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In deadly Maui fires, many had no warning and no way out. Those who dodged a barricade survived

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:28:51 GMT

By REBECCA BOONE, HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, CLAUDIA LAUER and CHRISTOPHER L. KELLER (Associated Press)As flames tore through a West Maui neighborhood, car after car of fleeing residents headed for the only paved road out of town in a desperate race for safety.And car after car was turned back toward the rapidly spreading wildfire by a barricade blocking access to Highway 30. One family swerved around the barricade and was safe in a nearby town 48 minutes later, another drove their four-wheel-drive car down a dirt road to escape. One man took a dirt road uphill, climbing above the fire and watching as Lahaina burned. He later picked his way through the flames, smoke and rubble to pull survivors to safety.But dozens of others found themselves caught in a hellscape, their cars jammed together on a narrow road, surrounded by flames on three sides and the rocky ocean waves on the fourth. Some died in their cars, while others tried to run for safety.“I could see from the bypass that pe...

Wildfire smoke returns to Massachusetts: ‘A bit of haze’ across the region

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:28:51 GMT

That pesky wildfire smoke just won’t quit.The skies over Massachusetts were expected to get somewhat hazy on Wednesday, as wildfire smoke again impacts the region.Smoke from the raging Canadian wildfires has wreaked havoc across the U.S. several times this summer.“Will see a bit of haze this afternoon/evening as wildfire smoke spreads in,” the National Weather Service’s Boston office tweeted on Wednesday.“This is a model depiction of the smoke & should result in a milky/hazy sunset across parts of the region,” NWS Boston added. “The smoke will remain elevated.”Will see a bit of haze this afternoon/evening as wildfire smoke spreads in. This is a model depiction of the smoke & should result in a milky/hazy sunset across parts of the region. The smoke will remain elevated. #mawx #ctwx #riwx pic.twitter.com/3oHMasAleQ— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) August 23, 2023Related ArticlesWeather | Map: The 4 areas where Californi...

‘The Bitter Past’ and two other mystery novels to read right now

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:28:51 GMT

“The Bitter Past,” by Bruce Borgos (Minotaur Books)“The Bitter Past,” by Bruce Borgos (Minotaur Books)As sheriff of a small Nevada town near Las Vegas, Porter Beck spends most of his time on trivial crimes — until a retired FBI agent is found tortured and murdered. Within hours, a gorgeous (of course) female FBI agent shows up and confides that the dead man had been gathering information on a KGB spy who stole secrets from a Nevada test site 60 years earlier.  It seems the Russian, who was supposedly killed in a nuclear accident, may not be dead after all, and he’s living in Beck’s jurisdiction.So Beck has to find the aging Russian before the assassin does. He’s aided not only by the glamorous FBI woman but also his sister, a crack shot, and his father, the former sheriff, who is suffering from dementia.  Beck’s suffering from his own ailment, an eye disease that makes it hard for him to see at night.“The Bitter Past” is the first in a series featuring Beck, a former army espionage ...

Rudy Giuliani surrenders to Georgia authorities

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:28:51 GMT

By Tim Balk | New York Daily NewsFormer New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who made a career of prosecuting criminals before his two-term, law-and-order-focused mayoralty, surrendered to Georgia authorities Wednesday on 2020 election interference charges.Giuliani, who faces 13 counts including violation of the Georgia RICO Act and several false statement charges, was processed at the Fulton County jail. His bail was set at $150,000 bond, according to Fulton County jail records.A few hours ago, he told a phalanx of TV reporters outside his Manhattan apartment that he was “going to Georgia” and “feeling very, very good about it.”“I feel like I am defending the rights of all Americans, as I did so many times as a United States attorney,” he said. “I’m the same Rudy Giuliani that took down the Mafia, that made New York City the safest city in America.”He arrived by plane at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, outside Atlanta, about 11 a.m., according to WANF-TV, a Georgia station.Giuliani has bee...

Minnesota governor names first Black chief justice of state Supreme Court, Natalie Hudson

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:28:51 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday promoted Natalie Hudson to become chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court this fall, which will make her the first person of color to lead it.Hudson, who is Black, has been an associate justice since 2015. She will lead the high court when current Chief Justice Lorie Gildea retires in October.“Justice Hudson is one of our state’s most experienced jurists. She has a strong reputation as a leader and consensus builder,” Walz said in a statement. “I am confident that she will advance a vision that promotes fairness and upholds the dignity of all Minnesotans.”The appointment will leave only one Republican-appointed justice but isn’t expected to affect the ideological balance of what court watchers celebrate as a nonpartisan court, especially compared with neighboring Wisconsin’s divided state Supreme Court and an increasingly conservative U.S. Supreme Court.Governors appoint judges in Minnesota without legislative confirmation. A Democr...

Gunfire in Pittsburgh neighborhood prompts evacuations, draws large police response

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:28:51 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Authorities evacuated neighbors from a Pittsburgh neighborhood on Wednesday after someone reportedly facing eviction began firing from inside a home, with witnesses saying they heard what sounded like hundreds of shots fired. The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office said its people were trying to serve the eviction notice when the occupant began firing in the city’s Garfield neighborhood. Witnesses reported that hours into the siege, more gunfire erupted after what sounded like hundreds of shots earlier. A sergeant leading the eviction notice detail suffered an injury unrelated to gunfire and is doing OK, sheriff’s office spokesman Mike Manko said. A state police spokesperson said drones were being used. A large number of police and other first responders were at the scene.The shooting occurred a few blocks from a children’s hospital.The Associated Press

Ingebrigtsen goes down in another upset, this time to Britain’s Josh Kerr

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:28:51 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Britain’s Josh Kerr pulled off the biggest upset of the world championships Wednesday, outrunning heavily favored Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway to the line for a win in the 1,500 meters.Kerr finished in 3 minutes, 29.28 seconds to join Jake Wightman as the second British runner in two years to upset Ingebrigtsen at worlds.The 22-year-old Norwegian is the Olympic champion and has the fastest times this season. He came in as a 1-7 betting favorite but has yet to cross the line first in the 1,500 at a world-championship meet.This silver goes with the one from last year, along with a second place at indoor world championships in 2022 and at junior worlds in 2018.Ingebrigtsen surged to the lead at about the 500-meter mark and led for the next two laps. But Kerr stayed right on his heels, and with a half-lap to go, he pulled even. Then, he passed and held on for the win by .27 seconds.Kerr added this, his biggest win, to a bronze medal he took in the race Ing...

Union representing World Cup champion kissed by Spanish soccer head demands act not ‘go unpunished’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:28:51 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The players’ union representing the Women’s World Cup winner kissed without her consent by the president of the Spanish soccer federation said Wednesday that his inappropriate act should not go unpunished.Jenni Hermoso, who was kissed forcibly by federation head Luis Rubiales during Sunday’s awards ceremony, said in a statement that the FUTPRO players’ union and her agent would “defend my interests and speak on my behalf.”The union continued the statement by adding: “We are working so that the acts like the ones we witnessed don’t go unpunished, are sanctioned, and that pertinent measures are adopted to protect the soccer players against actions that are unacceptable.”Hermoso, a 33-year-old forward and key player for Spain, had said on a video streamed on social media during a changing room celebration following the 1-0 win over England in Sunday’s final that she “did not like it, but what could I do” about the kiss.In the immediate uproar o...

Montana woman sentenced to life in prison for torturing and killing her 12-year-old grandson

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:28:51 GMT

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — A Montana woman who pleaded guilty to torturing and killing her 12-year-old grandson more than three years ago has been sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison.Patricia Batts, 51, pleaded guilty in May to deliberate homicide in the death of James “Alex” Hurley on Feb. 3, 2020, in West Yellowstone in an agreement reached after prosecutors dropped efforts to seek the death penalty. She was sentenced Tuesday in District Court in Bozeman.“This is a horrific case of child abuse. It was totally unnecessary, and it was done with malevolence,” District Judge John C. Brown said, according to NBC-Montana.Batts also pleaded guilty to felony criminal child endangerment for failing to get medical help for Alex after he was fatally injured, and to witness tampering by trying to get family members to provide false statements to investigators, the Department of Justice has said. Batts received 10-year sentences for each of those charges.Alex had been living with Batt...

Woman, 28, pleads guilty to fatally shoving Broadway singing coach, 87, avoiding long prison stay

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:28:51 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who killed an 87-year-old Broadway singing coach by shoving her onto a Manhattan sidewalk has avoided a lengthy prison sentence by pleading guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday, and will instead serve eight years behind bars.Lauren Pazienza, 28, teared up in court as she admitted randomly attacking Barbara Maier Gustern on March 10, 2022. Gustern, whose students included “Blondie” singer Debbie Harry, lay bleeding on a sidewalk as Pazienza walked away, prosecutors said. She died five days later.“Today’s plea holds Pazienza accountable for her deadly actions,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.Gustern’s relatives, some of whom were in court, said they were disappointed with Pazienza’s plea deal and agreed-upon prison sentence — a fraction of the maximum 25 years she would’ve faced if convicted at trial.Pazienza’s lawyer Arthur Aidala declined to comment.Pazienza, a former event planner originally from Long Islan...