TV News LIES

• The temperature in Phoenix, Arizona continues to rise as the city broke its previous record of the most consecutive days at or above 110F (43C).

Hurricane Lee is exceeding expectations as it becomes the fearsome storm it was predicted to be, undergoing "rapid intensification" as it moves across the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said on Thursday. The hurricane's maximum winds are now predicted to hit 165 mph by Friday.

Lee currently has maximum sustained winds of 130 mph — making it a Category 4 storm — and is over open water, following a west-northwest path that will likely see its center pass north of the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.

Lee roared to major hurricane status on Thursday, with its maximum sustained winds increasing from 105 mph at 11 a.m. ET to 130 mph at 5 p.m. — all on the same day that it developed a well-defined eye.

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Oil refineries have been releasing unsafe levels of cancer-causing benzene, says a new report calling for more action from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The EPA’s office of the inspector general said this week that out of 25 refineries that had an instance of excess benzene levels, 18 later emitted the chemical at unsafe levels.

The report looked at a period from January 2018 to September 2021.

It particularly pointed to refineries in Pennsylvania and Texas that emitted unsafe levels of benzene during 23 separate two-week sampling periods and 11 separate two-week sampling periods, respectively.

Eric Schaeffer, former director of the EPA’s Office of Civil Enforcement, described benzene emissions at this level as “posing a significant risk to people downwind.”

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Lee has strengthened into a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean and forecasters say it's expected to grow rapidly into a major hurricane by this weekend.

In its last advisory, the National Hurricane Center said Lee has winds of 75 mph and is moving toward the Leeward Islands. Forecasters are already using stark language about the storm and its prospects.

"It is becoming a question of when and not if rapid intensification occurs with Lee," the advisory noted. Winds are forecast to reach 150 mph which is a powerful Category 4 'major hurricane' with the possibility of "explosive intensification."

Environmental and community groups have sued Utah officials over failures to save its iconic Great Salt Lake from irreversible collapse.

The largest saltwater lake in the western hemisphere has been steadily shrinking, as more and more water has been diverted away from the lake to irrigate farmland, feed industry and water lawns. A megadrought across the US south-west, accelerated by global heating, has hastened the lake’s demise.

Las Vegas residents on Sunday were drying out after two days of heavy rainfall that flooded streets, prompted various water rescues, shut down a portion of Interstate 15 south of the city and possibly resulted in at least one death.

The National Weather Service in Las Vegas issued a severe weather outlook for the region, warning of strong winds and hail as the storm activity leaves eastern Clark county.

The heavy rainfall over the past couple of days resulted in 24 water rescues, including more than 30 vehicles stranded in water and about a dozen people rescued from standing or moving water, according to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.