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It's the first El Niño winter in 5 years. What will be different?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:20 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – El Niño is back with a vengeance. After years of back to back La Niña, this winter will be the first in five years with an El Niño pattern in place.The last time we saw El Niño was in the winter of 2018 to 2019, and even that year's El Niño was substantially weaker than the one we're seeing now. During an El Niño winter, the southern third to half of the United States, including California, tends to see wetter weather. (Exactly where that dividing line falls varies from year to year.)Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest and parts of the Ohio Valley tend to be dry and warm. Hawaii also often sees below-average rain during an El Niño year. ‘Strong’ El Niño winter coming: Here’s where we could see more snow La Niña is basically the opposite: less rain or snow for the southern half of the country, and colder, wetter conditions in the Pacific Northwest.The influence of El Niño shows up in a new long-range winter forecast released by the Climate Prediction Center on Thursda...

MLB owners approve A’s move from Oakland to Las Vegas, with a new ballpark to open in 2028

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:20 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — One of Rob Manfred's first trips after his election as baseball commissioner nine years ago was to Oakland to consult with Athletics owner John Fisher on attempts to keep the team in the Bay Area.Unable together to make that work, the A's will instead move to Las Vegas and become only the second Major League Baseball team in more than a half-century to shift cities.All 30 MLB team owners gave their approval Thursday to Fisher's relocation plan, which was endorsed by Manfred. "There was an effort over more than a decade to find a stadium solution in Oakland. It was John Fisher’s preference. It was my preference,” Manfred said at a news conference. “This is a terrible day for fans in Oakland. I understand that and that’s why we’ve always had a policy of doing everything humanly possible to avoid a relocation, and truly believe we did that in this case. I think it’s beyond debate that the status quo in Oakland was untenable.”After years of complaints about the O...

Toronto man, 20, charged with possessing child porn

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:20 GMT

A 20-year-old man from Toronto has been charged with possessing child pornography.Police arrested the man on Wednesday.He was identified as 20-year-old Malcolm Bryce-Brown of Toronto. He’s facing one count of possessing child pornography. He was expected to appear in court on Thursday.A Toronto police spokesperson said members of the public can report any online exploitation at Canada’s National Tipline for Reporting the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children at cybertip.ca.“The Toronto Police Service recognizes that parents and caregivers are the frontline when it comes to protecting children on the Internet and electronic devices,” they wrote.“We encourage you to remain vigilant in your efforts – the safety tips outlined below are recommended for children of any age.”

Corporate, global leaders peer into a future expected to be reshaped by AI, for better or worse

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:20 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Joe Biden and other global leaders have spent the past few days melding minds with Silicon Valley titans in San Francisco, their discussions frequently focusing on artificial intelligence, a technology expected to reshape the world, for better or worse.For all the collective brainpower on hand for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, there were no concrete answers to a pivotal question: Will AI turn be the springboard that catapults humanity to new heights, or the dystopian nightmare that culminates in its demise?“The world is at an inflection point — this is not a hyperbole,” Biden said Thursday at a CEO summit held in conjunction with APEC. “The decisions we make today are going to shape the direction of the world for decades to come.”Not surprisingly, most of the technology CEOs who appeared at the summit were generally upbeat about AI’s potential to unleash breakthroughs that will make workers more productive and eventually...

PG&E bills will go up by more than $32 per month next year in part to pay for wildfire protections

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:20 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — About 16 million people in California will see their electric and gas bills go up by an average of more than $32 per month over next year in part so that one of the nation’s largest utility companies can bury more of its power line s to reduce the chances of starting wildfires.Pacific Gas & Electric had initially asked state regulators for permission to raise rates by more than $38 per month so it could bury 2,100 miles (3,380 kilometers) of power lines in areas that are at high risk for wildfires. But consumer advocacy groups complained, arguing PG&E could save ratepayers money and still reduce wildfire risk by putting a protective covering over the power lines instead of burying them.Thursday’s decision by the California Public Utilities Commission sought to find a middle ground. Commissioners decided to let PG&E bury 1,230 miles (1,979 kilometers) of power lines, which would be $1.7 billion cheaper than PG&E’s proposal.T...

Ex-girlfriend drops lawsuits against Tiger Woods, says she never claimed sexual harassment

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:20 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods ‘ ex-girlfriend has dropped her lawsuits against the golf superstar and the trust that owns his Florida mansion, saying she never accused him of sexual harassment even though her attorney has made that claim. The attorney for Erica Herman filed a one-paragraph notice in state court last week saying she was voluntarily dismissing her $30 million lawsuit against the trust “with prejudice,” meaning the claim cannot be reasserted later. She had claimed that Woods promised she could live at the 30,000-square-foot (2,800-square meter) beachfront mansion until 2026 but kicked her out unexpectedly last year. “In dismissing this action, Erica Herman states that she was never a victim of sexual harassment or sexual abuse at the hands of Tiger Woods or any of his agents and it is her position that she has never asserted such a claim,” wrote attorney Benjamin Hodas, who claimed on multiple occasions that Woods had sexually harassed his client...

Shohei Ohtani, baseball’s 2-way star, becomes first 2-time unanimous MVP

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani, who has captivated baseball with his unprecedented combination of high-level hitting and premium pitching, became the first two-time unanimous Most Valuable Player when he won the American League honor on Thursday.Ohtani, a free agent after finishing his contract with the Los Angeles Angels, received all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He was a unanimous MVP in 2021 and finished second to the Yankees’ Aaron Judge in voting last year.This was just the 20th unanimous MVP vote since the award was established in 1931.Corey Seager was second with 24 second–place votes and 264 points, and Texas teammate Marcus Semien was third with five second-place votes and 216 points. Balloting took place before the postseason, when the Rangers won their first World Series title.Ohtani led the AL with 44 homers and hit .304 with 96 RBIs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases in a season at the plate th...

National Park Service delivers roadmap for protecting Georgia’s Ocmulgee River corridor

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:20 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The National Park Service announced Thursday that it has delivered to Congress its long-awaited study on whether the Ocmulgee River corridor in central Georgia meets the criteria to be managed as a national park and preserve. The answer: Not quite, not yet.But supporters aren’t dismayed — they say the study was based on initial, since-abandoned plans that raised concerns that have already been addressed, and they now have what’s needed to show Congress that the Muscogee Creek Nation’s historic homeland in central Georgia deserves federal protection. The Special Resource Study says 120,000 acres (48,560 hectares) along more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) of river between Macon and Hawkinsville are nationally significant and suitable for a park, but it’s not feasible because the corridor includes too many private property owners and state-managed lands. Acquiring and managing all that land — which faces expanding threats from development, mining a...

A health official in Michigan is taking her county to court over $4 million resignation offer

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:20 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The top health official in one of Michigan’s largest counties is asking a judge to uphold a $4 million settlement in exchange for her resignation, coming after months of conflict with local conservative leaders who were elected in response to COVID-19 restrictions.Ottawa County leaders had attempted to fire Adeline Hambley in January after they took majority control of the county’s board of commissioners. Finding themselves unable to, the board opted to offer her $4 million — equivalent to a quarter of the health department’s 2024 budget — in return for her resignation. She also would have had to drop her lawsuit against the county. The board backed off the offer, saying it was only a “tentative settlement agreement.” David Kallman, the county’s legal counsel, told The Associated Press that “there has never been an agreement by the board to accept the $4 million. There were discussions.”But Hambley’s lawyer filed a motion Thursday to enforce the set...

Northwestern president says Braun’s support for players prompted school to lift ‘interim’ label

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:20 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — The way coach David Braun supports his players prompted Northwestern to remove the “interim” label from his job title, school President Michael Schill said Thursday.“I have been very clear that at Northwestern the well-being of our students comes first,” Schill said. “It is only by prioritizing our students’ health, safety and well-being that we can enable excellence on the field, excellence in the classroom, that we can encourage the personal and intellectual growth that is fundamental to our mission as one of the greatest universities in the world. Anyone who has heard or talked with Coach Braun knows that he embodies these principles in just a short time since arriving at Northwestern.”Schill spoke at a news conference a day after the school announced it is sticking with Braun beyond this season. Braun, Northwestern’s 30th head football coach, was hired as defensive coordinator in January. He took over as interim coach on July 10, three days after longtime c...