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Scorching heat in central U.S. brings warnings and tragedy as 1-year-old girl dies in hot car

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Scorching heat affecting nearly 100 million people across a huge swath of the U.S. sent schools, outdoor workers and organizers of open-air events scrambling to adjust Tuesday — and claimed the life of a 1-year-old girl left in a Nebraska day care center’s van on one of the hottest days of the year.Officers and medics were called Monday afternoon to Kidz of the Future Childcare in Omaha for an unresponsive baby inside the van, police said. The call came as temperatures reached into the upper 90s (mid-30s Celsius) and the heat index soared to around 110 degrees (43 Celsius), part of heat wave that has been plaguing the central part of the country for days.The child, Ra’Miyah Worthington, was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said. Her parents questioned why her absence at the day care wasn’t noticed.“She loved, loved, loved her family,” her mother, Sina Johnson, told the television station WOWT. “She loved her daddy. She was daddy’s little girl.”Pro...

Toronto women stranded in Trinidad after over 90 pilot sick calls cancel Caribbean Airlines flights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

Two Toronto women are stranded in Trinidad and Tobago after a pilot strike resulted in their cancelled flight, and the airline tells them they can’t return home until September.The women, who asked to remain anonymous, had both travelled to the area for vacation separately, but when they got to the airport in Tobago this past weekend, a frustrating experience brought the strangers together.Both were scheduled to fly from Tobago to Trinidad on Sunday before returning to Toronto.“At about 4 a.m., we got an email that our 9:55 a.m. flight was moved to 1 p.m. When I got to the airport, I asked if they could put me on the 11 a.m. flight instead, and that’s when customer service let me know that all pilots called in sick the night before,” said one of the women.On August 20, Caribbean Airlines took to social media to announce that several of their international and domestic flights to and from Trinidad and Tobago had to be cancelled after a “remarkably high v...

US to appeal Mexico’s refusal to investigate labor complaint at Mexican mine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. government announced Tuesday it is filing its first appeal ever over Mexico’s refusal to investigate labor violations involving the right to organize.The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office said it will request a dispute resolution panel to decide the case of the San Martín mine in the northern state of Zacatecas, the first time it has done that on a labor issue under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.For more than two years, Mexico had accepted more than a dozen U.S. complaints on behalf of union organizers in Mexico who claimed they were prevented from organizing freely.But since the beginning of August, Mexico has started to flatly refuse to intervene in at least two cases, marking the first time it has rejected labor complaints.On Aug. 1, Mexico’s Economy Department rejected a U.S. complaint about the San Martín mine, which produces zinc, lead, copper and silver. The mine has been locked in a longstanding dispute between two unions that c...

Serena Williams has given birth to her second baby. It’s another daughter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

Serena Williams has given birth to a baby girl, she posted Tuesday on Instagram, almost exactly a year after her last match as a tennis star.Adira River Ohanian is the second child — and second daughter — for the 41-year-old Williams and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Their first, Olympia, was born in 2017.Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles during a career that transcended her sport, revealed at the Met Gala in May that she was pregnant.When she told the world in August 2022 she was preparing to close her playing career, Williams cited a desire to grow her family as one of the main reasons for walking away from tennis.“Believe me,” Williams wrote last year in an essay for Vogue magazine, “I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family.”The 2022 U.S. Open was her l...

Father of NFL cornerback Caleb Farley killed in explosion at North Carolina home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The father of Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley died overnight in an explosion that destroyed the NFL player’s North Carolina home and left another person injured, authorities said.Robert M. Farley, 61, was found dead in the debris of the Lake Norman, North Carolina, house Tuesday morning, said Kent Greene, director of Iredell County Fire Services and Emergency Management.First responders arrived at the house a few minutes after midnight Tuesday and found Christian Rogers, 25, exiting the collapsed structure, Greene said. Rogers, a friend of the family, was transported to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte with a concussion. He is “awake and alert,” Greene said, but has not yet been discharged from the hospital.Greene said gas must have accumulated over a long period of time and likely found its way to an ignition source, which caused the explosion. The blast, which local authorities have ruled accidental, originated in a bedroo...

Tenor Freddie De Tommaso, a young British sensation, makes US opera debut

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — “British Tenor Saves Night at Opera,” proclaimed the Daily Mail.The opera was Puccini’s “Tosca,” and the tenor was then-28-year-old Freddie De Tommaso, jumping in at London’s Royal Opera House when the scheduled singer withdrew after Act 1 because of illness.That was nearly two years ago. Now De Tommaso has just made his U.S. debut at the Santa Fe Opera in the same role, appearing to enthusiastic applause on Aug. 12, five days after a bout of laryngitis forced him to cancel his first performance. His final performance is Saturday.And he’ll return in the 2024-25 season for another debut, this time at the Metropolitan Opera, where he’ll again be Tosca’s lover, Mario Cavaradossi.In an interview at the opera house here, De Tommaso reflected on his career so far and the “star is born” moment in London that first brought him headlines.“So many people thought I was like an understudy or somebody they found walking down the street whistling ‘Tosca,’ and that wasn’t the...

Illinois Tollway deploys Hot Weather Patrols to help stranded drivers amid extreme heat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

CHICAGO — As dangerous heat continues across parts of the state, the Illinois Tollway is taking steps to ensure the safety of stranded drivers.Hot Weather Patrols are being launched to assist drivers who become stranded along roads in the heat. Crews conducting the 24-hour patrols will be searching for stranded drivers in broken-down vehicles and responding to *999 calls for roadway assistance. List: Cooling centers in Chicago 12 Hot Weather Patrols will be providing additional help to the Highway Emergency Lane Patrol (H.E.L.P) trucks, which run from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. According to the Illinois Tollway, the Hot Weather Patrols usually offer help to drivers with dead car batteries, drivers who run out of gas, or those who suffer from overheated radiators. Extreme heat causing some Chicago area school districts to make adjustments Hot Weather Patrols consist of crew cab trucks that can accommodate drivers who need to get out of the heat or be taken to a...

Cancer rates increased in younger women compared to men, study shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

For Tuesday, Aug. 22, WGN’s Dina Bair has new medical information, including: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch Cancer rates increased in younger womenMore younger women, comapred to men, are getting diagnosed with cancer.A government-funded study published in 'JAMA Network Open' looked at cancers diagnosed in patients younger than 50 from 2010 to 2019. For women, early on-set cancers increased an average of 4.4%, while rates decreased in men by almost 5%.The study also found cancer rates decreased in adults 50 and older. In the last year, the cancers diagnosed most were breast, thyroid and colorectal. Eye test could detect Parkinson's disease A trip to the eye doctor could help detect signs of Parkinson's disease. According to researchers at University College Hospital and the Moorfields Eye Hospital, a new eye test could find markers of Parkinson's up to seven years before an official diagnosis. Parkinson's disease is a debilitating neurodegenerative condition that impacts abou...

RAIN: Tropical Storm Harold racing across south Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) --Tropical Storm Harold, born at 1 a.m. Tuesday, moved onshore at Padre Island at 10 a.m. with winds up to 50 mph. Winds retreated back to 45 mph as of the 1 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. T.S. Harold is the first storm to make landfall in the United States in 2023.The storm is moving to the west-northwest at 21 mph heading to the Rio Grande south of Eagle Pass. It is being steered in that west-northwest direction from the large area of high pressure aloft, the one that has led to the onslaught of heat all summer. Harold weakening over land and heading quickly to the Rio GrandeTropical Storm Warnings remain for the Texas coast from Port O'Connor southward to the Mouth of the Rio Grande. A Tropical Storm Watch continues from Port O'Connor north to Sargent. Coastal Flood Warnings are also in place for affected areas.Only minor wind damage is expected along the coast, along with 1-3 feet of "storm surge" ocean level rise. ...

Tropical Storm Harold sending scattered storms into Central Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Tropical Storm Harold made landfall on Padre Island this morning and is racing westward through South Texas.Rain bands on the north side of the decaying storm are racing through our area, bringing scattered heavy downpours, a few lightning strikes, and gusty winds. Some areas are enjoying their first rainfall in a month. Live interactive weather radar Those areas that do not see rainfall will still see breezy east winds from the storm to our south. Wind gusts will exceed 30 mph in some areas, enhancing wildfire danger.Gusty east winds lead to a fire/wildfire threat todayRed Flag Warnings are in effect locally for a critical fire danger by these high wind gusts and lower relative humidity this afternoon. Caldwell and Fayette Counties are not under the Warning.Gusty winds and low humidity Tuesday spark critical fire weather concerns Below is the latest on Tropical Storm Harold: Update: Tracking Tropical Storm Harold Temperatures may not reach triple digits for man...