Winds keep fueling New Mexico wildfire
High winds in northern New Mexico on Sunday once again posed a stiff challenge to crews battling a large wildfire that grew significantly over the weekend. The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon fire east of Santa Fe, which began as two fires before merging a week ago, had burned almost 104,000 acres by Sunday, up from about 75,000 acres on Friday. It was 30% contained, officials said, with smoke from that fire and another — the Cerro Pelado fire in Jemez Springs, roughly 40 miles west of Santa Fe — permeating much of the northern part of the state. No deaths or injuries have been reported from the fire.
Jail officer, murder suspect missing
Alabama and federal authorities are searching for a corrections officer and a murder suspect who were last seen Friday leaving the jail for what should have been a three-minute drive to the county courthouse for an appointment that turned out not to exist, officials said. The officer, Vicki White, who is the assistant director of corrections, left the Lauderdale County Jail at 9:41 a.m. to take the inmate, Casey White, for a mental health evaluation at the county courthouse in Florence, Alabama. However, no such appointment existed, Sheriff Rick Singleton said. Although Vicki White and Casey White have the same surname, they are not related.
Russian tycoon who criticized war forced to sell stake in bank
Oleg Y. Tinkov, founder of one of Russia’s biggest banks, criticized the war in Ukraine on Instagram. The next day, he said, President Vladimir Putin’s administration contacted his executives and threatened to nationalize his bank if it did not cut ties with him. Last week, he was forced to sell his 35% stake to a Russian billionaire. Tinkov, speaking to The New York Times Sunday, said he hired bodyguards after friends with contacts in the Russian security services told him he should fear for his life.
IS begins bloody new chapter
The first blast ripped through a school in Kabul, the Afghan capital, killing high school students. Days later, explosions destroyed two mosques and a minibus in the north. The following week, three more explosions targeted Shiite and Sufi Muslims. The attacks of the past two weeks have left at least 100 people dead, and stoked fears that Afghanistan is heading into a violent spring, as the Islamic State’s affiliate in the country tries to undermine the Taliban government. The spate of attacks has upended the relative calm that followed the Taliban’s seizing of power in August.
By wire sources