Motorists flee as wildfire races across California freeway

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A fast-moving wildfire swept across a Southern California freeway in a mountain pass, destroying 20 vehicles and sending motorists running to safety before burning at least four structures. Two people suffered minor injuries, authorities said Friday.

The fire started in the Cajon Pass along Interstate 15 — the main highway between Southern California and Las Vegas — and quickly chewed through bone-dry brush. As flames closed in, drivers and passengers ran from their vehicles.

Cars are shown burning on the Interstate 15 freeway in the Cajon Pass, California in the frame grab from KNBC video …

A firefighter told everyone to take cover. Andrade, four other men, and two elderly women got inside the back of a semi-truck. One of the women had been separated from her family began crying, and everyone was terrified.

"You could hear the explosions from people's vehicle tires popping from the heat," Andrade said. "You could hear crackling, smoke was coming in every direction. You could feel the heat. We just waited it out and prayed to God."

Russell Allevato, 45, of Southgate, Michigan, was traveling from Las Vegas to Los Angeles with his two teenage daughters, his nephew and his nephew's girlfriend.

Their rental car was among those destroyed.

"All our stuff was charred and gone," Allevato said by phone as he rode in the back of a California Highway Patrol vehicle.

Television helicopters carried the scene live as the flames leapt from vehicle to vehicle while water-dropping helicopters and then firefighters on the freeway battled to get control. In the midst of the chaos, fire officials said aircraft sent to douse the flames were briefly delayed after five drones were spotted above the blaze.

It was the fourth time in a span of a month that a drone disrupted efforts to suppress a wildfire in Southern California, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Lee Beyer said.

A car-carrying tractor-trailer and a boat were among the losses left smoldering on the highway.

Dozens of vehicles were abandoned, and hundreds of others turned onto side roads in the rugged area about 55 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

"It's crazy, you're watching black clouds and white clouds of smoke, there's a ridgeline off to my right ... and it looks like any second flames will come over the ridgeline," Chris Patterson, 43, said from his vehicle.

As firefighters gained control on the freeway, the flames spread to 3,500 acres and burned at least four structures in the rural community of Baldy Mesa. About 50 more were threatened.

About 1,000 firefighters were battling the fire. It was 5 percent contained, Beyer said.

Melissa Atalla said she could see the flames from her gas station.

"People are spectating from our parking lot, running around getting water and beer. It's chaos," Atalla said. "One man came in and said, 'Oh my. My house is getting burned.' "

An evacuation center was set up at the local high school as firefighting equipment flooded the area. There were 22 engines, six air tankers, three helicopters, a bulldozer and hundreds of firefighters.

A helicopter works to put out a fire near Oak Hills, Calif., Friday, July 17, 2015. The fire started in the Cajon …

California is in the midst of severe drought, and wildfires are common. Some break out near freeways, but it's very unusual to have vehicles caught in the flames.

On Friday, the 15 freeway was typically busy about 2:30 p.m. when the fire started near the northbound lanes. With temperatures in the mid-90s and winds kicking up, it quickly ran up a hill and across the southbound lanes before any help could arrive.

Vehicles that had slowed came to a stop as the flames approached. Occupants fled.

"There were elderly trying to get up the hill. People had animals, dogs. They tried to get their dogs out of the car," Allevato said.

His 15-year-old daughter, Leah, cried about her lost vacation.

"We waited two years for this vacation, and I saved all my money," she said. "I was thinking about it every day, and I finally got here and I have no clothes. ... I waited so long, and it's ruined."

Another Chicken Recall: Aspen Foods Pulls 2 Million Pounds After Reports of Illness

This is the second recall of frozen chicken this week … so far. (Photo: Getty Images)

Aspen Foods is recalling nearly 2 million pounds of frozen, raw, stuffed, and breaded chicken that may be contaminated with salmonella, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Services announcement.

The recall comes after the USDA received reports of three people in Minnesota who became sick from mid-April to late June after eating Aspen products.

The products in question include chicken Cordon Bleu, chicken with broccoli and cheese, chicken Kiev, chicken Parmesan, and buffalo-style chicken. All have the code “P-1358” in the USDA inspection mark.

The products may be labeled under the following brands:

    Acclaim

    Antioch Farms

    Buckley Farms

    Centrella Signature

    Chestnut Farms

    Family Favorites

    Kirkwood

    Koch Foods

    Market Day

    Oven Cravers

    Rose

    Rosebud Farm

    Roundy’s

    Safeway Kitchens

    Schwan’s

    Shaner’s

    Spartan

    Sysco

Aspen’s recall comes just days after a near-identical recall by Barber Foods of more than 1.7 million pounds of similar products.

That recall occurred after the USDA received reports that people in Minnesota and Wisconsin became sick during the same time period after eating Barber products.

Nearly 30 products are included in the Barber recall, which may be labeled under the brands Barber Foods, Sysco, or Meijer. (A full list of the products, along with their UPC codes, can be found here.)

Barber also had an original recall on July 2, in which the brand recalled more than 58,000 pounds of frozen, raw, stuffed chicken. The product in question was Barber Foods Premium Entrees Breaded-Boneless Raw Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Rib Meat Kiev, with use by/sell by dates of April 28, 2016, May 20, 2016 and July 21, 2016.

Two additional people who became ill have been identified by the USDA since the original Barber recall, prompting the new announcement.

The particular strain of salmonella that has infected people — salmonella enteritidis — can cause fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea that begins 12 to 72 hours after a person eats contaminated food, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms usually last four to seven days, and can make a person sick enough to require hospitalization. Elderly people, children, and those who are immune-compromised are especially at risk.

Food safety specialist Benjamin Chapman, an associate professor at North Carolina State University who has studied how people handle raw, frozen, stuffed, and breaded chicken products, tells Yahoo Health that the products are especially risky when it comes to salmonella. 

Why? Because of the way the products appear, people assume that they’re already cooked — and don’t cook them fully as a result. “We have a responsibility to tell people that they need to cook these products properly,” he says. “I don’t think we do a good job of it.”

His research discovered that, despite the fact that the products are properly labeled, only a small percentage of people actually use a food thermometer to make sure their chicken is thoroughly cooked, as recommended. Consequently, they’re at risk of contracting salmonella from the meat.

But why is such a large amount of chicken affected at once? According to Mike Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, it’s all in the way the chicken is prepared before packaging.

“The chickens get put into a bath that’s chlorinated, but sometimes salmonella gets trapped in the skin and gets into the water,” he tells Yahoo Health. “It’s not surprising that that much chicken might become contaminated.”

Unfortunately, freezing doesn’t kill salmonella. The pathogen won’t multiply when it’s frozen, but it will be preserved. So, when you take a frozen chicken product out of the freezer, it can still be contaminated.

Doyle says that proper cooking — bringing the meat’s temperature to 165 degrees — will kill the salmonella, but the real risk is in cross-contamination.

“If you thaw the chicken, the juices can contain salmonella,” he says. “And if you thaw the chicken on a plate, cook it, and put the chicken on the same plate, it’s been contaminated.” Doyle also notes that you can get salmonella on your hands after handling the chicken, which can then be transferred to anything you touch.

The USDA reports that some people who became sick had properly cooked the chicken and used a food thermometer to confirm that it was properly cooked. That’s a sign that cross-contamination was an issue, says Doyle.

The USDA stresses that while the products seem to be cooked, they’re actually raw and should be handled with care to avoid cross-contamination in the kitchen. That means washing your hands and any surfaces after handling them, and keeping the chicken away from other food that won’t be cooked.

If you have any of these products in your freezer, it’s safest to just throw them out. “I wouldn’t handle it,” says Chapman. “Send it back, take it to the seller, or get rid of them.”

Small boy lands monster sturgeon; described as `10-foot dinosaur’

A 9-year-old boy said landing a prehistoric-looking fish measuring 10 feet long and weighing 600 pounds was a dream come true–and more than a little bit scary.

“I thought the fish was going to pull me into the water,” Kegan Rothman told Calgary Sun, in reference to the massive white sturgeon he caught Monday on the Fraser River.

After measurements were taken–the fish also boasted a 50-inch girth–the sturgeon was tagged and released. (The video below shows Kegan coaxing the sturgeon into a deeper portion of river, where it slowly swims out of sight.)

“I’ll never forget this–this is the best trip of my life,” said Kegan, who was fishing with his father, Dan Rothman, and guide Ben Trainer from Great River Fishing Adventures.

This was among the largest sturgeon caught on the Fraser River, and certainly the largest caught by a 9-year-old who stands only 4 feet tall.

“I’ve been a professional fishing guide on the Fraser River for 11 years and have fished these rivers my whole life. This is one of the largest fish I have helped a client catch,”

Kegan hooked the fish himself, but his dad helped during part of a battle that lasted nearly two hours. Great River Fishing Adventures described the accomplishment as “a nearly impossible feat.”

A banner headline on its website reads, “Real Life Jurrasic World,” in reference to the new hit movie, and describes the fish as “a 10-foot dinosaur.”

It’s not that big of a stretch considering the primitive appearance of the fish, and that that fossil records of sturgeon date back 200 million years.

Kegan’s fish was estimated to be more than 75 years old. It becomes one of about 61,000 white sturgeon Great River Fishing Adventures guides have helped tagged since 1995.

Maybe the next time it surfaces, it’ll be a much larger dinosaur, as white sturgeon can measure 20-plus feet.

'Wow, pulled back wrong throttle:' captain of crashed TransAsia plane

TAIPEI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The pilot flying a TransAsia Airways <6702.TW> ATR mistakenly switched off the plane's only working engine seconds before it crashed in February, killing 43 people, Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council (ASC) said in its latest report on Thursday.

The ASC's report also showed that Captain Liao Jian-zong had failed simulator training in May 2014, in part because he had insufficient knowledge of how to deal with an engine flame-out on take-off.

"Wow, pulled back the wrong side throttle," Liao, 41, was heard to say on voice recordings seconds before the crash.

There appeared to be confusion in the cockpit as the two captains tried to regain control of the plane after one engine lost power about three minutes into the doomed flight.
Liao reduced the throttle on the working engine but did not appear to realize his mistake until it was too late.

View gallery

TransAsia Airways GE-235 airline drops into Keelung River and the firefighters are rescuing the pass …

He tried to restart the engines several times before a junior first officer in the cockpit said: "Impact, impact, brace for impact."

Those were the chilling last words heard on the data recordings, according to the latest report of the ASC's investigation into the Feb. 4 crash.

Seconds later the almost new ATR 72-600, which had 58 people on board, crashed upside down into a shallow river in Taipei after it lurched between buildings, clipping an overpass and a taxi.

Fifteen people survived but all three pilots and 40 passengers and other crew died in the second crash involving a TransAsia ATR plane in a year.

A source with direct knowledge of the report told Reuters on Wednesday the working engine had been shut off.

Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council official Thomas Wang explains findings in the report released o …

FAILED SIMULATOR TRAINING
The ASC report, which neither assigns responsibility nor suggests recommendations, paints a more detailed picture than a preliminary report released days after the crash.
Liao, a former air force pilot, began flying commercial aircraft in 2009 and joined TransAsia the following year. He was promoted to captain in August 2014 and joined the ATR 72-600 fleet in November.

He had a total of 4,914 flight hours on ATR 72 planes.

However, the report showed that Liao failed the simulator check in May 2014 when he was being evaluated for promotion. Assessors found he had a tendency not to complete procedures and checks, and his "cockpit management and flight planning" were also found wanting.

The shadow of Thomas Wang, head of Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council, is seen on a graphic showin …

However, he passed after a second simulator check on June 29 and 30 and was promoted to captain, although similar problems were detected during training from July 2-10 last year.

Instructors commented that he was "prone to be nervous and may make oral errors during the engine start procedure" and displayed a "lack of confidence", the report shows.

Issues cropped up again during training for the ATR 72-600 in November, when an instructor said Liao "may need extra training" when dealing with an engine failure after take-off.
After the crash, Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration put TransAsia's ATR pilots through oral proficiency tests on how to handle an aircraft during engine failure.

All but one of the pilots passed the tests, although some needed more than one attempt. The lone failure was demoted in rank to vice captain from captain.

The airline now has 61 ATR pilots.
TransAsia president Fred Wu told a media conference later on Thursday the airline would buy an ATR flight simulator, bring in outside experts to evaluate pilots, and launch a safety improvement program with Airbus .

ATR is a joint venture between Airbus and Alenia Aermacchi, a subsidiary of Italian aerospace firm Finmeccanica .

The airline has reached a settlement with the families of seven passengers, and negotiations were underway with the rest, said TransAsia CEO Peter Chen.

A draft of the final report will be issued in November with the final report, which will include the cause of the crash and recommendations, to be completed in April 2016.

Laverne Cox Met Her Biggest Fan, a 7-Year-Old Transgender Girl

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As a breakout star of Orange Is the New Black and the first transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy, Laverne Cox is arguably one of the most recognizable faces in the LGBT — and especially trans — community. She represents a lot of things to a lot of people: times changing, a greater acceptance of otherness, and the broadening spectrum of faces represented in the entertainment we all consume. For one little girl, Laverne Cox is just one thing: someone like her.

.M. is a 7-year-old transgender girl. Her mother Marlo Mack writes about their experiences on her blog as Gender Mom. (She also has a podcast called How to Be a Girl.) In a recent post, she talks about M.'s experience meeting Cox.

While Mack admits her daughter is not familiar with the actress's work — "Orange Is the New Black isn’t really appropriate viewing for seven year olds," she writes — Mack has shown her daughter Cox's Time cover, which declared it the "transgender tipping point."

"I had shown M. the photo of Ms. Cox on the cover of Time when it came out last year, so M. had a vague idea that this was someone important who was also transgender," she writes. "But I don’t think she really got it until we showed up for the event."

Earlier this year, Cox was speaking at an event; M. and her mom were in the audience.

"Most of the speech went over [M. and a friend's] heads," Mack says of the speech. "But here’s the message that I hope got through to them: Here is someone who is talented and smart and famous and beloved by the multitudes — and she’s also like you."

It was what happened after the speech that's special. M. and her mother were invited to a small reception following the speech where M. was on a mission to meet her hero. She staked out a place by the door and, like a seasoned professional, she waited.

Mack writes:

Laverne waved her Hollywood wave at the crowd, thanked us graciously, and then looked down at the little girl blocking her path.

"Well, hello," she said.

"I’m M.," my daughter said.

Laverne smiled down at her. "Hello, M."

"And I’m trans," M. said.

I don’t think Ms. Cox saw that coming. The crowd around me gasped their approval ("Did you hear what that little girl said?"). Laverne seemed at a bit of a loss.

.

But it's what Cox did next that really touches your heart. As she bent down to hug M., she said: "Remember, honey, transgender is beautiful."

What Products Can You Apply to Dry Hair?

Is oil the new hairspray? That’s the question that got us to this story in the first place. So what is the finishing cream du jour? The one product you can apply to dry hair that keeps everything in place, lends polish, and doesn’t weigh it down? Turns out, it’s still very much hairspray.

Kylee Heath, who tends to the heads of Diane Kruger, Sofia Vergara, and Jennifer Garner, always applies hairspray to styled hair (Oscar Blandi’s Lacca Hair Spray ($25) and Serge Normant’s Meta Luxe ($25) are her current favorites.) “Hair spray is always safe,” she says. “It polishes the hair and adds hold and shine.” But it’s not the only thing you can use. Check out Heath’s tips below.

Cream Products“A cream product isn’t my first go-to,” Heath says. “Although I use Kevin Murphy’s Easy Rider ($33) all the time. Just make sure it’s a finishing product; I only use ‘wet’ creams on curly, thick, damp hair.” Try L’Oreal Paris Sulfate-Free Finishing Crème ($6) or John Frieda’s Secret Weapon Touch-Up Crème ($6).

Mousse“If I want to freshen up day two hair, I will apply a mousse or volumizing spray to the roots, brush the product through, and blow dry,” says Heath. Kerastase Volumactive Mousse ($42) is her favorite. 

OilFor post-dry shine, reach for a dry oil like Garnier’s Triple Nutrition Miracle Oil ($6) or Oribe’s Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil ($36). “The trick with oils is to use a very small amount,” says Heath. “You work it into your hands and only apply from mid-shaft through the ends. I currently love the Oscar Blandi Jasmine Oil Serum ($35).” 

Dry ShampooWhen experimenting with any new product, it’s better to start with less and build up, once you know what your hair can handle. But if you start to look a little greasy, Heath says to spray a dry shampoo (she loves Klorane’s Dry Shampoo ($20) with oat milk) to absorb the extra oil. “Otherwise, change the style into a cool ponytail or updo to make it seem intentional.”

Czech climber earns ‘Crown of the Himalayas’

Radek Jaros climbs K2, becomes 15th in world to scale all 14 summits above 8,000 meters without oxygen, despite losing seven toes to frostbite in last climb

Radek Jaros earned the Crown of the Himalayas by making the summit of K2. Photo from Caters News Agency used by permission

On his fifth attempt, Radek Jaros finally succeeded in scaling K2 to become the 15th person in the world to scale all 14 summits above 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) without using oxygen, thus earning him the Crown of the Himalayas.

What makes his “eight-thousanders” achievement all the more remarkable is that he did so after losing seven toes to frostbite in his previous climb, according to a report from Caters News Agency on Tuesday.

So while Jaros became the first from the Czech Republic to climb the 14 tallest mountains on Earth without using an oxygen mask, he most likely also became the first to climb K2—the second-tallest to Mount Everest at 28,251 feet—while missing seven toes.

Upon returning to base camp on K2, Radek Jaros was given pseudo Crown of Himalayas. Photo fromCaters News Agency used by permission

“I thought I’d burst into tears when I reached the top of K2, but the exhaustion was massive,” Jaros told Caters News Agency. “The weather was really nasty and when I got there I was all alone and the euphoria was weaker than the exhaustion.

“At that moment it didn’t occur to me exactly what I had achieved. I’m just glad it’s all over, and I’m sure it’s not something I’ll be trying again.”

He also said he wanted to “enjoy the experience” and climb without oxygen and without the aid of lifting carriers (to help him climb).

“I wanted to use my own strength and climbing skills to reach the top, and I’ve learned that where there’s a will there’s a way.”

Jaros, 50, reached the summit after 16 hours, followed by Jan Travnicek, according to the Prague Post. A third member of the climbing party remained in the tent at the fourth camp.

Jaros attempted K2 in 2001, 2003 and 2005, but the weather always ruined his chance at summiting. He tried again in 2007. This time, a crushed finger in base camp prevented him from continuing.

Radek Jaros nearing top of K2 where he earned his Crown of the Himalayas. Photo from Caters News Agency used by permission

But before his successful climb of K2, it was the previous climb in 2012 that really did a number on Jaros.

After scaling Annapurna in Nepal, Jaros subsequently underwent 11 surgeries over more than a year, and ultimately lost seven toes to frostbite. He posted photos on his Facebook page in January. They are too graphic to show here, however.

Through it all, Jaros never lost sight of his goal to climb K2 and complete the Crown of Himalayas.

Camp II on K2 en route Radek Jaros’ completion of the Crown of the Himalayas. Photo fromCaters News Agency used by permission

When he first started climbing, that was hardly his goal. He was just your average climber at first.

“I started by climbing the rocks at home in the Czech Highlands,” Jaros told Caters. “Sandstone cliffs followed then the Alps and the Himalayas, it was then I found my passion for big mountains.

“Before I knew it I had climbed 11 of the ‘eight-thousanders’ and a friend of mine suggested I try to climb all 14.”

So he did.

Upon returning home to Czechoslovakia on Friday, a crowd of 200 people awaited him at the airport to cheer and congratulate him. He was treated like a celebrity. Or, should we say, a rock star.

A look at Jaros’ eight-thousanders or Crown of Himalayas achievements:

1998 – Mount Everest (8,848 meters; 29,035 feet)

2002 – Kangchenjunga (8,586; 28,169)

2003 – Broad Peak (8,051; 26,414)

2004 – Cho Oyu (8,188; 26,906)

2004 – Shishapangma (8,027; 26,335)

2005 – Nanga Parbat (8,125; 26,660)

2008 – Dhaulagiri I (8,167; 26,795)

2008 – Makalu (8,485; 27,838)

2009 – Manaslu (8,163; 26,781)

2010 – Gasherbrum II (8,034; 26,358)

2010 – Gasherbrum I (8,080; 26,444)

2011 – Lhotse (8,516, 27,940)

2012 – Annapurna (8,091; 26,545)

2014 – K2 (8,611; 28,251)