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Crews balance firefighting and protecting a fragile ecosystem in containing California-Nevada blaze

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:05 GMT

MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters battling a massive blaze in California’s Mojave National Preserve on Tuesday faced the difficult task of stopping the fire without bulldozers and other heavy equipment that could damage the region’s famous Joshua trees and other sensitive plants.Crews are using a “light hand on the land” approach to fight the York Fire, California’s largest wildfire so far this year. The goal is to reduce the impact of firefighting on the federally-protected landscape.“You bring a bunch of bulldozers in there, you may or may not stop the fire, but you’ll put a scar on the landscape that’ll last generations,” said Tim Chavez, an assistant chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.The blaze erupted on Friday near the remote Caruthers Canyon area of the vast wildland preserve, crossed the state line into Nevada on Sunday and sent smoke further east into the Las Vegas Valley. Flames scorched 125 square miles (323.7 squa...

A scorching winter: Argentina’s capital breaks record for hottest start to August in 117 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:05 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — It was an unusually scorching winter day in Buenos Aires Tuesday, with thermometers in Argentina’s capital crossing the 30-degree Celsius mark (86 degrees Fahrenheit), the hottest start of August in 117 years of records, according to the country’s National Meteorological Service.Temperatures in the South American country’s capital reached 30.1 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, beating the previous record for the first day of August by more than five degrees. The previous hottest Aug. 1 was set in 1942, when temperatures reached 24.6 degrees Celsius (76.3 degrees Fahrenheit).Tuesday also marked the first time since 2014 that the 30-degree mark was crossed during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter. The previous time that happened was on Aug. 21, 2014, according to the National Meteorological Service.“We are experiencing very warm conditions in the central and northern regions of Argentina,” said Cindy Fernández, a spokesperson for the Nat...

Minnesota trooper fatally shot man fleeing questioning for alleged restraining order violation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:05 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The head of the Minnesota State Patrol on Tuesday said troopers tried to take a man into custody for allegedly violating a restraining order before fatally shooting him as he fled by car. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty on Tuesday identified the driver as 33-year-old Ricky Cobb II, who was Black.Troopers pulled Cobb over for a traffic stop early Monday on Interstate 94. Body and dash cam videos released Tuesday by the Minnesota State Patrol appear to show the taillights on the Ford Fusion he was driving were out. Troopers who checked his license found what Patrol Chief Col. Matt Langer called a “pick up and hold” on Cobb, meaning the nearby Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office suspected he committed a felony violation of a protection order and wanted to question him.Langer said troopers checked to make sure Ramsey County deputies still wanted Cobb in custody, then tried to get him to leave the car. When troopers opened his doors and attempted to pull him ou...

Flights cancelled for 2 hours at South Carolina airport due to helicopter crash; pilot survives

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:05 GMT

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Flights at Charleston International Airport were suspended for around two hours on Tuesday after a South Carolina sheriff’s department helicopter crashed, leaving the pilot with non-life threatening injuries, officials said. Citing an “ongoing incident,” the airport announced it was halting flights just after 3:45 p.m. via a post on social media. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office posted that a helicopter had crashed and that crews were on the scene. Less than two hours later, the airport sent an update saying one of its runways had reopened and that flights were resuming.Charleston County Aviation Authority Executive Director Elliott Summey told WCIV-TV that the helicopter’s pilot anticipated the crash and maneuvered the aircraft to the middle of the airfield before the helicopter went down. Summey told the television station that the helicopter is “in shambles.” The pilot was the only person on the helicopter and their injuries were not considered...

Appeals court casts doubt on Biden administration rule to curb use of handgun stabilizing braces

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:05 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Biden administration rule requiring registration of stabilizing braces on handguns is unlikely to survive a legal challenge, a federal appeals court panel said Tuesday as it extended an order allowing a gun dealer and others challenging the regulation to keep owning, buying and selling the devices without registering them.The ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans sends the case back to a federal judge in Texas who will consider whether to block enforcement nationwide. Stabilizing braces attach to the back of a handgun, lengthening it while strapping to the arm. Advocates say the attachments make handguns safer and more accurate. Gun safety groups say they can be used to, in effect, lengthen a concealable handgun, making it more lethal. They point to mass shootings in which such braces were used. While gun control advocates back the registration requirement as a needed curb on use of the braces, two Texas gun owners, a gun rights group ...

Alberta no longer pursuing plan to dump RCMP for provincial police force

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:05 GMT

EDMONTON — The Alberta government is no longer formally pursuing its plan to dump the RCMP in favour of a new provincial police force.However, Justice Minister Mickey Amery said Tuesday the idea is not dead and his department will continue to consult with Albertans on where they want to go with policing.Earlier Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith delivered her mandate letter to Amery, outlining his goals and priorities as the new justice minister.A day earlier, she sent a mandate letter to the other minister in charge of law-and-order issues, Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis.Neither letter directed them to create a provincial police force, a move that would replace the Mounties in communities that don’t already have their own officers.Alberta’s two major cities — Edmonton and Calgary — and other municipalities already have their own police forces.Instead, Smith directs Ellis to continue his work “with local communities to support them with the community policing options they believe wi...

Dylan Cease wasn't traded, but another White Sox pitcher was at the deadline

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:05 GMT

CHICAGO — While the team didn't give up arguably its best young pitcher, they did trade another as the Major League Baseball trade deadline arrived at 5 p.m. central time on Tuesday.General manager Rick Hahn decided to hold onto starter Dylan Cease, a Cy Young Award finalist in 2022, despite interest from contending teams. But he has reportedly traded another reliever away, making it the fourth trade before the deadline in which a pitcher was sent by the White Sox to another team. The White Sox announce the Keynan Middleton deal with the Yankees as they get minor league right-handed pitcher Juan Carela from New York..He’s was the 29th ranked prospect in the New York system and has pitched with Class A Hudson Valley in 2023..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/vfDVRQxX71— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) August 1, 2023The team sent reliever Keynan Middleton to the New York Yankees as they look to make a run at the postseason in the competitive American League East division. In exchange, the W...

Skilling: Cloudy, hazy tonight into Wednesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:05 GMT

August opens warm and moderately humid. O'Hare's official high temp is likely to top out at 86 with mid 60-deg dew points. A smoky haze is present confirming we're still on the receiving end of smoke off Canadian and Western U.S. wildfires.  Fires in Canada have already burned an area the size of the state of Pennsylvania---a record there!A lake breeze is blowing---yet the warmer lake waters are having a much more restrained cooling effect. The Chicago lakeshore water temp is 72-deg and shoreline air temps hover in the upper 70s to around 80-deg at mid-afternoon from Kenosha to Waukegan, Lake Forest, the Chicago lakeshore south to Calumet Harbor, East Chicago and Burns Harbor in Indiana all the way to Michigan City.  By comparison, the warmest inland temps have reached 88 at Lombard and 86 at Oswego.August is Chicago's 2nd warmest month—also the city's 2nd wettest, surpassed only by May.  Normal temps amid days with a slowly decreasing period of possible sun...

CPS to prioritize some student riders amid bus driver shortage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:05 GMT

CHICAGO — Despite the start of the new year being just a few weeks away, Chicago Public Schools faces a significant bus driving shortage, impacting students and families. The issue is a trickle effect from the nationwide bus driver shortage that has been going on since the pandemic. In response, Charles Mayfield, chief operating officer for CPS, said the district is prioritizing rides for students for the first day of school."In order to route all students, it takes about 1,300 yellow bus drivers to do so. In this case, we’re at about half of the structure," Mayfield said. CPS center opens program for newly arrived migrant children Prioritized students include:Students with diverse learning needs  Students in temporary living situations  General education students who attend the same school as a diverse learner or sibling  In a letter sent to families Monday, the school district laid out options for the general education population and students in magnet school...

Trump has been indicted for a 3rd time. Here's where all the investigations stand

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:05 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has now been indicted for the third time, with the former president being charged Tuesday in Washington over his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.The federal investigation is the latest criminal case for Trump as he runs for the White House in 2024.Special counsel Jack Smith, who indicted Trump in the election case, has also charged Trump in federal court with the illegal retention of top secret documents. In New York, Trump faces criminal charges in a hush money case and a civil trial over his business practices. And in Georgia, a county district attorney is expected to announce charging decisions in August over efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. Majority of Americans believe Trump has done ‘something illegal’: poll Trump, a Republican, has denied any wrongdoing and says he is being targeted by Democrats trying to keep him from reclaiming the presidency.Here’s a look at some of the oth...