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Industrial fire prompts evacuation order in Indiana city

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:59:24 GMT

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — Authorities urged people to evacuate Tuesday near a large industrial fire in an Indiana city near the Ohio border that sent massive clouds of black smoke into the sky.The fire occurred at a former factory site in Richmond, 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) east of Indianapolis, that lately had been used to store plastics and other materials for recycling or resale, Mayor Dave Snow said.“They were under a city order to clean up and remediate that site,” Snow told The Associated Press. “We knew that was a fire hazard the way they were storing materials.”Snow described it as a “serious, large-scale fire” that apparently started in a tractor-trailer parked onsite and spread quickly. He said the fire had been contained on three sides by early evening. The cause was not immediately known.“This is an indoor and outdoor storage facility — very, very large,” the mayor said. There were no reports of injuries. But hundreds of people living within a half-mile (0.80 kilomet...

Trudeau claims Russia could be responsible for website outage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:59:24 GMT

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s official website was taken down for a brief period on Tuesday, and he suggests Russia may have been behind it.The site was taken offline as Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal visited Toronto for an official bilateral meeting and an announcement of more support in the war with Russia.“Russia being able to bring down an official Government of Canada webpage for a few hours is in no way going to dissuade us from our unshakable support of Ukraine,” Trudeau said.Read more:Trudeau announces new military aid, bilateral agreements during Ukraine PM’s visitIt wasn’t a long outage of the website, but Trudeau says the timing isn’t lost on him. He points out that Russian hackers tend to target countries when they are hosting Ukrainian officials.“For Russian hackers to target countries as they are showing their steadfast support for Ukraine as they’re welcoming Ukrainian delegations or leadership to visit so, the...

Report: Big Ten to hire Tony Petitti as new commissioner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:59:24 GMT

ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten has selected who will be the next commissioner of the conference.According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the conference will hire Tony Petitti, a former senior-level executive for Major League Baseball, MLB Network, ABC, and CBS Sports, among others.The move to go with Petitti comes as the Big Ten is set to embark on a new multi-billion-dollar media deal, massively expanding the coverage — and revenue — the conference will receive in an ever-changing college sports landscape. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: USC and UCLA will join the Big Ten in 2024 Petitti attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania where he majored in economics before going on to graduate from Harvard Law School. After spending two years working for a law firm, Petitti joined ABC Sports in 1988 as a general attorney.From there, he would be promoted to vice president of programming before joining CBS Sports in 1997, working in a variety of senior leadership roles until April 2008, when he left CBS to beco...

Bodycam footage from Louisville bank shooting released

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:59:24 GMT

(NewsNation) — Police body camera footage released Tuesday shows the moments Louisville officers were shot by a gunman who opened fire inside a downtown bank, killing five people.The exchange of gunfire, which ended with police killing the suspect, lasted only a few minutes. Two patrol officers were wounded; one of them was struck in the head.Louisville Metro Police Department Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey walked reporters through the footage at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. What we know about those killed in Louisville bank shooting Images from surveillance footage show the shooter, identified as 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, an employee at Old National Bank, holding a gun inside the building.Officers Nickolas Wilt and Cory Galloway were the first to arrive on the scene at 8:41 a.m. ET, three minutes after they were dispatched. Shots can be heard coming from inside the building as they exit their squad car.Galloway and Wilt make their way up a set of stairs to the front of the...

Half in new poll say Biden policies have not helped middle class at all

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:59:24 GMT

(The Hill) – About half of the respondents in a new poll said that the Biden administration’s current policies have not helped the middle class at all. The poll, published on Tuesday by Monmouth University, found that 51 percent of respondents said that middle-class families have not benefited from Biden’s policies so far, while 10 percent said they believe middle-class families have benefited a lot from his policies.Around 36 percent of respondents believe that middle-class families have benefited a little bit from the administration’s policies, according to the poll. In comparison, Biden's current numbers are similar to what former President Trump pulled in during his first year in office, where 11 percent of respondents said that middle-class families have benefited a lot from his administration's policies, while 53 percent of those surveyed disagreed.  When asked about families in the upper echelon in earnings, 29 percent of respondents said that wealthy families ...

Texas House votes to permanently stay on daylight saving time. But Congress won’t allow it — yet.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:59:24 GMT

(Texas Tribune) — The Texas House has taken sides in one of America’s most polarizing debates — whether to continue changing clocks twice a year, ditch daylight saving time altogether or stick with later daylight permanently.The representatives’ overwhelming verdict: Stay on daylight saving time moving forward. Why does Texas still observe daylight saving time? The chamber voted 136-5 on Tuesday to give initial approval to House Bill 1422, from Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe.“The antiquated practice of ‘springing forward’ and ‘falling back’ — changing our clocks twice a year — is frustrating to many Texans,” Metcalf said ahead of the vote. “I believe we should stick to a time without switching twice a year.”Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, asked if the House could vote on who likes which variation of time before voting on the bill, which drew a couple of chuckles. That vote did not occur.The idea is far from becoming reality. Once the bill gets a final House vote, it still has to clea...

Washington County gets pushback after pitching plan to take over road in Oak Park Heights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:59:24 GMT

Washington County officials on Tuesday discussed a controversial plan to take over jurisdiction of part of a street in Oak Park Heights to create a connection in the Manning Avenue corridor south of Minnesota 36.County officials are considering invoking a little-used state law that would allow the county to recategorize the existing portion of 58th Street between Memorial Avenue and Stillwater Boulevard as a county road.Under state law, any roadway in a county can be recategorized as a county road, and the county would then be responsible for maintenance and improvements to that road.All of the county board members at Tuesday’s workshop spoke in favor of the plan.The road in question is a block of 58th Street, which is currently owned by Oak Park Heights.Currently southbound Manning Avenue — also known as Washington County 15 — ends at Minnesota 36. To continue south, drivers must get on Minnesota 36 and drive east to Stillwater Boulevard where Manning Avenue resumes and takes drive...

NYS budget in limbo, lawmakers react

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:59:24 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) -- As you may know, the state's budget is now 10 days late, a week-long extender was issued on Monday to keep government operations running and get state employees paid on time, but the tardiness begs the questions - what's the hold up? Lawmakers say bail and housing continue to leave the state budget in limbo as they negotiate an agreement. Albany man found in possession of stolen car, handgun When our Capitol Correspondent, Amal Tlaige asked Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins when a finalized budget deal would be made, "I’d like to say soon, why don’t I let you figure out what that is." Stewart-Cousins said she, Speaker Heastie and the Governor are close to reaching a bail  agreement. "There’s just a lot that is in this package and you know in terms of what people think, the reality, and what needs to be clarified. We continue not to want to criminalize poverty for low level offenses," she said. The Leader also said the state must ensure there’s c...

NY finalizes new sexual harassment prevention training

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:59:24 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- New York State has finalized a new sexual harassment prevention training for state workers. The law requires sexual harassment prevention training to be updated every five years, something New York State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon supports."I’m really glad they put that in because think about how the world has changed in 5 years. It’s really amazing. The pandemic for instance, altered life for so many over the past few years. People were forced to work from home, some continuing to do so. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "You can definitely be sexually harassed from home," explained Reardon. "Think about phone calls, texts, emails, social media postings. All of that could be determined to be sexual harassment."But that’s not the only change made to the training."If you discriminate against somebody and gender identity, that’s sexual harassment. So we have a lot of information about that. And ...

Albany County honors 5-year-old for fundraising efforts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:59:24 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Albany County honored its youngest Citizen of the Month on Tuesday. Sadie, 5, helped the Colonie Police Department collect more than 1,100 items to send to troops serving in the U.S. military overseas.Sadie was also named Mini Miss Military Star of New York and will represent the state at the National Competition in July. Officials hope her story inspires others to support the community. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "You can make a difference, regardless of your age, you can influence anything you want to influence if you put your mind to it," Albany County Exec. Dan McCoy said.Sadie has also raised money for the American Cancer Society of the Capital Region and handed out food and blankets to people dealing with homelessness through the Street Soldiers of Albany.