At least 162 people were killed and hundreds more injured after a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s densely populated West Java province Monday. According to officials, many of the deaths were caused by the collapse of buildings, including many children attending an Islamic boarding school.
The quake hit at a depth of just over 6 miles, toppling buildings and prompting several landslides around the city of Cianjur. See why shallow earthquakes tend to be more damaging here.
The news comes after 25 people were killed in a February earthquake in the West Sumatra province. Indonesia frequently experiences earthquakes as it lies along the "Ring of Fire," a collection of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In 2004, nearly 230,000 people were killed, many of them Indonesian, in a 9.1-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit off the coast of Sumatra.
See photos from yesterday\'s earthquake here. |
The suspect in the weekend shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs that left five dead and over a dozen injured has been arrested on murder and hate crime charges, according to court records. The charges are preliminary and subject to change. The 22-year-old gunman remained hospitalized as of yesterday with unspecified injuries after being subdued by patrons following the attack at Club Q Saturday night. See our previous write-up here.
Officials also clarified that 18 people, including the suspect, were hurt, instead of the initial 25-person estimate. Prosecutors in Colorado Springs have asked the court to seal records related to the suspect\'s arrest, saying if released, the information would jeopardize the ongoing investigation.
New details about the suspect also revealed he had allegedly threatened his mother with a homemade bomb in June 2021. The Colorado Springs district attorney\'s office declined to bring formal charges after not finding any explosives. |
The largest railroad worker union in the US announced yesterday its members had rejected the latest collective bargaining agreement brokered by the Biden administration in September. The news prompted renewed concern over a possible general strike ahead of an early December deadline.
Negotiations between management and 12 rail worker unions—each of which must approve the contract—have failed to produce an agreement since 2019 (see timeline). While eight unions voted for the latest agreement, four opposed it over work-life concerns, including limited sick leave provisions amid a dwindling workforce. The current agreement would see compensation jump nearly 25% retroactive to 2020, one of the largest increases in rail worker history. Read the contract details here.
Estimates suggest a general strike would cost the country roughly $2B a day and likely compound historically high inflation. Observers predict Congress may intervene if a deal isn\'t struck in the next two weeks. |
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