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Federal officials say plan for water cuts from 3 Western states is enough to protect Colorado River

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:47:39 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Federal officials said Wednesday that conditions have improved on the Colorado River to the point that a plan by California, Arizona and Nevada to voluntarily reduce water use should help keep the river basin on stable footing for the next few years.The U.S. Department of the Interior said in a statement that the risk of reaching critically low water elevations at Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the river’s two key reservoirs, has gone down substantially. “We have staved off the immediate possibility of the System’s reservoirs from falling to critically low elevations that would threaten water deliveries and power production,” Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau said in a statement.The river serves seven U.S. states, Native American tribes and two states in Mexico, supports a multibillion-dollar farm industry in the West and generates hydropower used across the region. Years of overuse by farms and cities and the effects of drought worsened by climate change ...

Ex-NFL player Sergio Brown, charged with killing mother, has been denied release

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:47:39 GMT

MAYWOOD, Ill. (AP) — Former NFL player Sergio Brown, charged with killing his mother, bought a one-way ticket to Cancun, Mexico, after being the last person seen with the woman before her slaying last month, a prosecutor said Wednesday.Brown, who faces charges of first-degree murder and concealing a homicide, appeared in court for a detention hearing Wednesday before Cook County Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez, who denied him pretrial release. He will be detained until his next court date, scheduled for Nov. 22.The body of his mother, Myrtle Brown, was discovered Sept. 16 near a creek in Maywood, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) west of Chicago. A medical examiner ruled her death a homicide and determined that she had been injured during an assault.Brown, 35, and his 73-year-old mother lived together in Maywood.On Oct. 7, Brown was deported to the U.S. from Mexico, and he was brought back to Illionis on Tuesday, local news outlets reported.During the hearing, Brown stood in a gray sweats...

Deer charges through crowded Wisconsin restaurant

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:47:39 GMT

BELOIT, Wis. (AP) — People go to Noodles & Company to save a buck, not to have one interrupt their meal. But that’s what happened in Beloit, Wisconsin, on Tuesday when a deer came crashing through the restaurant’s window.Surveillance footage shows a deer charging into the crowded restaurant around lunchtime, prompting diners to scatter. The animal then explored the dining area and kitchen before exiting out a back door opened by an employee, Noodles & Company spokesperson Stephanie Jerome told The Associated Press.No one was harmed in the incident, and the location has since reopened after a deep clean, Jerome said. The restaurant offered a “2 Buck Mac & Cheese” special on Wednesday to commemorate the incident.The Associated Press

Al-Jazeera Gaza correspondent loses 3 family members in an Israeli airstrike

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:47:39 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Al-Jazeera’s chief correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Wael Dahdouh, was helping broadcast live images of the besieged territory’s night sky when he received the devastating news: His wife, son and daughter had all been killed in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday.Moments later, the Qatari-based satellite channel switched to footage of Dahdouh entering al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza before giving way to grief as he peered over the body of his dead son.“They take revenge on us in our children,” he said, kneeling over his son’s bloodied body, still wearing his protective press vest from that day’s work.The video was sure to reverberate across the Arab world, where the 53-year-old journalist is well-known as the face of Palestinians during many wars. He is revered in his native Gaza for telling people’s stories of suffering and hardship to the outside world.According to Al-Jazeera, Dahdouh’s family members were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit Nuseirat...

Hyundai to hold software-upgrade clinics across the US for vehicles targeted by thieves

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:47:39 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hyundai said Wednesday that it will set up “mobile clinics” at five U.S. locations to provide anti-theft software upgrades for vehicles now regularly targeted by thieves using a technique popularized on TikTok and other social media platforms.The South Korean automaker will hold the clinics, which will run for two to three days on or adjacent to weekends, in New York City; Chicago; Minneapolis; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Rochester, New York. The clinics will take place between Oct. 28 and Nov. 18. Hyundai said it will also support single-day regional clinics run by dealerships before the end of 2023, although it didn’t name locations or dates.The automaker listed the affected vehicles as the 2018-2022 Accent, the 2011-2022 Elantra, the 2013-2020 Elantra GT, the 2013-2014 Genesis Coupe, the 2018-2022 Kona, the 2020-2021 Palisade, the 2013-2022 Santa Fe, the 2013-2018 Santa Fe Sport, the 2019 Santa Fe XL, the 2011-2019 Sonata, the 2011-2022 Tucson, the 2012-20...

Michigan State hearing officer rules Mel Tucker sexually harassed Brenda Tracy, AP source says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:47:39 GMT

A Michigan State University hearing officer has determined that former Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker sexually harassed rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy, a person familiar with the ruling told The Associated Press on Wednesday.The hearing officer ruled Tucker was in violation of several terms of his contract, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to comment publicly on the investigation.Tucker, who was fired nearly a month ago after initially being suspended, has 10 days to file an appeal.“My first reaction was tears of relief,” Tracy told USA Today, which first reported details of the decision. Messages seeking comment were left by AP with Tucker, his attorney and agent as well as with Tracy and her attorney.Tucker was suspended and later fired for acknowledging he had consensual phone sex with Tracy, who was a vendor once paid to speak with the Spartans football team about how to prevent sexual abuse and misbe...

Who is Mike Johnson? New House speaker is a strong Trump ally and a quiet force among Republicans

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:47:39 GMT

A low-key lawmaker in Congress for less than a decade, new House Speaker Mike Johnson isn’t recognizable to most Americans. But the social conservative and devoted ally of former President Donald Trump has been a quiet force within the Republican conference he now unexpectedly leads. Most important, for now, he was able to get all of their 220 votes to become speaker on the House floor. That’s something none of his more well-known colleagues were able to do, as Republicans struggled for more than three weeks to pick a replacement for ousted Kevin McCarthy. Colleagues say the Louisiana Republican who calls himself a servant will be a steady hand and give them a fresh start. Many hope they will finally be able to move past the seemingly intractable divisions within their conference that have felled every House GOP leader in the past decade.“A friend to all and an enemy to none,” Republican conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik said when nominating Johnson ahead of the speaker vot...

Oregon Supreme Court to decide if GOP senators who boycotted Legislature can run for reelection

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:47:39 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Supreme Court will decide whether Republican state senators who carried out a record-setting GOP walkout during the legislative session this year can run for reelection.The decision, announced Tuesday, means the lawmakers should have clarity before the March 12 deadline to file for office, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.The senators from the minority party are challenging a 2022 voter-approved constitutional amendment that bars state lawmakers from reelection after having 10 or more unexcused absences. Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved the ballot measure that created the amendment following Republican walkouts in the Legislature in 2019, 2020 and 2021.In an official explanatory statement, as well as in promotional materials and news coverage, the measure was touted as prohibiting lawmakers who stay away in order to block legislative action from seeking reelection.That’s the meaning that state elections officials have chosen to adopt. Earlier th...

Former US Rep. Mark Walker drops North Carolina gubernatorial bid to run for Congress

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:47:39 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Just after the North Carolina General Assembly gave final approval Wednesday to a new congressional map favoring Republicans, a former congressman announced he is dropping out of the Republican primary for governor to try to win back his seat in the U.S. House.Ex-U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, a former Baptist pastor from Greensboro, launched a bid Wednesday to reclaim the district he had represented on Capitol Hill for six years. He held the seat until a previous redistricting cycle opened the door for Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning to take office. “I didn’t really leave voluntarily,” Walker said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Now that the General Assembly has restored the 6th District to how it’s historically been represented, which is conservative Republican, it felt like this was the right time to reengage with everything going on in the country.”The Republican-led General Assembly approved a plan Wednesday for North Carolina’s 14 U.S. House seats,...

Turbocharged Otis caught forecasters and Mexico off-guard. Scientists aren’t sure why

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:47:39 GMT

Hurricane Otis turned from mild to monster in record time, and scientists are struggling to figure out how — and why they didn’t see it coming.Usually reliable computer models and the forecasters who use them didn’t predict Otis’ explosive intensification, creating a nightmare scenario of an unexpectedly strong storm striking at night. Acapulco was told to expect a tropical storm just below hurricane strength, but 24 hours later, Otis blasted onto the Mexican coast with 165 mph (266 kph) winds, the strongest landfall of any East Pacific hurricane.In just 12 hours, Otis’ strength more than doubled from 70 mph (113 kph) winds to 160 mph (257 kph), also a record, as it neared the coast. And it got even stronger before it struck. Storms typically gain or lose a few miles per hour in 12 hours, though some outliers gain 30 to 50 mph (48 to 80 kph) in a day.What happened with Otis was just plain nuts, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. But it coincides with ...