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More than 40 dead in Liberia after leaking fuel tanker exploded as people tried to collect gas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:44 GMT

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — A leaking fuel tanker exploded as people gathered to collect the gasoline, leaving more than 40 dead, authorities in Liberia said Thursday.The blast on Tuesday also injured at least 83 people in Totota town in the central part of the West African country, health officials said.Bong County health official Dr. Cynthia Blapook said many of the dead were buried in a mass grave on Wednesday because their remains were unrecognizable. Health authorities said an exact death toll was difficult because of how badly the bodies were burned.Liberian Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor attended the mass funeral.“We never expected to start the new year like this,” Howard-Taylor said.Health officials said the number of injured could rise as they were not certain everyone had been brought for care.A doctor at one hospital treating the injured urged the Liberian government to deploy a disaster management team and to have one in each county to respond to emergencies.Dr. Minnie ...

Hit-Boy enters Grammys with producer nod while helping father navigate music industry after prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:44 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Hit-Boy walks the Grammy red carpet, he expects to proudly strut into the Feb. 4 awards ceremony with his father beside him for the first time. For three decades, Hit-Boy’s dad was in-and-out of prison, with his recent stint lasting nine years until his release several months ago. With his father’s newfound freedom, the super producer — who has worked with music heavyweights from Jay-Z, Nas and Kanye West — is focused on strengthening their father-son bond while navigating the music industry together.Hit-Boy has the Grammys and a producer of the year, non-classical nomination in his sights. He’s had three songs involving Brent Faiyaz, Blxst and The Alchemist. He also produced three Nas albums, including “King’s Disease III,” which is up for best rap album; one with Musiq Soulchild; and his two “Surf or Down” albums, which featured the producer as a rapper and his father on several tracks under the stage name Big Hit. When Hit-Boy first heard about being...

Montreal man seeks to launch class-action lawsuit over cantaloupe salmonella outbreak

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:44 GMT

A Montreal man who spent almost a week in hospital with a salmonella infection after consuming cantaloupes is seeking permission to launch a class-action lawsuit against two food companies.Law firm Slater Vecchio LLP filed the application Dec. 12 in Quebec Superior Court alleging that Olivier Archambault got sick after he consumed melons produced by Mexico-based Malichita and distributed in Canada by Arizona-based Trufresh.BACKGROUND: More Cantaloupe-related illnesses reported in CanadaIn November the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued food recall warnings for melons produced by Malichita, and later in the month issued recalls for melons by Rudy brand, which are produced in the same area of Mexico.As of last week the Public Health Agency of Canada has reported 164 laboratory-confirmed cases and seven deaths from cantaloupe-linked salmonella across eight provinces; 111 of those cases are in Quebec and 21 are in Ontario.OUTBREAK UPDATE: New illnesses continue to be reported in the...

'Didn’t deserve that': Daughter speaks out after video released of 3 wanted in killing of Chatham security guard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:44 GMT

CHICAGO — Surveillance video has been released by Chicago police of three suspects wanted in the slaying of a security guard outside of a Chatham store last week.On the afternoon of Dec. 20 at around 1 p.m., officers responded to DTLR, located in the 700 block of East 87th Street, on the report of a shooting.Edward "Fontaine" Creamer, 53, of Calumet City, who was working as a security guard for the store at the time, was involved in an altercation with two males and a female.CPD said one of the suspects shot Creamer three times. He later died at the University of Chicago Medical Center. WGN News spoke with his daughter, Ashley, Thursday who said Creamer was a beloved father of seven and grandfather of five."That’s somebody’s father, that’s somebody’s granddad, that’s somebody’s brother, that’s somebody’s child," she said. "Nobody deserves to die like that."Creamer and his daughter Ashley Previous: Security guard fatally shot in Chatham ID’d Surveillance footage below, released by ...

Mystery note found in sealed cereal box in Pennsylvania

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:44 GMT

SUGARLOAF TWP., Penn. (WBRE/WYOU) — How did a mysterious note get into a sealed cereal box? That's the question, among others, being asked by a Pennsylvania man.The man who discovered the note contacted the FBI as well as Nexstar's WBRE/WYOU to look into the situation.There are a lot of moving parts to this story, but it does appear, based on research by WBRE's I-Team thus far, that notes like this are showing up in all types of food products from numerous grocery stores around eastern Pennsylvania and beyond."I opened up the box … I poured it out in my bowl and out came this paper that was all folded up just like this," said Joe Miller of Sugarloaf Township. ‘That ’70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson begins lengthy sentence at California prison Miller said he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He told WBRE/WYOU that he bought the box of Lucky Charm's Smores cereal at a Luzerne County grocery store on Sunday, and opened it on Monday night."Oh, I was devastated. I mean I didn't even ...

Sanders tests positive for COVID-19 during Senate break as infections rise nationally

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:44 GMT

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday he tested positive for COVID-19, amid a nationwide spike in infections. The 82-year-old Sanders, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he was experiencing “minimal” symptoms and will continue to isolate while working from his home in Vermont. "I am glad to be fully up to date with the vaccine," Sanders wrote.The Senate finished its legislative business for the year last week and won’t be returning for votes until Jan. 8. The U.S. is seeing elevated levels of respiratory illness this winter, and the Northeast especially is experiencing the highest levels of viral activity, according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wastewater data.  Nationally, the wastewater viral activity level for COVID-19 is the highest it's been since the omicron surge in 2022.  According to data from before Christmas, JN.1 is now the dominant variant. For the two weeks ending on Dec. 23, JN.1 is expected to account f...

Demolition begins on Idaho killings home, despite objections from families

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:44 GMT

MOSCOW, Idaho (NewsNation) — Demolition started Thursday on the home where four University of Idaho students were fatally stabbed last year, despite objections from the victims' families.Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were found dead inside an off-campus rental home in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022.The demolition started around 9:30 a.m. ET, and will last several days, despite some insisting the house is a crucial piece of evidence. At least two of the victims' families have argued that it should be postponed until after the trial of suspect Bryan Kohberger. Idaho victim’s dad: Why is evidence ‘destroyed’ before trial? Neither the defense nor the prosecution are contesting the demolition this week. The university is trying to complete it before students resume classes after the winter break. Detailed documentation, including extensive 3D imaging, photos and measurements has been compiled from inside the property.Critics argue the cr...

Trump denies insisting on 'Home Alone 2' cameo, says they begged him to do it

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:44 GMT

(The Hill) — Former President Trump denied this week that he insisted on being featured in "Home Alone 2," saying the makers of the popular holiday film "begged" him to appear in it. "30 years ago (how time flies!), Director Chris Columbus, and others, were begging me to make a cameo appearance in Home Alone 2," Trump wrote on his Truth Social website on Wednesday.Trump celebrated his appearance in the film, which takes place during a scene in New York's Plaza Hotel, saying it "took off like a rocket," and taking credit for the film's blockbuster success. How rich was the McCallister family in ‘Home Alone’? Trump's social media post comes after an interview that Columbus gave in 2020, during which he said Trump told him "the only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie." “So we agreed to put him in the movie, and when we screened it for the first time the oddest thing happened: People cheered when Trump showed up on screen," Columbus told Business Insider at the time, Var...

1 killed in crash between motorcycle, vehicle near Del Valle High School

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:44 GMT

DEL VALLE, Texas (KXAN) -- One person died Thursday after a crash involving a motorcycle near Del Valle High School, according to Austin-Travis County EMS. ATCEMS said on social media at 11:23 a.m. medics pronounced one adult dead on the scene of a crash at 5100 Ross Road, which is near the high school. According to ATCEMS, the crash involved a motorcycle and a vehicle. No other people were reported injured, ATCEMS said. ATCEMS warns drivers to expect delays in the area and use alternate routes if possible.

Paxton request for pause on whistleblower lawsuit depositions denied

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:44 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Texas Third Court of Appeals denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request for an emergency stay of impending depositions in the whistleblower lawsuit that sparked his impeachment this year, according to a Wednesday court filing.The whistleblower plaintiffs are seeking depositions of Paxton, First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster, Chief of Staff Lesley French Henneke, and Senior Advisor to the Attorney General Michelle Smith, according to a writ.The lawsuit began in 2020 after several former officials in Paxton’s office became whistleblowers and reported Paxton to the FBI for alleged misconduct. The whistleblowers later sued for wrongful termination. EXPLORE: The Ken Paxton impeachment trial The case has had massive repercussions at the Capitol. Paxton and the whistleblowers previously reached a settlement agreement of $3.3 million to end the case. Paxton was also asked to apologize for calling the plaintiffs “rogue employees,” according to court records...