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Number of dead from Maui wildfires reaches 99, as governor warns there could be scores more

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:26:31 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — The number of deaths caused by the Maui wildfires stood at 99 Monday, a figure that is likely to increase as search crews comb neighborhoods where flames moved as fast as a mile a minute.The blazes that consumed most of the historic town of Lahaina are already the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. The cause was under investigation.Gov. Josh Green said the search will take time and and asked for space to do it properly. “For those people who have walked into Lahaina because they really wanted to see, know that they're very likely walking on iwi,” he said at a news conference on Maui, using the Hawaiian word for “bones.” “They will find 10 to 20 people per day, probably, until they finish," Green told CBS Mornings in a recorded interview that aired Monday. "And it’s probably going to take 10 days. It’s impossible to guess, really.” As cellphone service has slowly been restored, the number of people missing dropped to about 1,300 from over 2,000, Gree...

3 San Diego-area spots among top 100 dog-friendly places to eat in US: Yelp

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:26:31 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diegans are known for their love of dogs.Yelp recently compiled the top 100 dog-friendly places to eat in 2023, with three local spots making the list.Viewpoint Brewing Company, found along the San Dieguito Lagoon, came in at No. 11. The Del Mar brewery and restaurant offers Boozy Bones treats and doggy bowls to keep your pups full and hydrated. The location also features the Coast to Crest trail, ideal for dog walking after a satisfying meal."This place literally embodies San Diego in restaurant form. Good beer, chill people, a great waterfront view, lots of space, dog-friendly, all in a gastropub!" Yelper Jennifer B. said.The New Zealand-inspired Kairoa Brewing Company, which is a brewpub and rooftop bar overlooking the iconic University Heights sign, ranked No. 20 on the list."Kairoa is one of my favorite spots to go to. The rooftop is wonderful and it is dog friendly! We have been here many times for group gatherings or birthdays. The staff is so friendly a...

Hillary Clinton says ‘justice is being pursued’ in Trump Georgia case. Follow live updates

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:26:31 GMT

Follow along for live updates on the indictment of former President Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the results of his 2020 presidential election loss in Georgia. The charges focus on alleged schemes by Trump and his allies to attempt illegally overturn his loss in the state. It’s the fourth criminal case brought against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House, and the second to allege that he tried to subvert the results of the vote.___WHAT TO KNOW— Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has overseen the sprawling Georgia case against Trump— A law associated with mobsters and organized crime is central to the Georgia charges— Trump was charged earlier this month by the Justice Department for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election— A look at all of the investigations currently pending against Trump— Trump also was indicted in June on charges that he illegally hoarded classified documents___HILLARY CLINTON: ‘JUSTICE IS...

Georgia court’s apparent error in early publishing of charges gives Trump opening to attack case

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:26:31 GMT

Hours before a Georgia grand jury handed down an indictment charging Donald Trump and 18 allies over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss late Monday, a mysterious document posted on the court’s website erroneously suggested the former president had already been charged before the file was quickly deleted. The posting of the case before grand jurors voted on the indictment — and officials’ failure to explain what happened — gave the former president an opening in court and on the campaign trial to try to paint Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ case as tainted and the criminal justice system as rigged against him. There is no evidence that the grand jury process was somehow compromised, or that the document was intentionally leaked by prosecutors or court officials. But the court’s clerk did little to tamp down speculation, refusing to say how the erroneous filing got online or publicly rule out whether it could have been the result of a hack. “Trump̵...

Texas wants Planned Parenthood to repay millions of dollars

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:26:31 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas wants Planned Parenthood to give back millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements — and pay far more in fines on top of that — in a lawsuit that appears to be the first of its kind brought by a state against the largest abortion provider in the U.S. A hearing was set for Tuesday in front of U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who earlier this year put access to the most common method of abortion in the U.S. in limbo with a ruling that invalidated approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. The case now before him in America’s biggest red state does not surround abortion, which has been banned in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. But Planned Parenthood argues the attempt to recoup at least $17 million in Medicaid payments for health services, including cancer screenings, is a new effort to weaken the organization after years of Republican-led laws that stripped funding and imposed restrictions on how its clinic...

NYC outdoor dining sheds were a celebrated pandemic-era innovation. Now, there’s a new set of rules

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:26:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Outdoor dining was a part of the pandemic that many people actually liked — made possible by streetside dining sheds that popped up around New York City and allowed many restaurants to stay in business when they couldn’t have diners inside.Some sheds were simple — wooden structures with basic cutouts for light, a few tables, the occasional plastic sheeting to keep out rain and snow. Other restaurants got more into it — choosing decor to match the restaurant’s interiors and adding heaters, plants and plush seating.As New York City has moved out from under its pandemic-era regulations, how to handle the new landscape of outdoor dining structures has been a growing question. While many still like the sheds and restaurants want to keep them, others say there is no longer a need for them. Some have raised concerns like increased noise and congestion, loss of street space, and argued that some are dilapidated, abandoned structures that are eyesores.City officia...

How a law associated with mobsters is central to charges against Trump

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:26:31 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened her investigation into Donald Trump after the release of a recording of a January 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger. Trump suggested during the call that Raffensperger, a Republican and the state’s top elections official, could help “find” the votes needed to overturn his narrow loss to Democrat Joe Biden.More than two years later, the indictment brought Monday by a grand jury went far beyond that phone call, alleging a web of crimes committed by Trump and others. Willis used Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, law to charge Trump and 18 associates for allegedly participating in a wide-ranging conspiracy to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. She told reporters late Monday that she intended to try all 19 defendants together and noted her prosecutors’ experience with racketeering cases, saying this was the 11th RIC...

Political leader in Ecuador is killed less than a week after presidential candidate’s assassination

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:26:31 GMT

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — The unprecedented violence shaking Ecuador claimed the life of another political leader Monday, bringing the number of politics-related slayings within the last four weeks to three, including that of a presidential candidate.The fatal shooting of Pedro Briones, a local leader of Revolución Ciudadana, the party of former President Rafael Correa, was confirmed by Luisa González, the frontrunner in Sunday’s special presidential election and member of the same party. The shooting happened in the northern province of Esmeraldas. Details were not immediately available.“Ecuador is experiencing its bloodiest era,” González tweeted. “A heartfelt hug to the family of colleague Pedro Briones, fallen by the hands of violence.”The killing of Briones, who was a political leader in a rural area of San Mateo de Esmeraldas, came less than a week after the South American country was rocked by the assassination in broad daylight of presidential candida...

California aims to introduce more anglers to native warm-water tolerant sunfish as planet heats up

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:26:31 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — California’s only native sunfish, the Sacramento perch, survived catastrophic floods in the 1860s and was so abundant that it was a regular staple in San Francisco’s markets before invasive species decimated its population.Today it is relegated to mostly isolated lakes, reservoirs and ponds with few predators. But as the planet heats up and threatens many cold-water game fish species like trout, the Sacramento perch may be on the cusp of a comeback, thanks in part to its ability to tolerate warm water and extreme conditions. State officials recently introduced Sacramento perch to Southern California in an attempt to widen its range, strengthen its gene pool, create a breeding stock and generate interest among more anglers. Biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife released the first batch of 37 mostly juvenile Sacramento perch on Thursday evening in San Diego County’s only natural lake, Lindo Lake in Lakeside, a suburb east of the city of San Di...

Arraignment set for Mar-a-Lago property manager in Trump’s classified documents case

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:26:31 GMT

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — The property manager of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is set for an arraignment Tuesday in Florida in a case accusing the former president of illegally hoarding classified documents. The hearing was postponed last week because the property manager, Carlos De Oliveira, had not secured a Florida-based attorney.Trump waived his right to appear alongside De Oliveira, and valet Walt Nauta, last Thursday, and the judge accepted a not guilty plea the former president made in court papers. Nauta also pleaded not guilty.De Oliveira’s failure to finalize local counsel marked the latest delay in the case, which is scheduled to go to trial in May. Trump’s lawyers have made clear they want to push the trial date back. A Florida-based attorney appeared with De Oliveira in court on Thursday but had not been retained on the case.Attorneys for Trump, De Oliveira and Nauta left the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce last Thursday without commenting to reporters ...