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BRUSSELS (AP) — A new blast has been heard from a police operation in a Brussels neighborhood that once housed a hideout for the suicide bombers who targeted the city's airport and subway system this week. Associated Press reporters at the scene described hearing a new detonation, though it was unclear whether it was a controlled police detonation or something else. Earlier, a witness speaking on Belgian state broadcaster RTBF described hearing two blasts and shots from heavy weapons during the police raid.
NEW YORK (AP) — The family of two New York City siblings says authorities confirmed they died in the bombings in Brussels. Belgian authorities and the Dutch Embassy positively identified the remains of Alexander and Sascha Pinczowski. The father of Alexander's fiancee says the man was on the phone at the Brussels airport with his mother in Holland on Tuesday when the line went dead. He says the siblings were Dutch nationals who had lived in the U.S. for some time.
WASHINGTON (AP) — One analyst says, "The consumer is back in the driver's seat with their foot down hard on the gas." Chris Rupkey of MUFG Union Bank in New York is reacting to today's report from the Commerce Department that the economy grew at a modest 1.4 percent annual rate in the final quarter of last year. It was an improvement from earlier estimates, and the better performance was driven by stronger consumer spending.
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — Meteorologists say the weather conditions could make it hard for crews to make headway against a wildfire that has scorched sparsely-populated areas of Oklahoma and Kansas. The National Weather Service says wind gusts of up to 30 miles an hour are expected through the afternoon. The blaze has consumed at least 620 square miles since starting Tuesday in Oklahoma and spreading into Kansas.
SPENCER, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana sheriff says a 22-year-old man being held in connection with the disappearance of a 1-year-old girl isn't talking. Owen County Sheriff Leonard Hobbs adds that there are still many unanswered questions in the case. The Spencer man was arrested yesterday on preliminary charges including obstruction of justice. Authorities found the body of a toddler that matches the description of Shaylyn Ammerman last night near the White River about 40 miles southwest of Indianapolis. She was last seen around midnight Tuesday at her father's Spencer home.
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