Record set for earliest Northwest Passage transit

Record set for earliest Northwest Passage transit

NUUK, Greenland

After 24 days at sea and a journey spanning more than 6,214 miles, the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica has set a new record for the earliest transit of the fabled Northwest Passage.

The once-forbidding route through the Arctic, linking the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, has been opening up sooner and for a longer period each summer due to climate change. Sea ice that foiled famous explorers and blocked the passage to all but the hardiest ships has slowly been melting away in one of the most visible effects of man-made global warming.

Records kept by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans show that the previous earliest passage of the season happened in 2008, when the Canadian Coast Guard ship Louis L. St-Laurent left St. John’s in Newfoundland on July 5 and arrived in the Beaufort Sea off Point Barrow on July 30.

More tourists evacuate NC islands

A “steady stream” of tourists left a North Carolina island Saturday under evacuation orders prompted by a widespread power outage, wiping out a significant chunk of the lucrative summer months for local businesses.

It could take days or weeks to repair an underground transmission line damaged Thursday by construction crews working on a new bridge between islands. The construction company drove a steel casing into an underground transmission line, causing blackouts on Ocracoke and Hatteras islands.

An order for visitors to Hatteras Island, south of Oregon Inlet, meant up to 60,000 people had to evacuate starting Saturday, primarily north over the inlet bridge. This was in addition to an order that called for about 10,000 tourists to evacuate from Okracoke.

Judge blocks Ark.from enforcing abortion restrictions

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.

A federal judge has blocked Arkansas from enforcing four new abortion restrictions, including a ban on a common second- trimester procedure and a fetal remains law that opponents say would effectively require a partner’s consent before a woman could get an abortion.

U.S. District Court Judge Kristine Baker issued a preliminary injunction against the new restrictions, three of which were set to take effect Tuesday. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights had challenged the measures, suing on behalf of Dr. Frederick Hopkins, a Little Rock abortion provider.

Police disrupt plot in Australia to ‘bring down plane’

CANBERRA, Australia

Police disrupted a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane and arrested four men Saturday in raids on homes in several Sydney suburbs, the prime minister said today.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said security had been increased at Sydney Airport since Thursday because of the plot. The increased security measures had been extended to all major international and domestic terminals around Australia overnight.

Associated Press