Crews stop spread of Calif. wildfire

Crews stop spread of Calif. wildfire

VENTURA, Calif.

Fire crews stopped the spread of a wind-whipped wildfire along the Southern California coast Saturday, reopened a scenic highway and lifted an evacuation order for dozens of homes.

The 1,238-acre blaze in the steep foothills northwest of Ventura was 60 percent contained by nightfall, and no homes burned, fire officials said at a news conference.

“We made tremendous progress today,” said Tom Clemo, deputy fire chief from the neighboring city of Santa Monica, which aided the firefighting effort. “Despite the challenges of high winds, steep terrain, significant brush, we were able to bring a stop to all forward progress of the fire.”

About 600 firefighters from various agencies, aided by water-dropping helicopters, fought the blaze during the day. About 400 were expected to remain on the line overnight.

The fire began late Friday night, and winds gusting to 50 mph pushed the flames down hills and over roads and railroad tracks, showering sparks on homes in coastal communities, fire officials said.

Police: 1,000 to 2,000 teens force shutdown of mall

LOUISVILLE, Ky.

A Louisville mall was closed for the night Saturday after several disturbances.

According to the St. Matthews Police Department, the incidents at Mall St. Matthews may have involved as many as 1,000 to 2,000 teens.

Wave3News reported that there was no confirmation of shots fired inside the mall, and no injuries or arrests were reported.

Police first responded to the mall about 7 p.m. in response to numerous unruly youths. According to the SMPD, there were several fights inside the mall, and they may have spread outside. When the disturbances began, some store owners attempted to close, but some patrons refused to leave. Finally, management decided to close the entire mall early.

Floods force mass evacuations in 4 countries

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina

Widespread floods have forced nearly 140,000 people from their homes in Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil after days of torrential rains that drenched a region where the countries border each other.

Paraguay is the hardest hit with at least 100,000 evacuating, according to the National Emergency Department.

Argentina’s state-run news agency Telam reported that 20,000 people suffered the same fate in that nation, while Uruguay’s National Emergency System said some 9,000 were displaced by rivers that overflowed their banks.

Israeli policemen kill Palestinian

JERUSALEM

Israeli policemen shot and killed a Palestinian as he tried to stab them in Jerusalem on Saturday, police said, while another Palestinian was shot dead in the West Bank after ramming his vehicle into a checkpoint, the military said, in the latest incidents in over three months of unrelenting violence.

According to police spokeswoman Luba Samri, officers approached a man who was said to have drawn their suspicions just outside the Old City for following a pair of Jewish worshippers.

When confronted, the Palestinian man pulled out a knife and tried to stab one of the policemen, prompting other officers to open fire and kill the assailant, Samri said.

Since mid-September, 20 Israelis have been killed in attacks. At least 128 Palestinians have died in the same period.

Associated Press