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Extratropical cyclone kills 3 in southern Brazil, 12 still missing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:33 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Authorities of the southern Brazil state of Rio Grande do Sul said Friday that three people died and 12 were missing after an extratropical cyclone swept through the region. Gov. Eduardo Leite said two people died in the city of Sao Leopoldo and one was killed in Maquine, on the state’s coast.“Our priority at the moment is to find those missing and save people who might still be isolated due to the floods,” Leite said on Twitter. He said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offered federal help to handle the crisis.Several roads were still blocked in Rio Grande do Sul, flights to the state’s main cities were cancelled throughout the day and electricity was out across state.Mayors of cities that were affected said twice as much rain fell in 24 hours than would normally be expected for the entire month of June.The mayor of Maquine said on his social media channels that precipitation in his city surpassed 29.4 centimeters (about 11 inches) in one day.The Ass...

Maple Leafs aiming to sign Matthews to 8-year max contract: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:33 GMT

It’s unclear when the news will come and what the number will be, but it appears good news is on the horizon when it comes to Auston Matthews staying with the Toronto Maple Leafs beyond next season.“I still am convinced that Auston Matthews is going to sign in Toronto. I’ve been consistent about that, I still believe it,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said during the latest episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, released Friday.From the viewpoint of Matthews’ camp, Friedman explained that the elite 25-year-old centreman can expect to sign “two more big contracts in his future.”“I think the Maple Leafs are gonna try to get a max-term deal out of this,” Friedman said. “I don’t know what the likelihood is, but I think they’re gonna try.”Per Friedman, new Leafs GM Brad Treliving met with Matthews in Arizona last week. Unlike last summer’s dinner meeting with Jonathan Huberdeau, who signed an eight-ye...

Family of girl who died in Border Patrol custody holds New York funeral, says they want justice

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:33 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Balloons with rainbows and Minnie Mouse surrounded the casket of an 8-year-old girl who died in Border Patrol custody as dozens of people gathered Friday to remember Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez in New York City. Her family had been heading to the city last month before their journey across the southern U.S. border ended in tragedy. The child’s death has put the U.S. government under new scrutiny over the care given to thousands of detained migrants.The girl’s mother, Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, hugged almost every guest, thanking them for coming to honor their daughter. She grabbed a handful of tissues to wipe her eyes and nose.Anadith had a history of heart problems and sickle cell anemia, her mother has said. An internal investigation found that Border Patrol medical personnel were informed about the girl’s medical history but declined to review the file before she had a seizure and died on May 17, her family’s ninth day in custody. “We are laying ou...

RCMP say no critical injuries in crash of B.C. bus carrying pipeline camp workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:33 GMT

PRINCE GEORGE — A bus loaded with camp workers supporting construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline crashed Friday north of Prince George, B.C., injuring 17 of the 30 people on board, the work camp operators said. Horizon North, which runs a number of such camps in northern B.C., said in a Facebook post that the bus was transporting the company’s employees to a work site when it crashed.“We are conducting a full investigation to determine the cause of the incident,” Horizon North’s statement said. “We are in the process of gathering additional information and will communicate with all relevant stakeholder groups as the situation develops.”In a written statement, TC Energy, the company behind the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, said the crash located 900 kilometres north of Vancouver involved a charter bus.“We are grateful for the support and care of those individuals, and that this did not result in a more serious accident,” the s...

Hundreds flee drug cartel turf battles in rural western Mexico

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:33 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Gun battles between drug cartels forced about 700 people to flee their rural villages in the western Mexico state of Michoacan, activists and a local priest said Friday. Rev. Jorge Armando Vázquez said dozens of people are sleeping in the nave of a parish church in the hamlet of El Rosario, on the outskirts of the city of Apatzingan. Hundreds of others are sheltering with local families, after hours-long gun battles chased them from their homes Tuesday.Jolted awake in the pre-dawn hours by gunfire, they had to wait until daylight to flee to the town of El Rosario. Many are from towns 15 or 20 miles (25 ro 35 kilometers) away.“So many people came it surprised me,” said Vázquez. “It’s such a sad situation, because I think they need a lot of psychological help, but that help needs to reach them where they are.”Residents fled from several farm hamlets along Michoacan’s Rio Grande, after bullets hit their homes. “There have been a series of armed clashes in...

Extreme heat baking much of Texas, with forecasters saying no relief anytime soon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:33 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Summer doesn’t officially start until next week, but extreme heat was already making itself right at home in Texas on Friday, with temperatures soaring above triple digits in many cities.Excessive heat warnings or heat advisories were issued for much of Texas, including Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston, Laredo and San Antonio, according to the National Weather Service. Some of the cities with triple digit highs on Friday included Austin, Del Rio, Junction, Laredo and San Angelo.Houston’s excessive heat warning was the first one issued for the city in nearly seven years. The temperature on Friday in Houston rose to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), with a heat index of 111 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius). The temperature in Corpus Christi was also 95 degrees by Friday afternoon, but its heat index swelled to 119 degrees (48 degrees Celsius). Heat index values take into account the temperature and relative humidity and indicate how hot it f...

New bill seeks to make farmland more affordable for new and underserved farmers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:33 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- Some farmers can't afford to own the land they use to grow their produce and livestock."I was going to have to stop farming altogether," said Susan Mitchell.For Mitchell, finding farmland was an uphill battle. She spent nearly a decade bouncing from one leased plot of land to another."It was incredibly challenging to find something that was affordable for me as a full-time working farmer," Mitchell said.And she's not alone. Mitchell says many farmers struggle to buy their own land, either because there isn't any available or it's too expensive."There are fewer farmers now than there have ever been, so the number population nationwide keeps decreasing," Mitchell said.To help, some lawmakers are backing bipartisan legislation to help make farmland more affordable, especially for young or underserved farmers."Number one, make sure we actually have food production in this country, and number two, it would also give people like Susan an opportunity to pursue their...

Are you owed money from the FTC's $3.3M student loan scam settlement?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:33 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Earlier this week the Federal Trade Commission announced that $3.3 million will go to tens of thousands of victims of a student loan debt relief scheme.The FTC said troubled Arete Financial Group claimed to be affiliated with the U.S. Dept. of Education to dupe people desperate to rid themselves of monthly student loan payments.Arete promised to reduce or eliminate the interest charges if borrowers sent them payments upfront, but "the scammers pocketed customers' payments and never provided the promised relief," the FTC said. Here’s the richest person in your state, according to Forbes Arete Financial was one of several companies who launched publicity campaigns including radio, television, online ads and telemarketing calls promising loan forgiveness, consolidation and repayment, the FTC alleged in 2019.The FTC said despite the promises Arete Financial "regularly failed to reduce or eliminate consumers' loan balances or monthly payments."What we know about the payment...

Businesses concerned about crime near sanctioned homeless camp, vacant Austin lot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:33 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Business owners near a sanctioned encampment in southeast Austin have said that without enough space for people to live inside the camp, the overflow is causing problems outside of it. Caleb Harris owns a franchise of College Hunks, a moving company, which is run out of a building just north of Esperanza Community. Harris said especially over the last month, they've seen an increased number of people -- who overwhelmingly appear to be living on the vacant property behind the camp -- breaking into cars, stealing equipment and becoming aggressive with people at the business. Business owners took photos and collected Ring camera video of several run-ins with people living in a vacant Austin property nearby (Photo Courtesy Business Owners)Harris says over the last few years, he's spent tens of thousands of dollars replacing and fixing moving equipment, including the window at the front of the store, a box truck ramp and eight catalytic converters. "That camp has changed...

'Every day is Pride at Book Woman': Owner hopes store makes it to 50

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:33 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Despite the disruptions of vandalism, eviction, inflation and online bookstores, Austin's Book Woman is still standing. Susan Post, Austin's "Book Woman" (KXAN Photos/Cora Neas)The store originally started in December 1975 as the Common Woman Bookstore, the name referencing a work by lesbian poet Judy Grahn. It was the collective project of 13 women who wanted Austin to have a feminist bookstore. The last remaining member of that collective is Susan Post, who still runs the store with the help of a couple of workers. It moved locations multiple times during those early years, at one point being at 6th St. and Trinity St. "[Our landlord] said, 'I don't want to look out my store and see a common woman.' And so we had to change our name," said Post about those years, "We were harassed on 6th St., and eventually accepted there, but it took about three years."The Venus symbol with a fist, an iconic feminist symbol. (KXAN Photos/Cora Neas)During the 6th St. years, the st...