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Cooking gas explosion kills 31 people at a barbecue restaurant in northwestern China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — A massive cooking gas explosion at a barbecue restaurant in northwestern China killed 31 people and injured seven, Chinese authorities said Thursday.The blast tore through the establishment at around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday on a busy street in Yinchuan, the capital of the traditionally Muslim Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as people were gathering on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the official Xinhua News Agency said.The festival is a national holiday devoted to eating rice dumplings and racing boats manned by teams of paddlers.Online news site The Paper cited a woman identified only by her surname Chen saying she had been about 50 meters (164 feet) from the restaurant when she heard the explosion. She described seeing two waiters emerge from the restaurant afterward, one of whom collapsed immediately, while thick smoke billowed from the restaurant and a strong smell of cooking gas permeated the area. The Central Government’s Ministry of Emergency Mana...

Attorneys spar in case of ex-Trump adviser who devised strategy to keep former president in power

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lawyer representing attorney John Eastman, the architect of a legal strategy aimed at keeping former President Donald Trump in power after the 2020 election, spotlighted Wednesday legal debates surrounding the tallying electoral votes in a defense of Eastman’s advice to the former president that could get him disbarred.Eastman, a former law school dean, is facing 11 disciplinary charges in the State Bar Court of California stemming from his development of a dubious legal strategy aimed at having then-Vice President Mike Pence interfere with the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory. Prosecutors have depicted Eastman as a rogue attorney and Trump enabler who fabricated a baseless theory and made false claims of fraud in hopes of overturning the results of the election.In the second day of proceedings, defense attorney Randall A. Miller highlighted scholarly debates about the reach of the vice president’s authority in the electoral process, in an apparent...

The latest on the search for the Titan submersible and outlook for rescue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

A growing number of aircraft, ships and underwater equipment from the U.S., Canada and France searched Wednesday for a submersible vessel carrying five people that disappeared on its way to the wreckage of the Titanic. The small craft named Titan, owned by undersea exploration company OceanGate Expeditions, has been chronicling the Titanic’s decay and the underwater ecosystem around it via yearly voyages since 2021. The U.S. Coast Guard has been leading the search since the Titan disappeared Sunday in a remote area of the North Atlantic Ocean.Here’s what we know so far about the submersible and what’s being done to find it: WHAT’S THE LATEST ON THE SEARCH?A Canadian aircraft detected underwater noises in the search area Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Officials said they don’t know what made the sounds, and a robotic vessel scouring the area so far has “yielded negative results.” Additional remotely operated vessels were sent.“...

Texas Sen. Angela Paxton barred from voting in husband’s impeachment trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, the wife of Attorney General Ken Paxton, is barred from voting in the impeachment trial that could lead to her husband’s permanent removal from office, the Republican-controlled Senate decided Wednesday. The rule settles a question that has loomed over the Texas Capitol since Ken Paxton last month became just the third sitting official to be impeached in Texas’ nearly 200-year history. Angela Paxton, a Republican, has previously not said whether she would recuse herself from voting in the trial where her husband of more than 30 years will face charges that include abuse of power and accepting bribes.The trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 5.Under the rules, Angela Paxton is required to attend the proceedings but is prohibited from participating in any way, including closed session or deliberations. The rules do not explicitly mention Angela Paxton but say a spouse is “considered to have a conflict” under the Texas Consti...

Chicago man faces multiple charges in hit-and-run that injured 4 outside ballpark

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A 20-year-old Chicago man is facing multiple charges in connection with a hit-and-run collision that injured four pedestrians, two critically, outside Guaranteed Rate Field, the home of the Chicago White Sox, Chicago police said Wednesday night.Condelarious Garcia, 20, faces four felony counts each of failure to report an injury accident and aggravated reckless driving causing bodily harm, police said.He also faces one misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended license, police said, and citations for failure to reduce speed, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and having an expired registration.Garcia is due in Central Bond Court on Thursday, police said.It wasn’t clear whether Garcia has an attorney who might comment on the allegations against him.The pedestrians were injured just after 6:20 p.m. Tuesday as they headed to the White Sox game against the Texas Rangers, Chicago police and fire officials said. One of the victims flew over the hood and became lod...

Justice Dept. begins turning over evidence to Trump team in classified documents case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Wednesday night that it had begun turning over evidence to former President Donald Trump’s legal team as his lawyers prepare a defense to charges that he illegally retained classified documents.The evidence includes transcripts of grand jury testimony taken in both Washington and Florida, copies of closed-circuit television footage obtained by the government and copies of interviews of Trump “conducted by non-government entities, which were recorded with his consent and obtained” by the prosecution team of special counsel Jack Smith. The interviews include an audio-recorded July 2021 meeting with a writer and publisher at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club in which Trump, according to the indictment, showed and described a Pentagon “plan of attack” that he said was prepared for him by the Defense Department. Also turned over to Trump’s lawyers are public statements he made that are referenced in the indictment. Trump...

Son of victim speaks out after driver in hit-and-run crash near Guaranteed Rate Field charged

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

CHICAGO — The man who was behind the wheel in a hit-and-run crash that sent four people heading to a White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field has been charged, according to the Chicago Police Department.Condelarious Garcia, 20.Condelarious Garcia, 20, has been charged with four felony counts of failure to report accident and injury, four felony counts of aggravated reckless driving and bodily harm, one misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended license, and three citations — one for failure to reduce speed, one for operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and one for expiration of registration.Police said Garcia was arrested around 6:26 p.m. Tuesday on the Dan Ryan Expressway after being identified as the offender who — minutes earlier — was driving in the 300 block of 35th Street near Guaranteed Rate Field and struck four pedestrians before fleeing the scene and crashing on the Dan Ryan. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 4 pedestrians in hospital after hit-and-run near Guaranteed Rate Field; man i...

2 found guilty in murder of retired Chicago fire lieutenant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

CHICAGO — Two people have been found guilty in the murder of a retired Chicago Fire Department lieutenant.The Cook County State's Attorney's Office said a jury found Devin Barron and Jaylen Saulsberry guilty in the murder of Dwain Williams. Police release surveillance video of shootout, attempted carjacking that killed retired Chicago firefighter Willaims was shot and killed in December 2020 on the Southwest Side of Chicago.A third suspect, Dwian Johnson, who was charged in the case, pleaded guilty Tuesday. Second teen charged in murder of retired Chicago firefighter Prosecutors said Johnson testified against the other two defendants during the trial.Williams was confronted by the group outside a popcorn shop.He was walking to his SUV when police said they tried to carjack him.Williams tried to defend himself with his own gun before he was shot and killed.He was a firefighter for more than 20 years. His wife told the Chicago Tribune he "put his whole heart" into the city.

Traveling nurses, engaged to be married, killed in shooting at Washington music festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

(KTLA) - Family members and friends are sharing their memories of a Southern California couple killed in a shooting at an EDM festival in Washington state over the weekend.Josilyn Ruiz, 26, and Brandy Escamilla, 29, both of whom were from the Los Angeles area, were attending Beyond Wonderland near the city of George on Saturday night when a gunman opened fire on a crowd in an area where people were camping, authorities said.Josilyn Ruiz (left) and Brandy Escamilla were killed when a gunman opened fire at an EDM festival in Washington state on June 17, 2023. (GoFundMe)Escamilla died of a gunshot wound to the head, and Ruiz died from a gunshot wound to her torso, the Grant County Coroner said. Two other people were wounded.The alleged gunman, identified as James M. Kelly, 26, was shot by law enforcement officers and survived. Officials said Kelly was a joint fire support specialist stationed at a U.S. Army base in Western Washington.Ruiz and Escamilla were living in Seattle as traveli...

Thunderstorms wind down following welcome rain, minor wind damage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Temperatures dropped to their coolest readings in a week and a half thanks to severe thunderstorms on Wednesday evening.Fredericksburg reported a 59 mph wind gust from the storms, while small tree limbs were reported broken by gusty winds in Hye and Twin Sisters (Blanco Co.), and in parts of Austin.Over 2 inches of rain fell in Lockhart and 1-2" fell in parts of Austin and the Hill Country. BLOG: If June is this hot, what comes in July? Before the storms, Austin set an unofficial heat index record Wednesday afternoon on the first day of summer as "feels like" temperatures soared to 117°. A few isolated storms remain in the forecast Thursday and Friday, then even hotter weather is possible this weekend through next week. We may have to wait until the 4th of July for a weather pattern change that cools temperatures. Expert: Texas heatwave 'driven by climate change' FIRST WARNING WEATHER: Stay up to date with your Central Texas forecast, sign up for our weather new...