A tanker plane crash has killed a firefighting pilot in Oregon as Western wildfires spread

Communities in the U.S. West and Canada were under siege from raging wildfires on Friday, as a fast-moving blaze sparked by lightning sent people fleeing on fire-ringed roads in rural Idaho and a human-caused inferno forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes in northern California. ...

The city of Atlanta fires its human resources chief over 'preferential treatment' of her daughter

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta’s head of human resources was fired for abusing her power as a City Hall employee by “encouraging preferential treatment” of her daughter, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The Office of Inspector General released a report in May alleging that...

Video shows escape through flames and smoke as wildfire begins burning the outskirts of Idaho town

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — William Howard went to the north-central Idaho town of Juliaetta on Thursday to help a friend after a lightning-sparked wildfire began tearing through the friend's property, using barrels of water in an effort to extinguish “hot spots” on the land. But in...

Oregon authorities say a single-pilot aircraft fighting the Falls Fire is missing, search operations are ongoing

Arsonists attack French high-speed rail system hours before opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics

PARIS (AP) — Arsonists attacked France's high-speed rail network early Friday, setting fires that paralyzed train travel to Paris for some 800,000 people across Europe, including athletes heading to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Targeting remote locations far from the...

What we know so far about the attack on French train network ahead of Olympics opening

PARIS (AP) — French transport was thrust into chaos Friday just hours ahead of the Olympics 2024 opening ceremony after a series of coordinated "malicious acts” upended high-speed train lines. Officials said the arson attacks and other vandalism on the rail system were a form of...

Paris prosecutor opens investigation into pre-Olympics rail arson, saying crime carries up to 20 years' prison

Lightning and a burning car pushed into a gully are blamed for wildfires scorching the West

A burning car pushed into a gully sparked California’s largest wildfire of the year, authorities said Thursday as they announced the arrest of a suspect. Meanwhile other blazes scorched the Pacific Northwest. Flames from the fire the man is accused of starting exploded into what is...

Southeast Asian diplomats meet with China as friction mounts over Beijing's sweeping maritime claims

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Top diplomats from Southeast Asia met Friday in Laos with China’s foreign minister for talks that come as friction escalates over Beijing’s growing effort to press its sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea. Several members of the Association of...

Fast-moving wildfire in the Canadian Rockies ravages the picturesque resort town of Jasper

GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alberta (AP) — A fast-moving wildfire in the Canadian Rockies that had prompted 25,000 people to flee roared into the near-deserted town of Jasper overnight with flames higher than treetops, devastating up to half of its structures, officials said Thursday. There...