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California panel votes to increase storage capacity at site of worst US methane leak despite risks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:31 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California regulators on Thursday approved a controversial proposal to greatly increase storage capacity at the site of the nation’s largest known methane leak, which sickened thousands of families and forced them from their Los Angeles homes in 2015.Despite opposition from lawmakers and nearby residents, the California Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 to to permit underground storage of up to 68.6 billion cubic feet of gas at the vast Aliso Canyon field on the northern edge of Los Angeles County as a way to guard against fuel price spikes.That’s more than a 50% increase over the current cap at the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Facility, which is slated to be closed in 2027. It’s also near the maximum capacity of 86 billion cubic feet but within safety standards set by another state agency.“This vote is a slap in the face to the community members who have been living with the ongoing consequences of the worst gas blowout in American history,” And...

14-year-old accused of trying to drown Black youth in pond charged with attempted murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:31 GMT

CHATHAM, Mass. (AP) — A 14-year-old white boy was indicted Thursday on charges of attempted murder and assault in Massachusetts after investigators say he tried to drown a Black youth in a pond on Cape Cod.The incident occurred on July 19 at Goose Pond in Chatham when the 14-year-old met at the pond with the alleged victim, a young Black male, as well as another juvenile, according to Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois.After meeting, the 14-year-old white juvenile male picked up a stone and threatened the Black youth, referring to him with a racial slur, investigators said.Before entering the water, the Black juvenile put on a life vest and told the others he couldn’t swim, according to authorities. All three then entered the pond.Once in the water, the 14-year-old pulled on the life jacket submerging the alleged victim four to five times and causing him to experience breathing distress, Galibois said. The prosecutor added that the third juvenile laughed at him durin...

Mississippi candidate for attorney general says the state isn’t doing enough to protect workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:31 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — In Mississippi — one of the poorest states in the U.S. and where a 16-year-old worker recently died after becoming entangled in a factory conveyor belt — a candidate for attorney general said Thursday that elected officials must play a more aggressive role in protecting labor rights. At a news conference ahead of Labor Day weekend, Greta Kemp Martin, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, rolled out a plan to create a fair labor division within her office if elected. The division would investigate and litigate cases involving child labor, wage violations and unsafe working conditions, Kemp Martin said. “Labor has been a dirty word in Mississippi for generations. Some might ask why, because to some people, making money is more important than taking care of the people who make that possible,” Kemp Martin said. “Not every employer fits this mold, but it certainly seems to be the case for our governor, attorney general and the majority of our lawmakers.”The p...

Alaska board of education votes to ban transgender girls from competing on high school girls teams

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:31 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska state board of education on Thursday voted to bar transgender girls from competing on high school girls athletic teams.The board met in special session and approved on a 7-1 vote a regulation saying, “If a separate high school athletics team is established for female students, participation shall be limited to females who were assigned female at birth.” The only dissenting vote came from Felix Myers, the high school representative on the board. The military advisor on the board abstained.The decision is dependent upon review and final approval by the state’s attorney general’s office.The board had initially taken up the matter in July, but it delayed its vote after hearing more than 2 1/2 hours of testimony and receiving about 1,400 pages of written comments.The board did not take any public comments at the latest meeting. However, member Lorri Van Diest said the earlier comments were about evenly split until a conservative family advo...

Residents pick through the rubble of lost homes and scattered belongings in Hurricane Idalia’s wake

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:31 GMT

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Florida and Georgia residents living along Hurricane Idalia’s path of destruction on Thursday picked through piles of rubble where homes once stood, threw tarps over ripped-apart roofs and gingerly navigated streets left underwater or clogged with fallen trees and dangerous electric wires. “My plan today is to go around and find anything that’s in the debris that is salvageable and clean out my storage shed,” said Aimee Firestine of Cedar Key, an island located in the remote Big Bend area where Idalia roared ashore with 125 mph (201 kph) winds Wednesday. Firestine rode out Idalia about 40 minutes inland. When she drove back onto the island hours after the storm passed, her heart sank. The gas station was gone. Trees were toppled. Power lines were on the ground. An entire building belonging to the 12-unit Faraway Inn her family owns had been wiped away. Another building lost a wall.“It was a little heart-wrenching and depressing,” Firestine sa...

Judge blocks changes in teacher evaluations prompted by Texas’ takeover of Houston school district

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:31 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A judge on Thursday granted a request by a teachers union in Texas’ largest school district to temporarily block a new system to evaluate educators that’s being implemented following a state takeover. The order comes days after the Houston school district began its first school year under a contentious takeover that replaced its superintendent and board of trustees. It also follows rare public comments on the takeover by Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath since he announced it in March. One of the changes being put in place by new superintendent Mike Miles is a new teacher evaluation system that will pay educators based largely on standardized test scores and their classroom performance.In its lawsuit, filed Wednesday in state district court, the Houston Federation of Teachers alleges the new system was approved without input from teachers and school committees, a violation of state law. The union says the new evaluation system will pit teachers agai...

Auto workers leader slams companies for slow bargaining, files labor complaint with government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:31 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union says it has filed unfair labor practice complaints against Stellantis and General Motors for failing to make counteroffers to the union’s economic demands.Ford was the only company of the Detroit Three to make a counteroffer, but it rejected most of the union’s proposals, President Shawn Fain told workers Thursday in a Facebook Live meeting.Contracts between 146,000 auto workers and the Detroit companies expire at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14, and Fain is once again threatening to strike.He told members that the companies have been warned not to wait until the last minute to get serious about bargaining.“The Big Three are either not listening or they are not taking us seriously,” Fain said, calling the refusal to respond “insulting and counterproductive,” and also illegal. He said the union filed the complaints with the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday.Messages were left Thursday evening seeking comment from the companies.The...

Chicago police investigate 2 armed robberies at West Town bars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:31 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are investigating a pair of armed robberies early Thursday morning in West Town.Detectives are working to determine if the two incidents, which happened about 20 minutes and a mile apart, involved the same people. Jerry Reinsdorf: ‘Virtually no possibility’ shot came from inside Sox park The first armed robbery happened just after 1 a.m. at The California Clipper Lounge in the 1000 block of North California Avenue.A pair of gunmen walked into the popular neighborhood bar, pulled their weapons and robbed workers and customers, according to police.They left the area without firing a shot.Josie Davis, a patron of the bar who wasn't there when the robbery happened, said she knows people there. Man charged after attempting to kidnap 2 Chicago firefighters "Horrific to think that happened to the people it happened to," Davis said, "and I'm sorry that it's happening in our neighborhood."The second happened around 1:20 a.m. at Rite Liquors & Cocktail Lounge ...

2 dead, 1 injured after shooting at The Arboretum in northwest Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Two people died and one person was injured after a shooting Thursday at a business in The Arboretum shopping center in northwest Austin.Austin-Travis County EMS said two adults were pronounced dead at the scene, one adult was taken to the hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries. Two other adults were being evaluated for minor injuries that happened after the initial incident.No one has been detained, the Austin Police Department said."All APD resources are working to stabilize the scene. At this time we do not have any information to believe there’s a threat to the public," APD said on social media.Shortly after 5 p.m., APD, ATCEMS and the Austin Fire Department responded to the 10000 block of Research Boulevard. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers were also seen in the area.The scene remained active as of 6:50 p.m. Thursday.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Woman sentenced to probation for ‘sleight of hand’ thefts at metro-area stores

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:31 GMT

A woman who is believed to be a member of a traveling crime ring that pulls off “sleight of hand” distraction thefts has pleaded guilty to theft by swindle and been given three years of probation.Baronita Rostas (Courtesy of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office)Baronita Rostas, 24, was arrested in late July in St. Louis Park and charged in Hennepin County District County with the one felony theft by swindle count. However, the criminal complaint accused her of bilking more than $6,200 from several metro-area stores by employing the “quick change” scheme.Hennepin County prosecutors say Rostas is part of a Romanian organized crime group that has committed the distraction thefts at retail stores across the United States, including several in the Twin Cities over the course of several months this year.The same charge was filed last month against a 25-year-old New York man who prosecutors say also is a member of the crime group. He was arrested in Edina shor...