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Tag: explosions

  • Gas explosion in San Francisco Bay Area damages homes, sends heavy smoke into air

    SAN FRANCISCO — A gas explosion started a major fire in a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood on Thursday, damaging several homes and sending heavy smoke into the air.

    Local outlets said there are possible injuries from the Hayward explosion.

    A spokesperson with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said a construction crew damaged an underground gas line around 7:35 a.m. The company said it was not their workers.

    Utility workers isolated the damaged line and stopped the flow of gas at 9:25 a.m., PG&E said. The explosion occurred shortly afterward.

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  • The Deadly Mix of Factors That Made a Hong Kong High-Rise Fire so Devastating

    The fire spread at an astonishing pace.

    It started Wednesday afternoon. When Ho Wai-ho and his fellow firefighters arrived at the scene about 10 minutes later, the blaze was already racing up the green netting and bamboo scaffolding covering the 31-story high rise.

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    Yang Jie

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  • Three Arrested in Hong Kong Housing Fire That Killed At Least 36

    Police in Hong Kong said three people have been arrested in connection with a fire that engulfed a housing complex and killed at least 36 people. 

    The three men were arrested for alleged manslaughter, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Police Force said. 

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    Joseph Pisani

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  • Dozens of firefighters battle blaze on container ship docked at LA port

    LOS ANGELES — Dozens of firefighters were battling a blaze on a container ship docked at a Los Angeles port on Friday night, according to officials.

    All of the 23 crew members were accounted for and there were no injuries from the electrical fire, which appears to have started below deck, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The ship’s cargo includes hazardous materials.

    By about 7 p.m., the fire had spread to several levels of the ship, according to the fire department, and later an explosion took place mid-deck. It was not immediately clear how the fire started.

    More than 100 firefighters were fighting the fire at the Port of Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The port is known as the busiest in North America.

    “LAFD Hazardous Materials companies are monitoring air quality as fire suppression continues,” she said.

    The 1,102-foot-long (336-meter-long) vessel, the One Henry Hudson, is operated by One Ocean Express, a shipping company headquartered in Singapore. Before Los Angeles, the ship had most recently been in Japan, stopping in Kobe, Nagoya and Tokyo. One Ocean Express did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press requesting comment.

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  • Dramatic videos show the burning UPS cargo plane crash in a massive fireball

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Videos from phones, cars and security cameras captured the tragic final moments of a UPS cargo plane as it caught fire and crashed in a massive explosion just outside Louisville’s airport, killing at least 12 people and carving a path of destruction on the ground.

    A large UPS cargo plane with three people aboard crashed Tuesday while taking off from an airport in Louisville, Kentucky, igniting an explosion and massive fire.

    Plumes of smoke rise from the area of a UPS cargo plane crash at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

    A fireball erupts near airport property after reports of a plane crash at Louisville International Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

    A fireball erupts near airport property after reports of a plane crash at Louisville International Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

    The videos provide investigators and the public with many different angles of the plane going down Tuesday in an area dotted with scrap yards and UPS facilities. No one expects to find survivors.

    The plane had been cleared for takeoff from UPS Worldport, the company’s global aviation hub, when a large fire developed in the left wing and an engine fell off, said Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation.

    One video of the crash taken by a vehicle’s dashcam shows flames and smoke trailing from the wing as the jet barely clears a road, clips a building and vanishes behind an eruption of black smoke.

    The grim task of finding and identifying victims from the firestorm that followed a UPS cargo plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky, entered a third day Thursday as investigators gathered information to determine why the aircraft caught fire and lost an engine on takeoff.

    Another video from a business security camera captures the deafening sound of the plane’s impact and a wall of fire and black smoke. As the flames grow, a smaller blast ripples through the wreckage as sirens begin to echo in the distance.

    Surveillance video from a truck parts business near the Louisville airport shows large flames and plumes of smoke as the UPS plane crashes. The disaster killed at least 12 people on the plane and on the ground.

    The blaze stretched nearly a city block and destroyed much of the plane’s fuselage, fire officials have said.

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    In yet another recording, the UPS plane can be seen lifting off the runway already on fire, then disappearing seconds later in an orange fireball.

    From a nearby street, a driver filmed the explosion and thick black smoke above nearby buildings. The smoke fills the sky as the vehicle backs away. Other videos from the street show a pillar of black smoke towering over buildings and traffic in the area as sirens echo and lights from emergency vehicles flash.

    A UPS plane crashed on takeoff from the airport in Louisville, Kentucky, igniting a huge fire on ground, officials said Tuesday.

    The recordings of the crash have deepened the shock and grief among other UPS pilots, said Independent Pilots Association President Robert Travis. The union represents 3,500 pilots who fly for UPS.

    “We’re just all heartbroken,” he said. “This is a tragedy that is even highlighted further by the video that’s out there circulating around the world due to the catastrophic, violent nature of the accident itself.”

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  • Explosion at Mississippi chemical plant causes ammonia leak, evacuations

    YAZOO CITY, Miss. — An explosion at a hydrogen and nitrogen product manufacturer in Mississippi on Wednesday caused an ammonia leak and forced nearby residents to evacuate, officials said.

    Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a post on the social platform X that emergency officials from across the state were responding to the anhydrous ammonia leak at CF Industries’ plant north of Yazoo City.

    No deaths or injuries have been reported, he said.

    “Thank you to all of Mississippi’s first responders and emergency managers for quickly responding to the leak,” he said.

    Photos and video posted online show a large plume of yellowish smoke rising above the facility, which includes an ammonia plant and four nitric acid plants, among other things.

    The facility is able to store about 48,000 tons of ammonia, although the exact amount there when the explosion took place was not immediately clear.

    CF Industries said in a statement that there are no injuries, and “all employees and contractors on site at the time of the incident have been safely accounted for.”

    Andre Robinson, who lives about a half-mile (800 meters) from the facility, said he and his son were getting ready to make gumbo when he heard what sounded like a sonic boom or a tree crashing on his house.

    “There was a boom and then the house shook,” he said.

    When he looked outside, Robinson said he saw smoke rising from the facility and started to smell a strong scent of ammonia.

    “We’re used to the ammonia smell, but not that bad,” he said, adding that his family has since evacuated to Jackson.

    Part of U.S. Route 49E was temporarily closed, according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

    The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said in a post on X that “air monitoring operations are underway and will continue as long as necessary to ensure public safety.”

    Anhydrous ammonia is used as a fertilizer to help provide nitrogen for corn and wheat plants, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. If a person touches it when it is in gas or liquid form, they could be burned.

    Yazoo City is a small community about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Jackson.

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  • What to know about the blast that blew a 20-story chunk out of a Bronx building

    NEW YORK — An explosion at a New York City apartment building blew off a massive chimney that ran up the side of the high-rise, leaving residents to wait for clearance to return to their apartments as officials investigate what caused the blast.

    A plume of dust covered the block in the aftermath of the explosion, which left a huge pile or bricks around the building’s base and on a nearby playground. The building stood with a 20-story gash in its side.

    As residents and officials wait for more answers, here is what to know about the collapse.

    No injuries or deaths were reported in the collapse of the chimney, which vents exhaust from the boiler room that provides heat to the Bronx building.

    Residents reported hearing a blast just after 8 a.m. Investigators were trying to determine if there was a gas leak or whether something else triggered the explosion, Mayor Eric Adams said.

    Apartments in the building weren’t seriously damaged, though some had their air conditioners ripped from windows by the falling bricks. Firefighters sifted through the rubble and sent rescue dogs bounding over the pile to look for any victims, but found none.

    “We avoided a major disaster here,” Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said at a news conference.

    Still, some apartments were evacuated as a precaution while inspectors assessed the damage.

    The building was part of New York City’s huge and aging public housing system. Buildings in the system average roughly 60 years old, according to the New York Housing Authority. The complex of buildings where the collapse occurred was built in 1966.

    A 2023 Physical Needs Assessment conducted by the city’s housing authority estimated that the Mitchel Housing complex would need nearly $726 million in repairs over the next 20-years. The highest infrastructure need was listed as “Heating.”

    Around half a million New Yorkers live in the aging buildings run by housing authority, which is the country’s largest public housing system. Tenants have complained for decades about dangerous or unsanitary conditions, including rodents, mold, and heat and hot water outages.

    In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed to address chronic problems like lead paint, mold and lack of heat. When he wrapped his five-year term in 2024, the monitor, Bart Schwartz, noted that the overarching issue for residents remained the “poor physical state of NYCHA’s buildings.”

    City officials are investigating what went wrong.

    The city’s Emergency Management Commissioner, Zach Iscol, said building inspectors are checking the building’s foundations and the apartments to make sure they are sound.

    “Right now we’re kicking into the next phase of this, which is recovery,” Iscol said, adding that the city was working to restore heat and hot water services to the building. The mayor said the building will be repaired.

    Iscol said that the city opened up a reception center for impacted residents to receive resources like food and other necessities.

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  • Residents of NYC public housing tower escape unharmed after massive chimney collapses

    NEW YORK — A massive brick chimney running 20 stories up the side of a New York City apartment building collapsed after an explosion Wednesday, sending tons of debris plummeting to the ground.

    The falling bricks buried a sidewalk, landed on the playground of the public housing building and sent a cloud of dust billowing over the block in the Bronx, but amazingly did not injure anyone.

    “We avoided a major disaster here,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson at a news conference.

    Mayor Eric Adams confirmed no injuries or deaths were reported in the collapse of the chimney, which rose up the side of the building from the boiler room. Authorities learned of an explosion just after 8 a.m. and were trying to determine if there had been a gas leak.

    The mayor noted that Oct. 1 is typically the first day that heating systems are turned on for the season.

    One resident, Merlyn Olivo, said she was in her apartment when she heard a large noise like a bomb.

    “And the building was shaking a lot. I was so scared,” she said, feeling like it was “the end of the world.”

    Olivo heard another loud noise and then her sister-in-law, who lives across the street, told her to get out of the building because of the collapse outside. Luckily, her daughters had left for school.

    The mound of debris was littered with air conditioners, which appeared to have been ripped out of apartment windows by the falling bricks. News helicopter footage showed a rescue dog bounding over the huge pile of bricks at the bottom of the building, sniffing for anyone who might be buried under the rubble.

    Olivo didn’t know when she might get back into the building, or whether she wanted to.

    “I don’t feel safe to go in there,” she said. “I’m scared, super scared.”

    City officials in charge of public buildings said they were investigating to see what went wrong, and Department of Buildings Commissioner James Oddo said he believed work was being done on the boiler.

    Some apartments were being evacuated as a precaution and services for residents were being made available at a nearby community center, officials said.

    The city’s Emergency Management Commissioner, Zach Iscol, said building inspectors are checking the building’s foundations and the apartments in the impacted area to make sure they are sound. The mayor said the building will be repaired.

    Around half a million New Yorkers live in aging buildings run by the city’s housing authority, known as NYCHA, which is the largest in the nation.

    Many of the properties date back to the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed to address chronic problems like lead paint, mold and lack of heat. When he wrapped his five-year term in 2024, the monitor, Bart Schwartz, noted that the overarching issue for residents remained the “poor physical state of NYCHA’s buildings.”

    ___

    Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, Michael Hill in Albany, New York, and Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey, contributed.

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  • 2 people die in small plane crash near suburban Denver airport

    GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — Two people died when a small plane crashed and caught on fire near a suburban Denver airport on Friday, officials said.

    The crash happened just south of Centennial Airport and was initially reported as an explosion, Deborah Takahara, a spokesperson for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, said.

    Firefighters found the Beech BE35 airplane engulfed in flames, with the fire threatening to spread to a nearby building and some diesel-powered generators, Brian Willie, a spokesperson for South Metro Fire Rescue, said. Firefighters were able to put out the flames, he said.

    The plane appeared to have crashed in the parking lot of an industrial office park.

    Air traffic control audio posted by LiveATC.net includes an air traffic controller clearing the plane for takeoff just before the crash.

    Another pilot later reported seeing smoke.

    “Tower, there’s smoke off the left side. Looks like he went down,” came the report, followed a few seconds later by: “He appears to have crashed in the parking lot about a mile southeast of the field.”

    The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the crash of the plane.

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  • 2 Lebanese soldiers killed and 3 others hurt in airstrike, Lebanese army says

    2 Lebanese soldiers killed and 3 others hurt in airstrike, Lebanese army says

    You have to walk carefully through the rubble. All that remains of three buildings entire demolished by Israeli bombs. Neighbors say the bombing killed at least five people including women and Children. The Arabic spokesman for the Israeli military will occasionally over Twitter or X put out evacuation orders for specific buildings in Beirut before they’re struck here in tire. There have been no warnings for 35 years. Baha has run *** small clothing shop next door. Now in shambles, history is repeating itself. She says *** three story building fell over our heads during the 1982 Israeli invasion. This ancient city is just 12 miles or 19 kilometers from the border with Israel. Most of the residents have fled north. Those who stayed behind live under constant threat. It was terrifying the missile hit and it collapsed. Says 70 year old Meqdad describing another Israeli strike that destroyed multiple homes in Tire’s old city for more than half *** century. Every generation has destruction and death. We’re used to. It says Med’s neighbor Yusuf, we’re used to wars. We’ve seen wars going back to the days of the Phoenicians tire has looked to the sea. Now *** forbidden zone. Israel has warned people to stay off the beaches and fishermen not to take their boats out. So in Ty’s Port Abu Ibrahim sits and smokes his water pipe. We go to sea so we can eat. He tells me now we can’t. How can we eat? An old man deprived of his Ben Wedeman CNN Tire. Southern Lebanon.

    Two Lebanese soldiers were killed and three others wounded in an Israeli airstrike that hit a building near a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Kafra, Bint Jbeil province, the Lebanese Army said Friday.Since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have clashed along the border while the Lebanese army has largely stood on the sidelines.As Israeli troops made their first forays across the border and Hezbollah responded with rocket fire, Lebanese soldiers withdrew from observation posts along the frontier and repositioned about 3 miles back.On Oct. 3, a Lebanese soldier was killed and another injured in an Israeli strike in Taybeh during rescue operations. On Sept. 30, another Lebanese soldier was killed by an Israeli drone targeting a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Wazzani.Video below: President Biden discusses U.S. efforts to prevent wider war in Middle East as U.S. helps Americans leave Lebanon

    BEIRUT —

    Two Lebanese soldiers were killed and three others wounded in an Israeli airstrike that hit a building near a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Kafra, Bint Jbeil province, the Lebanese Army said Friday.

    Since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have clashed along the border while the Lebanese army has largely stood on the sidelines.

    As Israeli troops made their first forays across the border and Hezbollah responded with rocket fire, Lebanese soldiers withdrew from observation posts along the frontier and repositioned about 3 miles back.

    On Oct. 3, a Lebanese soldier was killed and another injured in an Israeli strike in Taybeh during rescue operations. On Sept. 30, another Lebanese soldier was killed by an Israeli drone targeting a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Wazzani.

    Video below: President Biden discusses U.S. efforts to prevent wider war in Middle East as U.S. helps Americans leave Lebanon

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  • EPA reaches $4.2M settlement over 2019 explosion and fire at a Philadelphia refinery

    EPA reaches $4.2M settlement over 2019 explosion and fire at a Philadelphia refinery

    PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a tentative $4.2 settlement with a firm that owned and operated a major East Coast refinery that was shuttered after an explosion and fire in 2019.

    The deal with Philadelphia Energy Solutions was announced Tuesday. There will now be a 30-day public comment period before the settlement plan can be considered for final court approval. The company does not admit to any liability in the settlement, which the EPA said is the largest amount ever sought for a refinery under a Clean Air Act rule that requires owners and operators to ensure that regulated and other extremely hazardous substances are managed safely.

    The EPA found that the company failed to identify and assess hazards posed by a pipe elbow in a hydrofluoric acid alkylation unit at the refinery in Philadelphia. The pipe elbow ruptured due to “extensive” corrosion that had withered the pipe wall to the thickness of a credit card since its installation in 1973.

    The explosion and subsequent fire on June 21, 2019, eventually forced the refinery to close after being in operation for 150 years. At the time, it was the largest oil refining complex on the East Coast, processing 335,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

    The EPA filed the claim in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware because the company entered bankruptcy shortly after the explosion. The 1,300-acre (526-hectare) site where the refinery had stood was sold in 2020 and is being redeveloped into industrial space and life sciences labs. It remains under a complex cleanup agreement under the oversight of the EPA and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

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  • Man who set off explosion at California courthouse had a criminal case there

    Man who set off explosion at California courthouse had a criminal case there

    SANTA MARIA, Calif. — A 20-year-old man tossed an explosive device into the California courthouse where he was about to be arraigned on a gun charge and the explosion left five people with minor injuries and shut down the court complex and other nearby city buildings, police said.

    The incident occurred about 8:45 a.m. Wednesday in Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 in California’s central coast region. The suspect ran away after the explosion and was captured as he tried to get into his vehicle parked nearby.

    The man, who is from Santa Maria, was wearing body armor underneath his jacket, according to Santa Barbara County Undersheriff Craig Bonner, and was booked on attempted murder and explosives charges. Officials are also investigating whether the suspect is tied to a series of recent arsons.

    Officials said it appeared the courthouse attack was related to his earlier arrest on a gun possession charge and not terrorism or an act of political violence.

    “We do believe this is a local matter that has been safely resolved and that there are no outstanding community safety concerns,” Bonner said.

    The suspect had been arrested last July for illegal gun possession and was to be arraigned Wednesday. When he entered the courthouse and approached the screening station he tossed a bag that then detonated.

    Bonner said three of the five victims suffered burns. All were treated and released from a hospital. None were court employees.

    Authorities evacuated a five-block radius of businesses, homes and a school after the explosion. The courthouse will be closed Thursday as police complete their investigation, and filing extensions will be offered for those affected by the shutdown.

    Shane Mellon told KSBY-TV that he was at the courthouse when he heard what sounded like chairs falling over.

    “It was a loud bang,” he said, adding the bailiff escorted him and others out.

    Mellon said he saw what looked like a sweater smoldering and a man screaming while four or five people got on top of him, trying to keep him restrained.

    “I think this could have been way worse than it was if not for the deputies just jumping on top of that guy,” Mellon said.

    Santa Maria is about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. The courthouse, which houses state and county courtrooms, was where Michael Jackson was tried and acquitted of sexual abuse two decades ago.

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  • Death toll rises to 30 after methane leak causes explosion at eastern Iran coal mine, state TV says

    Death toll rises to 30 after methane leak causes explosion at eastern Iran coal mine, state TV says

    A methane leak sparked an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran, killing at least 30 people and injuring dozens of others, state media reported

    TEHRAN, Iran — A methane leak sparked an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran, killing at least 30 people and injuring 17 others, Iranian state media reported Sunday. Another 24 miners are believed to be trapped inside.

    The report said the deaths happened at a coal mine in Tabas, some 540 kilometers (335 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.

    Authorities were sending emergency personnel to the area after the blast late Saturday, it said. Around 70 people had been working there at the time of the blast. State TV later said 24 were believed to be trapped inside.

    Provincial Governor Mohammad Javad Qenaat told state TV that 30 miners had been killed and 17 injured.

    Iran’s new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, preparing to travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said he ordered all efforts be made to rescue those trapped and aid their families. He also said an investigation into the incident had begun.

    Oil-producing Iran is also rich in a variety of minerals. Iran annually consumes some 3.5 million tons of coal but only extracts about 1.8 million tons from its mines per year. The rest is imported, often consumed in the country’s steel mills.

    This is not the first disaster to strike Iran’s mining industry. In 2013, 11 workers were killed in two separate mining incidents. In 2009, 20 workers were killed in several incidents. In 2017, a coal mine explosion killed at least 42 people.

    Lax safety standards and inadequate emergency services in mining areas are often blamed for the fatalities.

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  • Explosives found buried in Rowley forest

    Explosives found buried in Rowley forest

    ROWLEY — A man using a metal detector Thursday in the state forest off Route 1 uncovered a box of explosives that authorities say had been buried there for years.

    The explosives, including a box TNT, were found in a metal container near the Newbury town line, prompting the man to call Rowley police about 2:30 p.m., acting Chief Stephen May said in a release. The container also included a small amount of plastic explosives, he said. 

    The explosives appeared to have been in the ground for “an undetermined number of years,” the release said. 

    Rowley police and the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad responded to the woods and destroyed the explosives in a series of three blasts. 

    The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI also responded. The Rowley Fire Department and Action Ambulance assisted.

    No one needed to be evacuated since the box was found in a remote part of town far from homes and businesses

    Due to the age of the explosives and how long they were buried, authorities determined that no further investigation was needed.

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  • What to know about the 2 waves of deadly explosions that hit Lebanon and Syria

    What to know about the 2 waves of deadly explosions that hit Lebanon and Syria

    Just one day after pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded, more electronic devices detonated in Lebanon Wednesday in what appeared to be a second wave of sophisticated, deadly attacks that targeted an extraordinary number of people.

    Both attacks, which are widely believed to be carried out by Israel, have hiked fears that the two sides’ simmering conflict could escalate into all-out war. This week’s explosions have also deepened concerns about the scope of potentially-compromised devices, particularly after such bombings have killed or injured so many civilians.

    Here’s what we know so far.

    What happened across these two waves of attacks?

    On Tuesday, pagers used by hundreds of Hezbollah members exploded almost simultaneously in parts of Lebanon as well as Syria. The attack killed at least 12 people – including two young children – and wounded thousands more.

    An American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Israel briefed the U.S. on the operation – where small amounts of explosives hidden in the pagers were detonated. The Lebanese government and Iran-backed Hezbollah also blamed Israel for the deadly explosions. The Israeli military, which has a long history of sophisticated operations behind enemy lines, declined to comment.

    A day after these deadly explosions, more detonations triggered in Beirut and parts of Lebanon Wednesday – including several blasts heard at a funeral in Beirut for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by Tuesday’s explosions, according to Associated Press journalists at the scene.

    At least 20 people were killed and another 450 were wounded, the Health Ministry said, in this apparent second attack.

    When speaking to troops on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made no mention of the explosions of electronic devices, but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies and said “we are at the start of a new phase in the war.”

    What kinds of devices were used?

    A Hezbollah official told the AP that walkie-talkies used by the group exploded on Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Lebanon’s official news agency also reported that solar energy systems exploded in homes in several areas of Beirut and in southern Lebanon, wounding at least one girl.

    While details are still emerging from Wednesday’s attack, the second wave of explosions targeted a country that is still reeling from Tuesday’s pager bombings. That attack appeared to be a complex Israeli operation targeting Hezbollah, but an enormous amount of civilian casualties were also reported, as the detonations occurred wherever members’ pagers happened to be – including homes, cars, grocery stores and cafes.

    Hezbollah has used pagers as a way to communicate for years. And more recently, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned the group’s members not to carry cellphones, saying they could be used by Israel to track the group’s movements.

    Pagers also run on a different wireless network than mobile phones, which usually makes them more resilient in times of emergency. And for a group like Hezbollah, the pagers provided a means to sidestep what’s believed to be intensive Israeli electronic surveillance on mobile phone networks in Lebanon – as pagers’ tech is simpler and carries lower risks for intercepted communications.

    RELATED: What we know about the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria

    Elijah J. Magnier, a Brussels-based veteran and a senior political risk analyst who says he has had conversations with members of Hezbollah and survivors of the attack, said that the newer brand of pagers used in Tuesday’s explosions were procured more than six months ago. How they arrived in Lebanon remains unclear.

    Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday it had authorized use of its brand on the AR-924 pager model – but that a Budapest, Hungary-based company called BAC Consulting KFT produced and sold the pagers.

    Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said that it had no records of direct exports of Gold Apollo pagers to Lebanon. And Hungarian government spokesman later added that the pager devices had never been in Hungary, either, noting that BAC had merely acted as an intermediary.

    Speculation around the origins of the devices that exploded Wednesday has also emerged. A sales executive at the U.S. subsidiary of Japanese walkie-talkie maker Icom told the AP that the exploded radio devices in Lebanon appear to be a knock-off product and not made by Icom.

    “I can guarantee you they were not our products,” said Ray Novak, a senior sales manager for Icom’s amateur radio division, in an interview Wednesday at a trade show in Providence, Rhode Island.

    Novak said Icom introduced the V-82 model more than two decades ago and it has long since been discontinued. It was designed for amateur radio operators and for use in social or emergency communications, including by people tracking tornadoes or hurricanes, he said.

    What kind of sabotage would cause these devices to explode?

    Tuesday’s explosions were most likely the result of supply-chain interference, several experts told the AP – noting that very small explosive devices may have been built into the pagers prior to their delivery to Hezbollah, and then all remotely triggered simultaneously, possibly with a radio signal. That corroborates information shared from the U.S. official.

    A former British Army bomb disposal officer explained that an explosive device has five main components: A container, a battery, a triggering device, a detonator and an explosive charge.

    “A pager has three of those already,” said the ex-officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he now works as a consultant with clients on the Middle East. “You would only need to add the detonator and the charge.”

    This video grab, shows a walkie-talkie that was exploded inside a house, in Baalbek, east Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024.

    AP Photo

    This signals involvement of a state actor, said Sean Moorhouse, a former British Army officer and explosive ordnance disposal expert. He added that Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad, was the most obvious suspect to have the resources to carry out such an attack. Israel has a long history of carrying out similar operations in the past.

    The specifics of Wednesday’s explosions are still uncertain. But reports of more electronic devices exploding may suggest even greater infiltration of boobytrap-like interference in Lebanon’s supply chain. It also deepens concerns around the lack of certainty of who may be holding rigged devices.

    How long was this operation?

    It would take a long time to plan an attack of this scale. The exact specifics are still unknown, but experts who spoke with the AP about Tuesday’s explosions shared estimates ranging anywhere between several months to two years.

    The sophistication of the attack suggests that the culprit has been collecting intelligence for a long time, explained Nicholas Reese, adjunct instructor at the Center for Global Affairs in New York University’s School of Professional Studies. An attack of this caliber requires building the relationships needed to gain physical access to the pagers before they were sold; developing the technology that would be embedded in the devices; and developing sources who can confirm that the targets were carrying the pagers.

    Citing conversations with Hezbollah contacts, Magnier said the group is currently investigating what type of explosives were used in the device, suspecting RDX or PETN, highly explosive materials that can cause significant damage with as little as 3-5 grams. They are also questioning whether the device had a GPS system allowing Israel to track movement of the group members.

    N.R. Jenzen-Jones, an expert in military arms who is director of the Australian-based Armament Research Services, added that “such a large-scale operation also raises questions of targeting” – stressing the number of causalities and enormous impact reported so far.

    “How can the party initiating the explosive be sure that a target’s child, for example, is not playing with the pager at the time it functions?” he said.

    Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

    AP

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  • Israel behind pager explosions, sources say, as Hezbollah vows ‘reckoning’

    Israel behind pager explosions, sources say, as Hezbollah vows ‘reckoning’

    Israel was behind the deadly explosion of pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday, sources told ABC News on Wednesday.

    At least 12 civilians were killed and more than 2,750 people injured in the explosions, according to Lebanese authorities. Around 200 of the injuries were critical and required surgery, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

    The civilians killed include an 8-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad.

    The Hezbollah militant group said it is conducting a “security and scientific investigation” into the explosion of pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday.

    Hezbollah said 11 of its members were killed on Tuesday, though — as is typical in its statements — did not specify how they died.

    RELATED: What we know about the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria

    “We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression, which also targeted civilians and led to the deaths of a number of martyrs and the injury of a large number with various wounds,” Hezbollah said of the pager explosions in a Tuesday statement.

    In a Wednesday morning statement, Hezbollah said it would continue operations to “support Gaza,” and vowed a “reckoning” for Israel for the “massacre on Tuesday.”

    The dead and injured included people who are not members of Hezbollah, such as a 10-year-old girl killed in the eastern village of Saraain, according to Hezbollah-owned Al-Ahed News.

    Israel has not commented on its alleged involvement in the apparent attack, which prompted chaos in the capital Beirut and elsewhere in Hezbollah’s south Lebanon heartland.

    Around 100 hospitals received wounded people, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said, with hospitals in Beirut and its southern suburb quickly filling to capacity. Patients were then directed to other hospitals outside the region.

    Most of the injuries were to the face, hand or abdomen, officials said.

    The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was among those who had one of the pagers and was injured in an explosion Tuesday, according to Iranian state TV. The diplomat said in a phone call that he was “feeling well and fully conscious,” according to Iranian state TV.

    At least 14 people were also injured in targeted attacks on Hezbollah members in Syria, according to the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    The alleged Israeli operation has again piqued fears of escalation in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict ongoing since Oct. 8, when members of the Iranian-backed group began cross-border attacks in support of Hamas’ war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

    Frontier skirmishes, Israeli strikes and Hezbollah rocket and artillery salvoes have been near-constant through 11 months of war in Gaza. Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to launch a new military operation against Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border. Tens of thousands of Israelis have left their homes in border regions due to the fighting.

    The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes hit Hezbollah targets in six locations in southern Lebanon overnight into Wednesday. Artillery strikes were also conducted, it added.

    Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is due to make a public address on Thursday afternoon to address the situation. In February, Nasrallah urged members to stop using their cell phones, describing the technology as “a deadly agent.”

    Schools across Lebanon will be closed on Wednesday, Lebanese state media reported, citing the country’s Minister of Education. Schools and offices closed include public and private schools, high schools, technical institutes, the Lebanese University and private higher education institutions, Lebanese state media reported.

    The Lebanese Council of Ministers collectively condemned “this criminal Israeli aggression, which constitutes a serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a crime by all standards.”

    It added that “the government immediately began making all necessary contacts with the countries concerned and the United Nations to place it before its responsibilities regarding this continuing crime.”

    The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon condemned the attack on Lebanon, calling it an “extremely concerning escalation in what is an already unacceptably volatile context,” in a statement released by the U.N. Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General.

    U.S. officials said Washington, D.C. had no role in — or pre-knowledge of — the apparent attack. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the administration was “gathering information” on the incident.

    Both Miller and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to speculate on whether Israel was responsible.

    The U.S. and the European Union have both designated the Hezbollah militant group a foreign terrorist organization.

    Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.

    KTRK

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  • Surprise blast of rock, water and steam in Yellowstone sends dozens running for safety

    Surprise blast of rock, water and steam in Yellowstone sends dozens running for safety

    CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A surprise eruption in Yellowstone National Park shot steam, water and dark-colored rock and dirt high into the sky Tuesday and sent sightseers running for safety.

    The hydrothermal explosion happened around 10 a.m. in Biscuit Basin, a collection of hot springs a couple miles north of the famous Old Faithful Geyser.

    Video posted online showed a couple dozen people watching from a boardwalk as the eruption sprayed and grew in front of them. As water and debris began to fall, they ran to keep clear, some yelling “Back up!” and “Holy cow!” People then turned to watch the spectacle under a huge cloud of steam.

    No injuries were reported, but the Biscuit Basin area was closed for visitor safety. The eruption damaged a boardwalk that keeps people off Yellowstone’s fragile and often dangerous geothermal areas.

    Vlada March was on a tour in the basin when her guide said something unusual was happening. March started taking video.

    “We saw more steam coming up and within seconds it became this huge thing,” said March, a California real estate agent who was with her mom, husband and their two kids. “It just exploded and became like a black cloud that covered the sun.”

    “I think our tour guide said ‘Run,’ and I started running and I started screaming at the kids, ‘Run, run, run,’ and I continued filming what I could,” she said.

    Rocks that fell from the sky smashed the boardwalk they had been walking on. March’s mom, who had been sitting on a bench near the explosion, was shaken and dirty but otherwise fine, she said.

    Walking back on the broken boardwalk “was a little scary,” she said, “but thankfully it didn’t break under us.”

    Photos and video of the aftermath showed damaged guardrails and boards covered in rock and silt near muddy pools.

    The explosion could have resulted from a clogged passageway in the extensive natural plumbing network that underlies Yellowstone’s world-famous geysers, hot springs and other thermal features, said scientist Mike Poland with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

    A clog would have caused a buildup of heat and pressure such as happens inside a pressure cooker, he said, until the water suddenly flashed to steam, causing an instantaneous and huge expansion in volume and triggering the explosion.

    After viewing video from the event Poland estimated that the explosion sent material about 100 feet (30 meters) into the air.

    He said the explosion was “on the big side” of eruptions that occur periodically — usually when no one is around let alone throngs of tourists.

    On occasion they get much bigger: The largest known crater from a hydrothermal explosion on Earth is in Yellowstone and measures 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) across, Poland said. Scientists theorize that a series of hydrothermal explosions created that crater some 13,800 years ago in the Mary Bay area on the northeastern side of Yellowstone Lake.

    By comparison, the crater from Tuesday’s explosion will likely be measured in feet, Poland said.

    “What we saw today was spectacular and definitely hazardous. But on the scale of what the Yellowstone system has done in the past, it was relatively small,” he said. “It’s a very good reminder of an underappreciated hazard in Yellowstone.”

    The explosion happened in or near Black Diamond Pool, a 120-foot-log (37-meter-long) hot pool that is the basin’s widest thermal feature.

    A National Park Service aerial photo taken afterward showed the pool somewhat enlarged near the boardwalk compared to recent satellite images and its water turned a muddy beige. The deep Sapphire Pool about 100 yards (91 meters) away retained its usual blue hues.

    Park geologists were investigating what specifically happened in this case.

    Similar blasts have happened in Biscuit Basin in 2009, 1991 and after the magnitude 7.2 Hebgen Lake earthquake 40 miles (64 kilometers) away in 1959.

    Yellowstone is centered on a huge, dormant volcano. The hydrothermal explosion did not indicate new activity within the volcanic system, which remains at normal levels, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

    At least 22 people are known to have died from injuries related to thermal features in and around the 3,471-square-mile (9,000-square-kilometer) national park since 1890.

    Visitors are warned to stay on the boardwalks and trails in thermal areas, where some of the pools and springs have a thin, breakable crust covering the scalding and sometimes acidic water.

    ___

    Hanson reported from Helena, Montana, and Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

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  • Oil Spills Fast Facts | CNN

    Oil Spills Fast Facts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at oil spill disasters. Spill estimates vary by source.

    1. January 1991 – During the Gulf War, Iraqi forces intentionally release 252-336 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf.

    2. April 20, 2010 – An explosion occurs on board the BP-contracted Transocean Ltd. Deepwater Horizon oil rig, releasing approximately 168 million gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

    3. June 3, 1979 – Ixtoc 1, an exploratory well, blows out, spilling 140 million gallons of oil into the Bay of Campeche off the coast of Mexico.

    4. March 2, 1992 – A Fergana Valley oil well in Uzbekistan blows out, spilling 88 million gallons of oil.

    5. February 1983 – An oil well in the Nowruz Oil Field in Iran begins spilling oil. One month later, an Iraqi air attack increases the amount of oil spilled to approximately 80 million gallons of oil.

    6. August 6, 1983 – The Castillo de Bellver, a Spanish tanker, catches fire near Cape Town, South Africa, spilling more than 78 million gallons of oil.

    7. March 16, 1978 – The Amoco Cadiz tanker runs aground near Portsall, France, spilling more than 68 million gallons of oil.

    8. November 10, 1988 – The tanker Odyssey breaks apart during a storm, spilling 43.1 million gallons of oil northeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

    9. July 19, 1979 – The Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain tankers collide near Trinidad and Tobago. The Atlantic Empress spills 42.7 million gallons of oil. On August 2, the Atlantic Empress spills an additional 41.5 million gallons near Barbados while being towed away.

    10. August 1, 1980 – Production Well D-103 blows out, spilling 42 million gallons of oil southeast of Tripoli, Libya.

    Union Oil Company
    January 28, 1969 – Inadequate casing leads to the blowout of a Union Oil well 3,500 feet deep about five miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. About three million gallons of oil gush from the leak until it can be sealed 11 days later, covering 800 square miles of ocean and 35 miles of coastline and killing thousands of birds, fish and other wildlife.

    The disaster is largely considered to be one of the main impetuses behind the environmental movement and stricter government regulation, including President Richard Nixon’s signing of the National Environmental Policy Act, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. It also inspired Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson to found the first Earth Day.

    Exxon Valdez
    March 24, 1989 – The Exxon Valdez runs aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling more than 11 million gallons of oil.

    March 22, 1990 – Captain Joseph Hazelwood is acquitted of all but one misdemeanor, negligent discharge of oil. Hazelwood is later sentenced to 1,000 hours of cleaning around Prince William Sound and is fined $50,000.

    July 25, 1990 – At an administrative hearing, the Coast Guard dismisses charges of misconduct and intoxication against Captain Joseph Hazelwood, but suspends his captain’s license.

    October 8, 1991 – A federal judge approves a settlement in which Exxon and its shipping subsidiary will pay $900 million in civil payments and $125 million in fines and restitution. Exxon says it has already spent more than $2 billion on cleanup.

    September 16, 1994 – A federal jury orders Exxon to pay $5 billion in punitive damages to fishermen, businesses and property owners affected by the oil spill.

    November 7, 2001 – The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rules that the $5 billion award for punitive damages is excessive and must be cut.

    December 6, 2002 – US District Judge H. Russel Holland reduces the award to $4 billion.

    December 22, 2006 – The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reduces the award to $2.5 billion.

    June 25, 2008 – The US Supreme Court cuts the $2.5 billion punitive damages award to $507.5 million.

    June 15, 2009 – The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals orders Exxon to pay $470 million in interest on the $507.5 million award.

    BP Gulf Oil Spill
    April 20, 2010 – An explosion occurs aboard BP-contracted Transocean Ltd Deepwater Horizon oil rig stationed in the Gulf of Mexico. Of the 126 workers aboard the oil rig, 11 are killed.

    April 22, 2010 – The Deepwater Horizon oil rig sinks. An oil slick appears in the water. It is not known if the leak is from the rig or from the underwater well to which it was connected.

    April 24, 2010 – The US Coast Guard reports that the underwater well is leaking an estimated 42,000 gallons of oil a day.

    April 28, 2010 – The Coast Guard increases its spill estimate to 210,000 gallons of oil a day.

    May 2, 2010 – President Barack Obama tours oil spill affected areas and surveys efforts to contain the spill.

    May 4, 2010 – The edges of the oil slick reach the Louisiana shore.

    May 26, 2010 – BP starts a procedure known as “top kill,” which attempts to pump enough mud down into the well to eliminate the upward pressure from the oil and clear the way for a cement cap to be put into place. The attempt fails.

    June 16, 2010 – BP agrees to create a $20 billion fund to help victims affected by the oil spill.

    July 5, 2010 – Authorities report that tar balls linked to the oil spill have reached the shores of Texas.

    July 10, 2010 – BP removes an old containment cap from the well so a new one can be installed. While the cap is removed, oil flows freely. The new cap is finished being installed on July 12.

    July 15, 2010 – According to BP, oil has stopped flowing into the Gulf.

    August 3, 2010 – BP begins the operation “static kill” to permanently seal the oil well.

    August 5, 2010 – BP finishes the “static kill” procedure. Retired Adm. Thad Allen says this will “virtually assure us there’s no chance of oil leaking into the environment.”

    January 11, 2011 – The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling releases their full report stating that the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig launched the worst oil spill in US history, 168 million gallons (or about 4 million barrels).

    September 14, 2011 – The final federal report is issued on the Gulf oil spill. It names BP, Transocean and Halliburton as sharing responsibility for the deadly explosion that resulted in the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

    January 26, 2012 – A federal judge in New Orleans rules that Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig, is not liable for compensatory damages sought by third parties.

    January 31, 2012 – A federal judge in New Orleans rules that Halliburton is not liable for some of the compensatory damages sought by third parties.

    March 2, 2012 – BP announces it has reached a settlement with attorneys representing thousands of businesses and individuals affected by the 2010 oil spill.

    April 18, 2012 – Court documents are filed revealing the March 2, 2010 settlement BP reached with attorneys representing thousands of businesses and individuals affected by the oil spill. A federal judge must give preliminary approval of the pact, which BP estimates will total about $7.8 billion.

    April 24, 2012 – The first criminal charges are filed in connection with the oil spill. Kurt Mix, a former engineer for BP, is charged with destroying 200-plus text messages about the oil spill, including one concluding that the undersea gusher was far worse than reported at the time.

    November 15, 2012 – Attorney General Eric Holder announces that BP will plead guilty to manslaughter charges related to the rig explosion and will pay $4.5 billion in government penalties. Separate from the corporate manslaughter charges, a federal grand jury returns an indictment charging the two highest-ranking BP supervisors on board the Deepwater Horizon on the day of the explosion with 23 criminal counts.

    November 28, 2012 – The US government issues a temporary ban barring BP from bidding on new federal contracts. The ban is lifted on March 13, 2014.

    December 21, 2012 – US District Judge Carl Barbier signs off on the settlement between BP and businesses and individuals affected by the oil spill.

    January 3, 2013 – The Justice Department announces that Transocean Deepwater Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to a violation of the Clean Water Act and pay $1.4 billion in fines.

    February 25, 2013 – The trial to determine how much BP owes in civil damages under the Clean Water Act begins. The first phase of the trial will focus on the cause of the blowout.

    September 19, 2013 – In federal court in New Orleans, Halliburton pleads guilty to destroying test results that investigators had sought as evidence. The company is given the maximum fine of $200,000 on the charge.

    September 30, 2013 – The second phase of the civil trial over the oil spill begins. This part focuses on how much oil was spilled and if BP was negligent because of its lack of preparedness.

    December 18, 2013 – Kurt Mix, a former engineer for BP, is acquitted on one of two charges of obstruction of justice for deleting text messages about the oil spill.

    September 4, 2014 – A federal judge in Louisiana finds that BP was “grossly negligent” in the run-up to the 2010 disaster, which could quadruple the penalties it would have to pay under the Clean Water Act to more than $18 billion. Judge Carl Barbier of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana also apportions blame for the spill, with “reckless” BP getting two thirds of it. He says the other two main defendants in the more than 3,000 lawsuits filed in the spill’s wake, Transocean and Halliburton, were found to be “negligent.”

    January 15, 2015 – After weighing multiple estimates, the court determines that 4.0 million barrels of oil were released from the reservoir. 810,000 barrels of oil were collected without contacting “ambient sea water” during the spill response, making BP responsible for a maximum of 3.19 million barrels.

    January 20-February 2, 2015 – The final phase of the trial to determine BP’s fines takes place. The ruling is expected in a few months.

    July 2, 2015 – An $18.7 billion settlement is announced between BP and five Gulf states.

    September 28, 2015 – In a Louisiana federal court, the city of Mobile, Alabama, files an amended complaint for punitive damages against Transocean Ltd., Triton Asset Leasing, and Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., stating that “Mobile, its government, businesses, residents, properties, eco-systems and tourists/tourism have suffered and continue to suffer injury, damage and/or losses as a result of the oil spill disaster.” As of April 20, 2015, Mobile estimated the losses had exceeded $31,240,000.

    October 5, 2015 – BP agrees to pay more than $20 billion to settle claims related to the spill. It is the largest settlement with a single entity in the history of the Justice Department.

    November 6, 2015 – The remaining obstruction of justice charge against Kurt Mix is dismissed as he agrees to plead guilty to the lesser charge of “intentionally causing damage without authorization to a protected computer,” relating to deletion of a text message, a misdemeanor. He receives six months’ probation and must complete 60 hours of community service.

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  • A second explosion at another political party’s office kills 10 more in Pakistan, bringing the death toll to at least 24

    A second explosion at another political party’s office kills 10 more in Pakistan, bringing the death toll to at least 24



    A second explosion at another political party’s office kills 10 more in Pakistan, bringing the death toll to at least 24



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  • Mass. marijuana shops pay towns hefty fees. Why that might change. – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Mass. marijuana shops pay towns hefty fees. Why that might change. – Medical Marijuana Program Connection


    … Monday. 
    Under current state law, marijuana establishments must pay a community … the costs imposed by the marijuana establishment.  
    “Reasonably related” means there … offset the operation of a marijuana establishment. Those costs could include …

    Original Author Link click here to read complete story..



    MMP News Author

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