Baltimore recorded its lowest number of homicides through the first six months of this year, with just 60 killings compared to 142 during the same period in 2023. Mayor Brandon Scott tells NBC News' Tom Llamas how investments in youth programs, violence prevention, and police reform helped drive the city's historic decline in murders.

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A judge approved a $106 million settlement Thursday that ends a yearslong legal battle over the deadly 2019 collapse of a Hard Rock Hotel that was under construction in New Orleans.
The 18-story hotel project partially collapsed in October 2019, killing three people and damaging nearby property. A grand jury ultimately decided against indicting anyone in the deadly collapse, but lawsuits were filed, including one brought by the City of New Orleans in August 2020 naming the building owners, their partners and contractors.
The various lawsuits were consolidated into one case that includes a total of 490 plaintiffs, such as injured workers and businesses affected by the collapse, against 21 defendants, according to Mark Glago, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs. The case has been pending for more than six years, Glago noted.
The combined $106 million settlement was approved by Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Kern Reese on Thursday, according to Glago and Court records.
"This will be an honor to, you know, these claimants that have been through so much," Glago said of the settlement. "We are very, very happy with this $106 million."

#glago #thursday #court #hotel

Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate in Washington where fires have burned more than 250,000 acres. From the air to the ground, firefighters are battling the blaze. In Greece, fire officials say two people died after firefighting helicopters collided. NBC News' Camila Bernal has the latest.

#thousands #bernal #forced #evacuate