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‘Ash and debris’: Journalist covering Maui fires surveys destruction of once-vibrant Hawaii town

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:53:57 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — I’ve seen my share of a wildfire’s destruction on a community, but in more than eight years of covering these disasters as a video and photojournalist, the scene over Hawaii was one of the worst. Based in Las Vegas, I’m used to being dispatched to wildfires in other places. I flew to Hawaii on Wednesday, and by Thursday morning, I was in a helicopter flying over Lahaina, a normally vibrant west Maui town that draws visitors from all over the world. What struck me the most was the lack of color of the scorched earth sandwiched between glistening blue ocean and deep green-brown mountains in the distance. No plants or trappings of island life. Just gray.Street after street after street was nothing but rubble and foundation. Ash and debris. It was so one-dimensional that it was hard to imagine the scenic town that was once here. King Kamehameha III Elementary School was decimated, a mess of collapsed steel. There was a neighborhood near the water...

Fighting has left half of Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp `a hot area,’ UN says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:53:57 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Days of fighting in the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon displaced several hundred families, destroyed up to 400 houses and left half the camp still off-limits and considered “a hot area,” a senior U.N. official said Thursday.Dorothee Klaus, Director of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, said she was able to visit part of the Ein el-Hilweh camp for the first time earlier this week and met with traumatized children and women, some whose hair turned white during the hostilities.The fighting between members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah group and militants of Islamic groups at Ein el-Hilweh near the southern port of Sidon that began July 30 and ended Aug. 3 left 13 people dead and dozens wounded.Klaus said “the camp remains unstable,” with the Lebanese military barring access to half the camp because armed fighters are still positioned there and it’s not safe though hostilities have ceased.She told U.N. journalists at a...

ARL: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:53:57 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — DALLAS (AP) — American Realty Investors Inc. (ARL) on Thursday reported second-quarter profit of $125,000.The Dallas-based company said it had profit of 1 cent per share.The real estate investment company posted revenue of $12.2 million in the period.ARL shares have fallen 20% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $20.49, a climb of 33% in the last 12 months._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ARL at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ARLSource

United Insurance: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:53:57 GMT

SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — United Insurance Holdings Corp. (UIHC) on Thursday reported profit of $18.2 million in its second quarter.The Saint Petersburg, Florida-based company said it had profit of 42 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and to account for discontinued operations, were 65 cents per share.The property and casualty insurance company posted revenue of $79.3 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $85.9 million._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UIHC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/UIHCSource

Adtalem: Fiscal Q4 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:53:57 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — CHICAGO (AP) — Adtalem Global Education Inc. (ATGE) on Thursday reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $22.2 million.On a per-share basis, the Chicago-based company said it had profit of 50 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.03 per share.The for-profit education company posted revenue of $364.6 million in the period.For the year, the company reported profit of $93.4 million, or $2.05 per share. Revenue was reported as $1.45 billion.Adtalem expects full-year earnings in the range of $4.20 to $4.40 per share, with revenue in the range of $1.46 billion to $1.52 billion.Adtalem shares have increased 24% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $43.94, a rise of 13% in the last 12 months._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ATGE at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ATGESource

5.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Turkey wounding at least 23 people and damaging buildings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:53:57 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — A magnitude 5.3 earthquake shook southern Turkey on Thursday, causing damage to buildings and wounding 23 people, Turkish officials said.At least 23 were injured as a result of Thursday’s quake, which was centered in the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province and felt in Adiyaman, both provinces hit by the devastating earthquakes in February, which killed at least 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria.Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a social media post that the injuries sustained in Malatya and Adiyaman consisted of falls and people throwing themselves off buildings to avoid being crushed under a collapsed building.Private broadcaster NTV reported that some damage could be seen in buildings as a result of Thursday’s earthquake.Source

Maui wildfires: 53 killed by deadliest US blaze in years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:53:57 GMT

WAILUKU, Hawaii (NEXSTAR) — The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities as firefighters battled the stubborn blaze that has already claimed 53 lives, making it the deadliest in the U.S. in recent years.Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started Tuesday and took the island by surprise, racing through parched growth and neighborhoods in the historic town of Lahaina, a tourist destination that dates to the 1700s and is the biggest community on the island's west side. PHOTOS: Intensifying fires wreak havoc on Maui Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Wednesday that 53 had died, making it the deadliest U.S. blaze since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and laid waste to the town of Paradise. The death toll will likely rise, though, as rescuers reach parts of the island that had been unreachable due to ...

‘I definitely don’t feel safe’: Vandals smash over a dozen car windows in Midtown parking garage amid string of break-ins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:53:57 GMT

A Miami neighborhood has become a target for trouble, as residents of one apartment complex sound the alarm about car vandals breaking windows in their parking garage.Over the past two weeks, there have been multiple calls for service made to City of Miami Police from residents at Eve at The District, located along the 3600 block of Northeast First Avenue in Midtown.Residents who spoke with 7News on Thursday said the situation is getting worse.“Our gates are broken half the time. We’re hearing that these people are getting more organized, they’re coming more and more, in groups of them,” said resident Eddie Fernandez. Cellphone video recorded by a resident captured a car’s smashed driver’s side window and glass on the ground.“Look at this. This is insane. This is unsafe building,” the resident is heard saying in the video.As for the motive, the victims said they’re drawing a blank, because the window whackers are not grabbing any valua...

West African bloc activates standby force for possible use against Niger junta

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:53:57 GMT

The Economic Community of West African States on Thursday ordered the activation of a standby force to possibly use against the military junta that orchestrated a coup in Niger last month, deposing democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.“No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort,” said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, the chair of the ECOWAS bloc, after a summit of its leaders on Thursday in his country’s capital Abuja. According to reports, the standby force would likely take at least several weeks to assemble.ECOWAS, a bloc of 15 West African countries, had threatened to use military force against the coup leaders if they failed by August 6 to free and reinstate Bazoum — a key ally of the EU and especially France, which has strong ties to Niger. Paris had reportedly deployed about 1,500 French soldiers in the country under a bilateral military agreement aimed at fighting terrorism, and Niger is a crucial supplier of ura...

Visiting gymnastics coach denies voyeurism charge in Vermont

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:53:57 GMT

BARRE, Vt. (AP) — A visiting coach at a Vermont gymnastics center pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge of voyeurism, accusing him of video recording people using a bathroom at the facility.Jonathan Girard, 39, of North Adams, Massachusetts, was working as a visiting coach at the Central Vermont Gymnastics Academy in Waterbury, officials said. Vermont State Police said they received a report on July 15 of video recordings said to have come from the bathroom at the center. Police seized a computer from Girard and found evidence of voyeurism, they said.Court documents accuse Girard of having a flash memory card on his computer containing video of children changing and using the bathroom at the academy, WCAX-TV reported. Girard owns J-Star Gymnastics gym in North Adams, Massachusetts, police said.A phone message was left for Girard’s attorney seeking comment.