Jul 8, 2023 By Ap 7 min read

Solar storm on Thursday expected to make Northern Lights visible in 17 states

A solar storm forecast for Thursday is expected to give skygazers in 17 American states a chance to glimpse the Northern Lights, the colorful sky show that happens when solar wind hits the atmosphere. Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, are most often seen in Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia, but an 11-year solar cycle that’s expected to peak in 2024 is making the lights visible in places farther to the south. The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks has forecast auroral activity Thursday in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana, Maine and Maryland.

A Vermont police officer, aged 19, died in a crash with a burglary suspect she was chasing

RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) — Vermont State Police say a Rutland City police officer was killed and two other officers were injured when a suspect crashed into two police cruisers pursuing him. Nineteen-year-old Rutland City Police Officer Jessica Ebbighausen was killed on Friday afternoon. The crash happened as police chased a vehicle driven by a man suspected of trying to break into a house. State police say evidence indicates that the suspect crossed the center line and collided head-on with the Ebbighausen’s cruiser and hitting another police cruiser. Ebbighausen was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other officers and the suspect were taken to the hospital with injuries.

Crews continue to battle cargo ship blaze that killed 2 New Jersey firefighters

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Fire crews continue to battle a blaze in a cargo ship docked at the East Coast’s biggest port, days after the blaze claimed the lives of two New Jersey firefighters and injured five others. Newark firefighters Augusto “Augie” Acabou and Wayne “Bear” Brooks Jr. were killed in the Wednesday night blaze in Newark aboard the Grande Costa d’Avorio, an Italian-flagged vessel carrying thousands of vehicles and other goods. The Coast Guard said Saturday that marine firefighting specialists were “actively conducting fire suppression both pier-side and on the water.” Officials say the cause of the blaze isn’t known and an investigation can’t begin until the fire is out.

4 die in upstate NY house fire as crews respond to woman’s desperate call

NEW SCOTLAND, N.Y. (AP) — Fire officials are investigating the cause of a fire that killed four people outside Albany, New York. Among those killed was a 5-year-old girl, two men and a woman. A 14-year-old boy is recovering after escaping the blaze. The Albany County Sheriff’s Department says a woman desperately called 911 after 5 a.m. saying she and a child were trapped in a room and could not get out through the window. A dispatcher tried to help direct them out of the burning house but was unsuccessful. Officials think they know where the fire started but have not yet been able to get into the gutted house to confirm.

Switzerland to become a net importer of cheese this year for the first time

BERLIN (AP) — The head of the Switzerland’s dairy association says the country will import more cheese than it exports this year for the first time. Boris Beuret said in an interview published Saturday that the opening up of the Swiss milk market has put a squeeze on domestic producers in recent years, prompting some to give up. Beuret said measures need to be taken to ensure Switzerland — famous for cheese varieties such as Gruyère and Emmentaler — can continue to produce for its own population. He said that otherwise Switzerland will end up importing more cheese, which he said would be “absurd economically, socially and ecologically.”

Senga, Cobb, Kimbrel, Burnes and López added to rosters for Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game

SEATTLE (AP) — The New York Mets’ Kodai Senga, San Francisco’s Alex Cobb, Philadelphia’s Craig Kimbrel and Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes were added to the National League All-Star roster as replacements for pitchers who will be inactive for Tuesday’s game. Minnesota’s Pablo López was added to the American League roster and becomes an All-Star along with the player he was traded for last winter, Miami second baseman Luis Arraez. Atlanta’s Bruce Elder and Spencer Strider won’t pitch in the game along with the Chicago Cubs’ Marcus Stroman, Milwaukee’s Devin Williams and Toronto’s Kevin Gausman.

Megan Rapinoe says she’ll retire after the NWSL season and her 4th World Cup

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe is ready to retire after an illustrious career in which she won an Olympic gold medal, two World Cups and never shied away from using her platform to spotlight social issues. The 38-year-old Rapinoe announced Saturday her fourth World Cup will be her last and she’ll officially retire with the OL Reign at the end of the National Women’s Soccer League season. Rapinoe and the U.S. team are aiming for a third consecutive title when the Women’s World Cup kicks off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

Scotland wants to decriminalize drugs. The UK government just says no

LONDON (AP) — The Scottish government has proposed decriminalizing possession of all drugs for personal use to tackle one of Europe’s highest overdose death rates. But the suggestion was almost instantly blocked by the Conservative U.K. government in London, which said it had “no plans” to soften drug laws. The semi-autonomous Edinburgh government said Friday that “the war on drugs has failed.” It said removing criminal penalties for drug possession would “allow for the provision of safe, evidence-based harm reduction services.” Scotland’s death rate from drug overdoses is three times the rate in the U.K. as a whole and the highest in Western Europe. Last year there were almost 1,100 drug-related deaths in Scotland, which has a population of 5.5 million

Judge holds Washington state in contempt for not providing services to mentally ill people in jails

A federal judge has found Washington state in contempt and ordered it to pay more than $100 million for failing to provide timely psychiatric services to mentally ill people who must wait in jails for weeks. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman says the Washington Department of Social and Health Services has been violating the constitutional rights of these people due to a “lack of foresight, creativity, planning and timely response to a crisis of its own making.” The state entered into a settlement agreement in 2018 and agreed to address the wait times, but they’ve only grown longer.

Police link man to two women whose bodies were found in different Minnesota storage units

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The body of a woman who had been missing for two years was found in a storage unit, and St. Paul police said Friday that her death has been linked to a man who was charged after another woman’s dismembered body was found in a different storage unit in another Minneapolis suburb. Joseph Jorgenson hasn’t yet been charged in Fanta Xayavong’s death, but the 40-year-old was charged last week with second-degree murder in the death of Manijeh “Mani” Starren. Xayavong’s body was found Thursday in a Coon Rapids storage unit while Starren’s body was found last month in a storage unit in Woodbury.