Author: Reporter

Bob Uecker: Legendary Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster known as “Mr. Baseball” dies at age 90

Bob Uecker, the voice of his hometown Milwaukee Brewers who after a short playing career earned the moniker “Mr. Baseball” and honors from the Hall of Fame, has died. He was 90. The team announced Uecker died on January 16, calling it “one of the most difficult days in Milwaukee Brewers history.” In a statement released by the club, Uecker’s family said he had battled small cell lung cancer since early 2023. “Even in the face of this challenge, his enthusiasm for life was always present, never allowing his spirit to falter,” the family said. Uecker was best known...

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Toxic risk: Urban wildfires threaten safety of public drinking water leaving communities vulnerable

As fires continue to burn across Los Angeles, several utilities have declared their drinking water unsafe until extensive testing can prove otherwise. A warmer, drier climate means wildfires are getting worse, and encroaching on cities — with devastating impact. Toxic chemicals from those burns can get into damaged drinking water systems, and even filtering or boiling will not help. Last week, Pasadena Water and Power issued a “Do Not Drink” notice to about a third of its customers for the first time since it began distributing water more than a century ago. With at least one burned pump, several...

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Extreme weather event: Wildfires now listed as PDS warnings along with tornadoes and hurricanes

The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles page screams “Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS)” in hot pink letters against a gray background. It is a rare warning aimed at seizing attention ahead of extreme wildfire risk that is predicted to start in southern California at 4:00 a.m. PDS warnings were first used to warn of tornado outbreaks in the Midwest. More than a decade ago, three meteorologists proposed expanding their use to disasters such as ice storms, floods, hurricanes, and now wildfires. GRABBING ATTENTION “It catches the attention, it really heightens that awareness and the need to really act at that...

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Scientific study finds human-caused climate change made Atlantic hurricanes winds 18 mph since 2019

Human-caused climate change made Atlantic hurricanes about 18 miles per hour stronger in the last six years, a new scientific study found in November. For most of the storms — 40 of them — the extra oomph from warmer oceans made the storms jump an entire hurricane category, according to the study published in the journal, Environmental Research: Climate. A Category 5 storm causes more than 400 times the damage of a minimal Category 1 hurricane, more than 140 times the damage of a minimal Category 3 hurricane and more than five times the damage of a minimal Category...

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Trump expected to embolden plans by U.S. lawmakers to force more Christian curriculum in classrooms

Conservative lawmakers across the U.S. are pushing to introduce more Christianity to public school classrooms, testing the separation of church and state by inserting Bible references into reading lessons and requiring teachers to post the Ten Commandments. The efforts come as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office pledging to champion the First Amendment right to pray and read the Bible in school, practices that are already allowed as long as they are not government-sponsored. While the federal government is explicitly barred from directing states on what to teach, Trump can indirectly influence what is taught in public schools...

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Republican-led states push dubious immigration laws in an effort to aid Trump’s mass deportation agenda

As President-elect Donald Trump assembles his administration, Republican governors and lawmakers in some states are already rolling out proposals that could help him carry out his pledge to deport millions of people living in the U.S. illegally. Lawmakers in a growing number of states are proposing to give local law officers the power to arrest people who entered the country illegally, mirroring recent laws in Texas and elsewhere that have been placed on hold while courts weigh whether they unconstitutionally usurp federal authority. Other legislation filed ahead of next year’s legislative sessions would require local law enforcement agencies to...

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