High-rise fire kills 1, displaces 400 people
SILVER SPRING, MD. >> One person died and one is in critical condition after a fire early Saturday at a highrise apartment building in a suburb of Washington, D.C., The Washington Post and other local media reported.
The fire in downtown Silver Spring sent more than a dozen other people, including three firefighters, to the hospital and displaced more than 400 residents.
Officials said the fire was reported in an apartment on the seventh floor of Arrive, a 15-story building, and estimated the damage at $2 million.
Vic Washington, who lives on the third floor, told the Post that he heard two explosions around 6 a.m.
Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott E. Goldstein said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Goldstein added that officials are aware of reports of loud booms and that they believe they could be related to aerosol cans that were in the apartment. He said the fire was contained to an apartment on the seventh floor.
U.S. units raid in Syria, capturing IS official WASHINGTON >> The U.S. military and Syrian Democratic Forces conducted a helicopter raid in eastern Syria early Saturday, capturing an Islamic State official, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.
Batar, “an ISIS Syria province official involved in planning attacks on SDFguarded detention centers and manufacturing improvised explosive devices,” was captured in the raid, officials said in the statement.
The U.S. did not provide any additional information or evidence regarding its claims about Batar.
No civilians, SDF or U.S. forces were killed or injured in the raid, they said.
The development comes on the heels of an earlier helicopter raid in Syria on Thursday night that the U.S. military said killed Hamza al-Homsi, a senior IS leader, as well as wounded four US troops and a military dog. Officials said U.S. forces were “close to” al-Homsi when an explosion occurred, killing alHomsi and wounding the service members.
— CNN
Norfolk Southern CEO visits after derailment EAST PALESTINE, OHIO >> The president of Norfolk Southern made a visit to East Palestine, Ohio, on Saturday following criticism from residents and political leaders about the company's response to the fiery derailment of a freight train carrying toxic materials earlier this month.
Fox Business reports that company President and CEO Alan Shaw told reporters Saturday he was there “to support the community” but declined further comment.
Earlier in the week, representatives of Norfolk Southern were absent from a public meeting attended by hundreds of people, with officials saying they were worried about physical threats. Gov. Mike DeWine was upset by the no-show at the Wednesday meeting and said Shaw needed to go to East Palestine and answer questions.
Norfolk Southern said in a statement Friday that it was “committed to coordinating the cleanup project and paying for its associated costs.”
Police: 9 children shot at a gas station COLUMBUS, GA. >> Nine youths — including a 5-year-old child — were wounded after shots rang out at a gas station in a Georgia city bordering Alabama, authorities said Saturday.
Officers from the Columbus Police Department responded about 10 p.m. Friday and found multiple gunshot victims amid a large group of people.
Police Chief Freddie Blackmon said at a news conference Saturday that an altercation apparently took place at a party nearby and it spilled over to the gas station when the shooting began. Further details were not provided, but Blackmon said the incident remained under investigation.
“I am committed to assuring you that we will find the person or persons responsible for this senseless crime,” he said.
Blackmon said detectives have spoken with witnesses, some of whom are cooperating — but others are not.
“I encourage anyone with information to contact police.”
John. F. Kennedy Airport fixes outage NEW YORK >> Work crews have fixed a power outage at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport that forced some flights to be canceled or diverted, officials said Saturday.
Repairs were made overnight and full power was restored in Terminal 1, which handles some of the airport's international flights, said the airport's operator, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The outage began Thursday when an electrical panel failure caused a small fire, authorities said. Dozens of flights were canceled and some were diverted to other airports. An Air New Zealand flight was forced to return to Auckland after flying two-thirds of the way across the Pacific Ocean, resulting in a 16-hour trip that ended where it began.
“I thought it was a bad Ambien dream,” said passenger Rosemary Armao, an adjunct journalism professor who was sleeping when her friend awoke her to say the plane was heading back to Auckland.