A dramatic fire involving solar panels erupted at a cold-storage facility in Los Angeles, sending a massive black column of smoke into the air on Wednesday afternoon.
The inferno was reported a bit after 2:30 p.m. in the Boyle Heights area in the 1400 block of South Los Palos Street.
A firefighter battles a massive fire at a storage facility in Los Angeles. KTLA A storage facility in Boyle Heights on fire with flames visible on the roof and large plumes of black smoke filling the sky. ONSCENE MEDIA
Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters were initially in offensive mode and for a time seemed to have gotten the upper hand on the flames. The fire later flared up in a major way, however, sending the firefighters into defensive mode.
A shelter-in-place order was issued for areas near the fire due to hazardous materials. Residents were advised to close windows and doors.
“All units were called off the roof and out of the interior,” the LAFD said in a statement. A shelter-in-place order was issued for the immediate area surrounding the building due to hazardous materials.
In a separate interview with BBC Sport, the Bayern Munich striker added: “The boss said at half-time to up the tempo, go man for man and completely take the game to them, and that is exactly what happened.
“You saw us at our best level, both with and without the ball and we could have scored three or four goals in that 20-minute spell in the second half.
“We did what we needed to do and finished the game off nicely at the end.”
Asked what he said to his team at half-time, Tuchel told ITV: “Even if we lose, it will not change my perception of the last 17 days, but let’s do it our way.
“We were too focused on protecting the result. We were a back seven and we didn’t defend. If the result doesn’t go our way, we want to play our way.
“I tried to encourage them to go for it.”
The half-time team talk seemed to have an almost immediate impact as Bellingham scored within two minutes of the restart to put England 3-2 ahead.
The Real Madrid midfielder told ITV: “It wasn’t one of those where it was a big drama or standing up and shouting; it was what the team needed.
“We have a mature group with great leaders in there. Everyone knew the level we had to get to. The start of the second half gave us a great platform.”
Before they take a ride down the Canyon of Heroes on Thursday morning, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart made a pit stop at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night.
The newly crowned NBA champions threw out the ceremonial first pitches before the Yankees hosted the White Sox, and the two Knicks received a loud ovation from the crowd as the city continued to soak up the franchise’s first title in 53 years.
“I know [Thursday’s] just going to be otherworldly as far as a parade goes,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But it’ll be great to see those guys tonight. I’m sure they’re having a pretty good week.”
New York Knicks guards Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart throw out the first pitch prior to the game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 17, 2026. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart toss out first pitches at Yankee Stadium after securing the New York Knicks’ first NBA championship in 53 years 😤 pic.twitter.com/V7eFvdriys
Boone, a 76ers fan at heart, described the Knicks’ 16-3 showing in the playoffs as “a captivating run” that will have a lasting impact.
“I think it’ll be one of the historic teams that we talk about when it comes to the NBA,” Boone said. “Every championship is obviously memorable and going back to [Michael] Jordan and that run and the Lakers and the Celtics, what the Warriors [did], on and on, however you want to look at it. I think this team, in the annals of the NBA, will be talked about for a long, long time.”
After throwing all of his pitches “with good intensity” Tuesday in his first full bullpen session since going on the injured list with a left elbow bone bruise last month, Max Fried reported feeling good on Wednesday, the latest positive sign in his comeback.
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The left-hander will still need to show improved healing in his elbow before he is cleared to fully ramp up towards a return, but assuming he continues to bounce back well in the coming days, Fried will throw another bullpen session this weekend.
“Just talking to him today, he said, ‘I felt great during it and then feel good coming into today,’” Boone said. “So it’s been encouraging, really every step of the way, since even the couple days after the Baltimore start when he went on the IL. He’s responded well to everything, which I’m hoping is a really good sign for him and for us long-term.”
Facing White Sox lefty Anthony Kay (who had drastic left/right splits) on Wednesday, Boone started José Caballero in left field, Cody Bellinger in center field and Jasson Domínguez in right field.
Bellinger moving to center for a day opened up left field for Domínguez, but instead Boone opted to keep him in his new home in right to get him a steady dose of reps there to see if it can work moving forward.
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Boone did not have an update on George Lombard Jr., the club’s top prospect who left Tuesday’s Triple-A game early after getting his left wrist/hand jammed while covering second base on a steal. … Austin Wells (cervical headaches) came through his first rehab game Tuesday without issue and was scheduled to start at catcher again on Wednesday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before its game got rained out.
Edita Birnkrant, executive director of the anti-carriage group NYCLASS, posted a video of Deniz in his final moments, lying on the carriage drive.
“They’re f—ing abusers,” a male narrator says.
“He doesn’t care,” the observer declares of the carriage driver.
The video ends with a blaring political headline: “Pass Ryder’s Law Before Another Horse Is Killed.”
That’s the City Council bill, long pushed by NYCLASS, that would ban carriage rides in New York City — and force a largely immigrant workforce into unemployment.
Birnkrant, along with activist groups like PETA and City Council Members Christopher Marte, Frank Morano and others, immediately used Deniz’s sudden death to push a narrative portraying carriage drivers as cold-hearted animal abusers.
Their rush-to-judgment propaganda sparked a barrage of hate directed at New York’s carriage drivers, 95% of whom have come to the US from countries around the world: Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Tajikistan, Italy, Ireland, Poland and many more.
“Kill that f—ing immigrant,” read one vitriolic post.
“Who owns these horse and carriage business? Gypsies? Foreigners?” went another.
In the park, carriage drivers have been cursed and menaced.
One activist spat at a group of carriage-riding tourists from India, splattering one of them.
Manhattan Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa received a string of frightening messages: “I hope you suffocate and die a slow death”; “So either she passes the ban or I pray to God to burn down their houses.”
Dr. Gabriel Cook, the respected veterinarian who cares for many of the horses, insisted on sending Deniz’s body to Cornell University for a necropsy conducted by its pathologists.
That’s standard in our industry — maintaining a high standard of care requires learning the cause of a sudden and unexplained death so we can avoid putting the animals in danger.
And we learned a lot: The Central Park Conservancy has planted toxic plants along the perimeter of park drives.
The gross necropsy found a substantial amount of what appeared to be Japanese yew branches in Deniz’s mouth and stomach.
Yews, and Japanese yews in particular, are “highly toxic in horses” — and the amount found was “interpreted as enough to be lethal,” according to the pathologist’s report.
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So Deniz didn’t die because he was mistreated.
He wasn’t abused.
He wasn’t overworked.
He was not “killed” as NYCLASS and others claimed or strongly insinuated.
He chomped on a plant while his driver paused to let passengers take some photos.
Some, including the Conservancy, want to blame the driver, citing a rule that horses aren’t allowed to eat the park’s plants.
That’s a reasonable rule, but it’s in place to prevent damage to the foliage — not to protect lives.
The Conservancy never warned carriage drivers of these highly toxic plants that could kill a horse — or a dog or a child as well.
That’s managerial negligence that goes right to the Conservancy’s top.
Central Park was built specifically for carriage horses.
When Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux designed it in the 1880s, they meant for it to be enjoyed in part by taking leisurely carriage rides through the sculpted landscape.
Horses have been there since day one.
Today, NYPD mounted police horses, Parks Department horses and recreational riding horses also use the drives.
It’s time to reject the hateful propaganda, and turn away from advocates whose politicized views aren’t supported by science or medical analysis.
It does no harm to 1,600-pound horses — bred over centuries for hard labor — if they give a few carriage rides a day in Central Park.
Instead of banning this vital piece of New York City history, council members and the public should instead support Intro 937, a horse welfare and job protection act introduced last week by Councilman Jim Gennaro.
This bill would implement immediate commonsense reforms — like installing hitching posts to safeguard horses from straying, more rigorous testing of carriage-driver applicants, improving the city’s temperature-monitoring system so carriage service can be halted more quickly on hot days, and more.
But safety reforms like those in Intro 937 can address such incidents and help prevent them from occurring again.
We, as a city, can work together to advance the welfare of our carriage horses, while also protecting the jobs that sustain immigrant families who came here to pursue their American dream.
John Samuelsen is president of the Transport Workers Union of America.
The sicko who raped a dead man for more than 30 minutes aboard a Manhattan subway last year will spend five years behind bars — after he sat speechless during his sentence Wednesday.
Felix Rojas, 44, was slapped with prison time for the heinous assault and robbery of Jorge Gonzalez, 37, on an R train near the Whitehall Street station in April 2025.
Gonzalez boarded the R train, lost consciousness and died on a bench inside the subway car nearly three hours before Rojas showed up and violated him.
Felix Rojas, 44, who raped a dead man on an R train last year, was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Wednesday. Steven Hirsch for NY Post
Rojas, of Brooklyn, first noticed Gonzalez was motionless, before deciding to measure his waist up to Gonzalez’s mouth while “repeatedly thrusting his hips back and forth,” Manhattan prosecutors said.
It was revealed in court that the freak then pulled Gonzalez’s pants down, raped him and rummaged through his pockets.
Rojas pulled up Gonzalez’s pants and cleverly sat back on the subway bench as it continued to make station stops to avoid being caught, court papers revealed.
Cops said Rojas, a Mexican national, turned himself in three weeks after the gruesome attack, accompanied by his son.
Rojas robbed and assaulted Jorge Gonzalez, 37, in April 2025. DCPI
The creep identified himself after seeing a surveillance image of the incident, but told cops he “did not do that,” authorities said.
Rojas refused to comment ahead of his sentencing, taking a plea deal that includes 15 years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
An ICE spokesperson told The Post that the necrophiliac was an illegal immigrant that tried to unlawfully cross the Southern border “on several occasions.”
Gonzalez died on a bench inside the subway car before Rojas came inside the train car and violated him. Obtained by NY Post
Gonzalez came to the US nearly 20 years ago, working all kinds of jobs to support his family back home, his family said.
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“He wasn’t just a random person, he was a father, he was a family man, he cared about his family in Mexico,” said his 38-year-old wife, Teresa, who had been separated from Gonzalez for six years.
“He did construction, he worked in kitchens, he worked as a waiter, he was a busboy. You know, anything you really could do to try to get ahead.”
Five passages of the 14-point memorandum of understanding that was released Wednesday are giving critics particular concern because they leave so much room open for negotiation and interpretation.
The agreement, which President Trump signed on Wednesday, will serve as the basis for 60-day negotiations that will hammer out the fine details of a plan to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
US officials described the framework as a pathway to ending hostilities and reopening negotiations.
But some observers pointed to vague language involving Lebanon, Iranian assets, the Strait of Hormuz and future US policy toward Iran.
“There will be differences of understanding, and this can bring a new misunderstanding, and there is a potential for clash,” said Beni Sabti, an Iranian and Iran expert for Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security studies.
He added: “The Iran regime always tries to get more from what’s written.”
Washington agreed to immediately waive sanctions and lift its blockade of Iranian points in the official text of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding. Getty Images
Here are the biggest potential stumbling blocks:
“The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war, by signing this MOU, declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other, and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other, and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon. The final deal will confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and other provisions of this paragraph.”
The language about Lebanon has raised concerns in Israel, which is not a party to the agreement and has repeatedly carried out military operations against Iranian-backed Hezbollah in the country.
“At the end of the day, if Israel wants to defend itself or attack someone or something, it will do that,” Sabti said.
“Sometimes, many times, Israel doesn’t listen to the US in these issues of security.”
The Jewish State has refused to withdraw its forces from Lebanon, which some Iranians argued should be required before the Iran inked the document, two regional sources told The Post.
It also remains unclear how such a commitment would be enforced, who would determine if violations occurred and whether future Israeli strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure would be viewed as undermining the agreement.
“The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran undertake to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs.”
The text makes no mention of protesters against the regime after Islamic Republic thugs killed roughly 30,000 civilians who took to the streets in January to protest the cost of living crisis.
Because the text does not specify what activities would constitute prohibited interference, the provision prompts questions over whether Washington would limit support for Iranian opposition movements, democracy activists or anti-regime protesters in the future.
Successive US administrations — including the current White House — have publicly backed the rights of Iranian demonstrators and condemned Tehran’s crackdowns, with President Trump cheering on the protesters in January in a Truth Social post.
The US-Iran memorandum of understanding does not say whether Washington can support protests against the regime in Tehran. Getty Images
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct dialog with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz in discussion with other Persian Gulf or [Gulf] states in line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz.”
The mention of “administration and maritime services” leaves open the possibility that Iran and Oman could charge service fees to ships that want to access the strait.
Legally, the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, and vessels cannot be tolled under international law. They can, however, be required to pay fees for services provided.
Iran and Oman as recently as Monday were discussing how they could implement a service fee, a source familiar with mediations told The Post.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry also spoke openly about its desire to charge ships for navigational assistance, environmental protection and insurance-related services.
The Strait of Hormuz has been blocked since the war with Iran broke out on Feb. 28, 2026. MarineTraffic
“United States of America undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least USD $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The memorandum does not specify where the $300 billion would originate, leaving unanswered whether the funding would come primarily from Gulf states, as previously mentioned by senior US officials; private investments as described by US and regional official; individuals; or international financial institutions.
President Trump has repeatedly insisted American taxpayer dollars would not be used to fund Iran, but that is not enumerated in the MOU. Meanwhile, the size of the proposed package would rank among the largest economic development initiatives ever contemplated for the region.
But Hudson Institute senior fellow Rebecca Heinrichs, who led the Pentagon’s 2024 Strategic Posture Commission on US nuclear strategy, told The Post it “doesn’t matter” where the funds come from — they shouldn’t be offered on principle.
“It doesn’t matter that this money isn’t American taxpayer dollars. That’s about the cost of the damage the US and Israel did to Iran and this feels like reparations,” she said
“The Iranians are responsible for billions of dollars of damage to US aircraft, to US basing and ally basing and equipment.”
“[Treasury] Secretary Bessent mere days ago said that frozen Iranian funds could be used to repay the damage they caused. I think for most Americans that makes a lot more sense, and from a strategy perspective, it does send a message to would-be aggressors that we would make them pay,” she added.
The text also makes clear that the details of the initiative have not yet been established, so many of the questions are unanswerable at this time.
President Trump has said the $300 billion demanded for reconstruction and economic development of Iran would not come from US taxpayers — but no mention of that is made in the US-Iran memoradum of understanding. AFP via Getty Images
“The United States of America undertakes to make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Upon the implementation of this MOU, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran will mutually agree on the procedures related to the release of these funds during the negotiations.”
The provision does not identify how much money would ultimately be released and when. While dollar figures ranging from $6 billion to $24 billion have been mentioned by sources in the lead-up to the MOU’s finalization, the total could be much higher thanks to the vague point.
Iran is estimated to have more than $100 billion in total frozen or restricted funds abroad.
It also does not restrict where the unfrozen funds may be spent, which Sabti predicted will mean the regime will pocket the cash — or spend it on terrorism, which also is not banned in the text.
“The billions of dollars will go to the Iran regime — the people won’t see $1 from that. It will all go to the regime and the terror program and missile program and other evil programs that they have,” he said.
Already, regional sources told Reuters that Tehran said it would use some of the cash to pay terror proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Tehran has long sought access to the funds, and the US has previously refused to unfreeze any amount without demonstrable changes to Iran’s nuclear program. However, the MOU leaves unresolved whether the release would occur immediately, in phases tied to Iranian compliance, or only after a final agreement is reached.
A new report from Stanford University’s Climate and Energy Policy Program proves what residents in the Golden State have been saying, that in order to insure their homes the average homeowner is paying a whopping 84% more per year than they did in 2020.
Between 2020 and 2026, the average monthly insurance premium jumped up $90 a month, per the study.
Homeowners in California are getting beat up by staggering insurance costs. Google Earth
“During this same period, average deductibles rose from $1,813 to $2,553, a trend consistent with the financial pressures facing homeowners and the competitive environment for insurers managing rising premiums,” the report read.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest spikes occurred in the areas of the state with the highest wildfire risk.
One map really drives the point home, showing that there was a 100% increase in portions of the state that have been ravaged by fire, including the Sierra Nevada and its foothill communities and huge swaths of Los Angeles county affected by the 2025 wildfires, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
In Mariposa County, insurance premiums increased by nearly 150%. In one Northern California community of Loch Lomond, homeowner premiums increased by over 200%.
In Southern California things were just as bad for those living in Pine Cove in Riverside County where their insurance jumped by more than 200%. And in the San Bernardino County mountain community of Mt. Baldy, homeowners have had their insurance increase by an astronomical amount of 350%.
A new map proves that the hardest hit areas are the ones with the highest wildfire risk.
stanford.edu
Huge sections of the rest of the state also saw their insurance premiums go up anywhere from 80-100% since 2020.
The research was compiled by gathering information from mortgage lenders to see how premiums increased through the state’s FAIR Plan and major insurers in the market.
FAIR — the state’s insurance program — provides basic fire coverage for those in California with “high risk properties” that traditional insurers won’t cover.
The study found that due to the “increasing wildfire-related losses and regulatory pricing frictions, admitted lines insurers are writing fewer policies in more dangerous areas.”
In one Northern California community of Loch Lomond, homeowner premiums increased by over 200%. Builtech Construction
And these insurance agencies are doing that by either not renewing their customers, “ceasing to write new business, or both,” per the study. The biggest insurers who significantly decreased writing policies in the state over the last six years include Farmers Insurance, Allstate, and State Farms.
Because of this, the state’s insurer’s shares have increased over time as homeowners in fire-prone areas have no other options but to turn to the state for coverage.
While the study found that the average policy cost has been steadily increasing over the last six years, the state’s FAIR plan rise and fall in policy costs has been much more dramatic.
“The FAIR Plan experienced a sharp 353% increase in policy costs between 2018 and 2023, followed by a decline starting in 2023,” the report read.
Digging into the numbers, it shows that for residents living in the Palisades, their FAIR plan average monthly premium shot up from $6,500 in 2025 to an projected premium of $9,000 in 2026. In Malibu, the cost is estimated to have jumped from $8,000 to $11,000.
Residents living in the Palisades saw their FAIR plan average monthly premium shot up from $6,500 in 2025 to an projected premium of $9,000 in 2026. Getty Images
In another part of LA hit hard by the wildfires, Altadena homeowners have seen their plan go from $3,300 last year to a projected $4,500 this year.
In conclusion, the report found that homeowners are struggling to find affordable coverage with increasing average monthly premiums and deductibles, especially for high-risk areas.”
The California Post reached out to the department of insurance for further comment.
