South
Washington, D.C., firefighters jump into action as explosion destroys convenience store: video
A video has captured the moment firefighters in Washington, D.C., were jolted backward when an explosion ripped through a convenience store just minutes after a similar blast at a daycare next door.
Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly told reporters Thursday that both blasts in the southeast Anacostia neighborhood unfolded after first responders discovered a leaking gas meter that previously had been struck by a vehicle in front of the buildings.
Video of the second explosion, which was taken from the dashcam of the first firetruck to arrive on the scene, shows three firefighters reacting as a fiery blast sends debris flying out into the street.
One person in the background appears to be hit by the debris before falling to the ground. Donnelly said their injuries were minor.
14 HOSPITALIZED AFTER CARBON MONOXIDE LEAK AT YALE BUILDING UNDER CONSTRUCTION
An explosion destroyed a convenience store in southeast Washington, D.C., on Thursday, January 18. (D.C. Fire and EMS/LOCAL NEWS X/TMX )
Fire crews were initially summoned to the area around 9:30 a.m. after receiving a 911 call about a gas leak.
First responders then began evacuating buildings and about 25 minutes later, the first explosion happened in the building housing the daycare, generating a fire, Donnelly said.
“When I saw the building itself my mouth fell open,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said at the scene. “Because if the children had been in that building, they would have very definitely been impacted by that explosion.”
911 AUDIO CAPTURES PANIC, CONFUSION DURING FORT WORTH HOTEL EXPLOSION THAT INJURED 21
A person walking by a truck, right, can be seen getting hit by a piece of debris from the explosion in Washington, D.C. (D.C. Fire and EMS/LOCAL NEWS X/TMX )
Then the second explosion happened at the convenience store next door, causing that building to collapse, according to Donnelly.
Firefighters determined that the gas meter had been leaking in an area below its shutoff valve, making it uncontrollable at the time.
Fire and EMS Lt. Ryan Bolton said daycare staff were preparing the children to evacuate when firefighters arrived.
All 16 children inside the daycare were later reunited with their families.
A firefighter sprays water toward the building right after the explosion. (D.C. Fire and EMS/LOCAL NEWS X/TMX )
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“A really great job by first responders and the operators of the daycare. We’re very proud of them,” Donnelly said.
Ross Tower, a 1.1 million-square-foot, 45-story tower at 500 North Akard Street, appears to be up for sale.
Matt Murphy, the director of Cushman & Wakefield’s Texas office advisory group, said in a LinkedIn post that the tower is being marketed to investors. Ross Tower has recently undergone a modernization through a $14 million capital improvement program that upgraded the building’s elevator system, improved common areas and replaced the cooling tower, according to the post.
The building is 60 percent occupied, according to Murphy, and features tenants like the Dallas Regional Chamber, CoStar, Munsch Hardt and Grant Thornton, according to the Dallas Morning News. The asking price wasn’t listed by Murphy in the LinkedIn post, and the outlet noted that the Dallas Central Appraisal District pegged the property at upwards of $99 million for tax purposes.
Recent bets on Downtown Dallas properties cite their proximity to Uptown, where the city is seeing a flourishing financial district. A key enticement for prospective buyers looking to bolster the tenant roster, according to the post, is that the in place rents are 15 percent below market.
In the post, Murphy said that the combination of lower rents for class A space, available square footage with companies exiting downtown, and the thriving Uptown Dallas area just a few blocks away, give the tower solid fundamentals for the right buyer.
The tower is currently owned by a partnership that includes Bandera Ventures of Dallas, HPI Real Estate and Second City Real Estate. The joint venture purchased the tower in 2015, and it was renovated in 2018, according to the post.
The tower was named Lincoln Plaza until 2013, and was formerly the headquarters of multinational oilfield products company Halliburton. Ross Tower is the 14th tallest building in the Dallas skyline.
As Uptown’s Y’all Street continues to grow, building owners are beginning to look at cashing in on the influx of new companies as an option. Hillwood Urban is currently exploring a sale of Victory Commons One, who just signed Scotiabank as a new tenant.
— Hunter Cooke
Read more
Trammell Crow Center gets boost from new, extended leases
Hillwood Urban explores sale, refinancing for Scotiabank’s future Y’all Street outpost
Bell Nunnally expands office lease at KPMG Plaza, shows Arts District resilience
Miami, FL
FIFA World Cup Miami Host Committee lends a helping hand to people of Venezuela after deadly earthquakes
The FIFA World Cup Miami Host Committee is lending a helping hand for the people of Venezuela in the wake of deadly back-to-back earthquakes at the end of June.
The committee joined CBS News Miami, Neighbors 4 Neighbors and the Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) for the Hope 4 Venezuela relief campaign.
“I think we’ve exceeded more than $26,000 in individual donations up to this point,” FIFA World Cup Miami Host Committee Chairman Rodney Barreto told CBS News Miami.
The FIFA World Cup Miami Host Committee said it shares deep cultural and personal ties with Venezuela, with thousands of local families having roots, loved ones and communities directly impacted by the disaster.
“When we learned about the devastation in Venezuela, we knew we had to use this platform to help,’ said President and CEO of the FIFA World Cup Miami Host Committee Alina T. Hudak.
The FIFA World Cup Miami Host Committee said it sees the FIFA Fan Fest at Miami’s Bayfront Park as not only a celebration of the sport, but also an opportunity to serve the community.
“We have hundreds of thousands of people engaging with the Fan Festival, both in person and online,” Hudak continued. “If we can use that visibility to bring attention to an urgent humanitarian need, we have a responsibility to do that. This is about showing up for our neighbors when they need us most.”
The FIFA World Cup Miami Host Committee said that as Miami continues to celebrate the World Cup, it’s continuing to demonstrate the power of community – standing together, supporting one another and leading with heart.
Atlanta, GA
FBI orders field offices to send analysts to Atlanta for 2020 election investigation, sources say
The FBI is ramping up its investigation into the 2020 election results in Fulton County, Georgia, by ordering field offices across the country to send investigative analysts to Atlanta to help evaluate thousands of records, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
According to a memo sent to all field offices and reviewed by CBS News, the Directorate of Intelligence requested “surge support” to Atlanta to assist in what it called FBI Director Kash Patel’s “priority” investigation. The memo did not explicitly discuss the nature of the investigation, but multiple sources confirmed to CBS News the subject of the memo is the 2020 election probe in Fulton County.
The memo calls on every FBI field office to assign analysts, seeking to reach a total of 260 analysts. Large field offices are being asked to contribute eight analysts each, while small and medium offices must dedicate between three and five analysts. They are being asked to review 708 records each, and complete the work by July 17, the memo shows.
These “tactical intel” staffers typically provide help with day-to-day casework, such as running license plates, doing open-source checks on subjects of investigations, phone analysis, preparing subpoenas and reviewing subpoena returns.
The surge of personnel was first reported by MS Now.
President Trump has repeatedly alleged without providing evidence that officials in heavily Democratic Fulton County manipulated ballot counts in 2020 and that large numbers of votes in the state were cast by deceased Georgians, nonresidents or other ineligible participants.
After Mr. Trump lost Georgia by 11,799 votes, he frequently claimed the election had been “rigged.” But Joe Biden’s win in Georgia was confirmed in both a machine recount and an audit that involved hand recounts by every county in the state.
Earlier this year, the FBI executed a search warrant in Fulton County where it seized “all physical ballots” from 2020, as well as tapes from vote-tabulating machines, ballot images and voter rolls. Home to Atlanta, Fulton County was crucial to Biden’s narrow 2020 win in the state.
The case was referred to the FBI by Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who previously fought to help overturn the results of the 2020 election and now works for the Justice Department, where he is assigned in Miami to help investigate the so-called “grand conspiracy” into whether Obama and Biden-era officials conspired to keep President Trump out of office.
A judge in May denied a request by Fulton County to return the ballots that were seized.
The FBI declined to comment.
-
Finance5 minutes agoNew questions about Trump’s taxes after financial disclosure release
-
Fitness8 minutes agoOur Editors Found the Best Fitness Deals—Save Nearly 50% on Home Gym Equipment
-
Movie Reviews20 minutes agoFilm Review: “looky loo: PART II” – MediaMikes
-
World22 minutes agoUS Resumes Dollar Transfers to Iraq, NYT Reports
-
Health53 minutes agoShe Ate High-Protein Ice Cream Daily and Lost 193 Lbs—Her Keys to Success
-
Lifestyle1 hour agoHouse Democrats accuse Trump of ‘hijacking’ America’s 250th birthday for his own gain
-
Technology1 hour agoTesla driver faces manslaughter charges over Texas crash that killed a woman inside her home
-
World1 hour agoSix Kurdish fighters killed in IRGC ambush as clashes spread across western Iran
