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Massive fire burning in California and Nevada is spawning dangerous ‘fire whirls’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:27 GMT

(CNN) — A massive fire burning across both California and Nevada is generating extreme fire behavior, spawning “fire whirls” and creating dangerous conditions for firefighters, authorities said.The fire, dubbed the York Fire, which is California’s largest fire of the year, has consumed 80,000 acres as of Tuesday morning. The blaze began Friday in the New York Mountain Range of California’s Mojave National Preserve and crossed state lines into Nevada Sunday as winds picked up under scorching temperatures.Firefighters were able to gain some control of the fire Monday night and by Tuesday morning the York Fire was 23% contained.“An infrared flight was completed last night, which provided a better assessment of fire size and activity,” the National Parks Service said on Tuesday.The blaze is among dozens of wildfires burning around the country as some areas swelter under unrelenting heat – including one fire raging on both sides of the US-Canadian border.The fire on the California-Nevada...

Estate of Henrietta Lacks reaches settlement with biotech company for nonconsensual use of her cells in medical research

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:27 GMT

(CNN) — The family of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells have been used for scientific research for decades, reached a settlement Tuesday with the biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific, the family’s attorneys said.Lacks’ family filed a federal lawsuit in 2021 against the company, arguing it is knowingly profiting from Lacks’ tissue sample and cell line.In 1951, Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer and had tissue taken from her cervix without her consent during a procedure at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Lacks died later that year from the cancer at the age of 31.The sample was later used to create a human cell line that can reproduce itself outside of the body, which is now known as HeLa cells.The cells have been used to develop the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization, gene mapping, advancements in cancer treatment, AIDS research, cloning and stem cell studies, CNN previously reported.The family and the company reached a “confidential settlement” outside the court, t...

Rishi Sunak: My daughters aren’t eco-zealots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:27 GMT

LONDON — Rishi Sunak’s daughters might be climate-conscious — but they aren’t “eco-zealots,” the British prime minister insisted Wednesday.Sunak used an LBC radio phone-in to mount a defense of his government’s decision to this week green-light hundreds of new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea, amid a backlash from environmental campaigners warning it flies in the face of a promise to reduce the U.K.’s carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050.Asked if he is confident he can win over his young daughters — who the PM has previously said push him on environmental issues — Sunak said the pair were open to “sensible, practical arguments.”“I think on this topic, like most people they don’t approach it as some kind of — they’re not eco-zealots. They actually, I think, are open to sensible, practical arguments,” he said. “We have good chat around our table about all these things.”Outside of his family, the p...

Greek PM offers free holidays to tourists as wildfire compensation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:27 GMT

Greece will grant tourists whose vacation was interrupted by the wildfires which devastated Rhodes a one-week free holiday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Wednesday.“For all of those whose holidays were cut short as a result of the wildfires, the Greek government, in cooperation with the local authorities, will offer one week of free holidays on Rhodes next spring or next fall,” Mitsotakis told British broadcaster ITV, adding the island was now “back to normal.”Around 20,000 people, including thousands of British tourists, were evacuated from Rhodes in recent weeks after wildfires burned through around ten percent of the island’s land area.A favored holiday destination, Greece is heavily reliant on tourism, which accounts for a quarter of its GDP.

Man accused in deadly Hyde Park hit-and-run faces judge, pleads not guilty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:27 GMT

A man facing charges in connection with a deadly hit-and-run in Hyde Park last month appeared in court on Tuesday, pleading not guilty. Four-year-old Ivan Pierre was hit and killed by a vehicle on Wood Avenue on July 18. A matter of weeks later, authorities announced around 3 p.m. Monday that Olguens Joseph, 31, of Mattapan was wanted on multiple charges, including motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, in connection with the crash. Police confirmed later Monday afternoon that Joseph had turned himself in.In addition to the motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation charge, Boston police said other charges against Joseph include leaving the scene of personal injury and death as well as operation of an unregistered/uninsured motor vehicle.A family member of the boy who was killed told 7NEWS the crash happened as the family gathered to see the boy’s mother’s new car around 9:30 p.m. on July 18. Authorities have since said Joseph was driving through the area w...

OBF: No reason to cue the Duck Boats after Chaim Bloom’s deadline dud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:27 GMT

Where have you gone, Dave Dombrowski?Red Sox Nation turns its lonely eyes to you, Ben Cherington.Theo Epstein has up and gone away.Hey, hey, hey.The rose is long off the Bloom.Red Sox fans were left holding a fistful of thorns after the trade deadline passed Tuesday evening.Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom didn’t make a splash. He didn’t stir the pot. He barely caused a ripple.The Red Sox acquired Luis Urias from the Milwaukee Brewers organization and sent him to Worcester.Cue the Duck Boats.For the next group of tourists.Even before the 6 p.m. trade deadline, the Red Sox had become an obligatory inconvenience. They were not the story of the day. Top billing continued to be focused on the doings at Gillette Stadium.Some of us even celebrated the first anniversary of sports betting being passed by the state legislature.Over 76.5 wins is all we ask of this team.The post-mortem spin hit 35,0000 RPM on NESN. No less than a minute after the deadline passed with no action, the name “Tre...

Foreign nationals evacuate Niger as regional tensions rise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:27 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Foreign nationals lined up outside an airport in Niger’s capital Wednesday morning to wait for a French military evacuation flight, while a regional bloc continued talks about its response to the military coup that took place last week.France, Italy and Spain all announced evacuations for their citizens and other Europeans in the capital, Niamey, following concerns that they could become trapped after soldiers detained President Mohamed Bazoum and seized power. The United States has yet to announce plans for an evacuation, but some of its citizens have left the with the help of the Europeans. France’s first two flights evacuated more than 350 French nationals as well as other people from Niger and at least 10 other countries, the French Foreign Ministry said. The Paris airport authority said two more evacuation flights are scheduled to land Wednesday afternoon.Some 1,200 French citizens are registered at the French embassy, said the Foreign Ministry, and a...

Russian drone strikes on the Odesa region cause fires at port near Romania

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:27 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops hit port infrastructure in southern Ukraine with Shahed drones near the border with NATO member Romania overnight, the Ukrainian military and prosecutor-general’s office said Wednesday, damaging a grain elevator and causing a fire at facilities that transport the country’s crucial grain exports.Since leaving a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain to world markets through the city of Odesa, Russia has hammered the country’s ports with strikes. Since July 17, Russian forces have fired dozens of drones and missiles at the port of Odesa and the region’s river ports, which are being used as alternative routes.The prosecutor-general’s office said the strikes hit in the area of the Danube River, which forms part of the Ukraine-Romania border. It didn’t immediately give further details. Three Ukrainian ports along the Danube are currently operating.“The goal of the enemy was clearly the facilities of the ports and ...

US soldier dead after a truck hit his military vehicle on a German highway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:27 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A U.S. soldier died when a truck hit his Stryker armored vehicle on a highway in southern Germany, the U.S. military said Wednesday.U.S. Army Europe said in a statement that the accident happened on Tuesday near Tirschenreuth in Bavaria. It said that the civilian semi-truck hit the Stryker as it merged onto the A93 highway.Civilian medics treated the soldier, who was with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No other soldiers traveling in the military vehicle were injured, the army said. It added that it would provide no further details pending notification of next of kin.The Associated Press

A powerful typhoon pounds Japan’s Okinawa and injures more than 20 people as it moves toward China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:27 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A powerful typhoon slammed Okinawa and other islands in southwestern Japan Wednesday with high winds injuring more than 20 people as it moved west making its way toward mainland China.Typhoon Khanun, which means jackfruit in Thai, was heading west at speeds of 10 kph (6 mph), packing surface winds of up to 180 kph (111 mph). It was at sea southwest of Okinawa’s main island, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.Twenty-two people were injured, most of them minor, according to the Okinawa prefectural government. The typhoon damaged homes and forced transportation to halt and stores to close as it slowly moved west.In the Ogimi village in northeastern Okinawa, a man was found without vital signs after a garage collapsed on him due to violent wind, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Several other homes were also damaged.Hundreds of domestic and international flights in and out of the Naha airport were canceled, and public transportation, including buses, l...