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Human exposure to wildfires has more than doubled in two decades – read this if you’re planning fireworks on July 4

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:17 GMT

(The Conversation) - Over the past two decades, a staggering 21.8 million Americans found themselves living within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of a large wildfire. Most of those residents would have had to evacuate, and many would have been exposed to smoke and emotional trauma from the fire.Nearly 600,000 of them were directly exposed to the fire, with their homes inside the wildfire perimeter.Those statistics reflect how the number of people directly exposed to wildfires more than doubled from 2000 to 2019, my team’s new research shows.But while commentators often blame the rising risk on homebuilders pushing deeper into the wildland areas, we found that the population growth in these high-risk areas explained only a small part of the increase in the number of people who were exposed to wildfires.Instead, three-quarters of this trend was driven by intense fires growing out of control and encroaching on existing communities.Smoke rises from a brush fir...

Spots fill fast at Austin's July passport fair but you might have other options

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — People showing up for Austin's passport fair Monday didn't expect to be turned away.The event was scheduled from 12 to 6 p.m. However, by 10:45 a.m., the office had already begun pre-screening walk-ins. US passport applications taking at least 3 months Most at Monday's event were trying to plan ahead to get a passport.In fact, it's been hard for some people to get a passport appointment with longer wait times for processing applications throughout the U.S.It's why the City of Austin decided to host a passport fair for walk-ins. It usually only processes applications on an appointment-only basis.Kimberly Rodriguez showed up a couple of hours early because she struggled to get an appointment."I started my process, actually a year ago, and I had an appointment at the post office and it got canceled," Rodriguez said.Before noon at Austin's Public Library downtown, at least 100 people showed up. The line extended out double doors on the second floor and looped around th...

Hot, humid and mostly cloudy 4th of July

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- High temperatures remained under 100° in Austin for the second straight day on Monday -- a nice, but brief, reprieve from the recent heat wave.The ridge of high pressure that brought hot, dry weather has shifted westward over Arizona and New Mexico, allowing for mostly cloudy skies and a few isolated thunderstorms locally. High temperatures stay in the middle and upper 90s on the 4th of July through Thursday with a few late-day storms possible, but rain chances are capped at 10-20%, meaning most outdoor plans will be dry. The slim chance of rain fades at sunset for fireworks.4th of July evening forecastWe are tracking another heatwave brewing late this week into next week. High temperatures rise above 100° this weekend in many areas, and hotter than normal weather is likely in 8-14 day outlooks.Week two outlooks showing another heatwave across TexasSummer Fan DriveOur Summer Fan Drive is underway! Please click here to find out how you can make an online donation and...

Thrilling finish at 77th Firecracker Open Golf Tournament in Austin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:17 GMT

Austin (KXAN) - Heading into the final hole of round three at the 2023 Firecracker Open, Jonathan Alden and Nick Schafer were tied. Schafer was the furthest away of the three in the group so shot first."I had a perfect number," said Schafer. "I had 80 yards and I had a good lie in the fairway. [I] was just glad I didn't have to putt it."Schafer, who has lived in Austin about six years, sure did not have a very difficult putt. He chipped onto the green and had his second shot all but go in. The shot secured a one shot victory over Alden."I'm thrilled," said Schafer about winning the 77th Firecracker Open. "Obviously this is the premier tournament in Austin for amateur golf. To have my name etched on the trophy. To have my picture up there for a while, it's truly an honor."Schafer shot a 64 on the third and final day of the tournament Monday. This is Schafer's second time playing in the tournament with his first coming in 2019.The tournament at Lions Municipal Golf Course is one with ...

North Dakota medical waste facility says a human torso was delivered to its site and is suing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:17 GMT

Human remains are at the center of tangled litigation involving a major regional health care system and the company contracted to dispose of its medical waste.Monarch Waste Technologies sued Sanford Health and the subsidiary responsible for delivering the health care system’s medical waste, Healthcare Environmental Services, saying the latter “brazenly” deposited a human torso hidden in a plastic container to its facility in March. Monarch discovered the remains four days later after an employee “noticed a rotten and putrid smell,” according to the company’s complaint.Monarch rejected the remains and notified North Dakota’s Department of Environmental Quality, which is investigating. An agency spokeswoman declined to comment during an active investigation.The Texas-based company also claims an employee of Sanford Health’s subsidiary deliberately placed and then took photos of disorganized waste to suggest that Monarch had mismanaged medical waste, part of a scheme that would a...

Minnesota firefighters deployed to fight blaze in Manitoba

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:17 GMT

A crew of 17 woodland firefighters from Minnesota was deployed to Manitoba, Canada, after the province asked the state for help in fighting historic blazes ripping through the area.Gov. Tim Walz said the deployment was through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ partnership with the Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact.“Thank you to the Minnesota wildland firefighters who answered the call to help our neighbors in the north,” said Walz. “We have a strong partnership and will continue to do everything we can to share resources and contain the Canadian wildfires.”The partnership that the DNR has with Canada and neighboring states ensures that all parties can “quickly and efficiently share resources to respond to wildfires throughout the region,” DNR officials said.“Canada is experiencing a historic fire season this year and I’m proud that our DNR wildland firefighters are ready to protect life and property in Minnesota and beyond, whenever the call comes in,” D...

Glencore moves to take full control of PolyMet, Minnesota copper-nickel mining project

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:17 GMT

Swiss commodities giant Glencore moved Monday to take full ownership of PolyMet Mining, a company that’s developing a copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota with one of Canada’s largest miners, Teck Resources.Glencore already owns 82% of PolyMet Mining and has long been the project’s main financial backer. It offered Monday to pay around $71 million to raise that stake to 100%, which would take St. Paul-headquartered PolyMet private. Glencore’s proposal represents around a 167% premium over PolyMet’s closing stock price on Friday, and shares surged on the news in Monday’s trading.PolyMet Mining said in a statement that it “welcomes the engagement with Glencore” and that its directors are reviewing the proposal but have made no decisions yet.The proposed mining project, a 50-50 joint venture with Teck, was renamed NewRange Copper Nickel in February but is still widely known as PolyMet. It seeks to be Minnesota’s first copper...

Organizations offering direct help to food insecure 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:17 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Many people are struggling to buy groceries amid inflation and there are organizations looking to address the issue. The Produce Pick-Up Project is offering food assistance Monday through Thursday starting at 10:00 a.m.Families in need of help with groceries can go to the Albany Victory Gardens, on Clinton Avenue near Quail Street, at 456 1st St, Albany, NY 12206. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! 13.5 million households in America are food-insecure, according to the USDA.The President of the Albany Victory Gardens, which is part of Eden’s Rose Foundation, Mitchell Kyes says people are grateful for the help.“I feel good because when people see me, even the days we’re not open, they still come to say ‘thank you’ and that makes me cry,” Kyes said. Food pantries serving more families as inflation continues to rise Executive Administrator at Eden’s Rose Foundation Tori Pistili says no one, including undo...

Valley Park suspends city services; residents kept in the dark

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:17 GMT

VALLEY PARK, Mo. – There was a lot of confusion in Valley Park on Monday as the city suspended its services city wide. Residents were frustrated with the mayor and the board of aldermen. People tried to go inside city hall throughout the day, only to find locked doors and an empty parking lot.“There are no city workers in city hall. It is dark. The doors are locked. There is no one at home," said Anita Albright, Valley Park resident.Albright and her neighbor, Terry Spradley, said a big concern in Valley Park was the lack of information.“It’s rather shocking that this is how we’re informed. And it’s rather shocking, I’m sure, to have city workers show up to work and told to go back home,” Albright said. “Yeah, they were told to leave the building. These are guys that have families.” Ameren customers still without power in Missouri and Illinois after weekend storms Trash service is one of the many things on pause.“A few people said theirs had been picked up. So, that won’t be done u...

Legitimacy of “customer” in Supreme Court’s Colorado gay rights case raises ethical, legal flags

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:17 GMT

A Christian graphic artist in Colorado who the Supreme Court said can refuse to make wedding websites for gay couples pointed during her lawsuit to a request from a man named “Stewart” and his husband-to-be. The twist? Stewart says it never happened.The revelation has raised questions about how Lorie Smith’s case was allowed to proceed all the way to the nation’s highest court with such an apparent misrepresentation and whether the state of Colorado, which lost the case, has any legal recourse.It has served as another distraction at the end of a highly polarizing term for a Supreme Court marked by ethical questions and contentious rulings along ideological lines that rejected affirmative action in higher education and President Joe Biden’s $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts.Here’s a look at the legal questions surrounding the mysterious would-be customer, “Stewart:”What role did the claim play in this case?About a month after the conservative legal grou...