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Gallery: Maui wildfires rage on as death toll, damages continue to rise

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:34:00 GMT

The wildfires in Maui continue to wreak havoc on the Hawaiin island’s population and environment, with roughly 3% of the affected area searched as of Sunday, according to officials.A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii late Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)Charred remains of an apartment complex in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on August 12, 2023. Hawaii's Attorney General, Anne Lopez, said August 11, she was opening a probe into the handling of devastating wildfires that killed at least 80 people in the state this week, as criticism grows of the official response. The announcement and increased death toll came as residents of Lahaina were allowed back into the town for the first time. (Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP) (Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via G...

Hawaii’s governor warns that scores more people could be found dead following wildfires on Maui

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:34:00 GMT

By CLAIRE RUSH, AUDREY MCAVOY and CHRISTOPHER WEBER | Associated PressLAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii’s governor warned that scores more people could be found dead following the Maui wildfires as search crews go street by street through neighborhoods where the flames galloped as fast as a mile a minute across the landscape.The blazes that consumed most of the historic town of Lahaina, are already the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century, with a death toll of at least 96.“We are prepared for many tragic stories,” Gov. Josh Green told “CBS Mornings” in a recorded interview that was aired Monday. “They will find 10 to 20 people per day, probably, until they finish. And it’s probably going to take 10 days. It’s impossible to guess, really.”As cellphone service has slowly been restored, the number of people missing dropped to about 1,300 from over 2,000, Green said.Twenty cadaver dogs and dozens of searchers are making their way through blocks reduced to ash.“Right now,...

Six former Mississippi officers have pleaded guilty to state charges for torturing two Black men

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:34:00 GMT

BRANDON, Miss. (AP) — Six white former Mississippi law officers pleaded guilty to state charges on Monday for torturing two Black men in a racist assault. All six had recently admitted their guilt in a connected federal civil rights case.Prosecutors say some of the officers nicknamed themselves the “Goon Squad” because of their willingness to use excessive force and cover it up, including the attack that ended with a deputy shooting one victim in the mouth.In January, the officers entered a house without a warrant and handcuffed and assaulted the two men with stun guns, a sex toy and other objects. The officers mocked them with racial slurs throughout a 90-minute torture session, then devised a cover-up that included planting drugs and a gun, leading to false charges that could have sent one victim to prison for years.Their conspiracy unraveled months later, after one of them told the sheriff he had lied, leading to confessions from the others. Each one agreed to sentences recommend...

CNN revamps schedule, with new roles for Phillip, Coates, Wallace and Amanpour

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:34:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN is making dramatic changes to its lineup, announcing Monday that it was giving Abby Phillip and Laura Coates new weeknight shows and launching new weekend programs with Christiane Amanpour and Chris Wallace.Virtually no daypart goes unchanged in the revamp, as the network struggles with ratings challenges worsened by the quickening pulse of people cutting the cord on cable television. The changes were a swift move from CNN’s new leadership team of Amy Entelis, David Leavy, Virginia Moseley and Eric Sherling. They replaced former CNN chief executive Chris Licht, who was fired this spring.Phillip, a political correspondent, and Coates, a CNN legal analyst, will host back-to-back weeknight shows starting at 10 p.m. Eastern, under the plans. With Kaitlan Collins at 9 p.m. and Erin Burnett at 7 p.m., that gives CNN an evening schedule led by women, with the exception of Anderson Cooper’s hour at 8 p.m.Wallace and Amanpour will both host live hours on Saturday mo...

Just how much are fans spending on Taylor Swift Toronto concert tickets?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:34:00 GMT

Canadian fans who managed to score tickets for one of Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated six shows in Toronto have already spent a good chunk of money. Those who live outside the Toronto area are now also budgeting for the cost of travel and accommodation in November 2024.The Canadian Press spoke to several Swifties about how much they’re expecting to spend.Winning the golden ticketAshley Stewart, 24, saw Taylor Swift during her Fearless tour when it made a stop in her home province of Prince Edward Island back in 2010. This time around, she knew the pop star wouldn’t be stopping anywhere east of Toronto.“Being from the Atlantic provinces, we fully knew that we would have to travel somewhere if we wanted to see her. So, we were expecting that if we wanted to go to the Eras Tour, we would have to pay to travel,” the longtime Swifty said.Stewart said getting the presale code for Swift tickets felt like a scene straight out of a movie.Ashley Stewart shows o...

75% of Canadians had COVID-19 immunity in March: Study

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:34:00 GMT

In the latest study on COVID-19 by the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF), it is believed that as of March 2023, three-quarters of Canadians had immunity against SARS-CoV-2.The CITF team collected data using blood samples to estimate trends around the virus.Using three time periods: pre-vaccination (March 2020 to November 2020); vaccine roll-out (December 2020 to November 2021); and the Omicron waves (December 2021 to March 2023), they were able to determine during the first two phases of the pandemic that very few Canadians had SARS-CoV-2 in their blood.In May 2020, when COVID-19 was relatively new in Canada, less than 0.3 per cent of Canadians were showing a previous infection. By November 2021, that percentage rose to 9 per cent.RELATED: StatsCan finds 98% of Canadians have COVID-19 antibodies“Despite high vaccine coverage in Canada, the rate of infection rose rapidly with the highly contagious Omicron variant,” explains Dr. Bruce Mazer, study co-lead, Associate Scientific Direc...

Biden administration urges colleges to pursue racial diversity without affirmative action

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:34:00 GMT

New guidance from the Biden administration on Monday urges colleges to use a range of strategies to promote racial diversity on campus after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in admissions.Colleges can focus their recruiting in high minority areas, for example, and take steps to retain students of color who are already on campus, including by offering affinity clubs geared toward students of a certain race. Colleges can also consider how an applicant’s race has shaped personal experience, as detailed in students’ application essays or letters of recommendation, according to the new guidance.It also encourages them to consider ending policies known to stint racial diversity, including preferences for legacy students and the children of donors.“Ensuring access to higher education for students from different backgrounds is one of the most powerful tools we have to prepare graduates to lead an increasingly diverse nation and make real our country’s promise of opportunity ...

Hunter Biden’s lawyers say gun portion of plea deal remains valid after special counsel announcement

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:34:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorneys for Hunter Biden are pushing to keep part of a plea deal they reached with the prosecutor whose new status as special counsel intensified the tax investigation into the president’s son ahead of the 2024 election.Biden’s attorney argued in court documents late Sunday that an agreement sparing him prosecution on a felony gun charge still is in place even though the plea agreement on misdemeanor tax offenses largely unraveled during a court appearance last month.His lawyer argues the Justice Department decided to “renege” on its end of the deal on tax charges. The agreement on the gun charge also contains an immunity clause against federal prosecutions for some other potential crimes. Biden plans to abide by the terms of that agreement, including not using drugs or alcohol, attorney Christopher Clark said in court filings. He said prosecutors invited them to begin plea negotiations in May, “largely dictated” the language of the agreement and signed it,...

Ethiopian airstrike on a town square in the restive Amhara region kills 26, health official says

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:34:00 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A senior health official says an airstrike on a crowded town square in Ethiopia’s restive Amhara region has killed at least 26 people and wounded more than 55 others. Sunday’s airstrike came days after federal authorities asserted that calm had been restored in the region. Militia members in Amhara have been clashing with Ethiopia’s military over efforts to disband them, and last week the military retook key regional towns by force. Lawyers and witnesses say authorities are carrying out mass arrests of hundreds, even thousands, of people in the capital because of the deadly unrest.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Authorities in Ethiopia are carrying out mass arrests of hundreds, even thousands, of people in the capital after deadly unrest in the country’s Amhara region, lawyers and witnesses said.Ethiopia’s Cabinet declared a state of emergency earlier this month in Amhara after local militia fighters known ...

Russia targets city of Odesa with missiles and drones but Ukraine says it shot them all down

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:34:00 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched three waves of drones and missiles against the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa, officials said Monday, though the Ukrainian air force said it intercepted all the airborne weapons fired during the nighttime attacks.Falling debris from the interceptions of 15 Shahed drones and eight Kalibr missiles damaged a residential building, a supermarket and a dormitory of an educational facility in the city, Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said.Two employees of the supermarket were hospitalized, Kiper said. Video showed a huge blaze at the store during the night and, the next day, the large building’s charred and mangled wreckage.Meanwhile, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, rebuked critics who say Kyiv’s counteroffensive aimed at shoving back the Kremlin’s forces should be advancing more quickly.The Ukrainian army has no intention of engaging in a series of conspicuous “large-scale battles” against the Russians a...