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Release of 388 names helps winnow list of those unaccounted for after devastating Maui fires

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

By REBECCA BOONE, GENE JOHNSON and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHERHONOLULU (AP) — Within hours of Maui County releasing 388 names of people unaccounted for following the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, some cases were already being resolved Friday as relatives or the people themselves reported they were safe.One person on the list told The Associated Press he hopes to be taken off it. At least two others were among the victims of the fire — people who are known to have perished but have not yet been positively identified as deceased in the official tally, which currently stands at 115.Terrí Thomas was killed when fire overtook her car as she fled from her apartment with her two dogs and two friends, said her cousin, Tammy Cruz, of Columbus, Georgia. The car became stuck in traffic and only one of the friends escaped. He later told Cruz that Thomas was crying hysterically when he last saw her, the car growing hotter by the second.Thomas’ niece provided ...

Norfolk DA blasts ‘outrageous’ internet theories in Karen Read murder case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, in “the first statement of its kind” in his tenure, is blasting internet trolls for spreading “baseless” theories in the Karen Read murder case.He issued a lengthy statement Friday that challenges the defense theory in the case of Read, who is charged with the murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.“False narratives are not evidence,” Morrissey said in the statement released late Friday afternoon. “However, what evidence does show is that John O’Keefe never entered the home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton on the night he died. Location data from his phone – recovered from the lawn beneath his body when he was transported to the hospital — shows that his phone did not enter that home.”Read, 43, of Mansfield, faces charges in Norfolk Superior Court of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a collision causing the death, on Jan. 29, ...

Pilot killed in military jet crash at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar base

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

Teri Figueroa | The San Diego Union-TribuneA Marine pilot was killed when a F/A-18D Hornet fighter jet crashed late Thursday near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar base, military officials said.The jet crashed just before 11:55 p.m. Thursday on government property east of the air station. The downed plane was part of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing with the Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA (AW)) 224, officials with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing announced Friday morning.“Search and rescue recovered the U.S. Marine Corps pilot who has been confirmed deceased at the site,”1st Lt. Hudson Sadler said in a news release. Sadler is the spokesperson for 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, based out of Cherry Point, North Carolina.The squadron is a subordinate unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina.The pilot was the only person on the plane.News that the pilot was found dead comes after local agencies helped search for the missing aviator.About 2:30 a.m...

4 tornadoes confirmed as Michigan storms down trees and power lines; 5 people killed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

By COREY WILLIAMS and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER (Associated Press)CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — At least four tornadoes touched down in Michigan as part of severe storms powered by strong winds that killed five people, while downing trees, tearing roofs off buildings and leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without power, officials said.The National Weather Service on Friday confirmed that an EF-1 tornado with winds of 90 mph (145 kph) crossed from Ingham County into the western edge of adjacent Livingston County on Thursday night.Two other EF-1 tornadoes were reported in Wayne County’s Belleville and south of Newport in Monroe County.A weaker EF-0 tornado with peak winds of 80 mph (128 kph) was on the ground for less than two miles in Wayne County’s Canton Township, west of Detroit, the weather service said. That tornado caused a tree to fall into a house, said meteorologist Sara Schultz.The weather service office in Grand Rapids, in western Michigan, said officials ...

Actors union rallies outside Amazon, Apple headquarters in Toronto

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, better known as the actor’s union ACTRA, rallied in downtown Toronto outside Amazon and Apple headquarters Friday to demand fair wages and stand in solidarity with their U.S. counterparts.The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike since May and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) followed in July over ongoing labour disputes with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).Simultaneously in Canada, ACTRA has been at loggerheads with the Institute of Canadian Agencies — which represents some of the country’s largest advertising agencies — after talks to renew their collective bargaining agreement fell through. ACTRA says ever since the ICA walked away from the table, actors in the union have been “locked out” from working in commercials for high-profile ICA clients like Google and Walmart.“We have...

Judge asks if poverty qualifies for Biden policy letting migrants from 4 countries into US

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday questioned whether living in poverty would be enough to qualify someone for a key immigration policy from President Joe Biden that allows a limited number of people from four countries in the Americas to enter the U.S. on humanitarian grounds.The program allows up to 30,000 people into the U.S. each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela combined. The program is being challenged in a lawsuit filed by Texas and 20 other Republican-leaning states. They’re accusing it of being a “shadow immigration system” that’s letting in nearly everyone who applies.U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton said that a “massive chunk of the world” lives in poverty, adding he’s visited Haiti and seen terrible living conditions there firsthand.“Does the fact they are living in poverty qualify as an urgent humanitarian need?” Tipton asked as closing arguments were being presented in the trial in Victoria, Texas.“I think probably not,” said Elissa Fudim...

Texas ban on gender-affirming health care for minors blocked, Missouri ban allowed to take effect

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A judge on Friday blocked Texas’ ban on gender-affirming health care for minors while a separate judge in Missouri allowed a similar ban to take effect, underscoring the mixed verdict in courtrooms across the U.S. this year over a historic wave of restrictions aimed at transgender youth. More than 20 states have adopted laws to ban some gender-affirming care for minors, although some are not yet in effect or have been put on hold by courts. Many of them prevent transgender minors from accessing hormone therapies, puberty blockers and transition surgeries, even though medical experts say such surgical procedures are rarely performed on children.Texas would be the most populous state to enforce such a ban. But state District Judge Maria Cantu Hexsel sided with a group of families who argued it would violate parents’ rights and have devastating consequences for transgender children and teenagers who would be denied treatment recommended by their physicians.Th...

131 structures destroyed but no lives lost in Shuswap, B.C., wildfire

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

Officials say 131 homes and other structures have been destroyed by wildfires in the Shuswap region of British Columbia’s Interior, but no lives have been lost.Erick Thompson, an information officer for the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, says a survey by the Canada Task Force 1 search and rescue team has indicated that a further 31 structures suffered damage.Thompson told a briefing that assessments of the damage have been hindered by the ongoing blazes and are subject to change.Tracy Hughes, another information officer with the district, says cheers broke out in its emergency operations centre when the search team reported there were no known deaths.The 410-square-kilometre Bush Creek East fire in the region is the target of the most intense wildfire fight in B.C., with thousands of residents ordered to leave their homes.Hundreds of firefighters are engaged in the battle against that blaze, along with more than 100 pieces of heavy equipment and 17 helicopters.This report...

A father describes rushing his 7-month-old to safety during a California biker bar shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ryan Guidus was enjoying a spontaneous night out Wednesday with his 7-month-old daughter and mother-in-law at Cook’s Corner, a favorite family spot in Southern California that he’s frequented since his own childhood, when gunshots rang out.First, he thought it was fireworks. But when screaming began and more shots followed, the bar’s popular weekly spaghetti night turned into every parent’s worst nightmare as a retired police sergeant opened fire.“I just reached into the stroller and ejected my daughter out of that thing, ripped her out of there as fast as I could,” Guidus told The Associated Press on Friday. “It was all a blur, it happened so fast.”Clutching baby Olive to his chest, Guidus sprinted from the bar’s patio to the back of the property where other patrons were hiding among the hillside trees along an embankment. When more shots erupted, the 36-year-old father handed Olive to a man next to him and jumped 10 feet (3.05 meters) down before gra...

President Joe Biden says he will request more funding for a new coronavirus vaccine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, California (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that he is planning to request more money from Congress to develop another new coronavirus vaccine, as scientists track new waves and hospitalizations rise, though not like before. Officials are already expecting updated COVID-19 vaccines that contain one version of the omicron strain, called XBB.1.5. It’s an important change from today’s combination shots, which mix the original coronavirus strain with last year’s most common omicron variants. But there will always be a need for updated vaccines as the virus continues to mutate. It’s not clear exactly when people can start rolling up their sleeves for what officials hope is an annual fall COVID-19 shot. Pfizer, Moderna and smaller manufacturer Novavax all are brewing doses of the XBB update but the Food and Drug Administration will have to sign off on each, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must then issue recommendations for their use.“I sign...