×

Thousands of homes threatened

OROVILLE, Calif. — A Northern California wildfire threatened thousands of homes Thursday after winds whipped it into a monster that incinerated houses in small mountain communities and killed at least three people. Several other people were critically burned and about 2,000 structures, including homes and other buildings were damaged or destroyed in the foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada, authorities said. About 20,000 people were under evacuation orders or warnings in three counties. Another fire raging along the Oregon border destroyed 150 homes near the community of Happy Camp and one person was confirmed dead. About 400 more homes were threatened.

Residents tour burned up town

PHOENIX, Ore. — Stunned residents of the small Oregon town of Phoenix walked through a scene of devastation Thursday after one of the state’s many wildfires wiped out much of their community, including a mobile home park, houses and businesses. After spending the night in their cars in a Home Depot parking lot, a stream of people walked into what was left of the town that hugs Interstate 5 near the California border. They hauled wagons and carried backpacks and bags to salvage whatever they could. Jonathan Weir defied evacuation orders as flames 30 feet (9 meters) high shot from the trees. He drove his car to the entrance of a nearby mobile home park, where his tires began melting. His home was destroyed as the fire hopscotched through the town of 4,000 residents. “There were flames across the street from me, flames to the right of me, flames to the left of me. I just watched everything burn,” Weir told a reporter. The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimated that 600 homes were burned by the fire that started in Ashland and tore through Phoenix, the Mail Tribune of Medford reported.

Python laid 7 eggs, no male help

ST. LOUIS — Experts at the St. Louis Zoo are trying to figure out how a 62-year-old ball python laid seven eggs despite not being near a male python for at least two decades. Mark Wanner, manager of herpetology at the zoo, said it unusual but not rare for ball pythons to reproduce asexually. The snakes also sometimes store sperm for delayed fertilization. The birth also is unusual because ball pythons usually stop laying eggs long before they reach their 60s, Wanner said. “She’d definitely be the oldest snake we know of in history,” to lay eggs, Wanner said, noting the she is the oldest snake ever documented in a zoo. The python, which has not been given a name, laid the eggs July 23. Three of the eggs remain in an incubator, two were used for genetic sampling and snakes in the other two eggs did not survive, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The eggs that survive should hatch in about a month. The genetic sampling will show whether the eggs were reproduced sexually or asexually, called facultative parthenogenesis. The only other ball python in the zoo’s herpetarium is a male that’s about 31. The snakes aren’t on public view. The private owner gave the female to the zoo in 1961. She laid a clutch of eggs in 2009 that didn’t survive. Another clutch was born in 1990 but those eggs might have been conceived with the male because at the time, the snakes were put in buckets together while keepers cleaned their cages.

Can’t build castle library

SANTA FE, N.M. — “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin won’t be able to build a seven-sided, castle-style library at his compound in Santa Fe that drew objections from neighbors. The city’s Historic Districts Review Board on Tuesday denied a request to allow Martin to exceed the building height limit in the historic district where he lives, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. The project included a roof deck and an elevator tower. “It is a medieval castle, and I don’t understand how we could possibly approve it in this style,” board member Frank Katz said. Mark Graham lives south of the property and said residents couldn’t “support having a castle in the neighborhood.” “With the notoriety of Mr. Martin and ‘Game of Thrones,’ we absolutely fear that our neighborhood will become the next treasure hunt, that his fans will be looking to find the castle that’s in the middle of Santa Fe,” Graham said. Officials also denied a similar proposal early this year, saying the project didn’t meet height and style standards and didn’t fit in with the character of the historic district. Alexander Dzurec with the architecture firm Autotroph Inc. filed the application for the height exemption and said Tuesday that the library was intended to house “a very sizable collection” of literature and “other collectibles.” More than 40 neighbors had signed a letter urging the Historic Districts Review Board to reject the request.

Endangered gorilla baby dies

NEW ORLEANS — Less than a week after celebrating the birth of a critically endangered gorilla, the zoo in New Orleans is mourning its death. The baby western lowland gorilla born Friday died on Wednesday, Audubon Zoo spokeswoman Katie Smith said Thursday. The cause remains undetermined, but officials say Tumani, its 13-year-old mother, may not have produced enough milk. “There are many risks involved with gorilla births and unfortunately, it is not unusual for a first-time gorilla mom to lose an offspring,” Dr. Robert MacLean, Audubon’s senior veterinarian, said in a news release. The baby seemed to be doing very well at first, and zookeepers were keeping their distance to avoid disturbing them — they didn’t even know the baby’s sex yet, and hadn’t named it. But by Wednesday evening, the baby appeared lethargic and weak. It was taken to the zoo’s animal hospital but veterinarians couldn’t save it, the statement said.

Man admits assaulting agents

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Washington state man who said he was traveling to see President Donald Trump has pleaded guilty to assaulting Secret Service special agents in West Virginia. Joshua Wills, 31, of Bremerton, Washington, admitted in federal court that he intended to drive to Washington, D.C., to meet the president. The Secret Service started investigating Wills after receiving reports he had a katana sword on his trip, prosecutors said. Wills was arrested in October 2018 after a standoff at a campground, where he had gone to stay overnight and finish a PowerPoint presentation for Trump, court documents state. Three Secret Service agents and local police officers confronted Wills in the park. They spoke with him for about 30 minutes, then told him he was under arrest. “Wills pulled out his sword and brandished it at us,” Secret Service Special Agent Thomas Fleming wrote in a criminal complaint. “Officers fired two non-lethal shotgun rounds to incapacitate Wills and he was wrestled to the ground.” Wills’ father had earlier told an agent his son was not a threat to the president and in fact “worshiped” Trump, the complaint states. His plan was to stand outside the White House gate with his sword strapped to his side. He wanted to deliver some type of evidence to the president in a package of smoked salmon from Seattle’s Pike Place Market, according to the complaint. “One sure fire way not to see the President of the United States is to brandish a weapon and threaten the safety of local and federal officials,” U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart said. Wills faces up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing was set for Nov. 9.

AstraZeneca trial paused

LONDON — A woman who received an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed severe neurological symptoms that prompted a pause in testing, a spokesman for drugmaker AstraZeneca said Thursday. The study participant in late-stage testing reported symptoms consistent with transverse myelitis, a rare inflammation of the spinal cord, said company spokesman Matthew Kent. “We don’t know if it is (transverse myelitis),” Kent said. “More tests are being done now as part of the follow-up.” On Tuesday, AstraZeneca said its “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data.” It did not provide any details other than to say a single participant had an “unexplained illness.” The vaccine was initially developed by Oxford University after the coronavirus pandemic began this year. The study was previously stopped in July for several days after a participant who got the vaccine developed neurological symptoms; it turned out to be an undiagnosed case of multiple sclerosis that was unrelated to the vaccine. Late last month, AstraZeneca began recruiting 30,000 people in the U.S. for its largest study of the vaccine. It also is testing the vaccine in thousands of people in Britain, and in smaller studies in Brazil and South Africa. Several other COVID-19 vaccine candidates are in development.

Fire breaks out at Beirut port

BEIRUT — A huge fire broke out Thursday at the Port of Beirut, triggering panic among residents a month after the massive explosion. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire at the facility, which was decimated by the Aug. 4 explosion when nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrates detonated. A column of black smoke billowed from the port with orange flames leaping from the ground. State-run National News Agency said the fire was at a warehouse where tires are placed.

Paramedics sue for licenses

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Emergency medical technicians and paramedics who were present when a Detroit-area woman was determined to be dead, only to be declared alive later at a funeral home, are suing to stop their licenses from being suspended. Michael Storms, Scott Rickard, Phillip Mulligan and Jake Kroll, who all work for the city of Southfield, filed their lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday, The Detroit News reported.

China: Diplomat hacked in ‘like’

BEIJING — The Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom has demanded that Twitter investigate after its ambassador’s official account liked a pornographic post on the social media platform. A human rights advocate on Twitter posted a screenshot on Wednesday showing that Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming had liked the post. The embassy responded quickly, sharing a statement Wednesday night saying, “Recently, some anti-China elements viciously attacked Ambassador Liu Xiaoming’s Twitter account and employed despicable methods to deceive the public. The Embassy has reported this to Twitter company and urged the latter to make thorough investigations and handle this matter seriously.” The BBC reported Wednesday that the ambassador’s official account had also liked a tweet critical of Chinese officials and another critical of the mass detention of China’s Uighur Muslims. But on Thursday the account only showed two likes — both of which are the ambassador’s own tweets.

Century 21 will shut down

NEW YORK — Century 21 Stores — a destination for bargain hunters looking for fat deals on designer dresses and shoes, cosmetics and housewares for nearly 60 years — has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is winding down its business, shutting all 13 stores across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. Century 21 joins more than two dozen retailers who have filed for bankruptcy since the pandemic, which forced non-essential stores to temporarily close. In a statement, the New York-based company said that the decision followed nonpayment by the company’s insurance providers of approximately $175 million due under policies put in place to protect against losses stemming from business interruption. Insurance money helped it rebuild its flagship store, a magnet for locals and tourists in downtown Manhattan after it was damaged by the 9/11 attacks, the company said.

Virus bill blocked in Senate

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats scuttled a scaled-back GOP coronavirus rescue package on Thursday as the parties argued to a standstill over the size and scope of the aid, likely ending hopes for coronavirus relief before the November election. The mostly party-line vote capped weeks of wrangling that gave way to election-season political combat and name-calling over a fifth relief bill that all sides say they want but are unable to deliver. The bipartisan spirit that powered earlier aid measures is all but gone. Democrats said the measure shortchanged too many pressing needs. Republicans argued it was targeted to areas of widespread agreement, but the 52-47 vote fell well short of what was needed to overcome a filibuster. All the present Democrats opposed it, while conservative Rand Paul, R-Ky., cast the only GOP “nay” vote. The Democratic vice presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, was campaigning in Miami and missed the vote. “It’s a sort of a dead end street, and very unfortunate,” said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. “But it is what it is.”

Fire threatens jaguar park

RIO DE JANEIRO — Wildfire has infiltrated a Brazilian state park known for its population of jaguars, as firefighters, environmentalists and ranchers in the world’s largest tropical wetlands region struggle to smother record blazes. The fire had surrounded the Encontro das Aguas (Meeting of the Waters) park in the Pantanal, located at the border of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states, but rivers helped keep the blazes at bay. Then the flames advanced and have been wreaking destruction for over a week. There’s little outlook for any near-term help from rainfall, according to the Mato Grosso firefighters’ spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Sheila Sebalhos. “The forecast isn’t good,” Sebalhos said by phone from the state capital of Cuiaba, after spending weeks in the fire zone. “High speeds of those winds that change direction many times throughout the day are favoring the rapid spread (of fire).” Some 200 jaguars have already suffered injury, death or displacement because of the fires, according to Panthera, an international wild cat conservation organization. The Pantanal is home to thousands of plant and animal species, including 159 mammals, and it abounds with jaguars, according to environmental group WWF. During the wet season, rivers overflow their banks and make most of the region accessible only by boat and plane. In the dry season, wildlife enthusiasts flock to see the normally furtive felines lounging on riverbanks, along with macaws, caiman and capybaras. What’s unique about the Meeting of the Waters park, which covers more than 1,000 square kilometers (over 400 square miles), is that the jaguars are habituated to human observation. They have been a top eco-tourism draw for more than 15 years, according to Fernando Tortato, a conservation scientist for Panthera, which owns a neighboring property where jaguars can range.

Belgium to return tooth

KINSHASA, Congo — Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba met a grisly end after his assassination in 1961: His body was dismembered and dissolved with acid in an apparent effort to keep any grave from becoming a pilgrimage site. Then, the story goes that a tooth was pulled from his corpse during the effort in the middle of the night. And even that was taken from Congo, brought home to colonizer Belgium by a man whose family then apparently kept it for more than half a century. Now a court in Belgium has cleared the way for the tooth presumed to be Lumumba’s to be returned home, with prosecutors announcing Thursday that it will soon be handed back to his relatives after years of lobbying efforts. Daughter Juliana Amato Lumumba had renewed the family’s calls around the 60th anniversary of Congo’s independence from Belgium in June, commemorations which came amid a global reckoning over racial injustice that has brought new scrutiny of European wrongs in Africa. Lumumba remains for many in Congo a symbol of what the country could have become after its independence. Instead it became mired in decades of dictatorship that drained its vast mineral riches.

Springsteen plans new album

NEW YORK — Bruce Springsteen will release a new rock album that he recorded in his New Jersey home studio with the E Street Band. The Boss said Thursday the album is called “Letter To You” and he and the band recorded it in just five days. It will be released on Oct. 23. “Letter To You” will have nine new songs and include new recordings of three unreleased songs that predate Springsteen’s 1973 debut album, “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.” The songs are: “Janey Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest” and “Song for Orphans.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today