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Air quality alerts hoisted across in high pressure brought to a standstill by “atmospheric blocking”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:24 GMT

Chicago area humidities to rise in coming days; inland warmth and cooling lake breezes to hold through coming weekendAIR QUALITY ISSUESAir quality issues have arisen as we move into the 5th day of an atmospheric blocking pattern which slows weather movement. Lake breezes further trap pollutants, including daytime and evening ozone and particles—a 30+ degree temp spread continued between the lakeshore and inland areas. There will be 50s on the immediate shoreline and mid to upper 80s inland—temps to flirt with 90 in coming days. Humidities to creep high leading to modest isolated t-storm chances, but little chance of significant drought relief.ATMOSPHERIC BLOCKING PATTERNWe’ve entered the 5th day of an atmospheric blocking pattern which slows weather system movement. The result is the air mass is starting to get a bit “dirty” — with elevated levels of particulates and afternoon ozone creating MODERATE AIR QUALITY. Levels of pollutants are even being tagged as “UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE...

Reparations for climate change? Some think oil companies should pay

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:24 GMT

The idea that polluters should pay reparations for climate change is gaining steam among advocates. Some environmentalists and academics argue the companies or states that are most significantly contributing to the climate crisis should be made to compensate the people bearing the brunt of its impacts. Advocates have been calling for such reparations for years, especially since evidence emerged that fossil fuel companies were aware of the impact of carbon emissions. But the idea is now more practically achievable due to scientific advances, said Adrien Salazar, policy director at the nonprofit Grassroots Global Justice. He pointed to the increased sophistication of diagnostic techniques such as “attribution science, a rapidly developing field that says when this disaster happens, how much of this is attributed to the climate crisis [and] to the fact that humans have had an impact on the atmosphere." Those developments, he said, are going to “help i...

Penkse 'sure' IndyCar will investigate wheel that flew over stands during Indy 500 crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:24 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — IndyCar owner Roger Penske says he is certain series officials will investigate what led to a wheel coming loose during a crash in the Indianapolis 500, which ended up sailing over the catch fence and grandstands before landing on a parked automobile.“We haven't had a wheel come off in a long time,” Penske said. “We were very fortunate we didn't have a bad accident.”The cars are supposed to have a tether that keeps the wheel attached even in the event of a wreck. But when Felix Rosenqvist hit the wall in Turns 1 and 2 in the closing laps Sunday, and Kyle Kirkwood launched off the rear of his car into the catch fencing, the wheel went soaring over the fence and the corner of the grandstand before landing in the parking lot. Tire flies off race car, hits parked car during Indy 500 The wheel traveled about 350 yards before crushing into the front of a fan's parked Chevrolet. With a crowd of more than 300,000 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and a full grandstand in...

Gov. Abbott calls special session to address property taxes, border security; more sessions coming

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas lawmakers were adjourned for almost three hours before Gov. Greg Abbott called them back to the Capitol on Monday.Abbott called for a special session to begin at 9 p.m. Monday following the end of the 88th Texas Legislature's regular session at around 6:15 p.m. He said property taxes and border security are on the agenda for what he called "Special Session No. 1." PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Texas lawmakers adjourn without passing property tax legislation "Special Session No. 1 will focus only on cutting property taxes and cracking down on illegal human smuggling," he said in a release. "We must cut property taxes. During the regular session, we added $17.6 billion to cut property taxes. However, the legislature could not agree on how to allocate funds to accomplish this goal."In his release, he said legislation needs to be passed that lowers property taxes by "reducing the school district maximum compressed tax rate in order to provide lasting property tax relief for...

$100K donation for the Parkhurst Field development project

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:24 GMT

GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- With the first phase of construction at Parkhurst Field in Gloversville wrapping up, a large donation is coming in for the second phase of work. The Delaney Family Foundation donated $100,000 for the project to rebuild the field. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Officials said the money and other donations allowed for the construction of a 500-person grandstand as well as constructing five fields. This comes as many in the Capital Region call it a "field of dreams" due to the legends who used to play on the field in the early 1900s.The full plan consists of several phases and will cost a total of $3.5 million to finish.

Carjacking suspect in custody after pursuit in L.A. County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:24 GMT

At least one person was arrested after a pursuit of a vehicle that was believed to have been carjacked in Los Angeles County. Two suspects were leading deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in a chase that started near South Gate, continued through Maywood and ultimately ended in Vernon.Early in the pursuit, near South Gate, the suspect vehicle pulled over and the driver reportedly jumped out of the car as the person in the passenger seat moved into the driver's seat and sped away again. Footage from Sky5 showed the second driver in a slow-speed pursuit after running over a spike strip that flattened the two front tires. As the driver attempted to keep going in Vernon, he turned onto a bike path running along the L.A. River. A short time later, the suspect stopped car, exited and was taken into custody. It is unclear if the suspect that jumped out of the vehicle has been taken into custody.

40 firefighters helped put out heavy fire in Van Nuys

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:24 GMT

Forty Los Angeles firefighters knocked down a challenging fire in commercial Van Nuys on Monday. Around 6:28 p.m., fire crews responded to a heavy fire inside a one-story commercial building at 14735 West Bessemer Street that housed an upholstery shop and an auto body shop, according to an L.A. Fire Department release. Authorities say fire crews “overcame forcible entry challenges, both on the exterior and encountering additional security measures inside, to gain access for hose lines to advance, as other crews ascended ladders to the roof to provide vertical ventilation.” 40 firefighters helped to extinguish the flames in less than 30 minutes. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. No injuries have been reported. 

A’s get long-awaited clutch hit as mammoth losing streak ends

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:24 GMT

OAKLAND – Ryan Noda delivered the hit the Oakland A’s have wanted – and needed — for close to two weeks.Noda connected on a three-run home run in the fifth inning off Michael Soroka, helping lead the A’s to a desperately needed 7-2 win over the Atlanta Braves before a Coliseum crowd of 8,556 on Monday as Oakland snapped a season-long 11-game losing streak.Noda’s homer, his sixth of the season and his second in as many days, came on an 82-mph changeup from Soroka and just cleared the right field wall down the first base line. The blast was part of a four-run fifth inning for the A’s, who had scored three runs or less in each of their 11 straight losses.Pitchers and Bay Area natives Paul Blackburn and Lucas Erceg combined to allow one run and four hits over the first seven innings for Oakland (11-45). Erceg (1-0) picked up the win for his first career MLB victory.Shintaro Fujinami gave up a solo home run to former Athletics first baseman Matt Olson in the eighth inning as ...

Thousands evacuate from Nova Scotia wildfires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:24 GMT

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — Wildfires in Canada’s Atlantic coast province of Nova Scotia have caused thousands to evacuate.The Halifax Regional Municipality said late Monday that preliminary estimates indicate approximately 200 homes or structures have been damaged, based on initial visual inspections by first responders.Halifax deputy fire Chief David Meldrum said an estimated 14,000 people were told to flee their homes, most of which are about a 30-minute drive northwest of downtown Halifax. As firefighters spent a second day battling a wildfire in suburban Halifax, some residents from evacuated subdivisions received the grim news that their homes were among those destroyed by the wind-driven flames. Katherine Tarateski said police told her her home was burned down and they couldn’t find her pets. Tarateski said she was with her husband Nick and their young daughter Mia at a family gathering on Sunday when they heard about the approaching fires and rushed back to their home ...

Blaney wins Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte to end winless drought

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:24 GMT

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Jumping into the crowd to celebrate a big race victory appears to have become a Team Penske thing.Ryan Blaney held off William Byron to win the rescheduled Coca-Cola 600 on Monday at Charlotte Speedway, giving team owner Roger Penske a sweep of the Memorial Day weekend’s top races in the United States.Josef Newgarden won a record-extending 19th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday for Team Penske. Like Newgarden, Blaney jumped out of his car and climbed into the crowd to celebrate the win with fans.“I only did it because Josef did it,” Blaney said. “I was pretty fired up. I don’t get that excited very often, but I was super pumped. I loved how Josef did it Sunday. … I said, ‘I am going to go in the stands like Josef did and have some human contact.’”Blaney compared it to jumping into a mosh pit at a metal concert.A few moments later, he tried to hold back tears with the weight of 59-race winless streak lifted from his shoulders.“You start to get to...