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Nearly a week after Maui wildfire, islanders survey the aftermath and look ahead to long recovery

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:19 GMT

The wildfire that swept across Maui nearly a week ago turned one of the nation’s most celebrated island vistas into an ashen moonscape and killed at least 99 people, a number that officials warn could rise by scores as the search continues.The deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century devoured homes and businesses, blackened cars and left only ruins where thriving neighborhoods once stood. In some places, the flames advanced as fast as a car at highway speed — a mile a minute.The most serious blaze swept into Lahaina on Tuesday and destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000. When the flames were out and the smoke cleared, all that remained was a grid of gray rubble wedged between the blue ocean and lush green slopes.Now begins a long recovery as survivors mourn the dead, search teams look for more victims in the charred debris and families try to begin anew.The cause of the wildfire is under investigation. Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing...

Trump and co-defendants given until Aug. 25 to surrender on Georgia charges. Follow live updates

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:19 GMT

Follow along for live updates on the indictment of former President Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the results of his 2020 presidential election loss in Georgia. The charges focus on alleged schemes by Trump and his allies to attempt illegally overturn his loss in the state. It’s the fourth criminal case brought against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House, and the second to allege that he tried to subvert the results of the vote.___WHAT TO KNOW— Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has overseen the sprawling Georgia case against Trump— More information on the law associated with mobsters that is central to the Georgia charges— Trump was charged earlier this month by the Justice Department for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election— A look at all of the investigations currently pending against Trump— Trump also was indicted in June on charges that he illegally hoarded classified documents___TRUMP AND OTHERS CHAR...

Jordan Walker’s bases-loaded triple sparks the Cardinals to a 7-5 win over the A’s

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:19 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rookie Jordan Walker hit a bases-loaded triple in the seventh inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 7-5 victory over the Oakland Athletics in a matchup of last-place teams on Monday night.“It’s a learning curve,” Walker said. “I’ve been in those situations before and didn’t come through.”Walker’s first career triple capped a four-run seventh.“When he comes through, it’s exciting to see,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “Hopefully, we’ll see a lot more.” Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer in the fifth, his 19th, for St. Louis.Jo Jo Romero (3-1) worked 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Cardinals, who had lost their previous six meetings with the A’s.In the seventh, Angel Felipe (1-1) walked the bases full with one out and gave way to Francisco Perez, who walked Lars Nootbaar on five pitches to move the Cardinals within 5-4.Perez struck out Luken Baker looking, then yielded Walker’s triple to r...

The Orioles traded Manny Machado to start their rebuild. It paid off faster than he thought it would.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:19 GMT

On the television inside the Orioles’ clubhouse before Monday’s game at Petco Park, a group of MLB Network broadcasters discussed whether the best team in the American League should call up the best prospect in baseball, wondering what 19-year-old Jackson Holliday could bring to Baltimore’s lineup. The segment came before the Orioles faced a player who they promoted in that aggressive fashion more than 11 years ago.Manny Machado has grown a lot, as a player and a person, since he was a 20-year-old joining Baltimore straight from Double-A for its 2012 playoff push. He’s now in his fifth season with the San Diego Padres, with many more to come after he signed an 11-year, $350 million extension this spring. But his time with them thus far still leaves him nearly a full season’s worth of games short of the total he played with the Orioles after his August 2012 call-up.His tenure in Baltimore ended just shy of six years later, when the Orioles started their ...

Braves overmatch Yankees, ruin Clarke Schmidt’s homecoming

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:19 GMT

ATLANTA — If Monday night was any indication, the Yankees are in for a long series.The last-place club looked overmatched against the best team in baseball, losing to the Braves, 11-3, at Truist Park. Atlanta’s mighty offense scored eight runs off Clarke Schmidt, ruining a homecoming start for the Acworth, Georgia product.Schmidt, pitching in front of family and friends, found trouble right away, as Austin Riley put the Braves on the board with a solo home run in the first inning. No. 9 hitter Nicky Lopez then hit a two-run single in the second before Michael Harris II pushed another across the plate with a single of his own.Three more singles followed in the third inning, as knocks from Eddie Rosario, Orlando Arcia and Lopez drove in four before Scmidt hit the showers.Monday marked Schmidt’s first time allowing more than three earned runs in a game since May 14. That span covered 15 games and 14 starts, during which the righty had a 3.12 ERA.The 27-year-old, getti...

Expert weighs in on driving factors of Maui wildfires

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:19 GMT

SAN DIEGO – One week after fires first began their devastation on Maui, the death toll is reaching nearly 100 with hundreds still missing. Many people have wondered what exactly caused the quick-moving fires.“This is basically an amplified event of the kinds of things and routinely happen in Lahaina,” said Pat Abbott, SDSU Professor Emeritus of Geology.Low humidity and high winds set the stage for fire danger on Maui last week, with much of Hawaii under a red flag warning when the wildfires broke out.Abbott explained how powerful winds were generated by Hurricane Dora, even hundreds of miles away from Hawaii.“A hurricane forms by winds flowing in over the water surface and going up vertically carrying that moisture up with them, but they cover such a large area, hundreds of miles across. When you’re on the outer fringes it’s not rain you’re getting, getting the twirling winds going around the center,” Abbott said.Gusts above 60 miles per hour knocked down power lines and damaged hom...

States that protect transgender health care now try to absorb demand

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:19 GMT

States that declared themselves refuges for transgender people have essentially issued an invitation: Get your gender-affirming health care here without fearing prosecution at home.Now that bans on such care for minors are taking effect around the country — Texas could be next, depending on the outcome of a court hearing this week — patients and their families are testing clinics’ capacity. Already-long waiting lists are growing, yet there are only so many providers of gender-affirming care and only so many patients they can see in a day.For those refuge states — so far, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Washington and Vermont, plus Washington, D.C. — the question is how to move beyond promises of legal protection and build a network to serve more patients.“We’re trying our best to make sure we can get those kids in so that they don’t experience an interruption in their care,” said Dr. Angela Kade Goepferd,...

Massive explosion at gas station in Russia’s Dagestan kills 27, injures more than 100

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:19 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A massive explosion at a gas station in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan killed 27 people and injured more than 100, local officials said Tuesday. Three of those killed were children, Dagestan’s governor Sergei Melikov said. The explosion took place Monday night on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the region’s capital. A fire started at a car repair shop and spread to a nearby gas station, prompting a blast, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing the country’s Emergency Ministry. The subsequent fire raged on the area of 600 square meters (yards), the report said. Some of those injured will be airlifted to Moscow for treatment, according to the report.Russian authorities have begun a criminal investigation.The Associated Press

An Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank kills 2 Palestinians, health officials say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:19 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, in a raid in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Palestinian health officials said.Israel has been carrying out near-nightly raids in the West Bank since last year in response to a spate of Palestinian attacks, what has fueled tensions in the region and sent the death toll soaring. The violence comes amid a spike in attacks on Palestinians by radical Jewish settlers, continued settlement expansion and as Israel is led by a government composed of ultranationalist settlement supporters.The Palestinian Health Ministry identified those killed as Qusay al-Walaji, 16, and Mohammed Nujoom, 25, adding that the raid took place in the Jericho area, which has seen heavy fighting over the last 16 months. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Israeli-Palestinian violence in the West Bank has surged to levels unseen in nearly two decades, with more than 170 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire...

4 Australian tourists are rescued after being missing in Indonesian waters for 2 days

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:19 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Four Australian tourists were rescued after being missing for two days in the waters off Indonesia’s Aceh province, the father of one of the Australians said Tuesday.Peter Foote, the father of Elliot Foote, who had traveled to Indonesia to celebrate his 30th birthday with friends, said he received a text message from his son saying he is okay.“It says: ‘Hey Dad, Elliot here. I’m alive. Safe now. Love you. Chat later,’” Peter Foote said at a news conference on Tuesday. “It’s great, it’s good news. I’ll have to talk to him and want to see photos and see what he looks like. It’s all good.”A wooden speedboat carrying the four Australians and three Indonesians ran into bad weather on Sunday. The details of how they ended up in the sea remain unclear.There is no information about three Indonesians who were in the same boat. A search and rescue team expanded its focus area and added more boats and planes to look for them, officials said Tuesday.Peter F...