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Courting voters: Surrogates playing increased role in Trump campaign

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:10 GMT

Donald Trump is testing a strategy that may soon become a necessity as his legal woes mount: relying on Republican surrogates to make his case to voters.Polls show Trump as the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, but he’s mired in four criminal cases that could take him off the campaign trail starting in late January or February when candidates traditionally make their closing arguments to voters. That means Trump, the most popular figure in the Republican party, may well have to rely on the star power of key stand-ins to make final pitches to voters.While the candidate himself was a no-show at prominent events, including the first Republican primary debate and several time-honored events in Iowa, he left loyalists to fill the void.U.S. Representative Byron Donalds donned a blue apron as he flipped burgers with Representative Matt Gaetz at the Iowa State Fair. Kari Lake, a staunch Trump supporter who narrowly lost last year’s Arizona gubernatorial election, milked cows....

Stuck in the mud: Burning Man doused by rains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:10 GMT

BLACK ROCK DESERT, Nev. — An unusual late-summer storm turned a week-long counterculture fest into a sloppy mess with tens of thousands of partygoers stuck in foot-deep mud and with no working toilets in the northern Nevada desert, But some Burning Man revelers said Sunday that their spirits remained unbroken.“We are a little bit dirty and muddy but spirits are high. The party still going,” said Scott London, a Southern California photographer, adding that the travel limitations offered “a view of Burning Man that a lot of us don’t get to see.”The annual gathering in the Black Rock Desert about 110 miles north of Reno attracts nearly 80,000 artists, musicians and activists for a mix of wilderness camping and avant-garde performances. Disruptions are part of the event’s recent history: Organizers had to temporarily close entrances to the festival in 2018 due to dust storms, and the event was twice canceled altogether during the pandemic.More than a...

Drag racer dies of injuries after crash at racetrack in Cayuga

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:10 GMT

A 69-year-old North York man is dead following a crash at a racetrack south of Toronto.Ontario Provincial Police say they were called just after 2:30 p.m. Saturday for a report of a collision between two drag racers at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga.Police say a 69-year-old dragster from North York was transported to hospital, where he died of his injuries.The victim has been identified as Tony Positano in a pair of Facebook tributes. Race Cayuga Sportsman Series said Positano was “always trying to grow the sport and was akways trying to get more people out racing” while DragRaceCanada called him a “popular and dedicated Top Dragster class racer.”Positano was competing as part of the Labour Day Weekend Spectacular, according to the racetrack’s Facebook page. Police say the driver of the other vehicle was not hurt.OPP say the National Hot Rod Association, the governing body that sets rules in drag racing events in Canada and the U.S., has taken over ...

Minnesota prison reaches resolution with inmates who refused to return to their cells in heat wave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:10 GMT

STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota prison has “resolved without incident” a situation involving about 100 inmates in one housing unit who would not return to their cells Sunday in what one former inmate there called an act of “self-preservation” amid dangerously high temperatures in the region.The situation was “calm, peaceful and stable throughout the day,” a Department of Corrections spokesperson said in a statement, adding that “incarcerated individuals in the unit indicated dissatisfaction” because the understaffed facility had to limit inmates’ time out of their cells.But advocates positioned outside of the Stillwater prison, some of whom have family members inside, said inmates are fed up with the excessive heat, lack of air conditioning and limited access to showers and ice during on and off lockdowns over the past two months.The prison is in Bayport about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Minneapolis, which was under an afternoon heat advisory for temperat...

End in sight for consistent 100º days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — First things first, this week is going to be hot again. We're forecasting triple digit heat every single day and it gets hotter toward the end of the week.Highs this weekNow that's out of the way, let's look farther ahead.An end to daily highs of 100º?We're starting to see some signs that a turning point away from consistent 100º days may be in sight after September 10.Both the American (GFS) and European (ECMWF) computer models suggest the unrelenting triple digit heat may actually relent after this upcoming weekend (September 9-10).GFS forecast highs for Austin (Courtesy: Weatherbell)The GFS begins a stretch of 90s on September 11 (see above).ECMWF forecast highs for Austin (Courtesy: Weatherbell)The ECMWF begins the 90s a day earlier on September 10 (see above).Why would temperatures drop?Persistent high pressure over Texas or the southwestern United States much of the summer has allowed temperatures to soar. As our ground has dried out, that's made it even easier...

Call for Help closure has East St. Louis mothers crying for aid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:10 GMT

EAST ST LOUIS, Ill. - Mothers and others in need of assistance fear they could be left with nowhere to turn after Call for Help in East St. Louis announced its closure due to several systemic issues.“I’ve been on my own since I was 12,” said Kaya Ball. Her days on the streets, remind Ball, 32, of a time she doesn't want to revisit.Ball is a mother of four, one of whom, a 4-year-old, lives with her.“I still went and got my GED for myself,” she said.After graduating in the top 10 in the state, Ball has been trying to pick her life back up with no support of her own.But with news that Call for Help is closing, Ball is fast losing faith in the future.The future looked promising after her agreement with Call for Help. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News SIGN UP NOW ...

Alex Cobb exits early as SF Giants drop series to down-and-out Padres

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO — It was bizarroball on Sunday for the Giants, and not in a good way.Alex Cobb, who went 28 batters without surrendering a hit in his last start, allowed the first batter he faced to reach base and three runs to score before he recorded three outs. Patrick Bailey, who has mowed down base runners like nobody else, went 0-for-3 on stolen base attempts. And the typically surehanded Brandon Crawford whiffed on a hard-hit ground ball that led to a run.It added up to a 4-0 loss, their third in a four-game series loss against the down-and-out Padres, one they really couldn’t afford with their tenuous grip on the postseason. Their win in the first game put them in sole position of the third and final wild card, but after three straight losses, they moved into a four-way tie.After throwing a career-high 131 pitches in a complete game in his last start, coming one out shy of a no-hitter, Cobb was out of the game after three innings and 58 pitches Sunday. He gave up four runs o...

Pac-12 rewind: The best of a big weekend, from Colorado’s stunner to Washington’s blowout and everything in between

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:10 GMT

A quick-hitting recap of the Week 1 action across the Pac-12. It was all about Colorado …Theme of the week I: Roaring successOregon State dismantled San Jose State on Sunday to complete a perfect weekend for the Pac-12. All 12 teams were victorious, marking just the third undefeated week since 1980 (with a minimum of four games played), according to STATS. The prior two perfect weeks were in 1992 and 2017. The Pac-12 is the only Power Five conference with an unblemished record against non-conference competition. Including USC’s victory in Week 0, the conference is 13-0. Only two games have been decided by single digits.Theme of the week II: Arm strengthThe best collection of Pac-12 quarterbacks in eons delivered on the hype, combining for 37 touchdowns and just five interceptions. (UCLA accounted for three of the interceptions.) Add the Week 0 production from USC’s Caleb Williams, and the Pac-12 totals to date are 41 touchdowns and five picks. Not bad.Theme of the ...

Prince William Co. man charged in shooting, killing of roommate after argument

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:10 GMT

A 34-year-old man has been charged with the shooting and killing of his 43-year-old roommate in Dumfries, Virginia, according to Prince William County police.Harry Edwards has been charged with murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the shooting death of his roommate, Derrick Lanell Jordan, PWCPD tweeted.In the release, police said they were called to the scene of a shooting on Friday around 1:41 p.m. in the 17200 block of Richmond Highway. After investigation, they said Jordan and Edwards had been involved in a “verbal altercation” that escalated inside of a vehicle.Edwards then allegedly shot Jordan multiple times, exited the vehicle, then fired the gun again at Jordan, who had been sitting in the driver’s seat, according to police.When police arrived, they provided first aid to Jordan, who was later transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.Edwards fled the area to D.C., where he contacted and turned himself in to D.C. poli...

Colorado 2-way star Travis Hunter living up to his Heisman standards after following Deion Sanders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:10 GMT

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Two-way starter Travis Hunter is already living up to all of his self-proclaimed hype, just like the primetime coach that he followed to Colorado.“Travis is him, like the young folks say,” said coach Deion Sanders, a two-way player himself in college and the NFL. “Travis is it.”And he was all over the field for the Buffaloes, making impacts on both sides of the ball while playing 129 snaps in their season-opening 45-42 shocker at 17th-ranked TCU. “I went out there and dominated,” Hunter said. “A lot of people doubting me because I rated myself as the No. 1 Heisman watch list. But people are praising me now, because they know what I can do. They’ve finally seen what I see in my vision and what the coaches’ vision is for me.”In a social media post even before the season, Hunter included “HEISMAN LOADING ….” with a photo of the sophomore in his Colorado uniform.While only the first game of a long season — especially if playing both sides throughout ...