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As Typhoon Mawar hit, these identical twin meteorologists kept Guam informed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:07 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — As Typhoon Mawar aimed its fury at Guam, residents facing terrifying winds and crashing waves from the strongest typhoon to hit the U.S. Pacific territory in decades had identical twin meteorologists to keep them informed — and to provide the outside world with a glimpse of the chaos unfolding on the remote island.The National Weather Service’s Guam office employs Landon Aydlett as its warning coordination meteorologist. His brother Brandon Aydlett is the science and operations officer. Together, the 41-year-olds tag-teamed Facebook Live broadcasts watched by thousands as Typhoon Mawar approached with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph), wreaking havoc as residents lost power, internet and water service. Their colorful descriptions of the Category 4 storm painted a picture as they both took turns describing trees snapped like toothpicks, thrashing winds, nearly 2 feet (0.6 meters) of torrential rain and “whiteout conditions” outside the office wh...

Elon Musk wants to build a digital town square. But his debut for DeSantis had a tech failure.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:07 GMT

Elon Musk wants to turn Twitter into a “digital town square,” but his much-publicized Twitter Spaces kickoff event, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing his run for president, struggled with technical glitches and a near half-hour delay Tuesday. The billionaire Twitter owner said the problems were due to “straining” servers because so many people were trying to listen to the audio-only event. But even at their highest, the number of listeners listed topped out at around 420,000, far from the millions of viewers that televised presidential announcements attract. “There’s so many people,” said host David Sacks amid the disruptions. “We’ve got so many people here that we are kind of melting the servers, which is a good sign.”After it concluded without further disruptions, Musk, DeSantis and Sacks played off the event as a success, with Sacks quipping “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish — and we finished really strong.”Musk a day earlier dubbed the event ...

Man shot roommate after accusing him of eating the last Hot Pocket, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:07 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A man in Kentucky’s largest city is facing criminal charges after allegedly shooting his roommate during a dispute over a Hot Pocket, authorities say. Clifton Williams, 64, was arrested on assault charges Sunday after he accused his roommate of eating their last Hot Pocket and attacked him, shooting him in the buttocks, Louisville Metro Police Department officials told WLKY-TV. According to police, Williams started throwing tiles at the man after he realized the last microwaveable turnover was gone. He then shot him in the buttocks as he tried to escape, the TV station reported.Williams is prohibited from contacting the victim, who was taken to UofL Hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. His bond was set at $7,500.The Associated Press

Day after Typhoon Mawar hit Guam, ‘what used to be a jungle looks like toothpicks’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:07 GMT

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Guam residents and officials emerged from homes and shelters Thursday to survey the damage done to the U.S. Pacific territory after a long night of hunkering down as Typhoon Mawar’s howling winds shredded trees, flipped vehicles and knocked out utilities. The central and northern parts of the island received more than 2 feet of rain as the eyewall passed, and most of Guam received about a foot of rain during the storm, said Brandon Aydlett, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The island’s international airport flooded, and the swirling storm churned up a storm surge and waves that crashed through coastal reefs. “We are waking up to a rather disturbing scene out there across Guam. We’re looking out our door and what used to be a jungle looks like toothpicks — it looks like a scene from the movie ‘Twister,’ with trees just thrashed apart,” said Landon Aydlett, his twin brother and fellow NWS meteorologist. “Most of Guam is dealing ...

Mattea Roach overcomes father’s death to finish second in ‘Jeopardy Masters’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:07 GMT

Canadian quiz show champ Mattea Roach made it to the finals, but couldn’t clinch the “Jeopardy Masters” title.The Toronto-based writer and podcast host finished second on Wednesday’s episode, with a combined score of $41,685.James Holzhauer took home the prize, with a score of $43,795, while Matt Amodio came in third with $15,200.The “Jeopardy” spinoff pit six recent trivia titans against each other, with a different combination of competitors playing two “high-stakes games” in each hour-long episode of the quarter- and semifinals.The tournament came at a difficult time for Roach, who noted in Tuesday night’s semifinal episode that their father died in the course of filming.According to the obituary, Philip Henry Roach died of a brain aneurysm at home in Halifax back on May 2 at the age of 57. Our hearts go out to Mattea and their family ???? pic.twitter.com/8DS9qTrVEL— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) May 24, 2023Roach said their dad...

Canadian quiz show superchamp Mattea Roach finishes second in ‘Jeopardy Masters’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:07 GMT

Canadian quiz show champ Mattea Roach made it to the finals, but couldn’t clinch the “Jeopardy Masters” title.The Toronto-based writer and podcast host finished second on Wednesday’s episode, with a combined score of $41,685.James Holzhauer took home the prize, with a score of $43,795, while Matt Amodio came in third with $15,200.The “Jeopardy” spinoff pit six recent trivia titans against each other, with a different combination of competitors playing two “high-stakes games” in each hour-long episode of the quarter- and semifinals. The tournament came at a difficult time for Roach, who noted in Tuesday night’s semifinal episode that their father died in the course of filming.Roach said their dad was a big part of why they were able to compete on “Jeopardy” at all, instilling in them a love of learning.Roach thanked everyone on set who ensured they could go home to grieve instead of continuing to film on what they said was the har...

3 ex-officers indicted in death of Black man seen on video being shocked with stun guns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:07 GMT

JACKSON, Mississippi. (AP) — A Mississippi grand jury has indicted two former police officers on murder charges and another ex-officer on a manslaughter charge in the death of a Black man seen on video being pinned down and repeatedly shocked with stun guns during a New Year’s eve arrest.Officials in the state capital of Jackson released body camera footage Wednesday that showed then-officers Avery Willis, Kenya McCarty and James Land struggling to handcuff Keith Murriel as he was apparently stunned numerous times over 10 minutes.The officers had tackled Murriel while arresting him for allegedly trespassing at a hotel shortly before midnight on Dec. 31, 2022, authorities said. McCarty and Willis have been charged with second-degree murder, and Land with manslaughter, court records showed. All three were placed on administrative leave after the incident. McCarty was fired in February, and Willis and Land in April.McCarty and Willis are Black, and Land is white, according to Mel...

Former California corrections officer charged with sexually assaulting 13 at women’s prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:07 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A former correctional officer at the biggest women’s prison in California has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting at least 13 inmates over the past nine years, prosecutors said Wednesday. Gregory Rodriguez, who worked at the Central California Women’s Facility, faces 96 counts including rape, sodomy, sexual battery and rape under color of authority, the Madera County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. It couldn’t be determined Wednesday if Rodriguez, 54, has an attorney who can speak on his behalf. He was being held in lieu of $7.8 million bail, the DA’s office said.The alleged assaults date back to 2014, but most happened within the past two years, prosecutors said. The charges involve 13 separate victims, but investigators are looking into the possibility that there are more, according to the DA’s office. If convicted on all charges, Rodriguez could be sentenced to more than 300 years in prison.The wom...

KCSD: Suspect dead after 48 hour crime spree, shootout with police in Batavia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:07 GMT

BATAVIA, Ill. — A man is dead after going on a two-day-long crime spree that ended in a shootout with police at a busy intersection in Batavia Near Geneva late Wednesday afternoon, according to Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain.Police said the suspect had been on a 48-hour suburban crime spree when he carjacked a vehicle in Aurora. Kane County Sheriff's Deputies spotted the stolen vehicle in the area of Randall Road and Silver Glen in South Elgin and pursued him, which led to a Kane County sheriff's deputy using their vehicle to stop the suspect, who was in a Honda Accord, near the intersection of Fabyan Parkway and Randall Road shortly before 4 p.m.Once the vehicle was stopped, deputies deployed a K-9 to subdue the man getting out of the Accord, who displayed a weapon toward deputies. An exchange of gunfire ensued where the K-9 and the suspect were hit.The suspect was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, while the K-9 — named Hudson — later succumbed to his injuries and also died....

Algonquin man sentenced to 50 years for murder of his mother, stepfather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:07 GMT

MCHENRY COUNTY, Ill. -- An Algonquin man was sentenced to 50 years Tuesday after being found guilty of the murder of his mother and stepfather in 2021.According to the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office, officers with the Algonquin Police Department responded to the 400 block of La Fox River Drive for a check for a well-being check on November 30, 2021, after a resident, Peter Almen, failed to show up to work that day. Suspect dead after 48 hour crime spree, shootout with police in Geneva Officers attempted to make contact at the residence with Almen and his wife, Elvira, however, nobody answered the door.Officers spoke on the phone with Elvira’s son, 27-year-old Maxim Parnov, who also lived at the residence. Parnov denied knowledge of Peter and Elvira’s whereabouts but did tell officers that he had been arguing with Peter and Elvira in recent days.Algonquin Police spoke with a neighbor who had surveillance video from that day which showed male subjects transferring a large ...