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☆ Photos from the LA fires show how houses catch on fire — and how homeowners can protect their property
▼ + stars: | 2025-01-09 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Los Angeles firestorms show how quickly wildfires can turn into urban fires. Understanding how a brush fire becomes urban can help homeowners prepare their properties for future fires. Related VideoStrong winds blow embers as the Palisades Fire burns homes on January 8. David Swanson/AFP/Getty ImagesIf those little fires are close enough to the house, the flames can start to overtake the building. ADHowever, photos from the aftermath so far in the Palisades don't seem to show surviving houses unique amid burned blocks.

Persons: Apu Gomes, It's, Jack Cohen, Cohen isn't, David Swanson, Mario Tama, Etienne Laurent, Pat Durland, Cohen, Jay L, Durland, it's Organizations: US Forest Service, Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, Getty, Palisades, FEMA, AP, National Fire Protection Association Locations: Angeles, Los Angeles, AFP, Palisades, conflagrations, Eaton, Malibu

☆ Columbia’s administrators failed crisis management 101
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

There’s the day to day admin, the glad-handing of donors, and, crucially, keeping internal fires from becoming public, violent conflagrations. That last one is a public relations lesson, one on which Columbia’s president might need a refresher. In doing so, Columbia’s leadership threw out the playbook for managing protests that universities have honed for decades to keep students safe. To be sure, Columbia’s president, Minouche Shafik, knows her job could be on the line. Meanwhile, thousands of students, parents and alumni are about to descend on Columbia’s campus for commencement, adding more pressure to remove protesters.

Persons: CNN Business ’, ” Sarah J, Jackson, “, ” Jackson, they’re, it’s, Nadia Abu, ” Abu, Haj, Minouche Shafik, UPenn Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN — University, Columbia University, NYPD, University of Pennsylvania, ”, Trustees, comms, Haj, Columbia, New York, Harvard, Brown University, Wesleyan, University of Chicago Locations: New York, Columbia, Nadia Abu El, ” Abu El

☆ Opinion | The Laws of Campus Culture War
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

They represent the moral and philosophical foundations for the concrete constitutional rules of culture war that directly apply on campus. One of the most powerful and compelling arguments for free speech in American history was born out of mob suppression. In 1860, Frederick Douglass wrote his “Plea for Free Speech in Boston” after a violent mob shut down an antislavery event. Every college and university — public or private — that receives federal funds has an affirmative duty to protect students’ civil rights. In the recent past, schools have sometimes been too enthusiastic about stopping harassment, defining the term so broadly that university anti-harassment policies actually violate students’ free speech rights.

Persons: George Washington, ”, “, Abraham, ” Washington, Johnson, Watts, they’re, Deactivating, Frederick Douglass, ” Douglass, Biden, Davis, VI, Scott Alexander’s, it’s, — Organizations: State University System of, Justice, Cooper Union, Cornell University, Trees School, . Ohio, Klan, Hamas, Civil, of Education, Cornell, Democratic Locations: State University System of Florida, Palestine, New York City, Ithaca, N.Y, ”, United States, America, Newport, R.I, Texas, Terminiello, Chicago, Brandenburg, ., Ohio, “, Gaza, Florida, Boston, Monroe County

☆ Big government will drive the next market cycle
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Growth picked up while quiescent inflation permitted interest rates to fall. Bereft of government support, central banks tried to stimulate their economies by pushing interest rates to new lows. That means interest rates will struggle to return to the ultra-low levels seen after 2008. The first takeaway is that higher debt levels, inflation and interest rates should be bad for bonds. Vincent Deluard of StoneX has proposed a division between intangible and tangible companies.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, ” Ronald Reagan’s, Milton Friedman –, Britain’s Margaret Thatcher –, Reaganomics ”, Réka Juhász, Nathan J, Lane, Dani Rodrik, government’s, Vincent Deluard, StoneX, Lockheed Martin, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: Republicans, Capitol, REUTERS, Reuters, Bank, Asset, Monetary Fund, Treasury, Capital Economics, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Capital, Facebook, Meta, Lockheed, Micron Technology, U.S, Congress, Nasdaq, Energy, Exxon Mobil, Labour Party, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, “, Ukraine, Covid, Europe, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan

While the human tragedy dominates the broader global news agenda, its hold on global markets has typically loosened pretty quickly. Inflation-adjusted real rates matter more when deciding whether to hold gold. The 2014 Gaza War lasted about six weeks and saw Israeli forces cross the border into Gaza. The 2008-09 Gaza War also echoes today's situation and saw Israeli forces cross into Palestinian territory. And over the course of the 2014 Gaza War Brent crude fell around $10 to $93 a barrel.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jim Reid, Brent, Michael Every, Jamie McGeever, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Barclays, Deutsche, Benchmark, Swiss, Rabobank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Rights ORLANDO , Florida, Israel, Lebanon, Gaza

The video posted on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, caught the attention of Jonathan Riley, a liberal activist in Durham, North Carolina, who posted Sunday that it showed “Missouri Republicans at a literal book burning," though he'd later walk that statement back to a “metaphorical” book burning. “It fit a narrative that they wanted to put out there,” Freedom Fest organizer Debbie McFarland said about claims that Eigel burned books. Experts who study political extremism said images involving fire or bonfires have long been associated with extremist groups. Eigel’s critics quickly posted online images involving the Ku Klux Klan and Nazi book burnings before World War II. Talking about book burning enough can plant the idea in people's minds so that ”people think it’s actually a righteous thing to do."

Persons: Louis, Sen, Bill Eigel, ” Eigel, Eigel, ”, Kurt Braddock, Jonathan Riley, he'd, Debbie McFarland, Mike Parson, State Jay Ashcroft, Mike Kehoe, Ashcroft, Gregg Keller, Eigel’s, “, Eric Greitens, Flamethowers, Donald Trump, Kristi Noem’s, Evan Perkoski, it's, ” “, Javed Ali, Braddock, ” Eigel's, Ali, he’s, ___ Hanna, ___, John Hanna Organizations: JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri, Associated Press, ”, American University, Republicans, Twitter, Missouri Republicans, Gov, State, AP, GOP, Ku, Navy, Senate, Name, torching, Ku Klux Klan, University of Connecticut, University of Michigan Locations: Mo, St, Missouri, Washington, Defiance , Missouri, Durham , North Carolina, Jefferson City, U.S, Arizona, Alabama, South Dakota, Topeka , Kansas

Hawaiian Electric CEO Shelee Kimura received a cash bonus in 2022 based on her performance against 10 measures including profit and customer satisfaction. Wildfire risk mitigation was not on the list, according to the utility’s pay disclosures. Wildfire risk had been a concern for several years before the blaze ripped through Lahaina, a historic resort town in Maui. Idacorp declined to comment on its pay practices and how they relate to wildfire mitigation. “You don’t want a wildfire disaster to be the catalyst for a change in public policy,” said Glazer, who supports linking executive pay to wildfire mitigation.

Persons: Mike Blake, ”, Alison Silverstein, Shelee Kimura, Kimura, “, Michael Cerasoli, Michael Underhill, Brian Buckham, ” Buckham, Idacorp, Larry Glazer, Glazer, Tim McLaughlin, Tom Hals, Peter Henderson, Noeleen Walder, Rich Valdmanis, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Workers, REUTERS, Hawaiian Electric, U.S . Federal Energy Regulatory, Electric, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, San Diego Gas &, Global Renewable Energy Income Fund, Reuters, Capital Innovations, SEC, Portland General Electric Co, Boston’s Mayflower Advisors, Thomson Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, California, Honolulu, Maui ., Idaho , Oregon, Washington, Idaho

These two firefighters declined to be named because they were not authorized to discuss the emergency effort. The water pressure was a continuing problem, he said. At one point, the crew found a hydrant further north that seemed to have more water, and they doused a commercial building. They left the scene, he said, hoping that the water they had applied to the structure would be enough to keep it safe. “I thought it had a chance,” Mr. Ho said.

Persons: Ho, Mr, ” Organizations: Hawaii Fire Fighters Association Locations: Maui, Lahaina

☆ California's fire season under way weeks after heavy rain and snow
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, April 28 (Reuters) - Barely five weeks after the last bout of heavy rain and snow in California's historically wet winter, firefighters on Friday battled the state's first large wildfire of the year in rugged foothills east of Los Angeles. The blaze posed no immediate threat to populated areas as it burned steep terrain deep in the forest, agency spokesperson Lyn Sieliet said. Still, it marked the first blaze of the 2023 season measuring 100 acres or more, signaling the potential for extreme wildfire activity this summer and fall. Forecasters said a warming trend hastened a spring thaw following a spate of Pacific storms that pummeled California with torrential rains and mountain snow from late December until late March. Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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