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Climate contradictions key at UN talks. Less future warming projected, yet there’s more current pain

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:26 GMT

The world is heading for considerably less warming than projected a decade ago, but that good news is overwhelmed by much more pain from current climate change than scientists anticipated, experts said.That’s just one of a set of seemingly contradictory conditions facing climate negotiators who this week gather in Dubai for marathon United Nations talks that include a first-ever assessment of how well the world is doing in its battle against global warming. It’s also a conference where one of the central topics will be whether fossil fuels should be phased out, but it will be run by the CEO of an oil company.Key to the session is the first “global stocktake” on climate, when countries look at what’s happened since the 2015 Paris climate agreement, how off-track it is and probably say what’s needed to get back on track. Even though emissions of heat-trapping gases are still rising every year, they’re rising more slowly than projected from 2000 to 2015. Before the Paris deal, scientis...

Wednesday high temps headed 18 degree higher than yesterday Wednesday afternoon; Low 40s on the way — a surge of milder air with Pacific origins behind the "warming;" a chilly rain and chilly "NE" ahead by Friday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:26 GMT

WGN WEATHER HEADLINESCLICK TO ENLARGE6am CST TEMPS TUESDAY — Reading close to the morning lows 11/28/2023TEMP DEPARTURES from normal at 6am CST Tuesday morning (11/28/2023)MY HEARTFELT THANKS TO ALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, MADISON'S ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC SCIENCES (AOS) DEPARTMENT FOR THIS RECOGNITIONI'm beyond words. I'm so proud of the work which has been done over the decades by the Department. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is the birthplace of satellite meteorology and the work conducted there has literally revolutionized the observation and forecasting of our the weather. THANK YOU!! https://www.aos.wisc.edu/news/Alumni_Award_2023_Skilling/HERE'S HOW MUCH SNOW IS ON THE GROUND AT SOME SITES ACROSS LAKE MICHIGAN FROM CHICAGO TUESDAY MORNING (11/28/2023):These are reports from volunteer COCRAHS weather observers of snow on the ground Tuesday morning NEAR the following communities:We're fast approaching the Nov 30th close of the 2023 Atlantic and Pacific hurricane s...

Mark Cuban working on $3.5B sale of Dallas Mavericks: AP source

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:26 GMT

(AP) -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is working on a deal to sell a majority stake in the NBA franchise to the family that runs the Las Vegas Sands casino company, a person with knowledge of the talks said Tuesday night.The agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5 billion and take weeks for the league to process, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details weren't being made public.Cuban would retain control of basketball operations in the deal. NBA reporter Marc Stein was the first to report the potential sale.The company controlled by Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, announced earlier Tuesday it was selling $2 billion of her shares to buy an unspecified professional sports team. Mark Cuban says he plans to leave ‘Shark Tank’ after 16th season Cuban said almost a year ago he was interested in partnering with Sands. He has been a proponent of legalizing gambling in Texas, an issue that d...

Man arrested after attacking another man in wheelchair causing his death, APD says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:26 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A man was arrested after he was accused of attacking another man sitting in a wheelchair at a nursing home, which ultimately caused his death, according to the Austin Police Department.On Saturday, Nov. 18, the Austin Police Department responded to an "urgent check welfare call" in the 3500 block of Rogge Lane, which is The Oasis at Austin nursing home, according to an APD news release. The call to dispatch indicated a man was on the ground not breathing and CPR was in progress.Ronnie Green, 62 | Courtesy Austin Police DepartmentThat man was later identified as Baron Godwin, 68, according to police. Godwin was later pronounced dead at the scene. MAP: Where have Austin’s homicides occurred in 2023? Investigators arrived on the scene and believe "Godwin was on his wheelchair when he was attacked by Ronnie Green, which caused Godwin’s death," according to police. Green, 62, was arrested and charged with injury to the elderly, which is a third degree felony and was bo...

Lawsuit over Tim Fitch's pension costs St. Louis County taxpayers $621K

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:26 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Taxpayers in St. Louis County have come out on the losing end of a legal battle over a former council member’s pension. They’re now out hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they should have paid.Tim Fitch has been fighting for his pension since 2019. Two county executives were determined to block it. Current County Executive Sam Page has settled the case with Fitch, the former police chief and county councilman.Fitch won, but taxpayers lost.Fitch said it was a no-win fight for taxpayers from the start. The fight started in 2019 under former St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger. Fitch had worked 31 years at the St. Louis County Police Department, including a stint as police chief.When Fitch got elected to the county council, the Stenger administration determined he was no longer eligible for his $85,000-a-year pension because of that election. The St. Louis County Circuit Court ruled in Fitch's favor. U.S. Steel idles steelmaking at Granite City Wo...

Patient at St. Louis Children's Hospital flips the switch on Christmas lights

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:26 GMT

ST. LOUIS – It is officially the Christmas season at St. Louis Children's Hospital after a very special patient helped turn the lights on Tuesday night."I'm excited about turning all the lights on," Maelani Chatmon said.Chatmon, 5, got to pick out a new Christmas outfit specifically for Tuesday's big event."We got a new dress. She got this whole outfit brand new. She wanted to wear something Christmasy," said Kennedy Barnett, Maelani's mom. "As a child, the magic of Christmas is always an exciting thing for them but to be picked out of everyone in the hospital, that's a pretty memorable thing to be recognized." U.S. Steel idles steelmaking at Granite City Works ‘indefinitely’ Maelani is known as Might Mae around the children's hospital."She is outstanding. She is always up for the challenge, no matter what we throw at her, and she's really incredible," Dr. Frederick Huang said.Dr. Huang is Mae's pediatric oncologist. She was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, which is a nerve cell canc...

Granite City residents, local leaders react to steel mill layoffs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:26 GMT

GRANITE CITY, Ill. – Terrible news came down Tuesday for people in Granite City and the surrounding area, as U.S. Steel announced it plans to lay off as many as a thousand employees at its Granite City mill.The company said it plans to idle the facility. Local residents and leaders said they are stunned, angry and deeply disappointed in the company’s decision. The layoffs could be devastating for families and the local economy.The company confirms to FOX 2 that it plans to lay off at least 600 workers. A spokesperson said the company sent out notices of potential termination to 1,000 of the 1,300 steelworkers at the mill. They said they currently plan to fire approximately 60% of those notified. The move comes after the company temporarily laid off 400 employees in September.Locals said Tuesday’s news is a major blow to the fabric of the community. Edith Arnold said her relative has worked at the mill for more than 30 years. She said these layoffs will affect the entire community.“Y...

Women’s basketball: No. 7 CU Buffs dominate fourth quarter, surge past Boston

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:26 GMT

The final score suggests that the Colorado women’s basketball team cruised to an easy win on Tuesday night.It was anything but easy for the seventh-ranked Buffaloes, however, who used a dominating fourth quarter to rally past Boston 85-55 at the CU Events Center.“Glad we had a fourth quarter,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “That’s what my mom just said to me. Just stagnant, kind of passive in the first three quarters of the game. We just made a decision that we were going to be more aggressive and got the ball inside more effectively.”Frida Formann scored 22 points, including passing the 1,000-point mark for her career, to lead the Buffs (7-1), who outscored the Terriers 38-5 in the final 12 minutes, 4 seconds of the game.“I think the whole game was just a grind and like us staying the course and knowing that at some point we were gonna grind them down,” said Formann, who also had a career-high six steals. “We started getting turnovers and then … (Aaronette Vonleh) got a bunch of lay...

Southern California man convicted of stealing over $10 million in tax fraud scheme

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:26 GMT

A Southern California man was convicted for stealing over $10 million from the IRS and government through tax fraud schemes.Stephen Jake McGonigle, 66, a Victorville resident, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.McGonigle’s years-long schemes spanned three continents and claimed more than $10 million from the IRS and dozens of state tax authorities, officials said. He worked as a tax preparer for over 10 years.McGonigle allegedly recruited others, two of whom have since pleaded guilty, to help him carry out the schemes that began in 2013.He sent an accomplice to Thailand to obtain fake identification documents using stolen information from identity theft victims. He told his accomplices to use the fake IDs to secure prepaid debit cards and various commercial mailboxes across Orange County and beyond, court documents said. ...

Girl, 5, who drowned in Half Moon Bay loved the beach

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:26 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- Family members gathered together on Tuesday night mourning a 5-year-old girl who was swept out to sea in Half Moon Bay and died. Yaretzi Noemi Biorato, 5, of Merced, drowned in the ocean over the weekend.Yaretzi went to Martin's Beach on Saturday afternoon with her grandparents and 7-year-old brother. The girl loved the ocean and had visited Martin's Beach many times before, her mother told KRON4. "It was just a regular weekend where they would take the kids out. Their favorite was to go to the beach. I have so many pictures of them at that beach," the girl's mother, Yesenia Vega, told KRON4.Yaretzi Noemi Biorato (Image courtesy Yesenia Valenzuela) A big wave swept little Yaretzi into the ocean, and her grandfather swam out trying to save her. "They got swept in. My daughter got swept in and her grandpa jumped in for her. The grandma and my son were also swept in."The grandmother and Vega's 7-year-old son were able to make it back to the beach and called f...