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New data shows Texas fire crews responded to more than 6500 wildfires in 2023

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:28:48 GMT

SAN MARCOS, Austin (KXAN) – South Hays Fire Chief Robert Simonson remembers watching a wildfire climb the hill in rural San Marcos and head toward a neighboring town. He was at the command post. It was dark. And he felt as if Mother Nature was winning.“The difficult thing was it just seemed like we’d get ahead, and the wind would change. We’d get ahead, and the terrain would change,” Simonson said. “It just seemed like for the first couple of hours, we were chasing our tails.”The Oak Grove fire in Hays County began on August 5. It destroyed vehicles and at least one home, according to county officials.Thankfully, Simonson said his volunteer fire department was not alone. They had a lot of help. ‘Eternally grateful’: City of Kyle’s mayor praises firefighters, others as Oak Grove Fire progress halted Firefighters from as far as Colorado came in to help contain the fire. According to county officials, Blackhawk helicopters dropped buckets over flareups and hotspots. The Texas Interst...

Play of the Week winner - Mechanicville's Colin Richardson

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:28:48 GMT

HALFMOON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Congratulations to this week’s winner of our Play of the Week poll: Mechanicville's Colin Richardson! Richardson knifed between two Tamarac defenders on his way to a three-way play - part of his 26-point night against the Bengals that helped lead the Red Raiders to 60-54 win over their Wasaren League foe.

4 ways the government funding fight could play out in January

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:28:48 GMT

Congress faces an avalanche of government funding work when it returns from the holidays this month — and little time to complete it ahead of a looming shutdown deadline.  Under the stopgap bill passed in November, Congress is staring down two cutoff dates in January and February to keep the government funded.  But with less than a month to go until the first deadline on Jan. 19 — when funding is set to lapse for various parts of the government — lawmakers are clashing over next steps amid deep divides over spending.  Here’s a few ways the fight could shake out in January. Congress passes its annual funding bills While some conservatives remain hopeful that they’ll be able to pass their individual government funding bills for fiscal 2024, many are signaling openness to passing a minibus as work lags on the 12 annual funding bills. “It's going to be very difficult t...

Broncos coach Sean Payton stands firm in decision to start QB Jarrett Stidham

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:28:48 GMT

Even after Jarrett Stidham led the Broncos to a 16-9 win over the Chargers on Sunday afternoon, the question about whether the fourth-year quarterback could provide the offensive spark that head coach Sean Payton has been searching for remained unanswered.Still, Payton stands firm in his decision to make Stidham the starter.Payton said on Monday that the team will stick with Stidham, who threw for 224 yards and a touchdown, as the starter. Russell Wilson will be the No. 2 option for Sunday’s matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.“First off, let’s do this without any assumptions. The depth at that position going into the game coming up will be the same with Jarrett as the starter and Russ as the No. 2,” Payton said. “… I thought Jarrett did a good job with his decisions, the ball security and all those things you want to see from that position.”When Payton decided to bench Wilson last week, he did it to shake up an offense that had been struggling. “That was a...

CU Buffs women’s basketball jumps to No. 5 in AP poll

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:28:48 GMT

Colorado is back in the top five.On Monday, the CU women’s basketball team jumped three spots to No. 5 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.Related ArticlesCollege Sports | Final Pac-12 opener a key battle as CU Buffs men’s basketball hosts UW College Sports | Former CU Buffs guard Dom Collier starting coaching career College Sports | AP men’s college basketball poll, Week 5: CSU Rams jumps seven spots, CU Buffs outside of Top 25 College Sports | CU women’s basketball has returned to national prominence, but JR Payne and the Buffs still have boxes left to check College Sports | Women’s basketball notes: Shelomi Sanders makes CU Buffs debut It’s the third time this season that CU has been in the top five, but the first time since sitting at No. 3 on Nov. 20. The Buffs (11-1) have been in the top eight for eight consecutive weeks.The Buffs are coming off a 76-65 win against then-No. 12 Utah on ...

Letters: Promote solar | CPUC accountability | Leave it to states | Following Constitution | Stark choices

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:28:48 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Utility watchdog shouldbe promoting solarRe: “Solar expected to help prevent California blackouts” (Page C8, Dec. 16).“Solar expected to help prevent California blackouts” has been predicted for some time. The grid benefits in several ways from the new locally based supply. Reduced demand for imports results in less reliance on transmission and a more stable grid.With this information, it is time for the CPUC to monetize rooftop solar power with rate benefits and incentives for all ratepayers. To even more widely disperse this green technology, reducing our carbon footprint, incentives to include low-income households are needed.Rita NortonLos GatosCPUC must beheld accountableRe: “Elias: California utility bills to rise for decades after PUC’s solar move” (Dec. 12).In his online column on Dec. 12, Thomas Elias tells us why PG&E and other California electric utiliti...

Bay Area hospitals welcome first babies of 2024

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:28:48 GMT

While 8 billion people ushered in the New Year across the globe, more than a dozen new bundles of joy arrived in the Bay Area just in time for a celebration of their own.Locally, the first baby appears to be a baby boy born at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in San Jose — only five minutes after midnight on Jan. 1.Baby Albert entered the world weighing 6 pounds and 11 ounces. While his parents did not want to share their names for the occasion, they wished “all the best for the baby and congrats to him for such a special birthday!”The next three newborns of 2024 — who arrived at 12:21 a.m. in San Francisco, 12:49 a.m. in San Leandro and 12:56 a.m. in Walnut Creek, respectively — were each born at Kaiser Permanente hospitals.One of those babies interrupted New Year’s Eve dinner plans.Right as Roxana Vazquez and Jesus Garcia were off to enjoy a night of fine dining at Paradiso in San Leandro, her water broke before their car could leave their...

49ers: McCaffrey will miss Rams game, expected to be back for playoffs

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:28:48 GMT

Christian McCaffrey won’t play Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, and neither will Ambry Thomas or Arik Armstead.That was about as specific as coach Kyle Shanahan got Monday when discussing who will play and who won’t when the 49ers host the Rams in their regular-season finale having already wrapped up the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.McCaffrey left in the second half with a calf injury, didn’t return, and called it “minor” in the post-game celebration after a 27-10 road win against the Washington Commanders.“We’ll keep him out this week,” Shanahan said. He later added McCaffrey is expected to be full-go for the 49ers’ first playoff game following the bye.“We’re real confident in that and it was good news,” Shanahan said. “Could have been a lot worse. “We’ll take care of him this week and hopefully he’ll get to go during our off week....

BART train derails near Orinda, injuring nine, forcing station closures and delays

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:28:48 GMT

Nine people were injured Monday when a BART train derailed and caught fire north of Orinda, causing widespread delays in the East Bay as transit crews worked to clear wreckage from the tracks and nail down what went wrong.The derailment happened shortly after 9 a.m. on a section of the Yellow line train to east Contra Costa County where trains typically switch from one set of tracks to the other, according to Jim Allison, a BART spokesman. Investigators were still working Monday afternoon to determine whether it was caused by human error or a mechanical failure.None of the injuries were considered severe, Allison said.The crash snarled transit access between Lafayette and Orinda, while causing delays along nearby Highway 24 while emergency crews responded to the wreck. Yet officials also expressed relief that the derailment happened on a holiday morning when a fraction of the train’s normal commuters — which can number several hundred people — were on board.“...

5 razones para ser optimistas sobre la economía de 2024

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:28:48 GMT

(CNN) — Muchos temían que 2023 fuera el año de la recesión. Resultó ser un año de notable resiliencia.La economía estadounidense parece estar disfrutando del aterrizaje suave que muchos consideraban casi imposible.Puede que lo peor de la inflación haya quedado atrás, pero la recesión noLa inflación se ha enfriado drásticamente, el desempleo sigue siendo bajo y la Reserva Federal podría aplicar recortes de tipos ya en marzo.“La gran historia de 2023 es que estancamos el aterrizaje”, dijo a CNN Justin Wolfers, profesor de la Universidad de Michigan.Wolfers señaló que la economía no solo se recuperó de la recesión más rápida de la historia, sino que superó la guerra en Ucrania, las crisis de los precios del petróleo, la disfunción política y muchos otros problemas.“Es el pequeño motor el que podría hacerlo”, dijo Wolfers sobre la economía. “Dado lo graves que fueron las conmociones, esto podría haber sido mucho peor”.La economía estadounidense todavía enfrenta riesgos...