World/National

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says money available to help communities hit by disasters has shrunk after back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton. Deanne Criswell warned during a Senate hearing Wednesday that the funding problems might jeopardize the ability to respond to new disasters in the future. The Biden administration has requested nearly $100 billion for disaster aid. The largest chunk of that money, about $40 billion, would go to FEMA’s disaster relief fund.

HENNIKER, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire company is working to develop a fleet of autonomous helicopters that it hopes can be used to put out fires, spray crops and handle other dangerous jobs. Rotor Technologies has built two of the autonomous helicopters, started running test flights and plans a demonstration of the helicopter at an agriculture trade show in Texas on Wednesday. The company is hoping to sell as many as 20 of the small helicopters next year, most of which would be used by farmers to spray fields with pesticides and fertilizers. To allow those flights, the company is counting on getting Federal Aviation Administration approval by next year.

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has named former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency as he continues to build out his future administration with loyal supporters. Trump says Zeldin, who mounted a failed bid for governor of New York in 2022, would “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards.” The announcement comes after Trump selected longtime adviser Stephen Miller to be the deputy chief of policy and named Rep. Elise Stefanik as his nominee or U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Federal health officials are calling for more testing and treatment of workers on farms with bird flu. The new guidance comes after a study showed that some dairy workers had signs of infection, even when they didn’t report feeling sick. Blood tests of 115 workers on farms in Michigan and Colorado showed that eight workers had antibodies that indicated previous infection. The finding suggests the virus may be spreading more widely. Four of the workers reported feeling sick and four reported no symptoms. Officials said the risk to the public remains low.

Sunday is the time to move clocks back in the U.S. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time, which means setting your clock back an hour. Standard time will last until March 9 when we will again “spring forward” with the return of daylight saving time. That spring time change can be tough on your body but the fall change should be easier to adjust to. Most countries don’t make time changes. It’s mostly North America and Europe. In the U.S., there are two exceptions. Arizona and Hawaii stick to standard time year-round.

BELLEAIR BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Milton has become a Category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico on a path toward Florida’s west coast. Milton’s growth Monday sets the stage for a dangerous storm surge in Tampa Bay and potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline. Milton’s center could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa area, and it could remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. It is threatening Florida less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene caused deaths and catastrophic damage in that state and well inland.

DETROIT (AP) — The union representing 45,000 striking U.S. dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports has reached a deal to suspend a three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The International Longshoremen’s Association is to resume working immediately. The union also reached a tentative deal with the ports on wages, according to a joint statement issued Thursday night. The union went on strike early Tuesday after its contract expired in a dispute over pay and the automation of tasks at the ports from Maine to Texas. A person briefed on the deal said the ports raised their wage offer to 62% over six years. The person didn’t want to be identified because the deal is tentative.

PETALUMA, Calif. (AP) — A proposal to phase out large-scale confined animal farms will be put before voters in a Northern California county. Sonoma County residents will decide whether to approve Measure J. Proponents say the move to phase out what federal authorities call concentrated animal feeding operations is about the humane treatment of animals. Critics say it is a misguided effort that could harm egg farming and dairies in the county and that California already has strict rules to ensure farm animals’ well-being.

BELLVUE, Colo. (AP) — The U.S. is struggling to replant forests destroyed by increasingly destructive wildfires, with some areas unlikely to recover. Researchers are studying which species are likely to survive — and where — as climate change makes it difficult or impossible for many forests to regrow. But researchers say the U.S. also lacks enough seed collection, nursery capacity to grow seedlings and workers trained to plant them on a scale needed to stem accelerating losses. The Forest Service says the biggest roadblock is the yearslong task of completing environmental and cultural assessments and preparing severely burned land for replanting.

WYOMING, Iowa (AP) — Taking a country drive in the Midwest means venturing into the corn zone. Snaking between 12-foot-tall green, leafy walls, the corn seems to block out nearly everything other than an occasional water tower. But soon, that towering corn might become a miniature of its former self, replaced by stalks only half as tall as the current green giants. The short corn offers farmers a variety that can withstand powerful windstorms that could become more frequent due to climate change. The smaller plants also let farmers plant at greater density, so they can grow more corn on the same amount of land and increase their profits. That is especially helpful as farmers endure low prices.