VIDEO/PHOTOS: A doglike robot that recently drew notice in the state Capitol and on social media is being tested to spook wildlife at Fairbanks International Airport while disguised as a coyote or fox, a state agency said. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities on Friday posted a short video on Instagram of the robo-dog. The agency named it Aurora, calling it the department's "new hire." The department explained in a caption that the robot would be based out of the Fairbanks airport where it would "enhance & augment airport safety and operations." In the video, a headless, insect-like robot roughly the size of a large dog with a colorful exterior scrambles over rocks, climbs stairs and appears to dance, flashing green lights.  

Minneapolis crews are battling a fire at a vacant apartment building early Thursday morning. The fire started just before midnight at the corner of Fifth Avenue South and 19th Street, just south of downtown. Firefighters say flames were burning from the top floor of the boarded-up building. Crews tried to put out the fire from inside, but they had to get out when the top floor started to collapse. As of 5:45 a.m., crews are still battling the blaze. Minneapolis Deputy Fire Chief Staffan Swanson believes squatters likely sparked the fire. Officials said several boards that were supposed to cover first-floor windows had been tampered with or removed. "When we got here, and got the doors open, a lot of squatters came pouring out, about 15 to 20," explained Swanson.  

PHOTOS: Larry Lechmanski opened the door and there the four beauties posed, shining, immaculate, waiting for their next public event. Four Shelter Island Fire Department vehicles, ranging in years from 1929 to 1964, were right at home in the Cobbetts Lane Firehouse, the brick structure built into the side of the hill and known as the Potato House, from the time it was used to store harvested potatoes, once a profitable cash crop for the Island. It's fitting the antique trucks live in the Potato House, because they contain within their metal, rubber and glass, important eras in the history of the Department. The beautifully restored and maintained vehicles, polished and gleaming, aligned on either side of a middle aisle of the concrete floor — with Marine 10, one of the Department's fire boats at the rear — are a 1964 Ford "Class A" pumper (meaning it is certified to fight fires), a 1957 Ford Class A pumper, a diminutive 1929 Chevrolet, and a 1931 Mack.  

Thursday marks one year since the massive warehouse fire in West Easton. We'd be hard pressed to find someone in the Easton area who doesn't remember this day last year. You either were far enough away to just see the smoke, or you were close enough where you could smell it. Some had soot and ash falling on your cars and homes. The warehouse on Lehigh Drive went up in flames, knocking out power to roughly 7,000 people and requiring the help of agencies from all across our region. "The house shook, the windows shook," nearby resident Diane Smereczynsky told our 69 News crew covering the fire last year. "Within minutes, we heard the sirens and all the companies coming down the street."  

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a new rule on Tuesday requiring two-person crews on railroads in a move to bolster safety as rail regulation has come into the spotlight after the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment last year. "This is a good day for the safety of rail workers, rail passengers and every American who lives near a rail line all across this country because America's rails are safer today than they were yesterday," Buttigieg said at a news conference on Tuesday. The Federal Railroad Administration's provision establishes a minimum crew size for all railroads, including freight, passenger, and commuter trains, requiring at least two crew members. Buttigieg called a second crew member "vital" to train safety operations, like handling track switches and assisting in emergencies. Before the rule, he said a railroad could unilaterally decide to employ a one-person crew without checking in with the Transportation Department.