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Takeaways about heat deaths and vulnerable older people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:54 GMT

SUN LAKES, Arizona (AP) — Heat waves fueled by climate change are arriving earlier, growing more intense and lasting longer, creating higher risks of illness and death for older people who are especially vulnerable to hot weather. In America’s hottest big metro, older people accounted for most of the people who died last summer in broiling heat inside their homes, almost all without air conditioning. The heat dangers well known in greater Phoenix are becoming known familiar nationwide. Some takeaways: WHY ARE OLDER PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM THE HEAT?People ages 60 and over tend to have more chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and kidney problems than younger people. Those conditions can be made worse by high temperatures because as the heat index rises, it becomes harder to cool off the body. Medicines that many older people use to treat chronic ailments, such as diuretics for high blood pressure, can also make them more vulnerable to the heat. Older people can hav...

Willie Nelson inhales the love at 90th birthday concert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:54 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Are there any more real cowboys?” Neil Young sang Saturday night at the Hollywood Bowl on a rare evening when he was neither the headliner nor, at age 77, even close to the oldest artist on the bill. Providing an instant answer, Willie Nelson, wearing a cowboy hat and red-white-and-blue guitar strap, slowly strolled on to the stage on his 90th birthday, bringing the crowd of more than 17,000 to its feet. Nelson sat in a chair — one of the few onstage concessions he’s made to age — and joined Young for the rest of their 1985 duet, “Are There Any More Real Cowboys?” “I want to thank all the artists who came out tonight to help celebrate whatever it is we’re celebrating,” said Nelson, feigning senility and getting a laugh. The moment came three hours into the first of a two-night celebration of the country legend at the open-air Los Angeles amphitheater, where generations of stars sang his songs in tribute. “As a kid growing up in Texas, it seemed like t...

Residents of Quebec town still struggle with aftermath of 2019 dike break, flooding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:54 GMT

SAINTE-MARTHE-SUR-LE-LAC, Que. — Sylvie Béchard had only owned her little brick house for six months when her neighbour came banging on her door on the night of April 27, 2019. The dike holding back the Lake of Two Mountains had been breached, and floodwaters were rushing toward her home.“She said ‘Sylvie, we have to evacuate, the dike has given out. We’re being flooded,'” Béchard recalled recently.Four years after flooding forced the evacuation of more than 6,000 residents of Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Que., and damaged hundreds of homes, there is plenty of anger from residents who say they’re still suffering from the financial and emotional consequences. Earlier this month, a class-action lawsuit against the municipality and the province on behalf of flooding victims was authorized to move forward.Béchard remembers the days that followed the breach, when Armed Forces or police would take her by boat down the flooded streets of the town northwest of Montre...

Mélanie Joly in Kenya to help inform Canada’s response to the crisis in Sudan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:54 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is in Kenya for the next few days to help inform Canada’s response to the crisis in Sudan.She is set to meet with people evacuated from the East African country, including diplomatic staff who worked there until a shocking outbreak of violence earlier this month.Joly will also meet with humanitarian groups to get a sense of the needs of people in Sudan, as well as those who have fled to neighbouring countries.She also plans to meet with former Sudanese prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, the country’s only civilian leader in recent decades, who was deposed in a 2021 coup.Kenya has been a leading voice in trying to find a mediated solution to the conflict, and it hosts the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a group focused on peace and prosperity in East African countries.Joly’s office says she also hopes to learn more from Kenya as a major player on the continent.“Kenya has played a key leadership role throug...

Boy, 16, shot in hand on South Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:54 GMT

CHICAGO — A 16-year-old boy was shot in a drive-by shooting in the city's Roseland neighborhood late Saturday night. According to police, the boy was found injured in the 110 block of West 92nd Street with a gunshot wound to the arm.He was transported to Little Company of Mary and is listed in good condition. Dismembered human remains found in Kankakee County; 1 charged with murder Police said the boy relayed that he was shot by an unidentified individual travelling in a black sedan. There is currently no one in custody and police are investigating the incident.

National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day: Where you can adopt in Austin, Central Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Sunday is National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day. To celebrate, animal nonprofit Austin Pets Alive! is waiving adoption fees starting at noon at its Town Lake location. From noon to 6 p.m., adoption fees will be waived for all dogs and cats at the Town Lake location on Cesar Chavez. Dogs available for adoption include five pups named after Willie Nelson's music to celebrate the singer's 90th birthday. Midnight Rider (Courtesy Austin Pets Alive!)Highway Man (Courtesy Austin Pets Alive!)Stardust (Courtesy Austin Pets Alive!)Rainbow Connection (Courtesy Austin Pets Alive!)Lukenbach (Courtesy Austin Pets Alive!)Here are a few other Central Texas animal shelters where you can find a furry friend to adopt:Austin Animal CenterPflugerville Animal Welfare ServicesTexas Humane HeroesCentral Texas SPCAWilliamson County Regional Animal ShelterSan Marcos Regional Animal ShelterPAWS Shelter of Central TexasLockhart Animal ShelterBastrop Animal Shelter

Here's a list of the 10 most stolen cars in Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:54 GMT

DALLAS(KDAF)—Dude, where is my car? Having one of these brands might mean your car was stolen if you lost it.Way.com, a car parking app, said the National Insurance Crime Bureau listed the most cars stolen in Texas. The list revealed Chevrolet and Ford pickup trucks are the most stolen cars in Texans; Sedans are coming in second as the most stolen. The Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, and Honda Civic are the other sedans that are theft magnets in Texas. The Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, and Honda Civic are also on the list.Check out the latest NICB Hot Wheels report: ModelUnits stolenChevrolet Pick-up (Full-size)9,382Ford Pick-up (Full-size)8,433GMC Pick-up (Full-size)2,891Dodge Pick-up (Full-size)2,481Chevrolet Tahoe1,814Honda Accord1,423Nissan Altima1,407Toyota Camry1,369Ram Pick-up (Full-size)1,340Honda Civic1,197

What's the most popular baby name in Texas?—A new list

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:54 GMT

DALLAS(KDAF) — Texas is a state that is home to many families, and the names given to their children are an important part of the state's culture. With that in mind, a website called Names.org has released its list of the most popular baby names in Texas for 2023. They compiled a list using data from the Social Security Administration on births.The ten most popular names for boys in Texas in 2023 are Liam, Noah, Mateo, Elijah, Sebastian, Oliver, Santiago, Levi, Daniel, and Benjamin. The ten most popular girls' names are Olivia, Camila, Emma, Isabella, Mia, Amelia, Sophia, Ava, Charlotte, and Luna. Emma and Noah are both incredibly popular names throughout the US, and they have taken the top two spots in the most popular baby names in the Texas list for the second year in a row. Following them, Olivia, Liam, Ava, Mia, William, Isabella, James, and Charlotte make up the remaining eight spots on the list. Using this data, parents in Texas can figure out which names are popular in thei...

Skywatch: May Stargazing … It’s Intermission Time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:54 GMT

Evening stargazing has lost its chill, but to be honest, it’s also lost some of its thrills. Many bright winter constellations are already below the horizon at nightfall, not to be seen again in the evening until next autumn. From May until about mid-June, the evening sky is in a bit of an intermission between the bright stars and constellations of winter and the great star patterns of summer. Don’t get me wrong, though. There are still many magnificent jewels in the May night sky, although they’re a little more subtle. You need to visually dig a little harder for some of them.If you enjoy warm, moonlit evenings, you’ll love May. The month opens with a waxing gibbous moon that blossoms into a full moon on the 5th. The May full moon is probably best known as the Flower Moon. As lovely as full moons are, they whitewash the sky, making it tough to see dimmer stars and celestial treasures.One of the victims of the extra moonlight this month is the annual Eta Aqua...

After six decades of arts education, founder of St. Paul-based ArtStart to retire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:54 GMT

Carol Sirrine remembers your name.Sirrine, the longtime K-12 fine-arts coordinator for Hopkins Public Schools, founded the St. Paul-based arts education organization ArtStart in 1988. Now, after an arts education career that stretches back to the 1960s, she plans to retire when ArtStart’s board names a new executive director.As she reflected on decades of helping young people learn to think creatively, her stories had a certain specificity, particularly regarding the names of people she’s encountered and learned from. During an hour-long conversation, she referenced more than two dozen — but they’re not name-drops; Sirrine is honoring a lifetime of being inspired by big ideas, by creativity.And it starts with her parents, Mayme and Orton Sirrine. Both were school teachers with a knack for last-minute road trips from their home in Billings, Mont., to nearby mountains and rivers and geological sites. They’d encourage their young daughter to express herself through music and art and to...