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Odds of a 'strong' El Niño grow again: Will California feel it?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:07 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – As the months go on, El Niño grows stronger over the Pacific. On Thursday, national forecasters gave it a larger than 95% chance of lasting through early next year. "Given recent developments, forecasters are more confident in a 'strong' El Niño event," National Weather Service forecasters said. The odds of a historically strong El Niño are now a 2 in 3 chance. This El Niño is expected to continue strengthening until it reaches its peak sometime in winter. That’s when the climate pattern can have the biggest effects on weather around the country. ‘Historically strong’ El Niño possible: What it means for winter The southern third to half of the United States, including California, is likely to be wetter this winter. (Exactly where that dividing line falls varies from year to year.) Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest and parts of the Ohio Valley tend to be dry and warm.Hawaii also often sees below-average rain during an El Niño fall, winter, and spring season.But...

California judge who’s charged with murder texted court staff that he shot his wife, prosecutors say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:07 GMT

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Prosecutors say a Southern California judge accused of killing his wife had texted his court clerk and bailiff afterward to say he had shot her.A court filing seeking new bail conditions for Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson say his text said: “I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry.” He was charged Friday with murder. Authorities say 47 weapons were seized from his home.Prosecutors say Ferguson and his wife had been arguing at a restaurant on Aug. 3. They continued arguing after returning home. The court document says the wife said something to the effect of “why don’t you point a real gun at me?” and he pulled a pistol from his ankle holster and shot her in the chest.The document says their adult son called 911 and said his father had been drinking too much and shot his mom.Ferguson also called 911 to vaguely report the shooting.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story fol...

Kenosha police arrested a Black man at Applebee’s. The actual suspects were in the bathroom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:07 GMT

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, have launched an internal investigation after a video posted to social media appears to show an officer punching a Black man the officer mistakenly believed was involved in a hit-and-run crash.The incident is another blemish for the southeastern Wisconsin city, which endured days of protests three years ago after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, who is Black, during a domestic disturbance. A white Illinois teenager named Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people during a night of unrest, killing two of them, an incident that became a flashpoint in the national debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice. The hit-and-run crash happened on July 20, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this week. Police said that witnesses told them they saw two Black men and a Black woman flee toward an Applebee’s restaurant. One witness said the woman was carrying a child, according to police.An Applebee’s employee told officer...

What’s behind the tentative US-Iran agreement involving prisoners and frozen funds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:07 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States and Iran reached a tentative agreement this week that will eventually see five detained Americans in Iran and an unknown number Iranians imprisoned in the U.S. released from custody after billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets are transferred from banks in South Korea to Qatar.The complex deal — which came together after months of indirect negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials — was announced on Thursday when Iran moved four of the five Americans from prison to house arrest. The fifth American had already been under house arrest.Details of the money transfer, the timing of its completion and the ultimate release of both the American and Iranian prisoners remain unclear. However, U.S. and Iranian officials say they believe the agreement could be complete by mid- to late-September.A look at what is known about the deal. WHAT’S IN IT?Under the tentative agreement, the U.S. has given its blessing to South Korea to conv...

Concrete actions must accompany diverse cabinet: Canada Research Chair

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:07 GMT

OTTAWA — An academic expert on inclusive politics says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s move last month to introduce more diversity into his cabinet won’t have much effect unless it goes beyond surface-level representation.Trudeau added seven new faces to his governing team in July including the first Filipina Canadian woman MP and the first Sri Lankan Tamil to serve in cabinet.He said the new cabinet reflects Canada’s diversity and brings new voices, skills and experiences to the table.Many saw the changes as part of an effort by the Liberals to shore up support in tight ridings and among specific ethnic communities.But the Canada Research Chair on gender, race and inclusive politics at Carleton University in Ottawa says a seat at the table is only one part of true representation.Erin Tolley says diversity must also be reflected in policy, or it will do little to move the needle for racialized communities come election time, both for the electorate and the minister...

Child murderer run out of towns in 1990s faces new charges in 2 Texas killings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:07 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas man who was convicted of killing an 8-year-old girl in the 1980s and then run out of several towns following his early release from prison has been indicted on two new murder charges, including one that could carry the death penalty, prosecutors announced Friday. Raul Meza Jr., 62, was arrested on murder charges earlier this year in the deaths of his roommate in May and a woman in 2019. Austin police said at the time they were also looking at as many as 10 cold cases going back to 1996 that could be connected Meza, though they have not announced any findings.The indictments handed up by a Travis County grand jury on Thursday include one count of capital murder in the death of Gloria Lofton, 65, who was found in her home. The grand jury also indicted Meza on one count of murder in the death of Jesse Fraga, 80. Meza’s attorney, Russell Hunt Jr., did not immediately return a phone message Friday. Since May, Meza has remained in jail on a $1 million bo...

Kentucky school district rushes to fix bus route snarl that canceled classes and outraged parents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:07 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A total overhaul of bus routes for Louisville’s school district turned into a logistical meltdown on the first day of classes because the new plan created too steep a learning curve for the system, district officials said Friday, forcing administrators to cancel two days of classes and leaving parents and state legislators fuming.It took just one disastrous day for Jefferson County Public Schools leaders to completely reexamine the transportation plan for Kentucky’s largest district, which serves 96,000 students. Some kids arrived home hours late on Wednesday, and classes were canceled Thursday and Friday.“We are reviewing what happened Wednesday to determine where the issues were created, why they happened and how to prevent them from happening again,” district spokesperson Mark Hebert said Friday.The district deployed a new bus routing system designed by AlphaRoute, a Boston-based consulting company that uses computer algorithms to map out course...

Kittens thriving after spending 5 days in shipping container from Georgia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:07 GMT

ORLAND PARK, Ill. — Two kittens survived a harrowing five-day journey inside a shipping container from Georgia to the suburbs and are now thriving.Last month, One Goal Animal Foundation received a surprising call from a trucking company.After making some calls around the area, One Goal found out a truck driver discovered a black kitten inside of a shipping container at Sam's Club in Oswego. The container was sent by train and then picked up in the south suburbs by the truck driver.Because the shipment had a live animal inside, Sam's Club refused it and that's when One Goal was brought in. Another kitten was discovered at the trucking company. Niles introduces feral cat program for rat control "There were crackers," executive director Beata Zabrinas said. "We are guessing they ate the crackers to stay alive."While there were crackers in the container, the kittens, who are approximately four months old, survived the five-day trip without water."These kittens were completely feral, I...

'A walking miracle': 15-year-old girl survives lightning strike during NC storms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:07 GMT

LANDIS, N.C. (WJZY) -- A 15-year-old lifeguard is counting her blessings after being struck by lightning in the middle of this week's severe storms in North Carolina.  Brynnlee Steger, of Kannapolis, said the Landis Pool had already closed to the public due to Monday's storms and her mom had just arrived to pick her up when the two of them and her lifeguard manager decided to bring in the umbrellas to prevent them from flying away.  “I had bent down to unscrew the bolts underneath the table, and I went to go pick it up, and I heard thunder, so I jumped and turned around,” said Brynnlee. “By the time I turned around, I felt it, like, it hit me, and I felt like my arm had literally got cut off.”  Employee dies in Rowan County workplace accident, officials say The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado tore through that area of Rowan County on Monday afternoon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the odds of being struck by lightning ar...

Will SoxFest return in 2024?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:07 GMT

CHICAGO — The answer to a question for one baseball team in town led to the asking of another to the club on the south side.After the Cubs announced the dates for their 2024 fan convention, many White Sox fans were wondering if one for their team could return. So is SoxFest going to happen in 2024? Well, there isn't an answer yet. "No official plans for SoxFest to announce at the moment, but we are working on plans to celebrate fans this winter," was the answer from the White Sox to WGN this week. White Sox get headlines for the wrong reasons this week Fans of the White Sox have been asking this question after the team decided not to host a fan convention this past winter. It followed a disappointing 2022 season where the club finished 81-81 and out of the American League playoffs.The White Sox said the decision was made "due to several factors" in October 2022. Fortunes have only gotten worse for the White Sox in 2023 as the team has spent the majority of the season under .500 un...