Three die from electrocution after live power line falls on car in Oregon ice storm
Three people have died from electrocution after slipping on ice into a power line that fell on a car during a storm in Portland, Oregon.
Devastated father Ronald Briggs said his 15-year-old son Ta’Ron, and his 21-year-old daughter – who he did not name – died after slipping into the live wire while trying to save her nine-month-old baby boy from the crushed SUV.
The daughter’s boyfriend also died after he slipped and his foot touched exposed wire while also trying to save the child.
Mr Brigg’s daughter, who was also six months pregnant, screamed to her boyfriend to get the baby before she was electrocuted, prompting her brother Ta’Ron to run and try to help until he suffered the same fate.
The icy scene in Oregon where three people died after being electrocuted. Pic: AP
“I told him, ‘Don’t go down there – try to get away from them,” Mr Briggs said.
“And he slid, and he touched the water, and he, and he died too. I have six kids. I lost two of them in one day.”
“It just hurt,” he said. “Being a good father cannot solve this right now.”
Pic: AP
‘Heroic’ teen
Remarkably, the baby survived the ordeal, after being saved by neighbour Majiah Washington, who had witnessed the entire event.
“I was concerned about the baby,” 18-year-old Ms Washington said, “nobody was with the baby”.
Managing to avoid the live wire, she told a news conference how she grabbed the baby.
Neighbour Majiah Washington managed to save the nine-month-old without being electrocuted. Pic: AP
Rick Graves, a spokesperson for Portland Fire and Rescue, praised Ms Washington for her heroism, confessing he didn’t understand how she and the baby were not electrocuted.
“We do have fortunately with us a toddler that is going to be able to thrive and do what they possibly can as they move forward,” Mr Graves said. “And they are here, in part, because of the heroic acts of a member of our community.”
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Mr Briggs told Portland television station KGW that his daughter had come over to use the internet after hers had gone out during the storm.
He and his wife had just got into their own car when they heard a loud boom and saw their daughter’s SUV on fire, the TV station reported.
It comes as the Pacific northwest of America has been battered with snow, freezing rain and ice in the past week.
Extreme temperatures have been blamed for at least 10 deaths in Oregon, along with a further five in Seattle due to hypothermia.
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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