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Governments are gathering to talk about the Amazon rainforest. Why is it so important to protect?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:59 GMT

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — The Amazon rainforest is a massive area, twice the size of India and sprawling across eight countries and one territory. It’s a crucial carbon sink for the climate, has about 20% of the world’s freshwater reserves and boasts astounding biodiversity, including 16,000 known tree species. But governments have historically viewed it as an area to be colonized and exploited, with little regard for sustainability or the rights of its Indigenous peoples.Now, as those governments seek to clamp down on a Wild West atmosphere of resource extraction, human rights abuses and environmental crime, collaboration across borders is a must. That’s a major goal of the two-day Amazon Summit that opens Tuesday in Belem, where Brazil will host policymakers and others to discuss how to tackle the immense challenges of protecting a critical resource in stemming the worst of climate change.Here’s a rundown of the Amazon’s importance, the threats it faces and possible s...

Girl, 8, fatally shot in head in Portage Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:59 GMT

CHICAGO -- An eight-year-old girl is dead after she was shot in the head by a known offender in Portage Park Saturday night. According to police, a known individual approached a group from across the street near the 3500 block of North Long Avenue around 9:40 p.m. and shot the girl in the head.She was transported to Stroger Hospital in critical condition where she was then pronounced dead. 2 injured after being electrocuted on CTA tracks in Oak Park on their way to Lollapalooza Another man on the scene got into physical altercation with the offender and tried to disarm him. During the struggle, the offender was shot in the face and transported to the hospital in critical condition. A weapon was recovered on the scene and police are investigating.

Cloudy Sunday with morning showers, Moderate Air Quality

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:59 GMT

CHICAGO -- Mostly cloudy with morning showers. Some limited afternoon clearing. Air quality is Moderate today. Lake swimming hazard for large waves and rip currents. NE 10-20 mph. High: 75, lower 70s lakeside.Sunday Night: Scattered showers/thunderstorms. Slight chance some could be strong to severe. ESE 5-10 mph. Low: 65Monday: Cloudy with showers likely. Chance of isolated thunderstorms. Precipitation slowly clears out in the evening. N 5-10 mph. High: 72, upper 60s beachesChicago Area Radar | WGN TV

Lollapalooza wraps up with cloudy weather, possible storms to come

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:59 GMT

CHICAGO — Lollapalooza returns to Grant Park for its fourth and final day of the festival -- with a side of possible showers and storms to come. Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Gates will open at 11 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. each day.The gates are located at the following locations:Main Entrance: Michigan and Ida B. Wells North Entrance: Monroe and Columbus CLICK HERE FOR FULL LOLLA LINE-UPSunday 8/6: Lana Del Rey, L’Impératrice, Louis The Child, Red Hot Chili Peppers Sunday tickets are sold-out. Get on waitlist here.Is there a map of the festival grounds?YES, HERE: Check out the festival map for 2023 here.

Extreme heat outside? Your electric vehicle battery could suffer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:59 GMT

DALLAS (NewsNation) — With much of the country experiencing scorching heat from Arizona to Texas to Florida, those driving electric vehicles might notice that they aren’t going as far before needing to recharge.New data revealed that electric vehicles can lose up to 20% of their range when it’s 95 degrees or hotter outside.That means if the vehicle normally drives 100 miles, in extreme heat, it can only go 80 miles instead.Some EV drivers said they haven't noticed a change in the way their vehicles run, while others said they definitely can tell the difference and that when it's this hot out, they can't go as far or take as many trips before needing to charge. Recurrent, a website providing battery reports for electric vehicles, studied the batteries of 7,500 EVs and found that when it gets hot, the EV battery starts to lose 15%-30% efficiency. Why does the battery lose efficiency in extreme heat? How to keep your car cooler in the summer heat The vehicle's battery is using up mo...

Several highs above 105°

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Saturday's high of 106° tied a record first set in 2011. It's the 29th consecutive day and 45th day overall of a triple-digit high.Today's high is, again, forecast to reach 107°. The record high for August 6th is 105° set in 2013. BLOG: Forget the heat: Here's when cooler air usually comes The Excessive Heat Warning runs from noon - 9 p.m. for most of Central Texas with feels-like temperatures as high as 105° to 109°. The Heat Advisory remains in place for Blanco and Gillespie Counties for possible heat index readings up to 111° although the highest heat index in these two counties Saturday got no higher than 105°.Today's heat alertsA Red Flag Warning will be in effect for the entire afternoon and night. Wind speeds are forecast to increase up to 10 to 15 mph later this morning into the afternoon and evening. Relative humidity readings will fall again to the upper teens to low 20s. Yesterday's lowest humidity during the mid- and late-afternoon hours fell to a ran...

Weather update: strong storms expected later today, potential for hail and tornadoes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:59 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- A few showers and weak storms are impacting the region. These continue to weaken as they move east and shouldn't cause any issues. A few more showers may develop this morning along a warm front lifting north. This front will help to destabilize the atmosphere later today. Afternoon temperatures climb into the upper 80s.We will likely have some strong storms later this afternoon and evening ahead of a rather strong cold front that moves through later today. There are questions as to how the morning activity and lingering cloud cover impact our instability, as well as the timing of the cold front. These factors will impact how far west storms are able to develop. Storm chances are highest from eastern Missouri into Illinois ahead of the front. Storms will gradually expand in coverage and move southeast over the evening hours. Some storms could produce large hail to golf ball size, strong winds to 70 mph, as well as a few tornadoes. The timing we are watching for is after ...

US loses to Sweden on penalty kicks in earliest Women's World Cup exit ever

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:59 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The United States played its best game of this Women's World Cup and it's wasn't good enough to stop the two-time reigning champions from being eliminated from the tournament.The Americans' bid to win an unprecedented third consecutive title ended Sunday night on penalty kicks when Lina Hurtig converted and Sweden knocked the United States out of the World Cup 5-4 after a scoreless draw. It is the earliest exit in tournament history for the United States, four-time winners of the World Cup.“Just devastated. It feels like a bad dream,” said captain Alex Morgan. “The team put everything out there tonight, I feel like we dominated, but it doesn't matter. We're going home and it's the highs and lows of the sport of soccer. So, yeah, it doesn't feel great.” U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher fruitlessly argued she had saved Hurtig's attempt, but it was ruled over the line. The stadium played Abba's “Dancing Queen” in the stadium as the Swedes celebrated. “We just l...

US loses to Sweden on penalty kicks in earliest Women’s World Cup exit ever

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:59 GMT

By ANNE M. PETERSON (AP Sports Writer)MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The United States played its best game of this Women’s World Cup and it’s wasn’t good enough to stop the two-time reigning champions from being eliminated from the tournament.The Americans’ bid to win an unprecedented third consecutive title ended Sunday night on penalty kicks when Lina Hurtig converted and Sweden knocked the United States out of the World Cup 5-4 after a scoreless draw. It is the earliest exit in tournament history for the United States, four-time winners of the World Cup.“Just devastated. It feels like a bad dream,” said captain Alex Morgan. “The team put everything out there tonight, I feel like we dominated, but it doesn’t matter. We’re going home and it’s the highs and lows of the sport of soccer. So, yeah, it doesn’t feel great.” U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher fruitlessly argued she had saved Hurtig’s attempt, but...

Colorado cancer centers try to manage chemotherapy drug shortage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:59 GMT

Two workhorse chemotherapy drugs are increasingly hard to come by, and Colorado cancer centers are trying to manage the shortages with as little effect on patients as possible.A May survey of 27 U.S. cancer centers found 25 were short of carboplatin and 19 were short of cisplatin, generic drugs that use the metal platinum to stop cancer cells from growing. About 36% of centers reported that they weren’t able to offer all eligible patients carboplatin promptly and at the optimal dosage.Dr. Leslie Busby, chairman of pharmaceuticals and therapeutics at the US Oncology Network, which manages drugs for Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers’ 19 Colorado locations, said that during the worst point of the cisplatin shortage, they prioritized giving the limited doses to patients with testicular cancer, because it gives them a good chance of being cured.Some people who had other cancers or were unlikely to be cured were switched to carboplatin or another drug, Busby said. That’s in ...