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A disaster declaration has been issued for dozens of counties in northern Texas as raging wildfires forced evacuations in several towns and a nuclear weapons plant to shut down.

Republican governor Greg Abbott proclaimed 60 counties were in a state of disaster and called for extra emergency services to support local firefighters in tackling the blazes.

The unbridled Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest of all the blazes, burned nearly 400 square miles – more than twice its size since it sparked on Monday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. It also forced major roads to close.

Unseasonable hot and dry conditions, along with strong winds, have caused the fires to ignite and spread across the state’s grassy plains at an alarming pace – but authorities have not yet pinpointed the source of the blaze.

Smoke rises from a wildfire in Texas, U.S., February 27, 2024 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Jeff Bartlett/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
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Pic: Jeff Bartlett via Reuters

In this photo provided by the Flower Mound, Texas, Fire Department, Flower Mound firefighters respond to a fire in the Texas Panhandle, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. A rapidly widening Texas wildfire doubled in size Tuesday and prompted evacuation orders in at least one small town. (Flower Mound Fire Department via AP)
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Pic: Flower Mound Fire Department via AP

Wildland Team members depart to operate amid the spread of fire in this picture obtained by Reuters on February 27, 2024. Flower Mound Texas Fire Department/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
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Flower Mound Texas Fire Department/via Reuters

Pantex nuclear facility paused operations until further notice due to an out-of-control fire approaching its Panhandle site near Amarillo.

Its 16,000-acre site is home to the plant that builds and disassembles America’s nuclear weapons.

“The fire near Pantex is not contained,” the company said. “Response efforts have shifted to evacuations.”

** ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND JUNE 12-13 ** The BWXT Pantex facility near Amarillo, Texas is seen Nov. 26, 2002. Largely tucked away from public view, technicians work with radioactive and explosive materials around the clock at the 25-square-mile Pantex complex _ the nation's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly plant. (AP Photo/Amarillo Globe News, Steven Dearinger)
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The Pantex plant in Texas. File pic: AP

Pantex confirmed there was no fire on the site as emergency services continued to monitor the situation.

It added “all employees” had been accounted for and “non-essential personnel” were no longer on site.

Several fires in the Texan counties of Hemphill and Hutchinson were nearing the Oklahoma border, where some evacuations have also been ordered.

A wildfire that prompted evacuations burns north of Shattuck, Oklahoma, U.S. February 27, 2024. REUTERS/Nick Oxford
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One of the wildfires prompted an evacuation near Oklahoma. Pic: Reuters


Hemphill County Sheriff Office urged anyone who remained in Canadian, about 100 miles northeast of Amarillo, to shelter in place or at the school gym because roads were closed.

Wildland Team members depart to operate amid the spread of fire in this picture obtained by Reuters on February 27, 2024. Flower Mound Texas Fire Department/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
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Wildland Team members set to tackle the fires. Pic: Flower Mound Texas Fire Department via Reuters.

Smoke from multiple wildfires obscures the sun near Seiling, Oklahoma, U.S. February 27, 2024. REUTERS/Nick Oxford
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Smoke from multiple wildfires near Seiling, Oklahoma. Pic: Reuters


Officials in Hutchinson County described the struggle of responding to the multiple fires in the area while juggling how best to inform civilians of what to do in a Facebook post.

“We have areas without power, water, and active burning,” it said.

“Pray for the safety of all involved. And pack your go bag just in case. That is the best information we know how to provide right now.”

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Posting on X, Texas senator Ted Cruz gave details of several shelters available for those impacted by the blazes which included a youth centre and churches.

Officials in the city of Pampa, about 40 miles southwest of Canadian, suggested residents evacuate to the south by bus.

One resident described the fire as a “monster”, adding homes had been lost, along with livestock that could not be evacuated in time.

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Bodycam footage shows prison guards beating handcuffed inmate before his death

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Bodycam footage shows prison guards beating handcuffed inmate before his death

Bodycam footage showing prison officers fatally beating an inmate has been released by New York’s attorney general.

Prison officers at Marcy Correctional Facility in New York punched and kicked 43-year-old Robert Brooks repeatedly while he was handcuffed on an infirmary bed.

He died in hospital on 10 December, a day after the attack.

The incident has drawn outrage from political leaders and was condemned by the prison officers’ union as “incomprehensible”, according to Sky News’ partner newsroom NBC.

It is now being investigated by state attorney general Letitia James, who called the videos “shocking and disturbing” at a virtual news conference.

Prison officers attacked Robert Brooks on the day he was transferred to Marcy Correctional Facility in New York. Pic: The New York Attorney General Office
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Prison officers attacked Robert Brooks while he was handcuffed. Pic: New York Attorney General Office

In the video, Mr Brooks is in handcuffs as he is carried into the infirmary by several prison guards.

They put him on the bed and begin repeatedly punching and kicking him.

He is pulled upright, where his bloodied face is visible on camera, and then yanked from the bed by his shirt collar and pushed up against a window.

One of the fourteen workers involved in the incident has resigned and the rest have been suspended without pay until the process to fire them is complete. The workers include correctional officers, sergeants and a prison nurse.

The officers had not activated their body cameras but they were still on and recorded in standby mode, without audio, during the attack.

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As a result of the incident, all officers will now need to have their cameras activated any time they are engaging directly with prisoners.

Mr Brooks’ family thanked officials for taking action “to hold officers accountable” in a statement this week.

“We cannot understand how this could have happened in the first place,” the family said. “No one should have to lose a family member this way.”

Robert Brooks, who died a day after being attacked by prison officers. Pic: Family handout
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Robert Brooks, who died a day after being attacked by prison officers. Pic: Family handout

The attack happened before 9.30pm on 9 December in a medical exam room after Mr Brooks had been transferred from the Mohawk Correctional Facility to Marcy Correctional Facility.

An autopsy found “preliminary findings show concern for asphyxia due to compression of the neck as the cause of death, as well as the death being due to actions of another,” according to a state corrections office investigative report obtained by an affiliate of Sky News’ partner newsroom WKTV in Utica.

Mr Brooks had been behind bars since 2017 on a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault involving a longtime girlfriend.

Officials declined to say why he had been transferred to the Marcy Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison.

Last year, an independent prison oversight group called The Correctional Association of New York released a report on the Marcy Correctional Facility.

It noted complaints of “rampant” physical abuse by staff members, with 80% of incarcerated people reporting having witnessed or experienced abuse and nearly 70% reporting racial discrimination or bias.

In response to the video, the union that represents workers at the prison said: “What we witnessed is incomprehensible to say the least and is certainly not reflective of the great work that the vast majority of our membership conducts every day.”

It adding what transpired is the “opposite of everything [the union] and its membership stand for.”

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Scottie Scheffler: Freak Christmas dinner injury forces world’s best golfer to undergo surgery

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Scottie Scheffler: Freak Christmas dinner injury forces world's best golfer to undergo surgery

The world’s best golfer has suffered a freak injury while cooking Christmas dinner, forcing him to undergo surgery.

Scottie Scheffler sustained a puncture wound after cutting the palm of his right hand on broken glass.

The world number one required surgery as small glass fragments remained in the palm after the accident.

The injury has forced him out of the first tournament of the season, next week’s The Sentry in Hawaii.

Scottie Scheffler. Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

But the 28-year-old has been told he will recover in three to four weeks, and he hopes to be back in action at The American Express tournament in California on 16 January.

Scheffler won an Olympic gold and seven PGA Tour titles in the last year and was recently named PGA Tour’s Player of the Year for a third season in a row.

In May, he was arrested by police during the US PGA Championship after he was accused of trying to drive around a traffic jam caused by a fatal accident.

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Spectators wore Free Scottie t-shirts and one wore an orange jumpsuit. Pic: Matt Stone-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
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Scheffler’s arrest became a major story at the US PGA Championship. Pic: Matt Stone-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters

Just hours later, he was released and allowed to return to Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky to play his second round of the tournament.

Criminal charges against Scheffler were later dismissed due to a lack of evidence and a police officer who arrested him was disciplined for not having his bodycam on at the time of the incident.

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Man indicted on murder charge after sleeping woman burned to death on New York City subway

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Man indicted on murder charge after sleeping woman burned to death on New York City subway

The man accused of burning a woman to death on a New York subway train has been indicted on murder and arson charges.

Sebastian Zapeta is accused of setting a sleeping woman on fire and then fanning the flames with a shirt, which caused her to be engulfed by the blaze.

He allegedly sat on a platform at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station, opposite the stopped train, and watched as she burned to death.

Authorities are still working to identify the victim.

Zapeta, 33, has been charged with one count of first degree murder, two counts of second degree murder and one count of arson in the first degree.

After a brief hearing in which the indictment was announced, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said: “This was a malicious deed. A sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system.”

Mr Gonzalez said police and medical examiners are using fingerprints and advanced DNA techniques to identify the victim, while also retracing her steps before the murder.

“Our hearts go out not only to this victim, but we know that there’s a family,” he said. “Just because someone appears to have been living in the situation of homelessness does not mean that there’s not going to be family devastated by the tragic way she lost her life.”

Police officers patrol the F train platform at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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Officers patrol the platform where the woman died. Pic: AP

Zapeta was initially charged with murder and arson in a criminal complaint earlier this week.

Such filings are often a first step in the criminal process because all felony cases in New York require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial, unless a defendant waives that requirement.

Zapeta was not present at the hearing. The most serious charge he is facing carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole and the indictment will be unsealed on 7 January.

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Zapeta is a Guatemalan who entered the US illegally having already been deported in 2018, officials say.

He was taken into custody last Sunday, after three children called 911 when they recognised him from an image shared by police.

During questioning, prosecutors say he claimed not to know what happened, and noted he consumes alcohol – but did identify himself in photos and videos showing the fire being lit.

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