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AP PHOTOS: Satellite images show flood devastation that killed more than 11,000 in Libya

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

DERNA, Libya (AP) — Images taken by satellite show the physical devastation from a flood that killed at least 11,300 people in the eastern Libyan city of Derna. Two dams above Derna burst early Monday under the pressure from rain dropped by a storm. The pent-up water swept blocks of low-lying downtown Derna out to the Mediterranean Sea. Many said they heard loud explosions as the dams exploded. A flood several meters (many feet) high rolled down a mountainside into the city. Images made about 400 miles above the earth’s surface show that the storm left a brown layer of mud and dirt across the city.Untold numbers are buried under mud and debris that includes overturned cars and chunks of concrete. The death toll soared to 11,300 as search efforts continue, Marie el-Drese, secretary-general of the Libyan Red Crescent, told The Associated Press by phone Thursday.She said that an additional 10,100 had been reported missing. Health authorities previously put the death toll in Derna at 5,...

Author Deesha Philyaw has a 7-figure deal for her next two books

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Prize-winning fiction writer Deesha Philyaw, who struggled to find a publisher for what became her acclaimed debut “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies,” has a 7-figure deal for her next two books. Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Thursday that it had signed up Philyaw and will publish her novel “The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman” in 2025. Mariner calls the book a “biting satire” of the Black church and “a deeply provocative” story about family, friendship and “sexual agency.” Philyaw, who attended several different churches as a child, is centering the novel around a megachurch leader.“In writing True Confessions, I really wanted to explore the narratives that 40- and 50-something Black women sometimes tell ourselves – as well as the narratives told about us – regarding our desires and aspirations,” Philyaw said in a statement.Her second book for Mariner, “Girl, Look,” is billed by the publisher as a ...

California lawmakers to vote on plan allowing the state to buy power

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers were scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to give Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration permission to buy massive amounts of electricity, a move aimed at avoiding blackouts by shoring up the state’s power supply while jumpstarting the West Coast’s fledgling offshore wind industry.Five companies paid roughly $750 million last year to lease areas off the California coast to build wind turbines. Collectively, those projects could generate enough electricity to power 3.5 million homes, helping the state avoid blackouts during extreme heat waves that have routinely strained the electrical grid of the nation’s most populous state.But so far, the state’s largest utility companies have not been willing to commit to buying power from projects like those because it would cost too much money and take too long to build. In addition to building the wind turbines, the projects will require improvements at the st...

A judge must now decide if Georgia voting districts are racially discriminatory after a trial ended

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A trial challenging voting district maps in Georgia concluded Thursday with the state arguing that court intervention on behalf of Black voters isn’t needed, while the plaintiffs argued that Black voters are still fighting opposition from white voters and need federal help to get a fair shot. If U.S. District Judge Steve Jones rules for the challengers, one of Georgia’s 14 U.S. House seats, plus multiple state Senate and state House seats, could be redrawn to contain majorities of Black residents. That could shift control of those seats to Democrats from Republicans. The closing arguments focused on the question of how far Georgia has come since the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, whether more intervention is needed and whether proposals brought forward by the plaintiffs are so race-conscious as to be unconstitutional. Section 2 of that law says voting district lines can’t result in discriminatory effects against minority voters.The plaintiffs acknow...

One injured due to shooting in Jane and Wilson area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

One person has sustained injuries due to a shooting in the Jane Street and Wilson Avenue area on Thursday evening.Police responded to reports of a shooting at approximately 7:22 p.m.Once on scene police confirmed the shooting and located one victim with non-life-threatening injuries.The suspects fled on foot and there is a large police presence in the area.Police ask those around to avoid the area.

Lawsuit: Woman sexually assaulted by sexual predator inside Northwest Indiana nursing home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — A woman is suing a Northwest Indiana nursing home after she claims a resident sexually assaulted her grandmother.According to a police report, a nurse found a 90-year-old man sexually assaulting a 96-year-old woman in her room earlier this month. 4-year-old hospitalized after accidental shooting in Gary The man, who is a registered sex offender, admitted to the crime but has not been arrested and remains at Harbor Health and Rehab.Glorietta Evans-Dumas said she received a call from a staff member at the facility on Sept. 2 saying her grandmother, Ruth Reed, 96, had been assaulted. "I had to take my grandmother to the emergency room to get an examination," Evans-Dumas said.According to the police report, a nurse walked into Reed's room at the facility and found the man touching her breast.The nurse asked Reed if she was ok and when she said no, the nurse called police. The man was interviewed by police and said "I am dumb, I messed up."While a nursing home faci...

'Soulless predator' who received 76 years for murder plot found guilty of 2nd foiled attempt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. — A former suburban school bus driver, already sentenced to 76 years in prison for a thwarted murder-for-hire plot, has been found guilty of a foiled second attempt. Christian Shepherd, 44, of Ottawa, was found guilty of four counts of murder-for-hire solicitation in the second case against a man initially charged with criminal sexual assault in May 2010. WGN News reported in June that while in prison, Shepherd attempted to hire another inmate to murder the victim he was charged with sexually assaulting, the victim’s mother and two detectives. Police search for man who allegedly sexually assaulted woman in Logan Square apartment Officials said the inmate turned the documents over to police and wore a wire, which allowed authorities to gather audio evidence.Shepherd then hired a second inmate to kill the initially targeted victims and the first would-be hitman. The second inmate also informed police about Shepherd’s plans.A judge sentenced Shepherd to 76 years in priso...

KBVO Game of the Week: Pflugerville Connally, Lampasas in weather delay

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

NOTE: The game is delayed by the thunderstorms passing through the area and the game isn't expected to start until around 8:30 p.m. It will still air on KBVO once it begins.AUSTIN (KXAN) — An undefeated Class 4A team is putting its perfect record on the line away from home against a Class 5A squad Thursday in the KBVO Game of the Week.Lampasas rang up 72 points against East View last week to notch its third consecutive win, and the Badgers will head down to The Pfield to take on Pflugerville Connally. The Cougars enter the game 2-1 following a 56-42 defense-optional win over McCallum last week.REPORT YOUR SCORE: We'd love to post your team's score on our website, but we need your help to do it. Email the score of your game to [email protected] and we'll get it on our websiteThe Badgers have outscored their opponents 152-60 to start the season 3-0 and racked up 664 total yards in the win over East View. Quarterback Reed Jerome threw for 293 yards, ran for 100 more and accounted for six...

After surprising option to Triple-A, Bailey Ober returns to Twins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

CHICAGO — The Twins had shortened his starts, at one point piggybacking Dallas Keuchel with him, and had been talking about managing his workload. But when Bailey Ober was optioned to St. Paul on Aug. 28 after spending most of the season in the majors, the move caught the starter off guard.“I wasn’t expecting that,” Ober said. “I was a little surprised, but it is what it is.”Sending him to Triple-A allowed them to give him an extended break from starting — Ober didn’t start a game between Aug. 27 and Sept. 9 — and lighten his workload. Ober, who is well past the most innings he has ever thrown as a professional, has now rejoined the Twins and lined up to start Friday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox.“I can see their perspective on things. and hopefully it works out for both of us in the long run and (these) upcoming weeks, next month or so,” he said. “I’m feeling great, and I’m ready to go out there and throw.”In between starts, he said he threw two bullpens and live...

Colorado weather: flight delays, mudslides follow heavy rain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:15 GMT

6:55 p.m.: Flights leaving Denver International Airport are delayed an average of 1 hour and 45 minutes after a ground stop briefly halted all departures due to thunderstorms, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.There were 668 flight delays and six cancelations reported today at DIA as of 6:50 p.m., according to FlightAware. There were 244 Southwest flights, 209 United flights and 105 SkyWest flights delayed.5:20 p.m.: Flooding in the area of Buckhorn Canyon in Larimer County has resolved, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office. It is safe to travel in the area of County Roads 44H and 27.This is the Larimer County Sheriff's Office with a situation update. The flooding in the Buckhorn Canyon area of (CR44H & CR27) has solved. You are now okay to travel in this area. https://t.co/6DR7wR442u— Larimer Sheriff (@LarimerSheriff) September 14, 20235:15 p.m.: Colo. 125 in Grand County is closed in both directions between U.S. 40 and Forest Service...