INFRASTRUCTURE COLLAPSE: Metro-North Train Crashed Into Two Cars In Valhalla, New York - Explodes And Catches Fire; Westchester Hospital Preparing For "Mass Casualty Situation"; 7 People Dead, Multiple Injuries! [PHOTOS + VIDEO]

February 3, 2015 - NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - At least seven deaths and numerous injuries have been reported after a Metro-North train crashed into a car in Valhalla, New York, and caught fire on Tuesday.

At least 12 people have been injured in the accident so far, according to The Journal News. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed that seven people have been killed, and authorities said at the time that they were responding to a "mass casualty" situation. Between 750 - 800 people were on the train at the time of the crash, WABC reported, and NBC News stated that it was "packed with commuters."

The crash occured around 6:30 pm Tuesday evening, when it hit a vehicle at the Commerce Street crossing and dragged the car for about 150 yards. The Journal News stated that the train struck two cars, both of which caught on fire. The train itself also caught on fire.

On Twitter, reporter Khurram Saeed said that the fatalities included the driver of one of the vehicles, a woman whose SUV had been stuck on the tracks.

Metro-North spokesman Aaron Donovan said that passengers were evacuated through the train's rear doors.

In one case, a Twitter user noted that passengers opened an emergency door themselves and jumped out onto the tracks.


WATCH: Metro-North train explodes after hitting cars in Valhalla, NY.

The Harlem Line, which the train was running on, has been temporarily suspended from North White Plains to Pleasantville.

Multiple police departments and transportation agencies responded to the situation, as well as several fire departments. - RT.

CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS & NEW WORLD DISORDER: Societal Collapse And Civilizations Unraveling - Three Soldiers Attacked Outside Jewish Center In Nice, France!

Security Police Forces cordon off the area where three soldiers, patrolling outside a Jewish Community Center as part of the country's Vigipirate security
measures, were attacked by a man with a bladed weapon, on February 3, 2015 in downtown Nice, southeastern France. (AFP Photo/Valery Hache)

February 3, 2015 - NICE, FRANCE - At least two soldiers guarding a Jewish community center have been wounded by a knife-wielding attacker in Nice, in southern France, police say. The country has suffered a spate of hate crimes in recent months.

AP reported that the attacked pulled out a 20 cm blade, and struck one of the guards on the chin. As two others tried to interfere, he swiped at them, hitting one on the forearm, and another on the cheek. None of the injuries are thought to be life-threatening.

The suspected attacked then attempted to flee by foot, but was quickly stopped and detained. Mayor Christian Estrosi told local television that an ID card with the name Moussa Coulibaly, a common West African surname, had been found on him, and said that a search has been started for potential accomplices.

An unnamed official said that Coulibaly was aged about 30, and had a past record of theft and violent crime.

Estrosi immediately took to Twitter to condemn the attacks, and demand a “heavy punishment” against the perpetrator.

Some 10,000 extra troops and police have been assigned to potential extremist targets, following the Islamist attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo last month. More than 20 people, including the perpetrators, perished in the initial assault, and subsequent crimes, as the attackers attempted to get away.

In what may be a coincidence, one of the gunmen, who killed four people in a kosher store in Paris, before being shot by the police, also bore the same surname as the suspected Nice attacker. Amedy Coulibaly pledged his loyalty to the Islamic State in a video recorded prior to his death.

The Nice attack came on the same day as French authorities arrested 8 suspected Islamic State recruiters in Paris and Lyon. Interior minister Barnard Cazeneuve said on Tuesday that 161 anti-terrorist investigations are in progress, with 547 people identified as parts of terror networks, though many recent attacks in the West have come from so-called "lone wolves" - radicalized individuals, who plan and carry out the attacks without help from a terrorist cell. - RT.

INFRASTRUCTURE COLLAPSE: Bus, Truck And Tractor Crash In Southern Israel - Eight People Killed, 24 Others Injured!

Aerial image of today's accident.

February 3, 2015 - ISRAEL - Eight people were killed and 24 others injured as a bus full of passengers, a truck and a tractor crashed in southern Israel, emergency services said.

The accident happened near Lehavim junction in the Negev desert shortly before 2:30 pm local time.

According to Yehuda Shushan, southern district director at Magen David Adom (MDA) rescue services, eight people, all females, were killed in the crash.

Shushan said 21 bus passengers were also slightly hurt, with two suffering moderate injuries, while one was badly injured.

Witnesses told Israeli Channel 2 that a tractor, being transported by the truck, came loose and toppled onto the bus.

“Based on the reports we are getting, there are no survivors on the bus. I say this advisedly since we are not sure, but this is what I know from reports from the scene,” an official from the Magen David Adom rescue services said.

According to the MDA, it was a public bus, with the killed and injured in the crash being local residents.

The eight people killed in the crash were Bedouin residents of the town of Rahat, Talal al-Karinawi, Rahat mayor, said.

The people were on their way home from Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque when the accident happened, he added.

“These are senior citizens, not children, they have families,” al-Karinawi said, as cited by the Times of Israel.

Some of the injured were in a critical condition. They received lifesaving treatment at the scene or were taken to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Zaki Helle, MDA spokesman, said.

In October 2014, there was another large road accident near Lahavim Junction, with one person dying and several others injured when two trucks and 10 private cars collided. - RT.

ICE AGE NOW: Global Cooling Trend Continues Relentlessly - Boston Sets 7-Day Snowfall Record With 34.2 Inches, Highest Amount In 19 YEARS!

© Getty Images

February 3, 2015 - MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES - If it's any consolation, we're part of a history-making period in Boston weather. As of 1 p.m. Monday, Boston set a new record for snowiest seven-day period in the city's history with 34.2 inches. The old record of 31.2 inches was set 19 years ago in January, 1996.

Snowfall totals to the north of the Massachusetts Turnpike may reach 15 to 18 inches, with up to 20 inches in some areas. Schools in Boston were closed for Tuesday.

"The safety of our children and families in Boston is always our top priority. Our crews will be working hard to clear all streets and schools tonight and tomorrow as we recover from this ongoing winter storm," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said.

Tony Troc, of Whitman, Mass., was among those looking on the bright side of shoveling snow, and sees it as a pretty good workout.

"It doesn't bother me at all," said Troc, of Whitman, who works in a supermarket warehouse and spoke Monday after clearing about eight inches of snow from his driveway. "If I didn't like it, I'd be in Florida."

Just a week after a blockbuster blizzard dropped up to three feet of snow in some part of Massachusetts, another winter storm is expected to bring another foot of snow or more.

Wind-blown snow started falling in the early hours of Monday and continued for the day.

By noon, Lunenburg had more than 13 inches and Westminster nearly a foot, according to unofficial snowfall totals reported by the National Weather Service. Weymouth and Lynn had 10 inches.

Lunenburg was one of a handful of Massachusetts communities that got three feet of snow during the last storm. In Weymouth, a woman died after she was struck by a plow, David Traub, a spokesman for the Norfolk district attorney's office said. Troc, after clearing his own driveway, moved on to a neighbor's house.

"I live for this stuff," said Troc, who enjoys the workout shoveling provides. "When I'm in Vegas or California on vacation, I remember this. By going through the bad, you enjoy the good more," he said.

Many cities and towns gave kids another snow day out of school, and banned on-street parking. But Gov. Charlie Baker did not order a ban on non-essential travel, as he had done in the prior storm. Many people tried to make it to work, jamming area highways with slow-moving traffic. State police were reporting numerous spinouts.

The MBTA was operating, although with delays, while buses were being rerouted. Dozens of flights in and out of Logan International Airport were canceled, although two runways remained open.

"The airlines have thinned out their schedules and we ran less than 50 percent this morning," Ed Freni, aviation director at the Massachusetts Port Authority said. "They expect to do somewhat the same this afternoon, so there will be more than 500 flights canceled."

Freni also talked about charter flights bringing fans back from the Super Bowl. One charter landed Monday morning and several others are expected later in the day. He said none should have problems getting into Boston.

The state Transportation Department had deployed about 3,300 pieces of equipment as of 9 a.m.

Walsh, in addition to dealing with the storm, was planning a celebration for the New England Patriots. He said a parade would be held Tuesday, starting at the Prudential Center and ending at City Hall.

The good news was that power outages were minimal, and no coastal flooding was expected, according to the state Emergency Management Agency. The state's two major utilities were reporting about 1,500 outages combined Monday morning, out of almost 2.5 million customers. - WCVB.