Fires

Officers attend to one of several shooting victims, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, in Seattle, after a gunman opened fire in the heavily trafficked downtown area. (David Silver via AP)

Mayor, police pledge action after deadly Seattle shooting

Jan. 23, 2020 6:05 PM EST

SEATTLE (AP) — A shootout in downtown Seattle that left a woman dead and a 9-year-old boy injured was the third violent incident this week in a part of the city long known for rampant drug use and street unrest. Business groups implored officials to improve public safety. And while crime rates in Seattle...

In this undated photo released from the Rural Fire Service, a C-130 Hercules plane called

Firefighting plane crashes in Australia, killing 3 Americans

Jan. 23, 2020 5:51 PM EST

SYDNEY (AP) — Three American firefighting airplane crew members were killed Thursday when the C-130 Hercules aerial water tanker they were in crashed while battling wildfires in southeastern Australia, officials said. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the deaths in the state's Snowy...

In this Jan. 21, 2020, photo, state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, speaks at a news conference in Sacramento, Calif. Wiener has authored a bill that would require investor-owned utilities to reimburse customers and local governments for some costs associated with the blackouts. The bill will go before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

California bill would make utilities pay some blackout costs

Jan. 23, 2020 5:38 PM EST

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Californians left in the dark by electric companies that shut off their power to prevent wildfires could get paid for things such as lost wages or spoiled food under a bill that advanced Thursday in the Legislature. In the state plagued by catastrophic blazes started by strong...

Norway ex-minister's former partner charged in threats case

Jan. 23, 2020 10:55 AM EST

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The ex-companion of Norway’s former justice minister whose home was targeted with vandalism and small fires in 2018 and 2019, was Thursday charged in the case. The prosecutor’s office says Laila Bertheussen is suspected of sending a threatening letter to...

This photo taken from video provided by KTLA-TV shows the wreckage of a small plane after it crashed and burned at Corona, Calif., Municipal Airport Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. Firefighters found the plane burning in brush on the east side of the airport, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. The Corona Fire Department says four fatalities were confirmed. The airport has been closed to flights. (KTLA-TV via AP)

4 killed in plane crash at Southern California airfield

Jan. 22, 2020 9:45 PM EST

CORONA, Calif. (AP) — Four people were killed Wednesday in the crash of a small airplane at a Southern California airfield, authorities said. The plane went down at Corona Municipal Airport, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, police said. Firefighters found the plane burning in brush on...

In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, photo, Teiya Enriquez Sandoval, center, and her sister Jazzy Enriquez, right, the daughters of Honolulu Police Officer Tiffany Enriquez, hug family friend Tristel Tynanaes during a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Tiffany Enriquez in Honolulu. A handyman's landlord had recently started an eviction process before he stabbed a woman Sunday and fatally shot two Honolulu officers, including Enriquez. (Bruce Asato/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP)

Hawaii eyes closing gun loopholes, bolstering mental health

Jan. 22, 2020 8:25 PM EST

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii already has some of the nation's strictest gun laws, but the fatal shooting of two Honolulu police officers by a man his lawyer and neighbors believe had psychiatric problems has added new urgency to efforts to close gun control loopholes and bolster mental health care treatment. ...

FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2020, file photo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference in Sacramento, Calif. Newsom is urging a federal judge to reject Pacific Gas and Electric's blueprint for getting out of bankruptcy and renewing his threat to lead a bid to turn the beleaguered utility into a government-run operation. PG&E is trying to dig out of a financial hole created by more than $50 billion in claims stemming from a series of catastrophic wildfires that have been blamed on the San Francisco company. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

California governor aims to block PG&E's bankruptcy plan

Jan. 22, 2020 7:45 PM EST

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging a federal judge to reject Pacific Gas and Electric's blueprint for getting out of bankruptcy and renewing his threat to lead a bid to turn the beleaguered utility into a government-run operation. In a court filing Wednesday, Newsom's lawyers gave...

FILE - In this Nov. 26, 2019, file photo a firefighter prepares to battle the Cave Fire as it flares up along Highway 154 in the Los Padres National Forest, above Santa Barbara, Calif. As wildfire risks heat up, startups in California’s Silicon Valley are starting to take notice. They are hopeful more tech companies will get involved as wildfires continue to occur in California and Australia. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

Why tech has been slow to fight wildfires, extreme weather

Jan. 22, 2020 7:29 PM EST

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For three years running, California’s wildfires have sent plumes of smoke across Silicon Valley. So far, though, that hasn't spurred much tech innovation aimed at addressing extreme-weather disasters associated with climate change. It's true that tech companies from enterprise...

Drowning of worker who fell in vat of acid ruled accidental

Jan. 22, 2020 4:42 PM EST

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — The death of a worker who fell into a chemical vat at an Ohio business was an accidental drowning, a coroner ruled Wednesday. Dana Swisher, 60, of Union, fell into the vat at Techmetals Inc. on Tuesday, Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger said. District Chief Mike Fasnacht...

3 taken to hospital after fire at senior care facility

Jan. 22, 2020 3:56 PM EST

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Three residents of a senior care facility in Portland were hospitalized after a fire there Wednesday. A fire was called in just after 9 a.m. at the Regency Park Assisted Living Facility, KOIN-TV reported. Tualatin Valley Fire crews found the fire inside the mechanical room on the...

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