The Alaska health department reported 445 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with no new deaths. All but three of the new cases were found among Alaskan residents. With a case rate of 369.5 per 100,000 residents, according to the Centers for Disease Control, Alaska is currently ninth-highest in the nation in new COVID-19 cases per capita over the last week, a category it once led. Michigan leads the nation with 589.3 cases per 100,000 over the previous seven days. An additional 75 positive cases have been added to the accumulative total since the pandemic began, giving Alaska 142,203 total cases. The state reported no additional deaths on Thursday. Since the pandemic began in Alaska in March 2020, the state has recorded a total of 812 Alaska residents whose deaths have been COVID-19 related, as well as 30 nonresidents.  

It took 58 firefighters to battle an early morning blaze Thursday at an outdoor power equipment dealership north of Ocala, according to Marion County Fire Rescue. Officials said a passerby called 911, and crews were dispatched to the fire at 3:54 a.m. in the 7000 block of U.S. Highway 441. The first crews arrived at 4:01 a.m. and found heavy smoke coming from the roof of the burning structure, forcing an entry to find heavy flames in the attic, according to the fire rescue. Officials said they sent additional fire engines and five water tankers to the scene as firefighters gained further entry to the building. Crews evacuated when interior conditions deteriorated and after officials said they shifted to defensive operations, the fire was called under control at 5:20 a.m. The fire is still under investigation and a cause has not yet been determined.  

In April, a Tesla Model S crashed in The Woodlands, Texas, after the speeding driver failed to negotiate a turn and jumped the curb. The car then hit a drainage culvert and a raised maintenance hole before being stopped by a tree, according to an investigation report by the National Transportation Safety Board. At that point, the Tesla promptly burst into flames. Firefighters needed four hours to douse the flames, in part because the battery kept reigniting. When the blaze was finally over, about 30,000 gallons of water had been poured on it—what the department normally uses in a month. Electric vehicle fires aren't common, but they're different enough from fossil-fuel-vehicle fires that firefighters need new approaches. One firm in Europe has developed a shipping container-like box in which a blazing EV can be deposited and blasted with water from all sides. But it requires a dedicated truck, making it a costly addition for a fire department.  

VIDEO: Human sex trafficking might conjure up imaginary stories of women being smuggled from foreign countries, but in fact, it is a crime that occurs in our own backyard. The 11 News I-Team looks at how Baltimore City Fire Department employees are being trained to identify victims when they respond to calls. At Hon's Honey in Curtis Bay, the making of honey-based and other products is a business enterprise. It is also part of the effort to reach and heal women whose lives have seen abuse, poverty and human trafficking. Sex trafficking is more common than one might think. "Oh my gosh, so widespread. It's definitely in between states and Curtis Bay is a hotbed for trafficking because it is an industrial area, it is a bit of a truck stop. So, a lot of trucks go through here that travel to Pennsylvania and Delaware and D.C. and so it is easy to traffic women from this area, to our upper northern states," Amavy Peeples, project manager of The Well, said.  

PHOTOS: An early morning fraternity fire at Nebraska Wesleyan University killed one person and critically injured three others fifteen years ago today. Lincoln firefighters said the blaze at the three-story Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house started about 4 a.m. The 78-year-old house, the second-oldest building on the campus in north-central Lincoln, was owned by the fraternity and was on the National Register of Historic Places. One student, a 19-year-old sophomore from Ord, died from smoke inhalation, and three other fraternity members were critically injured. The blaze occurred on the second night of "activation," or initiation ceremonies, for 16 new fraternity members. Thirty-nine people were in the house when the fire was reported. Firefighters broke down at least three bedroom doors to reach some fraternity members.  

VIDEO: Anyone who has seen a local firefighter or first responder in action may have noticed some of them donning custom-made leather gear, such as suspenders or radio straps with their names or a flag on them. Much of that work is done by a New Jersey firefighter who turned his hobby into a business. "I needed a creative outlet," says Rob Meyer, of Ridgeway Leather Works. Seven years ago, Meyer, a Monroe Township firefighter, decided that he needed a hobby. He started watching YouTube videos on leatherworking so that he could make a dog collar for his beloved Doberman, Jager. He then started making leather belts, suspenders and radio straps to use on his job as a firefighter. "All of a sudden I had friends of friends asking me for something and it turned into a viable business," he says.