Search shifts from rescue to recovery
Emergency workers who have spent 14 days pulling apart the rubble of a collapsed condo building near Miami said Wednesday they were switching from rescue to recovery mode, signaling the effort to find survivors was all but over.
MiamiDade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told families Wednesday that the emergency crews would remove the rescue dogs and sound devices, but otherwise would continue to search through the rubble for the bodies of their relatives.
On Wednesday, workers uncovered 18 more bodies, raising the death toll to 54 with 86 still missing.
State can sue gun makers
New York can try to sue gun manufacturers over harm caused by their products under legislation that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed this week. The new law comes at a time when New York City in particular is facing a rise in shootings. Overall, violence is well short of the historic highs of the 1990s, or even in the New York of the early 2000s. But the Democraticled Legislature has pushed to pass several gun control measures this year, including legislation that would prohibit the sale, purchase or transfer of firearms to anyone with an outstanding warrant for a felony or serious offense.
Tropical storm soaks 2 states
A weakened but resilient Tropical Storm Elsa drenched northern Florida and southern Georgia with heavy rain Wednesday, killing at least one person near the state line and threatening to maintain tropical storm intensity until it reaches New England.
Elsa seemed to spare Florida from significant damage, though it still threatened flooding downpours and possibly tornadoes. The coasts of Georgia and South Carolina were under a tropical storm warning Thursday. Forecasters predicted Elsa would remain a tropical storm into Friday, and issued a tropical storm watch from North Carolina to Massachusetts.
Authorities in Jacksonville, Fla., said one person was killed Wednesday when a tree fell and struck two cars.
Deal reached over stuck ship
Egyptian authorities announced the release Wednesday of a hulking shipping vessel that had blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week earlier this year. The Ever Given left the canal’s Great Bitter Lake, where it had been held for over three months amid a financial dispute. The development came after its Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., reached a settlement with canal authorities over a compensation amount following weeks of negotiations and a court standoff.
The settlement deal was signed in a ceremony Wednesday in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, after which the vessel was seen sailing to the Mediterranean Sea.
New president is sworn in
Isaac Herzog pledged to heal deep divisions in Israeli society Wednesday as he took the oath of office to become Israel’s 11th president. With one hand on a Bible before the Knesset — Israel’s parliament — Herzog, 60, assumed the largely ceremonial position that is designed to serve as the country’s moral compass. Herzog promised to be “the president of everyone,” adding that the “central expectation” of all Israelis “from me, from all of us, is to lower the tone, to lower the flames, to calm things down.”
Herzog had previously served as head of the Labor Party.
WeChat deletes LGBT accounts
China’s most popular social media service has
deleted accounts on LGBT topics run by university students and nongovernment groups, prompting concern the ruling Communist Party is tightening control over gay and lesbian content. WeChat sent account holders a notice they violated rules but gave no details.
11 convicted of cyberbullying
A French court on Wednesday convicted 11 of 13 people charged with harassing and threatening a teenager who harshly criticized Islam in online posts and ended up changing schools and receiving police protection to preserve her safety.
The verdict was the first of its kind since France created a new Paris court in January to prosecute online crimes, including harassment and discrimination. The court sentenced the defendants to suspended prison terms of four to six months and fined them about $1,770 each.
Exleader goes to prison
Former president Jacob Zuma turned himself over to police early Thursday to begin serving a 15month prison term. Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt because he defied a court order to testify before a judicial commission investigating widespread allegations of corruption during his time as the nation’s president from 2009 to 2018.