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Section of heavily traveled I-95 collapses in Philadelphia after tanker truck catches fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:14 GMT

By RON TODT (Associated Press)PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed early Sunday in Philadelphia after a tanker truck carrying flammable cargo caught fire, closing a heavily traveled segment of the East Coast’s main north-south highway indefinitely, authorities said.Transportation officials warned of extensive delays and street closures and urged drivers to avoid the area in the northeast corner of the city. Officials said the tanker contained a petroleum product that may have been hundreds of gallons of gasoline. The fire was reported to be under control.Video from the scene showed a massive concrete slab had fallen from I-95 onto the road below. There were no reports of injuries.The northbound lanes of I-95 were gone, and the southbound lanes were “compromised” due to heat from the fire, said Derek Bowmer, battalion chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department. Runoff from the fire or perhaps broken gas lines were causing explosion...

Group pushes automatic crash alerts in cars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:14 GMT

WASHINGTON — Consumer Reports is launching a campaign to pressure automakers to include free technology in vehicles that calls emergency responders in case of a crash.Most automakers provide this technology in new vehicles, the safety advocate says, but charge $100 per year or more to enable it.The effort is aimed at General Motors Co., Stellantis NV, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor Corp., Subaru Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Tesla Inc. — all of which charge for or do not offer automatic crash notification in new vehicles sold in the United States.“People injured in a crash shouldn’t have critical medical care delayed because they choose not to pay for features like remote start or a mobile hot spot,” said William Wallace, Consumer Reports’ associate director of safety policy. “It’s one thing for automakers to charge extra for conveniences, but this is about safety, and safety isn’t optional.”Automatic crash notification uses a cell co...

‘Transformers’ edge out ‘Spider-Verse’ to top box office

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:14 GMT

It was Miles Morales and the Spider-Verse versus the “Transformers” at the box office this weekend and the bots came out on top.“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” the seventh entry in the series, took the No. 1 spot in its first weekend in North American theaters with $60.5 million according to studio estimates Sunday.” Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ” wasn’t too far behind, however, with an estimated $55.4 million in its second weekend.Paramount Pictures released “Rise of the Beasts” in 3,678 locations starting with Thursday previews. Set in 1994, it’s technically a sequel to the 1980s-set “Bumblebee” and a prequel to the other films. With a new cast led by Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback and a new director in Steven Caple Jr., it’s also an attempt to reset and breathe fresh life into the $4.8 billion franchise.“Rise of the Beasts” also earned $110 million from 68 international mark...

US Interior boss, tribes celebrate 20-year ban on oil drilling near Chaco national park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:14 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It’s a homecoming of sorts for U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, after her agency spent many months hosting public meetings and talking with Native American leaders about curbing the pace of oil and gas development in the San Juan Basin and protecting culturally significant sites.Her return to Chaco Culture National Historical Park on Sunday is meant to celebrate the Biden administration’s recent decision to enshrine for the next 20 years what previously had been an informal 10-mile (16-kilometer) buffer around the World Heritage site.Haaland’s own pueblo of Laguna — about 100 miles to the south — is among those that have fought to protect a broad swath of land beyond park boundaries. Haaland has called Chaco a sacred place that holds deep meaning for Indigenous people whose ancestors called the area home.“Efforts to protect the Chaco landscape have been ongoing for decades, as tribal communities have raised concerns about the impacts th...

Texas inmate convicted of robbery, assault captured after prison escape

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:14 GMT

PLAINVIEW, Texas (AP) — A 22-year-old inmate was captured Sunday about 250 miles (400 kilometers) from the West Texas prison he had escaped from hours earlier after climbing over a fence, officials said.Trent Thompson had last been seen at the Formby Unit in Plainview about 11:14 p.m. Saturday, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said. He was captured about 11:15 a.m. Sunday in Coleman, located southeast of Plainview. After climbing over a fence at the prison, officials believe that Thompson then stole a vehicle, Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Amanda Hernandez said.Thompson had been convicted of three counts of aggravated robbery out of Taylor County and Coleman County, as well as an aggravated assault on a public servant out of Coleman County, the Department of Criminal Justice said. His projected release date was 2052. He will now face felony escape charges, prison officials said Sunday. Last year, a grandfather and his four grandsons — whose ages ranged from 11 t...

‘Unabomber’ Ted Kaczynski died by suicide in prison medical center, AP sources say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:14 GMT

Ted Kaczynski, known as the “Unabomber,” who carried out a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, died by suicide, four people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.Kaczynski, who was 81 and suffering from late-stage cancer, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday. Emergency responders performed CPR and revived him before he was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead later Saturday morning, the people told the AP. They were not authorized to publicly discuss Kaczynski’s death and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.Kaczynski’s death comes as the federal Bureau of Prisons has faced increased scrutiny in the last several years following the death of wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, who also died by suicide in a federal jail in 2019.Kaczynski had been held in the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, since May 1998, when he wa...

13 injured as violence erupts at early morning Syracuse, New York, street party

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:14 GMT

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — At least 13 people were injured early Sunday when an apparent street party in Syracuse, New York, turned violent.Syracuse police Lt. Matthew Malinowski told reporters that at least four people suffered gunshot wounds and five others suffered apparent knife wounds. The other victims were apparently accidently struck by vehicles fleeing what the department called a “large gathering of hundreds of people” on the city’s West Side.All of those injured, three males and 10 females between the ages of 17 and 25, are expected to survive, he said. The 13 known victims were located on the street or later at hospitals, Malinowski said.Police went to the scene just before 12:30 a.m. to investigate a report of shots being fired. Police were investigating Sunday to determine what led to the violence and whether the stabbings preceded or followed the shots being fired. The Associated Press

Monsoon season to begin in Southwest US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:14 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) -- The Southwest U.S. monsoon season officially begins this week, which impacts parts of California, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. According to the National Weather Service, June 15 through Sept. 30 is the recognized time period for severe weather in the geographic region. California’s second-largest reservoir reaches 100% capacity A monsoon explainedOftentimes, when we think of monsoons we associate them with torrential downpours and mudslides. Though this isn't necessarily inaccurate in some areas of the world, what describes a monsoon is more simple: the shifting of the season to summer. The word monsoon actually comes from the Arabic word mausim, which means “season.” So, a monsoon isn't an individual thunder or rainstorm, but rather a large-scale weather pattern that causes summer thunderstorms, NWS explained. They are caused by a seasonal shift in the winds. Why do winds shifts? Well, NWS says the temperature of the land and the temperature o...

Austin Fire responds to airport incident involving Southwest plane

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Fire crews responded to an incident at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport late Sunday morning regarding a plane emergency.AFD said crews responded at 11:36 a.m. to investigate an engine fire. There were no reports of anything active from AFD crews; however, a couple of crews were still on the scene investigating.A spokesperson with the airport said AUS teams responded to an incident involving an aircraft prior to taking off.“The aircraft was moved safely to the maintenance area. AUS is working to resume normal airport operations and some flights may be temporarily delayed,” an airport spokesperson said.A Southwest Airlines spokesperson said the flight aborted takeoff due to a reported issue with one of the aircraft’s two engines, and the aircraft reported to the gate.SWA said a different aircraft was used to transport passengers to their original destination while the original aircraft was taken out of service for review.

State tournament week ahead: It’s time for baseball, lacrosse and golf

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:14 GMT

The final big week of high school springs sports is upon us. It all kicks off with a mega day on Tuesday.That’s when the state baseball, lacrosse and golf tournaments all get underway.BaseballBaseball plays its quarterfinal games on Tuesday, followed by semifinals on Wednesday and finals on Friday. The four classes all play at different quarterfinal and semifinal sites.Class 4A is in St. Paul, with games at CHS Field. That’s where you’ll find top-seeded Rosemount, second-seeded East Ridge and unseeded Mounds View and Lakeville South in action.Class 3A is at the mini met in Jordan, which is where second-seeded Mahtomedi and third-seeded St. Thomas Academy will compete. Those two familiar rivals could have a potential semifinal meeting.Class 2A and Class A both head north to St. Cloud. St. Agnes is unseeded in the Class 2A tournament, which will be held at Dick Putz Field, while Class A will be played at Joe Faber Field.All four championship games across all classes ...