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Texas heat brings the state’s power grid closest it has been to outages since 2021 winter storm

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:31 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas’ power grid manager on Thursday again asked residents to cut their electricity use as the state endures another stretch of sizzling summer heat. The request carried fresh urgency, coming the day after the system was pushed to the brink of outages for the first time since a deadly winter blackout in 2021.The request by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which serves most of the state’s 30 million residents, came a day after low energy reserves prompted the grid operator to issue a level 2 energy emergency alert. Operating reserves fell as demand surged amid the heat, and power from wind and solar energy sources proved insufficient, according to ERCOT.It was the first time the council entered emergency operations since a deadly 2021 ice storm knocked out power to millions of customers for days and resulted in hundreds of deaths.The emergency status remained in place for about an hour Wednesday night until grid conditions returned to normal, ERCOT said in a...

Human skull found in Goodwill donation box in Arizona; police say no apparent link to any crime

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:31 GMT

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — It’s probably not the strangest item ever donated to a Goodwill store. But employees of a thrift store in the Phoenix area knew exactly what to do when they saw what looked like a human skull in one of their donation boxes: Call police.Officers responded to the store in Goodyear on Tuesday night and took possession of the skull, which was covered in spots and had its upper front teeth attached, plus a false eye in the left socket.Officials with Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona say they followed company protocol by immediately reporting the donation to police.The skull was transported to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office where authorities “confirmed that it is in fact a real human skull,” police spokesperson Lisa Berry said.“It appears this human skull is historic and has no forensic significance, meaning there appears to be no associated crime,” Berry added of the preliminary findings. It remains unclear who donated the skull and what...

Storms roll through with most of DC region still under Severe Thunderstorm Watch

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:31 GMT

A string of extremely hot September weather gave way to severe storms Thursday, leaving most of the D.C. region under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 9 p.m. Thursday. Here’s what you need to know.A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for parts of Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland and part of Fairfax County in Virginia until 6 p.m. The weather service said a strong storm near the American Legion Bridge was moving northeast at 30 mph with potential 60-mph wind gusts and quarter-size hail.Earlier Thursday afternoon, bands of strong storms rolled through parts of Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland bringing heavy winds and hail and triggering warnings from the weather service.The biggest storm system that dumped two inches of rain in some areas and downed trees in Virginia has mostly moved north to Pennsylvania, but additional storms are still making their way through the D.C. area.After temperatures once again climbed into the 90s Thursday,...

Group suing to block Trump's candidacy has won before. Will it happen again?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:31 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A new lawsuit aims to keep former President Donald Trump’s name off the presidential primary ballot in the state of Colorado.It argues the former president is ineligible to hold office because of a clause in the U.S. Constitution that bars those who have taken the oath of office from holding office again if they were part of an insurrection. Pettersen: 90% fentanyl comes into US through ports The same group behind this lawsuit — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW — filed a similar one in New Mexico against a county commissioner convicted of crimes related to Jan. 6. They won, and that person was removed from office.Does this mean Trump's case will go the same way? Legal expert Ian Farrell weighs in this week on "Colorado Point of View.""They’re district court opinions, and they’re not in the same district as here, so they would be of persuasive value," said Farrell, associate professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. "Th...

Up to $10K reward offered for information on teen killed at Aurora mall

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:31 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — There is a new push to solve the killing of a 13-year-old boy.Phoenix Day was gunned down in the parking lot of the Town Center at Aurora mall back in March, and no one has come forward with information to help bring closure to his family. 2 suspects in rock-throwing spree face more charges in Jefferson County Police released photos of several people they believed to have been witnesses and could know exactly what happened. The photos depict a total of 16 witnesses.Police want to speak to the unidentified witnesses in these photos who were at the Town Center of Aurora mall when 13-year-old Phoenix Day was shot and killed. (Metro Denver Crime Stoppers)Police want to speak to the unidentified witnesses in these photos who were at the Town Center of Aurora mall when 13-year-old Phoenix Day was shot and killed. (Metro Denver Crime Stoppers)Police want to speak to the unidentified witnesses in these photos who were at the Town Center of Aurora mall when 13-year-o...

Woman jumped into Biscayne Bay with 3-year-old nephew, took clothes off after officers arrived, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:31 GMT

Police said a woman put her 3-year-old nephew’s life in danger after she jumped into Biscayne Bay with the toddler in her arms, taking off her clothes after officers responded. According to the arrest form, this all started with a report of a woman destroying landscaping in Brickell, Thursday morning.The calls for help started going out at around 8:30 a.m.“Officers responded to 609 Brickell to a criminal mischief call where there was a young lady that was causing some sort of damage, breaking things inside a building,” said Miami Police Capt. Freddie Cruz.When officers caught up to 27-year-old Natalia Marina, her sister and her nephew, investigators said, all three of them hopped into the bay.But Marina didn’t stop there. Police said she swam from Brickell to Brickell Key with her nephew in her arms.Jessica DeCristofaro said she was out walking her dog when she spotted the woman and child.“All of a sudden, I noticed that there was someone in the water,&...

Death toll from fierce storms and flooding in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria rises to 14

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:31 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — The death toll from severe rainstorms that lashed parts of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria increased to 14 on Wednesday after rescue teams in the three neighboring countries recovered seven more bodies.A flash flood at a campsite in northwestern Turkey near the border with Bulgaria killed at least five people — with three found dead on Wednesday — and carried away bungalow homes. Rescuers were still searching for one person reported missing at the campsite.Another two people died in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, where Tuesday’s storms inundated hundreds of homes and workplaces in several neighborhoods.The victims in Istanbul included a 32-year-old Guinean citizen who was trapped inside his basement apartment in the low-income Kucukcekmece district, Turkish broadcaster HaberTurk TV reported. The other was a 57-year-old woman who died after being swept away by the floods in another neighborhood, the private DHA news agency reported.The surging floodwaters af...

Larger than life puppet begins 6,000 mile journey to San Diego to raise awareness, donations for refugees 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:31 GMT

A larger-than-life puppet walked with a purpose through the streets of Boston Thursday, arriving in the city as part of a mission to raise awareness and donations for refugees. The puppet’s name is Little Amal. Standing 12-feet tall, though, she is anything but little. Now, she is scheduled to travel 6,000 miles to San Diego as part of a journey that started with this latest Boston event.With a puppeteer on each hand and on inside on stilts, the journey will be no easy feat. “There’s a whole coordination team,” said Leslie Burton of Puppet Showplace Theater. “If you watch this process happening, there’s people giving cues. There’s all three puppeteers. There’s knowing where you’re going.”Little Amal was met this week with a crowd of hundreds braving the heat on local streets to walk with her. Little Amal’s visit, in turn, came as Gov. Maura Healey has declared a state of emergency over the number of immigrants making their way into Massachusetts. Speaking wi...

2 people injured after tree falls on car in Douglas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:31 GMT

Two people were injured Thursday when a tree fell on a car in Douglas, the town’s police chief said.The incident happened on South Street where a photo shared with 7NEWS showed a car stuck under a tree laying across the roadway.Douglas Police Chief Nick Miglionico in a statement said the tree fell around 3 p.m., causing significant injuries for the car’s driver and minor injuries for a passenger in the car.In addition to hitting the car and a nearby home, the tree also took down electrical wires, according to Miglionico. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported 566 energy customers without power in Douglas as of around 5:50 p.m. As crews work to restore power, Miglionico said South Street will remain temporarily closed between its intersections with Main Street and Downs Road.While crews had cleared electrical wires from the road as of around 6:30 p.m., they were still working to get wires clear from the branches of the fallen tree. There were also some branches s...

House lawmakers rip Healey for lack of communication on migrants

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:31 GMT

House lawmakers blasted the Healey administration Thursday for not providing clear communication about a shelter crisis that has prompted a state of emergency in Massachusetts, with top officials arguing information is not flowing smoothly from the executive office to cities and towns.House Republicans and Democrats huddled privately with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll inside the State House for a briefing on the state’s emergency shelter crisis, which has been fueled in part by crushing housing costs and a steady stream of migrant arrivals. More than 6,200 families were in the state shelter system as of Thursday, with more than third estimated to be migrants, according to state data.The hour-long meeting took place behind closed doors and included a predetermined list of people who could ask questions after a presentation from Driscoll, according to lawmakers who attended.Revenue Committee Chair Mark Cusack, a Braintree Democrat, said he did not learn anything new at the meeting and took aw...