COMMERCE CITY, Co. (AP) — Five adults were found dead in a Colorado apartment on Sunday along with substances described as "illicit narcotics," authorities said. Another adult and a 4-month-old child were alive inside the unit. Commerce City Police Chief Clint Nichols said officers responded to a call of an unconscious party at the North Range Crossings Apartments at 3:45 p.m. Upon entering the apartment they found six adults and an infant. "While they thought that most of them were unconscious, one of the parties was awake and was transported by medical," he said. The infant was also transported to a hospital. "Unfortunately, the other five people inside the apartment were deceased," Nichols said. Of the three women and two males, Nichols said, "There does not appear to be any blunt trauma or any violent incident of any nature." The fire department was called out to conduct a hazardous gas test, and that was negative. "There was some substance inside. We don’t know exactly what anything is as of yet," he said. The next step, Nichols said, is to have the apartment "cleanly swept" and then police will get a search warrant to begin their investigation. "Again, there were some substances that could be described as illicit narcotics, but again, for me to speculate on that would be improper. I just don’t know," Nichols said. A hazmat team was called to the scene. He said if there was drug use, they were very bad because no one was able to get to a phone and call 911 for a medical emergency. Nichols said that he did not know who the victims were but that some of them lived inside the unit. The infant appears to be doing fine, Nichols said, adding that it was not clear whether the child was a boy or a girl. He said it as unclear if the baby's parents were among the deceased adults found in the apartment.
"I hope the parents were not in there, but I’ve been doing this long enough... it would probably be safe to suggest the parents probably were inside and so for the infant, that’s going to be a long time without parents." - Fox News
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A skydiving instructor critically injured during a tandem jump with a customer on Saturday has died, CBS Houston affiliate KHOU-TV reports.
The instructor, whose name hasn't been released, was hurt when a parachute didn't open during the jump, according to the local sheriff's office. It happened around noon on Saturday in Waller County, northwest of Houston. The male instructor and female client were airlifted to a trauma center, Skydive Houston, the instructor's company said. The instructor died Sunday, the company said, adding that the student was reported to have serious but non-life-threatening injuries. A witness who lives nearby told KHOU the first parachute failed to open, so one of the skydivers cut it off. A second, backup chute opened halfway. The witness said one of the skydivers was conscious when they landed and the other wasn't. The company has stopped jumps while the incident is being investigated and the Federal Aviation Administration has been notified. - CBS News Police have cleared the remaining protesters blocking a key bridge between Canada and the United States, after a week of disruption.
Canada's protests against Covid vaccine certification to cross the border have paralysed trade across the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario. A judge issued an order on Friday to break up the protest, but dozens of demonstrators remained in defiance. Police have now cleared the road, though the bridge remains closed. In a statement, police said Sunday's action resulted in over a dozen arrests on a charge of mischief - which refers to damage or interference with property. Multiple vehicles were also seized, police said, none of the arrests became violent. The clearing effort first began on Saturday morning, when many of the vehicles involved left peacefully on police orders. But as news of the police action spread, more protesters turned up, temporarily swelling the crowd. But by Sunday morning, only a few dozen people remained, and police resumed their operation. Within hours, only a small number of stragglers remained on the sidelines, though police vehicles, rather than protesters, continue to block off the road to the Ambassador Bridge. Windsor police warned people to avoid the area of the bridge, tweeting: "Enforcement will continue in the demonstration area and there will be zero tolerance for illegal activity." Officials say they hope to reopen the bridge later on Sunday. - BBC News Thousands of homes are spending another day without power after two storms battered parts of Scotland. More than 80,000 homes lost supply during Storm Malik on Saturday before Storm Corrie hit 38,000 more on Sunday. The electricity network in the North East and the Highlands were worst affected by the gusts of up to 92 mph. Power has been restored to many homes but 40,000 were still off grid on Monday morning, half of them related to two faults in Stonehaven and Deeside. Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) said they were prioritising the 7,000 customers who have been without supplies since the first storm. A number of welfare centres have been opened in Aberdeenshire for people needing showers and power, while hot food is being served at various school canteens. Food trucks have also been sent to areas most in need. Anyone without power who needs advice or support can call an assistance phone line on 0808 196 3384. About 19,000 cases relate to two major faults affecting customers in the Stonehaven area (13,000) and Deeside (6,000). ADVERTISEMENT SSEN said restoration efforts from Storm Corrie would continue into Tuesday, with the possibility that for "small clusters" of customers this may extend into Wednesday.
"Our teams are scouting the lines now, we've got helicopters out now we've got light to make sure we've got full assessment of the impact of the damage and give accurate restoration times to our customers," he said. "The firm has 21 welfare vehicles providing hot food and drink to customers, and an offer of alternative accommodation has been made to those who are still without power because of Storm Malik." Mr Keddie said they have tried to give accurate times that people can expect to have supply restored. We've told our customers that where we didn't have the full details of the fault it would be Tuesday evening and that is four days from when the impact arrived from Storm Malik. "If we can outperform that target, if we can get there quicker we will change that restoration time." Some residents have told BBC Scotland they have struggled to get information from the energy supplier. Pauline Thom, from near Huntly, is isolating with Covid and is relying on support from her sons to bring her supplies. 'Back to where we were'"I can't go out and access any food or get water or anything," she said. "I've got lots of animals - I've got sheep and horses. I've tried phoning the electric companies and Scottish Water but nobody seems to know if there's any help." Douglas Morrison from near Kemnay told BBC Scotland: "We got power last night for three hours yesterday, but then the first couple of gusts of wind we lost the power again so we're back to where we were before." "It's almost like it's every time there's a storm now - the last four storms we've had three power cuts." BBC Scotland's Euan McIlwraith said the wind blew across the stubble fields in Banff and picked up the chaff, creating a bizarre spectacle. "We had drifts of straw three feet deep so we were blocked off by what looked like snow drifts but was actually drifts of straw. It was the most bizarre thing," he told Good Morning Scotland. Several schools in Aberdeenshire, the Highlands and Moray were closed due to storm damage or power outages. In the Highlands, SSEN welfare centres were set up in Cannich and Munlochy to offer hot food and drinks for people without power. On Sunday evening, Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team had a "full team call-out" for a missing walker in high winds and snow on the Cairngorm Plateau. The person was found by a climbing party and escorted to safety. Most routes are expected to reopen during the course of the morning but travellers should check before they travel.
Other travel problems include:
A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business' Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.London (CNN Business)Uncertainty around the Federal Reserve's plans just drove Wall Street to its worst week since the start of the pandemic.
But it's not the only reason traders are jittery. Investors are starting to tune in to the situation in Ukraine as fears grow that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been amassing troops on the country's border, could order an invasion.Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, told me that the "tipping point" was news that the United States and United Kingdom are withdrawing some staff from their embassies."That's really given European markets a really hard nudge lower," he said. Germany's DAX index and France's CAC 40 are both down about 2% in early trading. US futures are also in the red, though the declines are narrower.The US dollar and Japanese yen, both considered safe haven assets, are gaining ground. Enter your email to subscribe to the CNN Five Things Newsletter. close dialog News comes at you fast. The 5 Things newsletter makes it easy to stay up to speed. Sign Me Up By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy. State Department officials said that the decision was made out of an "abundance of caution" and that the threat to US personnel in the country has not increased in recent days. But investors are nervous. "I think it's important not to underestimate how big a deal this is," Hewson said. "It suggests there is a real concern that diplomacy alone may not be enough to prevent a Russian incursion into Ukraine." Surging inflation has forced investors to reconsider how quickly the Fed could raise interest rates this year. That's rattled stock and bond markets, which had become accustomed to rock-bottom rates during the pandemic. The CNN Business Fear & Greed Index finished last week in "fear" territory. The Fed's course of action remains the main source of anxiety. But Wall Street is worried that an escalation in Ukraine could disrupt the flow of energy supplies to Europe, sending already-elevated prices into the stratosphere. Hewson said that oil prices could quickly rocket to $100 per barrel in that case. Oil is currently trading around $88 per barrel globally, near its highest level in seven years. Natural gas prices would be heavily exposed, too. "Should tensions between Russia and the Ukraine escalate, the initial uncertainty around its impact on gas flows would likely lead the market to once again add a significant risk premium to European gas prices," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a recent note to clients. A shock to energy markets would hurt the region's economy as it recovers from the pandemic. An important gauge of activity from IHS Markit, released Monday, showed that output hit an 11-month low in January due to restrictions tied to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The market mood is already on the rocks. Instability in Ukraine presents another reason to stress. "The more markets are feeling this could evolve into a fully-fledged geopolitical disaster, the more risk sentiment will be impacted," ING analyst Francesco Pesole told me.Why Unilever's stock has snapped back Unilever's stock got hammered last week after the company revealed it had made three failed bids to acquire GlaxoSmithKline's consumer health care business. But investors are seeing reason for optimism on Monday. The latest: Shares are up 6% in London following reports that activist investor Nelson Peltz has built up a stake in the consumer goods behemoth, which makes products like Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dove soap. Shareholders are hungry for a turnaround at Unilever after shares stagnated in recent months. Peltz's involvement could feed momentum for a bold overhaul. On the radar: CEO Alan Jope has promised to reveal a new strategy soon — though it's not yet clear what that will entail. Last week, Jope defended Unilever's attempts to buy the GlaxoSmithKline unit that makes Advil and Tums, saying that he saw ramping up the company's exposure to health items and cosmetics as a winning strategy. And yet: Unilever said Thursday that it would not raise its rejected £50 billion ($68 billion) offer, raising questions about Jope's next move. Unilever's stock, which fell 10% in 2021, is now down 1% year-to-date.Is the stock market a 'superbubble' about to burst? Jeremy Grantham is not the only high-profile investor to warn that easy money has set off an unsustainable feeding frenzy. But as stocks fall, the latest amped-up admonition from the British money manager is getting lots of attention. The scoop: In a report published last week, Grantham — who studies market bubbles and was also bearish ahead of the 2000 dot-com crash and the 2008 financial crisis — said US stocks are in their fourth "superbubble" of the past 100 years, and that a massive pullback can "begin at any time." Grantham said stocks were in an "epic bubble" this time last year. The market wrapped up 2021 near record highs and with its third straight year of gains. But Grantham's new letter is gaining traction as Wall Street debates what's next for the market now that the Fed is backing away from crisis-era policies. Grantham blamed the central bank for creating "superbubble" conditions by instituting near-zero interest rates and executing hundreds of billions of dollars in asset purchases. The public, he said, will pay the price. "One of the main reasons I deplore superbubbles — and resent the Fed and other financial authorities for allowing and facilitating them — is the underrecognized damage that bubbles cause as they deflate and mark down our wealth," he said. As asset prices soar and personal wealth grows, people start spending accordingly, Grantham continued. That causes real pain when the party ends. "As bubbles break, they crush most of those dreams and accelerate the negative economic forces on the way down," he said. "To allow bubbles, let alone help them along, is simply bad economic policy." - CNN Beijing city officials are recommending people stop ordering items to be delivered from overseas, after saying a local woman may have been infected by Omicron after opening a parcel.
They repeated the theory that Covid-19 could be spread internationally on imports of frozen food, something many scientists have questioned. Officials said the woman who tested positive had no history of travel. They added they found traces of the virus on a package she received. The infection comes less than three weeks before Beijing is set to host the Winter Olympics. On Monday, China announced that it would not be selling tickets to members of the public for the Games. As part of virus control measures, only people invited will be allowed to attend. It is not yet clear how they will be selected or whether they will have to quarantine.
Health official Pang Xinghuo told reporters on Monday the virus had been found on the surface of a letter the infected person had received from Canada, as well as inside the unopened letter, the AFP news agency reports. Dozens of letters from the same batch were tested, and five showed positive traces of Covid-19, Ms Pang said, including samples from inside unopened letters. Beijing's Centre for Disease Control said the possibility that the woman was infected by a parcel from another country could not be ruled out. If deliveries from abroad are opened, it has been suggested that this should be done outside, with the opener wearing gloves and disposing of the packaging. What Beijing calls its "dynamic zero Covid" strategy combines mass vaccination with a regime of constant testing, nationwide monitoring of people's movements, temperature-taking and phone apps to prove you don't pose a threat, says the BBC's Robin Brant. All of that amounts to hyper vigilance about any new outbreak - if and when one is spotted the reaction is severe. China has been wedded to this approach since the beginning because it's likely the leaders from Xi Jinping down consider anything less would cause illness and death on a scale that would be politically, economically and socially unacceptable. - BBC News Ten people died when a cliff collapsed onto tourist boats on a lake in Brazil, officials said Sunday after the bodies of two missing people were found. On Saturday a large rock fragment broke free of a ravine and plunged onto four boats in Furnas Lake in Brazil's eastern Minas Gerais state, as panicked tourists watched helplessly from other vessels. Dramatic videos shared on social networks captured the moment the cliff collapsed. The bodies of the two remaining missing individuals were found Sunday by rescuers, civil police commissioner Marcos de Souza Pimenta told reporters. The death toll Saturday was originally given as seven, with three people missing.
The 10 who died were part of a group of family and friends on the boat that suffered the biggest impact from the rockfall, according to rescuers. The victims were all Brazilian nationals, aged between 14 and 68, according to preliminary investigations. WATCH MORETennis star Novak Djokovic wins legal battlein AustraliaTourists flock to see the cliffs, caverns and waterfalls that surround the green waters of Lake Furnas, formed by the hydroelectric dam of the same name. One video, shared on social media, showed the minute before the incident, with several people warning that "lots of stones are falling" and yelling at the occupants of other boats to move away from the rock face. President Jair Bolsonaro retweeted some of these videos on his account, and said that "as soon as the unfortunate disaster occurred, the Brazilian Navy moved to the site to rescue victims and transport the injured." Fierce winter storm lashes South, mid-Atlantic with heavy snow, wind; 400,000 without power1/3/2022 A potent winter storm packing heavy snow was moving across the South and mid-Atlantic on Monday, snarling traffic, causing power outages and shutting the federal government in Washington, D.C. In the core of the storm's heavy snow, there is the potential for 6-12 inches and locally higher amounts to pile up, AccuWeather said. That heavy amount of snow is most likely to fall from parts of eastern Virginia to the eastern shore of Maryland, much of Delaware and southern New Jersey. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the area until 4 p.m. EST Monday. Wind gusts of up to 35 mph were forecast, and travel was expected to be very difficult because of the hazardous conditions, the weather service said. The Weather Prediction Center said 2 inches of snow per hour could fall in some areas, and thundersnow was reported in at least five states, the Weather Channel said. In Washington, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced that federal offices in the area would be closed on Monday. Several school districts in the region said they would be closed, delayed or have virtual learning Monday. More than half the flights at Washington, D.C.'s three major airports were either delayed or canceled Monday morning, FlightAware said. MESSY END TO HOLIDAY TRAVEL:1,800+ flights canceled Monday amid winter storm warnings The storm is also producing gusty winds, which have contributed to some power outages in parts of the Southeast, Weather.com said. More than 400,000 homes and businesses had lost electricity in portions of Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas as of early Monday, according to poweroutage.us.
In the mid-Atlantic, the heavy wet snow will also accumulate on power lines, leading to additional power outages the Weather Service said. A cold front associated with the storm will be the focus for scattered showers and thunderstorms across the Carolinas and into Florida on Monday. Damaging winds and a few tornadoes appear to be the main concerns with this severe weather threat. STORM ROLLS ACROS US:Snow pummels 18 states as winter storm rolls through Midwest; warm East in for a shocker The storm had dumped snow on Plains, Midwest and interior Northeast over the past few days. - USA TODAY At least 34 people across five U.S. states have been confirmed dead after a swarm of tornadoes tore through communities across the South and the Midwest over the weekend. There were at least 40 tornadoes reported across nine states between Friday night and early Saturday morning -- unusual for December in the United States. Kentucky was the worst-hit state, with at least 20 confirmed fatalities, according to local officials. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear warned Sunday that the death toll from what he described as "the most devastating tornado event in our state's history" could exceed 100, but then later said the tally might be closer to 50. Two of his relatives were among those killed. MORE: Deadly tornado updates: 8 dead, 8 still unaccounted for after candle factory is destroyedBeshear said at least 300 members of the Kentucky National Guard have been deployed across the state to help remove debris and search for survivors as well as victims. "We are still hoping for miracles," the governor told ABC News' David Muir on Sunday. "We are finding people and every single moment is incredible." "This is going to take years to rebuild," he added. Among the dead were eight night-shift workers at a candle factory in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 people in western Kentucky. There were 110 employees inside the Mayfield Consumer Products facility when a tornado closed in late Friday night. Ninety-four workers have been accounted for, while eight remain missing, Mayfield Consumer Products CEO Troy Propes told ABC News. One of the survivors, Kyanna Parsons, recalled hunkering down at the candle factory with her coworkers when the tornado hit. She said she felt a gust of wind and her ears popped. The lights flickered before going out completely and the roof of the building suddenly collapsed, she said. "Everybody just starts screaming," Parsons told ABC News on Sunday. "I definitely had the fear that I wasn't gonna make it," she added. "It's a miracle any of us got out of there." Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart O'Nan said she was at the scene of the destroyed factory the following morning. She saw first responders from Louisiville, Kentucky's largest city, more than 200 miles away, "who had already gotten there, who had got in their trucks as quick as they could and come to help us." "The offers from all over the United States are overwhelming," O'Nan told ABC News' Robin Roberts on Monday. "We are so blessed with the state and federal support." The mayor said her city lost its sewage treatment plant and a water tower, in addition to many homes and businesses. Mayfield still has no power, natural gas or flowing water, according to O'Nan. "The immediate needs of our city people and our responders are being met with just wonderful donations," she said. "But our infrastructure is damaged so severely that getting that up and running is our absolute greatest priority at this time." MORE: How to help tornado victims in South and MidwestO'Nan, who lives about four blocks from the center of the city's downtown area, said she knew from watching the news last week that this storm would be "different." "This was not a storm that us Kentuckians like to go out on the porch and watch roll by," she said. When the tornado touched down on Friday night, O'Nan said she took shelter in the basement of her home and waited there until she heard it pass overhead. "That is a horrifying sound that I hope I never hear again," she said. A few minutes later, O'Nan said, she got a call from the city's fire chief saying the couldn't get the firetrucks or ambulances out of the bay at the fire station, because the doors wouldn't open. He ultimately had to attach a chain to his truck to pry the doors wide so firefighters and emergency workers could be deployed out into the field, according to O'Nan. MORE: What makes Kentucky's devastating tornadoes so rare"To watch them work tirelessly as they have during the last two days so far has just been heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time," the mayor said. "When I'm ever asked what's the greatest asset of our community, it is always our people," she added. "We've had small tragedies before and every time immediately the people bond together. I've seen that so much now, but we're joined by so many people from all across the commonwealth, all across the United States." Meanwhile, six people were killed in Illinois, where a tornado hit an Amazon facility. Four others were killed in Tennessee. There were two deaths reported in Arkansas and another two in Missouri, according to local officials.
A tornadic supercell left an extraordinarily long path of destruction -- about 200 miles long -- as it swept across four states on Friday night. It was unclear whether the storm involved one or multiple violent tornadoes that moved along the path. MORE: Tips on how to stay safe from a tornado after 40 reported in 9 statesOn average, there are 69 tornado-related fatalities in the U.S. each year, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The deadliest tornado on record to hit Kentucky occurred on March 27, 1890. There were 76 deaths. U.S. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Kentucky on Saturday, ordering federal assistance to support the local response efforts. On Sunday night, Biden updated the declaration, making federal funding available to affected individuals in the Kentucky counties of Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor and Warren. He also made it possible for residents to get assistance, such as grants for temporary housing or business repairs. - CNN London (CNN)Britain is facing a "tidal wave" of infections from the new Omicron coronavirus variant, ministers have warned, as they sound the alarm on rapid transmission rates in London and across the country.
On Monday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed the country's first death of a person with the variant. He told reporters at a vaccination clinic: "I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognize the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population." The United Kingdom increased its Covid-19 alert level on Sunday and is once again accelerating its rollout of booster jabs in an effort to respond to the new wave of cases.Health Secretary Sajid Javid warned on Monday that the data on Omicron infections is unlike that of earlier variants."It's spreading at a phenomenal rate, something that we've never seen before -- it's doubling every two to three days in infections," Javid told Sky News on Monday. He added that it was too soon to tell if cases of the new variant are milder. "That means we're facing a tidal wave of infection, we're once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus," he added, echoing language used by Johnson in a televised address on Sunday night. On Sunday, the Prime Minister set a new target of offering all adults a third shot by the end of December -- a month earlier than originally planned. He had previously cut the interval between second and third doses from six months to three. The British government has focused its Covid response around the vaccine program since last summer, and had resisted reimposing restrictions until the Omicron variant came to light."I'm afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need," Johnson said, citing early data that showed the effectiveness of a two-dose regimen is diminished by the new variant, but that boosters still provide a good level of protection. "No-one should be in any doubt: There is a tidal wave of Omicron coming," Johnson said. "But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose -- a booster dose -- we can all bring our level of protection back up." The UK has so far reported 3,137 cases of the Omicron variant, though the true number is likely to be higher. Javid said "about 10 people" are in hospital with the new variant. Overall, the country's seven-day rolling average of Covid-19 cases has surpassed 50,000 a day. Omicron was probably behind around 40% of infections in London, Javid said on Monday. But Johnson said that "tomorrow it'll be the majority of the cases," underlining how rapid the spread of the new strain has been in its first weeks in Britain. New guidelines asking people to work from home came into force on Monday. The UK has also brought back its mask mandate for shops and public transport, and now requires proof of vaccination or a negative test for attendees of large events. The recent flurry of new restrictions marks a sharp turn from the past few months, during which Johnson resisted Europe's turn towards long-term mitigation measures like vaccine passports and mask mandates.But the embattled Prime Minister has faced a significant rebellion from his own Conservative backbenchers over his move to reintroduce Covid rules, relying on support from the opposition Labour Party to pass them into law. Johnson is also embroiled in a scandal over reports that Downing Street held a number of staff parties last winter when the rest of the UK was living under strict rules banning social mixing. He has been forced to deny he fast-tracked Covid rules in order to distract from his political woes. - CNN |