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Some US cities are replacing 4th of July fireworks with environmentally friendly drones

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:30:00 GMT

(CNN) — Fire threats and environmental concerns have prompted some US cities to forego traditional Fourth of July fireworks in favor of spectacular drone light shows this year.Salt Lake City, Utah, tried out the alternative way of celebrating Independence Day on Saturday with its first-ever drone show.The city’s mayor, Erin Mendenhall, said in a news release the new format marked an effort to minimize the area’s “high fire danger” and to lessen air quality problems caused by pyrotechnics.“As temperatures rise and fire danger increases, we must be conscientious of both our air quality and the potential for wildfires,” Mendenhall said in the release.Utah has an average of 800 to 1,000 wildfires each year, and the state is among the most wildfire-prone in the US, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety.In neighboring Colorado, also in its wildfire season, the City of Boulder made a similar decision this year with its first-ever nighttime drone show ne...

Timing out holiday weekend rain and storms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:30:00 GMT

7Weather – It’s been a soggy and cloudy start to our Sunday! Not ideal for our 4th of July weekend plans. Here’s what we can expect for the rest of the extended weekend. There will be periods of rain with some dry time mixed in today. Expect off and on waves of showers today. An isolated storm is possible this afternoon. We’ll have a lot of cloud cover around, so temperatures for most of us will stay in the 70s.Overnight, another batch of rain comes through. We’ll have showers for the Cape early tomorrow morning. A rumble of thunder is possible with this as well. Dew points will come up, so temperatures should stay in the upper 60s/near 70 overnight. That will be a good launching pad to get us into the low/mid 80s tomorrow. We’ll wake up to a lot of cloud cover. The July sunshine will help to clear it by midday. Tomorrow we’ll watch for scattered storms to develop mainly north and west of the city. The Storm Prediction Center highlights the...

11 arrested at DUI checkpoint in Pacific Beach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:30:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Eleven people were arrested at a driving under the influence (DUI) checkpoint in Pacific Beach on Saturday night, authorities said. The San Diego Police Department says officers with the Traffic Division, along with officers from California Highway Patrol, conducted the checkpoint at 2400 Grand Ave. between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Are fireworks legal in some San Diego County areas? During that time, a total of 11 drivers were taken into custody on suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, authorities confirmed. The identity of those individuals was not immediately released.According to the SDPD, exactly 2,140 vehicles traveled through the weekend checkpoint and 1,014 of them were screened by officers. A total of 21 drivers conducted field sobriety tests.In addition to these arrests, authorities say 11 vehicles were impounded.The department explained that DUI checkpoint locations are determined based on reported incidents o...

Guatemala’s high court steps into election, suspends release of official results

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:30:00 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala’s highest court has suspended the release of official election results, granting a temporary injunction to 10 parties that challenged the results of the June 25 vote.The Constitutional Court late Saturday called for a new hearing to review the contested tallies in no more than five days.Sandra Torres and Bernardo Arévalo had emerged from a field of nearly two dozen presidential hopefuls in the first round of voting. Since neither came close the 50% threshold, they were expected to compete in an Aug. 20 runoff to determine Guatemala’s next president.Arévalo in particular from the progressive Seed Movement party was a surprise, as he had not been polling among the leading candidates. Torres, the candidate for the conservative UNE party, is making her third bid for the presidency.Essentially, the court wants to compare the tallies that were put into the electoral system with the ones from the polling places themselves to make sure they match. If necessar...

NASCAR contractor dies after being electrocuted at Chicago Street Race

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:30:00 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A NASCAR contractor has died after being electrocuted while setting up for the Chicago Street Race.The Cook County Medical Examiner identified the man who died Friday as 53-year-old Duane Tabinski, the founder of an events company hired to install audio equipment for the race, local station WLS-TV reported.NASCAR said in a statement that a worker had “suffered a fatal medical emergency” on Friday.“We are coordinating with local authorities on this tragic incident,” race organizers said. “We share our condolences to the family and their loved ones.”Chicago police said first responders took Tabinski from the race course to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Friday morning, according to WLS-TV.The Chicago Street Race is the first street race in NASCAR Cup Series history and will zip past the city’s downtown landmarks on Sunday evening.The Associated Press

Novak Djokovic’s bid for Wimbledon title No. 8 and Grand Slam trophy No. 24 starts on Monday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:30:00 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Listen to Novak Djokovic’s opponents explain why he is as successful as he is — why he will begin his pursuit of a fifth consecutive and eighth overall Wimbledon championship on Monday; why he also will be attempting to claim an Open era-record 24th Grand Slam trophy over the coming fortnight on the All England Club’s grass courts — and they’ll offer plenty of answers.His best-in-the-game return of serve. His dangerous two-handed backhand. His elasticity. His stamina. His defense. His ability to read someone else’s intentions, get to where a ball is headed and send it back with force, a combination Casper Ruud described this way after losing to Djokovic in the French Open final: “He sort of just goes into this mode where he just becomes, like, a wall.”Listen to Novak Djokovic explain why he’s done what he’s done and why, at age 36, he’s still doing it, and he’ll offer a reason far less tangible and far less observable, something he mentioned during his vict...

Kansas nightclub shooting leaves 9 hurt; police capture one of multiple suspected shooters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:30:00 GMT

WICHITA, Kan. — A shooting in a Kansas nightclub early Sunday morning left seven people with gunshot wounds and two more people hospitalized after being trampled in a rush for the exits, police said.Wichita Police Lt. Aaron Moses said investigators believe several shooters opened fire inside the City Nightz club just before 1 a.m. One suspect was in custody as of Sunday morning, Moses said. Shots were fired from at least four guns inside the club, Moses said. Police have recovered four guns and were working to determine if they were the weapons the shooters used. No one was killed but one person was critically injured. All the victims were being treated at an area hospital, Moses said. The gunshot victims included five men between the ages of 21 and 34, a 21-year-old woman and a 24-year-old woman, Moses said. The two people trampled were a 30-year-old woman and a 31-year-old male.Detective Chris Merceau said during a news conference Sunday morning that police have been called to the...

Nearly 200 households in need of shelter after moving day in Quebec: housing agency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:30:00 GMT

MONTREAL — Nearly 200 Quebec households have been forced to find temporary shelter after failing to find a new place to live on the province’s annual moving day, the provincial housing agency said Saturday. The Société d’habitation du Québec said among the people who have contacted regional housing offices or it’s customer service centre for help, “178 households are currently being rehoused temporarily, either with people close to them or in hotels.”“Every effort is being made so that no household that calls our assistance network finds itself on the street during this moving period,” it said in an email Saturday. Véronique Laflamme, a spokeswoman for Quebec tenants group the Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain, said the number of people asking for help to find housing on Saturday changed by the hour.She said her organization was aware of 680 tenant households that had not signed a new lease as of Friday – the day the vast majo...

Despite promises, attorneys are scarce as the US resumes speedy asylum screenings at border

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:30:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — As the Biden administration prepared to launch speedy asylum screenings at Border Patrol holding facilities this spring , authorities pledged a key difference from a Trump-era version of the policy: Migrants would be guaranteed access to legal counsel.Nearly three months and thousands of screenings later, the promise of attorney access appears largely unfulfilled, based on advocacy group reports and interviews with people directly involved, some of whom spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the effort publicly. A coterie of involved attorneys estimate that perhaps 100 migrants have secured formal representation, and only hundreds more have received informal advice through one-time phone calls ahead of the expedited screenings.Jones Day, one of the world’s largest law firms, has partnered with the administration to provide free legal advice to migrants. Its phone bank handled 460 informal phone consultatio...

Atlanta rapper suspected of role in fatal shooting arrested, charged with murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:30:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — An Atlanta rapper signed to Young Thug’s record label has been arrested and charged with murder for his suspected role in the fatal shooting of a man outside an apartment complex.Atlanta Police on Saturday said 20-year-old Jakobe Moody, who goes by FN DaDealer, was taken into custody and charged with felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the June 5 shooting, WSB-TV reported.Moody was being held in Fulton County jail without bond, according to jail records. Moody’s mother told WSB she believed it was a case of mistaken identity. She said the family was hiring an attorney and planned to make a statement later this week.Tremaine Glasper, 28, was found with multiple gunshot wounds in a car at an apartment complex on June 5. Police at the time said they were looking for three suspects in the shooting. Moody is not listed as one of the defendants in the racketeering trial for Young Thug. Jury selection in that trial is ex...