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Train derails and catches fire near San Francisco, causing minor injuries and service disruptions

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:40:17 GMT

ORINDA, Calif. (AP) — Several people suffered minor injuries and service was disrupted when a commuter train derailed and caught fire on New Year’s Day in the San Francisco Bay Area, officials said. The Bay Area Rapid Transit train had just left Orinda on its way to Lafayette around 9 a.m. Monday when the front two cars went off the track, agency spokesperson Jim Allison said. All passengers were evacuated and fire crews quickly extinguished flames in two cars, he said. Several passengers were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, Allison said. The total number of people injured wasn’t immediately known. The remaining passengers walked back to Orinda Station. Passenger Enrique Gonzalez said the train was delayed and when it started moving again he heard a “few loud pops” and “saw smoke billowing out in between cars.”“I was sitting right there at the window and saw the flames shoot up,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle. Early indications were that the derailmen...

Klee Benally, Navajo advocate for Indigenous people and environmental causes, dies in Phoenix

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:40:17 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Klee Benally, a Navajo man who advocated on behalf of Indigenous people and environmental causes, has died, his sister said. He was 48 years old.Benally died Saturday at a Phoenix hospital, Jeneda Benally said. His cause of death was not disclosed.Klee Benally was among the most vocal opponents of snowmaking at Arizona Snowbowl ski resort in Flagstaff. At least 13 tribes consider the mountain on public land to be sacred.He protested police violence and racial profiling and was among activists who gathered outside metro Phoenix’s NFL stadium in 2014 to denounce the offensive team name previously used by the franchise from Washington, D.C.Benally advocated for the cleanup of abandoned mines, where uranium ore was extracted from the Navajo Nation over decades to support U.S. nuclear activities during the Cold War.He also spoke out against an ordinance that, in a bid to address the problem of homelessness, had banned camping on public property in Flagstaff. “There is no c...

Skilling: Cold weather remains but some much-needed sun ahead

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:40:17 GMT

First, the NEW YEAR'S DAY (MONDAY) WEATHER HEADLINES-----Welcome to 2024! Another depressingly cloudy day with a trace of snow at both airports and NO SUNSHINE!---8 of the past 12 days---67% of them---have produced NO sun.---January has historically been Chicago's coldest month (with February #2 at 28.8 degrees and December at #2 at 30.5 degrees). January has also historically been the city's SNOWIEST month, averaging 11.3" behind February with 10.7" and December at 7.6".  And it joins December and February as among the city's cloudiest months. ---The coming week is to average almost 11 degrees colder than last week—yet IS STILL TO POST A TEMP SURPLUS—averaging just over 4 degrees above normal. ---Even so, a week of highs in the 30s will have a colder feel to it than last week's 40s — and, on Christmas day and last Thursday 50s.---So, while last week averaged 41.5 degrees, this week is likely to come in at 30.8 degrees. \---Breaks in the clouds are to develop tonight and are likely ...

Gen Z seeks to grow ranks in Congress

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:40:17 GMT

More Generation Z candidates are lining up to run for office this year amid frustration over the country’s aging political class.Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) became Congress’s first member belonging to Gen Z — the age bracket considered to begin with people born in 1997 or later — after 2022's midterms.Now, at least two fellow Gen Z Democrats are vying to join Frost this year as they look to broaden their generation’s presence in the House, where the median age of voting members is around 58 years.“Young people, as we’ve gotten more and more involved, are frankly devastated that this is the state of government that we are inheriting — and that we have to really pick up this work and try to put the pieces back together,” said Cheyenne Hunt, a 26-year-old Democrat and attorney running in California’s 45th District. Hunt cited concerns about the climate crisis, democracy and women’s rights as “existential threats” that older generations in power aren’t addressing wit...

Sugar Bowl: Texas Longhorns, Washington Huskies face off with CFP title game spot on the line

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:40:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It's the biggest game for the Texas Longhorns football program since the 2005 BCS National Championship Game, and it's one Monday night that could lead to another title game appearance.The No. 3 Longhorns take on the No. 2 Washington Huskies in the 90th Allstate Sugar Bowl, one of the College Football Playoff semifinals, scheduled to kick at 7:45 p.m. CT from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Bevo XV in his pen before the 90th Allstate Sugar Bowl on Monday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The Longhorns face off with the Washington Huskies. (KXAN photo/Roger Wallace)It's the sixth time the programs have met and just the second time they've played in back-to-back seasons. The Huskies topped the Longhorns 27-20 in last year's Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, but Texas played the game without star running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson who opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft. The Longhorns hold a 3-2 series lead over the Huskies.Washington enters the game ...

Timberwolves beat on glass in loss to Knicks

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:40:17 GMT

The New York Knicks shot a worse percentage from the field, worse percentage from 3-point range, hit one fewer free-throw and committed more turnovers than Minnesota on Monday at Madison Square Garden.And they won anyway.That’s what happens when you take 13 more shots than your opponent, a product of New York’s 16 offensive rebounds that resulted in 22 second-chance points in the Timberwolves’ 112-106 defeat in the New Year’s Day matinee.“There weren’t breakdowns defensively. There were just breakdowns on the box outs,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters. “Punking us on the glass, mostly, and then hit us on some cuts and stuff like that. But second-chance points really were what put separation into the game.”Minnesota (24-8) played well in the first frame Monday, staking itself to a nine-point advantage at the end of the quarter. That was thanks to a series of stops and hot starts from Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. But even at...

John Safford sworn in as Saratoga Springs mayor

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:40:17 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The city of Saratoga Springs has a new mayor. John Safford was sworn in during a ceremony at city hall Monday morning. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Safford beat incumbent Ron Kim in November. He said he wanted to use his term to unify the city and help fix the issue of homelessness.Tim Coll, the new public safety commissioner, was also sworn in.

First woman elected Chair of Albany County Legislature

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:40:17 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- For the first time in the history of the Albany County Legislature, a woman was elected Chair. Joanne Cunningham started her term on Jan. 1 after being voted into the position. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Cunningham is taking over for democrat Andrew Joyce, who held the position since 2018. This is Cunningham's third term in the Albany County Legislature. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Director of the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare. “Today is a landmark day for all women and I’m profoundly grateful and proud to be given this opportunity to lead real change for the people of Albany County," Cunningham said in a statement. "I am excited to get started and looking forward to building on our successful track record to deliver high quality social and health care services, initiatives to promote economic development and green technologies and other efforts that strengthen our County."

Local couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:40:17 GMT

VALLEY PARK, Mo. – A local pair of centenarians has reached a major milestone.Andrew and Bertha “Bunny” Kowalczyk celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary on Monday amongst family and friends at Cape Albeon Lakeside Retirement Living. The couple, ages 103 and 102, tied the knot on Jan. 1, 1944.A random draw at a collegiate dance started the partnership."They were both going to University of New Hampshire and there was a dance at the dorm," David Kowalczyk, the couple’s son, said. "And the way they got couples to dance is you had a lottery and you picked a number. Well, both my father and my mother picked number 23. And, so, that's how they ended up together." Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News SIGN UP NOW Andy, a veteran of World War II, mustered up the...

How Ish Smith almost reunited with Nuggets, but not as a player, before signing with Charlotte Hornets

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:40:17 GMT

As the culminating moment of a career begins to slowly fade into increasingly distant memory, the image that will always endure in the mind of Ish Smith is the one he captured when he looked up.Confetti plummeted toward him until it engulfed him like a realization.“We won it,” he recalls thinking. “We won it.”The singular emotion from that championship celebration that will always endure for Smith is indicative of how the 35-year-old thinks, how he makes decisions and how he ended up back in Charlotte this season.“I was just thinking about all the stories, the storylines,” Smith told The Denver Post on Monday — somewhat fittingly, hours after 2023 became a thing of the past. “From Nikola (Jokic) being a 41st pick, that Denver took a chance on him, chose him over Nurk (Jusuf Nurkic), and him losing weight, getting into the gym and dedicating himself. Jamal Murray coming off an ACL. D.J. (DeAndre Jordan) and the Clip Show and them not ge...