1Casino closes: GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump opened the Trump Taj Mahal casino 26 years ago, calling it “the eighth wonder of the world.” But his friend and fellow billionaire Carl Icahn closed it Monday, making it the fifth casualty of the casino crisis in Atlantic City, N.J. The Taj Mahal shuttered its doors amid a strike by union members. Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union went on strike July 1, after it could not agree with Icahn on a new contract to restore health insurance and pension benefits that were terminated two years ago in Bankruptcy Court. Icahn decided to close the casino, saying it lacked a “path to profitability.”
2Deadly crash: Communities in central Vermont are mourning the loss of five high school students who were killed when a pickup truck speeding in the wrong direction on an interstate highway slammed into their car, sending it up in flames. The governor ordered flags to fly at half-staff for the group, four of whom attended Harwood Union High School in Moretown. They were Mary Harris, 16, of Moretown; Cyrus Zschau, 16, of Moretown; Liam Hale, 16, of Fayston; Janie Cozzi, 15, of Fayston; and Eli Brookens, 16, of Waterbury. State police say Steven Bourgoin, 36, was driving the pickup late Saturday when he crashed into the students’ car. Bourgoin is hospitalized in critical condition.
3Station reopens: Rail service resumed Monday at a transit station in Hoboken, N.J., that was damaged Sept. 29 when a train traveling more than twice the speed limit crashed, killing a woman on the platform and injuring more than 100 other people. Eight of the 17 tracks at Hoboken Terminal reopened, according to New Jersey Transit. Tracks 10 to 17 reopened, while tracks 1 to 9 will remain out of service as repair work continues in that section of the busy station, where commuters connect with other trains and with ferries heading into New York City.
4Retirement home fire: Firefighters pulled 15 people from balconies and evacuated a total of 70 people after a fire broke out Sunday at an Orange County retirement home. Fire officials are investigating the cause of the blaze at the Palmyra in Orange. Some of those rescued from balconies were treated for smoke inhalation.
5Landslide lawsuits: Survivors and family members of people who died in a huge 2014 landslide north of Seattle have reached a $10 million settlement with a timber company that logged an area above the site of the collapse. The tentative deal with Grandy Lake Forest Associates timber company was announced Monday by Corrie Yackulic, an attorney representing the families. The company didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment. The lawsuit was filed following the devastating Oso landslide, which wiped out a rural neighborhood and killed 43 people. Plaintiffs alleged that the state, Snohomish County and Grandy Lake have liability for worsening damage from the slide or failing to warn about the danger in the area. On Sunday, attorneys announced a $50 million settlement with the state of Washington.
Chronicle News Services