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☆ Fire Destroys World War II-Era Blimp Hangar in California
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Eduardo Medina | More About Eduardo Medina | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A fire was consuming a wooden blimp hangar on Tuesday in Tustin, Calif., that played a pivotal role during World War II, the authorities said, causing the landmark to crumble in flames throughout the day. Chief Brian Fennessy of the Orange County Fire Authority said at a news conference on Tuesday morning that more than 70 firefighters had responded at about 1 a.m. to try to contain the fire in one of two colossal hangars at the former Marine Corps Air Station Tustin. After their initial efforts failed to extinguish the fire in the north hangar, Chief Fennessy said, the fire authority deployed three helicopters to douse the large domed building from above, a method more typically used to fight large-scale wildfires. But that strategy also failed, prompting officials to settle on allowing the structure to burn rather than put more firefighters at risk, Chief Fennessy said.

Persons: Brian Fennessy, Fennessy Organizations: Orange County Fire Authority, Marine Corps Air Station Tustin Locations: Tustin, Calif, Orange County

TUSTIN, Calif. (AP) — Fire raged Tuesday in a massive World War II-era wooden hangar that was built to house military blimps based in Southern California. The Orange County Fire Authority said in a social media post that allowing the structure to collapse was the only way to fight the fire. The historic hangar was one of two built in 1942 for the U.S. Navy in the city of Tustin, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. At the time, the Navy used lighter-than-air ships for patrol and antisubmarine defense. “With all that in mind, it’s a sad day for the city of Tustin and all of Orange County,” Fennessy said.

Persons: Brian Fennessy, Fennessy, they've, ” Fennessy Organizations: The Orange County Fire Authority, Fire, U.S . Navy, Navy, Marine Corps, American Society of Civil Engineers Locations: TUSTIN, Calif, Southern California, The Orange County, Tustin, Los Angeles, Orange County

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The inflation that has been wearing on European consumers fell sharply to 2.9% in October, its lowest in more than two years as fuel prices fell and rapid interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank took hold. Inflation fell from an annual 4.3% in September as fuel prices fell by 11.1% and painful food inflation slowed, to 7.5%. The lower inflation figure follows a rapid series of interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank. The future path of inflation toward the ECB's target remain uncertain because core inflation, excluding volatile fuel and food prices, remains higher than the headline figure, at 4.2%. The current burst of inflation was set off as the global economy rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to shortages of parts and raw materials.

Persons: Rory Fennessy, ”, Jack Allen, Reynolds Organizations: European Central Bank, European, Oxford Economics, European Central Bank . Higher, Capital Economics, Federal Reserve Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany, France, Europe, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, U.S

In the United States, the manufacturing sector pulled out of a five-month contraction on a pickup in new orders, and services activity accelerated modestly amid signs of easing inflationary pressures. HEADACHE FOR THE ECBIn the euro zone, business activity drooped as demand fell in a broad-based downturn across the region, causing the bloc to enter the fourth quarter on the wrong foot and suggesting it may slip into recession. "The flash PMIs mark a poor start to October for the euro zone, especially after showing some early signs of recovery in September," said Rory Fennessy at Oxford Economics. Suggesting a recession is well underway in Germany, Europe's largest economy, business activity contracted there for a fourth straight month as the downturn in manufacturing was matched by a renewed decline in services, its PMI showed. In France, the euro zone's second-largest economy, business activity remained in contraction territory in October, PMI data showed, improving just slightly from September's near three-year low.

Persons: Rebecca Cook, Chris Williamson, Christine Lagarde's, Rory Fennessy, Williamson, Ajay Banga, Dan Burns, Jonathan Cable, Lindsay Dunsmuir, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle, REUTERS, P Global, Composite, Federal, Commerce Department, Reuters, P, P Global Market Intelligence, P Global PMI, September's, European Central Bank, Oxford Economics, PMI, European Union, Bank of, Palestinian, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Dearborn , Michigan, U.S, United States, joblessness, Germany, Europe's, France, September's, Britain, Gaza, Ukraine

In Asia, while factory activity expanded marginally in China, it contracted in Japan and South Korea as Asia's economic recovery struggled to maintain momentum. REUTERS/Siyi LiuChina's Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI eased to 50.5 in June from 50.9 in May, the private survey showed. The figure, combined with Friday's official survey that showed factory activity extending declines, adds to evidence the world's No. South Korea's PMI fell to 47.8 in June, extending its downturn to a record 12th consecutive month on weak demand in Asia and Europe. Factory activity also contracted in Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia, the PMI surveys showed.

Persons: Rory Fennessy, lockdowns, Toru Nishihama, Siyi Liu China's, Jonathan Cable, Sam Holmes, David Evans Organizations: PMI, European Central Bank, Oxford Economics, P, Dai, Research, REUTERS, P Global, Reuters, Jibun, of, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Japan, South Korea, China, TOKYO, Europe, Britain, Asia, United States, European, U.S, Dezhou, Shandong province, South, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, of Japan's

☆ The Eurozone Economy Shows Signs of Modest Growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Why It Matters: The eurozone economy has regained its footing — for now. But countries swiftly stockpiled energy reserves, and a mild winter, together with mass conservation efforts, helped Europe avoid the worst. The data show that the eurozone economy is regaining its footing — though only slowly. On an annual basis, growth contracted in the first quarter from a year ago by0.1 percent in the eurozone’s largest economy. Growth picked up in Italy, Belgium and Spain, and jumped further ahead in Portugal, where the economy expanded 1.6 percent in the first three months.

☆ If you use Snapchat, you could get a $117 check from a data privacy lawsuit—the deadline to apply is Saturday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Snap Inc., the social media app's parent company, is set to pay out $35 million to current and former Illinois residents for allegedly storing their facial recognition data without their consent. You'll need to include your Snapchat username and at least one Illinois address where you lived. Facebook, TikTok, Google, Shutterfly and Pret A Manger have all settled similar cases in Illinois over the last 14 months, too. California residents already have some data protection under the California Consumer Privacy Act. Fennessy also notes that as our collective understanding of data privacy grows, future lawsuits will focus less on user consent and more on what companies do with biometric data once they have it.

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