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Tour bus crash on I-10 in California kills at least 11, closes freeway

A bus crashed into a big rig on I-10. At least seven people are dead. Colin Atagi/The Desert Sun

Nearly a dozen people are dead after a tour bus and big rig collided on westbound Interstate 10 near Palm Springs on Sunday morning.

At least 25 bus passengers have been taken to Palm Springs area hospitals for injuries ranging from minor to major, according to the California Highway Patrol.

All westbound lanes of I-10 are closed at Indian Canyon following the crash that was first reported just after 5 a.m., and traffic is being diverted off I-10 at Indian Canyon. CHP officials estimate the freeway could be closed until 4 p.m.

Throughout the morning, firefighters struggled to reach victims. The bus had crashed into the big rig's trailer, and a tow truck was used to lift the trailer and help officials gain easier access to the demolished vehicle. Another tow truck tried to pull the big rig forward, off the bus. Firefighters positioned ladders in the bus' windows to pull victims out.

Around 7:30 a.m., California Highway Patrol officer Stephanie Hamilton said seven people were confirmed dead. By 9:30 a.m., the death toll had risen to 11, all of whom were traveling in the tour bus. The big rig driver was unhurt.

Patients were taken to all three Coachella Valley hospitals — Desert Regional Medical Center, Eisenhower Medical Center and JFK Memorial Hospital, Desert Regional director of marketing Rich Ramhoff said.

The Palm Springs hospital, which has the valley's only trauma center, was treating 14 patients Sunday morning. Five were in critical condition, three in serious condition, and six had minor injuries, Ramhoff said. All the patients were adults.

Ramhoff said that in his six years at the hospital, this was the largest number of victims he'd seen from a single incident.

Eisenhower Medical Center spokesperson Lee Rice said the Rancho Mirage hospital received 11 adult patients, all with minor injuries.

LOCAL HISTORY: 1991 Girl Scout bus crash on Tramway Road killed 7, still haunts survivors

The tour bus belonged to USA Holiday, a Los Angeles-based tour company, and Hamilton said the driver was identified as one of its owners. The bus was carrying about 30 people and may have been coming from Red Earth Casino, near the Salton Sea, CHP said.

USA Holiday regularly carries passengers from the Los Angeles area to Southern California casinos. According to its Facebook page, USA Holiday has recently made trips to Tortoise Rock Casino, Red Earth Casino and Los Vegas, but the company hasn't promoted any trips on the page since mid-September.

As the hours passed, firefighters continued to work outside the mangled bus as passersby pulled over in the eastbound lanes to catch a glimpse of the grisly scene before being ordered to leave by officials.

As of 9:30 a.m., only one ambulance remained at the scene.

Chris and Rachel Williams were delivering frozen chicken to Los Angeles when they got stuck in traffic. They were about five vehicles east of the scene and waited more than an hour at the scene.

"We're doing good. We're just saying our prayers for the people involved in this situation," Chris Williams said. "This is a day that will be remembered."

Burundi police question U.S. journalist, keep her fixer in custody

Police in Burundi arrested an American journalist and her Burundian fixer on Sunday, saying they had questioned both on suspicion of destroying criminal evidence before releasing only the journalist from custody.

Julia Steers, a fellow with the International Women's Media Foundation, and Gildas Yihundimpundu were arrested in the Mutakura district north of the capital Bujumbura, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye wrote on his Twitter account.

The media regulator "CNC and police interrogated them for attempting to destroy evidence of crimes committed by insurgents," the tweet said. The government often uses the term "insurgents" to describe protesters.

Mutakura was hit by protests at the height of the unrest last year when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans to run for a third term in office, sparking weeks of protests by the opposition who said his bid was unconstitutional.

Nkurikiye said the journalist has subsequently been released and handed to the U.S. embassy, but her fixer remained under custody for further investigation.

Opponents accuse the president of violating the constitution and a peace deal that ended a civil war in 2005. The government accuses opponents of fomenting unrest, and accuses them of backing rebel groups, which officials call "armed gangs".

At least 450 people have so far been killed in violence that first erupted right after Nkurunziza announced his re-election bid, rights groups say.

Western states have also criticized the government's clampdown on free media, including the shuttering of private radio stations.

Burundi briefly arrested British and French journalists earlier this year, while other foreign journalists were expelled prior to that.

(Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

Facebook to cut down on censorship, allowing "significant" graphic posts

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Facebook has decided to cut down on its censorship of graphic posts which might violate its community standards against nudity and violence, as long as these posts are deemed "newsworthy and significant."

"In the weeks ahead, we're going to begin allowing more items that people find newsworthy, significant or important to the public interest -- even if they might otherwise violate our standards," the company's PR officials said in a blog post on Friday.

The move came after the "napalm girl" controversy stirred outcry from some Facebook users, who complained about being prevented from posting or sharing the world-famous photograph. The image, which shows a naked 9-year-old girl fleeing a napalm attack during the Vietnamese war, was said to have violated Facebook's ban on images of naked children, according to the CNN.

The California-based online social network also came under attack this week for removing a breast cancer awareness video for being graphic. The video, released by Swedish cancer charity Cancerfonden, explains to women how to check for suspicious lumps with animated figures.

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British PM calls regional leaders to Downing Street for post-Brexit meeting

LONDON, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May called Sunday the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to Downing Street for talks aimed at strengthening ties.
The behind-closed-door meeting will takes place on Monday, and will be the first joint gathering May has chaired since becoming prime minister.
It will take place against a post-Brexit backdrop that could pose a threat to the survival of Britain.
This week Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon paved the way for a possible re-run of an independence referendum.
Wales First Minister Labor's Carwyn Jones will head to London aware of a keynote speech this weekend at the annual conference of Plaid Cymru, the Party of Wales.
Plaid's leader Leanne Wood raised the question of Wales fast-forwarding its ambitions for independence if Scotland goes it alone.
Although Welsh independence has been a long-term dream of Plaid Cymru, Wood told delegates at her conference that the Brexit vote had changed things.
Wood said a time may come when Wales has to decide whether to "hitch itself to Theresa May's right wing England, or contemplate independence."
She told her conference 200,000 jobs in Wales depend on Britain's membership of theEuropean Union.
Although the leave vote in Wales matched almost the same 52-48 Brexit vote across Britain, voters in Cardiff, the Welsh capital, backed remain in the June 23 referendum by a 60-40 margin.
Wood told the conference: "We might not have wanted this outcome, but we have to try and secure the best possible deal for Wales. But what we will not ever accept is a negotiated deal which sees Wales worse off. Our red line at all times is the Welsh economy. Plaid Cymru will never sign off or endorse something that is bad for Wales."
At Monday's meeting, May aims to set out her vision for a new way of working between the British government and the regional administrations.
A statement issued by Number 10 on Sunday, said that May will call on the regional administrations to commit to fully working with the British government to enhance the prosperity and security of the people of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
"She will set out how the UK government is resolute in its commitment to strengthening the union further and making a success of the opportunities ahead. Additionally, the PM will seek agreement on strengthening ways of working, guaranteeing that relationships will be built on a basis of cooperation and consensus."
The Downing Street gathering will discuss how the regional administrations can work together to get the best deal for Britain and seize the opportunities that exiting the EU will bring.
Downing Street said May plans to invite the first and deputy first ministers to take up a key role in helping to build a new industrial strategy for the whole of Britain to spread wealth, jobs and opportunity more evenly, and ensure that the economy works for everyone.
Ahead of the meeting, May said: "When I stood upon the steps of Downing Street, I made clear the importance of our great Union."

Lithuania holds 2nd round of parliamentary elections

Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius (R) casts his ballot in a polling station for the parliament election in Vilnius, Lithuania, Oct. 23, 2016. Lithuania is holding the second round of parliamentary election on Sunday to elect 68 members of the 141-member unicameral parliament or the Seimas, whose 73 other members were elected in the first round of election on Oct. 9. (Xinhua/Alfredas Pliadis)

Cubs to meet Indians in World Series

By Larry Fine

The Chicago Cubs dispatched the Los Angeles Dodgers with power and pitching on Saturday to win the National League pennant and reach their first World Series in 71 years.

The Cubs, for more than half a century viewed as the lovable losers of old ivy-covered Wrigley Field, beat the best pitcher of the now generation in Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in a 5-0 victory that clinched the National League pennant, 4-2.

Next up, the Cleveland Indians and the Curse of the Billy Goat.

The long-suffering Cubs head to Cleveland on Tuesday to begin a best-of-seven for Major League Baseball's championship with a chance to end the longest title drought in major North American professional sports -- 108 years -- and erase a fabled curse.

Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras blasted home runs to support the two-hit pitching of Kyle Hendricks and Aroldis Chapman that sent Cubs fans into delirium, rocked the 102-year-old stadium in Chicago and ignited a city-wide celebration.

Transformed by a new management regime led by team president Theo Epstein, who also helped the Boston Red Sox exorcise the Curse of the Bambino with their first Series win in 86 years, the Cubbies will enter the 112th Fall Classic as favorites after a major league-leading 103 regular season wins.

The Indians had their own history of sporting futility in the city on the southern shore of Lake Erie once nicknamed the “Mistake on the Lake”, going without a World Series title since 1948.

But no club touches the ordeal of the Cubs, whose deprived fans have waited four decades longer than their Cleveland counterparts.

The Cubs were an early power in the major leagues, winning their second World Series in a row in 1908 in the fifth edition of the Fall Classic.

The Cubs remained a strong team over the next few decades but kept falling short in the World Series. They were runners-up in six World Series in the years following when they once again won the National League pennant for another crack at the title in 1945.

THE CURSE

Legend has it that Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis was asked to leave Game Four of the 1945 Series at Wrigley Field against the Detroit Tigers because the odor of his pet goat, Murphy, was bothering other fans.

Outraged, Sianis cursed the Cubs on his way out of the World Series game, shouting they would never win another.

Seventy-one years later, and 108 years in total, the Cubs and their fans are still waiting.

These Cubs look well equipped to end the drought.

Built by a combination of shrewd trades, draft choices and heavy spending on the free agent market, the new Cubs have a young, power-hitting team featuring third baseman Kris Bryant, first baseman Rizzo and shortstop Addison Russell.

They support a veteran starting rotation anchored by Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, National League ERA leader Hendricks and John Lackey.

Led by manager Joe Maddon, brought in last season as the final piece of their championship puzzle, the Cubs went from 101 losses in Epstein's first season in charge in 2012 to one step from baseball heaven.

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Andrew Both)