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I-55 reopens in Illinois after dust storm warning

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:27 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Interstate 55 in southern Illinois has reopened Tuesday evening. It was closed in the afternoon after a series of dust storm warnings.Illinois State Police shared this image of the road conditions Tuesday.The National Weather Service has issued a dust storm warning along US-51 at Pana, Illinois until 4:15 pm. There is also a dust storm warning along I-55 near Farmersville and I-55 near Waggoner until 4:30 p.m.The Illinois Department of Transportation has closed I-55 between the 63 and 82 mile markers. Authorities expanded the closure Tuesday afternoon. This is an area between Farmersville and Divernon where a chain reaction crash killed six people and injured dozens of others Monday. So far there are no crashes reported in the area.Drivers on central Illinois roads should use caution. The National Weather Service's dust storm warning near Pana is around 50 miles away from Divernon. The rural towns are located in a very windy part of the state and visibility may be l...

3 victims of single-engine plane crash in Big Bear identified 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:27 GMT

The three passengers who were killed when the small plane they were on crashed in Big Bear on Monday have been identified. The three passengers have been identified as 60-year-old Stormie Seibold of Temecula, 62-year-old Jimmy Fitzpatrick of Perris and 79-year-old Robert Carty of Lake Havasu, Arizona.Crews arrived on the scene at the corner of Paradise Way and Maltby Boulevard in Big Bear around 2 p.m. on Monday after a crash was reported there. The single-engine Beechcraft A36 crashed in a small field about one mile east of Big Bear Airport, which, according to preliminary investigation from the NTSB, is thought to be the plane’s destination. No one on the ground was injured. “There was no fire and no structural damage, which is pretty amazing considering how many houses are in that area,” Battalion Chief Luke Wagner of the Big Bear Fire Department said. Sky5 view of the plane crash scene in Big Bear, California. May 1, 2023. (KTLA)Sky5 view of the plane crash ...

Police looking to identify driver in fatal hit-and-run in Koreatown 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:27 GMT

LAPD detectives are seeking the public’s help in finding the driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run in Koreatown early Tuesday morning. A 2005 silver Nissan Altima was travelling eastbound on 1st Street near Westmoreland Avenue around 5:15 a.m. when it collided with a female pedestrian in the roadway, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department. The driver of the Nissan failed to remain at the scene, identify themselves or render aid to the pedestrian, LAPD said. LAFD personnel responded to the scene and transported the pedestrian to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.  Woman critically injured after vehicle slams into apartment complex in Santa Ana hit-and-run The female pedestrian has not been identified, but her next of kin has been notified. Anyone with information about this fatal hit-and-run is asked to contact detectives with the LAPD’s West Traffic Division at 213-473-0234. During non-business hours or on weeke...

Los Angeles Unified to make largest electric bus purchase in history as part of green energy goals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:27 GMT

The Los Angeles Unified School District plans to purchase more than 180 new electric school buses and other electric vehicle infrastructure as part of its ambitious green energy plans. School district officials say the acquisition will be the largest single EV bus purchase ever made by a school district.Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the district plans to fully electrify its bus yard in Sun Valley by 2026, adding that the district was committed to “creating a model of sustainability that benefits our students, our school communities and generations to come.”Carvalho called the goal “aggressive,” but said it was necessary to reduce the school district’s impact on the environment. The Sun Valley Bus Yard serves the northern portion of LAUSD, with about 180 buses responsible for transporting more than 4,600 students to and from school. The existing fleet consists of natural gas, gasoline and propane-powered buses, alongside six EVs. Diesel buses were removed from the fleet in 202...

Discovery of endangered bird halts construction on Santa Ana River Trail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:27 GMT

Construction on the longest multi-use trail in Southern California has been halted following the discovery of an endangered bird.Crews were on Phase III of the four-phase Santa Ana River Trail project when a Least Bell’s Vireo was found nesting in the project’s boundary in San Bernardino County.The Least Bell’s Vireo was added to California’s list of endangered species in 1980 and remains state-protected.“The birds breed in areas of Southern California from mid-March to early April and usually remain in their breeding grounds until late September,” said U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. “Sometimes they leave as early as the end of July.”A Least Bell's Vireo in a photo from the Western Ecological Research Center (WERC).A male vireo incubating a nest in the “Mars” territory on the Middle San Luis River. (USGS Western Ecological Research Center)A Least Bell’s vireo photographed in Southern California. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)Work on the 3.8-mile Santa Ana River Trail broke grou...

Hollywood Writers Strike As Contract Agreement Not Reached

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:27 GMT

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) voted to strike Monday night after talks for a new contract broke down.The labor union represents thousands of writers for Hollywood movies, TV, radio, and internet shows and have been in negotiations for a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), who represent media platforms such as Netflix, Disney, Apple, Amazon, Discovery-Warner, NBC Universal, Paramount and Sony.“Though our Negotiating Committee began this process intent on making a fair deal, the studios’ responses have been wholly insufficient given the existential crisis writers are facing,” the guild wrote in a statement Monday. “Therefore, earlier today the WGA Negotiating Committee unanimously rejected the AMPTP’s final offer before deadline and recommended to the [Writers Guild of America West] board and [Writers Guild of America East] Council the issuance of a strike order.”The writers said they felt underval...

Dominant DeSclafani blanks Astros, SF Giants snap losing streak at four

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:27 GMT

HOUSTON — Anthony DeSclafani was about as dominant as he’s been in a Giants uniform Tuesday as San Francisco blanked the World Series champion Houston Astros and snapped their losing streak at four games.DeSclafani retired 19 of the first 20 batters he faced, and the Giants got all the offense they needed behind his masterful pitching performance with a pair of RBI knocks from Joc Pederson and Blake Sabol, defeating the Astros, 2-0, to even the three-game series and earn their first win of this taxing road trip.San Francisco (12-17) has its ace, Logan Webb, on the mound Wednesday looking to deliver only its third series win of the season.DeSclafani blanked the Astros for eight innings, striking out only three and relying mostly on soft contact, before handing off to Camilo Doval to close out the ninth inning. In his longest start since July 4, 2021, DeSclafani combined with Doval hold the powerful Astros lineup scoreless for the first time this season. It was the Giants’...

Oakland’s teachers are preparing to strike on Thursday — how has it gotten this far?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:27 GMT

Oakland teachers are poised to strike on Thursday, a walkout that could shutter schools and affect 34,000 students unless a deal is reached between the district and the teachers’ union.The Oakland Education Association, which represents 3,000 of the city’s educators and school staff, announced the strike late Monday afternoon. The move came after months of negotiations. Since October, teachers have been pushing for increased pay, reduced class sizes, and higher safety standards, along with additional support services for students.“We promise you, we’ve done everything we can to avert this strike,” said Ismael Armendariz, interim president of the union, in a Monday press release. “The district has truly failed our students and the time for us to act is now.”On Tuesday evening, teachers began to pick up their posters, flyers and materials from the union office — and as of 7 p.m., the two sides were still at the bargaining table. Earlier Tuesday the district released a statement ...

NBA playoffs live updates: Lakers-Warriors Game 1 going back-and-forth in second quarter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:27 GMT

To view the live updates on your mobile device click here.GAME 1: Lakers at Warriors at Chase Center, at 7 p.m. TV: TNT. Announcers: Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Stan Van Gundy (color commentary), Chris Haynes (sideline reporting).ODDS: Warriors -4. OVER/UNDER: 226.5. (Both from Caesars Sportsbook.)SEASON SERIES: Lakers went 3-1 against the Warriors in the regular season. PRIOR PLAYOFF HISTORY: Lakers have won 6-of-7 postseason series, including the last one in 1991.Ever since Steve Kerr joined the Warriors’ core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green as head coach, they’ve faced 11 of the other 14 Western Conference foes and vanquished them all. Some multiple times.But for many Warriors fans, there is one opponent they’ve been waiting for this group to face. And now, finally, we’re getting that matchup.It’s the Warriors and the Lakers.Oh, and for good measure, that means we get a fifth head-to-head showdown between Curry and LeBron James, t...

Activists Face Felonies for Distributing Flyers on "Cop City" Protester Killing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:27 GMT

Three activists involved in the Defend Atlanta Forest movement are facing charges of felony intimidation of an officer of the state and misdemeanor stalking for placing flyers on mailboxes in a neighborhood in Bartow County, Georgia, about 40 miles from Atlanta. The detainees were held for days in solitary confinement, a lawyer working on the case and a relative of one of the activists told The Intercept.The flyer, according to the lawyer, named a police officer who lives in the area where the activists were arrested and alleged he was connected to the killing in January of forest defender Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán during a multi-agency raid on the Atlanta Forest protest encampment.A forensics report from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation about guns fired during Tortuguita’s killing named six state patrol officers: Bryland Myers, Jerry Parrish, Jonathan Salcedo, Mark Jonathan Lamb, Ronaldo Kegel, and Royce Zah. According to public records, one of the officers named lives in the ar...