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Fire triggers explosions at Louisiana chemical plant as residents warned to stay indoors for hours

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:48 GMT

PLAQUEMINE, La. (AP) — A fire at a Louisiana chemical plant triggered explosions that shook homes several miles away and sent flames and smoke billowing into the air, prompting emergency officials to urge a few hundred nearby residents to shelter indoors for several hours and to turn off their air conditioners.Flames erupted late Friday at Dow Chemical’s plant on the Mississippi River near Plaquemine, south of Baton Rouge. Iberville Parish officials told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate that the fire started in an area of the plant that handles ethylene oxide, a flammable and highly carcinogenic chemical. The parish’s sheriff, Bret Stassi, said no one was injured and that the company had accounted for all its workers. Residents of roughly 350 households within a half-mile (0.80 kilometers) of the plant were told to shelter inside for several hours overnight. As Dow Chemical and environmental officials monitored the air for hazardous materials, emergency offici...

Thai prime minister hopeful says he’s open to let partner party contend for the job if his bid fails

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:48 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s rocky road to naming a new prime minister took a fresh turn Saturday as the candidate who led his party to first place in May’s general election said he is open to bowing out of contention if he cannot win a second round of voting in Parliament. Pita Limjaroenrat, the 42-year-old leader of the progressive Move Forward Party, said he would be willing to let a coalition partner party field its candidate. However, he indicated the political battling could continue for weeks.Lawmakers on Thursday failed to confirm Pita as prime minister despite his party’s surprising victory in the May polls, when it garnered 151 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives. It then assembled an eight-party coalition that together holds 312 seats, a clear majority in the lower house, giving it the right to nominate a prime minister.To be elected for prime minister, a candidate needs to win a majority of votes in a joint sitting of the lower house and the 250-seat Sena...

Students in shortchanged Pennsylvania school districts plug away while lawmakers dither over funding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:48 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nylla Miller didn’t dwell on the shortcomings of her education when she spoke at her high school graduation. Instead she talked about all she and her classmates had accomplished. They had achieved at high levels even in cramped classrooms with no air conditioning that got stuffier as the summer months approached — a reversal from earlier in the year, when the heat wasn’t working and it was almost too cold to focus. Athletes had set new records, even on a dirt track that doesn’t meet state standards.Miller praised the Penn Wood High School Class of ’23 on a hot June morning in Hagan Arena at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia without saying much about all the ways the Pennsylvania public schools had failed them. She told her fellow graduates and their families that they were “the flyest class ever to do it.”“We have left our mark, not only here, but in every room that we have entered,” she said.But overcoming adversity was more than just a graduation ...

Saturday Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of isolated storms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:48 GMT

Saturday: Mostly cloudy & chance of iso. thunderstorms. Decreasing air quality with more Canadian wildfire smoke returning. SSW 10-20 mph. Highs mid 80s, a bit cooler by the lakeSaturday Night: Slight chance of showers/thunderstorms then clearing. WNW 5-15 mph. Lows in the upper 60s outlying areas, low 70s in the city.Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Sunday: Clouds & sun with chance of iso. PM thunderstorms. WSW 10-20 mph. High 84, cooler lakeside.Chicago Area Radar | WGN TVExtended outlook calls for a bit cooler on Monday with highs in the upper 70s with partly cloudy skies. Low 80s with a mix of clouds and sun on Tuesday. Chance of showers/t'storms returns to the forecast for Wednesday with highs in the mid to low 80s. 

Is it possible to increase your Powerball jackpot odds?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:48 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - With yet another large lottery jackpot brewing — this time, a $875 million Powerball jackpot — it’s tempting to want to try your luck.But, in a game when you’ll be facing potentially millions of other players, are there any ways to sway your odds of landing the record-setting Powerball prize? First, it’s important to understand what your odds at the jackpot really are. Any ticket has a 1 in 292.2 million chance of matching the winning jackpot numbers, Powerball officials say. You’re more likely to be attacked by a shark (1 in 3.7 million, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History) or being struck by lightning (less than 1 in a million), or even both on the same day, than winning big.  Not sure how to play Powerball? Here’s what you need to know Still, there are some methods lottery players swear by to improve their chances of winning the major payout. Among those are selecting certain numbers. Data shows there are some numbers that are draw...

APD investigating homicide in west Austin 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Saturday, the Austin Police Department said it was investigating a homicide in west Austin.APD said officers were at an apartment complex in the 3500 block of North Capital of Texas Highway southbound.A public information officer is expected to hold a briefing later Saturday morning, according to APD.This is a developing story. Check back with KXAN for more information.

David Brooks: ‘Human beings are soon going to be eclipsed’?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:48 GMT

Recently I stumbled across an essay by Douglas Hofstadter that made me happy. Hofstadter is an eminent cognitive scientist and the author of books like “Gödel, Escher, Bach” and “I Am a Strange Loop.” The essay that pleased me so much, called “The Shallowness of Google Translate,” was published in The Atlantic in January of 2018.Back then, Hofstadter argued that AI translation tools might be really good at some pedestrian tasks, but they weren’t close to replicating the creative and subtle abilities of a human translator. “It’s all about ultrarapid processing of pieces of text, not about thinking or imagining or remembering or understanding. It doesn’t even know that words <em>stand</em> for things,” he wrote.The article made me happy because here was a scientist I greatly admire arguing for a point of view I’ve been coming to myself. Over the past few months, I’ve become an AI limitationist. That is, I believe that while AI will be an amazing tool for, say, tutoring chi...

Fargo police officer dies, two others in critical condition following street shootout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:48 GMT

FARGO — A Fargo Police officer has died, two other officers are in critical condition, a suspect has died and another civilian was seriously injured following a street shootout on Friday, July 14.That information was released at 11:43 p.m. Friday night in a City of Fargo news release. It also said the Fargo Police Department would hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, July 15, to provide more information.The identities of those involved is not being released as the process of notifying family members is ongoing, the release said. It said the Fargo Police Department “acknowledges and appreciates the community’s support during this difficult time.”Dozens of police officers and sheriff’s deputies gathered solemnly outside the emergency room at Sanford Medical Center on Friday evening.By 9 p.m., a procession of first responders left the hospital and traveled to the Cass County coroners office at 1220 25th St. S., mere blocks from the initial shooting near 25th...

‘Rabbit Fire’, other fires forcing evacuations in Riverside County 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:48 GMT

Fire crews are continuing to battle several large fires in Riverside County. The largest one, the “Rabbit Fire”, broke out in the area of Jack Rabbit Trail and Gilman Springs Road east of Mystic Lake on Friday and quickly spread to over 4,500 acres by 6 a.m. Saturday morning. According to fire officials, the blaze is only 5 percent contained. The flames are mostly burning in an agricultural area but have forced the evacuation of approximately 25 homes. The evacuated homes are located north of Gilman Springs Road to Bridge Street and the 79 Freeway. According to fire officials, the blaze is only 5 percent contained. The flames are mostly burning in an agricultural area but have forced the evacuation of approximately 25 homes. (KTLA)According to fire officials, the blaze is only 5 percent contained. The flames are mostly burning in an agricultural area but have forced the evacuation of approximately 25 homes. (OnSceneTV) According to fire officials, the blaze is...

WATCH: Massive wildfire grows to 4,500 acres in Riverside County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:48 GMT

Firefighters are battling a large and rapidly spreading wildfire that erupted in Moreno Valley on Friday.Named the “Rabbit Fire,” the brush fire is located near the intersection of Alessandro Boulevard and Jack Rabbit Trail in the community of Lakeview.As of 6 a.m. Saturday morning, the blaze had scorched 4,500 acres near Moreno Valley, with other nearby fires burned a combined 500 acres in other parts of the Inland Empire.The "Rabbit Fire" was initially reported as 20 acres with a rapid rate of spread just shortly before 4 p.m. The flames later spread to around 600 acres by 6 p.m. before exploding to 1,500 acres around 7 p.m., Cal Fire officials confirmed. By 7:30 p.m., the fire grew to around 2,815 acres and by 11 p.m., the fire grew to 3,000 acres. Located in a grass and brush-heavy area, a private ranch property is being threatened by the moving flames. Fire crews have surrounded the property with flame retardant.“All of a sudden, I see this puff of smoke come up and all chaos b...