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EXPLAINER: Challenges from intense summer heat raise questions about Texas power grid’s reliability

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:03:50 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas’ power grid has been under tremendous stress during this summer’s sweltering heat, with the state setting 10 new records for electricity demand.The grid’s reliability has been questioned by residents and lawmakers since a deadly winter blackout in 2021 knocked out power to millions of customers for days and resulted in hundreds of deaths.Concerns were renewed this week after Texas’ power grid manager issued an emergency alert due to low reserves and high demand. Following the alert, the U.S. Department of Energy granted an emergency order allowing Texas to temporarily suspend emissions rules so power plants could produce enough electricity to prevent outages.The summer heat isn’t subsiding as high temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) were expected in much of Texas through the weekend. This summer’s challenges have raised more questions about the power grid’s reliability and what more the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid m...

UN report on Ecuador links crime with poverty, faults government for not ending bonded labor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:03:50 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A U.N. envoy urged Ecuador’s leaders Friday to boost enforcement of labor laws and end popular fuel subsidies as part of key policy changes needed alongside their continuing efforts to combat the drug-related crime that has undermined the country’s peaceful image.The report issued Friday by the U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights faulted the government for failing to crack down on slavery-like bonded labor, especially among minorities, and pointed to a lack of economic opportunity that has allowed criminal gangs to recruit members. It said money that goes to fuel subsidies should instead be spent on social programs.“My message to the government is we need to treat insecurity as a problem of poverty and lack of economic opportunities,” Olivier De Schutter, the special rapporteur, told The Associated Press ahead of the report’s release. “The answer cannot be just law enforcement.” De Schutter’s report stressed that about 34% of Ec...

Trump lawyers move 'insurrection' clause lawsuit to federal court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:03:50 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Attorneys for former President Donald Trump moved a lawsuit seeking to bar him from running again for the White House from state to federal court in the first step of what promises to be a tangled legal battle that seems destined for the U.S. Supreme Court.The liberal group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed the initial lawsuit on Wednesday in Colorado state court, arguing a Civil War-era clause prohibiting higher office for those who once swore an oath to the Constitution and then engaged in “insurrection” prevents Trump from running in 2024. Polis signs executive order to bolster state’s workforce The initial state judge in Denver assigned the case recused himself for an unspecified conflict of interest, and then Trump’s attorneys on Thursday moved the case to federal court — asserting that the matter should be adjudicated at the federal level since it raises a constitutional issue. The plaintiffs in the case will argue it should first go ba...

Infrequent inspection led to United jet engine breaking up over Denver: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:03:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An engine on a United Airlines jet broke up over Denver in 2021 because of wear and tear on a fan blade that was not adequately inspected for signs of cracking, federal investigators said Friday.The National Transportation Safety Board said manufacturer Pratt & Whitney did not call for inspections to be done frequently enough, which allowed tiny cracks to grow undetected until the fan blade broke. Trump lawyers move ‘insurrection’ clause lawsuit to federal court The NTSB said the design and testing of the engine inlet contributed to the severity of the situation, and other factors made the engine fire worse than it should have been.The right-side engine of the Boeing 777 broke apart shortly after takeoff from Denver International Airport, raining parts over suburban neighborhoods. The pilots declared an emergency and landed the plane safely 24 minutes after takeoff.Pieces of the engine inlet, fan cowls and thrust reversers broke off and fell on a public park ...

3 teens charged in rock-throwing death get court delay

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:03:50 GMT

GOLDEN, Colo. (KDVR) -- The three teenagers charged with throwing a rock at a moving car and killing a 20-year-old woman were granted a delay Friday afternoon at their preliminary hearing.Nicholas "Mitch" Karol-Chik, Joseph Koenig and Zachary Kwak each face 13 counts, including first-degree murder for the death of Alexa Bartell. Parent group demands removal of 3 Denver Public Schools administrators Bartell was killed on the night of April 19 when a rock was thrown through the windshield of her car while she was driving through Jefferson County. At least four other rock-throwing incidents were reported that night.Detectives with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department used cell phone tracking data to find their suspects.Earlier this week, Jefferson County prosecutors added additional charges of attempted murder and assault against Karol-Chik and Koenig, after investigators say they threw a statue-like object at a moving car on April 1. 2 suspects in rock-throwing spree face mor...

Search underway for 65-year-old man reported missing from Plantation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:03:50 GMT

Police seek the public’s help in their search for a 65-year-old man who was reported missing out of Plantation.According to Plantation Police, Michael Nesbitt was last seen in the area of Northwest 84th Avenue and 84th Terrace, Tuesday morning.He stands 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighs around 110 pounds, and has brown eyes and gray hair.Nesbitt was last seen wearing black shorts and light brown work boots.Officials urge anyone with information on his whereabouts to call Plantation Police at 954-445-2942.

Carol City Elementary unveils book vending machine in effort to motivate youth literacy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:03:50 GMT

There’s a new vending machine at Carol City Elementary School in Miami Gardens — but this one dispenses a love of reading.The school on Friday afternoon celebrated the arrival of a book vending machine, a fun and unique way to motivate youth literacy.Students will receive tokens based on good behavior, achievements and attendance. The tokens can then be used to dispense books.“It gives them the opportunity to choose the book of their choice to read in their personal time, for leisure,” said Tiffany Davis, the school’s principal, “so it’s not just an assignment; it’s something that they want to do.”The nonprofit DonorsChoose, along with Carter’s-OshKosh B’Gosh children’s clothing company, helped Carol City Elementary acquire Scholastic books to fill the machine.

16-year-old boy dies on way to hospital after shooting in Hallandale Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:03:50 GMT

Police are investigating a shooting in Hallandale Beach that claimed the life of a 16-year-old boy.According to Hallandale Beach Police, units responded to a ShotSpotter alert along the 800 block of Foster Road, just after 9:30 p.m., Thursday.Responding officers arrived to find not victim at the scene.Someone tried to drive the teen, who was suffering from a gunshot wound, to the hospital but stopped in the area of Southwest 21st Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard to call for help.Despite lifesaving measures, officials said, the teen did not survive.If you have any information on this shooting, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.

White House completes $50 million revamp of high-security Situation Room

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:03:50 GMT

(CNN) — The White House Situation Room, the high-security complex beneath the West Wing where presidents watch history unfold and receive top-secret intelligence, has undergone a much-needed makeover for the first time in 15 years.The yearlong gut renovation saw the ground dug out five feet to remove concrete and cables, the walls stripped to the studs, and the entire room refitted with enhanced security and technology. The government’s bill came in slightly north of its $50 million budget, according to Marc Gustafson, the Situation Room’s director who joined the White House to oversee the project and its team of contractors who all required varying levels of security clearances to work on site.“The stonemason didn’t need top secret,” Gustafson said with a laugh, noting that the later phases of construction were more sensitive than the early groundwork.While the name suggests a singular enclosure, the Situation Room complex features three boardrooms of graduating size...

Judge denies Mark Meadows’ request to move his Georgia election subversion case to federal court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:03:50 GMT

By KATE BRUMBACK (Associated Press)ATLANTA (AP) — A judge on Friday denied Mark Meadows’ request to move his Georgia election subversion case to federal court, ruling that the Trump White House chief of staff must fight the charges in state court instead.U.S. District Judge Steve Jones in Atlanta wrote in a 49-page ruling that Meadows “has not met even the ‘quite low’ threshold” to move his case to federal court, noting that the question was whether the actions at issue were related to his role as a federal official.“The evidence adduced at the hearing establishes that the actions at the heart of the State’s charges against Meadows were taken on behalf of the Trump campaign with an ultimate goal of affecting state election activities and procedures,” Jones wrote. “Meadows himself testified that working for the Trump campaign would be outside the scope of a White House Chief of Staff.”The ruling is a big early win for ...