Volcano lava may block highway
Residents of the Big Island of Hawaii are bracing for major upheaval if lava from Mauna Loa slides across a key highway and blocks the quickest route connecting two sides of the island.
The molten rock could makethe road impassable and force drivers to find alternate coastal routes in the northand south. That could add hours to commute times, doctor’s visits and freight truck deliveries.
“I am very nervous about it being cut off,” said Frank Manley, a licensed practical nurse whose commute is already an hour and 45 minutes each way from his home in Hilo to a Kaiser Permanente clinic in Kailua-Kona.
The lava is oozing slowly ata rate that might reach theroad next week. It was about2.7 miles from the road Friday, U.S. Geological Survey scientists reported.
Shooting victims in Uvalde file lawsuit
Victims of the Uvalde school shooting that left 21 people dead in Texas have filed a lawsuit against local and state police, the city and other school and law enforcement officials seeking $27 billion due to delays in confronting the attacker, court documents show.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, says officials failed to follow active shooter protocol when they waited more than an hour to confront the attacker inside a fourthgrade classroom.
It seeks class action status and damages for survivors of the May 24 shooting whohave sustained “emotional or psychological damages as a result of the defendants’ conduct and omissions on that date.”
Among those who filed the lawsuit are school staff and representatives of minors who were present at Robb Elementary when a gunman stormed the campus, killing 19 children and two teachers in the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. in nearly a decade.
Chinese cities scrap tests for commuters
Chinese authorities on Saturday announced a further easing of COVID-19 curbs with major cities such as Shenzhen and Beijing no longer requiring negative tests to take public transport.
The slight relaxation of testing requirements comes even as daily virus infections reach nearrecord highs, and follows weekend protests across the country by residents frustrated by the rigid enforcement of anti-virus restrictions that are now entering their fourth year, even as the rest of the world has opened up.
The southern technological manufacturing center of Shenzhen said Saturday that commuters no longer needto show a negative COVID-19 test result to use publictransport or when entering pharmacies, parks and tourist attractions.
Meanwhile, the capital Beijing said Friday that negative test results are no longer required for public transport. However, a negative result obtained within the past 48 hours is still required to enter venues like shopping malls.