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Barabak: Texas vs. California: Migrant dumping and the ‘race to the bottom’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:56 GMT

Name-calling. Mean tweets. A governor’s quick-draw veto pen.What does any of that have to do with the latest batch of migrants swept up in a red state and deposited in California?The shipment arrived last week courtesy of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Forty-two people — and let’s not forget they’re people — arrived in downtown Los Angeles, presumably famished as well as frightened after a 23-hour bus ride with starvation rations.It’s all politics, of course.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who spent Monday in California hustling cash for his presidential bid, advanced his visit by dumping two planeloads of asylum-seekers earlier this month in Sacramento.They were lied to — promised jobs and attorneys to hasten their bid for legal status — but at least DeSantis got what he wanted: Several days of national news coverage to boost his enervated campaign and a chance to stick it to his blood enemy, Gov. Gavin Newsom.Abbott isn’t running for president.At least not in 2024.But he is caught up in an in...

CHP investigating 5 highway shootings in 7 days in East Bay

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:56 GMT

(KRON) – The California Highway Patrol Oakland Area office is investigating a series of highway shootings that have recently occurred within the past week. There have been five highway shootings spanning over the course of seven days.On June 14, the passenger of a white Ford Crown Victoria fired two shots at fourteen landscaping employees who were contracted by Caltrans on Interstate 80 in Berkeley. The suspects were described as Black male adults with short hair, CHP said. Suspect arrested in Pier 39 shooting identified On June 18, a freeway shooting incident took place on eastbound I-80 in Albany around 7:40 p.m. The victim did not sustain any injuries, however, their vehicle sustained damage. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male who wore a green fitted hat and sunglasses. He is around 35 to 40 years old and his vehicle was described as a newer model silver BMW convertible, CHP said.At 8:40 a.m. on June 19, a shooting on I-880 in Oakland resulted in the victim's vehicle s...

Former Texas congressman Will Hurd, a Trump critic, announces 2024 Republican presidential campaign

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:56 GMT

FILE - Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd speaks during the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition Spring Kick-Off Saturday, April 22, 2023, in Clive, Iowa. Hurd, a onetime CIA officer and fierce critic of Donald Trump, announced on Thursday that he's running for president, hoping to build momentum as a more moderate alternative to the Republican primary field's early front-runner. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)(AP/Charlie Neibergall) FILE - Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd speaks during the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition Spring Kick-Off Saturday, April 22, 2023, in Clive, Iowa. Hurd, a onetime CIA officer and fierce critic of Donald Trump, announced on Thursday that he's running for president, hoping to build momentum as a more moderate alternative to the Republican primary...

Ex-Sri Lanka president ordered police records destroyed to stall mass grave probes, report alleges

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:56 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was accused in a report released Thursday of tampering with police records in order to hamper investigations into mass graves discovered in an area where he was a military officer at the height of a bloody Marxist insurrection in 1989.The report by activist groups including the International Truth and Justice Project, Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka and Families of the Disappeared said even though hundreds of remains were unearthed in some 20 exhumations of mass graves in the past three decades, no action has been taken to identify the victims and return their remains to their families.Tens of thousands of remains could still be buried in undiscovered mass graves, it said.None of the numerous commissions of inquiry established by successive Sri Lankan governments were mandated to look into mass graves. Instead, efforts to uncover the truth were stymied, the report said.When mass graves were discov...

Who is under a slight risk for severe storms Thursday?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:56 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — After Wednesday's storm brought severe weather with a tornado that destroyed a home and hail that injured people in the audience at Red Rocks, weather on Thursday brings more strong thunderstorms to the Denver metro.A Pinpoint Weather Alert Day has been issued as another round of thunderstorms imposes a slight risk of becoming strong to severe, especially in the afternoon. Red Rocks hail storm: Nearly 100 concertgoers hurt Storms will begin to form in the early afternoon hours along the foothills, then push into the plains.Slight risk for severe stormsThursday's storm is in the slight risk category, meaning there is increased confidence that some areas will produce damaging winds, severe hail and the possibility for tornadoes.The Pinpoint Weather team said their biggest concerns are heavy rainfall, large hail, gusty winds and abundant lightning.Location and impactThe area at a slight risk spans from north to south across the whole state, focused just east of the me...

June breaks record for most rainfall since 1882

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:56 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — After Wednesday's severe storm pummeled parts of the Front Range and Denver metro with heavy rain, June 2023 is now officially the wettest June on record.Wednesday was a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day as storms with an enhanced risk were forecast to impact the metro and Eastern Plains. Who is under a slight risk for severe storms Thursday? An enhanced risk category is an intense threat. This category isn’t common, with the National Weather Service describing it as a storm your area may only experience once or twice a year.And the impact of that storm was record-breaking. Breaking records on recordsAccording to Pinpoint Weather Metrologist Kylie Bearse, Denver International Airport recorded nearly two inches of rainfall from Wednesday alone. That is officially the wettest day on record in Denver history.Pinpoint Weather: Total rainfall out at DIA on June 21On top of that, that rainfall pushed this month to claim the number one spot for the wettest June on record with 5....

6 hospitalized after multi-vehicle crash on SR-836 causes small fire

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:56 GMT

Several victims were rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital after a multi-vehicle crash on State Road 836 caused a small fire on the highway, Wednesday night. Officials said at six people were hospitalized after a collision occurred around 11:40 p.m. on the eastbound lanes of SR-836 near Northwest 42nd Avenue in Miami. Florida Highway Patrol troopers, along with police from the City of Miami and Miami-Dade, responded to the scene. According to FHP, the crash involved four motorcycles and five vehicles.One person recorded a video of the scene as they passed by the area and captured one of the motorcycles engulfed in flames on the shoulder of the highway. The City of Miami Fire Rescue arrived at the scene and quickly extinguished the flames. Paramedics provided aid to the victims and transported four people in critical condition to Ryder Trauma Center, while two people were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in stable condition. Another video from 7News traffic cameras showed the entire...

Satisfying your sweet tooth is about to get more expensive

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:56 GMT

New York (CNN) — If you have a sweet tooth, take note: Cocoa prices have been soaring — and that could drive chocolate prices higher.Higher prices can be helpful for struggling cocoa farmers. But those prices, along with high prices of other key chocolate ingredients, might not be great news for sweets shoppers watching their budgets.So far this year, cocoa futures have risen about 21%. As is often the case, higher prices are being driven by demand exceeding supply.This season, cocoa yields are underwhelming, likely due to crop disease and heavy rains. And next season, forecasters are expecting another deficit because of El Niño, a naturally occurring phenomenon in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which usually brings warmer global temperatures — poor conditions for growing cocoa.Meanwhile, demand has stayed strong, particularly in Europe and Asia, noted Paul Joules, a commodity analyst for Rabobank who focuses on cocoa and dairy markets.Supply falls shortInitially, forecasters anticipat...

Residents in Ocala neighborhood evacuate after 30-foot hole opens up near homes

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:56 GMT

OCALA, Fla. (WSVN) – People in an Ocala neighborhood were forced to evacuate after a 30-foot hole opened a few feet away from their home.The sinkhole opened up Wednesday morning.No injuries were reported. Homes near the hole have been deemed unsafe.

Seven Persian cats from Tampa find new home where former owners’ estate will compensate new owners

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:56 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WSVN) – Seven Persian cats in Tampa have finally found their “fur”-ever homes after months of living in poor conditions. These feline companions were left behind when their 84-year-old owner passed away in November. However, after intervention from the Humane Society, a deal was struck to ensure the well-being of these cats.The seven Persian cats originally resided in a grand mansion with their elderly owner, who passed away, leaving her beloved pets behind. For months, they endured substandard living conditions.The former cat owner’s dying wish was for her cherished pets to find happy, healthy homes where they would receive the care they deserved. That’s when the Humane Society intervened to rescue these feline companions. “We met a couple of times and told him we could certainly if they would like us to, find them all great homes from our shelter and get them out of those dog crates,” said CEO of the Humane Society of Tampa Ba...