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White House to disband Covid-19 response team in May

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:24 GMT

(CNN) — The White House will disband its coronavirus response team after the Covid-19 public health emergency ends in May, a current and former official said.The team, led most recently by Dr. Ashish Jha, has begun to dwindle in recent months as the administration has started to shift its response to the virus from the emergency that defined the early part of President Joe Biden‘s term in office. The team will now be disbanded as the public health emergency is set to expire on May 11.“As a result of this Administration’s historic response to COVID-19, we as a nation are in a safer, better place than we were three years ago. COVID no longer disrupts our lives because of investments and our efforts to mitigate its worst impacts,” a senior administration official said in a statement.“COVID is not over, fighting it remains an Administration priority, and transitioning out of the emergency phase is the natural evolution of the COVID response....

Mild, Few Showers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:24 GMT

We notched in another nice one yesterday, albeit, it was much cooler along the coast vs. what we had on Tuesday. Nonetheless, the sunshine was nice as winds were fairly light as well. Today, the milder pattern continues despite more clouds and a gusty breeze. With a southwest wind gusting 20-30mph, no sea breeze kicks in today, so even in Boston, temps run into the upper 50s to near 60. With the clouds in place, occasionally a few passing sprinkles/shower run through here as well. With that said, rain will be limited, so while you can keep the umbrella handy, there will be good chunks of the day when you don’t have to use them. Showers taper off overnight tonight and we’ll be be dry and seasonable tomorrow with cloudy to partly sunny skies. Saturday is chilly as highs top off midday in the low 40s and then backtrack in the afternoon into the 30s as a cold rain takes over. Expect a few sleet pellets mixed in as well, with the best chance for minor snow/sleet accumulation...

Los Angeles area hit by rare tornado — the strongest one to hit the county since 1983

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:24 GMT

(CNN) — At least one person was injured after a rare tornado hit a city just southeast of Los Angeles Wednesday, local officials said.The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado “briefly touched down” in an industrial park and warehouse district in the city of Montebello and rated the tornado an EF-1 with estimated peak winds of 110 mph — the strongest tornado to hit the Los Angeles area since 1983.The “intense microcell” damaged at least 17 buildings, 11 so severely the fire department deemed them too dangerous to use, according to Michael Chee, a city public information officer.“There was flying debris and everything!!!!” tweeted one person who shared a video of the storm. The video zooms in on a mass of dark gray clouds consuming the sky and tapering down toward land.The reported injury is considered minor, Chee said at a news conference.The tornado collapsed one building’s roof, snapped a power pole...

Hummer EV is unfathomable

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:24 GMT

The name Hummer is no secret in the automobile industry, but one that has gone dormant for many years. With the elimination of Hummer in the GM organization back in the 2000’s, the big and brawny gas guzzler fazed itself right out of business. In 2022, that mantra changed as GM needed to evolve something extravagant with an EV introduction to the market and the Hummer EV was born. This time under the GMC brand, the Hummer EV comes in both an SUV and Pickup version.Backed with 1000 horsepower and 329 miles on a full charge, the Hummer EV is amazing. 3 Motor Performance E4WD with 11.5 KW High Voltage Charging Module standard in the mechanical department . Riding on 18” black aluminum wheels with 2 spares in the bed of the truck. Did I mention the Crabwalk feature? 4-wheel steering with crabwalk allows you to get in those tight areas when you are off-roading etc.; A cool feature and one that Hummer stands alone with.Its spacious interior boasts Hummer-like large 12-way power front seat...

Battenfeld: You can’t fight Michelle Wu’s City Hall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:24 GMT

You can’t fight Michelle Wu’s City Hall – and if you do try, expect some old school hardball tactics to send you packing.That’s the message Wu’s sending out to employees and critics who dare challenge her, with the release of a summary of an “internal” affairs police report against a fired anti-vaccine police sargent.Wu’s police department – or Wu herself – put out the summary report about terminated Sgt. Shana Cottone to disgrace her and rally public sentiment against her.This handoff to media outlets is the worst kind of heavy-handed politics, the equivalent of shooting a mosquito with a cannon.Now Wu or her new supposedly progressive police commissioner is going after one of the mayor’s most public critics. Firing her wasn’t enough, they had to shame her, too, with a Machiavellian smear job.The shocking details of the report include things like Cottone wouldn’t leave a pizza restaurant when she was supposed to, and allegedly followed Wu with her car.These acts may not be appropri...

From video games to trash-talking, competitive bonds among Orioles’ top young stars fuel return to contention

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:24 GMT

Gunnar Henderson knows how dangerous Adley Rutschman can be with the game on the line.“You can just tell by his face: He gets locked in,” Henderson said. “You want to keep it away from him or get him on his heels. It’s tough to do, but you’ve got to be more strategic.”Henderson wasn’t talking about the approach to attacking a key at-bat against his predecessor as baseball’s top prospect. He was referring to the only way to beat Rutschman in Spikeball.The net-and-ball game is one of the several ways in which the Orioles’ many young stars go head-to-head, forming the competitive bonds they hope will usher in Baltimore’s return to prominence. That group — helmed by Rutschman and Henderson, their first two draft picks in 2019, and pitchers DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez, their top selections in 2017 and 2018 — will arrive in force in 2023 after several of them made their first major league contributions in last seaso...

Near-Earth asteroid 2023 DZ2, Dizzy, will ‘get very close’ but won’t crash into Earth this weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:24 GMT

A newly discovered asteroid will safely whiz by Earth this weekend, as the 115-foot space rock approaches us at a staggering 17,000 mph.The large near-Earth asteroid titled 2023 DZ2, nicknamed Dizzy, will “get very close” but it won’t crash into Earth, according to astronomy experts.While close approaches are a regular occurrence, one by an asteroid of this size happens only about once per decade.“This is the kind of encounter that happens about once a decade, so it’s not once in a lifetime but it doesn’t happen every day,” Davide Farnocchia, navigation engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told the Herald on Wednesday.The exceptionally close and rare approach to Earth will happen on Saturday, but the best time to try to get a look at Dizzy will be Friday night.“You would need to have a pretty good telescope to see it because it won’t be bright enough to see with the naked eye,” said John Boisvert, curriculum ...

Toxic lead paint chips falling from Tobin Bridge onto Chelsea homes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:24 GMT

Lab testing has shown toxic amounts of lead contained in paint chips apparently stripped from the Tobin Bridge by weather and time which are raining down onto the homes and streets of Chelsea.“With all of the work that has been done on the Tobin Bridge over the last number of years, we all believed that the bridge was deleaded,” Roseann Bongiovanni, executive director of GreenRoots, told the Herald. “To learn that the lead is still falling off the bridge 45 years after lead was banned from paint, it’s unbelievable to us all that this is a major problem now in 2023.”Residents in Chelsea’s Ward Eight grew concerned recently when they started finding paint chips in their yards and on the sidewalks surrounding the Tobin Bridge.“I see it every time I walk out my door. I’ve lived here for four plus years and the ‘allergy’ I have only hits when I’m at home. I thought it was the trees. Never thought about the bridge,” Garron DeRamus, the owner of Wildcat ...

Library association reports record book ban attempts in 2022

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Attempted book bans and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022, according to a new report from the American Library Association being released Thursday.More than 1,200 challenges were compiled by the association in 2022, nearly double the then-record total from 2021 and by far the most since the ALA began keeping data 20 years ago. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “The last two years have been exhausting, frightening, outrage inducing.”Thursday’s report not only documents the growing number of challenges, but also their changing nature. A few years ago, complaints usually arose with parents and other community members and referred to an individual book. Now, the requests are often for multiple removals, and organized by national groups such as the conservative Moms for Liberty, which has a mission of “unifying, ed...

Etobicoke house fire leaves woman in life-threatening condition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:24 GMT

A woman is fighting for her life in hospital after an early morning house fire in Etobicoke.The one-alarm fire broke out around 12:30 a.m. Thursday on Brussels Street in the area of The Queensway and Park Lawn Road.Fire crews say a woman was rescued from the second floor of the home and given lifesaving treatment on scene before being rushed to hospital.She remains in hospital in life-threatening condition.The fire has since been put out. There is no word on the cause.Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg says police and the Ontario Fire Marshal are on scene investigating.Our fire investigations team will work in collaboration with @TorontoPolice and @ONFireMarshal to complete the origin, cause and circumstances investigation. The fire has been extinguished. Our crews will remain on scene as operations continue. @TPFFA— Matthew Pegg (@ChiefPeggTFS) March 23, 2023