Idaho

USA: Years-old murder shook town; new arrest causes aftershocks

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — As days turned into years, Brett Woolley came to accept that his father’s murderer would never be found — and that his family’s private tragedy had become a Wild West legend, the kind of thing folks shared when they were a few too many drinks deep into the night.

Nearly 40 years ago, Dan Woolley was shot in the parking lot of a small-town bar. The shooter crossed the street to the town’s other tavern, ordered a drink and declared, “I just killed a man.”

And then he disappeared, leaving no trace.

Coronavirus deaths are rising again in the US, as feared

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Deaths per day from the coronavirus in the U.S. are on the rise again, just as health experts had feared, and cases are climbing in practically every state, despite assurances from President Donald Trump over the weekend that “we’re rounding the turn, we’re doing great.”

With Election Day just over a week away, average deaths per day across the country are up 10% over the past two weeks, from 721 to nearly 794 as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Newly confirmed infections per day are rising in 47 states, and deaths are up in 34.

Two planes collide over northwestern US lake, eight feared dead

BOISE (Idaho, US), July 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eight people are believed to be dead after two planes collided over Coeur d’Alene Lake in Idaho and then sank, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ryan Higgins said.

A call came in for two planes that had collided over the lake around 2:20 p.m., Higgins said Sunday.

Two victims, both deceased, were recovered from the air crafts before they sank, Higgins said. The remaining six victims – adults and children – are still unaccounted for but are believed to be dead.

USA: Man charged with conspiring to hide kids’ bodies in his yard

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Prosecutors accused a man of conspiring with his new wife to keep the bodies of her children hidden on his rural Idaho property, adding to the charges he faces in the strange case that involves the couple’s doomsday beliefs and the mysterious deaths of their former spouses.

In new charges filed Tuesday evening, prosecutors say Chad Daybell conspired with wife Lori Vallow Daybell to keep hiding the bodies of 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan because they knew the remains would likely be used as evidence in a court case.

USA: Coronavirus forces new approaches to fighting wildfires

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — They are two disasters that require opposite responses: To save lives and reduce the spread of COVID-19, people are being told to remain isolated. But in a wildfire, thousands of firefighters must work in close quarters for weeks at a time.

Wildfires have already broken out in Texas and Florida, and agencies are scrambling to finish plans for a new approach. They are considering waivers for some training requirements to previously-certified crew members, and moving some training online.

‘I heard the roar’: 6.5 earthquake hits Idaho

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An earthquake struck north of Boise Tuesday evening, with people across a large area reporting shaking.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports the magnitude 6.5 temblor struck just before 6 p.m. It was centered 73 miles (118 kilometers) northeast of Meridian, near the rural mountain town of Stanley. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

More than 2 million live in the region that could feel the Idaho quake, according to the USGS, with reports of shaking coming in from as far away as Helena, Montana, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Western governors: States not consulted on nuclear waste

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Western governors are disappointed that the U.S. Department of Energy didn’t consult their states’ nuclear waste experts before releasing a five-year plan for a nuclear waste facility in New Mexico, the governors say.

The Western Governors’ Association in a Sept. 30 letter to the Energy Department said the plan released in August for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant could have benefited with contributions from the states concerning transportation and safety.

US releases review on removing vegetation to stop wildfires

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal officials have released their review on removing or changing vegetation over a huge swath of the U.S. West to stop wildfires on land used for cattle ranching, recreation and habitat for imperiled sage grouse.

The work would occur on strips of land up to 165 yards (150 meters) wide and up to 11,000 miles (18,000 kilometers) long in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Utah, according to an environmental analysis released Friday. It didn’t give specific details on what the impact to the land could be.

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