Storm pulls plug on thousands
Thousands of homes and businesses had no electricity Sunday from Maryland to Maine as a storm system blasted the region with winds gusting to more than 50 mph, knocking over trees and a construction crane. The storm was blamed for at least two deaths.
Gusts of 70 mph were possible Sunday in northern New York state, the National Weather Service said.
In hard-hit Maine, a 165-foot crane with a wrecking ball attached toppled in one of the most populous neighborhoods of Portland, falling on three houses. No injuries were reported.
BEAUMONT, Calif.
Fire crews gain on deadly fire
Firefighters aided by dying winds appeared to be winning the battle Sunday against a 63-square-mile wildfire that killed four of their own and destroyed more than 30 homes.
The 40,450-acre blaze, which authorities say was set by an arsonist, was 70 percent contained four days after blowtorch gusts overran a U.S. Forest Service crew.
The blaze was still threatening a wilderness area plagued by drought and filled with dead trees, but fire officials were confident that if they could keep it out of that area they could have it under control by Tuesday night.
FERN PARK, Fla.
Bus riders’ driver smooth, but only 15
A 15-year-old boy stole a bus, drove it along a public transit route, picked up passengers and collected fares, authorities said Sunday.
Ritchie Calvin Davis was already on probation for taking a tour bus and driving passengers around, authorities said.
In Saturday’s incident, he took the bus from the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando, where it was parked awaiting sale at an auction, a Seminole County sheriff’s report said. The bus belongs to the Central Florida Transportation Agency, which runs LYNX public transit services in the Orlando area.
“I drove that bus better than most of the LYNX drivers could,” the teen told a deputy after he was stopped and arrested.
Davis was charged with grand theft auto and driving without a license. A court hearing was scheduled Tuesday to determine whether he will be charged as an adult.