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MCDOWELL COUNTY, N.C. – At least three wildfires have ignited near North Carolina towns that were devastated by Hurricane Helene. As of Thursday morning, the Crooked Creek Fire in McDowell County has burned an estimated 250 acres and is now 55% contained. Emergency crews said they made significant progress overnight as winds diminished and relative humidity increased, leading to lower fire activity. The evacuation order for the affected areas has been lifted, allowing residents to safely return to their homes. Emergency personnel will remain on-site throughout the day to monitor the situation and ensure further containment of the fire. There...

The new fissures, about 15 metres (50 feet) apart, sent streaks of fiery red and orange molten rock down toward the sea, parallel to an earlier flow that reached the Atlantic Ocean earlier this week. The volcano has so far emitted some 80 million cubic metres of molten rock, scientists estimate – more than double the amount in the island’s last eruption in 1971.

Headline only. I will not pay to see their fake news.

A book written by a revered Italian geologist Mario Tozzi explains what could happen if it exploded this year. Tozzi's Pianeta Terra Ultimo Atto – which translates to Planet Earth, The Last Act – suggests the volcanic caldera may awaken in 2016 and have disastrous consequences for the rest of the globe. The author's book – set in 2019 – covers a scenario after the super volcano erupts between now and the end of the year. Tozzi envisages the volcano exploding and covering the United States – and potentially leading to catastrophic disaster around the world.

Leading members of Congress are ripping IRS officials for erasing a computer hard drive after a federal judge ordered it to be preserved.“The destruction of evidence subject to preservation orders and subpoenas has been an ongoing problem under your leadership at the IRS,” Committee on House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Rep. Jim Jordan , wrote in a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen late Thursday.“It is stunning to see that the IRS does not take reasonable care to preserve documents that it is legally required to protect,” Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, and Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said...

ATHENS, Greece – Deadly riots over harsh new austerity measures engulfed the streets of Athens on Wednesday, killing three bank workers as angry protesters tried to storm parliament, hurled Molotov cocktails at police and torched buildings. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets as part of nationwide strikes to protest new taxes and government spending cuts demanded by the International Monetary Fund and other European nations before heavily indebted Greece gets a euro110 billion ($141 billion) bailout package of loans to keep it from defaulting. The three bank workers — a man and two women — died after...

QUITO, Ecuador - Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano is poised for a major eruption, a volcanologist said Wednesday. Authorities last week evacuated 10 villages from its western slopes as a precaution. Patricia Mothes, a U.S. expert on volcanoes, said the 16,575-foot volcano, located 80 miles southeast of Quito, "is preparing to generate, in days or weeks, a great eruption." She said that could mean pyroclastic flows — blasts of volcanic material "that descend at high speeds and burn everything in their way." Tungurahua, which has been active since 1999, has been freeing a high level of energy since Dec. 22, Mothes told...

Philippine volcano 'set to erupt' Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines The Philippine authorities have ordered the evacuation of about 35,000 people living near a volcano, saying an eruption could take place soon. The alert was raised to four - the second highest level - following increased activity at Mount Mayon, in the centre of the country. It has been rumbling since February and started emitting lava in mid-July. Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines, having erupted about 50 times in the past 400 years. People living in the region watched with alarm early...

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia's rumbling Mount Merapi is spewing volcanic ash, magma has fully covered its crater, and a powerful eruption could come any day, a scientist said Thursday. Authorities said, however, they were not ready to raise the alert to the highest level, which requires immediate evacuation of villagers living on the slopes of the 9,700-foot peak. The mountain, one of the most active in Indonesia, is still in phase two, they said. "It's close to eruption," said Dewi Sri, a vulcanologist at a monitoring post near Merapi's peak. "The crater is fully covered by magma," she said, predicting...

Fires of 'civil war' erupt in Paris Police in street battles after two teenagers die in chase Jason Burke in Paris Sunday October 30, 2005 The Observer (UK) Hundreds of French youths fought with police and set cars ablaze in a northern Paris suburb early yesterday morning in a second successive night of rioting. The disorder was triggered last week when two teenagers were electrocuted and killed in a local substation while fleeing from police. French authorities insist they were running away from officers investigating a break-in, but people in Clichy-sous-Bois claim that the dead youths had committed no crime....

The Brawl That May Erupt Over the High Court By JEFFREY ROSEN Published: May 1, 2005 WASHINGTON — It feels like Armageddon is just around the corner. The Republican threat to eliminate the filibuster rule in judicial confirmations has led both parties to cautiously assess what the political landscape would look like if the so-called nuclear option were used. But for many here, this political brawl is only a dress rehearsal for the coming battle over a replacement for Chief Justice William Rehnquist, whose recent illness has led to the expectation that he will retire before the end of the...

Happy New Year's Eve to all at Free Republic!!! Make your predictions for 2004. Good Luck!!!