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Hundreds flee, building destroyed as grass fire spreads to trees near Texas apartments

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:50:47 GMT

CEDAR PARK, Texas (AP) — A grass fire near Austin, Texas, spread into trees near an apartment complex and condominiums, destroying one of the buildings and forcing hundreds of residents from their homes.Two people suffered minor injuries in the 50-acre (20-hectare) fire that resulted in the evacuation of about 300 apartments, 95 townhomes and several businesses in Cedar Park, on the northern edge of Austin, Fire Chief James Mallinger said Wednesday.One apartment building was destroyed and three others damaged, according to Cedar Park Mayor Jim Penniman-Morin.“It could have been much, much worse,” Penniman-Morin said.The cause of the fire, reported early Tuesday evening, was not yet known, Mallinger said.It started as a grass fire and encroached on buildings by going from grass to trees, the chief said. Flames shot up to 60 feet (18 meters) high.“The trees were very close to the building … even touching the roof in a couple of cases,” Mallinger said. The wind moved the fire qui...

Dam in Norway partially bursts after days of heavy rain, flooding and evacuations

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:50:47 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A dam in southern Norway partially burst Wednesday following days of heavy rain that triggered landslides and flooding in the mountainous region and forced downstream communities to evacuate, officials said.Authorities initially considered blowing up part of the dam at the Braskereidfoss hydroelectric power plant to prevent communities from being inundated. But the idea was scrapped after water later broke through the structure, police spokesman Fredrik Thomson told reporters.“We hope that we will get a gradual leveling of the water and that we will get an even leveling.”The power plant on the Glåma, Norway’s longest and most voluminous river, was under water and out of operation.Huge volumes of water were pouring over the western parts of the concrete dam, Thomson said.For hours, the water gathered behind the dam. Then a parking lot next to the power station was flooded, and soon water started pouring through a gap in the concrete. The water ripped ...

Jay Monahan says PGA Tour, Saudi deal is on the right path in 1st remarks since taking medical leave

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:50:47 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Back to full health, Commissioner Jay Monahan said Wednesday the PGA Tour is on the right path to finalize a deal with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf and that whether he’s the best person to lead the tour will depend on the results.Monahan spoke publicly for the first time since he returned to work July 17, having stepped away for three weeks with what he described as anxiety that had been building up over time.He said his only regret in a proposed business partnership with Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund and the European tour was keeping players in the dark.“I put players on their back foot,” he said.Monahan was short on details of the proposed agreement with the media and players in his first meeting with them on Tuesday afternoon — mainly because negotiations are ongoing. Tour officials met with the Public Investment Fund last weekend.He was bullish that a deal would get done by the end of the year, and that the PGA Tour is not considering any...

Brazil’s former highway police director has been arrested in a probe into election interference

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:50:47 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police arrested the former director of Brazil’s Federal Highway Police and conducted several raids Wednesday as part of an investigation into possible political interference in last year’s presidential elections, police said. Brazil’s Federal Police said in a statement that officers had carried out ten search and seizure warrants and arrested one person, without giving the name. A federal police official in Brasilia, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed that the former highway police director, Silvinei Vasques, was arrested Wednesday morning in Santa Catarina stateAllegations surfaced after the Oct. 30 election that highway police had interfered in support of former right wing President Jair Bolsonaro in the tense final round of voting that pitted the incumbent against his leftist rival, now-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.Some highway police were accused of blocking buses that were transportin...

Coyotes say they’ve executed a letter of intent to buy land for a potential arena in Mesa, Arizona

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:50:47 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Coyotes said Wednesday that owner Alex Meruelo has executed a letter of intent to buy a piece of land for a potential arena in Mesa, Arizona.The move comes months after voters in Tempe rejected a referendum to construct an arena there for the NHL club. The Coyotes say they remain committed to building a privately funded rink and entertainment district and continue to explore other potential sites in the Phoenix area.“We appreciate the tremendous support that we have received from many communities, elected officials and community leaders who have expressed their desire to see the Coyotes remain in the Valley permanently,” the team said in a statement. “We would also like to thank NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly for their steadfast support of the club’s efforts to find a permanent arena solution and for their recognition that Arizona is a tremendous hockey market.”The Coyotes are going into their second season at 5,000-seat ...

Severe storms lead to unprecedented $34 billion in US insured losses so far this year, Swiss Re says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:50:47 GMT

Waves of severe thunderstorms in the U.S. during the first half of this year led to $34 billion in insured losses, an unprecedented level of financial damage in such a short time, according to Swiss Re Group, as climate change contributes to the frequency and severity of violent meteorological events. Damages from convective storms in the U.S., those that can come with hail, lightning, heavy rain and high winds, accounted for nearly 70% of the $50 billion in global catastrophic damages so far this year, the reinsurer said Wednesday. Those global figure includes earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. The storms in the U.S. were so severe, there were 10 that resulted in damages of $1 billion or more, almost double the average recorded over the past decade, according to Swiss Re, and Texas was the state most severely effected. “The effects of climate change can already be seen in certain perils like heatwaves, droughts, floods and extreme precipitation,” Swiss Re Group Chief Economist Jérôme...

Hollywood strike matches the 100-day mark of the last writers’ strike in 2007-2008

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:50:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Hollywood writers strike reached the 100-day mark on Wednesday, matching the length of the landmark 2007-2008 strike. The milestone comes as the U.S. film and television industries remain paralyzed by dual strikes by its actors and screenwriters.There’s no foreseeable end — a negotiating session last week involving Hollywood studios and streamers and the striking workers ended with little progress. Special Writers Guild of America pickets calling attention to the 100th day are being held in New York and Los Angeles.Television networks are a month away from starting a new fall season, and broadcasters have already put contingency plans in place for programming that excludes their most popular scripted series.The Associated Press

Montana clinic files for bankruptcy following $6 million judgment over false asbestos claims

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:50:47 GMT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A health clinic in a Montana town plagued by deadly asbestos contamination has filed for bankruptcy protection after a judge ordered it to pay the government almost $6 million in penalties and damages for submitting false medical claims.The federal bankruptcy filing, submitted Tuesday, will allow the Center for Asbestos Related Disease clinic in the small town of Libby to continue operating while it appeals last month’s judgment, said clinic director Tracy McNew.A seven-person jury in June found the clinic submitted 337 false claims that made patients eligible for Medicare and other benefits they shouldn’t have received. The federally-funded clinic has been at the forefront of the medical response to deadly pollution from mining near Libby that left the town and the surrounding area contaminated with toxic asbestos dust.The $6 million judgment against it came in a federal case filed by BNSF Railway under the False Claims Act, which allows private parties...

Armenians face genocide in Azerbaijan, former ICC prosecutor warns

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:50:47 GMT

KORNIDZOR, Armenia (AP) — The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court warned that Azerbaijan is preparing genocide against ethnic Armenians in its Nagorno-Karabakh region and called for the U.N. Security Council to bring the matter before the international tribunal.A report by Luis Moreno Ocampo issued Tuesday said Azerbaijan’s blockade of the only road leading from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh seriously impedes food, medical supplies and other essentials to the region of about 120,000 people.“There is a reasonable basis to believe that a genocide is being committed,” Ocampo’s report said, noting that a U.N. convention defines genocide as including “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.”“There are no crematories and there are no machete attacks. Starvation is the invisible genocide weapon. Without immediate dramatic change, this group of Armenians will be destroyed in a few wee...

At least 1 dead after shooting in Crystal Lake home

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:50:47 GMT

UNINCORPORATED CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill — A death investigation is underway after a shooting inside a home in Unincorporated Crystal Lake.The shooting happened around 4 a.m. Wednesday on the 5800 block of Wild Plum Road.Upon arrival, deputies and police found four gunshot victims inside a house. At least one of those victims has died, according to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.At this time, it is unknown if the gunman is among the four discovered. It is also unknown if any of the victims lived in the house or their ages. Subway, customers robbed at gunpoint on Chicago’s Southwest Side According to authorities, this is an isolated incident and there is no danger to the public.The McHenry County Sheriff's Office has opened a death investigation.This is a developing story. Check back for details.