FLORIDA SURGEON GENERAL-NO MASK

Florida’s top doctor refuses mask, is told to leave meeting

MIAMI (AP) — Florida’s top health official was asked to leave a meeting after refusing to wear a mask at the office of a state senator who told him she had a serious medical condition. The Florida Senate president sent a memo to senators saying it was disappointing to learn of the incident at the office of Democratic state Sen. Tina Polsky and asking visitors to be respectful. Dr. Joseph Ladapo offered to go outside but the senator wanted to meet in her office. Polsky was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, but had not made it public. Ladapo was appointed to the post of Florida surgeon general by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

PROP-FIREARM-DIGITAL GUNSHOTS

Let computers do it: Film set tragedy spurs call to ban guns

NEW YORK (AP) — The tragedy that unfolded on a New Mexico movie set when Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun, killing a cinematographer, has led to calls for fundamental change in Hollywood. Some are saying real guns should be banned on sets. From a change.org petition to a network TV drama that has banished real weapons from the set, supporters of the move say there is no justification for taking any risks when computers can create gunshots in post-production. Halyna Hutchins was killed when Baldwin fired a weapon that a crew member told him was safe.

DRAG RACE CRASH

Texas drag race driver slams into spectators, killing 2 kids

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a driver lost control during a Texas drag racing event and slammed into a crowd of spectators, killing two children and injuring eight other people. A 6-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy were killed Saturday at an event called “Airport Race Wars 2” at the Kerrville-Kerr County Airport. The organized event was attended by thousands and involved drivers speeding down a runway as they competed for cash. The injured victims were taken to various hospitals, including a 46-year-old woman who was in critical condition. The majority of the other injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. Kerville is about 60 miles northwest of San Antonio.

SMALL PLANE CRASH

Small plane crashes into Wisconsin home, kills 2 onboard

MARENGO, Wis. (AP) — Authorities say two people died when a single-engine plane crashed into a home in northeastern Wisconsin. The Ashland County Sheriff’s Office received numerous 911 calls about 2:40 p.m. Saturday with reports of the crash in the town of Marengo. No one on the ground was hurt. The sheriff’s department says the victims are a 29-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman from Marengo, which is about 80 miles from Duluth, Minnesota. Investigators do not believe there was anyone else in the plane. A news release from the sheriff’s department said it will “share further information with the public regarding this incident as it becomes available.” The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

AP-CN-CANADA-SHIP-CONTAINER-FIRE

Fire burns aboard container ship off British Columbia

VICTORIA, British Columbia (AP) — A fire is burning in several containers aboard a cargo ship off Canada’s Pacific coast province of British Columbia. The Canadian Coast Guard says it received word late Saturday morning that a fire had broken out in 10 damaged containers aboard the MV Zim Kingston, which is now anchored about five miles off the provincial capital of Victoria, and that two of the burning containers contain hazardous material identified as potassium amylxanthate. The coast guard notes that the ship itself is not on fire, but said an emergency zone has been set up for one nautical mile around the Zim Kingston, adding there is currently no safety risk to people on shore. 

MEXICO-TROPICAL WEATHER

Hurricane Rick heads toward Mexico’s Pacific coast

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Rick is headed for Mexico’s southern Pacific coast and is forecast to reach land by Monday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Rick had winds as high as 85 miles per hour (140 kph) and was expected to hit somewhere around the seaport of Lazaro Cardenas or the resort of Zihuatanejo by Monday. The hurricane was located about 130 miles (210 kilometers) south-southwest of Zihuatanejo.  Rick was moving north at 3 mph (6 kph). The center warned Rick could produce flash flooding and mudslides. The coast has mountainous terrain that in the past has been very vulnerable to flash flooding and mudslides.   

TAIWAN-EARTHQUAKE

Taiwan shaken by 6.5-magnitude quake, woman hurt by rockfall

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — An earthquake has shaken Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, and caused falling rocks that injured a woman and damaged a car. No deaths have been reported. The government says the 6.5-magnitude quake Sunday was centered near Yilan, a city about 22 miles east of Taipei near the northeastern coast. It was followed seconds later by a 5.4-magnitude quake. Buildings in Taipei swayed. The subway and some other mass transit services were suspended. The Central News Agency says a woman was injured by falling rocks in Taroko National Park. One car on a highway was damaged also by falling rocks but no one was injured.

KOREAS-TENSIONS

US urges NKorea to stop missile tests and return to talks

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A senior U.S. diplomat has urged North Korea to refrain from additional missile tests and resume nuclear diplomacy,  days after the North fired off its first underwater-launched ballistic missile in two years. Sung Kim, the U.S. envoy on North Korea, spoke after meeting with South Korean officials to discuss North Korea’s recent missile tests while nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang remain stalled. He called on North Korea to cease provocations and engage in dialogue, reiterating that the U.S. is ready to meet without preconditions. North Korea has said a return to talks is conditional on the U.S. dropping what it calls hostile policy, an apparent reference to the sanctions and regular military drills between the U.S. and South Korea.  

BRITAIN-IRAN

Husband of detained Iranian-British woman on hunger strike

LONDON (AP) — The husband of U.K. charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has gone on a hunger strike again after a court decided she has to spend another year in an Iranian prison. Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained for more than five years in Iran. Husband Richard Ratcliffe started his fast on Sunday outside the British government’s Foreign Office in central London. He plans to maintain a “constant vigil” by sleeping in a tent outside the building’s main entrance. Zaghari-Ratcliffe served five years in prison after being taken into custody at Tehran’s airport in April 2016 and convicted of plotting the overthrow of Iran’s government. It’s a charge that she, her supporters and rights groups deny.

PICASSO AUCTION-VEGAS

Picasso artworks auctioned for combined $109M in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Eleven Pablo Picasso artworks have been sold for a combined $109 million in a Las Vegas auction coinciding with the artist’s 140th birthday. The nine paintings and two ceramic pieces had been displayed inside the Picasso restaurant at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art for more than two decades until owner MGM Resorts decided earlier this year to sell them. Auction officials say Picasso’s 1938 portrait of his muse Marie-Thérèse Walter entitled “Femme au béret rouge-orange” (“Woman in a reddish-orange hat”) sold for $40.5 million, well above estimates of $20 million to $30 million. The painting last sold at auction in the 1980s for around $900,000.

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