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TOKYO (AP) — Raging rivers are overflowing their banks and are knocking some homes off their foundations. And some residents trapped by floodwaters are waiting for rescue workers to save them. Heavy rain is pummeling Japan for a second straight day Thursday. The hardest-hit area is north of Tokyo, where one woman is missing after a landslide hit homes at the foot of a steep, wooded incline.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Temperatures are beginning to cool off a bit in California, which experienced record-breaking heat Wednesday. The National Weather Service says downtown Los Angeles had a high of 101 degrees while the airport in suburban Long Beach hit 103, breaking the old record for the day of 98 set in 1990. In San Diego County, Chula Vista's high of 99 was eight degrees above the 1990 record. A breeze cooled things off a bit by late Wednesday afternoon.
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The head of the U.N. refugee agency in Jordan says donor countries are now paying the price for choosing the "cheap option" in responding to the Syrian crisis. Andrew Harper says it would have been more cost-effective for the international community to spend more money in countries next to Syria, such as Jordan and Lebanon, where more than 4 million refugees found asylum. But cash-strapped agencies have had to cut back support and now more migrants are trying to reach Europe.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — There are concerns that the Islamic State group's efforts to extend its reach into Saudi Arabia could threaten the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage later this month. So far, the extremist group's presence in the kingdom appears to be in a low-level stage, but it's claimed four significant bombings since May, one of them in neighboring Kuwait. The militants are determined to bring down Saudi Arabia's U.S.-allied royal family.
PHOENIX (AP) — Fire officials in Phoenix say 55-gallon tanks of motor oil and solvents at a solvent recycling company heated up and exploded Wednesday, sending some tanks flying. Roughly 30 blasts spewed fireballs and blackened the sky south of downtown Phoenix for more than an hour. Some planes taking off from the city's airport had to fly around the mushrooming black plume. Businesses near the solvent recycling company were evacuated. There's no word of any injuries.
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