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Unhealthy air quality lingers across parts of U.S. from drifting Canadian wildfire smoke

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:11 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — For Chicagoans planning a lengthy outdoor run Monday, “today is not necessarily the day for that,” according to Kim Biggs of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.Extensive swaths of the northern United States awoke to unhealthy air quality Monday morning or were experiencing it by midafternoon, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow.gov Smoke and Fire map.Fine particle pollution caused by smoke from Canada’s wildfires is causing a red zone air quality index, meaning it is unhealthy for everyone. The particles, known as PM2.5, are tiny enough to get deep into the lungs and cause short-term problems like coughing and itchy eyes, and in the long run, can affect the lungs and heart.The EPA advises keeping outdoor activities light and short when air quality indexes reach above 150 on the agency’s map. On Monday afternoon, cities and regions hitting that mark included Lincoln, Nebraska; Peoria, Illinois; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Clev...

I-70 closes for vehicle fire at Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:11 GMT

(KDVR) — Interstate 70 was closed Monday afternoon after a vehicle fire at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel.Colorado State Patrol alerted the public about the closure just before 1:15 p.m. They said the vehicle fire was on the westbound bore. The passengers involved were reported as "safe," but no further information was given.Westbound I-70 traffic was being diverted onto U.S. 6/Loveland Pass. Eastbound traffic was being held at the tunnel, backing up about 3 miles, according to CSP.No estimate was given for reopening.

South Florida woman arrested twice in Kentucky after attempted vehicle theft, followed by successful car theft

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:11 GMT

PADUCAH, Ky. (WSVN) – A South Florida woman found herself in double trouble as she was arrested twice in Paducah, Kentucky. According to the Paducah Police Department, Yamila Laborde, 59, with addresses listed in Fort Lauderdale and Hialeah, was arrested after an attempted vehicle theft near Walmart and a successful car theft outside the Paducah/McCracken County Public Library.The first arrest occurred at approximately 12:47 p.m. when Laborde targeted a 2016 Dodge pickup truck parked near Walmart Supercenter on Hinkleville Road. The owner of the vehicle, a Paducah resident, was loading groceries into the truck while his wife occupied the passenger seat. Seizing the opportunity, Laborde jumped into the driver’s seat, claiming the truck as her own and ordering the woman out. However, her attempt was short-lived, as she failed to put the vehicle in gear before her apprehension.Charged with theft by unlawful taking, Laborde was booked into McCracken County Jail.Unfazed by he...

The EU has revealed its blueprint to curb migration

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:11 GMT

BRUSSELS — Cash is king in the EU’s plan to stop migrants from coming to Europe.On Sunday, the EU finalized a deal with Tunisia — a common departure point for people seeking asylum in Europe — that essentially offers the country millions in exchange for help blocking the boats that have been carrying a growing number of people to Europe. The key: the deal goes well beyond migration to also touch on areas like trade, investment and green energy. The pact is a preview of things to come. Now that the EU has this framework in place, Brussels is eager to strike similar deals with other Northern African countries. Already, negotiators are eyeing Egypt and Morocco as potential next targets, according to an EU official who spoke anonymously to discuss the plans.“A blueprint for similar partnerships,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen crowed recently.“A model to build new relations with neighbors from North Africa,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni...

Russia’s war in Ukraine gatecrashes EU-Latin America reunion

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:11 GMT

A diplomatic row between EU and Latin American countries over how — or even whether — to mention the war in Ukraine risks turning what was meant to be the celebration of a renewed partnership into a diplomatic failure. The first day of a summit between the EU and the Community of the Latin American & the Caribbean States (CELAC) was all about affirming strengthened intercontinental ties. But the lofty talk quickly fell flat as EU negotiators tried to convince Latin American countries to condemn Russia over its war in Ukraine. Nicaragua and Cuba vehemently opposed the proposed language on Ukraine, according to three EU officials — with one alleging that these two countries had received calls from Moscow advising them to do so.The row in Brussels came just as Russia refused Monday to extend a U.N.-brokered deal that had allowed Ukraine to export its grain surplus through the Black Sea. Both were stark reminders of how Russia’s hybrid geopolitics seeks to drive a we...

Man pleads not guilty to Walmart parking lot beating death in New Hampshire

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:11 GMT

SOMERSWORTH, N.H. (AP) — A man pleaded not guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the beating death of a 79-year-old man in the parking lot of a Walmart in southeastern New Hampshire.Brian Roberge, 52, of Somersworth, was being held without bail following his hearing.Somersworth police said they arrested Roberge after responding to a call Friday about one man assaulting another. When they arrived at the Walmart, they found Jan VanTassel, of Center Ossipee, unresponsive with visible head and facial injuries. First responders determined he was dead.An autopsy determined VanTassel’s cause of death was due to compressional asphyxia and that his manner of death was homicide.That finding “is consistent with eyewitness accounts that Mr. Roberge was straddling Mr. VanTassel’s chest for several minutes while hitting him in the head and face,” a news release from the attorney general’s office said.Roberge appeared at Monday’s arraignment via video, asking f...

Elizabeth Warren asks SEC to investigate Tesla

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:11 GMT

New York (CNN) — Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren asked the SEC to investigate Tesla and its board of directors to determine whether they violated securities laws after CEO Elon Musk took over Twitter last year.In a nine-page letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday, the Massachusetts senator said Elon Musk’s long list of responsibilities, from owning Twitter to remaining Tesla’s CEO, “have raised concerns about conflicts of interest, misappropriation of corporate assets, and other negative impacts to Tesla shareholders.” Warren added that the electric car company’s board failed to ensure it has acted in shareholders’ best interests.Chief among Warren’s concerns in the letter: funneling Tesla (TSLA) resources into Musk’s Twitter takeover, conflicts of interest regarding advertising from other car companies, and possible labor law violations when transitioning some Tesla (TSLA) employees to Twitter.Warren is asking SEC ch...

Waltham police release new info on machete assault that left victim with head wound, 3 suspects arrested

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:11 GMT

Police in Waltham say it was a “neighbor dispute” that led to an attack involving a machete last week, resulting in one person receiving a wound to the head, a pregnant victim being assaulted, and three arrests.In an update, authorities described how officers were called to the area of 34 Hammond Street on Friday, July 14, for a report of a fight involving a machete. First responders arrived to find at least one person there with a “deep head laceration,” according to the police department, which officials said was non-life-threatening.Waltham PD officials said the victim was the only person struck by a machete, while two other individuals were assaulted while trying to stop the attack.The police department said two males were arrested at the scene, while a third male was arrested two days later, on Sunday morning.The arrested inviduals included:Osman Aguilar Borrayo, 27, of Waltham, who was charged with “Mayhem, Armed Assault w/Intent to Murder, Assaul...

Shark spotted jumping out of the water in Cape Cod Bay to catch striped bass on fishing line

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:11 GMT

A great white shark was recently spotted jumping out of the water to catch a striped bass on a fishing line in Cape Cod Bay.Shark sightings along the Massachusetts coast have been rising in the last few weeks, as more of the apex predators move north to the region for the summer and fall. Some Cape beaches were closed to swimming last week due to several shark sightings.While most of the shark reports show the animal lurking below the water’s surface, a recent great white sighting was a shark leaping into the air.“White shark jumped and caught our striped bass on the line!” a witness on the fishing boat posted on the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app, along with a photo of the mid-air shark.The shark sighting was reported off of Eastham in Cape Cod Bay on Friday evening.Related ArticlesLocal News | Cape Cod beaches close to swimming after several shark sightings: ‘Lots of activity today’ Local News | A b...

Wildfire smoke from Canada again impacts Massachusetts, sparks ‘air quality alert’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:51:11 GMT

That pesky smoke from the raging Canadian wildfires is yet again impacting the region, sparking an “air quality alert” for parts of the Bay State.The smoke from the out-of-control wildfires in Canada has wreaked havoc on the U.S. for several weeks now, since the beginning of June. Depending on how the wind blows, the smoke and hazy skies will likely come back to the region at various points over the next few months.One of those unfortunate times is this week, as the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection on Monday issued an air quality alert for five counties in central and western Massachusetts.Those counties under the air quality alert for elevated fine particle pollution (PM2.5) on Monday were: Worcester, Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties.“Air quality is expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups,” the state Department of Environmental Protection said in a statement. “Sensitive groups include people with heart or l...