Home

Shifting S. Africa coal plant for clean energy needs millions in loans. Experts say that’s a problem

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:17:29 GMT

MIDDELBURG, South Africa (AP) — Plumes of heat-trapping pollutants last billowed from the giant stacks of Komati Power Station in October, when the coal-fired plant that fed South Africa’s hungry electrical grid for more than half a century was shut down to make way for a solar, wind and battery storage plant.Converting Komati to be part of the clean energy revolution is seen as an important test case for coal-reliant South Africa, the world’s 16th-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and developing nations elsewhere. It’s supported by $497 million, most of it from the World Bank.The problem, energy experts say, is that almost all that money is in the form of loans that can be difficult for developing nations to repay. And that risks hobbling the global effort to cut emissions and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels to stave off the worst effects of climate change.For South Africa, which needs an estimated $38 ...

Guatemalans worry about security, unimpressed by leading candidates ahead of election

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:17:29 GMT

SAN JUAN COMALAPA, Guatemala (AP) — Just days away from electing a new president, many Guatemalans remain undecided, unimpressed by the leading candidates and even considering casting a protest vote to express their disapproval.Concerns about extortion and violent crime cross class lines, and rural and urban communities, perhaps explaining why candidates leading the polls are promising heavy-handed security tactics, including reinstating the death penalty or hammering criminal gangs into submission.The machinations of electoral authorities keeping some popular candidates out of the race and cancelling others drew headlines in the capital and expressions of concern abroad. But for the average Guatemalan the controversies surrounding the election are nowhere near as concerning as the rising cost of feeding their families and protecting their loved ones.Ahead of Sunday’s election, the AP interviewed Guatemalans in rural San Juan Comalapa about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest o...

Body recovered from Lake Michigan near where 19-year-old woman went missing

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:17:29 GMT

CHICAGO — A body has been recovered from Lake Michigan near Foster Avenue Beach, where a 19-year-old woman has been reported missing.Around 9:40 a.m. Thursday, police discovered the body of a woman not too far from the beach area. Police have not confirmed that the body is the missing swimmer. Police said the teen was swimming at the beach around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Witnesses said she was last seen struggling to swim to the shore, before submerging under the water. The Chicago Fire Department’s dive team searched the area Wednesday night and resumed their search around 9 a.m. Thursday. Son of victim speaks out after driver in hit-and-run crash near Guaranteed Rate Field charged No further information has been provided by police at this time.

2 charged after Northwest Indiana man found beaten to death near fishing area

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:17:29 GMT

PORTER COUNTY, Ind. — Two men have been charged after being arrested in Ohio in connection to the grisly death of a Northwest Indiana man.On June 13 at around 10:30 a.m., the Porter County Sheriff's Office responded to the Chustak Public Fishing Area, located just off State Road 149 at 331 West 600 North. A man, later determined as Derek Hartz, of Valparaiso, was found dead with trauma to his head just off a small trail.The Northwest Indiana Times reported that Hartz was found nude from the waist down on a deflated mattress with excessive bleeding from his skull.Police said at the scene, a Virginia identification card was recovered and Hartz's vehicle and cell phone were missing.The next day, authorities in the Cincinnati region warned each other that the stolen vehicle may be in the area.According to FOX19, Jawon Martin, 28, of Virginia, who is also known as Jada Monroe, was arrested following a police pursuit on I-75 near Cincinnati. His passenger, Domonic Brothers, 27, of Gary, a...

Woman, 14-year-old charged in fatal shooting on far South Side

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:17:29 GMT

CHICAGO -- A woman and a 14-year-old boy have been charged in a fatal shooting in the West Pullman neighborhood Sunday. Carlisha Hood is facing a felony count of murder and another count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. 2 charged after Northwest Indiana man found beaten to death near fishing area The 14-year-old boy is facing a felony count of murder. According to police, the two were arrested Wednesday in the 700 block of West 111th Street and were identified as the individuals who were involved in the fatal shooting of a 32-year-old man in the 11600 block of South Halsted Street Sunday.They were placed into custody and charged accordingly.

Illinois Lotto jackpot grows to largest amount in 4.5 years

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:17:29 GMT

ILLINOIS — Lotto players have a shot at nearly $18 million after the jackpot rolled once again.The Lotto jackpot for Thursday night's drawing has grown to $17.9 million. It's the largest jackpot for the Illinois-only game since December 2018 when a single ticket, bought at a gas station in Prospect Heights, matched all of the numbers for a $22.5 million win. Chicago award-winning restaurant one of the 10 best in the US, according to new report Though that makes it the biggest potential prize in 4.5 years, Thursday's offered jackpot still falls well shy of the all-time Lotto jackpot record. That title goes to a 1989 drawing where four people each bought a winning ticket and split the $69.9 million history-making prize. According to IllinoisLotteryNumbers.net, that's approximately $146 million in today's dollars.

Want a hot tub next to your bar? Check out the most expensive home for sale in Wisconsin

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:17:29 GMT

BURLINGTON, Wis. — The most expensive single-family home for sale in Wisconsin, according to Zillow, is similar to the most expensive for sale in the entire Midwest but it's listed for a quarter of the price at $11.5 million.The primary home at 2640 South Road in Burlington is a massive 10,000 square foot structure with five bedrooms, five full-bathrooms, and three half-bathrooms, but it's the plot which is driving the price. The sale comes with a stunning 350 acres and is located just east of Lake Geneva. In fact, it's less than a mile as the crow flies from the Grand Geneva resort which proves a large development in the area can be successful. Home 300 feet from Wrigley Field up for sale Photo provided by: Wisign Photo LLC and Jessa Hensley PhotographyPhoto provided by: Wisign Photo LLC and Jessa Hensley PhotographyPhoto provided by: Wisign Photo LLC and Jessa Hensley PhotographyPhoto provided by: Wisign Photo LLC and Jessa Hensley PhotographyPhoto provided by: Wisign Photo LLC ...

Ina Garten's responds after Facebook account hacked with 'strange' posts, recipes

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:17:29 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Ina Garten recently thanked fans for alerting her to an issue with her Facebook page after hackers seemingly gained access to her account — to post an Olive Garden-inspired recipe.“Thank you to everyone who alerted me that my Facebook page was hacked, and to Meta for helping us get our page back!” Garten wrote Friday, less than a day after the unsanctioned recipe appeared on her page.“I will continue to post my favorite recipes here and read all of your wonderful comments!” the cookbook author and Food Network personality added. ‘He will be moderately missed’: Man’s obit goes viral Emily Pressman, a historian and apparent fan of Garten’s, was one of the first to notice something was amiss last Thursday, when an uncharacteristic post for a “Chicken Scampi (Olive Garden copycat recipe)” appeared on Garten’s page.“How you know Ina Garten's Facebook account has been hacked: instead of being her Hamptons-dwelling, Cosmo-sipping, ‘good olive oil’ using self, she's suddenly b...

'Who does that?' Puppy survives being stabbed in head with butter knife

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:17:29 GMT

PAULS VALLEY, Okla. (KFOR) - A puppy is recovering at the vet after a Pauls Valley city employee allegedly stabbed it in the head with a butter knife. Now, the owner doesn't know how she'll pay the vet bill to get the dog back."Who does that?" said Misty Harrison, the dog's owner.Harrison told Nexstar's KFOR she wishes she could forget what she saw Sunday night."It was crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it. Don’t want to see anything like it ever again," said Harrison. Mark Zuckerberg responds to Elon Musk cage match suggestion: ‘Send Me Location’ Harrison said her six-month-old puppy was following one of Harrison's friends back from the store, when the dog went up to a fence near Pecan and Coffee Avenue."This dog and the two in the backyard are going back and forth with eachother with a fence between them," said Pauls Valley Police Chief Derrick Jolley.That's when police and Harrison said the other two dogs' owner, Cody Davis, appeared. Cody Davis, Image courtesy Garvin Co...

What Texas' new NIL law means for college athletes, universities, businesses

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:17:29 GMT

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) -- The Texas Legislature this year passed significant changes to how the state regulates name, image and likeness deals for college athletes — changes that are drawing mixed reviews from experts.Gov. Greg Abbott on June 10 signed House Bill 2804, which tweaks the NIL rules Texas established two years ago, after a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for student-athletes to be compensated for using their spotlight for marketing.The bill expands universities' abilities to aid with NIL opportunities and allows student-athletes to license intellectual property for NIL opportunities, for instance by wearing a team jersey in a commercial.Read the full story at Austin Business Journal.