Death toll in Spanish building fire hits 9, with 1 missing, as questions grow about speed of blaze
The death toll in a fire that engulfed an apartment block in the Spanish city of Valencia has risen to nine as questions were raised about whether construction materials caused the fire to spread so rapidly.
Spain probes private taxidermy museum with 1,000 animals
Spainโs Civil Guard says it is investigating a businessman in the eastern Valencia region who owned a private taxidermy collection with more than 1,000 stuffed animals, including just over 400 from protected species and at least one specimen of a North African oryx, already extinct.
Red-hot US housing market: January new home sales jump 4.3%
Sales of new homes fell by 3.5% in September to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 959,000 million units. The Commerce Department said Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, that despite the modest decrease, sales of new homes are up 32.1% from a year earlier, as the housing market remains strong despite the pandemic. โ Demand for new homes in the U.S. surged 4.3% in January with the housing market still one of the strongest segments of the economy. Last month's increase pushed sales of new homes to an adjusted annual rate of 923,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The housing market has remained remarkably resilient in the face of the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Pandemic help wanted: Fast food managers, road race experts
Event organizers and other unconventional logistics experts are using their skills to help the nation vaccinate as many people against COVID-19 as possible. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)A year into the coronavirus pandemic, Americans are painfully aware that overcoming the scourge is a marathon, not a sprint. The race director of the Boston Marathon, which is on hold until fall, has been tapped by the state of Massachusetts to run mass vaccination operations at Gillette Stadium and Fenway Park. In California, Disneyland โ hit hard by the global health crisis โ is hosting a mass vaccination effort, as is Six Flags Magic Mountain, about 60 miles north. Philadelphia officials chose a 22-year-old Drexel University graduate student in psychology to help get a mass vaccination site up and running quickly.
F1 season to start in Bahrain after Australian GP postponed
The start of the 2021 Formula One season has been delayed after the Australian Grand Prix was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Australian race in Melbourne has been rescheduled from March 21 to November 21. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill, File)LONDON โ The start of the Formula One season was delayed by one week on Tuesday after the Australian Grand Prix was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the race in Melbourne moved from March to November, the season will now start in Bahrain on March 28. The season will instead start with the Bahrain Grand Prix less than four months after the Sakhir venue held two races as part of the 2020 season.
Valencia 'surprised' at Atalanta coach's virus revelation
When Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini was struggling with the coronavirus in mid-March, the prospect of entering Bergamos hospital which was overflowing with COVID-19 patients at the time made him fear for his life. The 62-year-old Gasperini started feeling sick on March 9, a day before Atalanta played at Valencia in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16. With the virus advancing rapidly across Europe, the second leg in Valencia was played without fans. Previously the only member of Atalanta who was confirmed as testing positive for the virus was reserve goalkeeper Marco Sportiello. Atalanta can help Bergamo recover, while respecting the pain and those in mourning, Gasperini said.