Crews are making progress against a smoky wildfire in Southern California that broke out Friday morning. The Springs Fire in Riverside County, about 64 miles east of Los Angeles, was 45% contained by Saturday. Officials said it was 25% contained on Friday. Winds that were predicted to gust up to 45 mph on Saturday had “dissipated a bit” since Friday, helping firefighters. About 260 personnel are battling the blaze, and no structures have been damaged. Less than a dozen zones remain under mandatory evacuation orders. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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Rescue teams are searching for 27 people after a passenger boat sank in rough seas in eastern Indonesia. Officials say the boat Nazila 05 left Taliabu Island after dusk on Sunday, heading to the coastal village of Kema in the same province. Search chief Muhammad Rizal says the owner alerted authorities on Monday morning. The captain reported high waves breaking the bow. He then said the boat sank about 30 minutes later. Rizal says everyone aboard evacuated into a longboat. Their location is still unknown. Rescuers have used a vessel, a helicopter, and help from local fishers.
Hawaii is taking control of the aging Wahiawa Dam after floodwaters pushed it to near-failure and prompted mass evacuations. The state land board voted Friday to acquire key parcels from Dole Food Company. That clears the way for state-led repairs and a bigger spillway that could cost at least $20 million. Officials call the dam a high hazard because failure could kill people downstream. The danger spikes during heavy rain. Evacuation orders lifted Saturday after water levels dropped. Residents support the takeover but plan to watch closely. One board member voted no.
Israel is trading fire with Hezbollah, calling for mass evacuations and sending ground troops deeper into Lebanon. Its leaders have hinted at a long-term occupation modeled on the devastating conquest of much of Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Israel says it needs a zone of control in the depopulated south to shield its northern communities, which have come under daily rocket attack since the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group joined the wider war. Many in Lebanon fear that could mean the open-ended displacement of over a million people, the flattening of their homes and a loss of territory.
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Hawaii officials urged people in hard-hit areas to evacuate Saturday due to the state's worst flooding in more than 20 years, after heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago with still more expected over the weekend.
AP Wire
Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor. He had long been considered a contender, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war. He had never been elected or appointed to a government position. U.S. President Donald Trump had called the possible selection of the younger Khamenei unacceptable to succeed his father. There was no immediate White House comment after the announcement by Iran’s state TV shortly after midnight Monday. Two US officials say the State Department will order nonessential personnel and families of all staff to leave Saudi Arabia as Iran escalates its retaliation for U.S.-Israel military operations.
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Greenberg said experts from several agencies recommended "a planned, monitored, and controlled burn."
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Some buildings near the square were evacuated Monday morning.