Free Republic

POLK COUNTY, N.C. – Three wildfires in western North Carolina are proving challenging for firefighters to beat because of rough terrain and debris left behind by Hurricane Helene. The Black Cove, Deep Woods and Fish Hook fires continue burning in Polk County, an area devastated by Helene almost six months ago. The Black Cove Fire, which began last Wednesday, has burned 2,076 acres and had no containment as of Sunday afternoon. Fire officials said it was started by a downed power line. Meanwhile, the Deep Woods Fire is the largest at 1,802 acres and also remains 0% contained. Officials said...

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...

Nora Fanfalone, 28, a management consultant, said she now uses the service entrance to her downtown apartment building to avoid being shoved by an aggressive man again, or witnessing a gunfight on her doorstep, as happened recently. 'I'm like, 'How did I get this wrong? I live across from the Smithsonian and there's an Hermès store two blocks away,' she told the paper. 'It's very surprising that public safety is an issue in a neighborhood with such high traffic and major attractions.' Ronald Moten, 53, who lives in Ward 7's Hillcrest neighborhood, said he now avoids going to the gas...

ALBANY NY (WRGB) - New York State living up to its promise to help other states as they deal with large numbers of COVID-19 cases. The state is helping to supply a coronavirus testing site in Saint Petersburgh, Florida. The announcement was made by Governor Cuomo Wednesday. Joined by St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, the governor announced the site at the Pinellas Community Church will provide Floridians with up to 500 tests per day. New York is sending thousands of test kits to make this happen, along with masks, PPE, hand sanitizer and ventilators. In addition to the items being...

BENI MAZAR, Egypt — The fire burned all night long. It was only after desperate town residents borrowed the keys to a firetruck that they were able to quell the blaze. By then, the evangelical church was all but destroyed. It was one of more than 60 churches that have been attacked, vandalized and in many cases set aflame across Egypt in a surge of violence against Christians that has followed the bloody Aug. 14 raid by Egyptian security forces on two Islamist protest camps in Cairo. The attacks, most of them in Egypt’s Nile Valley, have lent legitimacy to

: Infectious Diseases Society of America Date: 2005-12-15 New Study Identifies Louse-borne Diseases That Ravaged Napoleon's Army Using dental pulp extracted from the teeth of soldiers who died during Napoleon’s disastrous retreat through Russia in 1812, a new study finds DNA evidence that epidemic typhus and trench fever ran rampant among the French Grand Army. The study, published in the Jan. 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online, identifies the specific species of louse-borne pathogens that were a major cause of death among the remains of the retreating army. Napoleon marched into Russia in the summer...