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3 dead after attack in central Japan; suspect with rifle and knife holed up in building

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:17:25 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Three people including two police officers were killed in Nagano in central Japan on Thursday and a suspect with a rifle and knife was holed up inside a building, police said.A witness told NHK public television that a woman fell while being chased by the suspect, who then stabbed her with a knife and shot at two police officers as they arrived at the scene in a patrol car in Nakano city in Nagano prefecture.The witness said he asked the suspect why he attacked her, and he replied that he wanted to kill her, NHK said.The three victims were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were later pronounced dead, police said. A fourth person who was injured could not be rescued because he was near the suspect, Kyodo News agency reported. Video on NHK showed police wearing bulletproof vests and carrying shields, with an ambulance nearby. The area is in a quiet farming neighborhood. Police described the suspect as a man wearing a camouflage outfit, a hat, a mask and sunglasses, K...

Connecticut has issued 521 X gender marker driver's licenses since 2020

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:17:25 GMT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- Since allowing residents to pick a third option, 521 people in Connecticut have been issued driver's licenses bearing the gender marker "X," the state DMV confirmed. "We're lucky to be in a state like Connecticut where driver's licenses will now identify you as either M, F or X, for nonbinary," said Lenny Courtemanche, the director of global prevention, outreach and advocacy at Health Care Advocates International.The state started offering the nonbinary gender option on licenses in 2020. Courtemanche said it has "made a huge change" in the lives of those who have received the new licenses. Twenty-two states plus Washington, D.C. have similar laws in place, allowing residents to choose an X gender marker on birth certificates, licenses and other forms of ID. ‘Wake up America’: California governor responds to Target removing some LGBTQ merchandise Connecticut also recently raised the transgender Pride flag over the state capitol in honor of Transgender Day...

Seeing double? Two sets of twins among co-valedictorians

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:17:25 GMT

DAVIESS COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO) -- We've all heard the saying "sharing is caring," which is often applied to the relationships we have with our siblings. But what about sharing one of the highest honors you can get in high school -- with your twin? That is exactly what's happening at North Daviess Jr/Sr High School in Daviess County, Indiana.Seniors Lance and Logan Wilson will be graduating Friday as valedictorians. “All the way through elementary, Mom always told us that if we didn’t have straight A's, we couldn’t play basketball. We knew that really wasn’t going to be the case and she’d let us play anyway, but we still wanted to motivate ourselves and get straight A’s,” Logan Wilson said. But wait, there's another set of twins as well. North Daviess seniors Madylin and Marydith Borders will share the title of valedictorian with the Wilson twins and two other non-twin students -- Kristy Knepp and Brycen Skinner -- making the total six students.“Our older sister, Aubrey, also got it, an...

Goodbye, Colonials: George Washington University announces new nickname following student pressure

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:17:25 GMT

(The Hill) – George Washington University has selected “Revolutionaries” as its new moniker, after the school decided to scrap its former team nickname — Colonials — under growing student pressure.The new nickname, announced Wednesday, will take effect starting in the 2023-2024 academic year.Since making the decision to replace the school's Colonials nickname last year, University officials said they received 47,000 points of feedback and 8,000 moniker suggestions, according to a press release. The school’s trustees ultimately approved the new moniker among four finalists proposed by a committee of students, faculty, staff and alumni. NBC’s Chuck Todd, an alumnus of the school, announced that “Revolutionaries” would be replacing the “Colonials” in a video posted by the university.  “This is an exciting day for the George Washington University Revolutionaries," University President Mark Wrighton said in a statement, adding that the moniker "broadly reflects our community — and o...

Cool Thursday, But Potential for Heat Next Week; Meager Rain Prospects...

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:17:25 GMT

The back-door COLD FRONT'S PASSED and now strong, post-frontal full fetch north/northeast winds have taken hold and are sweeping off Lake Michigan over Chicago's shoreline. Little wonder the winds are strong--with gusts from 30 to 40 mph being reported up and down the western Lake Michigan shoreline.Wednesday morning surface weather map showing a well developed 1037 mb (30.62") high pressure centered over Ontario province in southern Canada. The winds beneath its southern flank are strong.Here's a windy.com depiction of the "full fetch" NNE winds blowing down the length of Lake Michigan. The reference to "full fetch" winds means winds are blowing southward the length of Lake Michigan. That's important because this offers the wind time to transfer its kinetic energy to the lake surface building waves. It's no accident the highest waves to sweep onto Chicago beaches occur in "full fetch" wind set ups like Wednesday's.Here's a snapshot of wind and wind gust reports at 9am CDT Wednesday...

Fire crews respond to dumpster fire near State Capitol, Attorney General's office Wednesday

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:17:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Fire Department crews responded Wednesday evening to a dumpster fire near the offices of Attorney General Ken Paxton and other Texas State Capitol offices. AFD put out the flames around 7 p.m.KXAN reached out to investigators on the cause and the contents inside the dumpster. It's unclear if they're looking for a suspect, but the Attorney General's Office tweeted a video that shows who his office said is a person of interest. Person of interest in Wednesday evening dumpster fire near Attorney General Ken Paxton's office (Image: Attorney General's Office Twitter page)Dumpster fire near Attorney General Ken Paxton's office Wednesday evening (Image: Attorney General's Office Twitter page)Aftermath of Wednesday night dumpster fire near the state capitol and AG Paxton's office (KXAN Photo)Aftermath of Wednesday night dumpster fire near the state capitol and AG Paxton's office (KXAN Photo)The tweet asked that anyone who may have information on the incident contact ...

Senate moves forward on its plan to create border police force

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:17:25 GMT

AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) – The Texas Senate gave final approval Wednesday evening to the GOP’s priority immigration legislation, which would create a new state border police force.House Bill 7 would also make it a state crime for migrants to enter the state anywhere but a port of entry, create a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence for human smugglers, and devote $100 million for new detention centers, courts, security and economic development projects for border communities.It’s the most sweeping of a Republican package of bills that aims to stiffen the state’s response to a record number of crossings at Texas’ southern border. It also tests the limits of a state’s authority to enforce immigration laws, which have traditionally been the purview of the federal government.HB 7 initially passed the Senate just after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday — nearly 16 hours after senators entered the chamber Tuesday — on a 19-12 vote along party lines. The bill received final approval on a 19-11 vote Wed...

More than half of leaked water from Monticello nuclear plant recovered, Xcel says

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:17:25 GMT

MONTICELLO, Minn. — More than half of a radioactive isotope that leaked from a pipe at a Minnesota nuclear plant has been recovered, while crews are making “substantial progress” in recovering contaminated groundwater, officials said.The pipe initially leaked in November 2022 at the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, allowing 400,000 gallons of water containing tritium to spill. The first leak wasn’t publicly announced until March, after a second leak was discovered at the site of a temporary fix to the first release.Industry experts have said the spill did not threaten public health, despite the monthslong delay in announcing the initial leak.The nuclear plant, which provides more than 500,000 homes with energy, was shut down in March for repairs and cleanup. It was returned to service about a week later. The plant is about 40 miles northwest of the Twin Cities.Monticello city leaders said in a news release Tuesday that Xcel Energy, which owns the plant, has collected 53% o...

Best Buy reports declines in 1Q profits and sales as gadget spending remains weak

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:17:25 GMT

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO (AP Retail Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy reported declines in fiscal first-quarter sales and profits as the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain continues to wrestle with a consumer spending slowdown in gadgets.However, the company’s earnings beat Wall Street expectations even as sales were below expectations. Best Buy, based in Minneapolis, affirmed its cautious financial outlook, underscoring continued uncertainty about the broader economic environment and the outlook for consumer electronics spending.Shares rose more than 4% in premarket trading on Thursday.Best Buy’s sales during the depths of the pandemic were fueled by oversized spending by Americans who splurged on gadgets to help them work from home or help their children with virtual learning. Government stimulus checks drove a lot of that spending. But last year, consumers began to pull back from items that were popular during the pandemic like TVs and casual clothing as they became more socia...

Stephentown man accused of construction forgery

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:17:25 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Stephentown man was arrested following a construction forgery investigation. Robert Thomas, 35, faces multiple charges. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Troopers say that on July 18, 2022, they received a complaint from a Schenectady County resident who said they were a victim of a construction scam. Following an investigation, troopers say they found Thomas was operating under the company name "MZX Construction."In May 2021, troopers say Thomas had a contract with the victim and received payment for a home improvement project. Later in April 2022, Thomas allegedly presented a forged receipt to the victim to show he had ordered building supplies and solicited additional payment. Petersburg man arrested, accused of burglary Troopers say Thomas didn't order any supplies, and by March 2023, the victim had paid him over $23,000. The project hadn't been completed, and he allegedly did not return any...