US coastal areas are set to be deluged by far more frequent and severe flooding events if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t slashed, with rare floods becoming the norm for places such as New York City, Seattle and San Diego, new research has found.

The study, undertaken by researchers from Princeton and Rutgers universities, found that along all of the US coastline, the average risk of a 100-year flood will increase 40-fold by 2050. Such floods are statistically expected to occur only once every 100 years because of their severity, although this doesn’t mean these sort of floods never happen in consecutive years. The annual chance of such a flood is around 1%.

The research found that if emissions are not curbed, San Francisco and Seattle would both get a 100-year flood every year by 2050, while San Diego would expect 10 such events annually and Key West in Florida would be hit 11 times a year. Some of the worst affected areas would be in Hawaii, with Mokuoloe island, situated off Oahu, forecast to be deluged by 130 floods a year that are currently considered to be 100-year events.(guardian)…[+]

Donald Trump plans to nominate Christopher Wray to be the next director of the FBI, he announced on Twitter on Wednesday. The announcement comes nearly one month after Trump fired FBI director James Comey – one of the most controversial decisions of his young presidency – and just one day before Comey is scheduled to testify before the Senate intelligence committee.

During the hearing, Comey is expected to be asked about Trump’s attempts to soft-pedal the investigation into his former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s contacts with Russia. Trump has indicated that the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 elections and links to his campaign made up part of his thinking when he dismissed the director. In the tweet, Trump called Wray – whose name emerged as one of those in the frame on 31 May – “a man of impeccable credentials”. An FBI director must be confirmed by the Senate and typically serves a single, 10-year term.(guardian)…[+]

At least 12 people have been killed and dozens more injured in Tehran after gunmen and suicide bombers attacked the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic Republic. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks on the highly symbolic sites, publishing a brief video that purported to show the assailants inside the parliament. If an Isis role is confirmed, this would be the first attack conducted by the terror group inside Iran.

The parliament assault began when four gunmen armed with rifles burst into the building complex. One of the attackers reportedly blew himself up inside as police surrounded the building. Gunfire could be heard from outside as police helicopters circled overhead, entrance and exit gates were closed, and mobile phone lines from inside were disconnected. “I was inside the parliament when shooting happened. Everyone was shocked and scared. I saw two men shooting randomly,” one journalist at the scene, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.(guardian)…[+]