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Strong Winds, unseasonable Warmth bring Fire Weather Watch to Chicago Area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:59:26 GMT

My National Weather Service-Chicago colleagues have issued A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for the GREATER CHICAGO AREA in effect from 11am to 7pm Wednesday.The combination of STRONG WINDS, UNSEASONABLE WARMTH, SUNSHINE AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES (as low as 20-25%)--all of which are to be present under sunny skies Wednesday--will create a situation in which any fire outdoors can spread quickly.Care in the disposal of smoking materials and holding off on outdoor burning reduced the threat of fire going out of control.PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weather conditionsare forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possibleRed Flag Warnings.Here are the predicted RELATIVE HUMIDITIES predicted at 2 p.m. CDT Wednesday:CLICK TO VIEW SLIDESHOW OF WEDNESDAY'S CONDITIONS:WEDNESDAY'S PREDICTED HIGH TEMPSPREDICTED WEDNESDAY HIGH TEMP DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL showing Chicago highs will come in MORE THAN 20-deg ABOVE NORMALThe Wednesday afternoon pred...

How does the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles decide who gets pardoned?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:59:26 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Saturday he was working as quickly as possible to pardon Daniel Perry.One day before, a jury convicted Perry of murdering Garrett Foster during a July 2020 Black Lives Matter protest. That night Perry was driving for Uber when his car entered a demonstration where a group of protesters – including Foster armed with a rifle – were gathering. Perry admitted to shooting Foster, but his attorneys argued it was in self-defense. MORE: Daniel Perry found guilty of murder in protester’s death In a Twitter post, Abbott said he had requested the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles look at the case to determine if Perry should be pardoned. Abbott said if the Board recommends Perry’s clemency, he would approve it as soon as he received it. How do pardons work in Texas?Clemency is the power to grant a full or conditional pardon. Clemency must be recommended in writing by a majority of the Board of Pardons and Paroles and then approved by the...

ACC celebrates reopening of Latin American Cultural Center 'El Centro'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:59:26 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Community College District (ACC) celebrated its grand reopening of the ACC Latin American Cultural Center (LACC), according to a news release from ACC.The center, also known as El Centro, provides a safe, inclusive space for students to explore and celebrate their cultural heritage, the release said.The center temporarily closed to move to a larger space at the ACC Riverside Campus, the release said. The new space includes a library with a rare book collection, a film screening space and a common area for gatherings.Austin Community College celebrated the reopening of its Latin American Cultural Center Tuesday at the ACC Riverside campus./ Jala Washington KXANAustin Community College celebrated the reopening of its Latin American Cultural Center Tuesday at the ACC Riverside campus./ Jala Washington KXANAustin Community College celebrated the reopening of its Latin American Cultural Center Tuesday at the ACC Riverside campus./ Jala Washington KXANAustin Co...

Amazon creating science hub with UT Austin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:59:26 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — With a goal to prompt new discoveries and create solutions to help society, Amazon and the University of Texas at Austin are creating a new science and engineering hub, the two partners announced Tuesday.The UT Austin-Amazon Science Hub will foster collaboration among faculty and students by developing a pipeline of research talent, a release said. Initial focus areas are machine learning, image/video processing, robotics and networking/communications. Q&A: UT lecturer shares how students are preparing for art careers with AI The science hub will be in the Cockrell School of Engineering but will include researchers from the Cockrell School, College of Natural Sciences, McCombs School of Business and College of Liberal Arts. Amazon will fund research projects, doctoral graduate student fellowships and events to diversity and increase cross-disciplinary innovation, according to the hub. The fellowships are expected to start in the fall 2023 semester. Research gr...

Officer struck by gunfire while serving warrant during drug investigation in Granite Falls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:59:26 GMT

GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — A drug enforcement officer was struck by a bullet Monday while he and other officers were executing a search warrant at a Granite Falls residence in southwestern Minnesota.The officer was treated and released from the Granite Falls hospital, according to a news release from the Granite Falls Police Department.According to the release, officers from the CEE-VI Drug and Gang Task Force, the Granite Falls Police Department, the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office and the Upper Sioux Community Police Department executed a knock-and-announce search warrant just after 4 p.m. at a residence on Bergeson Drive in Granite Falls.The suspect was wanted for multiple felony warrants on weapons and drug charges. Upon entry into the residence, officers immediately took gunfire from someone inside. Officers returned fire and retreated outside, where a single officer said he had been struck by a bullet.That officer was transported to the Granite Falls hospital while other o...

Southwestern Minnesota pork plant could close, owner says; 1,000 jobs at risk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:59:26 GMT

WINDOM, Minn. — Layoffs may be on the way for some 1,000 workers at a southwestern Minnesota pork processing plant.According to a letter sent to HyLife Foods employees in Windom, the company had been “exploring several strategic options that would have enabled it to continue go-forward operations despite financial challenges resulting from various internal and external factors, including inflationary pressures, high grain costs, foreign exchange rates and the plant’s operational losses.”In the letter, the Manitoba-based company provided “conditional notice” to its employees at the plant “who may experience a job loss if the company’s efforts to sell all or a portion of its business do not succeed or if a buyer chooses not to extend offers to some or all of the employees.”The notice was given under the federal WARN Act, which requires employers to give notice of potential job losses under some circumstances.HyLife took over the Windom p...

The US surpasses 140 mass shootings in 2023. Here's every event mapped

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:59:26 GMT

(Stacker) -- Since the start of 2023, the United States has averaged more than one mass shooting per day, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit group that tracks gun violence using police reports, government sources, news coverage, and other public data. No official, universal definition of what constitutes a mass shooting currently exists. Groups define it differently based on the number of victims, whether they are killed or injured, whether the shooting occurs in a public or private space, and whether the shooter targets specific victims. The Gun Violence Archive defines it as an event in which at least four people were killed or injured. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The lack of a consistent definition creates opportunities for people to interpret the data differently, making it difficult for lawmakers to establish a set of agreed-upon facts upon which to address the issue of gun control.For example, usin...

Rockies optimistic as German Marquez awaits test on injured forearm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:59:26 GMT

The Rockies remained optimistic Tuesday afternoon that right-hander German Marquez does not have a major arm injury and will avoid an extended absence from the starting rotation.Marquez, who departed the mound with tightness in the mid-forearm of his right arm during Monday night’s game, underwent an MRI Tuesday afternoon and the club was waiting for the results.“We want to (erase) any doubt as to what’s going on,” manager Bud Black said before the Rockies hosted the Cardinals at Coors Field. “(Head trainer) Keith (Dugger) and our team doctors recommended that. We will know more as the evening progresses and probably (know) tomorrow.”Black said that Marquez told him that he was experiencing the “normal soreness” a pitcher feels the day after making a start.“I think he’s going to be OK, I really do,” Black said. “And so does he, which is important.”Black does not know, yet, if Marquez will miss his next sta...

Federal officials propose reducing Colorado River water to lower-basin states in “shot across the bow”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:59:26 GMT

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials are considering whether to order Arizona, California and Nevada to take less water out of the drying Colorado River, effectively flexing their muscles over a problem they had hoped the states would solve themselves.In the coming weeks, federal officials must decide whether to impose cuts on the three lower Colorado River Basin states by either following the longstanding system of water-rights seniority or by spreading them across three states evenly. The former would put Arizona squarely in the crosshairs — threatening cities like Phoenix and Tucson — while the latter would force far more significant cuts on California, which draws the most Colorado River water by far.Colorado and the three other upper-basin states — New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — appear to have avoided cuts of their own, at least in the short term.The Bureau of Reclamation’s two proposals to cut water allocations for lower-basin states are part of a...

Fire burning along Rampart Range Road near El Paso, Teller counties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:59:26 GMT

Police and federal officials are handling a fire along Rampart Range Road on Tuesday afternoon.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Denver police arrest man in connection with fatal Christmas Day shooting Crime and Public Safety | Denver police arrest suspect in assault near 16th Street Mall that led to victim’s death Crime and Public Safety | Fight victim dies; Denver police seeking suspect At 3:52 p.m., a spokesperson for the Teller County Sheriff’s Office directed all inquiries to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, adding that the latter has jurisdiction.The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office reported that the Rampart Fire is located west of the U.S. Air Force Academy near Woodland Park, off of Forest Service Rd. 952, according to a 3:35 p.m. tweet. The U.S. Forest Service reportedly “took command of the fire,” with Mt. Herman Road currently closed.Update regarding: The Rampart Fire, located w...