Author: Brian Melley
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Missile-alert error reveals uncertainty about how to react
HONOLULU — When Jonathan Scheuer got an alert on his phone of a ballistic missile headed for Hawaii, he and his family didn’t know what to do. They went to their guest bedroom, then decided it would be safer on the ground floor of their Honolulu home. “What do we do?” he wondered. “Where do…
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Missile-alert mistake feeds doubts about a real emergency
HONOLULU (AP) — A blunder that caused more than a million people in Hawaii to fear that they were about to be struck by a nuclear missile fed skepticism Sunday about the government’s ability to keep them informed in a real emergency. Residents and tourists alike remained rattled a day after the mistaken alert was…
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Frustrations, tragedy mount for California mudslide town
MONTECITO, Calif. — Frustrations and dark discoveries mounted for a California town ravaged by a deadly and destructive mudslide. Most of the people of Montecito, a town usually known for its serenity and luxury, were under orders to stay out of town as gas and power were expected to be shut off Saturday for repairs.…
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Winds churn California wildfires, keep aircraft from helping
LOS ANGELES — A wildfire erupted in Los Angeles’ exclusive Bel-Air section Wednesday as yet another part of Southern California found itself under siege from an outbreak of wind-whipped blazes that have consumed multimillion-dollar houses and tract homes alike. Hundreds of homes across the L.A. metropolitan area and beyond were feared destroyed since Monday, but…
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California suburbs again under siege from wind-driven fires
VENTURA, Calif. — Wind-driven fires tore through California communities Tuesday for the second time in two months, leaving hundreds of homes feared lost and uprooting tens of thousands of people. The most damaging fire was in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles, where 150 structures were confirmed destroyed. But a fire official said he suspected…
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Lighter winds help crews gain on California wildfires
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — Firefighters kept gaining on the California wildfires Monday with help from lighter winds that made it easier to attack the flames that have killed at least 40 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. After days of gusts that constantly fanned the fires, better weather offered a chance for crews…
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California firefighters say they finally ‘turned a corner’
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — With the winds dying down, fire officials said Sunday they have apparently “turned a corner” against the wildfires that have devastated California wine country and other parts of the state over the past week, and thousands of people got the all-clear to return home. While the danger from the deadliest, most…
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Las Vegas gunman may have scoped out other music festivals
LAS VEGAS — Investigators are looking into whether gunman Stephen Paddock scoped out bigger music festivals in Las Vegas and Chicago — and perhaps Boston’s Fenway Park — before setting up his perch in a casino hotel and raining deadly fire on country music fans. Paddock booked rooms overlooking the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago in…
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Las Vegas gunman’s secret life thwarts investigators’ hunt for motive
LAS VEGAS — The gunman behind the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history led a secret life that has so far thwarted investigators trying to figure out a motive for the attack. In an effort to try to crack Stephen Paddock’s state of mind, the FBI spent hours on Wednesday interviewing his longtime girlfriend,…
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Feds, Texas offer choices for students homeless after Harvey
HOUSTON — Michael Evan Hilburn says he can’t wait to start kindergarten this week at a school about 20 miles from the Houston shelter where he and his father have been living since Harvey devastated the city. The 5-year-old is a beneficiary of state and federal laws that seek to make it easier for homeless…