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Hawaii National Guard activates hundreds of members to help respond to fires. Follow live updates

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

By The Associated PressFollow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, killing dozens of people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. The wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. The cause was under investigation. Even where the fires have retreated, authorities have warned that toxic byproducts may remain, including in drinking water, after the flames spewed poisonous fumes.The Hawaii National Guard has activated about 258 Army National Guard and Air National Guard personnel to help respond to the fires.Guard members will offer support to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and local law enforcement agencies and help with command and control efforts, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Tuesday.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is helping with debris removal and temporary power. The Corps has deployed 27 personnel — active duty and civilians — and 41 contractor personnel.The U.S. Coast Guard has shifte...

Maura Healey silent on level of federal funding Massachusetts needs to combat shelter crisis

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

A week after Gov. Maura Healey made a public plea for federal dollars to help with an emergency shelter crisis partly fueled by an influx of migrants, it is unclear just how much money she wants to flow Massachusetts’ way.A spokesperson for the governor declined to say if there is a particular dollar figure Healey is looking for from federal agencies after declaring a state of emergency last week, as local shelters fill up with an ever-increasing number of migrants arriving from other countries.“Our administration has been in conversation with [the U.S. Department of Homeland Security] and the [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] since declaring the state of emergency and as the situation evolves. We don’t have further comment,” the spokesperson said in response to questions about how much funding Massachusetts is seeking.Healey said in a letter to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that Massachusetts “can no longer” handle the shelter crisis alone.“We need f...

California judge pleads not guilty to murdering his wife in their home

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

By Sean Emery and Tony Saavedra, Southern California News GroupA California judge accused of killing his wife in their house found himself in an unfamiliar court setting on Tuesday, Aug. 15 — standing before a Los Angeles County judge and pleading not guilty to a murder charge for a slaying his attorneys say was an accident.Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson made his plea through his attorneys before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ricardo Ocampo, who granted Orange County prosecutors’ requests that Ferguson wear a GPS monitoring device, stay away from alcohol and submit to searches as conditions of his $1 million bail.Ocampo rejected a request by prosecutors for Ferguson to not have any contact with his 22-year-old son, who authorities say witnessed the killing. Ocampo said such contact was up to the son.Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson appears during a hearing at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, in Los...

Foes challenge Massachusetts rent control question

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

A burgeoning campaign seeking to revive rent control in some communities already faces stiff, well-funded opposition on policy grounds, and now it will need to withstand a constitutional challenge as well.The Fiscal Alliance Foundation, a government watchdog and advocacy group that opposes rent control, urged Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office to halt the progress of an initiative petition that would replace a statewide ban on the practice with a new law allowing cities and towns to regulate rents, evictions and housing units set to leave the rental market.In a seven-page legal memo submitted to Campbell’s office, Fiscal Alliance Foundation Chair Danielle Webb argued the potential 2024 question improperly combines multiple topics and wades into territory the Constitution rules off limits.Article 48 of the state Constitution, which lays out the process for bringing initiative petitions to the ballot, requires measures to contain only “related” or “...

Get free admission at SeaWorld for the rest of 2023 with new deal

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

SAN DIEGO — Soak in some free fun at SeaWorld San Diego for the remainder of the year with this new limited-time deal.On Monday, SeaWorld San Diego announced they are offering unlimited, free admission to the park for the rest of 2023 for guests that purchase a 2024 Fun Card.The Fun Card, which differs from one of the theme park's annual pass options, is a one-year pass that gives holders unlimited visits throughout the year, including access to popular seasonal events.The 2024 Fun Card is available for $109.99 per guest and can be purchased online. Guests that buy a 2024 pass before the end of the year will be eligible for the free 2023 unlimited access offering. Children under the age of 3 have year-round free admission, according to the park."The best way to experience all that SeaWorld San Diego has to offer is with a 2024 Fun Card," the theme park said in a release. "For the best value, buy now to get the rest of 2023 FREE, and visit again and again through the end of 2024!" ...

S&P/TSX composite falls almost 400 points, U.S. stock markets also retreat

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

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index fell almost 400 points, or nearly two per cent, Tuesday on broad-based weakness, while U.S. markets also fell, with the three major indexes south of the border each losing more than one per cent.The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 390.75 points at 19,899.79.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 361.24 points at 34,946.39. The S&P 500 index was down 51.86 points at 4,437.86,while the Nasdaq composite was down 157.28 points at 13,631.05.Concerns about China’s economy weighed on energy and materials, affecting Canadian markets in particular because of the way they are weighted, explained Michael Greenberg, senior vice-president and portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions.China unexpectedly cut a key interest rate on Tuesday and decided to skip a report on unemployment among younger workers. Weakness in China’s economy bodes poorly for global commodity demand because of the country’s size, ...

Videos put scrutiny on downed power lines as possible cause of deadly Maui wildfires

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

Awakened by howling winds that tore through his Maui neighborhood, Shane Treu went out at dawn and saw a wooden power pole suddenly snap with a flash, its sparking, popping line falling to the dry grass below and quickly igniting a row of flames.He called 911 and then turned on Facebook video to livestream his attempt to fight the blaze in Lahaina, including wetting down his property with a garden hose.“I heard ‘buzz, buzz,’” the 49-year-old resort worker recounted to The Associated Press. “It was almost like somebody lit a firework. It just ran straight up the hill to a bigger pile of grass and then, with that high wind, that fire was blazing.”Treu’s video and others captured the early moments of what would become the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Now the footage has emerged as key evidence pointing to fallen utility lines as the possible cause. Hawaiian Electric Co. faces criticism for not shutting off the power amid high wind warnings and keeping it on even as d...

Former Premier Kathleen Wynne angry over Ford decision to develop parts of the Greenbelt

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

Former Premier Kathleen Wynne is speaking out following the auditor general’s Greenbelt report that found the process favoured developers with ties to the housing minister’s chief of staff and failed to consider environmental, agricultural and financial risks and impacts.She said she is infuriated over not only the removal of lands from the Greenbelt, but how it was done.“I’m pretty angry that the good work that has been done, that was cherished by so many people in the province is being undone, and I think it’s dangerous. I think it’s a dangerous path to go down. And I think it should be reversed,” Wynne told CityNews.The two-million acre Greenbelt was formed under Dalton McGuinty’s government almost 20 years ago. Wynne was first elected in 2003 and spent six years in McGuinty’s cabinet including one year as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.Wynne succeeded McGuinty as Premier before losing to Doug Ford in a crushing defea...

Magoo, ‘Up Jumps da Boogie’ rapper and Timbaland collaborator, dies at 50

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

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The rapper Magoo, known for his work as one-half of the hip-hop duo Timbaland & Magoo and the hit song “Up Jumps da Boogie” featuring Aaliyah and Missy Elliott, has died. Magoo, who was pioneer of the ’90 and early 2000s Virginia rap scene, was 50. His wife, Meco Barcliff, told the New York Times Magoo had no known health issues beyond asthma and had not been feeling well that week. He died over the weekend in Williamsburg, Va.; investigators are still looking into his cause of death. Larry “Larry Live” Lyons, a close friend of Magoo’s who was also in the rap group Surrounded by Idiots (S.B.I.) with the late rapper, Pharrell Williams, and Timbaland (who went by DJ Timmy Tim at the time) shared a statement from Magoo’s family.“Magoo’s memory will forever live on and his music will continue to inspire & uplift us! We ask for your understanding and respect as we process this loss and celebrate the life of a remarkable individual & our be...

Suncor has been too focused on energy transition, must get back to fundamentals: CEO

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

CALGARY — The man hired to turn around the flagging fortunes of Suncor Energy Inc. said Tuesday he believes the company has been too focused in recent years on the energy transition and must get back to an oil-centred business strategy. CEO Rich Kruger, who took the reins at the Calgary-based energy giant this spring, told analysts on a conference call that the company’s board of directors agrees with him that a “revised direction and tone” at the company is necessary. He said he believes Suncor must not neglect “the business drivers of today” in favour of future-focused, clean and low-carbon energy pursuits. “We have a bit of a disproportionate emphasis on the longer-term energy transition,” Kruger said, adding that while lower emissions energy is important, it is not what is going to make money for shareholders today.“Today, we win by creating value through our large integrated asset base underpinned by oilsands.”Kruger, the fo...