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Tornadoes kill at least 11 across US Midwest and South

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:30 GMT

WYNNE, Ark. (AP) — Unrelenting tornadoes that tore through parts of the South and Midwest killed at least 11 people, collapsed the roof of a packed theater during a heavy metal concert in Illinois, and left small towns and big cities throughout the region bewildered Saturday by the damage.Tornadoes touched down into the night, laying waste to homes and businesses and stripping bark and limbs off trees, as part of a sprawling storm system that also brought wildfires to the southern Plains and blizzard conditions to the Upper Midwest.The dead included four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, Cross County Coroner Eli Long told KAIT-TV. Other deaths were reported in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi the Little Rock area.Wynne City Councilmember Lisa Powell Carter said the town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Memphis, Tennessee, was without power and roads were full of debris.“I’m in a panic trying to get home, but we can’t get home,” she said Friday night. “Wynn...

Peabody man wins $1M Mass. lottery prize

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:30 GMT

Robert Tucker, of Peabody, has won a $1 million prize in the Massachusetts State Lottery’s “$2,000,000 50X Cashword” instant ticket game.Tucker chose the annuity option on his prize and received the first of 20 annual payments of $50,000 (before taxes). He plans to put some of his winnings toward traveling.He purchased his winning ticket at T.J.’s Variety on Lynnfield Street in Peabody. The store will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the ticket.

A glass of wine or beer per day is fine for your health: new study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:30 GMT

   Toronto, Ontario (CTV Network) — A new Canadian study of 4.8 million people says a daily alcoholic drink isn’t likely to send anyone to an early grave, nor will it offer any of the health benefits touted by previous studies, even if it is organic red wine.Low and moderate drinkers have similar mortality rates to those who abstain entirely, researchers from the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research explain. On the other hand, women who enjoy more than one standard drink per day are at least 20 per cent likely to die prematurely.“In this updated systematic review and meta-analysis, daily low or moderate alcohol intake was not significantly associated with all-cause mortality risk,” the study’s authors write, “while increased risk was evident at higher consumption levels, starting at lower levels for women than men.”Published Friday in the medical journal JAMA Open Network, the study comes on the heels of a report by t...

Mike Lupica: Anthony Volpe steals the show on Opening Day at the Stadium

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:30 GMT

You can see already, just off a couple of games, how much Yankee Universe wants Anthony Volpe to be something more than the Yankees’ latest hot kid, how much they want him to be the real thing, and how much they want him to live up to the hype. The city is still a sucker for a story like this.On Thursday, on an old pageant like Opening Day that he turned young, Volpe ran out to shortstop the way Derek Jeter did 27 years ago in Cleveland. Now he tries to be the first Yankee kid since Aaron Judge to be the real thing.And you know it was different with Judge, who didn’t make his major league debut until August of 2016, hitting four home runs between then and the end of the regular season. He didn’t have the kind of spotlight on him, and the kind of stage, that Volpe, the Jersey kid, the Yankee fan, got on Thursday afternoon, when he first heard his name called by the Bleacher Creatures and first heard the cheers at the Stadium.Actually, when Judge hit the big leagues,...

Ira Winderman: In metrics of misery, this Heat season one for the ages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:30 GMT

To the Miami Heat’s credit, there at least has been candor about just how trying a season this has been.Expectations have not been met. Opportunities have been squandered. Disappointment often carried the day.Which led to a question this past week to those in and around the organization, many who have been around from the start or close to the start:Has this been the most disappointing/frustrating season of the franchise’s 35?No, not the worst. Not with a pair of 15-67 clunkers in the mix. But that was with Ron Rothstein asked to drive an Edsel in the augural 1988-89 go-round and then the Heat in full tank-a-thon mode in 2007-08, when the closing-night rotation featured the likes of Stephane Lasme, Kasib Powell, Earl Barron and Mark Blount.Those were times when you could see it coming, as it was with other trying seasons, when from the outset it was clear there either was not enough in place to contend or a goal of building toward something better for future seasons.But ...

California's largest reservoirs close to total capacity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:30 GMT

(KTXL) -- As March comes to a close and California gets another month packed with winter storms the state's largest reservoirs are nearing their storage limit. - Video above: California Drought Monitor Shows Vast ImprovementOn Thursday, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the most recent hydro data from eight of the state's reservoirs. California's two largest reservoirs, Shasta and Oroville, are both sitting at 82% of their total capacity and are well over 100% of their average storage for the date. This 1955 dam still produces needed power for Sacramento Water levels at Oroville Reservoir, coming storms and snow water runoff caused dam operators to use the dam's main spillway on March 10 for the first time in four years.California Department of Water ResourcesThe peak water release of 35,000 cubic feet of water per second (cfs) began flowing on March 17 and would continue through March 20 when the release was released to 27,500 cfs. As of Friday, the rel...

Syria’s FM visits Egypt in step toward restoring ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:30 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Syria’s chief diplomat was in Egypt on Saturday in a step toward normalizing ties between the two countries. It was the first trip to the capital of Cairo for a Syrian foreign minister in over a decade.Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad met with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, according to Ahmed Abu Zaid, a spokesperson for the Egyptian foreign ministry.Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported that Mekdad would discuss bilateral ties and the latest developments in the region and the world.Mekdad’s visit comes as the two countries inch toward re-establishing ties. It’s been more than a decade since Syria was globally isolated after President Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown on mass protests against his rule in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising. The unrest quickly descended into protracted civil war.For years, many public figures in Egypt have urged the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to restore ties with Assad’s government. They also pushed for Damascus...

Gas prices increase in NJ, around nation amid higher demand

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:30 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Gas prices increased in New Jersey and around the nation at large amid increased demand as warmer spring weather lures motorists back out onto the roads, analysts said.AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gas in New Jersey on Friday was $3.25, an increase of two cents from last week. Drivers were paying $4.19 a gallon on average a year ago at this time.The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.50, up six cents from last week. Drivers were paying $4.22 a gallon on average a year ago at this time.Analysts say tightening gasoline supplies and signs of slowing inflation have pushed oil prices above the $70 per barrel mark, and that and robust gas demand are likely to send prices at the pump higher for the time being. The Associated Press

Wisconsin Supreme Court control, abortion access at stake

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:30 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and likely the future of abortion access, Republican-drawn legislative maps and years of GOP policies in the key swing state rests with the outcome an election Tuesday that has seen record campaign spending.The winner of the high-stakes contest between Republican-backed Dan Kelly and Democratic-supported Janet Protasiewicz will determine majority control of the court headed into the 2024 presidential election. The court came within one vote of overturning President Joe Biden’s narrow win in 2020, and both sides expect another close race in 2024.It’s the latest election where abortion rights has been the central issue since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June. It’s also an example of how officially nonpartisan court races have grown into political battles as major legal fights play out at the state level.All of it has fueled spending that will double, and likely triple or more, the previous high o...

Flying for spring break? Here are the faces behind MSP voices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:30 GMT

Have you ever caught a critical piece of information from the amplified voice of a stranger at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport? You’re not alone and now, you know who to thank.MSP announced the new voices of nine employees that can be heard throughout the terminals welcoming and informing passengers. From an animal ambassador to an aircraft load agent, these folks will tell you what you need to know.The Voices of MSP is an annual program where employees deliver public announcements to travelers. This year’s chosen voices include employees from Delta Air Lines, Endeavor Air, Sun Country Airlines, Airport Foundation MSP and the Metropolitan Airports Commission.Employees from Minneapolis-St. Paul airport have been selected as this year’s Voices of MSP and can be heard making public announcements throughout the airport. (Courtesy of The Metropolitan Airports Commission)“I was quite surprised when I was selected,” said Kristen Murphy, a pilot recruiter with Endeavo...