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Tom Skilling's explainer: We're off to a warm start in April, folks!

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:53 GMT

Steady warming over recent days and in the days ahead is to deliver Chicago its warmest weather to date in 2023. April 2023’s opening 10 days are running an impressive 7-degrees warmer than the same period a year ago.Chicago high temperatures have gone from 49 Friday to 62 Saturday, 68 Easter Sunday and may reach 71 today in the remaining hours of the afternoon. That’s a 22-degree increase in just 3 days.The week as a whole is likely to come in 14-degrees warmer than last week and an eye-catching 18-degrees above normal.Significantly, a tightening pressure gradient will lead to a well developed “SW” flow which will overcome lake cooling. "SW" winds will pick up each late morning and afternoon gusting at times as high as 31 mph Tuesday, 36 mph Wednesday and 25 mph Thursday according to current modeling.The sun will filter through some mixed clouds Tuesday. But, cloud coverage is to decrease Wednesday and Thursday, allowing the full intensity of the April sun to go to work on the air ...

APD: Weekend Rainey St. patrols helped find missing man

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department (APD) upped patrols on Rainey Street over the weekend - and we sat down with one of the department's assistant chiefs to see how it went. The increased safety measures were prompted by two drowning deaths that occurred this year, according to a press release about the initiative. Both cases are still under investigation, but police said there is currently no evidence of foul play. Jason John’s death prompts Council committee meeting on Rainey St. trail safety The patrols "have been met with a great deal of positivity coming from the bar patrons in the area," APD Asst. Chief Jeff Greenwalt said. He said officers performed standard downtown duties like breaking up fights, and in one instance over the weekend, patrons asked officers to help them find their friend they hadn't been able to find for a couple of hours."They were flagged down by some concerned citizens about a missing person," Greenwalt said. "They had a friend who went missin...

Gregg Popovich calls out politicians for 'cowardice and selfishness' regarding gun control laws, names Texas lawmaker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:53 GMT

DALLAS (KXAN) — San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has used his platform to talk about politics and social issues throughout his coaching career, and before Sunday's game against the Dallas Mavericks, he used the time to call out Tennessee and Texas lawmakers following another school shooting.Popovich referenced what police said was, "an elaborately planned" shooting March 27 at a private school in Nashville where three children and three adults were killed. He said, among other things, legislators are showing "cowardice and selfishness," by not taking any action on passing gun control laws.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters"They are so scared to death about being primaried, about losing their job, losing their power, their salary," he said. "You'd like to get each of them in a room, one by one, and say, 'What's more important to you? If you could vote for some ...

Democratic governors are stockpiling abortion pills in the wake of Texas ruling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:53 GMT

Democratic governors are stockpiling abortion medications as the future of reproductive health is potentially fought out in federal court.On Monday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) announced the state has already acquired enough doses of mifepristone to last for a year. Healey said the University of Massachusetts Amherst last week purchased 15,000 doses, which could arrive as soon as this week.Healey said the state will also spend $1 million to reimburse health care providers to buy the drug."Mifepristone has been used safely for more than 20 years and is the gold standard. Here in Massachusetts, we are not going to let one extremist judge in Texas turn back the clock on this proven medication and restrict access to care in our state,” Healey said in a statement.Her announcement follows a similar move last week in Washington, where Gov. Jay Inslee (D) purchased a three-year supply of the drug.Inslee said he ordered the state Department of Corrections to purchase 30,000 doses of ...

Goldman slams Jim Jordan over planned NYC hearing: 'not welcome in my district'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:53 GMT

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) slammed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) over the House Judiciary Committee’s planned hearing in New York City next week, telling the GOP chairman he is “not welcome” in Goldman's district, where the event is taking place.“Instead of focusing on improving the lives of the American people, Jim Jordan has decided to come to my district at the behest of Donald Trump to continue to weaponize Congress to obstruct an ongoing, non-federal criminal prosecution,” Goldman said in a statement. “If Jordan truly cared about public safety, he’d be having a field hearing in Nashville, Tennessee or Louisville, Kentucky, where the most recent of the daily mass shootings have killed more innocent Americans.”Three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a Nashville school late last month, and at least four people were fatally shot at a bank in Louisville on Monday.“Chairman Jordan is not welcome in my district for this political stunt that is simply a further waste of ...

Colorado House Republicans defend law enforcement who carried student from Capitol gallery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:53 GMT

Colorado’s House Republicans issued a letter Monday admonishing their Democratic colleagues for criticizing Capitol security staff who carried a teenage protester out of the House’s gallery last week.“You, the Speaker of the House, along with the Majority Leader, gave public statements to the media admonishing the actions of our Sergeants and State Patrol, and the Majority Leader implied their actions were driven by racism,” the House’s 19 Republican members wrote in a letter addressed to Democrat leaders Speaker Julie McCluskie and Majority Leader Monica Duran. “We find these statements and actions by colleagues and House leadership inaccurate and unacceptable.”The letter comes five days after security personnel in the Capitol carried a teenager out of the House gallery because he wouldn’t move out of their way as they attempted to remove another teenager who was shouting about gun reform. Colorado State Patrol troopers, who oversee s...

Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado, with 300 home runs, 10 Gold Gloves nearing Coors Field milestone

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:53 GMT

Cardinals star third baseman Nolan Arenado returned to Coors Field Monday to open a three-game series against the Rockies. Now in his third season with St. Louis, his emotions aren’t nearly as close to the surface as they were in 2021 after the Rockies traded him.“It really wasn’t that long ago, but it feels like it’s been a long time. And so it’s a little weird,” said Arenado, who played for the Rockies from 2013-2020.Arenado joined an exclusive club on Saturday against the Brewers when he hit the 300th home run of his career. He became just the eighth player in major league history to win 10 Gold Gloves and hit 300 or more home runs. The other players form an elite club: Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey Jr., Andruw Jones, Al Kaline, Willie Mays, Ivan Rodriguez and Mike Schmidt. All of them, save for Jones, are in the Hall of Fame.In typical Arenado fashion, he tried to downplay the accomplishment.“In my eyes, I don’t think I deserve to be i...

The best places to see the superbloom in California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:53 GMT

With California's historic wet winter firmly in the rearview mirror, many Californians are flocking to state parks to catch a glimpse of the spectacular superbloom.Many wildflowers have sprouted all at once, providing plenty of beautiful photo opportunities throughout the Golden State. The California Department of Parks and Recreation is recommending several places for people to see the colorful superbloom in person.Southern CaliforniaAnza-Borrego Desert State ParkAntelope Valley California Poppy ReserveChino Hills State ParkColonel Allensworth State Historic ParkEastern Kern County Onyx Ranch State Vehicular Recreation AreaRed Rock Canyon State ParkTule Elk State Natural ReserveNorthern CaliforniaMount Tamalpais State Park China Camp State Park Trione-Annadel State Park Sugarloaf Ridge State ParkLake Elsinore, a popular spot to view the superbloom, is closed to visitors this year to ensure "the safety of public land and wildlife," the city said. Officials want to prevent the chaos ...

Warning issued over high algae levels in Lake Perris

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:53 GMT

State water managers issued a warning Monday for people and pets to stay out of Lake Perris in Riverside County due a hazardous algal bloom.Lake Perris, or Perris Reservoir, is a popular fishing, boating, and camping site between Moreno Valley and the City of Perris.California’s Department of Water Resources issued an advisory after tests showed elevated levels of blue-green algae or cyanobacteria.DWR says algal blooms are typically caused by warm water temperatures, calm conditions, and certain nutrients in the water. They can produce toxins harmful to people and pets.The signs of Harmful Algal Blooms, according to DWRSmall blue-green, green, white, or brown particles in the waterStreaks in the water that look like spilled paintMats, scum, or foam at the surface or along the shorelineCan have an odor described as gasoline, septic, or fishyWhat are the Dangers?Some algal blooms can produce toxins that are harmful to people and petsDogs and small children are most likely to be affect...

Police chase ends with PIT-maneuver, arrest in Orange County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:53 GMT

A driver who led police on a short pursuit in Orange County on Monday was arrested and faces felony charges, authorities with the Costa Mesa Police Department announced.  The chase started after Costa Mesa police attempted to pull over the driver, who has a felony warrant, at around 11 a.m. The suspect failed to yield and led authorities on a pursuit into Huntington Beach, officials said.  The Orange County Sheriff’s Department assisted in the pursuit by tracking the suspect’s vehicle from its helicopter, while officers with the Huntington Beach Police Department took over the chase on the ground, ultimately performing a successful PIT-maneuver.An officer with the Costa Mesa Police Department seen here after the pursuit of a driver with a felony warrant ended with an arrest on April 10, 2023, in Huntington Beach. (CMPD)Costa Mesa police seen at the end of a pursuit that ended with an arrest in Huntington Beach on April 10, 2023. (CMPD)“The suspect was taken into custody and boo...