Author: rpnadmin

Authorities braced for the possibility that a damaged chemical tank in Southern California could leak or explode as an evacuation order continued into the Memorial Day weekend for 50,000 residents with no timeline on when they can return. The pressurized tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors at a company site in Garden Grove, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. No injuries have been reported. Air monitoring tests have so far found that air pollution around the evacuation zone is so far within normal limits, and specialized equipment has…

The economy, inflation and how those forces could impact the lives of Americans were front and center over the past week. Trips to the grocery store or gas station are more painful than they were last year, and that is impacting the decisions of both households and businesses. Here’s a snapshot of prominent economic data and news that occurred over the past week and what it potentially means for you. Average US long-term mortgage rate rises to highest level in almost 9 months The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in nearly nine months,…

From the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York to … community access TV in Michigan? One night after Stephen Colbert recorded his final episode of “The Late Show” on CBS, he made a surprise appearance hosting the “Only in Monroe” community access show broadcast in southeast Michigan along the shores of Lake Erie. Michigan native Jack White, who grew up in Detroit about 40 miles northeast of Monroe, joined Colbert as his “volunteer music director.” “Looking forward to hearing some of your music, time permitting,” Colbert joked with White, as laughter could be heard from a handful of people off…

Evacuation centers remained open in Southern California on Saturday as authorities worked to cool an overheated chemical storage tank and keep it from exploding less than a mile from Disneyland’s two theme parks. No injuries were reported after the pressurized tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors in Garden Grove, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Evacuation orders were issued for 40,000 people, and several shelters were opened by Friday night, including at three high schools. The main concern was that the tank could fail and crack, releasing the chemical onto the ground, or it could explode, said Orange…

Investigators were combing through a New York City shipyard on Saturday trying to find the cause of a fire and an explosion that killed one person and injured more than 30 firefighters and other first responders. Authorities provided no major updates to the incidents that occurred Friday afternoon in the Mariners Harbor neighborhood on the north shore of Staten Island. Besides investigators, some firefighters were at the site as a precaution Saturday, officials said. Firefighters were called to the shipyard about 3:30 p.m. Friday on reports that there was a fire, heavy smoke and two workers trapped in a basement…

An 11-year-old female clouded leopard managed to slip her restraints during a show Friday at a zoo in Washington state and climb into a tree.The leopard, named Orchid, was part of an 11:30 a.m. show at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, 30 miles south of Seattle.The tree she climbed is behind the zoo’s theater and near its perimeter fence.Zoo spokeswoman Tessa Miller told Tacoma’s News Tribune that Orchid was restrained with multiple leashes but got startled during the show and got one of the leashes wrapped around a log, loosening the leash’s metal ring from Orchid’s collar.Zoo staff…

The Pokemon Fossil Museum, an exhibition featuring real fossils as well as sculptures of fossil creatures found in the Pokemon games, opened at Chicago’s Field Museum Friday. Its display at the Field Museum, first announced in May 2025, is the first time the exhibition has been put on outside Japan. It will be at the Field Museum through April 11, 2027, per the Pokemon Company website. In addition to the Pokemon Company and the Field Museum, the exhibition also involves contributions from the Japan National Museum of Nature and Science. The exhibition first went on display in Japan in 2021…

A former executive at the Atlanta Housing Authority was sentenced this week for committing Section 8 and COVID-19 pandemic insurance fraud. On Wednesday, Tracy Jones, 61, was sentenced to nine months in prison and nine months of house arrest followed by 15 months of supervised release on charges of conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, wire fraud, and credit application fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said in a release Friday. In addition, Jones will have to pay $65,598.80 in restitution and a fine of $63,546. Jones was a senior vice president at the…

Republicans are rushing to redraw congressional districts to their advantage ahead of the midterm elections following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act. In a matter of just weeks, new U.S. House districts already have been enacted in Tennessee and Alabama and have cleared at least one legislative chamber in Louisiana and South Carolina. But hurdles remain in courthouses and capitols before the new maps can be used in the November elections. Voting districts typically are redrawn after a census at the start of a decade. But President Donald Trump has…

Democratic-controlled Maryland could be jumping into the national redistricting surge, state Senate President Bill Ferguson said Friday.He said the Senate intends to pass a constitutional amendment that would pave the way for a Democratic-leaning map and present it to voters in November, meaning the General Assembly would have to pass it in a special session this summer to put it on the ballot.Mr. Ferguson said that following the primary election at the end of June, he plans to convene Senate Democrats to discuss the constitutional amendment.The Office of the Governor told Baltimore’s WYPR it does not believe a special session…