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2 Maui wildfire victims were Mexican citizens, government says. Follow live updates

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:38:26 GMT

By The Associated PressFollow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, killing more than 100 people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. The wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Videos showing downed power lines apparently sparking some of the early blazes have become key evidence in the search for a cause.The Mexican foreign ministry said it has confirmed that two people of Mexican nationality died as a result of the wildfires. Personnel from the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco are on Maui and are in contact with the families of the deceased to provide assistance to them, the foreign ministry said in a statement. No details were immediately available, including whether the victims were tourists or among the many foreign workers in Lahaina. The consulate in San Francisco did not immediately respond to a request for details.The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened its first disaster recovery center on M...

Bruins ink former Harvard center John Farinacci to a two-year contract

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:38:26 GMT

The Bruins have thrown another centerman into the mix for a training camp that should have plenty of competition for bottom six spots.The B’s on Wednesday signed former Harvard center John Farinacci, who was near the top of the class of college free agents whose rights with their original drafting teams ran out on Tuesday. The 22-year-old Farinacci, originally drafted in the third round (76th overall) by the Arizona Coyotes, inked a two-year deal that carries an annual NHL cap hit of $910,000.Whether or not he can make the jump to the NHL will be up to him, but Farinacci checks a few Bruin boxes. He’s got decent size – 6-foot, 185 pounds – and is noted for his two-way, heady play. The Red Bank, N.J., native, a nephew of Harvard coach Ted Donato, played at Dexter-Southfield and then on the banks of the Charles River, so he’s watched a few good two-way centermen in his time here.His 200-foot game and faceoff work are something in which Farinacci takes pride.“I think ...

Chicago Cubs send season ticket holders an invoice for potential playoff games for 1st time since 2019

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:38:26 GMT

For the first time since 2019, Chicago Cubs season ticket holders are receiving an invoice for potential playoff games.The Cubs sent the postseason invoice to season ticket holders Wednesday, which includes all potential playoff games from the wild-card round through the World Series. The Cubs (61-58) still need to make up ground to secure a playoff spot, entering Wednesday 3 1/2 games out of first in the National League Central and one game back of the final wild-card position, but the organization wanted to provide the details as early as possible for season ticket holders.“We know there’s a lot of work left to do, we’re not being presumptuous that we’ve already locked up a playoff spot,” said senior vice president of Marquee 360 Cale Vennum, who oversees Cubs ticketing. “But we’ve been hearing a lot from our season ticket holders that with this being their biggest benefit that they want to know what the process is going to be heading into...

Patriots already excited about ‘special things’ Ezekiel Elliott can bring

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:38:26 GMT

GREEN BAY, Wisc. — The Patriots got their first look at Ezekiel Elliott in a navy blue No. 15 practice jersey Wednesday and are already excited about what the three-time Pro Bowl selection can bring to their offense.Elliott’s whirlwind 24-hour span of flying from Dallas to New England, signing his one-year contract, traveling to Green Bay with the rest of his teammates and going over the basics of the offense ended with him participating in walk-through drills in his first official day as a Patriots running back.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Callahan: How Ezekiel Elliott will make life easy on Patriots’ best, most pivotal players New England Patriots | Patriots 53-man roster projection: Does Malik Cunningham make the cut? New England Patriots | Patriots cut two players to create room for recent signings New England Patriots | Patriots ‘hopeful’ TE Mike Gesicki can return for Week 1 afte...

CT pastor sentenced to 10 years in prison for physically assaulting infant, causing serious injuries

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:38:26 GMT

A Manchester pastor who was previously convicted of sexually abusing a boy was sentenced Wednesday to another 10 years in prison for what witnesses testified was physically assaulting an infant by slamming the baby against the floor and putting him in a sink of frigid water.Robert Nichols was sentenced Wednesday by Judge Kevin C. Doyle at Superior Court in Hartford to 20 years in prison, executed after he serves 10 years, plus another five years on probation, according to court officials.A jury found Nichols guilty of first-degree assault and two counts of risk of injury to a child in June after a 10-month-old baby living in his home suffered potentially life-threatening head trauma, according to court records and the state Division of Criminal Justice.CT pastor previously convicted of child sexual abuse found guilty of physically abusing infant living in his homeAt his trial, one witness testified that she saw Nichols wrap the baby in a tight swaddle and slam him onto the floor num...

Fires and others disasters are increasing in Hawaii, according to this AP data analysis

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:38:26 GMT

KIHEI, Hawaii (AP) — Hurricane-fueled flash floods and mudslides. Lava that creeps into neighborhoods. Fierce drought that materializes in a flash and lingers. Earthquakes. And now, deadly fires that burn block after historic block.Hawaii is increasingly under siege from disasters, and what is escalating most is wildfire, according to an Associated Press analysis of Federal Emergency Management Agency records. That reality can clash with the vision of Hawaii as paradise. It is, in fact, one of the riskiest states in the country.“Hawaii is at risk of the whole panoply of climate and geological disasters,” said Debarati Guha-Sapir, director of the international disasters database kept at the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. She listed storms, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes.Hawaii has been in more danger lately. This month alone, the federal government declared six different fire disasters in Hawai...

Officers testify in trial of 2 white Mississippi men in shooting at Black FedEx driver

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:38:26 GMT

BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (AP) — A police dispatcher and a detective testified Wednesday in the trial of two white men in Mississippi who are accused of chasing and shooting at a Black FedEx driver who had dropped off a package at a home.Brandon Case and his father, Gregory Charles Case, charged with attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy and shooting into the vehicle driven by D’Monterrio Gibson in January 2022, sat with their attorneys in a small courtroom full of spectators.Gibson, who was 24 at the time, was not injured. But the chase and gunfire led to complaints on social media of racism in Brookhaven, about an hour’s drive south of the state capital, Jackson. It happened as Gibson made deliveries for FedEx on the evening of Jan. 24, 2022, while driving a rental van with the Hertz logo on three sides. After he dropped off a package at a home on a dead-end road, Gregory Case used a pickup truck to try to block the van from leaving, and Brandon Case came outside with a gun, Dis...

More cadaver dogs arrive to assist in search for bodies after wildfires kill at least 106 on Maui

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:38:26 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Public schools on Maui have started the process of reopening in a sign of recovery a week after wildfires demolished a historic town and killed over 100 people, even as additional cadaver dogs arrived Wednesday to help teams search for more remains on Hawaii’s second-largest island. At least three schools untouched by flames in Lahaina, where entire neighborhoods were reduced to ash, were still being assessed after sustaining wind damage, said Hawaii Department of Education superintendent Keith Hayashi. The campuses will open when they’re deemed safe. “There’s still a lot of work to do, but overall the campuses and classrooms are in good condition structurally, which is encouraging,” Hayashi said in a video update. “We know the recovery effort is still in the early stages, and we continue to grieve the many lives lost.”Elsewhere on Maui, crews cleaned up ash and debris at schools, and tested air and water quality for toxins. Displaced students who ...

B.C. puts fish protection orders in place as heat, drought persists

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:38:26 GMT

BURNABY, B.C. — The British Columbia government is putting fish protection orders in place for the Thompson Okanagan region as extreme drought conditions affect river levels and threaten the local salmon populations.More than 80 per cent of the province has reached Level 4 or 5 drought conditions, the highest possible rankings, after months of little or no rain. The government says the orders aim to protect spawning chinook salmon in the lower Salmon River and Bessette Creek by temporarily restricting water use for forage crops for about 400 surface and groundwater licence holders.It says they must stop using water for forage crops, including grass for hay, alfalfa and corn to help restore water flow levels and protect the salmon runs. The government says the order may be revoked if water flows recover, but affected farmers can access programs, such as the federal-provincial AgriStability program, which helps producers with drought-related income declines.Compounding the situation i...

AP, other news organizations develop standards for use of artificial intelligence in newsrooms

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:38:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Associated Press has issued guidelines on artificial intelligence, saying the tool cannot be used to create publishable content and images for the news service while encouraging staff members to become familiar with the technology.AP is one of a handful of news organizations that have begun to set rules on how to integrate fast-developing tech tools like ChatGPT into their work. The service will couple this on Thursday with a chapter in its influential Stylebook that advises journalists how to cover the story, complete with a glossary of terminology.“Our goal is to give people a good way to understand how we can do a little experimentation but also be safe,” said Amanda Barrett, vice president of news standards and inclusion at AP.The journalism think tank Poynter Institute, saying it was a “transformational moment,” urged news organizations this spring to create standards for AI’s use, and share the policies with readers and viewers.Generative AI has the a...