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Churchill Downs to resume racing at fall meet with no changes after horse deaths

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:13 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Racing will resume at Churchill Downs in September, with no changes being made after a review of surfaces and safety protocols in the wake of 12 horse deaths, including seven in the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby in May.The Louisville track suspended racing operations on June 7 and moved the rest of its spring meet to Ellis Park in western Kentucky at the recommendation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the sport’s national overseer.Training continued at Churchill Downs during the track’s investigation.Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen called the deaths “a series of unfortunate circumstances” and said the review “didn’t find anything fundamentally wrong or different about our track from previous years.”“That, in a sense, can sometimes be unsatisfying,” he said. “But that’s business, and that’s sports.”Two of the horse deaths occurred in undercard races on Derby day. Another five died later.“The takeaway is, the track is ver...

‘X’ logo installed atop Twitter building, spurring San Francisco to investigate permit violation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:13 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The city of San Francisco has opened a complaint and launched an investigation into a giant “X” sign that was installed Friday on top of the downtown building formerly known as Twitter headquarters as owner Elon Musk continues his rebrand of the social media platform.City officials say replacing letters or symbols on buildings, or erecting a sign on top of one, requires a permit for design and safety reasons.The X appeared after San Francisco police stopped workers on Monday from removing the brand’s iconic bird and logo from the side of the building, saying they hadn’t taped off the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell.Any replacement letters or symbols would require a permit to ensure “consistency with the historic nature of the building” and to make sure additions are safely attached to the sign, Patrick Hannan, spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection said earlier this week.Erecting a sign on top of a building also req...

Hundreds allowed to return home as wildfire crews make progress in B.C.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:13 GMT

VANCOUVER — Evacuation orders and alerts covering hundreds of properties in southern British Columbia were rescinded or downgraded Friday as fire crews fought back against wildfires that have ravaged the province.Crews made good progress containing a wildfire about 10 kilometres south of Kamloops in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, allowing residents of 327 evacuated properties to return home, although they remain under alert and must be ready to leave again on short notice.The 26-square-kilometre Ross Moore Lake wildfire was sparked by lightning one week ago and forced the evacuation of properties from Lac Le Jeune to near the outskirts of Kamloops.The regional district said 18 properties remained on evacuation order but the City of Kamloops ended its evacuation alert for the Knutsford neighbourhood, southeast of the city, as the BC Wildfire Service reported cleanup was underway on the flank of the fire nearest those homes.The blaze was still listed as out of control, but gua...

3 charged in 2021 fatal shooting outside Mississauga restaurant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:13 GMT

Peel Regional Police charged a 20-year-old man with first-degree murder, while two of his alleged accomplices were also arrested for the fatal shooting of a man outside a Mississauga restaurant.Police were called to the parking lot of a restaurant in the Mid-Way Boulevard and Columbus Road area just before 8:15 p.m. on September 22, 2021.When emergency services arrived, they located a male victim who was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified as Mohamed Abdirahman.Police said the victim was in a parked vehicle outside a restaurant when a gunman approached and shot him at close range.On Tuesday, investigators arrested three men — 20-year-old Nigel Gutu and 22-year-old Parteek Ghuman, both of Stoney Creek, Ont., and 25-year-old Malachi Riley of Mississauga.Gutu was charged with first-degree murder, while Ghuman and Riley were charged with accessory after the fact to murder.The homicide investigation is ongoing, police said.

Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued for all of Chicagoland until 2 a.m. Saturday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:13 GMT

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties until 8:15 p.m.A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for all of Chicagoland until 2 a.m. Saturday.A Flood Watch has been issued for Cook, De Kalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, LaSalle, Lake, McHenry and Will counties in Illinois, and Jasper, Lake, Newton and Porter counties in Indiana until 3 a.m.It's been a hot, steamy Friday with high temps which made it into the low and mid 90s—with dew points as high as 80-deg at a number of locations.And now we're monitoring for severe weather Friday and potential flooding rains.The Chicago area is at a Level 3 risk of severe weather on the storm prediction center's 5-tier risk scale and also the risk of excessive rainfall. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here There is potential for t-storms to train---i.e. fire repeatedly over some areas---thus producing potential flooding.  It appears the period from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. b...

Several K-9s die from heat distress when box truck A/C fails

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:13 GMT

LAKE STATION, Ind. — Authorities believe the combination of dangerous temperatures and malfunctioning air conditioning in a box truck led to the deaths of some police K-9s in Lake Station, Indiana. Police say the driver stopped at the Road Ranger gas station on Ripley Street to get the dogs out of their crates after hearing them bark. Nicole Lubarski witnessed the K-9 in distress.MORE NORTHWEST INDIANA: Indiana woman found guilty of chopping up husband with axe, asking kids to help dispose of body“I saw kennels lined up behind this white box truck and I honestly knew it had to do something with dogs and it was not well,” she said. “It was very chaotic. There were a bunch of people bystanders trying to help these dogs. There were so many people in the gas stations where dogs were cooling off at. A bunch of them had IVs.” As a dog mom of two, Lubarski said witnessing the K-9s in distress broke her heart.  "It dropped immediately because you have to think how intense that heat mus...

Watch: Ohio bank burglary suspect falls from ceiling, lands in recycling can near officers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:13 GMT

HURON, Ohio (WJW) – A suspected bank burglar was busted when he gave new meaning to the term "direct deposit."Police in Huron, Ohio watched as the suspected bank thief dropped from the ceiling over the drive-thru, right in front of their eyes.Police body camera video obtained by the WJW shows the incident. Officers can be heard ordering the suspect on the ground, and then helping get him out of the recycling can.  The suspect was not injured.“In my 35-plus years in law enforcement, this is the first time I ever saw a suspect fall into a garbage can,” said Huron Police Chief Terry Graham. Storms cause thousands to lose power in Northeast Ohio Graham said around 2:12 a.m. Wednesday, police received an alarm from the VacationLand Federal Credit Union located on University Drive East.While checking the building, officers could hear noises coming from inside the roof area over the drive-thru. They also noticed the recycling can positioned in the middle of the drive-thru lane,...

A training mistake actually put Bears' OT Darnell Wright in better shape

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:13 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — There was one player that general manager Ryan Poles wanted to compliment during his training camp opening news conference this week.It makes sense that it's someone who is at the position he used to play."The offseason, he busted his butt," said Poles of rookie offensive tackle Darnell Wright. "He lost weight, he lost body fat, he absolutely crushed the conditioning test, like didn't break a sweat."On Friday, the first round pick shed a little bit of light as to why he came into camp in incredible shape - and it happened by accident."I was looking at the wide receivers running portion of the workout. So I was doing thiers," said Wright when told about Poles' comments, who said he dropped around 16 pounds in training. "So then I came back and, obviously, we have different stuff."So what would change about a receiver's conditioning drills compared to that of an offensive lineman?"More distance and lower time, basically," said Wright in response.That's not necessar...

Trader Joe's recalls falafel and broccoli cheddar soup for possible rocks, insects

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:13 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – It's been a rough week for Trader Joe's after the popular grocery store chain had to notify customers on Thursday and Friday about products potentially containing foreign matter.On Friday, Trader Joe's announced it was recalling frozen falafel balls (SKU# 93935) that may contain rocks. How scammers are using ‘Barbie’ craze to steal personal information (Credit: Trader Joe's)The recalled falafel was sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Washington D.C.One day earlier, Trader Joe's warned customers that its "Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup" may contain insects. Trader Joe's says there have not been reported cases of illness from the soup.The recalled so...

'I have some serious problems with that plan'; Mayor Watson talks future of Zilker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Zilker Park Vision Plan has become a hot button topic in Austin.According to the City of Austin's website, the park needs some upgrades.The site said Zilker is in crisis and facing increased ecological degradation, accessibility issues and damage from overuse in certain areas. The Vision Plan looks to address those issues with new parking garages, new pedestrian and bicycle bridges and even an amphitheater, but not all the proposed changes have been welcomed."I have some serious problems with that plan," said city Mayor Kirk Watson.Watson said the park needs to improve on its accessibility, but he's not in favor of the three proposed parking garages."I think we can address the parking issues in ways other than putting a parking garage in one of our crown jewels, or three parking garages," said Watson. "We could get parking nearby, we could get a tram service."Another controversial proposed addition is the amphitheater.The great lawn is a place many people like to...