As search and rescue efforts at the site of the Surfside, Fla., condo collapse stretch into day nine, officials have said that the number of confirmed fatalities has risen to 20, while the number of people unaccounted for has dropped from 145 to 128.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters Friday that one of the two fatalities recovered overnight was the 7-year-old daughter of a firefighter for the city of Miami.

"It goes without saying that every night since this last Wednesday has been immensely difficult for everybody, particularly the families that have been impacted," Levine Cava said. "But last night was truly different and more difficult for our first responders. These men and women are paying an enormous human toll each every day, and I ask that all of you please keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers."

"They truly represent the very best in all of us, and we need to be there for them as they are here for us," she said.

The number of people who have been accounted for has grown to 188, officials also confirmed Friday. In many cases, detectives followed leads regarding individuals who were unaccounted for but then reached them and discovered they were safe.

They even discovered additional family members who were safe and who could have been in the building, and added them to the tally of accounted for individuals.

Officials have not yet released the names of all of the dead and missing people, and asked Friday that the privacy of the families be respected.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

To help keep weak swimmers safe, stay "touch-close" and don't rely on a busy lifeguard to be the only eyes on a crowded pool or beach. It's best, say experts working to prevent drownings, to designate a nondrinking adult to scan the water at any pool party or beach outing, and to rotate that "watching" shift every 30 minutes to keep fresh eyes on the kids.; Credit: Imgorthand/Getty Images

I'm going to let you in on one of the most important lessons I learned early on, in my years of training to become a doctor: Absolutely anyone can drown, or lose a loved one to a drowning.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 3,900 people die from unintentional drowning in the US each year — with one in five under 14-years-old. And for each pediatric fatality, another five children require emergency care for nonfatal drownings that can cause irreversible organ damage.

Every patient or family I've cared for after a drowning accident has said they didn't think it could happen to them. And yet, it happens, along with the cruel "if onlys" that haunt cautious and well-intentioned people in the aftermath: "If only I'd done something different, or known what to look for." I hear this again and again, especially from those who've lost a child.

Unfortunately, research shows that in the majority of drowning cases, the child was being supervised by an adult when the accident happened. So, as our summer of post-vaccination reunions and vacations heats up, remember just how vulnerable kids are in water. The rate of admissions for nonfatal drownings at the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital in Orlando, for example, was already double in May what it was in the last three years at that same time.

Among basic water supervision precautions, a few potentially life-saving details are often overlooked. Here are some essentials to help keep our young swimmers safe this summer:

Follow the 'arm's length' rule

It may sound commonsensical to stay close by when kids are in or near a pool or other body of water, but it's important to know what safety experts consider close enough supervision to avoid a drowning event.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that adults who are supervising a child of any age who isn't a strong swimmer should be within one arm's length at all times when kids are in the water, offering "touch supervision" this way.

Dr. Andrew Schmidt, a lifeguard-turned-ER doctor at University of Florida Health-Jacksonville and an expert in water safety, notes the definition of a "strong swimmer" is subjective — and overestimating a child's independence in the water has led to tragic accidents.

Schmidt falls back on the way the American Red Cross, a longtime leader in teaching water safety, defines a "water competent" swimmer. According to the Red Cross guidelines , someone is water-competent if they find themselves in water over their head and are able to:

• Swim to the surface after being submerged, then float or tread water for at least one minute.
• Swim in a full circle and find an exit, then swim about 25 yards to that exit.
• Get out of the water on their own, which means exiting the water without a ladder if they're in a pool.

That's a good starting point for judging kids' vulnerability in the water, but adults still need to stay vigilant. "Even a strong swimmer can get into trouble," warns Dr. Terri McFadden, a professor in the department of pediatrics at Emory University's School of Medicine and medical director of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids in Atlanta.

Treat water safety supervision like a job

Calling appropriate water supervision an "intense job," McFadden is quick to remind the parents of her patients to stay alert even if the child is a proficient swimmer.

Having older kids or young teens — or adults that are weak swimmers — acting as chaperones isn't safe, she says. And if you're the adult in charge, doing anything that draws your eyes away from the water for just a moment is risky. Reading, using your phone in any capacity, socializing, fiddling with the bluetooth speaker or doing household chores – all such lapses are dangerous when children are swimming or playing in water. Drowning accidents have happened in the time it takes for a caretaker to run inside just long enough to put wet clothes in the dryer, or while they were looking on from a kitchen window and doing dishes. No distraction is quick enough to be safe when it comes to kids in or around water – not seconds, not minutes.

Mcfadden is among many leaders in child safety who recommend assigning an adult "watcher" at the pool or waterfront who can agree to be totally attentive for a brief period of time (15 to 30 minutes or so), then switching to another watcher in intervals; short spurts of duty making it easier to stay focused. It doesn't matter at a pool party that there are a dozen responsible adults nearby; if there isn't one pair of mature eyes devoted to watching the young swimmers 100% of the time, the risk of a deadly accident goes up.

Similarly, it's never safe to simply rely on lifeguards. Though trained to scan for emergencies and quickly respond, they can also get distracted, especially when there are lots of people bobbing along or jumping in and out of the water.

Stay sober when you're the adult in charge

There's also been a well-documented spike in alcohol use during the pandemic, and coupling that increase with an uptick in warm weather and waterside celebrations with friends and family can be a drowning accident waiting to happen.

Not only does alcohol lower our level of alertness and slow the reflexes needed to act quickly when we spot danger, it will also make swimming and helping someone to safety slower and more difficult as well.

And I'm not just talking about avoiding being drunk; cognitive processes and reflexes can slow after just a drink or two. Should something bad happen, it's not worth the heartbreak of wondering if the outcome could have been different without alcohol — something I've witnessed first-hand among some families of drowning victims.

The safest bet is to designate one fully sober adult as the watcher for 15 to 30 minutes at a time when kids are in or near the water. "Sober" means those adults agree to not use any mind-altering substances in that time — not alcohol, marijuana or even some allergy medicines or other prescription drugs that can cause drowsiness.

Use the safest life jacket, but don't rely on it alone

Life jackets do provide an added layer of protection against drowning, and most states require kids to wear them at all times when on a boat — regardless of their swimming strength.

Water safety and drowning experts recommend kids only wear life vests or jackets that are US Coast Guard-approved, which includes many different brands and will be noted clearly on the tag or printed onto the life jacket itself, along with a number that tells you what federal regulation it's approved under.

Pay close attention to what's printed there; the labels will tell you if it's not meant for weak or non-swimmers. You'll also find the weight range the vest is designed to fit. It should be nice and snug; wearing a loose life vest is like not wearing one at all.

Schmidt also cautions parents against relying on any unregulated flotation devices — including arm floaties, swimsuits with built-in floats or blow up neck rings. They may be cute, but can provide a false sense of safety that supports distracted supervision, he says.

Don't let shallow water deceive you

The risk to kids isn't equal to the depth of the water when we're talking about drowning. Small children can drown in baby pools, bathtubs or even household water buckets or tide pools — anything with enough water in it to cover their mouth and nose if they can't lift themselves out easily. They need adult supervision in these places, too.

And be forewarned — though child gates, locks and other safety measures are additional safety layers, if you've ever seen a kid use an iPhone you know that they're smart, and craftier than we realize. Most can still problem-solve their way around those barriers and into the water no matter the physical precautions.

Be ready to recognize what drowning or distress looks like

Parents and caretakers are often surprised to hear that drowning can look like nothing you'd notice, hear, or even expect — which is why it takes 100% visual and/or touch supervision to pick up the signs. The splashing, yelling and commotion you've seen in movies could certainly be a signal a child is in trouble, but it doesn't always happen that way.

Instead, be on the lookout for subtle and quick: a child motionless or face down in water or swimming upright but not making any progress forward; a lowered head, or a head tilted way back or with hair covering the eyes or face; a look of fear or doom in a child's eyes; or perhaps just a constant gaze toward shore or an exit/ladder. And a child that jumps or dives into the water but doesn't come up quickly could be missed without sharp visual supervision.

A swimmer of any skill level might need your help, and it can often take all of our senses on full-alert to identify a drowning in progress.

Swim classes are available for even very young kids. Enroll your child ASAP

Many 1-year-old babies can benefit from swim classes taught by a skilled instructor, according to the AAP. Children develop along different timelines, so check with your doctor to see if your child's ready to start.

And swim classes aren't just for beginners or kids — people of any age or ability can benefit. Even if you already know the fundamentals, swim instruction will help you expand your skills and be even safer in the water. Many instructors nowadays teach safety tactics like safer ways to jump into the water, how to safely escape an ocean's riptide or undertow, and how to save others from drowning without putting yourself in danger.

You can find classes through community pools, health departments or regional chapters of the American Red Cross or YMCA; some local nonprofits offer scholarships, so cost shouldn't be a barrier. Plus, the same groups can help you find CPR classes, which is a must for all chaperones and other adults — whether or not water is involved.

It's impossible to fully control environments where water and kids mix, but what we know about drowning is this: Sharp-eyed, adult supervision is key to prevention. And parents can't do it alone — if we all share the responsibility whenever we're near the water, we can save lives.

Dr. Kristen Kendrick is a board-certified family physician in Washington, D.C., and a health and media fellow at NPR and Georgetown University School of Medicine.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Wearing a rainbow sequin gown she designed herself in honor of Pride Month, Kataluna Enriquez made history last weekend when she was crowned Miss Nevada USA — the win will make her the first openly transgender contestant to compete in the upcoming Miss USA pageant this fall.

"My win is our win," she posted afterward on her Instagram in a message to the LGBTQ community. "We just made history. Happy pride."

Enriquez, who was also Miss Nevada USA's first trans contestant, beat out 21 other women for the top spot. She will represent the Silver State at the 2021 Miss USA pageant that will be held on Nov. 29 in Tulsa, Okla., where she will have a chance to be crowned Miss USA and advance to the Miss Universe pageant.

If crowned Miss USA, Enriquez will become the second trans contestant to compete for Miss Universe, after Angela Ponce, who represented Spain in the 2018 Miss Universe pageant. The pageant began allowing transgender contestants in 2012.

Enriquez began competing in pageants in 2015. Unable to afford custom designer gowns that fit her body at the time, she began designing her own to wear for competitions and eventually started her own line, Kataluna Kouture (@katalunakouture). In March, Enriquez became the first trans woman to win Miss Nevada's preliminary pageant, Miss Silver State USA.

The journey has not been easy, and Enriquez has faced discrimination. While competing in a pageant outside of Nevada, she had not been given a roommate when pageant organizers learned she was trans. A doctor had also been sent to certify that she was a woman before she could continue.

But Enriquez told NPR's Weekend All Things Considered that her determination to make history was what motivated her to keep competing.

"I had a purpose and I had a dream," she said. "I wanted to compete on the Miss USA stage. When I was young, I always wanted to see someone on the Miss USA stage — someone like me. And it just happened to be that I was the person that I needed to make history."

As she prepares for the Miss USA pageant, Enriquez said she plans to advocate for equality and mental health.

"My win is not just a win for the trans community," she said. "It's a win for all women to be represented."

Kalyani Saxena and Tinbete Ermyas produced and edited the audio version of this story. Josie Fischels produced for the web. Josie Fischels is an intern on NPR's News Desk.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

For the last month, Frank Galaviz has wondered when running water will return to his town.

The 77-year-old resident of Teviston — a small rural community in Central California — has been forced to depend on stored and bottled water after the pump in the town's only functioning well broke down in early June. Since then, residents have had to travel to neighboring towns to shower or depend on the town's water storage tanks for their daily needs.

Temperatures continue to reach into triple digits as a brutal heat wave sweeps across the West Coast. The ongoing drought only exacerbates the problem, Galaviz says.

"[My wife and I] have lived through many challenges," he says. "We both have survived cancer, but we will not be able to survive without water. This is a problem that is not going away."

Teviston sits between the cities of Fresno and Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley and is home to mostly Latino farmworkers. Normal days in town are usually slow-paced and idyllic, Galaviz says, with many residents commuting to the nearby towns and cities on business. Now, they leave to find more water.

This is not the first time Galaviz or his neighbors have struggled with a broken well. He says two other wells had broken down in previous years and had not been repaired. A new, more modern well is in the works, but Galaviz estimates its completion is still a few years off.

The community continues waiting for repair parts to arrive in hopes it will fix the current well's pump, he added, a process that could take a few weeks.

"It is not normal to not be able to flush toilets," he says. "It's not normal to not be able to take a shower."

Residents have managed to come up with a temporary fix, using their water storage tanks to offer relief.

"We were able to get some of the water pressure back," Galaviz said. "We put a submersible pump into one of our old wells and we're forcing water from the storage tanks through that system. But it's not a permanent fix."

Rural Latino communities in California have been particularly vulnerable to drought conditions, according to a report from the state Legislative Analyst's Office.

"Having no water equals bad health," state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, who serves California's 14th District, tells Weekend Edition. Hurtado says her bill, SB 559, would allot $785 million to fund and repair water supply infrastructure. One of the waterways posed for fixing is the Friant-Kern canal, which supplies Teviston and the towns around it. Over the years, the canal has become subject to subsidence — a condition that has caused some parts of the canal to sink and means it can't deliver as much water.

"SB 559 would help fix the canal so that the basin and the communities that rely on water here would be able to have more access to it," Hurtado says.

Galaviz has spent the last few weeks knocking on doors to check in on neighbors and trying to organize help.

"I have a neighbor whose daughter has medical problems. She needs drinking water, pure water," he says. "It hurts to see people suffering."

Hafsa Fathima and Jan Johnson produced and edited the audio story.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Traffic on Interstate 95 was diverted for hours after a group of armed men fled from police near Wakefield, Mass. on Saturday. Massachusetts state police say 11 suspects have been taken into custody.; Credit: Michael Dwyer/AP

Eleven people were taken into custody Saturday after an hours-long standoff with police early Saturday outside Boston.

While police engaged in negotiation, members of the group engaged the public on social media, saying their group was called "Rise of the Moors."

The heavily armed men were said to be driving from Rhode Island to Maine for "training."

The incident started around 1:30 a.m., when state police noticed two cars stopped at the side of I-95 near Wakefield, Mass., apparently out of fuel. As troopers stopped to assist, they noticed that some individuals near the cars had "military-style" gear, and were carrying long guns and pistols, Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason told reporters.

"You can imagine 11 armed individuals standing with long guns slung on an interstate highway at 2 in the morning certainly raises concerns and is not consistent with the firearms laws that we have in Massachusetts," Mason said.

Police requested backup, and thus began a standoff that lasted several hours. The men refused to lower their weapons, saying that they "don't recognize our laws," police said. Some of the armed men fled into a nearby wooded area, police said, and a portion of I-95 was closed for several hours.

The standoff was broadcast on social media

Around 4 a.m., a man whom the Boston Globe identified as Jamhal Talib Abdullah Bey said he was broadcasting live from I-95 and said that he told police they had nothing to fear.

"I reassured them that we are not sovereign citizens," a man who appeared to be Bey said in a live-streamed video. "I reassured them that we are not Black identity extremists. I reassured them that we are not anti-police. I reassured them that we are not anti-government. I reassured them that these men here will not be pointing guns at them. I reassured them that we are trying to come to a peaceful resolution."

"We're going to our private land to train, which is our Second Amendment right," he said, showing a vehicle he said contained camping equipment.

As police tactical teams brought in armored vehicles to surround the area, and negotiators interacted with the men, they ultimately surrendered. Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan told reporters the suspects were expected to appear in court on Tuesday morning.

State police "don't have any knowledge about this particular specific group" but as state police "it is not unusual for us to encounter people that have sovereign citizen ideologies — I'm not saying that this group does — but we have had those encounters before in the past," Mason said at a Saturday morning press briefing.

"We train to those encounters," Mason continued. "We very much understand the philosophy that underlies that mindset. And we train our officers, actually, at the academy, on these interactions and how to de-escalate those situations, and how to engage with people that have that philosophy and mindset and resolve those situations in a peaceful manner."

The group calls itself "Rise of the Moors"

The same man appearing to be Bey said in a later video: "They keep portraying us as being anti-government, but we're not anti-government at all."

The group's website lists Bey as a leader of the "Rhode Island State Republic and Providence Plantations." According to the site, Bey served in the military for four years, some or all of that time in the Marines, after which he began studying "Moorish Science."

That website, "Rise of the Moors," explains that Moors are not "sovereign citizens" because "sovereignty does not stand alone," but can rather be considered synonymous with "nationality."

"The record show that the Moors are the organic or original sovereigns of this land — America," the FAQ says. "When we declare our nationality as Moorish Americans we are taking back the position as the aboriginal people of the land, to which the sovereign power is vested in."

Bey's group may be associated with the Moorish sovereign citizen movement, which the Southern Poverty Law Center characterizes as an offshoot of the antigovernment sovereign citizens movement. Moorish sovereigns "have come into conflict with federal and state authorities over their refusal to obey laws and government regulations," SPLC writes.

"The Moorish Sovereign movement is a rapidly growing group of people who believe that they belong to a sovereign nation that has a treaty with the US but otherwise operates outside of the federal and state laws," JJ MacNab, a fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism, explained on Twitter.

"They rely on an alternative history that borrows from Moorish Science Temple, Black Hebrew Israelism, Nation of Islam, UFO theories, phony Native American tribes, and the pseudo-legal arguments crafted by white supremacist 'patriot' groups in the 1970s," MacNab said.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Rescuers search for bodies from the site where a Philippine military C-130 plane crashed in Patikul town, Sulu province, southern Philippines on Sunday, July 4, 2021.; Credit: /Joint Task Force-Sulu via AP

MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine air force C-130 aircraft carrying combat troops crashed in a southern province while landing Sunday, killing at least 29 army soldiers on board and two civilians on the ground, while at least 50 were rescued from the burning wreckage, officials said.

Some soldiers were seen jumping off the aircraft before it crashed and exploded around noon in the periphery of the Jolo airport in Sulu province, military officials said. Two of six villagers who were hit on the ground have died.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said rescue and recovery efforts were ongoing. The aircraft had 96 people on board, including three pilots and five crew and the rest were army personnel, the military said, adding 17 soldiers remained unaccounted for by nightfall. The pilots survived but were seriously injured, officials said.

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules was one of two ex-U.S. Air Force aircraft handed over to the Philippines as part of military assistance this year. It crashed while landing shortly before noon Sunday in Bangkal village in the mountainous town of Patikul, military chief of staff Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said.

Military officials said at least 50 people on board were brought to a hospital in Sulu or flown to nearby Zamboanga city and troops were trying to search for the rest. "Per eyewitnesses, a number of soldiers were seen jumping out of the aircraft before it hit the ground, sparing them from the explosion caused by the crash," a military statement said.

Initial pictures released by the military showed the tail section of the cargo plane relatively intact. The other parts of the plane were burned or scattered in pieces in a clearing surrounded by coconut trees. Soldiers and other rescuers with stretchers were seen dashing to and from the smoke-shrouded crash site.

The plane was transporting troops, many of them new soldiers who had just undergone basic training, from the southern Cagayan de Oro city for deployment in Sulu, officials said.

"They were supposed to join us in our fight against terrorism," Sulu military commander Maj. Gen. William Gonzales said. Government forces have been battling Abu Sayyaf militants in the predominantly Muslim province of Sulu for decades.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash. Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan said it was unlikely that the aircraft took hostile fire, and cited witnesses as saying that it appeared to have overshot the runway then crashed in the periphery of the airport.

"It's very unfortunate," Sobejana told reporters. "The plane missed the runway and it was trying to regain power but failed and crashed."

An air force official told The Associated Press that the Jolo runway is shorter than most others in the country, making it more difficult for pilots to adjust if an aircraft misses the landing spot. The official, who has flown military aircraft to and from Jolo several times, spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to speak publicly.

Initial pictures showed that the weather was apparently fine in Sulu although other parts of the Philippines were experiencing rains due to an approaching tropical depression. The airport in Sulu's main town of Jolo is located a few kilometers (miles) from a mountainous area where troops have battled Abu Sayyaf militants. Some militants have aligned themselves with the Islamic State group.

The U.S. and the Philippines have separately blacklisted Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization for bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings. It has been considerably weakened by years of government offensives but remains a threat.

President Rodrigo Duterte expanded the military presence in Sulu into a full division in late 2018, deploying hundreds of additional troops, air force aircraft and other combat equipment after vowing to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf and allied foreign and local gunmen.

Government forces at the time were running after Muslim armed groups a year after quelling the five-month siege of southern Marawi city by hundreds of militants linked to the Islamic State group. More than 1,000 people, mostly militants and long-elusive Abu Sayyaf commanders, were killed in months of intense air and ground assaults.

Sunday's crash comes as the limited number of military aircraft has been further strained, as the air force helped transport medical supplies, vaccines and protective equipment to far-flung island provinces amid spikes in COVID-19 infections.

The Philippine government has struggled for years to modernize its military, one of Asia's least equipped, as it dealt with decades-long Muslim and communist insurgencies and territorial rifts with China and other claimant countries in the South China Sea.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

An American flag flies from a crane on July 4th next to the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of victims remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed.; Credit: Lynne Sladky/AP

Preparations continue in Surfside, Fla. for the demolition of a portion of the Champlain Towers South still standing after much of the building collapsed in the early morning hours on June 24.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters on Sunday that bringing down the remainder of the collapsed condominium in a controlled fashion is crucial to the safety of search and rescue teams.

Those teams have paused their work so demolition can take place. Levine Cava said officials are still unsure of a specific time that the demolition will occur.

"Our top priority is that the building can come down as soon as possible — no matter what time that occurs — and safely as possible," Levine Cava said at a morning news conference.

The number of confirmed dead from the collapse remains at 24. The number of people unaccounted for remains at 121.

Preparations for the demolition come as Tropical Storm Elsa is tracking towards southern Florida. The storm is expected to hit the area Monday and Tuesday.

The instability of the building could be made worse by the storm, which is expected to bring strong winds and rain at the beginning of the week. Mayor Levine Cava said that as soon as the demolition has occurred, search and rescue efforts are expected to resume.

Ahead of Elsa's arrival in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency Saturday for 15 counties, including Miami-Dade.

On Sunday, he expressed optimism that the Surfside area may be spared from the worst of the storm.

"We could see some gusts, but it has tracked west over the last day and a half — more so than the initial forecast," he said. "So, we'll just keep watching that."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

SURFSIDE, Fla. — Crews used explosives late Sunday night to demolish the remaining structure at Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla.

The heavily damaged condo building was knocked down at about 10:30 p.m. Eastern time.

The targeted blast caused the tower to fold and crumble, sending a large plume of dust and debris over a section of the beachside community. A crowd watching from a distance prayed as the building came down.

Before the structure was leveled, Miami-Dade County police urged residents who live nearby to remain indoors and shelter in place.

Miami-Dade County officials said removing the tower was an essential step so search and rescue teams could resume scouring the rubble pile for victims of the disaster.

Officials suspended recovery efforts on Saturday because of concerns about the danger posed by the unstable building.

"It will be safe to resume the search activities very shortly after the blast and that's when we'll resume it," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava at a press conference Sunday evening.

Demolition of the tower was also accelerated because of Tropical Storm Elsa, which could hit South Florida with high winds and heavy rains as early as Monday.

Search efforts had been ongoing since the morning of June 24, when much of the 12-story condo complex suffered a "progressive collapse" and dozens of apartments were reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds.

The number of confirmed dead from the disaster remains at 24, with the number of people unaccounted for at 121.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., told reporters Sunday the demolition of the remaining tower added to the sorrow for families who lived in the complex, destroying homes and possessions.

"So often demolitions of buildings are a spectacle, it's almost like a show," Schultz said. "This demolition is a tragic situation."

Local officials assured former residents and the public that everything possible had been done to rescue pets left behind in the structure.

"Folks can be comfortable we're not leaving anyone behind, including our beloved pets," Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told reporters.

Multiple investigations are already underway into the cause of the collapse.

Documents acquired by NPR from an anonymous source show the condo association's board received warnings from an engineering firm beginning in 2018 that the structure needed extensive repairs.

A memo sent by the association to Champlain Towers South residents ahead of a May 2021 board meeting acknowledged the "desperate needs of the building."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A tropical storm with 65-mile-an-hour winds is drenching Cuba, and is expected to reach Key West and the west coast of Florida within the next 48 hours.

The National Hurricane Center expects Tropical Storm Elsa to drop between 5 and 10 inches of rain on central and western Cuba, leading to significant flooding and mudslides. The storm probably will weaken somewhat as it crosses the island, but could strengthen again as it approaches Florida.

According to the Associated Press, Cuban officials evacuated 180,000 people as a precaution against the possibility of heavy flooding.

Most of those evacuated stayed at relatives' homes, others went to government shelters, and hundreds living in mountainous areas took refuge in caves prepared for emergencies. The storm had killed at least three people on other Caribbean islands before it reached Cuba

The National Weather Service says that the western coast of Florida, including Tampa Bay, can expect a storm surge that would lift water levels between two and four feet. Much of Florida could see heavy rainfall that could reach six inches in some places. The storm will then bring heavy rains to Georgia and the Carolinas later in the week.

Florida officials were worried that the storm could destabilize what was left of the condominium building that partially collapsed over a week ago. In order to avoid an uncontrolled collapse, they approved the demolition of the remaining portion of the building, which took place on Sunday night.

"The hurricane was coming, the potential for that building to fall on the pile with the victims in it was a tragic thought," Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told NPR on Monday.

It's early in the hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted a busier-than-average Atlantic hurricane season, but it would be hard to top last year's, which set an all-time record with 30 named storms.

Tropical storms are fueled by warm water in the upper layers of the ocean, and ocean temperatures have been rising as heat is trapped by greenhouse gases.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Bill Cosby gestures outside his home in Elkins Park, Pa., on June 30, 2021, after being released from prison when the Pennsylvania's supreme court overturned his sexual assault conviction. Cosby expressed support for former TV co-star Phylicia Rashad's freedom of speech after she defended him in a tweet.; Credit: Matt Rourke/AP

Bill Cosby called on Howard University to support former co-star Phylicia Rashad's freedom of speech after she expressed support for him when his sexual assault conviction was overturned.

In a statement, Cosby also lashed out at the media, comparing journalists to the rioters who stormed the Capitol in January.

"Howard University you must support ones Freedom of Speech (Ms. Rashad), which is taught or suppose to be taught everyday at that renowned law school, which resides on your campus," Cosby said in a statement provided to NPR by his spokesman Andrew Wyatt.

"This mainstream media has become the Insurrectionists, who stormed the Capitol," Cosby continued in his statement. "Those same Media Insurrectionists are trying to demolish the Constitution of these United State of America on this Independence Day."

Cosby concluded by saying, "WE THE PEOPLE STAND IN SUPPORT OF MS. PHYLICIA RASHAD" in all caps.

Cosby's support of Rashad comes after the actress, who played his TV wife in The Cosby Show, defended the comedian in a tweet. Cosby was released from prison last week when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated his sexual assault conviction on the grounds that his due process rights were violated.

"FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" Rashad said last week.

The tweet has since been removed and Rashad later backpedaled, writing that she "fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward." She also sent a letter of apology to Howard students

Many Howard alumni had expressed disappointment at the remarks. Howard University responded with its own tweet, stating that Dean Rashad's "initial tweet lacked sensitivity towards survivors of sexual assault."

Rashad was recently named Dean of Howard University's Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts.

Rashad, an acclaimed stage and screen artist, graduated from Howard magna cum laude in 1970 with a bachelor's in fine arts. She returned as a guest lecturer and adjunct faculty member.

In a statement announcing her appointment in May, Provost Anthony K. Wutoh said Rashad's "passion for the arts and student success makes her a perfect fit for this role."

One of the students Rashad mentored at Howard was the late actor Chadwick Boseman, for whom the school's College of Fine Arts is named.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Rescue workers move a stretcher containing recovered remains at the site of the collapsed Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Fla., on Monday. Rescuers have recovered three more bodies and officials say the demolition of the building will accelerate search efforts.; Credit: Lynne Sladky/AP

Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava said on Monday morning that three more victims have been recovered from the ruins of the collapsed condo tower in Surfside, Fl., bringing the total death toll so far to 27.

Cava added that the demolition of the rest of Champlain Towers South "was executed exactly as planned" the previous evening, and that it would now allow rescue teams to work on a section of the collapsed building that was previously inaccessible. She noted that 118 individuals remain unaccounted for.

"Truly, we could not continue without bringing this building down," Cava said. "The area closest to the building was not accessible, due to the enormous risk to the team of first responders, because of the instability of the building."

According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the newly accessible section of rubble is also from a part of the building where many bedrooms were located, and may contain the remains of many victims. The building collapsed in the middle of the night.

Authorities had been concerned that an approaching tropical storm might topple the standing part of the building onto the section that had already collapsed. That would have been a massive setback in the search for victims and for clues to the cause of the disaster.

Tropical Storm Elsa now appears to be tracking further to the west, and is more likely to hit the west coast of Florida, rather than the site of the disaster. But officials at the National Weather Service say the storm's course still could change.

Cava acknowledged that demolishing people's homes "is a devastating decision" and said that "our teams are doing everything possible to help those who lost their home begin to rebuild."

She said that authorities are working with insurance companies and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to streamline claims and help those who've lost homes and property.

One animal rescue volunteer had gone to court to stop the demolition of the rest of the tower, asking the court to allow more time to rescue pets that might still be trapped inside. The judge denied the motion.

Cava said in her Monday briefing that Miami-Dade rescue teams had already gone through parts of the building that were still accessible, "searching in closets and under beds" to find missing pets.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, seen here in 2019, will join the faculty of Howard University.; Credit: Mary Altaffer/AP

Less than a week after trustees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill belatedly voted to grant tenure to New York Times reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, Howard University announced Hannah-Jones will instead be joining its faculty.

Howard, the prestigious historically Black university in Washington, D.C., also announced it is hiring writer and Howard alumnus Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of Between the World and Me.

Their positions were funded by nearly $20 million in donations from the Knight Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation, as well as an anonymous donor.

The funding establishes the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism, a tenured position to be held by Hannah-Jones.

Hannah-Jones, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her 1619 Project, will also establish the Center for Journalism and Democracy, which the university says will train aspiring journalists in "the investigative skills and historical and analytical expertise needed to cover the crisis our democracy is facing."

The news is a blow to UNC, which has had its reputation damaged by its handling of Hannah-Jones' appointment to an endowed professorship at its journalism school. For months, trustees declined to consider granting her tenure, a highly unusual move considering her tenure was backed by the relevant academic leaders.

Some of the opposition came from Walter Hussman, an Arkansas newspaper publisher and alumnus whose $25 million donation to the UNC's journalism school led to its being named for him.

As NPR's David Folkenflik reported, Hussman said "he was given pause by some prominent scholars' criticism that Hannah-Jones distorted the historical record in arguing that the protection of slavery was one of the Founding Fathers' primary motivations in seeking independence from the British."

Amid the turmoil, other Black faculty members at UNC said they were considering leaving the university, and students protested on behalf of Hannah-Jones.

The university's student body president Lamar Richard penned an open letter last month to the UNC community, saying the university is unprepared for the reckoning that's required, and "[u]ntil this rebirth occurs, Carolina is not deserving of your talents, aspirations, or successes."

Hannah-Jones had said she would not accept UNC's offer without tenure, which UNC's Trustees finally approved in a 9-4 vote.

But the messy and contentious process spoiled it for her.

"Look what it took to get tenure," Hannah-Jones said, noting that every other chair of the position dating to the 1980s had been granted tenure, and that all were white. Hannah-Jones received unanimous approval from the faculty during the tenure process.

"And so to be denied it, and to only have that vote occur on the last possible day, at the last possible moment, after threat of legal action, after weeks of protest, after it became a national scandal – it's just not something that I want anymore," she told CBS This Morning.

Hannah-Jones said she never wanted her hiring to become a public scandal — she was simply hoping to give back to her beloved alma mater. And instead, she said, it became "embarrassing" to be passed over for tenure. She said she was never told by UNC-Chapel Hill's chancellor, provost or trustees why her tenure was not taken up in November or January.

The veteran journalist reportedly had offers from a number of universities after the botched process at UNC. So how did she pick Howard?

She said one of her few regrets was not going to Howard as an undergraduate. And she traced her choice to join its faculty to her own story, beginning as a second-grader bused to a white school.

"I've spent my entire life proving that I belong in elite white spaces that were not built for Black people," she told CBS. "I decided I didn't want to do that anymore. That Black professionals should feel free, and actually perhaps an obligation, to go to our own institutions and bring our talents and resources to our own institutions and help to build them up as well."

She said she won her battle for fair treatment at UNC, "but it's not my job to heal the University of North Carolina. That's the job of the people in power who created this situation in the first place."

Hannah-Jones said she's trying to raise even more money for Howard, and that she's eager to join the faculty this summer.

"To be able to bring that type of resources to a university that always punches above its weight, I'm so excited," she said. "Something great came out of this."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Crews searching the building collapse site in Surfside, Fla., have discovered four more victims since Monday, bringing the death toll to 32. Authorities have identified 26 of the bodies.

Another 113 people were unaccounted for, though local officials said they had only been able to confirm that about 70 of those people were in the building at the time of the collapse nearly two weeks ago.

Detectives are continuing to follow up on reports submitted about possible victims in the partial collapse, but in some cases they have been unable to reach those who submitted the tips in the first place.

"People call anonymously. People call and don't leave return phone numbers. People call with partial information, not enough to really secure whether that person may or may not have been in the building," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters on Tuesday.

Some of the reports of possible victims are also incomplete, she said, including a name but no apartment number or no date of birth.

Levine Cava urged people who are missing loved ones to communicate with local authorities. She said there may also be victims of the collapse who have not been reported missing.

The rescue effort stopped briefly overnight due to lightning from a passing storm. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said high winds were hampering the cranes moving heavy debris from the collapse site.

Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez said Florida has declared a state of emergency ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa, which is expected to reach hurricane strength before making landfall Wednesday morning on the state's west coast.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Sonata Software announced that its Unified Enterprise Mobility Platform, Halosys, has been enhanced with additional features that boost optimization and usability

Micromax forays in the race of in-house mobile launcher driven by Machine Learning and AI to enhance the user experience.

Bharti Airtel has awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to IBM to deploy a blockchain -based pan India network which will allow the telco to protect its 284 million subscribers from pesky calls and messages

The Akshaya Patra Foundation reduced the process time taken from planning the menu to delivery to schools by using mobility solution and automation.

The data in a QR code is a series of dots in a square grid. Each dot represents a one and each blank a zero in binary code, and the patterns encode sets of numbers, letters or both, including URLs.

"The Commission made binding commitments offered by T-Mobile CZ, CETIN and O2 CZ that will keep the benefits of network sharing whilst removing technical and financial disincentives to unilateral deployments and limiting information exchange, all to the benefit of Czech mobile user," Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Supporting this massive surge, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an entity for operating retail payments and settlement systems, has provided the backbone and the infrastructure to help in the faster adoption of digital systems that has deepened financial inclusion.

The idea was discussed by Andy Lee, the chief executive of its Foxtron electric vehicle venture, in the presence of Foxconn chairman Young Liu and a cluster of states at a meeting organised last month when Liu was visiting India, they said. Foxtron is also looking to manufacture EVs in India.

Panelists in a discussion on ‘Mobility Megatrends 2050’, highlighted that in the next decade, with electrification, autonomous driving, smart and connected infrastructure, modal diversity, and mobility that is integrated, resilient, shared, and sustainable – powered by disruptive business models, will transform and shape up of the automotive industry. The industry is racing towards a new world, driven by sustainability and changing consumer behaviour, encompassing electric vehicles, autonomous cars, mobility fleet sharing, and always connected.

“The technology services industry, at some level, is recession proof,” Premji said at the company’s 76th annual general meeting on Tuesday. “In good times, clients spend on new initiatives and business transformation and serving customers digitally. They focus on reducing costs when times are not so good,” he said addressing a question on inflation concerns.

Oil prices have whipsawed between concerns over supply as Western sanctions on Russian crude and products over the Ukraine war disrupt trade flows, and worries that central bank efforts to tame inflation may trigger a demand-destroying recession.

​So, we think that now we are entering into earnings season with this business update and particularly the banking sector should do well, both PSU and private banks.

The fresh capital infusion takes the total fund raised by the company to Rs 275 crore, with as much as Rs 95 crore mopped up in various rounds earlier including from Indian-American philanthropist and serial entrepreneur Kiran Patel.

Through a series of ambitious initiatives and strategic investments, India is actively working to overcome barriers and create a level playing field for technology adoption. From expanding connectivity infrastructure to investing in digital literacy programs, the nation is leaving no stone unturned in its pursuit of equitable access to technology.

Many business users have approached generative AI technology more cautiously because it can make up untrue facts and be tricked into saying unsettling things. Oracle's human resources software is used by big businesses for hiring new employees and providing performance evaluations, among other things. Oracle will put a button on many of the fields in the software that will automatically generate draft text for things like job listings or performance goals.

With the advent of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and data analytics, banks across the world are embracing a new era of innovation to enhance their services and improve customer experiences. These innovations are empowering banks to provide personalized, efficient, reliable, and secure financial solutions to their customers.

Reliance Jio Infocomm is set to sign a $1.7bn deal with Nokia this week to purchase 5G network equipment. This follows the $2.1bn worth of equipment ordered by the Indian telecom operator from Ericsson in its attempt to roll out 5G across India this year. The company has already purchased 5G spectrum and plans to invest $25bn in 5G infrastructure, making its standalone mode the sole holder of the 700 MHz band in the country.

Microsoft-owned OpenAI has announced the general availability of its latest text-generating model GPT-4, through its API.

The Challenge is part of Small Steps to Health and Wealth�, a national Cooperative Extension program developed to motivate Americans to take action to simultaneously improve their health and personal finances. SSHW was built around a framework of 25 research-based behavior change strategies. The Challenge was originally developed in a �paper and pencil� format with printed worksheets and is now available online.

As of January 2, 2010 restaurants, bars and other businesses that serve food and drink in Catawba County became smoke-free. Many health advocates and local residents are pleased that they can now enjoy a healthier dining experience. The ban is a result of a new law that prohibits smoking in all restaurants and bars across North Carolina.

Louise Ackerman serves as the Chairwoman for Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention (A.S.A.P.) of Catawba County. A.S.A.P. is a volunteer coalition made up of Catawba County residents with members from all segments of the community, including education, law enforcement, the criminal justice system, the faith community, mental health, social services, public health, local business, parents and youth that work together to combat underage drinking and substance abuse.

In the fall of 2009, as a part of the Catawba Aging Leadership Planning Project, Catawba County, along with aging service providers, volunteers and local municipalities developed a �Livable & Senior Friendly Community Survey�. This survey was widely distributed throughout Catawba County and targeted the County�s Senior Community, their caregivers and professionals in the aging field. The purpose of the survey was to obtain current and relevant information on the quality of life of seniors. Obtaining this information is important when looking toward the future of Catawba County.

Three applied research centers at the Charlotte Research Institute will install instrumentation and conduct experiments at the Eco-Complex, an expansion of innovative waste reduction and waste processing technology already underway at the Complex.

The Catawba County Board of Commissioners, at its January 19, 2010 meeting, joined with other local governments across the region in approving the agreement. The main points of the agreement hinged on Concord and Kannapolis modifying their ability, contained in their IBT certificate, to withdraw 10 million gallons of water per day (MGD) from the Catawba River at all times, by significantly limiting withdrawals during times of drought. The agreement limits withdrawals to 6 MGD during times of most severe drought, or �exceptional� drought; 7 MGD during �extreme� drought; 8.5 MGD during �severe� drought; and 9 MGD during �moderate� drought. Further, the agreement restricts Concord and Kannapolis from withdrawing more than 3 MGD from the Catawba until July 1, 2015, and after they first are withdrawing 5 MGD from the Yadkin River.

Two members of the Catawba County Board of Commissioners, Vice-Chair Lynn Lail and Commissioner Barbara Beatty joined UNC Charlotte officials and leaders from business and power industries to celebrate the start of construction on the University�s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC). EPIC is a planned research endeavor between the University and private partners with the goal of expanding energy engineering and research within the region based on industry needs. The Catawba County EcoComplex will play an important role in EPIC through research partnership between Catawba County and UNC-Charlotte

Help shape the future of greenways and trails in Catawba County! Catawba County and the Carolina Thread Trail planners ask citizens to help with planning for the trail by taking an online survey.

A partnership of all fourteen fire departments and all five rescue squads in the county with Catawba County Emergency Services has resulted in a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that will fund a large amount of the costs to purchase new radios to significantly improve communications by and between the fire and rescue agencies and the County�s 911 Communications Center.

Proper dental care and routine trips to the dentist help to guarantee that children and adults not only have a healthy smile, but a healthy body as well. To help ensure that every child in Catawba County has access to dental care, Catawba County Public Health Dental Practice serves as a resource for children ages 4 to 17.

Children learn their habits, attitudes and beliefs from their parents and other caregivers, and that includes their willingness to try new and healthy foods. The American Dietetic Association and Catawba County Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) encourages adults to be good role models and teach children how to appreciate nutrition and enjoy healthful eating.

When it comes to air quality, many believe it's only an issue during the summer. Air quality remains a problem year round, with ozone being a concern in the summer and particulate matter posing a problem year round. Public Health is working with local officials to raise the importance of air quality awareness and what citizens can do to help improve air quality.

The final stages of the 2011 property revaluation process in Catawba County have begun with the presentation of the proposed 2011 Schedule of Values to the Board of Commissioners, and will continue into November, when property owners will receive notice of the new value of their property, and into December and early 2011 when the appeal process begins.

Commissioner Barger was recognized as �a leader with insight and determination� and a person of �trust, integrity, responsibility, and concern for fellow citizens� in a Distinguished Public Service Award presented to him during the meeting.

Brian Drum, one of the supervisors of the Catawba County 911 Communications Center, who has been called upon to increase his supervising duties over the past year and has a record of dedication to 911 dispatch that spans more than ten years, has been recognized by his peers in the North Carolina Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association (NC NENA) as Supervisor of the Year.

Catawba County has upgraded a feed from its 911 Center of the information on calls regarding traffic incidents. The feed shows the type of incident reported, such as a vehicle accident, stranded motorist or vehicle fire, and gives the location of the incident. Only traffic related incidents are reported through this feed.

As it continues to note National Emergency Preparedness Month, Catawba County Emergency Services reminds citizens who have family members with special needs, and caregivers of those with special needs, that it�s very important to be prepared in advance to help those with special needs cope with an emergency or disastrous situation.

Lindsey Smith was recognized by the North Carolina Society for Public Health Education as a new health educator in North Carolina who has made outstanding contributions to the profession.

Cyndy Benson, who recently retired as Family and Children�s Services program manager in the Department of Social Services, has received the Kimberly F. Crews Memorial Award from the N.C. Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. This award is presented annually to honor a person who works directly with children suspected of having been abused.