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Feeling the heat: Drought impacts Sriracha hot sauce supply

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:43:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES — As the weather in Southern California heats up this summer, residents may need to come up with backup options for bringing heat to their favorite dishes.Huy Fong Foods Inc., producer of Sriracha hot sauce, said last summer’s drought in Mexico continues to hamper its ability to churn out the iconic green-capped bottles of its popular spicy condiment.“Unfortunately, we are still experiencing a shortage of raw material,” the Irwindale, California, company said in a statement, referring to the chiles from Mexico that have ended up in short supply because of the bad weather conditions.Huy Fong Foods typically uses about 50,000 tons of chiles a year in producing its three condiments, which also include a chile-garlic sauce and a sambal oelek.Though some production resumed last fall, the company still has a “limited supply that continues to affect our production,” the statement said. And it’s not clear when chiles may become more readily av...

Here we go! ‘Mario’ tops charts again

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:43:57 GMT

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” scored the best second weekend ever for an animated movie in North American theaters with $87 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.The family-friendly Universal release dropped a slim 41% from its record-making opening weekend.With $94 million from international showings, “Mario’s” global total now stands at a staggering $678 million, surpassing “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” to become biggest film of 2023 in just two weekends.“There are not enough adjectives to describe the enormity of this box office performance,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comsore.For most blockbusters, second weekends are usually down by about 60%, making “Mario’s” 41% drop especially noteworthy. According to Comscore, only a handful of films that opened over $100 million have had less of a fall, including “Shrek 2,” “Frozen 2,” 200...

Ticker: Cleanup begins after freight derailment; Spotify drops name-that-tune game

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:43:57 GMT

Canadian Pacific Railway is leading cleanup and track repairs following a freight train derailment and fire in Maine, officials Sunday.Three rail workers were treated and released from a hospital after three locomotive engines and six train cars carrying lumber and electrical wiring went off the track Saturday in Somerset County, officials said.Canadian Pacific is leading cleanup, salvage and repair, working with state agencies and local fire and rescue, said Jim Britt from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Workers were removing derailed locomotives and rail cars, cleaning up crash debris and repairing the rail line. It was unclear how long the process would take.Some hazardous materials were on the train, officials said, but first responders determined they were not at risk of leaking or catching fire. There was no threat to public safety, officials said.A preliminary assessment put the blame for the derailment on a washout caused by melting ice and de...

Eastern Oregon police officer shot, killed, suspect sought

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:43:57 GMT

NYSSA, Ore. (AP) — Authorities were looking for a man they believe shot and killed an eastern Oregon police officer.Nyssa officer Joseph Johnson, 43, died Saturday night after a man he had pursued in a car shot at him. The man fled and Johnson was dead when sheriff’s officers and medical workers arrived, The Oregonian reported. Johnson had been responding to reports the man was making threats and damaging property, the Malheur County District Attorney’s office said in a statement Sunday.Nyssa, population 3,200, is near the Idaho state line about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Boise, Idaho.The Associated Press

Ontario Liberal Party to announce new leader on Dec. 2

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:43:57 GMT

The Ontario Liberal Party is set to announce its new leader on Dec. 2.The party’s executive announced Sunday that it has set out the rules and timelines for the race to replace Steven Del Duca.He resigned after the Liberals did not win enough seats in the 2022 election to have official party status at the legislature for the second campaign in a row.Several would-be candidates have said they are exploring leadership bids, including MP Nate Erskine-Smith, MP and former Ontario cabinet minister Yasir Naqvi, and current provincial caucus member and former MP Ted Hsu.The party says it will soon announce the opening date for official candidate registration, but the deadline has been set as Sept. 5 and candidates must have an entry fee of $100,000 and a refundable $25,000 deposit.Party members will cast their votes by ranked ballot on Nov. 25 and 26, with the party set to announce round-by-round results the following weekend.

Olivia Chow to make announcement amid speculation she will enter Toronto mayor race

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:43:57 GMT

It seems another high-profile name is set to join the crowded race to be Toronto’s next mayor.Olivia Chow, a champion for the left and progressive politics first as a councillor and later as an MP, has scheduled an announcement at a downtown Toronto restaurant Monday morning where it’s expected she will officially enter the race. Chow teased last month she was strongly considering entering the contest to replace John Tory, but stood by as others signed up. #BREAKING: Olivia Chow to make an announcement tomorrow morning. She said she was "considering" running for mayor a few weeks ago. #TOpoli— Mark McAllister (@McAllister_Mark) April 16, 2023This would be Chow’s second run for mayor after coming up short almost a decade ago. She went into the 2014 campaign as the favourite against incumbent Rob Ford, who was eventually replaced by his brother Doug after his health deteriorated. However, over the course of that campaign, Chow’s momentum waned a...

Federal government restoring funding to Hockey Canada

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:43:57 GMT

The federal government is restoring funding to Hockey Canada, saying the organization has fulfilled conditions previously set out to retain financial support. Federal sports minister Pascale St-Onge made the announcement on Sunday ahead of the women’s world championship gold medal game between Canada and the United States in Brampton, Ont.“Today marks an important milestone for Hockey Canada in our journey to earn and maintain the trust of Canadians,” said The Hon. Hugh L. Fraser, chair of the Hockey Canada Board of Directors. “While I would like to thank Minister St-Onge and the government for their vote of confidence and for their ongoing efforts to prioritize safe sport in Canada, I also wish to stress that we still have work to do to change the culture of our sport.“This is a significant moment for the future of Hockey Canada, and hockey in Canada, as it will enable us to further our commitment to supporting all levels of the sport. We thank the Minister and the government...

Regimental funeral will be held Thursday for Alberta officer who died in crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:43:57 GMT

SHERWOOD PARK, Alta. — The RCMP say a regimental funeral will be held later this week for one of its Alberta-based officers who died in a crash while heading to help another officer.The funeral for Const. Harvinder Dhami, a member of the Strathcona County detachment east of Edmonton, will be held Thursday morning at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park, Alta., and will be preceded by a procession from Bethel Lutheran Church.Dhami, who was affectionately known as Harvey, died early on April 10 while driving to help other officers with a noise complaint.The Mounties previously said Dhami’s vehicle hit a large concrete barrier on a road northeast of Sherwood Park.While police had said they would give more details on the crash investigation at a news conference Sunday, Cpl. Troy Savinkoff and Sgt. Deanna Fontaine told reporters the investigation remains ongoing and that police wouldn’t speak to it yet.Detachment Supt. Dale Kendall said at the news conference that Dhami responde...

Investigators find 55-gallon drum in lake, believe they are close to locating missing Oklahoma woman

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:43:57 GMT

GROVE, Okla. (KSNF)– Authorities believe the disintegrating and rusted-out remains of a 55-gallon drum at the bottom of a northeast Oklahoma lake may hold clues to the disappearance of a woman missing since 1998.Peggy A. Sweeten, 52, was last seen on Jan. 17, 1998.She and her husband, James Lee Sweeten, a former Kansas, school superintendent, lived in a lakefront home with a boat dock at Four Seasons Resort on Grand Lake, northeast of Grove, Oklahoma. None of Peggy’s personal belongings – including her car, clothing, photos or mementos were missing – according to a search warrant filed in 2011.“We were reviewing the old police reports and investigative reports again and a statement by Patrick Sweeten, Peggy’s son, caught my eye,” said Mark Wall, a cold case detective in Delaware and Ottawa counties. Woman seeking parents on TikTok reignites Oklahoma cold case Patrick Sweeten told investigators he learned his mother was missing in March 1998 and had to force his father to file a m...

One more gorgeous day then humidity and storms return

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:43:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Today was a top 10 weather day by most people's standards. Sunshine? Check! Warm, but not hot? Check! Low humidity? Check! Weekend? Check! Highs reached the mid to upper 70s, almost 20 degrees cooler than Saturday. Clear skies tonight will set us up for a chilly night with lows dropping into the low 50s. Some areas of the Hill Country will start Monday morning in the 40s!Monday morning low temperatures El Niño watch issued: Here’s what that means Monday should be almost as nice as humidity stays low, temperatures push a little closer to 80º and we only have some passing high clouds at times. Monday night humidity makes a quick return setting us up for several warm and sticky days ahead.Humidity increases this weekTuesday through Friday and possibly into next weekend we have daily rainfall and storm chances. No particular day looks to be a washout, but isolated to scattered showers and storms are possible each day. Our computer models have been moving back and fort...