Wildfires torch 150,000 acres in 3 states
McKenna Thompson, 30, learned last week that she was among thousands of people across Arizona, Nebraska and New Mexico who would be forced to leave as wildfires approached. She later learned that her home had burned down. Thompson was caught up in the Tunnel Fire, which officials estimate has damaged or destroyed 30 homes. It was one of many wildfires last week that have collectively scorched more than 150,000 acres and forced the evacuations of at least 4,000 homes, officials said.
Air Force general guilty of sex abuse
An Air Force major general was found guilty of forcibly kissing a woman in 2018, in the first court-martial trial and conviction of a general officer in the 75-year history of the military branch, its authorities said. Maj. Gen. William T. Cooley was convicted of abusive sexual conduct Saturday by Col. Christina M. Jimenez, the senior military judge in the case, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Cooley was accused of abusive sexual conduct with three “specifications” and was convicted of the first one, for “kissing her on the lips and tongue,” the Air Force said Saturday.
Climate activist dies after setting himself on fire at Supreme Court
A Colorado man who set himself on fire in front of the Supreme Court Friday in an apparent Earth Day protest against climate change has died, police said. The Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C., said Wynn Bruce, 50, of Boulder, Colorado, had died Saturday from his injuries after being airlifted to a hospital after the incident. Members of his family could not be reached immediately for comment. Kritee Kanko, a climate scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund and a Zen Buddhist priest in Boulder, said she is a friend of Bruce and that the self-immolation was a planned act of protest.
Emmanuel Macron defeats Marine Le Pen for second term as French president
French President Emmanuel Macron won a second term, triumphing Sunday over Marine Le Pen, his far-right challenger, after a campaign in which his promise of stability prevailed over the temptation of an extremist lurch. Projections at the close of voting showed Macron, a centrist, gaining 58.5% of the vote to Le Pen’s 41.5%. His victory was much narrower than in 2017, when the margin was 66.1% to 33.9% for Le Pen, but wider than appeared likely two weeks ago. Speaking to a crowd on the Champ de Mars, a solemn Macron said his victory was for “a more independent France and a stronger Europe.”
10 dead after Japan tour boat sinks
At least 10 people who had been on a sightseeing boat that sank off the Japanese island of Hokkaido on Saturday have died, Japan’s coast guard said Sunday. Sixteen others were still missing. The vessel had 24 passengers aboard when its two crew members sent a distress call Saturday afternoon, saying the boat was taking on water. Another call came less than an hour later, reporting the vessel was now tilting by 30 degrees. On Sunday afternoon, the coast guard said 10 of the 26 people had been recovered, all of whom were later declared dead. It was not clear what caused the sinking.
COVID shots still work but
researchers hunt new improvements
COVID-19 vaccines still offer strong protection against severe illness and death, but Moderna and Pfizer are testing combination shots as a possible new kind of booster. The vaccines now available in the U.S. were made to fight the original version of the virus. Variants are chipping away at some of their benefits, particularly their effectiveness against mild infection. The newer vaccine versions being tested are mixes — the original vaccine plus protection against the super-contagious omicron mutant. Other companies are pursuing nasal vaccines that might one day better prevent milder infections.
Another setback for Europe’s
far-right populists
Europe’s once surging movement of nationalist populists suffered a significant setback in Slovenia on Sunday, in the formerly communist east. In parliamentary elections in Slovenia, a noteworthy test for the appeal of right-wing populism, preliminary results indicated that Prime Minister Janez Jansa, an admirer of former President Donald Trump, lost to centrist rivals. With 95% of the vote counted in an election that the opposition called a “referendum on democracy.”
By wire sources
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