A powerful earthquake struck New Zealand's southern island early Saturday morning local time. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake's magnitude at 7.0 and placed the epicenter about 35 miles WNW of Christchurch. There are reports of extensive damage.

Last week Turkey, one of the world's five major ship recycling nations, signed, subject to ratification by the Turkish parliament, the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009.

An oilrig located about 80 miles south of Louisiana's Vermillion Bay has exploded and caught on fire. The U.S. Coast Guard is responding with air and marine rescue units. It is being reported that one person is missing.

The National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning on Wednesday (9/1) for parts of North Carolina up to the Virginia border ahead of Hurricane Earl, which is now a Category 3 hurricane.

Authorities have also issued mandatory evacuation orders for some parts of coastal North Carolina.

The Chinese navy began a series of war games in the Yellow Sea on Wednesday, days ahead of joint U.S/South Korea exercises in the same waters.

Last week the U.S. Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy released the results of their separate command investigations into the October 2009 collision of a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft and a Marine AH-1W Cobra helicopter off the coast of Southern California that killed nine service members.

Links to the three reports can be found on the Coast Guard website here.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicts that category 2 Hurricane Earl will become a major hurricane later today (8/30). Meaning it will become a category 3 or higher storm with winds exceeding 111 mph. Earl is making its way through the Leeward Islands and is expected to spread westward into the Virgin Islands later today. For updates on Earl visit the NHC website here.

Currently, Earl's path is predicted to turn northerly later this week and move up along the U.S. east coast north of North Carolina. It is possible the hurricane could make landfall in the Mid-Atlantic or New England states.

It is also worth noting that there is another storm system behind Earl that the NHC predicts has a 90% chance of turning into a tropical cyclone in the next 48-hours.

Today, August 29th is the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall in Louisiana. To mark the solemn occasion, President Obama will deliver a speech at Xavier University in New Orleans.