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Smoke from Canada wildfires prompts air quality alerts in Colorado, Montana

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:42 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Smoke from dozens of raging wildfires in western Canada has drifted south into the United States and prompted the states of Colorado and Montana to issue air quality alerts.Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment put out alerts and advisories for Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon for much of the eastern half of the state, including Denver. It warned that air quality may be unhealthy during that period.“People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion; everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion,” the department said.Particle pollution led the air quality index along parts of the Front Range to reach 168 on Saturday, the department said. A reading between 151 and 200 indicates unhealthy conditions that can affect sensitive groups as well as some members of the general public.An air quality alert was also in effect Saturday in Montana, with the greatest smoke concentrations i...

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy at center of last day of high-level diplomacy as G7 looks to punish Russia

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:42 GMT

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — World leaders ratcheted up pressure Sunday on Russia for its war against Ukraine, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the center of a swirl of diplomacy on the final day of the Group of Seven summit of rich-world democracies.Zelenskyy’s in-person attendance at one of the world’s premier diplomatic gatherings is meant to galvanize attention on his nation’s 15-month fight against Russia. Even before he landed Saturday on a French plane, the G7 nations had unveiled a slew of new sanctions and other measures meant to punish Moscow and hamper its war-fighting abilities.Ukraine is the overwhelming focus of the summit, but the leaders of Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union, are also working to address global worries over climate change, AI, poverty and economic instability, and nuclear proliferation.Two U.S. allies — South Korea and Japan — continued efforts Sund...

G7 leaders warn China not to conduct ‘interference,’ Zelenskyy meets with Trudeau

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:42 GMT

HIROSHIMA, Japan — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Sunday morning in Hiroshima, as G7 leaders committed to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes. Canada and the G7 have also reasserted their intention to decrease their economic dependency on China while specifically calling on the country not to conduct “interference activities.”Trudeau and Zelenskyy hugged upon meeting and delivered short remarks before media. “I just have to say it is so good to see you,” Trudeau said, adding that the G7 stands as strongly with Ukraine as Canada does.The prime minister said good conversations are happening with emerging economies on Ukraine as well. “It’s good to see you. I want to thank you, your government, also Canadian people for supporting us,” Zelenskyy responded.The leaders gathered for their annual summit in Hiroshima, Japan put out a joint communiqué on Saturday that included the new language on ...

Sheriff: Grenade blast kills man, injures two kids in NW Indiana

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:42 GMT

LAKE COUNTY, Ind. — A man is dead, and two of his children are in the hospital after a hand grenade exploded in their Lakes of the Four Seasons home Saturday, sheriff's deputies said.According to the Lake County Sheriff's Department, police responded sometime before 6:30 p.m. to a reported explosion in a home in the 3400 block of West lakeshore Drive.Deputies said when they arrived on scene, an adult male was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead. His two children, ages 14 and 18, were taken to an area hospital with shrapnel wounds.Upon further investigation, the LCSD said a family in the home had been going through a grandfather's belongings when they found a hand grenade, and someone reportedly pulled the pin on the device and it detonated. Police: Man in custody after attempted abduction in Evanston The Porter County Bomb Squad was called to secure the area and determine whether there may be additional explosive devices.A crime scene investigation unit and homicide detec...

Northwestern Softball advances to NCAA regional final, beats Kentucky, 10-8

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:42 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern Softball got off to a slow start Saturday afternoon in a playoff battle between two Wildcat squads, but an explosive third inning at the plate helped them cement their spot in the NCAA Evanston Regional Final.Hosted right at home, no. 15-ranked Northwestern (40-11) knocked off no. 22-ranked Kentucky (31-21-1), 10-8, thanks in most part to an eight-run third inning fueled by three home runs.Jordyn Rudd celebrates at second after hitting a double. Northwestern v Kentucky NCAA softball at Sharon J. Drysdale Field on Saturday, May 20, 2023 in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern Athletics Photo by John Konstantaras |Northwestern v Kentucky NCAA softball at Sharon J. Drysdale Field on Saturday, May 20, 2023 in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern Athletics Photo by John Konstantaras |The Wildcats celebrate at home plate after shortstop Maeve Nelson hits a 2-run HR. Northwestern v Kentucky NCAA softball at Sharon J. Drysdale Field on Saturday, May 20, 2023 in Evansto...

Don't fall for it! Virginia jewelry store warns against an exchange scam

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:42 GMT

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A jewelry store in Virginia Beach, Virginia, says they are seeing a scam more and more often — and it's becoming common elsewhere, too.It plays on the sympathies of a good Samaritan."We've seen a dozen people that have fallen victim to the same thing," said Mister Jewelry owner Jason Mister. "Some of them bought large quantities of this stuff." Texas to charge EV owners $400 to register vehicles, $200 every year The story he hears involves a couple who claims they have car trouble or need help for another reason. They don't have money, but they tell those willing to help they have something else - jewelry."Some of the people just genuinely want to help the folks, you know they are being taken advantage of," Mister said.It goes downhill from there.The good Samaritans then show up at Mister's business with their new pieces."It's like it's yellow gold. It's usually marked 18-carat, Cuban chain. ... That's almost always one of the pieces," he said. "There ...

Summer forecast released: When do 100º days begin?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- We may be one month away from the beginning of astronomical summer, which begins June 21, but meteorological summer is less than two weeks away.The dates of meteorological seasons, unlike astronomical ones, don't fluctuate each year and instead include whole-months in groups of three. This makes it easier to compare the same season with previous years, since they all start and end at the same time.Meteorological summer runs June 1 through August 31 every year, which means we're knocking on the door of the hottest season of the year.The Climate Prediction Center just released their summer forecast for June-August.They're expecting most of the west, south and east to be warmer than normal, and the odds point to a hotter than normal Central Texas summer.Summer temperature forecast 2023 (CPC)Wetter weather is expected to be confined to most of the eastern third of the country with drier than normal weather around the Four-Corners Region and the Pacific Northwest.Summer ...

Twins place Jorge Polanco lands on injured list with hamstring strain

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:42 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Twins hadn’t received the results of Jorge Polanco’s magnetic resonance imaging by Saturday afternoon, but they knew even without the test results that the second baseman would need a stint on the injured list.The Twins believe Polanco has a mild left hamstring strain, which he suffered running the bases on Wednesday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, and placed him on the 10-day injured list on Saturday retroactive to May 18.“If Polo was able to come back in the next few days and we felt confident he would be back and able to play without risk of any real issue, we would have just left him active,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We would have waited it out for a couple days and then we would have brought him back.”They’re well-equipped to handle his absence, though, calling up Edouard Julien, one of the organization’s top prospects, to fill his spot on the roster. Julien, a lefty who was not in the starting lineup against lefty Patrick Sandoval, was briefly up...

Pandemic-era rise in road crashes in Minnesota declining, officials say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:42 GMT

GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — Fatal and serious, life-changing accidents rose by 24% in Minnesota through the three pandemic years, but there’s encouraging news.Serious traffic crashes in Minnesota and the state’s southwestern region are trending downward, according to information presented at the Toward Zero Deaths workshop May 11 at the Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort in Granite Falls.“Not-good things happened,” said Ken Johnson, assistant state traffic engineer with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, as he provided data on the three years of increased serious accidents at the workshop.Fatal and serious crashes in Minnesota rose to 488 in 2021 and dropped to 444 in 2022. The increase is believed to be pandemic-related as driver behaviors changed.An increase in the number of impaired drivers, unbelted occupants and increased speed are believed to be the biggest factors in the increased number of crashes.The encouraging news is that at this point, the fatality rate appears on a trend...

Keeler: “He basically carried me through the finish line.” Meet Standley Lake senior who placed fifth in Colorado state track hurdles, but first in kindness

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:42 GMT

LAKEWOOD — Marcus Mills could’ve crawled to the finish line on scraped ego and bruised knees. But what would’ve been the point?“I didn’t want to finish the race at all,” Mills, a senior sprinter at Sierra High, said of the carnage that capped the Class 4A state boys 300-meter hurdles championship won by Niwot’s Eric Walker Saturday afternoon. “I got DQ-ed anyway.”JeffCo Stadium’s farewell kiss had sent Mills sprawling to the track, three meters from a state title. Last race. Last high school meet. Last CHSAA dance. Last lead. Last stinking hurdle.“I guess I attacked it way too hard,” offered Mills, who went from first place to his keister in a blink as the crowd gasped. “Yeah. I guess the hurdle attacked me.”A shocked Mills watched from his behind while the rest of the field finished. As the times went up on the scoreboard, he sat there like a stray balloon from an Independence Day parade. The party had moved on.“It’s just unfortunate that it happened to me and not anyone else...