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A former personnel chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is being
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The Islamic State group kidnapped dozens of Druze women and children when it attacked their villages last week in Syria's southern province of Sweida, a monitor said Monday. More than 250 people were killed on Wednesday when IS carried out a string of suicide attacks and shootings in the provincial capital Sweida and villages to the north and east. "At least 36 Druze women and children were abducted after the attacks," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor with a network of sources inside Syria.
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California firefighters on Monday were gaining ground on a massive blaze that has killed six people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses, while rescuers searched for seven people unaccounted for in the wildfire. The Carr Fire, outside Redding, California, ignited a week ago and doubled in size over the weekend, charring an area the size of Detroit, forcing 38,000 people to flee their homes and claiming lives of two firefighters and another person, as well as a woman and her two young great-grandchildren. Centered 150 miles (240 km) north of Sacramento, it is the deadliest of the 90 wildfires burning across the United States.
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Investigators released a report on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on Monday, saying the Boeing 777's controls were likely deliberately manipulated to take it off course but they were not able to determine who was responsible. The 495-page report draws no conclusion about what happened aboard the plane that vanished with 239 people on board en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014, leaving one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries unsolved. "The answer can only be conclusive if the wreckage is found," Kok Soo Chon, head of the MH370 safety investigation team, told reporters. On May 29, Malaysia called off a three-month search by US firm Ocean Infinity, which spanned 112,000 sq km (43,243 sq miles) in the southern Indian Ocean and ended with no significant findings. It was the second major search after Australia, China and Malaysia ended a fruitless A$200 million (£112.06 million) search across an area of 120,000 sq km (46,332 sq miles) last year. Sarah Nor, the mother of Norliakmar Hamid, a passenger on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, cries as she arrives for the final investigation report Credit: MOHD RASFAN/ AFP Malaysian and international investigators have been looking into why the jet veered thousands of miles off course from its scheduled route before eventually plunging into the Indian Ocean. The last communication from the plane was from the Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah who signed off with “Good night, Malaysian three seven zero”, as the plane left the Malaysian airspace and later turned off course. A 440-page final report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) last year showed that Zaharie had flown a route on his home flight simulator six weeks earlier that was "initially similar" to the one actually taken by MH370. The Malaysian police previously concluded there were no unusual activity on the home simulator. Kok said the investigators examined the history of the pilot and the first officer, and they were satisfied with their background and training and mental health. "We are not of the opinion it could have been an event committed by the pilots," he said, but added they were not ruling out any possibility since the in-air turn back was done manually and the systems in the plane were also manually turned off. "We cannot exclude that there was an unlawful interference by a third party," Kok said. He added all the passengers of the 15 countries had their backgrounds checked by their respective countries and all came back with a clean bill of health. Conspiracy theories The inability to locate MH370's crash site has fuelled conspiracy theories and online debates over the last four years. Theories range from mechanical error or a remote-controlled crash, to more bizarre explanations like alien abduction and a Russian plot. Kok said they looked into each theory and rumour raised on social media. "We had over 60 allegations...we removed them one-by-one and saw what remained behind," Kok said. Rayan Gharazeddine scans the water in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia from a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion during a search for the missing plane in 2014 Credit: Rob Griffith/AP The report said there was no sign the plane was evading radar detection or that it was taken over by remote control. No irregularities were found in the on-board cargo, which included items like lithium batteries and about 2,500 kgs of mangosteen. Mistakes made In all, 27 pieces of aircraft debris have been collected from various places around the world but only three wing fragments that washed up along the Indian Ocean coast have been confirmed to be from MH370. Malaysia's newly elected Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said Malaysia would consider resuming the search only if new clues come to light. Investigators highlighted some mistakes made by the Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City air traffic control centres and made safety recommendations to ensure such incidents do not occur again. Transport Minister Antony Loke said in a statement that the Malaysia would investigate any misconduct committed based on the findings. Families of passengers on board the flight said on Monday that the report failed to give closure Credit: Joshua Paul/AP The next-of-kin of the passengers were briefed on the final report by investigators earlier on Monday. "We hope that these mistakes will not be repeated and that measures are put in place to prevent them in the future," said Grace Nathan, a lawyer whose mother, Anne Daisy, was on the plane. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing had paid close attention to the MH370 investigation. "We hope that all sides can continue to remain in close contact and coordination, to properly carry out relevant follow-up work," he told a daily news briefing, without elaborating. The majority of passengers on board were Chinese.
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Minneapolis police have released body cam footage of the moment a black man was shot from behind while running from police. The death of 31-year-old Thurman Blevins ignited a familiar debate around police violence in his community, where family members have called for the officers involved to be prosecuted. The incident is under investigation by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released the body cam footage early, under pressure from Minneapolis residents and all 13 city council members.
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Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi said Monday she was deeply changed by her eight-month sentence in an Israeli jail for slapping two soldiers, but does not regret any of her actions. Tamimi, who was 16 when she was arrested in December for hitting and kicking soldiers in front of her house in the occupied West Bank, was released Sunday and swarmed by media from across the globe. In one day you age 100 years," she said in the backyard of her home in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh.
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Triple-digit temperatures and parched land have left much of California's expansive forests vulnerable to any spark or flame. The Carr Fire, which started on July 23 after a vehicle caught fire, has spread to nearly 100,000 acres as of July 30. From hundreds of miles above, satellite images show a state besieged by an imposing plume of smoke, with a vast part of the region blanketed in a thick, brown haze. SEE ALSO: Redding newspaper lost power amid extreme fire, but still found a way to print the news Vegetation in the drought-ridden terrain around the City of Redding, where the Carr Fire has prompted thousands to flee and has taken at least six lives, is now exceptionally dry. NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of the California fire's smoke spreading to Utah.Image: NASAIn fact, it's likely approaching either near-record or record dryness levels in Northern California, said Brenda Belongie, lead meteorologist of the U.S. Forest Service's Predictive Services in Northern California, who works and lives in Redding. NOAA's #GOES17 satellite saw smoke from the #wildfires in northern #California late yesterday, note the high white clouds blowing over the brown-colored smoke beneath. This week a dangerous heatwave with triple digit temps is expected to exacerbate the situation. pic.twitter.com/NhroaD3RuB — NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) July 30, 2018 While any fire is the result of a confluence of weather events — notably gusty winds, human carelessness, and lack of rain — California's forests have been subjected to both heat waves and sustained periods of notably hot temperatures, both of which are enhanced by climate change. Check out this airplane view of the #CarrFire. https://t.co/eXPNS1wnh8 — NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) July 27, 2018 "In California, persistent heat and dryness increased fire danger," wrote the U.S. Drought Monitor on July 24, the day after the Carr fire began. In particular, the area around Redding is experiencing conditions worse than "abnormally dry," and is now listed as experiencing "moderate drought." As temperatures heat up this afternoon across #NorCal, we're seeing an increase in fire activity. Here's the latest #GOES16 Fire Temperature product #CarrFire #RiverFire #RanchFire #MendocinoComplex #cawx pic.twitter.com/TaikChKmSo — NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) July 29, 2018 Much of the entire heat-stricken Northern Hemisphere has recently experienced record heat waves or above-average summer temperatures. Redding could be experiencing its warmest July on record, according to KRCR News meteorologist Rob Elvington. Northern Hemisphere temperature anomalies during summertime (land-only)...[1900-2017 June/July/August 2-m T data from @BerkeleyEarth] pic.twitter.com/rkmLUwJPQS — Zack Labe (@ZLabe) July 29, 2018 Redding's scorching 2018 summer isn't an anomaly. Each of the city's last June-July average temperatures for the last five years have been among the five hottest on record, noted Elvington. These conditions have helped further dry out the land and spawn a fire that leapt over the Sacramento River last week. Those conditions also stoked a towering vortex that propelled the Carr Fire's own violent weather system. "This is a large and dangerous plume dominated fire in which spreading is not driven by the wind, but rather the fire itself," the National Weather Service wrote over the weekend. Smoke plume is now breaking through the nocturnal inversion. Fire activity will likely increasing with more venting. #CarrFire pic.twitter.com/rqr1gSqsBG — Rob Elvington (@RobElvington) July 27, 2018 During the day, satellite images have picked up the fire's towering plume, which exploded to over 20,000 feet in around 40 minutes. Here is another radar rendering of the #CarrFire plume during the destructive vortex. The plume undergoes rapid vertical development, growing from 6 to 12 km (19->39Kft) in 40 min. Thats a lot of stretching and a possible explanation for vortex intensification. #CAwx #CAfire pic.twitter.com/1CTHAvl6Di — Neil Lareau (@nplareau) July 29, 2018 The Carr Fire can also be seen easily from space at night, where it appears as bright as the Golden State's sprawling cities. The #SuomiNPP satellite captured this image of smoke from the #California wildfires this morning - including the large #FergusonFire, which has grown to 43,000 acres and closed parts of #Yosemite National Park. pic.twitter.com/wCfCkUTO4b — NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) July 26, 2018 Man the #CarrFire is scary. New infrared imagery now that GOES-16 is back up. #CAfire pic.twitter.com/Mw4IQ7EVYQ — Rob Elvington (@RobElvington) July 27, 2018 California's dramatic 2018 fire season, which forced a smoke-filled Yosemite National Park to close its iconic valley and brought flames back to the region's wine country, follows the state's harrowing 2017 season — its worst fire season on record. WATCH: Ever wonder how the universe might end?
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By Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Fergus Jensen JAKARTA (Reuters) - Nearly 700 trekkers headed down Mount Rinjani on Indonesia's tourist island of Lombok on Monday, a day after a powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.4 terrified the climbers as boulders tumbled down the slopes of the volcano. Officials said the death toll from Sunday's earthquake, which was centered on the northern part of Lombok, but was also felt on the resort island of Bali to the west, stood at 16. "I thought I was going to die," said John Robyn Buenavista, a 23-year-old American, who was at the summit when the quake hit.
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NABI SALEH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi, who became an international symbol of resistance to Israeli occupation after slapping two soldiers, walked out of an Israeli prison Sunday and told throngs of journalists and well-wishers that she now wants to study law to defend her people.
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Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe, who was ousted by the military in November, made a surprise intervention Sunday on the eve of key elections, calling for voters to throw his old party out of office. In his first live appearance since being forced to resign by his generals, Mugabe, 94, spoke slowly but appeared in good health sitting in a pagoda in the grounds of "Blue Roof", his sprawling mansion in Harare. In the country's first election since Mugabe was ousted after 37 years in power, Zimbabwe goes to the polls on Monday amid mounting allegations of voter fraud and predictions of a disputed result.
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Over the weekend, a photo of out-of-work web developer went viral, resulting in a flurry of job offers. The photo, which was tweeted by @jaysc0 on Friday, showed David Casarez standing on the side of the road in Mountain View, California, holding a placard telling people that he was homeless. SEE ALSO: Architects are building floating neighborhoods on city canals to create affordable housing for students Despite his circumstances, Casarez didn't ask for money, instead asking people to take copies of his resume. Today I saw this young homeless man asking for people to take a resume rather than asking for money. If anyone in the Silicon Valley could help him out, that would be amazing. Please RT so we can help David out! pic.twitter.com/ewoE3PKFx7 — FullMakeup Alchemist (@jaysc0) July 27, 2018 A college graduate, Casarez told NBC Bay Area that he had moved to Silicon Valley last September with three years' experience as a software developer, with the goal of launching a startup. Those dreams faded when Casarez underestimated the cost of living in the area, and the difficulties of finding work. He stayed in his van, until that was taken in June when he couldn't afford the payments, leaving him sleeping in a park. "All I wanted was for one person to notice, take my resume and give me an opportunity," he told the news outlet. The photo amassed tens of thousands of retweets, resulting in offers of jobs and help. We’ll take care of him if no one else has stepped in yet. Have a nonprofit fund for this kind of thing, or housing, or industry connections, whatever he prefers — Austen Allred (@AustenAllred) July 28, 2018 Hello, I am VP Engineering at AncestryDNA and also an Aggie, class of 93. I would love to interview David Casarez for a Web developer or QA automation position. Can you please put me in touch with David ? — Paddy (@DeshmukhPaddy) July 28, 2018 On Sunday, Casarez thanked everyone for their support. Thank you everyone for the outpouring of support! I am completely floored by how many are interested in my #Hungry4Success story. I have met several who have been or currently are in the same situation tell me their story. I am glad to be an inspiration for you all. — David Casarez (@DavidCasarez17) July 29, 2018 The situation is indicative of the affordable housing crisis which has engulfed Silicon Valley and neighbouring San Francisco. Even family of four earning $117,400 per year in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties is considered "low income," and is eligible for affordable housing programs. It's also why big tech companies like Facebook and Google have looked to building housing for their employees, who too struggle with the cost of living. WATCH: Wait, who owns the moon? We found out
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Firefighters are rushing against uncertain weather forecasts to contain a multitude of wildfires in northern California that have already claimed the lives of at least six people and forced 50,000 to flee their homes. With hot, dry conditions and high winds fuelling the blazes, 12,000 firefighters have been drafted in to try to contain 17 wildfires that have destroyed buildings in its path – including the home of a fire chief. As those firefighters continued to fight the blaze, families of the dead on Sunday told their harrowing tales of loss.
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Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi left prison Sunday and was greeted by crowds of supporters after serving eight months for slapping Israeli soldiers, an episode that made her a symbol of resistance for Palestinians. Tamimi, 17, and her mother Nariman, who was also jailed over the incident, arrived in their village of Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank, where they were mobbed by journalists. Easily recognisable by her shock of reddish hair, Tamimi wore a Palestinian-style keffiyeh around her neck, at times appearing relaxed but at other moments overwhelmed as television cameras followed her.
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By Alexandria Sage REDDING, Calif. (Reuters) - A 70-year-old woman and her two great-grandchildren were among six killed when a wildfire raged through an area of northern California and engulfed entire communities, officials and family members said. Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko told a news conference in the city of Redding at the edge of the blaze on Sunday that one more person had died in a residence consumed by fire, bringing the total to six, including two firefighters. The Carr Fire, which has destroyed more than 500 buildings, is the deadliest and most destructive of nearly 90 wildfires burning from Texas to Oregon.
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