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Rain may hamper search for California wildfire victims

The remains of 77 people have been recovered, the Butte County Sheriff's Office said late on Sunday, as it cut the number of missing to 993 from 1,276. The Camp Fire broke out in northern California on Nov. 8 and quickly all but obliterated Paradise, a mountain town of nearly 27,000 people around 90 miles (150 km) north of the state's capital, Sacramento. It has burned about 151,000 acres (61,107 hectares) and was 66 percent contained early on Monday, up from 65 percent late on Sunday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

Colorado man gets life for murders of pregnant wife, children

A Colorado man was sentenced to life without parole on Monday for strangling his pregnant wife, smothering their two young daughters and dumping their bodies in an oil field so he could pursue a romantic affair. Christopher Watts, 33, was spared the death penalty at the urging of family members of his wife, Shanann, 34, who was 15 weeks pregnant, and their daughters Celeste, 3, and Bella, 4. "This is perhaps the most inhumane and vicious crime I have handled," Judge Marcelo Kopcow, who has 17 years on the bench, said in the packed and windowless courtroom in Weld County District Court.

CNN seeks hearing after White House again vows to yank reporter's access

CNN on Monday called on a federal court to hold emergency proceedings after the White House said it would again revoke press access to correspondent Jim Acosta despite a temporary restraining order on Friday to reinstate him. Acosta's credentials were revoked after Trump denounced him as a "rude, terrible person" during a Nov. 7 news conference. CNN challenged the move in court and on Friday won a ruling that temporarily reinstated Acosta while the court considers the news network's lawsuit over the ouster.

U.S. judge to weigh temporary halt to Trump's asylum order

Civil rights groups will urge a U.S. judge on Monday to temporarily halt an order by President Donald Trump that bars asylum for migrants who illegally cross the border with Mexico. The groups argued in court papers that Trump's Nov. 9 order violated administrative and immigration law. The hearing before U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco comes as thousands of Central Americans, including a large number of children, are traveling in caravans toward the U.S. border to escape violence and poverty at home.

Grim search for 993 missing after deadliest California wildfire

The number of believed missing fell 283 late on Sunday, down from 1,276 people, the Butte County Sheriff's Office said in a statement, but gave no other details. The blaze ignited on Nov. 8 was 65 percent contained, up from 60 percent earlier in the day. The death toll far surpasses the previous fatality record from a single California wildfire - 29 in the Griffith Park fire of 1933 in Los Angeles - and already ranks among the deadliest U.S. wildfires since the turn of the last century.

Republican Scott secures Florida U.S. Senate seat after recount

Rick Scott, Florida's outgoing governor, was declared the winner on Sunday of his hard-fought U.S. Senate race against incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson following a hand recount of ballots, giving Republicans control of both of the state's Senate seats for the first time since the 19th century. In the recount of the Nov. 6 election, Scott won by 10,033 votes out of 8.19 million cast statewide, Florida elections officials said. Scott took 50.05 percent, compared to 49.93 percent for Nelson, they added.

Grim search for 1,276 missing after deadliest California wildfire

Early on Sunday the blaze, which ignited on Nov. 8, was 60 percent contained, officials said, up from 55 percent Saturday. The death toll far surpasses the previous fatality record from a single California wildfire - 29 in the Griffith Park fire of 1933 in Los Angeles - and already ranks among the deadliest U.S. wildfires since the turn of the last century. Minnesota's Cloquet Fire in October 1918 killed 450 people.

Fiery mailboxes and dogs in bags: fleeing California's wildfire

Nicole Montague and her 16-year-old daughter Destiny noticed a red glow on the horizon as they drove to school in Paradise, California, that Thursday morning. "As we were driving out, the mailboxes were on fire," Nicole said. California's deadliest ever wildfire, the innocuous-sounding "Camp Fire," swept into Paradise early on Nov. 8, as a rapid-moving, wind-fueled disaster that has left at least 76 people dead and more than 1,276 missing.

Republican DeSantis secures Florida governor's seat after rival Gillum concedes

Gillum, the 39-year-old liberal mayor of Tallahassee, had initially conceded the race on the night of the Nov. 6 election to DeSantis, a conservative former congressman. This fight for Florida continues." DeSantis, 40, said on Saturday on Twitter, "This was a hard-fought campaign. Now it's time to bring Florida together." After a machine recount ended on Thursday, official results showed DeSantis with a lead of 33,683, or 0.41 percent.

Teams search for 1,000 missing in California's deadliest wildfire

Forensic recovery teams searched for more victims in the charred wreckage of the northern California town of Paradise on Saturday as the number of people listed as missing in the state's deadliest wildfire topped 1,000. President Donald Trump visited the devastated small community in the Sierra foothills, 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco, where authorities say the remains of at least 71 people have been recovered. "Nobody could have thought this would ever happen," Trump told reporters amid the charred wreckage of the town's Skyway Villa Mobile Home and RV Park.

Evacuation plan 'out the window' when fire hit California town

As strong winds sent flames roaring into Paradise at 2 miles per minute, emergency personnel and locals realized their escape plans, crafted after a 2008 blaze, would not work. "The lessons we had learned in the past kind of went out of the window due to the sheer speed and intensity of this fire," Paradise Emergency Operations Coordinator Jim Broshears said in a phone interview. The small mountain town was facing the so-called Camp Fire, one of a series of recent "megafires" fueled by drought, erratic winds and overgrown forests that quickly torch over 100,000 acres.

California presses search for fire victims, number of missing soars

Remains of at least 63 people have been recovered so far in and around the Sierra foothills hamlet of Paradise, which was home to nearly 27,000 residents before the town was largely incinerated by the deadly Camp Fire on the night of Nov. 8. More than a week later, firefighters have managed to carve containment lines around 45 percent of the blaze's perimeter, up from 35 percent a day earlier, even as the burned landscape grew slightly to 142,000 acres (57,000 hectares). More than 11,000 evacuees were being housed in 14 emergency shelters set up in churches, schools and community centers around the region, American Red Cross spokeswoman Greta Gustafson said.

Abrams admits defeat in hard-fought Georgia governor race

Abrams' announcement effectively hands victory to Republican Brian Kemp in a bitter race that has drawn national attention both for her historic campaign and for Kemp's role as the state's top election administrator. Abrams accused Kemp of using his position as Georgia Secretary of State to interfere with the vote - an allegation he has strongly denied. "To watch an elected official who claims to represent the people in this state baldly pin his hopes for election on the suppression of the people’s democratic right to vote has been truly appalling," Abrams told supporters in Atlanta.

PG&E shares surge 40 percent on report regulator wants to avoid bankruptcy from wildfire

SAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - PG&E Corp shares soared 40 percent in after-hours trade on Thursday following a report that a regulatory official told investors the agency does not want the utility to go into bankruptcy should it be found responsible for this month's deadly wildfire in northern California. Bloomberg reported the comment by a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) official on a call hosted by Bank of America Corp, citing a person familiar with the matter. A CPUC spokesman said he could not confirm the remarks and Bank of America declined to comment.

Judge eases Reagan shooter Hinckley's release conditions

Hinckley, 63, has been living with his mother, who is in her 90s, in Williamsburg, Virginia since his September 2016 release from a Washington psychiatric hospital. The judge also said reports from Hinckley's doctors show that Hinckley has "remained mentally stable" and complied with all his release conditions.

Prosecutors in talks with accused Russian agent to resolve case: filing

U.S. prosecutors and defense lawyers are in talks potentially to resolve a criminal case accusing gun-rights activist Maria Butina of acting as a Russian agent to infiltrate a pro-gun rights organization in the United States and influence U.S. foreign policy toward Russia. The filing also asked a federal judge to delay a status hearing on the case scheduled for Dec. 6 and said that defense lawyers are poised to withdraw motions they filed on Thursday asking for the case to be dismissed if the judge agrees to delay the hearing. Robert Driscoll, attorney for Butina and who is under a media gag order imposed by the judge in the case, declined to comment when asked whether his client may plead guilty in order to resolve the case.

Top Kentucky court upholds state's 'right-to-work' law

Rejecting a challenge by the Kentucky AFL-CIO and other unions, the court in a 4-3 decision on Thursday said the promotion of economic development and job growth formed the "rational basis" that the state needed to justify passing the law. Voters in Missouri in August decided to reject a proposed right-to-work law, marking the first time such a measure was defeated at the polls. Kentucky state officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

U.S. judge orders White House to restore press pass to CNN's Acosta

The White House withdrew Acosta's credentials last Wednesday in an escalation of the Republican president's attacks on the news media, which he has called the "enemy of the people." U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who is hearing CNN's lawsuit challenging the revocation, said Acosta's credentials must be restored while the network's case is pending. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that Acosta's credentials would be temporarily restored. In its lawsuit filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, CNN said the White House violated the First Amendment right to free speech as well as the due process clause of the Constitution providing fair treatment through judicial process.

Forced out, Bolton aide Ricardel expresses admiration for Trump, Melania

Forced out of the White House in a feud with first lady Melania Trump, Mira Ricardel on Friday expressed admiration for U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife as a tumultuous week ended for the former deputy national security adviser. Ricardel ran afoul of the first lady in negotiations over government resources for use in Mrs. Trump's trip to Africa in October. In a statement, Ricardel said she had been honored to serve as deputy national security adviser and proud of her tenure working for national security adviser John Bolton.

Captain says U.S. military does not view Central American migrants as 'enemies'

"The military is not classifying them as the enemy in any way, shape or form," said Cunningham, who is the spokesman for the Special Purpose Marine Ground- Air Taskforce 7. Trump's politically charged decision to send troops to the border with Mexico came ahead of U.S. congressional elections last week. The number of U.S. troops at the border with Mexico may have peaked at about 5,800, the U.S. commander of the mission told Reuters, noting he would start looking next week at whether to begin sending forces home or perhaps shifting some to new border positions.

PG&E shares up 37 percent on report regulator does not want bankruptcy

PG&E Corp shares soared 37 percent in after-hours trade on Thursday after a report that a California regulatory official told investors that the agency does not want the utility to go into bankruptcy. Bloomberg reported the comment by a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) official on a call hosted by Bank of America Corp , citing a person familiar with the matter. A CPUC spokesman said he could not confirm the remarks and Bank of America declined to comment.

John Lennon's killer recalls inner 'tug of war' before the murder

Before he pulled the trigger that ended the life of rock icon John Lennon nearly 38 years ago, his killer remembers being in a "tug of war" with himself over what he was about to do, and even praying for a way out of carrying out his plan. In the end, the compulsion to gain notoriety by killing one of the most famous people in the world proved too powerful, a remorseful Mark David Chapman told parole officials at an Aug. 22 hearing that ended in a decision not to release him. "I was too far in," Chapman, 63, said in a transcript of the hearing released on Thursday by the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

Crews search for California fire victims as list of missing grows

The search for victims of a catastrophic blaze that reduced a northern California town to ashes intensified on Thursday as authorities posted an expanded list of nearly 300 people reported missing in the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. At least 56 people have been confirmed dead so far in the Camp Fire, which erupted a week ago in the drought-parched Sierra foothills 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco and now ranks as one of the most lethal single U.S. wildfires since the turn of the last century. Authorities attributed the high death toll in part to the staggering speed with which the wind-driven flames, fueled by desiccated scrub, raced through the town Paradise, a town of 27,000 residents.

Florida to recount ballots by hand in tight U.S. Senate race

Under state law, the Florida Department of State must trigger a manual recount if an electronic recount of ballots finds a margin of victory of less than 0.25 percent. The order came after U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee, Florida, cleared the way to include ballots from as many as 5,000 people across the state who submitted ballots by mail that were rejected by election officials. A Georgia federal judge issued a similar ruling as that state worked to resolve a close governor's race.

Florida U.S. Senate race triggers hand recount

Florida's hotly contested contest for the U.S. Senate appeared headed on Thursday toward a hand recount with the results still too close to call, the state elections website indicated. Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson trailed his Republican challenger, Florida Governor Rick Scott, by about 12,600 votes, or 0.15 percent of the more than 8 million ballots cast following an electronic recount.

'Design errors' faulted in Florida bridge collapse: U.S. agency

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday that "design errors" were found in a pedestrian bridge that collapsed in March at Florida International University, killing six people and injuring eight. The NTSB said concrete and steel specimens tested met the project’s build plans' minimum requirements. The 950-ton, $14.2 million bridge, which crossed an eight-lane highway adjacent to Florida International University (FIU) in Miami-Dade County and linked the campus to the city of Sweetwater, collapsed five days after it was installed.

FDA to ban flavored e-cigarettes at U.S. convenience stores

The much-anticipated announcement will mean that only tobacco, mint and menthol e-cigarette flavors can be sold at most traditional retail outlets such as convenience stores. The FDA also plans to seek a ban on menthol cigarettes, a longtime goal of public health advocates, as well as flavored cigars. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the moves are meant to prevent young people from continuing to use e-cigarettes, potentially leading to traditional cigarette smoking.

California taps war-zone DNA specialists after wildfire

With many of them likely burned beyond recognition, traditional DNA analysis techniques are inadequate, as they require samples to be shipped to a laboratory and take weeks to produce a DNA match. In addition, traditional tools sometimes fail when extreme heat damages tissue samples. As a consequence, the Butte County Sheriff's office hired a company specializing in Rapid DNA analysis, a technique primarily employed in war zones and crime scenes to generate results in about two hours.