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Rat ambassadors try to counter bad press amid NYC’s rat war

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:23:01 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — As an ambassador for rats, it’s never easy to win over the public. There’s that hairless tail after all. But Runa at the San Diego Zoo is doing her best to counter the bad press. She is one of a handful of such so-called ambassadors showing off the virtues of rats at three U.S. zoos. The rats were provided by a Tanzania-based organization that is training African giant pouched rats to combat wildlife trafficking, detect diseases and perform other useful tasks.At least twice the size of the common brown rats found in cities, African giant pouched rats like Runa are best known for ferreting out landmines and other explosive material on old battlefields in Angola, Mozambique and Cambodia, earning them the nickname “hero-rats.” Efforts are underway to expand the use of their keen sense of smell to finding people trapped in collapsed buildings, detecting diseases in laboratory samples and alerting officials to illegal goods at ports and airports.Six African r...

Rail CEO to testify in Ohio Senate about fiery derailment

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:23:01 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Norfolk Southern’s CEO is set to testify before an Ohio Senate rail safety panel Tuesday, more than two months after a fiery train derailment including hazardous materials rocked the village of East Palestine. Alan Shaw has promised millions of dollars to help the Ohio-Pennsylvania border community recover, but also faces a lawsuit from Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost over costs for the toxic chemical spill cleanup and environmental damage. The federal government has also sued the railroad. Shaw previously testified before the Pennsylvania legislature as well as Congress over the derailment, but now faces Ohio lawmakers, who recently passed a state transportation budget that would impose new rail safety measures on Norfolk Southern and other railroads traveling through their state.Whether they’re allowed to do so, however, remains a point of debate. The Ohio Railroad Association, a trade group, has argued that several of the measures are pre...

Odd spiral appears amid northern lights in Alaska night sky. No, it wasn’t aliens or a stargate.

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:23:01 GMT

In this photo provided by Christopher Hayden, a light baby blue spiral resembling a galaxy appears amid the aurora for a few minutes in the Alaska skies near Fairbanks, Saturday, April 15, 2023. The spiral was formed when excess fuel that had been released from a SpaceX rocket that launched from California about three hours earlier turned to ice, and then the water vapor reflected the sunlight in the upper atmosphere. (Christopher Hayden via AP)ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Northern light enthusiasts got a surprise mixed in with the green bands of light dancing in the Alaska skies: A light baby blue spiral resembling a galaxy appeared amid the aurora for a few minutes.The cause early Saturday morning was a little more mundane than an alien invasion or the appearance of a portal to the far reaches of the universe. It was simply excess fuel that had been released from a SpaceX rocket that launched from California about three hours before the spiral appeared.Sometimes rockets have fuel that need...

This mom left Minneapolis for a TV anchor career in Austin, Rochester. Now she’s Duluth-bound.

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:23:01 GMT

Rochester news anchor Laura Lee’s path to TV news was different from that of most young reporters. She didn’t bounce out of college into an anchor job right away. She was already enmeshed in life’s responsibilities.Lee, 38, was the mother of three young children when, in perhaps the biggest gamble of her life, she made the move to Austin, Minn., from Minneapolis to launch her on-air news career.Now 13 years later, she is making another career move. Lee is leaving Rochester’s ABC 6 News for Duluth to become the main anchor of the NBC station in Duluth, Northern News Now.With her oldest child graduating from Rochester’s John Marshall High School this spring, Lee felt the time was right.“The decision may be a surprise to some, to be honest,” Lee said on Facebook. “It was a surprise to me, too. Duluth was my first choice more than a decade ago when I started my career as a reporter, but God took me to southern Minnesota. Now, God is taking me back there....

Funeral procession held as body of Sgt. Isaac John Gayo returned to Los Angeles

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:23:01 GMT

A funeral procession was held Monday as the body of 27-year-old Isaac John Gayo, a sergeant in the United States Army, was returned home to Los Angeles.  Sgt. Gayo and eight other soldiers were killed on March 29 during a routine training mission along the Kentucky-Tennessee border when two Black Hawk helicopters from the Army’s 101st Airborne Division crashed into each other.  The helicopter crews were practicing a “multi-ship formation” and using night-vision goggles at the time of the deadly collision.  Sky5 was overhead as the procession drove Gayo to his final resting place. The organization Honoring Our Fallen arranged for his remains to go from LAX to Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, where his family said their goodbyes.  “He helped everyone,” his sister, Margaritta Gayo, said. “He gives his open hand to everyone.”  Staff Sgt. Carla Baldoza, his girlfriend, said Gayo inspired her.  “He always encouraged me whenever I doubt myself. He was my motivation and...

Street takeovers, looting plague Compton businesses

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:23:01 GMT

Compton residents say they have had enough of the escalating crime and violence in their city after three street takeovers in one night were followed by hundreds of people swarming an Arco gas station, trashing the store and stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise.  A total of six businesses were targeted over the weekend in Compton in what authorities called “flashmob” style incidents.  Surveillance video showed two men in masks break in the front door of Birrieria Gonzalez, a Mexican restaurant on Rosecrans Avenue and Beach Boulevard. The suspects headed straight to the cash register and take what they can before a third suspect is seen running into the business. A cook at the restaurant, Eduardo Zarate told KTLA that it’s not the first time Birrieria Gonzalez has been hit by thieves on a weekend, and this time around another restaurant in the strip mall was also burglarized. Zarate said the break ins happened after 1 a.m. as street takeovers were happening througho...

You could win a KTLA 5 swag bag

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:23:01 GMT

We've got a package of KTLA 5 goodies for one lucky die-hard KTLA 5 fan. Complete and submit the form below for your chance to win a highly-sought KTLA 5 coffee mug, plus: a KTLA 5 gym baga KTLA 5 doggie disha KTLA 5 cowbella KTLA 5 2023 Rose Parade commemorative pina KTLA 5 pencilGood luck! Sorry, you are using an unsupported browser. This page will not display correctly. Please click here to upgrade to a newer browser. /**/KTLA 5 SWAG PACKAGE SWEEPSTAKESAPRIL 17-23, 2023Official Rules1. Sponsor/Prize Provider. This watch and win sweepstakes (“Sweepstakes”) is sponsored and administered by KTLA (“Station”), 5800 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90028 ( the “Sponsor”).This Sweepstakes is void where taxed, restricted, or prohibited and is subject to all local, state, and federal laws.  By entering this Sweepstakes, each entrant accepts and agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor(s), which shall be final and not subject to appeal.APPLE IS ...

Elon Musk says he'll create 'TruthGPT' to counter AI 'bias'

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:23:01 GMT

Billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk is again sounding warning bells on the dangers of artificial intelligence to humanity — and claiming that a popular chatbot has a liberal bias that he plans to counter with his own AI creation.Musk told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a segment aired Monday night that he plans to create an alternative to the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT that he is calling “TruthGPT,” which will be a "maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe.”The idea, Musk said, is that an AI that wants to understand humanity is less likely to destroy it.Musk also said he's worried that ChatGPT “is being trained to be politically correct.” In the first of a two-part interview with Carlson, Musk also advocated for the regulation of artificial intelligence, saying he's a “big fan.” He called AI “more dangerous” than cars or rockets and said it has the potential to destroy humanity. Separately, Musk has incorporated a new business called X.AI Corp,, ...

Athletics on the verge of wrong side of history after loss to Cubs

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:23:01 GMT

OAKLAND — The Athletics will have to win two straight games against the Chicago Cubs to avoid history.The Cubs drubbed the A’s 10-1 Monday night before 4,714 at the Coliseum, Oakland’s fifth straight loss and 12th in 14 games. Now 3-14, the Athletics must beat the Cubs Tuesday night and Wednesday to win its first series of the season and avoid being the first team in franchise history (including Philadelphia and Kansas City) to lose their sixth consecutive series to begin the season.The Cubs (9-6) chased A’s rookie No. 1 starter Kyle Muller in the fourth inning and improved to 9-6 behind rookie right-hander Hayden Wesneski (1-0).Three days after giving up 17 walks against the Mets, Muller gave up just two walks and the Cubs had none against three other relievers.“They didn’t chase and he got behind and had to use his fastball over the middle of the plate,” Kotsay said. “Overall, we threw too many strikes.”Wesneski, who had two no...

Sacramento Kings take 2-0 series lead over Golden State Warriors

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:23:01 GMT

(KTXL) —The Sacramento Kings have captured a 2-0 lead in their first round series against the Golden State Warriors. Behind 24-point performances from Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox, the Kings defeated the Warriors 114-106 in Game 2 at the Golden 1 Center on Monday night.Malik Monk had 18 points off the bench while Kevin Huerter had 15 points and Davion Mitchell added 14. Harrison Barnes had 13 points, giving the Kings six players in double figures. The Warriors had three 20-point scorers in Steph Curry (game-high 28 points), Andrew Wiggins (22) and Klay Thompson (21)The Kings struggled to make three-point shots early, going 1-for-12 in the first quarter. They went 5-for-12 from beyond the arc in the second quarter. Golden State’s Draymond Green ejected from Game 2 of Warriors-Kings series After going down 23-17 in the first quarter, the Kings started the second quarter on a 21-8 run in the first 5:16 of the quarter to take a 38-31 lead. Warriors later went on a 12-4...