "historic" — like "nothing [they've] ever seen."
Read the story33 minDivesting in university research gutting the US economy
The William Albert Noyes Laboratory of Chemistry University of Chicago at Urbana-Champaign Photo by Beyond My Ken Since the Great Recession and the start of the Obama Administration, the federal government has been cutting back on basic research grants to public universities. In the Midwest, that's bad for the economy. Internationally, it's…
Read the story10 min