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Maui deaths rise to 89 with more than 2,200 structures destroyed or damaged. Follow live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

By REBECCA BOONE (Associated Press)Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii this week, destroying a historic town and forcing evacuations. The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the island chain, was partly to blame for strong winds that initially drove the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters.In a press conference Saturday, Gov. Josh Green said the number of confirmed deaths from the Maui wildfires has risen to 89, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than 100 years.Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said officials have identified two of the 89 victims, but the process is extremely challenging because “we pick up the remains and they fall apart.”“When we find our family and our friends, the remains that we’re finding is through a fire that melted metal. We have to do rapid DNA to identify them. Every one of these 89 are John and Jane Does,” Pell...

Dear Abby: Stay out of teen kids’ rom-drama

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

Dear Abby: My son dated a girl for 3 1/2 years in high school. Both were sure they had found their life mate. While my husband and I knew it was a long shot, they believed it was true because the girl’s parents had been high school sweethearts.When school ended, they split up, hoping to remain friends and maybe rekindle when they were older. They are now off to college. Before my son left, rumors started flying that the breakup was his fault, and lies were spread to create a victim and a villain. The gossip came from the girl. My son refused to defend himself. Not one of his friends stood up for him and asked if it was true; they just quietly cut him out.Three weeks after the breakup, his ex started dating another boy in the friend group. No one, including the parents, have spoken up and pointed out that this is even mildly unethical. To make matters worse, the boy my son’s ex is dating is the brother of my older son’s girlfriend. They are in a serious long-distanc...

East County license plate-reading cameras assist in stolen vehicle arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

EL CAJON, Calif. -- License plate-reading cameras in El Cajon assisted police in the arrest of a suspect believed to have stolen a vehicle last year, authorities announced.On Saturday at about 3:06 p.m., El Cajon police received a notification from the cameras' Flock Safety alert technology, which is a system that sends a real-time notifications to police when a stolen or wanted vehicle in law enforcement databases are detected.According to police, the vehicle was reported stolen in the City of El Cajon on Mar. 3, 2022. Officers were able to locate the vehicle and the driver in the 900 block of Broadway.The driver, identified by authorities as 55-year-old Lakeside resident Celestina Thomas, was arrested on suspicion of being in possession of a stolen vehicle. Man fatally stabbed in Mira Mesa park; 17-year-old suspect arrested According to ECPD, the suspect had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for her arrest. The charges that prompted the warrant were not disclosed by authoritie...

New San Elijo activity hub opens after completion of $9M project

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

ENCINITAS, Calif. -- The new San Elijo Activity Hub Park & Ride has officially opened in Encinitas, marking the latest project in the massive Build North Coast Corridor infrastructure program to reach completion.The San Diego Association of Governments unveiled the new $9 million activity hub on Saturday alongside local leaders, Caltrans representatives and the Nature Collective. According to officials, the San Elijo Park & Ride will serve as a centralized location for residents and visitors to park their vehicles to access the nearby lagoon, while conveniently accessing the new Interstate 5 carpool lanes. Torrey Pines State Beach namesake considered rarest pine species in world “The new San Elijo Activity Hub Park & Ride is a valuable addition to our community," SANDAG Second Vice Chair and Solana Beach Mayor Lesa Heebner said in a release. "This facility will reduce congestion by promoting ridesharing and active transportation use, increase coastal access throughout ...

Alabama riverfront brawl videos spark a cultural moment about race, solidarity and justice

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — As bystanders trained their smartphone cameras on the riverfront dock while several white boaters pummeled a Black riverboat co-captain, they couldn’t have known the footage would elicit a national conversation about racial solidarity.Yet, a week after multiple videos showing the now-infamous brawl and valiant defense of the outnumbered co-captain were shared widely on social media, it’s clear the event truly tapped into the psyche of Black America and created a broader cultural moment.Andrea Boyles, a sociology professor at Tulane University, said a long history of anti-Black racism and attacks and current events likely magnified the attack’s impact and response.“Especially at a time like now where we see an increase in anti-Black racism through legislation and otherwise, whether we’re thinking about history, the banning of Black history and curriculum and all sorts of things across the state of Florida” and elsewhere, Boyles said. “So this is why it i...

As death toll from Maui fire reaches 89, authorities say effort to count the losses is just starting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — As the death toll from a wildfire that razed a historic Maui town reached 89, authorities warned Saturday that the effort to find and identify the dead was still in its early stages. It’s already the deadliest U.S. wildfire for over a century.Crews with cadaver dogs have completed just 3% of the search area, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said. “We’ve got an area that we have to contain that is at least 5 square miles and it is full of our loved ones. And we’ve got 89 so far. Today we identified two,” noting that the death toll is likely to grow and “none of us really know the size of it yet.”He spoke as federal emergency workers picked through an ashen moonscape left by the fire that razed the centuries-old town of Lahaina. Teams marked the ruins of homes with a bright orange X for an initial search and HR when they found human remains.Pelletier said that identifying the dead is extremely challenging because “we pick up the remains and they fall apart...

Argentines vote in a primary election that will gauge the yearning for change amid economic turmoil

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentines vote Sunday in a primary election that will act as a bellwether ahead of October general elections and give a hint at how eager citizens are for a change in a country that is suffering one of the world’s worst inflation rates.The primary will determine who will be the presidential candidate in the main center-right opposition coalition in which Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta is facing off against former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich. Whoever comes out on top will almost certainly be running against Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who is facing a leftist challenger to become the candidate of the ruling coalition. Center-left President Alberto Fernández decided not to run for reelection as he suffers from rock-bottom approval ratings amid annual inflation of more than 100%, rising poverty and a rapidly depreciating currency.The primary will also finally give a firm answer on how much traction upstart right-wing populist cand...

Mishmash of how US heat death are counted complicates efforts to keep people safe as Earth warms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Postal worker Eugene Gates Jr. was delivering mail in the suffocating Dallas heat this summer when he collapsed in a homeowner’s yard and was taken to a hospital, where he died. Carla Gates said she’s sure heat was a factor in her 66-year-old husband’s death, even though she’s still waiting for the autopsy report. When Eugene Gates died on June 20, the temperature was 98 degrees Fahrenheit (36.6 Celsius) and the heat index, which also considers humidity, had soared over 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius). “I will believe this until the day I die, that it was heat-related,” Carla Gates said. Even when it seems obvious that extreme heat was a factor, death certificates don’t always reflect the role it played. Experts say a mishmash of ways more than 3,000 counties calculate heat deaths means we don’t really know how many people die in the U.S. each year because of high temperatures in an ever warming world. That imprecision h...

As free press withers in El Salvador, pro-government social media influencers grow in power

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Douglas Guzmán’s TikTok feed was dotted with workout routines and videos showcasing his favorite parts of his country. That changed about a year ago, as rights groups, civil society and even some officials criticized El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele for violating human rights in his crackdown on criminal gangs, and said that his unconstitutional bid for re-election would corrode the country’s democracy.Within days of Bukele announcing his bid for a second five-year term, Guzmán’s feed was plastered with videos describing Bukele as the “future liberator of Latin America” and slick montages of the leader’s “mega-prison” for accused gangsters. Views on the social media influencer’s videos skyrocketed. The 39-year-old member of Bukele’s party said he found a new mission: counteracting negative press from independent media about his populist president.“(Journalists) don’t know anything. All they do is sit at their desks and watch as ...

Lifeless Rockies’ offense falters again against red-hot Dodgers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

Solid starting pitching? Check.Good defense? Check.Productive offense? Next question, please.You guessed it, the Rockies lost at Dodger Stadium, again, falling 4-1 on Saturday night in Los Angeles.The red-hot Dodgers, winners of a season-high seven consecutive games, own a 29-9 record against the Rockies in L.A. since 2019.The Rockies managed just three hits and were dominated by right-hander Tony Gonsolin, who gave up one run on three hits, struck out six and walked none over his six innings of work. In eight career games (seven starts) vs. Colorado, Gonsolin is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA, 46 strikeouts and five walks.Colorado was helpless against the Dodgers’ bullpen, and closer Evan Phillips notched his 17th save by striking out the side in the ninth. After striking out 16 times Friday night, the Rockies fanned 11 times Saturday.“Recently, our offense has been our problem,” manager Bud Black told reporters in Los Angeles. “We have to get a little more offense ...