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Insurance companies sue Xcel Energy after it was blamed for helping start Colorado wildfire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

By COLLEEN SLEVINDozens of insurance companies are suing Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy to recoup money paid out to homes and businesses lost in Colorado’s most destructive wildfire in 2021.The lawsuit was filed Thursday, a few weeks after investigators announced that a sparking power line owned by Xcel was one of the causes of a fire that, fanned by high winds, destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and left two people dead. Embers from a smoldering scrap wood fire set days before on a nearby property used by a Christian religious communal group was also found to have been another cause.The two fires combined to cause a blaze fanned by high winds that is blamed for causing $2 billion in damage in a suburban area between Denver and Boulder.In response to the allegations, Xcel re-issued a statement first given in response to the results the fire investigation, saying that it strongly objected to its findings.“We strongly disagree with any suggestion that Xcel Energy’s power lines caused the sec...

‘Fed up’ Loons need to show up soon to make MLS Cup Playoffs push

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

Manager Adrian Heath sought a restart for Minnesota United’s season going into last weekend.Then the Loons lost 4-1 to Austin FC on Saturday.OK, starting … now.MNUFC heads into Wednesday’s match at the Houston Dynamo needing to make up ground to qualify for a fifth straight appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs.“I want to make that five, and we have a team capable of doing that,” Heath said Tuesday.With more than 40 percent of the season remaining, the opportunity is there for the Loons. Minnesota (6-8-6, 24 points) sit in 11th place — only five points from fifth, but also only two points from 13th. Nine clubs make the expanded field.With 20 matches down and 14 to go, MNUFC is tied for a Western Conference low in games played, with one game in hand on seven other clubs, two games in hand on four sides and three games in hand on Sporting Kansas City (25 points). Vancouver has also played 20.The Loons had multiple chances to take a lead against Austin in the first 30 minutes of Saturday&...

Where to see the Northern Lights in New York

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP/PIX11) — A solar storm forecast for Thursday is expected to give sky-gazers in 17 states a chance to see the Northern Lights. New Yorkers hoping to catch a glimpse are better off in rural parts of the state, experts said. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center said that the aurora borealis will be seen most clearly away from city lights, in a dark viewing spot. Look to the sky, north on the horizon, to peep the colorful sky show happens when solar wind hits the atmosphere.New Yorkers living north of the Catskills may have the best shot at catching the display, according to the Democrat and Chronicle. Light may also be visible south of the New York-Canadian border. The best viewing times are between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 2 a.m. Thursday, depending on the forecast. July’s full moon will be a little extra special: Here’s why North...

1,000+ boat flotilla lives on in Lake George exhibit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) - One year ago, the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance unveiled a new chapter by debuting a visitor center along Fort George Road. The center houses historical artifacts local to Lake George from the French & Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On Tuesday, stakeholders in the house of Lake George's history celebrated a new addition to the basement floor of the center. Battlefield Park Alliance President John DiNuzzo pulled off the sheet on a new diorama - created with help from Adirondack Experience in Blue Mountain Lake - showing a flotilla of troops traveling towards a historic defeat. For the center, the new exhibit is the opposite - a complete and decisive victory.The new diorama of the 1758 flotilla led to Ticonderoga by General James Abercromby in Lake George, N.Y.The new diorama of the 1758 flotilla led to Ticonderoga by General James Abercromby in ...

New legislation signed to combat hate crimes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)--Governor Kathy Hochul signed a new bill into law that will strengthen hate crime reporting on college campuses."This legislation mandates that any college that receives state aid will have to implement a plan to effectively investigate hate crimes, has to inform incoming students about the procedures on campus for how they investigate hate crimes, and also report any incident of hate or bias that happens on campus that they have to put it on to their websites," explained Assemblyman Dan Rosenthal, who sponsored the bill.According to Governor Hochul’s Office, law enforcement agencies reported 947 hate crimes to the state in 2022, the most reported in the past 5 years, and a 20% increase as compared to 2021."Last year, the statewide number of anti-Semitic acts hit numbers we haven’t not seen in decades. And I’m not proud to say, it was the highest number in the nation," said Hochul.Scott Richman, Anti-Defamation League's Regional Director for New York and New Je...

Lawmakers aim to lower utility costs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) -- We all know the hefty fees associated with utility costs. Members of the state assembly held a hearing Tuesday, gathering feedback from experts on ways they can reduce those costs, especially as New York makes strides towards a greener future. Forest Ranger hazes hungry bear at campground There are six major utility companies in New York, all charging different fees that are expected to rise. "About 2 million New Yorkers are paying over 10% of their income on energy, even though the goal even now is six percent, so we have to make those investments to get that down further," said Assemblywoman and sponsor of the bill, Pat Fahy. The New York Heat Act would cap utility costs for low or moderate income New Yorkers to six percent of their income. A goal that’s backed by the Public Service Commission. That bill passed in the Senate this past session, but not the Assembly. Liz Moran, NY policy advocate with Earth Justice told Capitol Correspondent Amal Tlaige, e...

DEC Rangers: Rescued hiker suffered from heat stroke

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

KEENE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- On July 4, Forest Rangers were notified of a sick hiker on Yard Mountain. The Johns Brook Lodge caretaker reached the hiker and reported the hiker was dealing with persistent vomiting and weakness, and could not hold water down. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Rangers reached the hiker but due to his condition and location, requested assistance from New York State Police Aviation. The hiker was packaged and flown to the hospital. Rangers say the hiker suffered from significant heat stroke.Rangers accompanied the subject's hiking partner back to their vehicle. The hiker made a complete recovery.

Illinois man charged with sharing sex video of former St. Louis County official

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - A man from a Chicago suburb has been charged for allegedly sharing a sex video featuring a former St. Louis County official, filmed in his office at the county government building in Clayton.On Tuesday, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office unsealed the first charges, which were filed on May 24 against Rodney Leger of Glen Ellyn, Illinois. A county grand jury indicted Leger on three counts of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images. Leger is accused of obtaining a video of Calvin Harris, then the chief of staff for St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, having sex with a woman in Harris' office, and then sharing that video on three different occasions in June 2022. According to the indictment, Leger did so "with the intent to harass, threaten, or coerce" Harris or the woman seen on the video.Former State Representative Shamed Dogan received the video in an anonymous email while he was a member of the state legislature. Dogan, who repre...

Illinois woman sentenced for mail and wire fraud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) - A former Maui Jim employee was sentenced to a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud and wire fraud.After pleading guilty in March, Erica L. Hornof, of Bradford was ordered by a federal judge sitting in Peoria to pay $125,472.48 in restitution to Maui Jim.While employed at Maui Jim, Hornof was a lead repair technician. As a long-term employee, she was responsible for fixing sunglasses and had access to the parts to fix them.According to a news release by the U.S. Department of Justice, Hornof stole parts from the repair area to make sunglasses and packaged them up and used her personal FedEx account to make shipping labels, and proceeded to ship them through the Maui Jim mailroom. Bloomington mother arrested for alleged DUI after July 2 fatal crash that killed daughter Hornof had sold the sunglasses to two people who then proceeded to sell them on the internet. The investigation gathered that Hornof had received $104,860 from the two buyer...

Sniper firing at Denver high-rise terrifies residents; police investigating possible connection to Broomfield shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

Police on Tuesday confirmed they’re investigating two cases where someone fired rifle shots at condos in Denver’s swank, high-rise Beauvallon residential building — and appealed to the public for help.Denver police are working with Broomfield police, who have arrested a man accused of firing a shot Saturday at the Jus’ Burritos restaurant northwest of Denver on U.S. 287 in Broomfield.In the sniper-style incidents in Denver, someone fired at least five shots on June 14 and on July 4. The shootings have shaken residents of Beauvallon, in Denver’s Golden Triangle area at 925 N. Lincoln St.No injuries have been reported.A video circulating on social media shows a man standing with a rifle by a light-colored Toyota Prius in a parking lot below the building, where residents often gather on exposed balconies with long views and a rooftop pool. The video shows the man firing multiple shots from the rifle aimed at an upward angle. Beauvallon officials have repor...