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She died weeks after fleeing the Maui wildfire. Her family fought to have her listed as a victim.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:31 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Sharlene Rabang and her calico cat fled the wildfire that destroyed her town on Maui and arrived at a family home on another Hawaii island after a 24-hour odyssey that included sleeping in a car.Dazed, coughing and weak, the frail but feisty 78-year-old headed straight for the bedroom. Her daughter headed for a drugstore, thinking the coughing might be asthma or the flu. It wasn’t.Rabang died with her daughter holding her hand nearly a month later. She had a history of cancer, COVID and high blood pressure, and the doctor initially neglected to attribute her death to the wildfire. It wasn’t until November that, at the urging of her family, Honolulu’s medical examiner said a contributing cause of death was the thick, black smoke that Rabang breathed as she fled.The report made Rabang the 100th victim of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. The Aug. 8 fire devastated the onetime capital of the former kingdom of Hawaii. It wiped o...

Wild weather leaves at least 9 dead in Australian states of Queensland and Victoria, officials say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:31 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Wild weather has left at least nine people dead in the eastern Australian states of Queensland and Victoria, officials said on Wednesday.Three men, aged 48, 59 and 69, were killed after a boat with 11 people on board capsized in rough weather in Moreton Bay off the south Queensland coast on Tuesday, police said.Ambulances took the eight survivors to a hospital in stable conditions.The men were aboard the 39-foot pleasure craft on an annual fishing trip, The Courier Mail newspaper reported.Queensland Police Acting Chief Superintendent Andrew Pilotto said those who were rescued were lucky to survive.“The storm was still raging when they were rescued,” Pilotto said. “It would have been very difficult to survive in those conditions anywhere.”A 59-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in the Queensland city of Gold Coast on Monday night. The body of a 9-year-old girl was found on Tuesday in the neighboring city of Brisbane hours after she disa...

L.A. neighbors on edge after man destroys car in apparent anti-Semitic hate crime

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:31 GMT

Neighbors are on edge after video captured a man yelling anti-Semitic remarks outside a Pico-Robertson home before destroying a family's vehicle.The apparent hate crime incident, which happened on Dec. 23, has left residents concerned as incidents of antisemitism are on the rise in Los Angeles and across the country.The video of the hateful tirade has left neighbors shocked, disappointed and angry.“There’s no logic to it,” said one neighbor.“It was very shocking and frightening, especially so close to our home,” said Chaya Nourafchan, another neighbor.The suspect was heard screaming obscenities and anti-Semitic rhetoric outside of the Jewish family’s home before launching a brick through the back windshield of the family’s car.A suspect remains at large after smashing a family’s car window while yelling anti-Semitic remarks outside a Pico-Robertson home on Dec. 23, 2023.A suspect remains at large after smashing a family’s car window while yelling anti-Semitic remarks outside a Pico-...

Oakland: Feds charge ‘large drug trafficking group’ with possessing kilograms of fentanyl for sale

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:31 GMT

OAKLAND — A trio of alleged Bay Area drug traffickers have been indicted on charges of possessing fentanyl and methamphetamine for sale, including more than six pounds of fentanyl found during raid on an Oakland home, according to court records.Maria Valle-Rodriguez, Jonsan Valle-Rodriguez, and Emilson Valle-Zuniga were indicted on charges of fentanyl distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. The charges resulted from an undercover Drug Enforcement Administrative investigation, as federal and state authorities continue to try to make a dent in the open air drug markets in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.During the investigation, Maria Valle-Rodriguez allegedly revealed to an undercover agent that her brother, “Lolo,” had been killed just nights before. Police believe she was referring to a Nov. 25 gunfight in the Tenderloin that resulted in one man being killed and another injured.Jonsan Valle-Rodriguez —...

Guaranteed Rate Bowl Winners

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:31 GMT

Dec. 26, 2023 — Kansas 49, UNLV 36Dec. 27, 2022 — Wisconsin 24, Oklahoma St. 17Dec. 28, 2021 — Minnesota 18, West Virginia 6Dec. 26, 2020 — Canceled due to Covid-19 pandemicDec. 27, 2019 — Air Force 31, Washington State 21Dec. 26, 2018 — TCU 10, California 7, OTDec. 26, 2017 — Kansas State 35, UCLA 17Dec. 27, 2016 — Baylor 31, Boise St. 12Jan. 2, 2016 — West Virginia 43, Arizona St. 42Jan. 2, 2015 — Oklahoma St. 30, Washington 22Dec. 28, 2013 — Kansas St. 31, Michigan 14Dec. 29, 2012 — Michigan St. 17, TCU 16Dec. 30, 2011 — Oklahoma 31, Iowa 14Dec. 28, 2010 — Iowa 27, Missouri 24Dec. 31, 2009 — Iowa St. 14, Minnesota 13Dec. 31, 2008 — Kansas 42, Minnesota 21Dec. 31, 2007 — Oklahoma St. 49, Indiana 33Dec. 29, 2006 — Texas Tech 44, Minnesota 41, OTDec. 27, 2005 — Arizona St. 45, Rutgers 40Dec. 28, 2004 — Oregon St. 38, Notre Dame 21Dec. 26, 2003 — California 52, Virginia Tech 49Dec. 26, 2002 — Pittsburgh 38, Oregon St. 13Dec. 29, 2001 — Syracuse 26, Kansas St. 3Dec. 28, 2000 — Iowa St...

Bean throws for 6 TDs, Kansas overcomes flags to beat UNLV 49-36 in Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:31 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Jason Bean threw for 449 yards and all six of his touchdown passes to two receivers, and penalty-plagued Kansas outlasted UNLV 49-36 in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Tuesday night.The Jayhawks (9-4), ranked 14th nationally for fewest penalties with 55 during the regular season, were flagged 18 times for 210 yards, including four personal fouls.They made up for it with an explosive offense that produced 591 total yards at Chase Field, home of baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks.Luke Grimm had four catches for 16 yards and three touchdowns. Lawrence Arnold added six catches for 132 yards and three more scores, giving Kansas two receivers with three touchdowns in a game for the first time in program history.Bean finished 19 of 28 and overcame two interceptions in the third quarter to lead Kansas to its first postseason win since the 2008 Insight Bowl, also in Phoenix.Jayden Maiava threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter to rally UNLV (9-5) nearly all the way back from ...

Morant scores 31, Grizzlies top Pelicans 116-115 in OT

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:31 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ja Morant let out a triumphant yell as he threw down an alley-oop dunk in overtime that punctuated his third 30-point performance in just the fourth game of his return to the resurgent Memphis Grizzlies.Morant scored 31 points and the Grizzlies defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 116-115 in overtime on Tuesday night to improve to 4-0 since Morant made his season debut in same arena a week earlier.“Obviously excited to be back,” Morant said. “But being able to come back and win four games now and continue to take this momentum to the next game, and the next day, is bigtime for us.” Desmond Bane scored 27, including a 3 in the final minute of regulation that helped Memphis erase a 15-point, second-half deficit. Bane also made what turned out to be a clinching free throw to give the Grizzlies a 4-point lead with 4 seconds left in overtime.Memphis also won with defense, finishing with 17 blocked shots — five by Xavier Tillman — and 10 steals.“We know what we’re ca...

'Battle of the Bands' takes over Gaslamp ahead of Holiday Bowl

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:31 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The night before kickoff at the 2023 Holiday Bowl, the fun already started in downtown San Diego.The Snapdragon Bowl Bash took over the Gaslamp Quarter with festivities and the anticipated battle of the bands.The USC Trojan marching band took on the University of Louisville Cardinals' program."Definitely the band world's best band. Any time we get the chance to see them play all Trojan fans get all fired up," said David Lippe, a USC Alumni.Two renowned bands and their counterparts: the cheer squad, color guard, song, dance teams facing off for 30 minutes straight. What to know before the Holiday Bowl and parade: Road closures, parking "We are the official band of the Kentucky Derby and we have been that band since 1936," said Jason Cumberledg, University of Louisville Marching Band Director.Even Tommy the Trojan and Louie the Cardinal, both team mascots, were out performing with the bands and giving it their all.It was somewhat a sea of red in the Gaslamp Quarter...

Man attacked in violent Torrance mall robbery, suspects at large

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:31 GMT

A group of armed suspects remains at large after a violent robbery at a Torrance shopping mall left a man beaten and bloodied.The victim, Absalom Wilkins, was leaving the Del Amo Fashion Center with Christmas gifts on Dec. 23 when two suspects approached him at gunpoint. “I was fearing for my life,” said Wilkins. “Especially when you're getting up and they're saying they're going to shoot you. It was sad, traumatizing, scary. I couldn't stop crying. When my family saw me, they couldn't stop crying.”Wilkins left the mall at around 9 p.m. when the suspects’ SUV nearly crashed into him as he was using a crosswalk near Buffalo Wild Wings.“This gentleman in the SUV blew past the stop sign and was not paying attention at all, “ Wilkins said. He knocked on the suspects’ car with his knuckles, telling the driver to pay attention. That’s when the driver stepped out of the vehicle to confront Wilkins.Absalom Wilkins was left bloodied and bruised after armed suspects robbed him at gunpoin...

What happened in local business in 2023? A look at the woes, wins, mergers and more

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:31 GMT

From restaurants shutting their doors and others opening for the first time, to mergers and acquisitions that made the news, WTOP has a roundup of the biggest D.C.-area business stories of the year.Restaurant woesThe Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington released a survey of D.C.-area restaurants that painted a bleak picture for the future, with restaurants citing inflation, lower customer traffic, labor shortages and crime.And many restaurants closed in 2023, including Adams Morgan mainstay Roofers Union, Navy Yard’s highly anticipated but short-lived Swingers, and Denizens Brewing, which closed its original Downtown Silver Spring taproom and now focuses on its larger Riverdale Park location.Two longtime D.C. restaurateurs permanently closed their last two remaining restaurants, Brine Oyster and Seafood House, citing crime and unsustainable costs. Award-winning chef Kevin Tien closed his popular Moon Rabbit restaurant at The Wharf in a dispute with its InterContin...