Middle East latest: Assad says he wanted to stay in Syria but Russia evacuated him

Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad says he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago but the Russian military evacuated him from their base in western Syria after it came under attack. “I did not leave the country as part of a plan as it was reported...

Syria's ousted leader Bashar Assad says he wanted to keep fighting but Russians evacuated him

DAMASCUS (AP) — Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad said in a statement Monday he wanted to stay in the country after rebels captured the capital Damascus a week ago, but the Russian military evacuated him from their base in western Syria after it came under attack. The comments...

Ousted Syrian leader Assad says he had planned to keep fighting but the Russians evacuated him

3,700 people return to Malibu homes as weather conditions improve and help firefighters battle blaze

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — More than 3,700 residents were allowed to return to their Malibu homes on Thursday after calmer winds and rising humidity in Southern California helped firefighters battle a blaze that had forced thousands, including college students and celebrities, to evacuate earlier this...

Deadly chocolate factory explosion caused by faulty gas fitting, safety board finds

Cascading failures involving a corroded steam pipe and a defective natural gas fitting caused a powerful explosion in 2023 at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory, killing seven workers when the company failed to evacuate, a federal safety board said Tuesday. About 70 production workers...

Mass evacuation of Philippine villages underway after a brief but major volcanic eruption

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — About 87,000 people were being evacuated in a central Philippine region Tuesday a day after a volcano briefly erupted with a towering ash plume and superhot streams of gas and debris hurtling down its western slopes. The latest eruption of Mount Kanlaon...

About 87,000 people in central Philippines are being evacuated the day after a brief but major volcanic eruption

Philippine volcano eruption sends villagers fleeing for safety as homes are blanketed in ash

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A plume of hot ash and gases up to 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) high forced residents to seek shelter after a volcano in the Philippines erupted on Monday. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the latest explosion of Mount Kanlaon, on central...

Settlement offers nearly $9M to Louisiana nursing home residents kept in warehouse during hurricane

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Some of the elderly residents of seven Louisiana nursing homes who were sent in 2021 to ride out Hurricane Ida in a crowded, ill-equipped warehouse are being offered shares of a nearly $9 million settlement after they sued. Retired state judge William “Rusty”...

What to know about Northern California's rare tsunami warning

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Northern California was under a rare and brief tsunami warning alert Thursday that tested local emergency notification systems after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook part of the state. The National Weather Service canceled its alert after roughly an hour and...