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Yellen says US could default as soon as June 1

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress on Monday that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1, if the body does not raise or suspend its statutory borrowing authority before then.In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Yellen urged congressional leaders “to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible” to address the $31.4 trillion limit on its legal borrowing authority, adding that it is impossible to predict with certainty the exact date of when the U.S. will run out of cash. “We have learned from past debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States,” she said in the letter. Also Monday, the Congressional Budget Office reported that it saw a greater risk of the U.S. running out of f...

6 dead after dust cloud cause 60-car crash, closes I-55 for 28 miles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:39 GMT

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ill. -- Illinois State Police have confirmed that six people have died as a result to the 60-car crash in Montgomery County Monday morning.According to the Illinois State Police, deputies responded to multiple crashes on I-55 near milepost 78 just after 11:00 a.m. Monday. ISP reported blackout conditions due to wind blowing dirt in the area. According to Farmersville Waggoner Ambulance Service, a large number of vehicles were on fire and produced heavy smoke. ISP confirmed 2 commercial vehicles were on fire but were extinguished. More than 30 people have been transported to hospitals in Litchfield and Springfield. State police officials also reported that six people died due to the accident.Officials said that I-55 is currently shut down in both directions from milepost 52 near Farmersville, to milepost 80 near Divernon. Traffic is being diverted onto the frontage road.  ...

Cubs' offense hasn't needed long to get things going in 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:39 GMT

MIAMI - It was probably the worst part of what's been a generally positive start to the 2023 Cubs' season. The Marlins swept the Cubs out of LoanDepot Park with a trio of one-run wins to drop the north siders record to 14-13 on the young season. It marks the first time the team has gotten to May 1 with a record over .500 since 2019.While the results have been around average, record-wise, there's no doubt that the Cubs' bats have been exactly what the team might have hoped for when it was constructed this offseason.Entering the start of a four-game series against the Nationals on Monday at 6:05 p.m., the Cubs are second in Major League Baseball with a team average of .276. Only the Rays are higher at .281 as they've gotten out to a 23-6 start to the 2022 season. The Cubs' average of 5.41 runs per game is the best in the National League as May begins while ranking fourth in the MLB as well. It's an improvement so far over 2022 when the club was 19th in batting average in the league (....

Met Gala 2023 live updates: See arrivals, guest list, more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Fashion's biggest night is underway — after all, it is the first Monday in May. Follow along for real-time updates on the 2023 Met Gala from The Associated Press. We'll be bringing you news in all formats, all day and all night, from the carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and behind the scenes. This year's theme revolves around late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.Live updates are contributed by Leanne Italie, Jocelyn Noveck, Beatrice Dupuy, Lindsey Bahr, Elise Ryan, Mallika Sen and other AP journalists.___BOTTLE EPISODEMore on the decor, courtesy the Costume Institute: “Each side of the red carpet tent is lined with trompe l’oeil panels inspired by 18th century French decorative arts, which Lagerfeld collected. The traditional hedges of greenery and florals are replaced this year with light installations comprised of recycled water bottles lit with a blue glow. Matching chandeliers also hang above the carpet. The Great Hall information desk is transformed into...

Vertical speedboat at Lake Mead returns to the water

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:39 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Lake Mead's water level rose almost four feet in April, returning it to the same level it was a year ago. With last year's extreme water loss still fresh in our memory, this is a positive start to a year that the government thought would see Lake Mead dropping 30 feet.The melting snowpack in the Colorado Rockies is almost solely to thank for this year's water level increase. Just last week, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation conducted a High Flow Experiment (HFE) where it released water from Lake Powell in the lower Colorado River basin. This alone resulted in Lake Mead rising more than two feet in one week.Water from Lake Powell pours into Lake Mead where the Colorado River narrows between Lake Mead and the Grand Canyon. Apr. 27, 2023 (Photo: Addie Carithers-Ellery)The dramatic HFE could be seen at a tight bend in the Colorado River near Pearce Ferry, where the river exits the Grand Canyon but before it enters Lake Mead. Good news for Lake Mead as water level set t...

Skilling: Cloudy, cool temps to start the week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:39 GMT

It was the chilliest May 1 open (with a high of only 44 degrees) since 1940---in 83 years!Monday's high equaled the normal highs we see in Chicago March 8 & 9—so the temps today made it feel like it typically does here nearly two months earlier.We closed out April with a 2.1 degrees surplus and head into May which sees normal temps surge from 65/46 extremes to 76/56 by month's end. And DAYS ARE STILL LENGTHING. We'll see an additional 57 minutes of daylight by May's close.It's also interesting to note that since 2000, the average date of the first 90 degrees temp here has been on or about May 28th and the 10 of the past 22 Mays have seen a 90 degrees temp in May. We don't have such a reading predicted yet—but history tells us we're getting into the period of the year in which that sort of warmth is an increasing possibility.What is to happen on the temp front here is GOOD NEWS INDEED. While the coming week is to average 4 degrees below normal OVERALL---we see daily average temps...

Students treated for possible overdose at Los Angeles middle school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:39 GMT

(KTLA) - Several students were hospitalized after apparently overdosing on an unidentified narcotic at Johnnie Cochran Middle School in Los Angeles’ Arlington Heights neighborhood on Monday.Los Angeles Fire crews responded to the school around 11:30 a.m. PT after receiving reports of at least three children “with altered level of consciousness after possible exposure or ingestion of a yet unknown substance,” the department said.Nexstar's KTLA confirmed the students responded well after being administered Narcan, which reverses the effects of opioids. After student’s death, LA schools to carry overdose antidote Three were transported to an area hospital where "they arrived conscious and breathing in minor to moderate medical distress," officials said.L.A. Unified School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho used the incident to encourage students and parents to report safety issues."We remain hopeful for a full recovery of our students ... who suffered from a medical incident earlier to...

Biden administration announces new immigration rules as Title 42 ends

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – With the immigration policy known as Title 42 scheduled to end in 10 days, the Biden administration is giving details on how it plans to handle the expected waves of migrants.“We are seeing a level of migration, not just at our southern border, but throughout the hemisphere that is unprecedented,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.By increasing the number of refugees accepted into the U.S. and opening new migrant processing centers in Latin America, the Biden administration hopes to reach one goal: “to disincentivize them from coming to the land border irregularly,” according to Blas Nunez Neto, assistant secretary for border and immigration policy.Nuñez Neto says the new rules include requiring most asylum seekers to file applications and make appointments before showing up at the border. The assistant secretary added that the rules does not “preclude individuals from claiming asylum, what it does is place certain conditions on...

Suspected burglar found sweeping inside Nashville home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:39 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) - A 36-year-old man has been taken into custody after police say he was found sweeping inside a home he allegedly broke into over the weekend.On Sunday, April 30, officers were dispatched to a burglary at a home. Metro police reported that a woman told officers that she arrived at her home, opened the front door and saw a man standing in the kitchen sweeping up glass. According to an arrest warrant, when officers arrived on scene, they found the man standing at the back of the home next to a window that appeared to be broken. ‘Multiple fatalities’ after Illinois dust storm causes multi-vehicle pileup Despite commands to stop, the man allegedly re-entered the home through the back door. He was later arrested and taken into custody. Court records state that the man told officers he had just been released from a nearby hospital and was looking for a place to go, despite not having permission to be there. The man was taken into custody and charged wit...

Human brains show larger-than-life activity at moment of death 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:39 GMT

(The Hill) – The brains of dying people may spark to sudden life in their final moments.Two apparently brain-dead people taken off of life-support showed sudden spikes in neural activity, according to a study published on Monday.The findings published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provide scientific support for accounts of “near-death experiences” — powerful and often mystical experiences that happen when a patient is about to die.But they also shed new light into the surprisingly murky question of just how we die, said Jimo Borjigin of the University of Michigan. Facebook agrees to pay $725M settlement: What’s the deadline to file a claim? In a small study of four patients taken off life support, Borjigin’s team found something surprising: the brains of two out of the four burst to life in the moments before death.In particular, the patients displayed a sudden surge in the specific type of brain waves that usually indicate conscious thought.Production of thos...