Irish police charge 8 men in ‘New IRA’

Irish police charge 8 men in ‘New IRA’

DUBLIN

Irish police charged eight men with Irish Republican Army membership Friday after police raided a suspected meeting of the outlaws’ Dublin leadership, inflicting what a senior policeman called a major blow to the “New IRA” splinter group.

All eight men were being arraigned Friday night at Ireland’s anti-terrorist Special Criminal Court, which handles IRA-related cases with three judges and no jury.

Wildfire cut off access to safety zone

PRESCOTT, Ariz.

An erratic wildfire driven by ferocious and shifting winds curled around the location of a team of Arizona Hotshot firefighters, cutting off their access to a safety zone and creating a death trap that quickly consumed them, two fire officials confirmed Friday based on a map of how the tragedy unfolded compiled by The Associated Press.

The map shows that the 19 highly trained Hotshots were just over a quarter of a mile northwest of the safety zone using chain saws, axes and other gear to build a line between the wildfire and the small town of Yarnell on Sunday. But the fire, which was northeast of the team, suddenly changed directions after the winds shifted nearly 180 degrees and cut off their access to the safety zone, a large ranch property.

Fireworks accident injures at least 36

SIMI VALLEY, Calif.

At least 36 people were injured when a July Fourth fireworks display exploded and sent red and white bursts into spectators at a Southern California park as many in the crowd of thousands fled for safety. The victims, from 17 months to 78 years old, had burns and shrapnel wounds, and some were trampled, authorities and hospital officials said. The injured included 12 children.

Police in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles, said it appeared a firework exploded prematurely in its mortar, knocking over others and aiming them across the field. Fire investigators, however, said later they had not yet determined a cause.

Syrian army fires artillery barrages

BEIRUT

Syrian government troops unleashed a major artillery barrage on the city of Homs on Friday, hitting buildings near a 13th-century mosque as they pressed an assault on rebel-held areas in the country’s strategic heartland.

Opposition activists said Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas had joined the fighting in Syria’s third-largest city. If confirmed, it would be the first major involvement for the Iranian-backed group since it helped regime troops capture a key border town from the rebels last month.

Thousands of civilians trapped in the city faced severe shortages of food, water and medicine, prompting the U.N. and opposition groups to warn of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Firefigher ID’d in WTC remains

NEW YORK

Firefighter Jeffrey Walz phoned his wife and his parents on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, telling them he was being called into action, his brother recalls. His relatives would never see him again or even have any of his remains to bury, until now.

The city medical examiner’s office said Friday that it had identified some of Walz’s remains, making him the 1,637th person identified among the thousands of remains found in and near the rubble of the World Trade Center after the terror attacks. Authorities have painstakingly tested and retested the material as technology became more refined.

Associated Press