BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA HOUSE FIRE STARTED IN HOME'S FIREPLACE

FEBRUARY 18, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC)

Firefighters say no one was hurt in a house fire at 14th Avenue and 2nd Street North on Wednesday night.

Fire officials said the property owners were working on the house when they started a fire in the fireplace to stay warm.

That fire got out of control and spread to the roof.

4 TRANSPORTED TO HOSPITAL AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT AT SHREWSBURY WALMART

Emergency medical personnel wheel a person to a waiting ambulance at the Walmart in Shrewsbury, Wednesday February 18, 2015. (JOHN PAVONCELLO)

FEBRUARY 18, 2015

SHREWSBURY, PENNSYLVANIA

Four people were transported to York Hospital on Wednesday afternoon after they breathed fumes from a chemical spill at the Shrewsbury Walmart. 

A total of 12 people were exposed to chemical fumes when a container overturned in a tractor-trailer that was being unloaded at the store, spilling what a hazardous materials team determined to be a cleaning solution, said Shrewsbury Fire Chief Tony Myers. 

Those affected complained of a burning sensation in their throats or shortness of breath, Myers said. The four who were transported to the hospital had non-life-threatening injuries and were being kept in the hospital for observation, he said. 

Response: Fire crews, the hazmat team, several ambulances and York County's mobile command unit responded shortly after 4 p.m. to the Walmart at 698 Shrewsbury Commons Ave., which was quickly evacuated and remained closed while emergency crews ventilated the building. It re-opened at 5:45 p.m. once emergency responders deemed everything to be safe. 

Wal-Mart spokesman Brian Nick said all of the people exposed to the chemical were employees. He said the store was working to figure out more details about what had happened. 

Myers said he thinks the container that spilled was one of the store's products, as the spill occurred in a delivery truck that was being unloaded. He said no one was sure how the spill happened. 

"We're treating it as an accidental release," the chief said.

Nick said employees in the back area smelled "something kind of pungent and off" and reported that to their bosses. Emergency crews contained the fumes to that area, he said. 

Working: Noelle Townsley was working behind the counter of the Philly Pretzel Factory in the front of the store when emergency personnel arrived. 

"I was working and a firefighter came up to me and said, 'Ma'am, you have to evacuate,'" she said, standing outside of the then-evacuated Walmart on Wednesday afternoon, looking at the array of fire engines and ambulances that spanned the length of the store. She said she didn't smell anything weird before she left the building, but her station is on the other side of the large store from the back area where the spill happened.

CONSTRUCTION WORKER INJURED, PULLED FROM PIT AT DOWNTOWN SEATTLE CONSTRUCTION SITE

FEBRUARY 18, 2015

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON:

A construction worker is recovering after an accident Wednesday afternoon in downtown Seattle.

Firefighters pulled the injured man from a pit using a crane at the construction site near Boren and Thomas.

Medics rushed the man to Harborview Medical Center where he was listed in satisfactory condition.

It is unclear how the accident happened.

This story will be updates with more information as it becomes available.

PEDESTRIAN, CYCLISTS AND MOTORCYCLIST DEATHS HAVE BEEN ON THE RISE FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS: 17-YEAR-OLD CYCLIST FATALLY STRUCK BY LADWP TRUCK IN GRANADA HILLS

FEBRUARY 18, 2015

GRANADA HILLS, CALIFORNIA

A 17-year-old boy was fatally struck by an LADWP truck while riding his bike a block from his high school in Granada Hills on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The collision occurred about 3:15 p.m. at San Fernando Mission Boulevard and Woodley Avenue (map), according to Officer Jane Kim with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Section.

The 17-year-old male victim died on scene, according to alerts from the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The victim, a student at nearby John F. Kennedy High School, was riding southbound on Woodley when he was struck by a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power truck going northbound on Woodley, LAPD Valley Traffic Division Capt. John McMahon said at the scene.

An LADWP truck fatally struck a teen cyclist in Granada Hills on Feb. 18, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)

It’s not clear what led to the collision between the truck and the cyclist, McMahon said.

The driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with authorities, the captain said. The DWP employee passed a field sobriety test and alcohol screening; drugs and alcohol had been ruled out as factors, McMahon said.

“There is no reason to believe this is anything more than a tragedy at this point,” McMahon said. “This is a real tragedy.”

DWP issued a brief statement, saying that a vehicle driven by an electrical construction worker was involved in the collision.

“LADWP extends heartfelt sympathies to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” the statement read.

Video from the scene showed several bikes lying on the corner at the intersection, at least one of them with a mangled front tire. A soda cup was on its side in the street.

A white tent was erected in the intersection over the hood of the DWP pickup truck, and police were waiting for coroner’s officials to arrive.

The intersection was expected to be closed for several hours during the investigation.

EOG RESOURCES INC., WHICH HAS BOOSTED ITS OIL PRODUCTION BY ALMOST 50 PERCENT ANNUALLY FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, IS SLASHING SPENDING 40 PERCENT AND WILL DRILL HALF THE WELLS IT DID IN 2014

FEBRUARY 18, 2015

(Bloomberg) -- The biggest, fastest-growing oil producer in the U.S. said it plans to halt output growth this year, delivering a signal that shale companies are beginning to do what it takes to reduce oversupplies. 

EOG Resources Inc., which has boosted its oil production by almost 50 percent annually for the past five years, is slashing spending 40 percent and will drill half the wells it did in 2014. The Houston-based company fell more than 6 percent in after-hours trading as it reported fourth-quarter profit Wednesday that missed expectations. 

The company joins Apache Corp. in its plan to pump about the same volume of oil as last year. The cutbacks are a sign that shale producers can slow down a lot more quickly than forecasters are expecting, said Michael Scialla, a Denver-based analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. 

“EOG is viewed as the premier company in shale development, and if they’re not going to grow, it is a very important signal to the market,” Scialla said in a telephone interview. “The argument that this slowdown is going to take a while to have an impact on supply is completely wrong.” 

The reductions come as agencies such as the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast that overall domestic production will grow 7.8 percent to 9.3 million barrels of crude a day this year, adding to the glut that’s pushed down prices. 

‘Not Interested’ 

“The company is not interested in accelerating crude oil production in a low-price environment,” EOG said in a statement. 

The collapse of oil prices by more than half since June has forced major producers and drillers to cut more than $40 billion in spending and fire 50,000 workers. The number of oil drilling rigs working onshore has declined by a third since October. 

Crude prices have rallied in recent weeks to more than $50 a barrel as the pace of cuts has surprised market analysts. The average price for Brent crude, the benchmark used by most of the world, fell 30 percent from a year earlier in the quarter, to $77.07 a barrel. 

The producer’s net income fell to $444.6 million, or 81 cents a share, from $580 million, or $1.06, a year earlier. Profit excluding one-time items was 79 cents a share, less than the $1 average of 36 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. 

The earnings report was posted Wednesday after the close of regular trading on U.S. markets.