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On Monday, March 23, an explosion at the Valero Port Arthur Refinery was reported, according to a post on theCity of Port Arthur's Facebook.Port Arthur, Texas, is a city located around 90 miles east of Houston.

"Nobody's hurt, thank God for that," said Port Arthur Mayor Charlotte Moses during aFacebook livestream.

Video shows moments after the explosion, when smoke plumes billowed into the sky. The cause of the explosion has not been made public yet.

USA TODAY has contacted Valero Energy and the Port Arthur Fire Department for more information.

Watch the aftermath of the explosion

A man makes his way through debris at the site of overnight Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 6, 2026.
Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon on March 6, as Israel vowed to escalate to a new phase in the Middle East war that has spiralled rapidly throughout the region and beyond.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Displaced residents who fled Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs sit along the corniche waterfront in the Lebanese capital on March 6, 2026. Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon on March 6, as Israel vowed to escalate to a new phase in the Middle East war that has spiraled rapidly throughout the region and beyond.

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Israel air strikes pound Beirut as Middle East attacks escalate

A man makes his way through debris at the site of overnight Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 6, 2026.Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon on March 6, as Israel vowed to escalate to a new phase in theMiddle East warthat has spiralled rapidly throughout the region and beyond.

Residents asked to shelter in place

Firefighters were on the scene, working to extinguish the resulting fire, when Moses made her announcement during a live stream.

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Several areas were placed under a shelter-in-place order after the explosion to ensure public safety until emergency personnel gave the "all clear."

More news:Multiple people injured after floor collapsed at NH wedding venue

Explosion comes as gas prices are up

The explosion comes as fuel costs have gone up because of theUnited States and Israel's war with Iran, according to USA TODAY's previous reporting.

As of Tuesday, March 24, the national average was$3.97 a gallon, according to AAA. Just a month ago, the average was $2.95.

The refinery processed about 435,000 barrels of oil each day and turned heavy sour crude oil into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, according to Valero's website.

Julia Gomez is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers popular toys, scientific studies, natural disasters, holidays, and trending news. Connect with her onLinkedIn,X,Instagram, andTikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Smoke seen after Valero oil refinery explosion in Port Arthur, Texas

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Coyle's release in a statement.

The Afghan Taliban government said earlier on on March 24 that it had decided to release Coyle in response to a request from his mother.

"The foreign minister said that after a letter from the detainee's family ... theSupreme Court... deemed the period of his detention sufficient and decided to release him," the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.

Coyle, a resident of Pueblo, Colorado, was detained in January 2025 while in Afghanistan conducting research on Afghan languages,according to the Pueblo Chieftain, part of the USA TODAY Network.

More:Pueblo man's family fighting to bring him home from Taliban captivity

Afghanistan: America's longest war

"While this is a positive step by the Taliban, more work needs to be done," Rubio said. "The Taliban must end their practice of hostage diplomacy."

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The State Department accused the Taliban of using "terrorist tactics to seek policy concessions" andofficially declaredAfghanistan a state sponsor of wrongful detention on March 9.

The U.S. government is seeking the release of at least two other Americans it has designated as wrongfully detained in Afghanistan: freelance author Paul Overby, who has been missing since May of 2014; and Mahmood Habibi,an Afghan-born U.S. citizenandthe former director of civil aviationin Afghanistan. The U.S. says Habibi was arrested by the Taliban in August of 2022 while working for a Kabul-based telecommunications company.

In a statement, Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd, who represents Pueblo, thanked Rubio and PresidentDonald Trumpfor their work on Coyle's case. "My office will continue working to bring Dennis home safely to his family. No American should be unjustly detained abroad," Hurdwrote on X.

Rubio said in his statement that the United Arab Emirates helped to secure Coyle's release. Qatar has also advocated for the release of Americans in Afghanistan, the U.S. secretary of state said.

According to the State Department, more than 100 wrongfully detained Americans have been released in Trump's second term.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Dennis Coyle released after being held by Taliban in Afghanistan

The recall,announcedlast week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), affects some 2022 to 2025 Lincoln Navigator vehicles, 2024 to 2025 Lincoln Nautilus vehicles, 2025 Lincoln Aviator vehicles and 2025 Explorer vehicles.

NHTSA said image processing software in the vehicles could unexpectedly reset, leading to a loss of the rearview camera image and advanced driver assistance (ADAS) features, which include pre-collision assist, lane-keeping assist and blind-spot monitoring. This can reduce the driver's ability to detect hazards and increase the risk of a crash, according to the recall report.

In the event of a reset, NHTSA said the vehicles' display panel may show warnings such as "Front Camera Fault," "Pre-Collision Assist Not Available" or "Lane-Keeping System Off." The blind-spot indicators may also illuminate, the agency said.

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Impacted drivers can bring their vehicles to a dealership for a free update. Ford will also be issuing an over-the-air (OTA) update free of charge, NHTSA said.

The car maker is planning to mail notification letters to affected owners on March 30. The recall number is 26V165.

Trump claims talks with Iran went "perfectly" and says Tehran wants to make a deal

Iran inflicts heavy damage on Israel in latest missile strikes

Air Canada Express plane collides with ground vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport

Perhaps it's a one-off appearance to give Woods a taste of competition and juice TGL's ratings. Perhaps it's a foreshadowing of something more, with the Masters set to start in two weeks.

"I've been trying to come back. But it just hasn't worked out that way," Woods said last week. "I've had a bad run of injuries last year. I think it's been a year and a few days since I blew out my Achilles. And so then I've had two back operations. So it's been a little rough go."

Woods hasn't played a competitive round of golf on the PGA Tour since the 2024 Open Championship some 20 months ago, and hasn't played in TGL in more than a year. He's undergone an array of surgeries in his career, most recently on his back in October, that have slowed his return to outdoor golf.

Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season

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"Disc replacement is not a lot of fun," Woods added. "The body doesn't quite heal like it was when I was 24. Doesn't quite bounce back. So I have good days when I can pretty much do anything, and other days where it's hard to just to move around."

With all due respect to the TGL, the golf world's focus is on the Masters, which begins two weeks from Thursday. Woods, a five-time Masters champion, hasn't said whether he's competing at Augusta National yet. The Masters remains the only major in which Woods has even made a cut since 2020.

Outdoor golf will obviously pose far more of a challenge to Woods than TGL, where he only needs to walk a few yards from the tee box and simulator screen to the real-world green on every hole. The hills of Augusta National in particular are likely to pose a challenge to Woods' repaired back and Achilles, should he opt to play.

In terms of the TGL, Woods is coming in at the last possible moment. Jupiter Links is down one match in the best-of-three championship series against L.A. Golf Club. The Jupiter Links Golf Club team includes Woods, Max Homa and Tom Kim; Woods will take Kevin Kisner's spot. LAGC's team includes Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala.

Woods' return begins at 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. If Jupiter Links wins that match, the final winner-take-all match will start at 9 p.m. For golf fans, Woods just made it a must-watch event.

APTOPIX LaGuardia Crash

With the smell of fuel in the air and debris dangling from the obliterated cockpit, passengers tore open emergency exit doors, jumped off the plane's wings and then turned around to catch others coming up behind them, some bleeding or with head wounds.

"Strangely enough, I wasn't scared or panicked. On the contrary, I think most of us were pretty aware of what happened," said passenger Clément Lelièvre. "So we all went outside; we got other people out."

About 40 passengers and crew members on the regional jet from Montreal, and two people from the fire truck, were taken to hospitals. Some suffered serious injuries, but by Monday morning, most had been released, and others walked away without needing treatment.

As investigators continued delving Tuesday into what caused thecatastrophic wreck, stories of survival also emerged — including that of the flight attendant, found injured but alive outside the aircraft.

Lelièvre credited the pilots' "incredible reflexes" with saving lives. The pilots braked extremely hard just as the plane touched down, he said.

The collision late Sunday came after the fire truck was given permission to check on another plane that had aborted its takeoff after reporting an odor on board and started crossing the tarmac. An air traffic controller can be heard on airport communications frantically telling the fire truck to stop.

Roughly 20 minutes later, the controller appears to blame himself. "We were dealing with an emergency earlier," the controller said. "I messed up."

A key for investigators will be examining coordination of the airport's air traffic and ground traffic at the time of the crash, said Mary Schiavo, a former Department of Transportation Inspector General.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said LaGuardia is "well-staffed" but faces a shortage of controllers.

The runway where the crash happened is likely to be closed for "days" during the investigation, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, said at a news conference Monday. Investigators need to sift through a lot of debris, she said.

Authorities recovered the plane's cockpit and flight data recorders by cutting a hole in the aircraft's roof and then drove them to the NTSB lab in Washington for analysis, Homendy said.

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It was too early in the investigation to answer many questions about the accident, but more information was expected to be released Tuesday, she said.

The crash shut down LaGuardia — the New York region's third busiest hub — during what was already amessy time at U.S. airportsbecause of a partial government shutdown.

Flights resumed Monday afternoon on one runway and with lengthy delays. The shutdown caused some disruptions at other airports, too, especially for Delta, which has a major presence at LaGuardia.

There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada, according to the airline. The flight originated at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. Canada has also sent a team of investigators.

The pilot and copilot who died in the first fatal crash at LaGuardia in 34 years were both based out of Canada, said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.

Jeannette Gagnier, the great aunt of one of the pilots, identified him as Antoine Forest, and said he always wanted to be a pilot.

Air traffic controllers are not impacted by the partial government shutdown that has causedlong delays at airport security checkpointsin recent days. They have been affected by past shutdowns.

The FAA has been chronically short on air traffic controllers for years.

LaGuardia is one of 35 major U.S. airports with an advanced surface surveillance system designed to help keep track of planes and vehicles crossing the airport.

An alarm heard in the background of the air traffic control audio was likely from the system and would have alerted the tower to the potential collision, Former FAA air traffic control chief Mike McCormick said.

FAA statisticsshow there were 1,636 runway incursions last year.

Associated Press reporters Michael R. Sisak, Anthony Izaguirre and Mae Anderson in New York; Rob Gillies in Toronto; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.