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- Japanese officials report that a series of earthquakes that struck western Japan on Monday killed at least 57 people and damaged thousands of buildings, vehicles, and boats.
- Nearly 400 people escaped a burning plane in Tokyo after a Japan Airlines flight collided with a Coast Guard aircraft on the runway of Haneda Airport. Five people on board the smaller Coast Guard airplane died in the incident. They were part of the aid effort underway following the earthquake in Japan.
- Hamas and Hezbollah officials say top Hamas official Saleh Arouri has been killed in an explosion in a southern Beirut suburb.
- The Israeli military has announced that it is withdrawing thousands of troops from the Gaza Strip, despite ongoing fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.
- As Israel’s war in Gaza continues, a spillover conflict is heating up in the Middle East as the United States fights Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea, and Iran vows to continue to support them.
- Israel’s Supreme Court struck down a key component of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul.
- California water regulators’ first mountain snowpack measurement of the season coming in far below average for this time of year in the state’s first snow survey. But water officials say there’s still plenty of time left to make up the difference.
- The beginning of the new year in California brings new state laws into effect, some of which could impact state residents.
- BART trains on the transit system’s Yellow Line were running on time today, a day after a derailment and fire on a train near the Orinda Station caused widespread delays in the East Bay on New Year’s Day.
Bystanders look at damages somewhere near Noto town in the Noto peninsula facing the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, following Monday’s deadly earthquake. A series of powerful earthquakes that hit western Japan have damaged thousands of buildings, vehicles and boats. Officials warned that more quakes could lie ahead. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
The post A series of earthquakes that struck western Japan on Monday killed at least 55 people and damaged thousands of buildings – January 2, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.
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