12/09/2020

US gears for rising death toll in West Coast wildfires

US officials girded Saturday for the possibility of mass fatalities from raging wildfires up and down the West Coast, as evacuees recounted the pain of leaving everything behind in the face of fast-moving flames.

Sri Lanka navy plugs fuel leak on fire-stricken tanker

Sri Lankan military divers fixed a fuel leak from the engine of a fire-damaged oil tanker off the island's east coast, the navy said Saturday, in a salvage operation after the huge week-long blaze.

Humpback whales stray up tropical Aussie river

A trio of humpback whales—usually bound for Antarctica this time of year—took a wrong turn, heading up a crocodile-infested north Australian river with scientists hoping Saturday they will all return to the sea safely.

China says Mars probe stable; no word on reusable spacecraft

China's Mars probe Tianwen-1, which blasted into space in July, is now more than 15 million kilometers (9 million miles) from Earth en route to the red planet, the National Space Administration said Saturday.