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Fire kills more than 30 animals

Firefighters stand in front of the burning monkey house at Krefeld Zoo, in Krefeld, Germnay, Wednesday Jan 1, 2020. A fire at a zoo in western Germany killed a large number of animals in the early hours of the new year, authorities said. (Alexander Forstreuter/dpa via AP)

BERLIN — A fire at a zoo in western Germany in the first minutes of 2020 killed more than 30 animals, including apes, monkeys, bats and birds. Police said the fire may have been caused by sky lanterns launched to celebrate the new year. Several witnesses reported that they had seen the cylindrical paper lanterns with little fires inside flying in the night sky shortly after midnight Wednesday near the Krefeld zoo, Gerd Hoppmann, the city’s head of criminal police told reporters. “People reported seeing those sky lanterns flying at low altitude near the zoo and then it started burning,” Hoppmann said. Police and firefighters received the first emergency calls at 12:38 a.m. The zoo near the Dutch border said that the entire ape house burned down and more than 30 animals, including five orangutans, two gorillas, a chimpanzee and several monkeys, as well as fruit bats and birds, were killed. Only two chimpanzees could be rescued from the flames by firefighters. They suffered burns but are in stable condition, zoo director Wolfgang Dressen said. “It’s close to a miracle that Bally, a 40-year-old female chimpanzee, and Limbo, a younger male, survived this inferno,” Dressen said, adding that many animal handlers were in shock at the devastation. “We have to seriously work through the mourning process,” Dressen said. “This is an unfathomable tragedy.” The zoo director also said than many of the dead animals were close to extinction in the wild. The zoo said that in addition to the two rescued chimpanzees, the Gorilla Garden near to the Ape House didn’t go up in flames and that gorilla Kidogo and six other members of his family group are alive. The Krefeld zoo was opened in 1975 and attracts some 400,000 visitors each year.

Thousands caught in flooding

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Severe flooding hit Indonesia’s capital as residents were celebrating the New Year’s, killing at least nine people, displacing thousands and forcing the closure of a domestic airport. Tens of thousands of revelers in Jakarta were soaked by torrential rains as they waited for New Year’s Eve fireworks. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said Wednesday that monsoon rains and rising rivers submerged at least 90 neighborhoods and triggered a landslide in Depok, a city on the outskirts of Jakarta. Wibowo said the dead included a 16-year-old high school student who was electrocuted while more than 19,000 people were in temporary shelters after floodwaters reached up to 3 meters (10 feet) in several places. Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan told reporters after conducting an aerial survey over the flooded city that as much as 370 millimeters (14.5 inches) of rainfall — more than three times the average amount — was recorded in Jakarta and West Java’s hilly areas during the New Year’s Eve, resulting in the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers overflowing. He said about 120,000 rescuers had been deployed to evacuate those affected and install mobile water pumps as more downpours were forecast in coming days. Authorities warned flooding was possible until April, when the rainy season ends.

Rose Parade held for 131st time

PASADENA, Calif. — After a flyover by a B-2 stealth bomber, marching bands and floral floats took to the streets under mostly sunny California skies as the 131st Rose Parade drew hundreds of thousands of spectators on New Year’s Day. Among the fanciful floats was an award-winning entry from the Chinese American Heritage Foundation that marked the 75th anniversary of the U.S. victory in World War II and honored the sacrifices of women and minorities in the military. A Curtiss P-40 Flying Tiger fighter and Sherman tank on the float were decorated in eucalyptus leaves with accents of black onion seed, white sweet rice and red ilex berries. After the bomber streaked overhead, a performance by singer Ally Brooke kicked off the colorful proceedings. There were just a few clouds and temperatures reached the mid 60s fter a chilly night. It has rained only once on the Rose Parade in the past six decades — that was in 2006 — and it has never been canceled because of weather. The theme of the 2020 parade was “The Power of Hope.” The grand marshals were actresses Rita Moreno and Gina Torres and Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez.

Actress charged with killing mom

OLATHE, Kan. — An actress who had a small role in the movie “Captain America: The First Avenger” is accused of fatally stabbing her mother inside a suburban Kansas City home. Mollie Fitzgerald, 38, is charged with second-degree murder and jailed on $500,000 bond. She’s accused in the death of 68-year-old Patricia “Tee” Fitzgerald, who authorities say was found dead on Dec. 20 inside her Olathe home. The website IMDb said Mollie Fitzgerald is a movie director and producer as well as actress. She worked on mostly low-budget films, including “The Lawful Truth” in 2014 and “The Creeps” in 2017. In “Captain America,” she played Stark Girl” and worked as an assistant to the director, Joe Johnson. The film grossed $176.6 million in the U.S. Patricia Fitzgerald was in the process of moving back to the Kansas City area after living several decades in the Houston area, her brother, Gary Hunziker, said. Their family grew up on a farm in northeast Missouri. Patricia Fitzgerald studied physical therapy at the University of Missouri and moved to the Kansas City area. She then moved to Texas, where her husband had a law firm, Hunziker, 72, of Keokuk, Iowa, said. Hunziker said he knew few details about the circumstances surrounding his sister’s death. “We were shocked,” he said. But, “it doesn’t matter the circumstances — the loss of a sister is what it’s all about.”

Feds say man threatened OSU

COLUMBUS — Authorities are looking for a man accused of saying he was going to shoot up Ohio State University and hurt players on the football team in a threat made during the university’s 2018 game with the University of Michigan, according to a federal indictment. The September indictment unsealed last month in federal court in Columbus accuses Daniel Rippy of making the “electronic communication” threat from California during the game, which was played in Columbus that year. Ohio State won the contest 62-39. Rippy said the school would be shot up “and I’m seriously going to hurt the students and all of the players from the football team,” according to the Sept. 26 indictment. Rippy was arrested Dec. 28 in Livermore, California, The Mercury News reported. Rippy was released on bond Monday, but then failed to report to the court’s Pretrial Services division as required. Rippy also didn’t report to a halfway house as required.

Illinois has first legal pot sales

CHICAGO — The sale of marijuana for recreational purposes became legal Wednesday in Illinois to the delight of pot fans — many who began lining up hours early at dispensaries. About 500 people were outside Dispensary 33 in Chicago. Renzo Mejia made the first legal purchase in the shop shortly after 6 a.m., the earliest that Illinois’ new law allowed such sals. “To be able to have (recreational marijuana) here is just mind-boggling,” Mejia told the Chicago Sun-Times after buying an eighth of an ounce called “Motorbreath.” Illinois already allowed medical marijuana, but it is now the 11th state to allow its use and sale for recreational purposes. The law approved by the Democratic-controlled Legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker allows people 21 or older to possess of up to 30 grams (1.06 ounces) of cannabis flower and up to 5 grams (0.17 ounces) of cannabis concentrate.

Mexico City bans plastic bags

MEXICO CITY — For centuries, Mexico City residents brought warm tortillas home in reusable cloths or woven straw baskets, and toted others foods in conical rolls of paper, “ayate” mesh or net bags, or even string bundles. People in Mexico’s massive capital city may have to return to those old ways starting Wednesday, when a new law takes effect banning the plastic bags that became ubiquitous over the last 30 years. Some say they are ready and willing, and grocery stores are promising to promote reusable synthetic fiber bags, but others are struggling to get their minds around how the ban will work in practice. “We have a very rich history in ways to wrap things,” said Claudia Hernandez, the city’s director of environmental awareness. “We are finding that people are returning to baskets, to cucuruchos,” she said, referring to cone-shaped rolls of paper once used to wrap loose bulk goods like nuts, chips or seeds. Some Mexico City residents still use traditional ayate bags, or tortilla towels or baskets, and many — especially the elderly — pull two-wheeled, folding shopping baskets through grocery stores. Some merchants still use old sardine cans to measure out bulk goods. Under the new law, grocery stores will be fined if they give out plastic bags. Most will offer reusable shopping bags made of thick plastic fiber, usually selling them for around 75 cents. “They are not giving them away, they are selling them, and that is what I don’t agree with,” said city subway worker Ernesto Gallardo Chavez, who wonders what will happen if he goes grocery shopping after Jan. 1 and forgets to bring his reusable bags. “Just imagine, I forget my bag and I buy a lot of stuff,” said Gallardo Chavez. “How do I carry it all, if they don’t give you bags anymore?”

Couple dead in catamaran fire

SAN JUAN — Authorities in Puerto Rico on Wednesday identified a couple they say died when their catamaran caught on fire at a marina in the island’s southwest region. Police said the victims that died Tuesday night aboard their 42-foot catamaran named Miss Adventure from New Orleans, Louisiana were Gather and Ginna Tannehill. They were believed between 65 and 70 years old and from the U.S. mainland. Authorities said the fire began in the kitchen. Gather Tanehill died from burns and his wife from smoke inhalation. The catamaran was docked at the Puerto Real Marina in Cabo Rojo.

Global air crash deaths fall

FRANKFURT, Germany — The number of deaths in major air crashes around the globe fell by more than half in 2019, according to a report by an aviation consulting firm. The To70 consultancy said Wednesday that 257 people died in eight fatal accidents in 2019. That compares to 534 deaths in 13 fatal accidents in 2018. The 2019 death toll rose in late December after a Bek Air Fokker 100 crashed Friday on takeoff in Kazakhstan, killing 12 people. The worst crash of 2019 involved an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX plane that crashed March 10, killing 157 people. The report said fatal accidents in 2018 and 2019 that led to the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX raised questions about how aviation authorities approve aviation designs derived from older ones, and about how much pilot training is needed on new systems. The group said it expects the 737 MAX to eventually gain permission to fly again in 2020.

Three mountain lions killed

TUCSON, Ariz. — Three mountain lions found feeding on human remains near a popular Tucson hiking trail have been killed. They were not suspected of killing the person, but were determined to be a danger to the public because they showed no fear of officers trying to remove the remains, the Arizona Game and Fish Department said in a statement. The area in the Coronado National Forest was closed for a day while officials attempted unsuccessfully to trap the mountain lions. The medical examiner will work to identify the name and cause of death for the person found Tuesday morning off the Pima Canyon Trail.

Iraqi militiamen withdraw

BAGHDAD — Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Wednesday after two days of clashes with American security forces, but U.S.-Iran tensions remain high and could spill over into further violence. The withdrawal followed calls from the government and senior militia leaders. It ended a two-day crisis marked by the breach of the largest and one of the most heavily fortified U.S. diplomatic missions in the world. The attack and its volatile aftermath prompted the Pentagon to send hundreds of additional troops to the Middle East an d U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to delay a European and Central Asian trip. In an orchestrated assault, hundreds of militiamen and their supporters broke into the embassy compound, destroying a reception area, smashing windows and spraying graffiti on walls to protest U.S. airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia over the weekend that killed 25 fighters. The U.S. blamed the militia for a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in the northern city of Kirkuk last week that killed a U.S. contractor.

Stolen puppy back with owners

LANDOVER, Md. — A puppy has been reunited with its owners after it was reported stolen at gunpoint by a woman with tattoos on her face. A person contacted authorities after spotting the puppy, named Lobo, alone in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. The person had recognized the puppy from news reports about the theft. No suspects were immediately identified. A Landover man told police that he was walking the puppy when a woman displayed a gun and demanded the dog. The puppy’s owner grabbed the gun, and the two began to struggle before the puppy’s owner let go of the weapon, police said. The woman then pulled the trigger several times, but the gun didn’t fire, according to police. By that time, a second suspect, a man, had approached. He and the woman sped away with the puppy in a car with Virginia tags.

Australia sending aid to towns

PERTH, Australia — Australia deployed military ships and aircraft Wednesday to help communities ravaged by apocalyptic wildfires that have left at least 17 people dead nationwide and sent thousands of residents and holidaymakers fleeing to the shoreline. Navy ships and military aircraft were bringing water, food and fuel to towns where supplies were depleted and roads were cut off by the fires. Authorities confirmed three bodies were found Wednesday at Lake Conjola on the south coast of New South Wales, bringing the death toll in the state to 15. More than 175 homes have been destroyed in the region. Some 4,000 people in the coastal town of Mallacoota fled to the shore as winds pushed a fire toward their homes under a sky darkened by smoke and turned blood-red by flames. Stranded residents and vacationers slept in their cars, and gas stations and surf clubs transformed into evacuation areas. Dozens of homes burned before winds changed direction late Tuesday, sparing the rest of the town. The Australian Defence Force was moving naval assets to Mallacoota on a supply mission that would last two weeks and helicopters would also fly in more firefighters since roads were inaccessible.

Woman killed by stray bullet

HOUSTON — A woman ringing in the new year was fatally shot by a stray bullet outside her Houston home. Philippa Ashford, 61, died after being shot at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. The sheriff’s department said it appears she may have been struck by celebratory gunfire from outside her immediate neighborhood. The woman’s family and their neighbors were discharging fireworks in their cul-de-sac when she called out that she had been shot. She was pronounced dead at the scene. “We have no indication that any family member or anybody in the cul-de-sac was discharging a firearm and we’ve walked the streets and canvassed up and down to see if we can find any shell casings in the neighborhood and are not finding anything,” Sgt. Ben Beall said.

Seven shot at West Virginia bar

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — Seven people were injured in a shooting early Wednesday at the Kulture Hookah Bar in Huntington. No arrests have been made. According to WOWK-TV, more than a dozen shell casings were found outside the bar and in a parking lot across the street. About 50 people were inside the bar when police arrived.

Pompeo delays Ukraine visit

WASHINGTON — The breach of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad has prompted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to postpone his trip to Ukraine and four other countries. Pompeo was to arrive in Ukraine late Thursday in his first visit to the country at the center of President Donald Trump’s impeachment, then on to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Cyprus. He delayed the trip “to continue monitoring the ongoing situation in Iraq and ensure the safety and security of Americans in the Middle East,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Wednesday. She said he intends to reschedule soon. In Baghdad, Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from the U.S. Embassy compound after two days of clashes with American security forces. The U.S. has sent hundreds of additional troops to the Middle East to increase security in the volatile aftermath of the embassy attack and as tensions with Iran rise. In Kyiv, Pompeo was to meet Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whose July 25 phone call with Trump triggered the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s impeachment.

Israel PM seeks immunity

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he would seek immunity from corruption charges, likely delaying any trial until after March elections, when he hopes to have a majority coalition that will shield him from prosecution. Netanyahu was indicted in November on charges of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust. After failing to assemble a governing majority following back-to-back elections last year, he will get a third shot at remaining in office in March. Wednesday’s announcement essentially turns the upcoming election into a referendum on whether Netanyahu should be granted immunity and remain in office, or step down and stand trial. A recent poll indicated that a majority of Israelis oppose giving him immunity. In a nationally televised address, Netanyahu repeated his assertion that he is the victim of an unfair conspiracy, lashing out at prosecutors, the media and his political enemies. Claiming credit for a series of economic and security achievements on his watch, he said he would seek to invoke the law that would protect him from prosecution as long as he remains in office. “In order to continue to lead Israel to great achievements, I intend to approach the speaker of the Knesset in accordance with chapter 4C of the law, in order to fulfill my right, my duty and my mission to continue to serve you for the future of Israel,” he said.

Va. lawmakers pledge ERA will pass

RICHMOND, Va. — Supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment are so confident Virginia is on the verge of becoming the critical 38th state to ratify the gender equality measure, they are already making plans for how they will celebrate. But that jubilation could be largely symbolic. Despite broad support for the amendment in the state, the ERA’s prospects nationally are substantially more complicated. The proposed 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution faces a host of likely legal challenges and vehement opposition from conservative activists who depict the ERA as a threat to their stances on abortion and transgender rights. The passage of time is also a factor. When the measure passed Congress in 1972, lawmakers attached a 1977 ratification deadline to it, then extended it to 1982. While the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives is likely to extend the deadline again, the Republican-controlled Senate may balk, increasing the chances of litigation. Lawsuits also could be waged over an attempt by five states in the 1970s to rescind their initial support for the amendment. At least one legal challenge is already underway. Alabama, Louisiana and South Dakota filed a lawsuit in federal court in mid-December seeking to prevent the U.S. archivist from accepting a new ratification.

White nationalist arrested

MELBOURNE, Fla. — A white nationalist who ran for the U.S. Senate in Florida and was a featured speaker during the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was arrested on charges of kidnapping, domestic violence and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Augustus Sol Invictus, 36, was arrested Monday at a Florida mall by Brevard County Sheriff’s deputies on a warrant issued out of South Carolina, the Miami Herald reported. Jail records described him as an “out of state fugitive.”

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