Thousands flee fierce Colorado wildfire

A fierce wildfire west of Boulder, Colo., which destroyed dozens of homes and caused 3,000 people to flee Monday, continued to rage Tuesday afternoon. “The fire hasn’t changed much since last night,” Mike Banuelos, Boulder County public information officer, reported midday Tuesday. He added there is no information about containment yet. About 175 firefighters from 30 local agencies are battling the blaze, he said. MILD FIRES: USA catches a break this year with mild wildfire season Four homes belonging to firefighters were destroyed. Those firefighters were allowed to leave to attend to their families and personal affairs, said Laura McConnell, a spokeswoman for the fire management team. The weather is far better for firefighters Tuesday than it was Monday. “We have nothing like…

Colorado wildfire destroys dozens of homes

DENVER (AP) — A wind-whipped wildfire sent flames roaring through a rugged canyon in the Colorado foothills, forcing hundreds of people to flee and destroying dozens of homes — some that belonged to the firefighters themselves, authorities said early Tuesday. Firefighters were waiting until sunrise to count the exact number of houses that have burned, said Brett Haberstick of the Sunshine Fire Protection District. The blaze broke out Monday morning in Four Mile Canyon northwest of Boulder and rapidly spread across 5 1/2 square miles or 3,500 acres. Erratic 45-mph gusts sometimes sent the fire in two directions at once. Crews managed to save the historic town of Gold Hill, including an …

Pakistan’s flooded farms may also threaten next season’s crops

SHAH JAMAL, Pakistan (AP) — Abid Hussein fears the deep floodwaters that destroyed his cotton crop, rotted his wheat seeds and swept away his farming tools are not done ravaging his life. Just weeks before the wheat planting season is to start, his 1.5-acre farm still lies under 3 feet of water, and he is certain it will not drain in time. “I will not be able to plant,” the 35-year-old father of four said in despair. The floodwaters that already devastated one crop in the fields are threatening the …

Many Pakistanis still waiting for flood aid

DAIRA DINPANAH, Pakistan (AP) — Abdul Rehman and his family live under a tree next to a pile of rubble on a newly created island where his house used to be. In the month since his home was destroyed in the raging floodwaters that inundated Pakistan, he has gotten no aid of any kind from the government or private aid groups to help him survive, he said. Frustrated and desperate, he joined a protest with dozens of other villagers that blocked the main road…

Powerful 7.1 quake hits New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake damaged buildings, cut power and knocked fleeing residents off their feet on New Zealand’s South Island early Saturday, but there were so far no deaths and only two injuries reported. Panicked residents in their pajamas ran into the streets of the southern city of Christchurch after the pre-dawn quake, residents said. There were reports of some people trapped in damaged buildings — though none appeared to be crushed by rubble — and a few looters broke into some of the damaged shops in the city of 400,000, authorities said. A state of emergency was declared and army troops were on standby to assist after the quake, which hit 19 miles west of …

Egg farmers: Good managing can help control salmonella

PEARL CITY, Ill. — There is nothing small scale about Pearl Valley Eggs, deep in the heart of Illinois farm country. The egg farm itself, two miles south of the nearest town, is a neat collection of 350-foot- and 450-foot henhouses covered in white steel siding. They’re linked by overhead pipes that bring in ground corn and soybeans from the farm’s own feed mill. The farm employs 100 people and produces 800,000 to 850,000 eggs a day, seven days a week. “The chickens don’t stop laying eggs just because it’s …

Dems in power could be in peril, poll says

WASHINGTON — Democratic congressional candidates face a political landscape even rockier than those in 1994 and 2006 that ended with election upheavals that changed control of Congress, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds. As the fall campaign begins in earnest over Labor Day weekend, dissatisfaction with the nation’s direction is higher and support for the party in power lower than it was in those tumultuous midterms. This time, however, voters are more likely to say their vote reflects opposition to the party in power rather than support for the other side. Republicans are held in the same low regard as when the GOP lost control of Congress four years ago. That could create problems if they do score a net gain of 39 seats to …

Food safety groups slam USDA egg graders at farms in recall

U.S. Department of Agriculture staff regularly on site at two Iowa egg processors implicated in a national salmonella outbreak were supposed to enforce rules against the presence of disease-spreading rodents and other vermin, federal regulations show. The USDA egg graders, part of an industry-paid program, were at Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms at least 40 hours a week — including before the outbreak — inspecting the size and quality of eggs inside processing buildings. Though USDA regulations say buildings and “outside premises” must be free of conditions that harbor vermin, the agency takes a narrow view of its responsibilities. Under the USDA’s unwritten interpretation of the regulations, egg graders only look for vermin inside the specific processing…

Cool fall books: Warm up with these reads

Cooler temperatures loom, and along with them plenty of cool books for fall. From a former president (George W. Bush) to a rock star (Keith Richards) to an Oprah fave (Ken Follett), big names abound. COOL FALL: BLOCKBUSTER FICTION Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett Dutton, $36 What it’s about:  Five families from different parts of the globe are caught up in major world events, including the Russian Revolution, World …

After the awards, the stars were ready to party

The bash: Fox TV post-Emmy party The venue:  Cicada Restaurant, downtown Los Angeles The stars:  Iqbal Theba, Sofia Vergara , Sarah Hyland, Cory Monteith , Mark Salling, Matthew Morrison , Kevin McHale , Ty Burrell , Eric Stonestreet , Chris Colfer, Ryan Murphy , Emily Deschanel , Nigel Lythgoe , Julie Bowen , Jesse Tyler Ferguson , Nolan Gould, Heidi Klum , Seal Food, glorious food:  ”I’m thrilled about ( Modern Family ) winning, but I’m starving, I must have some food,” declared Hyland as she ducked into the moody atmosphere of Cicada, which overflowed with Italian-style antipasto treats. Castmate Vergara also charged the buffet, sampling a number of desserts. “I’m so hungry,” …

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