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Vegas could break heat record as tens of millions across US face scorching temperatures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Visitors to Las Vegas on Friday stepped out momentarily to snap photos and were hit by blast-furnace air. But most will spend their vacations in a vastly different climate — at casinos where the chilly air conditioning might require a light sweater.Meanwhile, emergency room doctors were witnessing another world, as dehydrated construction workers, passed-out elderly residents and others suffered in an intense heat wave threatening to break the city’s all-time record high of 117 degrees Fahrenheit (47.2 degrees Celsius) this weekend.Few places in the scorching Southwest demonstrate the surreal contrast between indoor and outdoor life like Las Vegas, a neon-lit city rich with resorts, casinos, swimming pools, indoor nightclubs and shopping. Tens of millions of others across California and the Southwest, were also scrambling for ways to stay cool and safe from the dangers of extreme heat.“We’ve been talking about this building heat wave for a week now, and no...

Luis Robert Jr.’s All-Star experience ‘exceeded expectations,’ the Chicago White Sox center fielder says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

Luis Robert Jr. didn’t participate in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Tuesday, sitting out as a precaution after feeling tightness in his right calf during the Home Run Derby the previous night.It didn’t damper the first All-Star experience for the Chicago White Sox center fielder.“It exceeded all my expectations,” Robert said through an interpreter Friday.Robert reflected on the trip to Seattle and looked ahead to the rest of the season before the Sox resumed their season against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.His favorite part of the event — taking part in the derby.“Having the opportunity to spend a special time with my countrymen (Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena and Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis García),” Robert said. “To me it was like being in Cuba with them. Just sharing stories and having a great time together.”Robert lost to Arozarena in the semifinals. He advanced out of the first round, t...

Mets’ GM Billy Eppler open to opportunities as trade deadline nears: ‘Every situation is a little different’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

The Mets are in a strange place as the second half of the 2023 season gets underway. After looking downright moribund in June, the team that boasts the highest payroll in the sport then reeled off six straight wins to start the month of July to go 6-4 over their final 10 games before the All-Star break. The next two weeks are going to determine whether or not the Mets continue to try to push toward a playoff spot or sell off veterans in the hopes of trying to build toward the future.“It’s the consistency aspect that really kind of needs to take hold,” general manager Billy Eppler said Friday from the Citi Field dugout ahead of a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “We were encouraged by what we were seeing going into the break and hope to continue and continue on a similar path.”The belief amongst those in the clubhouse is that they finally showed what it’s capable of during that six-game winning streak. They got solid starting pitching, they ...

Overturned truck carrying oil prompts lane closures on I-15

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A truck carrying oil overturned on Friday afternoon, causing the closure of several lanes on Interstate 15 through Miramar, traffic officials said.Around 4:30 p.m., SkyFOX was over southbound I-15 at Miramar Road, where the truck was seen on its side with oil spillage right beside the vehicle. Gas leak prompts evacuation order in Poway As of 4:32 p.m., four lanes have been shut down due to the crash, according to Caltrans.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Vegas could break heat record as tens of millions across US endure scorching temperatures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Visitors to Las Vegas on Friday stepped out momentarily to snap photos and were hit by blast-furnace air. But most will spend their vacations in a vastly different climate — at casinos where the chilly air conditioning might require a light sweater.Meanwhile, emergency room doctors were witnessing another world, as dehydrated construction workers, passed-out elderly residents and others suffered in an intense heat wave threatening to break the city’s all-time record high of 117 degrees Fahrenheit (47.2 degrees Celsius) this weekend.Few places in the scorching Southwest demonstrate the surreal contrast between indoor and outdoor life like Las Vegas, a neon-lit city rich with resorts, casinos, swimming pools, indoor nightclubs and shopping. Tens of millions of others across California and the Southwest, were also scrambling for ways to stay cool and safe from the dangers of extreme heat.“We’ve been talking about this building heat wave for a week now, and now the most...

Witness says man opened fire on officers in Fargo, North Dakota

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

FARGO, N.D. — Federal, state and local authorities responded to a shooting Friday in Fargo, North Dakota, that a witness described as a man opening fire on police.Fargo police termed it a “critical incident,” but did not disclose any details or whether anyone had been shot. Within hours, a hospital reported receiving patients, and law enforcement agencies across the region posted sympathies for Fargo police on social media.Sanford Medical Center Fargo spokesperson Paul Heinert said in an email that the hospital “did receive patients stemming from today’s shooting incident in Fargo.” He said updates on their conditions would come from the Fargo Police Department. Surveillance video provided by Fargo resident Allison Carlson captured the rapid sounds of gunfire lasting just seconds.Chenoa Peterson said she was driving by the area with her 22-year-old daughter when a man pulled out a gun and began firing at police.“He proceeds to aim it and you just hear the bullets go off, and I’m lik...

Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for Cook, DuPage, LaSalle, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

UPDATE: The National Weather Service in Chicago has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for LaSalle counties until 9:30 p.m. on Friday.Kane and Kendall counties have also issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until 9:15 p.m.Cook, DuPage, and Will counties have issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until 9:45 p.m.The National Weather Service in Chicago also issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry, and Will counties until 10 p.m. on Friday.Latest warnings and watches from the National Weather Service.Chicago area sees severe weather for third day in a rowThe Chicago area is at a 2 on the scale of 1-5 for the risk of severe weather Friday. Showers will move out for awhile Friday and midday sun and humidity will arrive.The sun will help fuel an environment of instability this afternoon with storms set to return around 4 p.m. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here The first roun...

Record warm Gulf of Mexico partially responsible for Texas heat wave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Central Texas is baking in its second-hottest July on record, due in part to persistent southeast winds blowing over record warm Gulf of Mexico waters.Overnight low temperatures in Austin have been record warm four out of the last five mornings as of Friday, and we are expecting another record warm morning on Saturday. Southeast winds originating over the 86°+ Gulf of Mexico strip heat and moisture from the water and bring more humidity into the area, keeping overnight lows anomalously warm.The higher moisture levels also worsen "feels like" temperatures. Austin set an unofficial all-time heat index record of 118° on Jun. 21.NOAA Oceanographer discusses record warmth in the GulfDr. Huai-min Zhang, oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, joined KXAN Chief Meteorologist David Yeomans to discuss the oceanic heatwave."Over the whole global ocean average, sea surface temperatures have broken records starting in mid-March of this year," Zha...

Twins: Players-only meetings were a hit, but coaches do it best

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

OAKLAND, Calf. — The Twins might have used the all-star break as a reset, but in their first game back they went back to running their hitters meetings the old-fashioned way. With hitting coaches.“They’re all going to be in the same meeting going forward, and I think it’s certainly the right place for us to be,” manager Rocco Baldelli said Friday before the Twins’ first pitch against the Athletics at Oakland Coliseum.After getting swept in Atlanta June 26-29, the team refocused with a players-only meeting and started having hitting meetings without any of their hitting coaches, co-hitting coaches Rudy Hernandez and David Popkins and assistant Derek Shoman.Initial results were positive. The Twins scored eight runs out of the game in a victory at Baltimore, won two of three from the Orioles, then averaged 6.66 runs in a three-game sweep of last-place Kansas City before the lineup went cold again — 1.66 runs a game — in a three-game sweep from Baltimore to send the Twins into the break...

Woodbury man charged with multiple counts of tax fraud in connection to Cottage Grove businesses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:20 GMT

A Woodbury businessman was charged with 13 felony tax crimes in relation to a landscaping business he owns and a haunted house business he operates, both located in Cottage Grove.The Minnesota Department of Revenue announced Friday that the Washington County Attorney’s Office recently charged William Joseph Zywiec of Woodbury with eight felony counts of filing false or fraudulent sales tax returns, four felony counts of failing to file sales tax returns, and one felony count of failing to pay sales tax.Zywiec owns and operate Zywiec Landscape and Garden Center, located in Cottage Grove, and also operates The Haunting Experience at the same property, which offers Halloween-related hayrides, a haunted house and a fall fest event, the complaint said. He does sales tax reporting and payments for both businesses.The criminal complaint alleges that from March 2019 to March 2022, Zywiec “either filed sales tax returns he knew were false or failed to file sales tax returns altogether....