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Federal railroad inspectors find alarming number of defects on Union Pacific this summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:07 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal inspectors said they found an alarming number of defects in the locomotives and railcars Union Pacific was using at the world’s largest railyard in western Nebraska this summer, and the railroad was reluctant to fix the problems.Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose wrote a letter to UP’s top three executives Friday expressing his concern that the defects represent a “significant risk to rail safety ” on the Union Pacific railroad.Bose said the 19.93% defect rate on rail cars and the 72.69% rate for locomotives that inspectors found in July and August are both twice the national average. But the letter didn’t detail what kind of defects inspectors found in the Bailey Yard in North Platte, and there are a myriad of federal rules.“The compliance of the rolling stock (freight cars and locomotives) on the UP network is poor, and UP was unwilling or unable to take steps to improve the condition of their equipment,” Bose said in his le...

The death toll from floods in Greece has risen to 15 after 4 more bodies found, authorities say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:07 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The number of confirmed deaths from recent flooding in central Greece rose to 15 after the bodies of four people previously considered missing were found on Sunday, authorities said.Three of the bodies were located in villages near the city of Karditsa in western Thessaly. They are an 88-year-old woman and her 65-year-old son, who were found in their home, as well as a 58-year-old man whose body was found between two villages.The coast guard said Sunday that the body of a 42-year-old man, missing since Tuesday, was found floating in the sea near the city of Volos. He was last seen in his car unable to control it in raging waters.Greece’s fire service said that since flooding hit central Greece on Tuesday it has evacuated nearly 3,500 people. Rescue efforts continue.The flooding appears to have subsided, although the Pineios river, the major waterway in Thessaly, is rising at its mouth, Fire Service spokesman Yiannis Artopios said Sunday evening.The coast guard ...

Challenges and a to-do list: Five takeaways from the Conservative party convention

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:07 GMT

OTTAWA — Federal Conservatives left their party’s policy convention in Quebec City feeling a somewhat unfamiliar sensation: Celebration. Party members, MPs and insiders say the chance for a return to power feels within reach. Unity is also becoming more evident under Pierre Poilievre, elected leader a year ago.With a mood buoyed by rising poll numbers and a sense of momentum, the challenge ahead, some say, is how to sustain the feeling, given the next general election could be years away.The Canadian Press put that question to strategists, MPs and party supporters at the convention. Five takeaways on what Conservatives say they need to do next:Stick to the scriptKeeping the focus on affordability is the most important thing, insiders and caucus members say.Poilievre dedicated his more than hour-long convention speech to the issue, and there’s a feeling that after years of delivering a hard economic message, it has finally clicked.Conservatives believe it’s a core t...

House committee chairman says Sen. Tuberville is ‘paralyzing’ the Pentagon by blocking promotions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:07 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is slamming a fellow Republican in the Senate for waging an unprecedented attempt to change Pentagon abortion policy by holding up hundreds of military nominations and promotions.Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville is “paralyzing the Department of Defense.”“The idea that one man in the Senate can hold this up for months, I understand maybe promotions, but nominations,” McCaul said. He added, “I think that is a national security problem and a national security issue. And I really wish he would reconsider this.”Tuberville’s move has forced less experienced leaders into top jobs and raised concerns at the Pentagon about military readiness. Defense officials say Tuberville is jeopardizing American national security. Senators in both parties, including Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, also have criticized Tuberv...

A boat capsizing in north-central Nigeria killed at least 24 people. Dozens of others are missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:07 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A boat capsized in north-central Nigeria early Sunday, killing at least two dozen people and leaving many others missing amid a frantic rescue effort, emergency officials said.The victims, mostly women and children, drowned while travelling on the wooden boat in the Nigerian state of Niger in the Mokwa district. The boat was carrying more than 100 passengers, according to Zainab Sulaiman, head of Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency in the state, suggesting that the death toll could be much higher as local divers searched for survivors.“So far, they retrieved 24 corpses … and rescued 30 people,” Sulaiman told The Associated Press. The capsizing on the Niger River happened in the Gbajibo community, located 251 kilometers (156 miles) from Minna, the state capital.Boat disasters are common in many remote communities across the West African nation where locally made vessels are commonly used for transport. Most incidents are attributed to overloading amid...

Paper ballots are good, but accurately hand-counting them all is next to impossible

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:07 GMT

(The Conversation) - Among people, mostly Republicans, who remain the most suspicious of the 2020 presidential election results, there’s something of a movement to return to the days when election ballots in the United States were counted by hand. One 67,000-person county in Georgia recently required a hand count of all ballots, for instance. But they, and others seeking similar changes around the country, are likely to find themselves disappointed – either by failure to mandate hand-counting or by how election results are handled if they succeed.Requiring hand-counting of all ballots would take elections back many decades to practices that were common in the mid-1800s. In that era, political parties produced a variety of paper “tickets” that were counted at polling places on election night. When states started taking responsibility for producing ballots in the late 19th century, automated machines began to be used for both casting and tabulating votes.In a 1930s review of...

GoGo YumYum delivers new ice cream truck business model in Central Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:07 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) -- There's a new kind of ice cream truck rolling around Central Texas.Tanya Rosenzweig is the owner of the GoGo YumYum, a Round Rock-based ice cream truck that launched in June and has revamped the ice cream truck model to focus on requested stops, deliveries and truck rentals for events. Rosenzweig, a graphic designer by trade, said she wanted to preserve the nostalgia of the ice cream truck experience while revitalizing its operations."The world today is different. People don't really hang outside the way that they used to," she said. "There was an opportunity that I saw there, with starting an ice cream truck that was more updated."The truck -- lovingly named Round Rocky Road, or "Rocky" for short -- is adorned with bright, neon colors to help it stand out while driving around. In blending the old school nostalgia with the modern age, GoGo YumYum still operates the classic treats people might know and love, such as SpongeBob or Spider-Man face pops along ...

Map: How long until fall colors peak in Texas?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:07 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — It’s clear that fall is nearly upon us. Labor Day has passed, pumpkin spice everything is back, and we’re losing daylight. The only shoe left to drop are the leaves. For some, the leaves may have already started changing color. For others, it won’t be long until the trees combust into reds, yellows, oranges, and browns. In just a few weeks, some parts of the country will be seeing peak fall colors, according to a new prediction map. SmokyMountains.com, a travel brand dedicated to promoting the Smoky Mountain region, produces a fall foliage map every year, show when areas in the U.S. will near, reach, and surpass peak colors. They use historical temperature and precipitation data, forecasted temperature and precipitation, the types of trees known to be in the area, and user-reported information to develop their fall foliage forecast. While it may not be completely accurate, it does offer insight into how soon the autumn colors will peak. As of September 7, ...

AP college football poll, Week 3: CU Buffs climb to No. 18; Pac-12 sets conference-high with 8 ranked teams

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:07 GMT

Texas jumped seven spots to No. 4 in The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday after beating Alabama, and the Pac-12 became just the second conference to place as many as eight teams in an AP Top 25.Georgia received 55 first-place votes to remain the clear No. 1. Michigan was No. 2, with two-first place votes. No. 3 Florida State moved up a spot and received three first-place votes.Texas received two-first place votes after its biggest regular-season victory in years. The Longhorns are in the top five for the first time since starting the 2010 season at No. 5 and have their highest ranking since finishing No. 2 after losing the BCS championship game to Alabama in 2009.Behind quarterback Quinn Ewers, Texas became the first team to beat Alabama by double-digits on its home field under coach Nick Saban.The loss dropped Alabama seven spots to No. 10, its lowest ranking since early last November, when the Crimson Tide also were 10th.Southern California moved up a spot to No. 5...

Denver weather: Cool weather and sporadic showers expected Sunday, evening thunderstorms likely

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:07 GMT

Morning showers and evening thunderstorms are expected to sweep across Colorado Sunday as temperatures finally take a dip below 80 degrees.With a predicted high of only 74 degrees in Denver, and nighttime temperatures of 53 degrees, the streak of warmer-than-normal weather finally broke Sunday.The day’s morning showers are likely to continue into the afternoon and be joined by thunderstorms after 3 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.Cool, showery weather will be the rule. Showers, along with embedded thunderstorms, will become more numerous late this afternoon through the evening. #COwx pic.twitter.com/kfPotiyxwV— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) September 10, 2023Flash flooding is not expected in most areas, with a limited risk in burn areas, according to the weather service.Related ArticlesWeather | Denver weather: “Changes are coming” as Saturday last warm, mostly dry day before cooldown Weather | Denver weather: Hot, dry, ...