Arizona
More crews head to wind-whipped canyon wildfires
OAK CREEK CANYON, Ariz. (AP) — Hundreds of firefighters are pouring into northern Arizona to battle a wind-whipped wildfire burning in scenic Oak Creek Canyon near Slide Rock State Park.
Coconino National Forest officials say 200 firefighters are already assigned to the fire, including five Hotshot crews.
An additional 15 Hotshot crews are on order, as well as 10 additional firefighting crews plus dozens of fire engines.
The Slide Fire has forced the evacuations of 100 threatened businesses and homes in a 2-mile stretch north of the state park, and 15 people stayed at a shelter in Flagstaff.
There are no reports so far of injuries or structures burned. Slide Rock State Park is a popular recreation area because of its natural rock water slides.
Utah
Smuggling of immigrants cited in fatal van crash
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Federal agents and Utah state troopers are investigating the suspected illegal smuggling of immigrants into the country after four men were killed when a crowded van crashed on Interstate 70 about 30 miles from the Colorado line.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents say they have detained three of the four men who survived the crash. They continue to search for a woman who fled the scene about 4:30 a.m. Friday.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce says all four of the men who died were undocumented immigrants from Mexico and El Salvador.
He told The Salt Lake Tribune they still are trying to identify some of the victims.
New York
PetSmart to stop selling pet treats made in China
NEW YORK (AP) — PetSmart is the latest major pet food retailer to say it will stop selling dog and cat treats made in China because of ongoing fears that they are making pets sick.
The company plans to have the treats off all of its store shelves by March 2015.
Investigators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration haven’t been able to prove that treats made in China are making pets ill. But since 2007, it has received more than 4,800 complaints of pet illnesses and more than 1,000 reports of dog deaths after eating Chinese-made chicken, duck or sweet potato jerky treats.
In an update of its investigation last week, the FDA said it found that antiviral drug amantadine in some samples of imported chicken jerky treats sold a year or more ago, but doesn’t think it caused the illnesses. The FDA said it will continue to investigate.
Rival Petco announced on Tuesday that it would remove all Chinese-made treats from its 1,300 stores by the end of this year after shoppers pushed them to do so. The San Diego company said it has been cutting the number of those treats it sells over the past three years.
Delaware
Driver cited after road crash leads to big bee swarm
NEWARK, Del. (AP) — Delaware transportation officials are warning motorists to keep windows closed and avoid unnecessary stops because of honeybee swarms near a highway ramp where a tractor trailer carrying hives overturned.
The ramp to Interstate 95 in Newark reopened Wednesday, more than 12 hours after the rig carrying an estimated 16 million to 20 million bees from Florida to Maine crashed Tuesday. Police cited the driver, 55-year-old Adolfo Guerra of Miami, for unsafe shifting of load or cargo.
Police say Guerra and two passengers were taken to Christiana Hospital with minor injuries from the crash and 50 to 100 stings each. There were reports of passers-by being stung.
State police say bee handlers worked with firefighters to spray water to disperse the bees as authorities used a swarm removal plan.
Florida
National Enquirer plans to leave its Boca Raton office
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The supermarket tabloid that has called Florida home for more than four decades is packing its bags.
The Boca Raton-based National Enquirer is shifting its headquarters to New York next month under a new editor. He’s been given a mandate to broaden the tabloid’s audience and give it some Internet-age flourish.
The Enquirer is returning to its roots. It began as The New York Enquirer in 1926, but first moved to Florida in 1971.
It’s spent all but a few years since in Boca Raton.
The paper’s owner, American Media Inc., wouldn’t provide a precise count of jobs affected by the move.
New York
House OKs honor for Puerto Rico-based Army unit
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Congressman Bill Higgins says the House of Representatives has approved a bill awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to an Army infantry regiment that was made up almost entirely of soldiers from Puerto Rico.
The Buffalo Democrat says soldiers in the segregated 65th Infantry Regiment made sacrifices for the nation during World Wars I and II as well as the Korean War while facing discrimination at the same time. Known as the Borinqueneers (BOH’-rin-keh-neers), the Puerto Rico-based unit became part of the Army after the island was acquired by the U.S.
Higgins is a co-sponsor of the bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award given by Congress.
The Western New York Hispanic American Veterans Memorial Monument in Buffalo contains a special tribute to the 65th Infantry.
Minnesota
Super Bowl 2018 to embrace likely Minneapolis snow
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Now that Minneapolis has the 2018 Super Bowl, organizers are determined to show the world that nobody does winter better than Minnesota.
Touting the theme “Built for the Bold,” organizers persuaded NFL team owners on Tuesday to choose Minneapolis, largely on the appeal of the futuristic $1 billion stadium rising from the site of the former Metrodome, which hosted the Super Bowl in 1992. But the civic leaders turned Minnesota’s legendary winters into a selling point, too.
“We didn’t shy away from it. We embraced it,” Vikings president and owner Mark Wilf said.
Details are still taking shape, but plans call for turning downtown’s Nicollet Mall pedestrian area into a nearly mile-long Super Bowl Boulevard to showcase outdoor activities. There will also be links with the St. Paul Winter Carnival, which is usually held in late January.
Rewarding Minnesota for building the stadium was a major reason the NFL broke with its tradition of opting for warmer settings. Only five Super Bowls have been played in cold-weather cities, including this year’s in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Detroit has hosted it twice. Indianapolis hosted it in 2012, but lost its bid for a repeat in Tuesday’s vote.
Washington
85-foot yacht sinks at launching
ANACORTES, Wash. (AP) — An 85-foot yacht that sank as it was being launched Sunday in Anacortes, Washington, has been pulled upright while the Coast Guard investigates what went wrong.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Jordan Akiyama says an incident management team is looking into why the new vessel capsized. The yacht worth millions of dollars is being salvaged.
The Skagit Valley Herald reports six people were aboard as Northern Marine Industries launched the yacht. When it began to roll, several went to the engine room to adjust ballast but water flooded inside.
Most of the workers got out easily but one was trapped. Rescuers had to chop out a porthole to pull him free.
The yacht had 120 gallons of diesel on board but none leaked.
