DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ What we know about funeral plans for former President Jimmy Carter
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-30 | by ( Michelle Shen | Nikki | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +21 min

Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Carter is held by his mother, Lillian, when he was just a month old. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Carter and President Gerald Ford debate domestic policy at the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia in September 1976. Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images Carter works at a construction site sponsored by the Jimmy Carter Work Project in Asan, South Korea, in 2001. Richard Lewis/The Elders/Getty Images Carter was interviewed for "The Presidents' Gatekeepers" project at the Carter Center in Atlanta in September 2011. Brian Kersey/Getty Images Carter talks about his cancer diagnosis during a news conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta in August 2015.

Persons: Jimmy Carter, Joe Biden, “, ” Biden, Carter, Biden, Rosalynn, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, Bush, –, ’ Biden, Jill, ”, he’d, Carter “, Cancer, Beau, Jimmy, Lillian, Gloria, . Bradley, Horace Cort, —, John Storey, Stan Wayman, Amy, Walter Mondale, Gerald Ford, Ford, Warren Burger, Rosalynn Carter, Billy, Simons, Barry Thumma, Harvey Georges, Karl Schumacher, Helmut Schmidt, Schmidt, Carter jogs, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, Carter's, Frank Johnston, Dirck Halstead, Leonid Brezhnev, Chuck McManis, Ronald Reagan, Reagan, Robert Burgess, Joe Holloway Jr, AP Carter, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Paul J, Richards, Clinton, Chung Sung, Fidel Castro, Adalberto Roque, Arne Knudsen, Hugo Chavez's, Juan Barreto, Howard Dean, Erik S, Scott Olson, Marco Longari, Michael Williamson, Barack Obama's, Alex Wong, Obama, George W, J, Scott Applewhite, Mark Wilson, Ismail Haniya, Mahmud Hams, Jung Yeon, Nelson Mandela, Jeff Moore, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, Gomes, Darren McCollester, Sheikh Jarrah, Mary Robinson, Bernat, George, Kris Connor, Raul Castro, Javier Galeano, Richard Lewis, David Hume Kennerly, Michelle Obama, Martin Luther King Jr, Jewel Samad, Brian Kersey, Kevin D, Donald Trump, Saul Loeb, Jim Chapin, Drew Angerer, Melissa Golden, Matt McClain, Dan Quinn, Scott Cunningham, Chip Somodevilla, Mark Humphrey, Jill Biden, Adam Schultz, John Bazemore, Michael S, Williamson, Evelyn Hockstein, Jimmy Carter's, he’s, CNN’s Jack Forrest, Haley Talbot, Jeff Zeleny Organizations: CNN, White, of, Washington National Cathedral, Carter, Georgia State Capitol, Center, Joint Task Force, National Capital, Department of Defense, Carter Center, Washington, Cathedral, Maranatha Baptist Church, Bettmann, Jimmy, AP, US Naval Academy, Democratic, Atlanta, Hulton, Democratic National Convention, Walnut, Theater, Ford, Getty Images, Department of Energy, Camera, West, Airlift, Democratic National Committee, White House, AFP, Israeli, Washington Post, Ronald Reagan Library, Andrews Air Force Base, Getty, United Nations, Trinity Church, Summit, America's, Humanity, Getty Images Cuban, University of Havana, Venezuelan, Foreign, Korea University, North, South, Boston's Logan International Airport, Irish, Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies, Lincoln Memorial, New York Times, College, College Station ,, Secret Service, Atlanta Falcons, NFL, Habitat, The New York Times, Navy Locations: Washington ,, Washington, Atlanta and Washington, DC, Carter’s, Plains , Georgia, Plains, Atlanta, Washington , DC, Georgia, George H.W ., St, Croix, America, United States, Elk City , Oklahoma, New York, Philadelphia, Georgia's St, Florida, Panama, Vietnam, Berlin, Egypt, Israel, Pennsylvania, Vienna, Austria, Los Angeles, Arab, Maryland, Wiesbaden, West Germany, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, AFP, New, Asan , South Korea, Havana, Cuba, Oslo, Norway, Caracas, Venezuela, American, Connecticut, Boston, Maputo, Mozambique, Ghana, Gaza, Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Johannesburg, Jerusalem, Sheikh, Pyongyang, Kilkenny, Ireland, Chicago, College Station, College Station , Texas, Nashville , Tennessee

☆ U.S. charges Colombians in deadly migrant smuggling scheme
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-17 | by ( David Noriega | David Noriega Is An Nbc News Correspondent Based In Los Angeles. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Two Colombian nationals are facing extradition to the U.S. for their alleged role in a human smuggling operation that resulted in the disappearance at sea of dozens of migrants. Rivera and Linero were arrested by Colombian authorities in coordination with the U.S. as part of Joint Task Force Alpha. Joint Task Force Alpha was started in 2021 with a focus on migrant smuggling through Central America and Mexico. Mandatory minimum sentences for migrant smuggling as a stand-alone offense are relatively low compared to similar offenses like drug smuggling, but these aggravating factors allow prosecutors to seek harsher punishments. While Joint Task Force Alpha was started by the Biden administration, analysts believe it is likely to continue or even expand under the incoming Trump administration.

Persons: Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela, ”, Luis Enrique Linero, —, Rivera, Linero, Department’s, General Merrick B, Garland, Adam Isacson, ” Isacson, “, W, Berger, Biden, Trump Organizations: Agencia, The Agency, Court of, Task Force Alpha, Justice Department, La Agencia, Washington Office, Homeland Security Investigations, . Immigration, Customs Enforcement Locations: San Andrés, Nicaragua, United States, Court of Texas, Central America, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Darien, Colombian, Southern Mexico

☆ China's missile force has Guam in its sights. The US military just took a big, first-of-its-kind step toward strengthening its defenses.
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-11 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US shot down a ballistic missile for the first time from Guam in a major test this week. AdvertisementThe US Missile Defense Agency said on Tuesday that during the FEM-02 test, it "successfully conducted a live intercept of a ballistic missile target." The SM-3, which costs nearly $30 million, then struck an air-dropped medium-range ballistic missile target off the coast from Guam's Andersen Air Force Base. Related VideoThe Aegis Guam System, made by defense contractor Lockheed Martin, consists of an integrated AN/TPY-6 and vertical launch system based on the Mark 41 shipborne missile system. China's People's Liberation Army Rocket Force boasts thousands of missiles, including the DF-26, a solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile.

Persons: Lockheed Martin, Lockheed, Greg Huffman, it's Organizations: Pentagon, Missile Defense Agency, RIM, RTX, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Aegis Guam, Guam's Andersen Air Force Base, Department of Defense, Aegis, AGS, Task Force, MDA, Guam Defense, DoD, China, Andersen Air Force Base, . Missile Defense Agency, Army Rocket Force, DF, United Locations: Guam, China, Guam's, Middle East, Aegis Guam, Micronesia, Beijing

☆ Baltimore bridge collapse: 5th body recovered
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Joe Sutton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Authorities have recovered the body of a fifth victim in the Baltimore bridge collapse five weeks ago, officials said Wednesday. A 213-million-pound cargo vessel slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, crippling the structure and killing six workers repairing potholes on it. The six construction workers were immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico and Guatemala. “Maryland State Police investigators along with officers from the Maryland Transportation Authority Police and the FBI responded to the scene and recovered the body of a fifth construction worker inside a red truck,” he added. Attorneys representing the families of two deceased workers and a victim who survived the fall have started their own investigation.

Persons: Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, Glen, Francis Scott Key, Luna, Roland L, Butler , Jr, Miguel Luna, CNN Butler, ” Organizations: CNN — Authorities, Unified Command, Francis Scott Key Bridge, CNN, El, CASA, “ Unified Command, Maryland Department of State Police, State Police, Maryland State Police, Maryland Transportation Authority Police, FBI, US Coast Guard, Grace Ocean Private Limited, Synergy Marine PTE LTD Locations: Baltimore, Glen Burnie , Maryland, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Maryland

☆ Açai berries and child labor: How children in Brazil are climbing 70-foot-high trees to pick the superfood
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Julia Vargas Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Picking berries to help feed his familyLucas Oliveira, 13, of the Fazendinha village outside Macapá, is one of these children. The stories of harvesters who’ve fallen from trees are numerous — some have had severe injuries and never walked again. Açaí harvesters expose themselves to the perils of the rainforest. Of those, at least 756,000 worked in what the International Labor Organization calls the worst forms of child labor, which includes “dangerous” conditions. Dozens of times a day, Lucas Oliveira climbs trees to bring down heavy bunches of açaí.

Persons: —, ”, Lucas Oliveira, Wengleston, Julia Vargas Jones Lucas, ” Lucas, Lucas, “, he’s, ” Wengleston, Julia Vargas Jones, they’re, Allan Bruno, Bruno, ” Bruno, aren’t Organizations: Brazil CNN —, CNN, International Labor Organization, Brazil’s Public Ministry of Labor Locations: Macapá, Brazil, Igarapé da Fortaleza, Pará, Amapá

OAK RIDGE NORTH, Texas (AP) — A man suspected of several robberies in southeastern Texas was fatally shot Monday night by officers with a joint task force after they saw him rob a liquor store, authorities said. The man, whose name was not immediately released, fled officers who had been monitoring him before seeing him rob the liquor store in Oak Ridge North at gunpoint, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon. The officers then tried to arrest the man, but he fled on foot in the strip mall where the liquor store is located. “The officers, fearing for their safety, discharged their weapons, the suspect dies.”Ligon said a report on the shooting will be submitted to a grand jury to determine whether the officers acted appropriately. None of the officers were injured and all are on paid leave pending investigations into the shooting.

Persons: Brett Ligon, “ Let's, Ligon, ” Ligon, “, — Organizations: Houston, Harris County sheriff's Locations: NORTH, Texas, Oak Ridge, Montgomery County, Houston, Harris County

☆ 3 Killed in National Guard Helicopter Crash Near Mexican Border
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three people were killed and one was critically injured after a helicopter carrying National Guard members and a Border Patrol agent crashed in southern Texas on Friday while following people who were crossing the border with Mexico, officials said. The helicopter, which crashed at 2:50 p.m., was conducting an operation near Rio Grande City, according to Joint Task Force North, an operation under the Defense Department that supports Customs and Border Protection with National Guard units. Two of the dead were soldiers, and the third was a Border Patrol agent, Joint Task Force North said in a statement, adding that it would not share the names of the victims because their families had not been notified. The National Guard confirmed in a statement that its members on board were part of the Army National Guard. That model has served as the U.S. Army’s light utility helicopter since 2006, according to Airbus, the manufacturer.

Organizations: National Guard, Border Patrol, Task Force, Defense Department, Army National Guard, UH, Lakota, Airbus Locations: Texas, Mexico, Rio Grande City

☆ Nigeria: Suspected insurgents kidnap 50 people in northeastern region
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —Suspected Islamist insurgents kidnapped 50 people, mostly women, in northeastern Nigeria this week, local officials and a resident said on Wednesday, the latest mass abduction by fighters who have waged an insurgency for more than a decade. They were ambushed by gunmen and made to walk across bushy paths into neighboring Chad, the official said, adding that three of the kidnapped women managed to escape. The Nigerian Army did not respond to a request for comment. Barkindo Saidu, head of Borno’s emergency agency, said he was traveling to the area to assess the situation but was not yet ready to declare the people missing. The agency is in charge of camps housing thousands of Nigerians displaced by the insurgency.

Persons: Reuters —, Boko, Falmata Bukar, Barkindo Saidu Organizations: Reuters, Civilian, Task Force, Nigerian Army Locations: Nigeria, Boko Haram, Islamic, West Africa Province, Borno, Chad, Cameroon, Lake Chad

☆ Ukraine's military says Russia is intensifying its attacks and that in some sectors, there are as many as 50 'combat clashes' a day
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewRussia has been ramping up its attacks in various sectors of the front, and there have been numerous clashes in the last few days, according to Ukrainian military officials. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi wrote in a Telegram post Saturday that in his area, "for the second day in a row, the enemy has conducted 50 combat clashes daily." Other Ukrainian military officials have emphasized the frequency of Russian attacks. A military spokesperson repeated the 50 attacks figure in a separate discussion of Russian activities, highlighting the intensity in certain sectors. "The invaders are very active, they have increased the number of offensive and assault operations," said Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun, according to a Sunday CNN report.

Persons: —, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Oleksandr Shtupun, Oles, Tarnavskyi, Shtupun, Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Business, Ukrainian, CNN, 92nd Separate Brigade, Kupyansk, Force, Republican Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Tavria, Zaporizhia, Ukraine

NEW YORK (AP) — A pair of multicolored briefs peeking out above a robbery suspect's low-slung trousers helped police arrest him more than a year later, federal authorities in New York said Wednesday. The robbery happened at a tobacco shop in Queens on Sept. 14, 2022. An anonymous tipster passed along the Instagram handle of the suspect with the colorful underwear, the complaint said. An email seeking comment was sent to the suspect's attorney with the federal public defender's office. The other two robbery suspects are still at large, authorities said.

Persons: tipster Organizations: Mazda, Police, New York Police Department, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, U.S Locations: New York, Queens, Brooklyn

The Pantanal holds thousands of plant and animal species, including 159 mammals, and it abounds with jaguars, according to the World Wildlife Fund. In the dry season, wildlife enthusiasts flock to see the normally furtive jaguars lounging on riverbanks, along with macaws, caimans and capybaras. Political Cartoons View All 1256 ImagesMuch of the Encontro das Aguas (Meeting of the Waters) park, located at the border of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states — known for its large jaguar population — had turned from emerald green to dark brown. “This is so atypical,” said Renata Libonati, who coordinates the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro's alert system for fires in the Pantanal. The neighboring state of Mato Grosso said it had also strengthened its workforce, with about 200 federal and state firefighters on the ground.

Persons: —, they’ll, Leonisio da Silva, ”, Renata Libonati, ” Libonati, Angelo Rabelo, Mato Grosso, Enderson Barreto, “, ” Barreto, Barreto Organizations: — Firefighters, Facebook, Federal University of Rio, Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, World Wildlife Fund, Mato Grosso, Associated Press, ” Jaguars, Firefighters, El, Environment, Federal Highway Police, Waters, ” Locations: POCONE, BRAZIL, Brazil's, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Waters, Mato Grosso, Mato, Sul, Brazil, Porto Jofre

☆ How the Nigerian military fatally shot a young captive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +19 min

The Nigerian government and military – including the presidency, Ministry of Defence, defence headquarters and army leaders – did not respond to detailed questions for this story. Various entities have accused Nigerian security forces of other abuses in connection with killings of civilians and captives. Two security force members told Reuters they saw multiple prisoners brought out of the barracks and shot after the fighting ceased. Tweets from Nigerian defence headquarters in Abuja show the military declared the hostilities over shortly after 11 a.m. Nine shots fired A uniformed security force member shot nine rounds at the young captive, pulling the trigger at least seven times, according to forensic audio experts who listened to the recording at Reuters’ request.

Persons: Melanie O’Brien, –, Ocampo, Christopher Musa, Musa, ” Musa, “, extrajudicially, Michael Oluoha Agi, ’ ”, ”, Boko, ‘ Allahu akbar ’, Yahaya, Haram, Biu, Bellingcat, Belllingcat, Chris Olukolade, Emmanuel Emeka, Emeka, Reade Levinson, David Lewis, Tim Cocks, Carlos Gonzales, Paul Carsten, Daphne Psaledakis, Stephanie van den Berg, Youri van, Adolfo Arranz, Sam Hart, Feilding, Julie Marquis, Alexandra Zavis Organizations: Reuters, International Association of, Nigerian, Ministry of Defence, ICC, Islamic, Human Rights Commission, United Nations, Twitter, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, U.S . State Department, U.S, Boko, Civilian, Task Force, Defence, Facebook, 231, Battalion, 331 Artillery Regiment Locations: Geneva, Nigeria, Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, Nigerian, United States, Britain, U.S, Biu, Boko Haram, Abuja, Largema

"I will match your offer and commit today to open an office," Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih said after India's trade minister Piyush Goyal invited Saudi Arabia to set up an office of its sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), in GIFT City. Goyal also said he would suggest that his ministry starts an investment promotion office in Riyadh. During the Crown Prince's visit India and Saudi Arabia signed 50 initial pacts in various fields and agreed to form a joint task force for $100 billion in Saudi investment in India, originally announced by the Crown Prince in 2019. Half of the planned $100 billion is earmarked for a delayed refinery project along India's western coast, an Indian foreign ministry official said. He said Saudi Arabia is looking to invest in sectors including oil, gas, petrochemicals, new energy, technology, manufacturing and defence.

Persons: Amit Dave, Narendra Modi, Khalid Al Falih, Piyush Goyal, Prince Mohammed bin Salman's, Goyal, Crown Prince, Falih, Shivangi Acharya, Nidhi Verma, Blassy Boben, Ed Osmond, Susan Fenton Organizations: Gujarat International Finance Tec, REUTERS, Indian, Saudi Investment, Public Investment Fund, Crown, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Aramco, Thomson Locations: Gujarat, Gandhinagar, DELHI, Saudi Arabia, New Delhi, Dubai, Hong Kong, City, Falih, Delhi, Saudi, Riyadh, India, Indian, Maharashtra

☆ New Mideast corridor would include trains to India, Delhi says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman inspects the honour guard during his ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace in New Delhi, India, September 11, 2023. Asked about the proposals, Ausaf Sayeed, a secretary in the Foreign Ministry, spelled out that the corridor would include trains to India and not just links by port. Saudi Arabia is among the top exporters of petroleum to India. Sayeed said that new corridor will include ports, railways, better roads and also power, gas grids and optical fiber network. During their talks earlier in the day the Indian leader and the Saudi crown prince also discussed cooperation in space, semiconductors and collaboration in defence manufacturing as well.

Persons: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Stringer, Ausaf, Khalid Al Falih, Prince Mohammed bin Salman's, Sayeed, Shivam Patel, Krishn Kaushik, Ed Osmond, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Saudi, Crown, REUTERS, Foreign Ministry, European Union, United Arab, Initiative, Saudi Investment, Gulf Cooperation Council, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, East, South Asia, Indian, Delhi, United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Saudi

☆ A month after deadly Maui fire, 66 people still missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Only 60 of those victims had been identified as of Thursday, according to the Maui Police Department. Tim Laborte's stepfather, Joseph Lara, was killed in the fire, his body found a short drive from Lara's house in his native Lahaina. [1/3]A Combined Joint Task Force 50 (CJTF-50) search, rescue and recovery member conducts search operations of areas damaged by Maui wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii, U.S. August 15, 2023. "The people of Maui must have as much time as they need to heal and recover and will begin to rebuild only when they are ready," Green said. "I want to emphasize this again: The land in the Lahaina is reserved for its people as they return and rebuild."

Persons: Josh Green, Tim Laborte's, Joseph Lara, Laborte, Matthew A, Foster, Handout, Green, Jonathan Allen, Stephen Coates Organizations: Maui Police Department, Officials, Force, U.S . Army National Guard, Staff, REUTERS, Hawaii's Department of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S . Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Thomson Locations: Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina, Lahaina , Hawaii, U.S, Hawaiian, New York

☆ Fact Check-Video does not show 2023 demolition drive in Abuja, Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A Nigerian TV broadcast from 2021 of settlements belonging to the Fulani ethnic group being torn down in Abuja is being falsely shared online as building demolitions ordered by a government minister in 2023. Speaking in August at the site of a deadly building collapse in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory minister Nyesom Wike said all structures in his constituency without adequate building approvals would be demolished (here). Some social media users then shared a broadcast report about Fulani settlements being torn down, suggesting it showed Wike’s order being carried out. “FCT Minister Nyesom Wike at work ooo, starting from Fulani settlement and some areas along Airport,Abuja, FCT, Nigeria,” said Facebook posts sharing the video (here), (here). But the report, from Independent Television/Radio Abuja, was first broadcast on May 31, 2021 (here).

Persons: Nyesom Wike, “, ”, Malam Muhammad Bello, Read Organizations: Federal Capital, Independent Television, Radio Abuja, Task Force, Azikiwe, Guardian, Reuters Locations: Abuja, Airport, FCT, Nigeria, Nigerian

☆ Army, Marine units involved in Afghanistan withdrawal to receive Presidential Unit Citation two years later
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —US service members deployed on the Afghanistan withdrawal mission will receive the Presidential Unit Citation, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Thursday, the two-year anniversary of the withdrawal. The Air Force does not appear to be included in the units receiving citations under Thursday’s announcement, an Air Force official said, though Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a news briefing on Thursday that more units could receive the citation in the future. “So in the statement that we put out today, it highlighted the units that have currently been awarded that recognition. The Biden administration conducted an after-action review of the Afghanistan withdrawal and released a summary of findings in April this year.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, ” Austin, “, Pat Ryder, ” Ryder, Hamid Karzai, Austin, Mike McCaul, they’d, Biden, Trump, Ashraf Ghani, Christine Wormuth, ” Wormuth Organizations: CNN, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Force, Central Command, 82nd Airborne Division, Gold Star, Army National Guard and, The Air Force, Air Force, Pentagon, Hamid, Capitol, House Foreign Affairs, Republican, Biden, Department, Marines, The Defense Department, US Central Command, Army, Marine Corps, 82nd Airborne, Command Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul

☆ US wildland firefighter pay threatened by Republican feud in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Firefighters cannot be held hostage to congressional infighting," said Lucas Mayfield, president of the advocacy group Grassroots Wildland Firefighters. More than 10 million acres were affected in 2015 and 2017. Last year, the cost of suppressing wildfires across 7.6 million acres surpassed $3.5 billion, according to the center. "Now is not the time ... to be engaging in this kind of the political gamesmanship around something as important as the livelihood of our wildland firefighters," he told Reuters. Neguse and Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an independent from Arizona, have introduced legislation in their respective chambers that would avoid the pay cliff and authorize future pay increases for wildland firefighters.

Persons: Matthew A, Foster, Handout, Mike Simpson, Joe Biden, Lucas Mayfield, Mayfield, Joe Neguse, Kyrsten Sinema, David Morgan, Scott Malone, Alistair Bell Organizations: Force, U.S . Army National Guard, Staff, REUTERS, Rights, Interagency Fire, Idaho Republican, Reuters, Republicans, Democrats, Democratic, Biden, Grassroots, Firefighters, Republican, National Interagency Fire Center, Colorado Democrat, House, Thomson Locations: Lahaina , Hawaii, U.S, Washington, West, British Columbia, Idaho, United States, Neguse, Arizona

☆ Maui officials defend decision not to sound sirens during wildfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LAHAINA, Hawaii, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Maui's emergency management chief on Wednesday defended his agency's decision against sounding sirens during last week's deadly wildfire amid questions about whether doing so might have saved lives. Herman Andaya, administrator of the Maui County Emergency Management Agency, said sirens in Hawaii are used to alert people to tsunamis. Because the sirens are primarily located on the waterfront, they would have been useless to people on higher ground, he said. Hawaii Governor Josh Green also defended the decision not to sound sirens. In other developments:[1/5]A Combined Joint Task Force 50 (CJTF-50) search, rescue and recovery member conducts search operations of areas damaged by Maui wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii, U.S. August 15, 2023.

Persons: Herman Andaya, Andaya, Josh Green, Green, Matthew A, Foster, Handout, Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Robert Dyckman, Buddy Jantoc, Laurie Allen, shouldn't, Allen, Jonathan Allen, Jorge Garcia, Sandra Stojanovic, Brendan O'Brien, Julia Harte, Eric Beech, Daniel Trotta, Colleen Jenkins, Stephen Coates Organizations: Emergency Management Agency, Force, U.S . Army National Guard, Staff, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: LAHAINA, Hawaii, Maui, Lahaina, Lahaina , Hawaii, U.S, Maui County, Oahu, Chicago, New York, Washington, Carlsbad , California

☆ US set to launch formal investigation into disputed Syria drone strike after reports it killed a civilian, defense officials sa
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The US military is set to launch a formal investigation into a drone strike in Syria in early May, six weeks after the operation and following reports it killed a civilian rather than a senior al-Qaeda leader as first claimed, three defense officials familiar with the matter told CNN. A spokesman for CENTCOM, Michael Lawhorn, said the investigation process is continuing but that there were no updates at this time. It took US Central Command two weeks to begin a review of the incident, known as a civilian casualty credibility assessment report. The policy was developed in 2022 after a botched US drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians in the final days of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. In that case, CENTCOM opened a formal 15-6 investigation into the strike within a week of the operation.

Persons: Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM, Kurilla, Hassan, Michael Lawhorn, Matthew McFarlane, ”, Annie Shiel, Shiel, Lloyd Austin, “, Brig, Pat Ryder Organizations: CNN, Command, Central Command, Pentagon, US Central Command, Washington Post, Force, ISIS, Center for Civilians, Defense Department, Defense Locations: Syria, Hassan Mesto, Kabul, Afghanistan

☆ Fact Check-New York prison barge not being transported to Guam or ‘Gitmo’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A New York City prison barge is not being moved to Guam or the Guantanamo Bay detention center known as “Gitmo,” according to officials in the New York City Department of Corrections and the U.S. Southern Command. The base includes a military prison, known colloquially as Gitmo. A New York City Department of Corrections spokesperson also said in an email that the photograph shows the Vernon C. Bain Center located in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Vernon C. Bain Center is an 800-bed prison that houses inmates for the New York City Department of Corrections. The prison barge was set up in 1992, intended as a temporary facility to accommodate New York’s growing inmate population, the New York Times reported in 2019 (here).

☆ Jack Teixeira's alleged Discord leaks show why the US should not give Top Secret clearances to 21-year-olds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Nevertheless, that looks to be the US intelligence community's approach to handling classified information. The tangled views of Jack Teixeira, who was indicted Friday in connection with leaking hundreds of classified documents to a private Discord server, are still coming into focus. There are classified phone systems, email systems, fiber optic cables, and a Wikipedia clone. Aside from the question of how many people have access to secrets, it's also worth considering how many of those supposed secrets belong on classified systems at all. Who was tracking the whereabouts of the volume of secret files he appears to have sent to the printer?

☆ A top US general warns ISIS will be able to strike Western interests from Afghanistan within 6 months
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

ISIS could strike Western interests from Afghanistan within months, a top US general says. Gen. Michael Kurilla warned the terror group's Afghanistan affiliate could stage attacks abroad. Its "ultimate goal" is to strike the US homeland, Kurilla told lawmakers, which would be difficult. The terror group continued to carry out attacks across Afghanistan in 2022 — targeting everything from schools to mosques, and killing scores of people. In the latter two countries, US and partner forces have carried out nearly 100 operations against the terror group since the start of 2023, according to CENTCOM fact sheets.

☆ Biden and EU's von der Leyen to meet amid subsidies dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 2 (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will discuss clean energy and supply chains with President Joe Biden in Washington on March 10, the White House said, as European nations worry that new U.S. subsidies will hurt their economies. "They will ... discuss U.S.-EU coordination to combat the climate crisis through investing in clean technology based on secure supply chains," the statement said. During a December visit by France's President Emmanuel Macron to the White House, Biden said that bills aimed at boosting U.S. renewable energy and the semiconductor industry have "glitches" that can be addressed. Washington and its allies have said in recent weeks that China was considering providing weapons to Russia, which Beijing denies. Reporting by Kanishka Singh; Writing by Costas Pitas; Editing by Tim AhmannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU gives guarded welcome to U.S. guidance on EV tax credits
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File PhotoBRUSSELS, Dec 29 (Reuters) - The European Commission gave a guarded welcome on Thursday to guidance by the United States meaning that EU companies could partially benefit from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, but said further improvements were required. The Commission said the Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit would be available to EU companies without requiring changes to established or foreseen business models of EU producers. A commercial clean vehicle, the guidance says, "is made by a qualified manufacturer". However, for the New Clean Vehicle Credit for consumers, the vehicle must have final assembly in North America. The Commission said the scheme remained a concern, with provisions that discriminated against clean vehicles and inputs made in the European Union, and it violated international law.

Search resuls for: "Joint Task Force"

25 mentions found