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UTICA, NY — Afiery explosion at a churchin upstate New York on Feb. 17 caused "catastrophic" damage and injured five people, including the pastor and firefighters who had responded to reports of a gas odor inside the building, authorities said.

First responders were dispatched to the Abundant Life Church in Boonville, New York, at around 10:23 a.m. ET after receiving reports of a gas odor, according to New York State Police. Multiple fire departments, ambulance services and law enforcement arrived at the church after the initial call.

According to the Oneida County 911 Center, the explosion happened shortly before 11 a.m. Following the incident, state police said four firefighters and the pastor of Abundant Life Church were transported to local hospitals and were listed in critical but stable condition.

A preliminary investigation indicated that four people were in the church's basement when the furnace activated, triggering an explosion. A firefighter on the first floor was attempting to ventilate the building at the time of the explosion and was thrown against a wall, state police said in anews release.

In a statement, Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. said he was deeply saddened by the explosion at the church and was praying for all those impacted.

"Our thoughts are especially with the Boonville firefighters and church members who were injured," Picente said. "I commend the bravery and professionalism of our first responders who rushed toward danger to protect others. Oneida County is in close communication with local officials and emergency services, and we stand ready to provide any assistance needed as the investigation continues."

Boonville is a town in Oneida County, New York, and is about 70 miles northeast of Syracuse.

New York State Police identify injured firefighters, pastor

State police identified the four firefighters and pastor injured in the incident as:

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• David Pritchard Jr., 60, the fire chief of the Boonville Fire Department

• Brandon Pitts, 43, the pastor of Abundant Life Church

• Allan Austin, 67, a firefighter for the Boonville Fire Department

• Nicholas Amicucci, 43, a firefighter for the Boonville Fire Department

• Richard Czajka, 71, a firefighter for the Boonville Fire Department

Pritchard, Pitts, Amicucci and Czajka were transported to Upstate Hospital in Syracuse, while Austin was transported to Wynn Hospital in Utica.

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Abundant Life Church sustained 'catastrophic' damage

A post on the church's Facebook page stated the pastor and another member of the congregation were inside the church along with first responders when it exploded.

The church, which was heated by propane cylinders, sustained "catastrophic" damage and was "considered destroyed" following the explosion, state police said.

After 1 p.m., firefighting crews were still hosing down what remained of the church as several members of the church watched. With no nearby hydrants, firefighters relied on their tanker trucks for water.

Drivers were advised to avoid the area, and New York State Route 12 southbound at Potato Hill Road and northbound at Kerwin Road in Boonville was closed.

State police noted that there was no indication of criminal activity in the incident and the investigation remains ongoing.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch:Explosion at upstate New York church injures 5, including firefighters

A federal judge in Texas declared a mistrial on Tuesday after a defense lawyer wore a shirt in court with images from the civil rights movement, delayinga closely watchedcase in which the Trump administration is accusing a group of protesters of being terrorists and says they are part of a "North-Texas antifa cell".

US district judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of Donald Trump, declared a mistrial only hours after jury selection began at the federal courthouse in downtown Fort Worth. He abruptly halted the proceedings after MarQuetta Clayton, an attorney for one of the defendants, had been questioning potential jurors for about 20 minutes, taking issue with a shirt she was wearing underneath a black blazer. The shirt contained images of civil rights movement leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr and Shirley Chisholm, as well as images of protests from that time.

Clayton was present in the courtroom all day with her shirt visible to Pittman, but the judge did not stop the proceedings until Clayton began questioning the approximately 75 potential jurors who had assembled.

Pittman claimed the shirt sent a political message that could bias jurors and equate the actions of the defendants in the case with that of the civil rights movement, adding that the decision to wear the shirt may have been intentional. Pittman also argued that the defense lawyers would be outraged if prosecutors were to wear shirts that showed pro-ICE or pro-Trump imagery in front of a jury.

The mistrial means the trial will start over with a completely new panel of potential jurors. The judge announced the trial would restart on Monday at 9am.

"I don't think I have any choice but to declare a mistrial," said Pittman, who also admonished Clayton for showing a poster to potential jurors that had not been submitted to the court ahead of time. "This has to be a first in the history of American jurisprudence, I would think."

Clayton isrunningfor a county judge position in Texas, where early voting started on Tuesday. She declined to comment as she left the courthouse, only saying that she would continue to represent her client in the case.

The nine defendants whose trial began on Tuesdaywere partof a group of protesters who were criminally charged after a demonstration at an ICE detention facility near Fort Worth on 4 July.

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Demonstrators set off fireworks outside in solidarity with people detained inside, and some of the protesters are accused of spraying graffiti on a guard shack and vehicles in the parking lot, slashing the tires on a government vehicle and destroying a security camera. In court papers, prosecutors described the incident as a coordinated attack, saying the protesters dressed in all black to conceal their identities and were armed. They also alleged one protester shot and wounded a police officer on the scene.

The case is the first time the government has filed terrorism charges against antifa, short for anti-fascist, which is not a defined entity but rather an umbrella of left-leaning ideologies. The Trump administration has vowed to crack down on antifa, andexperts believethe case could set a dangerous precedent for prosecutors to bring criminal charges against protesters who demonstrate against ICE.

Lawyers for the nine defendants unanimously agreed they did not think a mistrial was necessary, questioning whether jurors had even seen Clayton's shirt and saying any potential bias could be rooted out during jury selection by questioning the jurors. Shawn Smith, the lead federal prosecutor in the case, did not take a position, simply saying he had not seen a similar situation before.

Harrison Stables, 23, one of the potential jurors who was dismissed after Pittman declared a mistrial, said in an interview he did not see Clayton's shirt, nor did he think it would have influenced his decision-making in the case at all.

Another dismissed juror who declined to give his name said he recognized the imagery on the shirt as saying something about "the fight", but that it would not have biased his assessment of the case.

"I struggle to understand how this could be fair or reasonable in this judicial environment," Lydia Koza, whose wife, Autumn Hill, is one of the defendants, said in an interview across the street from the courthouse where supporters had gathered with signs, coffee and food. A cadre of family members, attorneys, journalists, observers and supporters also crammed into an overflow room in the federal courthouse to watch jury selection through a simulcast on Tuesday.

Before the mistrial, questions to the potential jurors on Tuesday offered a glimpse into themes that are likely to be key to the strategy on both sides in the case. Smith, the prosecutor, asked potential jurors about bias against ICE and Trump, among other issues. Clayton asked jurors about the difference between a riot, a noise demonstration and a protest, and whether it was ever acceptable to bring a gun to a protest.

Pittman's decision on Tuesday came after a series of pretrial rulings penalizing lawyers for the defense. In December, he ordered three defense attorneys toeach pay a $500 finefor filing aggressive motions for discovery. He also nearly blocked George Lobb, an attorney, from representing one of the defendants, saying he had not met the residency requirements to practice in the district. Lobb eventually withdrew from the federal case and Clayton replaced him.

After declaring the mistrial, Pittman gave a short speech decrying partisan division in the country, saying he was "absolutely disgusted" by it and that "we have to find a way to turn down the anger".

The Vatican will not join PresidentDonald Trump's newly formed Board of Peace, its top diplomatic official said Tuesday, signaling reluctance from the Holy See to take part in the post-war initiative.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See "will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States," the Vatican's official news outlet reported.

The Board of Peace, which was chartered in January and includes nearly 20 countries, is tasked with managing recovery efforts in the Gaza Strip after the Israel-Hamas war.

While responding to questions aboutItaly declining to join the board, Parolin said "there are points that leave us somewhat perplexed," adding that "there are some critical points that would need to find explanations."

Trump Snubs Canada By Withdrawing Country's Invite To Join 'Most Prestigious Board Of Leaders Ever'

"The important thing is that an attempt is being made to provide a response," he said. "However, for us there are certain critical issues that should be resolved."

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Parolin continued, "One concern is that, at theinternational levelit should above all be the UN that manages these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have insisted."

Pope Leo, the first U.S. pope, received an invitation to join the peace board in January.

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Trump Envoy Warns Hamas Of 'Serious Consequences' As Admin Launches Phase Two Of Gaza Plan

Leaders from 17 countries participated in the initialcharter signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, in late January, including presidents and other senior government officials from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Central and Southeast Asia.

Israel formally joined the boardlast week ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with Trump at the White House.

Several othercountries were also invitedby the White House, including Russia, Belarus, France, Germany, Vietnam, Finland, Ukraine, Ireland, Greece and China.

Trump Meets Netanyahu, Says He Wants Iran Deal But Reminds Tehran Of 'Midnight Hammer' Operation

Poland and Italy on Wednesday said they would not join.

Trump announced Sunday that board members havepledged more than $5 billionin aid for Gaza.

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The president said the funding would be formally pledged during a meeting Wednesday inWashington, D.C.

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Original article source:Vatican declines to join Trump's Gaza 'Board of Peace,' calls for UN leadership

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Su Yiming of China won the gold medal in men's slopestyle snowboarding at theWinter Olympicson Wednesday.

Milan Cortina Olympics Snowboard

Su collected his fourth career medal and his second of these Games on his 22nd birthday.

Taiga Hasegawa of Japan took silver and American rider Jake Canter claimed the bronze.

Su's first of three runs that earned him 82.41 points proved enough after no rival was able to better that score.

It was China's first gold and its seventh overall of the Milan Cortina Games. Su has won two of those.

Su, a former child actor, wongold in big airand silver in slopestyle at the Beijing 2022 Games. Last week, he tookbronze in big airalso in the Italian Alps.

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Su cried tears, apparently of emotional release, after he completed his third run when he didn't improve on his first run. He still had to watch seven more riders take their last shot at his score from the bottom of the course. But they all either fell or came up short with their scores.

The Livingo slopestyle course consists of three rail elements and three jumps. Judges score riders on their creativity and execution of tricks and their routine as a whole. Riders got three chances to perform their routines with only their best score counting.

Mark McMorris of Canada, a three-time bronze medalist, finished eighth two weeks afterbeing concussedin training.

The women's slopestyle final is later on Wednesday.

AP Winter Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

MILAN (AP) — Ami Nakai and Japanese teammate Kaori Sakamoto upstaged Alysa Liu and the rest of the "Blade Angels" from the U.S. to take the lead after theshort program in the women's figure skatingcompetition at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

APTOPIX Milan Cortina Olympics Figure Skating

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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AP Winter Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics