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Southern California county files lawsuits alleging power company’s equipment sparked wildfires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:43 GMT

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California county has filed lawsuits alleging a major power company’s negligence caused two wildfires that collectively burned thousands of acres and prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.Orange County, which is home to more than 3 million people between Los Angeles and San Diego, filed a pair of lawsuits against Southern California Edison in which it alleges the company’s equipment played a role in wildfires in 2020 and 2022.The county said in the lawsuit that it believes that the Coastal Fire — which burned 200 acres (80 hectares), destroyed 20 homes and prompted more than 900 people to evacuate in May 2022 — was caused by an electrical failure on a utility pole that supported a distribution line. The county alleged the incident occurred because Southern California Edison, known as SCE, failed to maintain its facilities in a safe manner in an area of significant risk of wildfire.“We demand that the utilities responsi...

Prosecutors focus on video evidence in trial of Washington officers charged in Manny Ellis’ death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:43 GMT

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A cellphone video of the 2020 fatal arrest of Manny Ellis shows the Black man on the ground with his hands in the air in surrender as police officers held his neck and shot him with a Taser, according to the testimony Wednesday of a forensic video analyst in the trial of three Washington officers accused in his death.Prosecutors are also expected to call Ellis’ sister and mother to the stand. Tacoma Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank, both white, are charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Officer Timothy Rankine, who is Asian American, is charged with manslaughter. All three have pleaded not guilty.Video evidence will be key in the case against the officers. The officers have claimed that the 33-year-old Ellis aggressively fought back, but the videos show he was in a surrender position during the attack.Grant Fredericks, owner of a forensic video analysis company, walked the jury, slide by slide, through one of the cellphone vide...

McCarthy’s ouster leaves the House adrift as divided Republicans seek to unite behind a new leader

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The stunning removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker has left the House adrift as Republicans struggle to bring order to their fractured majority and begin the difficult and potentially prolonged process of uniting around a new leader. The House convened briefly Wednesday and then went into recess, with North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, the caretaker speaker pro-tempore, serving in the job with very little power for the foreseeable future. Other Republicans left Washington, awaiting the next steps.The House will try to elect a speaker as soon as next week. The timing is nowhere near certain as Republicans line up for their chance at the gavel amid the bitter divisions that sparked the chaos.The House majority leader, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., is in line for the post, but he faced an immediate challenge from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the Judiciary Committee chairman and a favorite of conservatives, who quickly announced his own candidacy. Others are expected to emer...

Nichols College president resigns amid allegations of misconduct at Coast Guard Academy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:43 GMT

DUDLEY, Mass. (AP) — A former Coast Guard Academy professor whose tenure coincided with a sexual harassment scandal has resigned as president of Nichols College in Massachusetts.Glenn Sulmasy stepped down Tuesday amid an investigation initiated by the private, four-year college after accusations from Sulmasy’s time at the academy came to light.“In light of these reports and facts uncovered to date during our ongoing investigation, and their impact on President Sulmasy’s ability to lead Nichols College, the board strongly believes the institution’s best interest is to pursue new leadership,” the college said.Neither Sulmasy nor his attorney immediately returned messages seeking comment Wednesday. The Coast Guard in June apologized for failing to take “appropriate action” years earlier when accusations of sexual assault and harassment surfaced at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. An investigation dubbed “Operation Fouled Anchor” identified 62 substantiated...

Manitoba Tory cabinet minister denounces right-wing pivot in election campaign

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:43 GMT

WINNIPEG — A Manitoba cabinet minister defeated in Tuesday’s provincial election says the Progressive Conservative party she has served for years took a hard-right pivot during the election campaign and now needs to address an identity crisis.Rochelle Squires, who served in a variety of cabinet posts since the Tories took power in 2016, said she was surprised by campaign ads that touted the government’s opposition to a landfill search for the remains of Indigenous women.“It certainly was a surprise and certainly was something that was not reflective of the work that we had been doing in government for the last 7 1/2 years, and it’s deeply regrettable,” Squires said in an interview Wednesday.Squires, who had been front and centre for some of the party’s major campaign announcements, made a decision when she saw the ads.“I made a decision that I didn’t want to lead any news conferences.”She stayed out of the campaign spotlight afte...

Toronto unofficially sees hottest Oct. 4 in 72 years, but cooler temperatures are coming

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:43 GMT

For yet another day this week Toronto saw a temperature record broken as warm air continues to cover the region, but cooler temperatures are on the way.According to data from Environment Canada’s weather station at Toronto Pearson International Airport, there was a high of 27.9 C at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.Wednesday’s daytime high at the airport broke a long-standing record. Historical weather data from the federal department showed the previous high for Oct. 4 was 27.2 C in 1951.The coldest Oct. 4 since records were kept dates back to 1974 when the high was just -3.3 C.RELATED: Heat in Toronto breaks 22-year-old recordDespite the unofficial record-breaking temperatures in Toronto, the city wasn’t the warmest place in Canada on Wednesday. In the Petawawa, Ont., area, the temperature reached 30.7 C Wednesday afternoon. The coldest place was Svartevaeg, Nunavut, where it was -10.7 C.On Tuesday, temperatures at Toronto Pearson International Airport broke a 22-year record....

Simone Biles leads U.S. women to record 7th straight team title at gymnastics world championships

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:43 GMT

ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Led by Simone Biles, the U.S. women won a record seventh consecutive team title at the gymnastics world championships on Wednesday night.The American team of Biles, Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely and Leanne Wong combined for a total of 167.729 points to edge Brazil and France. The U.S. team won by a margin of 2.199 points as the final proved to be a closer contest than anticipated after the Americans put up a dominant performance in qualifying. The U.S. women have won gold in the team event at every world championship that included a team competition since 2011. Their victory in Antwerp broke a tie with the Chinese men for the longest streak of consecutive team titles and made Biles the most decorated female gymnast in history.Biles now has 26 world championship medals, 20 of them gold, to go with her seven Olympic medals, including the 2016 Olympic title. Her 33 combined medals at the sport’s two biggest events are one more than what Larisa Latynina of the Sovi...

Whether Lionel Messi plays or not, a big night ahead for Chicago Fire FC, Soldier Field

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:43 GMT

CHICAGO — Will the greatest player in soccer take the field Wednesday night at Soldier Field? As of Wednesday afternoon, that question about Lionel Messi still remains up in the air as a big crowd makes their way downtown for Chicago Fire FC's match against Inter Miami CF. The Argentinian superstar is the reason Soldier Field is sold out Wednesday night in what some could argue is the biggest regular season match for the Fire since they started playing in MLS in 1998. Ticket prices were increased by the club once Messi joined Inter Miami CF back in July in accordance with others in the league as demand on the secondary market soared. Yet that has softened as the midfielder has been struggling with what's been described as a "scar tissue" injury the past few weeks.Messi was listed as questionable for the match by Inter Miami CF in their pregame notes after missing four of the last five matches. Messi's last appearance came on September 20 against Toronto FC, starting the match but pl...

iPhone too hot? Apple releases fix for issue causing devices to run 'warmer than expected'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:43 GMT

(AP) — Apple has released an iOS 17 system update that includes a fix to prevent the iPhone 15 lineup from becoming uncomfortably hot.According to the release's accompanying patch notes, iOS 17.0.3 “addresses an issue that may cause iPhone to run warmer than expected.”The Cupertino, California, company blamed a software bug and other issues tied to popular apps such as Instagram and Uber for causing its recently released iPhone 15 models to heat up and spark complaints about becoming too hot to handle.“We have identified a few conditions which can cause iPhone to run warmer than expected," Apple in a short statement provided to The Associated Press last week after media reports detailed overheating complaints that are peppering online message boards. Phone didn’t get the Emergency Alert System test? This may be why It’s not unusual for new iPhones to get uncomfortably warm during the first few days of use or when they are being restored with backup information stored in ...

Lawmakers consider major decisions to shape future of FAA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - Soon a new leader could take over the Federal Aviation Administration, with important implications for traveling Americans. This comes as Congress is also negotiating a funding plan for the agency.President Biden nominated Michael Whitaker for the role of FAA Administrator. On Wednesday he faced questions at a Senate confirmation hearing, where lawmakers talked about the importance of filling the role. Texas Republican will nominate Trump for Speaker of the House "To put it simply the FAA has its work cut out for it," Senator John Thune said.The Federal Aviation Administration is dealing with a lot of issues ranging from understaffing to outdated technology. But Whitaker said he's ready to take on the job of administrator."If confirmed my priority will be the safety of the flying public. They put their trust in the FAA to keep aviation the safest way to travel," Whitaker said.At the hearing he outlined his plans to improve safety, make new investments, and b...