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Los Angeles fires burn largest urban area in California in at least 40 years [Video]
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Los Angeles fires burn largest urban area in California in at least 40 years [Video]

Two wildfires still burning in Los Angeles have torched more urban area than any other fire in the state since at least the mid-1980s, an Associated Press analysis shows.The Eaton and Palisades fires that erupted last week have collectively burned almost 4 square miles of highly dense parts of Los Angeles, more than double the urban acreage consumed by the region’s Woolsey Fire in 2018, according to the AP’s analysis of data from the Silvis Lab at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.Experts say several factors could lead to wildfires reaching cities more often. Urban areas continue to sprawl into wildland. Climate change is raising global temperatures that lead to more severe weather, including droughts, especially in the western United States.If these conditions get worse or more frequent in the future, it wouldnt be surprising, in my opinion, if there were more events that threaten densely populated places, said Franz Schug, a researcher studying the boundaries between the wildland and urban areas at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.The Eaton and Palisades fires rampage through Los Angeles has killed at least 27 people, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and put more than 80,000 under evacuation orders. The fires are likely to be among the most destructive in California history, according to the state agency CalFire.The Woolsey Fire eventually grew to about twice the current size of the Eaton and Palisades fires but most of the area it burned was uninhabitated.Silvis, and AP, defined urban areas as those that are high density, where the land has at least 3 housing units for every acre, calculated with U.S. Census data.Video below: Brothers fight to save neighborhood from Palisades FireThe Great Chicago Fire of 1871 burned about 3.3 square miles of the downtown area of the city, according to the Chicago Architecture Center. San Franciscos Great Fire of 1906 destroyed 4 square miles of the city, according to the Museum of the City of San Francisco.Besides burning the most urban area, the Eaton and Palisades fires are the largest ever for California in January. Alexandra Syphard, a senior research scientist at the Conservation Biology Institute, said their timing and path through the city may have no precedent in history.Authorities haven’t determined a cause for the major blazes in California. But experts have noted the extreme weather that created more favorable conditions: heavy rains that drove vegetation growth, then extreme drought that turned much of that vegetation into good fire fuel. Scientists say such extreme weather events are a hallmark of climate change.Then theres the human element.Across California, about 1.4 million homes were built in areas where residential areas and vegetation intermingle between 1990 and 2020, a 40% increase, the Silvis Lab found.Fires that begin close to populated areas are often caused by people, and their proximity to people means they are usually extinguished sooner. As David Helmers, a data scientist and geographer at the Silvis Lab, put it, Humans tend to ignite fires, but they also fight fires.But that wasn’t the case with the Eaton and Palisades fires, which were whipped by fierce Santa Ana winds to overwhelm fire crews.The 2017 Tubbs Fire in northern California’s wine country came under similar high winds. That blaze, sparked by a residential electrical system, tore through suburban areas of Santa Rosa, killing 22 people and destroying more than 5,600 homes, businesses and other structures. Overnight, the rubble of the Coffey Park neighborhood became a symbol for how quickly a wildfire can reach a populated area.Some 53 years prior, another fire the Hanly Fire burned through almost the exact same area. Winds helped it spread with furious speed. But with little development at the time, nobody died and only 100 homes were lost.

Netanyahu announces Gaza hostage deal [Video]
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Netanyahu announces Gaza hostage deal [Video]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached, after his office had said earlier there were last-minute snags in finalizing a ceasefire that would pause 15 months of war.Netanyahu said he would convene his security Cabinet later Friday and then the government to approve the long-awaited agreement.Netanyahu’s statement appeared to clear the way for the Israeli government to approve of the deal, which would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and see dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. It would also allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to the remains of their homes in Gaza.Israeli airstrikes, meanwhile, killed at least 72 people in the war-ravaged territory on Thursday.Israel initially delayed a vote Thursday on the ceasefire, blaming a last-minute dispute with Hamas for holding up the approval as rising tensions in Netanyahus government coalition raised concerns about the implementation of the deal just a day after U.S. President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was complete.Netanyahus office had accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to gain further concessions without specifying which parts.In a briefing Thursday, David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesman, said Hamas new demands dealt with the deployment of Israeli forces in the Philadelphi corridor, the narrow strip bordering Egypt that Israeli troops seized in May.Hamas denied the claims, with Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, saying the militant group is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators.The ceasefire agreement has drawn fierce resistance from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, on whose support the Israeli prime minister depends to remain in power. On Thursday, Israel’s hardline national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened to quit the government if Israel approves the ceasefire.Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called on Israel and Hamas to implement a Gaza ceasefire plan without any delay in an exclusive interview Thursday with The Associated Press. Egypt has been a key mediator between the enemies for years and a leading player in ongoing ceasefire negotiations.The deal announced Wednesday would see scores of hostages held in Gaza released and a pause in fighting with a view to eventually wind down a 15-month war that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.The military campaign has leveled vast swaths of Gaza, and pushed about 90% of Gazas population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are struggling with hunger and disease in squalid tent camps on the coast.Netanyahu faces heavy internal pressureThe Israeli prime minister faces great domestic pressure to bring home the hostages, whose families have pleaded with Netanyahu to prioritize the release of their loved ones over politics.But Israeli divisions over the deal were on stark display Thursday, as Ben-Gvir, a key government coalition partner and Cabinet member, threatened to resign, saying the ceasefire was reckless and would “destroy all of Israels achievements.The departure of Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party would reduce the number of the ruling coalitions seats in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, from 68 to 62 leaving Netanyahu’s government with just the slimmest of majorities. Ben-Gvir said his party would return to the coalition if Israel resumes its war.Ben-Gvir’s resignation would not bring down the government or derail the ceasefire deal. But the move destabilizes the Israeli government at a delicate moment and could lead to the government’s collapse if Ben-Gvir is joined by other key Netanyahu allies.Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for instance, is vehemently opposed to the agreement and has demanded that Netanyahu promise to resume the war against Hamas after the first phase of the ceasefire as a condition of his party staying in the coalition.A night of heavy Israeli strikesPalestinians in Gaza reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight as people were celebrating the ceasefire deal. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires as a way to project strength.We were expecting that the (Israeli) occupation would intensify the bombing like they did every time there were reports of progress in truce talks, said Mohammed Mahdi, who is sheltering in Gaza City.Gazas Health Ministry said Israeli strikes have killed at least 72 people since the ceasefire deal was announced. It said the toll from Thursdays strikes only includes bodies brought to two hospitals in Gaza City and the actual toll is likely higher.Yesterday was a bloody day, and today is bloodier, said Zaher al-Wahedi, a Health Ministry official.The Israeli military said it had struck approximately 50 militant targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, including weapons storage facilities and rocket launch sites.Anxiety spread across Gaza on Thursday with the news of last-minute quarreling between Hamas and Israeli officials.We ask our brothers in Hamas to communicate with mediators to end the war, said Omar Jendiya, in Deir al-Balah. Enough with the destruction and killing.A phased withdrawal and hostage release with potential pitfallsUnder the deal reached Wednesday, 33 of some 100 hostages who remain in Gaza are set to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces will pull back from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be able to return to whats left of their homes, and there would be a surge of humanitarian assistance.The remainder of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second and much more difficult phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it dismantles the group and to maintain open-ended security control over the territory.Ceasefire leaves questions about Gaza’s future unansweredU.S. President-elect Donald Trumps Mideast envoy joined the talks in the final weeks, and both the outgoing administration and Trumps team are taking credit for the breakthrough.Longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction.Israel has come under heavy international criticism, including from its closest ally, the United States, over the civilian toll in Gaza. It also blames Hamas for the civilian casualties, accusing it of using schools, hospitals and residential areas for military purposes.Hamas has come under overwhelming pressure from Israel’s invasion of Gazas largest cities and towns and seizure of the border between Gaza and Egypt. Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who was believed to have helped mastermind the 2023 attack, have been killed.But its fighters have regrouped in some of the hardest-hit areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the prospect of a prolonged insurgency if the war continues.

BMW Manufacturing set to build 6 fully electric models by 2030 [Video]
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BMW Manufacturing set to build 6 fully electric models by 2030 [Video]

The excitement inside of BMW Manufacturing’s Plant Spartanburg was high as the first vehicles rolled onto the newly expanded assembly line on Thursday morning. WYFF News 4 was given an exclusive look. To watch the story, click on the video above. The nearly $2 billion upfit expanded the assembly hall by more than 50 percent and will allow for the assembly of fully electric, hybrid and internal combustion engines. That diversity is part of BMW’s “Technology Openness Approach.” WYFF News 4 was also granted an exclusive interview with Oliver Zipse, chair of the Board of Management BMW AG.He said that strategy is all about the quality of the vehicle and the brand.”Whether it’s highly efficient combustion engines, whether it’s plug-in hybrid, or fully electric, or even M models, we make that independent of the drivetrain, and customers have a choice. I think our current model success shows that we don’t tell people what to buy, we supply what they want. We manage the complexity behind it, and we will continue that strategy here in Spartanburg,” Zipse said. The expansion will enable BMW to build at least six fully electric models by 2030, and the high voltage batteries to fuel those vehicles will be assembled right down the street in Woodruff. Our tour gave us another exclusive peek today inside “Plant Woodruff,” which is one year from completion. Zipse visited the plant for the first time since announcing the plan in 2022.He said he’s pleased with the progress.”We believe first of all in the technology, second that people would like to contribute for local value added and especially in the highly valued and very expensive electric drive train. So that is a big step for us, but also a big step for our customers,” Zipse said. It’s hard to overstate the economic value of South Carolina’s relationship with the BMW Group for the past thirty years. The group has invested more than $14.8 billion and is now completing its seventh expansion. According to the Darla Moore School of Business at USC, the annual overall economic impact of BMW in South Carolina is $26.7 billion.Zipse said South Carolina feels like a second home.”Now, 30 years later, we are the largest exporter in value of vehicles from the United States, so we are not only supplying the local market, we supply the world with our vehicles, and because we are investing, we see a grand future here in South Carolina for the world,” Zipse said. He points to the company motto as the BMW Group and South Carolina look to the next 30 years, “Building Legacy – Driving Future.”