Child with lighter studied as fire cause
PHILADELPHIA -- Investigators are looking into the possibility that a 5-year-old child playing with a lighter set a Christmas tree on fire, sparking a conflagration that killed 12 people in a Philadelphia rowhome, officials revealed Thursday.
The information was included in a search warrant application as city and federal investigators sought to determine the cause of the city's deadliest single blaze in more than a century, which took the lives of three sisters, several of their children and other people early Wednesday.
Jane Roh, spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner, confirmed the contents of the search warrant, which was first reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Fire officials provided few details at an afternoon news briefing, declining to say how many people escaped the blaze or speculate on a possible cause, adding the fire scene was complex.
The building is owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the city's public housing agency and the state's biggest landlord.
Fourteen people were authorized to live in the four-bedroom upper apartment that "suffered the tragedy," according to Kelvin Jeremiah, the housing authority's president and CEO, while six people were on the lease in the lower unit.
While the fire department initially said none of the four smoke alarms in the building appeared to have been working, housing authority officials said Thursday the building had 13 tamper-resistant, 10-year detectors in the units, all of which were operational during the last inspection in May 2021.
Florida makes 4th voter-fraud arrest
THE VILLAGES, Fla. -- A fourth resident of a large Florida retirement community has been arrested on a charge of voter fraud.
Charles Barnes, 64, was arrested Tuesday and charged with voter fraud for casting more than one ballot, according to an arrest affidavit filed in court.
The arrest affidavit doesn't detail the basis for the charge. Barnes entered an innocent plea on Thursday.
His attorney, Victor Mead, didn't immediately return an email inquiry.
Online voting records showed Barnes wasn't affiliated with any political party and that he first registered to vote in Sumter County in 2019.
Barnes' arrest was the fourth for voter fraud in the past two months of residents of The Villages retirement community in a county that is a Republican stronghold in Florida. Of the three other residents, two were registered Republicans and the third had no party affiliation.
The arrests come after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged to create a law enforcement agency to investigate election crimes, despite there being little evidence of electoral malfeasance by voters.
Knife-wielder dies in police-dog attack
SEATTLE -- A Seattle police officer fatally shot a burglary suspect who stabbed and killed a police dog and stabbed another officer in the face, the Seattle Police Department said.
The department's K-9 team responded to a report of a man with a machete and knife breaking into a residence shortly after 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Assistant Chief Tom Mahaffey said.
The team saw the suspect and began a brief pursuit, Mahaffey said. A few blocks away, an altercation ensued, and the suspect stabbed and killed the police dog and stabbed an officer, he said.
Another officer arrived and shot the suspect, who died at the scene. The officer who was stabbed in the face was treated on-site, Mahaffey said. Police did not immediately identify the suspect or the officers.
The residents of the home were not physically injured, Mahaffey said.
The shooting will be investigated by the Force Investigation Team, the Seattle Police Department said.
Officers' body-camera video footage is expected to be released within 72 hours, per department policy.
2 Powerball tickets win $632M jackpot
MADISON, Wis. -- Powerball tickets sold in Wisconsin and California were winners of the latest jackpot and will split $632 million, officials said.
The Wisconsin Lottery said Thursday the winning ticket in its state was sold at a Citgo convenience store on Packerland Drive in the Green Bay suburb of Ashwaubenon. Jackson Pointe Citgo will receive $100,000 for selling the ticket. The winner has not yet come forward, according to Wisconsin Lottery Director Cindy Polzin.
The winning ticket in California was sold at a 7-Eleven in Sacramento, the California Lottery said.
The winning numbers for the Powerball jackpot drawn Wednesday night were 6, 14, 25, 33 and 46. The Powerball was 17.
The winners have a cash option of splitting $450 million. The jackpot was one of the largest in the history of the Powerball game, but it didn't rank among the Top 10 largest in U.S. lottery history.