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Cooling Down, Tropics Heating Up

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:16 GMT

The summer like days are becoming less and less frequent as we head into the last week-ish of August and kids head back to school. If you like the summer like feel with warmth and humidity, hopefully you got outside to enjoy the weather today. Not that it will be cold the rest of the week, but it will be quite a bit cooler than today was. The cold front dropping south this evening may spark a few isolated showers but it will also open the door for cooler and drier air to fill in for the rest of the week, starting tomorrow.Now, average highs are near 80° so the cooler air is all relative and even though we fall to the 70s for the rest of the week, the next few days are not atypical for late August. But it’s not just the temperatures that fall back the next few days, the humidity will too.While our forecast is cooling down, the tropics are heating up! Now, this isn’t unexpected for this time of year. Mid August to mid October is peak hurricane time with the Atlantic waters...

Mac Jones details ideal role as QB in Patriots’ offense

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:16 GMT

Mac Jones wants to go back to being “Alabama Mac.”That’s what the Patriots quarterback told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer recently. Jones led Alabama to a national championship as a senior and was named a consensus All-American in 2020. So, it’s probably a good idea.But what does being “Alabama Mac” entail?Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick not aware of any Patriots pursuit of Aaron Rodgers New England Patriots | Bill Belichick honors Tom Brady even before Patriots’ Week 1 tribute New England Patriots | Patriots coach Bill Belichick updates Isaiah Bolden’s injury, explains cancelling joint practices New England Patriots | Patriots-Packers film review: Mac Jones makes subtle progress and 29 more takeaways New England Patriots | Patriots’ Isaiah Bolden released from hospital after scary scene in preseason game “I think just continuing to work hard and be myself and ...

Former President Donald Trump’s bond is set at $200,000 in Georgia case

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:16 GMT

By Alanna Durkin Richer and Jill Colvin, Associated PressDonald Trump’s bond has been set at $200,000 in the Georgia case accusing the former president of scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss, according to court papers filed Monday.The bond agreement, outlined in a court filing signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Trump’s defense attorneys, also bars Trump from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case — including on social media.He is also prohibited from communicating “in any way, directly or indirectly” about the facts of the case with any co-defendant or witness, except through attorneys.Trump was charged last week in the case alongside 18 allies who prosecutors say conspired to subvert the will of voters in a desperate bid to keep the Republican in the White House after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.Trump has denied any wrongdoing. He has been railing against the case since before he was indicted and singled out Georgia Gov. Brian ...

Chicago woman arrested on federal charges she threatened to kill Donald Trump and son Barron

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:16 GMT

By Jason Meisner, Chicago TribuneA Chicago woman was arrested Monday on federal charges alleging she threatened to kill former President Donald Trump and his 17-year-old son Barron.Tracy Marie Fiorenza, 41, was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed in Florida last week. She was arrested in Chicago Monday morning and is scheduled to have an initial appearance at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse at 3 p.m.The charges were first reported by the online newsletter CourtWatch.The five-page complaint alleged that on May 21, Fiorenza emailed the headmaster of a Palm Beach County school and wrote, “I will state that I will shoot Donald Trump Sr. AND Baron Trump (sic) straight in the face at any opportunity that I get!”She allegedly sent a similar email to the same headmaster threatening the younger Trump’s life two weeks later, according to the complaint.Barron Trump has attended a private school in Palm Beach since his family left the White House, though the charges do not identify the school ...

Brita water filter company accused of false advertising

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:16 GMT

LOS ANGELES — A lawsuit filed against the maker of some of the nation’s most popular water filtration systems has accused the Brita company of falsely advertising that its products remove or reduce hazardous contaminants from tap water.The proposed class-action lawsuit, which was filed last Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims that deceptive advertising has led customers to falsely believe that Brita products filter such contaminants as arsenic, nitrate, hexavalent chromium and certain PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” from tap water.Brita is owned by Clorox Co., which is headquartered in Oakland. Clorox released a statement Wednesday saying it was still reviewing the complaint, but looked forward to “defending ourselves vigorously.”“Brita takes the transparency of the variety of water filtration options we offer seriously,” the statement said. “Our products include a standard filtration option that improves taste and odo...

Hilary drenched deserts and flooded roadways in California. Now it's threatening Oregon and Idaho

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:16 GMT

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) — Hilary, the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, swept people into swollen rivers, toppled trees onto homes and flooded roadways as the massive system marched northward Monday, prompting flood watches and warnings in more than a half dozen states. The National Hurricane Center in Miami downgraded Hilary to a post-tropical storm Monday morning, but warned that “continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding” was expected over portions of the southwestern U.S., along with record-breaking rainfall. There was the potential of flooding in states as far north as Oregon and Idaho. Remnants of the storm were expected to linger at least through Tuesday morning.Hilary, which first slammed into Mexico’s arid Baja California Peninsula, causing one death and widespread flooding, was one of several potentially catastrophic natural events affecting California on Sunday. Besides the tropical storm, which produced tornado warnings, the...

Syria’s state media reports Israeli airstrikes near the capital, Damascus

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:16 GMT

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (AP) — Israeli’s military staged airstrikes near Syria’s capita late Monday, Syrian state media reported. There was no immediate word on any casualties.State TV said that “an Israeli aggression is targeting suburbs of the capital Damascus,” but gave no further details. State news agency SANA said Syrian air defenses were activated against “hostile targets” near Damascus.An Israeli air attack Aug. 7 on suburbs of Damascus reportedly killed four soldiers.Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in its northern neighbor, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges them.Israel has also targeted the international airports in Damascus and the northern Syrian city of Aleppo several times over the past few years, often putting it out of commission.The Associated Press

Ecuadorians reject oil drilling in the Amazon, ending operations in a protected area

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:16 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Ecuadorians voted against drilling for oil in a protected area of the Amazon, an important decision that will require the state oil company to end its operations in a region that’s home to isolated tribes and is a hotspot of biodiversity.With over 90% of the ballots counted by early Monday, around six in 10 Ecuadorians rejected the oil exploration in Block 43, situated within Yasuni National Park. The referendum took place along with the presidential election, which will be decided in a runoff between leftist candidate Luisa González and right-wing contender Daniel Noboa. The country is experiencing political turmoil following the assassination of one of the candidates, Fernando Villavicencio.Yasuni National Park is inhabited by the Tagaeri and Taromenani, who live in voluntary isolation, and other Indigenous groups. In 1989, it was designated, along with neighboring areas, a world biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Org...

B.C.’s premier urges Meta to allow news sharing in B.C. amid wildfire crisis

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:16 GMT

VANCOUVER — Premier David Eby is calling on the social media company Meta to reverse its decision to block Canadian news from being shared online in British Columbia, saying it feels like it is holding the province “ransom” in its ongoing spat with Ottawa.Eby is imploring the company and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to open up access to critical information that could help keep residents safe as the province grapples with devastating wildfires that have forced thousands of people from their homes.He says the decision to permanently ban Canadian news on Facebook an Instragram is “incredibly frustrating” and he hopes “common sense prevails.”Meta’s decision to block news came in response to Canada’s Online News Act, which will require tech giants like Meta and Google to make deals with news publishers whose content they link to or repurpose on their platforms to compensate them for their work.Meta showed an unwillingness to co-operate on a p...

‘Unprofessional’: Two lawyers barred from practising in Manitoba after judge followed

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:16 GMT

WINNIPEG — The Law Society of Manitoba has barred two Alberta lawyers from practising in the province after receiving complaints they hired a private investigator to surveil a judge who was hearing a case involving COVID-19 public health orders.John Carpay, president of the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and Randal Jay Cameron must also each pay a $5,000 fine.Ayli Klein, the law society’s counsel, told a panel at a disciplinary hearing Monday that the conduct by Carpay and Cameron was “truly shocking.”“(Their actions) brought the administration of justice into disrepute … every member of the public who hears of this would be appalled,” she said.“It’s crucial the panel sends an unequivocal message … what they did was unprofessional.”Klein argued that banning Carpay and Cameron from practising law in the province was the most serious penalty available.Both Carpay and Cameron agreed to the law society’s re...