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Wildfire roundup: A look at what’s burning across the country and who’s affected

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:51 GMT

Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair has said images of wildfires burning across Canada are some of the most severe ever witnessed in the country and the forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre says there are 415 fires currently burning. About 2,285 fires have burned 37,000 square kilometres so far this yearHere’s a look at the current wildfire situation as of Tuesday afternoon:NOVA SCOTIAThere are five active wildfires. The province has recorded 212 so far this year, about double the number in an average year. About 267 square kilometres have burned.A fire that broke out at the end of May in suburban Halifax destroyed about 200 structures, including 151 homes. About 16,500 people were initially forced from their homes and the city says about 4,100 residents remain displaced.A fire in Shelburne County in southwestern Nova Scotia, considered the largest in t...

Giuliani denies claims he coerced woman to have sex, says she’s trying to stir ‘media frenzy’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:51 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says a woman’s lawsuit alleging he coerced her into sex and owes her nearly $2 million in unpaid wages is “a large stretch of the imagination” filled with exaggerations and salacious details “to create a media frenzy.”Giuliani said in court papers that he had a consensual relationship with Noelle Dunphy “for a few months” in 2019, during his time as former President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, but denied she ever worked for him or that he pressured her into sex.Dunphy’s lawsuit, filed last month in state court in New York, “contains a blunderbuss of contradictory allegations,” Giuliani said in his written response last Friday. Her “singular objective” is to defame him, he said.Giuliani wants a judge to throw out the lawsuit. If that doesn’t happen, he wants what he described as the most “frivolous, inflammatory, and unnecessary” accusations removed from the case. He’s also asking for Dunphy to be penalized by the court for...

'We're definitely not alone': Whistleblower claims U.S. recovered spaceships, aliens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – A whistle blower says he handed over classified evidence proving that a secret government program has been recovering spaceships and aliens for decades.A former intelligence and military official, David Grusch, says the secret government program has recovered non-human space craft.“We're definitely not alone,” Grusch said. “When you recover something that's either landed or crashed, sometimes you encounter dead pilots. Believe or not, as fantastical as that sounds, it's true.”The lawmakers Nexstar spoke with say they're not aware of a secret UFO recovery program.“I am a defense appropriator, I am part of classified briefings -- this is nothing that has come up,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) said.Other lawmakers say they will wait for more information.“We'll have to listen to the facts,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said.Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) added, “My first reaction is probably like everybody watching, which is wow. And secondly, I’ll believe it when I see it.”Grusc...

Friend who recorded teen pinned by CPD cop wanted 'hard evidence' if something bad happened

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:51 GMT

PARK RIDGE, Ill. — On the second day of a bench trial in Skokie for a Chicago police sergeant who pinned a teenager to the ground last year in Park Ridge, police body camera was shown and several people testified. Michael Vitellaro allegedly told Park Ridge police after the incident that his son’s bike was stolen from the library a few blocks away earlier in the day. When he saw the bike outside a Starbucks, he said he waited in his car to see who tried to get on it. That’s when the incident began.PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Chicago police sergeant on trial for pinning teen to the ground in Park RidgeOn Tuesday, the 15-year-old boy who recorded the incident testified, in addition to another boy at the Starbucks and two members of the Chicago Police Department. First to take the stand was Lt. Tom Mason, who informed the court that Vitellaro called him the day of the incident concerned about the use of force he deployed on 14-year-old Josh Nieves.Vitellaro’s attorney contends th...

Ohio resident sought by scientists may have had 'cryptic' COVID strain for 2 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:51 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Viral researchers believe someone in central Ohio has been infected with COVID-19 for at least two years, and they're hoping to find that person.While the researchers believe there is no threat to public health, they hope this case holds much-needed answers to treating long COVID.Molecular virologist Dr. Marc Johnson, a microbiology professor at the University of Missouri's medical school, spent much of his career studying HIV.That changed in early 2020 when Missouri health officials asked him to lead the state's wastewater sampling program to help track COVID outbreaks. At the time, Johnson said there was not much data available on the genetic material of the virus.“There was no protocol established at that point for sequencing SARS-CoV-2 from wastewater, so I developed my own,” Johnson said.As the virus evolved into different variants, like Delta and Omicron, sequencing its genetic material helped identify which strains were more prevalent in different area...

Multiple people shot at Virginia high school graduation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:51 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Several people have been shot near Virginia Commonwealth University’s Monroe Park campus during a reported active shooter situation, a school board member told Nexstar's WRIC.Alerts sent out by VCU reported the shooting happened around 5 p.m. ET. Shortly before 6 p.m. ET that there was heavy police activity near Altria Theater, where Richmond School Board member Jonathan Young said the shooting took place.Young told WRIC that multiple people were injured during the shooting, which broke out as students and families from Huguenot High School left a graduation ceremony at the theater. A witness told WRIC they heard at least 30 shots fired. "Everyone literally started running for their lives," the witness explained. She said she believes at least one of the people shot was a graduate.Richmond Police have confirmed there were "multiple injuries reported" in the shooting, adding that "there is no immediate threat to the public." Police and SWAT units are on scene,...

City emergency shelter to house 130 extra beds in the coming weeks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Beginning this month, the City of Austin said it will expand shelter to an additional 130 people experiencing homelessness as part of an effort to address homelessness in the Austin community, according to a city news release.The 130 shelter beds are being created by converting rooms from single to double occupancy at the city's Northbridge and Southbridge shelters as part of an effort to expand emergency shelter capacity, the release said. It comes amid the community's ongoing efforts to provide permanent housing for an additional 3,000 Austinites by the end of 2024, per the city.The city said the Northbridge conversion is expected to be completed this week, and new beds will be available by June 13. Furnishings and equipment are on order for the Southbridge shelter, and the goal is to welcome additional guests in July, city officials said.“Homelessness is a social and economic condition, caused by a large number of factors. As a City, we have the responsibility to...

Longhorns men's hoops hire Frank Haith, former national coach of the year, as assistant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Longhorns head basketball coach Rodney Terry announced changes to his coaching staff Tuesday ahead of the upcoming season.Terry announced the addition of Frank Haith, a former national coach of the year, along with other adjustments to the staff bringing back Chris Ogden, Steve McClain and Brandon Chappell.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersHaith spent 18 seasons as a head coach in Division I, the past eight with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2014-22. While at Missouri from 2011-14, Haith was named the Associated Press and US Basketball Writers Association national coach of the year in 2012. He led the Tigers to a 30-5 record that season and a No. 3 final ranking in the AP Top 25.Haith also coached at Miami for seven years prior to his stint at Missouri and was a finalist for national coach of the year in 2005.This is his second stint in Austin aft...

1/5 of 2023 anti-LGBTQ+ legislation filed in US was in Texas, report finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN ) – For the first time since it was founded in 1980, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released a national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans, citing an unprecedented year for legislators filing bills targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community. “The message that we're hoping people receive is that we are in a state of crisis right now when it comes to LGBTQ people and our rights in states across the country – Texas very much being one of those states,” said Cathryn Oakley, HRC's senior director. MORE: Gov. Abbott signs bill banning transgender health care for minors into law The HRC defines anti-LGBTQ+ bills as legislation that aims to restrict the lives of these people and their families. Some examples of this legislation include prohibiting minors from accessing hormone therapy to transition, restricting access to bathrooms for transgender people, banning books with LGBTQ+ themes and Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, per the HRC. The HRC said that at least ...

Mahtomedi man sentenced to 3 years of probation for 2021 Maplewood shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:51 GMT

A Mahtomedi man has been given probation for shooting a man in Maplewood who was responding to his sister’s plea for help.De’Shaun Jauquarin Smith, 22, was sentenced to three years of probation last week after pleading guilty to third-degree assault in the November 2021 shooting. In exchange for his guilty plea, a charge of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon was dismissed.De’Shaun Jauquarin Smith (Courtesy of the Ramsey County sheriff’s office)According to the criminal complaint, shortly after 9 p.m. on Nov. 30, police received a call from a 47-year-old woman who identified herself as the mother of a juvenile daughter. She said her daughter had been picked up against her will by four males at the daughter’s work and was taken to a four-plex residence on the 2800 block of White Bear Avenue.The daughter later told police that she had called her mother when four males, who she could not identify, picked her up, handcuffed her, drugged her, stole her property and ...