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How did the Maui fire spread so quickly? Overgrown gully, stubborn embers may be key to probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:20 GMT

Melted remains of an old car tire. Heavily burned trees. A charred stump of an abandoned utility pole.Investigators are examining these and other pieces of evidence as they seek to solve the mystery of last month’s deadly Maui wildfire: How did a small, wind-whipped fire sparked by downed power lines and declared extinguished flare up again hours later into a devastating inferno? The answer may lie in an overgrown gully beneath Hawaiian Electric Co. power lines and something that harbored smoldering embers from the initial fire before rekindling in high winds into a wall of flame that quickly overtook the town of Lahaina, destroying thousands of structures and killing at least 97 people.But as investigators sift through blackened debris to explain the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, one fact has become clear: Hawaiian Electric’s right-of-way was untrimmed and unkempt for years, despite being in an area classified as being at high risk for wildfires.Aerial and s...

Qatar Airways executive says invasive gynecological examinations of passengers won’t be repeated

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:20 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A senior Qatar Airways executive told an Australian Senate inquiry on Wednesday there would be no repeat of an incident at Doha’s international airport in 2020 in which female passengers were subjected to invasive gynecological examinations.Australian Transport Minister Catherine King said three weeks ago that the examinations of 13 Australian women who had boarded a Qatar Airways plane to Sydney were a factor in her decision in July to refuse the Qatar government-owned airline additional flights to Australia.Qatar Airways Senior Vice President for Global Sales Matt Raos described the incident, which occurred when authorities were looking for the mother of a newborn baby found abandoned in a Hamad International Airport trash can, as “a one-off incident, a very extreme incident.”“We’ve had nothing like it previously in our history and we’re completely committed to ensuring nothing like this ever happens again,” Raos told the committee.Raos was respond...

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly lower after Wall Street retreat deepens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:20 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Shares in Asia were mostly higher on Wednesday, shrugging off a sharp decline on Wall Street that took benchmarks back to where they were in June.Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 recovered earlier losses, gaining 0.3% to 32,371.90. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng advanced 0.6% to 17,577.03. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.3% to 3,111.36. In China, concerns continued over heavily indebted real estate developer Evergrande. The property market crisis there is dragging on China’s economic growth and raising worries about financial instability.Evergrande’s Hong Kong-traded shares fell 2.5% following an unconfirmed report by Bloomberg that police have put its founder, Hui Ka Yan, under residential surveillance. Shares in Country Garden Holdings, another debt-encumbered developer, were down 1.1%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3% to 7,019.70. In Seoul, the Kospi edged 0.1% higher, to 2,466.72.On Tuesday, the S&P 500 tumbled 1.5% for its fifth loss in six days, c...

Takeaways from AP report on Maui fire investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:20 GMT

Investigators are trying to solve a mystery about the origin of last month’s deadly Maui wildfire: How did a small, wind-whipped fire sparked by downed power lines and declared extinguished flare up again hours later into a devastating inferno that killed at least 97 people?Here are the key takeaways of an Associated Press investigation into the probe: WHAT DO THEY THINK HAPPENED?The answer may lie in an overgrown gully beneath Hawaiian Electric Co. power lines and something that harbored smoldering embers from the initial fire Aug. 8 before rekindling in high winds into a wall of flame that quickly overtook the town of Lahaina, destroying thousands of structures and forcing residents to jump into the ocean to escape.Investigators led by the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Maui County have declined to comment on specifics of the probe.But The Associated Press reviewed more than 950 photos taken last month showing investigators combing through th...

Las Vegas hospitality workers overwhelmingly permit union to call strike against hotels, casinos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:20 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tens of thousands of Las Vegas hospitality workers fighting for new union contracts voted Tuesday to authorize a strike that could impact more than three dozen casinos and hotels, the city’s economic backbone.The Culinary Workers Union hasn’t gone on strike in more than three decades.The union didn’t immediately set a deadline for a walkout as it continues bargaining for better pay, benefits and working conditions with the top casino employers on the Las Vegas Strip, including MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts. A walkout by Nevada’s largest labor union would be the latest in a series of high-profile job actions around the country, including walkouts in Hollywood. The same day the Culinary Workers Union vote took place, President Joe Biden joined United Auto Workers strikers on a picket line in Michigan. Earlier this year, UPS reached a new deal before a work stoppage that could have significantly disrupted the nation’s sup...

InvestEU: Up to €1.7 billion financing from the European Investment Bank to construct new solar power plants in Spain, Italy and Portugal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:20 GMT

The European Investment Bank has approved framework financing of up to €1.7 billion for Solaria to support the construction of some 120 photovoltaic power plants mostly located in Spain, as well as Italy and Portugal. The project is backed by the InvestEU programme.The photovoltaic power plants will have a total capacity of approximately 5.6 GW and will produce an estimated 9.29 TWh a year. The power plants are expected to come into operation by the end of 2028. This operation will support the achievement of the EU's policy objectives under the European Green Deal and the REPowerEU Plan by providing electricity equivalent to the average annual demand of approximately 2.5 million households and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by around 3 million tonnes of CO2 a year. More than one-third of the installed capacity will be located in less developed regions. These are regions that have a GDP per capita that is less than 75% of the EU average. The project will significantly boost employ...

Drury, Detmers help Angels snap Rangers’ 6-game winning streak with 9-3 victory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:20 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Brandon Drury, Reid Detmers and the Los Angeles Angels prevented the Texas Rangers from getting another step closer to wrapping up their first playoff appearance since 2016 Tuesday night.Texas’ 9-3 loss though could have been worse.AL batting leader Corey Seager left in the sixth inning after being hit by a pitch in the right forearm an inning earlier.Manager Bruce Bochy said Seager had a left forearm contusion but that X-rays were negative. Seager, who has been hit by a pitch twice in the last four days“He (Detmers) was trying to come in and came in a bit too far. I can’t hold it against those guys,” Seager said. “With where the game was at, it was better to come out, get off your feet and feel a little better for tomorrow.”Seager is batting .332 after going 1 for 2 and has a four-point lead over Tampa Bay’s Yandy Diaz. He said there is some swelling but is hopeful of being in the lineup for Wednesday for the series finale.Texas (88-69), which had...

George Kirby twirls 6 shutout innings, Mariners snap 4-game losing streak beating Houston 6-2

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:20 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — George Kirby escaped an early bases loaded jam to throw six shutout innings, Seattle took advantage of three Houston errors, and the Mariners snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-2 win over the Astros on Tuesday night.Seattle pulled within a half-game of Houston for the final wild card spot in the American League and trail Toronto by two games after the Blue Jays lost at home to the Yankees. The Mariners also gained a game on Texas in the AL West after the Rangers lost to the Angels.Houston didn’t help its cause matching a season-high with the three errors, two of which directly led to runs. Jose Altuve’s errant relay throw in the third inning allowed Mike Ford to score. In the fifth, Kyle Tucker’s throw from right field skipped away from third baseman Alex Bregman and into the Houston dugout allowing Julio Rodríguez to score.Seattle also got a sacrifice fly from Rodríguez, and RBI singles from Cal Raleigh and Teoscar Hernández as the Mariners played with a lead...

Exoneran a hombre condenado injustamente por secuestro, agresión sexual y robo después de 28 años de prisión

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:20 GMT

(CNN) — El fiscal de distrito del condado de Los Ángeles, George Gascón, anunció este martes la exoneración de Gerardo Cabanillas, un hombre que había estado encarcelado durante más de 28 años tras una condena en 1996 por secuestro, agresión sexual y robo.“Estoy aquí con ustedes con un profundo sentido de responsabilidad como fiscal de distrito para abordar un trágico error judicial y celebrar la exoneración y liberación de prisión de un hombre inocente”, dijo Gascón durante la conferencia de prensa de este martes.El 16 de enero de 1995, un hombre y una mujer fueron asaltados a punta de pistola por dos hombres, y la mujer también fue agredida sexualmente, según Gascón. Días después, Cabanillas, entonces de 18 años, fue arrestado por la Policía porque en general coincidía con la descripción de uno de los dos sospechosos, dijo.Gascón dijo que no se recopiló evidencia física que vinculara a Cabanillas con los crímenes, pero fue condenado por 14 cargos de delitos grave...

A’ja Wilson scores 30, Aces take 2-0 series lead with 91-84 win over Wings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:20 GMT

After saying it “hurt like hell” to just miss out on winning her third MVP, A’ja Wilson responded on Tuesday night with 30 points and 11 rebounds to lift the Las Vegas Aces to a 91-84 victory over the Dallas Wings and 2-0 series lead in the WNBA semifinals.Wilson became the first player in WNBA playoffs history with three straight 30-point games.Las Vegas also received contributions from Chelsea Gray with 23 points and eight assists, Kelsey Plum with 18 points, and Jackie Young with 13 points and nine rebounds.Arike Ogunbowale led No. 4 Dallas with 24 points and Natasha Howard had 20 points and 10 rebounds.The top-seeded Aces can close out the best-of-five series when it shifts to Dallas on Friday.LIBERTY 84, SUN 77Sabrina Ionescu scored 21 points and Betnijah Laney added 20 to help New York beat Connecticut, evening the best-of-five series at 1-1.New York led 59-57 to start the fourth quarter before the team went on a 13-5 run to start the period. Breanna Stewart, who was having a ...